Happy Pride Month! This is my first time writing StephCass, I hope I did them justice!

This idea came to me while watching Heartstopper. The mood during the birthday party when the song Clearest Blue by CHVRCHES was playing is the vibe of this story.

As always, a big thank you to rotasha for helping me out!

TW: Mentions of racism.

Disclaimer: I don't own any DC characters.


Cass stood near the wall in the back of the large ballroom inside Wayne Manor. From where she was tucked in the corner of the room, she had an unobstructed view of all the guests, the doors, the windows, and most importantly, of Bruce.

A couple of nights ago, after returning from a particularly grueling mission, Bruce had asked his kids if they would consider joining him at the annual Wayne Enterprises Fundraiser. This year, the party was benefitting LGBTQ+ Youth Homelessness. Cass had watched her siblings' various reactions to the question. Some, like Jason and Damian, had looked irritated to have been asked such a question, whereas others, like Tim and Duke, had seemed nervous as they tried to make up an excuse. Cass watched as Dick prepared to volunteer, sacrificing himself like he so often did when it came to his siblings. That was when Cass had decided to beat him to the punch and offered to keep Bruce company. She didn't want to go, but she knew it would make Dick happy to not have to attend for the sixth consecutive year.

That was how she found herself in a room surrounded by Gotham's wealthiest residents. Damian was only standing beside her, back straight as a rod, because he'd lost the bet of who else would have to accompany Bruce. Much to Damian's evident frustration, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Spoiler were patrolling without him.

They made an unlikely pair. They were probably not Bruce's first choice given their shared hatred of socializing with guests. As the head of the house, second only to Alfred, Bruce was much better suited to interacting with Gotham's socialites.

Cass and Damian had been in the corner all night. Nobody had approached them, not that Cass blamed them; she knew exactly the kind of energy they were both radiating. But that didn't seem to stop guests from making comments about them. Even without hearing their horrendous words, Cass could tell what they were thinking. It was clear some of them disliked the idea of Damian being the legal heir to the Wayne family name. Others thought her strange for never speaking.

Cass didn't want Damian to hear their disgusting words. But she doubted he missed the way others glared at them.

Having decided they'd stood guard for long enough, Cass gently grabbed Damian's elbow and pointed towards the door that led to the main hallway. She then signed the words for juice and balcony, hoping he understood her suggestion of taking a break and escaping the stifling and boring fundraiser.

Damian nodded and started leading the way out of the large ballroom. Bruce, although still in deep conversation with one of the top lawyers in the city, noticed them exit. Cass saw the way his eyes tracked them across the room. She knew his first thought had been whether there was any danger. He'd most likely already come up with an excuse to leave with them. So, to ease his mind, Cass smiled at him and gave a thumbs up. She saw his shoulders relax a tad as he continued to ask the lawyer about his most recent case.

Cass continued to follow Damian through the crowded halls and rooms of the Manor. The second floor was off-limits, as were Bruce's study and Alfred's kitchen. They stopped at the smaller-sized ballroom, each grabbing a glass of fruit punch from the buffet-style table before heading towards the balcony that overlooked Alfred's garden. It was a cold night, so none of the guests had ventured out. They would be alone.

She knew Damian agreed to follow her outside because he needed a break, but he would never admit to it. Cass wanted to make it seem like she was the one that needed to escape. That way, Damian wouldn't think he'd shown weakness; it was something he was still struggling to admit. And Cass couldn't blame him; she'd also been raised to not be weak.

Thank you, Cass signed to Damian once they'd made it outside. A cool wind greeted them, but it was a welcome change in temperature. I don't like parties.

"Parties can be entertaining as long as the right guests are in attendance," Damian coldly replied before taking a sip of his drink.

Cass nodded in agreement. The only reason Bruce entertained these people was in order to get more donations. She knew that if Bruce caught wind of the comments made about his children, he'd kick them out without a single hesitation. But both Damian and Cass weren't the kind of people to tell Bruce about their problems; they could take care of themselves.

The pair fell into a comfortable silence. They didn't need to talk to be entertained; they enjoyed basking in the quieter noises of the evening. They were both drinking their fruit punch and gazing at the night sky. Suddenly, Cass detected a familiar gait approaching from behind them. She turned around in anticipation. She may have recognized the footsteps, but she didn't understand why they were currently here instead of on Gotham's rooftops. Damian took notice of her movement and copied her.

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" Steph exclaimed as she walked onto the balcony.

"What are you doing here, Brown? You weren't invited to come to the fundraiser. Your presence is not required," Damian stated. His body was tense. Cass could tell he was surprised by Steph's sudden appearance, but there were undertones of apprehension. He was curious to know if she was here because of an emergency. But Steph's body language was very relaxed; there was no emergency.

"Hello to you too. I didn't know they made suits that fit gremlins," Steph replied, smirking at her own joke.

Damian rolled his eyes. His distaste for being made fun of for his height was abundantly evident to anyone who knew him. "You abandoned the work entrusted to you just to make fun of me? Father will not be pleased once I inform him you disobeyed his direct orders."

"And here I thought Bruce told you to be pleasant tonight. You snitch on me and I'll do the same to you," Steph warned him. "B would be really disappointed to hear you insulted one of his most treasured guests."

"You're not a treasured guest, Brown. At most, you're a—" Damian was about to unleash his opinions on Steph and Cass needed to put an end to their little disagreement before it got out of hand.

Why are you looking for me? Cass asked as she placed herself in Steph's direct line of vision.

Cass watched as Steph momentarily hesitated. She was debating between answering Cass or continuing to trade insults with Damian. Finally, her shoulders relaxed as she chose to respond to Cass's question.

"Patrol was boring, literally nothing was happening. Hood and I were wondering if all the criminals were attending B's party and that's why they weren't out there committing crimes."

"Don't be ridiculous," Damian muttered, but Steph chose to ignore him as she continued her story.

"Oracle put me on standby for the rest of the night, but we think Wing and Hood can handle anything Gotham sends their way. So I thought I'd come to investigate the party for criminals," Steph explained. They were alone, so Cass knew that's why Steph felt comfortable using code names out of uniform. "Oh, and Hood told me these things were super boring, so I thought I'd keep you company."

"Even if I were bored, you would be the last person on Earth I would seek for company," Damian stated. He'd clearly said that in a way meant to insult Stephanie, and Cass doubted the woman would be insulted, but there was another emotion hidden in his tone. Cass knew Damian was lashing out to distract her from the hurt and vulnerability he was feeling right now. The racist looks and comments had definitely gotten to him. Cass would have to warn Bruce and Dick about what had happened. She could easily point out the problematic guests so they wouldn't get any future invitations.

"I beat Tim for the title of the person you hate the most?" Steph asked as she pretended to be shocked. "I'm honored! I can't wait to tell him he's been downgraded to second place, which everyone knows is the first loser."

"You're impossible. I'm not surprised you and Drake were somehow attracted to each other in the past," Damian deflected once again. He dumped his juice off the side of the balcony before walking past them. "I'll take over your duties to patrol Gotham tonight since you clearly cannot be trusted with them."

Both of them watched as Damian walked away without giving them a second glance.

"Is it just me or is he extra prickly tonight?" Steph asked once Damian had left.

He's sad, not mad, Cass tried to explain. She wanted Steph to understand why Damian had reacted the way he had, but she wasn't sure if Damian would want her repeating to Steph the insults he'd been indirectly subjected to all night. Cass knew he shouldn't have taken out his anger on Steph, but she deserved to know what had caused the outburst.

"Mad about me leaving patrol? Seriously, Oracle told me it was okay and I still have my comm in case something happens," Steph tried defending herself. It was unnecessary because Cass knew she was telling the truth.

Mean people said bad things. Hopefully, that was enough to convey the seriousness of the situation. Patrol will be more fun for him.

Anger flashed behind Steph's eyes as she took in what Cass had signed. She must have understood, to an extent, what had upset Damian. "Good thing I came then. I'll gladly let him take my spot if that means he can leave those racist idiots behind."

Cass nodded solemnly in agreement. Both of them were quiet for a while. Cass wasn't sure what to do now.

"Do you want to have some fun?" Steph cautiously asked Cass after about a minute of silence. "That's why I came to this party, to save you from having a boring night."

Cass shook her head. Yes, she'd been bored and she also would have preferred being on patrol with her siblings, but she didn't need to be saved. She could handle one night. But maybe Steph's company would be okay.

"Well, I'm going to stick with you for the rest of the night, which means you can show me where the food is because I'm starving!" Steph said as she grabbed Cass's hand. "Lead the way!" she exclaimed, waiting for Cass to bring her to the buffet.

Cass was happy that Steph had understood what she meant. She remembered precisely where the buffet was set up and started leading Steph off the balcony and back into the Manor. Weaving through the guests was easy and required little to no attention, which meant Cass could focus on more important things. For example, she couldn't help but notice that her heart rate had increased when Steph had grabbed her hand. She'd analyzed Steph's body language and known she would take her hand, yet her body reacted like she'd been startled.

She recalled a similar incident when she'd heard Steph's footsteps approaching them on the balcony just a couple of minutes ago. Her heart rate had spiked when she'd found out that Steph was here, not for an emergency, but just to see her. Why had that made her happy and nervous at the same time?

This strange sensation had been happening often as of late. Especially when it was accompanied by physical touch. When she first joined the Wayne family, physical contact made her nervous. It wasn't something she'd experienced often. A body trained as a living weapon wasn't meant to bring comfort to others and wasn't worthy of receiving any.

But with time, she'd come to enjoy physical contact. Dick's hugs were frequent and his happiness was infectious. Alfred's pats of encouragement were grounding. Even Bruce's hugs, although rare, were extremely comforting and she found herself seeking them out. Physical contact with her family and friends made her happy. And Steph had always been included in that. But recently, any time she was near Steph, she suddenly felt nervous.

After being unable to figure out by herself why the change had occurred, she'd asked Barbara for help. Barbara was one of the smartest people Cass knew and she trusted her to find an answer and explain it to her. But curiously, Babs had given her a knowing smile. As she spoke, Cass could tell she wasn't being entirely truthful, but she couldn't understand why. She'd simply told Cass that it was normal to sometimes feel nervous. Barbara had explained the feeling as similar to having butterflies in one's stomach.

Babs had also said that it wasn't a bad kind of nervousness. And as always, she was right. Cass wasn't wary of Steph. It wasn't the same kind of nervousness she felt when one of her siblings got hurt. It was a pleasant nervousness and she still liked being near Steph. Sometimes she found herself not liking when her friend left her side.

Barbara had then asked her if she'd ever been in love with someone. She'd specified that it was different than feeling love for someone. That had confused Cass, but she'd thought it over for several days after her meeting with Babs. She loved Steph. She was one of her best friends and a great partner in the field. Steph made her laugh, made her happy, and never judged her. Did that mean Cass was in love with her?

That was the question that she asked herself as she dragged Steph to the ballroom where the food was. It was also where a DJ was set up to entertain guests. The room was filled with children and teenagers, most likely related to the donors Bruce was entertaining. They were all dancing along to the music.

Cass stopped in front of one of the tables and handed Steph a plate. Steph let go of Cass's hand to grab the plate with both hands. Steph then flashed Cass the most brilliant smile she'd ever seen. Not only was it a smile in response to the thought of eating, but it was also a smile that said "you know me so well and I love that." Cass decided right there and then that she did love Steph as well as being in love with her.

"You're the best!" Steph declared excitedly as she started piling her plate with food.

Maybe Cass loved Steph, but did Steph love her? Cass hoped she would be able to figure that out based on Steph's body language. She didn't know how else one discovered if someone was in love with them. As she wondered about her dilemma, Cass let herself be dragged to the chocolate fountain and watched Steph enjoy her Oreos dipped in chocolate.

"This is more fun than I thought it would be," Steph exclaimed over the loud music. "Jason was exaggerating about how boring these gatherings are. God, he's fucking dramatic."

Cass smiled in response to Steph's observation. She wasn't surprised that Jason didn't enjoy these parties. He most likely had never come to the DJ room. Cass would bet a large sum that when he was younger and forced to attend a party, he'd stayed by either Bruce or Alfred's side for a while and then retreated to the sanctuary of the library to read.

"Oh my god!" Steph suddenly yelled out in excitement. She placed her plate on the table beside the chocolate fountain. "This is my favorite song! I didn't think it was possible for a DJ to have good taste in music."

Once again, Steph grabbed Cass's hands. As she happily let herself be dragged onto the dance floor, Cass felt her stomach fill with butterflies again.


He'd been warned by his mother that hope was a futile thing. Damian had been foolish to hope he could escape the abysmal soirée his father deemed important. When Brown had arrived uninvited, he'd been irritated, but not shocked, that she'd so easily disobeyed Father's orders. Along with Grayson and Todd, she'd been one of the lucky ones chosen to patrol Gotham. Cain and himself were elected to keep up appearances at the Wayne Fundraiser. Damian had only slightly been reassured by the fact that Drake hadn't been allowed on patrol either, but was disappointed that he wasn't made to suffer through the absurdities of Gotham's High Society. Instead, Drake was on bed rest given the little number of hours he'd slept in the last week. Drake had been handed off to the Kent clone under strict instructions to not let him out of his sight.

After his unpleasant conversation with Brown, he slipped away to find his father. Damian was sure he could convince Bruce to let him take Spoiler's place on patrol with Nightwing and Red Hood. The night was still young and it was best to have as many players on the board as possible.

He'd almost forgotten how much of a charmer and popular man Bruce Wayne was. But he'd been brutally reminded of it as he eyed his father from across the room. Damian had been trying for the past thirty minutes to catch him alone, but Bruce Wayne was at the beck and call of every rich Gothamite attending the fundraiser. Damian knew that his father only entertained these particular guests because they had a tendency to donate more once they'd talked to him. Father's reputation had many perks and right now, Damian loathed it.

The thought of slipping away without his father noticing had crossed his mind, but it was risky slipping down to the Cave during the party. None of the guests were allowed in Bruce's private study, but there were always those who enjoyed disobeying rules. He could instead slip away from the party, make his way to the penthouse and suit up there. But a small part of him told him not to go without notifying someone. What if someone noticed his disappearance? Under the circumstances of a party, it wouldn't be beyond reasonable doubt for others to think he'd been kidnapped. It had happened before.

Out of respect for his father and not wanting to ruin the night, Damian decided that the next best thing was to warn Cain of his departure.

So, he backtracked through the crowded rooms and hallways and made his way to the balcony where he'd left both Cain and Brown.

Somehow, the universe seemed to be punishing him despite the fact that he'd chosen the option that Grayson would undoubtedly agree was the right one. Neither Cain nor Brown were outside on the balcony. He'd have to wander through the party to find them.

Would they have left the party? Damian had heard Brown mention that these gatherings were boring, meaning she would try to rope Cain into something fun. But Damian couldn't imagine anything at this party being fun. Patrolling and beating up criminals was fun. He could easily imagine Brown sneaking out but he doubted Cain would leave Father when he'd asked her to attend tonight. She wouldn't want to disappoint him.

He could wander around, hoping to find them. But hope was futile. Instead, it was wiser to take action. Damian just needed to look at this logically. Where would they have gone to have fun? Brown liked to eat. She'd always been enthusiastic about the consumption of food rather than just seeing it as necessary nutrition needed to function. Damian had watched Pennyworth and the caterers set up a large selection of desserts and finger food near one of the smaller ballrooms. That was where he would first look.

It didn't take him long to arrive at the room in question. He'd strategically dodged guests he knew would want to pull him aside to ask some inappropriate questions about his father and make vaguely racist comments about his heritage.

He now stood at the entrance of the room, his eyes scanning the tables that lined the wall. Most of the people in the room, however, barely seemed interested in the food that was at their disposal. Instead, they were all congregated in the center of the room. The main lights were off and colored strobe lights shone through the thick crowd. Loud music blared through the speakers, controlled by a live DJ that stood behind a table in one of the corners.

Damian couldn't see his targets, but he couldn't yet confirm that they weren't in the room. He refused to leave without doing a thorough inspection. He started wading through the crowd of sweaty teenagers. None of them had rhythm and they all seemed to lack embarrassment about not dancing in time to the beat of the song.

He was walking towards the DJ booth in order to better canvas the room when movement in the corner of his eye and a familiar laugh caught his attention. He turned his head and finally located both girls. They were tucked away in one of the least crowded corners of the room.

Like the other children and teenagers in the room, they were dancing along to the music. Damian was disappointed to see Cain wasn't using her training and abilities to dance more gracefully. She could have easily upstaged anyone here. Instead, she seemed to be mimicking any and all movements Brown made.

Damian was not surprised to see Brown was an uncoordinated dancer. Nevertheless, she was smiling widely and laughing as she led Cain in their strange dance.

He'd stopped walking towards the DJ booth now that he'd found them, but he had yet to cross the distance of the room to talk to them. They hadn't seemed to notice him watching them; it was out of character for Cain, who was one of the most observant individuals Damian had ever met. The pair seemed to be in a world of their own and Damian suddenly felt strange about interrupting them.

Grayson always encouraged him to be patient and polite; maybe that was why he felt the sudden need to wait until they were done dancing before informing them of his decision to leave the fundraiser. How much longer would they dance for? He had no answer to that question and he refused to wait all night. Instead, he would grant them until the end of this song before going to see them.

Based on what he was hearing, the song seemed to be reaching its climax. The music was swelling and getting faster and the other party guests were dancing more and more enthusiastically around him.

Brown and Cain were facing each other and now holding hands, their fingers interlaced as they moved their arms excitedly from side to side. Brown was still laughing while Cain smiled brightly at her. Their movements picked up in speed as the beat rose. If they went any faster, Damian wouldn't be able to categorize it as dancing. They looked like they were trying to quickly row a boat to safety. He was preparing to hold back a snicker as he inevitably watched them make fools of themselves but to his surprise, they simultaneously stopped moving.

The girls were intensely looking at each other. Had Cain sensed danger? Everyone around them was still dancing along to the song, so it must have been something only Cain could pick up on. They hadn't turned to look at him, which ruled out the possibility that they'd noticed him spying on them. Maybe Brown was still wearing her earpiece and Oracle had called her back onto the field? It was a theory worth investigating. He wouldn't be interrupting anymore as they'd stopped dancing, so Damian started walking towards the pair.

But just as quickly as he'd started, he stopped, as he watched Cain place her hands on Brown's shoulders. Brown responded by placing hers on Cain's waist and then leaning her head forward. She paused, inches away from Cain's face, as if waiting for something. Damian watched Cain give the slightest nod of her head, obviously giving Brown whatever she'd been waiting for because the space between them was closed as they started kissing.

It seemed that nobody except Damian was paying attention to them. The guests continued to dance, oblivious to the two girls as they stood still, locked in each other's embrace.

Damian continued to be the only spectator as he watched them eventually break apart. Cain smiled at Brown, causing them to break into joyful laughter once again. At least Damian thought it was joyful. He'd never kissed anyone before, but he'd been forced to watch romantic comedies with Grayson where the couples awkwardly laughed after kissing. But it didn't look awkward; they seemed happy. As if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, Cain and Brown resumed dancing, blending in once again with the crowd.

They had yet to notice him. And despite having sought them out to speak with them, Damian was glad they couldn't see him. He knew that if they were to spot him, they'd see him smiling at the interaction he'd just watched. Damian couldn't explain why their joy was infectious.

Later, there would be a time to reprimand Cain for her worsening observational skills and to mock Brown's terrible dance moves. But for now, they were evidently busy. Damian knew they would spend the rest of the evening in this loud and crowded dance room, oblivious to anyone but each other.

Damian was glad to leave the room because, as he'd stolen one last glance at his sister and her friend, he found them once again making out and he didn't need to commit this moment to memory any more than he already had. He supposed seeing Cain and Brown happy was a positive outcome after having been forced to attend the fundraiser. But he was still telling Father about Brown abandoning her post.

He finally pushed his way out of the room with the intent to find his father and keep up appearances. He agreed with the reasoning to hold such a party; they were raising money for an important cause. But he wouldn't be opposed to watching his father kick out all the guests who had mistreated him all night. That could be another reward for not going out on patrol.


I know this story is heavy on the descriptions, but I'm hoping it's still good. If you want to see what the scene would look like, watch episode 3 of Heartstopper. Damian is Nick, Cass is Tara and Steph is Darcy.