A/N First things first, I want to thank all of you who have favorited/followed this and/or left reviews, because I really appreciate it!

Second… recommendation time! For those of you who appreciate a good angst/hurt/comfort story, check out Abandoning Absolution by Meritt. She's a fantastic writer and she is doing an amazing job exploring the character of Jason Todd!

Warning: Briefly mentions underage drinking, but nothing too bad. Also contains an OC who was created for the specific purpose of being annoying. *laughs evilly

Pairing: Slight Dick/Babs

Without further ado, please enjoy!

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Jason sidled up to Dick, glancing around at the partygoers filling the massive ballroom. "So… you're just going to stand here? The whole time?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Dick crossed his arms, frowning back down at him. "For now." Jason angled his head, eyeing the rest of the room.

Sure, maybe it wouldn't be too much fun to hang out with the other guests, but… there was an extremely tempting dessert table at the other end of the room.

With reluctance, Jason tore his eyes away from the far side of the room and faced Dick again. "Isn't Barbara supposed to be coming?"

Dick studied him for a moment. "She might have said something. Why?"

Jason shook his head. "You don't even know. Sheesh, you're hopeless."

Dick narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Jason cocked his head and grinned. "Nothing."

Dick rolled his eyes. "It's always something, Jay."

"Not this time." Jason leaned against the wall, feigning innocence, and Dick didn't push him.

Patience always won out when it came to Jason. If it was anything of importance, then Jason was sure to say something more.

"Richard!"

"Uh oh." Jason peeked around Dick, even as his older brother froze. "I don't think you're getting out of this one."

"Richard!" Sasha Prince rushed forward, grasping his arm. "Daddy said you were here! I've been looking for you ever since!"

"Oh, Sasha," Dick began, flustered. "Um… hi!"

Sasha Prince was the daughter of Eric Prince, business partner to Wayne Enterprises. Somehow the man had taken it into his head that the eldest ward of Bruce Wayne was the perfect match for his daughter, an opinion that nearly everyone shared. Everyone meant, of course, Eric and Sasha Prince. Everyone did not mean Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd or one Richard John Grayson.

"Aren't you going to dance with me?" she asked, leaning closer.

"Sasha, I…" Dick began, trying unsuccessfully to extract his arm.

Sasha pouted. "All the time I spent looking for you, and you don't even have the decency for a single dance?"

Ouch.

Dick winced a little.

There was a reason she almost always got her way.

"Okay, look, I can… just one, okay?" he said, caving.

Sasha squealed. "I knew you'd come around, Richard!"

"Isn't it grand, Richard!" Sasha exclaimed cheerfully. Her blonde hair was swept upwards in some elaborate bun that allowed a few loose curls to hang down, while her floor length silver gown rustled elegantly as she moved. "It's not nearly as big as Daddy's parties, but it's all for a good cause! And of course that's what matters, like Daddy always says!"

"Well, he's right," Dick said, even as Sasha dragged him away from the wall and Jason. He had his doubts about the man's sincerity, but Prince was willing to do anything to increase his publicity. He wasn't sure how much of that mindset had trickled down to Sasha.

Dick shot Jason a look. Save me.

Jason held out his hands in a gesture that plainly said, You're on your own now.

Dick bit back a groan. It wouldn't do for Sasha to sense his discomfort. Annoying or not, he wasn't sure he could handle hurting her feelings and making a scene. Especially not here.

It looked like he was stuck with her for now.

Fantastic.

XxX

Jason watched as Sasha dragged Dick away into the crowd. The girl and her father really had no idea how to take no for an answer, but… it was almost amusing seeing how helpless Dick was.

"Jason?" They'd only been gone several minutes when he caught sight of Barbara making her way towards him.

She'd left her red hair hanging loosely over her shoulders, and was wearing a simple black dress that reached a few inches past her knees.

"Babs!" Jason perked up.

Barbara looked around as she approached him. "Where's Dick?" she asked, coming to stand next to him.

"Sasha Prince." Jason inclined his head in the general direction in which Sasha had dragged Dick.

"Her? I thought they'd handled that." The skin between her eyebrows drew tight.

"Try explaining that to her."

"I see." Barbara frowned. "So… what are we going to do about it?"

Jason turned to stare at her. "You mean… like a rescue?"

Barbara smiled, twisting a lock of hair around her finger. "Why not?"

Jason couldn't hold back a wicked grin. "It's time for Operation Rescue."

XxX

Dick and Sasha swayed gently back and forth. "So…" Dick said slowly, trying to process everything Sasha had told him in the past ten minutes, "your… birthday party is next week?"

"Yes." Sasha cast him a disappointed look from beneath lowered eyelids. "Dickie! Weren't you listening to me?"

"Of course!" Dick backtracked smoothly. "It's just… I thought your birthday wasn't for another three weeks."

Way to channel your inner Bruce Wayne here, Grayson.

But, damnit, no! Bruce could turn an awkward situation around without even batting an eye. He didn't have that level of charm!

"Good." Sasha smiled, seeming content again and continued on. "Daddy decided to throw it early this year. Business came up of course." Unconcerned, she waved a slender hand in the air. "He's even hired several bands to play this year to make up for it though! In fact, he's having them write me my very own song!" She beamed at him, clearly awaiting his reaction.

"That's, uh, that's great!" Dick managed, summoning that smile that worked so well for him on these occasions and hoping it was acceptable. She giggled as he twirled her around and Dick had to laugh a little too.

Sasha tilted her head to the side, a few loose curls spilling out over her crown, and she smiled up at him. "Mm-hmm." She leaned in closer. "Daddy already had Margarita send out the invitations to everyone and of course I wouldn't forget you."

Dick forced his smile to stay put. "That's… nice of you, but really…"

"Oh, please," she cut him off before he could come up with a plausible excuse, her nose wrinkled slightly, although her eyes are laughing at him. "Don't try and tell me you've got something better to do. I know for a fact you don't."

"Oh?" Dick raised his eyebrows, wondering if she was bluffing or if she'd somehow found a way to stalk his schedule, finding out what was happening in his life before he even knew himself.

"Of course." Sasha tossed her head. "You don't think I wouldn't have had Daddy check with Mr. Wayne first?"

"You… I… what?" he asked. They checked with Bruce?

"Don't act so surprised. You know I want you there." She looked up at him hopefully. "Will you come? Promise me, Richard!"

"I…" Dick opened his mouth, intending to say that he'd see how things went. Instead, he found himself saying, "Sure."

Sasha frowned at him. "That wasn't a real promise, Richard!"

Dick sighed. "Okay," he said and really hoped he wouldn't regret it. "I promise."

Sasha's face lit up and she did a little hop in place. "Yes!" she squealed, before quickly clapping a hand over her mouth. Her eyes still shone though and Dick sighed, taking her by the arm and guiding her away from the dance floor.

"You look a little spent," he told her. "Why don't we get something to eat?"

"I'm starved," Sasha agreed quickly, taking the lead.

Dick caught sight of Jason slipping between several partygoers and tried to quell the curiosity that nipped at the back of his brain. He was sure the boy was plotting something and a small part of him regretted not being in on the scheme, whatever it was.

He shook his head, collecting himself. He was supposed to be entertaining Sasha, not chasing after his little brother.

Then a flash of red hair appeared in his vision and he did a double take. Barbara?

He caught her eyes and noticed the slightly amused look she gave him. Jason must have filled her in on what was going on.

Dick shrugged helplessly and it was then that Sasha noticed his attention was no longer on her.

"Who's she?" she asked, glancing in Barbara's direction, and her mouth dipped into a tiny frown.

"A friend," Dick answered, turning back to her and Barbara disappeared back into the crowd.

Sasha crossed her arms, disapproval clearly written across her face. "Her dress is too plain!"

"Sasha!" Dick gaped at her, offended on his friend's behalf.

"It's true!" Sasha pouted. "She looks like one of the maids!"

"Sasha, that's enough! She's my friend. That's the end of it," Dick said, tight-lipped, and Sasha seemed to realize she'd made a mistake and wisely remained silent. Before the silence could become too awkward, Dick relented and spoke again. "Come on. Let's just get something to eat. The desserts look pretty fantastic."

A few minutes later and Sasha nearly had him laughing at some absurd story about her darling horse and his hopeless terror of the small cat that liked to lurk in the stables, hunting the mice. She held a mini chocolate éclair delicately in hand, from which she'd only taken several dainty bites, so absorbed was she in the story.

Dick, on the other hand, had opted for the simpler carrot cake.

"Nightingale wouldn't even go into the stable until Daddy had the stable hand remove it," she finished and Dick, despite himself, found himself chuckling along with her. He still wasn't happy with her for the slight against Barbara, but attempting to hold a grudge at this time would only be counter-productive. She didn't even understand that she had done something wrong.

Then, an idea sparked in Sasha's mind and she grabbed onto his arm with his free hand. "Oh, Richard! We could take the horses out! I know you'll love it!"

Dick carefully extracted his arm from her grip. "That sounds great, Sasha."

Sasha beamed. "I know." She finished off the éclair with surprising grace and returned to the table.

A waiter walked by, a tray of champagne glasses balanced perfectly on his palm. Sasha called out to him, before reaching out and delicately plucking a glass off the tray before the man moved on.

Dick frowned at her. "Sasha, what are you doing?"

Sasha giggled. "Don't be so silly! What does it look like? Having a drink, of course!" She took a small sip.

Dick cleared his throat. "Except you're about five years too young to drink."

Sasha gave a half-shrug and grinned. "You're being ridiculous. It's only one drink! Besides, no one's going to care!" As if to prove her point, she raised the glass to take another sip…

… and someone jostled her arm just enough for her to spill it all over the front of her dress.

She shrieked in dismay, hopping backwards, even as the glass slipped from her fingers, shattering into a thousand tiny pieces on the marble floor.

Several heads turned their way, striving to see what the matter was, but Dick had already rushed forward, grabbing several cloth napkins from the table.

"Are you okay? Here, let me help you!"

"No!" She pushed him away, snatching the napkins from his outstretched hand and began to frantically dab at the front of her dress. "No! No, no, no! Do you know how much this dress cost?" She turned on him, fury in her eyes. Her eyes were shining, and Dick realized she was dangerously close to bursting into tears. "And don't you dare laugh, Richard Grayson!" she ordered, thrusting an accusing finger his way.

Dick held up his hands defensively. "I wouldn't!"

Sasha sniffled. "Someone knocked into me! My dress is ruined!"

"Sasha…" Dick peered beyond her and saw… Jason. His forehead furrowed and he shot a subdued glare at his younger brother. Of course. He should have figured that Jason would be involved somehow.

And while he appreciated the effort made to "rescue" him, he really didn't think wrecking Sasha's evening was the way to do it.

"Oops. Sorry, Sasha." Jason came forward, giving her an apologetic look that Dick doubted was at all sincere. "I must have bumped you by mistake."

"By mistake?" Sasha turned on him, furious. "You think this is a mistake? My dress is ruined, you brat!"

"Sasha…" Dick began, but Sasha cut him off.

"Don't talk to me! I'm going home!" She brushed past Dick and marched off, holding up her skirts.

Dick didn't bother going after her. Not when she was like this.

Instead, he turned to face… "Jason." Dick crossed his arms and Jason shrugged, snagging some kind of cookie.

"Admit it. You were waiting to be rescued." He took a bite out of the cookie, which looked to be some kind of macaroon.

"Maybe… but not like that."

Jason shrugged. "Worked, didn't it? Besides, Barbara's here. I think she might want to talk to you."

Barbara.

She was here. Dick remembered. "Oh?"

Jason rolled off. "You think I pulled off this daring rescue by myself?" he challenged.

"Um… yes?"

"Okay, maybe." He paused, chewing on his lip. "But she helped set it up."

Dick's eyebrows pressed into a thin line. "You needed help thinking up that brilliant strategy?"

"It was her idea to send the waiter guy over here."

Dick couldn't help it anymore. He burst out laughing. "You did all that? To get me away from Sasha Prince?"

Jason looked altogether too satisfied with their plot. "Duh."

"Where's Barbara now?"

"Right behind you actually."

"What?" Startled, Dick spun around.

Barbara tilted her head at him, red hair hanging loosely over her shoulder. "I see you've escaped from the evil witch."

"Yeah… I heard you had something to do with that."

She smirked. "You're welcome."

Dick rubbed the back of his neck before breaking out into a grin. "Somehow you still manage to surprise me."

"I'm taking that as compliment, hero."

"You should."

"Glad to hear it," Barbara said, taking his arm. "Now, how about a dance?"

Dick smiled, accepting her arm. "I think I'd like that."

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A/N So what do you guys think? Did you like Sasha's comeuppance? Should she return to plague Dick with her insufferable nonsense or do y'all never want to hear from her again?