The Story of Our Love as Told in a Short Story Collection
Ch 1 – Misfiled
Summary: Despite mutually pining over each other, Dick and Babs remain cordial colleagues. Looks like it's up to Dinah and Helena to get these two together.
Written for Dick/Babs Week 2023 - Prompts: Matchmaking and Workplace Romance (Includes cameo mentions of apocalypse and detective)
Notes: Not only has this past week been extremely chaotic, this whole month has been very busy and I had little time to write. I do have seven days worth of stories planned out (but not quite completed). So, here is my extremely late first submission for Dick/Babs Week 2023. I hope you enjoy this little tale of librarians in love. 3
Thanks for reading, ~rose
From her spot at the circulation desk, Barbara Gordon had a decent perspective of the first floor of the library. Straight ahead, she had a clear view of the front door, to her left, the shelves filled with dvds and audiobooks, and, pertinent to the moment, to her right, she could glimpse a portion of the children's section. Due to the relatively quiet nature of the library, she couldn't help but overhear as the children's librarian led story time.
Technically, she didn't need to limit her observations to eavesdropping over the excited exclamations of the children as her fellow librarian juggled multiple pairs of rolled socks in an imitation of a washing machine. Since there were no patrons in need of help at present and Dinah was also at the front desk, she could take a circuit of the floor. If her circuit happened to linger a few moments longer than necessary in the children's section, well, no one would be none the wiser.
From the corner of her eye, Babs studied her friend. Dinah hummed to her herself as she steadily entered the intake information into the system from this week's stack of new magazines. Though her best friend appeared to be lost in her work, Babs knew the moment she moved, Dinah would notice. And Dinah wasn't the person Babs wanted to notice her comings and goings.
Holding in the sigh threatening to escape her lips, Babs shifted her wheelchair so she could see a minutely larger sliver of the children's section. She couldn't exactly see him over the heads of the children and the assortment of mothers and caretakers accompanying their charges. Instead, Babs contented herself to listen in on the adventures of Knuffle Bunny while she made a list of apocalyptic themed novels for Helena's senior English class. As though the fraction of an inch would amplify the sound of his voice, she tilted her head to the side in hopes of catching a little more of (his dulcet tones) the story.
"You know"—Babs started at the sound of Dinah's voice coming so much louder than the one she'd been straining to hear. Clearly knowing where Babs' thoughts had wandered, Dinah smirked at Babs' flustered reaction.—"you are permitted to talk to him about things other than work."
A flush heated Babs' cheeks. Of course Dinah would notice.
"He's busy." Babs sent the list to the printer. "And frankly, so am I."
As if to remind her of this fact, the gossip magazine on the top of the stack offered a cover image of international supermodel Kori Anders walking down the street beside Dick Grayson. Under the photo, in bold print, the magazine asked: Kori & Dick—Back together?!
Dinah rolled her eyes. "I'm not saying interrupt him in the middle of story time with a love confession, but you don't always need to be so serious. You're allowed to like someone."
"Not now, Dinah." Babs wheeled her chair away from the desk. This was neither the time nor the place for this discussion. "Do you have the desk? I have work to do in the back."
"Yeah, yeah, I've got the desk."
As she headed towards the back rooms, Babs didn't need to be facing her best friend to recognize the exasperated expression on her face. Well, she would just have to live with it.
"Hiya Boss-lady, Spoiler reporting in for duty." Stephanie Brown held a sloppy salute as she waited for Babs to acknowledge her.
Babs returned the salute, hers much more precise than the teen's. "At ease, Steph."
Sitting backwards on a nearby office chair, Steph rested her chin on the back of the chair. Using her toes, she swiveled side to side. "What's on today's agenda?"
"The usual, plus I'd like you to pull these books for me." Babs handed Steph the list of books she'd selected for Helena.
"Ten-four." Steph was back up on her feet in a moment. The girl was a boundless well of energy. Sometimes, it made Babs exhausted simply watching her bounce from one activity to the next.
"Hey, Steph," Babs called before her protégée could escape with the return cart.
"Yeah?"
"How long are you going to insist on calling yourself Spoiler?"
Playing with a loose thread at the cuff of her purple hoodie, Steph prevaricated for a moment before offering up a nonchalant shrug in response. "Until the girls forgive me for spoiling the ending of 'Crooked Kingdom.'"
"That was over six months ago. I'm pretty sure they've already forgiven you tenfold by now. Especially if that's what it takes to get you to stop calling yourself Spoiler."
Steph was one of the girls Babs found herself mentoring over the years. The present incarnation of mentoring took the guise of a young adult book club. Each girl—Steph, Cass, Charlie, Alice, and Wendy—came to the group for different reasons, but Babs was glad they found a safe space here. Especially Steph. The library was almost as much home for Steph as it was for Babs. The young woman had been coming to the library since she was kid—first as a safe space when her home life wasn't safe, then as a quiet place to study after school, and presently as a part time job. She was one of the Pages—shelving books, reading shelves, and general all-around book related go-fer. In addition to the usual Page responsibilities, Steph also served as Babs' personal assistant.
"I don't know." Steph tossed the end of her blond ponytail over her shoulder. "Alice can hold quite the grudge."
"All right, all right, I'll talk to her." Babs massaged her temples. While Steph wasn't wrong, Babs didn't want dissent to break the group apart.
"Hmm." A mischievous spark danced in Steph's eyes which foretold nothing but trouble. "Thanks, but, I'd rather you talk to that gorgeous hunk of librarian in the children's section. Have you seen his a—"
"Steph!" Babs interrupted her before she could finish the thought. While Babs wasn't immune from the gossip which flittered among staff and patrons alike, she didn't want to encourage them on treating others like nothing more than a piece of meat.
"C'mon, the two of you are perfect for each other. Even Cass ships you guys and she's his sister." Steph pouted, giving Babs the most pathetic puppy dog eyes she'd ever seen (at least since the last time Steph had plied her with a similar expression).
Unmoved, Babs held her ground. "Enough, Steph, you've got work to do. And don't forget the list. Ms. Bertinelli is stopping by before close to pick up the books."
"I'm going….I'm going." Steph muttered under her breath as she disappeared among the stacks.
Babs watched her protégée go. Seriously, how many more people were going to try setting her up with Dick Grayson? It wasn't that she didn't like him, she did. They had the start of a great friendship, one she cherished and didn't want to mess up with some futile attempt at romance.
Surely, he had better options than her. She wasn't ignorant. Even though she didn't search them out, she was well aware of the tabloid photos of Dick in the company of international supermodel Kori Anders and world-renowned photographer Donna Troy. He regularly hobnobbed with the rich and famous without a second thought. How could she—a simply Gotham librarian—compare?
Dick Grayson ignored the looming shadow as he knelt beside the picture book bins and helped a pre-school aged girl find more books on dinosaurs. Sometimes he wondered why they didn't just keep a permanent collection of dinosaur books set aside in the picture book bins. Then again, he liked helping the kids. It gave them a point of human connection with the library.
"Thanks Mr. Grayson!" The red headed girl chirped as she held the book tightly to her chest.
"You're welcome, Carrie. Next time you come in, I'll show you the Tiny T. Rex books. There's a whole series of them." He ignored the slight grinding in his knees as he stood.
"Really?!" Behind her glasses with the plastic green frames, Carrie's eyes brightened at the thought of even more dinosaur books. At the rate she was going through their collection, Dick was going to need to start writing his own to keep her in her favorite reading material. The only problem—he wasn't a writer. Or, an artist.
"Really, really," he promised as he nodded over at her mother who'd been patiently waiting as Carrie had prolonged their library trip another fifteen minutes. Dick didn't mind helping the girl, but understood the intricacies of adult schedules better than the children he helped. "Now, I think your mom is waiting for you."
"Oh yeah! Bye Mr. Grayson." Carrie waved as she skipped towards her mother.
"Hey Goldie, how's tricks?" The looming shadow finally spoke. A sarcastic smirk lighted on her lips and amusement danced in her eyes.
Dick offered her a one armed hug. "Hey Hel. Still dating my good-for-nothing little brother?"
"Oh, he's definitely good for quite a few things," Helena drawled lasciviously.
"Lalalalalalala." Holding his hands over his ears, Dick pretended he couldn't hear her. "Don't want to know know what you and my brother get up to."
With a roll of her eyes, Helena stepped away. "Don't be a baby, Dick. I don't kiss and tell."
"I'm just teasing. I'm glad you and Jason are doing well, but I still don't want the details."
"Fair. I'd say the same goes for you, but last I heard you weren't seeing anyone." She paused for a moment. "Although, the gossip mill appears to have taken a break from speculating about your love life and assigned you a new paramour."
Burying his face in his hands, Dick attempted to school the pained expression from flittering across his face. "That's cause the paparazzi caught me hanging out with Kori last weekend. It won't be long before all those rumors start again."
"So, you and Kori…?" She asked as if testing the waters in preparation for the conversation she truly wanted to have.
"Just friends. Like we have been since we broke up five years ago." He turned away from Helena and began shifting through the bins to look for any misfiled books. A librarian's work was never done.
Though Helena didn't say anything, he could practically taste the question she was holding at bay. Seriously, why did his brothers' girlfriends have to basically become part of the family? It was one thing to have his brothers teasing him about his love life (or lack thereof), it was another thing to hear it from Helena and Steph (even if Steph was actually Tim's ex-).
"Have you asked her out yet?" Helena jumped the conversation three steps forward.
"We talked about this Hel, she's not interested. We have a good thing going here. I don't want to make things awkward." Sometimes Dick felt like the whole world had it in for him. Why was everyone so invested in his relationship status? What did his love life have to do with any of them? He was happy with his life. Really, really.
Sure, he liked Barbara, liked her a lot. And, yes, he had considered asking her out. But, since he met her the first time, he'd always known she was far out of his league. It didn't take the world's greatest detective to figure this out. Anyone with eyes could clearly see the disparity between them and his vision was 20/20.
With a huff off exasperation, Helena began sorting through the bin next to the one he was working on. "Jason's right. You are so Bingley when it comes to women. You are so used to women showing overt interest in you that when someone is subtle about their interest, you don't notice it. She's not going to wait forever for you to wake up and notice a good thing."
Dick barely restrained a huff of exasperated laughter. Of course his brother would compare his situation to something from 'Pride and Prejudice.' Dick might be the librarian in the family, but Jason was truly the book nerd.
"Look, the children's section isn't exactly the appropriate place for a romance conversation." Dick pulled a misfiled Mo Willems book from among the M's. "Besides, I have work to do."
"Fine." Helena dumped several other misfiled books into his arms. "I'll drop it. But, seriously, think about it."
With a flourish, Helena swanned out of his domain. This time, Dick didn't hold back a groan. She was plotting something.
"Mornin' Dr. Gordon," Dick greeted as he entered the library with a cardboard carrier of coffee and a box of pastries. He handed Barbara one of the two mochas.
"Good morning, Dick. Thanks." Babs popped off the top of the cup and inhaled the rich aroma of chocolate and coffee before taking a tentative sip. "You know, you can call me Babs."
"I know." He shrugged out of his leather jacket and stowed it in his locker along with his bag. The black jacket with its distinctive blue stripes down the sleeves fit him well, while also enhancing his long, lean muscled torso.
Babs felt a bit shallow admiring his physique, but that was far from the only thing about him which she found herself drawn. He was good with kids, he made her laugh, he was charismatic, and he…
"You worked hard for your doctorate and deserve recognition for your accomplishment."
…and he respected her.
With her heart all a flutter, Babs smiled up at Dick. He leaned against the locker with an insouciant grace, while the warmth of the smile he bestowed on her could melt the polar ice caps. With a bit of concerted effort, she managed to hold back the warmth threatening to flood her cheeks. "I appreciate it, but when we're not on the floor, you really don't need to be so formal. I'm a normal person too."
"All right…Babs…"—despite the fact he didn't say her name any different than he said Dinah's or Helena's, there was something almost sinful about the way her name sounded on his lips—"I can do that. But, you really are so much more than normal—you're extraordinary."
Before she could formulate a response, Dick left the break room for parts unknown. (Well, probably not quite so unknown, since his shift started in five minutes.)
Dinah—the matchmaking menace of a best friend—selected an apple turnover from the box of pastries. "I thought you said he wasn't interested."
"He's not. He's just being nice." Babs gestured at the box before selecting a chocolate chip scone—her favorite—from the box. "See, he brought everyone pastries."
"Mmhmm." From the expression on Dinah's face, she wasn't convinced.
"What?" Babs poured the remainder of her mocha into her favorite coffee mug.
"You're the only one he brought coffee." With that as her final argument, Dinah headed to the floor, leaving Babs alone with her tumultuous thoughts.
And, what thoughts those were.
As not only the moderator for the Birds of Prey—the women's mystery book club—but also, the head librarian, Babs waited until all the book club members exited the meeting room before maneuvering towards the door to lock up behind them. On a normal book club night, Babs and the club regulars—Dinah, Helena, and Zinda—would head out to a nearby restaurant for a late dinner, colorful drinks, and non-book related conversation. Yet, before she even left the room, Babs could tell something about tonight was off.
Her premonitions proved correct when she wheeled out of the room and didn't find her friends waiting in their usual spot. Instead, Dinah and Helena lurked nearby, among the magazine racks. The stood with their heads together and conversed in a dramatic whisper. From the furtive looks cast in her direction, and the way they immediately clammed up as she neared, any doubts Babs may have been entertaining fled.
They were plotting. Conniving. And it didn't take tonight's literary P.I.—Aimée Leduc—to figure out the topic of their plots.
"No," Babs said as she wheeled over to join the group. "Whatever you're planning, the answer is no."
"We're not plotting anything," Helena swore.
"Mmhmm. Sure, I believe you." Babs raised a wry eyebrow. "Where's Zinda?"
Helena gestured out towards the parking lot. "She went ahead to save us a table while the two of you close up. I'm going to join her in a moment. But, before I headed out, I needed to ask Dinah a few things."
"You're not doing much to convince me otherwise about your plotting." Babs caught both women in a piercing gaze.
"Look," Dinah wrapped an arm around Babs' shoulder. "Are you free Friday night?"
"Maybe," Babs drawled. "Why?"
"Jason and I were planning to go on a double date with Dinah and Oli, but some school stuff came up and we had to cancel," Helena began the explanation.
"And since we had to make reservations, we're looking for someone to fill Helena's spot. You were my first thought. How about it,? Do you want to join us?" Throughout the prepared speech, Dinah remained so nonchalant, it appeared as if she was asking for nothing more than to borrow a book.
It sounded all so reasonable when they explained it this way, but Babs doubted it was so simple. There was only one way to put this to the test. "If it was just you Dinah, I'd say yes in a heartbeat, but I really don't want to be a third wheel on a date with you and your husband."
"Well," Helena dragged out the word as though a delay would change Babs' response, "Jason mentioned he might ask his brother to take his spot."
"Nope." Babs shook her head. "I'm serious. You two have to stop trying to set me up with Dick. I appreciate that you're concerned about me, but I'm fine. Really. We're friends, and I'm…,"—She swallowed hard as though that might quell her racing heart,—"I'm fine with that. Just because the two of you are happy in your relationships, it doesn't mean I need to be in one too. "
Dinah sighed. With the sagging of her shoulders, the certainty about her plan was also deflating. "Okay, yeah, you're right. It's your life and you have asked us, multiple times to stop. We'll stop. Right Hel?"
Helena nodded—unhappy, but resolute.
"Just one thing, before you cut off all possibilities for romance out of your life, can I ask you to think about something?"
"I suppose." Babs curled her hands into fists as she waited for Dinah's question.
"I'm curious. Why aren't you interested in dating? Is it something you're not interested in? Or, is there another reason?"
"Di—"
"You don't need to answer now. Heck, you don't even need to tell me whatever answers you come up with," Dinah cut in before Babs could stumble through some half-hearted excuse in an attempt to placate her friends and not think about this anymore. "I just want you to really think about your reasons, because I'm your friend and I care about you. Sometimes, it feels like you're holding yourself back.
"We've been friends forever. You used to date in high school, but you haven't really dated anyone in quite a while. Not since…" With her foot, she tapped the nearest wheel of Babs' chair.
"I've dated," Babs blurted before Dinah could press. "Remember, Jason…" From the sardonic smirk on Helena's face, Babs quickly added, "…Bard. Jason Bard. And, I went on a date with Ted."
"Not sure meeting up with Ted Kord at a tech conference counts as a date, but I suppose I have to give you Jason." Dinah hesitated a moment before continuing. "But, it never seemed like you really trusted him. You always held him at arms length. When you eventually broke up, you acted like you always expected it."
"I'm logical, Dinah. You know that. What's the point in investing in something that's bound to end in heartache?" Babs fidgeted with the push rims of her chair, causing it to roll back and forth. "I enjoyed spending time with Jason, but once we broke up, we rarely spent time with each other anymore. What if that happened with Dick? And it's not like we could avoid each other when things go badly."
Babs deliberately ignored the knowing looks which passed between her friends. Maybe if she didn't acknowledge she was the one to bring up Dick this time, they wouldn't make a big deal of it.
Before Babs could make her excuses and leave the conversation, Helena placed a light hand on Babs' shoulder. "I know you like having all the information before making decisions and I feel like might be a few pieces of data you're missing."
Hesitating, Babs stilled her fidgeting. "Like what?"
"Like, despite what the gossip rags might say, Dick isn't dating anyone at the moment. In fact, he hasn't dated anyone for quite a while. So, if the reason you're hesitating is that you're worried he'll say no, I don't think you have anything to worry about."
"That's good to know." Babs dismissed the well of hope which had sprung up at Helena's words. No matter what anyone thought, she wasn't just going to give into her feelings. If nothing else, her parent's failed marriage was a good example what happened when all too fleeting emotions took the place of reason. That was a heartache she truly didn't need to live through.
A series chimes sounded over the loudspeaker. "The Gotham Public Library is now closed. We open tomorrow at nine am…"
"You better head out," Babs prompted Helena. Maneuvering her chair towards the back rooms, she increased the gap between her and the others. "I'd appreciate it if you could give Zinda my regrets. I have a headache, so I'm going to skip dinner tonight."
"Are you certain?" Helena followed a step behind.
Babs reached the 'Staff Only' door and wished for a moment she could escape from Dinah as well by going beyond this point. "Yeah. I'm just going to head home," and think, "and sleep. I've got a busy day tomorrow."
"Okay. I hope you feel better." Helena clearly didn't believe her, and Babs didn't blame her. It wasn't the most convincing excuse. At least she didn't push. "Dinah, you still coming?"
"Yeah, I'll see you over there soon." Dinah gave Helena a quick wave as she parted, then turned to Babs. "I'll take care of closing down the floor tonight."
"Thanks." A wan smile stretch at her lips. A flicker of guilt pierced her conscious at her momentary wish to escape her friends.
Alone in the back, Babs worked through the checklist of tasks they needed to accomplish before shutting down for the night. The near silent hum of computers and air conditioning worked to soothe her frayed nerves and roiling emotions. Though she tried to quash it, the hope spurred on by Helena's statement—'if the reason you're hesitating is that you're worried he'll say no, I don't think you have anything to worry about.'— persisted to surge through her thoughts. Did she really have a chance?