paradisalogs | Eyes wide shut, unopened

"If that's what you want. Honestly, Tim could probably tell you more, but I'll do what I can, Cass."

"You started talking. If you're done, I'm sleeping."

And just to prove her point she gets up again, sweeping her shirt off and letting it drop on the floor so she can go find a tank top to wear to bed.

She has the urge to say something about being a brat, but bites her tongue.

"Cass."

She almost rips her shirt when she pulls it down over her head, which would have sucked. She's only got a few more, the last one got destroyed by dinosaurs.

"Stop it. You're acting like... this is a joke. Some- game, where you tell me... little things, tell me slow. It's like torture. Stop it."

"You make it sound like this is easy for me to do," Steph replies, just barely keeping her tone even. How is she supposed to try and fill in the holes when she doesn't know the whole story? "It's not. Barbara worked with us as Oracle, and she took care of you. You were close, very close. If you want me to rush and give you the bare bones, then fine, but do not say this is a joke to me."

Oh, she doesn't like that.

"Did- is she hurt?" Is that why they didn't tell her? Is it too hard to tell her because this woman, Barbara, has died?

"No," Steph says, softer this time. "But you're not in Gotham anymore, last I knew, anyway. Hence the me being Batgirl thing. Babs became my mentor."

For a while, anyway. Then things got busy and Team Batgirl turned into her and Wendy more or less, but Barbara wasn't ever too far away.

"No, sent to Bludhaven, after you..."

After the funeral, but Steph hadn't liked talking about that. Cass takes a step back to the bed and then hesitates, unsure if she really wants to be closer or not. But she knows Stephanie is upset and no matter the circumstances, Cass hates that.

So she takes the last few steps to her friend and reaches out to touch her hair.

"We should stop. Not... do this, now."

No, that's not it, but time is wonky and Steph's mood is not conductive to sorting it out right now. She sighs.

"I am sorry. I can't say it enough. If you want to know, Tim and I will be happy to tell you everything we can about Barbara."

"Go change. We're both... not good, right now. Sleep will help."

"Right." She eyes the window in the room, then gets up to head to hers and change into her PJs.

It would be a lie to say Cass wasn't tempted to just go, spend the night out and then deal with birthday plans in the morning without any further contact with Stephanie. It would be easy, to just slip out the window now.

When Stephanie returns to Cass' room, she'll find her sitting on the bed. Despite what she told Ezio about sleeping in pants from here on out, she's in shorts to wear to bed because it's just too warm to wear too much to bed, especially since she plans on sleeping close to Steph.

Pulling the covers back, she pats the side of the bed Steph likes best, beckoning her over.

She's surprised to see Cass still there when she gets back, in her own shorts and tank top. She glad Cass stuck around.

Slipping into the bed, she wraps her arms around Cass and tugs her down so they're both on the pillows.

It seems like ages she used to sleep alone, drama safely floors away.

In the end, it will always come down to Cass staying as close as possible to Stephanie, no matter how she feels. She won't lose her again, not ever, and if that means letting a fight die in favor of them going to sleep together, then fine.

Nothing is fixed, but at least they're together. She wraps her arms around Steph and kisses her cheek, leans their foreheads together.

"I love you."

"I love you, too." She says those words a lot lately, and means them every time. Her world has become three people. It's terrifying, but it's nice, too--to be able to love Tim, Cass, and Ezio, and cling on to them as much as she can. She hasn't really ever let herself cling so much before.

"I'm sorry I've been messing up so badly."

It's the same for Cass, this dependence that probably hasn't been helped by the fact she only remembers Bruce and he kept her so close, restricted so much. She's just used to not branching out, that's what's normal for her. Maybe not healthy, she learned once Tim and Steph were gone, but it's not exactly irreversible.

"I know." She can't say it's okay though, because it's not. "Would rather focus... on good things. Birthday tomorrow. Will be fun, to see... what they look like."

"It'll be fun. I'm glad you're helping me out with this," she replies, all too happy to talk about something else.

"Well... you asked me to." Honestly, it's not like she was going to say no. "Plus, feels good... doing nice things for Ezio."

"It does. He deserves a nice day," she says, thinking about all the Borgia drama in the past year, let alone all the relationship drama. She always appreciated people who never let things get them down.

Cass nods, moving one hand up to play with Stephanie's hair and tuck it behind her ear.

"Yes. Has had lots of... not so great ones."

He'd probably feel better if he knew they were laying in bed together, wrapped up together and talking about him.

She watches Cass mess with her hair, a small smile on her lips. You probably wouldn't be able to guess just how many bad days Ezio has had if you didn't know him well, with that charming personality of his.

"He misses Lana. She'd be the one doing the birthday stuff if she were here."

Another nod, but this one is accompanied by a small frown. It really would be nice if the damned castle would stop messing with the people she cares about.

"It hurts, losing someone... you want to keep. But, he's strong. Will be okay."

"Mmhmm. He's always been good at bouncing back." She doesn't think always is an overstatement. "He's in good hands with us."

"Yes. And... just between us?" She cuddles a little closer to Steph, if it's possible. Soon there won't be any space between them at all and she'll just be on top of her, but honestly she can't think of a downside there.

"You'd make better party... than Lana ever could."

There's just a little bit of bias there. Just a little.

And Stephanie doesn't mind it at all. She welcomes the closeness, tugging Cass closer, arms around her.

"Lana's more fancy food and tasteful decorations, I'm more... junk food and annoying colors."

So, yes. Maybe.

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