Blair was staring at her reflection in the mirror, adjusting the straps of her dress, sighing when a strand of hair landed in her eyes. She was supposed to be at a fundraising event to advocate for cleaner energy, but it was basically just an excuse for Gotham's elite to throw money around and get dressed up. She was pretty sure the only people who actually cared about what the event was really for was her and her friends. It was basically just a ball, though she didn't tell Jason that.
"Geez Blair, how much longer is this gonna take?" Kate's bored and impatient voice came from her bedroom. Usually, Kate was getting ready at her own apartment with Mary, but she had shown up over three hours ago at the front door with her change of clothes in hand. Blair suspected it was because she had both left her suit in the Batcave again and because she wanted to make sure that Blair was still doing okay from last month's adventure.
"You have it easy! You get to wear a damn power suit!" Blair called from the bathroom, both amused at Kate's impatience and a little envious of the fact that she wasn't going to be wearing a dress. "I can't pull that off so I have to wear a dress and heels and makeup and do my hair and—"
"Okay, I get it. You don't have the range for the suit." Kate laughed, much to Blair's dismay.
"Kate, I love you, but shut up." Kate had just enough time to duck as a hairbrush was thrown at her head.
Laughing, Kate picked it up, twisting it around in her hands. "Fine, fine, subject change. How does Jason look in his tux?"
"I don't know, I haven't seen him in it yet." She admitted, picking up the necklace given to her by her mother when she was younger, looping it around her neck. She traced the shooting star fondly, remembering her mother's words when she gave it to her late on her eighth birthday after everyone had left, "Your father calls you his moon and stars, but you'll always be my shooting star, my favorite wish come true." She hoped both her mother and father would be proud of her.
"You've never seen him wear one before?" Kate's voice brought her back to the present, her thoughts shifting to Jason getting ready across the hall.
"When and where would I have seen Jason Todd wear a tux?" Blair asked amused. The fanciest thing she saw him wear was a leather jacket when he went to dinner with her and her uncle last week.
"I don't know, I figured since you guys are joined at the hip nowadays that you went with him to try it on."
"No, he went with Matty and his older brother Ben when I went with Jules to try on dresses." Blair had chosen her dark wine red dress in five minutes, while Jules complained about how tired she was of all the dresses being pink. She had finally settled on a dark navy number before casting a hateful glare at the mess of pink dresses she left behind.
"Ben's in town?"
"Yeah, for the next couple weeks." Blair replied, twisting two strands of hair by the side of her face with her fingers. "I asked Bruce to give him a tour of Wilde Liquors Distillery next week, you know, since I'm letting him run the company."
"Why is Bruce giving him the tour and not you?" Kate asked. "Isn't still your company, even with him in charge?"
"It is my company, but Bruce knows it better than I do and he's been the one that has kept it running since my father died." Blair never wanted to run the liquor company, it just seemed so boring to her unlike the publishing company her mother ran. When she was 14, right before she became Knight Wolf, she had talked to both Ben and Matty about their future. Matty wanted to run their father's company a better way and Ben wanted to strike out on his own. That was the day 14 year old Blair had promised an 18 year old Benjamin Truman that he could run her liquor company. "If I were to give a tour of a company it would be Marion Publishing, not Wilde Liquors."
"Well, you certainly know both products inside and out." Kate joked, falling back on Blair's bed.
"Haha. Very funny Kate." Blair rolled her eyes, walking out of the bathroom. Kate sat up as Blair twirled around. "What do you think? The dress look okay? I know I look okay, but you know how I feel about dresses."
"You look absolutely amazing." Kate grinned as Blair looked at herself in the full length mirror. "If you were into older women, I'd date you."
"Awe, if I was into older women I'd marry you." Blair and Kate looked at each other in the mirror before bursting out into uncontrollable laughter. When they finished laughing, Blair smoothed our the sides of her dress before whining again, "Seriously Kate, I wish I didn't have to wear a damn dress, I hate it."
"You could always just show up in your ripped jeans and Green Day shirt. The invite never said you couldn't." Kate pointed out, holding up both a heel and an old Converse shoe. "Which one? I know you like heels because they make you taller and you can kick ass in them and watch men cry about it, but the Converse will make the dress less... not you?"
"Give me my heels."
Kate tossed the pair over to her, "I can't believe you learned to do everything in heels just because Isabelle Lightwood and Selina can."
"Speaking of, do you know who Bruce's date is?" Blair grinned. No one in the house knew a thing about it, other than he RSVP'd that he would be bringing a plus one.
"How would I know, you live with him." Kate shrugged, offering Blair her arm. "Come on. If you want to find out who he's bringing, we should get downstairs. Besides that, I know you want to see what Jason looks like in a tux."
Blair couldn't lie, at least not to herself. She did want to see how Jason looked, though she was sure he looked just as cute as he normally did. The minute the thought came, she shoved it to the back of her mind. Absolutely not, she was not going to think of Jason like that. She had rules for a reason. So instead she shrugged her shoulders, "I honestly don't care either way."
Kate gave Blair a knowing smirk, "Whatever, let's go."
********
Blair and Kate stopped at the top of the staircase, well, more like Blair froze and Kate almost tripped down the stairs when it happened. When Kate turned to ask if she was okay, she saw that Blair's eyes were focused on the boy leaning against the wall downstairs.
When her and Kate were joking around in her room about Jason in a suit, she never once thought seeing him in one would actually have an effect on her. Seeing him leaning against the wall in the living room, she knew he was out of his element, but the minute her eyes landed on his bored and impatient face... she just had to smile, even though her heart skipped a beat. That was her Jason.
"Should I announce your presence?" Kate whispered in her ear, failing to hide her knowing smirk as her eyes darted between Blair and Jason.
"This isn't a debutante ball, Kate." Blair shook her head, letting out a small laugh.
"I was talking about the whole She's All That intro, but okay." Kate shrugged. "I still stand by my statement that Zach's sister was a lesbian."
"You make a great point." Blair rolled her shoulders back, forcing her feelings back in her mind. "Let's go."
Jason looked up just as Blair and Kate started to walk down the stairs, his eyes widening. He had seen pictures of Blair in outfits like that before, but pictures and the real thing are completely different. He knew he probably looked like an idiot, but he couldn't stop staring at her. It was like she had become every single warrior princess in every single book she had ever read.
He made a move to meet her at the bottom of the stairs, when he tripped over his own feet. In an instant, Blair was at his side, catching his arm before he hit the ground. The simple gesture was enough to send electricity through his entire body as she helped to stable his body, a smile on her face. "Woah, still not used to the shoes?"
"Yeah, that's it. The shoes." He muttered, his face burning. If Blair noticed it, she didn't say anything, though her grip on his arm had loosened slightly.
Without even thinking, without even knowing really, she let her hand trail down his arm before taking his hand, a twinkle in her eye as she spoke quietly, "Well, I can distract Bruce while you run up to your room and change into converse or something."
"I'll be fine, really." Jason stood up straight, keeping his eyes on her as he flashed a smirk. "See? Fine."
Kate coughed, drawing their attention back to her, "Hi, remember me? Your best friend who came to get ready with you instead of Mary who will kill me for it?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, Alfred walked into the room, giving them each a look of approval on their attire. Blair gave Kate a quick grin before turning to address the living room, "I'm sure you all know my date, Kate Kane."
Kate started laughing, before pointedly staring at Blair's hand still in Jason's, "I'm definitely leaving you."
"And all that talk about marriage upstairs." Blair put her hand over her heart in mock pain.
"Oh, do I need to call off the wedding caterers then?" Alfred asked, joining in on the joke much to their delight. The living room was full of their laughter as the old man grinned as he fluffed up the couch pillows.
"And here I thought you two were already married." Jason grinned, earning him a shoulder bump from Blair and a snort from Kate.
"You better watch it, Todd." Kate warned with an amused gleam in her eye. "I'll steal your girl and make sure you don't get invited to the wedding."
Both Blair and Jason blushed, letting go of each other's hands. Kate raised an eyebrow at Blair, but kept quiet as the doorbell rang. Alfred made his way to the door, followed closely by the trio who stuck their heads around the corner to get a look at the person at the door.
Jason gasped as he saw the woman at the door, "Holy hell, is that—"
"It's Selina!" Blair exclaimed, causing Selina to look over Alfred's shoulder at them with a smile. The minute she noticed them, they jumped back, Blair stifling her giggles into Jason's suit while Kate hit her arm lightly, barely able to suppress a laugh of her own.
A shadow loomed over them, clearing his throat, "What's going on here?"
"Nothing, Bruce." All three spoke at the same time, causing them to erupt into more laughter as they scurried away from the front door.
********
Blair walked through the ballroom, holding hands with Jason, Kate at her other side. A few people were giving them knowing or shocked looks, but she didn't particularly care anymore.
Let them think whatever they wanted of the poor princess of Gotham, tortured by Two-Face only a month before in front of millions. Let them think and judge the girl who ended up in the pages of newspapers and tabloids just days before then with the boy she was holding hands with now. Let them make their own conclusions. She didn't give a damn anymore, she just held her head high. She made eye contact with a few of them, flashing a smile as she wiggled her fingers in a sarcastic wave while she winked. She was Blair Wilde, damn it. Despite her month of hell before, she was still the same girl who was determined to better the world.
Jason caught her waving to a random woman out of the corner of his eye, realizing exactly what the woman was thinking by the look on her face. He leaned closer to her, whispering in her ear, "This may have been a bad idea."
"No, you're fine. I'm the one they're judging." Blair shrugged, nonchalantly. Jason studied her face and found that it wasn't an act. She truly didn't care what they thought at all. It was a far cry from the girl he had met six months ago. "Let them judge me, fuck 'em. In a matter of minutes they'll all be groveling at my feet for one reason or another. That's just how this crowd is."
Kate snickered next to her as she mirrored Blair's actions, "It's much more fun being the lesbian with attitude problems." Jason gave her a look of uncertainty. "No, seriously. It's fun to watch them squirm because they can't do anything about it. Not with my stepmom and dad around anyway."
"Blair! Kate!" A friendly voice called from across the room. Blair looked up to see Mary Hamilton, Kate's stepsister, waving them over to her. She tugged on Jason's hand as a smile, a real, happy smile, formed on her face. She let go of his hand as she hugged Mary who gave her a genuine smile, "Hi! God, it's been forever since I've actually seen you!"
"It's been a month, Mary." Blair grinned, pulling away from the girl as she let her study the dress she was wearing.
"Yeah, but it's been a while since I've seen you when you were at your best." Blair took that as a stamp of approval for her outfit. "How are you now that I think about it?"
"Mary." Kate warned, giving her stepsister a warning look as she shook her head. Even Jason had stiffened next to her at the innocent question.
"No, it's fine." Blair interrupted, though she hated the question. It was better to get it done and over with now than later. "I'm okay, I just want to move on with my life, you know? The less we talk about it, the better."
"I get it. Change of subject then." Mary turned to Jason, her eyes lit up in amusement. "Jason, has anyone told you what this gala entails?"
"No, she just said that it was an energy reform event and that your mom would be speaking." Jason replied, jerking his head in Blair's direction. Both Mary and Kate looked at each other for a moment before bursting out in laughter. Blair violently shook her head, sending out as many signals as she could to get them to stop with no luck. Jason raised an eyebrow at the scene unfolding in front of him, "What? Why do you two look like hyenas and why are you," He pointed at Blair, "threatening their lives?
"Blair, are you going to tell him or should I?" Mary grinned.
"Oh please, allow me." Kate waved her hand, grinning at Blair and Jason with immense amusement. "This is the type of gala that you are expected to dance at."
Jason crossed his arms, looking at Blair with an eyebrow raised. She flashed an innocent smile as she saw he wasn't the least bit angry with her from keeping it from him, he didn't even seem to care, even when he raised his voice, "Blair!"
"What?" She shrugged at his eyes that only grew wide at her actions. He was keeping something from her, she just knew it. "Oh, come on. If I told you, you wouldn't have come! You would've pretended to be sick with the stomach flu or something and there was no way that I was going to put on this damn dress and suffer alone."
"Wow, thanks Blair." Kate shoved her hands in her pockets, giving her best friend an amused look.
"Yeah, glad to know what you think of us." Mary giggled.
"Oh shut it you two, you know what I mean." Blair placed her hand on Jason's arm, pulling him aside to avoid possibly embarrassing him in front of her friends. She knew he was out of his element, yet he seemed too calm to have been worried about the dancing. "Hey, look at me. If you don't want to dance, you don't have to. It's not like they'll throw you out."
"Throw who out?" Selina appeared behind them, her eyes darting between Blair and Jason. Where Bruce would look at them with a warning gleam in his eye, hers were just curious. "Are you two planning something that I'm going to pretend to have never heard?"
Blair decided right then that she liked Selina, but her eyes shifted to Jason as she answered, "No, no, it's nothing."
"But if we do do something, can you cover and say it was someone else?" Jason asked, curiosity layered in his voice.
Selina threw her hands up in the air, not wanting to have any part of whatever Jason had planned, "I'm walking away."
"Selina, wait." Selina turned around, her eyebrows raised. In all the times she had met Blair, she had kept her distance, refusing so much as to even mutter a hello unless it was to tell her to bring back what she stole from a museum. Looking at her now, it was like Blair was a completely new person. "Tell Jason he'll be fine tonight. He thinks he has no choice but to dance or something."
Selina shifted her eyes to Jason before laughing. Blair bit her lip to keep from laughing too, especially when Jason whined, "Glad my pain is amusing to Catwoman."
Despite her amusement, she elbowed him in the ribs, "Be nice."
"No, it's fine." Selina flashed her a thankful look regardless. Things with Blair had changed. "Look Jason, she's right. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. Just don't overthink it. This is just another rich elite party. Don't think of it as anything other than a party. You'll be fine."
********
Blair and Jason sat a table on the edge of the dance floor, Blair's foot swinging in time with the music. She watched as Bruce danced slowly with Selina, smiled when Matty spun Jules, laughed when Ben bowed low and jokingly offered to take Kate to the floor. Though she smiled, she couldn't help but feel a little tug at her chest at the scene.
It was her first charity event since Dick had left months before. Usually, she would have him to dance with if she wasn't dancing with Ben or Matty. She wanted to dance, she really did, but everyone was a bit preoccupied and she didn't want to force Jason into dancing if he didn't want to. Then, the song changed. Elton John's "Your Song" started to play and it took all of her strength to not start singing the words.
Jason watched Blair smiling at their friends, her eyes flickering with sadness for just a moment before it disappeared. He remembered what he was told the day before and cleared his throat, "Hey, you wanna dance?"
Blair turned to face him, unsure if she had heard him right, "What?"
"I asked if you want to dance." Jason repeated, a ghost of a smile dancing on his lips.
"I thought you didn't want to dance."
"I don't, but you obviously do. I'm not going to keep you from dancing. So come on." Jason stood up from his chair, extending his hand for her to take. She glanced at his hand for a minute before taking it in hers, allowing him to lead her out on the dance floor, aware of the eyes that had shifted to them, but not caring in the slightest.
"Do you know how to dance this way?" She questioned, placing her arm around his shoulders while he placed his free hand on her waist, still holding her other hand in his.
He gave her a knowing smirk, "Whatever I mess up on, I'm sure you can teach me."
They started to dance, Blair pleasantly surprised at the way he caught on so quickly to the steps that needed to be taken and where. Then, without so much of a warning, he spun her out, then brought her back in to him. She couldn't hide her look of shock when she looked up at him. Whatever dancing he had done just before was nothing compared to what he just did.
Seeing her shocked face, a smile spread across his, "Jules took it upon herself to teach me yesterday."
Blair remembered when she had left the Batcave after throwing her knives at targets only to find Jason gone, "Oh, so that's where you were."
"Yeah, she said you usually dance with Dick or Matty but since Dick isn't here..." He trailed off as she gazed up at him with those bright blue-green eyes.
"Thank you." Was all she said before just leaning into him.
You see I've forgotten if they're green or they're blue, anyway, the thing is, what I really mean, yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen
Jason couldn't help but laugh at the lyrics, how they seemed to perfectly describe the girl in his arms. Blair tilted her head to look at him in confusion, "What?"
"The lyrics just reminded me of the time I asked you about the colors of your eyes." He said quietly. "I still can't tell you what color your eyes are."
"I told you. They're blue." But she was starting to see that he had a point. Her eyes weren't just blue anymore. They hadn't been for the past two months, maybe longer.
"But that's just it. They aren't just blue." He said, echoing her thoughts. "They're blue and they're green and they always manage to look like the ocean. You know, the bit of green in the blue?"
Blair stayed silent, taking in his words. She wasn't sure what to say really. No one had ever described her eyes like that before. Jason's words brought her out of her thoughts, "You still never told me what that color means."
"Because I don't know what it means." She shrugged. "Maybe that's just my natural color and I've never noticed."
"Whatever it is, it's—"
"Weird?" Blair laughed lightly, crossing her eyes.
Jason shook his head, laughing with her, "I was going to say it's beautiful. It suits you."
Blair felt her face get hot as she looked down at their feet, failing to hide a smile at his words, "Shut up and dance."
********
After a while of dancing, Catherine Hamilton took the stage starting her speech about renewable resources and cleaner energy for Gotham. Usually, Blair would be listening to every single word Catherine was saying, but at that moment she couldn't stop staring at the boy next to her out of the corner of her eye.
Everything around her sounded just like white noise as she saw him also looking at her. It was just for a second, but it was enough to send an electric shock through her. Never once in her life had she ever felt that before, not even in San Francisco with... no, this was different.
Her thoughts were cut short when the windows behind Catherine's head broke, glass raining down around the woman as thick green vines weaved their way into the ballroom. Screams filled the air as people started to rush towards the door as they picked themselves off the ground.
"You don't think you can have a talk about cleaner energy without me and my date do you?" Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, ever the party crashers, practically strutted in on the vines, hand-in-hand. "Let's be real Cathy, this isn't an event for cleaner energy. This is a charity event hosted by Hamilton Industries in which all the money goes straight into their weapons department which you sell to the highest bidder regardless of background."
Blair saw Kate looking her way, turning to look at Jason. All three of them nodded silently, moving against the crowd to get to the service stairs where they had stashed their suits in a hidden plank under the stairs.
"And all of you!" Ivy's voice rang out over the crowd. "You are just as bad as her, so we're going to make things right."
"Get 'em Red!" Harley cheered. Then, with one deep breath, one blow of poppy dust, all hell broke loose.