Chapter Text
She laid on the beach, the coarse grains of sand sticking to her wet skin. The ocean stretched out before her, pitch black, like a starless Gotham night, like the shadows she spent so much of her life living in. She was heavy and impossibly tired. But the storm had finally passed and weak sunlight was starting to filter through the clouds, growing brighter by the moment. A voice called her name, sweet and musical like windchimes in a gentle breeze. She turned her head to the side and watched the most beautiful girl walk towards her, her smile even brighter than the rays of sunlight all around her. And in that moment she knew she would be alright.
Cass stared out of the window, watching as a gentle snowfall blanketed the garden of Wayne Manor, piling onto the branches of trees, softening the edges of everything it touched. The snow gleamed bright white as the midday sun’s weak light reached it. The sky was overcast, but there was a break in the dark, heavy smog that usually hung over Gotham, giving the impression that the air was fresh and lively in a way it rarely was. Frost clung to the window, making the lovely view hazy and out of focus at the edges, like something out of a charming holiday postcard.
Seated beside a gently crackling fire that kept her warm, she could admire the beauty of it all without caring about the cold.
All was quiet in the manor, at least for now. With most of its residents otherwise preoccupied with work and school and last minute holiday preparations, she had the place to herself, if only for a few hours. It wouldn’t be long before the house was abuzz with activity again as everyone made their way home to her, but that just made the temporary peace even sweeter. She welcomed the silence in a way that she hadn’t in a long time, letting it settle inside of her and chase away her troubles.
There would be plenty of time and opportunities to join the chaos later-–running errands, visiting friends, seeing the world with all its pretty little wonders. She felt her smile widen at the mere thought of it. She would be a part of it all. It was as if a spark had reignited in her soul, reminding her just how amazing life could be. It spurred her to do more, to take control of the life she had instead of simply dreaming of the life she had lost.
Her future was bright, full of promise, and teeming with possibilities. It was different from the future she used to imagine, and a part of her would always mourn what could have been, but even with all the challenges that came with being quadriplegic, it was still a good future. It was still something she looked forward to experiencing, especially with her family and her girlfriend by her side.
It had taken a long time and a lot of love and patience, but her family and friends had made sure of it. She would always be grateful to them for that, for refusing to let her wallow in her pain, for sacrificing so much to ensure she was taken care of, and most of all for showing her that paralyzed or not, the world was her oyster and nothing could stop her, not even her injury.
And really, what more could she ask for?
“There you are,” Steph’s voice pulled her attention away from the window, the beautiful scene from outside replaced with an even more beautiful one inside. “I was wondering where you wandered off to. I brought hot chocolate.”
Steph held up the simple Styrofoam cup in her hand as evidence to her claim as she crossed the room. She was still bundled up in her winter clothes, though the snow had long since melted off of her. She had her backpack slung over one of her shoulders, weighing her down slightly on one side from the weight of her textbooks.
She’d taken to studying in the manor more often than not, using it as an excuse to spend more time with Cass who had jumped straight into working cases from home in her free time alongside her brothers and Bruce. Even if they couldn’t do anything more than work beside each other for a few hours in comfortable silence, it was still always nice to simply bask in each other’s presence, occasionally sharing complaints on the work and celebrating breakthroughs together. But Cass could tell from the way she flung her bag onto the couch the second she got close enough that she had no intention of studying today.
Steph turned her attention fully to Cass, her smile as warm and soft as the firelight. She pressed a light kiss to the top of Cass’ head and then leaned down further to kiss her on the lips, lingering just a moment in the motion before pulling back to find her seat.
She settled onto the arm of the squishy armchair beside her, just as Cass knew she would, tucking her legs beneath her as she got comfortable. She was close enough to hold the cup up to Cass’ lips so she could sip the chocolatey treat. It was still delightfully hot, with just a hint of cinnamon and it felt like home.
Up close, in the flickering light of the fire, she could see the way Steph’s eyes had lit up with happiness, how her fingers tapped out the tune of some song stuck in her head, how her lips shone slightly from her chapstick which had left a small mark on the rim of the cup in her hands when she took a sip. She could also see the way the tension in her shoulders melted away as she closed her eyes, her eyelashes almost long enough to brush her cheeks when she gave her a lazy smile.
“You look beautiful,” Cass said, because it was true and she was allowed to say these things so much more freely now that Steph was her girlfriend. The words still gave her a rush of excitement each time she said them out loud, especially when Steph’s smile only grew in response.
“You don’t have to flatter me, you know. You’ve already got me.” She gave her a wink, taking another long sip of her drink.
Cass shrugged, fighting back a smirk. “It’s not flattery if it’s true.”
A light pink blush crept up into Steph’s cheeks. Cass hoped she never lost the ability to elicit such a reaction from her with only her words.
“Well if you think so, it must be true.” Steph nudged her lightly with her shoulder, a bit of mischief dancing in her eyes as she settled in closer. “And for the record, I think you’re even more beautiful.”
Cass shook her head with a laugh. “Now who’s trying to flatter who?”
“Hey, it’s not flattery if it’s true,” Steph echoed, a smug almost sing song quality to her voice. Cass felt a flutter of excitement in her chest as Steph leaned in even closer, whispering in a faux conspiratorial tone. “I’ll also have you know that I have it on good authority that not only do I have the most beautiful girlfriend, but I also have the most amazing girlfriend in the whole world.”
Cass laughed again at Steph's antics, loud and bright, burying her face in the crook of Steph’s neck as giggles continued to spill out of her. It felt so good to laugh when not too long ago she’d been so sure she’d never have reason to again. It was as if her whole heart was lighter, free from the darkness that had been pulling her down for so long.
And Steph sat there, close enough to touch, grinning triumphantly as if her only goal had been to make her happy. Knowing Steph the way she did, that might have even been true.
Instead of arguing the point that Cass was the one who most definitely had the best girlfriend in the world, she merely angled her head up and pressed a firm kiss to her lips, briefly catching Steph off guard.
Steph sighed into her mouth, kissing her back languidly. There was no need to rush this, they had all the time in the world to revel in these feelings, in each other. Cass ran her tongue along her bottom lip, silently asking for more. Steph was more than happy to comply.
She tasted like the remnants of her hot chocolate with just a hint of cinnamon.
When they pulled back from each other, slightly breathless, slightly giggly, Steph chasing Cass’ retreating lips for one more kiss, contentment washed over both of them. Instead of pulling away completely, Steph nuzzled closer, one arm snaking around Cass’ shoulders.
They sat in silence for a moment, cuddled up close without a care in the world.
Cass laid her head on Steph’s shoulder, closing her eyes to listen to the quiet beating of her heart, imagining that her own hear was beating in time with hers. Before long Steph began regaling her with stories from school and patrol, every fun little detail that came to her mind that she thought Cass would enjoy.
Cass let her words float over her. The soothing familiarity of Steph’s voice mixed pleasantly with the warmth of the fire and sight of the gently falling snow outside. Soon she found herself drifting somewhere between sleeping and waking, lulled into the safety of Steph’s embrace.
She still dreamed of the ocean more often than not. She still had to shake off the heavy feelings that those pitch black waves brought with them. But she no longer had to deal with those things alone. Now she woke up most days to Stephanie’s beautiful face, usually still soft from sleep, to her warm skin pressed against hers. Now she spent her days not just housebound and alone but independent and free and oh so very much in love.
She had thought not too long ago that her own story would be forced to come to an end, that nothing would be left to her after her accident.
She had never been so happy to be proven wrong.