Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Tzip jumped to her feet before she entirely realized what had woken her up. Something had startled her, and she found herself still grasping around her with instincts that had been almost literally beaten into her. There wasn’t a good weapon within arm’s reach, but she still had her hands and muscle memory as her head caught up and she realized three things:

1. She was still naked.

2. She still had Jason’s dried cum on her stomach, though at least she could desperately hope that it wasn’t too obvious against her pale skin. 

3. Batman had slammed the bedroom door open in the time it took her to process the first two things.

Thank G-d that both she and Bruce had a ridiculous reaction time and she dragged the comforter in front of her while Bruce looked away almost immediately. It was still humiliating as she wrapped the blanket tighter around her body, carefully forcing herself not to immediately go off on Bruce for barging in. 

“You’re safe?”

“I was safer approximately five minutes ago, but yes.” Tzipora couldn’t bother to hide the dry snark from her voice. Most people wouldn't consider a shadowy personification of vengeance and justice barging in on them to be "safe," after all. The vague snark and annoyance turned into a hollow sense of emptiness as she realized what else was wrong about the room.

Jason was gone. 

Tzipora frowned as she looked at the empty bed, unsure whether she was happy or upset to see it empty. She didn’t even know whether it was cold or not, not while Bruce was standing right there. He’d ask why she was feeling the bed, and she’d have to explain that she hadn’t gone to bed alone, and she didn’t want to do that if he didn’t already know. 

The frown on her face grew more pointed as Bruce pushed further into the room, starting to check the closets and under the bed. It was particularly galling as she could read the tension in his shoulders as he saw the discarded dress at the foot of her bed.

“What are you doing? I was trying to sleep, B. I didn’t realize that was a crime.”

“There was a known criminal who followed you. I was concerned about your safety.”

“What?” The word came out more of an exhale than anything else. Bruce had recognized Jason? Sure, Tzip knew that he had the file on Jason, and he had been tracking Jason, but Jason had been practically unrecognizable at the gala. He should have been safe, at least until Jason’s team had finished their operation. Had something gone wrong with Roy and Kori? Or had Bruce updated the facial recognition behind Tzip’s back? 

“Red Hood infiltrated the gala while his teammates committed more than one theft. We nearly caught Arsenal and Starfire, and upon review of the gala's security footage, we spotted Hood. It seemed as though he was targeting you for some reason. Perhaps he didn’t recognize you and thought you would be a good mark for further thefts.”

“That’s not what happened. And he didn’t recognize me at all,” Tzip said, her voice still somewhat lost as she tried to properly catch up. She shook her head, trying to shake the lingering exhaustion from her head before she pointed at the living room. “Just get out, okay? I need to get cleaned up and dressed. We can debrief in the morning and figure out why you would think it’s appropriate to barge in on my space like this.”

Bruce didn’t say anything, though Tzipora could see the tension in his shoulders that suggested that he didn’t want to do that, and that he wanted to deal with everything immediately. As he opened his mouth, Tzip pointed more forcefully out the door. She needed to get cleaned up. She needed to be dressed. She needed to get the makeup off her face so that she wouldn’t have to stare at Bruce’s constipated expression any longer than necessary. She needed to figure out whether or not the other side of the bed was cold already, or if Jason had lingered after she had fallen asleep with his arms around her waist.

Thankfully, Bruce turned and left the bedroom with an overly dramatic wave of his cape, leaving Tzipora able to breathe as she immediately turned to the bed, reaching out to touch the dip where Jason had been.

Warm. 

The bed was still warm. 

Jason had stayed, and had probably barely missed Bruce as he left. That would imply a question of how Jason had known that Bruce was coming, but Tzipora was thankful that he hadn’t been caught by Bruce. Bruce might not think that Jason deserved Arkham or Blackgate or worse, but she still wasn’t sure about what he intended when he finally caught up to him. 

She couldn’t take too long, though. Bruce would start to ask too many pointed questions, more than he already was, and she didn’t want to deal with that.

A quick whore’s bath, then, and then getting dressed. 

Tzip quietly washed away the remains of Jason’s cum off of her stomach and from between her legs with one of the hotel's wash rags, somewhat sad to see it go so soon, and also wishing that she had taken up Jason’s offer to wash her before they fell asleep. She should have, if only to have felt Jason’s hands on her for a few more minutes, and then so that Bruce wouldn’t have seen it, but it didn’t matter. Jason was gone, Bruce saw her, and she needed to finish rather than linger on the phantom sensation of Jason treating her like a precious jewel. Dressing was easier, pulling on a pair of loose sweat pants and a loose shirt, something simple that they could lounge around in at night, and then it was time to see the damage. 

“He left quickly.”

Tzipora sighed softly as Bruce spoke without a preamble at all, and they looked around the living room. She knew that Bruce wouldn't leave, but seeing him still here made her feel even more exhausted than the hour or so of sleep would have usually left her. The hollow exhaustion didn't ease up at all as she looked around the living room. Jason had left the shirt and jacket from where it had been discarded earlier. His shoes were still by the doorway.

Even if she hadn’t known it from the lingering warmth in the bed, Tzip would have been able to see just how quickly Jason had to have left. He must have had only a few minutes of warning that Bruce was coming, though Tzip didn’t know how that could have happened. Arsenal or Starfire, most likely, but that didn’t explain how they knew about Bruce soon enough to keep Jason from getting caught. 

“It looks like he did,” Tzip finally said, eyes trying to find a note or something, even if they knew Jason wouldn’t have been able to linger long enough for that. If he hadn’t grabbed his shoes, there wouldn’t have been time for a note. 

“Did you warn him I was coming?”

Tzip’s eyes snapped to Bruce, glaring at him with a snarl on her lips. “Excuse me? I didn’t even know you were coming. I would have taken the time to actually get dressed if I knew you were. And regardless, you don’t need to know who I bring back to my own room—”

“If they’re a known criminal and wanted by the Justice League—”

“The only one who knows about him in the Justice League is you and my team. Do you really think Diana would back you up on trying to drag him in?”

“He nearly killed you!”

Tzipora rolled her eyes as she continued walking around the living room before sitting down on the couch. There wouldn’t be any indication of where Jason went, and so there wasn’t any point in indulging Bruce’s investigation any longer. “A lot of people have nearly killed me, B. You haven’t done much about most any of them. Ra’s. Joker. Damian. Just to name a few.”

“We keep putting Joker in Arkham—”

“It’s clearly not working.” Tzip’s voice was dry as she leaned her head against hte back of the couch. Could she get away with falling asleep while carrying on a conversation with Bruce? “At a point, you have to ask—”

“We don’t kill.”

Tzip tried not to shake her head or get too testy with Bruce. Her morals were held together with string, gum, and duct tape, she knew that, but she also knew that she did value Bruce’s opinion of her, most of the time. She didn’t want him to get pissed off. She didn’t want to kill, because Bruce’s opinion was valuable to her, even if it was still strained after everything that had happened over the past few years. Well, since forever, if she was being properly honest with herself. 

“I didn’t think I’d need to explain that to you of all people.”

“We still need to find a better way to keep the Joker imprisoned, if he’s not going to get the death penalty. It’s clear he won’t reform. It’s clear he’s going to keep escaping. A medical coma or something to keep people from getting hurt.”

“We’re talking about Jason. What he was trying to get by following you to your hotel room.”

Tzip snorted quietly as she rolled her eyes again. “I don’t think it was much following if I invited him. Again, I didn’t realize it was him. He introduced himself as ‘Peter’ and I thought he was charming. Crime Alley accent, at least a passing knowledge of the Moses story, good dancer and fairly competent at the manners and dress required for a white tie affair. Not exactly a neon sign to Jason, considering I barely knew him beyond Red Hood and Robin.”

“Jason’s middle name is Peter.”

“And it’s a common name beyond that. If we’re going to be suspicious of every ‘Peter’ around, then we’re going to be chasing a few thousand dead ends. Not only that, but he had brown eyes. Not blue or green or any variation like that. I realize they were contacts, sure, but it was enough that I wouldn’t have thought about Jason at all.”

“Why would he target you, then? Of all the people at the gala?”

Tzipora raised an eyebrow. “Because I was looking at him and he thought I was pretty? All he wanted was a one-night-stand. Is that truly so shocking that someone could just want sex with me? I didn’t think I’d have to outline that for you.”

“There has to be a reason!” Bruce slammed his fist against the table, and Tzipora couldn’t help but flinch at the rattle of the wood and the ferocity in Bruce’s voice. It had been a long time since he had been this rattled, and while Jason was usually a one-way-ticket for his hinge to come undone, Tzip hadn’t expected it to be this bad tonight. It must be because he was so close to catching him that he was so unhinged. 

“There’s not always a reason," Tzipora said while she waited for her heart rate to go back to normal and the stupid lizard-brain panic faded. She took a deep breath before she forced herself to continue. "Maybe he was going after the same smuggling ring. Trying to see what people were involved and would look to restart the process with new players. Then he got distracted by me and wanted to have a nice time instead. Who knows. There’s not always a giant conspiracy, B. Jason hasn’t come close to any of us since that last night with the Red Hood years ago. His gang went entirely tits-up and fell apart, so clearly, he’s not involved with it in the background or remotely. Maybe it was a coincidence that the two of us were at the same shady gala.”

“There’s always a reason. There’s no such thing as coincidence.”

Tzipora sighed roughly, closing her eyes and trying not to get too upset that this was the Bruce she had to deal with tonight. Not the reasonable one, no, but the one who was so hurt from losing his second son that he couldn’t stop to think about what he had done to drive him away. 

“Until you get me some proper evidence that this wasn’t all a coincidence, I’m going to believe it was. He didn’t hurt me, and he probably never even realized who I was. It was an entirely anonymous hook-up. I don’t think you necessarily want to pry further into my sex life, but if you want to, I’m sure we can start with the stupid hook-ups I’ve done in the pursuit of your mission.”

That shut B up, and Tzipora could barely see the tightening of the cowl around its too-white eyes in the low light. She was lying through her teeth, or at least stretching the truth until it was straining under the weight of hiding the few key facts that she desperately wanted to keep hidden from B. However, B didn’t push, instead making one of his properly indecipherable grunts before he finally turned and left the hotel room. 

Tzipora couldn’t help but crumple a bit after the door clicked shut, and she took a moment to try and drag herself back into one piece. She always felt vaguely shattered when she was around Bruce anymore. She was nothing like the idealistic Boy Wonder anymore. She didn't mind, but the differences had started to press into her ribs like a knife. She preferred manipulating the Gotham socialite scene after years of damage to her body and lost organs, rather than continuing to beat up mindless thugs who needed help. She had crafted herself into a sharp stiletto of a woman, and she liked that about herself. Bruce hadn’t been able to accept that, not really. Bruce hadn't realized just how shattered being a vigilante had left her, to the point where fashioning herself like a knife out of the broken pieces was the only option left. He certainly hadn't seemed to understand that since he returned from the time stream and had only barely returned to being Bruce Wayne. He hadn’t understood the weight that Tzipora had been put under between trying to save him and save the company from Ra’s. He didn't understand how the strain was still there when he had never returned full-time to Wayne Enterprises. He didn’t understand the strain that was there when Tzip had to attempt to work with Dick and Damian. Hell, no one seemed to understand the fact that Tzip didn’t want to give Damian an inch of potential leverage over her when Damian seemed to only have stopped trying to kill her because she had made it clear she had no intention to be Robin again. 

It didn’t hurt any less, but at least it meant that she wouldn’t have to face another grapple line being cut.

Tzipora finally moved once she felt more like herself. Not perfect, but less like she was being torn in two. She was Tzipora Drake, CEO of Wayne Enterprises and dragging Drake Industries up from the muck it had fallen into. One of the most effective CEOs in the country, if not the world, with only one true competitor for the title, and she wasn’t about to let Lex Luthor take that title from her. She was…she was Jason’s princess, at least for tonight until the sun rose, and she had the distinct pleasure of likely being one of the few people to fuck his thighs.

She picked up Jason’s shirt, idly pressing it to her nose before frowning as it didn’t smell like him. It must have been a new tuxedo prepared for the event. A shame, if she was being honest with herself, but at least he had gotten away safely. She’d have to try to track down his number, though she didn’t even know where to start. Babs, probably, or Dick, see if either of them had the number or a way to contact him. 

For now, though, she’d let Jason get as far away as possible. Far from Gotham, and Bruce, and anyone that could hurt him. She’d sleep, and get home, and then see about trying to track down Jason. If only the bed wasn’t so cold, though.

The morning came sooner than Tzipora would have liked. The bed was cooler than she would have liked, too. The day, in general, was off to an awful start as the memory of Bruce bursting in settled behind her eyes and the thought of Jason running filtered in. It was supposed to be a decent night, one where they could both ignore the fact that they had entirely too complicated histories, and one where they could just enjoy themselves and sleep in and feel like they actually mattered to someone. 

Tzip should have known that it would have been too good to be true, even when it had seemed entirely fine at the start.

She moved, though. It might be Sunday, but that simply meant that she'd be expected at the Manor soon for the weekly dinner. Even if it was dinner, it would be an all-afternoon affair, and then an all-night one, too, unless she insisted upon returning home without patrolling with the others. 

Regardless, moving. Tzip shuffled through her morning routine, thankful that the requested room service was already sitting on the table in the living room, and she popped her cocktail of pills into her mouth, chasing them with too-bitter, slightly-cold coffee. Toast followed after that while Tzip tracked down clothes and pulled them on, carefully brushing through her hair and braiding it back to keep it out of the way. Her mother would be dismayed by the casual styling, but Tzip was tired and wanted to get out of the room so that she could attempt to figure out what sort of damage control needed to happen. Maybe she could stop by the Clocktower to check in with Babs, first, and if she was lucky, maybe she’d even be able to claim that some crisis came up that required her to miss the weekly dinner. 

Plan made, Tzip finished the packing and cleaning before driving off to the Clocktower. It was a quiet morning, thankfully, so traffic wasn’t awful, and it didn’t take long before Tzip made her way up the elevator to the top. 

“I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon,” Babs said, glancing up from the computers before turning and smiling as she reached out for the coffee that Tzip was already offering her.

“I don't want to deal with Bruce and the others yet, so I'm checking in with you.”

“Pissed he barged in on you?”

Tzip groaned, rubbing a hand over her face as she settled into one of the nearby rolling chairs. “I was fine. I don't know why you sent him there.”

“That was all him, actually. And Alfred. I told him you were most likely fine since you hadn't pressed your panic button at all. I hear it was…quite the encounter.”

“He caught me naked, Babs. I still had cum dried on me.”

“You had sex with Jason?” Babs’ eyes were wide as she turned to Tzip, shock clearly in her voice. 

Tzip sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose nose as she sipped her coffee. “I picked him up before I knew who he was. And then…well, he apologized for everything, for one, and for two, I didn't want to think of the stupid family at all. He was attractive, he wanted to make me feel good, and he didn't care that I was trans. Of course I continued with the one-night-stand. I'm an adult, and Bruce has no room for judgement.”

“I’m not judging!”

“You’re judging,” Tzip replied, her voice dry as she looked over at the computers, sipping her coffee as she nabbed the mouse and pulled up Jason’s file that she could see hovering in the background. It was easy enough to ignore Babs’ annoyed growl as she looked through it. If they were all going to encroach on her cases and hotel rooms, then she could encroach on their files and what they were looking at. 

Unfortunately, it seemed like there wasn’t anything particularly new compared to the last file Tzip had stolen from Babs earlier in the month. Jason had been quiet, after all, and Tzip had already known that. The only new addition was the note that he had been in the city the night before, but Tzip had hoped there would be something more than this. 

“Disappointed you can’t be a stalker again?”

Tzip glanced over at Babs before shaking her head. “I wanted to see if you had contact information, somehow. Jason managed to leave before Bruce got to the hotel room, so someone had to have tipped him off. If not you, then I guess it would have been Dick or Damian, but that’s going to require talking to them to figure it out.”

“I could talk to Dick, if you want?”

Tzip made a small face at the thought of having Babs share anything about her with Dick. As much as she liked her, she didn’t trust that she wouldn’t keep things carefully professional between her and Dick. Probably, if Babs mentioned it, Dick would get clingy and gross again, as though nothing had ever happened over the past few years.

Tzip didn’t want that.

Dick could take her out to Pride events, could take her out shopping, or whatever else, but Tzip didn’t want Dick to act like they were siblings again.

“I’ll talk to Dick at dinner,” Tzip finally said.

“Are you still—”

“Dick hasn’t apologized for everything that happened. I think it’s entirely natural that I don’t want to act like nothing happened after everything that did happen.”

“Tzip…”

Tzipora’s frown grew more pointed. “Damian tried to kill me. Multiple times.”

“And you slept with Jason, who also tried to kill you.”

“At least no one acted like that was reasonable!” The snap came out quicker and sharper than Tzip had intended it to, and she frowned as she forced her hand to loosen around the coffee before she entirely destroyed the paper cup. “I know Damian was a murder child. It’s fine. I understand. But everyone brushed it off. Everyone brushed off the concerns I had. Despite Dick understanding what it’s like to have Robin ripped away, he still did it to me. Despite me being right, no one thanked me for doing everything that I did to get Bruce back. No one acknowledged what I went through to pull that off, and no one seems to care that I still have a centuries-old cult leader who either wants to fuck me or send his daughters to fuck me instead. I think I’m entitled to keep everyone at arm’s reach if that’s how I’m going to be treated. They don’t seem to want me to be closer. I’m respecting that.”

“You know it’s not that simple.”

"Of course it's that simple, Babs. I don't think it's too much to ask for an apology—"

"You're being unreasonable if you expect that from the family."

Tzipora finally stood up straight. They wouldn't find anything of use in Babs' files, and they'd get a lecture from her if she stayed. She could feel herself closing off to someone who had been a friend, but she couldn't bring herself to try and open up to her again. “I’m going back to my place. I’ll see you at dinner.”

“Tzipora…”

“See you later, Babs,” Tzip said, waving as she walked out of the Clocktower. 

She had forgotten just how infuriating everything about her family could be some days. She had forgotten the way that everyone thought that they all should be a happy family that didn’t care about anything, as though they were an actual family. None of them seemed to realize that they were all piles of trauma that had been swept into a bigger heap through the judicious application of vigilante justice. 

None of them seemed to remember the fact that she had a family before this mess of a farce. It was dysfunctional, sure, but she still had one, even while she was Robin.

She knew that families didn’t ignore hurts from the past. They might use them as ammunition in future attacks, but at least they didn’t ignore them and act as though they shouldn’t exist. It seemed like that’s what this family always did. Ignore the past and pretend it shouldn’t matter. Who cares that Damian tried to kill her? He was raised by assassins, so she should ignore it. Who cares that Dick thought she was crazy when she had evidence for Bruce being in the past? It ended up fine, so it should get ignored. Who cares that she had the hardest two years of her life between everything with Steph, and Bruce dying, losing her spleen, and being the center of Ra’s’ attentions, everything’s fine now, so she should ignore it and just focus on being the perfect family for Bruce and Damian and Dick. 

At least Jason had apologized and acknowledged that she might not want to ignore the past.

Normally, Tzipora wouldn’t go all-out for family dinner. After all, Bruce constantly looked vaguely constipated when she went all-in on the femme looks, Dick would go overboard in trying to be accepting, and Damian…well, Damian was truly part of the Demon Head’s family, even if his mother had apparently disowned him at some point since he had moved to Gotham. Dressing femme simply wasn’t the smartest way to avoid an emotionally constipated mess when going to Wayne Manor. 

Today, however, Tzip felt somewhat spiteful. 

Okay, extremely spiteful. 

More spiteful than normal, at least. 

Carefully braided hair formed a crown around her head, pinned in place with onyx crystals that could catch the light from the chandelier that Tzip knew was above the dining room table. No one would be able to ignore the way her hair had grown longer than she had ever kept it before. A carefully-tailored jacket in black with the hint of a flared peplum and polished gold buttons looked somewhat reminiscent of a military jacket and acted as a reminder that she was still as deadly as she had always been, and was still just as dedicated to the Mission as she always had been, regardless of her current role in it. A crimson A-line dress continued to flare out past her hips and knees and combined with black silk stockings and heeled boots which Cass got her for her most recent birthday to include her usual colors in the feminine outfit. 

All in all, as Tzip twirled in front of the mirror, she couldn’t help but be quite satisfied. She wore her vigilante colors and she couldn’t help but feel at home like this. She still loved a well-tailored suit, naturally, but this? Being allowed to wear dresses and skirts and not worry about what anyone else would think? Jason was right. She should indulge in this more, rather than pandering to the idiots who thought that the addition of “they” in her biography meant that they could get away with being comfortable thinking that she was a particularly flamboyant boy. 

She wasn’t. 

She’d need to make the adjustments to her closet. At the very least, she needed more feminine options for the office. 

It was sad that it took sleeping with Jason to realize that, but stranger things had happened, and she was quite happy that it had happened, at the very least. 

There wasn’t any point to procrastinating with the dinner, now. Tzip sighed softly, looking at herself a moment longer as the properly pleased expression on her face crumpled to something more inoffensively neutral. She wouldn’t completely be disappointed yet, but she didn’t have high hopes for the rest of the day.

At least traffic was awful. They wouldn't get to the manor any time soon, though they wouldn't be late enough to entirely miss dinner. They'd still keep their place in the family, without having to deal with all of the hassle. Tzip couldn’t help the faint smirk as she heard her phone ring. 

“Alfie’s wanting to know if you’ll be here.”

“Of course I’ll be there, Steph,” Tzip replied, glancing momentarily at the GPS and then out the window. “I’m almost at the bridge. I should be there soon enough, okay? Traffic’s just worse than usual with the Washington Bridge still undergoing repairs.”

“Alright. You’re…you’re doing alright, yeah?”

Tzipora frowned as she looked down at the phone for a moment before returning her attention to the road in front of her. “Yeah? Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Bruce said you were almost kidnapped at the gala thing last night?”

Tzipora didn't even bother to hide the annoyed and frustrated sigh. Bruce was ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. “I had a one-night-stand with a guy named Peter. I wasn’t kidnapped. I just had a lovely dance with a pretty guy who had a nice voice, and he wanted to make me feel good. Called me a princess, even.”

She didn't want to deal with the inevitable fight and worry that would come with telling Stephanie that Peter was Jason. If Steph found out from Bruce, then fine. Tzip didn't want to deal with it over the phone, though, considering it would likely end up with a lecture from her as well as the ones she had already received.

“Really?”

“Yes. So you can tell people that I wasn’t almost kidnapped. I just had the pleasure of Bruce walking in on me naked.”

Stephanie made a disgusted noise, and Tzip couldn’t help the faint smirk as a result. “I never wanted to imagine that.”

“What, me, covered in a guy’s cum, and the Big Bad Bat walking in on me?”

“Gross! Tzip!” Steph drew out her name in a whine, and Tzip couldn’t help the laugh. 

“Sorry, Steph. But I’ll be there soon. You know I always call in advance if I can’t make these at all.”

“Now, at least. You haven’t in the past.”

Tzip rolled her eyes. This was why she only ever turned up for the weekly meal, rather than actually being properly personable with them. It seemed like all she got was judgement for falling apart in the past, rather than any sort of credit for desperately trying to do better and take care of herself now. “I’m trying to have a better life,” she muttered before just hanging up. She didn’t want to deal with this. She didn’t want to deal with Steph’s snark today when she was still reeling from Babs and Bruce being frustrating. 

It didn’t take too long before Tzipora finally drove up to the Manor. The rest of the drive was quiet, and took far less time than she would have liked. Still, she was here, and she was presentable and they couldn’t get mad at her this week. 

Her hand had barely raised to the door before the door opened and revealed Alfred on the other side, a wide smile on his face. 

“It’s a pleasure to see you, as always, Miss Tzipora,” he said, warmth filling his words as they always did. Tzipora couldn’t help but smile in return, quickly wrapping her arms around Alfred in a tight hug. 

“It’s good to see you, too. You’re the only reason I keep coming here.”

“Hopefully it’s for my company, rather than my leftovers,” Alfred said, hugging Tzipora tight in return. 

“Of course. I can feed myself, even if it’s not as carefully as you do.” 

“Of course, Miss Tzipora. You look beautiful today, by the way. Please make yourself at home,” Alfred said, finally pulling away and letting her walk further into the manor. 

It felt strange, as it always did. Tzipora might not live here anymore, but she spent so many years fighting to have a place here that it still made her reel when she returned. It felt especially odd to realize that she didn’t even care about her place here, anymore. Dick might not have intended for her to grow past her role in this way, but it certainly felt as though she had grown past her need for the Wayne Family. She loved them, of course she did, but with everything that had happened and the way her life was changing…she didn’t feel the same need to look for their approval like she had before Dick ripped Robin away. 

Imagine that, losing Robin, not getting a ‘thanks’ from Bruce or Dick, and then not seeing a reason to try and continue being the glue for the family had led to an identity crisis so deep that she got a new gender out of it along with two companies. 

Not too bad, even if it had sucked in the meantime. 

A scoff pulled Tzipora from where she had stopped to look at the most recently painted portrait in the entry hall. She didn’t need to turn and look to see who made the noise, considering there was only one person who would bother to put so much hatred into the simple noise. 

“I see the harlot’s arrived.”

Tzipora laughed, rolling her eyes. “Hardly. I have sex for pleasure, not business. I’m no more a harlot than your mother. Pick a better insult next time, demon,” she said before walking past Damian into the living room, quite satisfied with the way the metal pads on the heels clicked against the wooden floor. It was nice, particularly in the way it forced everyone to pay attention to her. She didn’t want to deal with fading into the background of this family. She was done, and tired, and she hoped that today would make that obvious.

“Tzippy!”

Of course, the announcement of her presence with the rhythmic taps of her heels meant that Dick immediately launched a hug her direction, but there wasn’t anything to be done about that. She could still catch him easily enough, and she hugged him tight in return. It still felt hollow in some ways, but at least for a moment she could pretend that Dick still saw her as family. 

“Hey, Dick. How have you been?” Tzipora asked before trying to pull away from Dick, as difficult as it could be sometimes. At least Dick got the hint this time and pulled away without too much fuss. 

“Good! Last night’s patrol went well, too. I miss having you out there, though.”

Tzipora tried not to grimace at the thought of being on patrol and having to trust everyone. “I’m trying to help in the daylight. We can’t only help at night, after all, and this way I can focus on what I’m good at,” she said, trying not to get too annoyed with having to repeat the argument yet again. It was fine. She’d keep repeating this until everyone understood that she was being serious about preferring to help in the daylight hours. 

“Sister,” Cass said, walking up beside Tzip and pressing a quick kiss to her cheek. “Pretty today.”

“Thank you, Cass,” Tzipora replied, her smile back to being genuine and true as she gave Cass a quick hug. “I thought I’d make an effort for dinner.”

“Make the rest of us look bad, why don’t you!” Steph replied, teasing easily in her voice as she came over to hug Tzipora as well. “You do look nice. I like your hair. I might have to steal it for patrols, I think.”

“We can all braid each other’s hair before patrol! I’ve been meaning to grow mine longer again,” Dick replied, grinning brightly. 

Tzip smiled, nodding. “I’d be happy to help you all with the braids before you go out.”

Dick frowned, a small pout on his lips. “You’re not going to come with us?”

“I’m not patrolling anymore,” Tzip replied, only the faintest line of tension in her voice. “I’m trying to have a life. Still helping folks, but not putting my health and body as much on the line. I don’t want to get hospitalized for pneumonia again. Or have concerns about sepsis after the latest bullet wound.”

The reminder of the last few complications Tzipora hand before she more firmly put up the cape got Dick to shut up, though it did result in another too-tight hug. “You know I just—”

“Tzipora. I…wasn’t aware you were joining us today,” Bruce said behind Tzipora, his voice superficially his usual neutral tone, but Tzip could hear the faint disapproval that seemed to color most of his words towards her nowadays. 

Tzipora was used to this. She knew that this would happen. It was normal, and it was particularly expected after the night before and that mess. She shouldn’t be upset by this, and she particularly shouldn’t be upset by the slight hesitation it seemed that Bruce always had towards her and her name. It wasn't as though it had been any different since Bruce had read over the reports she had compiled regarding her time trying to drag him out of the time stream. She knew that her actions would have been difficult for everyone to swallow, but it seemed as though it was only Bruce who had issues with it, in the end.

“It’s family dinner, B. Of course Tzip’s going to come.” Dick’s voice cut in before Tzipora could manage a response, and he kept his arms around her shoulders, holding her close. Tzip couldn’t help but lean in close, even if she knew that Dick didn’t really see her as family much anymore. At least the lip service was nice.

“I just meant—”

“Dinner will be served in five minutes, if you all want to move to the dining room.” Alfred’s announcement was a blessing, and Tzipora couldn't help but be thankful that he had interrupted whatever attempt at an explanation Bruce would attempt. She had a bad feeling that it would be something about her dress, or perhaps the way in which she was supposed to be busy with the fall-out from the gala the previous night, but regardless of what it would actually be, it still wouldn't be great.

Unfortunately, just because dinner would be served soon, didn't mean that Tzipora would be free, especially not as Dick looped his arm around Tzip's and started dragging her towards the dining room.

"You don't need to—"

"I hear that Jason got out before B got there," Dick murmured, his voice soft as he pulled Tzip along before the rest of the family would crowd with them.

Tzipora blinked for a moment before she nodded. She didn't entirely know why Dick was bringing this up, but she felt comfortable enough talking about Jason. Dick had always had a soft spot for Jay, even after everything that had gone wrong. "Yeah. He made it out a few minutes before B walked in on me."

Dick nodded, a tight smile on his face. "I'm glad the warning got to him—"

"You were the one that tipped him off?"

Dick looked at Tzip as though he was surprised by her surprise before nodding, and he turned to lead them towards the breakfast nook and kitchen instead, likely to loop around and give them more time before getting to the dining room. "I called Roy. I tried to distract B, but it didn't work for too long, and I wasn't able to give them as much of a warning as I would have liked. Roy barely got out, and Star's still tangled up in the whole mess."

Tzipora leaned against Dick, a small frown on her face as she listened to him. She couldn't help but think about how she could have kept Bruce distracted longer, could have kept him off of Jay's tail if she needed to and had been out on patrol as well, but of course, if she had been out there, she wouldn't have been able to have that wonderful night with him.

"I'm glad the warning got to him," Tzipora finally said softly. "I would have liked to have him around for longer, but…"

"B's not being the greatest about him, I know." Dick sighed, continuing to lead Tzipora around. They casually avoided the dining room as much as they could without making it too obvious, and Tzip couldn't help but lean into Dick further. She knew that they weren't really family anymore, not after Damian decided to entirely uproot her and throw her out with the trash, but at least she could ignore that for now.

"Do you have Jay's contact?" Tzip asked after a moment.

"No, just Roy's. I could get that one to you, though?"

Tzipora nodded, relaxing at the thought that they'd get closer to talking to Jason again. Apologize for B or something. They weren't entirely sure, but at least it would be something after the way their time was cut short beforehand. Maybe they'd even be able to work to try and see if Jason wanted to return to Gotham full-time.

"You…I heard that Jay broke into your hotel room?"

Tzip rolled her eyes before shaking her head. "I invited him to my room. I didn't realize it was him until later, anyways. Not until he recognized me, which I'm still surprised by."

"He recognized you?" Dick's eyes widened as he looked at her. "No offense, but you don't look like you used to at all."

"Thank you for the compliment," Tzip said, grinning for a moment before shrugging. "He recognized the scar on my neck, the one that he gave me. And then he came clean about himself. So…"

"So you never really recognized him." Dick grinned, nudging her side gently. "And then you took him to bed?"

Tzip rolled her eyes, but she nodded. "He was nice. And he danced well. And I liked his voice. Of course I invited him to my room." She sighed softly, glancing down and stopping as she fussed with her cuff. "You don't…you're not upset?"

"What, that you slept together?"

Tzip just barely managed to nod. She didn't regret it. That didn't mean that she didn't know that it wasn't…well, technically it wasn't appropriate or something, seeing as how they were legally related, however tenuously. Not only that, but Dick saw them as siblings, and while Tzipora knew that her position in the family was barely in name at this point, she didn't want to lose that connection completely.

"I don't care, not if you both liked it and wanted it. You did, right?"

"I really did," Tzipora said, her voice soft as she refused to look up at Dick. "He called me a princess." And wasn't it silly that Tzipora still loved that? She might hate it when people suggest that she bought or manipulated her way into her position, and that she didn't deserve being the CEO or having her money, but she did love it when Jason purred in her ear that she was his beautiful princess.

Dick nodded, pulling her into a tight hug. "That's all I care about, then," he murmured softly before pulling away with a slight frown. "I…" He frowned, trailing off before he took a deep breath and trying again. "I know we've had our differences. That I haven't been fair to you at all."

"Dick—"

"I'm serious." And he was, which was the weird thing.

Tzip frowned slightly as she looked up at Dick, saw the concerned furrow of his eyebrows and the slight frown on his lips as he looked at her. She might be taller than him, just barely, but she still felt like that tiny child that he hugged for the first time so many years before when he looked like this. She nodded, not saying anything and letting Dick say his piece.

"We've all been…" Dick trailed off again, and his frown grew deeper as he shook his head slightly. "I've been a pretty shit brother to you. I know we've all brushed it off, but…but it wasn't right. I knew how much losing Robin hurt me. I shouldn't have forced you to be the adult in that situation. I'm sorry I didn't believe you when you tried to explain how badly Damian hurt you."

Tzip started at Dick, so baffled about why this was happening now, of all times. Years of desperately hoping that Dick would come to his senses and apologize, and now, after having given up on ever being treated properly? Now she was getting the apology? Even if part of her appreciated it, she couldn't help but wonder if it was simply because Babs had told Dick about how she had blown up earlier.

"Why are you bothering to apologize, Dick?" Tzip needed to know. She needed to know why it was happening now.

Dick, at least, looked somewhat ashamed as he shook his head slightly. "I should have done it before? But…to be honest, Damian…" Dick sighed softly. "Damian came clean about some of what he did. That he cut your grapple line, in particular. And it made me realize that—"

"Damian." Tzip pulled away from Dick, feeling her face go blank. Tzip couldn't tell if they were furious, or upset, or simply numb and dead inside. This apology was happening because of Damian. The demon brat that called her a harlot less than an hour before. "You're apologizing because of Damian."

"I'm apologizing because it wasn't right, Tzip. I know I should have done this ages ago, that I should have trusted you and not pushed you out or threatened Arkham or anything like that. I know that. You don't have to forgive me, and I'm not even apologizing on behalf of Damian. I'm just…" Dick shook his head, sighing softly. "I'm saying it wasn't right, Tzip. I hurt you. And I get why you're drifting away, okay?"

"You're still my brother," she said, her voice quiet. Dick always would be her brother, no matter what happened, and that was what had hurt so much about all of this. Dick had hurt her, hadn't believed her, and hadn't ever apologized for it, despite the fact that he was her older brother. They had been so close when she had been Robin, and it had hurt so much when it seemed as though that hadn't meant anything when Dick stripped her of the position.

And yet, despite all of the hurt that she had been holding onto, Tzip couldn't help but feel the hurt slowly ebbing away as Dick finally admitted that he had hurt her. She took a shaking breath before finally shifting, leaning against Dick before wrapping her arms around him. He had apologized. That was what she had wanted. She had snapped at Babs just that morning that she had wanted an apology, and here it was. All she could do was hug Dick.

"I haven't felt like a part of this family in…in a long time. But I'd like to think you're still my brother," Tzip finally whispered, hugging Dick tighter and relaxing as Dick hugged her tight in return.

"You're my sister," Dick murmured, pressing a kiss to Tzipora's head, careful not to mess up the braid. "I'll try to visit you some. So that you don't have to be here. And if you want to leave Gotham, get some space on your own, then I'll back you up."

Tzipora took a shaking breath as she clung to Dick. Wasn't this what she had wanted for so long? As much as she didn't want to cling to the hope that Dick and her family would get better, wasn't this what she had wanted? It felt like a trap, but it also felt like coming home for the first time in years at this point. Dick's arms didn't pull away, and Tzipora could feel herself relax as Dick didn't shift to leave and check in with Damian. She finally, finally, felt as though she was a priority, if only for the a few moments.

"You have a clean phone?" Dick asked, his voice soft.

"Yeah," Tzipora murmured, shifting to pull out the phone that was barely a step above a burner. Neither Babs nor Bruce knew about it, though, so it would be as close to clean as possible, even if she kept it off more often than not. She quickly turned it on, pulling up the contacts. Dick nodded, still leaning against Tzipora as he entered Roy's contact information.

"I don't know Jay's number, but I've got Roy's. He might be able to help you get to Jay," Dick said, his voice soft as he saved the contact before turning the phone off and pressing it into Tzipora's hand.

"You think he will? After I nearly dragged him into B's hands?"

Dick shrugged. "No idea. But I think it's worth a shot, if you want to. He's…he was always a good person. I still don't believe B at all when he suggests that Jason might have caused Garzona's death. I think B's an idiot for constantly making sure the Joker lives. All the money we have, and we can't arrange for one death, after the Joker's killed so many?" Dick shook his head quickly. "I can't leave. But if you want to leave, if you want to get away from Bruce and everything? More power to you, okay?"

Tzipora frowned as she looked at Dick, confused as to why Dick felt like he wouldn't be able to leave. Wasn't that the whole point of Bludhaven? To leave?

"I have to keep coming back if I want to stay in Damian's life," Dick explained as he saw the expression on her face. "I know the two of you have your differences, and I can't blame you for it. But Damian still feels like my kid, even if B doesn't think that same way. I can't leave him behind, not until I manage to figure out how I'm going to take care of him and make sure he has someone he can relax around, rather than constantly being a mini vigilante."

That…was true. Tzipora sighed softly as she thought about that, and thought about the fact that, while Damian was a demon and she truly despised him on many levels, he also hadn't ever really had the room to figure out how to be a person in the midst of being a baby assassin and a baby vigilante, and everything else. If she was technically an adult, then she could attempt to extend some level of grace, particularly if she wasn't going to linger around the family.

"I think I'm going to leave," Tzip said, her voice quiet. "There's been discussions around moving Drake Industries out of Gotham, anyways. I'll move with them, and then commute to Gotham when I'm needed for Wayne."

"Alright. I think that's good for you. Any idea where you'll be going to?"

Tzip sighed, shrugging. "New York, probably? It's close enough that any employees that need to be relocated can commute by train, if necessary, though we'll figure something out. It's a longer-term project, unfortunately, but I don't think I want to stay here. Not with Bruce being the way he is. And I don't want to deal with Damian at all."

"He's a—"

"Dick." Tzip frowned at Dick, cutting him off. "I know he's a kid. But he's a kid who's never been treated like one. He needs therapy. Needs to recognize that life outside of the League. Needs to realize that he should apologize for nearly killing me. If none of you can acknowledge that, then I'm going to leave. I'd leave, abandon everything, and I'm not going to come back. I am done with acting as though everything's been fine."

Dick looked at Tzip, a small frown on his face, but Tzip refused to back down. She really was done with all of this. She was done with Bruce, she was done with Damian, she was even nearly done with Steph, and she hated realizing that. Alfred and Dick were on thin ice. Cass was the only one who still seemed to properly care about him.

"Alright, Tzip." Dick offered her a small smile before pressing a kiss to the her forehead. "I'm going to do my best to be better. Now get out of here. I'll let the others know that something came up and you had to leave."

Tzipora felt her eyes widen before she could pull the expression back into something more restrained, and she glanced in the direction of the dining room. "But—"

"You're not happy here, clearly. It seems pretty clear that everyone's tap-dancing on your nerves, so I think you should be allowed to leave."

"But Alfred—"

"Call him this evening, after dinner and during our patrols. Promise him tea here when we're all gone, or promise him dinner at your place instead. Before you leave Gotham. I'll explain tonight, too. You need to feel like you're able to leave if you want, rather than trying to stay here out of nothing but constant obligations."

That was more than Tzip could have expected, particularly after the past couple of years, and she quickly pulled Dick into another hug before pulling away. "I'll let you know when I'm moving. But I'm not staying tonight. Don't let the others know I'm moving out of Gotham, though."

"Alright. I'll see you later, Baby Bird."

"Stay safe tonight, Dicky-bird," Tzip murmured, smiling at him before quickly heading out and leaving.

She'd arrange everything, and then she'd reach out to Roy. Hopefully, if she got out of Gotham and settled in some other city, she could extend the olive branch to Roy and see if she could get in contact with Jason. She wouldn't presume that he'd be able to see Jason again, but…maybe they could see each other again, if she promised that she had done everything she could to get out from under Bruce.