feckless runner

Fingers curled around her slender neck, tightening after a moment of contemplation, a short breath of air she managed to swallow before his hands closed the passage to her lungs. It was a brief flicker of hesitation, and she squirmed beneath his fingers, reaching for the mace she kept tucked in her boot. She wasn't going back. That much became obvious as she choked, her eyes meeting the man's, and his fingers crushed her throat. Blood was dribbling from his eye where she'd slashed at him earlier with a broken bottle, and she felt it, warm and sticky, plopping and sliding against her cheek.

Stupid, she thought, pain lancing through her as she kicked wildly, blindly, hoping she'd catch the man somewhere. So, so stupid! I should have ran when I could!

She gagged, and pushed at his face, gritting her teeth as stars dotted her vision, hot and white and blinding. She couldn't go unconscious now. Come on, Steph, come on, you can do it!

Stephanie Brown ran away from home. Again. It wasn't unusual, and she was pretty much used to being dragged back by her ear by now. Once she'd gotten all the way to Star City, but it still ended up pretty badly. And that time she hadn't even gotten caught by one of her dad's thugs! It wasn't like she couldn't take care of herself, because she could. She just let herself run her mouth… a little more than she should. It distracted her. And, sadly, most thugs she came across were stronger than the average twelve-year-old girl.

Steph blinked, gasping and choking, and she tried to scream, but there was no air for her to gather. She twisted herself, and she heard nothing but a faint ringing in her ears as the world around her was blotted out by stars. She struggled, her fingers brushing the tops of her boots, and she reached farther, darkness drifting at the edge of her vision. She felt triumphant as her fingers closed around the little bottle of mace, and she gripped it tightly, moving sluggishly to fend off the stranger.

However, someone got to him first.

Steph coughed when the man released her, and his body was flung across the alley. Her ears were ringing too loudly for her to hear his scream, but she didn't really care. She scrambled backwards, blinking fast and gasping, her fingers against her bruising throat as she welcomed air into her lungs. She fumbled with the mace can in her hands, and pointed it, half blind, at whoever had decided to come to her rescue.

She stared for a moment, her vision hazily adjusting to the bold red tunic, and she squinted at him in surprise. "You?" she rasped, her fingers trembling against the can as she pushed herself warily to her feet. Her knees wobbled pitifully, and she gripped the brick wall behind her as she breathed. She felt him move quickly to her side, and she squeaked, flailing her arms. "I'm fine! I was fine! I was handling it!"

Robin stared at her, his mouth falling open for a moment, and she clutched her head as her vision came back fully, the stars fading fast. She saw him pull his staff closer to his chest, nervously spinning it back and forth. He looked down at the man who had attacked her, and she saw that he was unconscious. Probably from a blow to the head.

"It… It really didn't look like you were fine." Robin blinked at her when she scowled, looking away so he wouldn't see how ashamed she was. She could have gotten a better handle on the situation if she had realized the man wasn't one of her father's men. "Sorry."

"No," she sighed, tucking the mace back into her boot. She bit her lip, leaning back against the wall. She was still dizzy, but she didn't want him to know that, so she tried to look casual. "Don't be. Okay, I should be the one apologizing. I shouldn't have…" She looked up at him, and she smiled weakly. "Um, thanks for saving me again… Robin, right?"

He nodded slowly. He held the staff tightly, his head bowing slightly as he tried to avoid eye contact with her. She wanted to laugh, because he was so awkward, and it appeared like he didn't know how to hold a conversation with a stranger for very long, so he just… stood stoically. It was funny, but she was too breathless to laugh.

"Right…" Steph's eyebrows rose at him, and she pushed off the wall shakily, stepping toward him curiously. "How old are you, anyway? I mean, Robin's been around for like… longer than I can remember."

"Yeah." He stared at her, and he opened his mouth to say more, and then he winced, his hand flying to his ear. "I know— No. Are you okay where you are?"

"Is that Batman?" Steph asked eagerly, suddenly forgetting her most recent near death experience. "Are you guys meta-humans? Is that why you don't age?"

Robin looked at her, and his lip twitched, as if he wanted to laugh. But he shook his head, not giving her any other reply. Then he winced again, and she saw his cheeks flare with color in the dimness of the alleyway. She grinned as she crept closer to him, still a little shaky on her feet. "Can I see your staff?"

"No," he said. She didn't know who he was talking to, her or to the voice in his ear. So she frowned, and folded her arms across her chest, squinting up at him. That seemed to make him uncomfortable, and that fact only made her persist.

"So what's with the stripes?" she asked, poking his side gently. He jumped back into a flip, the whites of his mask going wide. She beamed at him, looking with fascination as he landed a few feet away, his mouth gaping. "What? Are you ticklish or something?"

"What? No, I—!" He clamped his mouth shut, stumbling back as she stepped toward him again. "What are you doing? You were being strangled before— why are you so…?"

"So…?" Steph touched her neck, and winced a little when she felt the bruising. She was going to need to wear a scarf everywhere again. "This is Gotham. Happens all the time."

"But that's… not fair." He stared at her, and she could almost feel his pitying stare. That made her frown, and she shook her head.

"Lots of things aren't fair." She shrugged and glanced at the man who had attacked her as he groaned, and stirred. "Um… maybe we should get out of here."

Robin nodded quickly, before his head snapped in her direction. "We?" He frowned. "Wait. I don't think you understand—"

"Robin, leaving me all alone after I almost just died isn't very heroic," Steph chastised him, smirking at the way he stiffened, looking as if she'd physically hurt him. "Just kidding. But seriously, don't leave me alone."

"Oh." Robin looked at the man who had attacked her, his eyes narrowing as he seemed to understand the situation a little more. "Do you want me to take you home?"

And then he completely lost his grip.

"No!" Steph gasped. She bit her lip as her assailant sat up, and she snatched Robin's staff from his fingers, spinning around and striking the man's neck carefully. Robin had not tried to stop her, but rather watched as she took a few deep breaths, using his staff as a crutch. The man slumped again, slipping from consciousness once more. "No… that's okay. You don't have to take me home. Just…"

She didn't know. She had no place to go. She groaned and shifted her weight against the staff, gripping it tightly with both hands. Then she smiled at him. "Hey, you let me have your staff," she laughed feebly, her chest hurting from the small action. She saw him smile dimly, and she took pride in the success. "My name's Stephanie, by the way. Well, Steph. You can call me Steph."

"Steph," Robin said quietly. Steph smiled at him, and she rocked back and forth surprising herself as she began to twirl the staff around. It wasn't as heavy as she'd expected it to be. "Is everything okay… at home?"

"Yeah," she lied, spinning and faking a swing at the red clad hero. He didn't so much as flinch when the tip of the staff paused, hovering centimeters from his nose. She felt a little woozy after that, lightheaded from spinning so fast. "Hey, this is pretty nifty."

He pushed the staff aside, stepping toward her carefully. She stared at him, suddenly fearful. She didn't want him to know who her dad was. She just wanted him to help her get away from him. She lowered the staff and tried to smile, but suddenly her panic seemed to get the better of her, and she took a few steps back, shaking her head. She tossed the staff at his feet and backed away from him, toward the other side of the alley. He caught the staff before it hit the ground, and he stared at her, looking a little remorseful.

"You know, never mind. I can totally get home by myself. Thanks again, Robin!"

"Steph, wait," Robin called. She shook her head and ran. It was the easiest thing to run away from him, because she was so used to running, she only felt free when she was sprinting from her problems. But Robin hadn't been a problem. He'd been trying to help. Maybe that made it worse. And she'd been having fun, almost, all things considering, and that made her so angry at herself.

Why is it, she thought, dizzy and dazed, that I always spoil everything?

I figured since I wrote a oneshot for Tim and a oneshot for Damian, and a multific for Jason, I might as well play with Steph. I'm going to consider this my happy fic, if anyone asks.

I really, really, really hope they bring Steph in as Spoiler. Like, it looks like a lot of the kidnapped kids in Before the Dawn are making significant comebacks, so I want to see Steph get some action.

Keep in mind that she's twelve, and I was purposely making her annoying. I wasn't really trying anything special here. I just wanted to write these two together. Nothing shippy or anything more than interaction. Actually, when I started this, I was writing about Barbara. Then I switched it.

I hope you guys enjoy my burst of inspiration for this fandom, because it'll probably go away after the break. =[