Ground Rules

Friday, October 24th, 18:45.

New Jersey,

Gotham City,

Gotham Heights.

The clinking of cutlery against ceramic plates filled the Gordon household, the warm scent of home-cooked food filling the air. The dining table was set neatly, a simple yet cozy atmosphere surrounding them as Esau sat across from Barbara, Jim Gordon seated at the head of the table. The evening meal was nothing extravagant, but after so many months of eating takeout, a proper home-cooked meal felt almost foreign to him.

Jim leaned back slightly in his chair, forking another piece of food into his mouth before fixing Esau with an inquisitive look. "So," he started casually, "what have you been up to? Where's life been taking you?"

Esau took a moment to swallow before responding, keeping his voice even. "Here and there. Spent some time traveling around Europe and the Middle East. Wanted to see a bit of the world." It wasn't a complete lie—he had been all over the world with the team, but the sightseeing had been secondary to the missions and battles he had fought in.

Jim raised an eyebrow slightly, clearly intrigued. "Europe and the Middle East, huh? Interesting choice for a young man. What drew you there?"

Esau shrugged, keeping his answer simple. "Culture, history…perspective."

Jim hummed, his sharp detective instincts undoubtedly picking up on Esau's deliberately vague responses. But to his credit, he didn't press. Instead, he nodded as he chewed, then swallowed. "Good. The world's bigger than Gotham, bigger than the U.S. It's important to broaden your horizons. You pick up any languages while you were traveling?"

"Some," Esau admitted. "Nothing fluent, just enough to get by in a few places." Again, technically not a lie. Between his time in the Young Justice League and his time with Deathstroke, he had learned enough different languages to move undetected when needed.

Jim let out a chuckle. "Well, that's more than most. Better than me, at least. Spanish is about as far as I got, and even then, I'd probably get laughed at if I tried speaking it too much."

Throughout the conversation, Esau kept catching Barbara's gaze. She had a smile on her face, one that never quite faded, her eyes soft as she watched him. It wasn't overly exaggerated or teasing—it was just…there. Warm. Constant.

Every time he glanced toward her, he found himself meeting her gaze, and she'd smile just a little wider. It was distracting in the best possible way, making it harder to focus on the conversation at hand. Eventually, Esau just let himself smile slightly in return, shaking his head before continuing to answer Jim's occasional questions.

Jim, of course, noticed.

It wasn't immediate, but as they settled into their meals, the older man's sharp eyes picked up on the silent exchanges between his daughter and Esau. The quiet little smiles, the way they kept looking at each other. He chewed thoughtfully, taking his time as he observed them.

Then, after a comfortable lull in the conversation, Jim casually pointed his fork between the two of them, his voice carrying a dry, matter-of-fact tone. "So. When did this start?"

Both Esau and Barbara froze mid-bite, looking at him like deer caught in headlights. Barbara's fork stopped halfway to her mouth. Esau's chewing slowed to a near-halt. Their eyes flickered to one another for just a second, as if unsure who should answer first.

Eventually, Barbara swallowed and, in a slightly hesitant voice, said, "Uh…just recently."

Jim nodded slowly, as if digesting the information as much as his food. He sat back slightly, setting his fork down and clasping his hands together. Then, in the most serious, no-nonsense tone possible, he stated, "Alright. Ground rules."

Both Esau and Barbara immediately tensed, awaiting whatever fatherly wisdom—or threat—was about to be delivered.

Jim held up a finger. "One: Use protection."

Esau choked on his food immediately.

The bite he had just swallowed seemed to lodge itself in his throat as his body reacted instinctively to the sheer boldness of the statement. He coughed hard, covering his mouth with his fist as he tried desperately to clear his airway. His face went red, not just from the coughing fit but from the sheer mortification of the situation.

Barbara, on the other hand, went stiff before her entire face ignited into a deep, furious shade of red. "Dad!" She screeched, scandalized.

Jim, completely unbothered by the reactions, held up a second finger. "Two: Not in the house."

Barbara let out an outright gasp of disbelief, her hands gripping the edge of the table as if she wanted to flip it. "Oh my God, stop!"

Jim raised a third finger. "Three: If you do ignore rule two, keep it down. Walls aren't as thick as you think."

That was it. Esau couldn't even look at him anymore. He just buried his face in his hands, letting out a strangled groan. Barbara had her head in her hands as well, shaking her head furiously, her embarrassment at an all-time high.

"DAD!" she practically screamed. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Jim simply shrugged, picking his fork back up and resuming his meal, entirely unaffected. "Hey, just making sure everything's clear from the get-go."

Esau, still coughing slightly, finally lifted his head and croaked out, "I was not prepared for this conversation."

"No one was," Barbara muttered, glaring at her father.

'That was fun.' Jim smirked slightly, finally allowing a little amusement to peek through his usually serious expression. "Well, now we've had it. Enjoy your meal, kids." Esau and Barbara both exchanged deeply mortified glances, both realizing the teasing was never going to end.

-X-

Friday, October 24th, 18:55.

New Jersey,

Gotham City,

Gotham Heights.

The soft glow of Barbara's bedroom lamp cast a warm light across the room, illuminating the walls covered in bookshelves, pictures, and memorabilia from her time as Batgirl. The air was still, quiet except for the occasional rustling of fabric as Esau ran his fingers absentmindedly through her hair, his other arm draped lazily around her waist.

Barbara, however, remained completely still, her face buried in his chest as if willing herself to disappear entirely. A muffled groan escaped her lips. "I cannot believe he did that," she muttered, her voice laced with pure mortification.

Esau chuckled, his chest vibrating against her forehead. "I mean, you should have expected something like this."

Barbara peeked up from his chest, shooting him an accusatory glare. "Don't you dare act like this was normal, Esau! That was not a normal dinner conversation!"

He couldn't argue with that. Instead, he smirked and squeezed her just a little tighter. "Look on the bright side," he teased. "At least he approves of us. He could've pulled a gun on me instead."

Barbara sighed dramatically, flopping onto her back beside him, one arm covering her eyes. "He was always going to approve of you. He loves you like a son. You know that."

Esau turned his head toward her, his expression softening slightly. He did know that.

Jim Gordon had been the closest thing he ever had to a real father figure, and he knew without a doubt that if Black Mask hadn't gotten in the way, Jim would have adopted him. That was a long time ago, but it hadn't changed how Jim looked out for him. It was just…strange to hear it said out loud like this.

Barbara peeked out from under her arm, her lips curving into a knowing smile. "I wouldn't be surprised if he's been waiting for this to happen just so he'd have an excuse to force you to stay over more often."

Esau let out a dry laugh, shaking his head. "Pretty sure everyone knew before we did."

Barbara snorted. "Oh, definitely. Artemis and Dick have been side-eyeing us for months. As has M'gann, Kaldur. Hell even Connor though that was only after he and M'gann got together. But pretty sure my dad knew about our feelings for another for years, he kept hinting at us getting together."

"Years?" Esau repeated, raising a brow.

Barbara rolled onto her side to face him properly, propping her head up with one arm. "Years," she confirmed with a playful smirk. "And I bet Jim and Harvey would've made some great bets on how long it'd take us to figure it out."

Esau groaned, covering his face with his hands. "They're never going to let this go, are they?"

"Not a chance."

They both chuckled, their laughter fading into something quieter, more comfortable. After a few moments, Barbara hesitated, biting her lip before asking, "So…can I expect more of this?" She gestured vaguely between them, indicating the way they were just relaxing together, entwined in comfortable silence.

Esau tilted his head slightly, feigning thoughtfulness. "Hmm, I dunno…"

Barbara's expression turned mock-offended, and she smacked his arm lightly. "Esau!"

He laughed, catching her hand before she could hit him again, intertwining his fingers with hers. "Relax. I'm not going anywhere for a while," he reassured her. "Training's my focus now. No more missions. No more constant moving. Just me, here, getting stronger."

Barbara hummed, satisfied with his answer.

"Speaking of that…do you or Batman know anyone who could actually help me improve my hand-to-hand skills?" Esau asked after a moments silence.

She blinked in surprise. "Why?"

Esau debated for a second before sighing, deciding honesty was the best approach. "Remember when I sent you that picture of whiskey?"

Barbara nodded slowly. "Yeah…?"

Esau exhaled through his nose. "I wasn't actually at Jason's."

Barbara snorted, rolling her eyes. "I know."

Esau paused, slightly thrown. "You knew?"

She smirked. "Esau, please. You suck at lying to me. I wasn't going to call you out on it, though."

Esau shook his head in amusement. "Should've expected that."

Barbara leaned in a little closer, resting her chin against his chest as she looked up at him. "But I am happy that you're actually telling me now. I know you don't like talking about stuff sometimes, and I won't stop you from doing whatever it is you're doing—" she hesitated for a moment, then added softly, "—I'll worry about you, obviously. But I trust you."

Esau stared at her for a long moment before reaching out, his fingers brushing against her cheek. She leaned into the touch without hesitation. He kissed her softly, a slow and lingering press of lips before pulling away just enough to whisper, "Thanks."

Barbara smiled, nudging his nose with hers. "Now keep talking."

Esau chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "Alright. So, when I was out, I watched a guy fight. Bronze Tiger."

Barbara stiffened slightly, her eyebrows raising in shock. "Wait. Bronze Tiger?"

Esau caught the recognition in her voice and frowned slightly. "You know him?"

Barbara nodded. "Of course I do. Esau, he's one of the deadliest martial artists in the world. Batman has fought him a few times before."

That didn't entirely surprise Esau, but hearing it confirmed was something else. "So he really is that good, huh?"

Barbara nodded, still slightly taken aback. "Yeah. He's a beast. So…what happened?"

Esau ran a hand down his face. "I watched him destroy his opponent in less than thirty seconds. The guy never stood a chance. And I realized that even if I could hold my own against him, I wouldn't win."

Barbara let out a low whistle. "That's rare for you to admit."

Esau smirked. "I have my moments."

She hummed. "So I'm guessing you want to train specifically to close that gap?"

"Exactly," Esau confirmed. "Jason's looking into someone for me, but I wanted to see if you or Batman knew anyone."

Barbara tapped her chin in thought before snapping her fingers. "Ted Grant."

Esau blinked. "Who?"

"Wildcat," she clarified. "Justice Society. He's retired now, but he used to be one of the best strikers out there. He taught Bruce before he became Batman."

That definitely caught Esau's interest. "How good was he?"

Barbara grinned. "Bruce says that in his prime, Ted was a better striker than him." That made Esau sit up a little straighter as Barbara continued, "His groundwork and kicking game are good, but not top-tier. If you want to round out your skills, you should keep training with Canary for groundwork. As for kicking—" she hesitated, thinking.

Esau raised a brow. "Yeah?"

"There's a guy. The Armless Master."

Esau stared at her. "The what?"

Barbara held up a hand. "I know. He literally has no arms. But he's insanely skilled. Dick and I trained with him for a while. Pretty much immediately after you kicked our ass back at the auction."

Esau tilted his head slightly. "And you're just telling me this now?"

Barbara grinned, leaning up to kiss him lightly. "Consider it an exclusive tip."

Esau chuckled against her lips. "Think you can send me the address later?"

Barbara smirked. "Already planning on it."

Esau shook his head, amused. "Thanks."

Barbara grinned, pulling him down into another kiss before murmuring against his lips, "Now shut up and kiss me."

He gladly complied.