When Skylar first became the Watcher, she never wanted or expected to be a part of the ever-growing Wayne family. But life wanted to enact the found family trope with her. She was an unofficial part of the family that comprised Gotham's vigilantes. It meant being a part of a very chaotic group, something that wouldn't have been possible three-four years ago. Skylar liked being a part of this group. She would never admit it out loud, but it was nice to not be lonely.

Today, like many other days, was devoted to training. Even Jason was there in the mansion gym. Skylar stayed far away from him, training with Cassandra who was, by far, her favourite member of the Batfamily.

"Hey Cass, tape my hands for me, please," Skylar tossed the roll of tape towards her. Cass caught it with ease and grinned. Skylar held out her hands and Cass got to work. With swift fingers, she tied the tape around Skylar's fingers on both hands.

Skylar wiggled her fingers with a grin. "Perfect. Thanks, Cass. You want me to do yours?"

Cass shook her head. "I'll do it."

"I'll leave you to it then."

With a quick nod to her, Skylar walked to the pull-up bar. Doing weights was useless for her, especially with her strength. That was why she just stuck to the pull-up bar and the treadmill; and of course, she couldn't forget the age-old classic, the push-up.

Today, Damian was training on the treadmill, Tim was lifting weights, Jason was doing push-ups and Dick...well, he was just being Dick. As Skylar finished her first pull-up, she heard him speaking to Damian.

"'Sup, Damian?" Dick waved at Damian, who just grunted in acknowledgement. After, he was looking at Jason. "Light day, Jason?"

Uh oh. Those words meant Dick was trying to be competitive. Which meant the four Robins and former Robins were going to be competitive. Which could only mean a chaotic mess was incoming. Skylar was content enough to watch from the sidelines.

Her third pull-up done, she watched the scene playing out with light amusement. Jason looked more competitive than before. "I was just getting warmed up actually."

With an arm behind his back and one in front of him, Jason started doing one-arm push-ups. It was a little infuriating, Skylar thought, how nice his muscles looked in that sleeveless red hoodie. (And how nice he looked too...which was a thought never to be said out loud.)

Then Tim joined in, doing the two-finger push-up. Skylar glanced over at Cass, only to see the same amusement reflected back at her. This was going to be good entertainment. As she continued with her pull-ups, the four boys got more and more competitive. Skylar could only watch with a bemused smile. Shaking her head, she continued with her own exercise.

But even as she did so, her eyes were constantly drawn to Jason. She found it annoying how her brain decided she should be looking at Jason. Sure, he had his looks and everything, but she wasn't even attracted to him like that. So there was no point in even staring.

But her brain refused to listen.

Skylar must have been staring too intensely because the next moment, Jason looked up and their eyes met. She was frozen for a second. Before she could talk herself out of it, one corner of her mouth quirked up in a grin and she mouthed, "I am rooting for you."

"Thanks," He mouthed back, a dash of surprise and a hint of a smile visible on his face.

Skylar hated how much she liked that.

The training day had been more fun than expected.

Skylar stretched her hands as she walked out of the manor. She had managed to do almost all the exercises that she had wanted and had enjoyed some light entertainment in the form of the two-finger handstand competition between the four losers. Outside, the sky was a surprisingly pleasant yellow, with orange and red tints, indicating it was almost sunset time. It was rare in Gotham for the skies to look this pretty. From the Wayne manor, they looked exceptionally prettier.

Skylar would take it as a good omen. She needed some of those in her life.

But, of course, she had spoken too soon. Her ears perked up as she heard the rumblings of a motorbike and a heartbeat she had come to know all too well. She rolled her eyes as she turned around.

"Taking the front gate today?" Skylar called out loudly. "Thought you were planning on sneaking away to hide that you're still hurting."

"I am totally fine," Jason said as he slowed down, coming to a stop right where she was standing. The Wayne manor loomed behind them.

"Puh-lease. Who're you kidding?" Skylar scoffed. "You should know I can hear your heartbeat and it's a little bit elevated right now."

Jason groaned as he slumped over the bike's handles. "I hate you. Why do you notice this kinda stuff?"

"I can't really help it. Enhanced senses, remember?" Skylar motioned towards her ears. "I'd say you should rest tonight. You four overdid it today. How are you even driving actually? I thought you had no arm strength."

"I am better than those losers." In a pale, mocking imitation, Jason said, "Enhanced healing, remember?"

Skylar rolled her eyes. "Whatever. You should probably take care of yourself. Don't overdo it when you drive back."

Jason flicked her arm from his position, offering her a lazy smirk. "Thank you for being concerned about me. It's nice to know you have a heart."

"Oh, you wound me," Skylar dramatically sighed. "How will I ever recover from the pain of this insult?"

Jason guffawed as he restarted his bike. "How are you getting back by the way?"

"Me?" Skylar stretched her arms. "I'll probably walk. I forget I needed a leg workout so..."

"Huh," Jason said. "You're going to walk to the city. From here."

His eyes were narrowed and looked almost disbelieving. Skylar felt a little offended but she didn't really care. She wasn't lying. She did need the leg workout. She watched him, noticing his expression change into one that was contemplative. It was a strangely out-of-place look on Jason, who by his nature, was reckless. Distracted by the look in his eyes, Skylar didn't realize he was tapping on her arm, till he called out her name.

"Get on, Skylar." Jason pointed to the back of the bike. It took her a second to realise what he meant. Instantly, she shook her head. That was not happening. He wasn't even wearing a helmet, damn it.

"Oh, hell no. I am not getting on a bike with you."

"Skylar."

"Jason."

"Seriously, just get on. I am being nice, which is what you always say I should be."

"Yeah, that's the suspicious part. You being nice feels weird." As wary as she was, the same part of her that found Jason's white streak and his stupid face and his stupid muscles attractive, had her convinced. She'd take up Jason's offer just this once. Never again. Absolutely not.

(But probably yes.)

Very reluctantly, Skylar got on the bike. Her tiny backpack was strung over her shoulders, her thin blue hoodie zipped up halfway and her phone in the pocket of the comfy jeans she had changed into. She had brought these jeans from the men's section, so they actually had big and usable pockets.

"See? Wasn't so hard to listen, was it?" Jason revved up his bike, only turning around to give her a quick side glance.

"If I die or have to pay a fine because of our lack of helmets, I'll kill you."

Jason shrugged. "This is Gotham. The police don't do shit here. And trust me, I can handle dying. Already did it once."

"Enough with the death jokes, my god," Skylar rolled her eyes. She felt so uncomfortable at those, but she'd rather not let that feeling show. "Don't you ever get tired of making them?"

"Never," Jason was grinning, for sure. "You ready to go?"

"Yes, please."

"Oh, so polite."

Jason revved up the bike and soon they were off, riding off into the sunset like they were in some romance movie. Except this was no romance. And this was Gotham city.

*

By the time they arrived in the city and at her apartment, the sun had practically disappeared from the sky. Only the last vestiges of light remained as the darkness of night pushed it away. Surprisingly, no police stopped them to check their lack of helmets (no wonder criminals thrived in this hellhole). In that way, they were lucky. As Jason came to a stop in front of the apartment, Skylar realised she had never told him her address.

"I'd ask how you know my address but I am not sure I'd like the answer," She said as she got off the bike. Her hair felt all ruffled. She ran a hand through it, trying to flatten the many stray strands.

Jason did the same thing, except for some reason, he looked way cooler doing it. "Of course, I know. It isn't too hard to find out. I have my ways."

"Stalker much?" Skylar shook her head slightly. She was too tired to argue with him today. She just wanted to be back in the comfort of her own bed. "Thanks for the ride, by the way. I'll buy you a coffee in return. Or if you like cheap flowers, I can get you those."

"I don't need shit," Jason shrugged. The corners of his mouth tugged up in a half-grin. "Like I said, I was just being nice."

"And as I said, you being nice weirds me out." Skylar stared at him with slightly narrowed eyes. The sky was completely dark now and the lampposts had been lit up. "I'll see you around then. Bye."

She walked up the step to the entrance and even as she did so, she could feel Jason's stare on her. Unwavering. Unending.

That was strange.

I swear every time I try to do better with updates, life just keeps getting in the way. But now that I am almost done with my semester, I am slowly starting to have more time to update things. I am really attached to this story and honestly, I have the most inspiration for this. You should be getting more updates really soon, that much I can promise you. 

Until then, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter! Comments and votes are super appreciated <3