"Fuck you, Dick!" Jason called, from across the ballroom in Wayne manor at his brother.

"Jason, language!" Bruce Wayne called, over his shoulder, as he finished signing for the bartender. The CEO of Wayne industries was once again throwing a mixer to find new investors for his company for whatever new product they were working on.

Jason rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his black and white hair, "Sorry dad," he forced a smile, "fuck you, Richard." Dick always had a habit of sticking his nose in places it didn't belong or anywhere Jason really didn't want it. Jason had asked a friend of Dick's, Zatanna, out for coffee when school starts and somehow word got back to Dick...

Dick couldn't help but laugh at his younger brother, "I don't think that's what he meant Jay, but thanks for trying." Richard Grayson went back to unstacking chairs and placing them around the round tables that flooded the largest room in the manor.

The clicking of heels against the floor made the boys stop their movements and look at their stepmother. She smiled brightly at them as she smoothed out her floor-length purple ballgown and wrapped her arm around her husband's waist, "what are we all squabbling about?" Selina Kyle-Wayne asked. She pouted her lips out slightly and fluttered her eyelashes, "is everything okay with the party Bruce?"

"Of course Selina," the billionaire smiled before leaning down to peck his wife's lips, "the boys were just fussing over Jason's crush on Zatanna."

"Shut up dad!" Jason threw his hand up in the air in frustration before slamming them back down to his side with clenched fists, "is it too much to ask for some goddamn privacy in this house?!"

"No you can't," Damian imputed as he walked into the room, carrying a stack of neatly folded table clothes, "the only one with secrets in this house is Cassandra and it's only because she doesn't talk."

Tim rolled his eyes and groaned in agreement as he walked in behind Damian, with a tray of wine glasses, "with nine of us living in this house it's almost impossible to find a room with no one else in it, let alone somewhere to talk where no one can hear you," he slipped the tray onto the bar and turned to look at his family, "is there anything else we need to bring in?"

Bruce looked around the room before shaking his head, "I think we have everything out, the setup team can just put it all together, and make this room look presentable." He turned to leave with his wife on his arm, but stopped at the large archway, "where are the girls?"

The four boys looked at each other before shrugging, "with Barbara getting ready?" Dick suggested.

"Or hiding from the manual labour?" Jason added, "I'm going to call Kory to make sure she remembers the party is tonight."

Dick's ears perked up at the sound of Kory's name, "remind her it's formal attire." the oldest brother had a thing for the exotic transfer student, but he had been extremely afraid to do anything about it for two reasons, one of which, was because she was his brother's best friend.

Jason looked knowingly at Dick as their siblings and parents left the room. Dick had a way with women. They fell hard and fast in love with him with only one conversation. That's exactly what happened with Kory. During one of Dick and Bab's famous 'breaks,' Richard and Kory slept together after Jason, Roy, and Kory crashed the junior prom. Kory saw fireworks and Dick saw himself staring down the end of Commissioner Gordon's police taser when he confessed to Barbra what happened. Dick regretted it the moment he drove up Gordon's driveway; he regretted going back to Barbra when he wanted Kory.

A few days after the ordeal, Dick confessed to his brother about his woes with the two most beautiful women at Gotham Academy.

It was a secret Jason would hold forever, Kory was in love with Dick and Dick loved her back. He only held on to it because he cared too much about Kory to see her hurt by Dick and his womanizing ways.


Stephanie and Cassandra flopped down onto the queen size bed in Barbara's 'vacation room' in Wayne Manor. Barbara, being the commissioner's daughter, was always left home by herself when her father would work long into the night. Because of this, his close relationship with Commissioner Gordon, and the fact that Dick wasn't allowed over when Jim wasn't home, Bruce turned one of the many guest bedrooms into a vacation room for Bab's when she didn't feel like being by herself in their little house.

"This is the fourth dress you've tried on! Just pick one so we can go down to the party!" Stephanie whined.

Cass sat up on the bed and nodded.

"This is huge though! Dick and I are officially seniors come tomorrow and I just want to make a good impression on all those scholars downstairs." Barbara beamed as she slipped on a yellow ballgown, the first one she had tried on over an hour ago.

"You just want to make a good impression on Grayson," Stephanie smirked, as she rose from the bed, and slipped her black heel's on under her silver dress, "you want a stable relationship for your senior year."

"It's always about Richard," Cass signed to Cass, making the blonde giggle, while the redhead rolled her eyes.

"We're already dating, why would I need to make a good impression?"

Stephanie pulled her hair back with a thick black headband, "because of Kory."

Cass noted that Barbra's shoulders tensed as she heard the Tamarainians name. It was the reaction the mute girl needed to confirm her thoughts.


"Woah," Jason whispered, as he watched Kory exit the limo parked outside of the manor's front doors.

Kory smiled brightly, as she processed up the stone stairs, "good evening Jason," she curtsied making the boy laugh.

"You don't have to do that Kor when you meet people inside you can just shake their hand or even smile if you don't want to hug them."

Kory Anders had moved to Gotham just over a year ago from the small island of Tamaran. They were having a very serious and distressful war against a neighbouring island that happens to be led by Kory's own sister Kom Anders. Kory's parents, the rulers of Tamaran sent her to Gotham to keep her safe and as far away from any media about the island. Although eighteen, Kory was placed in the tenth grade, in hopes of improving her English skills, and there, in remedial English, she met Jason Todd, cooped up in the corner in the back of class, pretending he didn't notice her when she began talking to him the best she could with broken English. They finally bonded, after failing the same test, and were forced to sit through detention with Mr. Nigma and constructed a plan to escape before he finished his Daily Riddler Puzzle. Since then they had been inseparable; even adding Roy Harper to their click after setting off a group of stink bombs in the detention classroom so he wouldn't have to attend after skipping too many classes.

Being the great friends that they were, Roy and Jason dedicated many hours to improving Kory's English in hope of helping her pass her classes so she could continue in their grade.

Kory twirled in her magenta dress that accented her fire orange hair perfectly, "it has been a very long time since I have been allowed to dress up in such a formal way. We had many parties back home but I was never old enough to attend them."

"They're not so special here," Jason shrugged, admiring the way the dress fit his friend, "and Bruce throws these things constantly since marrying Selina." Although to his face Jason always calls Bruce 'dad' but he often made a point of using his real name behind his adoptive father's back, "I think she enjoys the attention of being his arm candy."

"Will I be your arm candy tonight, Jason?"

Jason knew Kory was being completely innocent, but something about the question just sent his head into a frenzy, "N-no-o, NO!" he stated firmly, through his burning red cheeks, "you're here as my friend and nothing more."

They entered the ballroom flooded with hundreds of hopeful investors, the majority of which Jason could name from memory. He either went to school with their children or they came to a birthday party, christening, shower, or some other party the Wayne's hosted or were invited to. The rich are a small community in Gotham.

"Oh, thank god you guys are here!" Roy shoved his way through the crowd to meet up with his friends, "Oliver has been driving me crazy all night! He's all worked up because Dinah decided to stay home." Jason nodded, she was nine months along and was ready to pop at any minute.

Roy wrapped his arms around both of them and pulled them into a group hug. He was wearing a red suit that stuck out like a sore thumb, "Oh, that's very exciting" Kory exclaimed removing Roy's hand from her waist, "your little brother will be here before you know it! Did Oliver and Dinah agree on a name?"

Roy shook his head moving away slightly to give Jason more room, "they want Conner, but I didn't like it. Oliver's been bitchier than usual and grounded me from my bike for two weeks, Dinah just walked away, then told us she wasn't coming." Roy had been Oliver's ward for well over ten years and the two had never really gotten along but they still stood by each other. Gotham had gone through the Angelina Jolie phase and all the elite had started adopting kids. Roy was just a pawn in Oliver's ideals to become noticed more in the community but disaster fell when Roy was never fully able to leave his street life behind and became addicted to heroin. Although, recovering now for almost two years, the disappointment and anger never seemed to pass in Oliver.

"Let us dance!" Kory instructed, practically ordered, after an awkward bought of silence, "this music is very upbeat."


Barbara grabbed Dick's hand and pulled him towards the dance floor, her head found itself a comfortable spot in the crook of his neck while his arms wrapped around her as they swayed to the music.

Impossible Year played over the crowd, "Damian must have overseen the music," Dick whispered to Barbra, "for a ten-year-old he has a weird love for Panic! At the Disco,"

"I don't mind," The redhead smiled, "I think it's kinda nice, to listen to something with lyrics and a real soul, not just a symphony bellowing at you all night." Dick nodded in agreement, "can you believe that this time next year we will be at Yale together? Living peacefully and away from all the crazy?"

Dick lifted his head slightly to reply to his girlfriend when he saw Kory making her way onto the floor with Jason and Roy not far behind. His chest tightened and his mouth got dry as he walked closer to him and Barbara... Barbara was the other reason he could never be with Kory. He loved Barbara, he really did, and they had been together since they were twelve. They had been on and off a few times, both dating others within that time, but they always found themselves together again. He didn't want to ruin it all with Barbara for a girl he didn't even know would last that long. "I can't wait," he managed to force out before looking back over to Kory who was doing sporadic movements to the music causing a bit of a scene.


The night grew on and Tim and Damian were getting bored. So bored, they were actually standing next to each other in calm silence. Damian was even debating pulling the fire alarm, just so everyone would leave, and he could go hide in his room. He was the only one at this party who was his age (John Kent wasn't allowed out for late night gatherings on a school night). Everyone was at least four years older than him and often talked down to him, which just made Damian mad. He was a very bright child, who could hold his own in any situation, physical or academic. Many people at his father's party just ignored him altogether because he had a 'bad attitude' when it came to his elders.

Damian turned to speak to his brother about ditching the event altogether when he noticed Tim stuck in a gaze that perhaps lead to a very close family friend, "when you're done staring at the 'love of your life' could you please enter back into this reality?"

Tim averted his eyes as his face paled before he let out a sigh, "I don't know what you're talking about Damian, Donna is just a friend."

"We talked about not having any secrets in this house about four hours ago to Grayson, Todd, and father. You know full well I know everything you all think about." Damian flashed a smug look, "and who said anything about Donna? I was talking about the one who's going to be your lab partner this year."

"Look you little twerp; mind your own business." Tim blushed a deep red.

"Save it for someone who will believe you." Damian rolled his eyes before grabbing a shrimp puff from a passing waiter, "when do you think father will let us leave?"

"For someone so smart you act like such a child," Tim commented, "you can't even sit through a Wayne Industries event without getting fidgety."

"Shut up Drake, you have no idea what you are talking about. I am much more mature than you or any of the other wards living in this house, I am the-"

"Blood son, we know Damian. You remind us at least four times a day." Dick rolled his eyes as he walked towards his youngest brothers with Barbara.

"I'm the blood son, I rule all." Jason mimicked, making Kory and Roy snicker from behind him.

"Funny how we all end up here," Stephanie commented, walking up to the growing crowd of Wayne's and friends, with Cassandra right beside her, "did you hear dad is making an important announcement."

"It's probably for the new toy he's building," Jason said.

The Wayne Wards (and Son) always found themselves huddled together, after so many hours at their father's event. It got tiring and quite boring making small talk with the same people, who asked the same questions and gave the same answers. It didn't take long for the children of the investors to find their way over to the group of loud kids trying their best to keep each other entertained and do so in a way that would not get them grounded for being disruptive.

"I was worried our little pow-wow wasn't happening." Donna laughed, as she moved herself to stand next to Tim. "I was getting very annoyed at Lex jr.'s passes at me."

"I'm sure he was getting very annoyed at you saying no all the time," Kon laughed, popping up on the other side of Tim. "So, what's this big announcement everyone has been murmuring about all night? My dad won't stop talking about it."

"We didn't even know there was supposed to be an announcement. I hadn't heard anything until Jim Gordon asked about it a few minutes ago." Dick said, wrapping his arm around Barbara's waist.

Just as Jason was about to comment, the music was cut, and everyone's attention was asked for at the stage. Bruce and Selina walked over with the microphone holding hands, "I would like to thank everyone for coming tonight. I take pleasure in knowing that all of you are still so interested in investing in Wayne industries even after more than thirty years." Bruce paused, for the applause, "tonight my wife and I are pleased–to share with you our exciting new." He pulled Selina closer, "We are pleased to let you know that we are expecting our own child in July of next year." The whole room erupted in cheers and applause. The whole room that is, except for the Wayne children.

All six and Barbara stood in silence as the room celebrated another addition to the family.

"What the fuck," Jason groaned, "we're running out of room in this goddamn house!"

"Why didn't they tell us before the party?" Tim asked, to no one in particular.

Stephanie was watching Cassandra sign out her disappointment, "I totally agree, Cass," she sighed, "why didn't Alfred tell us? He's usually the one to fill us in on things before Bruce actually gets around to it."

"Do you think maybe Alfred didn't know?" Dick pondered, "or maybe Bruce actually told him not to tell us."

The family, all turned to look at Damian, who hadn't said anything the whole time, "you okay little man?" Roy asked, waving his hand in front of the youngest Wayne's face.

Suddenly, Jason let out a roar of laughter, "he won't be the only blood son anymore!" Everyone else joined in, giggling. Damian suddenly took off full speed out of the ballroom and deep into the manor.

"Can't he just give us a break?" Dick groaned, before running after him, followed by Jason and Tim.

"No, then he wouldn't be the centre of attention," Jason replied.


A/N: Worlds biggest shoutout to The Mishmosh Bird for taking the time to edit my work and being totally patient with me as I jungle twenty billion things!