Some fun awkwardness in store for you in this one. I hope you enjoy it and PLEASE review. I can't tell if anyone's actually reading the story, or if they're just opening it, shrugging, and moving on to something else. I need feedback. Please. Kthanx.

Dick slept in a little while Saturday morning, until he remembered that he and Harriet would be meeting Bruce for lunch. He threw back the covers and sat up, only to receive an urgent message of pain from his back and shoulders.

"Oh... gosh," he groaned. He realized that his sudden zeal for exercise had finally caught up with him.

He could hear his mother in his mind... "If it doesn't hurt, you're not doing it right. Now, no more complaining!"

He smiled in spite of his soreness. Time to get his homework done. Maybe after lunch he would have the heart for some pushups.

When he went downstairs, Harriet was in the kitchen, reading a little booklet over a cup of tea.

"Ah, there you are," she said, smiling up at him. "I thought you'd like to sleep in, but I've kept some toast warm and I'll make you some eggs."

"That sounds great." Dick sniffed the warm kitchen air. "Is that homemade bread you toasted?"

She smiled. "Yes, it is. Do you still like raspberry jam?"

"It's my favorite."

An hour later, as he was finishing up the last of his algebra homework, Dick got a call from Barb.

"Hey, Dick. Did you figure out what you're doing today?"

"Yeah... my aunt and I are meeting Bruce in town for lunch. Not sure after that."

"Oh. Do your aunt and your guardian get along?"

"Sure. My aunt gets along with everyone. She's good at giving people the benefit of the doubt. And Bruce... well, even he couldn't dislike Aunt Harriet."

"That's good. I hope it goes well."

"Thanks."

"If you're free after, give me a call, OK? Suzy and I are gonna hang in town. You could join up."

"Yeah, maybe. I need to see how much homework I can get done this morning. Thanks for the invite."

"No problem. Bye."

Having extra incentive now, Dick hurried through his homework. When Harriet told him it was time to get ready to go, all he had left was a couple of reading assignments. Those would be easy to finish that night.

He put on the casual suit he'd brought to Harriet's house with a short-sleeved shirt and a simple tie. It was too warm for a vest. Really, it seemed a bit warm to be wearing a suit at all; he hoped they'd be indoors most of the time.

"Well, you look spiffy," Harriet told him when he came downstairs.

Dick smiled and shook his head. "So do you," he quipped, looking over her white and yellow dress.

She chuckled and led the way outside, pausing to lock the door. "It'll be good to see Bruce again. We didn't get a chance to talk much at the reading, and things were so tense then."

"Were you upset?" Dick couldn't help asking. "I mean, when you heard that Dad wanted me to stay with Bruce."

"I was certainly surprised. I had expected you to live with me, but it still wasn't a lot of notice, so I suppose I didn't feel betrayed so much as bewildered. But I was glad that you would still be in Gotham where I could see you now and then. It's the next best thing."

"Yeah."

Harriet drove them out of her neighborhood and headed downtown. "Were you disappointed that I didn't try to argue with them?" she asked.

It took Dick a moment to come back from his rabbit-trailing thoughts. "Oh... no. You're not an arguer, and besides my dad's secretary wouldn't lie, so I know it's what he really wanted. I just wish they'd talked to me about it is all."

"I'm sure it's a hard thing, figuring out what is most important to get done when you know you have a short time left."

"Mm-hm." Dick was glad she let the subject drop after that. He was starting to feel emotional, and he had no intention of letting Bruce see it.

They were on time, but Bruce was there ahead of them. A waiter showed them to his table.

Bruce stood as they approached. "Hello, Harriet. It's good to see you again."

"It's good to see you, too," Harriet answered cheerfully, offering her hand to shake.

"Dick," Bruce said, nodding to him.

"Bruce," Dick answered emotionlessly.

"Won't you sit down?"

"Thank you," Harriet answered for both of them.

They sat and Bruce urged them to order whatever they liked from the menu.

Dick glanced over the first few dishes listed. "There are no prices," he commented.

"That's how you know it's a classy place," Harriet told him, smiling.

Bruce coughed, seemingly covering amusement. "What your aunt is saying with admirable politeness is, when you come to the Hightower, they expect you to be loaded enough not to trifle over things like prices."

"Ah." Dick kept his eyes on his menu, not sure how he felt about the explanation. He was sure the food would be excellent, but it seemed like a waste to pour money into something that they would have nothing to show for in an hour. Then again, he'd been raised in the circus where his family made their living getting money from people who would have nothing to show for it after, so he really didn't have room to judge.

"It's very nice of you to treat us," Harriet told Bruce.

"It's nothing," he answered. "I own the place, after all."

That did make a difference. Bruce and his guests probably ate free. Dick looked up, about to make an attempt to converse on the subject of hotel-owning, but he completely forgot what he had been going to say when he saw a group of people walking into the dining room. Without even thinking, he pushed his chair back and stood.

"Dick, what's the matter?" Harriet asked.

Bruce followed Dick's gaze and also stood. "The royal family," he explained. "Ah, the princess has her governess with her... it's good to know she wasn't sacked after all..."

Dick barely processed what Bruce was saying, barely noticed when Harriet stood beside him. The princess was speaking to her governess, and then she was looking around, and then—then she was looking right at him! He bowed his head respectfully and then looked up to see her tilt her head slightly to the side with a smile, acknowledging him.

The princess spoke to her parents, and then the group came toward Bruce's table.

"Bruce, my dear friend," the king exclaimed, embracing Bruce and giving a mock kiss to both his cheeks. "So good to see you so soon."

"And you, your majesty," Bruce answered. "And Queen Avril," he said, turning to greet the queen in Lorandian fashion. Then he nodded to Ellora. "Your highness. May I present to you my ward, Richard Grayson."

No one calls me Richard. Dick bowed to the royals and said, "How do you do?" hoping it was an appropriate thing to say.

"And this is his aunt, Harriet Cooper."

The king kissed Harriet's hand and she said politely, "Enchanté." [Enchanted-commonly said when meeting someone]

"I didn't realize you had a boy," the queen was saying to Bruce.

Dick felt himself bristling. I'm not his boy. But he kept his expression calm.

"I... inherited him rather suddenly," Bruce answered.

"You are very lucky to have Mister Wayne in charge of you."

Dick looked up at the princess, suddenly put on the spot. He could scarcely believe she had spoken to him. He couldn't help smiling. "Yes... I suppose I am." The words had slipped out without much thought. He just wanted to agree with her. Well, after all, it could have been worse. Probably. "I'm so glad you're all right—after what you've been through," he added, getting his wits back about him.

"It was horrible," she said solemnly. Then she smiled. "But it was the most excitement I've ever 'ad!"

"Ellora," the queen scolded.

Bruce laughed. "Well, she can't be expected to fully comprehend the magnitude of her ordeal—and that's as it should be."

"Exactly right," Elroy agreed.

"Will your majesties join us for lunch?"

"Oh, I could not think of interrupting your family affair, my boy. But another time, when we can plan ahead, then we shall all dine together, yes?"

"It would be a pleasure."

They were going on to their own table before Dick could decide how he felt about the king thinking of himself, Harriet and Bruce as constituting a "family." He caught the princess's eye once more and heard her whispered, "Bye." "Goodbye," he answered sincerely, wondering if he would ever get the chance to speak to her again.

She's too young for me anyway, but... gosh, she's even prettier up close.

"Aren't they charming," Harriet exclaimed as they all sat down again. "And they seem so friendly with you, Bruce."

"I have my father to thank for that. He was a guest in Lorandia years ago... he went there to promote industrial efficiency and things like that. He and the king became acquainted and our families have been amicable ever since."

A waitress came to their table then. "Are you ready to order, Mister Wayne?" she asked.

"We'll need a few more minutes, Lorraine," he told her.

"Take your time," she said, flashing him a smile.

Is the waitress hitting on him? Dick wondered. That was weird. Maybe she was hoping for a big tip from the owner. He wondered if that would work on Bruce.

"In the meantime, we'll have a bottle of pinot noir and..." Bruce glanced at Dick. "...a birch beer for the minor."

Dick didn't like Bruce deciding what to get him to drink. But he liked birch beer. Actually, he loved birch beer. Darn it all.

"Coming right up," Lorraine said, jotting the requests on her note pad before turning away.

"Well," Harriet said after a moment, setting her menu down, "it's been a long time since I had duck a l'orange. I think I'll have that. I'm surprised they offer it for lunch."

"They didn't until I bought the place. It's one of my favorite dishes, so I asked them to serve it for lunch or dinner. What about you?" Bruce asked, turning to Dick. "Know what you want?"

I never do anymore... "Uh..." Dick looked at the fancy sounding entrées on the menu. Finally, he said, "What's the soup of the day?"

"It's Saturday... that would be the borscht."

"Sounds good. I'll have that."

"They'll offer you a sandwich with it. Ask for whatever kind you like."

"OK." Dick took a sip of his water, resisting the urge to look around and see where the royal family had sat.

Soon the waitress returned and took their menus away with orders for the chef.

Dick stared at the little sprig of flowers in a porcelain bottle on the table. He wished there were something to do while they waited. This was the worst thing about fancy restaurants... so much waiting around.

"It's so nice to have time to catch up with people while someone else does the cooking," Harriet remarked, breaking the silence and directly contradicting Dick's thoughts.

"Isn't it?" Bruce answered, smiling. Dick thought the smile looked a little forced. He cleared his throat. "So, Dick... school going well so far?"

"Yeah," Dick answered automatically.

"Oh, I forgot to ask you about that history quiz," Harriet said. "How did that go?"

Dick grimaced. "I barely squeezed an A-minus out of it. I could retake it, but I think it'll be OK."

"Retake a quiz you aced?" Bruce asked.

"Well, I want to get A's in all subjects on my report card, so if I get a few B's later on, it'll take more than an A-minus to pull me up."

"Are you trying to get a scholarship? Because I can get you into whatever college you want to go to..."

"I'd like to earn it," Dick interrupted coldly. "Anyway... I want to get the best grades that I can. It's just... a goal of mine." Something my dad taught me... Whatever you do, do it to the best of your ability. You will never regret doing your best.

"It's an admirable goal," Harriet approved, dispelling the tension in the air. "I'm sure you'll do very well. I used to tell your mother you were the smart one."

Harriet and Bruce got talking about Gotham's school systems, then. It was a boring subject for Dick, but he was surprised at how civil—how nice, even—Bruce seemed while discussing it with Harriet. He actually seemed to have some real concern for providing kids with a good education.

This is so weird, he thought. Get me out of here.

Their lunch arrived at last, and Dick busied himself with eating. The borscht turned out to be delicious, and the ham sandwich that went with it made all previous ham sandwiches in Dick's experience seem like they came out of a vending machine. The birch beer was excellent as well. Harriet was delighted with her duck a l'orange, and Bruce ate his authentic Italian pasta salad with effortlessly good table manners.

Near the end of the meal, Bruce told Harriet, "Wednesday, I'd like you to bring Dick home in time to have dinner with us. I hope we can see more of each other, and not just for Dick's sake."

"I do, too," Harriet answered cheerfully. "I only wish we'd gotten to know each other sooner."

Great, Dick thought. She loves him. He seems to like her, too. That was good because it meant he'd probably get to see Harriet often, but it was bad because it might mean she wouldn't take him seriously if he tried to convince her that Bruce wasn't a good guardian—or worse, that he was Batman. Dick looked Bruce over. I'm being silly. There's no way this fop could be Batman. Him and his world-class table manners. His buy-your-way-into-college. His hotel-buying. His...

"Dick?"

Dick looked up at Bruce. "Sorry, what?"

"Do you want any dessert?" Bruce asked, in tones that suggested he and Harriet had just had this conversation and Dick had missed it.

"We thought a little gelato would be nice," Harriet said.

"Um, sure. Whatever you're having."

"Three gelatos." The waitress was back with her notepad. "Anything else?"

"Nope," Bruce answered. "Just have them put everything on my tab."

"Yes, sir." Another one of those winning smiles.

She is totally hitting on him. Fortune hunter?

When the dessert arrived, Dick expected the dull brown treat to taste like chocolate, but he was surprised. "Coffee?"

"Caffè espresso," Bruce corrected. "Do you like it?"

Dick hesitated and Harriet chimed in.

"It's delightful. Do they have other flavors?"

"A dozen, but this is my favorite."

"It's good," Dick said grudgingly.

"Good." Bruce looked toward the dining room's main entrance. "Ah, Alfred's here. I'm sorry to cut this short, but I have to be going. Don't get up on my account. Stay as long as you like." He took Harriet's hand. "Harriet, it's been lovely."

"Indeed," she answered. "Thank you very much."

As he walked around the table, Bruce gave Dick's shoulder a non-committal pat. "Good seeing you, Dick."

"Yeah... bye," Dick said. He felt like he should say something a little more sincere, but he still couldn't decide if he wanted to be encouraging or not. What the heck did I just sit through? This was so weird...

"Well, this was so nice," Harriet said once Bruce was gone. "He's really quite charming, isn't he?"

"Um, sure." When he wants to put on a show...

"What would you like to do when we're done?"

"I don't know. I'm pretty full. Is there a park nearby where we could walk around a little?"

"I know just the place."

Again, hope you enjoyed and please review. Let me know how I'm doing. The suspense for your feedback is killing me.