TITLE: Ballet Class
AUTHOR: LOTSlover
CHARACTERS: Batman / Wonder Woman
RATING: K+
WARNINGS: Author Chooses Not to Use Warnings
DISCLAIMER: I love Justice League, but especially Batman and Wonder Woman. Unfortunately, I do not own the characters and, if I did, things would be much different for them.
SUMMARY: Bruce takes Kaia to her ballet class and gets more than he bargained for. BMWW
Ballet Class
"Are you sure you're okay doing this?" Diana asked again, doubt seeping into her voice.
"Diana, I told you I'm perfectly fine," Bruce said with a chuckle, wondering why his wife was so worried.
"Me fine, mama," Kaia called from her car seat behind Bruce, lighting swinging her legs back and forth.
"See? We're fine," he reassured her over the speaker. "You worry too much, princess. I'm more than capable of taking my daughter to her ballet class."
"I know you are," she replied. "You're a wonderful father. I'm just not sure you know what you're getting yourself into."
"Kaia and I will have a great time," he promised her, ducking his head slightly to look in his side mirror before changing lanes. "I'm looking forward to watching her in class. Besides, I brought my IPad along to do a little work while I wait for her."
"Still trying to finalize that deal with the company in France?"
"Unfortunately," he said with a rasping growl as he thought about his most recent headache. "It's dragging on a lot longer than I had planned. I thought for sure this would've been settled last week."
"I'm sure you'll figure it out," she assured him. "I have faith in you."
"Thanks, princess," he replied, the corner of his lips quirking minutely. "Say goodbye to mom, Kai."
"Bye, mama," Kaia yelled at the top of her lungs.
Diana chuckled softly. "Goodbye, sweetheart," she said. "Have a good time in ballet class and I'll see you at dinner."
"Do I get a goodbye?" Bruce flirted.
"Goodbye, sweetheart," she uttered with a lilting laugh that caused his smile to grow. "Have a good time in ballet class and I'll see you at dinner."
"That wasn't quite what I was hoping for," he informed her with a frown. "I was hoping for something a little more…shall I say…romantic?"
"There are little ears in the car with you, Bruce," she pointed out. "Besides, you're not much of a romantic."
"I'll have you know I have my moments," he told her. "Last night was very romantic, wasn't it?"
"Very," she agreed, "and if you're good, it can be romantic again tonight."
"I'm always good, princess, and I'm holding you to that promise," he huskily stated.
"Love you," she told him.
"Love you too."
"Me love you, mama!" Kaia chimed in.
"Love you too, my little sun and stars," Diana called to her daughter. "I'm hanging up now. You need to concentrate on driving."
"Bye," he said, ending the call.
"So, what kind of treat do you want after ballet class?" Bruce asked as he looked at his daughter in the rearview mirror. "Would you like ice cream?"
"Yes!" Kaia exclaimed. "I want spwinkles."
"Do you like ballet class?"
"It's fun," she said. "Me the best."
"Well, this is only your third class, but I'm sure you're very good at it." What two-year-old wouldn't be good after only two classes?
Pulling into the parking lot of the ballet studio, Bruce parked the car, exiting with his tablet and phone in hand before retrieving his daughter from the backseat. Picking her up, he set her down, taking her by the hand as they walked together towards the studio.
"Good afternoon, Mister Wayne," Ms. Thomas greeted them with a warm smile. "Welcome, Kaia. I'm so happy to see you. You look beautiful in your pink leotard and tutu."
"Tanks," Kaia replied.
"Where do we go now?" Bruce asked.
"Right this way," Ms. Thomas instructed him with an extended arm. "Parents can sit in the seats along the wall to watch the class."
"Thank you," he replied with a nod, leading Kaia inside the studio to find over thirty, two and three-year-old's giggling and chattering relentlessly. "Oh, no…"
Bruce abruptly understood what Diana had been trying to tell him when he had volunteered to take Kaia to her class. There was so much pink and ribbons, giggles and squeals…far too many girls for his comfort. While he'd been a father of a daughter for two years now, he still felt ill-prepared to handle the sudden onslaught of adolescent girl energy that surrounded him.
Taking on Bane suddenly sounded far better than sitting in a class with all of these little girls and the endless noise that permeated the studio. He wasn't completely used to girls. He knew how to handle boys who were precocious and full of mischief, goofing off and causing trouble. This was an altogether different experience, one that he wasn't sure he wanted to endure.
Kaia tugged on Bruce's hand, drawing him out of the sudden turmoil that was bubbling up inside of him. "Daddy," she said looking expectantly up at him. "Me go with Madison."
"Okay, you go with your friend," he agreed, more than relieved to turn her over to the brood of girls and the four teachers who had the responsibility of trying to wrangle them.
His relief was short-lived when he turned around to find a whole row of mothers all staring at him with varying expressions of amusement and sympathy on their faces. He fought the overwhelming urge to call Diana and insist she come in his place. He reminded himself that if he could handle the worst that Gotham could dish up, he could handle this too.
Straightening his shoulders, he walked over to an empty chair next to the only other father in the row of parents. "Hi," Bruce muttered with a nod.
"Patrick," he introduced himself.
"Bruce," he replied, shaking the other man's hand.
"Awkward, isn't it?"
"That's putting it mildly."
"Don't worry," Patrick reassured him with a knowing grin. "It gets a little better the more you come."
Bruce was already planning on not coming back here until Kaia had her recital. "That's good to know."
"It's a good thing they're so cute or this would be pretty painful," he said.
"Yes, they are," he agreed, a faint smile on his face as he watched the teacher help Kaia line up with the other girls. She looked adorable in her little tutu; her raven curls pulled up into pigtails with pink ribbons. His heart swelled with the love that he had for his beautiful daughter, seeing so much of Diana in her.
"Do you have any boys?"
"Five boys, one girl," Bruce revealed.
"Wow, you're lucky," Patrick told him. "I'm completely outnumbered at home. I have four daughters. Madison is number three."
Bruce looked at Patrick on his right. "Madison is your daughter?" he asked, receiving a confirming nod. "Kaia is friends with her."
"Kaia is yours," he realized. "She's a cutie. Wait…that makes you Wonder Woman's husband."
"That it does," Bruce confirmed, smiling to himself as he thought, "If you only knew who you were sitting next to…"
"It must be crazy being married to a superhero like that," Patrick excitedly said. "Aren't you afraid that the bad guys might come after you or your family?"
"I have the best security system money can buy and my wife is an Amazon," he replied. "Someone would have to be pretty stupid to try to come after her family and incur her wrath."
Patrick released a low whistle has he thought about it, realization washing over him. "Yah, you're right…completely stupid."
They sat in companionable silence for several minutes as they watched their daughters. Bruce chuckled as Kaia held her little hands in front of her at waist level, glancing to Madison on her right to make sure she was doing it right. Madison was a little bigger, leading him to believe that she was three years old. She smiled and nodded at Kaia, letting her know she was doing well.
Kaia beamed with pride as she puffed her chest out, causing his own heart to soar. He didn't think that he could be any prouder of her and she hadn't even done anything yet. He also felt a pang of sorrow well in his chest, knowing that his baby girl was getting bigger. Soon, she wouldn't need him any longer. It caused an unexpected lump to fill his throat.
"Your little Kaia is so cute," the lady to his left gushed, extending her hand. "Hi, I'm Lydia. My daughter Ashley is in the class with Kaia."
Bruce politely shook her hand. "Thank you, but I'm afraid I can't take all the credit," he quipped.
Lydia chuckled as she slid into the seat right next to Bruce. "Definitely not," she agreed. "I'm sure Diana would have something to say about that since she had to do all the work of bringing your daughter into the world."
"Which one is Ashley?" Bruce asked.
"She's the little red-head two girls down from Kaia," she pointed out.
Bruce's attention was quickly captured again by Patrick who was anxiously tapping his knee. "Here comes the best part," he told him. "You're going to love this."
"All right," Ms. Thomas called as she clapped her hands twice to get everyone's attention. "It's time for the parents to join their daughters."
"What?" Bruce exclaimed, his eyes widening with shock.
"Oh, it's nothing really, Bruce," Lydia reassured him. "If Diana can do it, you can do it."
"It's really not that bad," Patrick told him as he stood to his feet. "You'll get used to it in no time."
"I don't know—" Bruce began only to stop speaking when he spotted Kaia waving at him to come join her as she jumped up and down. The grin on her face coupled with the excitement that was obviously bubbling over inside of her was too much to ever say no to…of course, not that he ever could.
Standing to his feet, Bruce drew a deep breath, reminding himself that he was doing this for his daughter. "Daddy!" Kaia yelled. "Hurry!"
Bruce moved to stand beside his daughter, wondering what he had gotten himself into. When he had agreed to leave work early so he could take his daughter to her ballet class, he had pictured himself sitting alone in a quiet corner, watching Kaia and doing a little work. That was not at all what was happening…not even close. This…he had no idea what this was, but he was beginning to think it was something akin to an ancient form of torture handed down to fathers through the years.
Kaia took his hand, causing Bruce to look down at her. Seeing those big blue eyes looking back up at him with such love and excitement melted away any misgivings Bruce had about doing this with her and for her. Besides, it wasn't like anyone here knew he was the Dark Knight of Gotham participating in a ballet class.
"Okay, everyone listen and watch carefully," Ms. Thomas announced as she moved to the front of the class. "Parents hold your daughter's hand."
Bruce glanced down at Kaia, determination and concentration etched in her little face as her eyebrows furrowed. He'd seen that look a thousand times or more on his wife's face before going into battle. He guessed to a two-year-old it was the same thing. She was battling grace and elegance, gravity and balance as she learned new skills that would certainly help her later in life.
He watched with great pride as Kaia bent her knees out, lowering herself before straightening back up. She immediately looked up to see if he was watching her. He smiled and nodded at her, showing his support, not realizing that he was about to perform the same maneuver.
"Parents do the same," the teacher instructed them.
Kaia tightened her hold on her father's hand as she waited expectantly for him to perform the same move. Bruce sighed before bending his knees out, lowering his body before returning to the starting position. He glanced down at Kaia who was grinning up at him.
"Good job, daddy," she attempted to whisper with her hand cupping the side of her mouth, but it came out far louder than expected, earning some scattered giggles from other little girls and their parents.
"Thank you," he whispered.
Kaia giggled as the teacher had the parents extend one arm up and out while the other arm was extended out and down. Following her teacher's instruction, Kaia put her arms up over her head before prancing around her father who held his position for her.
This went on for several more minutes as they moved through various exercises and positions, moves that Kaia did first and then Bruce repeated. Despite his initial embarrassment and misgivings about this, he was actually having fun with his daughter, doing something that she clearly loved.
As he attempted a pirouette, Bruce suddenly found that his heart was unexpectedly full despite the fact that his wife was in so much trouble at that moment.
XXX
"Do I get a bite?" he asked as he carried Kaia into the house.
"No, daddy," she said, hugging her small bowl of ice cream with sprinkles close to her chest. "You already had three bites."
Bruce chuckled as he set her down to remove his suit jacket, tossing it on a nearby chair in the hallway. "Don't let it ruin your dinner or your mother and Alfred will be mad at me."
"Me eat my dinner," Kaia promised as Diana came down the stairs. "Mama! I learned a new trick today."
"It's not a trick," Bruce corrected her. "It's a pose."
"Me learned a pose!" Kaia excitedly told her, putting her hands over her head as she tried to spin in place. Unfortunately, her bowl of ice cream paid the price for her attempt, falling on the marble floor. "My ice cream!"
"It's okay," Bruce told her as he knelt down to wipe up the mess with the handful of napkins that he'd stuffed into his pant's pocket just in case.
"Kaia, that's very good," Diana praised her, picking her up and kissing her on the cheek. "Did you have fun in class today?"
"Yah, me danced with daddy," she told her. "He did good."
Diana looked at Bruce, her blue eyes sparkling with amusement. "I'm sure he did," she replied as she set her back down. "You can go play with Nicholas before dinner if you want."
Kaia took off towards the entertainment room, forgetting all about her ice cream and leaving Bruce and Diana all alone in the foyer. "You are in so much trouble, princess," Bruce practically growled as he closed the distance between them, his arms slipping around her waist.
"Why?" she innocently asked.
"You have been very bad," he told her. "You did not warn me what went on at ballet class."
Diana's hands came to rest on top of his shoulders, the corners of her lips curling. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Didn't you have a good time?"
"That's not the point," he stated as he pulled her flush against him. "You didn't tell me that I would be the only other man there or that I would have to participate in ballet class."
"It's obvious that Kaia is thrilled that you were there," she pointed out, slowly leaning in closer to him. She paused just millimeters from his lips. "I bet you were magnificent."
"That's still not the point, princess," he softly growled. His lips brushed against hers only to pull back and deny her what she wanted. "I never suspected my very innocent wife was so devious. I think there should be a very stiff punishment for this kind of subterfuge."
"Subterfuge?" Diana said with a chuckle. "Is that what it's called?"
"Coming from a very crafty Amazon princess…yes," he readily decided.
"I offered to take her, but you insisted you could do it," she reminded him.
"You had monitor duty," he stated.
"I told you I could find someone else to replace me and you swore that you could do it all by yourself."
Bruce huffed in mild annoyance, deciding that he should let her off the hook. "I guess it really wasn't that bad," he confessed. "She was so adorable, but you know she's going to be a handful."
"Why is that?"
"Because she reminds me of you and I already know what trouble you are."
"Bruce!" she exclaimed in indignation as she playfully smacked his shoulder with the back of her hand. "I'm not—"
Bruce swiftly silenced her with a heated kiss that had her melting against him with a moan. Retreating, he released his hold on her, taking her by the hand. "Please tell me I don't have to participate in the ballet recital."
"No, you're off the hook for that," she promised him as they headed to the entertainment room. "Did I mention that Nicholas wants to take Karate lessons?"
Bruce groaned as his head fell back, knowing that he was in for more trouble. Glancing at his wife, he knew without any doubt that there was no other place in this whole world that he'd rather be than here with her and the family they'd made together.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed a lighthearted look at the Wayne Family. Please go to my profile page to vote for the fic you want to see written after Family Reunion is finished. Thanks! :)