Chapter Two
"So are you going to tell me why Alfred caught you at the supercomputer last night?" Bruce spoke in the middle of his meal. Dick wasn't expecting the lecture to come during lunch, but apparently they were going to have this conversation here and now.
The teen set his fork down and wiped his mouth. Silent as he stared straight at his lap, refusing to look his father in the eyes. Why couldn't he know about the woman his guardian was caring for, especially if she could be coming around to the manor. It wasn't fair for him to know so little when the man before him knew everything about Dick's life. Bruce sighed when he realized the boy wouldn't respond to him.
"Dick, I told you to stay out of it because I was going to tell you on my own time." The man's stare was like the kevlar he wore on their nights out on patrol: tough, unrelenting, bullet proof. His face was like steel, and his eyes felt like fire burning into Dick's skin.
Unable to hold on to his reply at the man, Dick bit out his response. "Your time runs at the speed of a snail." All he wanted was to be included in the information. He didn't think that was too much to ask from his father figure.
"I'm not obligated to share my life details with you Dick."
Dick's hand slammed on the table as he stood up."What's the problem with sharing information about stuff like this?"
"The problem is that you have no self control. When I was ready for you to know I would have told you." The man's volume grew despite his position and face remaining the same. This was one of Dick's biggest peeves because no matter what the man seemed to be unaffected by anything the boy did, unless it made him angry. Empathy was like speaking a different language to the man, even though the man was fluent in 17 languages.
"But we're partners! That means there needs to be trust, Bruce. That goes both ways." He couldn't sit here anymore. Dick excused himself with a mutter. He couldn't stand feeling that Bruce was keeping things from him. He wasn't trying to upset the man, but he couldn't just stand by and wait for the situation to blow up in his father's face.
The teen retreated up the stairs and shut the door to his room, activating the lock in a clear message to be left alone. Silence stretched as the man sat there, waiting for the presence to his left to finally speak. The man rubbed his forehead to try and relieve the tension there.
"What am I going to do about that boy?" Bruce set his silverware down as Alfred came around to collect Dick's dish. The man didn't think he was the best father, but everything he did was in consideration for his ward. The boy was too curious for his own good sometimes.
"He reminds me of you, Master Bruce. Your curiosity was always a point of trouble when it came to your parents private business," Alfred said as he scooped up Bruce's plate. He stood to the side, silently, as the man tried to vocalize his feelings. It was something the man was notorious for.
"Sometimes it scares me how alike we are." Bruce stared into the distance as he said the one thing that intimidated him the most in fatherhood. The boy had been with him for six years now, but sometimes it still felt like he was meeting that eight year old gymnast all over again. An untrusting boy with eyes as cold and hard as ice.
"It definitely scares me more than you, sir." Bruce couldn't help but chuckle at the butler's sassy reply. A thought dawned on Bruce at that moment. He smirked at the older man and looked at him from the corner of his eye.
"Think it's a good time to tell him about dinner on Friday?"
All Afred could do was sigh in contempt.
"I can't believe you're going to be missing Friday! This is blasphemous."
The cafe was spacious, but small enough that other patrons looked over to their area with annoyance at the volume.
"I know, Kota, but Selina says I have to go." Clementine tried to quiet her friend with her reasoning, but she could still tell that Dakota was livid. The girl's emotions tended to run about as wild as her afro of curly black locks.
Dakota was a pretty girl despite her pouting face. Her dark skin was gleaming no matter the season, and her eyes were a deep rich brown that reminded Clementine of the chocolate river from that one movie about the boy and the candy maker she watched with Lennox over the summer.
Dakota lowered down back into her seat with the grace only dancers seemed to possess. She took a drink from her mug. The hot chocolate she ordered was a constant for her. It never mattered the season or how hot it might be outside, Dakota always drank hot chocolate at her meals.
She set her cup down and looked at the younger classmen. "What's it for anyway?" Her pouting was over and passed as quickly as the rest of her emotions.
"I'm finally going to meet the man she's been seeing for the past couple of months." Clementine didn't know whether to be pleased or suspicious about the scheduled interaction. She was finally meeting the man Selina was seeing, but after listening to their interaction four nights ago, Clementine needed to meet Wayne in order to get a full gauge on his character.
"Ew." Dakota's face was scrunched in disgust at the prospect of an adult man in her friend's life.
"I know, but apparently they want to see "how we all interact as a unit" before they move forward anymore." At that moment, two young boys approached their table and pulled out chairs. One sat to the right of Clementine, and the other boy placed himself between Dakota and the first boy.
"Um, what is "unit" supposed to mean?" The second boy spoke first. His platinum eyebrows raised in question as he caught the last of the girls' conversation. He kissed Dakota on the cheek when she passed him the glass of ice water that was waiting for him.
"Good question." The first boy piped up now. His arm slung lazily on the back of Clementine's chair. His eyes were hard with disdain and suspicion at the topic of their conversation. He wasn't the most trusting individual and his friends knew this.
"Honestly, I don't know what it's supposed to mean, but I really don't want to have to sit through some awkward ass dinner with some man I don't know when I could be here." Clementine sighed. Her eyes tightly shut as if she thought if she couldn't see her problem it would go away.
"Well, there's nothing you can do about it now." Dakota responded flatly.
"Yeah." The raven's delayed response was proof of the situation weighing heavy on her mind. She looked out the window and let her fears and curiosities run wild for a short time while everyone else talked about some bullshit that happened in Mr. Forman's Advanced Art III class. She wasn't pulled out of her trance until she felt Dakota's lean fingers nudge her shoulder.
"Keep us updated, babe. We gotta know what this Wayne guy is all about before we let you and Kitty move in with this dude." She leaned down to kiss the top of Clementine's head, curly back hair tickling Dakota's nose.
"He could be some closetted freak for all we know." The blonde haired boy also stood, intending to make his exit with Dakota. He rose from his seat and moved over to Clementine to graze her cheek with a kiss.
The dark haired boy spoke with a smirk on his face. "Like us?"
"Yeah like u- wait a damn minute, Lennox. What do you mean like us?" The blonde took great and goofy offence to the brunette's quick wit. He jutted his head forward and placed a hand on his hip in a dramatic fashion. The teens laughed at him as they made their exit. The pair turned back to say their goodbyes on their way out the main door.
"See you later Tiny. Love you!" The loud boy waved his goodbye as he left the cafe. Dakota also waved with the hand she held her keys in as she exited right behind him.
"Later Kota. Love you too, Xavier." Clementine called back with a large smile on her face. She adored her friends. Kota was like an older sister to her. One she can go to her for advice and watch bad tv with, and Xavier was the goofy brother she couldn't get rid of who knew when she needed to talk or just someone to sit with.
"Catch you tomorrow." Lennox said his own simple goodbye as they watched the two leave in Kota's car. The two at the table waited in silence to see who would speak first. Lennox and her had a special relationship. They've known each other the longest and shared so much from the past that they were always the other's first thoughts. Lennox sighed before he realized he was going to have to be the first one to speak.
"You're gonna give me wrinkles with all of this." Clementine looked towards her best friend with a small smile on her face, one that wasn't real but used on instinct to placate her company.
"Not my fault you're practically an old man." Her tone was sarcastic but underneath, Lennox could tell Clementine was stressed and her rolling emotions could only be stilled with distraction.
"I'm only seven months older than you."
"Seven months too old." She smiled.
"Quiet you." Lennox pushed her with a loose punch in her arm. Silence overtook them again as the elephant sized pressure of the situation reappeared.
"I'm nervous, Len." Clementine's voice was tight with anxiety. Her heart was racing with the idea of a new player joining their carefully constructed game of a normal family. She closed her eyes in an attempt to diminish the sensory overload that came with the wave of anxiety.
"I know." Lennox sounded solid, like a strong oak tree that stood still no matter the storm.
"I don't mix well with older men, you know this." She kept talking; he was the only one she could be readily free with. Her mouth tended to malfunction when she got awkward; it was a habit she was trying to break, but no luck so far. All Lennox could do was sit still as she tried to say what was on her mind. She rested her head in her hand, hiding her eyes from the outside world as she voiced the root of the issue. "I just don't want to disappoint Selina if she really likes the guy."
Lennox wrapped his arm around her shoulders and brought her into his side. The scent of him was subtle but assuring, backing up his strength."You'll be fine."
Clementine was silent for a long moment. The thought of disappointing Selina was the heaviest weight on her mind. The woman was practically her whole world and Clementine wouldn't do anything to risk that changing.
"Hey." Clementine looked at Lennox. His lips came to rest on her forehead, and then he promised softly, "If you need someone to save you, I'll be there."
Friday night seemed to arrive slower than Dick would have wanted. He had been anxious all week anticipating the meeting that would be taking place. He knew this must have been important to Bruce since he postponed their patrol until early morning.
The teen was getting ready in his room when he heard a knock on the bedroom door. He looked over to see his father standing in the doorway, leaning on the frame. The man was dressed in a classic black suit with a simple white dress shirt underneath with a black tie. The man always placed his image on a high priority in order to never shame the family name.
"Getting ready?" Bruce walked over to where his ward was standing in front of his dresser mirror fiddling with his bow tie. The boy was wearing a set of navy slacks and blazer with a lighter shade of blue shirt. His bow tie was the eye catcher of the evening with its yellow and white plaid drawing attention.
His tie was ever so slightly lopsided, so Bruce r ached and altered this neck piece to perfection. The boys hair was still unkempt so he felt no shame in ruffling the raven locks lightly. It was their version of affection, the older one not being prone to much physical affection left Dick elated with whatever he was able to receive.
The boy looked up with a small and shy smile, something he never seemed to really be able to shake off despite how much confidence he gained. "Yes sir."
Bruce smirked in return and left the boy to finish his preparation for the dinner later that night. He walked down the hallway and spotted the butler walking into the dining room.
"They should be here at 7, Alfred." The man of the house informed him as he strolled down the main stairway. He adjusted his cufflinks, a set he relieved after a dinner date with the woman that would be visiting that night.
The butler entered from the passage leading to the dining room. He was holding a set of plates, four sets to be exact. The older gentleman inclined his head in acknowledgment of the man. His interest peaked knowing that the long awaited guest would be arriving within the hour, considering the time was twenty five until the hour.
"I'll be waiting urgently, Master Bruce."
"Woah," Clementine stared up at the large manor before her. Its large looming doors were preceded by concrete stairs with lavish engravings along them. The oak doors had carved wheat plants and wisterias around the borders. The overhang was covered in vines clinging plants that seemed to grow despite the concrete the cover was made out of. There were too many doors for her to count, and based on the well-mannered front lot, the back garden might be one that walked out of her best dreams. Clementine looked back to Selina and said "this guy is loaded." She faced the doors again.
"What the fuck?"
"Be nice, kitten." Selina walked up to stand next to the girl in front of the steps. The two women stood together, hyping themselves up for the encounter that would be taking place for the next couple of hours.
They looked at each other, took a deep breath and looked forward. Almost in sync, the pair walked up the steps and waited in front of the doors, silent with nerves. Selina grabbed Clementine's hand and took a deep breath. She didn't need to look at the girl to know that her anxiety was skyrocketing.
Selina whispered to the girl next to her. "The minute you need to go, we're leaving. Just give me the word."
Clementine smiled to herself and squeezed her aunt's hand back. With one last deep breath, they released hands, and Selina knocked on the door with the golden oak door knocker and waited for the doors to open.
It wasn't even a minute before the door opened to reveal an elderly man opening the door. He had receding grey hair and a well trimmed mustache. He was dressed in a suit that fit the image of the classic butler from an old British novel.
"Welcome. We've been expecting you, ladies." He has a British accent, too? This was almost unreal. Her mouth hung open slightly in awe at the fact this was real. She allowed Selina to take the lead into the house and she followed behind. It seemed impossible for the inside to be more beautiful than the outside, but this house made that possible.
"Thank you Alfred. It's wonderful to see you again."
"And you as well, Ms. Kyle." The man paused and looked to the sixteen year old. His eyes were small but glimmering with curiosity, and she could see a smile that wasn't seen on his face, but in the man's kind eyes. "You must be Ms. Kyle's niece that I've heard so much about."
She seemed to glitch for a second before responding. "Oh, um, yes, that's me. I mean-" She took a deep breath with her eyes closed before opening them again. "Yes sir. I'm Clementine." She reached out her hand for a greeting, which seemed to surprise the man a little by the raise of his brow.
"Alfred Pennyworth, the family butler." He took her hand and gave a solid shake. "I've been with the Wayne family for many years." He released her hand before adding. "It's lovely to meet you Miss Clementine."
Selina watched with a smile at the practiced confidence and manners she was able to pass down to her ward. The girl had really blossomed since she first came to live with the woman.
"If you ladies would follow me to the parlor?"
Clementine looked to her aunt and smiled in assurance, stating her approval with her next words.
"Lead the way."
Borage means courage
Oaks mean strenth
Wheat means wealth and prosperity
Wisteria means welcoming