It was Saturday afternoon and Dick was driving to the place where he was raised after his parents died. In fact he was spending the weekend there since he was off duty on Sunday.
Dick Grayson parked his car outside Wayne Manor and smiled.
Wayne Manor was huge in size, surrounded by a large garden and also a large swimming pool. He recalled the first time he had seen it when he was only eight years old and how he had been shocked by the grandeur of the manor.
The manor was like thirteen times bigger than the circus where he lived!
He entered through the main gate thanks to his spare key and knocked on the imposing gate. After three seconds it opened revealing an old man whom he learned to love like a grandfather.
"Master Dick." the edge of a smile lifted slightly at the sight of his adopted grandson.
"Ehy Alfred!"
"Please come in."
Dick entered and, just as he expected, he heard his brothers shouting at each other.
"Jason I told you before: you can't go back in time just to see dinosaurs!"
"Just? JUST TO SEE DINOSAURS? They were, like, the coolest animals that ever existed on the face of the Earth, and you say just? You're even dumber than I thought replacement!"
"You're a crazy to tie!"
"Never as much as you!"
"-tt. You are both stupid. I can't believe I have to refer to you as my "brothers". Tsk!"
Dick smiled as he heard his brothers arguing. By now he got used to the insults and strange talk in the family.
I'm right at home.
"Shut up Demon Spawn!"
"Stop calling me that Drake! And the same goes for you Todd!"
"Aw! Did you hear that, replacement? Apparently we've offended the little boy's feelings!"
"I swear to God, if you call me baby one more time..."
"What are you going to do? Are you going to go crying to Daddy Bruce?"
To prevent anyone from being killed (Jason and Damian often carried weapons even as civilians) he finally announced his presence.
"Hi guys!"
Three heads turned sharply toward the sound of the voice and noticed him. Jason practically ran toward him.
"Dickhead, would you like to go back in time to see the dinosaurs?" he asked with a huge grin on his face.
Dick saw behind him Damian snorting and Tim rolling his eyes. "Ehm, how did you come up with that question?"
Tim answered for him with a bored air. "He's been asking it since this morning to everyone he meets."
"Even Bruce?"
"Even Bruce."
"Forget Bruce and answer the damn question!"
"Master Jason, language."
Jason almost jumped in fear at the voice of the butler beside him.
Alfred could very well startle Batman by sneaking up behind him unnoticed.
The second oldest brother mumbled an apology addressed to the butler and turned once more to Dick.
"Well?"
"It might, ehm, turn out to be an experience to remember." he replied uncertainly.
Jason victoriously raised a fist in the air and turned to his younger brothers. "AH! Did you hear that? Even the golden boy agrees with me!"
"Grayson agrees with you only in a possible journey into the past, not to go back in time of his own free will."
"For once I agree with the brat here."
Damian growled dangerously but did nothing to hurt Tim (at least for now).
Jason huffed annoyed, rolled his eyes bored and turned to his older brother. "Well then! Do you want to travel back in time to see the coolest animals ever?"
"Sorry Jay but no, I don't want to die from a T-Rex if I can avoid it." he smiled apologetically.
"I can't believe it!" he raised his arms in the air, annoyed.
"I told you no one would agree with you!"
"Shut up replacement!"
Dick sighed and suddenly spread his arms wide. "No welcoming hug for your big brother?" he asked pretending to be hurt.
"Hell no!" almost shouted Jason backing away as he thanked some deity for the fact that Alfred was not present to reprimand him for the language.
"You're a fool Grayson if you think I want one."
Dick gasped dramatically and turned to Tim. "Timmy?"
Tim hesitated for a moment before throwing himself headlong into the arms of his older brother. The youngest in the hug smiled sweetly. He always liked Dick's hugs, ever since he was still Robin.
Once detached Dick turned to the other two. "Please guys?"
"No!" they shouted simultaneously before they glared at each other.
Sighing, Richard then used his foolproof tactic: the puppy eyes. This tactic never failed him: it always worked on Bruce as well.
The two brothers looked away from those big blue eyes that could bend even the damn Batman to his knees to their will. After a few agony-filled seconds Jason spoke. "Ah, what the hell!" and walked over to his older brother awkwardly wrapping his arms around him.
"Dami?"
Damian hesitated for a couple of seconds before he walked slowly toward Grayson who lowered himself to hug his little brother.
"Tell anyone Grayson and I'll strangle you in your sleep," he murmured with his nose stuck to the crook of the older boy's neck, secretly enjoying the sensation (though he would rather die than admit it).
"So" Dick began once he broke away from the last embrace. "where's Cass?"
"She went out a few hours ago and is spending the night with Barbara and Stephanie, like some kind of sleepover." Tim replied.
Dick winced at the thought of having to wait a day to see his little sister. "What about Bruce?"
"Office." the other three replied in chorus.
Dick walked up the stairs to the office as he continued to hear his brothers arguing and smiled softly.
They would never change.
Richard knocked on the office door. He waited a few seconds before he heard an answer.
"Come in."
Once inside and closed the door behind him, he saw Bruce sitting on his desk with many papers scattered on the table. The billionaire raised his head to see who had entered and smiled as he saw his firstborn.
"Ehy Dick."
"Bruce, get your ass out of your chair and come over here and give me a bear hug," Dick practically threatened him.
Bruce chuckled, already getting up and heading toward his son not in the least impressed by his apparent sweetness. Yeah: apparent is the right word. Bruce knew that Dick was the joke genius in the family, though he learned this to his cost many times.
And the photo placed in the eldest son's room of the pink painted Batmobile covered with glittering stars proved it.
"So what are those cards?" the acrobat pointed to the cards on top of the desk once the hug was over.
Bruce sighed heavily. "They are to confirm the gala."
Dick opened his eyes wide and groaned annoyed. "Please, Bruce, don't tell me that was tomorrow." when he looked at his father's resigned eyes he realized that he was finished.
"I'm sorry Dick but you know I like them as much as you do."
"Yet you keep arranging them." he grumbled. When he saw that Bruce was about to answer him he continued, "Yes I know you have to play the role of the billionaire playboy. In a way it's fun to see you with three or four women stuck to you like glue."
Bruce snorted at the very thought. "It's fun for you." he muttered.
Dick chuckled and gave a mischievous smirk. "What? The great Batman who scares the worst criminals and even the greatest superheroes on the planet can't handle some upper-class women?"
His father sent him a dirty look but his lips lifted a few inches "So" he began to change the subject. "I read the news in the papers that you heroically foiled a bank robbery a few days ago."
"Uhm" Dick found himself surprised by the subject for a moment. "Yes, I did."
"From what I've read it sounds like you did perfectly well."
His son sent him a suspicious look. "You just read the news in the papers and didn't go down to the Batcave to hack the bank's security cameras?"
Bruce smiled slightly in response and gave a dramatic sigh. "You know me too well, chum, too well. You probably know me better than anyone except Alfred." he paused as if to choose his words carefully and continued. "I saw how you acted Dick."
Dick only nodded, not trusting his words. He hoped he had impressed Bruce or something. Even though he was nineteen years old and an adult now, he continually kept seeking the approval of the man who raised him because Bruce's praise, and even better Batman's praise, was one of the greatest things in the world for him.
"I must say, Dick, that I was quite impressed with how you kept your cool and how you responded." he said with a proud twinkle clearly present in his blue eyes.
"R-really?" he hated that he had stammered but couldn't avoid it.
Bruce nodded solemnly and rested a hand on his son's shoulder. "Yes, I am."
Dick smiled broadly and hugged his father again who was taken aback and almost fell over but returned the hug.
"So, ready for tomorrow son?"
The eldest son sighed and looked wearily at Bruce "I have to come, right?" when the other man nodded he continued. "I hate wearing tuxedos." he muttered.
The billionaire smiled slightly and patted Dick's back in a gesture of sympathy. "I hear you." then looked at the clock attached to one of the room's walls. "How about you go check on your brothers and make sure they don't kill each other while I finish these forms and then we'll meet again for dinner in two hours?"
Dick nodded. "Patrol all together?" he asked with a huge smile present on his face as he hopped lightly on his toes.
Bruce smiled at Dick's habit that he had ever since he became a part of his life. "Yes, patrol all together."
Richard practically jumped and shouted out of the room. "See you later Bruce!"
The latter affectionately shook his head with a small smile and turned to the desk, losing it quickly. "I hate these things." he muttered and went back to work.
Selina Kyle was looking through her wardrobe in search for a stylish outfit to wear for the next day.
"What could I wear..." she muttered to herself, continuing to search. After a couple of minutes (or maybe say hours? She lost track of time) she hunted down a dress she really liked and hadn't worn in a long time.
She smiled. "This dress will be great for tomorrow!" then sighed slightly. "I only hope there will be some pretty kittens tomorrow, otherwise this dress will be completely useless."