As soon as Dick and Selina arrived in the living room, the three brothers stopped arguing (at least for the moment) and looked at them, including their sister.
Each of them had a different expression. Jason Peter Todd-Wayne had his usual grin, Timothy Jackson Drake-Wayne was just happy to finally meet his older brother's fiancée, Damian Wayne had an even deeper frown than usual and Cassandra Cain-Wayne had an "I told you she was the one" smile.
If Selina Kyle didn't know better, she would think the four brothers were really biological brothers.
Dick Grayson-Wayne smiled broadly and introduced them. "Selina, these are my brothers and sister: Jason, Timothy, Cassandra, and Damian." he pointed to them in turn. "Guys, this is Selina, my girlfriend."
Jason was the first to stand up, followed by the others. He held out his hand to her with a smirk. "I am Jason: the most handsome, the smartest and the most-"
"And the dumbest." interrupted Tim by slapping him on the back of the head. Then he turned to Selina, smiling at her shyly and ignoring his older brother's indignant shout. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Selina. Dick has often told us about you."
The boy called in question rolled his eyes with a small smile. "Only because you wouldn't stop harassing me."
Tim simply shrugged, not denying it. Cassandra smiled brightly at Selina. "I am Cassandra, the only person with a brain in this house including Alfred, dad and sometimes Dick."
"Sometimes?"
He was ignored. Last remained Damian, who was looking down on Selina, scrutinizing her carefully. The girl remained completely unmoved.
Dick looked nervously at Cass and made several hand gestures. He was using sign language. Everyone in the family, including Bruce and Alfred, had learned it, since Cassandra, when she first set foot in the manor, could neither speak any language nor read and write.
Are you sure Damian doesn't have a knife hidden in his shirt sleeve?
She snorted with amusement.
I don't think so. But with a bat, nothing is sure.
Damian was still looking at Selina when he spoke. "I suppose you are adequate."
Dick breathed a sigh of relief that he didn't know how to hold back, and Selina held back a laugh. "Don't worry about him, Selina. In his language it's a compliment."
She nodded with a giggle and turned to Dick's family. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. Dick has told me so much about you."
A smirk appeared on Jason's face. "Really? What did he tell you?"
Selina tightened her lips, pretending to think. "He told me that you are all annoying but at the same time loving in your own way."
Jason's smirk disappeared and he, as well as his younger brothers, looked at Dick, who shrugged with a smile. "What, it's true." later he turned to his girlfriend. "I'll give you a tour of the house now, if that's okay."
She nodded and Jason chuckled. "Good luck. It will take at least half an hour."
"Half an hour?" almost squealed Selina.
Geez, how the heck big is this manor?
Tim nodded in confirmation.
She sighed. "We'd better hurry then."
Dick carefully showed her the living room they were currently in, the library, the kitchen, the garden and the gymnasium.
Selina observed the place with amazement. There were many tools for keeping fit, including the trapeze and other instruments used by acrobats.
Next, he took her upstairs to the stairs. They passed the rooms of each manor resident until they stopped in front of Dick's.
"Let's go inside." he told her.
The room was very large. The walls were painted a blue color. A poster of the Flying Graysons was stuck on one of them. The room was mostly wallpapered with photos of Dick with his friends and/or family. The bed was a double bed covered with a blue bedspread. There was also a desk, with a laptop on it.
"Geez how big your room is!" exclaimed Selina in amazement. "It's, like, bigger than my apartment!"
Dick laughed. "One of the many advantages of growing up in a manor." he winked at her.
He then took her on a tour of other rooms in the manor, including a movie theater and
"A swimming pool? Do you have a fucking pool?" she asked without looking at her boyfriend. Her gaze was fixed on the pool.
He chuckled. "We have one outside too." he turned his charming smirk on her.
Selina did not know whether to slap that smirk away or kiss him. When in doubt, she gave him a "are you kidding me?" look.
They left the room and approached the stairs. Dick climbed the railing and did several somersaults until he got to the last inch of the railing and jumped, doing a double somersault with a screwing and landing perfectly on his feet.
Meanwhile, Selina almost had a heart attack. "You almost gave me a heart attack Dick!"
"I still get scared every time I see him do that." came a new voice.
They turned and saw an imposing man, blue eyes and black hair. His gaze was so intense that it could freeze hell over. And for Selina it was possible since she was looking at the fucking Batman in civilian clothes.
Bruce Wayne smiled warmly at her. "You must be Selina Kyle. It's a pleasure to meet you."
She smiled back at him, ignoring her own nervousness. "Nice to meet you too, Mr. Wayne."
"Just call me Bruce."
She nodded and Dick smiled at his adoptive father.
"It's time for lunch. We'd better not keep Alfred waiting." Bruce affirmed.
Lunch passed without any kind of problem (Selina had commented several times on Alfred's fantastic cooking skills, much to his delight). They chatted about various topics, most of which made no logical sense (seriously, it was hard to keep up with Dick and his brothers). But despite this, she had a great time.
However, she knew that the worst part would soon come.
It was the afternoon and they were all gathered on two couches in the living room. Selina had her head resting on the shoulder of her boyfriend who was surrounding her with one arm. Tim stood to Dick's left.
Jason was sitting comfortably against the back of the other sofa. In the center of the sofa was Cass and to his right Damian. Bruce, on the other hand, was sitting in an armchair. They were all chatting quietly.
At least, that is until Bruce looked at his firstborn. The two just looked at each other.
"What's going on?" asked Selina, confused.
"They're communicating with each other." Tim answered her.
"Dick and Bruce have this special connection that they can talk to each other without using words; just glances." added Cass.
Selina was slightly surprised. She knew that her boyfriend and the billionaire had a special bond (after all, they were not father and son or the Dynamic Duo for nothing) but to even argue without opening her mouth to speak was something incredible.
Meanwhile, as Timothy said, Dick and Bruce were talking without words.
I have to talk to you, Dick.
I had imagined that.
Does she know?
...Yes, she does. She found out on her own, I didn't tell her anything.
How did she find out?
I'm just saying that while I was dressed as Nightwing, she recognized me because of some words we exchanged during the gala.
Technically it was not a lie, but that did not take away from the guilt Dick was feeling.
Can we be sure that she will not tell anyone?
Yes, I trust her absolutely.
Good.
...Bruce?
Yes?
...I have to confess something to you and the others.
What's that?
Not here. At the Batcave. And Selina must be there too. It's about her.
His heart began to quicken with anxiety but he didn't show it.
...Is it urgent?
Much.
...Good.
Bruce cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention. Selina looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was slightly nervous, so she understood more or less what the two of them "talked" about. She shook his hand reassuringly and he smiled at her in return.
"As a result of recent discoveries," he began, casting a brief glance at Dick. "our dear guest, Selina, is familiar with our nocturnal activities."
Immediately the room became silent. Everyone looked at Selina and Dick.
The silence, which was becoming awkward, was broken by the acrobat. "Let's go to the cave, Selina and I have something very important to tell you."
His brothers exchanged a glance before heading toward the famous grandfather clock of Thomas Wayne, Bruce's father. Dick moved the hands to 10:47 a.m. (the time when the billionaire's parents were murdered) and it turned out to be an elevator leading to the cave.
"A bit cliché, don't you think?" asserted Selina, getting chuckles and a look from Bruce.
They entered the cave and Selina found herself amazed. It was much larger than the Nightcave. There were some items displayed in plain sight, such as Two-Face's coin or the Joker's card. There were display cases where all the costumes of the various Robins and other members of the BatFamily were on display. A state-of-the-art, high-tech-looking computer momentarily caught her attention. Parked near the walls of the cavern was the Batmobile. In the corner, there was a teleportation device (it was also there in the Nightcave): the zeta-tube. There was even a fucking T-rex!
"I knew it was better than the Nightcave." muttered Selina.
"Nightcave?" repeated Damian slowly, raising an eyebrow.
"That's how Dick renamed his hideout."
Bruce fixed Dick with a "are you serious?" look.
Tim asked the question that hovered in everyone's minds. "So what was so important that you had to tell us here in the Batcave?"
Dick looked briefly at his fiancée. She noticed him and took his hand and squeezed it, in a comforting gesture. He smiled at her and thanked her before turning to his family. He took a deep breath and spoke. "You should know that Selina is also... Catwoman."
Silence.
The temperature in the room dropped considerably.
All of them opened their eyes wide, shocked. Immediately Bruce narrowed his eyes. "Explain." he said, his voice cold.
Dick swallowed and explained everything. From his first meeting with Catwoman in Bludhaven to how he discovered her secret identity, leaving out some parts (they didn't have to know everything everything).
There was silence again when he finished speaking. Bruce broke the silence. "Selina, you can come out of the cave and wait for us outside." although it sounded like a question, everyone knew it was actually an order.
Selina looked worriedly at her fiancé before slowly exiting the cave. As soon as he was sure she had turned away, Bruce turned to Dick, fury painted on his face. "What were you thinking?" he hissed angrily. Dick opened his mouth to answer but he beat him to it. "Of course you weren't thinking!" he accused him.
"Bruce, I..."
"NO! Because of you, one of our most wanted enemies is aware of our civilian identity! And it's all your fault!"
"She is not an enemy!"
"Oh no? She is the most famous thief in the world! How the hell is she not our enemy?" he asked sarcastically, raising the tone of his voice.
Meanwhile, Dick's brothers had stood by and watched the heated discussion.
"He stopped stealing! If maybe you applied your detective skills, maybe you would have noticed that there were no more thefts in Gotham!" shouted Dick back, also raising his voice.
"It doesn't matter! She's still a criminal!"
Dick laughed, but it was not his characteristic laugh. It was emotionless, cold and chilling. It sent shivers of fear to his brothers. "That's funny, coming from the man who had a relationship with Talia al Ghul, a cold-hearted assassin and daughter of the leader of the League of Assassins."
The mention of Talia provoked a small gasp from Damian.
Bruce turned red with anger and clenched his jaw, his teeth clattering together noisily. He stared at Dick with the most powerful bat-glare, but his son did not even wince at the look. "I forbid you to continue seeing her." he said coldly.
Dick clenched his fists, trying to calm himself but failing. "You can't tell me what to do." he hissed.
"Yes I can! Not only are you putting yourself at risk, but also your family! Stop being selfish!"
His emotionless laughter was heard again. "Selfish? Would I be selfish now? For once in my life I am truly happy and I am called selfish?"
"You can look for happiness in another woman." he said in a cold voice.
"Shit, Bruce! I'm not like you: emotionless!" Bruce closed his hands into fists at that comment. "I love her! It makes me happy just to see her! I can't look for happiness from someone else if the only one who brings it to me is Selina!" he looked him straight in the eye, hoping his father would understand.
Silence.
Two pairs of icy blue eyes exchanged cold stares.
Silence.
Silence again.
Then.
"If you want to continue to be part of this family, you will have to leave her."