"So, your daughter."

Dick looks up from his stretches at Bruce. "What about her?"

"What did you tell her about me?" Bruce's expression is neutral, but that could mean anything.

"Uh, the basics, I guess," Dick says. "Why?"

Bruce doesn't answer right away, just keeps his eyes on his latest project. "Have you noticed she does whatever I say?"

"What?"

"The other day, I told her not to touch a Ming vase, and she stopped immediately."

"That's not—well, okay, that is odd for her," Dick admits. "But that doesn't mean she doesn't like you, or whatever. She's four years old, and this is the first time you two have met." He avoids the reasons why this is the case; the bad years after Jason's death had overlapped with Mar'i's baby years, but Bruce has been doing very well lately, ever since he took in Tim Drake. "She's just a little…"

"Scared?" Bruce raises an eyebrow. "Am I that terrifying?"

Tim, sitting at the monitor, raises his hand. "Ooh, I know this one."

Dick ignores him. "Bruce, she's not scared of you. She's just… not used to you. Plus, the other night, her uncle Garfield was telling her stories about Batman, and he might have… embellished a bit." Dick had only caught part of what Gar had been saying, but he certainly isn't aware of Bruce ever taking on a hundred vampires at once.

Bruce doesn't look convinced, but he won't argue the point because it would go against several of his rules, such as: never reveal emotional weakness, or never depend on the approval of others.

"Give her some time," Dick adds. "It's only been a few days. She'll come out of her shell fast."

"And if she doesn't, just remember, we can't all have your good cheer and zest for life, Bruce," Tim says.

It's a good thing Bruce's only public expression is a fake smile, because his real glare is just as frightening as the cowl.

That night at dinner, Dick pays attention to Mar'i. For the most part, she responds to everyone with her usual enthusiasm, but she only flicks one piece of rice at Tim, and only after he does it to her first. And she keeps sneaking glances at Bruce, almost as if she's judging his reaction to everything.

It's not that concerning, not yet, but it's still something Dick knows they'll have to address. So after dinner, after Alfred has cleared away all the plates and Bruce has gone off to do whatever it is Bruce does, Dick joins Tim and Kory at the kitchen counter. Kory is showing Tim the device on which she receives transmissions from Tamaran; she'd gotten a message earlier, but the device had been malfunctioning, and now she's fixing it while Tim studies the alien technology.

"And this part allows transmissions to bypass Earth's atmosphere—Mar'i, don't stand on the counter—but it became damaged a few weeks ago when our friend's toddler dropped it in his spaghetti," Kory says, taking a piece out of the communicator and cleaning it with a rag. Tim watches in fascination.

Dick sits next to Kory and idly plays with a lock of her hair. "Mar'i," he says without looking up, "what did your mother just say?"

"I'm not standing on the counter, Daddy." Mar'i's feet are hovering a few inches above the counter top.

Tim snorts, and Alfred mutters, "No doubts over her paternity, I see."

"Feet on the ground, Mar'i," Dick says firmly.

Mar'i opens her mouth to argue—so it's going to be one of those nights, then, Dick thinks—when Bruce walks into the kitchen. As soon as she sees him, Mar'i drops to the floor.

This does not escape Bruce's notice, and he quirks and eyebrow at Dick, as if to say, see? All he says, however, is, "I finished the new smoke bombs."

"Alright, I'll be right there," Dick replies. Bruce nods and turns to go.

"Can I see?"

All the occupants of the room turn to stare at Mar'i in surprise. Her gaze is fixed on Bruce, wide-eyed and anticipatory.

Bruce blinks down at her, then up at Dick, Kory, Tim, and Alfred in turn. When none of them have any forthcoming explanation for this turn of events, he addresses Mar'i. "Sure," he says slowly and hesitantly.

Mar'i's whole face lights up and she bounces on her heels, even briefly rising off the ground. "Really?"

"As long as your parents allow it," Bruce concedes.

Kory smiles at Mar'i's pleading look. "Of course, darling."

The disbelieving expression never leaves Bruce's face as Mar'i skips forward and takes his hand. "Then let's go!" She begins to lead Bruce out of the kitchen. "Hey, is it true you always have ten Batarangs tied into the inside of all your clothes?"

"Oh, more than that."

"Cool."

Bruce allows himself to be led off by a four year old, casting one last incredulous glance back at the others on his way out. Dick doesn't pay attention to him, though; he's too busy noticing the way Mar'i stares at Bruce, at the look of awe in her eyes.

Once they're gone, Tim shakes with laughter. "And you were worried she was afraid of him."

"Yes, this is so much better." Dick rubs his forehead. He's going to kill Garfield.

"Am I to assume," Kory asks, her voice full of mirth, "that we are not telling Jason about this?"

"The day Jason finds out that our daughter hero worships Batman is the day you'll have to fling my body into the sun," Dick asserts.

"Best not let her meet Master Kent for a while, either," Alfred says. "It would hurt Master Bruce's feelings very much to be replaced in her affections." He too looks remarkably pleased with this development.

"You're all terrible," says Dick without any heat.

Kory drops a kiss onto the top of his head. "I have almost fixed my communicator. Come talk with me before you leave for patrol."

Alfred stands up. "Yes, I believe I shall retire as well, goodnight. As always, it's a pleasure having you visit," he tells Dick and Kory.

Dick waves his hand, resigned. He returns Kory's kiss, and she and Alfred head to their respective rooms, leaving Dick and Tim alone in the kitchen.

"If you don't stop smirking," Dick warns, "I'll never show you the secret tunnel in the cave that leads out to the woods."

Tim squints at him. "You're screwing with me."

"Would I do that to you?"

"I think you would, yeah."

A familiar feeling of delight rises in Dick's chest; sometimes this kid reminds him so damn much of Jason, before. But that's not really fair to Tim, so Dick makes him promise to go to bed before 4 A.M., and he goes up to his old room.

Kory is sitting at his desk when he gets there, the desk where he used to do his homework and doodle ideas for the Robin suit. Her communicator is sitting in front of her, turned off, but she's sitting very still and staring at it with her mouth open.

"Kory?" Dick puts a hand on her shoulder, and she startles. "What is it?"

"It…" Kory looks dazed. "I watched the message. It was from Galfore."

"Is everything alright?" Dick drops to one knee next to her chair. "Star, you're freaking me out."

Kory nods slowly, her eyes shining. "Yes," she whispers. "Everything is fine, but I must return to Tamaran as soon as possible."

"Where you go, we all go," Dick says firmly. "But why? It's not bad news?"

Finally, Kory turns to face him, and Dick can see her wondrous expression. "It is the very best news."

Ryand'r had always been the smallest of the royal siblings. Nearly fifteen years later, he still stands half a head shorter than Kory. With the doorway of the palace open behind him, he seems even smaller.

Once their ship touches down on the landing pad, Kory rushes out and runs half the length of the path to the door. She slows down when she approaches him, however, so that she can take in everything: his blazing grin, his curly red hair, his bright eyes. Just the way she imagined.

(Dick had been understandably apprehensive about this. There are all kinds of magic, and Madame Rouge is not the only shapeshifter in the galaxy, he had pointed out.

"That is why I must go," Kory had replied. "Galfore and many others who knew my brother in childhood have all vetted this man. The last opinion they need is mine.")

The young man watches as she gets closer, never taking his eyes from her face. "Hey, sis," he murmurs, almost shyly.

It has been years, and Ryand'r was only a child when he was sent away, so perhaps Kory is only seeing what she wants to see. But she thinks not. Kory would know her daughter blind and deaf, across a thousand stars. The feeling she gets when she looks at this boy is only a fraction of that, but it is there.

So she does the only thing she can do, and hugs Ryand'r within an inch of his life.

They choose a quieter venue for dinner, and so Galfore, Kory, Ryand'r, Dick, and Mar'i take their evening meal in Kory's private apartments. After everyone finishes eating, Galfore excuses himself to deal with matters of state, and Dick takes Mar'i for a walk outside to explore. Kory appreciates their efforts to give her and Ryand'r a chance to catch up, and takes advantage of it.

Ryand'r's pod had landed on Okaara, and he'd spent most of his life being raised by and training with the Warlords of Okaara. Kory's initially saddened at the thought of her baby brother growing up with strangers, but as it turns out, there was another young Tamaranean of an age with Ryand'r who had been sent to Okaara for training as well.

Leras is taller than Ryand'r, has the darker complexion of Eastern Tamaraneans, with corded muscles and intense brown eyes. He'd been standing in the doorway near Ryand'r when Kory and her family had arrived, but she'd been so focused on her brother that she hadn't even noticed him at the time.

"He's my best friend," Ryand'r confides, as he and Kory sit out on the balcony. "I was so nervous to come back here, and I never could've done it without his support."

"I am glad you've found someone, as I have," Kory says.

"Wha—no, we're not—" Ryand'r looks startled. "I mean, he's not—well, I would, but he isn't—"

"As you say, brother," says Kory with a smile. Tokyo seems so very long ago.

"We aren't," Ryand'r insists. "We're just… partners. In battle. We're stronger fighters together."

And probably better flyers, too, Kory wants to add, but leaves it alone for now. Outside, underneath her balcony, she can see the tiny figures of her husband and daughter strolling across the barren wasteland that she once called home, before her home became the two people down below.

"How long do you think you will stay?" Ryand'r asks.

"Oh, for quite some time," Kory says absentmindedly, her eyes still on Dick and Mar'i. "More than eight or nine months, most likely." She hadn't gotten to tell Dick her news, after all, and given how he'd acted during her pregnancy with Mar'i, he won't want to risk space travel once she does tell him.

It will be a nice representation of their family, she thinks, to have one child born on Earth and another born on Tamaran. A good omen for the future. Kory remembers Bruce Wayne's cold and empty expression at Jason Todd's funeral, and the way he had looked at Mar'i so tenderly only a few days ago.

The ground that Dick and Mar'i walk across is dead and empty now, but it need not stay that way.

fin

A/N: I have only basic knowledge of the extended Batfamily, so I do apologize for any errors. In general, however, I like to default to Everyone Is Alive And Happy, so you can probably just fill in whatever other headcanons you choose.

The general concept of lachra was loosely inspired by the Patronus from Harry Potter, in that your Patronus can change form when you fall in love because that person becomes your new happy memory.

The next fic in this verse (a BBRae one) is… not necessarily long, I don't think, but it's sort of rambling, and I don't have it all plotted out very well, so it might take a while.

Title from here: poetryfoundation dot org / poetrymagazine / browse? contentId = 25958

My tumblr url is deprofundisclamoadte. This fic is also cross-posted on ao3: works/10222544