11: Dick & His Famous Friends

10:03 October 8th

The last two days were filled with Netflix and jigsaw puzzles for Skye, with one visit from Dick. He had come over the day before to watch funny television shows and help her with her puzzles. Dick had told her about his friends they were going to meet the next day, Megan and Conner, who were the couple they were celebrating, Barbara and Tim, who were his adopted siblings, Bart Allen, the one who had told him the good news. They sounded like a crazy group of people, and Skye was excited to meet them.

Now, he was standing casually in her kitchen as Skye nibbled on some melons for breakfast. She would get dressed afterward, she had decided. Dick followed her to the table to sit and eat the melons with her. Dick was dressed casually in new jeans, a black shirt, and a red leather jacket. His dark hair was as flattened as it could be, and the red tennis shoes matched his jacket.

"So, anything I should know going in? Is your dad going to be there?" Skye made a point to mention his father.

"Probably, I was hoping he'd bring Diana."

"Who's Diana? His girlfriend?"

"It's complicated, apparently. I should let you know that it's Diana Prince."

"Whoa, whoa, Diana Prince?" Skye's jaw dropped. Everyone knew Diana Prince, the Princess of Themysira, an island full of women, and a liaison with the government. "Your father is dating Diana Prince? Wait, you know Diana Prince?"

"It's a long story, but yes, I do." Dick looked a little uncomfortable with this knowledge. "Like I said, Dad has a lot of connections. And no, they aren't dating, but I think it's because my father is a dumbass when it comes to women."

"Who is your father, Dick?"

"I'm not sure I want to tell you now," he teased, biting into a cantaloupe.

Skye watched him chew, that smug look on his face, and waited until he was done swallowing before acting. Without warning, she reached out, grabbed his shoulders, and leaned forward to kiss his lips. This time it wasn't chaste, like before. She opened her lips enough to move over his, and he responded by pulled her out of her chair and onto his lap. She sat sideways and pulled away, her face red with embarrassment and anxiety.

"Did you kiss me like that to make me tell you?" Dick's face was flushed and a grin was on his lips. He kept his arms around her.

"Partly," she said, not looking in his eyes. She didn't know how to deal with this part.

"Fine," Dick replied, sighing with exaggeration. He kissed her softly on the lips. "My father is Bruce Wayne."

That made Skye go speechless, her mouth dropping open. He watched her patiently, like he'd had to handle this reaction before.

"No kidding?" she finally asked. "It makes sense now. I mean, the car and stuff."

"I'm not a rich, spoiled child," he assured with with a squeeze of his arms. "I just have a rich dad."

"Yeah, I get that," she replied, still a little stunned at his admission.

Bruce Wayne was one of the richest people in the world, Skye thought. Definitely in the United States. Big on charity and a bit of a playboy, Bruce Wayne was otherwise private. She didn't know he had sons, but Dick had admitted to himself. It made sense, with the connections and such.

"You okay there?" Dick asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"Yep, just letting it sink in. Didn't realize he had children. Even adopted ones."

"Like I said before, long story, but he took us in when we had nowhere else to go. He's not big on attention," Dick chuckled.

"I've heard," Skye replied, now past the shock. "So, he'll be there. You're making me more nervous. A princess, a billionaire, anyone else I should know about?"

Dick thought for a moment, and Skye raised her eyebrows. What else was he going to surprise her with before they left in an hour?

"Nope, I think the rest are just normal people with normal titles."

An hour later, they were ready to leave. Skye had decided on a white dress with a layer of lace over silk with small sleeves. She also had on yellow wedges that made her a few inches taller, and her blue hair was down, neatly styled and parted to the side. She took his hand.

"Alright, let's do this," she said with a lift of her chin, like she was going into the battle field. Dick snorted.

"It's not a doctor's visit. It'll be fine, I promise, Skye."

The ride to J'onn's - or John Jones - place was only around ten minutes away from Skye's, so the ride was quick. When they pulled up to the one story house, there were other cars pulled up near it. They opened the car doors and smelled barbecue immediately. Dick's eyes lit up and Skye grinned. That was a sign that she was in a friendly place.

Dick felt her squeeze his hand nervously as he led her up the walkway and to the side of the house where a wooden door of the fence opened to let them in. Immediately, the crowd turned and shouted out greetings. Glancing at Skye, Dick saw she was already slightly overwhelmed. He squeezed her hand and saw she took a deep breath, then smiled.

The backyard was full of people, adults and teens alike, with picnic tables, smoke from the grill, and a table specifically for lemonade, tea, and water.

Tim and Cassie were the first to stop them. Dick noticed they were holding hands - so that was still going on.

Dick! It's been so long! I'm glad you came!" Cassie happily gave him a crushing hug, and he had to push her away to breathe again. She looked sheepish. "Sorry, but it has been forever."

"Three years," Tim said dryly. "At least you called - once a year." The dry voice turned cheerful. "But you're here!"

Cassie was blonde and cheery, maybe a little impulsive. She was still like that, according to Tim, but had learned to hold back enough not to be irritating. Tim was opposite of her, dark haired and cautious. A good kid, Dick thought. Smart as hell, too.

"You must be Skye," Cassie said, giving Skye a hug. Dick saw Skye stiffen and regretted not warning everyone that Skye wasn't a touchy person. She handled it like a pro, though, and kept a smile on her face. Tim came over and shook her hand, giving Cassie a look that said 'settle down'. Cassie flushed and took Tim's hand.

"It's nice to meet you." By that time, more people were coming over, and Skye had looked over the couple's shoulder to see the group. "Oh, boy," she muttered.

"Once we get it over with, you can take a break from the group," Dick chuckled.

"Nope, I can do this. These are your people. Let's go!" She nodded at him.

"That's the spirit," Cassie interjected.

Dick stayed next to Skye as she was introduced to Barbara Gordon, Bart Allen, and Zatanna. Barbara raised an eyebrow at Dick, which he knew meant 'how serious is this one?'. Dick ignored the look and grinned as Skye conversed with the three. There was no way he was going to tell Skye he had dated both Barbara and Zatanna. Bart was excited as always to talk to a pretty girl, trying his hand at a smooth compliment.

"Zatanna is a fun name, where is it from?"

"It's a family name," Zatanna replied with a friendly shrug.

Dick pulled her away from those three and moved onto the next group. Kaldur, Artemis, and Clark made their way to the new person. Artemis had the light back in her eyes, even just a little made it a good day. Dick smiled at her and she smiled back. Skye glanced at him.

"I'll explain when we're alone," he whispered close to her ear.

"It's nice to meet you, Skye. Welcome to the group." Kaldur introduced himself first. He was, as always, polite and respectful. Artemis nodded, but didn't shake her hand.

"My name is Clark Kent," the next person said. Dick watched Skye's eyes turn to recognition at the name. She shook his hand happily. "Oh, the award-winning reporter! I've read a handful of your stories. They are brilliantly done."

"Thank you," Clark said, grinning. "I think Bruce is by John and Diana, might want to introduce her quickly before other people jump on her."

Dick nodded, seeing another group of people making a beeline to him and Skye. He pulled her by the hand toward the grill, where he saw the three chatting. He was surprised to see Bruce in casual wear, jeans and a t-shirt.

"Doing alright?" he said as they were about to approach the adults.

"It's not as bad as I thought," Skye replied sending him a wink. Good, Dick thought. This one will be a bit more intense.