Bruce Wayne has many secrets that he would rather take underground with him than reveal to others.
Often most of his kids tease him about having a favorite child and he always responds the same way: he wearily rolls his eyes and says in a tired dad tone of voice that he does not have a favorite son and that he loves all his children equally.
Well, let's just say that this is not the complete truth.
Sure, Bruce loves his children more than anything else in the entire universe and would do anything to make them happy and safe.
He would die if it meant that his children were safe.
He would kill if it meant that his children were safe.
However, there is one thing that Bruce has never admitted to anyone else and that he has hardly been able to admit even to himself after many years.
Yes, emotions are very complicated.
Namely, the fact that he, Bruce Thomas Wayne aka The Batman, has a favorite son.
Bruce knows that this probably makes him a bad parent, more than he already is, but...
He just couldn't help it, that's all.
God knows Bruce has tried and tried to bury this fact in the furthest and deepest part of his mind, as if he could forget it if only he would stop thinking about it.
Unfortunately, that is not how the brain works, and eventually Bruce had to admit to himself that he has a favorite child.
Most of his children think his favorite kid is Cassandra since she is the quietest of all, the sweetest, and one of the few people who can kick his ass in a fight.
Whenever this is mentioned Cass smiles sweetly and pretends to strut her stuff with a proud smile.
Dick, on the other hand, is firmly convinced that Bruce has no favorite among his children.
Finally, Jason is sure that Bruce's favorite is the golden boy (to no one's surprise).
Let us start at the beginning.
It is obvious that Cassandra holds a special place in his heart since he is her daughter and Bruce can never forget how much suffering she went through in her life before he adopted her.
It is easy to love a girl like Cassandra when she opens her tender heart full of love to you.
However... Cassandra Cain-Wayne is not Bruce's favorite child.
Most of his children would probably feel bad if they learned of this.
Instead, it is Jason Peter Todd-Wayne himself who is right.
In fact, Bruce's favorite son is instead Richard John Grayson-Wayne.
Bruce knows that if he had never taken in and adopted his firstborn, he would not have taken in his other children either.
It may sound a bit cliché to say but Dick has always been and always will be the light that chases away the darkness of Batman.
It is because of Dick that Bruce has survived, both physically and emotionally speaking.
If it had not been for the eight year old circus kid who worked his way into Bruce's heart, nicking and breaking down every single barrier the billionaire had created for himself since the death of his parents, Bruce knew that he would not have been able to survive for long and would have died as Batman.
Or Batman would become his true self and Bruce Wayne only his mask.
Honestly, the latter probability scared Bruce more than death.
Ever since Batman made his first appearance he would jump into the fray without a second thought, heedless of whether or not he would die.
He would take punches and kicks when it would be easy for him to dodge them, and this was true of knives and firearms as well.
This is because Bruce had no reason to survive.
Of course, Batman was born to bring justice and to prevent the tragedy he suffered at age 10 from happening to other children.
Batman wanted to do good.
But at the same time there was no real connection that made Bruce think about continuing to live.
Sure, there was Alfred, Lucius, Leslie, Jim, etc.
But they were not enough, no matter how much Bruce loved them.
Bruce would not have cared if he had died in some dirty alley in Gotham as his parents did.
He did not care whether he lived or died.
Every time Alfred patched his wounds he shook his head sadly, knowing full well what he was doing the closest thing he has to a son.
Then suddenly the tragedy happened at the circus that reminded Bruce very much of that damn night many years ago.
And Bruce took in Dick Grayson after the little orphan was unfairly taken to juvenile detention just because his fucking social worker was a racist piece of shit.
Bruce knew Gotham was corrupt but not until this point.
The first few days at the manor were quite awkward since the 23 year old Bruce did not know how to deal with a child only eight years old with a trauma load equal to his own.
Slowly, however, the two grew closer, sharing their tragedies and sorrows.
And subsequently the miracle happened.
After Tony Zucco's capture (and after Dick had discovered Bruce's secret) Wayne Manor was suddenly brighter.
Of course, it was not instantaneous, but slowly the Manor was getting brighter and brighter, and giggles resounded which had not been heard in more than a decade.
Dick was the star that lit up Bruce Wayne's life, which suddenly became lighter day by day thanks to the boy.
Bruce could count on the fingers of both hands the times he has smiled or laughed genuinely since his parents' deaths.
Then Dick Grayson arrived, and after more than a decade the manor was full of laughter and joy and the place became ever less gloomy and lonely.
Dick's presence alone was enough to light up the entire Wayne Manor, and Bruce and Alfred were infinitely grateful.
When Batman took to the streets during Dick's training period who was not yet allowed field work, the Dark Knight began to seriously dodge the blows of his opponents.
This was because Bruce began to develop paternal instincts for the first time. He had a child anxiously waiting for him at the manor, and Bruce would be damned if he left him an orphan for a second time.
And that was the moment when Bruce stopped being Batman to avenge his parents and started being Batman to protect the innocent.
Dick Grayson reminded Bruce Wayne what it means to be loved, and Bruce cannot thank him enough for what his firstborn ever did for him.
So yes, that explains the reasons why Dick Grayson-Wayne holds a slightly more special place in his heart.
Bruce is pretty sure that the only ones who know of his "preference" among his sons are Alfred and the Justice League, the only witnesses to Bruce's change (and Batman who became less violent with criminals) thanks to Dick's sunny presence.
As for Jason, on the other hand, he is the only one among the Wayne children who knew how much Bruce missed Dick when Nightwing had moved to Bludhaven and he was busy with his city or the Titans, even though Bruce did his best to hide it.
Sure, Dick and Bruce had their share of quarrels, but they further strengthened their bond more than it already was.
The relationship Bruce had with his firstborn was different from those he had with his other sons. The bond that united Bruce and Dick was special, unique in the entire universe and unbreakable, but it was a bond that was not simply formed. Although the billionaire trusted all of his sons with his life, it is only Dick whom Bruce trusts completely, it is only Dick whom Bruce trusts enough to let go and lean on his firstborn when things were too much.
Bruce relies on Dick much more than he does on Alfred or any of his other children.
Dick has always been there for Bruce.
Dick has always been there for Bruce, more loyal and faithful than anyone else.
Bruce and Dick understood each other in a way that no one else did in the entire universe, and Bruce knew that it was impossible to have such a relationship with his other children or Alfred.
It was simply that, a fact that cannot be questioned.
However, Bruce never confirmed or denied when someone said Cass was his favorite, this was because he did not want to drive a wedge between his children.
Especially he did not want to create discord just between Cass and Dick since Bruce was afraid of how his daughter would react if she learned about it.
Because Bruce knew that Cass felt special to be loved so much to the point of being considered Bat Dad's favorite since his amazing daughter did not know what love was for the first part of her life.
So Bruce did not want to upset or shock her, no matter how much effort he had to make to avoid letting it slip out that they were wrong.
Bruce Wayne will carry this secret to his grave.