How To Balance Your Daytime And Nighttime Activities So That You Don't Burn Yourself Out More Than You Already Have
Getting to Gotham as fast as he could still took way too long. In the few minutes it had taken, there was still radio silence. He'd tried several more times to get a response, but nothing.
Logically, because there was an explosion, there should be smoke billowing from somewhere, so that's what Tutelary Phantom? looked for. The smog covering the sky and the smell of everything made it hard, but it soon became obvious that there wasn't any smoke.
"That doesn't make sense," he panicked slightly, "There was explosion! Explosions always have smoke!"
Still invisible, he flew over Gotham, searching the rooftops for any of the four vigilantes. When that offered no results, he decided to fly through every building, sending silent apologies for invading everyone's privacy.
Halfway through his search, he stopped. If anyone was hurt, they'd head back to the Cave. He wasn't allowed down there, but Alfred was.
He turned and retreated back to Wayne Manor.
As soon as he was back in the guest room, Phantom dropped back into Danny and he threw the door open, sprinting through the hallways and sliding down the banister to get to the ground floor quicker.
"Alfred!" he shouted, "Alfred, something's gone wrong!"
Alfred came out of the kitchen and raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong, young sir?"
"There was- there was an explosion on-on comms," he panted, "and no one's an-answering me!"
Alfred didn't let any emotion show, somehow managing to keep calm in the face of whatever was going on. He did, however, put the towel that was over his shoulder on the thin table in the hallway.
"I'll see if I can reestablish contact in the Cave," Alfred said, "You go back into Gotham and look for them yourself."
Danny blinked. "How did you..?" He shook his head. "Don't tell the others?"
"Of course."
"Got it."
"I will join your line shortly, Tutelary. Be swift."
"Understood." Turning away, he let the cold light wash over him again before flying through the walls of the Manor and back over to Gotham Proper.
There still wasn't any smoke in the air, nor were there any sings of fighting. Against his wants, he stopped a few crimes he saw, but nothing too big. He wasn't ready to take anything big like that on by himself.
Ten minutes, later, Alfred joined his comm line with no news on any of the others. He couldn't contact them, their trackers were offline, and none of them had come back in for a medical check.
There was a quiet hum from Alfred that had Phantom stopping short. "What? What is it?"
"Have you looked at Arkham yet?"
"Arkham? As in the prison? The one that took over Mercy Island? That Arkham?"
"You know your Gotham History well."
"I got bored one night," he said, "I haven't checked there, no."
"Best do so,"
Phantom nearly fell out of the sky. "Sorry? You want me to go to Arkham?"
"It's the only place neither of us have looked, right?"
"I mean, yeah, but-"
"We will have contact the entire time," Alfred said, "It is only a scout mission."
"And if I find them?"
"Try to get one of them free. They will do the rest."
"And if I don't find them?"
"Then you come to the Manor and we work from there."
"Right," Phantom nodded, "Right. Just go investigate the creepy revolving door all on your own. No biggie."
Gulping, he flew towards the island, his hesitations slowing him down.
Just as he reached the only bridge left to the island, Alfred asked, "How old are you, Tutelary?"
How To Balance Your Daytime and Nighttime Activities So That You Don't Burn Yourself Out More Than You Already Have
Dick had to give it to the kid, he'd somehow thought of everything. It was a little concerning, actually, but the kid had brushed off every attempt had probing for answers. Who trained him? If he was trained at all. ...had the kid gone into vigilantism alone? Oh, dear. THat's not good fro Dick's current worries.
Reading the file Danny had handed him, Dick had to wonder how long it had taken him to put together this cover story. Also, where he'd managed to get the equipment to do it. At a glance, the kid didn't seem to have much on him. Not even a phone!
He closed the folder and set it back down on the table. "Really?" he asked, "'Congratulations, it's a boy'?"
Danny's cheeks turned a bit red as his gaze shifted to the folder. "Well, yeah. You're stuck with me now until I can get you into good habits and a healthier schedule."
"That implies that you're planning on leaving."
Danny shrugged, all his confidence now fading away. Is this what he's really like? "Well, I mean, I'm sure you don't want me sticking around at all, let alone for a while."
Dick frowned and looked back at the black folder and the binder sitting on his coffee table. God, his apartment's a mess! He smiled at Danny. "My name's Richard, but everyone calls me 'Dick'. You can stay in the guest room."
Danny lit up like a fucking Christmas tree. "Really?"
"Yep. You went to all this work, it'd be a shame if it all went to waste."
The grin on Danny's face was more than worth the security risk that he now posed. "You won't regret it, Mr. Dick!"
Dick smiled back at him, "Please, drop the formalities. We're cousins, apparently."
Was he attached? No. He wouldn't allow himself to get attached. Sure, maybe he was letting this kid - he really needs to start calling him Danny - stay with him for a while, but he wasn't going to get attached. Getting attached meant losing him. Dick wasn't sure he'd be able to survive if he lost someone again.
...damn it.
***
First order of business, now that Danny was officially Dick's - why would he willingly go by that nickname? - ward/cousin, Danny was going to make sure he got some sleep. Today was Dick's day off, so Danny had sent him to his room to take a much needed nap. The man was basically dead on his feet and Danny would be damned if he let him wander around this mess of an apartment with blurry vision.
The second thing he did, once he was sure Dick was asleep, was start to clean up. The place was a stereotypical bachelor's pad, complete with questionable stains in the carpet, rips in the cushions, dishes piled up in the sink, and old take-out on every table and counter. Gross.
He made quick work of the old take-out by throwing it all away and hitting it with a very small and controlled ectoblast. He was so glad Dick had disposable gloves on hand.
The dishes were the next thing he handed. The water was cleaner than in Gotham, so he didn't worry about washing the dishes by hand when they all didn't fit in the dishwasher. He dried the ones he'd hand washed before putting them away. Dick had no organisation in his cupboards, so Danny fixed that, too.
The fridge and freezer weren't too bad. Sure, the dairy products had all expired and most of the food was freezer bitten, but none of it was moldy yet and the appliance itself was in perfect working order. He'd have to go shopping later.
Danny had never liked cleaning, but he'd had to when his parents refused to follow any OSHA laws or Lab Safety courses. So, when he found the cleaning supplies, he took a deep breath and began scrubbing the bathroom. It wasn't too bad, thank god, and was already fairly clean. It was quick and he was able to move on very quickly.
The counters, tables, walls, and tile and wooden floors were all easy to clean with a wet rag and a broom. He wasn't going to even try saving the rug because it looked well beyond the point of no return. The couch and chair cushions could be sticked up, but he didn't have a sewing needle and thread with him.
The last thing he did before taking his backpack into the room he'd been given was to write down a shopping list and leave it on the counter. It wasn't a lot, just food and some dishes and toiletries. He'd have to figure out with Dick a way to pay rent, too, but that was a later Danny problem. He'd tired himself out and was still running on pretty much empty. So, he allowed himself to fall asleep. He'd check on Dick when he woke up.
How To Balance Your Daytime And Nighttime Activities So That You Don't Burn Yourself Out More Than You Already Have
"Hey, Tutelary," Robin said about an hour after everyone had left the Manor, Phantom included.
"Yeah?"
"I'm not gonna have to ask 'when' you're from, right?"
Phantom blinked in surprise, halting in place for a second. "No, why?"
Robin hummed. "Just making sure."
He shook his head. "Alrighty, then."
Phantom continued on his way to Bludhaven, clearing the distance in ten minutes. Working from the outside in, he circled the city invisibly, keeping an eye and ear out for anything going on.
It seemed like news of Nightwing hadn't gotten out yet, but that was sure to change quickly.
The others, he could hear, were all spread out around Gotham. Batman was with Robin, Nightwing and Batgirl were alone. Someone was humming, someone else was fighting, and Batgirl was talking to someone on a rooftop.
Phantom wondered how they could do this with all the noise in the ears without getting distracted.
Still not knowing how to mute his comm, or if that was even possible, he kept himself completely silent, only letting his manual breathing be heard. When he had to take someone down, he made sure to keep the noise they made to a minimum.
An hour after sunset, Batgirl said, "Tutelary?"
"That's my name,"
"What're you dong? You're really quiet."
Was he? He hadn't noticed. He was actually being a bit louder than he was used to. "'m just reading a book."
"What book?" Batman asked.
That surprised Phantom. He kinda figured B-man would get mad at them for talking on comms, even if that's the whole reason he was allowed one anyway. He didn't have time to think, so he said the first one that came to mind, "Psychology for Dummies."
A beat.
Robin and Nightwing snorted. "What?"
He nodded to himself. "You heard what I said."
"Why're you reading a psychology book?"
"Screw that, I didn't even think there was one in the Manor!"
"There's not." If Phantom wasn't mistaken, then there was the barest hint of smugness in Tab-nam's voice.
"There isn't?" He asked, "I wouldn't know. Alfred showed me to a room, and I stayed in there the whole time. I've been reading on my phone."
Batman hummed. The others made noises of understanding.
"Why psychology, though?" Batgirl asked again.
He shrugged, despite her not being able to see it, and stopped over a mugging he needed to stop soon. "My sister got me into it. It's not really my thing, but the way the human works is fascinating."
"Really?" Robin asked, half distracted, "Care to share?"
"And spoil this absolute page turner for you?" he gasped dramatically. Nightwing huffed through his nose.
The others started up a quiet conversation about something or other while Phantom swooped down and grabbed the mugger in a choke-hold, covering his mouth and nose so he couldn't make much noise.
There was a pause in the conversation just as the guy went down. Phantom tied him to a lamppost.
"Are you sure I won't have to ask when you're from?" Robin asked again, "Because I feel like that's a conversation we'll need to have eventually."
"Why would I lie to you about time travel?" Phantom said, "Besides, Nightwing can affirm for me-"
"I can?"
"-I was born the same year as you, Robin."
"Hm. I don't-" There was explosion in Gotham and all three lines cut out.
How To Balance Your Daytime and Nighttime Activities So That You Don't Burn Yourself Out More Than You Already Have
Batman has an insane patrol schedule. Danny knew this, somewhere in the back of his mind, but it was only just settling in for him.
"You're gonna be dead tired tomorrow," he warns Dick, "You were tired for only being out for two hours longer than your new normal, going from sunset to sunrise is gonna knock you out. I can't drive, Dick, so we'll be stuck in Gotham for another day if you pass out."
Dick patted his head with a smile. "I'll be fine. I'll vene bring ya back some Bat Burger, okay?"
Danny blinked. "Bat Burger?"
"You've- You've never had Bat Burger?" Louder, he called to Barbra and Tim who'd just come back from wherever the Cave entrance is with a comm for Danny, "Danny's never had Bat Burger!"
Barbra gasped dramatically. Tim clutched ay imaginary pearls. "You've never had Bat Burger?!"
"That sounds like an exclusively Gotham thing, and I am decidedly not from Gotham."
It was quiet for another moment as the three stared at him. Finally, Dick blinked. "Have you always been Midwestern?"
"As far as I know, why?"
His head tilted slightly to the left. "Your accent just seems..."
"Much more prevalent." Tim finished.
"Yeah, that."
“I don’t know what you guys are talking about. I’ve always talked like this.” A lie. He was hiding his accent from everyone so that tracking him down would be ever so slightly harder. Danny shrugged, “Right, Barbra?”
She shook her head. "No, you leave me outta this. As far as I know, you've sounded like this the whole time and these two are only just picking up on the accent."
Good job, Danny. Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss your way into their hearts.
"Anyway," Barbra continued, holding her hand to Danny, "This is a comm. It'll keep you patched in until we come back up to the manor after patrol. If you get tired of us or when you sleep, just take it out and put it on your nightstand; we'll take it back down in the morning for you."
"Are you sure you don't wanna come to the Cave?" Tim asked.
Danny shook his head, the comm now sitting in his left ear. "Mister Wayne already hates me, I'm not gonna go into his space. Besides, I'm already intruding as it is."
"I just don't want you to be bored."
"It's alright, I'm sure I'll find something to occupy myself with while you guys are out. And, isn't the whole point of me being on comms so that you guys can talk to me?"
"You're right," Dick agreed, "We'll see ya when we get back."
"Alright."
Occupy himself with? Yeah, he's going back to Bludhaven. Another problem he just realized, though: How is Bat Tech going to react to/around Phantom? Danny figures he has about two minutes to figure it out or he's gonna have to bench himself for the night.
There was no one around, so he ducked into the nearest room to transform. It was a quick lightshow, as always, but not enough to draw attention of anyone passing by.
Except Alfred. Alfred probably knows.
Alfred won't tell Bruce, right?
Right?
Probably not.
Hopefully.
Focusing on the comm revealed no static, though there was no sound either. Was someone trying to talk to him already? Hopefully not. That'd be upsetting.
There was a soft crackle before: "Danny, can you hear us?"
Phantom allowed a small smile of victory. "Yeah, loud and clear, Barbra."
"Call me Batgirl right now, okay? Tim's Robin, and, as you know, Dick's Nightwing. And, if you really need him, Bruce is Batman."
"Got it."
"We don't use real names on comms," Robin said, "Do you have something we could call you?"
That's probably a fish for what his hero name used to be. All three of them - Tim, at the very least - were hung up on the 'not anymore' of his denial and it really showed. He could make it easy and tell them to call him Phantom, but he really does not want them finding out his childhood right now. So, "Tutelary."
"'Tutelary'?" Nightwing asked.
"It's Greek," Batgirl said, "Tutelaries are deities or patrons of protection."
"Aw, that's cute," Robin cooed teasingly, "But you aren't doing much protecting from the Manor."
Phantom - is he really ready to give up that name? - blushed green, "Shut up. Protection Spirits are a big deal where I'm from!" Yeah, meaning most people don't actually think they're protecting them, but who really cares about technicalities?
"And that would be..?" Batman spoke up, his voice coming out much more 'gargle glass' over the comms than was probably intended.
Phantom smirked. "The Midwest." Limits options, but not specifically but he figured he could throw them a bone. Though, that's the only one he's giving Mister Wayne.
Speaking of, "I'll try not to be a distraction, Mister Batman sir, but I won't make any promises."
Nightwing, Batgirl and Robin were all sniggering. Batman was quiet for no more than a few seconds. "Stop getting distracted; We're leaving."
"Yes, sir!"
Phantom listened closely, focusing on the Cave below the Manor. Batman and Robin had gotten into some kind of assault vehicle-race car mix and were driving out into Gotham Proper quickly. Nightwing and Batgirl were both on motorcycles, leaving out a different way but just as quickly.
"Have fun out there, you guys."
Nightwing laughed, "We'll bring ya back some Bat Burger."
Part 15 Part 17
Real quick, before you move on, a quick Thank You to @bianca-hooks123 for the idea for Danny's name Tutelary. I hadn't even thought of using that until it was suggested, so thanks <3
How To Balance Your Daytime and Nighttime Activities So That You Don't Burn Yourself Out More Than You Already Have
They had planned to leave before Bruce got back to the Manor, but plans change all the time and it wasn't Danny's fault!
Alfred had invited a friend of Dick's, Barbra Gordon, to the Manor for dinner, meaning that Dick had to stay if he wanted to see her. And since Dick was staying, Danny was staying. Tim wasn't about to leave Danny to Bruce's mercy, so he was staying for dinner, too.
Bruce Wayne arrived at Wayne Manor exactly three and a half minutes after six in the evening. He entered the kitchen exactly ten minutes and five seconds after that.
The air was tense.
Dick had been tense since Danny first roped him into coming to Gotham, only getting worse as they got closer to the building they were now sitting in. Now that Bruce and Dick were in the same room, it was like the rope had frayed to the point of snapping with a light breeze.
Bruce sat at the head of the table with Tim to his left and down a chair. Dick sat at the foot of the table, Barbra sitting to his immediate right. Danny sat on the unoccupied side of the table, directly in the middle.
No one was saying a word.
Danny was on edge.
Finally, "Dick," Bruce said.
"Bruce," was the response.
As if the spell had been broken, though the awkwardness remained, Barbra cleared her throat and said, "It's good to have you back in Gotham, D."
Dick smiled at her, soft and happy and relieved. "It's good to see you, Babs. How've you been?"
"The same as usual. Though, Condiment King again!" She glared when Dick started laughing. "Yeah, sure, laugh it up, Wonder Boy. It took three hours to get that mustard out of my costume! It's easier to get blood out of white carpets-!"
Bruce pointedly cleared his throat, bringing all attention to him. "As good as it is to see you, Dick, who've you brought with you?"
Barbra flinched back slightly, having forgotten Danny was even there. Oops.
Danny grinned at Bruce, hiding his nerves behind his favorite fake-it-'til-you-make-it smile. "My name's Danny, it's nice to meet you Mister Wayne! I have to say, you're a lot less smiley in person than you are on the internet."
He hummed. "I apologize. Today's been an off day."
"No need," Danny waved off politely, "I get it."
"I have to say, Daniel-"
"'Danny', please. My name's Danny."
To his credit, Bruce didn't even skip a beat. "Then, call me Bruce. I must say that I didn't expect Dick to have taken anyone in."
Danny chuckled a bit. "I think it's less of him taking me in and more of me kind of letting myself into his house."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, I noticed he wasn't doing too well, so I figured I'd step in to help where I could before he got himself hurt." 'Or worse' was heavily implied. "I imagine Tim did much the same with you?"
Tim stiffened as Bruce sighed. Well, that's not a good sign.
"Yes, though Tim doesn't live here."
"He has a room, though, right?"
"Of course."
"Good. I can't imagine having to travel with the kind of injuries you guys get at night is very fun." Here, he turned and looked Barbra in the eye. "Honestly, you deserve a prize for traveling from here to wherever you live after getting injured."
Barbra smiled sheepishly, "Thanks? I don't really come here, though. Only on occasion."
Bruce interrupted before the conversation could continue, "What do you mean? Dick's the only one of us who could possibly get hurt on the job." He shook his head. "Honestly, why did you ever join the BHPD? It's too dangerous."
Oh, Danny had to put a stop to that right away!
"Sorry, to jump in here, Mister Wayne, but I know what all of you moonlight as." He ignored Bruce's narrowed, sharp glare. "You're Batman, Dick is Nightwing, Tim is Robin, meaning that Barbra has to be Batgirl and, if I'm right, Oracle."
"Who are you?" Bruce demanded. He didn't ask because asking is for people who aren't paranoid enough to have six levels of security at the front gate alone.
"I just told you: Danny." He unflinchingly met Bruce's glare. "Not good enough for you? I'm Danny, personal caretaker of vigilantes who refuse to take care of themselves, bookkeeper, cook, unlicensed medical unprofessional, et cetera. Though, don't call me a therapist because that's my sister. Is that a better answer?"
Bruce hummed.
The meal itself was somehow even worse than before Alfred had brought out the food. Glares were being thrown and concerned glances shared. It made the food taste bad, which was probably a war crime.
Danny had been raised with manners, so he'd thanked Alfred for making dinner. He even offered to help with clean up, though he backed down when he was refused. He knows better.
After dinner, the group had gone back into the very same drawing room as before. Dick and Barbra cuddled together on the couch, Bruce and Tim took the two armchairs, and Danny sat on the floor in front of the now lit fireplace.
"So, Tim," Danny started, "You working on any interesting cases?"
Tim seemed to perk up a bit. "Yeah, actually. It's a murder-"
"We're not at liberty to discuss anything with you, Daniel." Bruce's voice was gravely, almost the voice he used as Batman, as he spoke over Tim.
Danny's eyes narrowed. "I believe I told you my name is 'Danny', not 'Daniel'."
"Well, seeing as I don't actually know you, and you have offered up no sir name, I'll stick with calling you whatever I'm comfortable with, especially in my own home."
"This isn't a fight you wanna pick, Mister Wayne. You might want to rethink your choice."
"I am well aware of what battles to fight. However, you're mistaken. This isn't a battle. I'm merely stating that I will be calling you 'Daniel' until you offer up your sir name to be called by."
Danny very obviously looked Bruce up and down. "I guess my parents were right; You can't ever believe everything you read on the internet."
"Oh? Why do you say that?"
"Because you, Mister Wayne, are horrible with children."
The temperature in the room dropped. Bruce's glare hardened even more. He appraised Danny, assessing him and filing away everything he could find. "Speaking to me like that in my own home is quite the move."
"Are you threatening me, Mister Wayne?"
"Not at all," he denied. "What are you really doing here, Dick?"
"I wanted to come meet Tim," Dick lied.
"Don't lie to me."
"What, I can't even come meet your newest Robin?"
"After the way you treated Jason?"
Dick stood quickly, Barbra scrambling to her feet. "After the way I-! You're the one who let him put on my old uniform!"
Bruce stood to his full height, looking down on Dick. "Me? You barely even talked to him! I spent as much time as I could with him!"
Danny blocked out the already out of hand yelling match and grabbed Barbra's and Tim's hands, leading them out of the room. This was not how he was hoping this would go at all.
He could still hear the yelling, even in the foyer.
"I'm sorry," he whispered to Tim and Barbra, "I didn't expect this to happen."
"It's alright," Barbra said, flinching when she realized that she could hear both men's voices almost clearly.
"No, it's not. I dragged Dick here to apologize to Tim. We were supposed to leave before Bruce even left Wayne Enterprises."
Tim shook his head. "We should've anticipated something like this would happen."
"Yeah..."
The three sat together on the steps, Bruce and Dick's voices carrying through the wood and marble.
"Hey," Barbra said after a few minutes, "How do you know about the Cave being under the Manor?"
Danny blinked at her before turning to Tim. "There's a cave under the Manor?!" He glared playfully at his friend. "You didn't tell me that your base of operations is a cave under Wayne Manor!"
"If it makes you feel any better," Tim offered, "Dick named it the Bat Cave."
How To Balance Your Daytime and Nighttime Activities So That You Don't Burn Yourself Out More Than You Already Have
Tim was waiting for them at the door, sitting one the steps of the Manor's entrance, when they arrived. He grinned an jumped up when he saw the car, not quite running down to meet them. Danny nearly jumped out of the moving car to catch Tim.
"Hey, Danny!"
"Hey, Tim!"
Dick got out of the car after turning it off. He rolled his eyes at the two kids. "Hey, Dick." Tim and Danny snickered at him, ditching a handshake in favor of a high five. "You two have met in person once, why are you so close?"
"Occupational hazard," Danny answered.
"Why? Are you jealous?" Tim teased.
"I am not!" Dick protested, "I'm just curious."
The two didn't believe him for a second. "Yeah, sure."
"I'm not!"
The large oak doors to the Manor opened slowly, not creaking once, pulling the three's attention to the top of the stairs. Just inside of the open left door was an older gentleman in a pressed, three piece suit. "Master Dick," he smiled, "Welcome home."
Dick smiled up at him. "Hey, Alfred. It's good to see you."
"You as well," he stepped to the side, inviting the three inside. Dick walk in first, followed by Tim. Danny took up the rear.
Holding out his hand, Danny said, "You must be Alfred. I'm Danny. It's nice to meet you!"
Alfred closed the door before taking Danny's hand. "Likewise, Master Danny."
"Oh, please, none of that 'master' stuff."
"'Mister' it is, then."
Danny didn't like Bristol, Gotham, New Jersey. It was plastic and fake and reeked of money. The trees and lawns and bushes were all exactly alike, and each property was marked off by wrought iron fences nearly ten feet tall that stretched on forever in every direction.
Wayne Manor, though, had a different feel to it. It still smelled of old money, and the greenery was all perfectly plastic looking, but it felt warm. No. It was almost as cold as the other properties in the area, but there was an underlying warmth to it that was slowly being choked out. Like red dye in a glass of water.
Alfred, Danny decided, was not human. He was perfectly human in every way, but there was something about him that nudged at Danny. His posture was perfect, his clothing pressed and not touched by even a speck of dust. His shoes were shiny, his gloves whiter than snow, and his hair lay perfectly. Danny knew for a fact that Wayne Manor was this man's haunt, even if the man is still of the living. The building was perfectly cared for, and he was sure that Alfred knows where everyone and everything are as long as they're within the Manor property lines.
"Thank you for having me," Danny bowed his head slightly. Alfred's smile grew ever so slightly.
"Please," Alfred nodded, "I must thank you for taking care of Master Dick while I have been unable to.."
"It's not problem, really," he said, "I like helping people."
"Should we be worried about whatever..that is?" Tim whispered to Dick.
"I don't think so?" Dick whispered back.
"You don't sound so sure."
Alfred was the first to move, stepping naturally in front of the group to take the lead. "If you'll follow me to the drawing room, I will bring in refreshments while you all talk."
Dick laughed politely, "Don't be so stiff, Alfie! I'll come help you in the kitchen; leave those two to chat." He winked like he knew something neither Danny or Tim did. They ignored him.
"Very well," Alfred accepted, "I expect Master Tim to show Mister Danny the way."
"Yeah, sure," Tim nodded, "C'mon, Danny, it's this way."
The Manor was large on the outside and inside. The foyer was easily thirty feet tall, a crystal chandelier and white frosted wall scones brightening up the black marble floors and beige walls. A pristine, dark green rug ran up the stairs. On either side of the stairs, imbedded into the walls under the landing, were birch double doors. Dick and Alfred went through the ones on the left, presumably to the kitchen. Tim led Danny through the ones on the right.
The hallway Tim and Danny were no in was only ten feet tall. The floor had become dark oak planks covered by a long, dark red carpet. The walls were the same beige as the foyer, but these were decorated with pictures and paintings of landscapes and cityscapes. Potted plants on small tables and short benches were spaced along the walls. About fifteen feet from the birch doors was a dark wood archway leading into another room.
"This is the drawing room." Tim introduced.
The room followed a similar theme as the hallway. Dark wood floors and beige walls. There was an unlit, red brick fireplace directly opposite the archway, a TV a few inches over the mantel. Bookshelves that were obviously only decoration lined the right wall. A white, circle area rug covered most of the space, accompanied by dark blue and oak furniture, and scratchy white throw pillows. The decorations all matched the hallway, too.
It was all very impersonal.
"What's wrong?" Tim asked after a moment of Danny looking around.
"Nothing," he said, "it all just seems a bit.. manufactured?" He looked at Tim. "Don't take that the wrong way! It's a beautiful building! I'm just- I'm not used to this is all." A lie, but Tim didn't need to know that.
Tim laughed. "It's not my house, so don't worry about it."
Danny's head tilted to the side. "Oh? Then where do you live?"
"Why?" he smirked, "Gonna follow me home if I don't tell you?"
"Maybe." he shrugged back.
The single birch door on the left wall opened, letting Dick and Alfred into the room. They put two trays on the coffee table, one with different snack foods and the other with a few drinks. Alfred was quick to leave the room again.
"Welp," Dick clapped, "I'll leave you two in here to talk. I'm going to-" Danny leveled a glare at him. "-sit here and join your conversation."
Tim stared between the two for a second before laughing again. "Dude! You have to teach me how to do that!"
"Why? Think it'll work on Bruce-man?" That got both Tim and Dick laughing.
"Only one way to find out."
Danny laughed along with them for a few moments before sighing. "I hate to ruin the moment, but I did drag Dick here for a reason." He stepped back a few feet, motioning to Dick.
"Er- Right." Dick cleared his throat. "Tim, I'm sorry for yelling at you when you stopped by Bludhaven."
Tim blinked, giving Danny the impression that he was not used to apologies and the like. Hm. That'll have to change. "It's, um, okay?"
"Great-!"
"No it's not." Danny interrupted, "He yelled at you. You don't have to say it's okay."
How To Balance Your Daytime and Nighttime Activities So That You Don't Burn Yourself Out More Than You Already Have
Communication is good. It's wonderful, even! But screaming matches? Especially ones that last this long, aren't healthy in the slightest. In fact, all they do is damage relationships. So, after convincing Barbra and Tim to go upstairs, promising that he'd be up in a few minutes with Dick, he went back to where Bruce and Dick were screaming at each other.
Nothing had been thrown yet. Small mercies.
God, Danny hated being a mediator. Why couldn't people just work out their problems by talking? It'd make his life so much easier. Was that so hard to do? Too much to ask? Apparently.
"And you-!" Bruce rounded on Danny the second he closed the door behind him. "You don't get to come into my house and-"
"Let me stop you right there, Mister Wayne." A few days into his running away, Danny discovered a new power. He can't control it, but sometimes, when he's angry or needs people to shut up, the inside of his throat goes cold and his eyes narrow. It's really cool, from Danny's perspective, and pun fully intended. Something about Mister Wayne had brought that power to the surface, and thank the gods for that because Danny really needs to be listened to right now. "I told you earlier that my name was not a fight you wanted to pick. I think I should reword that. I am not a person you want to pick a fight with."
Bruce narrowed his eyes, meeting Danny's glare with his own. "Is that a threat?"
"Yes, Mister Wayne, that was a threat. And you can hold me to it. I will win any and every fight you try to pick with me."
Dick kept glancing between the two. He had a bad feeling about these two interacting like this, but something was stopping him from getting them apart.
"I have your name and your face. It won't be too hard to get you arrested for several crimes."
"Framing a child, Mister Wayne? Good luck with that. I don't exist anymore. Besides, I can threaten the same thing about Batman, and that holds significantly more weight than anything you could do to my name."
"If you're not scared, then you'll give me your whole name."
"That was a horrible fish for information, Mister Wayne. You're slipping. You must be getting rusty in your old age."
"Danny-"
"Dick." Danny held his hand out to his - on paper - responsible adult, "C'mon, Tim and Barbra are waiting for us upstairs."
Danny lead Dick out of the room, Bruce staying behind and obviously glaring at the back of Danny's head. When the door shut, Dick sighed, every bit of tension he hadn't felt melting off of him. "Sorry about him."
Danny shook his head. "Don't apologise, Dick, you didn't do anything to spark that. However," he glanced at him from the corner of his eye, still holding his hand, "Screaming matches aren't going to fix anything between you two. I don't know if you even want a relationship with him, but he's right. We came into his house, so it's up to us to be polite. You may be his kid, but you are a guest in his home until you two can form some kind of positive relationship. The hostility between y'all right now? That demotes you to 'house guest' instead of 'visiting child'. Got it?"
"..yeah."
"Good. Now, Tim and Barbra are waiting upstairs; go find them."
"What about you?"
"I'm going to go apologise to Alfred."
"Alfred? Why?"
"Bruce may claim this as his house, but Alfred's the one who takes care of it. It's his haunt, so I'm gonna go apologise for almost starting a fight."
"Um, alright..?"
***
Dick found himself wandering into the room that had been given to Tim. It was bare bones and barely looked used, but that's where he found Tim and Babs. He sat next to her.
"Where's Danny?" Tim asked.
"I- He's gone to talk to Alfred for a minute."
"Oh? Why?"
"I don't..he wasn't really clear on that."
"Oh."
The three lapsed into a silence that hovered somewhere between comfortable and uncomfortable. Tim was on his bed, messing with something on his phone, smiling occasionally or chuckling softly. Dick and Barbra sat together on the couch against the wall between the two windows. None of them spoke for a while.
It was a lon twenty minutes of sitting, doing nothing. Sometimes one of them shifted, but no conversation was made.
The door opened. "Wow. Did I end up in a graveyard or something? Y'all're quieter than the dead." The three flinched back as if struck. "Sorry, that was in poor taste." He closed the door behind him and sat on the foot of Tim's bed. "Seriously, though, why're y'all so quiet?"
"Waiting for you," Tim answered, "What'd you talk to Alfred about?"
Danny waved his hand in the air as if to physically dispel the words. "Nothing you need to worry about. Good news, though, I have a standing invitation to the Manor, so.."
"Is that a good idea?" Barbra asked, "You and B, well...You didn't really.."
"Yeah," he smiled, "Alfred's given me permission, and that's all I need. I won't be going with you guys to the Bat Cave, though."
"What?" Tim's voice pitched up a bit, "Why?"
"That's Mister Wayne's haunt. Because he doesn't like me, I'm not gonna risk even thinking about going down there."
"But you'll come and go from his house?"
"Yes."
"Weird."
"I don't make the rules, Timmy." Tim snorted softly. Barbra smiled.
"I hate to be the one to bring the mood down again," Dick said, "But why were you wanting to go to the Cave?"
"I just said I wasn't."
"Yeah, but why would you ever need to go down there?"
At this, Danny looked a bit sheepish, turning to look away from the others and rubbing the back of his neck. "Alfred said we're staying the night."
"What!" Dick shot up from his seat.
"Are you coming on patrol with us?" Barbra asked Dick, her eyes expectant.
Tim grinned. "That'd be so cool! You two should totally join us!"
Dick shook his head. "I really-" He cut himself off, making the mistake of looking Barbra and Tim in the eye. He sighed. "Alright, I'll join you guys for the night. But I don't answer to Bruce."
"Yay!"
"Wouldn't expect ya to."
"What about you, Danny?"
He shook his head. "Nah, I don't do the whole vigilante thing anymore."
"'Anymore'?" Babs raised her eyebrow, "That's a story I wanna hear."
He blushed. "It's really not,"
"You'll be on comms, though, right?" Tim wondered.
