Booster Gold x Bruce Wayne's Neglected Daughter
"Yeah right. Who would be so stupid as to try and date Bruce Wayne- no- Batman’s daughter?"
☆ (booster gold x f! reader) ☆
warnings: mentions of neglect? idk this is fluff mainly i think
word count: 2295
a/n: this one has been one of my favorite scenarios to think of before bed and is now the longest fic i've written! there will likely be a part two of everyone finding out if anyone asks! i love booster gold he is so silly and charming <3
part two is here! part three is here!
Most everyone knows about Bruce Wayne’s daughter. A girl who seemingly appeared out of thin air in her early teens, dumped by her mother who had enough of trying to raise her on her own in what quickly became a huge scandal. However, not everyone knows about Batman’s daughter. The Justice League and batfamily not included, your existence in connection to the bat was a complete secret. You had no interest in putting yourself out there in the night and becoming a crime-fighting vigilante, and you didn’t have the training to do it anyways. That was what created the large gap between the two of you. Bruce didn’t know how to connect with someone so detached from the superhero world. Someone so plain- who had never endured the pains of losing someone close to them, to death and murder- to true struggle.
It was an isolating next few years, as you grew accustomed to your new life in the manor. You realized quickly that Bruce’s attention was never going to be focused on you. As the years went by, more and more young people would come in and gain that privilege with their powers or their strength or their superior intellect. These vigilantes- these robins, were nothing like you. Kind in passing, but busy. Dick was the only one who had been there before you. He was nice. Entertaining and funny, but he was also busy. He became a part of the Teen Titans, and once again the manor became boring and unwelcoming.
Everyone who came after him was the same. Right by Bruce’s side their whole day, working all throughout the night and sleeping whenever they could during the day. You’d sometimes go weeks without talking to Bruce at all. The whole city of Gotham depended on you getting out of his way and letting him think.
So you did. You never tried to join him, you couldn’t conjure up any mindblowing, incredible answer to whatever mystery plagued him at night- even if you really wanted to. So, you changed courses. You focused yourself on your own life. School, homework, friends. You had a good amount of money now, might as well spend it. You frequented malls and shops after school, flew out of the city often, and tried to convince yourself that there was more to life than just the lonely feeling you got whenever you entered the manor and Alfred was too busy to come dote on you. You could matter to someone, even if it wasn’t your father.
It worked for a while, it really did. You made a small community in the group of girls you got close to at school. Alfred was there to keep you entertained as well. After he realized you had no interest in becoming a heroine, he took up the mantle of a guardian figure of sorts instead. They’d ask how your day was, and you’d do the same. Life was content.
That was until Damian came home. Damian, who was just like you. Another child of Bruce’s. Someone who was now in a new environment, just like you were. You were delighted at first, but that delightment was quickly crushed when he shot you a sharp glare at your first greeting. He truly had no interest in getting to know you, but unlike the others, he didn’t make an effort to disguise it at all. At his harshness, you curled back up into your room, ignoring the feeling of any hope you had being extinguished, and shut yourself out once more.
His existence was truly a turning point in your homelife. Not just because he was rude to you, but because he fit in so well with everyone else. They all made an effort to talk to him, to get to know him. Bruce gave him more attention in a week than you’d gotten in a month. Putting it bluntly, the little shit was starting to get on your nerves. So, Wayne was capable of showing affection for his kid, just not you.
You grew sour and bitter, unable to explain the issues you were having at home to your friends who couldn’t even know who your dad really was, you just tried to confide in Alfred whenever you could. Alfred gave you an empathetic nod, some words of wisdom maybe, but didn’t offer much else. He knew you were hurting and the fact made him sad, but your issues were constantly being compared with the issues the others were facing- matters of life or death- and theirs often took priority.
That is until one night, one glorious night- when everything changed. You were well into university by now, choosing to commute into Gotham U, as you didn’t want to deal with the paparazzi coming to your dorm (even if it meant the alternative was to stay at the manor). You were sitting in the batcave, halfassing some psych homework when a bright flash appeared in the middle of the lair.
Through the bright lights, you could make out an even brighter figure. A blur of gold and blue materializing into the finest man you’d ever seen. A tall, strong figure with blond hair and blue eyes covered by a yellow visor. He stood straight, looking around all panicked before his gaze rested on you. “Uh…” He coughs, adjusting his voice, “Hello miss. Do you know where the bat is?”
You’d never seen a man like this. So shining, so cool. His gleaming suit was a harsh contrast against the dark and dreary atmosphere Gotham provided. So different from the cold, lonely feeling the manor gave you. You shake yourself out of your daze, “Uh, I think he’s out on patrol with Robin… hold on I can check.” You say, standing up and walking over to the console. As you stood you felt a little embarrassed to be seen in your pajamas with your bare face and messy hair. You make a small attempt to fix it, but it’s a lost cause.
Your access to the computer was incredibly limited, but you were able to check Bruce’s location whenever you needed. As you're checking, the man leans in just enough to make your face warm. “So, I haven’t seen you around before. Name’s Booster Gold- but you probably know that already, right?” He says with a grin. The name ‘Booster Gold’ does ring a bell, he had recently been admitted to the Justice League- and it was a controversial decision at best. He was considered by the public to be a complete sell out. But how could a sell out be so… charming? “You’re his daughter right? The bat’s?” He asks, leaning in to get a better look at you.
“Yeah, I am.” You confirm, not really knowing what else to say, you add, “I’ve seen you on TV. Congratulations on the Justice League invite.” His smile widens, leaning obnoxiously on the console he says, “Ah, no big deal for a guy like me. They’ve been begging me to join for ages, just figured I’d do something about it now.” For the first time since you could remember, you laughed. A genuine, happy, laugh that echoes through the walls of the cave. “You’re funny.” You say with a small smile. Booster gives you a taken aback smile that tells you he wasn’t expecting things to go this well.
“I got the location,” You say, pointing to a red dot on a map. “He’s on the rooftop of that pizza place near the station.” Booster nods, tapping the coordinates into a little screen on his wrist before giving you a nod. “Thanks. I- uh- I gotta go but… don’t tell Brucie I broke in, m’kay? He probably won’t be too happy about that.” You just nod your head, sad to see him leaving. It had been so long since someone from the superhero world gave you attention (and it helped that he was so dashing). Despite yourself, you called after him, “Will I see you again?” That made him pause, one finger hovering over the teleportation pad on his wrist, he shot you a smile, “Of course! How about dinner down by the pier? I’ll text you the details later.” He hands you a business card, and with a wink, leaves without a trace.
When Booster meets Batman, he admits to going to the batcave to try and find him, but doesn’t mention you to him at all. Luckily, there were more pressing matters at hand, so Batman felt no need to look into it. For all anyone other than the two of you knows, he just took a quick look around before figuring things out for himself.
After that little date to the pier, life was perfect. You were visibly more chipper and happy, waking up early to make breakfast, and greeting everyone without a care. The change was drastic, and it didn’t take much for any of them to see something was up. That’s how your relationship with the bat family changed. You gave them a mystery.
Dick was the first one to notice, after he caught you humming and making pancakes at a reasonable hour. “Someone’s happy.” He says, a polite smile on his face as he leaned on the door frame. “What’s up?” You just shake your head. “Nothing. I just got a good grade on a test.” You say. “I can’t explain it, but life feels good.” That was enough for Dick, but maybe not for everyone else. The enigmatic, brooding girl they shared a house with was suddenly so cheerful, and they wanted to know why.
Steph, who heard about this new you from Dick, took the chance to try and rekindle a friendship between the two of you. She always felt bad for how she treated you when you’d first met. She was so busy trying to prove herself- busy trying to save the day, she kind of forgot you’d existed. By the time she had any free time to get to know you, it was just a bit too late. She caught you watching a movie in the home theater, and took it as an opportunity to come say hi.
Before you knew it, these vigilantes seemed to be more and more interested in you. Asking about what you’d been up to, how school was, telling you about what they’d been doing. If they had tried this any other period of your life, you’d have been spiteful. Why would they turn around and try to undo all the pain they’d caused by being nice all the sudden. However, you were in a perpetually good mood after a certain blond came in and you found yourself letting go of your broody past. Even Damian was a bit nicer. His idea of nice being not leaving a room whenever he saw you enter. One night, he even let you have some of the food he’d made.
On patrol, Tim and Steph were theorizing what brought on your sudden happiness. “Maybe it’s just the new university setting? I mean she is getting out of the house more.” Steph says. Tim shakes his head, “Nah, that can’t be it. Maybe there’s a man in her life.” Steph laughs. “Yeah right. Who would be so stupid as to try and date Bruce Wayne- no- Batman’s daughter?”
Booster Gold eagerly awaited your text. He’d stand no chance sneaking up to your window to pick you up if it wasn’t for Bruce’s attention constantly being elsewhere. Luckily for him, the two of you had a lot of alone time. He’d fly up to your window and take the two of you wherever and whenever you wanted, a tad bit irresponsible maybe, but a whole lot of fun. You met Ted and Rip and his sister, Michelle, and life was perfect. That is, until you made the mistake of letting out a dreamy sigh in front of Alfred, who was cleaning the study you were in.
“Is there something on your mind, miss?” He asked, a single eyebrow raised. “Nothing!” You said, putting your phone down quickly. Not quickly enough, however, as Alfred caught a glimpse of the blue and gold on your phone screen. “Who was that?” He asks, moving by your side. “Someone’s caught your eye?” He can see it in the way your eyes widen, the way both of your hands guard your phone- you weren’t even trying to hide it. “Do tell.”
You sigh, looking up at him with a guilty expression. You had been wanting to tell someone about how amazing Michael was… “You promise you won’t tell Bruce?” Alfred nods, “Your wish takes just as much priority as Master Bruce’s does my dear.” You huff, preparing yourself mentally. “Okay… fine.” You relent, turning the phone so Alfred could see.
You’ve never seen Alfred look surprised before. He stood there, face blank, before taking a quiet step back. “I-... Is that Booster Gold?” He manages- though he knows the answer already. “What an interesting celebrity crush to have…” He says, trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. There’s no way the two of you had met before right? He would’ve known… right? At your guilty expression, he starts to fear the worst.
“You promised you wouldn’t tell!” You shout, holding his shoulder in desperation. “I… will make good on that promise, miss.” He says as if it pains him. “Your secret is safe with me.” He sighs, “But only because I’ve seen the way he’s brought you out of your shell. If he ever does anything that would cause me concern,” He adds, eyes boring into yours, “You will let me know immediately.”
With that, Alfred turns on his heel and begins straightening up in the next room.