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Coming to the mall never used to suck this much, Duke thinks, trying not to be annoyed. He’s more than accustomed to people staring at him wherever he goes now, and some days, he can even handle it just fine. There are people who, for some reason, want his autograph. It’s weird and freaky but he’s learned to have fun with it. Sometimes. Today, though, totally different story. It’s just him and Bruce on this trip, since Tim is grounded and Damian is sick, and the older kids don’t live at home anymore.
Duke likes spending time with Bruce, even better when it’s one-on-one and he doesn’t have to fight for attention, but seriously. He wants to be able to shop in peace. A few yards away, two girls giggle and not-at-all subtly take a picture of them. He sighs. Loudly.
Bruce stops talking to the cashier long enough to look over, a single eyebrow raised. “Something wrong, son?”
With the cashier staring right at him, Duke can’t answer. People go to the tabloids with the smallest things, and him saying he’s annoyed by their “fans” would surely cause a shit storm that none of them want to deal with. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he shrugs.
Bruce nods and gets back to paying. Cass’ birthday is coming up and they’re out buying presents, which means most of their conversation today has been about her. But the second they get away from prying ears, stepping into a secluded corner, Bruce asks, “What’s up?”
It doesn’t take anything more than that for Duke to spill—that he’s just feeling stressed from school work and Izzy and Damian’s attitude he always gets when he’s sick, and that all the people staring at them is making it worse. Bruce sets down the bags and pulls Duke into a hug, and though they’re of a height, he still manages to make it feel comforting and calming.
Pressing his cheek to the side of Duke’s head, he says, “Why don’t you sit for a sec, huh? Watch the bags for me while I fix it.”
“There’s nothing to fix,” Duke protests, rolling his eyes. Seriously, unless Bruce thinks he can somehow get every person in this mall to chill, there’s no way it can be made better until they’re on the way home. “I’m fine, B, I just need a breather.”
“I bet I can prove you wrong,” Bruce says, mostly serious but Duke hears a hint of his usual teasing there too.
“Fine, fine,” Duke laughs, pulling away and waving a hand at him. “Go into protective dad mode on the whole place. Be free.”
Bruce pulls him back in so he can press a kiss to Duke’s forehead before he sets off somewhere into the store. Large clothing racks block Duke’s view, which honestly is more than fine with him. He settles onto the hidden bench, setting the bags between his feet. For a few minutes, he gets to breathe and be by himself, and it’s nice. Enough to get him through the other two stores they have to hit up before they can go.
When Bruce comes back, he’s holding a much smaller bag in his hand, and promptly hands it right over to Duke, clearly suppressing a smile. “Take a look.”
Expecting something like a hat or a pair of sunglasses, he’s surprised to find a face mask instead, similar to one they bought for Cass. Duke turns it over a few times before looking up at Bruce, deadpan. “What, should I put it on now? That’ll make them stop looking for sure.”
Slightly grinning, Bruce shakes his head. Completely seriously, he says, “It can’t help now, but I thought you might need it for later. You’re frowning a lot, kiddo. You’ll get wrinkles.”
For a long moment, they stare at each other, Duke just blinking. Then—”Oh my god, I know where Jason got it from, now.”