Work Text:
There was a knock at the door of Bruce's study.
"Come in."
Duke poked his head in, smiling sheepishly.
"Hey, B. Mind if I hide in here for a bit?"
"Of course, bud. It's just me and this paperwork." One of the newest Waynes, it was always a pleasant surprise when Duke was forward enough to ask something of Bruce. Like most of the children before him, it was a process to build trust that he wouldn't turn them away.
The young man looked particularly relieved, so Bruce chanced a conspiratory smile. "Too much, right now?"
Duke heaved a sigh as he dropped into the seat.
"This house , man. Is it always so…" He made a quick but vague gesture, blowing air through pursed lips.
Bruce understood and nodded solemnly, quashing the urge to snort. "Yes, it is. You're always welcome to come in here, though. My office is an established safe zone from various…" His face twisted as he thought about the prank war which had escalated too rapidly to stop, last week, and had nearly landed his second son in the hospital. Again. " Shenanigans ."
His office was also off-limits to the camera crews.
So were several other parts of the house, of course, but the office was generally dark and quiet.
He always wanted to give his kids refuge from the craziness his absurd wealth brought to their lives.
If you had told him four years ago that he would be one of those rich people, who let cameras into his home to broadcast his personal life to hoardes of strangers all over the world-
Well. Suffice to say that you would've been laughed right out the door.
Then Jason had passive-aggressively mentioned how many charities the profits could be funneled towards, multiple times . Tim had overheard one of those conversations and told his friends. They had all told him it would be so cool- especially Stephanie , who despite not living with their family at the time was already important to them regardless.
So what Steph wanted, Tim wanted; what Tim wanted, Cass wanted-
One could see where that was bound to go.
Bruce has always been weak for his children.
Now, his household was host to one of the most popular reality television shows on the planet, translated to over 12 languages!
Looking over at Duke, who had curled up in the wingback much like one of Damian's cats, Bruce had to smile.
His life was crazy, yes, but he wouldn't trade it for anything.