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It’s morning on a Sunday and the Manor is mostly asleep.
Conner walks though the peacefully silent halls, down the corridor and toward the sitting room in the East wing, the one where the windows are big and are facing the forest, and you can catch the sun rising like a huge fantastical beast over the vast ocean of the dark-green trees.
There’s a chair and a figure sitting in it before Kon’s favorite window, a man whose height he caught up to in his early twenties, the one who feels larger than life still, despite everything. The man turns and smiles, a soft, small thing, that softens the wrinkles around his mouth and eyes.
‘Good morning, Bruce,’ Conner says, returning the smile, ‘so this is where Martha’s gone.’
The little girl on Bruce’s lap laughs and babbles something incomprehensible, waving her chubby arms around and grabbing for Bruce’s face.
Kon still feels surprised when he sees silver in his hair, even though Bruce completely stopped covering his grays quite a few years ago.
‘She has indeed,’ Bruce laughs, and it rumbles through his chest. Kon’s doesn’t startle at the sound anymore, but getting used to Batman’s laugh wasn’t easy. ‘She has not only gotten out of her bed, but also crawled into the corridor.’
Kon stares at the baby, who has the gull to wave at him. Bruce grips Martha around her middle and extends his arms to hand the girl to him. Kon has to come closer fast, so Bruce doesn’t put too much strain on his muscles.
‘I have no idea how she keeps getting out,’ Conner laments. ‘We child-proofed everything in that room!’
‘Oh, don’t worry, that’s the bat side waking up in her. Superpowers are not the only legacy one can get, and she must’ve gotten something from our side of the family,’ Bruce says, and his smile is sharp and smug.
‘Well, then we’re lucky that the expert bat has caught her,’ Kon says, smiling at Martha as he bounces her in his arms.
He says that before actually stopping to think about what escapes his mouth, and he turns to Bruce with his eyes wide and terrified.
Bruce finds his cane and rises from the armchair, leaning on it heavily.
‘She is indeed very lucky that I was manning the comms for Batman the whole night and just so happened to walk by. And before you ask,’ he interrupts, because Kon’s already opening his mouth to do so, ‘ - no, I didn’t sleep, but I’m feeling fine. I thought you joined the family to worry about Tim, not fret over your father-in-law.’
Conner puts on the most polite, camera-worthy smile he can pull off and straightens his shoulders.
‘Sorry to disappoint you, Mister Wayne, but that’s in the package deal. If you don’t like it, you’ll have to ask Tim for the receipt, otherwise you can’t return me,’ Kon says, sticking his tongue out.
Bruce barks a short laugh and walks up to Kon to put a heavy, calloused hand on his shoulder.
‘I don’t think Tim would ever forgive me if I try,’ Bruce says, his eyes full of mirth. They become serious not a minute after. ‘Don’t worry. I’m alright, truly.’
Bruce squeezes Conner’s shoulder affectionately and walks past him, towards the door.
‘I’ll be starting up on breakfast. If you meet anyone else, tell them that the table will be set in the kitchen and the food will be ready in 60.’
Kon watches as the man walks away, his back straight and proud, his hand gripping the cane.
‘We’re lucky that grandpa caught you, young miss, but you’re still in a lot of trouble,’ Conner murmurs to Martha and she laughs, unrepentant. ‘Is this what Damian’s been teaching you the last time he was babysitting, huh?’
Martha, predictably, does not answer, just babbles happily at him. Kon sighs and pushes the glass doors open, stepping out into the garden. He puts his head up to feel the sunbeams on his face, breathes in the earthy smell of the warm morning air. He catches Martha do pretty much the same thing, stretching towards the sun like a sunflower. Kon laughs, because laughing comes easy these days, and grips his daughter around her soft belly, stretching his arms up, to get her closer to the sun without having to fly.
‘What, are you reenacting that scene from the Lion King ?!’ a voice comes behind Kon, sounding annoyed, when Kon knows that he is not. ‘I wanna join!’
Conner turns to face his second eldest brother-in-law, who’s wearing a tank top, joggers and a towel thrown across his shoulders. The man stops and wipes his face with said towel.
‘Aw, Jason!’ Conner says mockingly, ‘if you wanted to be lifted into the air in my strong arms, you could’ve just asked!’
Jason laughs, throwing his head back.
‘Don’t you let Roy hear that,’ Jason warns. ‘Or, god forbid, Tim. Or I’ll disappear under mysterious circumstances, never to be found again. ’
The scar on his cheeks stops his grin mid-way, and his left eye squints way more than it would’ve if not for the long line that reaches up to his hairline.
‘Yeah, I think that would be the two of us, actually,’ Kon nods, pretending to be serious. ‘Why are you out so early?’
‘It’s not early, you’re just used to your husband being a deadweight before mid-day. At least our Princess here has gotten some sensible genes from your side of the family!’
Martha reacts to being called ‘princess’ almost better than to her own name, and reaches out for Jason.
‘Aww, do you wanna go to your favorite uncle?’ Jason asks, taking the baby into his arms.
‘Will you and Dick ever stop ?’ Conner laughs, exasperated.
‘No, I don’t really think we will,’ Jason replies, his focus solely on his niece in his arms, who he pretends to slow-dance with.
Martha is delighted beyond belief, and she laughs and tries to grab for Jason’s white lock of hair. Kon is reminded about how he found his daughter, and that he will probably need to install some more sophisticated childproof locks on the baby’s bed and the room.
‘She gets a lot from your side of the family, you know? She broke out of her room today, in the morning. Thankfully, Bruce found her.’
‘Oh, he was up early again?’
‘He’s actually still up. He handed Martha to me and said that he’s going to the kitchen to start breakfast.’
That stops Jason’s dancing, and his head shoots up at Kon.
‘Dad’s in the kitchen ?!’ the man gasps. ‘How could you let him?! He will burn the house down!’
Martha is hastily pressed back into her father’s arms, and Jason rushes toward the Manor.
‘I’m sure it’s not that bad!’ Kon yells after his brother-in-law. ‘But if you wanna help him that’s nice! I'm sure everyone will appreciate a good and tasty breakfast. Tim says you cook just like Alfred.’
That stops Jason in his tracks. He half-turns to Kon, the side of his face that’s clear of scars making him look younger, as if no years had passed at all.
‘Bullshit,’ Jason says, sounding 19, or 20, or however old he was when Kon’s just met his best friend’s brother who was angry with the whole world. ‘No one can cook like Alfred did. Your husband wouldn’t know an omelet from frittata, he doesn’t understand shit.’
If it were when they were just teens, Kon would’ve seen this as aggression, as Jason picking a fight and would’ve bristled, answering in turn - as he did often, when he and Tim just started dating, and he suddenly had to be around a very hostile Jason.
But now, years later, he sees the embarrassment, and the longing, and the sadness.
‘If you could start on coffee, that would be nice, too!’ he adds, not reacting to the bait.
‘Do you want one, too?’ Jason asks, walking backwards into the doors Kon’s left open.
‘I’d appreciate some tea!’ Kon has to yell, because his brother-in-law is already in the house.
He gets a confirmation in a form of a yell form Jason, and sighs. Martha doesn’t seem very pleased with her uncle disappearing, and Conner has to walk her through the rose garden that Bruce maintains with earnest passion, despite his bad knee.
The roses and the pretty butterflies fluttering around the garden occupy her enough for Kon to finish their detour and turn back toward the house, entering through the backdoor to the garage. There, he runs into Selina, who’s just about finished closing the door to her fancy car. Martha, who has calmed down a bit during their walk in the garden, vibrates with her whole little body with excitement.
‘Oh hello, our littlest kitten,’ Selina chuckles, bopping the baby on her nose. ‘Sorry sweetie, my hands are full, but I promise to spend some quality time with you later.’
Both of Selina’s arms are occupied with paper bags and there’s delicious smells coming out of them.
‘What’s in there?’ Conner asks, nodding at the bags.
‘Apparently, I’m the one to put food on the table today,’ Selina sighs, pretending to be offended. ‘I’ve got breakfast - and I am the most expensive delivery in Bruce’s life.’
‘Oh, that’s why he sounded so calm about breakfast,’ Kon muses. ‘Jason shouldn’t have worried that much.’
‘Jason’s still around?’
‘Yeah, and he went to the kitchen to save it from Bruce. If you’re going there - careful, there may be drama.’
‘When there isn’t?’ Selina laughs, touching the pearls on her neck, the bags pushed up to her wrists.
‘Do you need help with those?’ Conner offers.
‘Oh please, your hands are full already. The bags are not that heavy, and I’m not that old yet, I’ll manage.’
Kon knows from Tim that Selina’s been self-conscious lately about the wrinkles around her eyes that have inevitably come with age, but he thinks they only add to her charm.
So he just nods to her in acknowledgement, and does not take the bags, opting instead for holding Martha, who’s trying to jump out of his arms and onto Selina.
‘You know, no matter how much Jason and Dick fight over it, I think you’re her favorite,’ he says, when Martha tries to shake his hands off again.
Selina is left speechless for exactly a second too long for Kon to notice how genuinely amazed she is.
‘She has a good taste, choosing me,’ Selina says, trying to save face. ‘That is very sensible, shows a person who is both wise and classy.’
‘Oh, so you’re saying Bruce has a good taste and is sensible and wise,’ Kon teases.
Selina makes a face at him.
‘He wasn’t the one to choose - I did,’ she explains, and sounds proud.
‘Ooooh,’ Kon nods, pretending to be serious. ‘Not sure what that says about your taste, though.’
Selina laughs and swats at him with a hand full of bags.
‘Well, it was a sensible decision at least. Not many men would not push for having kids, even though they agree at the beginning about not wanting any. And I’ve never really seen the appeal of being a mother, no matter how cute this little kitten is,’ Selina says, bopping Martha again. ‘So choosing the one who already had like 20 kids was a win-win situation.’
‘Okay,’ Kon laughs, ‘can’t argue with that - you are sensible, after all.’
‘I am also the main source of food in this house today, so I better get going. See you at the breakfast table, kid! Go wake your husband!’
Conner follows her advice and leaves the garage, doing upstairs, to the room that’s his and Tim’s when they visit. As he walks through the cool corridors of the Manor, the door to Bruce’s old study opens. Batman steps out of it, the costume a menacing dark even in the daylight.
Conner stirs Martha away when she tries grabbing the spikes on Batman’s shoulder pads.
Cassandra takes her cowl off.
‘Morning, niece,’ she says, waving but not touching the baby with her gloves. ‘Help?’
The question is addressed to Kon, as she points at the hidden lock at the back of her costume’s neck.
‘Oh, it’s stuck again? Tim promised to look at it last week, I’ll remind him.’
Cassandra gives him a look that says what she thinks about her brother’s tardiness and her having troubles with taking off her costume more than any words could.
‘I’ll make sure he takes a look,’ Kon corrects himself.
‘You better,’ Cassandra nods and ducks back into the study with no more words added.
‘We’re having breakfast in the kitchen in 20 minutes!’ Kon calls after her, and gets an enthusiastic okay in reply.
A few minutes later, Conner finally gets to their room. He finds Tim just the way he left him - sprawled on the silk sheets in their bed, his mouth open a bit. Tim’s cheeks are tinted pink, his sleeping shirt slightly open to reveal a collarbone with a kiss mark near it. Conner’s husband is beautiful and warm, and so peaceful.
So, naturally, the first thing he does is deposit their baby right on top of Tim.
‘Wha?’ is the first thing Tim says, when he untangles an excited Martha from his hair and settles her on the bed nearby.
‘It’s almost noon, my love,’ Kon says, and kisses his husband on the nose, ‘almost all of the family are gathering down for breakfast.’
Tim grumbles something into Martha’s hair and Conner laughs at how much their daughter reminds him of Tim.
‘If you wanna wake up real fast - I’ve seen Batman on the way up. She’s having troubles with her costume,’ he says pointedly.
’Oh shoot, I totally forgot.’ Tim hides his face deeper into their daughter’s hair.
Conner scoots closer to hug his husband and Tim presses his head to his chest.
Kon knows Tim’s listening to his heartbeat. He doesn’t think Tim will ever get over it, so he doesn’t stop him.
‘I need some moral support now,’ Tim says suddenly.
Martha’s busying herself with the cords that she’s pulled from Tim’s pajama pants.
Tim’s eyes, when Kon meets them, are full of mischief.
They lean in almost simultaneously, both careful not to dislodge their daughter between them, and kiss.