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“Dad,” Cass says as she enters her father’s study where he sits at the desk.
His body is screaming stress and exhaustion to the point that she is starting to worry. Cass knows her Dad has been under a lot of pressure lately- The Justice League is having infrastructure problems because of an uptick in membership (The Watch Tower needs an expensive overhaul), Wayne Enterprises has made a massive acquisition by gobbling up a Lex Corp. subsidiary (Tim would normally help handle this but he’s on bed rest from cracked ribs), and no one has seen or heard of Harvey Dent in months (Dad hasn’t been able to find him).
What her Dad needs is a break before he does, hence why she’s here.
“Hn,” Bruce replies, pouring over budgetary paperwork for the Watch Tower. He knows she’s there, but he’s not fully listening to her.
“Dad,” She tries again, “Need a break,”
“Hm,” Dad definitely didn’t hear her- at least not on a surface level.
She approaches his desk and puts a hand on his papers, gaining his full attention, “Cass, Sweety, do you need something?” His eyes are finally on her- looking into hers. She has to get him to take a break and if she has to bully him into it she will. She’s learned from Alfred after all.
Cass pokes her father on the nose, “Need break,” She scolds, “Come,”
“I have to get this done, Princess. I don’t have time for a break,” Dad rubs his forehead and his body shouts- Pain. Tired. Frustrated.
No.
Cass will not let her Dad do this to himself anymore.
He’s been so good about taking care of himself since he started going to a doctor- doing better for him and them- but there’s too much that no one else knows how to help with so he’s backsliding.
She’s going to make him take a break whether he likes it or not.
“No,” she scowls, “Break now,”
“Cass-”
She grabs her father’s nose and tugs, “Break. Now,” She orders, scowling at him in a much more effective Bat-Glare than he could ever pull off. Cass intends to keep hold of her father’s nose until her relents- if he does not soon, however, she will take drastic action.
“Okay, okay,” Dad huffs, “You win. I’ll take a break,”
Cass nods- pleased. It’s good Dad gave in. She would have called on Grandpa if he didn’t, “Call Jason after break. He will help with the Watch Tower- Good at money. We all will help find Dent,”
Dad gives her a small smile- his body is radiating relief, joy, and love but the undercurrent of stress and tiredness that lingers. That’s okay, Cass can work with that. She beckons her father to follow her out of the study. When his poor knees pop she giggles, taking his hand, “Crunchy,”
“Hn,” He grunts, unamused, “Too much time with Stephanie,”
She’s still giggling as she drags her father along toward his bedroom.
Once inside, Cassandra pushes her father onto his bed and points at him severely. Dad rolls his eyes as her but nods, understanding that he is to stay where he is. She’s got plans and her Dad isn’t going to ruin them by sneaking away to punish himself for imagined transgressions.
Cassandra turns out of the room, on her way to fetch the supplies she needs.
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She’d gotten the idea from patrol four days ago.
Black Bat had just come to the aid of a father and young daughter that were being mugged on their way home. She’d quickly disarmed and restrained the mugger, before turning to check on the victims- The father was grasping his young daughter tightly to his chest, fearful and defensive and ready to fight for his little girl, but the young girl quickly shook off her fear at the site of Black Bat. Her round dark face transformed from terror to blinding delight despite her body and hands shaking from nerves and adrenaline.
“Daddy! Bat Lady saved us,” She cheered.
Though Cass’ smile could not be seen through her mask she relaxed her body to be non-threatening and approached the pair, crouching down to the girl’s level, “I am Black Bat,” She said gently, “Are you okay?”
The little girl- no longer having an ounce of fear in her- beamed, “Mhm! It was scary but Daddy protected me and you protected us so now we can have our Daddy-Daughter day tomorrow,”
“Good,” Black Bat paused to consider what the girl had said. She’d never heard that phrase before and was curious what it could mean. The little girl was clearly excited that the ‘Daddy-Daughter’ day was still on, so it had to be something good.
Black Bat turned her attention to the father- shaken, worried, stressed. His body language revealed him to not be an active threat but if Black Bat made any moves that he perceived as malicious to his child then he would attempt to fight her. The dark skinned man had a bleeding lip, clearly from being struck by the mugger, but appeared otherwise unharmed. He didn’t carry himself like an injured person hiding pain would.
The man startled, wrapping his arms around his daughter, when she opened a compartment on her belt and offered his a sterilizing wet tissue for his lip and pointing at his face.
“Th-thanks,” He said, dabbing at his lip. Black Bat nods in reply.
“Need to stay here until police come,” She informed him, “I will stay with you. Keep you safe,”
She lead the father and daughter under a street lamp, far enough away from their assaulter but close enough that Black Bat could keep an eye on him. Once they’d been sat on the curb the little girl talked to her quite a bit- She’s introduced herself as Sheyla and asked Black Bat lots of questions. The more Sheyla talked the less she shook so it was all fine with Black Bat.
“Can you fly?” She’d made a so-so motion with her hand.
“Do you live like a bat does?” Black Bat nodded, it’s not totally a lie anyway.
“I like your costume! It’s so cool!” She would have thought her costume more terrifying than ‘Cool’, but she wasn’t a source of fear for the child.
“You’re my favorite after Signal,” Black Bat smiled at that, though the child couldn’t see. All her siblings are very cool.
“Is Batman your Daddy? Do you have Daddy-Daughter days too?” This gave Black Bat pause. Batman is indeed her father, but she still didn’t know what these Daddy-Daughter days were. Of all her female friends, only Barbara had a decent relationship with her father and the red head had never mentioned ‘Daddy-Daughter’ days to her. She was the only girl in her family- after three boys and came much older than this little girl had to her father. Was it something only children had with their fathers?
The police had arrived before Black Bat could learn more about the subject.
After seeing the two off, Black Bat patched into Oracle, “What are Daddy-Daughter days?”
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Barbara had informed her what Daddy-Daughter days were- her friend still has them with her own father, even at her age. It’s a bonding day for a father and his daughter, which sounds wonderful to Cassandra.
Cass opts for something similar to what Barbara has with her father- Relaxation, self-care, junk food, and movies.
With the amount of stress her own father has accumulated lately, Cassandra finds this is the perfect opportunity to have her own Daddy-Daughter day.
So, here she is, heading back to her room to gather her collected supplies. She’s already got everything she needs in a small storable tub to carry back to Dad’s room- she knew she would have to be quick lest her father try and sneak back to work. She quickly changes into her most comfortable pair of pajamas, grabs the tub, and dashes down the hall.
She’d already talked to Alfred, before even harassing Dad, about snacks.
Entering her Dad’s room again, she sees he had not moved- if only because Alfred is pinning him to the bed with a harsh stare while holding the tray of junk food. It’s quite a comically sight if Cassandra says so. Her father- Terror of criminals the world over, founding member of the Justice League- pinned down with only a scolding stare from his own father. She laughs from the doorway, calling the men’s attention to her.
“Miss Cassandra,” Alfred says, setting down the tray, “I have taken the liberty of bringing an empty tray for you to use- To avoid a mess on your Father’s bedding,”
Cass throws her grandfather a thumbs-up and a grin before Alfred leaves the room.
Dad is confused and intrigued about the tub in her hands, but she sets it down where he cannot see the contents for now. She moves over to Dad’s closet and pulls out his Stego-Kigurumi from his birthday. She then throws it at her father in very clear order to get comfortable. Her father heads into the bathroom with a roll of his eyes to change. His eye-rolls don’t fool her- he’s already loosening up and relaxing, even if he is confused about what she has planned.
While her father changes she darts about the room getting everything ready- She pulls up Legally Blonde on the TV, sets out the empty tray and fills it with selections of nail polish and nail tools, lays out the peel-off face mask packets that Dad can pick from, and makes sure all the sacks are within reaching distance of both of them. She pulls out the new aroma therapy candle that Harper had bought her for her birthday and lights it.
“Wash your face!” She says, when she heard the bathroom doorknob turn. Her order is followed by a snort and the sound of running water.
Looking about the room, hands on her hips, everything is ready and perfect. Cass nods to herself, before sitting on the bed right when her father steps out of the bathroom.
He stops short, looking around the room with a bewildered expression. Dad’s eyes catalogue everything Cass had prepared rapidly and she sees the moment he figures out what’s going on. Dad meets her eyes with a smile, all clean faced and bundled in his stegosaurus kigurumi. Her father doesn’t say a word as he joins her on the bed, ready for their father-daughter bonding time.
Cass hits play on the movie after gesturing for Dad to pick his mask- Cass opts for a foaming peel-off charcoal mask for herself. She loves the bubbling sensation and this one she won’t have to move to remove once it dries.
Dad picks the cucumber one for himself.
As the movie plays, Cass applies Dad’s mask first using a little spreading tool. He makes an interesting expression at the texture as she applies his mask. It’s a good thing her Dad keeps cleanly shaven otherwise he wouldn’t get the full mask experience.
She hands the tube with her mask to him and a clean spreader so he can apply hers. He’s unsure at first but applies with a deft hand and she relaxes at the bubbling sensation. Her dad marvels at the mask as it bubbles up- chuckling when her face looks like a dark gray marshmallow.
Setting aside the tools, Cass leans back into the pillows and against her father to enjoy the movie for a bit.
They’re about 15 minutes into the movie, their masks on and eating gummy bears, when Damian comes into the room.
“Father, I would like to request-” Damian comes up short, staring at them lounged in the bed and eating junk food with beauty masks on their faces, “What are you doing?”
Dad’s mouth is full so Cassandra answers, “Daddy-Daughter day,” She says simply.
Damian looks even less informed by her answer, “I see…Father, I was told to ask you if I could attend the zoo in Metropolis with the Kents,”
Dad swallows his gummy bears before speaking, “Take your card. If Clark picks you up, you can go- You are not to travel to metropolis on your own,” Dad orders firmly, “You will listen to Lois and Clark and you’re not to liberate any Zoo animals. Have fun. Be safe. Call me if you need anything,”
“Of course, Father. Thank you,” Damian scrunches up his face, “Enjoy… whatever this is,”
Cass waves farewell to her baby brother.
“Pick nail polish, Dad,” She says waving at the selection she brought. She very pointed didn’t bring a basic black nail polish- only a black holographic glitter polish. She picks a linear purple and pink iridescent nail polish for herself.
Her Father- perhaps being the most predictable man she’s ever met- picks the black holographic and gold holographic glitters. When she looks at him, and growls playfully, “I’m Batman,” earning himself a flick on the nose.
She’s just finished applying the polish to his first hand when the timer for his mask goes off.
She’ll have to take it off for him with his nails wet.
Cass carefully peels off her father’s mask, making sure to leave none of it behind, when her father has the bright idea of making an horrific screech and declaring she’s removing his face. Cass laughs, letting go of the mask as she giggles. With only half of it removed it looks like a horrible green growth that incases the lower half of her father’s face. He’s laughing along with her but he sputters a few times when the hanging part gets into his mouth.
She eventually removes the entire mask and tosses it in the waste basket near Dad’s bed.
She applies polish to his other hand, then top coats them both. She’s made his ring finger nails accent nails- having applied the gold glitter polish there. Cass moves his fingers around in the light of his room, watching the shifting rainbows.
“Very pretty,” Dad says, “Thank you, Sweetheart,” And Cass knows that her father is thanking her for more than doing his nails.
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Two movies later, Cass’ nails are done and her mask is removed. The snacks have been depleted and they’re cuddled against each other.
Dad is fully relaxed and Cassandra got some one-on-one time with him.
Halfway through the third movie, Dad’s phone rings. He raises his brows at her- asking if he’s allowed to answer it. She nods. He’s had a break and relaxed with her- he’s free to go back to work.
“This is Bruce,” He says into the phone, “Mhm. Mhm. No, I don’t think I will. I’m having a Daddy-Daughter day with my little girl,” He hangs up the phone as the other person is still talking and pulls her to his chest.
“This was nice, Princess,” He whispers into her hair, “We should do it again,”
Cassandra wishes she would have answered ‘Yes’ to Sheyla’s question now- She’s certainly feels like she’s flying.