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Selina frowns at the familiar figure at the bar.
It couldn’t be. Bruce wouldn’t.
As she and her friends walk deeper into the establishment, Selina realises that Bruce would.
Honestly, she’s marrying such a paranoid asshole. Perhaps her tastes are slipping.
“I’ll get the first round,” she says to her friends.
Jason doesn’t notice her getting closer. She is careful to approach from his blindspot, but it’s still a little worrying. Anyone could sneak up on him.
Maybe she’ll suggest some training ideas to Bruce. She wonders if the kids would appreciate it. Training them in stealth awareness is much more preferable than having them call her ‘Mother’.
She hopes Jason doesn’t call her ‘mother’ in the middle of the strip joint. That’d kill the mood for her Bachelorette party.
He jumps the moment he notices her - far too late if she’d been aiming for an attack - but hides his surprise well enough. He also makes sure to not catch her eye. A good strategy if she didn’t already know he’s there. There’s hope for this kid yet.
She catches the attention of the bartender and places the drinks orders for her friends first. Then she sidles close and says with sugary sweetness, “Been a while, Jason.”
Jason splutters into his drink. He must have thought he’d managed to avoid detection. Tut tut.
He recovers well at least and turns to her with a wary look on his face.
“Selina.” He says. Then pauses. “It’s not what you think.”
“Oh? So Bruce didn’t ask you to tail me during my Bachelorette party?”
Jason is looking at anywhere but her. His expression has ‘busted’ written all over it.
“That’s what I thought,” she says, trying not to let her frustration show. Bruce is far too paranoid. Although, there is also an endearing side to it she supposes. It would be nice to not have to worry about protecting her friends from various villains during the party. But Bruce could have warned her.
“It’s really not what you think,” Jason hurries to clarify. “It’s not that he doesn’t trust you or anything. I’m only here in case something happens. To make sure nothing interrupts the party.”
Selina blinks in surprise. She didn’t contemplate that Bruce might have sent Jason because he didn’t trust her. What did Jason think she was going to do? Make out with her friends?
“I know, kitten.” Selina says, falling back into an old nickname that made Jason blush every time when he had been 13. He’s not blushing now. He just looks guilty.
“You weren’t even supposed to notice me,” he says. “Don’t call Bruce?”
“I don’t call him up for every little thing, Jason. Besides, Bruce is at-” she cuts herself off and frowns some more. “He’s at his own Bachelor party. Why aren’t you there?”
Jason snorts in amusement. “I wouldn’t get invited to something like that,” he says with a gulp of his drink. “I’m surprised he’s even trusting me to look out for you tonight.”
That...didn’t make much sense to Selina. But Jason looks happy enough. As if he is honestly pleased that Bruce contacted him for this. Selina supposes Bruce is trusting his son to keep his future wife safe.
The bartender finishes all her friends’ cocktails and places them on a tray for her. She picks it up.
“You won’t even notice I’m here,” Jason promises.
Selina raises an eyebrow at that.
“I mean. Aside from already- As in-” Jason fumbles. Selina decides to take pity on him.
“Just don’t overdo it,” she says as she walks away.
After all, like Damian had reminded her earlier, they are going to be her stepsons in a couple of weeks.
That doesn’t make her shudder nervously at all.
---
Jason absolutely overdoes it. Just like his father.
Selina doesn’t even have to be there. But she can tell, all the way from the queue into the club she used to frequent.
Rooftops do not light up with electricity for no reason. And given the height of the electricity, what her friends mistook for a lightshow, Selina knows Jason isn’t even fighting on the actual rooftop. He’s most likely dangling precariously somewhere above the roof.
Hopefully the electricity is his and not his opponent’s.
The sparkles of light die down quickly enough. Part of her is curious what sort of elaborate crime Red Hood has thwarted. What would have interrupted her Bachelorette bash had he not been there.
Part of her is thankful that Bruce is a paranoid ass. It meant her friends have been spared from any potential trauma, even though her heart clenches in worry for Jason.
Regular thugs wouldn’t need that kind of lightshow.
Gwen says the action is all in Upton Square tonight. Selina will have to ask her about the details tomorrow. Find out what happened. For now, she’s going to appreciate Jason’s hard work by dancing the night away with her friends.
---
Selina winds up having a random heart-to-heart with Damian the moment she gets home. She wonders if that will become a common occurrence once she gets married.
She has to admit, it feels quite nice to be giving advice to Bruce’s wayward boys.
Bruce is still down in the cave. Selina wonders what sort of Bachelor party he had if he is down in the cave. He can’t have gone on patrol as part of the party. That’s too much work, even for Bruce.
She reaches the bottom of the stairs to find Dick wincing in pain as Alfred bandages him up.
“What happened?” she exclaims.
“Oh, nothing,” Dick says dryly. “Just a small accident with some vengeful ghosts in an alternate dimension. I’ll be fine.”
She glances at Alfred, and is glad to find that Dick is telling the truth. Apparently he’ll make a full recovery by the end of the week.
Reassured, she saunters over to Bruce, sitting by his giant computer.
“How was your party, Selina,” he asks, greeting her with a kiss. She is not going to get tired of that.
“Lovely. Even with you sending a Bat-shaped bodyguard after me.”
Bruce gives her a wry smile. “You saw Jason?”
“I saw Jason. He got into a fight on top of the-” She cuts herself off as Bruce pulls out a phone.
“Jason,” Bruce says into the phone. He’s doing his best to sound firm, but she can tell he’s mostly amused. “She saw you. I believe I am owed a refund.” And then he turns off the phone.
“I’d have started with asking if he was alright,” Selina shrugs.
“He’s a good fighter,” Bruce replies, sounding far too much like an overly proud father. “He’ll be alright.”
Just like how Dick is alright despite being patched up for burns , Selina thinks to herself. She doesn’t say it out loud though. Bruce worries enough.
And then his words on the phone catches up to her.
“You paid him?”
“$150,000” he says. “That was his asking price.”
She laughs.
---
There were many perks about marrying the Batman. An extravagant wedding was one of them.
“Maybe I should have got it trimmed after all,” Selina says as she twirls around in her dress.
“You look fine,” Holly replies. “You look better than fine.”
Her friends all nod.
She’d not chosen a Maid of Honour, not wanting to pit her friends against each other. She knew Dick is disappointed that he wasn’t chosen for Best Man.
Bruce got hung up about tradition at the weirdest times.
“And my...” she touches the tip of her ears, her cat ears. She’s wearing her head protector. “It doesn’t...” maybe it clashed.
“It suits the dress perfectly,” Alice says with a smile.
Selina smiles back.
Before long, it’s time to walk down the aisle. They are getting married on a rooftop. The rooftop where Bruce proposed, since they couldn’t agree on whether they met on the streets or on a boat. It’s a big rooftop, and thanks to some Justice League science and magic, they’ve managed to decorate the place without anyone noticing.
Zatanna had said something about it being ‘only visible to those who know where the wedding is happening’. Should be a good enough deterrent for supervillains.
If not, well, most of the Justice League are present. And Selina has her whip underneath her dress. She’s sure they’ll be fine.
Bruce only has his cowl on as part of his Batman ensemble. The rest of him is in a suit. He’s looking mighty dashing, if Selina does say so herself.
He smiles at her as she reaches the bottom of the aisle.
She wonders if she’d ever get tired of that smile. It doesn’t seem likely.
As she walks up the aisle, she can’t help but feel touched at all the smiling faces directed at her. Her friends, all bridesmaids, standing at the other end of the rooftop with their cute little bunch of flowers. Lois is sitting on her side of the pews. She grins as Selina walks by.
The rest of the people on her side are a mixture of appraisers, fencers, employees at her old club and working girls she met or rescued. They all coo and murmur as she walks down the plush white carpet.
On Bruce’s side are the heroes. Many of which she hasn’t met yet, but Batgirl is there. As is Diana and Cyborg.
Clark is standing by Bruce’s side. Dick and Alfred and Damian make up the rest of the groomsmen. Damian is the only one not wearing a suit, having opted for traditional wear himself.
Really, like father like son.
Selina notes all the exits. All the places she can escape to if she needs to. But, one more glance at Bruce, at his smile, at the intense way his blue eyes are focused on her, and all doubt in her mind vanished.
This is what she wants.
She reaches the end of the aisle. And smiles back.
---
It isn’t until the vows are finished and they sign the papers that it feels real. Although for appearance’s sake, Selina Kyle is marrying Batman and not Bruce Wayne, the paperwork does actually have Bruce’s name on it.
Selina had been surprised at the risk Bruce is willing to take for this. They’ve talked about how to go about it. The whole world knows that Selina is Catwoman. If she marries Bruce Wayne, it’d only take a single emergency, of Catwoman and Batman acting a bit too intimate and familiar during the rush of battle, for people to make the connection.
That’s Bruce's argument anyway.
Personally, Selina thinks the press will just label her as a cheating whore and be done with it. But Bruce is the one who still has a secret identity, so she’s happy to follow his lead on this.
And so, Selina is marrying Batman. The mysterious Batman and joining what Gotham affectionately calls the Batfamily.
Yet on paper, she’s marrying Bruce Wayne.
There are many contingencies and protections. From magic to encryption to a fake correspondence between Batman and Bruce Wayne citing that since Batman has no ‘formal identity’, he has asked Bruce to serve as his substitute on the paperwork.
Bruce goes through the details of it with her, but she doesn’t really care. She’s married. To Bruce.
It’s unbelievable.
They’d exchanged emotional vows. Clark had handed over the wedding rings they’d picked out. She is wearing hers on her finger right now.
They’d kissed. Everybody had cheered.
It’s a magical ceremony.
So magical, that it isn’t until the rooftop is transformed into a dancefloor complete with marquee (the Flashes were responsible for the rapid décor change) and everybody is coming up to congratulate them, that Selina even realises that she hasn’t seen Tim or Jason yet.
They hadn’t been groomsmen. Which is...surprising to say the least.
“Selina, this is the Signal,” Bruce says, pulling a boy in a bright yellow costume over. “He’s my newest protégé.”
“Nice to meet you,” Selina says. She’s going to need a list to match the hero name with the civilian identity after this. If she even remembers everyone.
Not that she can talk. Many of her guests are using aliases too. While most of them aren’t criminals themselves, every one of them have toed the line or work in the grey area for sure.
It really is rather surreal.
Some of her informants come up to congratulate her after the Signal, and Selina is the one who has to introduce them to Batman. As if they really need an introduction to Batman.
The fact that she’s introducing Batman as her husband...
Beyond surreal.
Probably even more so for her friends.
She wonders what her sister would say if she was here.
Speaking of. Where are the rest of Bruce’s children? Dick and Damian are by the buffet table with the rest of the Titans, and Cassandra appears to be dancing with the Signal, but where are Tim and Jason?
As if he’d read her mind, Tim appears with a pretty blonde by his side. He’s wearing a domino mask, and the blonde girl has a headscarf that covers half her face, but aside from that they were in civvies.
Tim’s suit is all crisp lines and the pretty blonde is in a gorgeous glittering purple dress that matches her scarf and purple heels wonderfully.
Apparently they are dating, like Selina couldn’t tell.
After they left, with heartfelt congratulations and a rather impromptu catch up session that involved Selina telling rather embarrassing Robin stories to Spoiler, Selina looks around for Jason.
She hasn’t seen the kid since catching him on his spy-bodyguard mission on her Bachelorette party. While she knows he’s not injured, Bruce would say if Jason is injured, he doesn’t seem to be at the party either.
Perhaps he’s on a case. Bruce says Jason is pretty much a free spirit these days. Maybe he’s not even in Gotham.
“This is a great party!” Gwen says, dropping an arm on her shoulder, tugging her towards the rest of her friends.
---
Selina pulls away from her friends, from her husband, from her acquaintances, grabs her whip and jumps to the next building.
It’s a great party, but she needs a break from the noise and the talking and the congratulations.
She wished Ivy and Harley were here. But while no one really knows Holly is a convicted criminal, the presence of A-list Rogues will surely make everybody uncomfortable.
Besides, as Ivy points out when she visited her in Arkham earlier that month, Batman will get called the moment they break her out of prison. Then there wouldn’t be any wedding at all.
She’ll have to break Ivy out of Arkham for a respite when things calm down. Maybe a few weeks after the honeymoon, during one of Bruce’s business trips. They can find Harley and the Gotham Sirens can have a shopping trip or go skiing or something.
“Is everything okay?” Supergirl appears when Selina has flown across a main street. She’s only three buildings away. The party is still very much in sight, but perhaps it’s looking a little suspicious.
“Fine,” Selina says, “Just need a small break.”
Thankfully Supergirl doesn’t grill her. She just smiles and says, “I’ll get you a glass of champagne.”
“That’d be lovely,” Selina has barely replied when Supergirl returns with the promised glass.
Supergirl hadn’t actually been part of the ceremony. She had been invited, but said she wanted to give Kal-El a break from being alert all the time and thus volunteered for guard duty, hovering above the rooftop on the lookout for any trouble. Zatanna’s magic shields her too, least her very presence draws the attention of Gotham’s Rogues.
“Thanks,” Selina says.
“Jason has a whole bottle still, if you want to top up without having to head back,” Supergirl says.
“Jason?”
“He’s on the other side,” Supergirl replies, pointing across the rooftops, like that answers anything. Then she flies back to her spot above the party.
Selina frowns. She hasn’t seen Jason at all. Forgot about him to be honest, even though she wants to thank him for the Bachelorette party. Has he come out for a break too?
She makes her way to the other side of the rooftops, and sure enough, there’s Jason in full Red Hood gear and a bottle of champagne beside him. He’s looking at the party with a fond smile.
“Hey, congratulations,” he says, raising his glass in salute when he spots her.
“Thank you,” Selina clinks her glass against his. “Taking a break?”
“Hm? Oh, no, I’m on guard duty. There’s a lot of lead in the area. That means a lot of blindspots for Kara. So I’m here to help her.”
A strange feeling roils in Selina’s gut. “You didn’t have to,” she says.
Jason shrugs. “Wouldn’t have been able to see the wedding otherwise. Besides, Bruce asked. It was either that or pay him $150,000,” Jason laughs. The sound is a little pained. It grated like nails on a chalkboard against Selina’s ears. But perhaps Selina is projecting.
“He didn’t invite you to the wedding?” she asks, voice coming out sharper than she intends.
Jason looks surprised. “Of course not. I’m practically a Rogue. Can’t really invite the Red Hood to Batman’s wedding can he.”
Selina is often counted as a Rogue herself so she doesn’t think much of this excuse. In fact, she’s not entirely sure why Jason has to be in costume to attend the wedding in the first place. Most of her attendees are civilians after all. Jason doesn’t have to use his villain-persona to attend a single wedding.
In fact, Jason isn’t even a villain. Not really.
Why didn’t Bruce invite him?
Selina feels her throat clench up at the thought, she takes a sip of her champagne.
“Thank you, for the Bachelorette party,” She says.
“No problem. I got paid for it. And I don’t think Bruce was actually serious about the refund,” Jason replies.
Except Jason didn’t get paid for it. He used that money to stop Upton Square from descending into a rioting mess.
“I found out what you did with that money,” Selina says.
Jason’s posture stiffens minutely. Selina plows on.
“Thanks for making sure my Bachelorette wasn’t interrupted.”
“You’re welcome,” Jason grins. And it’s so like the cheeky grin he used to give as Robin that Selina has to look away.
She is having strong words with Bruce later.
“Heard Bruce organised the whole honeymoon,” Jason says. “Dick showed me the plans. You’re going to love it, Selina.”
Okay, maybe she’ll have strong words with him after the honeymoon. But she will be having words. At some point.
---
The honeymoon is beyond amazing. Jason is right, she loves it.
She loves it so much that she forgets about having words with Bruce for weeks after. At least until Bruce starts going through paperwork with her.
“We need to sort my will,” Bruce says to her one day.
“Oh?” She’s lounging on a deckchair by the basement pool.
He sits on the deckchair beside her. “Yes. We haven’t gone through it together yet.”
“The deeds to a diamond mine will suffice,” Selina says casually.
Bruce huffs in amusement. Then turns serious.
“I’m planning to leave the manor for Damian. And the penthouse will be given to Dick. But if there are any antiques or art you like then I can save them for you.”
That would be nice. There are certainly a whole bunch of pieces Selina has itched to sneak away. The only reason she hadn’t yet was out of respect for Bruce.
“Shares too, if you want them, but it might get suspicious.”
“Urgh, no shares.” Dividends were fun. But dealing with stuffy corporate types, not so fun.
Bruce smiles. “Alright.”
After that, Bruce manages to convince Selina to go up to his office with him, where she sits on the couch with her feet in his lap and look over how he’s planning on divvying up his wealth.
Over half of his money would be going to charities. How generous.
As Selina reads through everything, she frowns.
“Tim doesn’t have any shares?”
Bruce winces. “Damian kicked up a fuss.”
“Didn’t Tim run Wayne Enterprises for a few years?”
“Well yes, but-”
“What about the shares he owns right now?”
“He gave them to Tam Fox.”
“Why?”
Bruce sighs. “Damian kicked up a fuss,” he repeats. “Something about hostile takeover since Tim already has Drake Industries.”
That’s ridiculous. Ever since the murder of Janet Drake and attempted murder of Jack Drake all those years ago, Drake Industries has suffered a crushing blow. It had barely begun to climb back into the spotlight when Jack Drake was assassinated. Last Selina heard, the company is struggling to turn a profit and Tim has been contemplating selling it or merging it with Wayne Enterprises.
That had been several years ago. When Tim ran Wayne Enterprises. Selina hasn’t heard anything since. If Tim still owns Drake Industries, the merger must not have gone through. But she’d know if Drake Industries became powerful again. She keeps tabs on big businesses in case they ever buy anything she wants to steal.
Selina is going to have a chat with Damian. Bat-paranoia is cute most of the time, but this is not one of them.
Speaking of...
“Bruce.”
“Hm?”
“Why didn’t you invite Jason to our wedding?”
Bruce looks surprised, not unlike Jason. “Batman can’t really invite a Crime Boss to his wedding, Selina.”
“I’m sure a mask and a civilian suit would have been enough to hide his identity,” she says.
Bruce looks away. “I needed someone on guard duty. Someone who knew how Gotham worked.”
“Bruce,” Selina chastises. “He’s your son.”
Bruce doesn’t reply for a few moments. “I know.”
A thought occurs to her. Of Jason being thankful that Bruce is trusting him to keep an eye on Selina. Of being completely accepting that he wouldn’t get invited to Bruce’s wedding. “Does he know? Does he know that he’s your son?”
“Of course he does.”
“Alright.” She’d have to take his word for it. Bruce has always had weird methods of communications when it came to his birds.
She goes back to reading the list. Then frowns as another thought occurs to her.
“Jason’s not on here.”
Bruce grimaces. “No.”
“Why isn’t he on here?”
“He has no official identity. And he wouldn’t give me one when I asked.”
That’s weird. Why wouldn’t Jason... “Did you tell him it was for your will?” Selina asks.
“No...” Bruce sighs. “We ended up arguing before I got to that part.”
Okay, maybe less weird. Dick had been the same when he first left Bruce. Didn’t want anything that might result in monitoring. Hopefully the two of them will sort things out.
---
It turns out that Alfred did actually take breaks now and then. Every year, he’d go back to Britain for a few weeks.
“How do you survive without him?” Selina teases.
“By going on holiday myself usually,” Bruce says.
Selina laughs.
“The boys and I are planning on visiting the two poles this year. Damian wants to see the polar bears and penguins in their natural habitat. Would you like to join us?”
Selina considers it. But Harley has finally resurfaced recently and the Gotham Sirens haven’t had their reunion yet.
“I think I’ll pass.”
---
They crash a gala. They crash several galas. Selina gets to see Tim’s exasperated face first hand. She hasn’t seen him in a while, not since his impromptu road trip with his girlfriend.
“Did you have to do this when Batman’s not here?” Tim hisses at her as she fake-kidnaps him. Along with stealing a whole bunch of precious gems.
“It’s precisely because Batman’s not here,” she purrs. “Besides, Ivy needed a break from Arkham. And GlobalGreen has been low on funds since that scandal with its treasurer.”
Tim couldn’t seem to help but hum an affirmative.
“Tell you what, how about I steal everything back for you once I’ve flogged it for the cash?” Selina smirks.
Tim gives a resigned sigh. “I guess that’s better than never seeing them again.”
“Perfect. Now be a good little boy and stay kidnapped. We need you for our getaway.”
---
Selina supposes her deal with Tim is why Superman doesn’t descend upon the Gotham Sirens and ruin all their plans. Clark is keeping an eye on Gotham while Bruce is away. But he doesn’t bother them as they blitz down the street with their prize.
Once their getaway is secure, Selina drops Tim off at his townhouse.
“How come you’re here anyway?” she asks, probably belatedly. Way to be a stepmom Selina. “Didn’t want to see penguins and polar bears in their natural habitat?”
Tim gives Selina a crooked grin. “Bruce needed someone to keep an eye on Wayne Enterprises. Thanks for the lift,” he waves as he walks into his house.
Selina frowns. Tim had returned to Gotham with no hesitation just because Bruce needed someone to help out at the company. And he doesn’t even own any shares.
She drives back to the manor in deep contemplation. The talk with Damian hadn’t gone well. Or rather, Selina had noticed quickly that nothing she said was going to ease the fear Damian has of Tim taking over the company and Bruce’s legacy. And so Selina hadn’t pushed.
But, well, it wasn’t really fair for Tim was it.
Then again, she supposes it wasn’t really any of her business. Tim seems happy enough to be driving around the world with his girlfriend. And Bruce has left a substantial chunk of money for him. Plus various houses for him across the world. Perhaps Tim is happy with the arrangement.
Maybe Selina should ask Tim.
No, it isn’t her business. It’s Bruce’s will. And Bruce’s wealth. And Bruce’s family.
She wonders if a good stepmom would step in.
---
Selina wakes up late the next day. Head already making plans on how best to steal the gems she’s stolen the night before. Gwen is fencing them for her, it shouldn’t take long for her to get buyers. Selina has specified the sleezier the client, the better.
She’s in her nightgown and grabbing the newspapers the gardener left in the entryway when she hears someone in the kitchen.
Are they getting robbed? In the middle of the day?
She quietens her steps and pads towards the kitchen, silent as a cat. She peers in.
It’s only Jason.
“You didn’t want to see penguins and polar bears either?” she asks, making him jump. “You need to work on your spatial awareness, kitten.”
He pulls something out of his ears, wireless headphones, of course. “You surprised me.”
“As I said, work on your spatial awareness.” She walks to the coffee machine.
Jason is making breakfast, he nods to the eggs in a silent question.
“Sure, sunny side up,” she says. “What are you doing here?”
“Needed Bruce’s fancy lab equipment for a few blood tests. There’s a new drug going around.”
Oh yes, Harley had mentioned that last night.
“Is that why you’re skipping out on the penguins and polar bears?”
Jason frowns. “What?”
“The holiday with Bruce,” Selina clarifies.
“Is that where they’ve gone,” Jason replies, cracking two eggs, sunny side up. “I was wondering why Superman was patrolling Gotham at the moment.”
The coffee machine in front of Selina beeps. She ignores it as realisation dawns.
“They didn’t invite you?”
“Invite me to what?”
“To the holiday. Bruce said he was going on holiday with his boys...”
Jason laughs. “He wouldn’t invite me to that. That’s a family holiday.”
“Exactly.”
Jason pauses in what he’s doing. He gives Selina an intrigued and scrutinising look. As if he can’t quite believe he has to say something so obvious.
“Selina...I'm barely in the Batfamily. The family anyone can join if they wear a Bat symbol and start fighting crime. Bruce hasn't thought of me as his son for years.”
“Of course you’re his son!”
“I’m not Selina. I’m just one of his child soldiers. Ready to defend Gotham or the world at his command.”
Selina purses her lips as the conversation she’s had with Bruce comes back to her in a vivid flashback.
“Does he know that he’s your son?”
“Of course he does.”
Apparently not, Bruce. And why would he, when you don’t invite him to your wedding or your family holidays.
Selina frowns down at her cup of coffee.
---
“Missed me?” Bruce asks when he returns from holiday.
“Hm, debatable,” she says with as nonchalant a tone as she could muster. She can’t stop herself from falling into his arms and kissing him senseless though.
But then she pulls away.
“We need to talk.”
“About?”
“About Jason.”
Bruce immediately goes into serious mode. “What did he do?” He begins walking towards the Batcave entrance. “Did he kill someone? Break into a bank?” He spins around to face her. “Did he shoot Tim?”
“What? No!” she exclaims, scandalised. Then, “Actually, we need to talk about Tim too.”
Bruce studies her, jaw tight and looking like he’s about to be told the world is ending. At least he doesn’t ask whether Tim shot anyone.
“But Jason first,” she says.
They’re in the study, so she sits him down on one of the sofas.
“Why didn’t you invite Jason to your holiday?”
Immediately, Bruce grimaces like the thought of going on holiday with Jason pains him. “He wouldn’t want to go.”
Okay, maybe it’s the thought of not being able to go on holiday with Jason. Bruce really is an idiot.
“You don’t know that.”
“I do know that. He likes freedom. Space. I’m...trying to give him that as much as possible. Even if it’s painful.”
Selina narrows her eyes. “If he had wanted to go, would you have asked him?”
“Of course!”
“Even if Damian kicked up a fuss?”
Bruce is frowning. He’s been frowning since the conversation started. But now he’s frowning at her. “Where are you going with this?”
Selina sighs.
“Look. I’ve never had kids, so I’ve never read any parenting books or studied the best way to look after your children. But whatever you’re doing with your boys, it seems pretty unbalanced to me. And don’t even get me started on how Cass was squatting in an opera hall until Batgirl intervened.”
“Cass is fine,” Bruce immediately says.
That is true at least. From what Selina could tell, Cassandra is really enjoying her time staying with Barbara.
Besides, Cass had been invited to the family holiday. Selina was there when Damian, with all his magnanimous cheek, had demanded Cassandra go on holiday with them. Cass had simply shook her head, pat Damian on the head, and jumped off the building’s roof.
Cass never forces her laughter the way Jason does, as if he’s in pain but doesn’t dare complain anymore because he knows he’s not going to get a better deal.
Cass never resignedly says, “Bruce needed help,” and interrupts her life plans just to do so the way Tim has.
Cass never has to purposely relax her stance after finding out she has not been invited to a family holiday, that no one has even told her where her family has gone.
Selina presses her lips together.
Bruce doesn’t seem to understand. She’s going to have to be blunt with this. It’s going to hurt him.
She hesitates. She doesn’t want to hurt him.
Then again, Bruce is already hurting. It’s not as if Bruce didn’t want to go on holiday with Jason, or give Tim shares to his company. Bruce is just...well, he’s being rather unfair wasn’t he.
“Selina,” Bruce begins, when she hasn’t said anything for a while. He draws her close and kisses her along her jaw. “What’s bothering you.”
Selina lets Bruce comfort her for a few moments. Then she stares him in the eye.
“Jason doesn’t think he’s your son.”
Bruce freezes. Honestly freezes. His whole demeanour crumbles and Selina immediately notices her mistake.
“Not that he doesn’t want to be,” she says quickly. “He doesn’t think you think of him as your son anymore.”
“What?” There’s confusion there, fighting its way between the mass of grief that has descended upon Bruce’s shoulder.
“He thinks he’s just a soldier to you.”
“That’s not true,” Bruce says vehemently.
Selina rolls her eyes. “I know that. I’m saying he doesn’t know that.”
“How could he not know?”
“Gee, I wonder. Maybe because you don’t invite him to your wedding or your family holidays or even tell him when you’ll be gone for three weeks?”
“He doesn’t want to talk to me unless it’s about work.”
“Do you know that?” she challenges. “Because you were so sure he knew he was your son and I’m telling you he doesn’t.”
“He said this?”
“Yes he said this, he...” Selina sighs. “We were in the kitchen. Since you’re a paranoid idiot, I’m sure you have a camera there and listening bugs everywhere, so go watch the video footage of it if you have to.”
Bruce stands up and walks to the grandfather clock in the corner of the study.
Okay, this explains why they never had passionate sex on the kitchen counter.
“Look Bruce. I get that you care for all of them,” she says, following him down the stairs. “But from an outsider’s perspective, it looks an awful lot like you’re constantly playing favourites.”
Bruce doesn’t say anything as he walks over to the computer, but she knows he’s listening.
“How do you think Tim feels that you couldn’t leave him any shares just because Damian ‘kicked up a fuss’? And for that matter, why is Damian so concerned about a hostile takeover? He needs to learn the difference between acceptable caution and unrealistic paranoia. Though perhaps a dose of self-confidence and a sense of security will be enough.”
Bruce sits down on his big fancy chair and starts typing. Selina would usually be tempted to crawl on his lap around now, but she refrains.
Instead, she sighs. “Did you know that Jason was really happy about you asking him to keep an eye on me during the Bachelorette party? You were having your Bachelor party at the same time and he hadn’t even considered he’d be invited to it.”
“Only Clark and Dick were at my Bachelor party,” Bruce says. As if that made anything better.
Selina shakes her head. “Just watch the video. It was 6 days ago, around 1pm.”
Bruce watches the video.
He drops his head in his hands. “I never had this problem with Dick.”
Selina scoffs. “Of course you did. Remember all those fights you two had when he found out you’d adopted Tim before adopting him? And you gave his room in the manor away too.”
Bruce winces.
“You and Dick sorted things out. You can do the same with Jason and Tim,” she says, running a hand through his hair. “And Damian, when he gets to that stage.”
Because let's face it, given Bruce’s track record, Damian is going to get to that stage. Blood-relation or not.
Bruce sighs and draws her into his lap. She kisses him across the temple.
“You’ll figure it out,” Selina assures him.
“I hope you’re right,” Bruce says.
“We’ll figure it out together,” Selina said, intertwining their fingers. “For better or for worse.”
Bruce smiles and kisses along her jaw. “You’re going to be such a great stepmother.”
Selina doesn’t know about that, but she’s not sitting by while her kittens are hurting either.