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Luka gawked at the sheer size and elegance of the Manor.
“Oh my-” Marinette’s jaw dropped.
However, all that surprise disappeared once the nerves surfaced in his stomach. He was going to meet the rest of his family.
Marinette squeezed his hand and smiled at him. “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.”
Luka chose to believe her.
The car slid smoothly into the imposing gates of the Manor.
“If I may, can I say something?” Alfred asked politely.
Luka stared at him. He wasn’t exactly sure how to talk to Alfred. “Yes?” It sounded more of a question than a statement.
“You shouldn’t be so worried.” Alfred put it bluntly.
Goggling at him, Luka wondered if he was so obvious. “I...uh-”
Alfred gave him a faint smile from the rearview mirror. “Master Bruce and the others are also...apprehensive. They have been waiting for a long time to see you.”
That was... cryptic.
Exchanging a confused look with Marinette, Luka sighed. Strangely enough, he felt reassured by Alfred’s quiet statement.
Bruce sighed and rubbed his temples as he, along with everyone else (including Steph and Barb), waited in anticipation for his newest child.
“20 dollars he turns out to be as emotionally constipated as B,” Jason said brashly into the silent room.
Looking up, Bruce gave him a glare with no real heat behind it. “ Jason. ”
“You’re on.” Tim, who was scrolling through his phone with his trustee coffee cup by his side, said.
Bruce stared at him. He didn’t expect Tim to agree - actually he was expecting Dick to.
“They’re probably the most nervous out of all of us,” murmured Dick.
At Bruce’s questioning look, he elaborated. “The new kid? He’s about their age. Well...at least Tim’s. I think Jason’s afraid he’s going to be like Damian or something.”
That , in Bruce’s opinion, was a well-founded fear. At least Luka wasn’t raised by assassins.
Anything else Dick was going to say was cut off by the door being unlocked and Alfred’s gentle voice. “Come along, Master Luka, Miss Marinette. They are waiting in the hall.”
If Bruce strained his ears, he could hear his son fumbling. “You don’t have to call me that…” he was saying.
Bruce hid a smile. It was impossible to stop Alfred from doing that.
When the door handle started turning, that was when the rest of the family realized he was coming.
“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh,” Tim was mumbling over and over again, sipping his empty coffee cup. Perhaps Bruce should organize another ban…
Jason was, as always, smoking - Bruce thought it was some kind of coping mechanism for him, so he didn’t really forbid it - while arguing with Cass quietly about...well something about Luka.
Dick was playing Chopsticks - Chopsticks! - with Barb and Steph, while Damian narrowed his eyes at the door.
Damian. Dear god, Bruce hoped he wouldn’t scare the poor boy away before he got a chance to meet him.
Aaaand the door opened.
When Alfred opened the door, it was a scene he was not expecting. Well, to be honest, Luka wasn’t exactly sure of what he was expecting, but that’s besides the point.
What he was not expecting was to see three people playing chopsticks, two people arguing about…something (which stopped as soon as he came), a severely lacking-in-sleep teenager and well, a boy glaring at him like Luka was Satan himself.
Alfred shot them an... amused smile and bowed as he exited the room. “I shall leave you to introduce yourselves.”
And he left. He left .
Alfred left Luka and Marinette with his new family with nothing but a smile that suggested he was laughing at them?
Out of the corner of his eye, Marinette shifted uncomfortably. “I,” she said, backing away, “Will be outside. Helping...Alfred get the suitcases!”
And she left too .
Seriously, Luka thought, why was she leaving him now. Of all the times.
“Uh...hi.”
Eloquent, Luka, eloquent.
There was a moment of silence in the room...before everyone exploded.
Not everyone , Luka amended, just the three that were playing Chopsticks.
Luka was not what Dick was preparing himself for.
He was preparing himself for…hmmm…let’s see - maybe a loud, brash person, kind of like Jason, but just a thousand times more.
Not this…quiet and awkwardly polite one.
And, personally? Dick loved it.
Though, he thought grumpily, Steph and Barb had the same idea.
Jason eyed his new brother - well, not-so-new considering the fact he had been living for…17 years - with curiosity.
Luka looked the part of a bad boy, with his hair tips dyed blue and piercings. But, to Jason, he seemed to be the complete opposite.
And it became clear when he saw Luka’s slightly panicked expression when Dick and the others launched themselves at him.
“Hi, I’m Di-” Dick was saying, but Steph shoved him out of the way. “Shut up, Dick. I’m Stephanie but you can call me Steph-”
“-And you’re not a part of the family, blah blah blah, Steph, move .” Barb said. She brushed her clothes as much as she could on the wheelchair and introduced herself formally. “Hi, I’m Barbara Gordon - call me Barb - Dick’s girlfriend.”
She held out her hand for him to shake. Jason’s lips twitched - she was clearly messing with him.
Luka stared at the hand as if he had never seen it before, and looked up, coincidentally, making eye contact with Jason.
He probably didn’t realize he was doing it, but Luka shot Jason a what-the-hell-should-I-do expression and Jason inclined his head forward.
It was a test of some sort, to see what he would do. The entire family watched him with baited breath.
Finally, Luka shot her a nervous smile and shook her hand. “I’m Luka Couffaine. Nice to…uh… meet you Barb.”
Jason allowed himself to give Luka a sly grin.
Tim hadn’t looked up from his phone - what? These emails were important, you know - but that didn’t mean he wasn’t listening to the conversation.
From what he had heard, Luka seemed to be a quiet person. And when he shook Barb’s hand, it seemed that he had won the family’s approval.
Realizing he should probably introduce himself, Tim cleared his throat and took a sip of his coffee cup.
Shooting Luka a posh smile, Tim introduced himself. “Timothy Drake, CEO of Wayne Enterprises.”
Luka stared at him.
Opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish, Luka pointed at the cup, looking at the others.
“You do…realize that the cup is empty right?”
Wait, what?
Looking at his cup, Tim was horrified. Who stole his coffee?
“What happened to my coffee?” Tim asked pitifully. “Where did it go?”
“I think you drank it, Timmy,” Dick said with a teasing grin.
He... drank it?
“But…it was useless!” Tim exclaimed dramatically. “It didn’t even do anything!”
He wasn’t joking. Tim did not feel any different and he refused to sleep - sleep was for the weak.
“I know a coffee recipe that works.” Luka looked as shocked as Tim felt.
“You do?” Tim allowed the tiniest bit of hope to blossom.
Shooting him a small smile, Luka said, “Yes? I use it for my friend - Marinette,” he said quickly. “I made it for her to make her sl-”
He cut himself at the last second, but Tim hadn’t heard anything except for the fact that there was coffee!
Damian eyed his new...biological brother sceptically.
He did seem...genuine. And the others seemed to like him…
Don’t tell them but...Damian trusted their judgement.
“Damian Wayne,” he introduced himself because Damian didn’t trust Luka enough to tell him about his past.
Luka looked at him. Damian wondered what he was thinking - considering the fact that Damian was his half-brother. Would he hate him? Would he respect him? Would he compete with him for Father’s approval?
Finally - and though Damian would never admit it, he was holding his breath - Luka said, “Nice to meet you, Damian.”
There was no trace of hostility - not in his voice, not in his stance.
That was enough to earn Luka a little respect in Damian’s eyes.
Bruce stood up and cleared his throat.
Idly, he wondered what his children thought of Luka - sometimes, he thought, Bruce taught them too well. They could hide their emotions and it was a pain for Bruce to figure out what they were.
But he knew enough to understand that Luka had earned some respect in their eyes.
“Hello Luka,” Bruce said gently.
Luka looked at him with guarded eyes and Bruce’s thoughts again wandered. Would he dislike him for not finding out about him earlier?
“Hi,” Luka said, stiffly.
Tension Bruce didn’t even know he was feeling, slithered out of his body. “Oh, thank god,” he mumbled in relief.
“What?” Luka was eyeing him with an eyebrow raised. “Why would you say that?”
Bruce looked around his children for some help. Goddammit.
They were all smirking or grinning at him, daring him to get out of this without having to explain. He waited a few seconds for Alfred to come in - he should save him! - but the door did not open.
Running a hand through his graying hair - he was going to die because of his kids, not because of some crazy criminal - Bruce shifted. “I - well, I thought - you would dislike me for not finding out earlier about you?”
It came out more of a question than a statement.
Luka gawked at him. Bruce’s heart sank and as he opened his mouth to apologize, Luka interrupted him. “Why would you think that? Mom told me she never told you about me.”
Bruce fumbled for an answer.
Everyone burst out laughing, but Bruce didn’t even feel embarrassed because Luka’s lips also tugged up into a small smirk along with them.
Giving up and smiling fondly at his children, Bruce thought that Luka would fit right in.
Marinette beamed as she heard everyone - including Luka! - start laughing at Mr Wayne.
She shot a thumbs-up to Alfred and he shot her a kind smile in response. “They love him,” she squealed excitedly.
“That they do,” Alfred said fondly. “Now, you were saying about a recipe for macarons…”