Archive of Our Own

Nearly every night, Batman is out there, investigating, watching over, fighting, solving mysteries, protecting the innocent, helping out... having some fun, too. He enjoys the breaks he allows himself, notably the delicious moments out of time he stops by at the Gordons' apartment.

Spending relaxed evenings with Edward, Barbara and Jim became a part of his daily life he is particularly fond of. It's even... the best part, somehow.

Jim is his official work partner, Edward recently came up with the stage name of 'Oracle', he is his personal pirate who infiltrates the system, creates efficacious computer viruses and is able to crack any code. With an homemade program of his, he hacked most of the camera surveillance network across town, doing so he became Batman's eyes and ears, he signals to the vigilante where to strike whenever he catches a scene that requires Vengeance's intervention. Motivated by field work as well, Eddie follows his father to assist him during cases, although he mostly remains Batman's guide behind the screens. As for Barbara, Bruce met her in her costume outside when they barged in at the same street fight... and wasn't long to connect the dots. Ed confirmed when he inquired, that Babs is Batgirl. Albeit Bruce and her didn't become 'partners' from then, they established a communication line to contact each other directly if needed. As colleagues.

The Gordons are, each in their way, his most devoted allies.

Regarding the private side, they are... his family, the rare people with whom he can let go of the tension, cast aside the pain and have a good time by sharing nice slices of life with them outside the harsh realities and the crushing responsibilities of the job.

Technically, they are strictly friends with Batman since they don't know his identity. This being said... Bruce doesn't long for more. He has no intention to remove his cowl, he is perfectly happy with their relationship the way it is, aka them only knowing his masked persona.

His true persona.

Edward accurately defined it one day, after he made fun of articles desperately trying to figure out who hides behind the black and grey costume, by voicing a reliable: "All everyone wants to do is to unmask you, but they're missing the point. You and I both know I'm looking at the real you right now."

Another clever deduction that made Bruce feel... close to him. Scarily perceptive, Eddie has a gift to precisely put his finger on Bruce's exact feelings and to distinctly shape them into words, what as for him the young billionaire is often critically incapable to do.

His life revolved around Jim Gordon and his children more than he was willing to admit, more than he lets on at each occasion Alfred makes him note he spends more time at their flat than in Wayne Manor or Wayne Tower.

He may love being a sort of 'weird family member' in the Gordon household, truth is he doesn't know how to thoroughly justify his attachment to them and his eagerness when the night comes and he knows he will work, play or get distracted with one, two or the three of them.

💝✨💝

"I didn't vote," Edward pointed casually to the huge advertising panel not far from their current location.

Batman and him were on a spying mission, two days prior the elections opposing Don Mitchell Junior, who already occupied the function of Mayor for years, and his main adversary Bella Reál. The faces and slogans of both candidates appeared in bright colors on the luminous board, in the middle of other ads displayed in this dynamic quarter of the giant agglomeration that is Gotham City.

The two of them sat on the flat rooftop of a small building, no more than three stories tall, they monitored the apartments complex across from them, watching with adapted binoculars their target, whom they need to catch red-handed when she'll have a contact with Falcone to prove her implication in the main drug dealing smuggling ring of the town. They reunited enough informations on this woman, Margaret Pye, to be persuaded she will be at the center of a massive transaction occurring at her place this evening.

Hence, they watched and listened. Eddie's equipment was ready to record their forthcoming evidences. The scene itself won't take place before she receives a visit, so the two of them chatted lightly without getting distracted from the task at hand.

"Why is that so?" Vengeance questioned with his soft, low tone, gazing at the panel Ed indicated. "Is none of them... convincing enough for you?"

Eddie shook his head no.

"Not only they are not 'convincing', they are garbage," he offered a clear-cut opinion. "Mitchell belongs to the corrupt elite who did nothing but abuse the system, and contrary to what her name suggests, Reál has no idea how things really work down there. She comes up with an unrealistic view of a future for Gotham, she'll get eaten alive over her first months if she is elected as the new Mayor, and someone like Mitchell or one of his former associates will take the role back after she snaps. In both cases, there won't have a change."

The Bat nodded quietly. He didn't vote either, and while he barely listened to anything related to politics, from the sparse fragments of articles, reportings or the ads he witnessed at random, Mitchell has no plans to improve the population's security. As for Reál, from her earliest interviews to this day, she calls him an 'outcast', a 'beast who has no right to bring its own justice' and a myriad of degrading names insinuating she will ask the police force to hunt him down. Nothing rejoicing in these prospects.

"I lost faith in politics when I was six years old," Eddie whispered, looking down to some of his elaborate tech equipment he scattered on the roof around them. "After Thomas Wayne shared the grand announcement he ran for Mayor, promised to help people in need and made a declaration that specifically referred to the orphanage where I lived at the time. I believed in him. Everyone did. Then... murders, lies, broken promises. Everybody forgot about us. You know the drill."

"I believe I do," the vigilante hinted, he even... placed a gloved hand over Edward's to manifest his support via a physical contact, as he does sometimes when his partner evokes his past life, before he became a Gordon.

Eddie rewarded him with a luminous smile. His adoration for him became one of the main reasons why Bruce enjoys spending time with him so much.

Forever as Batman, he is aware he will... never cross the 'unmask' line.

Because while he is in awe of his created character, Ed vows a fierce hatred to his civilian self.

The night of the elections, Bella Reál won with a feeble difference of points, Don Mitchell and her obtained practically the same result, in favor of the younger candidate.

A favor which didn't last long, as both the new Mayor and the defeated one... were shot in live at the Gotham Square where they stood next to each other whilst a journalist announced the results.

Horrified screams echoed in the surroundings. Barbara and Edward, who were present among the public, immediately looked up to try to detect the position of the killer. Jim, who counted among the cops mobilized in the square, hurried toward the candidates. No other victims were made in the utter chaos following the double murder, however without a doubt the incoming investigation to pierce this mystery risks to be... tricky.

✨

"I don't see the point in doing this, Alfred."

The butler let out a deep sigh after his twenty-six years old who behaves like an explosive mix between an emo child hardly dealing with his issues and his autism and a brooding teenager afraid of people refused to go out. Again.

"Master Bruce, this is not an option, it is an obligation," he hammered in a stern tone of voice. "You must be present for Don Mitchell and Bella Reál's funerals. Not being there would seem suspicious on top of being awfully disrespectful."

More intense grumbling from the young adult prior he finally concurred to stand up, take a shower, remove the makeup around his eyes and suit up an adapted costume to attend the ceremony.

"Bruce Wayne?"

Jim Gordon greeted him politely when he saw the tall yet discreet figure entering the church and looking around frantically, as to find the spot where he'd be invisible.

"Hello..."

He gazed at his feet covered of glazed black shoes that felt highly uncomfortable, shifting and slightly trembling.

He felt naked without his Batman armor. Exposed. Vulnerable. As if anyone could peer at his soul, unveil his dark secrets and tear him apart.

This is not the real me, he wanted to claim to the imaginary eyes he believed were judging him from all sides. This is not... who I am... Bruce Wayne doesn't exist... only... Vengeance...

He may be aware his reaction is more paranoid than grounded, he couldn't help his bone-deep insecurities and felt on the edge of a mild autistic breakdown. He regretted dearly he let Alfred coax him to get dressed and make a public appearance.

Forever the caring type, Jim granted him a comforting smile. The same he gives Batman when he sees the kid looks unsure, not knowing how to handle basic human decency after one of his children or himself behaves kind with him. The same smile he gave to Edward after he adopted him and the poor boy had a hard time coming to terms with the fact this is authentic, he is actually welcomed in a family and won't ever be chased out or returned to the grim orphanage he knew his whole life prior this encounter.

"Are you here with someone?"

Bruce shook his head no in a jerky movement. Jim felt sympathy surging inside him. That young man lives as a recluse since his parents' murder when he was eight, it is reported he travelled a lot over his teenage and young adult years, whereas ever since he returned to Gotham he remained... locked in his Manor or his Tower, never to be seen neither at Wayne Enterprises nor in any gala, or... any mundane activity people his social rank usually enjoy.

"How about you take a seat with us?" He invited gently.

While knowing this will displease Eddie, he couldn't keep himself from helping a kid in need who feels out of place in public.

Bruce followed him wordlessly, his metallic blue eyes opened wide. He resembled a scared owl unable to handle too many sensory informations assaulting his perception.

"Eddie, Babs, this is Bruce Wayne," Jim introduced him after joining his children, who waited at a bank in the church whilst Jim saluted his colleagues... and returned with a feral animal dressed in black. "Mister Wayne, my son Edward and my daughter Barbara."

Professional, his girl stood up and shook his hand alongside a formal greeting. Forever the drama queen, Eddie glared at him and crossed his arms on his chest. Jim refrained a sigh, he encouraged Bruce to sit with them... what he did, but between Edward and Jim, as if he didn't understand any other spot would have been more accurate. On Ed's left, Barbara refrained a chuckle at her brother's offended expression.

Fidgeting on the wooden chair, Bruce was glad the ceremony begun soon afterwards: he was clueless over what line of conduct shall be adopted, and just stared wide-eyed.

"Ave Maria... Gratia plena... Maria, gratia plena..."

All dressed the same, the boys and girls from the choir were singing the Ave Maria prayer.

"Ave, ave dominus... Dominus tecum..."

Eddie relaxed on his seat, serene.

"Let me guess," his sister teased him. "Trip down memory lane?"

"A little bit," Ed whispered in return. "Plus it's not like the prayer changed, only the faces of its singers."

They shared a complicit smile.

Jim being a protestant, they often go to the church with him; both respect his faith albeit Edward is a convinced atheist and Barbara... doesn't have an opinion on the subject. Hence this is not the first time they are together in a religious establishment, listening to new generations of choir kids like what Eddie used to be. Nonetheless, today is peculiar.

"I sang at your parents' funerals," Edward disclosed, so low Bruce almost missed it, as if this was closer to an inside thought than a delivery of information for him.

Ed cast him an enigmatic side-glance.

"I was six and you eight years old. I didn't... talk to you, but I watched you. Wayne Orphanage nurtured a contract with the local church, all the kids hosted there learned prayers for the Mass."

If it wasn't for their partnership as Batman and his detective friend, Bruce wouldn't have remembered a boy with thick glasses and golden-hazelnut hair, wrapped in traditional clothes, singing in latin with other children over one of the most painful days of his life. But since Eddie mentioned this episode to him already, Bruce had the time to relive the scene in his head, make researches... even find pictures of kiddo Eddie during his years in the religious establishment.

Therefore he didn't have to lie:

"I remember you," he murmured with delicacy, a strange emotion tightening his throat at the idea to be... talking to Edward not as Batman but as Bruce for the first time. "You... sing very well. And I know it... won't make it up to you, but just so you know... I am sincerely sorry."

Ed's green eyes scanned him, his facial expression reflecting an adorable confusion tinted with genuine curiosity.

"... You are 'sorry'?", He repeated, not getting what could push someone like Wayne to apologize to someone like him. "For... what, exactly?"

"For Wayne Orphanage," he declared, offering the younger one a semblance of an apologetic smile that appeared weird on his handsome face. "At the time I... didn't look into... what my parents left behind them. Recently, I started to... make researches, open old files of theirs. Including their 'Renewal' documents. So... even if I am not involved because I was... too young, I am sorry my father and mother failed to keep the promises they made, among others, to you and the other residents of Wayne Orphanage."

Eddie blinked rapidly, his confusion morphing into... a blank state. He had no idea what to think of what he heard there. Barbara paid rapt attention to the billionaire's sayings, even Jim listened to his words rather than to the Mass at this instant. All three were... stunned to hear what corresponds to a confession.

"... It's alright," Edward hesitated, his heart beating fast in his chest all of a sudden. "I... hu... I mean, I used to... hate your parents and stuff for this plus a murder they indirectly provoked, but... things turned out pretty good for me regardless. Better than anything I hoped for."

The Gordons shared a tender smile.

"Same goes for us," Babs put her head on his shoulder. "Can't imagine a life without my big brother."

Eddie purred. Bruce smiled, finally at ease in the wholesome atmosphere.

"Benedicta tu in mulierbius... Et benedictus, et benedictus fructus ventris... Ventris tui, lesus. Ave Maria..."

"See you around?" Jim checked at the end of the ceremony.

Bruce looked down, shifting from one foot to another.

"Maybe..."

The father didn't insist, nevertheless he felt sorry for this kid, who will likely... go back to his rich house, lock the door behind him, shut himself from the rest of the world for a long time again, before another major event compels him to leave his 'castle of isolation'.

As for him, Bruce was in a hurry his day finishes to suit up his Vengeance armor and rush to the Gordons' flat... as Batman, no longer as this awkward billionaire mask he is forced to wear from time to time.

✨

"So... this is where you grew up."

"Until dad and mom adopted me when I was eleven, yes."

Oracle and Batman finally found where the Mayors' killer settled their hideout: in the ancient location of Wayne Orphanage, entirely abandoned and turned into a foxhole for homeless junkies.

With lamps turned on, Ed and Bruce inspected the sad remnants of this depressing place.

"I saw Bruce Wayne at the funerals," Eddie informed him, a data he kept for himself until then. "I even spoke to him. Listened to him evoke his late birthers."

"How did that go?"

The Bat hoped Ed didn't discern him tensing at the implications, he expected Edward to be unfairly mean with his civilian self.

That's not what happened. He rather responded via an evasive: 

"Surprisingly good. I think I misjudged him, somehow."

"How so?"

"I said this man... always had everything and has no idea what it's like to suffer. Well... he appeared so lonely, so insecure and so... frightened by the outside world, it's obvious life left scars on him too, even if his material conditions remain what every little boy and girl dreams of. He seems so... alone..."

Eddie stayed lost in thoughts for a while, before pointing to a door on their left.

"The dorms I shared with thirty other kids."

"Seems like a lot of people in a room which is... not that big," Bruce evaluated in a deadpan voice after they entered the space.

"Sometimes during winter, we snuggled at two or three on the same thin bunk not to pass out from the cold," he narrated, his gaze lost into the Void. "The heaters were broken, of course. Practically all the time. They were off even in the nursery, with the younger orphans. Some nights, we took the babies to bring them to our dorms and cuddle them to try to keep them alive, otherwise they died of hypothermia during December or January. The first times, I remember I... cried, when I saw one of the nuns leaving with a lifeless baby or toddler who didn't make it, between the cold-induced fevers and the malnourishment. I guess a part of me... progressively grew numb to the pain. Numb to... all the horrible stuff that happened in this place. I used to think... this was Hell on Earth. I used to think I will die here, alone, a nobody to whom no one ever gave a chance."

Without predicting the gesture, Bruce took a step forward and... hugged him, pulling the younger man close, pressed against his armor chest.

While he trembled and tears rolled down his cheeks, Eddie didn't sob or reached the breakdown point. As he reminded aloud, he had been... lucky, not only to be taken out of this Hell but given a loving, perfect family.

He also talked about his mother Eileen, who died four years after Jim and her adopted him. Bruce's gloved fingers brushed his hair, stroking his scalp in what he hoped was perceived as a comforting gesture when his partner evoked the painful moments of his life. The Bat wished he could do the same, open up about his own share of misery.

He wished he could... show Edward how much he matters to him by fully letting him in.

Somehow, he found a loophole when they broached the 'Wayne topic' anew, later during their meticulous orphanage scouring.

Bruce asked if he planned on seeing him again.

Eddie shrugged.

"Actually I'd... like to establish a contact with him. He seemed... interesting enough to investigate his case further."

"You... asked the GCPD for my number?"

"What else could I do? It made me look less like a stalker than asking for your address."

Eddie blinked, not expecting this repartee.

It started by a timid message he received on his phone, signed 'Bruce Wayne', asking politely if he was interested by a communication. Eddie had stared at the screen, then, following Babs' advises, he called the number... and indeed spoke to the Wayne heir and his awkward tone, whom, shy like a tiny kid in front of a crowd of imposing adults, said he enjoyed conversing with him at the church and wished he'd meet him over his free time. Encouraged by his sister, Ed agreed to see him outside during the weekend, at a meeting point in a cozy café he went to once or twice with his sis after school.

Barbara's teasing reached a peak that evening, she chanted "Edward finally has a date!" over and over. He blushed crimson and denied vehemently the tag 'date'. Jim chuckled at the cheerful agitation.

On Sunday afternoon, Eddie joined him at the café like planned... and noticed that the tables around the one where Wayne waited are empty, as if he reserved this aisle of the establishment. He probably came here incognito, otherwise a flock of journalists and paparazzi would rush to the place.

They are tranquil for now, and although he looked out of his comfort zone, Wayne visibly made an effort to behave like an almost normal individual who invited a friend over.

Eddie sat in front of him, Bruce told him to order whatever he preferred, and nodded when he asked for his favorite combo: pumpkin pie and hot chocolate. Of course. Bruce replicated by his own favorite sugary meal: blueberry cheesecake and mint tea, then he took a rectangular box out of the bag he placed on the comfy bench next to him.

"Why... chess?"

"Because I love this game," Bruce unveiled, knowing it's a key element to get to Edward: they often play with the wooden plate at his apartment.

Bruce felt thrilled to engage in a game with him via his own marble board.

"Also I... don't know how to talk to people. If I just... speak, I will mess up. So I thought it'd be easier to... play. What?" He asked, timorous upon seeing his acolyte's large smile.

"Nothing, I'm just... happy to converse with someone who is even more socially inapt than I am!" Eddie rejoiced in a childish manner, then focused on the plate and picked a side: "I take the black pawns. When he is not here, I play by the Dark Knight's team."

"... Seems legit."

Eddie couldn't help (he blushed a little at the thought) notice Bruce's smile was... very pretty, as he lined up the white pieces and begun the game by advancing a pawn on the checkered battlefield.

✨

"Dad?" Eddie checked out of the blue while he was playing with his pets Query and Echo, the two female rats he considers his supportive pals.

"Yes?"

Jim and him were sitting on the terrace at their flat, they took an afternoon off whilst Babs was at her college courses. They'll assist Batman for an intervention tonight, they deserved a moment of break beforehand.

Not knowing why he elected this specific instant to broach the topic, Eddie felt like he abruptly needed to discuss something... kinda personal.

Hence he took a breath, patted Query's cute head to give himself strength, whom squeaked joyfully on his lap. When Echo perched on his shoulder, he looked up to his father reading newspapers articles on a chair and announced bluntly:

"I am gay."

Jim stared from behind his glasses, expecting him to pursue but... he released nothing else. Ed's cheeks flushed red at his father's lack of reaction, he half-regretted he voiced the truth out loud.

"... I know," Jim articulated at last, confused. "Eddie, it's been... years since both Barbara and I know you are gay. I thought that was clear. Did you... actually think you still had to come out?"

Ed's blush darkened.

"What? I never... I mean... I don't..."

Jim chuckled, he moved from his chair to sit on the carpet Edward brought outside to play, like a kid, with his rats. He ruffled his twenty four years old son's hazelnut-golden hair with fondness.

"I know since you are... seventeen," he provided a detailed analysis to his boy who likes logical, documented explanations for every thematic. "From the day we came home from the cinema where they displayed that Mission: Impossible movie and Babs and you... said the exact same things about the main character. The male main character. I suspected it already, but since you never manifested interest in anyone the romantic way, I... let it slide. Plus there's the objective fact those things take more time for children with Asperger's Syndrome: they often have a different sexual maturity, it takes them a while to figure out that kind of attraction, so even longer to understand whether it's for the same or opposite sex. Or both. To me it got definitely confirmed in your case from the moment you started crushing on Batman, by writing about him in your diary, doodling the bat-symbol everywhere and talking about him like he is your hero. Since Vengeance became our friend it grew into... something even more obvious."

Eddie blinked, amazed by his father's simple way to expose the facts.

"I... wasn't sure," he dithered. "I mean I... never liked girls that way alright, yet until... recently, I wasn't sure it's the fascination for Batman that makes me... think of him that way, or if it was linked to my... orientation."

"I'd say it's both," Jim hypothesized in his protective tone. "You fell in love once in your life, and it's for the Caped Crusader. It's logical it took you... a bit of time to understand your feelings are also linked to your preferences."

"You think if Batman was a... Batwoman, I wouldn't have been a fan?"

"Hard to tell," the policeman wondered. "I suppose you would have loved the aesthetic regardless, but not... fallen in love with 'her'. After all, you never mentioned Batgirl the way you refer to Batman."

Ed didn't comment: Jim doesn't know Batgirl is Barbara.

"Are you in love with Bruce Wayne too?"

Ed's eyes opened wide behind his glasses.

"What? No! I... Why would I be in love with..."

"Because you spend a lot of time with him these past months, and... it apparently matches with you finding out a few things about yourself. The two can be linked."

Jim's tone remains caring, patient. Never judging.

Eddie smiled.

"I admit Bruce is... a lot nicer than what I believed. And he is... a good company. But my heart belongs to the Bat."

Father and son shared a tender smile, then they hugged, the rats squeaking around them.

"Thank you," Edward whispered, cuddling like a little boy.

He is not sure what he thanks him for precisely, it must be... a mix of everything: thank you for saving me, thank you for giving me a family, thank you for loving me like I am, despite all of my flaws and all of my doubts, thank you for... being the best father I could have ever dreamed of...

Well aware of the kind of thoughts that must jostle at present in his brain, Jim whispered a heartfelt:

"You're welcome, son."

"If you want, I can... like... push you into his arms during an investigation. He'd catch you bridal style. Soooooooo romantic!"

Eddie glared at the grinning Batgirl.

"No thanks," he refuted, categorical.

"Oh come on! You are incapable to confess to him how you feel, I should help you deal with that! The... cliché-like manner!"

Oracle whined and protested heavily, making himself sound openly miserable when Barbara conjured up divergent situations starring Batman and him that could be THE moment Ed admits the nature of his feelings to Mister Vengeance.

Edward knows for sure she is not done teasing him about this.

✨

Jonathan Crane used to be Edward's psychiatrist when he lived at Wayne orphanage.

The Matron in charge of the religious establishment contacted him after the boy went through... a pretty dark phase, between the autistic breakdowns, the early but worrisome because severe depression, the constant crying and the critical agoraphobia, the fear of other people, which was complicated to reconcile with life at the crowded place.

Even if none of his treatments turned out frankly efficacious, only being adopted by the Gordons truly helped him, Ed keeps a... passably positive memory of this tall, lanky man with funny looks and a sharp intelligence, who is one of the rare persons in his past life who addressed to him gently. He was not considerate, he regularly told little Ed he should stop hoping he'd be adopted due to his issues. He was not friendly, but he was patient, he always listened to the kid, he gave him advises that worked more or less to try to ease his time at the orphanage.

Eddie appreciated him. A little bit.

Anyway he never predicted he'll meet the doctor again, under... very different circumstances.

Looks like people change, to say the least, because when faced with the man again, at twenty five, the once professor had suited up a scarecrow costume and planned on poisoning the water supplies across town by spreading a powerful drug he invented that serves to make people hallucinate their worse fears.

The kind of stuff you only find in Gotham.

Oracle and Batman, plus Batgirl and the now Commissioner Gordon are a functioning unit the medias are used to see working together.

When things go wrong though, it's usually the Caped Crusader who saves the day, not... the little nerd with glasses who follows him everywhere like the dedicated fanboy he is.

Bruce's eyelids flustered, he let out a pained groan.

"It's alright," Ed's familiar voice instantly pierced the fog that numbed his gestures and made him feel so... weak...

Docile, the Bat let his friend help him to a sitting position. His clouded perception took nearly a full minute to clear, until then he saw his surroundings via a blurred, dense veil that obscured his vision. When he focused on the scene at last, he isolated Eddie's smiling face at a few centimeters from his. They were in one of the hideouts he showed to Oracle and Batgirl, letting them store material here that they couldn't keep at their father's apartment.

He was sitting on the bed of one of the guest rooms... his full armor on. Including his cowl. Even if he trusts Ed, Babs and Jim not to take advantage of him in a sorry state and watch what's under his mask, an horrid fright twisted his guts as he slowly remembered what happened: he has been gassed by a potent dose of fear toxin, he fell backwards, lost consciousness whilst his mind was plagued by terrifying visions of his deepest fears.

"What... happened?"

Eddie handed him a plastic bottle of water, what the Bat popped open, brought to his cracked, dry lips and... gulped down entirely, dehydrated.

"Scarecrow has been ushered to Arkham asylum by colleagues of dad's," Eddie summarized, taking a chair and gazing at his idol with a wondering expression. "We stopped his attack before he poisoned the supplies."

"Great job, Oracle."

They shared a tired albeit satisfied smile.

"Batgirl and I took care of making you exit the scene before you attracted too much attention."

"Did... one of you drive the Batmobile?!"

"Babs almost killed three persons when racing! But... we reached this hideout without causing actual damages. She left nearly an hour ago."

Bruce shook his head with fondness. He loves the Gordons.

"What did you... catch me saying?" He inquired, this point bothering him more than he let on. "When I... was unconscious, raving after Crane's products badly messed with my mind? I recall I hallucinated fearsome nightmares, did I... make noises?"

"You did. You... said names, screamed, even cried for a bit. These are the... common reactions we observed so far from other fear toxin victims."

Eddie joined him on the mattress and curled up next to him like a kitten in need of attention.

"Worry not, Vengeance. You said nothing that gave you away, just... confusing pleas and yelling sounds while you were attacked by whoever hurt you in the past. It was nothing important."

Eddie kept "Are you and Bruce Wayne the same person? Please don't tell me it's the truth..." for himself, whereas his love interest truly let out relevant clues leading to the billionaire he sees rather regularly, especially over the weekends.

Some of the things Bruce says every now and then caused suspicion to raise in Ed's deduction skills, and what Batman feared under the influence of Scarecrow's products hits... too close to what Bruce surely dreads as well for it to be purely a coincidence. Eddie adds phobias to the list of troubling similarities between the two.

Not the day to unmask this mystery though. It'll always be time later, to properly dig into the investigation.

✨

Stephanie Brown is not an ordinary ten years old girl.

In fact she is... the one of her kind. Unique.

"I am glad you finally figured it out," the blonde, blue-eyed child looked up, a broad smug smirk plastered on her lips. "Took you long enough."

Edward couldn't refrain his own smile.

Oracle worked on a case involving the former director of a game show who turned murderous and decided to kidnap people to participate to his game he transformed with deadly traps and hair-raising mechanisms to make the persons who, according to him, 'disrespected him' suffer if they don't answer right to his ludicrous questions.

Given the fact this is trendy for criminals lately, he spread clues at the end of his initial video for Batman and Oracle to figure out where his next creepy show will take place.

The morbid pattern went on until a second element emerged in this complex case: someone hacked an advertisment panel to project in bold red writing a sentence 'Let the Puzzlement Fit the Crime', what Edward and Bruce immediately associated to their current affair.

One thing leading to another... they unveiled the identity of the Cluemaster, whose name is Arthur Brown, and successfully apprehended him over his following scheme. As the investigation revealed, he has an unusual profile: contrary to most of the famous villians like Scarecrow, Mad Hatter, Poison Ivy or the one already there before Ed and Batman's team-up, Joker, this one is... a husband and a father.

Whom clearly sucks at the job, as Edward deduced today. When their researches highlighted Arthur has a daughter, Ed informed the Bat he will pay a visit to the Brown household before the police scours the place. Surely it is preferable for the kid to meet one person, whom everyone knows in town to be Vengeance's partner, than multiple cops who will search explosive widgets or weapons her madman of a father surely stores in his house.

Eddie was not expecting to be... awaited, by the girl who looked up when he entered via the main door. She smiled and welcomed him in, far too at ease given the quirky context.

The house, located in one of the poor neighborhoods of the town, resembles what he imagined from the outside: neglected, as if no one cleaned the rooms in a while, mildly depressing to look at. It reminds him of Wayne Orphanage.

"Stephanie Brown," he stated, refusing to sit on the couch stained with dubious tracks, rather standing at the center of the small, soiled living room without touching anything. "Are you the one who... spoiled your father's plans?"

"Who else? Spoilers are my speciality. I thought you would arrest my dad sooner, though! I am a big fan," she said, speaking fast and jumping from one topic to another like kiddos typically do, her eyes shining and her perky behavior properly adorable. "Batman is a hero, Batgirl is so badass... but you? You are my favorite, Oracle! You don't wear a costume, you don't hide your identity, you... expose yourself. You are not the best at fighting as I could see in reportings, you are not the most skilled, not the most athletic, not the... conventional type of 'hero'. Yet you are Batman's partner, you put behind bars adversaries ten times stronger than you and you always outsmart everyone! You are inspiring. You are my... role model. I wanted to do just like you."

Alright, Eddie wished he could deny it but... he felt the tears forming in his castleton green eyes, behind his clear-framed glasses.

Over the months, it wasn't rare to be called by random citizens when he was to be seen with Batman, with Batgirl or with both. He even answered questions from Vicki Vale, without leading interviews, just... responses when the journalist shows up at a crime scene to interrogate a team member. Notwithstanding the fact everybody knows him, until then he only... caught fans talking about the bats themselves.

Little girls who asked Babs for an autograph, teenagers screaming their love for her when they see her racing on her motorcycle. Kids dressing up as Batman and people of every age rushing to the side alleys where he engages in a fight to take pictures of their hero into action.

Eddie never felt left out, quite the contary: he appreciated not to be under the main spotlights. Moreover, he has his own fanbase, Oracle opened a public blog where he publishes informations that can be revealed to the public. He won over 500 followers on this blog!

Yet... he was never 'the' hero of the moment.

So to see this little girl he never met before, who seemed... in awe of him, that was... that was just beautiful.

"Stephanie," he pursued, his voice trembling under the unexpected strong emotions that bloomed in his heart. "Is... is your mother here? I found out you have a mom too, I... hu..."

He stopped when seeing her sudden despondent expression.

"She is at one of the hideouts where her... friends and her meet. For injections," she clarified upon seeing he didn't get it. "She is a junkie. The... worst status. She spends entire days and nights outside, and when she is at the house she... never knows what's happening around her. She drinks, too. Once she hit me with her alcohol bottle because she didn't recognize me and thought I was a street kid who entered to... rob. As if there was anything to steal in this shitty place."

Ed's hands balled into fists without him registering the instinctive gesture.

"... What about your dad?"

"Like what you saw in his videos! He is an idiot," she brushed his concern aside, far too mature and aware of realities for her age. "Who didn't hesitate to torture people for vengeance. I hate him. I am glad your team and you arrested him. Now I want to get out of here."

Such determination in a young person is... unusual. Incredibly promising.

"I can arrange that," Edward promised, a feeling of a new kind blossoming inside him. "You wanted to reach me, you succeeded at arresting a murderer. I won't let you down from there."

The child granted him a broad smile. No doubt for Ed: this girl will be someone.

"I used to dream I'd see the Batman someday. Drifting across the moon. Dark against the night sky."

Eddie smiled at the sweet, nearly poetic confession.

"You'll meet him in no time," he swore, his tone warm and loving. "He doesn't have a... define schedule, but he visits almost daily, even when it's not to work on a case."

Stephanie snuggled next to him.

After finding the depressing place where she lives and her condition, Ed reacted without... thinking much: he took the girl in and brought her to their place.

Barbara rents her own flat in town, to take some independence now that she became a librarian and has a stable job. As for him, Eddie... doesn't see the point in trying to live in a place just for him. His job as a private detective pays enough, moreover he works with his father as an accountant who teams-up with the GCPD. He even obtained a driving license, after a few tragically unfruitful attempts. He managed, he... fully stepped into the 'adult life'.

He had no intention to quit daddy's place, though. Especially since Jim much prefers having his children around.

Hence... he went home with the little girl, summarized the situation and of course his father let her in too.

The first night she spent at their place, she told Eddie she is a fan of astronomy. Thus they ended on the terrace, mugs of hot cocoa between their hands, star gazing and talking about their beloved constellations, Edward being himself an astronomy nerd.

Another reason why he feels so close to this girl.

✨

"Can I drive?"

Eddie refrained a chuckle at the Bat's appalled expression when he glanced at the kid proudly perched on the passenger seat.

The three of them were ready to intervene: Batman, Batgirl and Oracle. Except Steph pressured Edward so much he had no other option but to bring her alongside with him... and in the Batmobile, while the forthcoming intervention had no link whatsoever with her father.

Barbara and him sat on the rear seats because Stephie wanted to experience the Gotham race from the front. She began to harass Batman, asking him relentlessly what the buttons serve for, how is built his 'car looking straight up from a gothic cartoon', if he has a valid license to show to the cops in case he was arrested for speeding far too fast across the streets.

And now, she wanted to 'drive'.

Babs and Ed enjoyed the spectacle.

"Not until you are thirty at the minimum," the Bat answered, his jaw clutched.

Steph stuck out her tongue at him and concluded by a bold:

"Mock me at your peril, masked man."

Stephanie-in-the-Batmobile turned out to be a whole adventure.

"And this is my daughter Stephanie."

Bruce arched an eyebrow. This label is... new.

"I kinda blackmailed him to say that," the blonde giggled. "We haven't made anything official yet."

Barbara laughed at how proud the child appeared and at her brother's desperate sigh.

Stephie and Eddie soon became a comedy duo. Tonight, Bruce invited them to a mundane gala with the upper class society. Although he is not out of his shell yet, the billionaire followed Ed's advises to... make more attempts at joining the outside world.

Since Edward himself receives invitations to these type of events, alongside his father and by extension, his sister for being affiliated to Batman, it seemed easier for Bruce to go to a party when at least one of the Gordons will be present.

"Nice to meet you, sir!" Steph shook Bruce's hand, grinning like the Cheshire cat. 

Then she made unecessarily boastful remarks about the dress she wears, which Ed and her bought yesterday after a funny afternoon spent shopping.

"This is a gorgeous shade of purple," the billionaire complimented with delicacy. "It looks very good on you."

"Indeed, everything looks awesome on me," she bragged, afterwards she corrected with her conceited tone: "But this is not actually purple, you know. It's eggplant. Purple would have looked stupid."

Both Barbara, Edward and Bruce bursted out laughing at this hilarious reply delivered in such a confident manner.

✨

After Crystal Brown was declared in court unable to raise a child and Arthur ended locked in the prison Blackgate, Edward Gordon obtained the right to become Stephanie's legal tutor.

Given the fact she has two alive parents nonetheless, she won't change her name or be definitely cut from her blood family, simply... raised by someone else. Someone who cares.

She already considers Jim her 'super cool grandpa', Barbara her 'badass auntie' and Eddie and Batman plus Bruce her beloved dads, she doesn't really care about the woman who didn't recognize her most of the times and the man who used to lock her in the closet of her bedroom then finished his far from glorious path by making an appearance on TV to claim his radicalized ideas and kill people on live television via inventive, gruesome traps.

The little girl doesn't miss them, she is more than happy getting used to this new life she fought for by reaching out herself to Oracle. This being said, she couldn't anticipate things would become... so positive for her. She sincerely believed Oracle, Batman, Batgirl and the Commissioner will help after they got to the bottom of her affair, that they will get involved.

They are heroes. That's what they do.

Regardless, she couldn't force them to get personally involved. Edward deciding to fully take her under his wing was his decision, one she had been... delighted to see him stick to.

Tonight, Oracle and Batgirl fulfilled an intervention against Black Mask's smuggling ring.

Batman as for him... stopped by at the Gordons' place. He had been severely injured during a previous case a week prior, his team insisted for him to stay out of the game. He only half-agreed, coming to the apartment either ways even if he didn't take part of the field work tonight.

He rather kept company to the kid, alone this evening in the flat.

"The thing is, Steph... I want to rule them by fear," he revealed, defeated, when she inquired why some villains are not afraid to directly attack him, contrary to most low-standing thugs who run away at the mere sight of the bat cape flying above their heads. "But I... don't know what to do for those who are not afraid."

She pondered over the issue.

She may be eleven, she is an intelligent person. A very clever one, as her dad figure / sorta-big bro / best friend Eddie underlines regularly, what is always so pleasant to hear for the blue-eyed girl. Once she considered it seriously enough, she rendered her verdict, taking Bruce's gloved hand and whispering a supportive:

"Everything doesn't have to be about fear. There's room in your line of work for hope too."

The Caped Crusader blinked under his cowl. He broached the topic with Edward already, whom affirmed Stephie wants to be trained and actively join the business. Oracle is not 'opposed' to it, being himself an active member of the team, still he believes she is a tad too young to be outside playing acrobat at night.

Bruce doesn't see her age as a problem. Quite the contrary: the younger she is when she begins a proper training schedule, the more skilled she will become.

"... Our line of work," he rectified thereupon. "You can be a... real part of it, too. If you feel like it."

"I would... like to train her. With your approval."

Eddie smiled slightly.

How delicate of the Bat to query his opinion to become his daughter's mentor.

"Does this mean I'll go to Wayne Manor?" The blonde child grinned with pride. "I bet you have a huge training room there for combat sports!"

Batman blinked. Once, twice.

Stephanie's features painted into a cartoonish expression, as if she was struck by the realization she screwed up.

"Oh... sorry, Ed..." she shifted from one foot to another, uncomfortable. "I, hu... kinda forgot we are not supposed to tell Batman we know Bruce Wayne and him are the same person!"

Bruce felt like a wave of icy water submerged him from head to toes.

Edward sighed.

"Bats, it's... alright," he reassured him, a genuinely supportive smile growing on his lips. "I figured it out shortly before Steph and I met," he answered to the silent inquiry he could read in his partner's eyes being 'how long since you unmasked me?!'.

"Personally, I found out on my own," the snotty child complemented, her peacock boastful expression back on. "Like, seriously? Bruce Wayne and Edward Gordon are practically dating while Batman and Oracle are the number one non-official couple of Gotham City solving crimes together? It doesn't take a genius to understand you two lovebirds, or rather... a love-bat and a love-cat are the same couple!"

Now both Bruce and Ed blushed crimson, not regarding the 'identity reveal' shenanigan.

Steph stared then let out another smug:

"What, you are not dating yet?!  Boys, everyone in town knows you are in love! What are you waiting for? You should kiss already and confess your feelings."

Edward covered his glasses and his eyes with his right hand, his face turning a tomato red shade in shame.

"Stephie... don't you think you... announced enough breaking news for today?"

"Hum..." she considered it, a hand tapping on her chin like a little detective. "Possibly! Now that you guys know all of this though, can I get my first day of training? And a dashing costume to go out at night, too!"

A couple of weeks later, after, indeed, an intense training at Wayne Manor (where Ed could finally call his 'acquaintance' both Bruce and Bats without risking to unveil what he knew), Steph joined Batman on the field. With a brand new uniform designed just for her.

It's the Bat who introduced her to the world, via a 'made in Vicki Vale' interview after their first intervention to arrest Oswald Cobblepot.

He put a hand on her shoulder, protective and proud to stand next to the girl. He claimed, his low voice brimming with a new-found parental affection:

"Her name is Robin."

✨

Tragedy struck when Bruce was thirty four, Edward thirty two, Barbara twenty eight and Stephanie sixteen.

They were a functioning team.

Dynamic Duos working together: Batman and Robin, Oracle and Batgirl, Batman and Oracle, Robin and Batgirl, Oracle and Robin, Batman and Batgirl... every combination led to a winning team, who performed successful missions.

The eternal caring dad watching over, Jim participated to the kiddos' shenanigans more often than he worked on separate cases.

Although his identity is public, Edward made himself an Oracle costume too, implying green and purple (eggplant since his daughter of heart insisted he adopts one specific shade...) plus his favorite aesthetic: question marks. He maintains they're neat on the suit. His computer programs invariably sport green question marks as recognizable signs for people to identify who infiltrates the system, cracks codes or hacks what he wants whenever he needs it to assist Batman in his quest for justice.

None of his skills served today, as both his dad and him were attacked, at their home, and kidnapped, knocked out by henchmen before they had time to react. The security of their building and of their apartment had been entirely hacked by an exterior source, which is in itself... a worrisome prowess.

Stephanie was with Bruce that day, the Dynamic Duo fulfilling duties together.

Only Batman and Robin's intervention saved Edward and Jim from the traps they've been put inside in a hair-raising version of a fair that copied Stephen King's It designs, with glass mirrors and Killer Croc charged to devour one of them alive at the end of a maze. The Joker and his group the League of Smiles went all out for this gory version of an attraction park.

Before they launched this side of their sinister scheme however, the Prince of Crime also paid a visit to Batgirl, in her apartment. He didn't kidnap her, he had... other plans for her.

The Joker shot Barbara after he figured out her secret identity and almost succeeded at killing either Edward or Jim to teach his Batsy a lesson: Batman doesn't need allies, he'd be much stronger, much better in Joker's demented opinion, without what he called, laughing this frightening laugh of his, this 'burden of the Gordon family that sugarcoated the Bat'.

"Don't look at me like that. I am not broken."

Jim knows for years Barbara is Batgirl, even if he... never voiced it out loud. He wanted to wait until she confirms it by herself, what... never happened prior the accident. No need to maintain fake mysteries now, though. They were beyond that.

"We never thought you were," Stephanie reassured her, then hugged the adult in her wheelchair.

The first weeks have been... difficult.

She spent days at the hospital, even longer doing exams and testing a handful of surgeries plus medical treatments to fix her spine... without success. She irremediably lost her mobility from the waist down.

Accepting her new condition took Barbara a strong dose of willpower. Still, she... overcame the loss. She moved forward.

She made her peace with what happened to her, now she simply wished her family would do the same. Her father went back at considering her a little girl he must watch over, her brother was oddly uncomfortable around the wheelchair and her brother's boyfriend refused to pronounce the name 'Batgirl' as if he believed hearing the hero alias she won't be able to wear again would hurt her.

Only her niece-of-heart behaved normally, adapting a few of her gestures and her discourse but not... constantly reminding her of her disability by unsure glances or shy movements.

It's okay, though. Barbara is not angry at the boys, she is aware that when this kind of accident touches a family, every member must learn how to cope, not just the victim albeit of course, they have the most work to do.

They were supportive of each other. They'll overcome the hardship, and learn how to live with it.

A major step forward is that evening Edward proposed to give her his name.

Barbara smiled at him.

They live at Wayne Tower lately, like a... big patched-up family who resides under the same roof.

"I have always been as good as you are for hacking," she approved. "After all... I learned from the best."

They were both in the main control room Batman installed at one story of the tower. They hugged each other.

"Not because I can no longer be Batgirl means you should strip from Oracle," Babs whispered nevertheless, stroking her brother's silky hair when she felt him trembling against her. "I don't... want to deprive you of your alias."

"Those were our aliases," he corrected, crossing her gaze with tears in his eyes. "Batgirl and Oracle. I cannot... keep my name when you are forced to change yours. If you... wish to create a fresh character, then it can get stored elsewhere until someone wants to wear it, but I... will change anyway."

"I want to," she promised. "I... would be honored to take up the Oracle mantle after you."

Their lives were different from now on.

This aside, they were tough and determined, it wasn't long before Barbara and her family fully assimilated the change to progress and move along.

✨

Nightwing is an, objectively speaking, great superhero name.

It comes from an ancient legend, of a dragon in charge to maintain the balance of the universe.

While the bats-and-bird were aware of the existence of this vigilante dressed in black and blue, who watches over at Blüdhaven, they hadn't met him until he paid an official visit to Gotham City.

Or rather a non-official, 'vigilante kind of deal' visit.

He had no particular desire to team-up with them either, simply the... elementary curiosity to establish good neighbor heroes relations. It was about time.

That Oracle and him fell in love counted among the unexpected sides of the story, but when Richard 'Dick' Grayson unveiled he is in love with the former Batgirl for years and... didn't find the courage beforehand to reach her territory, let's say it... encouraged things to 'accelerate' between them. The fact he neither judged nor made a remark about her wheelchair helped, too. Dick is in love with Barbara Gordon. Every part of her. Mind, intelligence, wits, looks, body, smile... everything.

And he proved her she deserves to be treated like a queen by the prince charming he tried his best to impersonate.

In matter of love stories and prince charmings... one particular couple took forever to become official at last.

Both Edward and Bruce remained virgins in... every sense of the term: no sexual activity, no dates or no other romantic interests since their meeting over twelve years ago now. Bruce being closer to the asexuality spectrum than the classical desire type, it is... not surprising in itself he never looked elsewhere. As for him, Edward had a different maturity, he somehow took 'more time to grow up' in this field, and once he did, he... patiently waited for Bruce to be ready.

Physical contacts of any type are a sensitive ground for the Bat, so is the notion of 'intimacy'. Hence, as Bruce notified his partner when Eddie asked, to him their relationship as it is, that is to say... no more than a cute complicity, is already extremely intimate and he didn't think he'd want to get further than what he interprets as the peak of closeness.

They crossed the line one night under a full moon. Standing on top of a building, lighted by the clear moonlight.

The kiss felt like a long-time coming, Eddie melted between his partner's arms when they lips met in a sweet embrace, hesitantly tasting each other like the inexperienced grown adults they are, who play around with this kind of contact for the first time.

They know each other by heart. Mind, feelings, way to think, type of intelligence, past... soul.

It feels like a simple, awaited continuity to update their knowledge on each other's body as well.

💝✨💝

Jim Gordon is telling a story to the little girl nested on his lap.

A story starring her family, which is... unconventional, to say the least.

Unconventional but beautiful.

Chloe Eileen Grayson-Gordon laughed cheerfully when her grandfather imitated exaggerated monster noises to narrate a case involving chasing metahumans across the sewers under the city.

He keeps the 'we found the fountain of youth aka a Lazarus pit located under Gotham City, what basically gave Edward magical powers and he became the pit's guardian' for an ulterior storytelling. Growing up, Chloe will encounter and be subjected to a handful of crazy yet entertaining realities about their way of life.

The former Commissioner retired, after so many years of good and loyal service in the police and the vigilante side of the fight for justice.

Nightwing and Oracle settled down, Dick will likely pass on his mantle to Babs and him's non-officially adopted ward, a teenager they met over an affair, Cassandra Cain, whom the Graysons took under their wing and welcomed into their house. When Chloe came to the world of the livings, she had parents, a grandfather, a sorta-other grandfather Alfred, an uncle and his boyfriend, an adult cousin, a sorta step-sister with Cass and another sorta-cousin with Carrie Kelley who may not be adopted, became the Second Robin after Stephanie and spends most of her time with the Gordon-Wayne-Brown-Grayson-Cain patched-up family. All nine of them treated their baby girl like a little miracle.

Twenty four years old Stephanie is Batgirl for a couple of years already, forming her own version of a Dynamic Duo with Red Knight, the alias a newly-appeared vigilante wears over the past months. Edward already figured out his true identity, but he'll wait a bit before barging in at Jason Todd's apartment and straight-up tell the young man he knows about his nightly activities.

Nearly every night, Batman is out there, investigating, watching over, fighting, solving mysteries, protecting the innocent, helping out... having some fun, too. A lot of fun, with his team. His family.

He loves the fact everyone who matters to him cares for both sides of him. For everything he is.

From the doorframe of the living room, Bruce smiled softly as he watched Jim and toddler Chloe. Everyone lodges at the Manor lately, albeit the Graysons have their own house and Carrie doesn't live with them. Notwithstanding this, over the holidays they regulary... gather at the Wayne property, where Alfred, Bruce, Edward, Stephanie and Jim are permanent residents.

At present, Barbara and Dick huddled together on the nearest leather armchair, Cassandra and Carrie were outside playing vigilantes as Black Bat and Robin, Steph and Red Knight surely engaged in their cat-and-mouse game...

Fingers interlaced with his right hand's. Bruce smiled at the younger man who snuggled next to him.

"Let me guess, watching over our little family as if you can't believe you are a part of something so... amazing, to quote Stephie dearest?"

"You know me too well."

Bruce put a tender kiss on the top of Eddie's head.

His Eddie.

Recently his... fiancé.

The first and only person he ever loved that way, more than anyone or anything. His... whole world...

"Come in, Bats? Everyone is having fun, let's get a quiet evening for once. Our girls handle Gotham and dad signed for the babysitting duties... let's do just like Babs and Dick but up there."

Bruce chuckled as he followed Edward. They climbed the stairs, crossed corridors to reach their shared bedroom, opened its bay window leading to a private terrace in semi-circle... They ended huddled together bat-fashion: sitting on the tiles of the roof of Wayne Manor, cuddling like two nocturnal cats, watching the stars above them. The celestial dome is clear this warm summer night, the constellations shine brightly in the ink dark night.

Batman smiled all the more when he felt Sphinx purring next to him. There he is, at night, hugging his Eddie, half of his little family enjoying a sweet evening in his Manor, the other half playing vigilantes in his beloved town... If someone told his younger self he would be so lucky one day, he would have never believed them.

So this is what a happy ending feels like?

"It's nothing near an ending, Brucie. We are just at the beginning of a new chapter in our book," Edward rectified alongside a giggle, as ever far too perspicacious he deduced his partner's current thoughts. "I love you. Today, tomorrow, yesterday... I love you since the very first day I heard your name, I will love you until the end of time. Always and forever."

"I love you too... my little universe."

They stayed a long moment outside together, happy and in love, their two silhouettes merged into one under the moonlight.