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“Are you listening, Mister Wayne?” Said a obnoxious, irritating voice.
Bruce clenched his jaw and turned to face the man before him with a small smile, “Yes. Yes I am. Please, continue.”
Bruce was, in fact, not listening to the rich prick in front of him. For multiple reasons. The first being that he was trying to convince Bruce that the oil companies that he was supported by were sustainable. Bruce learnt from Duke’s many, many passionate speeches, that an oil company was never sustainable. And second is the fact that this random man was dragging Bruce’s attention away from the current game of ‘Tag’ that his children were playing.
Boredom was familiar feeling to Bruce when it came to the galas that he held, no matter the subject. He himself would reach his social limit with the rich of Gotham and would go out in search for his kids.
Questionable stories were told and Bruce would escape. Because of this, Tim and Damian had a new-found reputation for fighting every hour, on the hour.
Bruce’s kids wove in and out of the groups of people and snuck across the ballroom floor with one thing on their minds. To hunt or be hunted.
Turning away from the man in front of him, Bruce let his eyes wander around the ballroom. The lights were blinding and the endless shining outfits were beginning to give him a headache.
But seeing his children would always heal him of all ailments and fill him with unequivocal love.
Bruce’s eyes met his eldest son’s, who seemed to be having some trouble by the way his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes narrowed. With a quirk of an eyebrow, Bruce silently communicated with Dick from across the ballroom.
Dick stared back at Bruce over people’s heads - some were adorned with outrageous hats. “Have you seen Duke?“ Dick signed, his hands moved quickly.
Bruce frowned and shrugged slightly, he scanned the room methodically, eyes looking over all of the strangers that got in his personal space and managed to push every button he didn’t know he had.
It didn’t take long for Bruce to spot his kids, they were always on his mind.
Bruce and Dick were standing in the centre of the ballroom, where the stage and front of the room was a few meters behind them.
Damian and Tim were standing on the stage. Tim fiddling with one of the violins and occasionally playing a tune, earning an applause from the crowd. Damian was watching the ballroom with narrowed eyes and his arm was in Tim’s, he tugged on Tim’s sleeve to get a second pair of eyes to scan the room when it was too silent for too long. If Bruce didn’t know better, he would think the Joker was going to attack the gala at any moment, but the only current threat to his family was Dick.
With a turn of his head, Bruce looked to the side of the room where Jason was seated at an empty table, as antisocial as ever. Jason had a book in his hands but it was clear he was watching his surroundings. Eventually, Jason would get bored and come to bother his father. It was Jason’s job to pull Bruce out of mindless conversations every half-an-hour, and avoid others in that time that aren’t the family while they search for shelter.
Bruce wasn’t happy when he discovered that he was deemed a ‘safe zone’ in the midst of a game. Duke had practically bowled Bruce over in the name of avoiding a predatory Cassandra. The girl only scowled and slunk away, Bruce was amused but his face showed faux hurt at only being an object of their little game.
Speaking of Duke and Cassandra, he spotted Dick’s most recent target. Duke and Cassandra were standing by the food stand, steam was flowing around them and they seemed to be enjoying a fruit skewer and some pastry snacks. Alfred was always sure to have healthy food on the table, despite the kids’ protests and Bruce’s sobbing.
Bruce turned back to Dick and winked at him. “Food stand, chum,” he signed with his hands. He watched as Dick grinned and straightened his suit, quickly blending and vanishing into the crowd.
“Mister Wayne?” The man was still talking and Bruce was about to finish the gala right now and collect his kids to go home.
“I do not want to work with you, sir,” Bruce replied as he turned back to the man. “My company is against associations with oil companies-”
“Hey, B,” Jason said as he approached his father, his eyebrows quirked up and a small smirk on his face. Jason loved pissing of people for the sake of pissing them off. “What’s up?”
Bruce sighed and reached his hand out for Jason’s shoulders. “My sincerest apologies, sir, I have other matters to attend to.” Bruce said to the man with a half-assed smile.
Jason snickered and wrapped an arm around his fathers waist, effectively tucking himself into Bruce’s side. The two of them turned away from the man who’s jaw was on the floor and his mouth was catching flies. They walked towards the front of the room, the stage.
The sea of people on the floor let up and Bruce didn’t let go of Jason as they walked through the makeshift path. “What were you reading?” Bruce asked, pressing a kiss to Jason’s temple.
“Back off, old man,” Jason hissed with a grin on his face as he jerked his head away from Bruce’s affections. “It was Edgar Allen Poe. Duke has an assignment coming up and I was helping him out.”
Just as Bruce opened his mouth to protest, Jason laughed and jabbed his father’s side. “Shut your mouth, B. You know Duke loves poetry. He doesn’t wanna fuck this up.”
Bruce only grumbled and jostled Jason as they weaved through the people towards the stage. “Hrn. I suppose so. But don’t either of you get caught, I will not help you.”
“When have I ever been caught?” Jason shot back.
Bruce began with a smirk, “Well-”
“Don’t answer that.” Jason deadpanned.
With a laugh, Bruce and Jason stopped in front of the stage. They looked up to see Damian who had come to a crouch at the edge, looking down at them. Tim stood behind his younger brother and watched the room as his fingers ran up and down the violin.
Damian spoke first while Tim played a soft but tense tune behind him. “Are we disembarking, father?” He asked, eyes hopeful.
“Not yet, baby. But very soon,” Bruce replied with a helpless look. “How long do you plan on staying up there?”
Tim stepped forward and leaned down slightly but didn’t stop playing. “As long as it takes for Dick to tag Duke. Then we’ll have to move.”
Jason shifted at Bruce’s side and leaned forward to ruffle Damian’s hair with a smile. “I’m taking B for a moment, so if you want him, you’ll have to go with us now.” Jason said as he patted Tim’s leg.
Tim almost dropped the violin and Damian practically stumbled off the stage to Bruce’s other side. Their desperation cause a chuckle to escape out of Bruce’s chest. “Calm, boys, calm,” Bruce said.
Bruce had come to accept his job to help his children make their way from one end of the ballroom to the other without getting tagged. Dick called it cheating but Dick certainly wasn’t complaining when he was strapped on Bruce’s back avoiding Damian’s jabs.
The four of them began their journey over to the back of the ballroom, towards the entrance. Tim was walking in front of Bruce, but he was close enough to jump back into Bruce’s arms in a heartbeat. Damian was tucked under Bruce’s arm, secure and safe. Jason had swallowed his pride and held Bruce’s hand. A small smile was on Jason’s face as he watched the room.
Bruce rolled his eyes at his children’s antics but if it kept them sane, it kept him sane all the same.
As they walked, the gala began to quieten down, but there was still chatter in the air. Bruce came to the realisation that the game was about to speed up and the press was going to have a field day with his chaotic children.
When the gala began to relax, the floor was freed up to chase and race. The kids held nothing back as they were trying to hold onto the last of their dignity and escape the claws of the predator hunting them down.
All of his boys at his sides tensed up, they too must have realised that the game had evolved into the next stage.
Tim turned suddenly and grabbed at Damian’s hand. “Let’s go, demon,” he said, pointing to the empty corner a few meters away. “We’re too open.”
Damian only nodded and grasped Tim’s hand as the two of them slowly made their way out of Bruce’s vicinity and into no-man’s land.
Jason laughed at his brothers caution, but quickly shut up when he saw Dick race out of a crowd of people and spin on his heel. He dashed straight for Bruce and Jason.
“Oh, shit,” Was all Jason said before he let go of his father’s hand and briskly walked back towards the stage.
Bruce sighed and bought his hand up to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose. He was quickly beginning to regret bringing all of his children to this gala.
“Bruce!” Dick shouted as he practically dived into Bruce. “Stay here for a minute.”
With a reluctant nod, Bruce bought his arms around his eldest and tucked him into his chest. After pressing a kiss to Dick’s hair, Bruce watched as Cassandra stepped forward, her impeccable control was present after every step.
Dick peaked his head out over his shoulder and opened his arms to his sister. “Come here, Cass,” he said with a small smile.
Cassandra dashed towards them and squeezed herself into the hug. She poked her head out for a moment to sign, “Duke is after Tim and Damian.”
The three of them stood in the middle of the ballroom, holding each other tight like the room was going to fall apart.
Bruce was startled out of the warmth that engulfed him, Dick had stirred again. “B, when are we leaving?” He asked.
As Bruce narrowed his eyes, he bought his wrist up to his eye-line, his watch shining under the bright lights. It was getting late and with an excuse or two, he and his kids could get out of here and home in less than an hour.
Resting his arm back around Cassandra, Bruce replied, “We can leave now, if you would like to.”
Cassandra nodded quickly and Dick voiced his support.
Bruce glanced around the room, quickly spotting his kids and unfortunately also the press. Bruce found that he couldn’t bring himself to care about the headlines in the papers the next day - he just needed to get his kids out of here and in a warm bed.
Temporarily letting go of Dick and Cassandra, Bruce bought his hands up to his mouth. He blew out a ear-ringing whistle and a small smirk painted his lips as he watched nearly everyone double over.
Bruce lived for chaos every once and a while. He blames his children.
Four heads whipped up at the sound of the whistle and they all let out their own, much quieter but responsive. Bruce smiled as he waved a hand and beckoned the rest of his children towards him.
Tim and Damian were still tense, Jason was still snickering at the aftermath of the whistle, and Duke was slumped over, disappointment heavy on his shoulders.
“I nearly had them, B!” Duke whined as he stood in front of Bruce, his arms crossed over his chest with a pout on his lips.
Damian scoffed and Tim patted Duke’s shoulder as they too came to a stop in front of Bruce. “Try harder next time, Duke.” Tim said unapologetically.
“Alright. That’s enough,” Bruce cut in quickly. Getting his children out of here seemed to be more of a challenge than he anticipated. “We’re leaving. Grab your things. I will be waiting for you in the foyer.”
Bruce sighed as he watched his children rejoice. He pushed at Dick and tucked Cassandra into his side. Dick ran forward to wrapped his arm around Damian’s shoulders, the two of them walked ahead and made the way for the rest of the family.
Cassandra and Duke made up the middle ahead of Bruce and Tim. Cassandra was comforting her brother, but it didn’t seem to be working too well. Duke was monologuing and everybody knows that once he starts he can’t stop.
Tim stood beside Bruce and his father noticed how Tim was running out of his social battery. Bruce tucked Tim into his side and pressed a kiss to his hair. Jason came up alongside Bruce’s free side and Bruce couldn’t stop himself from reaching for Jason’s hand once again. Bruce chuckled when he felt Jason squeeze back.
Bruce smiled as he watched his children. Something warm broke out in his heart and spread all the way down to his feet and up to his head.
It was love. It was always love.
Love was all he felt for his children. And nothing would stop him from feeling that. No matter how many rich people tried to take his attention away from them.
Bruce would always be there for his kids, and they would do the same.
Now, they could all finally go home and be away from prying eyes. They could finally be themselves and get some rest after such a chaotic night. They could curl up into a warm bed and wake up ready to begin their day surrounded by their family.
And Bruce wouldn’t have it any other way.