Chapter Text
“I am obviously the most superior Wayne at keeping secrets.” A fork held like a dagger poised to attack was directed across the dining room table.
“Oh please brat you are the worst at keeping secrets! Mister ‘I am the only blood son of Bruce Wayne’” Tim’s neighbor needed to lean away from the fork still in his hand with his air quotes. “You are terrible at not telling everyone everything about yourself. At the last gala you spent the whole night talking to people about the latest Chicken you adopted!”
“You keep Lady Featherfoot out of this!” Damian’s arm pulled back ready to release his fork but found it pulled from his grip.
“Impaling people because they made a point only enforces their point little bat.” Dick gently puts the fork next to Damian’s plate ignoring the death glare the boy gave him. His hand rose to his chest while his other swept through his hair. “Besides we all know I've kept the longest secret from anyone. I was Red X for nearly 6 months before anyone knew!”
“Secrets only count if you can keep them from the entire family!” Stephanie’s fork still had a piece of broccoli on it as she pointed it at him. “Bruce knew you were playing bad guy that whole time right B?”
“I was aware.” Bruce nodded. “Only after a month though did I really put it together.”
“Hah!” Steph cheered. “I faked my death for 6 months! I win!”
Bruce without even looking up from his plate. “Leslie told me after month 2.”
“What! Noooooo! Betrayed!” Steph pouted. “Well that's all I got. How about you Timbit?”
Tim paused his dinner to stroke his chin. “Well Babs learned about the nest like immediately even though it took B like half a year, so that doesn't count.” Bruce hummed in response. “Does my spleen count?” He quirked his eyebrow at Bruce.
Bruce’s knife paused mid cut and his brow furrowed. “What about your spleen?”
“Nothing! Nothing is wrong with my spleen! It's right where it should be.” Tim waved his hands frantically.
Alfred refilled Tim’s water. “Dr. Tompkins made me aware of its absence as soon as she realized during your physical.”
Bruce glared at Tim “We will be talking about this later.”
Tim looked anxious in his seat before he sprung up. “Uncle Eddie!”
Bruce let out a long sigh and put his face in his hands.
“You don’t have an Uncle Eddie.” Dick pouted from across the table.
“No! I don't!” He cheered
All of the energy has seemed to have left Bruce's body. “After his parents passed I was looking into finding a place for him to live when his ‘Uncle Eddie’ came out of nowhere and started to care for him.” How do his kids make him more exhausted than going 12 rounds with Bane? “There was no Uncle Eddie. Tim made him up so I would leave him in peace. Even hired a actor to play him and everything.”
“And you didn't figure it out for a year!” Tim cheered triumphantly.
Dick gave Bruce a look “Really B, a year?”
He threw his hands up in defeat. “I was still mourning Jason! You weren't talking to me, there were so many cases piling up, I was still working to get the League off the ground. There were so many things going on at the time I couldn't keep everything on lock, some things just… fell through the cracks.”
“Don’t worry B, I love you too.” Tim waved him off. “Especially if it means I’m the bat who can keep secrets.”
Jason cleared his throat from the end of the table “You do remember how no one knew I was Red Hood for like 3 years right?”
“Shoot! I did.”
“Wait seriously? You forgot Jay’s duffle bag of heads era?” Steph asked incredulously .
“A guy cleans up 12 gangs and no one calls him a gang buster. A guy creates 4 programs to help the citizens of the narrows and no one calls him a community organizer. A guy can spend any number of years working as a gang leader but no one calls him a kingpin. But you deliver one duffle bag full of heads!” Jason throws his hands up in frustration.
“Its really an impactful statement.” Steph commented.
“Kinda hard to forget.” Dick agreed.
“Whatever. Means I win. Y'all suckers ain't got nothing on me.” He leaned back in his chair victorious.
“Wait! Duke hasn't gone!” Steph shouted. “Duke you are the youngest but what do you think is the longest you have kept a secret?”
The man shrugged. “I was in the running with Tim there with my meta powers. Didn't feel like I could tell anyone for a year and a half. Doesn't beat out Jay though.” He gave a mock bow to Jayson before turning to Cass who had been silent this whole time.
“No way Cass keeps any secrets.” Tim said.
“Yea she's the golden child. She has nothing to keep secret.” Steph agreed while patting Cass on the head.
“I thought I was the golden child!” Dick whined.
“No, I'm the only one that calls you that Goldielocks.” Jason chided, Dick stuck his tongue out at him in return. “I agree though. Even if it wasn't a secret to all of us she would definitely tell one of us. Isn't that right?”
Cass gave him the smuggest grin he's ever seen from her. “14”
Jason scrunched his eyebrows. “What days? Wow, that's way longer than I thought. Still not longer than-”
“Years.”
The room froze a hushed “No way.” came from someone, Duke let out a low whistle.
“Hold on, hold on.” Jason pleaded. “You are telling me you have kept a secret from this entire family for longer than you have ever been here?”
She nods.
“Even from me?” Steph’s best puppy eyes were in full effect.
A sly smile pulled at her lips as she nodded to Steph.
“No!” Steph's melodrama seems to be cranked up to 11 today as she drapes herself across Tim. “Betrayed by my favorite Wayne!” Tim gave her a flat look and rolled his eyes.
“Wait so whatever this is you kept it from Babs too?” Dick asked.
“She has no idea.” Cass signed.
The table looked to Bruce. His eyes blown wide, jaw slightly slack. He turned to Alfred who looked at him just as confused and shrugged. He looked back at Cass. “That was a long time before you met me.”
She nodded.
“David?”
“After” she signed. “Between him and you. Secret is from then.”
“Is it… are you safe?” His concern caused his voice to betray him.
She smiled. “Good secret. Safe, good secret. Nothing dangerous, just mine.” She turned to the rest of the table. “That is the point of a secret, to keep it yours.” She smiled a cheshire grin.
Several days later, after the initial shock had worn off she could still feel her siblings poking around. She rolled her eyes, they really should remember which of them is the best at stealth.
Her dance practice had just ended and she made her way back to her changing room. Her process of transition into her everyday clothes was interrupted when she felt a chill run up her spine.
She spun around and was met with her favorite shade of blue. She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a deep kiss only coming up when one of them needed to breathe.
He went to speak but she put a finger on his lips, surprising him. “I told my family I had a secret.” She signed.
Catching her drift he signed back. “Ah, since we are hiding I imagine you didn't tell them everything?”
She shook her head. “No. Just that I had a secret longer than any of them.”
“Oh?” He arched a brow “And what brought that on?”
She huffed. “We were talking about who was the best at keeping secrets out of us all. Damian and Dick were so bad, Steph at least held a secret for half a year but Tim and Duke both kept secrets for more than a year. But Jason was just so smug about how he kept being Red Hood a secret for almost 3 years. I wanted to put him in his place.” Puffing out her cheeks.
His shoulders shook with silent laughter. “So you wanted to win?”
Pouting. “When it came time to get to me they called me the golden child. Like I was incapable of keeping a secret. It was just so infuriating!” She began to pace. “I'm not some perfect daughter. I'm not some bastion who can't tell a lie. It just got on all of my nerves that they thought I couldn't keep a secret from any of them. I just wanted to wipe the stupid grins off their faces.”
He pulled her into a hug for a moment before pulling apart so he could sign. “I find it hard to believe they don’t think you can keep a secret. You know, considering the whole bat thing.”
“No. No, they trust me. It was more of a sense of pride right? Like all of us have tried to pull one over on the rest of us. Either out of embarrassment or because we knew Dad wouldn't approve.”
“Ah, siblings being siblings.”
She nodded.
“Sounds like you succeeded in putting Mr. Duffle Bag Full of Heads in his place?”
“You should have seen their faces.” She beamed. “None of them even believed me at first. It was amazing.”
“Good, I'm glad.” He caught her hands and kissed them, a blush washed over her cheeks.
He paused for a moment. “Do you think you wanna tell them? About me? About us?”
“Do you?” She tilted her head to the side.
He shrugged. “I'm happy sneaking around. Stealing each other when we have the time.” He paused “But it is different if they know. Different from my sisters anyhow.” He rolled his eyes. “They didn't run Bat grade background checks on you. Or interrogate you.”
She gave him a look “Sam and Tuck did both of those things.”
“They do it out of love.” He grinned. “I'm telling Tuck you think his background checks are up to Bat standards. He will be so happy.”
Both of them held on to each other as they tried not to laugh.
Having caught himself back first. “Anyway, I think I would be down for it. Haven't been interrogated in a while and all the background check will pull up will be the Fentons. And I think I'm far enough removed from them for me to explain it without having a breakdown.” She ran her fingers over his shirt where she knew his scars were, her displeasure at the memories making itself known on her face. He took her hand and kissed it. “I am happy, and safe. More so on either of those fronts than I have ever been. I would be honored to have you introduce me to your family.” She smiled. “But are you ready?” She paused.
On one hand it was so nice, not having her life put under a microscope. Being free of having her choices poked at and prodded. Not that her family would do so with any ill intent, but still they would. They are going to think she has been brainwashed, or that he is taking advantage of her somehow. They don’t have to worry about the media either, needing to dodge photographers and journalists, having to schedule press releases and interviews. A shudder ran up her spine.
On the other hand it would mean they can just be. They could walk down the street hand in hand. They could go to diners, to movies, museums and not have to worry about being seen. They could move in together and not need to hide. God she wouldn't need to keep telling people to buzz off when they asked if she was seeing anyone.
She can picture it. Him sitting there with her family. Him trading puns back and forth with Dick. Talking shop with Jay over their love of motorcycles. Him and Tim spending too much time working on projects together. Bonding with Damian over their love of animals. Playing basketball with Duke. Arguing with Steph over bad movies. Him and Bruce discussing superhero matters. Helping Alfred in the kitchen.
She wiped a tear from her eye, “Danny, would you want to come to the Manor for dinner this weekend?”
He smiled, “I would be honored.” He pulled her tight as they held on to each other just a moment longer before they had to part for now.