Meeting Bruce Wayne

"Agreed." Bruce Wayne, the legend himself, appeared at Helena's elbow. He radiated confidence and assurance. He was in a tailored charcoal suit that accentuated his refined presence, his demeanour momentarily softened with a warm smile. "Wayne Enterprises has been opening its own schools lately. Elementary schools, of course."

His voice was lighter than Aaron anticipated. With Batman, there was a growl underneath his words. An aggression, an implication of obedience and intimidation. Bruce Wayne…there was the deepness but it was polite. Controlled.

"Mr. Wayne, thank you for inviting us. It is an honour to be here." Aaron chose to be overly cordial. He was supposed to be an ordinary employee afterall. His composure might have been greatly tight but he still needed to act normal in front of the World's Greatest Detective. He couldn't afford to show a single sign of suspicion.

Admittedly, he was a little star-struck. Bruce Wayne, regardless of his vigilante activities, was a huge celebrity in Gotham. The biggest, the most famous, the talk of the town. Whenever he hosted a party, whenever he was caught up in a controversy, his name would roar from the halls of his workplace to the impoverished streets. To have Gotham's golden child standing in front of him…again, there was a touch of genuine dazzlement.

"The pleasure is mine, Aaron. And please, call me Bruce. I'm glad you and Chloe could join us."

Chloe, shifting slightly in her shoes, looked up at Bruce with a mix of excitement and shyness. Her small voice carried a touch of uncertainty. She must have seen him a thousand times over on TV. It was like meeting a celebrity. Well, technically, he was a celebrity. "Hi, Mr... I mean, Mr. Bruce. Thank you for having us." The Batman seemed impressed by her manners. Aaron was too. "Um, your house is really big."

Bruce chuckled. "It is, isn't it? Welcome to our home."

"That's right~!" Selina attached herself to Bruce, smiling down at Chloe and winking. Luckily for Aaron's personal hormones, she was clothed conservatively, this time in a leopard printed shirt, covered by a leather jacket and complete with ankle-high boots. Casual and stylish. Feline and attractive. That was Selina Kyle for you. "Trust me, there's not a dull moment here."

"Particularly with Selina," Bruce quipped.

"Of course," Selina agreed, looking up at him lovingly. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

The bat and the cat. To see them banter was captivating. The masks might have been off but the playful tension remained. Chloe was all too oblivious to it. So were some of the others, like Damian and Duke.

The animal-obsessed couple excused themselves to check on the cupcakes, maybe to sneak in a bite, taste test, or check for poison. Knowing the bat and the cat, who knew?

"There's some drinks in the back," Helena said. "Alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Care to join me?"

"No, thanks," Aaron replied. "I'm not much of a drinker."

"Suit yourself," Helena said, shrugging. "I'm going for seconds."

She walked off with eagerness in her steps. Not a second after, a scowl arrived dressed sharply in a tailored red suit and accompanied by a taller, older boy sporting a blue casual yet polished ensemble. Duke and Damian. He anticipated this. Damian didn't trust him. He didn't blame him. There was plenty not to trust about Aaron and no one knew it.

"Play nice," Duke warned in advance, already sighing. Damian ignored.

"So. Aaron Reigner has arrived." Damian smirked. "At least you're dressed for the occasion."

"You too. You look great, Damian. The black and red? And the bow tie?" Aaron signalled a thumbs-up. "Good work."

"Hm." A massive, uncontrolling smile spread across his young face. Stroking his ego was the best way to get close to him, just as he predicted. Damian looked himself over, adjusted his little polka dot bow tie, and allowed the big smile to remain. "Perhaps I pegged you wrong, Reigner."

Chloe chimed in with a mischievous grin. "So, Damian, do you always walk around scowling like that? Or is it a special talent?"

Damian's scowl deepened, but a flicker of amusement danced in his eyes. "It's a necessary defence mechanism. Keeps the riff-raff away."

"You know, Damian," Duke said, shaking his head, "sometimes a smile can go a long way. Maybe you should give it a try."

Damian huffed, crossing his arms tighter. "I don't see the point in wasting my time on frivolous pleasantries."

"Frivolous?" Chloe tilted her head, stupefied. "What does that mean…?"

"And in idiots."

Duke face-palmed. "Damian!"

Aaron pursed his lips, holding his tongue. It wouldn't do good to hurl insults at the fifteen year old. Plus, Duke was already reprimanding him for his behaviour. 'Maybe I should take up Wayne's offer and enrol her into a public school…'

An unfamiliar chuckle inserted itself into the conversation. Dick Grayson, garnished in snazzy navy blue and trying to lighten the mood, brought the attention to him. "Well, it seems like we have a perfect balance here. The feisty and the charismatic. But let's not forget, we're all here to celebrate Cassandra's birthday."

Damian's scowl softened, a hint of fondness in his voice. "Yes, the birthday girl. We should make sure it's a memorable day for her."

Aaron glanced around. His heightened senses hadn't picked Cassandra up yet. "When is the birthday girl coming anyway?"

"According to Stephanie…" Dick checked his phone and scrolled past a few messages. "...ten-ish minutes? They're on route."

"Patience then," Damian commented, garnering a lot of skeptical attention. "What? I say patience, that's all."

"Right…" Dick trailed off, meeting everyone's gaze with a transparent message. A giggle escaped Chloe's lips and she slapped a hand to stifle herself. Damian glared at her but did not speak. The conversation continued from there.

"Nice to see you again, Aaron." Dick raised an arm, relaxed, as if greeting an old friend. "You know, Tim was saying you wouldn't show."

Tim was quick to correct him. "I didn't say that. I said you might be late given the manor's location."

"Same difference," Dick replied, shrugging.

"We took a taxi and he seemed to know where to go," Aaron said.

Dick snickered. The joke was lost on Aaron and the sleek young man explained with a sly smirk. "Bruce invites models to come over all the time. Some of the taxi drivers know the route pretty well."

"Oh, I see…"

The atmosphere of a birthday party, even without the birthday girl, began. Damian was six years older than Chloe yet the two conversed like identically immature children. An amusing sight, really. While Dick and Duke supervised them, the remaining adults huddled together. The discussion went from children to schools to the issues with Gotham institutions, all the way to supervillains. Selina in particular had something to say.

"It was funny to hear all the talk about Prometheus," Selina said, already giggling from what she was about to say. "Did you know that I was the one who saved the Justice League from that momma's boy? I cracked my bullwhip at his nuts and he went down, down, down."

"Ooh, yes, I was there," Helena said, sipping on her wine. "Wish I could've done it to him again."

"I doubt he has much in the way of balls after what I did. Sorry~"

Aaron stood between them, hands in his pockets, blinking. 'Looks like they're still searching for Prometheus, huh.' He was dead, unfortunately. To think Aaron of all people would have been the one to end the life of such a crafty, malicious villain. Angel Breaker dealt the killing blow, sure, but it was Aaron who gave the order. In the past two weeks, he wondered if he had gotten too heated, too hateful, and killed him irrationally.

He pushed aside the bubbly emotions of uncertainty in his heart. 'It…it doesn't matter anymore, I suppose. Prometheus is gone. Let's just focus on the party.'

Two new guests arrived shortly after, Kate Kane and Barbara Gordon. The latter needed the help of the former for her wheelchair. Her appearance was welcomed by everyone.

"Pretty much everyone is here," Helena commented. "Except for the birthday girl."

"Two minutes," Bruce said. His gaze sweeped the members of the Bat Family. A silent message was sent. Aaron couldn't begin to decode it and he stood there puzzled.

"Three minutes," Barbara said.

"One," Kate added.

Selina thought for a second before giving her reply. "Eight."

"Are…you guys betting or something?" Aaron asked.

"Yep," Helena answered. "I'm guessing two minutes like the world's greatest detective. How about you, Aaron?"

He pondered the significance of the bet. However, judging by Helena's brief explanation, it was merely a game. He could play. "Three minutes," he said. "How much?"

"A thousand bucks," Helena said, smirking. Aaron blinked twice.

'Rich people…'

"You don't have to join if you want to," Barbara consoled.

"Only if you're afraid of losing," Selina cut in, smirking. "C'mon. Do it."

Aaron sighed. "Fine."

The clock ticked. Everybody looked at their phones. The seconds went by in a flash. Eventually, footsteps arrived. The winner was decided. Unfortunately, the surprise had been done before they could gloat. The lights were turned off. Each of them hid themselves in the kitchen.

"...cupcakes?" Cassandra could be heard muttering. "Also, the kitchen lights off..."

They were inside. Everybody readied their poppers.

"Cupcakes? Do cupcakes even have a smell?" Stephanie asked as she guided her friend deeper into the dark kitchen. She turned and then…

Pop!

"Happy birthday, Cassandra!"

The lights come back on, courtesy of Duke. Magic filled the air. The kitchen was a tapestry of celebration and even the calm, composed Cassandra was taken aback. Several emotions ran through her, eventually settling on a wide smile of joy. It was the kind of smile you only saw once in a lifetime, where a person realized they had made it. All their dreams, all their hopes, all their love–it mattered. It manifested. It was reality.

The party was getting started. The cake was cut, mouths were fed, and frosting traced the shape of their lips. Then came the questions and presents. Cassandra was absolutely enthralled when she saw what Aaron got him. A cookbook. The cookbook that revealed the legendary journey of Aaron Reigner.

"So you're something of a cook," Bruce asked, hovering beside his adopted daughter. "Impressive. Do you do anything else?"

"I did nursing for a while," Aaron replied, "when the industry was hot and trendy. Other than that, I'm skilled at office work."

"Hm." Bruce seemed thoughtful as he stared at him. An inner struggle of sorts. Rather than voice it, Bruce nodded approvingly and said, "Good to hear."

Also, no one was correct about the time of the pair's arrival. Not really. Stephanie and Cassandra came at about two and a half minutes, smackdab between Bruce guess and Barbara and Aaron's guess. Helena had wrongly assumed it was her win since on her timer it was two minutes and twenty-eight seconds, a closer number to her and Bruce's than his. In the end, they decided to have the losers give five hundred to the four pseudo-winners. The money would be transferred to their accounts. Barbara would have it arranged.

Cassandra suddenly took herself elsewhere. The subtle aroma of baked cupcakes wafted through the air and had tempted her senses. She was wowed by beautifully decorated treats before her—rich, moist chocolate cupcakes with creamy swirls of decadent vanilla buttercream frosting.

Aaron stood beside her, smiling. "I promised you, didn't I?"

Cassandra peered over her shoulder and smiled back. She raised a pinkie. "Mhm!"

Cassandra picked up one of the cupcakes and as she bit into it a wave of sheer bliss washed over her. The moist cake melted in her mouth, its flavours exploding with every morsel. The chocolate was rich and velvety, the perfect balance of sweetness and depth.

But it was the frosting that truly stole the show. The silky vanilla buttercream was like a cloud of pure delight, sweet and creamy, with a hint of fragrant vanilla essence. It danced on her taste buds, leaving a trail of pure happiness in its wake. The smooth texture and perfect sweetness of the frosting paired flawlessly with the moist chocolate cake.

"It's amazing…" Cassandra muttered. Dick picked off a cupcake of his own and nodded in agreement.

"Mmm! Yeah, it's great! Hey, Barbara, come check 'em out!"

By the end, everybody had taken one of Aaron's cupcakes. Even Damian had to begrudgingly admit to its addicting taste. Cassandra and Stephanie laughed at the boy's scowl. Selina ruffled his hair.

"Don't take it to heart, kid," Selina told Damian. "Not everyone can be right at every turn."

See, Damian had been trying desperately to find a fault in him. Nothing. Aaron was too normal and kind and Damian was too socially inept to discover a breach in his defences. When Chloe handed Cassandra her birthday card, he could hardly put in a word as hugs and words of appreciation were given left and right. Cassandra loved it. She loved the cupcakes, the cookbook, the birthday card–everything. Already, before the activities began, the now twenty-five year old birthday girl was in high spirits.

There were games, plenty of eating, and so much laughter. The kitchen served as the perfect playground. Spacious yet compact enough to squeeze the high spirits. However, with Chloe's presence came a problem. **** loomed at the back counter and the adults, bar Aaron, Cassandra, and Tim, were aching to pop it open.

A pretty red-haired woman swooped in to take Chloe away. She introduced herself as Carrie Kelley, a hired associate that often swung by at the Wayne Manor. Dick had called her over for her services.

"Don't worry," Damian interjected, "she takes care of my dog, Titus. I'm sure she can take care of your daughter."

"Except Chloe isn't a dog," Aaron shot back.

"Please don't worry," Carrie Kelley said, sending Damian a hard look and greeting Aaron with a smile, "I really am experienced in this kind of thing. I'll take her to the other end of the mansion. The walls are soundproof. It'll be fine. You can come and check up on us anytime."

Damian rolled his eyes. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll be going with her. I have no interest in participating in these alcoholic rituals."

The ninja son of Batman groomed to be the ultimate warrior would be protecting Chloe? "Actually, yeah. That would make me feel better. Thanks, Damian."

So Damian and Chloe left with Carrie, leaving the adults to drink and party. The glint in Kate's eyes was particularly damning. Forget getting drunk, they were about to get wasted. He assumed Cassandra would want to leave or avoid the chaos. Instead, she relished it. Bathed in it. Apparently, this was her first real session of drinking.

"I'm twenty five now," Cassandra mumbled, "I wanna."

Birthday girl wanted it so the birthday girl would get it. In particular, Kate was pushing for her to drink, having once been a party girl herself. There was a unique kind of elation to be had from ****, she said. Bruce Wayne was surprisingly neutral. He claimed to enjoy the taste of **** but that the buzz that came with it would not affect him unless he willed it. Super secret training or something like that. Well, he was Batman.

"By the way," Dick said, as he and Bruce pulled him aside, "you and your daughter can stay at the manor if you like. It's getting dark. Real dark. Better be safe than sorry."

"Oh, no, I wouldn't want to intrude," Aaron responded, a hand raised.

"No worries," Bruce interjected. "Carrier can tuck Chloe in bed, if that's what you're worried about."

"Honestly? Yes, that is what I'm worried about."

Bruce smiled fondly and put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, she'll be fine. I will personally check on her. You can come too, of course."

Aaron nodded, grateful. Staying at the Wayne Manor was on his mind but he never thought it would come true. 'Looks like dreams can come true.'

After checking on Chloe one last time, confirming she was safe and asleep, Aaron and Bruce headed back. In the time they were gone, the party had ramped up. Foams of **** exploded from the precarious hands of Dick Grayson. Selina and Helena cheered him on. Bruce and Aaron exchanged glances. The attention whores were acting up. Dick lived for the moment and as the eldest brother he taught Cassandra how to drink bottles of beer in fancy trickshots. Selina and Helena encouraged this behaviour as they were the same archetype of personality, except physical and sexual rather than vocal and platonic. Touchy and flirty as the music boomed louder and the dance and booze became freer.

Stephanie dragged Aaron to the makeshift dance floor, with Selina doing the same with Bruce. Aaron did not know how to dance. No one had taught him to dance. He was stiff as he mirrored Stephanie's movements. Physically, he had no problems replicating her but socially…? Eh.

Eventually, partners were switched and he was swaying and frisking with Selina.