December 1st

Hearing the roar of the Batmobile echo through the surprisingly quiet night, Phantom pushed the proverbial pedal to the metal as he gave it his all to beat the tank on wheels in their little race. Flighting straight through buildings, ignoring bends and turns in the road, it felt a lot smoother than the first time he raced Robin through the streets. Now the pair of them were working together to win.

Phasing through the cave walls, they wooped gleefully as the Batmobile came to a stop next to them a few seconds later. "Ooh, looks like your years are catching up to you, old...man?" Dick's smug gloating turned to confusion as the cockpit opened to reveal only Selina inside. Blinking hard he looked around, finding Bruce sans cowl lounging in the Batcomputer chair with a half-finished cup of tea. Mouth agape, he looked around to find how Bruce had managed to be faster than a literal ghost. From the corner of his eye he could see the Zeta being active, his cheeks puffed out as he realized. "You, you cheated!"

Bruce's smirk only deepened at the look of betrayal on his boys' faces. "Did I now? I don't remember setting any rules on how to get home, only having to be the first to do so." He soaked in the chaos brought from outplaying them. Even using Selina in the Batmobile to distract them from the fact they had just fixed the zetas. It wasn't easy, but it had to be done.

He let them work out whatever excess energy they had, soaking up their post-patrol smoothie before sobering up. "Boys," he called out to them, "we need to talk about something." He breathed out hard, trying to still his racing heart as he found it near impossible to look them in the eye.

"Bruce," Selina warned, eyes narrowing. "Let them rest up first." Her interjection did nothing but add to the unease on the man's face.

The feeling was mutual as both boys' breaths found itself stuck in their throats. The unusually pressed tone of Bruce's voice raising more flags as he turned from them. Danny stepped forward, just enough to try to block Dick from whatever was coming. He had his suspicions. It would be foolish not to with everything they already went through.

It wouldn't be the first time an adult lied, or went back on promises after all.

Thinking everything would be just fine and dandy when a good chunk of the League was still breathing down Bruce's neck was idiotic. The team barely worked together as it should have. Both from the lack of trust and lack of respecting boundaries and seniority. But what else would they have expected when throwing a bunch of teens in a group without giving them any guidelines to follow.

But even without that, he remained prepared for the day this fairytale life would come crumbling down.

No matter how you'd twist and turn it, he was still nothing more than a Belle Rêve escapee. An ex-con. Death followed him wherever he went, be it the loss of life or friendships that crumbled to dust. He was a bad omen if such a thing even existed.

It didn't help that Dick wasn't even trying to hide the worry oozing out. His heart crumbling at the sight he swore to prevent. So much for an older brother he was. One of them had to be strong, had to take the brunt, and he would not let Dick be hurt by his lingering presence in his life if that's what it took. He made his peace with it ages ago, his borrowed time running out as they waited for the man before them to find his words.

No matter, he would not break, would not back down. He had to stay strong for Dick.

"Listen," Bruce finally managed to force out, his face twisting as if getting stabbed between the ribs would have been a more pleasant experience. "I know, I mean, I understand that a lot of things have happened recently and that maybe taking a break would be more applicable." Turning on the chair, he faced the Batcomputer. Leather creaking under his weight as he leaned forward.

The glare Selina sent him was only fueling the thoughts swirling as Bruce went on. "But sometimes we have to do hard things and push on even when it doesn't feel like it's the right thing to do." Bruce stood with a sigh. Turning back to the boys, he walked forward with his hands clasped behind his back.

Danny pulled Dick closer to him, hiding him behind his back as he squinted at Bruce. Forcing air into his lungs, he puffed out as much as he could. With his shoulders squared, he didn't move away when Bruce got closer.

"I can't turn back time, make any issues go away or change anybody's mind. I can't replace what already exists..." The man trailed off, bringing up memories of all the times the League held Danny's past against him. How they tried to discredit Dick for taking after Bruce in their coping mechanisms. The more he talked the clearer it became that their time here was up. Any moment now, those devastating words would hit and their carefully crafted house of cards will come tumbling down.

Selina's glare could have been lethal had she developed laser vision. Bruises undoubtably forming from how hard she was gripping her arm as Bruce fumbled with the stack of papers behind his back. "I- look I-I know I should have done this a long time ago but," he held out papers for each of them to hold.

Danny didn't move. Didn't even soften his scrunched glare as he tried so hard to read Bruce's face. Every wrinkle and ripple in his skin, every mark long since healed but leaving traces if you knew where to look. Dark cobalt eyes hiding what he was thinking as not a single one of the usual clues helped him figure out what was going on. The man before him was an utter mystery, one Danny trusted even less than had he been able to understand what the little twitch under the man's eye meant.

Dick, on the other hand, struggled to trust any of this either. He had known Bruce for longer, gotten used to his way of conducting himself. But ever since Selina started hanging out here a lot more permanently he had started losing his grip on being able to read Bruce. The changes, for the better or for worse, affecting how he understood the man who now stood before them with a plea hiding behind dark circles.

Hesitantly, Dick reached a hand passed his brother. Pulling back when he felt a wave of coldness brush past him, he reached out again to grab the papers Bruce held out for them. Steadying his arm against Danny's, Dick's eyes scanned the papers as his brain failed to understand any of what he was holding. "Bruce, what...?" He couldn't even conjure up a full sentence to ask all that was confusing him.

Bruce tried to look them in the eye, but they quickly found a new spot to focus on as he rigidly stood before the two as if his soul was up for judgement. "I know I can't replace them, and-and I don't want to, they were your parents. I even had judge Turnball make sure it was an addition and not a replacement, why that was even a think I can't tell you but I made sure to fix that-"

"Bruce." Dick cut him off, still trying to make sense of what was in his hands. Bruce's ramblings did nothing to help slow down his racing thoughts. He felt Danny turn around, the icy cold air surrounding him ebbing and flowing as he peeked at the papers. Just as his brother, confusion flooded his mind even more as he quickly scanned through the small stack. Mouthing a small 'what' his eyes ticked between the papers and the man offering them.

"I can still change things if they're not good, you don't have to-"

"Bruce, shut up." Dick held up his hand to stop another ramble before it could properly take off. Eyes locked in on the multiple forms, he crouched down to the ground before he lost his ability to make that choice. Spreading every form out around them, it helped only a little to form a better picture. Having them fanned out helped build a trail, but the path was still hidden behind bushes.

A form to declare Danny no longer missing. That one made sense, somewhat. A simple 'hi hello I live' to a cop likely would not suffice, especially not after over a year of being on the missing person's list. It was already signed off by Commissioner Gordon, only leaving Danny's signature spot blank. How Bruce had managed to get that was beyond any of them, but it mattered very little in the grand scheme of things.

A name change form, specifically for Danny. To undo what the Fentons had, understandably so, done when they legally adopted him. Again, it made sense, but only to an extend.

Double name change forms, one for each of them. Not only resurrecting Danny's Grayson name, but hyphenating both of them with Wayne. What little sense the others made, this one just threw out the window.

And finally, what had stumped them the most. Official adoption forms for the both of them.

It took an embarrassingly long time for Danny to finally pick up the broken pieces that were his scattered thoughts. He had barely registered Bruce and Selina coming to sit on the floor with them until he looked up only to find an empty space where they used to stand. "Why?" Was all he managed to get out as the rings finally passed over him. Dick following suit, only able to take off his mask.

Bruce looked over the forms. Eyes tracing each as he explained. "I wanted to, years ago, but they wouldn't let me take both of you. By the time I managed to prove being capable of caring for Dick, your adoption with the Fentons had already gone through." He sighed deep, shoulders sagging as long held tensions finally escaped. "I know what I'm asking for is a lot, it's why I added the other basic forms in case..."

"In case we said no?"

"Which I would understand, should that be the case." Bruce quickly added, fidgeting with the corner of Danny's name change form. "It would be a legal thing, mostly. Some things have to be done in order to get Danny officially signed into Gotham Academy, but the others...It would mostly just be beneficial to legally be considered a family unit, have the both of you legally recognized as family again."

"So the hyphenation has nothing to do with any of that?" Dick tried to smirk, but it came out as more of a grimace. "Not that I mind, of course, it's just-"

"Why?" Danny timidly asked again, voice barely audible as his hands traced over the lettering on the adoption form. "Why now, why not just distance yourself until the whole League stuff is dealt with first? They didn't look all too happy after that meeting the other day..."

"You were watching?"

"Just the outside." Dick reassured, his own mind working mostly on autopilot as he looked over his own name change form. "We were just keeping an eye on how long you'd be gone for, ended up watching the League leave looking like they had deepthroated a lemon."

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose. Of course they had kept an eye on that. He'd expect nothing less of his boys. Well, hopefully soon to be legally his boys. "What the League thinks is their own problem. I disregarded their suggestions about benching Robin until you were more 'mature' 6 years ago, I will disregard their suggestions about Phantom now as well." Bruce's eyes darkened for a moment, the memories of being chastised for being the first to have a child hero by his side momentarily spoiling his mood.

"But," Danny breathed out, "I escaped, I'm a criminal on the run, why would you invite somebody like that into your life?" The moment the words left his mouth, Danny shrank in on himself remembering Selina was sitting right across from him and in not much of a dissimilar situation as him. The main difference being that she was just a petty criminal rather than a meta-prison escapee.

"Danny," Bruce carefully reached out across the forms-barrier, "if I was even considering doing that, you wouldn't have gone to test for the Academy." Danny blinked hard, only now remembering he had in fact done that.

That...did change some things.

Danny looked over to Dick, unsure of how to proceed as he was feeling his mind float around without a tether. His brother seemed to be taking all of this a lot better. The tremor in his hands had stopped, the scrunch in his brow remained but not for the same reason anymore.

Danny had gone through this talk before, albeit a lot less voluntary as this one seemed to be. He, honestly speaking, felt no great pull to either option. At minimum he'll get to be himself again, truly himself as his parents had wished for him to be. A Grayson. Another round of adoption was a lot less intimidating the second time around, other than the fact it was a two for one deal this time around.

It would be a lie to say he didn't want it. Want to be part of a family and have that security. But at the same time, he couldn't trust what the future had in store for him.

But for Dick? He had no idea how long, if at all, his brother had been waiting for this day. For them to be a proper family again, the two remaining Graysons back in the same family unit like they were supposed to be. Some semblance of their old life being given back after it was taken from them so long ago. For it to be Bruce who offered it, knowing the legal change between ward and legal heir would stir some Gotham Elite feathers, it meant more than he could put to words.

With bright blue eyes he looked over to Danny. Finding those same blues already looking over to him, waiting for him, Dick couldn't help but frown. This was a big decision, not one to just be shrugged away. Yet here Danny was, doing just that. Leaving the final say in Dick's court. Looking over all the paperwork, his eyes slowly lifted up back to Bruce. "When?"

Bruce tried to hide his shuddering breath, held together by Selina squeezing his hand. "There is no timeframe for this. We can get it started in the morning when the courts open, or in a few months, which ever you prefer."

"You don't have to answer now, either." Selina added on, giving Bruce's hand another reassuring squeeze as the man's usual composed demeanor fell to ruins the moment he opened his mouth.

Before Dick could even say anything about that, Danny beat him to it. "The paperwork." He started of cautiously, the faint hopeful tremor hiding as he looked over the adoption forms once more. "It has your name too. I thought unmarried people couldn't adopt."

The look between Selina and Bruce set off a whole 'nother set of nerves. "Don't worry about that little detail too much." She quickly tried to ease the growing tension. "That isn't for any time soon, but with a few extra hoops, we can get this sorted without doing all of that first."

"There would be separate forms for her to be accepted first, but these would go through if that is alright with the two of you?" Bruce finally managed to get through a sentence without kickstarting a ramble or some uncharacteristically harsh stress response.

Dick felt bad, making him wait for an answer for so long when he clearly put a lot of thought into it. To have this all prepared must have taken quite a while, especially given how unwelcoming Gotham had been to the idea years ago. And not only that, but it was putting a whole different level of trust on Selina as well. Though, worst comes to worst, she would still be the one he would turn to if Bruce wasn't an option. Legal recognition or not, she had long since taken on the role just like Bruce had.

Looking over to his brother again, Dick looked for any sense of hesitation on Danny's face. If there was any, he had it hidden away quite well. The choice was wholly his to make.

Turning back to the two adults, he carefully looked between the two of them. Any sign of them wanting to back out, having changed their mind, completely and utterly missing. The only thing he could find was worry and acceptance. He couldn't help but smile at the thought he was the reason The Batman's stoic façade laid crumbled on the floor.

"Yes."

It was a simple answer. A one word response that held more meaning than any explanation could cover.

Not a single soul in that cave would admit to any tear shedding having happened, but none would deny Alfred walked into a heartwarming sight. Cuddled into each other, the four of them turned their heads to welcome the old friend. "It seems I arrived at the right moment." The man remarked as he held out two cupcakes with a single lit candle adorning them. Shiro and Nanaki flanking the man as Cujo trialed behind with napkins.

Danny looked up confusedly. "You planned this?"

"Happy birthday, boys." Bruce congratulated them as the echo of the grandfather clock made its way down. Squeezed together once more for good measure, he finally let go of his boys. And how good it felt to be able to say his boys now that he knew it wasn't just him.

Presented with one red and one green cupcake, they each gravitated towards their representative color. Linking their arms, it was hard to contain the giggles before they finally managed to stay calm long enough to make their wish and blow out the candle.

It felt a little crude to cut their moment short, but with it already being past midnight, their hours of rest were shrinking by the minute before they would be heading out to start the process.

Well, that was with the hope of any rest being achieved in the first place. With the high energy buzzing in the Cave, rising up into the manor, it was a miracle if they managed any genuine sleep at all. Before too long, they were already getting ready to leave, documents in hand, when a call made them pause.

"Hey dude," Wally's voice cracked to life, nervous but rustling about. "What do you want me to bring for later? I already raided the local stores for their chicken whizees and made sure the bakery next to Uncle Barry's place had those kitchen sink cookies you like at the ready." A series of small crashes echoed over before they heard Wally again. Muttering through the motions of checking his pockets, they heard him close the door behind him and lock it.

Dick cursed under his breath, earing a displeased look from Alfred and a chuckle from Danny at the string of filth that left his mouth. "Shoot, that's today." He muttered to himself, dragging a hand across his face.

"Well, duh," Wally paused, cautiously laughing through the unease. "It's your birthday. We always hang out and you were there for mine so I thought we were still on for yours."

The hope in Wally's voice made Dick want to throw up. "No, no, we are. It's just...ah, I have something to do today, like really last minute. I'm sorry man, I forgot to let you know." Rubbing the back of his neck, fingers twirled in the baby hairs curling up. "Can we reschedule? I think tomorrow..." Dick looked over to Alfred and Selina, both already checking to make sure he wasn't forgetting more stuff. "Yeah, tomorrow at Selina's should work. If that's okay?"

Dick listened carefully for an answer, the traffic coming over from Wally's side loud enough to risk drowning out his answer. "Wally?" He tried carefully, eyes glued to the counter to not get distracted.

"It's because of him, isn't it?" Dick sighed at the unspoken accusation. He knew it didn't look good, hell it didn't feel good either. But he couldn't just put a pause on this when he already agreed to get it started today. He wanted to offer tonight already, cut their plans a little shorter to still spend the day of with his best friend, but Wally made the choice for him already. "Whatever. Have fun with that."

The disconnection tone filled the silent kitchen. Danny's face filled with guilt over something he had no actual part in. Dick waved him off, trying to put on a smile as he packed his snacks for the trip. "Don't worry, it's fine. My fault really for not telling him sooner. Now come on, we have a judge to see." Though it didn't sit right, Danny couldn't do much but let it go for now.

It's not like Dick didn't feel like a trash friend either. The cancellation of their best-friend-tradition cutting a little deeper than he thought. It didn't help that he already knew Roy wouldn't be attending this year's hangout, but now also not spending some time with Wally felt...odd. And not in the good way.

The drive over to Gotham wasn't much better, but for other reasons. Going over the plan multiple times, they made sure everybody knew what to do. Danny and Selina would get out first, a block or two away from the courthouse and make their way over as inconspicuous as possible.

Bruce, Alfred and Dick would make a pitstop at the GCPD to hand in the no-longer-missing-persons-form before going to the VIP parking spots and go in as a group. It was a bit tricky, making sure no surprises were waiting for them. But having their little Mockingjay relay the biggest problem causers' locations was already a big help in the plan.

Despite the worry and potential for something to go wrong, they all made it inside and at judge Turnball's office without any uproar.

Well, that was until the judge started asking questions. Questions they had prepared for, but still worried over nonetheless. Though that worry evaporated just as quickly when judge Turnball mixed up the two boys. "Well...I guess that does it." He tried to joke while apologizing for the mistake. Their uncanny resemblance really working wonders, along with the little bonus Bruce had prepared for the expedited, and covert, service.

Look, while he was all for fighting corruption, one really couldn't blame the man for taking advantage of a few minor things here and there. And his boys, oh did that feel good to say, were worth mudding his morals for.

Plus, with that now out of the way, they were also able to send the go-ahead to Lucius to start preparing the W.E. announcement for a change in heirs. While he technically had nearly a month to prepare, timing it for right before school would start once more to minimize the chaos of Danny suddenly attending Gotham Academy, the man was just as keen to plan ahead as Bruce was.

Picking up some snacks along the way, they prepared for a family day when Gotham Academy called with Danny's results. As if their day couldn't get any better, they now got to also celebrate Danny testing into the same grade as Dick. Managing to snag a spot in the honors program as well, they made a note to go through all the classes he could choose, and could take together with Dick, come January for another time.

As good as the news was, today was a strict family day. No school talk allowed.

The rest of the day was reserved for family time, silly movies and copious amounts of food Alfred would usually frown at. Had they not been sure Clockwork was easing them out of the time bubble, they would have blamed the man for making time feel so wonky. Night came all too soon, their watch history being the only proof of time having moved relatively normally.

Of course, the rare skipped patrol wouldn't be too odd for such an occasion. Too comfortable in the nest they had made, they enjoyed the peaceful time together. Even Alfred laid comfortable in his recliner with Cujo on his lap. "I do hope you enjoyed today, young masters." He mused, hand rhythmically petting Cujo to sleep.

"Couldn't have been better."

"Weeeeelllll....."

Sharing a look, their signature chaos smirk quickly crawled up their faces. Turning to Bruce, they not so carefully climbed up the man's chest with their elbows only semi-accidentally stabbing him between the ribs. Doing their best puppy look, they tried to counter Bruce's amused raised eyebrow. "Come on, spit it out."

Giggling at being so easy to read for once, Dick fidgeted with his fingers. "Well, since you were able to fix Danny's ID so easily."

"And clearly already having experience with creating new ID's to begin with." Danny added on, their grin only widening to something nearly unnatural. Of course they, too, had planned this. Independently of Bruce's whole shtick, of course, but if the shoe fit. "We were thinking..."

Dick prodded Bruce's bicep, forgoing messing with this own fingers for the more squishable muscle right at his disposal. "Maybe, if you could make a new one for Conner?" Bruce opened his mouth to object, only to get swatted by Dick's much to fast hand. "No, listen. Clark isn't going to change his mind. It's only a matter of time before he finds out what they convinced Conner to name himself before all hell breaks loose and we get round 2 of angry Kryptonian."

"You can't blame him either." Danny quickly added, pulling Dick's hand away from Bruce's mouth. "He doesn't know, J'onn and Tornado were the ones who suggested it in good faith. But who knows when that good faith will run out when Supercun-"

"Careful, young master. It may be your birthday but I will not make an exception for such language." Alfred's eyes were still cozily closed, not even turned to them as he relaxed.

Danny sheepishly rushed out an apology before turning back to Bruce. "Even if it isn't for here, having a new identity on standby might not be that bad of an idea." He wasn't even wrong, which made it even harder.

On one hand, giving up on Clark felt...Bruce didn't know how to feel about it. It didn't feel good, that was for sure.

But then again, giving up on Conner and his right to a healthy social life outside of the hero community, with nobody breathing down his neck for where his DNA came from, felt just as bad.

Holding his boys close, he gave them a good squeeze before letting them roll back into their spots from before. "I'll think about it." He promised, sending them to sleep with a warm heart and hope for the future.

A/N sorry about being so inconstistent this month everybody. who knew my father and uncle would kick the bucket literally a month apart? not me thats for sure