Those in company observed ad the man, whom was now known to all as Emrys, disappeared from view, with the promise of return weighing on the atmosphere.

You never know who's watching.

That's why I reached out the way I did.

Emrys had said, the faint smile on his lips imprinted in to Damian's memory.

I'll be in contact.

With that, he bid farewell, giving leave for Raven to see him out accordingly.

"He will.", Damian assured.

Batman quirked a brow, "He will what?"

The three part-demons shared a knowing look, before Adyn answered, playing with a ringlet.

"Be in touch."

***

"Right,", Bruce cleared his throat, tugging on the sleeves of his pristinely pressed dress short and blazer (some designer brand Pennyworth believed to be acceptable for the Bruce Wayne, billionaire playboy and owner of ...pretty much Gotham), "I need to make an announcement."

A few sniggers -courtesy of Damian, Steph and Dick- broke out.

"No way!", Stephanie gasped? "We all just felt the need to congregate and discuss crochet."

"Yeah, no shit Sherlock.", Dick snorted, forgetting his situation momentarily.

In an attempt to solve the 'problem' he'd made, Dick gallivanted to his fiancé, crocking down to press his head against her stomach.

"Tt. Do not hold me accountable if I regurgitate all over the carpet."

"I sincerely hope not master Damian, else I'll have to remove you from this house. Immediately."

Whilst Raven snickered at Damian's getting told, Dick continued to coo to his and Kori's unborn child about 'dada was just joking, munchkin, swearing is naughty, naughty. But you won't swear, will you munchkin? No you won't! No you won't my little-'

"Dick.", Jaime winced. "STOP."

How early can I entire retirement and live in a care home? Bruce pondered, dreaming of days away from...this...

Nonetheless, he was broken out of his wishful thinking by the only young voice he was keen to hear at the present moment. Bella's.

"Umm... what were you gonna say, da- I mean...uh...", she fumbled, fiddling with the hem of her knitted dress- Kori had seen fit to force Bruce out of the house with the little girl to buy clothes, of course, she didn't really force him, just strongly insist with the powers of a hormonal Tamarinian princess.

Figures.

In possibly the most adorable situation Dick had ever witnessed, Bruce, pushing aside all the Manor's occupants gathered in the living room, knelt in front of the child, both hands steadily at her shoulders. Eyes bluer than the sky twinkling, Bruce gave her a calming, winning smile.

"That's okay, you can call me what ever you feel comfortable with."

"Is 'daddy' okay?", the five year old asked, quiet as a mouse (which is a strange phrase, seeing as squeaking mice are actually quite loud, but meh.)

Richard Grayson was too gooey inside for words to even describe.

"Sure sweetheart, whatever you-"

Bruce's sentimentality was halted by the crashing of wood on wall (the door was slammed open). And through the door pranced the prince of profanities.

"WHAT'S UP FUCKERS?!", he quoted -from vine, duh-, "Guess who just escaped from prison!"

The only sounds to be heard were the slap of hands against foreheads.

Naturally, as soon-to-be parents, Koriand'r and Dick chastised, "LANGUAGE!",

"You just had to come back, didn't you Todd.", Damian exhaled, shoulders slumping in disappointment.

"Aren't you a ray of sunshine,", Jason retorted, "Fucking piece of-"

"Hold that thought, Todd, hold that thought. Though I don't know if your brain would be able to, considering you-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Stop trying to sound like you know shi-"

"Jason, Damian. Cut it out.", Bruce interrupted their banter, fixing sharp glares on both.

The rest, who had been anticipating which of the two would send the first punch, shared a sense of loss at the missed opportunity. Things had seemed a little...boring without the Redhood around to get drunk and say it do something genuinely stupid beyond comprehension: like that one time Jason chugged an entire bottle of tequila and stood on the dining room table belting out a dirty version of 'We Wish You A Merry Christmas' then proceeded to swing from the crystal chandelier performing a mashup of Sia's Chandelier and Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus- it brought Pennyworth to tears...of shame.

A few minutes later, after the intense interrogation of one Jason Dumbass Todd (regarding why he was in prison: breaking in to the off-licence whilst hammered and stealing vodka at four o'clock...in the afternoon, then calling the police 'fucking blueberries') Mr Wayne returned to the initial point of the 'meeting'.

"As you know, it's Christmas in two weeks,", he gestured towards the extravagant evergreen stood in the corner of the room, decorated seemingly overnight by the dapper Mr Pennyworth.

Naturally, a few people began shrieking- *cough*cough*, you know who you are- however, Adyn, the clueless one, stared in bemusement, merely receiving a pointed look from his half-sister saying 'I'll explain later'.

"Yes, quite,", Bruce smiled, "which means that the annual Wayne Christmas Eve party-"

Pure dread filled Damian like tar oozing in to a jar at the prospect of the annual gathering of friends and Gotham's wealthiest. The event was equal parts attempting civility towards snobs as it was a celebration, taking place in Wayne Manor's main ballroom. Men and women, swathed in all the finery fitting of their bank account sizes, spent an entire evening mingling and dancing, kissing the arses of potential business partners and (for many of the women, and some men) attempting to gain the favour of the main man himself, Bruce Wayne.

Pitiful to say in the least: the way some genuine tarts would throw themselves at Damian's father- as if Bruce Wayne would ever conduct himself in such a way.

Nonetheless, 'friends' who attended weren't nearly as unbearable- Clarke Kent and Lois Lane were often in attendance. Regardless, it was tiresome for Damian to have to bear the stress of plastering an amiable smile on his face and stay in the company of Gotham's shallowest walking credit cards.

To have missed the last two or three parties was a clear blessing to the Boy Wonder.

"-is soon. As residents of the Manor, all of you are expected to be present-"

Jon, bless his young soul, raised his hand tentatively, as though in school, only to receive an amused snort from the ever cynical Damian Wayne.

"Uh...Mister Wayne..."

Bruce tried for a smile of reassurance, knowing how Jonathan was with public speaking -Clarke had a habit of talking a lot about his son.

"Do we have to go?", he bit his lip, echoing the thoughts of the resident recluses, Damian and Raven.

Bruce answered in the affirmative, justifying his answer by explaining the speculations running though the press at the 'mysterious Wayne guests' and how their appearance would put an end to the rumours.

Huffing, Raven rubbed her eyes, accepting that there was no way out of this.

"So, the preparations..."

***

"Raven!", Koriand'r called, demolishing an ice-cream, pickle and potato sandwich as she slung a vibrant bag over her shoulders, matching the brightness of Donna's clothed besides her.

"I'm here, what's going on?", Raven frowned, stepping though the kitchen door, closely followed by Damian- both with glistening foreheads due to the rather testing workout they'd just completed in the training room, per their usual schedule.

Around the counter, Kori, Donna, Steph and Cass were congregated, the last of whom looked as though she had been dragged to this...whatever it was, though, after some probing from Stephanie, she 'loosened up'- if Cassandra could ever be described as such. Behind them, the boys -minus Bruce and Alfred- engaged in a little mother's meeting of their own, even Jason, though his eyes continued to dart to the top cabinet above the sink (where he knew a secure supply of whiskey lay).

"There you two are!", Koriand'r beamed, now opening a tub of yogurt and sprinkling ground paprika over it.

In jarring synchronisation, Damian and Raven folded their arms, both raising an eyebrow.

"Tt. Here we are.", Damian drawled.

Raven added, "Mind telling us what's going on?"

Jumping down from where she'd been sat on the counter, Donna enthused, "We are to go shopping and buy dresses!"

The two part-demons shared a sceptical glance before the corner of Damian's lips turned, "Do I look like a drag queen to you?"

Anticipating the scorching comment to come, he hastily said, "Don't answer that.", eyes Raven warily, achieving a small smile- which was more than enough for him.

"No, stupid, we're going shopping for the Christmas Eve party. Duh.", Tim rolled his eyes, looking up at Damian then turning his gaze back to the open laptop in his hands.

It's confirmed, Drake has left Brown for a laptop. Damian internally chuckled.

"Tt. Don't undermine my intellect, Drake, or-"

Ever the peace maker, Dick stepped in before Damian could lunge at Tim with the katana hanging at his side. Clearing the air, The others made a bid to explain the situation to Damian and Raven.

"So what exactly needs to be bought?", Raven frowned, having only ever experienced formal events when in Hel under Trigon's reign.

Stephanie pulled her golden hair over one shoulder, clapping her hands with every syllable, "There. Is. So. Much.", she folded herself on to one of the chairs by the counter, "We've gotta get the dresses- or jumpsuits or whatever- then the shoes, then all the beauty stuff (nail polish, skin care, makeup, razors, wax strips- all that ish)", at the mention of wax strips, most of the males in the room proceeded to shudder, blanching, "Oh, and of course, lingerie!"

Jonathan was the human version of a tomato. That's all that can be said for his reaction.

Alarmed, Raven asked, "Lingerie?!", eyes widening to near circles.

Stephanie grinned menacingly, "Oh yeah, lingerie.", she wiggled her eyebrows, nudging Kori, who was the closest to her.

A few minutes of the most alarmingly suggestive conversation passed, during which the 'adults' discussed the past success they'd had with one-night stands after the party and explained to Damian and Raven that someone might 'catch your eye' and 'get lucky'. During these painstaking minutes, Jonathan and Donna felt largely out of place, having been deemed too young for such endeavours.

On the other hand, Damian fought to keep a smirk from reaching his lips, covering his private humour with a mask of indifference. Similarly, Raven retained an air of nonchalance: the thought of having meaningless sex with a stranger based on pure lust was ludicrous, most certainly whilst standing besides Damian.

***

Raven shut the car door, satisfied by the thud that meant she'd closed it with the right degree of strength (a real stable situation for anyone who's ever stepped out of a car).

In this case, the car was a sleek, matte black model, capable of fitting a large number of people, despite its slender design. One of many in Mr Wayne's plethora of cars.

In the parking space besides the flashy car, another car sat, its doors opening to reveal the boys, who proceeded to tumble on to the floor in a heap, with no care for decorum.

"Ya Rabi dakheelak!", Damian groaned under the weight of his three brothers, Adyn, and the other two male Titans (whilst Jason couldn't attend the party as was supposed to be dead, that didn't mean he couldn't disguise himself to go out in public, but only because Bruce had given Alfred the afternoon off and didn't trust Jason by himself).

Overlooking the scene, the girls, plus Bella, who'd come with them to pick out her own outfit, engaged in light conversation about the stupidity of some people.

Fed up with the commotion, Cassandra  led the way in to the mall.

A.N:

Hello my lovelies!

I really hope you're not mad at the updating schedule, and I know I said I'd update more, but I've had a lot of extracurricular going on this week, so I'm sorry.

Aaaanyway... WE'RE ALMOST PAST 20K!!!! This is so unbelievably magical and I'm honestly getting so emotional, the state I'm in is tRAgiC!

Since the start of this story, I've often signposted where we are with reads, comments and votes, it allows me to reflect on how far this book has come, I mean, I remember being ecstatic about getting 29 reads in the first chapter- now it has almost two thousand!

This is phenomenal and I know I keep on thanking you guys for every comment and at the end of every chapter, but I mean it. Thank you.

In truth, writing this book and reading your comments brought me out of a truly dark stage in my life. It sounds insane, but doing this is dragging me out of the depression that was consuming me when I was first writing.

It's genuinely because of you guys that I haven't harmed or fallen in to that desperate state in so many months.

I know this is quite personal, and many of you won't read it, but I just want you all to know how much I appreciate you, because when I reply to most comments saying 'thanks darling😊' as I said before, I mean it. Truly.

Thank you

-Bats:3