All of those living in the Manor sat down for dinner, watching with watering mouths as Alfred revealed several dishes with the looks and scents to make ones stomach eat itself. Steaming mashed potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, boiled vegetables, roast beef and a literal JUG of gravy lay on the fittingly large table, begging to be eaten.

Adyn was on the verge of throwing himself over the priceless Victorian furniture just to satisfy his hunger. Though he had only tried a Sunday roast a few times (on Sundays like this) they were becoming his favourite Earth meal.  It was just soooo goooood! Quote unquote.

Before he could begin loading mash on to his plate, Koriand'r and Dick (Adyn knew he preferred that to 'Richard') stood up, halting another fight that was about to break out between Stephanie and Jason: he had tried to argue that pancakes were better than waffles, a dick move by all standards.

At the head of the table, Bruce sat up straighter, resting his elbows on either side of his plate- eager to know what his son and Kori had to say. Of course, he received a largely disapproving look from Alfred: elbows were simply not allowed on the table!

"Get on with it for fuck's sake!", the Redhood growled, staring longingly at the roast- and receiving a harsh reprimand for his language, courtesy of Alfred Pennyworth.

"Loath as I am to agree with Todd, COULD YOU JUST SPEAK ALREADY?! Some of us don't enjoy starving!", Damian sassed, much to the amusement of his closest friend.

Raven watched sceptically as Dick cleared his throat, causing Stephanie to sigh at the amount of time it was taking for him to spit it out.

"Kori and I have some... important news that we feel you need to know.", he said, twiddling his thumbs nervously.

"Indeed, we have withheld this for too lengthy a time.", Kori said, luminous eyes finding a vote of confidence when they met Raven's.

The half-demon had a feeling she knew what they were about to say, but she wouldn't jump to conclusions just yet: it would be better just to wait and see.

Exhaling heavily, Dick decided to rip it like a bandage, confessing, in front of his immediate family and closest friends, "We are engaged."

Tim and Jason fell off their chairs.
Cassie, Raven and Damian's eyebrows had raised significantly.
And the rest were FANGIRLING!

Apart from Bryce Wayne.

He stayed frozen in shock, unable to comprehend that his son, the unruly ex-womaniser, was engaged and to be marr-holy shit! Engaged and to be married?!!!

It was unfathomable!

Yet, it made so much sense.
Kori was the calm to his storm, the muse to an artist, the one thing keeping him in check. Koriand'r balanced his wild character so perfectly, the prospect of them getting married and possibly having children in the future was just... beautiful.

Tear-jerkingly beautiful.

A layer of moisture threatened Bruce's eyes and his pride, but it came nonetheless. He couldn't contain it. Dick had come so far from the gullible orphan desperate for love. He had come so far from the Robin who wanted to be Batman. Come so, so far from the Nightwing that wanted nothing to do with the cowl. Richard Grayson's soul had matured, though his boyish character might not have, and Bruce, as a father, was awestruck.

After receiving numerous congratulations and several slaps on the back, the pair looked to Bruce.

The Batman blinked a few times, still processing what had happened.

A smile found it's way to his lips, growing larger with every moment. Standing up, Bruce walked over to his son and future daughter-in-law.

"Congratulations,", he lay a hand on Dick's shoulder, voice truly as deep and earnest as his current emotion, "both of you."

Dick looked to his father, tears coming to his eyes as he saw them glistening in Bruce's. For the first part of his life, Dick had wanted to become everything that his adoptive father supposedly was. Then he didn't want anything to do with the man. Now...gosh it all moved along to fast.

"We have something else to tell you,", Dick remembered suddenly, grasping Kori's hand firmly.

She nodded, searching Damian and Raven for reassurance, causing them to understand what Kori and Dick were about to reveal.

"I...we,", Kori reemphasised, looking hopefully in to her future father-in-law's eyes, "Are going to..."

She took a deep shuddering breath, as if unable to believe it. Glancing to her fiancé, Koriand'r gripped his hand tighter in solidarity.

"We are going to have a child!"

Stephanie practically tackled Kori, wrapping her arms so tightly around her that Damian was sure he heard the tell-tale crack of a rib cage.

"CONGRATS SIS!", she screeched, still half-strangling Kori, "I'm so happy for you!"

While the others gave their congratulations just as before, Bruce took a step backwards, too stunned for words and expressions.

Alfred was in the same state.

Both had raised Richard from such a young age, and to think that he was going to raise a child of his own... dear Lord!

And...fucking hell-

It was insane.

"I...", Bruce looked to Kori and his son, "I am going to be... a grandfather?"

Kori nodded, watery eyes blurring the face of her future father-in-law. Without warning, Bruce drew the two in to a tight embrace: one shrouded it paternal love and pure happiness.

At such strong emotion, Raven might once have retreated to the confines of her room, but now she embraced it, allowing the soft rays of positivity to shine through her.

Dick and Koriand'r had been there for her after she came to Earth. They gave her a home, a new life. She owed them so much. To say that Raven was happy for them was an understatement. Those two would do anything for each other, Aphrodite herself could not deny that.

At that thought, Raven's eyes flitted to Damian's, meeting for too long. Raven couldn't explain why, but they did. Strangely, this didn't feel like those other times they had looked at one another- there was something deeper in this look, something that made Raven's heart race and made her glad that her complexion didn't allow for blushing.

She was all to aware of the way the light accentuated his sharp cheekbones, and the way that his hair, dark as midnight, was mussed ruggedly, growing a little too long than he had let it be in the past. It wasn't curly or straight or wavy, it lingered in between in the most endearing manner possible.

Then Raven's gaze travelled a little lower, resisting on his lips before she realised what had happened.

Mother of Azarath, what compelled me to stare at Damian like that?

Breaking eye contact, Raven attempted to clear her mind, short locks bouncing as she shook her head. Joining in the celebrations, Raven put food on to her plate- seeing as the others had started doing so.

Joyous though she was, Raven couldn't help a pang of longing from coursing through her.

Hand resting across her lower abdomen, Raven continued eating, finding the consumption of Yorkshire puddings to be a good idea.

To her right, Damian was scowling heavily at Jon, who was attempting to get the Robin to eat meat- despite knowing that Damian was vegetarian.

"Jonathan Samuel Kent, I will not hesitate to drive this fork through your left eyeball."

With that threat, the playful Superboy halted his attempts, knowing that Damian was not lying.

Smirking, Raven looked about the room, surveying the comfortable mood. The first meal here had felt somewhat awkward- but that simply wasn't the case anymore.

December was yet to come, but already the Manor felt like...home.

Cutting in to her meat, Raven resumed her meal.

***A***Week***Later***

"You wished to speak with us.", Damian said to his father, folding his arms.

Bruce nodded his head, "Yes, I did."

Raven was tempted to find Damian's katana to see if she could cut the tension.

"About what exactly?", Damian's tone was much like himself from two years ago, it was jarring to hear.

The relationship had hardly improved between the two since Damian had arrived. They hadn't spoken. Barely a few words had been exchanged between them since Starfire and Nightwing's revelation (despite the fact that Damian had patrolled with his father two nights ago).

Raven was dreading the day when they would finally speak: call it intuition, but she could tell that it would not end well. Azar forbid Damian loose control in a confrontation with his father.

The current Robin stood besides Raven, opposite to Batman. Adyn was placed on the other side of Raven, staring intently at Mr.Wayne, as if attempting to figure out a puzzle.

In front of a plethora of monitoring screens, surrounded by the dark, yet sleek walls of the Batcave, he appeared almost as intimidating as he would have done in the cowl. Well, for Adyn anyway.

Though Mr.Wayne was, by general standards, a highly authoritative figure, Raven had faced Satan himself alongside the most proficient Hellish torture masters of the last thousand years - and felt their years of experience breaking most of the bones in her body- it was safe to say that The Batman wasn't the worse she'd come across.

Adyn just wasn't as unaffected by authority.

Furrowed brows indicating the seriousness of the situation, Bruce answered, "You three have the most knowledge on matters concerning...", he broke off, as if unsure of how to word his thoughts.

"The preternatural?", Raven offered.

He nodded.

All of their attentions were sparked by that. If it were truly a preternatural issue, those three were perhaps the only people Bruce knew who would be able to aid in the matter.

"Preturnatural?", Damian quirked an eyebrow, intrigued.

He nodded again.

"I suspect as much.", Bruce said, expanding, "There have been many reports of attacks and murders in the area,"

Damian interrupted, "This is Gotham, is that meant to be in the least surprising?"

Bruce scowled,justly terrifying Adyn.

"No human or Earth animal would be able to do this form of damage,", before Damian could interject once more he pushed forward, "nor could any alien- the wounds don't match that of any inflicted by non humans."

Face scrunched in thought, Raven looked to Bruce, "Could you describe the state the bodies were in?-pictures would be better."

He picked up a folder from the desk behind him, passing it to her. Flipping open the cover, Raven took out its contents, handing them to Damian.

After flicking through them once, with his face revealing no emotion, he gave to folder to Raven, shooting her a sharp look as it to say 'this is serious'.

Pushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear, Raven shuffled through the pictures, eyes narrowing as she moved from picture to picture. Looking at them over her shoulder, Adyn didn't bother stifling a gasp.

"How have they been allowed to make so much chaos?", the full blooded demon breathed, wide, carmen eyes questioning and concerned.

"What is it?", Bruce demanded, halting Raven's oncoming answer.

His intent gaze was responded to by a something akin to a growl from Damian.

Robin snarled, "The Children Of The Night".

A.N

Hello my lovelies!

So... that happened. Dickory's secret is out! But what are The Children of The Night?

I know there have been speculations about Damian being a 'vampire' but let me remind you, he is a demon by lineage- it will all be explained...

Mwahahahahahaha...

Also, I love seeing your comments and hearing your views. Waking up after an upload and finding reads, votes and comments is truly a blessing- so thanks🙏.

-Bats😘