Prompt: Sick on a road trip

losing it idk why selina is here but i guess she's here now, everyone welcome selina let's hear it for selina

stepmum selina era 

A road trip wasn't Selina's first idea when she thought of how she could get closer to the family but Bruce decided it was the best way forward. He brought up a few good points about it being less intrusive since she wouldn't be in the home they grew up in, they could spend time away from work and focus on getting to know one another as civilians rather than their vigilante lives. She didn't look forward to being crammed in a mini van with people who were split on whether she was playing Bruce or if she was naive enough to think this could work out. The only person she knew would be on her side was Bruce and the only person she knew that would try to make the effort to know her better was Dick. The rest were waiting for it to crash and burn. Still, she agreed to the trip as it was only for a few days and she could always hitchhike herself back to Gotham if things got hairy. 

Upon turning up for the trip expecting a mini van, she welcomed the surprise of finding a top of the range RV. It was truly a house on wheels. Bruce gave her a short tour, showing her the bedroom where they'd be sleeping and the basic amenities. The bedroom was pretty big and it was almost like a Tardis the way things looked bigger on the inside although there seemed to be no feasible way it could be. The sofa pulled out into a bed, the booth in the kitchen area also folded away to make room for a bed then there were two bunk beds behind the driver's seats. 

"I'm seeing four beds but I know how many kids you have, whose coming with us?"

"Dick, Damian, Tim. The others were busy," he responded, lying through his teeth. He was a very good liar, she could give him that, but she knew him well. The others didn't come because they didn't want to. He could have a castle on wheels and they'd still make an excuse. She supposed it was good not everyone was going. Someone had to look after Gotham for the time being. She was relieved that Dick was coming though. At least one person won't be watching her like she'd turn around and stab Bruce in the neck whilst his back was turned. "They'll come around. Give them some time."

"I'm not here to be the evil step mother. I'm not here to be a mother at all. You know that, don't you?"

"I do and I'm not expecting you to be that for them. I just want you to get to know my kids. Parent or not, you're becoming a part of their lives and I'd like for them to see you as Selina Kyle not Catwoman for a bit," he assured her. 

It had occurred to her as they waited for everyone to arrive that they hadn't actually spoken about the parenting side of things. She wasn't mother material, she knew that for sure. She got her maternal fill from taking care of the stray cats and didn't want anymore than that. Each kid came with their own set of issues she couldn't begin to fully understand and quite frankly, they didn't need any more shaky parenting in their lives. She loved Bruce but he hadn't been the best father around. She didn't want to add a shitty mother to the mix. Their relationship until the beginning of the year had been non committal then they slowly moved into something where they didn't say they were single. She supposed she should've brought it up sooner. Definitely before she went on a road trip with the kids. 

Damian arrived first and attempted to claim the bedroom before being ushered to the other beds available. He looked at his options with disdain but ultimately picked a bunk bed, going for the top bunk and putting his backpack there. He gave Selina an icy greeting as he sat in the common area with his sketchbook. She tried to keep some sort of conversation going but he wasn't entertaining her and she didn't want to embarrass herself.

Tim followed after and took the sofa bed since he couldn't sit up in the bunk. He quickly teased Damian for being short and they descended into bickering before he could attempt to give some sort of greeting to Selina. She glanced to Bruce, expecting him to break up the argument but he gave her look that said it would only get worse if he got involved.

Then came Dick. She was desperate for a breath of fresh air and he was ultimately lackluster. He seemed exhausted as though he'd ran from Bludhaven to get here and swallowed a handful of pills whilst Bruce's back was turned. She already didn't like where that was headed. He thankfully broke up the squabble with his younger brothers by telling Tim his phone wouldn't connect to the RV's WiFi which got the teen making a long list of unnecessary upgrades it needed and Damian didn't attempt to restart the fight after being complimented on his drawing. He did insist it was no where near done but a compliment was a compliment. 

"Enjoying the free trial of the next few days?" he asked Selina as he looked over the fridge. He grimaced and grabbed a bottle of water. 

"It'll keep things interesting I guess," she answered. 

"Does nothing for a headache," he muttered. She watched him for a moment, noticing how tense he was. He didn't get tense around her. She lost whatever intimidation she used to have long ago and he saw her as a family friend at this point even before her and Bruce decided to give this a shot. She didn't think it was the prospect of being locked in an enclosed space with his brothers either. He wouldn't admit it but she could tell he got a little kick from being able to break up bickering. Maybe it affirmed his authority or something. No, this was tension she recognized. He was hurt. A headache doesn't break Bat Blocking like that.

"Do you need to go lay down?" He shot her a look, silently screaming at her to keep her voice down. "It'll help pass the time."

"I've got some work to go over."

"Work? I thought this was strictly no hero business."

"Maybe for the kids but not for the legal adult," he pointed out. 

"Why come if you had work?" she asked, meaning to say why he was there if he wasn't well. 

"Gotta have one sane person here, right?" he answered as he gave her a supportive nudge. "They'll come around, you know? None of them give a shit really, they just don't want B to get hurt. I know you won't though. You value your life too much," he added with a smirk.

"You have a no kill rule."

"So the evidence shows," he said cryptically before heading over to Bruce. He was joking she told herself. Then again, he did murder Joker once. Better take it as a warning.

To Bruce's credit, he tried to find places that played into everyone's interests between campsites so they weren't spending entire days in the RV. 

They visited a few museums, both art and science for Tim and Damian. He kept an eye on Selina and playfully told her she'd have a curfew so she didn't steal anything under the cover of night. If she took some overpriced gems from the gift shop, he didn't notice. 

He took them to a few nature reserves so Tim got at least a little vitamin D, they could stretch their legs and Damian could do some life drawing of animals. As much as the family were very much city kids, they still liked their little tastes of nature and were noticeably calmer when they got back on the road after the breaks.

There were plenty of nice restaurants and a few dodgy diner's on the way. On the nights they spent in campsites, Bruce showed them the hidden outdoor kitchen space the RV had and made the typical grilled hot dogs and burgers. They definitely weren't on Alfred's level but you couldn't really fuck them up too bad.

He took Selina shopping when they hit cities and gave the boys some space so they didn't feel forced to spend time together. They'd chat about how they felt the trip was going without the kids around and Selina had to admit she was feeling better than when they first began. She wasn't their favourite person in the world but she had no intention to be. She just wanted to be civil at the very least. She felt particularly proud of the short but sweet conversation she kept with Damian when she saw his small portraits of his cat. He didn't make any backhanded comments so she felt like that was coming leaps and bounds from where they began. 

Ultimately, it seemed like he'd planned this trip in a way that considered everyone. Unfortunately, not everyone was on board with all the activities.

The first day, Dick had been fine. Selina appeared to be the only one who noticed he wasn't alright but she didn't want to burn the bridge by mentioning it. She knew what Dick was like through stories Bruce told. He didn't like to advertise that he was unwell especially if it could ruin previously made plans yet he would say something before it got too bad thanks to the many times he hadn't done so in the past and ended up in hospital. Somehow, she didn't quite believe that he would say something if it got bad. She believed more in the idea that he would say something when it was clear something was wrong. 

The second, he was a little more withdrawn and stayed in the RV more with the excuse of needing to use the WiFi or promising to catch up later when he was ready. Given he wasn't a kid, Bruce had no real way of making him venture out but he expressed to Selina that he'd been a little disappointed that his eldest wasn't making more of an effort. He admitted to counting on Dick to work as a buffer between the younger pair and them. She wondered if she should bring up that he didn't seem well but it didn't feel like her place. After all, Bruce had known Dick since he was nine. If he was sick then Bruce would know. She was going off behaviour she thought was worrying, not behaviour she knew to be bad.

On the third day, Bruce planned a hike with his kids and let Selina know she'd have the RV to herself for a bit. He wanted to talk to them about how they were feeling and if they had any concerns moving forward. She was more than happy to have some alone time but when the time came, Dick bailed out saying it was an opportunity better suited for Tim and Damian since they would actually be living with Selina if she moved in. Bruce was disheartened for a moment but ultimately agreed that it was better that way. They set off in the early morning, leaving the pair behind.

"Do you wanna do something?" she asked.

"Not really," he mumbled. He'd been squinting since he got up despite the low lighting of the RV. You'd think he was in the middle of the desert with the sun beating down on him both with the squinting and the sweat on his brow. He turned his nose up at breakfast and got a water, a behaviour she'd observed a lot over the past few days. He only ate if he knew his family was watching. 

"That's fine, we can just hang out." He gave her a wary smile. "Dick, can we be honest with each other for a second?"

"Sure."

"You're not yourself. I don't know if it's something I can help with but I know there's something going on that you don't want the others to know about." He raised an eyebrow then his face seemed to darken. It was a weird reaction but everyone in the family was weird.

"I'm fine," he gritted out.

"You're not."

"How would you know?"

"Because I'm the owner of two healthy eyeballs and a brain that can put two and two together," she responded. "I won't tell anyone. I'm just worried."

"Why? Just because you're dating B doesn't mean you can play parent," he snapped. "It's none of your business either way."

"So something's definitely wrong because you don't speak to me like that."

"Oh don't I?" She narrowed her gaze.

"You're trying to get me to leave. You can't leave because something is wrong, you want to be alone though. The best way to get me out is to piss me off." He glanced away. "Dick, I'm not trying to intrude and if you need time alone I can give you that. I'm worried. I get we're not close but you're close to the man I care about so by default I care about you too."

"Maybe I don't want to tell someone who I don't really know."

"Then you admit there is something." He rubbed his temples too harshly for it to be actually comforting. Bingo. "You have a headache?"

"Definitely do after this conversation." He sipped at his water. "I get migraines. Happy?"

"Not particularly because you've been off for days. That's a pretty bad migraine."

"Get hit in the head since you're nine and you get migraines," he answered before sighing. "I was gonna cancel but I knew you and B needed the back up and I thought the short breaks would help but I can't sleep because it hurts and it hurts more because I'm sleep deprived." He pressed the heel of his hands into his eyes so hard she thought he might pop an eye out. "I can't hear you guys breathe anymore and your perfume is making me sick and it's on everything and the lights are buzzing and I can hear the clock and," he paused as a pair of headphones were slipped over his ears. It wasn't silent as he could still hear his pulse but that was more comforting than overwhelming. It was steady despite his distress, assuring him that he wasn't dying and that this wasn't something worse. It was just a migraine. 

He brought his hands away from his eyes and after a few blinks, he saw Selina staring at him with an understanding smile. 

"Bruce gets them too," she mouthed. Everyone in the family were pretty good lip readers and he was no exception. She gently hooked her arm around his bicep and brought him to the sofa. The bed had been packed away but the sofa was just as comfortable. She directed him to sit down and close his eyes for the time being.

Something cold and wet touched his face. In any other scenario, he would be freaking out but he knew the texture of a towel and it was nice against his hot damp skin. He leaned into it softly before it was taken away and replaced with a dry towel to dab up the water. Then he felt something soft go over his eyes and secured at the back of his head. After days of agony, his suffering lessened ever so slightly but it was enough to bring some of his sanity back. Hands pushed him back until his head hit a pillow and placed a cool flannel over his forehead. He could finally consider sleeping.

Selina stepped back to admire her work. She could see the tension ooze out of his muscles and eventually his breathing slowed. Being a mother to Bruce's kids definitely wasn't her goal but she could acknowledge she had some natural talent in that area. She grabbed the blanket from Dick's bunk and placed it over him. 

When he felt better, she'd thank him for sticking it out and putting a brave face on for her benefit. She would also tell him never to do it again. It wasn't worth it as sweet of a gesture as it was. She always thought Damian would be her first lecture victim but there was something fitting about her first victim being Bruce's first kid. The first one to give her a shot at becoming part of the family. 

"Get some sleep, Dick," she whispered.