even

you barely managed to hold back your laughter before the door finally swung open, revealing your boyfriend who stood there panting heavily, his dark hair is disheveled and cheeks flushed from exertion.

hanging off his back like an angry koala was oliver, the purple-skinned boy wrapped around him with all four limbs, tiny fingers hooked tightly into mark’s shirt as he desperately tried to drag his older brother away from the entrance.

"don’t let them in!" oliver grunted, straining with all his might. voice cracking slightly in those childish high pitched tone, "they’re here for me!"

"last time i checked, they are literally MY partner," mark snapped, trying to pry oliver off his back.

"but you hog them all the time! it's not fair!" the little boy grunted louder as he tries to push mark away harder.

"i’m supposed to hog them! i’m dating them!"

you snorted, stepping inside while the two continued wrestling in the doorway and oliver immediately perked up the second he saw you.

"i found a new roblox horror game!" he announced excitedly, "you promised you'd play with me!"

mark stared at him in disbelief, did his little brother seriously wanted to kidnap you just to play some roblox game?? "you already played with them for HOURS last week!"

oliver stuck out his tongue at his older brother. "and? friends hang out all the times!"

"friends don’t steal someone's time with their boyfriend every single visit!"

"ever heard the saying of friends before ho-"

"what was that?"

"nothing, mom!" oliver and mark simultaneously yelled with a panicked tone the second they heard debbie's warning tone.

mark wrapped an arm possessively around your waist before oliver could latch onto you instead, shooting his little brother a victorious grin.

oliver responded by clinging to your sleeve with all the determination of a child denied candy.

"see?" mark complained to you, pursing his lips with furrowed eyebrows akin to a kicked puppy that made oliver's face contorted into a disgusted expression— "this is what i deal with every day."

"you’re just jealous because they like me more," oliver shot back smugly.

"I WILL THROW YOU INTO THE SUN."

"no superpowers!"

"mom!" mark shouted. "can i atleast throw a chair at him? you know that he can tank it-"

"no property damage before dinner!" debbie yelled from somewhere deeper in the house.

while the brothers continued bickering, you quietly slipped away, already knowing exactly where to find debbie.

the warm scent of vanilla and cinnamon guided you into the kitchen.

debbie stood by the counter pulling a tray of cookies from the oven, humming softly to herself. the entire kitchen felt warm and lived-in, golden evening sunlight pouring through the windows while the radio played quietly in the background.

the moment she noticed you, her face brightened instantly.

"there you are, sweetheart," she said warmly. "ignore those two gremlins. come help me taste test these."

you happily accepted the cookie she offered, still warm enough to melt against your tongue.

"oh, before i forget," debbie started, already reaching for her phone. "i bought that moisturizer i told you about."

that was the beginning of the end, and by the time mark and oliver finally stumbled into the kitchen—still arguing and slightly out of breath—they froze in horror.

you were seated comfortably beside debbie at the kitchen island, completely absorbed in conversation while she enthusiastically scrolled through skincare products on her phone.

"and then you use the serum before the night cream,” debbie explained seriously. you nodded with equal seriousness while munching on the cookies she prepared.

mark’s shoulders slumped instantly and oliver looked equally devastated as both boys exchanged the same miserable expression of defeat.

because once debbie started talking about skincare routines, absolutely nobody could pull you away from her.

"traitor," mark muttered under his breath making you glanced over innocently. "hm?" he sighed dramatically before shuffling over and collapsing against your shoulder anyway, arms wrapping around your waist while oliver climbed onto the stool beside you with a pout.

neither of them will get your full attention anymore.

"so…" the woman that sat across from you in the sitting room called out your name softly, she had a professional smile on her face as she darted her eyes between you and your caretaker who sat beside you.

"i see you're adjusting rather well here."

her tone remained smooth and lighthearted, but you could hear the subtle underlying tone beneath her words as she glanced toward bruce.

you quickly learned this wasn't ms. lyn's first rodeo in the whole 'bachelor guardian bruce wayne.' thing, she'd apparently monitored dick too after bruce first took him in not long ago.

you nodded mechanically, you really appreciated ms. lyn's genuine concern of your well being under bruce's care, but it really didn't do any better to help your growing anxiety over constantly feeling observed and evaluated.

"good. seems like you've finally improved your parenting skills, bruce." she raised an amused eyebrow. "or maybe they're simply more well-behaved than dick." ms. lyn raised a questioning eyebrow at your caretaker but there's no malice in her words as she wrote something on her little notepad.

bruce laughed immediately, the same polished laugh he used in interviews and press conferences. ‘a typical rich people laugh.'

"well don't let dick heard that, but they've been very well behaved ever since they stepped a foot into the manor"

ms. lyn hummed, rather contently this time- even though you sensed traces of distrust lingering beneath her calm demeanor. but still— she seemed content enough for today.

and you weren't planning to tell her about dick's unwelcoming attitude toward you, nor about bruce's frequent absences. because truthfully, dick hadn't done anything to you other than avoiding you completely and you were usually too busy drowning in homework, therapy sessions, exhaustion, or endless sleep to even process the loneliness settling inside your chest.

it felt awkward standing beside bruce outside the manor's grand oak doors as the two of you watched ms. lyn's car drove down the long driveway before disappearing from your sight completely. you shifted your weight nervously from one to other, picking nails absentmindedly before bruce's called out your name.

"... have you eaten yet? i'm sorry i couldn't be there for breakfast… and lunch" he said with a genuine guilt that made you shrink even further. he had gone early to the enterprise before breakfast so you just simply shake your head.

"no, that's okay, i know you're busy, i woke up late anyways"

which was true. ever since the incident, your sleep has become unpredictable. sometimes your brain simply… shut down, either you will sleep for hours on end or you couldn't sleep at all because of nightmares… a rather violent ones.

even now— you still can remember the tangy scent coating the air and vivid color of blood splattered across the floors and walls.

the deafening screams ringing endlessly in your ears as you desperately cover your mouth to stop your own sobs from escaping as you watch your friends and family get brutally massacred right in front of your eyes.

the heavy set of footsteps haunted you as it stopped right in front of your hiding place, you could feel them staring dagger on the little closet you hid making your heart drop to your stomach.

your ears are ringing loudly as the closet ripped open and a rough hand shoot to grab you out—

and everything went dark.

you jolted awake to the loud chime of the grandfather clock echoing through the hallway outside your room, what time is it?

you check the alarm on your nightstand, the digital number of 00:00 am greeted your bloodshot eyes, it's midnight already— ms. lyn's visit was three in the afternoon, which means you had passed out right in front of the manor. how embarrassing, bruce probably carried you all the way here himself.

it was after 3 days of living under the wayne's manor, you had passed out too many times on awkward hours, alfred suggested bruce to get you checked out.

that was when doctors diagnosed you with narcolepsy.

it was likely triggered by a head injury you suffered during the massacre, bruce didn't dare to questioned what happened that night so instead, the doctors recommended continued therapy.

you sighed and got up from the bed with a grumbling stomach, you hadn't eaten anything since lunch, and dinner had long passed by now.

you took a weak attempt on standing up, black dots clouding your vision before you took a deep breath and stood up, reaching for the door.

the clock is wrong, you stared at the grandfather clock standing in front of you.

10:47 pm.

but it was way past midnight, and you already got your fill for dinner a few moments ago, thankfully alfred was still in the kitchen washing the dishes, he quickly reheated dinner for you as soon as you entered the kitchen.

now you're on your way back to the bedroom before the grandfather clock took your attention away.

there were several grandfather clocks throughout wayne manor but this particular one always felt… wrong.

something eerie about it and you can't explain what or why, the first time you noticed it was when alfred escorted you to your room during your first night here.

the clock hands had never moved since then.

a soft cough startled you from your thoughts. you turned sharply, only to find alfred approaching down the hallways as he calls out your name softly.

"... what are you doing?" he asked politely, yet there's something nagging at the back of your head with the way alfred behaved.

his posture is still straight, facial expression is soft yet professional but you caught the brief flicker of his gaze to the grandfather clock, precisely— towards its unmoving hands -before quickly flicking back at you.

"alfred…" you began carefully, watching his expression closely. "is this clock broken?"

there's a pause that made your heart thump, ‘did you say something wrong?'

"yes, this clock is rather old, it was already fixed so many times and master bruce decided to just let it rest" he answered smoothly as you nodded, so the clock was something antique then, maybe something sentimental judging by the butler's reaction.

"you should be asleep now, master…" alfred said your name gently, though there was a quiet firmness beneath it and you can tell he was being genuine this time, "as your doctor instructed, staying awake at night won't help your narcolepsy."

you smiled and nodded, "okay alfred, thank you for the dinner"

"anytime, would you like me to escort you back to your room?"

"no need alfred, thank you" you bid him goodnight before walking back towards your room.

you purposely slowed down, listening closely to any footsteps behind you, but there was none— you can only hear your footsteps echoing through the hallways.

you reached your room, stepped inside quietly, and locked the door behind you, then you paused. from underneath the crack of your doorway—

you could still see alfred standing there motionless.

he hadn't moved at all.

not to mention the experated sighs coming out from robin for like every damn second, and the way that it's the sidekick that mostly did the job instead of the batman.

the criminals let their guard down when they realize the batman is not... batman-ing and most of them let out a scoff before trying to subdue the batman, only to get kicked right where the sun don't shine.

next thing you know, the news of batman has become the "serial eggs breaker." were all over the morning news and newspaper articles.