#brucew

You’re first lit up into a smile, and you chuckled in Bruce’s direction. Around that time, Arthur had entered the room, hearing Barry’s excited voice and your laugh, which usually didn’t mean anything great around here. “It’s a game, Bruce.” You said, giving the vaguest explanation. “Barry, this is the best thing that you’ve ever bought, I’m so in for a round or two.”

Sitting still, Bruce snorted at the idea of playing a game. Barry, he could understand buying such a thing, but for you to be interested in playing it? Even he didn’t think that you would be that childish, and his expression said it all. “Only for adults though, Bruce, so maybe an old man like you wouldn’t enjoy it.” You’re a bit peeved off by the look on his face, and teasing was your go to in times like this.

“This game, I heard about it.” Arthur said, looking at the box, and laughed. When even Arthur, who resided in the Sea most of the time rather than the house that Bruce had made for us, knew about something that Bruce didn’t - that seemed to make Bruce’s jaw tighten. “And I am in for a round.”

Barry had gathered Victor, Diana, and Clark and set the box of cards on the middle of the dining room table, which was more than large enough to hold all of you. You had rung for Alfred and requested some snacks be brought up, because what was a game night without any snacks? You and Barry also had to take turns explaining what the game was to Bruce and Diana for they never heard of it, while Clark had some idea because of advertisements, and Victor through a quick search of the internet through his head.Turns out, it took a lot more convincing to get Bruce to play, since he insisted that he didn’t have time for such games.

“It really will be fun, I promise.” Your lower lip jutted out in your best pouty face. “You might even have a good time, and I know that it’s been a long time since you’ve had that.”

Comfortable and sitting on one of the dining chairs, Bruce sighed as he realized that everyone was looking at him. The masked hero wasn’t giving in to peer pressure, but rather, he just wanted to keep the peace - though it did help that everyone was looking excited - save for Victor who didn’t really have a facial expression - about the stupid game that they were about to play.

Barry’s enthusiasm was contagious enough to get the others excited so Bruce reluctantly agreed that he would play one round, and one only. He was mainly playing just so that he could beat Clark, however, that would give him a good time. It’s just a few minutes later that he had cards in his hand and grew more confused than ever.

“You just put down whichever one you think is funniest for the situation.” You leaned over to explain, tapping on the black card that Barry had turned over, deciding to be the judge for the first round. He squinted to read it. ‘I’ve got 99 problems but a ____ ain’t one.’

There were chuckles around the table as the players read their cards, picked one, and put it down in the pile for Barry to eventually read. Arthur’s laugh was the loudest, as per usual. He’s not one for being quiet when he wasn’t in attack mode. He slapped his card down with a laugh, and looked around confident that he was going to win.

Diana was more subtle. Her dark red lips curved into a closed-mouth smile as she went through her options. She understood the reference that the card was making, since even she could not avoid a lot of music, as much as it wasn’t to her tastes. The manicured fingers tapped on the back of the cards until she found one that she thought suited, and slid it over to the pile.

“I am so excited for this, you don’t understand,” Barry said, rustling around in his seat as if he had ants in his pants. His power just ended up making it worse, the chair nearly jumping from the ground, then roughly landing with little thuds as he anticipated the answers. A game night with the Justice League, including a grumpy Batman - he couldn’t think of anything better.

A laugh came from your mouth as you picked out your card solely by instincts and pushed it over to the growing pile. “I’m sure - wait, why didn’t we bet on this?” You looked around at the company that you were keeping tonight. Bruce especially - you’d bet all your money, what little you did have since you weren’t a big business man like Bruce or a Museum Curator like Diana - that he would lose this game horrendously. He didn’t have a sense of humor, so far as you noticed.

A card did eventually come from Bruce’s side of the table - but his facial expression made it seem like he was playing poker, not a party game. You smiled over at him, trying to bring the mood up, and watched Barry pick up the cards once everyone had chosen theirs. Looking around at everyone as if trying to be able to tell who picked which card, Barry started to read them out loud.

“I’ve got ninty-nine problems but estrogen ain’t one.” Barry laughed. You chuckled as well, finding it funny rather than offensive. It was only going to get worse from there. “I’ve got ninety-nine problems but lumberjack fantasies isn’t one of them? You’re right, I don’t see that being a problem at all.” Barry laughed. You noticed that even Bruce had cracked a smile at that one.  Barry moved on. “I’ve got ninety-none problems but oompa-loompas aren’t one. Thank god!” He laughed again, enjoying each and every card. Arthur was really getting into the game, laughing harder with each card that came up. He was the loudest of the group. “Next up - ninety nine problems but a defective condom ain’t one - wow.”

You had put forward that one, thinking it was amazingly true because you definitely weren’t having sex with anyone. You had accepted it though - dating and being a vigilante didn’t go well together. “Ninety-nine problems but extremely tight pants ain’t one.” Barry said, and then paused. A minute later, he grinned. “I think none of us would have problems with tight pants.”

You’ve always thought that Barry was a bit of a flirt when he was in a more calm state, and that was showing a little. You motioned for Barry to go on with the last card that was in his pile. Barry picked it up slowly, just to bother you, then read it out. “Ninety-nine problems but drinking alone ain’t one. I’ll drink to that one, it’s the winner.”

You looked around to see who would claim the card, and to your great surprise, it was Bruce that rose his hand. “Didn’t know you had it in you.” You grinned, clapping him on the back. Everyone else seemed to be a little in shock as well, but then they picked up another card, and the turn switched to Arthur’s.

Soon enough, Alfred came back with more snacks, more drinks and then finally, a rather big box which they all ignored at first. As the game went on, some great cards were played. You had won a couple of rounds with, ‘The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History had just opened an interactive exhibit on Bio-engineered assault turtles with acid breath, I get by with a little help from white privilege, and passive-aggressive post it notes, it’s how I want to die.’ As the game went on however, you didn’t care about all the ones you lost because you were just having too much fun.

A while passed, and Barry finally won the game overall, with Arthur in second, then Bruce surprisingly in third. “Y/N, do you mind moving over a little to the left?” Alfred asked once the laughter had slowed down.

“What are you up to, Alfred?”  You asked, scooting over your chair to the left like he had requested. He gave a slight smile, and unearthed a fancy contraption from the box that no one had asked about. Diana stood up, curiosity peeked by the sight of an antique. Her eyes lit up and she laughed, turning to look at the rest of us.

“A camera!” Diana said, leaning forward to look at it. You understood now why Alfred had asked you to move over to the left. His eyes grew excited as Diana marveled over what great condition it was in, and that she had not seen anything like it in meany years.

“Ever since you all have been spending your time here, there’s been a family.” Your face lit up in a smile, and you looked over at Bruce, feeling like you might cry at Alfred’s sentiments. “The halls of Wayne Manor could use a new family portrait, don’t you think, Master Wayne?” He looked towards his butler, more than a butler - a family member - and inhaled quickly, then nodded.

A smile went across Diana’s face too, and she stopped examining the photo to sit back down at the table. You leaned up against Bruce, who was beside you, and put your arm around him from behind, resting your head on his shoulder. You couldn’t see what the others were doing, but you felt Arthur put one of his massive hands on your other shoulder. It’s nice, being close and relaxing like this.

You smiled widely for the camera. But the flash caught you a little offguard, so you were left hoping that you didn’t blink or recoil in the photo that was taken. You then realized that there was someone missing from this family, someone important. “Another?” You asked, getting to your feet. Hands reached out for Alfred once you got close. “It’s an old camera, but it has to have one of those timers, right? What kind of family photo would it be without Daddy Alfred?”

You took a hold of Alfred’s hands, and brought him to the table, letting Diana get up and see if she could find a way to make the timer work on the camera. What everyone else did was stand up, each one of them equally as open to taking a picture as you had been. You positioned Alfred next to Bruce, since they were the closest, and smiled at how the two of them looked together.

It didn’t take long for Diana to set up the timer, then return to the group. There was a clicking sound as it started to count down the seconds before the flash would fill the room with light and the camera would capture your likeness. You didn’t smile this time around, because no one else - save Barry - was smiling. Yet there wasn’t an unhappiness to the photo - it just showed what each of you were. It showed the strength of each person, though each individual had a different kind of strength.

The night continued on after the picture was taken, with another game of Cards Against Humanity being played, and then a couple of beers passed around. How Gotham got through the night without a murder or an explosion while the members of the Justice League were having a good time, you didn’t know. Bruce kept his eye out the window, looking for the Bat Signal every couple of minutes, but it was a clear night. Other than the stars and the moon, there was nothing to be seen except for streetlights. The Batman never took a night off, and you could see how uncomfortable Bruce was about it. He finally stopped checking at eleven though, and put himself to bed at midnight since even he had to sleep at times.

It was about one AM when you, Arthur and Barry settled down. Everyone did consider you three to be the more fun out of the Justice League, though Arthur could get quite grouchy. There were rooms for everyone inside of Wayne Manor, which had become your second home. You loved your position of being on the team but it didn’t pay much at all, and your personal apartment was nothing compared to this place.

You were invited back to Wayne Manor a week later. It had been one hell of a week too - you and Victor ended up having to attempt to capture Catwoman, which is never easy. Well, it can sometimes be easy for Bruce since they seem to have some sort of connection that you weren’t clear about. You never bothered to ask about the rich man’s lovelife - seemed like too much drama there. Which was probably more than anyone could say for yours.

You walked into the dining room where you could hear some voices. Diana’s and Bruce’s. When you stepped into the room, a new feature took over your attentions. Typically, it was rather dark in here, with a couple of antiques well on pedestals around the walls, but today it was different.

You stepped forward to one of the walls. Bruce had the curtains open which was a new thing - sunlight was streaming through but because of the frame’s positioning, it didn’t reflect off the glass which made he picture behind it crystal clear. Your face was looking out upon you, and Bruce’s, Arthur’s, Barry’s, Clark’s, Victor’s, Alfred’s and Diana’s were as well. You were looking at the picture that had been taking during game night.

I was held in place by a rich-looking wooden frame, with the word ‘Family’ engraved on the center of the bottom panel. You touched the F with your fingers, feeling how professional it was - someone had put a lot of work into this frame. Now, you understood why Alfred had wanted to take the photo in the first place.

You looked at your own face, at the hint of the smile that was on the corner of your lips and showed in your eyes. You then looked at the others and you saw a sense of ... of happiness in each of them, even Bruce. It really did make you feel like you had a family with the members of the league - something you didn’t have growing up.