Chapter Text
It all started with a portrait. Bruce had been pestered by Alfred for the past few months about getting a few done of their newly grown family. Dick had been with him for almost two years now, and Alfred was insistent that they continue the tradition of having a professional portrait done. Alfred had set it all up, hired someone to come in, and gotten his boys all dressed up. Dick was excited, Bruce wasn't looking forward to having to make the kid sit still for several hours on end.
However, the person who came to the manor was not exactly who Bruce had expected. It was a young woman, with strawberry blonde hair and bright green eyes. She was a few years younger than Bruce, probably placing her at around 23.
"Mr. Wayne, it's very nice to meet you, my name's Lily Harrison," the woman introduced.
"Please, call me Bruce," he said.
Lily smiled at him, and then smiled wider when the little ball of energy Dick was at the age of 8 came bounding down the stairs.
"And you must be the young Mister Grayson, I'm Lily," she said.
"I'm Dick, it's nice to meet you!" He said with a big smile.
Once everyone had been introduced, and the two men had taken up their poses, Lily began to paint. Occasionally, Dick would wiggle out of Bruce's grasp and run over to see what the painting looked like. He'd talk to Lily about it, telling her to paint his muscles bigger than Bruce's, or to make him three inches taller. Lily would laugh and send him back to Bruce.
It was nearing dinner time, and Lily was still only halfway done. Alfred came out from the kitchen and invited her to stay for dinner, and no one refused Alfred's cooking.
So that was how she found herself listening to Dick tell wild stories of his life in the manor, the thrills of sliding down a freshly waxed bannister, the scolding he got from climbing onto the chandelier.
Bruce quite admired the wax the young woman never seemed to show any sign of annoyance towards Dick, as if she would be more than happy to listen to him jabber on for an entire day, which is practically what he had done by that point.
Alfred watched the exchanges between the three with great interest, everything was going according to his plan.
Lily was almost finished when she decided to call it a day. She said she would return tomorrow afternoon, and left her things at the manor. When she was going to leave, it had started to pour, and she had to walk to a bus stop.
"Please, Miss Harrison, allow me to drive you," Alfred offered.
Lily just smiled and shook her head, "That's alright, Alfred. I like the rain. If I didn't, I wouldn't live in Gotham."
Bruce watched her go with a hint of a smile on his face. Dick was standing beside him, "Can she stay here forever?"
Bruce furrowed his eyebrows.
The next day, at the conclusion of the portrait painting, Dick played his hand.
"Wait! Miss Lily? Can you go on a date with Bruce?" Bruce and Lily were both about to interject, but Dick continued. "I know Bruce thinks you're pretty, and he doesn't really have any friends, and I really like you! Pretty please?!"
Lily blushed while Bruce spoke. "Dick, what-?"
"Please, Bruce? Ask her!" Dick said.
"Dick, that's enough, go upstairs, we'll have a talk about this later," Bruce said sternly.
Dick sighed and made his way to the stairs, "Will you at least ask her?!" He called.
"Go upstairs, Dick!" Bruce called back. He then turned to Lily, "I'm so sorry he can be very excitable, and he likes you."
Lily smiled, "That's perfectly alright. He's a great kid, just must get lonely in the big house is all." She cleared her throat. "Thank you, Bruce, for having me, maybe I'll see you again sometime."
Lily was about to leave the manor when Bruce suddenly realized something, "Lily, wait." She stopped and turned to him questioningly. "Would you? Like to go on a date... with me?"
Lily blinked for a moment, "Uh... okay, sure." Lily opened her phone to a new contact, "Here, put your information in my phone and I'll call you."
Bruce nodded as he typed in his number, "Thanks."
Lily smiled, "I'll talk to you later then."
"Of course, have a good day," Bruce said.
...
From there, things moved forward quickly. He and Lily had been dating for two months when Bruce realized that he truly, deeply, cared about her. It was actually when he had walked in on Lily and Dick interacting without him that it set in that he wanted her there with him in the manor.
"What's wrong Dickie?" Lily asked gently as she knelt down in front of the boy.
Dick shrugged, "I dunno, just school I guess."
"What's wrong at school?"
"... some of the other kids are mean to me sometimes," Dick answered hesitantly. After he realized Lily wasn't going to interrupt him or make him feel bad for being upset, he continued. "They call me a gypsy."
Bruce made a mental note to find out which kids were doing this later.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Dickie," Lily started. "I think kids who say things like that are just jealous."
"Why would they be jealous of the stuff that they're making fun of me about?" Dick asked with confusion. Bruce also didn't know where this was going.
"Because you're really special, Dickie. You're unique, and they're never going to be. You're from a rich culture with an amazing history, and that's nothing to be ashamed of," Lily said.
Dick looked at her a little shyly, "You... know about Romani history?"
Lily smiled, "I have a really good book I think you should read. I'll bring it for you the next time I'm over."
Dick smiled, "Thanks Lily."
Lily stood and ruffled his hair, "Of course Dickie, any time. And if those bullies keep giving you trouble, just tell your teacher, maybe they can help, okay?"
Dick nodded and ran off. Lily turned to see Bruce leaning in the doorway.
"You're really good with him," Bruce said.
Lily walked up to him and pecked his cheek, "You're better." He just stared at her, realizing exactly what he wanted all at once. "-ey Bruce? Earth to Bruce Wayne?"
Bruce blinked a few times, "Sorry, what?"
"I'm going to go, but we're still on for our date at that outrageously fancy restaurant in a few days, right?" Lily asked.
Bruce nodded, "Yes."
Lily smiled at him, "Okay, I'll see you then. 'Night Bruce."
"Goodnight Lily," Bruce said.
...
Their date the next day was going well as always. Lily was the perfect match for Bruce. She was comfortable with long silences, she read his expressions and body language very well so he didn't often need to verbally communicate his emotions which was helpful for him, she was calm when Bruce was constantly paranoid, he could go on and on.
"Lily," Bruce started. "I've been thinking about this a great deal. I know that traditionally, relationships would take this step after much longer a time, and so I will not be offended in any way should you refuse. I wanted to know if you'd like to move into the manor."
Lily smiled slightly, "That's what's had you on edge the whole night? Of course, I want to move in with you, Bruce, I love you."
Bruce had not been anticipating that response, had not been anticipating the declaration of love. Though... the deep emotions he felt for her likely were love, they just hadn't quite come into focus.
"You don't have to say it back, I know how you feel about me Bruce," Lily said with a kind smile. "I just thought I'd make my feelings clear because you don't seem to be able to figure me out quite so well."
Bruce smiled at her, and then the pit in his stomach formed. He was going to have to tell her. Because even if she didn't notice the marks on his body, or him coming and going from the cave, she was going to notice that most nights, him and Dick would be gone for several hours at a time, and he was going to have to explain that to her.
He wasn't certain how she'd react. She was right, he did have a hard time reading her. She seemed like the type of person to dislike violence, but he didn't know for certain, and that uncertainty nagged at him.
They left the restaurant, and Bruce invited her to stay the night at the manor. Batman could have a single night off, after all, and crime had been quiet for the past few days. Goodness knows that both he and Dick could use the sleep.
Lily had just agreed when she turned to look at something in the sky, Bruce turned and saw the Bat-signal was lit up.
Lily turned to him and kissed him before stepping back as her cab pulled up, "Another time then. I'll call you tomorrow."
Bruce's eyes widened and Lily laughed at him a little before she got in the cab and it drove away.
So... she already knew?
It was on his mind all night, and when he finally got back to the Bat-cave, he decided to tell Dick and Alfred.
"Really?!" Dick's eyes were about to pop out of his head, "So I don't have to lie to her about it anymore?"
"That's right Dick," Bruce said.
"When did you tell her, Master Bruce?" Alfred asked. He surprised Bruce hadn't told him that he was going to tell her before he had done it.
"I didn't. Jim put on the Bat-signal, and she said we'd have to postpone the rest of our date," Bruce said. "Also, I have... invited her to move into the manor, and she agreed."
Alfred smiled and placed a firm hand on Bruce's shoulder, "I am very happy for you, Master Bruce."
"Thanks Alfred."
"Lily's moving here?" Dick asked with a smile.
"Yes, she is."
"Awesome! I love Lily!"
"Well, I believe Miss Harrison is quite fond of you as well, Master Dick," Alfred said.
...
The next day, Lily came to the manor and she and Bruce had A Conversation.
"How did you know?"
"I draw you so much I would recognize your body anywhere," Lily told him. "The cape threw me off for a while, but I saw a photo of you a while back that was oddly well lit, and I figured it out."
"How long have you known?"
"About a month."
Bruce blinked, "Why didn't you say anything?"
"Because I didn't want you to have to make a hard choice, Bruce. What you're doing for this city is important, and if you had to choose between it and me, I'd want you to choose it. I figured you would tell me when you were comfortable, and asking me to move in was you telling me that you trust me. I also didn't want you to have to lie and make up an excuse."
Bruce stared at her, "So you're going to be okay with me not coming home until the early morning?"
"Yes."
"And you're okay with knowing that I'm going to have to cancel things or reschedule or leave in a moment's notice quite often?"
"Yes, Bruce, I know, I've thought about it. I'm okay with it," Lily interrupted.
Bruce nodded, "Well then... want to see the Bat-cave?"
...
Lily had been living in the manor for five months when Bruce proposed. She accepted, of course. Alfred was delighted, Dick almost fainted.
A couple of nights after that, Lily and Bruce were sound asleep after Bruce and Dick had come back from a particularly gruelling evening of patrol. There was a knock on the door before it opened and the young boy came into the room. Oddly enough, Lily woke first.
"Dickie? Are you alright?" She asked quietly. She could barely make out the boy shaking his head. "Did you have a nightmare?" He nodded. "Climb in kiddo."
He hesitated for a moment, but then he climbed into the bed with Bruce and Lily. It was then that Bruce cracked open his eyes. When he saw Dick, he pulled the covers over the boy and laid an arm over him. Lily laid on her side facing the boy.
"We got you, chum, go to sleep," Bruce said.
Dick dutifully shut his eyes and fell asleep to the fuzzy feeling of Lily running her hand through his hair.
The next morning, Alfred went to wake up Dick first, as his room was closer to the staircase. He was puzzled to find it empty. He then went to Bruce and Lily's room to see if they too had woken and somehow avoided his Butler-sense for when people were up and about in the house. What he found was far more heartwarming.
He can neither confirm nor deny that he has a photo that he keeps tucked in a drawer in his bedside table that lies alongside other such photos.
...
Lily and Bruce got married in a small, private ceremony. Alfred walked Lily down the isle, Dick was Bruce's best man, and Barbara Gordon, one of Dick's best friends and also the daughter of Bruce's good friend Commissioner Gordon, was Lily's bridesmaid.
Their honeymoon was a family vacation to Santa Prisca, needless to say that it was a good thing Bruce had brought the suit with him.
Everything seemed to fall into place then. They were a real, complete, traditional (sort of), family. With a father, a mother, a son and a grandfather/butler, you know, the usual. What could go wrong?