Chapter Text
Today was Friday, and everyone was over for dinner. If you don’t know, Alfred got tired of everyone being their depressed and lonely selves, so he suggested (threatened) for everyone to come over and have dinner on fridays, so everyone can bond. It started off awkward, since tensions were high with Jason and Bruce being in the same room, but after about a year of just having those weekly family dinners, you could tell everyone was at least talking their problems out.
Jason started to get more comfortable with Bruce (by comfortable I mean insult Bruce until he leaves the table), and even Damian stopped trying to kill people at the dinner table, which was common over the last couple of months. All and all, things started to change for the family, especially since Bruce added a new addition to the family, Duke Thomas. Duke was adopted three months ago, ever since his family was jokerized, and everyone had either been avoiding the hell out of him or talking his ears off.
Everyone’s been cautious around him, mainly because they don’t want to trigger him, or accidentally hurt him. Duke’s obviously been feeling neglected because of this, and he was going to make sure everyone knows how hurt he feels.
———-
Alfred was working wonders in the kitchen while everyone was chatting at the dinner table. Damian was on a rant about Jason being too slow to understand his intelligence and Tim was chatting with Bruce about a few changes he wanted to do for the company. Everything was calm and peaceful, but you all know it’s never like that for long in the manor. Duke was the only one that wasn’t at the table just yet, and everyone wasn’t too worried, but their attention was quickly on Duke the moment he stomped into the kitchen while holding a flyer in his hand.
“Look guys, there’s a scare house in Gotham. We should go.” Duke said happily as he ran into the dining room. Everyone stared at him, shocked by how excited Duke looked. Duke wasn’t usually this excited, and he was actually really quiet around the manor, but apparently he was super excited about this scare house.
“Pssst, who would go to such an immature location to become scared?” Damian said while rolling his eyes. Duke’s bright smile dimmed a little, but he still kept smiling. Duke then turned to Bruce, who had a small, apologetic smile on his face. “I don’t think I can go, sweetheart. I have a few things I need to take care of at the company.” Bruce said softly and Duke’s smile vanished from his face. His eyes closed and he sighed heavily before he remembered three other people he could ask (Steph and Cass unfortunately weren’t here to witness greatness).
Duke immediately smiled once he realized he could still ask Dick, Jason, and Tim to come with him. Jason must have known what the look on his face meant, because he shook his head. “Sorry Narrows, but I don’t do that kiddy shit.” Jason said and Tim just nodded his head in agreement. Duke turned towards Dick, his only hope in actually bonding with someone. Dick gave Duke a small smile.
“Sure Duke, I would love to go with you to a scare house.” Dick said softly, and Duke smiled widely and ran towards Dick. Dick had his arms opened wide for Duke, and Duke ran straight into his arms and hugged him tight.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you. You’re the best brother ever.” Duke said happily and the looks on everyone else’s faces were priceless. Jason looked angry, pissed as he would call it, for losing a title he never had. Tim’s mouth was open in shock, and he held onto his chest like it physically hurt him to hear Duke’s words. Damian was the angeriest out of all of them. The grip on his knife, mind you he wasn’t holding it earlier, was tight and he was glaring at Dick’s stupid smirk he had on his face.
“You’re like the only person who likes me here, besides Alfred.” Duke eggs on and Bruce looks startled and he grips at his pants leg underneath the table. The words from Duke stung him the most. He didn’t want Duke to feel left out, but apparently trying to give him some space was actually the wrong thing to do. Bruce stood up from the table, catching everyone but Duke’s attention, and he walked over to Duke, who was still in Dick’s hold.
Bruce looked at Dick for a few seconds, silently communicating with him using only his eyes, and Dick nodded and turned Duke around so he was facing Bruce. Bruce kneeled down on the ground to meet Duke’s eyes, and when he saw how they glistened with tears that were ready to fall, he gently cupped Duke’s cheek and wiped them away.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to make you feel left out and alone. Look, how about I take you to the scare house with Dick, since you want to go so badly. I’ll just have someone else take over for a bit.” Bruce said softly, and Duke sniffled and made grabby hands at Bruce, to which Bruce gently took Duke out of Dick’s lap and hugged him tightly like he was going to disappear.
“You know what Narrows, I’ll go to that stupid house if it makes you happy.” Jason says as he glares at Dick, who’s still smiling like the sun just kissed him.
“Yeah, I need a break from paperwork anyway, so I’ll also go.” Tim says as he makes his way over to Duke. “Psst, still a dumb idea, but I guess I’ll go.” Damian mumbles and a knife gets thrown at Dick, who catches it while still smiling. Tim goes in for a hug, and Duke allows himself to be loved, even though he’s giggling like a maniac on the inside.
———
Two days later, everyone stands outside the scary house, which was actually called the fright house (there was a sign outside that said fright house), but Duke just liked the sound of scary house better. Duke had a camera on him, because Steph said she would pay him to video tape the whole thing, and he was smiling as soon as they got out of the car. The house itself looked abandoned, and there were no lights on outside.
The only reason why they even found this house was because Bruce knew the city like the back of his hand, which Duke didn’t find suspicious, because Bruce grew up in Gotham. As soon as they all got out of the car, chills ran down Tim and Damian’s spine (Damian lied and said he was cold, so Dick gave him his jacket), and Bruce had a bad feeling about the place, but seeing Duke smile was the only thing keeping him from making them leave. As they walked towards the door to the house, Duke turned the camera around and started talking.
“Look at how cool this looks, it’s like a real abandoned house. I can’t wait to see what the scare actors look like.” Duke said happily and he turned the camera back around and showed the dead plants in the front yard along with the spider webs along the outside of the house. “Are you sure this is the right house, B?” Dick asked in confusion and he looked around with suspicion. “The address on the flyer says this is the place.” Bruce says, and when Duke tries to walk in front to beat them all to the door, Bruce pulls him back. Duke looks at Bruce in confusion.
“Why’d you stop me? I want to go inside.” Duke whined and Bruce had to stay strong, even though Duke was giving him his puppy dog eyes. “Let me go in first, just in case it’s too scary for you.” Bruce says softly, and Duke pouts. “Are you calling me a baby?” Duke asks in an upset tone. Bruce panics as he sees Duke’s sad look, and he quickly shakes his head. “Duke, that’s not what I me-“ Bruce started to say, and Jason snickers behind him as he watches the scene unfold. Duke cuts off Bruce’s sentence.
“No, I’ll show you how brave I am.” Duke says, and he runs towards the front door without a second thought. “Duke, wait!” Bruce calls out after Duke, and he runs after the determined teen. The others follow along while keeping a careful eye on their surroundings. It was too dark for them to see people walking, but it was bright enough to see in front and behind them. Their sides are their only blind spots at this point.
“Am I the only one getting a bad feeling about this place?” Tim asks as he walks alongside Jason and Damian. “No Timbers, I think we’re all getting the same feeling.” Dick says, and they stop at the front door of the abandoned house, where Bruce is trying to talk Duke down from just entering without permission. “Duke, you can’t just run off like that and barge into someone’s house.” Bruce says softly, trying to talk Duke out of doing something stupid.
“It’s a display house anyways, I’m sure the door’s already open for guests.” Duke says excitedly, and then he points the camera at himself. You could see Bruce’s worried look and the others walking up behind them as Duke begins to speak. “I’m so excited to see something scary. I’ve always dreamed of coming to one of these, but my parents always told me that it’s too scary for me. I’m happy you agreed to bring me though, Bruce.” Duke says while smiling. Deep down, he knows he’s pulling at Bruce’s heart strings.
Bruce’s eyes soften, like they normally do when Duke talks to him, and he puts his hand on Duke’s shoulder. “I’m glad you’re excited, chum. I’m sure we’ll have fun inside, but can you at least allow me to go first, just in case something happens.” Bruce says softly, trying to negotiate with Duke. Duke was either too excited or too upset to listen to Bruce, because he knocks on the door in front, which opens on its own. Duke’s eyes sparkle in awe as he walks inside, and Bruce trails behind him like a stressed parent.
“Survival instincts of an idiot.” Damian mumbles to himself as he follows behind Bruce, and Jason’s loving how stressed Duke is making Bruce. “I’m so glad I decided to come.” Jason says while smirking as he walks inside. Dick waits for Tim to walk in behind Jason, before he turns and looks behind him once more before walking in behind everyone else. As soon as everyone gets inside, the door closes behind them on its own.
Duke jumps and quickly turns the camera towards the door, just as Jason and Damian both get into a fighting stance, ready to swing. Both of them only relax once they hear Duke’s giggles. “You should have seen how scared you two look. Hahaha, were you going to fight the door?” Duke laughs out, and Damian blushes in embarrassment as Jason puts his hands down. “Narrows, you jumped 10 feet in the air. I don’t want to hear anything out of you.” Jason says playfully, and Damian just huffs and walks forward.
“Wired door, probably for show.” Tim mumbled to himself, and Dick made sure he had a grip on Tim’s hand so Tim doesn’t get lost while he’s in his thoughts. Bruce looks around the barely lit room that they were stuck in. The place had chairs scattered across the ground, and there wasn’t a person in sight. There was a slight draft of cool air going throughout the room, and the walls were painted a dark color, which made it harder to see inside.
“They really decorated this place well. I can barely see.” Duke says as he turns back around and turns the camera around so he gets it on video. He starts walking forward, and Bruce’s eyes shoot towards his quickly moving form and follows behind him while keeping his eyes on either side of him. Damian trails behind while fiddling with his hidden dagger inside of his pocket, and Jason comes up next to him and slings his arm around his shoulder.
“Try not to get too scared, Demon Spawn. Don’t want you to pee your pants.” Jason teased as he whispered in Damian’s ear, and Damian shoved Jason off of him before moving closer to Bruce. Jason just laughed and Dick nudged him with his shoulder as he still held onto Tim’s hand. “Don’t tease little wing too much, Jay.” Dick said softly, and Jason just rolled his eyes and kept quiet. Duke walked down towards a gap in the middle of the room, and he dodged the chairs that were scattered across the floor.
When he reached the gap in the middle, he stopped, because there were three ways that they could go. “So, should we vote on which way we should go, or should I just choose?” Duke asks excitedly, and Bruce glares at the left gap, as he feels eyes looking back at them. “Let’s not go left.” Bruce says in a deep voice, and Duke nods. “Okay, that just leaves the right side, or the middle. Does anyone else want to say anything?” Duke asks, and Damian starts speaking.
“Going in circles is immature and predictable.” Damian says in a ‘duh’ tone, and Duke turns to the right and starts walking. Jason couldn't hold back his loud laugh when Duke chose what Damian didn’t want. “Fuck, Narrows is suprising me more and more.” Jason laughs out, and Damian huffs in annoyance but follows along. Everyone else just follows Duke, because apparently Duke just goes with his gut, and whatever makes Damian annoyed.
They walk down the right hallway for some time, and it eventually leads them to a door that didn’t have a handle, which was weird. Duke tries to push on the door, but it doesn’t budge. “How are we suppose to get inside?” Duke asks in confusion, and Damian moves towards the front.
“Thomas, you’re too weak to open this. Watch and learn.” Damian says with confidence, and he tries and fails to push open the wooden door. Duke snickers at Damian’s failed attempt, and Jason starts teasing. “Some lesson, huh Demon Spawn. Maybe you need to hit the gym with Narrows.” Jason laughs out, and Damian turns around and glares at Jason. An argument breaks out between the two, and while all of this happens,
Tim looks around the room and spots a weird looking bookshelf. He walks over to said bookshelf, with Dick still holding his hand, and he starts pulling at the books, one by one. When Dick catches on to what Tim was doing, he starts doing the same thing, and eventually, Tim pulls on this blue covered book. Everyone hears a few locks turning and the door in front of them opens up into a lit room. Damian and Jason stop arguing as they look at the now open door, and Bruce looks back at Tim and Dick, who both walk forward with smiles on their faces.
“You know, brains before brawn always win.” Tim says with a grin on his face. “Tim found out how to open the door, he’s so smart.” Dick said proudly as he walked into the room with Tim. Duke followed behind them as he stuck his tongue out at Damian, and Damian rolled his eyes and followed behind Duke as Jason continued to tease him about how weak he was.
Bruce just sighed and started to walk behind him, but he stopped as he heard the floor creak behind him. Bruce’s gaze hardened and he looked behind him quickly. His eyes wandered around the dark hallway, and when he couldn’t see anyone, he turned back around. He saw how everyone but Duke was looking at him with a confused look, but he just waved it off and walked inside of the lit room. The door closed behind Bruce, just as he walked inside, almost like it sensed that he was still outside of the room.
“I need to know if the floor has sensors or not.” Tim mumbles to himself, and Duke looks around the room in awe. This room was an office of some sort, and judging by how it looked, someone probably trashed the place out of anger. There was paper scattered all over the floor, the desk was turned upside, and a broken monitor was on the floor in a million pieces. Paintings of various things had claw marks across people’s faces, and there were even some holes in the wall.
“Woah, this looks so cool.” Duke says in awe and he does a 360 with the camera to show the whole place. Dick bends down and picks up a paper he was stepping on, and he looked down at the writing. ‘Shipment 10/4, product glaceir’ The word glaceir stuck out to Dick, and as soon as he saw the word, his eyes widened. “Guys, you may want to see this.” Dick says, and Bruce walks over to Dick and looks down at the paper in his hand.
His eyes scan over the paper and when he sees the word glaceir, his eyes harden. Jason and Tim’s expressions changed once they read the paper, and Damian looked around the room with a cold glare, waiting for someone to pop out. Duke was still distracted by the ‘design’ of the room, so he didn’t hear when Dick called for everyone else. “Did we just walk into a drug lab?” Jason asked in a cold voice. “Seems like it, but why would they have a flyer advertising this place?” Tim asked in confusion.
“Maybe they wanted to disguise it as a haunted house to keep people away. You know people don't go to haunted houses in Gotham.” Dick says, and Bruce nods. “So, Narrows led us right into a drug house without knowing, great detective work old man.” Jason says sarcastically. “Hey, what are you guys talking about? Did you find something?” Duke asks, and everyone breaks away from their little huddle and looks over at Duke, who looks confused. Jason pushes Bruce forward and steps back, making sure he keeps and eye on the two doors in the room. Bruce gives Jason a look, before walking forward and putting his hand on Duke’s shoulder.
“Chum, maybe we should find a different scare house. I haven’t seen anything too scary, and your siblings are getting a bit bored.” Bruce says softly, trying to hide his growing alertness. He wanted Duke out of there, and fast, because he doesn’t know who, or what will pop out at them. Duke pouts. “How is this boring? We got to find a secret door, and everything is wired to be scary. I’m sure we just haven’t discovered anything thrilling yet.” Duke says, and he moves over towards a wall with some of the scratched up paintings, and he turns around and looks at everyone.
“Maybe we could find something really cool, ooh maybe we can get surprised by some of the scare actors. I’m sure there’s so much we can do in here.” Duke says, and his back hits the corner of the painting as he puts his back to the wall, and the painting moves slightly, which causes the floor to open up and for Duke to fall into the now open floor.
“Duke!” Everyone yells out as Duke disappears in front of their eyes. Even Damian uses Duke’s first name, which means it was serious. “Stay here. I’ll signal for you if I need to. Stay alert and don’t turn your back to any exits.” Bruce says in a rushed but stern tone and he knocks the same painting Duke did and falls into the hole that opens up underneath him. Everyone was left with their guards up as they waited for Bruce’s signal.
———-
When Bruce slides down the long slide that was beneath the floor, he makes up a plan in his mind. Find Duke and leave. He doesn’t know who’s going to confront him, or if Duke’s life is in danger already, but he just knows that something already happened, something which will cause him to either reveal himself to Duke, or play a victim and try to find a different way out. When Bruce finally reaches the end of the slide, he slows himself down by placing his feet on the slide walls, and as soon as his feet touch the floor, he’s up and in a fighting stance.
The area is huge, and there are crates and machines all over the big space. He doesn’t see anyone, including Duke, and there isn’t any exit in sight, which wasn't good, but Bruce has dealt with worse things. Bruce slowly treads to left of the open space, cautious about his surrounds, but also keeping himself calm, even though his thoughts are screaming ‘danger’. Whispering Duke’s name wasn’t an option right now, because it would only reveal his location to anyone inside, and it would also jeopardize Duke’s safety if someone knew someone was inside with him.
This makes everything harder, but Bruce wasn’t the dark knight for nothing. Bruce’s footsteps were quiet as he moved toward, blocking anyone’s view of him by keeping behind the huge crates in front of him. The sound of machines running in the background made it harder for Bruce to hear Duke, but it was better this way, just in case Duke made any noises that would give him away easily. When Bruce was finally able to touch a crate, he moved left, making sure one hand stayed on a crate at all times, just so he knew he was covered, and his back was towards the crates, since there was no way anyone could get him behind unless they climbed onto those crates.
He moved to his left, keeping a close eye on either side of him, and the darkness that was covering what the other side held, finally to brighten the closer Bruce got. When his field of vision was bright enough, he spotted Duke with his camera out and peeking from behind the crates, like he was watching something. Bruce moved, fast but quietly and as soon as he came up behind Duke, he grabbed onto him tightly and quickly covered his mouth before he let out a scream.
Duke squirmed in Bruce’s hold for a little, and Bruce was quick to turn him around and meet Duke’s face. When Duke realized Bruce was holding, he melted into his arms and stopped squirming. Bruce looked at Duke with his eyes as soft as they could possibly go, and he slowly lowered his hand from Duke’s mouth. Duke opened his mouth, wanting to speak to Bruce, but Bruce quickly shushed him. Duke stayed silent.
“Duke, I need you to stay quiet, and don’t wander away from me. Nod if you understand.” Bruce said a hushed whisper near Duke’s ear in a stern but soft tone and Duke nodded. Bruce locked hands with Duke and started to lead him away from the light, but one of the crates in front of them got moved with a fork lift, and they were spotted by the two men on the side of the fork lift.
One of the men, who was blonde and had muscles that were definitely for show, pointed at them and shouted. “Hey!” Bruce didn’t wait for the man to start running as he dragged Duke behind him as he ran. Duke just made sure his camera was capturing the whole thing as Bruce dragged him along.