The cold, biting winter finally descends into Ann Arbor. The month of December is dotted by snowfall as the whole city turns white, covered in frosted flakes. People walk the streets, dressed in thick jackets and scarves wrapped around their face. And crime also drops considerably, because who can be foolish enough to rob a store at negative three degrees?

But for the superhero and her sidekick that live in this town, the routine doesn't change. Every evening, they walk out their door at the same time, dressed in their outfits that are clear markers to their identity. They patrol the city, checking if there's any crime (there isn't), and help the town warm up with the heat of their magic.

But tonight is not one of those nights.

Tonight is a night to stay home, wait as a future is made. Tonight's the night where it all is decided. Aurelia has mentally prepped herself and so has her aunt. The two sit in their living room, Aurelia's laptop kept on the table in front of them. They are huddled together, blanket wrapped around them.

Every five minutes, Aurelia refreshes her email, waiting, hoping for a positive answer. She's somewhat sure that she'll get in but you never know what will happen in the end. But something tells her it will all be good. Besides, she's a good student, she's worked hard, she amassed some advanced college credits and she didn't slug through four A.P. classes for anything. It should all work out for her...right?

"You're nervous?" Clara questions, although it sounds more like a statement.

"I'm nervous," Aurelia affirms, nodding her head. "I'm very nervous. What if I don't get into college here? What if I don't get into college at all? What-"

"Stop thinking about the what-if's, Lia. That's never good," Clara squeezes her shoulder gently as she pulls her niece into her chest. "You're gonna get in, I'm sure of it."

"I'm not," Aurelia shakes her head, her hands shivering slightly in the blanket, out of the cold or out of nervousness, she's not sure. "I keep thinking I messed up on that personal statement. And the recommendation letters? Are those even enough?"

"Lia, your teachers like you a lot," Clara tells her, eyes warm. "The letters were glowing in praise for you and honestly I'm surprised it didn't boost your ego a little bit. Or it did, but you're just not showing it."

"I'm not a very egoistical person if you know," Aurelia playfully glares at her aunt, before her face returns to her previous nervous state. "And if this is your way of trying to distract me, it's not working. I'm still pretty fucking nervous about the result."

Ignoring the swear in the sentence, Clara tilts her head to her left to look at Aurelia. "Repeat after me. It's gonna be okay."

"It's gonna be okay."

"You shouldn't be nervous."

"I shouldn't be nervous."

"You're gonna get in."

"I'm gonna get - wait, no! I'm not saying that! I'll jinx things!"

"Jinxes don't work that way, darling," Clara's mouth quirks upwards in an amused look. "Shouldn't you be refreshing your email now?"

"Oh god, yeah!" Aurelia fumbles out of the blanket as she hits the mousepad of her laptop, refreshing her email. Her eyes immediately catch sight of the new email in her inbox, the sender's name clearly visible. Admission's office, UM, Ann Arbor. She immediately shuts her eyes, refusing to even click on it, fearing a negative outcome.

"I'm not reading it, you do it!" Aurelia tells her aunt. She can't see it, but she knows Clara is shaking her head. The blanket shifts a little, falling into her lap as her aunt picks up the laptop. She clicks on the email and then starts to read it out loud.

"Dear Miss Hall...Congratulations! On behalf of the Admissions Committee at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, I'm pleased to announce your admission into the class of..."

"Wait, what?!" Aurelia jolts at the words. She immediately opens her eyes, grabs the laptop from her aunt and reads through the email, re-reading every word said by her aunt. It's all real. She is quick to read the rest of the letter, taking in every single word.

"I got in. Holy fucking shit, I got in! Clara, I got in!" Aurelia keeps the laptop on the coffee table and then jumps on her aunt, hugging her tightly. "I got in! I got in!"

"Yeah, I know. And I'm so proud of you, but you should let go of me now because your leg is currently crushing my stomach," Clara replies, groaning. Aurelia immediately gets off, murmuring apologies as she returns to her previous position on the couch.

Her aunt places a hand on her shoulder, her eyes bright and face stretched into a wide smile. "This calls for a celebration. What do you wanna do? I might even let you take one sip of wine."

"No, ew, I hate wine," Aurelia instantly replies, her face contorting in disgust. The one time she had tried to taste wine, she'd almost retched. Horrible. How did people even drink it? "I'm fine with my bottle of Coca-Cola, thank you very much. Can I get a bottle of it now?"

"You wanna drink that in the cold?" But Clara merely shrugs as she says this. "You got into the school you wanted, I'm not gonna stop you from doing anything."

"Oh yeah, I got in," Suddenly, the weight of these few words hits Aurelia. She got accepted into her college of choice. College. That means growing up and she isn't sure she wants that. But she pushes the thought away because for now, the moment is one to celebrate.

He can do this. Yes, he can. All he has to do is go up to Bruce and tell him, 'Aurelia and I are dating now...she's my girlfriend and I love her very much.'

Even saying these words creates a giddy feeling in Dick's chest. Girlfriend. Aurelia's his girlfriend now. The inexplicable happiness that blooms in his chest is unlike anything he's experienced before. Not even being Robin has ever given him such a feeling of elation.

But right now? He's nervous.

Dick paces outside Bruce's room, trying to build up his courage. This is big news to tell and he is worried about Bruce's reaction. But even if his dad says no, it's not like he'll stop seeing her. He won't do that at all. He takes in a deep breath and releases it as he knocks on the door.

Moments later, Bruce's voice comes through the door. "Come in."

Dick opens the door and steps inside, his feet cold against the wooden floor. 'I should have worn socks.'

Bruce is standing against the bed, making preparations to go to sleep. He looks up and meets Dick's eyes with slight surprise. "What are you doing up so late? You should have been asleep by now."

"I have something to tell you," Dick says, biting his tongue to prevent an apology from slipping out. What is it about Bruce that tends to make him say sorry? He hasn't forgotten all the times he did so during his first year at the mansion. "It's important."

"Go on, tell me," Bruce motions with a wave of his hand, crossing his arms. He is currently scanning his son's body language, trying to get a sense of what he is about to say. 'Why is he nervous?'

Dick's eyes nervously flit across the room, taking in the opulence of it all even if it is a sight he has seen multiple times. He clenches his fists at his side and meets Bruce's eyes with a determined stare. He is going to do it. He is going to say it. "I'm dating someone now...and by someone I mean Aurelia. She's my girlfriend who I like to kiss. A lot."

Dick immediately cringes at his own words. 'Richard Grayson, you absolute idiot. That's not something you're supposed to say to your father. Why don't you think before you talk?'

"I knew that already," Bruce states, very nonchalantly. "I was waiting for you to tell me about it yourself."

"Are you angry?" Dick asks, voice soft. He doesn't want him to be.

"I'm not," Bruce replies, which is not far from the truth. "You and Aurelia are good together and you haven't been distracted at all due to this changed dynamic between you two. I see no reason to be angry."

"Oh, okay, thanks," Dick says before he adds, "Are you sure it's alright that we are dating? I mean, you keep on saying distractions can be dangerous."

"Both of you know of the dangers that come in this line of work," Bruce says, walking towards Dick. He comes to a stop in front of his son, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm trusting you two that you won't let it affect your work as Robin or Lumen."

"No, of course not, that won't happen. We know that."

"Good. I am happy for you though. She's a good person."

"Yeah, she is," The smile on his son's face is enough for Bruce to know that he's serious about this and his mouth tugs upwards in a smile of his own.

"Go to sleep now, champ. We've got training to do." Bruce ruffles Dick's hair, chuckling at the annoyed groan he lets out.

"I've not forgotten that," Dick says, internally sighing in relief. That went better than he had expected. "I'm just gonna go now. Good night."

"Good night, Dick."

Dick starts to walk away before he pauses, mid-step, a question on his mind. He turns to look at Bruce. "How'd you even find out though?"

"I'm Batman," Bruce simply says.

Dick lets out an annoyed groan. Of course, that would be Bruce's answer. He shakes his head slightly and continues on his way, stepping out of the room and shutting the door behind him.

Bruce watches him go, an amused look on his face. It's not like Clara had called him and told him about it, her voice all soft and squealy. It's not like he'd imagined her eyebrows were scrunching up and her face was covered in that smile he'd always found beautiful, as she told him everything.

It definitely wasn't like that. 

Honestly, this might be one of my favorite chapters I've written for this fic. everything in this just made me so soft as I wrote this. you got a cool, aunt-niece moment between Aurelia and Clara. plus you also got a Batdad moment, which was pretty fun to write (I just hope I didn't mess up while writing Bruce)

AND you also got a slight nod to a Bruce Wayne fic I may or may not be planning hehe.

Anyways, I really hope you enjoyed reading this chapter! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

(and shoutout to dinahsiance for making me such a cool sign-off)