It's been a slow couple of days.

After talking with Black Canary, Batman decided to bench Mara from the Team for a little while. Not as punishment, but as the opposite. Sort of a vacation, like summer break after the long and taxing days of school.

Predictably, Mara wasn't too happy with this news when it was presented to her.

She never has anything to do when all of her friends are away fighting crime and saving the world, especially when she knows that she should be there, too. Roaming the halls of Wayne Manor can only cure boredom for so long. She's tired of staring at the same meaningless paintings hung on the walls. Rich old money buys too many bland things.

"Miss Prince?" Alfred asks, popping his head in the doorway. "Would you like to help me prepare dinner?"

The demigoddess is scrunched together in the corner of the room, her notebook huddled to her chest. Crumbled pieces of paper litter the floor.

"Oh my," Alfred murmurs. "You should have told me that a hurricane rolled by."

"Ugh! I can't get this stupid drawing right!" Not in the mood and half-tuned out, Mara angrily throws her notebook and pencil down. The thick pages go spiraling and knock a screw loose, toppling over a shelf and in return, a big and shiny award. Mara stares at the shattered fragments with a frown.

The butler picks up a piece of paper from the floor and examines the odd scribbles. "And what is it meant to be?"

"I don't even remember anymore."

"Perhaps you should―"

"It's not fair!" Mara suddenly growls, cutting off Alfred. He raises an eyebrow at her. "What right does he have? And don't you think it's so ironic that he's saying I work too much? Has he seen himself?"

A part of her is filled with rage, but the other part feels guilty. She knows that she should be appreciative. Bruce gave her a spare key to his manor and lent her his credit card. Many would love that opportunity, but she can't help but feel the opposite. She especially feels bad when she turned down Dick all those times he tried to cheer her up.

"It's not a punishment," Alfred says. "Master Bruce wanted me to make that very clear."

"Oh, yeah?" Mara scoffs. "'Cause it feels like torture to me."

"Trust me when I say that Master Bruce is constantly overworking himself."

"So why is he stopping me?"

"Because he understands what it's like to crash and burn, and he's trying to prevent that with you." The Butler leans down and picks up Mara's notebook, coming over and gently placing it back down on her lap. "He told me you had not been eating or sleeping."

"Yeah, so what?" she sasses, shamefully losing eye contact. "I can go a long time without either of those things."

"Yes, as we are aware," Alfred sighs. "Although I am afraid it's the principle of the thing."

Mara's face crinkles. "I don't get it. We never know when the next battle will come. I have to prepare so that I'm always ready."

"And in that, when is there time for anything else?" Alfred says, noting Mara's sudden silence. "We know Wonder Girl, but who is Mara Prince to you?"

Stubbornly, the girl shrugs.

Coming to a stand, Alfred places a finger on his chin. "Do you know what I enjoy doing when I have the house to myself?"

Mara shakes her head, hairs tickling her neck.

"I bake."

"Bake . . . ?" Mara asks, acting like it's the first time she's heard such a term. Still, her attention is caught long enough to stay humored. "What do you bake? M'gann bakes cookies a lot, and I notice she does it more when she's anxious. Is it sort of like that?"

"Perhaps," the butler hums. "Though I also do it for fun. Do you have fun when you bake with M'gann?"

Mara nods. "Mhm, it's good. I don't like that we always make the same foods, but I don't mind if it means I get to spend more time with M'gann."

Alfred raises his chin. "I'll teach you my secret recipes, but only if you're willing to learn."

"Then won't they not be a secret anymore?"

"As long as we keep them between you and me, then there shouldn't be a problem," Alfred says with a challenging eyebrow raise. "Not even Master Bruce knows, despite how many times he's begged."

Imagining the big bad Dark Knight getting on his hands and knees to plead for the recipe to cupcakes makes Mara chuckle quietly.

Already enticed, she finds herself following Alfred towards the kitchen. She absentmindedly twirls some hair strands in between her fingers as she watches the butler grab a carton of eggs and a tub of butter. "I propose we make a cake."

Mara blinks. "Why? Isn't that only for special occasions like birthdays?" she asks, thinking of Wally's Sweet 16 a while ago.

Alfred grins as he preheats the oven. "This is a special occasion."

"How?" Mara pouts, large puppy dog eyes searching for an answer. "Dick's birthday isn't until tomorrow."

"I'm aware," Alfred murmurs. "But I didn't get to celebrate your independence day with you."

The mention makes Mara's cheeks heat up. "I don't know," she says, flustered. "That was such a long time ago."

"All the more reason to celebrate."

.

.

.

Bruce arrives much later, cowl still over his face.

"Welcome back," Alfred greets around the corner. "How was it?"

No response, but a hardened glare.

"Not too good, I assume?" the butler sighs. His gaze drifts around the Dark Knight. "Where is Master Dick?"

"At the Cave looking for Mara."

"Ah, speaking of which, you just missed her." Alfred's words make Bruce let out a low hum of frustration. He takes off his utility belt and sets it on the table, running a tired hand over his face.

"How is she?"

"Better." A smile twitches on Alfred's lips. "You did the right thing."

Bruce sighs as his tense posture relaxes. "Good. Thanks for staying with her."

"It was my pleasure," Alfred says, then he winces slightly. "Although not all of your furniture made it out in one piece."

Not even surprised, Bruce raises an eyebrow. He follows Alfred down the hall.

Around the corner, they hear shuffling and a quiet 'ow, ow, ow'. Mara sits criss-cross on the floor, tongue out in concentration as she super glues the award pieces back together.

"Miss Prince," Alfred says, alerting the demigoddess. She jumps from her skin and lets out a tiny yelp. Looking back, she sees the adults giving her very amused looks. "I was under the impression that you left."

"Yeah, I did!" she exclaims, floating to her feet. She juts out the rugged and crooked award. "To get some glue! Ta-da!"

"I see."

The demigoddess awkwardly shuffles over to Bruce, who's now taken off his cowl. "Uhm, it's not as good as it was before," she sheepishly murmurs. "Very . . . poky."

"It's okay," Bruce reassures, carefully taking the arts and crafts project and setting it back on the shelf. "I get one every year. All you did was make this one unique."

"And . . . unique is good?"

"The best."

The elevator dings and the doors slide open, revealing Robin with a concerned look. His eyes dart around. They land on Mara and he grins ear-to-ear, rushing over. "There you are!" he chuckles.

"Here I am!" Mara giggles, meeting the Boy Wonder halfway.

Bruce and Alfred share knowing looks before giving the teens their own space.

"How was the mission?"

"They got away," Dick sighs, removing his domino mask. When he sees Mara's frown, he quickly smiles to try and reassure her. "But don't worry, we'll get 'em next time."

"I know," Mara says, still looking at him intensely. She continues to look at him. Silently. Just taking him in, glad that that fateful night on Areopagus didn't take her away from him. Remembering her last words to him . . .

The thought must bounce to Dick's brain because he can't hide his pink cheeks as he clears his throat. "What'd you do today?"

"Oh!" Mara suddenly shouts, grabbing Robin's hand and leading him away. He almost gets whiplash from how fast she flies around the corner. "Alfred and I made a cake! Well, cakes. We made a bunch―strawberry, coconut, vanilla . . . Oh, and your favorite, chocolate with mint frosting!"

From afar, Bruce sits on a stool as Alfred tends to his fresh wounds. He catches the Dark Knight continuously glancing over to the two teens as they talk and giggle in the kitchen while sharing stories of their day, Mara going into every little detail about how she worked on the cakes and Dick listening intently.

Threading a needle, Alfred grins. "Rarely see one without the other, hm?" he murmurs.

Bruce watches with a tense posture. "Do you think I'm doing the right thing?" he sighs. "Bringing them into this?"

"I think that their stories are very similar. Their grief and anger very well could've been channeled into something darker, but you've helped them turn it into something positive." With a smile, Alfred rests a reassuring hand on Bruce's shoulder. "But most of all, I think that you need them just as much as they need you."

Bruce doesn't deny it.

.

.

.

A confetti cannon goes off downstairs. The excited screams get drowned out as Mara sits on the floor, materials messily scattered around her.

It's Dick's 14th birthday party. Although Mara had been looking forward to it for a while and helping Alfred plan, she now resides upstairs in the Boy Wonder's room.

It had only been a couple of hours, but Mara soon realized that it wasn't anything like Wally's party. It was loud, obnoxious, and overwhelming. There were too many unrecognizable people and she didn't fit in at all with the other kids. Matter of fact, she resisted the urge to punch many of them in the face.

A lot of them were just bratty snobs bragging about how their party was better than Dick's or that they're more rich.

The door creaks open but Mara doesn't turn her attention away. "Hey, birthday boy," she greets. "How's it going down there?"

Dick saunters over, tip-toeing around a bunch of fabrics and needles. "How'd you know it was me?"

Mara grabs a pair of scissors. "Your heartbeat."

Dick takes a seat across from her. "My . . . heartbeat?"

"Yeah." She spares him a small glance, not thinking much of it. "Sort of how everyone talks or walks differently."

He's still confused, head tilted to the side and bottom lip jutted out like a lost puppy. Mara chuckles. She wants to tease him, but is too distracted using Alfred's sewing machine, careful not to break it.

"Different tones; low, high, and so on. Most heartbeats are loud and I hate listening to them."

"What's mine sound like?"

Mara finally pauses. She meets Dick's gaze and matches his smile. "Like a song."

He raises an eyebrow. "A good one, I'm hoping?"

"The best."

"Chug! Chug! Chug!"

Mara raises an eyebrow at the downstairs chatter. "What exactly are they chugging?"

"Apple juice," Dick snickers.

"Hm," Mara murmurs, looking away. "Well, I wouldn't wanna keep you from the party."

"They're not even here for me." Dick playfully shrugs. "Just the chocolate fountain."

"You're welcome, by the way," the demigoddess teases. "That was my brilliant idea." She jokingly flashes wide crazy eyes. "I secretly plotted so that I could have you all to myself."

"Funny, you could've just asked." Dick's words make Mara smile. Still, he notices that there's something not quite right. A tiny discrepancy in the margins. It could be a number of things, but by the way her cheeks are puffed out and her entire posture is tense, he's guessing it's because of her current project.

"You've been working on that all day." Dick takes a crafted chestplate in his hands and carefully observes. "What is it?"

She still refuses to take her eyes away as she slowly ties a knot in the string. "A gift for my mother," she mumbles. "It's the first time I've ever actually tried to bring an idea to life and it's way harder than I thought it would be."

"For Christmas?"

A nod. "I figured out all of the measurements, but I just . . . I don't know, the fabrics are wrong, or something."

Dick gently flicks Mara's chin upwards with his thumb and forefinger, forcing her to look at him. "It comes from the heart, that's all that matters."

It calms her down a bit as she finally maintains eye contact and grins. It doesn't reach her ears, but it's a start.

The door flies open. "Dick, come quick!" a redhead in a schoolgirl uniform shouts. "We're about to cut the cake!"

The loud noise startles Mara and she accidentally messes up and pokes her finger with the needle. A frustrated groan rolls off her lips as a dab of blood sits upon her skin. Dick reaches forward and takes her hand in his, observing the very minor wound like she just got stabbed.

"Just a minute, Barbara," he says, sounding a bit irritated as he dismisses the redhead. She lingers for a moment longer before silently slipping away with a frown.

Despite Mara having healed the cut a while ago, Dick still holds her hands in his, turning them over and just admiring the close contact, his warm skin against her freezing cold one. "Where are your gloves?"

Sighing, Mara pulls away and retrieves the item from her pockets, slipping them back on. She catches Dick giving her a questionable look and rolls her eyes. "What? You try making a suit from scratch with those things on."

"Alfred could help."

"He's already busy enough."

Dick tilts his head to the side with a crooked smile. "I'm sure he won't mind."

"Eh." Mara's face twists. "He already had to spend all of yesterday with me. I don't wanna bug him even more."

Dick's eyebrows scrunch. "Hey, look at me," he demands. The demigoddess puffs out her cheeks as she meets his intense gaze. "You're not a burden. You know that, right? Not to anyone, and definitely not to me."

"Sure . . ." Mara sighs, blowing out air. "I guess I'm just anxious. It's gonna be my first Christmas and I don't wanna ruin anything. Everything about it just sounds so . . . overwhelming. Why is there a 'jolly' man sneaking in peoples' houses? How does he know who deserves presents? Is he watching all day, every day? Isn't that stalking, which is illegal? And aren't his elves technically more like his slaves because―"

"Uh, let's not get into the full logistics of it," Dick says, cutting her off. "But trust me, you'll love it."

"If you say so."

The blaring music from the party steals the spotlight, making Dick wince and tense up.

They're all here for him. To celebrate and admire his accomplishments. But no amount of extravagance will be able to pull him away from her. Especially not right now. Not when her eyes fall to the floor and her smile doesn't show teeth.

So everyone else is here for Dick, but he's here for Mara.

"My first year with Bruce was . . . rough, to say the least," Dick murmurs, hands nervously drumming against his knees. "I missed my parents more than anything."

Mara's expression softens as she gives the Boy Wonder her full attention. All she knows is that his parents died when he was young. The 'how' was an irrelevant question. She never asked and she never will. When Dick is ready, he'll tell her more.

"When Christmas rolled around, Bruce and Alfred did everything to make sure I had a good time, even if it only lasted a day." Clearly reminiscing, Dick grins. "There were a lot of presents with my name on them, but I was just glad I got a second chance that many others don't get. It was about celebrating family, past and present."

Mara nibbles on her bottom lip, slightly rocking back and forth. "Do you have any pictures of them?" she carefully asks. "Your parents?"

"Thought you'd never ask." Dick is already halfway across the room and reaching in a drawer. He returns with a small photo book, the front plain but the inside full of wonders. "I have a couple, but this one is my favorite." He flips to a different page so quickly like he has it stamped in his heart. Mara leans forward to get a better look. "I'd just gotten my uniform. It was still a while until I was able to perform with them, but I'll never forget how happy I was that day."

In it, a man and woman smile brightly. On the man's shoulders, a young boy perches with an even wider grin, a missing front tooth and unkempt raven hair. The demigoddess gently traces her finger along the picture as if she can actually feel every crack and crevice of their skin and bump and curve in their uniform.

"What were their names?" she murmurs, stars twinkling in her eyes.

"Mary and John."

"Dick John Grayson . . ." Mara quietly mumbles to herself with a little grin. Finally, her finger lands on Mary's blonde locks and strong blue eyes. "She looks like you. Or, I guess you look like her."

Tilting his head sideways, Dick's eyebrows scrunch. "Ya' think?"

"Definitely. You've got the same smile." Her eyes move from the young acrobat in the picture and towards the heroic Boy Wonder beside her. Her heart aches for him. He's acting so nonchalant about sharing, but Mara knows that a piece of him yearns everytime he talks about his old life.

"I know I didn't know them, but they'd be proud of you. At least, I am."

Dick pauses for a moment, staring longingly at the picture. "I think about them a lot, and I know they would've loved you." His ears pinken as he looks away. "Just like I do."

"Hmm . . ." Mara leans forward, "Lo-o-o-ove?" she asks in a joking sing-songy tone, purposefully dragging out the word.

"Come on," Dick playfully scoffs with a boyish smirk. "Is it even a secret anymore?"

Mara's heart feels like it's about to explode.

"Do you want it to be?"

"No," Dick says, "I want the whole world to know." He leans in, resting his forehead against hers. "I know I'm new at this whole thing, but I'm willing to figure it out if you are. We could, y'know . . . be more."

A goofy grin forms on Mara's face as she clamps her hands together and flutters her eyelashes. "You mean, like super best friends with the birthday boy?" she teases with a dream-like expression.

Dick just smiles, used to her antics.

A blush creeps up on Mara's cheeks that she flushes down. She jokingly scrunches her face up. "Hmm, Boy Wonder and Wonder Girl . . . the stars were meant to align sometime."

The Boy Wonder leans back, cusping Mara's hands in his. "I'm sorry if I was acting different, or weird," he sighs. "I thought you'd choose him over me. But after these past couple of weeks, I realized that your safety and happiness was more important, even if it wasn't because of me."

"Wow," Mara snickers, "jealous and wrong, that's gotta be a record for you."

"Shush."

A sharp whistle alerts them.

From the doorway, Wally stands there with a proud smile. "Dude, sweet! Way to get that birthday kiss!"

On the other hand, a very mortified Artemis stands behind him. Her mouth falls open in disbelief. "Mara?!" she panics. "What are you doing here, and what are you doing with him?"

Right, she still doesn't know.

"Robin is going to be devastated!"

Dick and Mara share a glance, struggling to hold in their laughter.

Approaching Artemis, Mara puts her hands up in surrender. "I promise this isn't as bad as it looks."

Wally is the first one to burst out laughing. Dick tries elbowing him in the ribs to get him to stop, but it only ends up in him laughing more, which in turn makes the Boy Wonder break out in a fit of cackles. Mara clamps a hand over her mouth, concealing a grin.

Artemis looks back and forth between the three. It clicks in an instant and she deadpans, completely unamused. "He's Robin, isn't he?"

"Way to stay whelmed, Artemis," Dick laughs, switching into his cocky alter ego. The archer rolls her eyes.

"Ugh, whatever, I'm gonna go set all your presents on fire!" she groans, stomping off.

Wally still focuses on Mara and Dick, who's hands unknowingly intertwined during the encounter. The speedster wipes away a fake tear and sniffles. "They grow up so fast."

It's Mara's turn to roll her eyes. She shoves Wally aside so she can zoom out the door. "Move! I want to eat cake!"

Dick's eyes widen as he chases after her. "No flying around the guests!"

. . .

now that it's winter break i should have time to wrap this book up! i think there's only about 5 chapters left?  

if you guys have any ideas for things that could happen during their kid/tween/teen (14-18) years, please let me know! i might make a book based on it! :)