The Intruder in The Cave

Chapter 6: Masks and Uniforms

Several days went by for the brunette and she had now been staying in the manor for a little bit over a week. Teo appeared to be more comfortable around Bruce Wayne and his four sons then Batman and his four proteges. Yet at least one of them didn't know what to think on how much she knew. Dick thought that Teo hadn't done anything wrong, but wondered why she hadn't brought up other things so that Tim could see if she was telling the truth when he couldn't. he got out of bed and stretched his stiff muscles before going to the bathroom and taking a shower. Thinking both the shower and a coffee would help wake him up best with his favourite breakfast of choice being cereal. "Morning Teo" Dick said when he got to the dining room, Bruce already wearing one of his best suits and reading a newspaper while Teo was eating a bowl of cereal. "Good Morning" the brunette replied. "Hey babe. Have a dream about me last night?" Jason said when he entered the room. "Nope. I imagine it was just you" she replied, appearing to try and keep her smile on her face. Grayson mentally scowled at his brother for what he was doing. The second robin having came up with a plan to try and charm her into telling them more faster so that way she could either get back to her old life or be sent off behind bars. Yet all it seemed to do was slightly irritate her for the time being. Bruce said that he tried to look for the phone number of someone from her family, putting his newspaper away. But informed her that so far he had been unsuccessful. Asking her if she could remember. "No. Sorry Bruce..." the brunette replied. Saying she was garbage at remembering phone numbers and didn't have her phone with her when she showed up into their lives. Dick sat down next to her, seeing her mood get slightly worse before she got up and said she was going to do some drawing in her new sketchbook she got from Tim. Adding that she hated having soggy mush for cereal before she left the room appearing to be in a bad mood.

"Way to go Jayson. You've probably put her in a bad mood for the day" Dick said looking unimpressed at the second boy wonder. "Hey. If she's innocent, available and likes me back then I don't mind getting a new girlfriend from all of this" Jason said before taking a bite of some of his toast. "The priority is to find out if she knows who we are behind the masks, and if she can be trusted. Tim's went through nearly everyone at Arkham and she's not related anyone there..." Bruce said before he suggested to Jason to try a different way to get her to talk. "Last time I checked Bruce, it wasn't a crime to mix business with pleasure" Jason said before he finished his breakfast and said he was going down to the Batcave to clean some of his guns and do some training. Bruce getting up too and fixing his tie as he said he needed to be at Wayne Enterprises for a board meeting before adding once Tim was done they might all go back to patrolling the city at night. Leaving his two sons alone before Jason said that things might be easier with patrols if Teo was with them fighting crime together. "Teo fighting crime with us?...why?" Dick asked. Jason said it was only a what if kind of thing, adding that she could be pretty good at fighting if he taught her how to shoot various firearms while Dick himself taught her hand to hand combat thanks to his skills over the years as the first robin. "She might even look good dressed like us..." Jason said before Dick said he thought Jayson didn't really like her like that. "Business with pleasure Grayson. Business with pleasure. and you don't know if I really don't" Jason said before he left the room. Dick replying with a 'whatever' before he said to himself that he hoped the investigation would end soon. 

Teo sketched in her room trying to avoid the rest of the family. She saw Bruce as being pretty good being thankful he was giving a roof over her head for the time being, while she saw Dick and Tim as being good company. Jason and Damien being the least liked by her as she was seeing Jayson as annoying while she didn't really like interacting with Damien. The youngest of the bat family and the brunette only interacting with each other if absolutely necessary. A knock at the door came and it made her scowl. The interruption ruining her drawing and she growled slightly before asking who was there. "It's me, Dick" Grayson replied. She told him to come in and he did so asking if she was okay. "oh I was drawing a picture, until you ruined it by spooking me..." Teo replied before asking why he was being sneaky since he was only downstairs a second ago. Also revealing a pencil sketch of the villain Two Face, looking so detailed he might have seen it as almost haunting, as if the half scarred suited man was right in front of her for a while. Only he had a big line going down his scarred forehead. "Oops. Sorry about that. You know I used to be an professional acrobat when I was younger. Still am..." Dick said, trying to lighten her mood, yet asked how she drew the villain so accurately. The brunette raised an eyebrow saying that she didn't know acrobats liked to sneak around before she said she was going to get him back for ruining her drawing. Adding that she saw a picture of Two Face on the news. Dick said he bet her she'd be getting revenge now if it was Jason who spooked her and she chuckled only saying he was probably right.

"Was it Jason or Bruce that had you leave breakfast early?" Dick asked. Sitting down next to her as she put the pencil down and went to cuddle one of her three teddies. Jason having a few days ago snuck into her room and left one for her when he went into the Batcave. Grayson adding that he didn't entirely think her mood was over soggy cereal. "Okay fine...it wasn't entirely the cereal...or Jayson..." Teo said, mentally muttering to herself that the acrobat seemed to be a pretty good detective. She said that it was because of her parents and where she used to live before she arrived at the manor. Dick nodded his head to show that he was listening and became serious, yet asked her if she wanted to tell him. Part of him telling himself that she was confiding something with Dick Grayson and not Nightwing. She said that her relationship with her parents had been in ruins for years ever since they divorced. Saying that for five years while she was having an ordinary and pleasant childhood on the surface. Her dad was trying to steal money an uncle was trying to save as inheritance for her when she was older behind the scenes. Even buying her a pet until he got bored of it and just abandoned the golden retriever by the side of a road like it was garbage. Dick mentally scowled at hearing how selfish and horrid her parents were to her. Not knowing if he was lucky to have parents who were kind to him, or if she was lucky to have parents who were still alive. "...there. Now you know why I'm in a mood" Teo finished. Part of Grayson quickly scolding himself for getting side tracked. Thinking Batman would give him a lecture for doing so if he was still Robin instead of Damien.

"It'll be alright Teo. You can stay here even if your parents demand the Gotham police drag you out of here...But if you wanted to you could stay with me" Dick said before telling her he didn't live in Gotham anymore and was only visiting to attend Bruce's gala and be with his brothers before she showed up. Adding that he didn't want to leave her alone with Jason if he was going to bug her all the time. Teo starting to chuckle before she jokingly said she'd burn down the manor with a live blowtorch if he left her. "Bet Bruce wouldn't be happy with that and you'd be arrested for sure" Grayson said, smirking a little and laughing himself. "Bet someone would have to catch me first" Teo replied before Dick left saying he'd leave her to fix her drawing of Two Face. Adding that he guessed the only villain that could rival him was the evil A.I Ultron since he was voiced by James Spader in a movie. Grayson then went into his room and looked at his police uniform hanging in the closet of his bedroom. Part of him not knowing why he went to the manor wearing it instead of just changing into something more casual before he left his city for the party. He tried it on making himself look presentable in front of a mirror before he saw Teo come into his room and suddenly started to kiss him. He tried to hold in his moans of pleasure before he snapped himself out of it. Seeing the his police uniform was still in the closet untouched and he was still in his clothes from breakfast, sitting on his bed. He scolded himself more for what he was doing before he deciding to see how Tim was getting on with research and help him out. Hoping things wouldn't go bad for his family, himself or Teo as he felt his cheeks heat up for a second seeing the image again of Teo kissing him. A small crush forming as he decided to go down to the Batcave until his phone rang as it was someone from Bloodhaven.