The cave was unusually quiet for a training day.

You were sitting at the computer station, sorting through mission reports while the others drifted in and out of the room. For the most part, you had gotten used to everyone's voices. After spending enough time around the family, their speech patterns usually blended into the background.

Usually.

Today, though, something was different.

"Hey, you seen my jacket?" Jason called from across the room.

You froze.

Your head slowly turned toward him.

Jason frowned. "What?"

"Say that again."

"What, the jacket thing?"

"No, just... talk."

Jason narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Why?"

You stared at him.

The accent.

How had you never noticed it before?

The New York edge in his voice suddenly seemed impossible to miss. Certain words came out sharper, faster, carrying that unmistakable city rhythm.

"You have an accent."

Jason looked personally offended.

"No, I don't."

"You absolutely do."

"Nah."

"You just said 'nah.'"

"People say 'nah' everywhere."

From the nearby couch, Dick immediately burst out laughing.

"Oh, they're right. You definitely have an accent."

Jason pointed at him. "Traitor."

"You sound more New York when you're annoyed," Dick informed him.

"I do not."

"You kinda do," Tim added without looking up from his laptop.

Jason looked horrified.

Meanwhile, you were still processing this revelation when another voice spoke beside you.

"Your observational skills are remarkably delayed."

You looked over at Damian.

And then you froze again.

The same thing happened.

Because now that you'd noticed accents...

You noticed his too.

It was subtle, but there.

A different cadence. Certain vowels sounded slightly different. Some words carried traces of his upbringing and multilingual background.

"Wait."

Damian raised an eyebrow.

"You have an accent too."

The room went silent.

Damian blinked.

"Obviously."

"No, not obviously."

"How did you not know this?" Tim asked.

"I don't know!"

Damian crossed his arms.

"I speak several languages. Of course there are traces of an accent."

Now that you'd heard it, you couldn't unhear it.

Certain words stood out more than before.

The rhythm.

The pronunciation.

Everything.

Your eyes bounced between Jason and Damian.

"Oh my gosh."

"What now?" Jason groaned.

"You both have accents."

"Everyone has an accent," Damian replied.

You pointed dramatically.

"No, but now I can hear them."

Dick nearly fell off the couch laughing.

Tim was grinning.

Even Bruce looked mildly amused from where he was reviewing reports.

Jason buried his face in his hands.

"This is gonna be one of those things, isn't it?"

"Absolutely."

For the rest of the day, every time Jason said something, you noticed the New York influence.

Every time Damian spoke, you caught pieces of his distinct pronunciation.

It became impossible to ignore.

By dinner, Jason was threatening to leave the table.

By the end of the week, you were still occasionally stopping mid-conversation and staring at one of them.

Jason would immediately groan.

"You heard it again, didn't you?"

"Yep."

Damian would sigh.

"Remarkable. It took you months to notice."

And somehow that became the family's newest running joke:

Not that Jason and Damian had accents.

But that it had taken you so long to figure it out.