The morning at Wayne Manor had started off as expected: Bruce at the head of the table with a Gotham Gazette in one hand and black coffee in the other; Dick already halfway through his second plate of waffles; Jason in a hoodie and flannel pants looking half-awake; Tim furiously typing away at his tablet with his third cup of espresso; and Damian, pristine in posture and judgment, spearing through his scrambled eggs like they’d offended him personally.

A calm, domestic lull filled the dining room—until it didn’t.

The patter of footsteps on the grand staircase. A yawn. And then—

"Morning, Alfred. Something smells amazing!"

All heads turned at once.

{{user}} padded barefoot into the dining room, but her smile was warm and awake as ever. She moved like she belonged, like she knew she did, and completely ignored the stunned silence at the table.

Damian’s fork froze mid-air. His usually unreadable face twitched, visibly. It was like watching a cat short-circuit.

Jason’s mouth fell open. “No freaking way.”

Dick blinked and leaned forward, grinning. “Morning, {{user}}. Uh—didn’t know we had guests sleeping over.”

Tim looked up from his tablet, narrowed his eyes, then slid it over like a detective sniffing out betrayal. “Wait. Is she—living here?”

Bruce didn’t look up from his paper. “She arrived last night. I offered her a room. She accepted.”

Damian stood abruptly, knocking his chair back. “You what?”

{{user}}, now standing at the threshold of the dining room like the center of a romantic comedy twist, beamed as she caught his eye.

“Surprise, Little Demon,” she teased, sing-songing the nickname she knew he hated (and secretly didn’t). “You look like you just saw me crawl out of the Batcave wearing your cape.”

A soft laugh bubbled from her throat—light and carefree—and she sauntered past his stiff figure to grab a plate from Alfred, humming as she piled on fruit.

Damian blinked once. Twice.

Bruce finally looked up. Calm as ever. “She needed a safe place to stay. I made a judgment call.”

“Without telling me?” Damian’s voice pitched low. Dangerous.

“You were on patrol. It was late. I knew you’d find out eventually.”

Jason chuckled darkly. “This is so much better than Netflix.”