Dating was supposed to get easier once both sets of parents approved.
Damian had discovered the opposite.
Somehow…
It had gotten significantly worse.
Because both fathers approved.
Which apparently meant both fathers had decided to supervise.
The restaurant had seemed like a perfectly ordinary choice.
Quiet.
Upscale.
Far enough from Gotham that reporters were unlikely to recognize Bruce Wayne.
Damian had planned everything.
Reservations.
Transportation.
A table by the window.
An evening where he and his girlfriend could simply exist as two normal teenagers.
It was a flawless plan.
Until Bruce asked one harmless question.
“So… where are you two going?”
Damian answered.
That had been mistake number one.
The second mistake came fifteen minutes later.
When Slade Wilson somehow found out.
Neither Damian nor his girlfriend ever figured out who told him.
By the time they arrived at the restaurant…
Both men were already there.
Bruce sat at a table near the entrance with a newspaper folded neatly in front of him.
Civilian clothes.
Reading glasses.
The picture of a billionaire enjoying a quiet dinner.
Completely unconvincing.
Across the room—
Slade occupied another table.
Back against the wall.
Perfect view of every exit.
A cup of black coffee sat untouched in front of him.
He wasn’t pretending to be subtle.
He never had.
Damian stopped walking.
“…Father.”
Bruce looked up pleasantly.
“What a coincidence.”
“It is not.”
“No?”
“No.”
Across the dining room, Slade spoke without looking away from the menu.
“It really isn’t.”
Damian closed his eyes.
His girlfriend sighed beside him.
The two adults hadn’t come together.
That would have been too normal.
No.
They had independently reached the exact same conclusion.
Their children were going on a date.
Therefore…
Someone should keep an eye on them.
Bruce smiled politely.
“We won’t interfere.”
Slade nodded once.
“Probably.”
Damian looked from one father to the other.
Then back again.
Neither appeared remotely embarrassed.
Neither intended to leave.
Neither trusted the other enough to let them chaperone alone.
Which meant…
The date now had two chaperones.
One was Batman.
The other was Deathstroke.
Damian wasn’t sure whether to laugh or request witness protection.
As he and his girlfriend finally sat down, he noticed Bruce and Slade doing the exact same thing at opposite ends of the restaurant.
Watching.
Waiting.
Evaluating.
Neither spoke.
Neither blinked.
For one bizarre evening…
Batman and Deathstroke had become reluctant coworkers.
Not because of a mission.
Not because the world needed saving.
But because two fathers had independently decided that if anyone was going to embarrass their children…
It was going to be them.