The invitation had been Alfred’s idea.
“Family dinner,” he’d said.
Simple.
Comforting.
Normal.
Unfortunately…
There was very little that felt normal about Damian Wayne’s girlfriend.
She was a vampire.
Not the monstrous kind Gotham whispered about.
Not some mindless creature lurking in the shadows.
Just…
A young woman trying very hard not to make anyone uncomfortable.
Especially tonight.
It was her first dinner at Wayne Manor.
And despite Damian assuring her repeatedly that everything would be fine…
He noticed the hesitation the moment they stepped through the front doors.
She lingered just half a step behind him.
Her eyes quietly swept across the grand foyer.
The portraits.
The staircase.
The people waiting to greet them.
Dick smiled first.
Jason offered an awkward nod that somehow qualified as welcoming.
Tim looked up from the tablet in his hands long enough to offer a polite greeting.
Bruce stepped forward last.
Not as Batman.
Simply as Damian’s father.
He welcomed her inside with the same calm courtesy he offered every guest who entered Wayne Manor.
No one stared.
No one asked uncomfortable questions.
No one treated her like something to fear.
If anything…
They acted as though she’d been expected all along.
Dinner was already waiting.
Or rather…
Dinners.
One table.
Two menus.
The familiar meal everyone else would enjoy.
And another, carefully prepared beside it.
Alfred had spent nearly a week researching vampire dietary requirements.
Not because anyone had asked him to.
Because he refused to let a guest sit at his table without being able to share the meal.
Every utensil had been selected separately.
Every dish prepared with meticulous care.
Even the glass placed beside her plate was different, chosen specifically for the meal Alfred had arranged.
Nothing had been left to chance.
Damian glanced toward her.
She remained quiet.
Almost uncertain.
As though she expected someone to object.
Someone never did.
Jason reached for the bread basket.
Dick immediately started arguing with him over who had taken the largest roll.
Tim absentmindedly passed a serving dish across the table without interrupting whatever he was reading.
Bruce asked Damian about patrol.
No one made the evening revolve around what made her different.
They simply…
Made room.
It wasn’t a performance.
It wasn’t pity.
It was what the Waynes did.
When someone became important to one member of the family…
They quietly became important to all of them.
Damian caught Alfred’s eye from across the dining room.
The old butler gave the smallest nod.
Everything had been prepared.
Everything had been considered.
For the first time since arriving…
Damian saw the tension leave his girlfriend’s shoulders.
Wayne Manor wasn’t asking her to become someone else.
It was simply inviting her to take a seat.
And for tonight…
That was enough.