Sunlit Gotham

Wait... am I a Middle Child now????

Summary:

"As your Emergency Foster Guardian," Bruce continues, "I can help find good families who would be willing to take in both of you, but I also wanted to offer you another option. If you would like, you both can stay at Wayne Manor with us, and I would file for either Permanent Foster Guardianship of you, or, if you choose, file for Adoption."

"Really?!" Bobby looks up amazed, "You'd adopt us?"

"If that's the choice you end up making." Bruce nods, "But I want you to take some time to think over all of your options before deciding. We - I would love to have you as a part of our family, but I ultimately want you to choose the option that is best for you."

[Hmm. You're talking about the remainder of the Smallville trip today?]

[And the Prank War.]

[Ah. Yes. That.]

[Oh come on Bruce, you know you secretly enjoy them.]

[Hng.]

— ☼ —

I look at Bruce in shock. He wants to adopt us??? Is it because he knows I'm a demigod and feels guilty about not knowing we existed? Or because I'm now the Spartan? Or because Bobby is friends with Damian and he doesn't want to hurt Damian's feelings?

[Did you really think I offered to adopt you because I felt guilty about the demigods?]

[I don't know... I was under a lot of stress still. I wasn't really thinking everything through.]

[Skylar... you know that I care about you, right?]

[Well yeah, I know that now, but back then... I wasn't really fully sure.]

[*heavy sigh* I'm sorry that I ever made you feel that way.]

[It's ok, Bruce, I know now.]

"It's... it's ok if we wait a bit before giving you an answer... right?" I ask Bruce cautiously.

"Of course." He smiles gently at me, "The state simply needs an answer by the time we return to Gotham."

That gives us three days to make a decision.

"Okay. We'll let you know."

Bruce heads back inside to give us time to talk and Bobby immediately turns to face me.

"We're going to let him adopt us, right???"

"I... I don't know. We should talk about this before making an impulse decision."

Bobby's face cycles through several emotions before settling on something eerily blank for an eleven year old. "... You're not still planning on getting emancipated, are you?"

"I already told you that I don't know." I answer with a sigh, "I... don't really like that option, especially now that I'm the Spartan, but we need to pick the choice that's best for us and—"

"But It's Not!" Bobby explodes. "It's not the best choice and you know that!"

I stare at him, taken aback by the force of his disagreement.

"Staying with Bruce is the best option! We get to stay together, we get to stay with our friends, we get to stay with adults who actually help us and don't yell or make us stay in our room or break our boards! We don't have to learn new rules, or go to a new school, or hide our toys, or leave people who have been here this entire time!" He rants at me, ignoring the tears that are beginning to spill from his eyes. "Bruce and Alfred and Dick and Selina all make sure that you don't act like an adult, and we get to live in a manor and live with Batman! And they can help you with the demigod stuff. They can help you with the monsters and the wars and the quests and all of the stuff that adults should have been helping with anyways! And they can be there so that you don't get hurt, or so that when you do get hurt you don't die! Or-"