Raven Roth and Damian Wayne: The Walk of Life (Book 1 Of 2)

Chapter Thirteen

Raven fluttered her eyes open and casually glanced around the large room she had slept in. She was surprised that she felt so well rested having got to bed so late. The bed she was in was far different than her own bed at the tower, the mattress was soft and yet firm allowing her body to sink into it while holding its shape. She decided it was time to get up as she'd like to catch the sun rise as she would at the tower. Walking over to the curtains she noticed that they were very thick and looked like they were made of a heavy material which kind of made sense to her, Bruce and most of the family were out all night fighting crime. Daytime hours would be the only opportunity to catch up on sleep. Pulling the curtain to one side she stumbled back, the sudden brightness of the sun taking her by surprise. "How late is it?" She thought to herself as she opened the curtains letting the sunlight flood the room. As she looked out the window she could see Dick and Kori sat eating at a table on the patio in the vast garden. "Least I'm not too late for breakfast." She thought aloud turning to the draws to pull out a dark grey dressing gown. Raven made her way out her room and down the hall pausing when she got to Damians door. Thinking he'd likely already be up and training she continued on and headed down the stairs and stopped at the bottom. It suddenly occurred to her that she didn't know where the kitchen, back door, dining room or anything actually was, they'd gone straight to the rooms when they arrived. "Good afternoon Raven, sleep well?" Bruce asked as he walked through an archway to the left of the stairs. "Good aft. Afternoon?" Raven replied. Bruce smiled back at her surprise. "Yes, it's a little after one fifteen. Damian asked us not to wake you, thought it best to let you get some decent sleep. Kitchen is this way if you'd like something to eat." Bruce explained raising an arm, pointing down the archway and corridor he'd just come from. "Thank you, I didn't notice how tired I had gotten and I am a bit hungry." Raven said as she followed beside Bruce to the kitchen. "That's alright, unfortunately Alfred has popped out with Tim to pick up some things. The two of them really are the best chefs in the house but I can whip up anything you'd like so have a look through the cupboards and see what you'd fancy." Bruce said as they walked into a spacious kitchen. There were lots of cupboards, two fridges, a full sized wine cooler, a fair sized island counter in the centre that had a coffee maker with a fresh brew in it. "This is a beautiful kitchen. Your whole home is so big and spacious. I love all the woodwork I've seen around so far." Raven said as she took in the room and Bruce set down the paper he had with him on the counter. "Thank you Raven. It was built by the first Wayne to come to Gotham in the 19th Century and has remained in my family since it's completion, exactly as it was built, apart from some paint here and there. And the caves underneath. You're welcome here any time Raven." Bruce said as he opened up the fridge for Raven to choice her lunch. "Bacon, eggs, toast and beans?" She asked looking to Bruce to check that it was okay to just help herself. "Sure, fried or, well fried is all I can do really." Bruce laughed and Raven nodded with a smile. "Fried is good." She said. As Bruce and Raven set to make her meal Dick and Kori walked in from the garden. "Hey there sleeping beauty. Get a good. Wait, whats going on?" Dick asked looking at Bruce confused. "Alfred is running an errand with Tim so I'm cooking some lunch." Bruce said looking up from the food in front of him and Raven looked puzzled. "Oh no you don't, remember last time. I'll cook, Alfred taught me after all." Dick said laughing. "Last time?" Kori questioned looking to Raven and then back to Dick and Bruce. Dick walked around the counter and shooed Bruce away from the hob. "Yea, Alfred's Birthday, Bruce here insisted that Alfred do nothing all day and that we, as a family, would do all his chores and jobs. Honestly after everything Alfred has done for us we were all onboard, Except Alfred he hated it. Anyway, w got all the days tasks done and all that was left to do was dinner. We were planning on a big feast, a good 'ld proper roast dinner. Alfred is English, never call him British he hates that too, and the English love a roast dinner. Bruce said he would do it, no help, by himself, would be no trouble. What happened Bruce?" Dick said laughing almost hysterically. Bruce let out a big sigh. "I had to buy a new oven, new pans, the whole set and we got take out." Bruce said with a smirk as Dick cooked Raven's meal. "We got this beautiful lump of lamb, had potatoes, carrots, peas, cauliflower, the works. The lamb ended up on fire in the oven, potato burnt to the bottom of the pan and the other veg dried out as all the water boiled away. So now. Bruce doesn't cook." Dick let a long hard laugh out as he added the eggs to the frying pan and put toast in the toaster. "This was just a fry up, I can do fry ups Dick." Bruce protested with a smile. "Nope. No you don't. Not while I'm here or Tim or Alfred. If even one of us are here. You don't get to cook." Dick smiled back as Raven and Kori looked to one another smiling, both appreciating the family banter playing out around them. "There, all done. Enjoy. Kori and I were going to head down to the pool later, want to join us when you're done? D is out at the moment so feel free." Dick said placing the meal in front of Raven with a knife and fork. "Damian went out?" She asked a little down that she wasn't asked to join him. "I wouldn't worry too much. He would have asked you but he went out to pick something up for you." Bruce said sitting in one of the stoles around the sides of the island counter. "I'd love to come join you and read a book if that's okay." Raven said as she began her lunch. "You enjoy reading?" Bruce asked her. "Yes it's one of my favourite pass times." She replied. "Then Bruce should show you the library first and we'll see you when you're ready." Said Dick as he and Kori headed out the kitchen. "There's a library?" Raven inquired turning back to Bruce. "Yes, my mother was an avid collector of literature. Unfortunately I nor anyone else really spends a lot of time reading these days, only Damian when he was here, so the library doesn't get many visitors. I'll be happy to show you there when you're done, read anything that you take a liking to just pop the book back when you're finished reading it." Bruce said politely. "If you don't mind me asking, What was she like? Your Mother? I'd like to know a little more of Damians family." Raven asked a little more nervously than intended Bruce imagined. He set his paper back down and turned to look at her, she seemed to have a genuine curiosity about Damians life and lineage in a caring way but didn't seem to know how to word it. "Well, she cared a great deal for the people around her and also those less fortunate. Tried to give back to the community anyway she could, Hosting charity events as well as funding them were she could. Set up most of the housing schemes here in Gotham. She had a love for art in all its forms, writing, music, paintings that kind of thing. She believed everyone was capable of change and betterment, that everyone should be given a second chance to do better but understood that more often than not that meant earning it and not just receiving it." Bruce said happily recollecting his memories. Raven listened to Bruce as he told her of the type of woman his mother had been and found herself being happy with the type of person Damians grandmother had been but also sad at how he'd never been able to meet her or that she'd never meet her. "She did so much, so many things. I would have loved to meet her." Raven said as she looked down at her plate, the little moment of sadness she felt showed on her face. "She was actually a little like you Raven, fondness of reading, enjoyed the sun rise, used what 'power' she had to help where she was able. She sometimes felt a little alone against her struggles but had people round her to lift her up and help her when she needed it. She was also fierce when she had to be. She would have enjoyed your company." Bruce told the girl to lift her spirits. "Ready for the library?" He asked noticing Raven had finished her meal. With a smile and a nod the two got up and headed back to the main foyer and up the stairs. Instead of turning to go up the left set of stairs to the bedrooms, they turned right and headed to a set of dark wooden double doors that had a golden pattern over them with golden handles. Bruce turned the handle of the door. "This is my mothers library, and as long as you're here, your Libary."