Kevin's Brother From Another Mother (Sequel to A Gotham Christmas)

Shall We Dance?

The next morning, Kevin and Barbara woke up, and decided to have breakfast together. As they ate breakfast at the table together, Bruce was with them, drinking coffee. "How did you two sleep?" he asked, reading the newspaper regarding business and finances. By now, he knew Kevin and Barbara were in a relationship. He wasn't bothered by this. He was very happy for his son. He always thought Barbara was like a daughter to him. And to have her date his son was almost like an addition to the family. He of course gave Kevin "The Talk" that all fathers must tell their sons when they start dating. But he knew Kevin was never the type of man to take advantage of a woman. 

"We slept alright," said Kevin. Bruce nodded and asked, "You two got any plans today?" Barbara chuckled and said, "other than laundry, I don't know." Kevin brightened up and said, "Maybe if Jay's still around, we could hang out with him, maybe catch up on old times." Barbara smiled and said, "That would actually be fun. I like that." Bruce smiled and said, "I forgot to mention... Next Saturday, Wayne Enterprises is doing a fundraising ball here at Wayne Manor. Would you two be interested in coming?" Kevin and Barbara looked at each other. "I'll admit, nobody's ever asked me out to a dance before," said Kevin, "and I've never been to one of your charity balls, Dad." Barbara was shocked. "What never???" she asked, pretending to be dramatic. "Nope," admitted Kevin, "no girl ever asked me to any dances. I mean, I tried asking my babysitter out to the prom once, but she laughed and kindly rejected me. Her name was Haley Burkhart." Bruce cracked a smile and said, "I take it your babysitter was your first crush? Interesting..." Barbara wasn't jealous of this. It was only a harmless little crush. "I can't believe no girl ever asked a handsome guy like you out!" Barbara said dramatically, making Kevin laugh. "Well," he said, regaining his composure, "how would you like to be my date Barbara?" She smiled and said, "I would be honored to be your date, Kevin."

The week flew by fast, and soon it was time for the charity ball. Kevin was driving in his car, almost two hours before the charity ball was to start. He knew the line would be a hassle. He was wearing an old tuxedo his father wore when he was his age, except he was wearing a dark blue bow-tie to compliment the tux. It was a dark blue that would contrast against Dick Grayson's bright blue he would use as Nightwing. His hair was combed to look more properly. If his hair was black, he would almost look like a clone of his father. He drove all the way to Barbara's apartment. Once there, he knocked on the door. Once the door opened, Kevin got a good look at Barbara. She was wearing a beautiful green dress, her best earrings and necklaces, but her shoes weren't on just yet. Her fingers and toes were painted red. And she was in more dazzling makeup that she would wear for special occasions. Kevin's jaw dropped. "Hey babe," said Barbara, "you look handsome."

"Why thank you Barbara," Kevin said, regaining his ability to speak, "you look absolutely stunning! May I please come in?" Barbara smiled and said, "Sure. I'm glad you like my dress." Kevin came in, shutting the door. "It's lovely," said Kevin as they walked into the living room, "you look as beautiful as Ariel." Barbara giggled and said, "Aw, stop! You're making me blush! I always did love The Little Mermaid when I was a little girl. Ariel was my favorite Disney Princess." They sat down on the couch. "I'd say Shuri is my favorite Disney Princess," said Kevin. Barbara chuckled and said, "Okay, fair point. I guess she counts." Barbara found the dress shoes she was looking for. They were a pair of strap-on open toed high-heeled dress shoes. "We got less than two hours until the ball starts," said Kevin, "I left early cuz the crowd's gonna get crazy pretty soon." Barbara smirked and said, "No kidding. I figured we could kill some time before that happens. Wouldn't want my feet to hurt all night." She wiggled her toes. An hour later, Barbara got her dress shoes on and a nice coat. Kevin offered his arm and said, "Shall we?" Barbara gently took his arm and said, "We shall." They left the apartment and got to Kevin's car. Once there, Kevin drove all the way to Wayne Manor. The place was beginning to get packed. Kevin parked at his usual parking spot, and he and Barbara went outside. They once more held hands, walking to the front of the entrance. Alfred was up front, accepting tickets to all the attendants. Kevin and Barbara walked up to Alfred, and the butler said, "Ah, there you are Master Kevin. You look lovely, Miss Gordon. Tickets please." They got out their tickets, and Barbara said, "Thank you Alfred." Alfred accepted their tickets, and allowed the couple into the manor. There were tons of other guests in dresses and tuxedos. They were chatting, laughing, drinking champagne, and donating money of course. This was a charity benefit. Kevin donated $100, and so did Barbara. Also there was Jason. He was in his old tuxedo, with a red bow-tie. He tugged at his collar and groaned, "Ugh, I always hated wearing these tuxedos."

"Well I'd say you look handsome in it," said Barbara as she and Kevin walked to him. "Hey Babs, hey Kev," said Jason as he smiled, "You two look nice. Is that one of Bruce's tuxes?" Kevin nodded and said, "Yep. The bow-tie's mine though. He figured I'd look good in it." Jason nodded and said, "Nice. Still, I'm glad I can be around people I'm familiar with. Want to know how I ended up thinking Kev was a good guy, Babs?" Barbara smiled and said, "Sure." Jay smirked and said, "Alright, so I was buying some eggnog and peppermint vodka. Kinda making a Christmas cocktail. Kevin ends up in line with me by chance, buying ingredients for cookies. I gotta say, Kev did a pretty good job impersonating Santa. So anyway, I realize too late that I'm short on cash. But Kevin sees my dilemma, and generously pays for everything. That's when I realize that Kev is a good guy." Kevin smirked and said, "Hey, it was Christmas time. T'was the time for giving. But that's how I deduced it was Jason!" The two laughed. Barbara smiled at Jay's story, kissed Kevin, and said, 'You are such a sweetheart, you know that?" The three friends decided to look at the h'ours d'oeuvres available. They were provided by Chef Winston Churchill Ross, Chef Church was his nickname. Church was a tall man in his mid 60's, with proper graying hair, and wore the generic clothes a chef would wear in their profession. Kevin tried his famous bacon wrapped asparagus. "This is really delicious chef," said Kevin as he enjoyed eating. "Well thank you my good man," said the chef, "you must really be quite the food enthusiast."

"You have no idea Chef Church," said Barbara, "Kevin here can bake delicious Oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies." Church gave a look of surprise and said, "Oh my, that is quite creative. Who taught you to make such a recipe, Kevin?"

"My deacon's wife," explained Kevin, "believe me, I love to cook. It was a way to help me bond with my mom." Church nodded and said, "Cooking is always the greatest serenity. It can bring people together, regardless of race, gender, or religion." Kevin smiled and said, "Amen to that brother." Bruce walked over and said, "Ah Kevin, I see you've met Chef Church. Would you believe it if I said that Chef Church has his own show here on Gotham?" Kevin's eyes widened and he said, "No way!" Chef Church chuckled and said, "Yes way. I've been doing the show for 30 years counting." Barbara smiled and said, "I usually watch some of your episodes in order to learn to cook, Church." The chef smiled and said, "Well I appreciate that you're using my techniques in order to learn a great craft, Miss Gordon." Kevin smiled, already liking Chef Church. He would consider watching his videos. Kevin and Barbara decided to eat some more of the food, and then have some sparkling cider to compliment the food. Jason cleared his throat and said, "Uh guys, heads up. Blue Bird is coming with the other redhead." At first, Barbara didn't get Jason's code talk, but then she knew what he was talking about. Her ex-boyfriend and his current girlfriend. She groaned. 

Dick Grayson and his girlfriend Kori Anders, AKA Starfire, walked in. Dick was wearing a nice tuxedo, while Kori was wearing a beautiful purple dress. "Hey Jay, great to see ya!" he said, smiling at his old friend.  "Kev, Babs, good to see you as well," said Dick. Barbara gave a forced smile and said, "You too, Dick..." Kevin smiled sheepishly. "I see you two are together," said Dick, "Oh, this is my girlfriend, Kori Anders. Kori, this is Barbara and Kevin." Kori smiled and said, "It is nice to meet you both. My goodness Kevin, you really do have your father's eyes as Dick said. And Jason, it is so good to know that you are in good health!" Jason smiled and said, "Thanks Star. I can definitely say that I like living right now. You're still lookin' good. How're the Titans?" Barbara grabbed Kevin's hand and gave a head motion, indicating to Kevin she didn't want to be near her ex. Kevin knew what she meant. "Hey Jay, Babs and I are gonna get some fresh air..." lied Kevin, "maybe you could catch up with Dick and Kori. I, uh, appreciate what you said Kori, thanks..." They then left Dick and Kori to talk to Jay. "Sorry about that," muttered Barbara, "I just still don't want to be near my cheating ex right now..." 

"I understand Barbara," said Kevin, "I know that it's pretty awkward being around an ex. Hey, wanna dance? I'm sure that'll get your mind off those two. Besides, you're more beautiful than Kori." Barbara smiled and took his hand. A variation of the song "Cheek to Cheek" was playing, and Kevin & Babs decided to dance to that. "Gotta warn ya, I'm not the greatest dancer," warned Kevin. "Just try not to step on my toes Kev," chuckled Barbara. As the song began to play, Kevin and Barbara danced gracefully. Thankfully, Kevin was as careful as could be, and was dancing much better than he expected. He then did the dancing twirl he'd seen in every musical, surprising even Barbara. They continued to dance gracefully. And surprisingly, Kevin didn't even step on Barbara's toes. Once the song was over, the two decided to get some punch. "I have to say Kevin, you were very graceful," said Bruce, "I didn't know you could dance." Kevin chuckled and said, "Me neither. Guess I needed the right dancing partner." Barbara smiled at Kevin. For the rest of the party, Kevin and Barbara ate, drank, chatted, laughed, and danced. It was a night they'd never forget.