For a while, Lara and Talia spent a surprising amount of time laughing and beaming at how adorable Damian had been as a baby. By the time they started to reach the end of Talia’s photo gallery, the first traces of sunlight were just beginning to shine through the manor’s windows.

It was at this point that, to Lara’s surprise, her mother suddenly entered the room. “There’s my birthday girl!” smiled Lois, walking right over to her daughter to hug and kiss her before even giving Talia a little wave. “What are you two doing down here so early?”

“Mom?” Lara stared at Lois, who had evidently just gotten out of bed, going by her matted hair and dressing gown. “What are you doing here?” Lara vaguely remembered her dad promising that they would be at the manor in the morning, but she had assumed he had meant that they would come to pick her up.

Lois smiled. “Oh, your father came home last night and told me that you were sleeping over,” she explained. “Bruce offered us a room for the night, so we could all celebrate together when you woke up. We came over a little after Clark put you to bed. Anyway, what about you, young lady? Couldn’t sleep?”

Lara smiled, making a mental note to thank Batman later for letting them all stay over at the manor, before answering. “I was too excited to sleep, so I was talking with Talia. Look at these pictures she showed me!”

Lois leaned over to look at Talia’s phone and saw a picture of Damian as a toddler, sitting with a baby goat in his lap, looking absolutely delighted.

“Oh, that is beautiful!” Lois said, happy to join in the spirit of things. “You’ll have to show me the rest later, Talia!”

“What about you, Lois?” Talia asked, happy to exchange embarrassing mom secrets. “Do you have any pictures of Lara as a baby?”

Lara froze at the idea of Lois showing her baby pictures. Sure, there was nothing bad about them on their own (except maybe that one with the cow onesie), but they were still pictures from… before she realized she was, well… Lara. Pictures of herself before coming out might be hard to look at for a while.

Talia seemed to realise Lara’s discomfort at what she had asked, and immediately backtracked. “Oh my dear!” She gasped. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think…”

Lara smiled reassuringly at the taller woman. If anything, she almost took Talia’s slip-up as a compliment, as it suggested that she had forgotten there had ever been a time when Lara hadn’t been seen as a girl. “Don’t worry about it, Talia. I get it.” She said with a little smile at the older woman.

Lois also seemed to pick up on Lara’s body language in a matter of seconds. “Don’t worry, sweetie. I’m not gonna show any of those pictures.” Lois said, though she still pulled her cell phone out. “That being said, I do have plenty of pictures of Lara in all of her wonderful new outfits! Look how pretty she is!”

Lois handed Talia her phone, which showed pictures of Lara in a fancy ball gown, her ballerina outfit, and even the new Tinkerbell dress, the latter having been quickly taken by Selina and passed on the day before.

“Moooom!” Lara called out in protest, but in actuality she didn’t mind. She was happy to have her concerns and feelings recognized so completely. Not only that, but Lois had found a way to gush about her daughter, AND be gender affirming all at once! She really was the greatest mom ever!

Once the two mothers had finished admiring Lara’s new looks, Talia attempted to excuse herself, saying that she needed to get back to the food she had been preparing for Damian.

“Oh?” said Lois. “I was just heading in there as well.” She smiled at Lara. “You didn’t think I was gonna let my little girl turn 12, without her traditional birthday breakfast, did you?”

That certainly got Lara’s attention! Every year on her birthday, since Lara had been little, Lois always made Lara’s favourite breakfast; Red-white-and-blue Pancakes, with extra syrup! The birthday girl leapt to her feet and eagerly followed her mother into the kitchen, closely followed by Talia.
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The next hour was something of a culinary adventure for Lara. Upon entering the kitchen, she noticed several tupperware boxes filled with various types of falafel, hummus, soups, and rice dishes, along with a notebook containing the recipes and preparation instructions for each dish.

Lara was a little confused at first by the sheer amount of food that Talia had made for what was presumably just breakfast, but Talia quickly reassured her that the savoury food in tupperware was in fact meant to serve as lunch and dinner for Damian over the next few days.

To illustrate what she had meant by an “Arabic breakfast”, Talia quickly began working on a batch of fresh hot sweet rolls, served with honey and yoghurt, and a large pot of hot herbal tea. Talia was going to give Damian a breakfast like they had often shared together years ago.

Lois and Talia complimented each other’s cooking as they each prepared their kids’ favourite morning dishes. Lois had been sure to purchase all of her ingredients the day before and had brought everything over from Metropolis. No need for Lois to use whatever overpriced ingredients Alfred had in the kitchen, when she already had the ones that she knew her daughter preferred.

Things were going surprisingly smoothly, until about 5:30am, when Alfred Pennyworth entered the kitchen. The British butler took one look at Talia’s Arabic sweet rolls, and Lois’s American pancakes, and decided to one-up both of the amateur chefs who had seen fit to take over his kitchen.

Alfred wordlessly threw on an apron and started to work on a Full-English breakfast for the rest of the Wayne family. Bacon, sausages, and fried eggs, paired with toast, fried mushrooms and tomatoes, and beans. He had never managed to convince the people under his care that baked beans were a breakfast food, but he prepared a bowl of them anyway, in case anyone was feeling adventurous.

Soon enough, the various breakfasts were laid out on the kitchen counter, forming a veritable buffet. Lois had even prepared a few extra pancakes for herself, Clark and anyone who might want them. Once everything was set up, Talia went to wake her son, so that they could eat together.

With all the smells of breakfast filling the house, the various residents of Wayne Manor began making their way to the morning room where the impromptu buffet had been set up. The near comical platters of food were rounded out with hot tea, orange juice, and a single pot of coffee so strong that only members of the Bat-family were usually brave enough to drink it.

Bruce, Cassandra and Harper arrived first, looking surprisingly awake considering they had all come straight from a night on patrol. They had all changed out of their costumes, and seemed slightly taken aback to find the dining room so lively. Still, the three of them were grateful for the coffee and food, with Cass helping herself to a particularly large portion of the breakfast Alfred had cooked, as well as several flapjacks (Lara would always be impressed by Cass’s extraordinary appetite).

Lara was already tucking in to her first helping of pancakes, stacked high with generous amounts of strawberries, blueberries, whipped cream and maple syrup, when the three Bats arrived. She waved to them cheerfully, and they all smiled back, each wishing her a happy birthday.

Lara was about to ask Harper if any of them had actually gotten any sleep during the night, when Talia returned with Damian in tow. They explained that Colin was still in bed in Goliath form, and how they had felt it best to let the sleeping bat-dragon lie. He’d come down when he was hungry.

Mother and son then sat down at the end of the table, where Talia had set their breakfast, and struck up a conversation in Arabic while they ate. Lara smiled at her friend as he beamed at his mother through a mouthful of bread and honey. She rarely saw Damian looking so relaxed and happy at the same time.

While she didn’t speak a word of Arabic, Lara did pick up on the words “Colin” and “Habibi” repeated multiple times, which gave her a pretty good idea of what they were discussing. Damian would have had plenty to say to Talia about his boyfriend, even without the whole regularly-transforms-into-a-giant-red-furry-monster thing.

Selina Kyle was the next person to enter the room, not looking nearly as awake as the others. In contrast to her usual stylish appearance, Catwoman had noticeable bed hair, and wore a black bathrobe with fuzzy pink cat-paw slippers. Despite this, Selina was still sleek and quiet enough to steal one of Talia’s sweet rolls and a piece of Bruce’s bacon, as she kissed both of her lovers on the cheek, on her way to the coffee pot.

Lara smiled as she watched the various members of the Bat-family interact. It was a side of them that they rarely showed to those from outside Gotham. She almost felt a little envious of Damian, for having such a large and varied family, all leading the strangest of lives, together. Despite all coming from incredibly different, bizzare and, in many cases, tragic backgrounds, there was no doubt that this family all loved each other.

That being said, Lara could hardly say that her family was that different when it came to being far from normal. Her dad and cousin were both aliens from another world, her older brother was a clone, and Lara herself was only half-human. Damian having Batman for a dad was no stranger than Lara having Superman as hers.

Lara paused in mid-thought when she suddenly realised that she hadn’t seen her father since the night before. Lois had said that he’d headed back to Metropolis to fetch her, and that Bruce had offered them both rooms. But Lara hadn’t seen or heard him all morning, and he was never a late sleeper. Being solar powered, Clark was quite literally a morning person.

“Hey mom?” Lara asked. “Do you know where dad is? You said he slept over too, right?”

“He did,” said Lois. “But he had to fly off first thing this morning. Said he had some League business to sort out. I’m sure he’ll be back soon.”

Lara smiled. It wasn’t unusual for her dad to have sudden absences such as this, even on days as important as this one. He always had a good reason, and always found time in the end to see everyone.

Plus, for all Lara knew, “League business” could have been code for setting up a special birthday surprise with the other heroes. Even if this was supposed to be a special day for Lara Kent, not Supergirl, it surely couldn’t hurt to have a surprise appearance from one-or-two heroes, could it? After all, Lara’s parents had both worked with League members in the past. Maybe they could have convinced one to drop in and say hi? Maybe that was just wishful thinking.
________________________________________________________________

Things eventually started to wind down in the kitchen as, one by one, the occupants finished their breakfasts. Cass and Harper were the first to go, both looking forward to resting in each other's arms after a night on patrol. Not long afterwards, Bruce was ushered out of the kitchen by Alfred, who was insistent on the Dark Knight getting some well-earned sleep. In the end, it took Selina offering to escort Bruce to convince him to head upstairs, along with Talia promising to “join them later,” which in turn prompted Damian to choke a little on his tea.

Just as Alfred started to clear the table, and Talia and Lois offered to help with the washing-up, Lara and Damian turned to see a very groggy looking Colin enter the kitchen, wearing his baggy t-shirt from earlier along with a pair of sweatpants.

“Morning,” the redhead said with a huge yawn, “Did I miss breakfast?” He asked sleepily, looking around the room at the empty chairs and the dishes in the sink.

Damian smiled proudly and presented Colin with a sweet roll, and a small bowl of fruit and yoghurt he had pulled aside, as well as a sandwich with fried eggs and tomato. “Here you go, habibi. You know I wouldn’t let you go hungry.”

“You’re the best, Dami!” Colin said, sitting down quickly and biting into the sandwich. He paused curiously and checked between the bread. “Is there any bacon?” He asked with his mouth slightly full.

“Afraid not, dear. Cass got most of it.” Damian said, ever the ardent vegetarian. “Even if there was, I would have reservations about allowing meat through the same lips I like to kiss.”

Now it was Lara’s turn to choke on her juice. Over by the sink, she saw Talia smirk, and give Damian a small nod of encouragement. Damian really was her son!

It didn’t take Colin long to finish his breakfast. In the time it took Lara to finish the last few bites of her pancakes, Colin had already demolished his sandwich, and had made an impressive start on the fruit and yoghurt.

“You two feel like getting out of the house for a bit?” said Damian, seemingly trying to change the subject, after his brief bit of flirting. “We could probably all do with some fresh air and quiet.” The young Robin gave his mother a small side eye. He preferred not to be in the house when his parents were alone together. It was only a matter of time before Talia headed upstairs to join Bruce and Selina, after all.

The prospect of heading outside seemed to reinvigorate Colin more than any breakfast could have done. “Oh absolutely!” The redhead cheered. “I’ve been stuck inside too long! Let’s take to the sky!”

He sprang to his feet, stuffing another sweet roll into his mouth, and running out of the kitchen, only to run back in and grab a small container of Alfred’s beans to add to his travel breakfast. The butler gave a thumbs up and a nod of approval before the redhead ran off again.

“Is Colin alright?” Lara asked her friend softly as she watched the taller boy almost skipping as he ran. It was an impressive mood swing that reminded Lara of Krypto when he was told he was going for a walk.

Damian smiled and walked with Lara from the kitchen at a much more relaxed pace. “He’s fine. It’s just since he and Goliath merged, Colin is normally in control, but the dragon sometimes gives him… impulses.”

Maybe Lara’s parallel had been more accurate than she had thought. “So things like excitement for exercise is a bit of the dragon influence?”

Damian shrugged, “To a certain extent, yes. Though Colin was always a bit of a gym rat even before he was changed. I like to think it’s why the universe merged them together. Both very handsome beasts with glorious red hair, both love to exercise, both very protective of me, and both trans!”

That last part made Lara stop for a second, prompting both Damian and Colin to look back at her perplexed expression. “Both trans?” Lara repeated. “You mean that Goliath…?”

“You didn’t know?!” said Colin, almost laughing. “It was one of the first stories Damian ever told me about the big guy. He never told you?!”

Lara looked at Damian, who gave a slightly embarrassed shrug, which only made Lara all the more intrigued. “Told me what?” She asked.

“Arabic is a gendered language, alright!” Damian snapped, before Colin had a chance to say anything. “I had already named Goliath, and had been referring to him as male for a while, before Grayson finally pointed out that he…” Damian cleared his throat awkwardly, “...Didn’t have the “traditional boy components” of other species.”

“Oh, same!” Colin snickered, never missing the chance for a trans joke.

“Anyway…” Damian said, glaring at his boyfriend. “By that point, Goliath had been trained to respond to masculine commands, and so I decided to just let him continue living as a boy dragon.”

“Hell yeah!” said Colin. “Now I’m a trans dragon, as well as a trans guy! Us being merged together just made us more whole than ever before! We were already practically the same, but now it’s a universal fact!”

Damian rolled his eyes and smiled. “Perhaps I should add “lovable idiot” to your list of similarities? By all accounts, at least one of you two should have gotten smarter, but it doesn’t seem to have happened yet.”

“Hey, I’m a himbo and proud!” Colin laughed, giving Damian a playful shove. “Though it’s true, I don’t think Goliath affected me too much… except for maybe some food cravings. That took some getting used to.”

“Food cravings? Like… raw meat?” Lara guessed, thinking about the kind of stuff she’d expect a giant bat-dragon to eat.

Damian stared at his friend for a moment, “Tt, Kent, do you really think I would give raw steaks to any animal that shares the cave with Batcow?”

“Oh… Oh right!” She gave a small laugh, a little embarrassed. “So what kind of cravings did he get?”

“Goliath’s favorite treat was watermelon, but for most of his meals, he ate the same food as Titus. Just a lot more of it.” Damian clarified, having caught up with Colin, who had slowed down a little to join in the chat.

“I guess that makes sense…” Lara paused as the realization clicked. The two boys could almost see the wheels turning in her head, “Wait... Colin eats kibble?”

Colin shrugged a little awkwardly, “It weirded me out too for a while. That first time I got hungry looking at packs of dog treats was kinda a lot to take in. But y’know, after trying a few different brands out, I actually found a few that I like. It’s not like there’s anything in it bad for humans either. If anything, getting used to eating melon rind was harder to stomach.”

“I… see…” Lara was trying not to smile. She had remembered Conner telling her stories of how Beast Boy would sometimes eat peanut butter dog treats like cookies. Conner had tried one out of curiosity and actually enjoyed it. Maybe Lara’s brother hadn’t been acting as weird as she had thought…? No, no he was still weird.

The three kids made their way through the hallways towards the Batcave entrance. Even though they were meant to be heading outside, it made more sense for Colin to transform down here. Goliath would have been unable to fit through any of the manor’s other exits, and transforming out in broad daylight still had some slim chances of being caught by nosy paparazzi watching the eccentric billionaire’s home for a scoop for the tabloids.

As Colin led them over towards the service elevator, he removed his shirt to reveal that he was already wearing the nanosuit that he used when transforming into a dragon.

“Colin, have you been wearing that since yesterday?” Damian asked, sounding slightly concerned. “It may be nanotech, but it still needs to be cleaned every once in a while.”

“I have been washing it!” said Colin, defensively. “And I don’t wear it to bed. It’s just that I never know when I might need to transform. Plus… Well, it also works pretty well as a binder.”

“Oh?” said Damian. “I hadn’t even considered that it could be used in that way. Just please remember your time limits, ok habibi? ”

“What’s a binder?” asked Lara, curiously. She thought back to the time Colin had lost control and transformed accidentally, and wondered if this so-called “binder” was meant to stop that from happening.

“You don’t know?” Damian asked, somewhat perplexed. “I mean, I get that you’re… going the other way, but still.”

“A binder is something that some trans guys like me sometimes wear.” Colin explained. “There's lots of different types, but they’re all used to help reduce…” He paused, trying to think of an appropriate word. “...unwanted chest growths.”

“Oh? Ooohh!” said Lara, getting the point.

“Yep,” Colin nodded, glad his friend got it, and that he didn’t need to explain in another way. “Normal binders are tricky. They can even injure you if you wear them for too long, or too tight. You’re not supposed to work out in them either. But this nanotech suit does a ton of the work with a lot less risk!” Colin turned his attention back to his boyfriend. “Maybe you could ask your dad about marketing these to trans guys in need?”

Damian smiled and leaned up to kiss his boyfriend’s cheek, “I love your excitement and passion, habibi! But I’m afraid these suits aren’t ready for retail just yet. Not in the ways you want at least. Baba is still trying to convince his associates to come up with non-military applications.”

“That’s not fair.” Colin pouted, leaning against the wall. “I should talk to your dad about my idea. Maybe I can try and convince the folks at Wayne Tech too?”

Something in Colin’s tone suggested that his idea of “convincing” the people at Wayne Tech could potentially involve some Goliath-themed intimidation tactics, which prompted his boyfriend to interrupt.

“Let’s not get too distracted.” said Damian, taking Colin’s hand and leading him onto the elevator. “Before we head off, is there anywhere in particular you wanted to fly?”

“Can we go to my place?” Colin asked Damian, bouncing on his feet. His Goliath-esque excitement seemed to be growing stronger, as if he was ready to transform any second now.

“Of course, habibi.” Damian nodded, smiling at Colin’s eager expression. He then proceeded to answer Lara’s question before she could ask it. “As Goliath, if he wanted some fresh air, sunlight, and privacy, we’d fly over to a forest grove not too far from here. It’s become a secret place for both of us since Colin came back.”

“So… should I go grab my supersuit?” Lara asked, looking down and realizing that she probably shouldn’t go flying through the woods in her pyjamas. “I need to get changed anyway.”

“I guess.” Colin turned to Damian. “Do you wanna go as Robin? I know it’s daytime, but if you’re gonna be riding on my back…”

“No need to bother with that.” Damian said, shaking his head. “You deserve a chance to really spread your wings without all those straps weighing you down. Besides, I think Amirah is long overdue for a ride out.”

Lara smiled at the mention of Damian’s prized mare. Amirah had been bought for Damian as a birthday gift from his father, from none other than the Kent farm in Smallville! Damian had first met the horse on a mission, a few years prior, where he and his father had needed to hide out on the Kent farm. Robin had taken an immediate liking to the young filly, and it hadn’t been too surprising when Ma and Pa Kent received an out-of-the-blue offer to purchase the horse, from Bruce Wayne himself!

While in Smallville, Amirah had been named “Princess” by Martha. However, upon her arrival in the Wayne Manor’s stables, she had been renamed “Amirah”, which Lara had later learned was simply the Arabic translation for the mare’s original name. Despite the young Robin’s insistence that he had only wanted a noble steed that he could one day ride into battle, everyone around him could tell that he cared for Amirah as deeply as his other animals. Well… except maybe for Goliath, but he turned out to be Damian’s boyfriend in dragon-form, which was hardly sporting.

“She’s up in the stables at the moment.” said Damian, indicating upwards to the grounds of the manor. “We can head up there once you two are ready.”

Colin grinned at Damian. “So, the prince of Gotham is going to ride out on his mighty steed to try and catch the fierce dragon, is he?”

“Tt,” Damian gave a little smirk, “When you put it that way it sounds like one of Drake’s LARPing games. Before you ask; No, I am not going to be either Link or Zelda.”

As Colin chuckled at his boyfriend’s expression, Damian’s words caused an idea to spark in Lara’s head. She floated into the air, preparing to fly back up into the manor, before turning back to the two boys.

“I’ll meet you guys up by the stables.” she grinned, as she flew off up the stairs. “You’ve just given me a great idea!”
________________________________________________________________

A few minutes later, Lara was quickly flying out of the guest room window, towards the stables. She had been glad to discover that the outfits she had been gifted the day before had been left by her bed, rather than taken back to Metropolis with her other presents. One quick change later, and Lara was now wearing her fairy dress and wings. There was no way she was going to miss out on the chance to LARP with an actual dragon!

As Lara fluttered down towards the stables, she was surprised to find Colin, or rather Goliath, waiting outside. The bat-dragon perked up excitedly when he saw the fairy land gently in front of him, and gave an enthusiastic grunt of appreciation for Lara’s style.

“Hey Colin!” said Lara, gazing up at the red furry beast. It still weirded her out a little that the creature before her was the same kid that she was happy to call a close friend, but at the same time, she couldn’t deny that it was cool as heck! “Look at you! I’ll never get over how awesome it is that you can turn into a friggin’ dragon!”

“Are you two ready?” Damian appeared from the stable, leading Amirah out to them.

Damian had also dressed up, though somewhat more subtly than the others. The boy was dressed in riding pants, a loose white buttoned shirt, and a black-and-yellow hood and cape, which seemed to be from one of his Robin outfits. He looked ready to take part in a swashbuckling movie, especially since he had one of his signature swords on his hip. The sword in question was a black retractable katana, custom-made for Damian’s size (His father had had it made especially for him, in an attempt to wean Damian off of the considerably more dangerous full-sized katana that he had been trained with in the League of Shadows.)

“What the…!” Damian stopped in his tracks when he saw Lara fluttering in mid-air in front of him. “What are you wearing, Kent!?”

“It’s Mar’i’s birthday present! Isn’t it great?” Lara twirled in the air to show off her fluttering wings, “I figured I could be the magical fairy companion guiding the prince and his dragon on their journey!” She giggled, fluttering over Damian’s head, “Hey! Listen! Look! Watch out!”

Damian rolled his eyes. “Tt, I told you before I am not going to be Link.” Though he still smiled to hear a growling laugh escape from his dragon boyfriend.

“Shall we be off my friends?” He mounted his steed, and melodramatically raised his sword to the sky. “Onward!” And with that call, Damian and Amirah galloped off into the woods along the manor grounds.

“Hey! Wait up!” Lara called out, “I’m supposed to be the one guiding you!” She felt a dragon claw gently poke her in the back and Goliath nodded his head to the sky before spreading his massive wings and taking off.

The gust of wind from the dragon’s wings caught Lara by surprise, and she was almost blown back through the air. Recovering quickly, and seeing no other way to find her way to this secret spot, she flew off after her large red furry friend.