"Pass the salt, Damian."

"No."

"Damian, please pass the salt."

"No."

"You little-"

"Boys," Bruce intervened, sighing heavily.

Tim sat back, eyes bright and calculating. Duke had always found Tim to be slightly scary, with the way he seemed to take in everything and process it in lightning speed. It always made him feel like he was being judged.

Which, he was pretty sure, he was. The family didn't seem to take kindly to strangers.

"Damian, would you pass Tim the salt?"

Damian glared at his father, but reluctantly shoved the salt in Tim's direction. If Tim scared him, then Damian terrified him- Duke swore that everytime he saw the kid he had been sharpening his knives, or staring at Duke with an inscrutable face that he saw in his nightmares.

So, overall, his first week in Wayne Manor hadn't exactly been pleasant.

Opposite him, Dick was inhaling his dinner like a speedster, snatching bits off Damian's plate and ignoring his violent protests. Duke shuddered at the courage Dick possessed to steal from the demon, vaguely recalling the knives Damian had thrown at Tim for doing the same thing. Of course, it was Dick- although Duke was new, even he could see that Dick and Damian had some indescribable bond between them. It also helped that out of all the people sitting at the table, Dick was almost certainly the least murdery.

"Jesus Christ, Dick, it's not like the food is going anywhere."

"Shut up, Jason! I'm enjoying Alfie's food while I can!"

Speaking of murder...

Duke looked up slowly and glanced at Jason Todd. The man was sitting with his feet up on the table (god forbid Alfred finds out), throwing bits of food in the air and catching it with his mouth. He seemed casual here, almost at home, but his hands kept flicking to his hips where his guns were holstered.

Duke gulped and mentally cursed himself for not wearing a bulletproof vest.

As if hearing his thoughts, Jason Todd's eyes suddenly snapped towards him, and Duke's heart nearly jumped out of his mouth. He quickly looked down and focused intently on cutting his steak.

"Hey, new kid."

Pretend you didn't hear him, Duke thought. Maybe he'll leave you alone.

"New kid! Hey, Duke!"

Swallowing hard, Duke looked up and stared straight ahead. "Uh, yeah, hey."

While he had at least gotten accustomed to the presence of the others, today was the first time he had seen Jason, and he hoped that his discomfort hadn't been too obvious.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jason grin. "How's the first week here, huh? Getting along with the others?"

"Well... I mean, I guess-"

"Demon Brat try to kill you yet?"

"Jason!" Dick sounded horrified. "I'll have you know Damian's been on his best behaviour since Duke came, no threats or anything!"

Best behaviour? Duke's mind flashed back once again to Damian throwing knives at Tim, screaming at the top of his lungs about the numerous ways to skin a human being.

Oh god, what had he gotten himself into?

Duke flipped another page, savouring the rare piece of quiet he had managed to snatch up.

Alfred's kitchen was perhaps the warmest place in the entire manor, with the orangey-yellow light streaming in from the windows and the colourful plates and pots that decorated the countertops. It felt a little like home, and it smelled like it too, with the scent of freshly baked cookies wafting in the air. He didn't feel like a stranger here, which was nice for a change.

Plus, something about Alfred just made him feel all fuzzy inside. He still hadn't quite figured it out yet.

"Master Duke, you wouldn't mind trying my new batch of cookies, would you?"

Duke looked up from his book. "Uh, no, I wouldn't mind."

He picked up the largest one and bit off a piece, letting the chocolate melt in his mouth. He quickly shoved the rest of it down.

"You like it, I presume?"

Duke nodded vigorously, mouth still full of chocolatey goodness. Alfred smiled, eyes wrinkling up in the corner, and Duke felt that warmness in his chest again.

"How has your first week in the Manor been? Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Mm- well-" he swallowed the cookie, then licked his fingers. "The bed's really comfortable. And the food is great, um, you're a great chef- and Bruce has been nice. He's been training me, and I think I've been making progress. And it's really cool that I'm allowed to have a T.V in my room."

"And the boys?"

"The- what?"

"Your brothers," Alfred elaborated. "How have you been getting along with them?"

"Well, I wouldn't call them my brothers..." Duke winced at Alfred's expression. "I mean, it's been... fine. I haven't spoken that much to them."

"You should try."

"Yeah, but, they're so..." Insane. Dangerous. Scary. "...Out there."

Alfred patted Duke on the shoulder. "They're not so bad once you get to know them, Master Duke. Now, wouldn't you say it's high time for tea?"

"Uh, I don't really like tea."

"What a shame. Well, Master Timothy adores it. Can you call him for me?"

Duke blinked. "What- you mean, go to his room and call him down?"

"Yes, that would be wonderful."

Duke gulped, looking up the stairs.

"...Sure. I'll be right back."

"Tim?"

He knocked on the door, a little louder. "Tim?"

Duke hovered over the doorknob, unsure of what to do. If Tim wasn't responding, then it could mean any number of things- maybe he was in the bathroom, or maybe he was listening to music and couldn't hear it, or maybe he simply didn't want to open his door. He couldn't just barge in, could he?

Then again, this was the Batfamily. Any number of bad things could've happened, too.

"Tim, I'm coming in," Duke called, and prayed to God Tim wasn't going to kill him for this.

He turned the knob slowly and opened the door, peeking around it carefully.

Tim was asleep at his desk.

He quickly closed the door behind him, breathing a sigh of relief as he slumped against the wood. He was glad Tim wasn't hurt, and even more glad that Tim hadn't severed his head off. And now that he was here...

Looking around, he smiled a bit at how... typical it looked. It was like a normal teenage guy's bedroom; clothes scattered across the floor, books pulled off random shelves, crumbs from snacking illegally inside your room, Taylor Swift playing from the laptop-

Okay, maybe that last one wasn't so normal. He must've let out a little laugh, because all of a sudden Tim snapped awake, whipping his head towards Duke.

Duke gulped. "...Hi."

Tim's eyes were still bleary with sleep, and he shook his head a few times to get his bearings. Then, with a heavy blush, he turned around and shut his laptop. The music petered out.

"You're in my room."

"Haha, look at that, I am." Think of something, Duke, he looks like he's about to kill you! "Just... checking up on you. In case, you know, something bad happened."

Tim's stare was so flat it was two dimensional. "Something bad happened?"

"Yeah..." Duke scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I was supposed to call you down for dinner, but you didn't open the door when I knocked, so I thought... maybe... something bad happened. I'm sorry... I didn't mean to intrude."

Tim sighed. "It's alright. You didn't touch any of my stuff, did you?"

"No! I- I wouldn't do that."

"Really?" Tim raised an eyebrow. "You're better than every other person in this household, then. Including Alfred. He keeps taking away my coffee."

Duke glanced at the stack of coffee cups in the corner. "Well... maybe he's doing that for your own good."

"Not you too. For God's sake, it's not an addiction, I need it!"

"I don't think anyone needs that much coffee, Tim. Not even for what we do."

"Okay, statement redacted, you're just like the others. It's not like Jason's smoking or Dick's cereal addiction are major problems, right?!"

Duke laughed, shaking his head. This was probably the first time he'd held an actual conversation with Tim. He was pretty cool, truth be told. Still scary, but pretty cool, too.

"Well, I wonder if they like Taylor Swift, too."

Tim groaned. "God, please don't tell the others. They'd have a fit, and then never let me live it down for the rest of my life."

"I won't. I'm... kind of a fan myself."

"You are?"

"Yeah, I mean, a little." Duke blushed. "I had her CD collection, but I didn't bring it over here, cause I thought that'd be weird."

Tim's eyes were focussed on him, as if trying to calculate some complex algebraic equation. Then, abruptly, he turned around and started typing on his laptop.

Duke shifted uncomfortably, unsure of whether to get out of the room or not. It was pretty clear Tim didn't want to continue their conversation.

"So... yeah, we should probably go down for dinner..."

"You free June 8th?"

"What?" Duke blinked. "I- I dunno, I'll have to check. What-"

"I booked two tickets for the concert, so you better clear any plans then."

"Concert?"

"Yeah, that's what I said."

"You're going to a Taylor Swift concert? With me?"

"Well, duh." Tim stared at him blankly. "You're the only one who would wanna go. Besides Dick, but if I have to hear him sing for two hours, that's a solid pass."

"Oh."

"Don't worry, the others won't find out. To them, we'll be going to the baseball game. I have receipts and everything."

"Wow. Uh... thanks."

Tim shrugged, a smile playing on his lips. "I know we're not the most welcoming family, Duke. But we're not so bad."

Duke returned his smile. "No. You're not."

"Pass the salt, Damian."

"No."

"Damian, please pass the salt."

"No."

Tim sighed and threw up his arms. "Everyday, Bruce. Is the Demon Brat incapable of manners?"

"I am capable of everything you are capable of, Drake! And much more!"

"Boys," Bruce groaned, and it looked like he was developing a migraine.

"Father, I will not tolerate his insults anymore! Treating me as if I am lower than him! I am the blood son-"

"Here we go again," Tim sing-songed, scooping up a spoonful of pasta.

Dick shot him a look. "Tim, don't rile him up."

But it was too late. Damian's face had turned beet red, as if he were about to explode. Duke decided then to intervene.

"Hey, Damian?" Damian shot a glare at him. "It's not a big deal. Just shake it off."

Tim burst out laughing, spitting pasta all over the table. Dick and Bruce exchanged a confused glance as Damian fumed, his threats falling on deaf ears as Tim clutched his stomach, still laughing. Duke smiled to himself as he continued eating.

So maybe they weren't exactly normal.

But, Duke decided, he could live with that.

Yeah, so I decided that Duke needs a little more love! I don't know whether I characterised him correctly, because truth be told I don't know a lot about him, but I thought it would be interesting to see what it takes to become a Batfamily member. Anyways, as usual, like, favourite, and review if you enjoyed! There might be more chapters about Duke bonding with others, but for now this is a one-shot.

Thanks for reading, you guys always make my day!