Owner Pose
Stephanie Brown A phone call to Alfred had determined that this was a good time to catch Bruce around the mansion. Stephanie and Dick were already in Bristol, so it wasn't too long of a drive over to the mansion.

Dick's car is parked outside and the pair come in. Alfred directs them to the library. Stephanie walks in, wearing a zip up sweatshirt with the Gotham Knights logo in it, hands in the jacket pocket. "Well there isn't too much to dig up. I mean, my father, obviously. Anything beyond that would probably have to be made up. I don't lead a very exciting life. Outside of extracurricular activities at night behind a mask," she says, flashing Dick a smile as she steps in and looks about for Bruce.
Dick Grayson     Dick shrugs a little as they walk into the library, "I'm not too worried about it, but I just wanted to give you a little warning. You can generally handle yourself pretty well." He's in a stylish black winter trench coat, also taking advantage of warm pockets. As they come through the door into the library, he is also looking around to spot Bruce. It's suprisingly easy to lose someone in here, as he well knows from the years living in the Manor.

    "Bruce, Alfred said you were in here someplace, so make a noise if you've ended up under a pile of books or something." He seems to be in a good mood today. Granted, he's probably one of the positive of the Bats, but this goes beyond that.
Bruce Wayne At the back of the room, there is a felt-upholstered armchair that faces the fireplace. In it, sits Bruce Wayne. A book is unfolded at his lap, a work by Cervantes - Don Quixote. When he hears the voices he closes it, not turning around immediately and instead sitting there with the book on his lap. When he's called for he stands up, stepping around to the side of the chair and placing a hand upon the back while keeping the book tucked up under his opposite arm. Today he's wearing a dark sweater and blue polo shirt with a pair of neatly-pressed chinos. It's hard to imagine he goes out at night and fights crime dressed as a bat.

"Hello," he says simply, drumming his fingers, "I'm not quite so old and decrepit that I'm being crushed under books yet."
Dick Grayson     Dick chuckles and heads over to Bruce while saying "No worries, I didn't think you'd gone soft quite yet, but some of these books are pretty hefty." He looks over at Steph before turning his attention to the man who'd taken him in when he lost everything important in his life. The man who'd given him the tools to make sure what happened to him didn't happen to others.

    He takes a breath and starts, "I.. We wanted to tell you before anybody else found out about it. Steph and I are engaged, she said yes. We knew you and her mom needed to be the first two people we told about it."
Stephanie Brown Stephanie Brown follows Dick deeper into the library. She flashes a smile over to Bruce as he rises from the chair and turns towards them. But she lets Dick do the talking to his father, just standing by his side with her hands in her pockets until he gets out what they came to tell him.

Once Dick breaks the news, Stephanie pulls her hands out so Bruce can see the engage ring. It's nothing garish, or even expensive by Wayne family standards. A ring with three amethysts, with a line of diamonds curling about them and along the ring on either side.

https://images.diamondere.com/new_images/products/eugene/eugene_bg_am_am_0.jpg

There would have been a day when Stephanie would have been anxious, worried about if Bruce would approve of this. The confidence that she shows instead is something gained over the preceding year since Barbara mentored her and Stephanie earned the Batgirl legacy. Not that she takes Bruce's approval for granted. She just doesn't fear the moment like she once would have. She's grown up.

Stephanie walks over to let him see the ring up close. "Dick surprised me with it on my birthday," she says, which was just before Valentine's Day.
Bruce Wayne Bruce ponders the revelation for a moment, remaining silent. There's that infuriating lack of expression on his face that is impossible to read beneath, making whatever he's thinking entirely inaccessible unless he shares it out loud. Icy blue eyes shift from Dick to Stephanie and back again. When she offers her hand to show the ring, Bruce cranes his neck to look at it thoughtfully.

"Amethysts," he says, glancing up at Dick, "Fitting."

He draws in a breath, letting them stew on what he might think for just a little longer and then finally speaking up:

"I don't think you need my approval, but you'd have it regardless. I'm happy for the both of you. Very happy. Have you given any thought to a date yet, or are you taking it as it goes?"

A pause, and he offers the very faintest of smiles: "The press abhor a long engagement."
Dick Grayson     Dick may have stepped out from under Bruce's shadow when he made the switch from Robin to Nightwing, but is still holding his breath as he waits for Bruce's reaction, just like a kid hoping for his dad's approval. At Bruce's words, he takes a breath or two before answering.

    "Thanks, it was important that you were okay with this. As for dates, not yet. We've only been engaged for two days, we're still kind of getting past the rush of that."

    He looks over to Steph again, then continues, "We'll probably talk it over in the next couple days and see how we feel about it. It will probably end up being something of an event, given the Wayne name."
Stephanie Brown Though Stephanie has a confidence in herself she once didn't, that doesn't change how beautiful of a smile comes out as Bruce actually gives them his blessing and expresses he's happy about the engagement. "Thank you," she tells him, smiling and looking down. The young woman's expression is all anyone would need to see to know her feelings for Dick Grayson. And it wouldn't require Bruce's trained skill at reading people.

Stephanie looks back up, and slides her arm about Dick's waist as she stands beside him. "I've got school still, will want to definitely make it through the year and... yes, we need to figure it out still," she agrees. "I suppose I was never one to have planned out my wedding like some girls I know have," she says. "I'll just be happy if we can catch all the knives Cass throws his way to make sure he's still on his toes for me."
Bruce Wayne "Well, regardless of when this is happening, I'm giving you an early wedding gift," Bruce says simply, striding across the room to the desk there. He opens a drawer, producing a Wayne-monogrammed checkbook which he places on the counter before fetching a black and gold fountain pen from its resting place.

"The lake house. Dick, you know it, though I wouldn't be surprised if you've never been out there, Stephanie. It's on the property. By the west lake in the woods. My father built it for my mother, though she never got a chance to use it. It's bigger than your apartment now, but cozy enough that you won't have any rooms you don't use."

He begins to scribble in his neat, angular handwriting on the check.

"I'm writing you a check to redecorate and remodel as you see fit. This is a new and different phase of your lives, and you'll want to enter it as far away from prying eyes as you can get."

Finished writing, he blows on the check to dry the ink then slides it across the desk.

"Save yourself saying 'no' because I won't accept it. It's yours."
Dick Grayson     Dick had started to try and point out that he had recently bought a brownstone near the college so Steph was near school, but Bruce wins when he actually starts talking instead of just looming ominously. Besides, it would certainly be a better place to have a room full of Bat themed outfits and accessories then the triple locked room in the Brownstone. So win for heroing, but a bit of a trip for classes. Maybe he'll buy a Quinjet off SHIELD or something.

    Once Bruce slides the check across the desk, Dick picks it up and puts it in his wallet without bothering to look at the amount. That's not the important part, after all. "Thank you Bruce, that's great of you. And now that I think about it, you're probably right. Living in the city, we'd have people constantly hanging outside the house trying to get pictures and the like. And it's far more Batcave adjacent." He looks over to Steph and says, "So love, ever want to live on a shore? It's beautiful over there, I think you'll love it."
Stephanie Brown During the year that she's been together with Dick, Stephanie has gradually been broken into some of the realities of what his life is like with the impact of the family's financial situation. It probably helps keep her from being completely floored by Bruce's present to them.

"I imagine we probably will need that kind of escape," she agrees with Dick. "And the brownstone, plus my apartment across from campus, are still there for not needing to run all the way back up to Bristol to change or eat," she agrees.

She gives Bruce a grateful smile. "Thank you, Bruce. It sounds like it'll be lovely," she tells him. And for the girl who grew up without active or at least quality parenting in her life, she seemed to take great notice of the connection the place had to Bruce's own parents. "It means a lot," she tells him.
Bruce Wayne "If you're worried about the commute," Bruce points out in that way that makes even his longest of long-term associates wonder if he can read minds, "There's the chopper. You're welcome to take it from here into town. Or the subway."

When he speaks of the subway it's not in reference to the commuter trains the citizens of Gotham use, but rather the hydrogen-powered rocket sled on rails that quickly navigates from the Batcave to central Gotham in a matter of minutes.

"It's just a small thing. I never use the place and I feel guilty letting it go to seed. I'm sure the pair of you will liven it up. Room for children, too."

He puts the pen back in its holder and squares the checkbook away, standing upright with hands clasped behind his back.

"Alfred will insist that you let him plan the engagement party. You're welcome to use the Ballroom, but I understand if you'd rather pick some more neutral territory."
Dick Grayson     "You see Steph? You cannot escape the engagement party. Like it or not, when we're not on the rooftops wearing armor, the Waynes are society people, and that means certain expectations. Though in this case, I'm perfectly happy to let Alfred do most of the planning. We'll just sit down with him and toss a few suggestions in, and it'll all get done."

    He looks back to Bruce and says, "I don't see a problem holding it here, gives us the homefield advantage over the various socialites we'll end up dealing with. Easier for Alfred too, he knows exactly what he has to work with that way."

    He reaches over and takes Steph's hand, asking her "Do you have any objections to having it here? After all, this is supposed to be ninety nine percent about you, right? At least that's what all the movies and TV shows claim." He smiles warmly as he teases her just a little.
Stephanie Brown Stephanie can't help but a soft smile and a blush at the mention of children. "Well, get through college first at least," she says of that, but she smiles over to Dick.

She gives a soft sigh and then breaks out in a quiet laugh. "So, I guess you're saying that a quiet night around a firepit, maybe projecting Space Balls on the side of the mansion, is out for it, then?" she kids.

"Oh, Alfred would do far better with it than I would," she says. "And here would be great. It's familiar and... that'll probably be nice to have too," she says.

Stephanie closes her hand on Dick's, squeezing softly. "I just want to be with you," she tells him softly. "I don't care about the papers and all that, but I'm going to do my best to represent your family the way it should be," she tells Dick and Bruce both.
Bruce Wayne "I'll let you work out the details," Bruce tells them both, stepping back around from behind the desk, "Alfred, believe it or not, is quite the dab hand at making plans like these. He's been preparing for my engagement party for twenty years."

Not that such a thing is anywhere on the horizon. But still, a butler can dream.

"I've got to dash, but feel free to make yourselves at home. Have some dinner before you leave. Go take a walk and look at the lake house."

That said, he disappears out of the library and down the hall.