It took time but Jason eventually sorted things out with Bruce so his visits to the Wayne Manor became slightly more frequent. Steph and Jay had bonded rather well as both had a rebellious streak and a clear disdain for rules.

To Jason, Steph was a little sister he hadn't known he needed earlier.

His relationship with Tim, however, was entirely opposite from what the others thought it would be like. He had become fond of him much to the other's surprise. Bruce and Richard had been worried that Jason would not accept Tim as part of the family but that wasn't the case.

For some reason, the two had figured out that they were similar in many respects and it worked in bringing them closer together.

Jason had not discarded the identity of Red Hood though and still controlled Gotham's drug market because with his rules, the young kids and minors stayed out of trouble and the dealers didn't step a toe out of line so there was less trouble in handling them than usual.

With the Red Hood's situation under control, the vigilantes had slightly fewer problems to deal with. Life had returned to the track of normal as known to Gotham city; there were still the occasional crimes taking place but for the time being, there wasn't any major breakout of criminals from Arkham nor the rise of any new bigger threat.

However, that did not mean life had turned boring for them because the Kent family was coming over for a visit.

Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne were an unlikely pair of friends. Unknown to the general public, the real reason behind the close relationship between the two wasn't the two or three interviews Clark had taken of Bruce but the fact that they were Superman and Batman working together in the Justice League.

That weekend Clark and his family were coming to Gotham to stay for a few days and it would be Tim's first time meeting Superman. Needless to say, he was excited.

Metropolis' superhero was a legend not only in his own city but was also a shining beacon of light for those living in cities as far as Gotham.

"Have you met them?" Tim asked, looking up at Steph briefly.

They were both in the living room with Steph on the couch and Tim sitting on the carpet below. She was brushing out his tangled curls while he was applying nail paint on her toes.

"Yes I have," she replied, "Clark is very sweet and so is Lois. Though it will be my first time meeting their sons."

"They have children too?"

"Long story. The younger is Clark and Lois' biological child, Jonathan. And the elder one I heard was a clone of Superman created under Project Cadmus. But Clark adopted him and now he lives with them. His name is Connor, I think."

He hummed in reply, closing the bottle of nail paint that he handed back to her. But then he seemed to have realized what she had said as he straightened, feeling a tug on his curls, "you said he's a clone?"

"Yup." She replied nonchalantly, making him sit back as she was still disentangling his hair, "now sit still, or else your hair will get tangled again."

"Cool," he remarked, a smile playing upon his lips, "I have never met a clone before. Of course, I haven't met a Kryptonian or a half-alien half-human hybrid either. Triple treat."

Steph paused, realizing what he meant, "hey, you are not going to experiment on them."

"I know, I know. It's unethical and we don't do that to guests etc. I am not going to do anything," he shrugged, resting his head back.

"You better keep that in mind," she warned, "don't freak them out."

"Got it."

"And please get a haircut," she was tying up the curls that were tangle free in little ponytails so that they won't get tangled again. "It took me even longer to sort out your bird's nest today."

"Sure, I'll ask Alfred... Thanks though, I don't have the patience to brush my hair out myself. It all gets tangled up like loose threads in a washing machine when I take a bath."

"That's why I am saying you should get a haircut. It will make your hair more manageable."

Steph continued to brush out his hair and by the time all the tangles were out, she noticed that Tim had been rather silent. Unaccustomed to him sitting with her and not talking, she leaned forward to check and saw that he had fallen asleep.

She paused but then resumed taking out the bands from his hair, gently running her fingers through them to make sure that they hadn't gotten tangled again. Tim's head rested by the couch and he looked so adorable as he slept peacefully.

The sound of footsteps could be heard and she looked up to see Richard entering. She gestured to him to be silent and he too paused, surprised at the unexpected sight.

All of them knew that Tim was afraid of going to sleep and he spent most of the nights awake. He had eased up considerably around his family but he was still cautious about always being vigilant and not letting his guard down.

For him to go to sleep in the living room where there was a possibility of other people being around him at the same time was quite impossible. He was always anxious that the second he would fall asleep, someone would seize the opportunity to spring up and attack him. That was a superstition from his past that he had still not gotten over.

But right then, it seemed as if he had either been too tired to fight off the drowsiness or he felt safe with Steph around and trusted her to look out for him instead.

"Cute," Barbara remarked as she had come out there as well.

"Hush, you will wake him up," Steph whispered, seeing that the two of them looked about to laugh.

"Okay, we're leaving. Wake him up in time for dinner."

After they had left, Steph stayed there as she knew he would get disturbed if she left. She didn't know for how long he had been avoiding sleep for him to just pass out right then. So she wanted him to rest while he could.

She was scrolling down the texts sent by her classmates when she felt Tim's head bump against her knee and looked down to see that he had woken up.

Tired blue eyes looked up in her green ones as he asked, "how long was I out for?"

"Twenty minutes almost," she replied, checking the time on her phone, "not that long."

"Oh... I see," it seemed as if he too was surprised that he had been asleep that long, "you didn't drug me with anything, right?"

"Nope. That's your pastime, not mine," she remarked.

"Yeah, of course, you wouldn't," he smiled, standing up at last, "it's just that I... Never mind."

She raised an eyebrow skeptically, waiting for him to resume. When he didn't, she spoke up, "Dick and Barbara have come home too. They were asking me to wake you up for dinner."

He nodded, "sure. I am up now, I feel like I slept for much longer than it was necessary."

"You do know that an average teenager needs eight to ten hours of sleep, right?" She left the couch as well, intending to go up to her room.

"The key word being average," he added with a light chuckle, "this teenager does not need sleep."

"Every teenager needs sleep, you are no exception," she remarked, "you're going to get permanent dark circles around your eyes if you don't rest enough."

"Stephie, stop being a Mom, please. You know full well why I don't go to sleep."

"Yeah, but it's not that hard. You fell asleep now too, y'know," she reasoned.

He paused but then shrugged, "maybe because you were around. I know I wouldn't have done so otherwise."

"And what difference does that make if I am around?" She was somewhat curious to know the answer and it seemed Tim was sorting his words out.

"Well... Because... Maybe because I know if you're round, you'll beat the shit out of anyone who even thinks of killing me in my sleep," he replied at last with a soft sigh, "and I trust you."

A smile graced her features to hear that from him directly, "awww, that's nice to know."

His cheeks tingled and he looked away, "but you're not supposed to take advantage of this, okay?"

"I know, I will never do that. I promise," she replied, patting his shoulder lightly before leaving.

***