Summary:Peter visits the Wayne Mansion, meets two new people and trips the light fantastic with Helena. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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Life in the Wayne household if never simple. And rarely normal. So nine times out of ten, when Peter and Helena have a date, it's either at Peter's house, or it's out on the town. It's not that Helena's embarrassed of her family or the family home, it's just that…there are a lot of secrets here. Plus it seems like rubbing it in his face or something. She's probably more aware of it than he is, honestly, but it's still there.
Today, though, Alfred is busy elsewhere, so that's one thing out of the way. And then there's the fact that there's been a recent disturbance in the status quo that has her wanting to claim a bit more of the house for herself.
So Helena texted Peter, inviting him over to the manor to bake some cookies. And no, it's not a metaphor.
Cassandra, of course, had been informed (albiet only briefly) of the 'new disturbance' in the force, and had - at least in the house, been taking time either ghosting Bruce or Helena, depending on who was home and who wasn't. Except on 'dates', and certainly in more public settings, Cassandra went along as Helena's quiet, but competent bodyguard.
The girl in the exercise pants and gym top relaxed wear doesn't seem to have a whole lot of trust for this particular disturbance yet, despite Bruce's validation of him by the way she seems to exude that protective aura over her 'big sister'.
Peter came armed. A tin of Aunt May's homemade chocolate-chip cookies, nearly two dozen. The suit, worn under the baggy shirt and jeans, the gloves and boots easy to get to.
Getting to Staten Island wasn't too hard. A bus across the bridge, then the subway onward. He jogged the rest of the way, through affluent neighborhoods he felt he couldn't afford to WALK THROUGH, much less LIVE.
Then he turned a corner and there was Castle Dracula. His name for it.
He hustled up to the gate, then pressed the intercom. "Hello? Peter Parker to see Helena Wayne?"
Dressed in a black sweater with the sleeves rolled up, black pants, and combat boots, Damian Wayne has been accepted (perhaps reluctantly) by the Batman, and thus has access to both the mansion and the Cave. Emerging from said Batcave and covering his tracks in the process (aka, hiding it exists again), Damian finds Helena and he looks at her. "Working on something?" Damian says with a serious tone, not a lighthearted one. Hey, if there's gonna be a visitor…might as well!
Then the intercom went.
"….that answers my question. Need me to get that?' he looks like he's about to push the proper buttons and invite Peter in.
"Having a-" Helena's immediate instinct is to twist the truth, to protect Peter in case Damian isn't entirely on the up and up. And then she realizes before she's even finished doing it that the lie won't be fair to Peter, won't be something she can explain, and that Peter can frankly take care of himself.
Sighing, she puts on a smile instead. "My boyfriend's coming over," she answers honestly. "We're going to make some cookies. You're welcome to stick around if you want." She moves toward the intercom, pressing the button herself. "Hey, Pete! Come on in, gate and door are open."
The gate rolls back, and Peter can practically HEAR Vincent Price narrating.
"As the young hero strides up the driveway to the castle, little did he know what was waiting for him inside…"
Yeah. TOTALLY Vincent Price.
He reached the front door, then remembered she said the front door was open. He pulled the door open and walked inside.
He did like the decor. Early Transylvania in some places, museum in other places.
"Yo-de-lay-HEE-HOOOO…" he yodeled in the cavernous main hall.
Cassandra meets Damian with a critical stare that suggests she will most certainly be keeping an eye on him. Though, the young asian girl says absolutely nothing at all. Still, she stays where she is standing, her bare feet secured into the flooring.
Then, Peter's 'yodeling' catches her off guard, and she immediately frowns at the unwelcome and odd sound, twisting her expression with uncertainty to regard Peter - not with the same suspicion, but a bit of confusion. It goes away, quickly, and is replaced again by that blank expression of stoicism.
Damian looks Cassandra right in the eyes, apparently unintimidated by her presence. More than likely they will fight at some point, but for now, Damian considers her to be part of the family if his father approves. That being said, he looks at Helena at the sound of the yodelling.
"Is your possible mate usually this loud?" He asks her in a very frank tone of voice. But then he crosses his arms and leans against one of the counters. Clearly waiting to be introduced.
"Boyfriend. The word is boyfriend." Helena shoots a look at both Cassandra and Damian that says quite clearly 'be nice' before she steps out toward the foyer.
"Hey," she greets Peter with a swift smile, stepping over to give him a quick hug. "Come on back, everything's ready in the kitchen. I figured we could make some cookies, have a little fun, you know? Baking's just basicaly chemistry when it comes down to it."
She leads the way to the kitchen, bracing herself. "So, just a heads up, but things are…a little new around here. So there are a couple new people for you to meet."
There she is. Peter hugs Helena warmly, drawing back to look at her face. "Actually, Aunt May sent chocolate-chip cookies as a gift. For you and the family. However, there are a few recipes…"
He stopped as Helena spoke up about new faces. But Peter's response is to shrug and smile. "No worries. I like meeting new people."
Pete follows along with Helena. Probably a good idea, a guy could get lost in here…
Cassandra watches the hug, watches Helena's body language, and at least understands what Peter means to her and what she expects of Cassandra at this particular meeting. The girl lifts her chin at Peter - something she did not do at Damian's entrance, to greet him. But she remains stoically silent.
Damian remains exactly where he is, and he turns his head to look at Pete and Helena with a surely - deadpan - expression. Namely at Peter. "Is this him?" He asks curiously and he leans off of the counter. In the time since he arrived, he's taken off his boots, leaving him barefoot. But his attire is still very much the same. He approaches Peter, as if to take some measure of him before he comes to a stop. Well, talk about a brotherly staredown at the sister's boyfriend. "Going to introduce us?" He asks Helena finally.
"No, this is a stranger who wandered into the foyer. Peter's still out there yodelling. I figured I'd give him time to practice his voice." Helena gives Damien a flat look, then draws a breath and the friendly smile is back.
"Guys, this is Peter, my boyfriend. Peter, this is Cassandra," she points out the young woman by the counter, "Who is my father's latest ward and also my bodyguard when we're out doing dangerous things like being in public. And this is Damian. My brother. Apparently Dad's…youthful ways have caught up with him."
The kids are gathered in the kitchen, where the supplies for cookies are set out on the counter. Apparently it's introduction time!
Peter blinks. Well, Helena has a bodyguard. Makes sense, when you think about it. He wondered what hoops she had to jump through to ditch her details so they could go out.
Peter doesn't reach out to shake Cassandra's hand, but he does waves to her, giving her his most disarming smile. "Hello, Cassandra. Pleased to meet you."
And now we have the brother. It is uncanny how much Damian looks like Bruce. He didn't have to glance at Helena to realize the 'Mini-Me' jokes wouldn't be handled well. "Well, nice to meet you too, Damian." This guy he did extend a friendly hand for a handshake, considering he got close enough for it.
Cassandra looks at Peter, looks at the waving hand, and considers him for a long moment. Then, she moves into the kitchen. And, without another word she begins to assemble the tools required to make cookies. She has watched Alfred do it several times over, and knows exactly what is needed - she can't read, of course. But that makes no difference.
She might, in fact, at this point, know the kitchen as well as he - even if she might be clueless as to exactly how to cook, or why things in cooking are done the way they are. The rolling pins, bowls, measuring cups, measuring spoons, baking trays, are all neatly extracted, and set out.
See? She's helping.
It isn't terribly long before the door is opening again. There's a tall, rather muscular redhead in a short-sleeved gray t-shirt and black jeans with too many pockets standing at the door. She has a towel in hand to dry her short red hair. Flusheds kin and slightly heavy breathing suggest a recent workout.; This would be the irst time that Peter has gotten the opportunity to see the many tattoos Kate has all over her arms, but she wears them proudly.
"I heard there was a party going on and I thought I'd come visit before all of the snacks were gone," Kate notes somewhat drily as she presses her way toward the refrigerator to retrieve a bottle of water from the door. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything. …Ah! Hello, Peter. I didn't expect to see you here today." Yes, she did. of course she did.
Damian looks at Peter as he's introduced to him and without breaking eye contact, Damian shakes peter's hand. Its firm and brief, as it should be. Then he seems to nod. "Time will tell if the feeling is mutual." Socially inept. Yep! But he moves away from him before he looks at Kate. He tilts his head at her, apparently cautious of her. What? He didn't know her. and he's cautious of everybody.
"Damian's not from around here," Helena notes to Peter in explanation for his apparent lack of social skills. "Cass either. So any tips you've brought from Aunt May are probably about to be seriously appreciated," she smiles, wry.
"Kate!" she exclaims in pleased surprise when the other woman shows up, rushing over for a hug despite the sweat. She's a hugger. Someone had to get the affection gene for the family. "Hey, good to see you. Peter and I are dating," she explains. "So no work talk."
She moves over to help Cassandra with the baking supplies, flashing a brief, grateful smile at the other girl. Cass may be a little odd, but at least she's trying!
Da Boss Is Here. WHY is Da Boss here?
"ALICE…" he subvocalizes.
"Yes, Peter. Katherine Kane is connected to the Wayne family."
Jeez Louise. Then he looks at Damian and thinks, *Oh, look…it's my New Best Friend.* And yes, he was thinking it in Yakko Warner's voice. Then he looks back to Kate Kane, and noting the workout gear.
"Uhm…hello, Miss Kane. I came…over to see Helena," he managed, then looked to Helena. "Is there…anything you'd like me to work on?"
Even with the large kitchen (let's face it, you could fit his HOUSE in this kitchen) there were a lot of personalities here. He unshouldered his backpack with its perishable cargo, and placed it gently on a nearby shelf.
As Cassandra finishes getting out all the baking supplies with Helena's help, she offers a rare smile back to her 'big sister', then looks up at Kate arrives and again silently nods her head in greeting - but this greeting does not hold the tension she looked at Damian with, nor the vauge bewilderment that Peter got for his, well, unique entrance. She seems at least familiar with Kate.
Her eyes slide back to Damian. Presently, she sees no threat from his body language. Her lips press thin, thoughtful for a moment before she looks back to Helena, still not saying a single word to anyone.
"Work on calling me 'Kate' when we're not in the office," Kate suggests to Peter, laughing softly. "Phyllis will have an assignment for you when you get to work. Right now, we're just enjoying ourselves." the marine hugs Helena easily, enveloping the slender young woman easily in her arms. Helena is tall, but next to Kate she's small again, and that carries over into the way her cousin hugs her tightly right off her feet before releasing her to go assist Cassandra.
As Helena zips away Katherine turns toward Damian. She meets that wary look for a long moment, silent as she studies the teen from head to toe. THen she gives him a brief nod. "Hello, Damian. It's nice to meet you. …You look just like Bruce did, at your age." That's really all that it seems Kate has to say on the matter, and she takes the wariness entirely in stride.
Damian seems to lock his eyes onto Kate still. "Hi." Is all he says there. "Of course I do. I'm his son." he says somewhat pridefully, but he gives her an approving nod as repayment for a…not exactly kind reply. But then he looks over at Helena and he narrows his eyes. His social skills are /fine/ thank you!
No, no they're not.
He looks over to Cassandra as she eyeballs him, and he seems to raise a brow. Is she mute? Or does she rarely talk? He's not going to be rude and ask (yet) though.
"Hey, I said no work talk," Helena wags a finger at Peter, smile crooked. "We talked about this, a while ago. Kate's my dad's cousin, and no, nobody on our end talked about anything before you got the internship, that was all you."
No that all the supplies are on the counter, she looks over the crack team assembled here in the kitchen. An excellent team for taking down ninjas. Possibly more complicated for cookie construction. "Damian, you want to prep the wet ingredients?" she offers, sliding a bowl and a few ingredients in his direction. "Peter and I can get the dry, then Cass can mix."
Calling her "Kate" when not in the office? Yeah. THAT'LL happen.
He looked to Helena, then shrugged. "Okay, do you have a recipe with the measurements and everything?"
Damian's Little Lord Lannister act is starting to bother him slightly, but he reminded himself he had to be understanding. He found where Helena had gotten the bowl and pulled out another two, balancing one on each palm as he heads back to his "station."
Cassandra steps back, to give the others room to work. It gives her time to further study Damian in her silent repose, though she's watching everyone, eyes rarely still. There is, afterall, an entirely different sort of conversation going on with their body language versus the verbal noises that are coming out of their mouths.
Kate's body language is completely relaxed. It's like she's completley comforrttable in a room full of misfits, asocial people, and awkwardness. Really, the oddo ne out here is probably Helena, who is both exuberant and… Normal, at least to some degree. Regardless Of all of this, Cassie is flashed a rather genuine smile.
"Cassie," Kae calls cheerfully. She steps a bit closer and reaches out to place a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Learning to bake? Better you than me. I'm not any good at it." Her body language would probably convey both enthusiasm and encouragement at the prospect of Cassandra's involvement in the cooking process.
Really, Kate is just in a good mood, surrounded by her teenage family members and acquaintances. It's probably all the endorphins from her exercise routine.
Damian's body language is a tossup between calm and indifferent. With Helena trying to get him involved and interacting with everyone, Damian lets out a small sigh, he accepts the bowl and he gets to work. He apparently knows how to cook. Or at least how to prepare ingredients. It takes a few moments, but he'll get it done. Then he looks over at Kate and Cassandra as the former asks the latter about baking. Not his business, so he gets back to work on what he's doing.
"Yep, right here," Helena taps a well-worn index card on the counter at Peter's question, starting to measure out ingredients into the bowl he brings over. It appears to be a recipe for sugar cookies, along with one for icing. Because why would you just eat cookies when you can add icing? Especially when you burn as many calories as everyone in the room does.
Helena certainly does seem like the odd one out, keeping a smile on her face and bumping her hip against Peter's as she adds ingredients. Even to Cass's discerning eye, her body language covers any concern she might have over Damien. "So Damien, how're things going with Dick?" she asks, looking over to her brother. "Settling in okay?"
In this little royal scene, Peter's role is one he's played before. He's the jester. He moves along the floor like some kind of slow dance, moving between tables like a 10-year veteran waiter. He looks at the directions, then nods and hunts down one set of measuring cups, juggling them as he walks back to the dry-mix station.
Cassandra looks between Peter, and Helena, her expression - for once, entirely readable, even if the silence remains. Her entire expression has turn to a measure of that same bewilderment, and she looks directly at Helena as if to say: 'Who is this guy?' or 'Is he for real?'.
Damian looks at Helena as she asks a good question. He turns his head lightly. "Tolerable." Is all he says, before he takes a breath and elaborates. He should probably be more open with his family. "Its fine. He tends to focus too much on attractive members of the opposite sex, but he's slowly growing on me."
Like a parasite. Kidding.
He looks at Peter as he seems to be moving around like a master waiter, doing all he needs to do. Raising a brow after a second he just kinda…shrugs and looks at Helena. As if waiting to see if she has any more questions.
Helena's smile quirks at Cassandra's look, but behind it there's a genuine fondness for this odd fellow. Probably exactly because he's willing to be ridiculous if it means keeping things pleasant. "Yeah," she laughs to Damian. "He's a little bit of a flirt sometimes. But he's mostly just playing around. He doesn't care as much as he pretends to."
Helena, over here just giving away Dick's secrets. The normal question would be what he plans on doing, but she's not entirely sure the answer won't be 'become Batman,' and that's not something she needs to discuss with Peter.
"How's the photo work going, Pete?" she asks instead, looking over to Peter. "Work any interesting places lately?"
Helena gets another look, then a shrug and a nod. As long as Helena is happy - and Cassandra will be the first to acknowledge she isn't the person most up on social graces. She's just not used to people like Peter. Ever.
But that's okay. Cassandra goes back to people-watching, and cookie-making watching. She's so quiet, someone might forget she's even there.
Peter is measuring out portions of flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, according to the recipe. "Well, I was taking pics of Spider-Man while he was shutting down a slaver network."
He doesn't use the term "human traffickers." Not after what he saw.
Beyond that, there was a summer gig for the Halliwell family. Puff piece for the Bugle. Taking pictures of their mansion in the Hamptons. The pay barely covered the cost of my Uber, but they'll be on the front page of the Society section tomorrow. ABOVE the fold, mind you."
He slides to the side and knocks over a small measuring spoon, but grabs it before it hits the floor.
"Apart from that, no other tasks. I think JJJ is getting testy about me working for Miss Kane. He won't admit it, but Spidey pics sell papers."
Damian looks at Helena and he gives a little nod. "You should tell him that." But since he isn't asked another question, he just manages to finish prepping the wet ingredients before he manages to catch Peter's reaction time. Thats….really fast for someone who's - just - a reporter. "Nice reflexes." Damian says with a straight face. Its a compliment, he swears.
Though then he looks to Cassandra as she's people watching still, and he gives her an upnod.
"As well they should," Helena grins to Peter at the talk of Spidey pictures. "But honestly, he can't expect you to be a freelance photographer forever. Not at the rate he pays. And not when you've got more impressive prospects." She looks back to Damian. "Peter's kind of a genius in the science department," she explains. "He's actually got an internship working with Kate. And he's starting at ESU in the fall."
There we go, that's a way to slide Damian into something resembling a normal conversation. "Have you thought about school, Damian? Dad's kind of…dead set on it," she adds with a slight roll of her eyes.
Peter grinned. Kind of a genius. He ALMOST says the number, but that would be bragging. He needs to connect with Helena's family, not distance himself from them.
"It's been a VERY busy year. And I guess I have to stick up for Spidey, even though he calls me The Stalker. Although the bounty DID get lifted. So there's that. And I hear some detective named DeWolff is getting involved. So yeah, it's been interesting…I think the cookie dough for this batch is done. Want me to fix up the cookie sheets?"
Cassandra, too, watches Peter, like Damian. She also watches Damian. These two she knows the least, so reading them is paramount - she's spent a lot of time with Helena and is certainly comfortable with the other girl, and Kate is a trusted face for a few reasons.
It's hard to miss the body language that 'speaks' between Helena and Peter, and the young woman twists her face briefly in thought about seeing that, but she remains silent on the matter.
Damian looks at Peter as he seems to not make any comment on the reflexes, so Damian keeps an eye on him for a moment before moving on. He looks at Helena as she asks him about school. "I doubt I have the choice. He will likely send me to a nearby college on a scholarship, or simply allow me to pay the fee of entry." Did Damian really need the schooling? Probably not, but it'd be good for him to be around more kids his own age.
"Perhaps Father will speak of it with me tonight, but I don't know what my situation is in an educational sense."
Helena would ask what Damian's favorite subject is, but the answer is probably 'stabbing.' Sometimes it's better not to ask certain questions. "Almost ready for pans," she nods to Peter, passing the bowl of wet ingredients and the bowl of dry ingredients to Cassandra to let her handle the mixing. This way, everybody gets a chance to help. Because of course that's important to Helena.
"Well, don't let him push you into something you're not interested in," she advises Damian. "He can be a little bit of a pusher, but…He means well."
Peter strolls over to get four cookie sheets. As he heads back, he spots the Alexa unit and smiles. "Anyone mind a little music while we get these cooking?" A thought comes to him. It's crazy, but it was a missed opportunity at graduation…
Cassandra looks at Peter, her expression blank as the question is phrased, but the general 'feel' of that expression suggests she doesn't care. Instead, Cassandra moves towards Damian, giving Helena and Peter a bit of space as if she sensed, or - more aptly read, his body language and the true intent of the question.
She looks Damian up, then down, and then moves to stand beside him in her silent repose.
Damian looks at Helena and he gives a subtle nod. "So I have been told. My Father is wise, and he will know what to do." He then looks to Peter. "So long as it is not Yodeling, I believe this is acceptable." he says with a straight face, before he looks to Cassandra as she…stands right there beside him. He blinks at her. "Hi." is all he says to her before he looks at Helena. "The wet ingredients are ready."
"Go ahead, hit it," Helena grins to Peter, though Damian's reply gets an arch of her brow. "Yeah…not that wise." After all, he managed to end up with a Damian. "But I'm sure he'll appreciate your willingness to follow orders." Even Cass may have a hard time untangling that one.
Peter grins, and whispers to the Alexa unit. He heads back with the cookie sheets.
Then Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feeling" comes up, the muted tones echoing in the kitchen.
Peter grins and starts mixing the wet and dry halves together with Helena. As he does, his feet begin to move to the beat. His footwork is pretty good, like tap-dancing without tap shoes. He smiles to Helena as they mix everything up, before Peter begins to lay our large dollops of cookie dough on it, spacing it evenly.
Cassandra nods once to Damian in return to his greeting, though the nod is stiff, formal. She, moreso than him, socially inept and completely comfortable in observing, rather than participating anymore than she already has.
Damian doesn't respond to Helena, because he's distracted by Peter's choice in music. He doesn't seem to enjoy it, but he also doesn't comment on it. Behave Damian. He does look at Cassandra once again though. "…can I help you with anything?" he might as well ask if she's going to be by him. Of course he doesn't know that she can't talk, and just thinks she's shy at the moment. Then he seems to realize it. His body language screams it. He simply gives a light smile to her in mild understanding.
Helena's smile flickers at first when Peter turns on the music, slowly growing as he starts to dance until it breaks into a broad grin as she laughs. "Let someone else do the cookies," she says, nudging the cookie sheet and the dough toward Damian and Cassandra. "Show me how you're doing that."
She reaches for his hand to pull him over to a clear spot on the floor, watching his feet move. Helena is very good at following instructions. But on her own? Dancing freestyle is not in her skill set.
Peter grins, taking her hand as he moves along the aisle towards the ovens, checking them to see if they are pre-heated before moving Helena backwards as his feet move. While his feet are gliding over the floor, he picks up one sheet that already has dough on it and two-steps with Helena to the oven, elbowing it open, sliding the sheet in, then closing it with a knee lift before turning back to Helena, smiling that same hangdog smile.
Peter Parker, the Prancing Pastry Chef.
Cassandra at least knows this part. She moves into where the raw cookie dough is, and begins to put dollops of the dough onto the tray, demonstrating for Damien, then pointing at the bowl meaningfully while the two dance spontaneously as if it didn't bother her in the least - which it doesn't honestly seem to.
She's helped Alfred do this before, and she's fairly efficient at it because of this.
Damian's never made cookies before. Where many people have the 'cook with dad or butler', Damian had 'here Damian, go infiltrate this high-security facility and bring back the architectural plans'. But, when Helena and Peter are apparently deciding to dance together. Damian raises a brow at them before looking to Cassandra as she shows him how to do it. He seems to nod, and he starts following as she does. apparently he's not much of a dancer.
Helena laughs as she watches Peter dance, following around awkwardly for a few moments until she catches up with it. Eventually, she has the count well enough to start following along, though it's far from perfect. But she's trying all the same. She knows Damian and Cassandra are working on the cookies, but hey, a little cheerful kitchen dancing is good for them.
Peter had danced with Aunt May a hundred times. Some times with Uncle Ben watching, telling him, "Don't get fresh with my girl, Peter…" Then just them, working through the grief and the loneliness. Thenm more energetic stuff, with Aunt May unable to keep up, but Peter did it anyway because it entertained Aunt May, and that is never a bad thing.
"We never got to do this at graduation," Peter said quickly, twirling Helena around as he spoke.
Cassandra eventually wandered off, and Damian was left to remain preparing the cookies. He hopes they like them burnt, considering he'll probably mess up. But once all the dough for this specific tray is set, he turns around to look at the dancing people with a deadpanned expression. "Its ready for baking."
Helena spins at Peter's direction, and if her execution is less than perfect, her balance is flawless. Not to mention her smile. When Damian announces that the cookies are ready, she laughs, slipping an arm around Peter's waist to slow the dancing and turn her attention more fully toward her brother. "It's okay, we've got to wait for the first batch to finish before we put them in," she explains.
"We-" She grins over at Peter, then back to Damian. "Peter invited me to his graduation dance. But it got sort of interrupted before we had a chance to dance. White Rabbit, right?" she asks with a look to Peter. "Did you have dances?" she asks her brother. Even assassins have to like to get down sometimes, right?
"Yep." Peter nodded, dipped Helena, then said, "The ones I put in this oven need another eight minutes. Put those in for 11 minutes. I'll note the time."
He looks back to Helena. "I was hoping to dance with you at least once. Missed my shot, but never forgot…" He chuckled. "Hope Mr. Pennyworth doesn't mind…"
Damian looks at Helena and Peter as they both tell him its not - really - time yet for the cookies, as the ones in the oven arn't done yet. So, instead, he puts the cookies down (NOW!) and he crosses his arms if but to lean against the counter again. He seems to still blink at Peter and Helena, apparently not knowing what at all they're talking about. School dance? White Rabbit? Were they on drugs?
"Alfred probably won't mind."
"What, that we're dancing in the kitchen?" Helena laughs. "No, I doubt he'll mind that at all. He'll mind if we make a mess in the oven, though." She leaves her arm around Peter's waist, even as she watches Damian to try to get a feel for his reactions. For what's going on under the surface. Years of practice mean she can read her father like a book, but as much as Damian may look like him, he's still an unknown quantity.
"To be honest, I hadn't really gone to a lot of dances," she admits. "I didn't make a lot of close friends at school, and it always meant there was going to be a lot of security and public scrutiny. And no one ever asked. So…it just didn't really seem worth the effort, you know?"
Peter nods, sliding in a controled slide with Helena moving right along with him. He's controlling it, though and he stops right in front of the oven as the song ends. He smiles to Helena, his feet moving to stand stationary on the floor. "Well…I hope you enjoyed this one, Helena." He winks.
Damian was a pretty hard book to read, as he still kept his arms crossed and he watched them both. Though even as Helena watches him for reactions, he seems to make…really no reaction. He doesn't dance, so he's not much interested in that sort of thing. He does look over at Peter then as he apparently timed it right too. He remains silent. He looks almost bored.
"I did. Thank you." Helena leans in to brush a kiss to Peter's cheek, then looks back to Damian with a faint sigh. "You know what we should do? We should put in a movie while these bake. How about Star Wars?" she suggests, lining up the cookie sheets to wait for the oven. "I think you'll like that one, Damian." Or else get ideas about galatic domination, but at least she's trying.