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The bed was cold when Dick woke up in the morning.He groaned and rolled back over to bury his head under his pillow. He could feel the cold leaching through the sheets, and no matter how much he tugged the duvet around his shoulders, he couldn’t quite get warm again.Dick rolled back over and reached an arm out to grab at his phone to check for messages. There was one from Alfred, checking what time he’d be round to the Manor. There were a few from his fellow vigilantes and teammates, wishing him a Merry Christmas. And a last text from Bruce, thanking him for agreeing to visit.As if Dick was going to miss family time on Christmas of all days.But nothing from Jason.Dick took a deep breath and forced himself to put the phone back down. There was no point stressing about the lack of communication. Jason had warned him that the signal was spotty in his part of the world and he’d probably go quiet for days at a time. Dick could feel him through the mating bond and he was fine at least, just busy dismantling an army-for-hire operation it seemed.He was supposed to have come home mid-December but his trip had been extended to Christmas Eve. And then a few days ago, it had extended again over New Year’s.It was hardly the first time Jason had taken a job like this, and it wasn’t the first time he’d had to extend his trip to get it finished; but it somehow didn’t make it easier to bear. Especially around the holiday season, when everything was about family and friends and the people you loved, spending time together and exchanging gifts and kisses under the mistletoe.It got a little hard for Dick when he knew he was going to be spending the holidays alone; or at least without his mate. Sometimes that little voice crept back up in his ear, that Jason was trying to get away from him or that he deserved to be alone. It was easier to fight that voice when Jason was within reach, and not halfway around the world. But he also had years of experience at dealing with it alone, so he just needed to make it through a few more days. And then he’d have Jason back in his arms and that little voice would be gone.Dick’s phone buzzed and he snatched it up to look, feeling a small burst of hope. Maybe…He sighed; it wasn’t Jason. It was Damian, actually: reminding him not to forget his presents when he went round to the Manor later in the day.Dick texted a quick affirmation back, before tossing his phone to the side. He’d already made his peace with Jason’s absence, there was no point dwelling back on it. Instead, he needed to focus on his family and spending time with them until his boyfriend got back from his job.Pushing the covers back, he padded across the room to open the curtains. The sun was up and shining over Gotham, glinting off of the blanket of fresh snow. He tapped his fingers loosely against the glass, feeling the cold ghost through the window. Gotham didn’t see snow very often, it made the city look strangely ethereal in the morning light, and it did bring a smile to his face.Dick usually hated the cold – it made for stiff joints and tight muscles, which affected his ability to fight – but he loved the way snow looked and the crunch underfoot when he walked on it.Maybe he could convince his siblings into having a snowball fight later.He quickly grabbed his clothes to get dressed, making sure to wrap up in an extra layer and get out his heavy-duty winter boots. He hesitated over Jason’s side of the dresser before grabbing one of his jackets. He’d rather have a piece of his mate with him than not.He grazed his fingers across the claim bite on his wrist and tugged gently on the bond. There was no response; but there usually wasn’t at the distance they had between them. Jason probably couldn’t even feel Dick reaching out in order to respond.Dick sighed, shoved his melancholy away and grabbed the bag of presents sitting in the corner; before heading down to his car.
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“Master Dick!” Alfred greeted at the door with a fond smile. “It is good to see you.”“And you, Alfred,” Dick gave into his whims and drew Alfred in for a hug. “Merry Christmas.”“Of course, sir, and Merry Christmas to you. Your brothers and sister are in the kitchen, dining on a small brunch. Master Bruce will be very happy to see you.” His hand lingered on Dick’s shoulder, gently patting the fabric of Jason’s jacket. “I take it Master Jason will not be joining us?”“No,” Dick tried for a smile but it felt more like a grimace. “The job he’s on is taking longer than expected.”“Well, we shall just have to have another celebration when he returns.”“I’m sure he’d like that,” Dick nodded, stepping into the warmth of the Manor. He shivered and dusted off the light covering of snow he’d picked up just walking up the drive. “You said brunch?”Alfred led him to the kitchen, where he could already hear the murmur of conversation. The smell of food wafted through the hallway, and Dick’s stomach grumbled, reminding him he hadn’t eaten before leaving.It was probably a good thing Jason wasn’t here for that: he did not like it when Dick forgot to take care of himself.“Dick!” Tim called through a mouthful of toast he quickly swallowed under Alfred’s reprimanding look. “Merry Christmas!”Dick’s gaze travelled around the table, offering nods of greeting. Cass was powering her way through a plate of chocolate chip pancakes and berry waffles. Duke and Damian were apparently tag-teaming a crossword on some daily puzzle app between bites of cereal and croissant respectively. Bruce was sipping a steaming coffee while he read through some Wayne Enterprises reports, but he quickly discarded them at the sight of his eldest son.“Dick. Thanks for coming. It’s good to see you.”Dick felt a slight flutter of anxiety in his chest; this was the first time he’d seen Bruce without Jason to support him since the whole Spyral debacle. He took a deep breath and then smiled back with a soft nod. “You too, Dad. Merry Christmas.”“Did you remember the presents?” Damian asked.“I remembered, baby bat, don’t worry.”“I was not worried. I simply didn’t want you to embarrass yourself with a lack of gift-giving etiquette. It is Christmas, it is important to do it right.”Dick bit back a laugh. Damian had come a long way from his first year at Wayne Manor, when he’d had little interest in presents or holiday celebrations. “You’re right, Dames, it is important. Gifts after brunch, okay?”Damian tutted. “Of course.”They’d done a gift exchange with Barbara and Steph the night before; they were spending Christmas with their respective families this year. Liana had promised to drop her gifts off the day after Christmas, as she was busy with charity work on the day itself. The only one who wasn’t doing any gifts was Jason, who was obviously out of the country. Dick had bought him something but he’d just have to hold onto it until they were reunited; whenever that ended up being.Dick shoved that thought away, taking a seat at the other end of the table from Bruce. Alfred placed a plate of warm waffles in front of him, complete with a bottle of syrup, which he gratefully dug into. The warmth of the room and the feeling of his pack being close washed over him, easing the absence of Jason.“Glad you came,” Tim said quietly.“You and me both.”The rest of brunch passed peacefully, the crossword turning into more of a family affair, with Duke reading out clues and the rest of them debating answers. Dick smiled into his coffee at the domesticity of it all: it wasn’t often that they had mornings like this.Across the table, he caught Bruce doing the same, and the two of them shared a soft melancholic look for the years gone by.“Alright,” Bruce cleared his throat as Alfred started to clear away the brunch dishes. “If we all head to the main sitting room, we can get the gifts started.”Dick stayed back to help Alfred clear the table and tidy up the kitchen, despite the older man’s disapproving look. “It’s Christmas, Alfie, I don’t make the rules,” Dick grinned, stacking the plates as he dried them to put away. “And I have presents for you so no hiding in the kitchen all day.”“Oh, Master Dick, you are far too kind.”“Not where you’re concerned. Come on!”Dick gently tugged Alfred through to the sitting room, where his family were settling down and passing out presents.“You know the rules,” Bruce announced, holding out a wrapped present towards Damian. “Youngest to oldest.”Damian’s first present was a brand new sketchpad, complete with new pencils to go with it. Then Duke unwrapped a knitted Christmas jumper, in the colours of the Robin costume with his first initial sewn into the front.“Family tradition,” Dick said with a laugh when he saw Duke squint suspiciously at it.“Robin tradition,” Tim corrected. “We all get one our first Christmas as a vigilante. I guess we kind of… forgot about it last year.” He glanced at Dick for a moment, who reached over and squeezed his shoulder.“I started it,” he explained. “The tradition. That’s why it’s in the colours of Robin. Because it was my family tradition.” If there was one gift guaranteed to make it under his family’s small tree in their caravan, it was a winter sweater lovingly crafted by his mother. But it was Dick who decided to use the colours of his family, the colours of Robin, when he’d started sharing the tradition. “You guys are my family now, so you get all the traditions.”Duke smiled, cradling the sweater to his chest like it was a precious metal and not soft-coloured wool. “Thanks, Dick. I love it. Do we all have one?”“Yep. Even Alfred. Although his is probably a mess by now. He got one of the first ones. I was not as good at knitting that year.”“Nonsense,” Alfred stepped forward to smile warmly at his eldest grandchild. “It was wonderfully made, Master Dick, and I treasure it every year you are with us.”Tim frowned faintly at the jumper, as Duke carefully pulled it over his head; before Dick nudged him and passed a present into his arms. Distracted, he pulled off the paper to reveal the high-tech VR headset he’d been dropping hints about for about two months. Then Cass opened a new pair of dance shoes for her weekly classes, while Dick received a mug and coaster set with a circus-inspired pattern on it.“Oh, God,” he groaned, “I’m getting old. I’m officially in the mug-as-a-gift phase. I swear, if my next present is a pair of socks…”Cass carefully nudged a present behind her back, sending a wave of laughter through the room.Bruce opened his gift next: a beautifully-expensive fountain pen, engraved with his name. And finally Alfred opened his gift: a brand new full set of kitchen knives, complete with a padded case to carry them in.“Thank you,” he ran his fingers over the smooth wood of the handle. “You are far too kind to this old soul.”“Never,” Tim said warmly. “You’ve more than earned it over the years, Alfred.”“Okay, round two,” Dick announced, gathering some of the wrapping paper and shoving it to the side to keep the floor clear. “Damian, you’re up!”Damian unwrapped an encyclopedia on some of the endangered species around the world, which he almost immediately opened and started reading. Then Duke opened his next present, frowning curiously at it.“An action figure… of myself?”“Not just any action figure,” Dick leaned forward in his seat. “The first one off the production line. It’s a badge of honour.”“Every established vigilante or hero has an action figure,” Tim explained. “We all have one. It’s part of the merch line. Wayne Enterprises has been working on Signal’s merch for a few months now, it’ll go live in January. Currently, there’s action figures and t-shirts; but by Hallowe’en, no doubt every kid in the city will be dressing up as you.”“First action figure takes pride of place,” Bruce gestured to the mantelpiece above the fireplace. Duke scrambled to his feet and placed the boxed Signal figurine in the middle of all the Christmas cards displayed on the mantel.“This is pretty awesome, actually,” he stepped back to admire it. “You said t-shirts?”“Oh, yeah,” Tim nodded. “There’s three different designs at the moment. I think Dick has already put in an order for one of each. He likes to collect the t-shirts.”Dick laughed. “I’m just showing my support. Oh, that’s the other thing. All profits of the merch lines go towards a charity of Signal’s choosing!”Duke’s eyes brightened at that. “Any charity?”“Yeah! My merch profits go to support a wildlife sanctuary for former performing animals.”“Red Robin’s proceeds go to LGBTQIA+ support in Gotham,” Tim listed off. “Red Hood supports a couple of local community centers and Gotham City Library. Robin has changed charities a few times over the years, for obvious reasons, but currently supports Gotham’s city-wide animal rescue society, and also a wildlife sanctuary for endangered species. Spoiler sends her money to help under-privileged kids receive education and support.”“Batgirl likes to help kids get into dance classes and other sports,” Cass supplied.“What about Batman?” Duke asked, retreating back to his spot on the floor.“The foster care system,” Bruce answered simply, glancing across at each of his children. Dick smiled sadly when he met Bruce’s gaze: a lack of funding into the foster care system had sent him to juvie instead of a group home once upon a time. He knew that was partly why Bruce had chosen that as Batman’s charity originally.“Alright, Tim, you’re next,” Dick passed the next present over.Tim’s next present was a vinyl record set of one of his favourite bands; he had a preference for the way music sounded on a record player, compared to streaming through high-end speakers. Cass opened up a comic book collection: a physical release of an online comic she had been following for the last couple of years. Dick unwrapped a large photo frame, filled with a collage of family photos for him to hang at his apartment. He’d lost a lot of the photos when he’d gone to Spyral, and hadn’t gotten around to replacing them yet. He hugged the frame to his chest and smiled, already thinking of where to hang it in his apartment.Bruce received a set of platinum cufflinks, tipped with diamond, in the shape of bats; and a couple of expensive silk ties, one in blue and one in red. And finally, Alfred was gifted a thick winter blanket for his bed in a forest green colour.There were a few stocking fillers to go around – hat and glove sets, socks, chocolates – but eventually, all the gifts were opened and Alfred started to clear away the piles of wrapping paper.Dick stood up and clapped his hands to draw their attention. “Right. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but it has snowed for Christmas for the first time in, what, five years? And I think this is the perfect time to take advantage of that giant lawn out there and have a snowball fight.”“Should we also build a snowman?” Tim teased lightly.“Yes, yes we should,” Dick agreed with a mock-indignant glare in his brother’s direction. “Maybe some snow angels too, since you’re so interested.”“Make sure you wrap up warmly out there,” Bruce ordered. “We don’t need a repeat of the last time it snowed, do we, Dick?”Dick stuck his tongue out at him. “Don’t think you’re getting out of this yourself, Bruce. We don’t have enough players for even teams so you’re tagging in.” At least until it devolved into every-man-for-themselves madness. “Meet you guys at the patio doors in five minutes!”Alfred watched with a bemused fondness as everyone scrambled to their feet and went rushing off to find their winter weather gear, before heading to the kitchen to make a start on Christmas dinner.
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A few hours later, they all tumbled back into the house, with rosy cheeks, red noses and covered in a layer of snow. Damian was discussing his snowball fight battle tactics with Bruce, while Cass and Duke shared a laugh over managing to trip Bruce over in the snow. Dick smiled softly to himself at the noise and the warmth he could feel radiating from his pack.They’d had a whole snowman-building contest with each other, which had quickly turned into a snowman-destroying contest, which had then set up for the snowball fight; which had, as expected, turned into every-Wayne-for-themselves, before they’d all teamed up against Bruce for an impromptu training session.Eventually, the cold and wet had started to seep in, and Bruce had shut the activities down, insisting on heading indoors for everyone to warm up.“Hey, how are you holding up?” Tim asked Dick as he tapped the snow from his shoes before removing them.“I’m not getting sick, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Dick huffed out; stupid Omega immune systems and his own tendency to get sick.“I’m not,” Tim said, even though he was paying more attention to his older brother now. “I just meant with Jason being gone. You’re putting on a good front but I can tell you’re upset about it.”Dick shrugged. “I mean, yeah, it’s not easy knowing he’s halfway across the world instead of here celebrating with us. But it’s not his fault and there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m just trying to focus on you guys because that helps. And, well, nothing can be worse than last year.”“Spyral not big on Christmas?”“I was lucky if they gave me a ‘good job’ after I did a good job,” Dick shrugged. He still didn’t like talking about his time in the spy agency and he hadn’t really told any of them about what his missions had included, despite the occasional prodding. “So Christmas wasn’t exactly high on the list. But I wasn’t in much of a mood to celebrate either, being, uh, dead and all.”“Well, I’m glad you’re back this year,” Tim nudged him gently, sensing the slight sour taste of distress on Dick’s scent. He sent out a soft reassurance through the bond. “And Jason will be back before you know it.”Dick nodded and ruffled Tim’s hair, chuckling at his brother’s protests. “Yeah. Thanks, Tim. Come on, Alfie might have some hot chocolate ready.”Alfred did, in fact, have hot chocolate ready; complete with whipped cream, marshmallows and a tiny amount of chocolate sprinkles on top. Cass set about putting on some Christmas movies until dinner was ready, all of them cramming onto the couches and armchairs of the television room while bickering over Die Hard being a Christmas movie.“The movie is about a heist attempt being foiled by a police officer,” Damian argued. “That has nothing to do with Christmas.”“It takes place at Christmas,” Tim countered. “It’s a Christmas movie.”“So does the Jumanji reboot,” Dick pointed out unhelpfully, but mostly because he enjoyed poking the bears that were his younger siblings mid-argument.“That doesn’t count, it’s a two-minute scene at the end about putting a tree up. The rest of the movie takes place in a fake jungle. Die Hard has an entire subplot revolving around it being Christmas time. That’s a Christmas movie.”“The real question,” Cass piped up in her own way of poking the bears, “is The Nightmare Before Christmas. Christmas or Hallowe’en?”“November,” Duke responded quickly. “The start of the movie is the end of Hallowe’en, and then Jack Skellington takes over Christmas. So it’s in-between. November.”“But wouldn’t that make it a Christmas movie?” Dick asked.“The point of the movie is Jack being meant for Hallowe’en,” Duke said. “So you have to take that into account as part of the plot.”“Obviously the solution is to watch the start of it at Hallowe’en and then the rest at Christmas,” Bruce spoke up in that serious voice that no one could ever really tell if he was joking. His eyes glittered with amusement, though, as he met Dick’s gaze over the arguing siblings.Dick sighed and shook his head, pressing play on the movie that was neither Die Hard nor The Nightmare Before Christmas. They seemed to have this argument every year, and they still hadn’t settled on an answer to the question; and something suddenly panged inside his chest that he’d almost lost this all for good.It was strange, to feel such a strong sense of grief over something he had within reach; but maybe he was a little more disheartened by Jason’s absence than he’d realized. Yes, he had almost lost this all for good… but then he’d gotten it back. It was right here, in front of him; not a dream or a hallucination but real and live.No one seemed to outwardly react to yet another spike of emotion from Dick; but Tim snuggled into his side a little, and Cass shifted over to lean back against his legs, and Damian tugged gently on the bond, giving Dick reassurance by seeking his own.Dick let himself get lost in the movie. He’d seen it a few times before – nearly every Christmas since he’d moved into Wayne Manor, actually – but that just made it easy to wash over him when he already knew the story. He could hear Tim singing along with some of the songs under his breath, and Cass was tapping out the beat on the floor next to his feet.Right as the credits rolled, Alfred stepped into the room to announce dinner.“Just in time, Alfred,” Bruce responded, as everyone started moving from their seats.The smell of a ham roast drifted through the house as they all meandered through to the dining room. Arguably one of the more festive rooms in the manor, with the large Christmas tree in the corner, and the strings of lights around the windows; the table was laden with bowls and plates of food and drink. Taking centre stage were the two main dishes: honey-glazed ham, and a mushroom and chestnut wellington.“Looks good as always, Alfie,” Dick commented as he took his seat at one head of the table.“Master Bruce, if you’d like to carve?” Alfred lay the carving knives down by Bruce’s plate at the other head of the table. “And young Master Damian, perhaps you can carve the wellington?”“Only if you’ll sit and join us,” Bruce gestured to one of the empty seats. “It’s not Christmas dinner unless we’re all sitting down to eat.”“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” Alfred smiled warmly at his pseudo-son, taking the seat to the immediate right of his employer.Tim claimed a seat next to Dick, seeming inclined to stick close to his older brother. Dick had noticed that lately: whenever Jason wasn’t around, Tim checked up on him more and made sure he was taking care of himself. It was something Dick was still getting used to being on the other side of, as he usually made it his job to check up on everyone else.“Oh, Master Dick,” Alfred caught his attention, as the bowl of mashed potatoes made its way around the table, “I’m sure you’ll be pleased to know I managed to get a hold of a box of Christmas crackers this year.”“Ooh, yes. We should have those before dessert!”Tim straightened up, looking slightly more excited himself. “Oh, we haven’t had them in years.”“What are they?” Duke asked, his gaze darting between the other people at the table.“It’s this British thing Alfred introduced us to years ago, back during one of my earliest Christmases here,” Dick explained. “They’re these decorated candy-shaped boxes that you pop open and they’re filled with little toys and silly Christmas jokes. They’re stupid but they’re fun. You didn’t have any last year?”Duke shook his head and Tim looked down at his plate, a bit sheepishly. “We didn’t have much of a Christmas last year. It didn’t feel right. Without you.”A weight settled over the room at the reminder of Dick’s stint at Spyral, and everything that had entailed. It left a strange feeling in Dick’s chest that he couldn’t quite name: he had no idea his death had affected everyone that much. To hear that they hadn’t even celebrated Christmas, simply because he’d been gone, it left him a little awestruck.He cleared his throat. “Well, I hope this year has more than made up for it. Nothing quite like a Christmas at the Wayne Manor.”“I didn’t mind,” Duke admitted, putting his fork down. “Last year was my first Christmas without… I think if it had been something like this, it would have been harder. But today has been nice. And I know they’d be happy to know I had a good Christmas.”“I’m sure they would,” Dick agreed softly. “First Christmases are always hard. My first one, Bruce went all out. Got the fanciest decorations and the biggest tree and all the party food he could get his hands on. I hated all of it. I’d never had such an extravagant celebration before. I was scared to even look at the tree, in case I broke something on it just by breathing. But Bruce thought I didn’t like it because it wasn’t Christmassy enough, so he just kept buying more and more to try and make me smile. I mostly felt like I was suffocating under all of the lights and colours.”“What happened?” Duke asked, and Tim and Cass were also leaning in curiously. Dick didn’t talk much about his early days at the Manor.“Well, Christmas Day, I woke up and had a panic attack. Went and hid in the attic, because it was up high. Bruce almost called in Superman before he found me going through some old board games. I was… scared to tell him the truth,” Dick’s gaze cut across to Bruce, who was watching him with a soft frown on his face. “I wasn’t always brave enough to tell him when I didn’t like something in case he sent me back to the foster care system. But then he sat down and started playing the board games with me. We must’ve spent the whole morning up there. When I came down for lunch, Alfred had taken down over half of the decorations just to make me feel more comfortable. And then we spent the afternoon in the gardens because it snowed that year. I think that might have been one of the first times I’d properly seen snow, the circus always kept to the south in the colder months. And then the following year, Bruce actually asked me what I liked and what I wanted and it went a whole lot better.”Duke nodded. “I think if I’d walked into something like this last year, I might have reacted the same. What about you, what was your first Christmas like?” he directed at Tim.Tim chewed on his food for a moment, contemplating. “It… depends. My first Christmas here wasn’t actually my first Christmas here.”“Tim’s first Christmas after he met us was our first Christmas without Jason,” Dick explained at Duke’s confused look. “There wasn’t much celebrating that year. I don’t even remember if I came back from Bludhaven or not.”“Bruce adopted me a while later and that first Christmas was… different,” Tim continued. “I was used to the glitz and glamour of an expensive Christmas. My parents cared a lot about appearances. What was really different for me was the presents. They used to just get me whatever they thought I should want, like games consoles and phones and computers. That first year, when Dick made me my Robin sweater, I didn’t really know what to do with it at first. Alfred asked me what my favourite dessert was and that overwhelmed me more than anything else.”“He asked for pecan pie,” Dick reminisced fondly.“But… you don’t like pecan pie,” Duke pointed out.“Yeah, I know,” Tim smiled ruefully. “But I didn’t know I was allowed to ask for what I wanted. I asked for what I thought they wanted me to say. And then Alfred put so much work into it, I ended up trying to eat it anyway, because I didn’t want to make him feel bad.”Duke turned to Cass, the question implied.“I’d never had Christmas before,” she said in her quiet tones. “I didn’t know what it was. Dick told me about Santa and I hid a knife under my pillow. I wanted to protect everyone from this intruder leaving secret items under the tree.”Dick chuckled. “I remember that. Bruce told me you attacked him in the middle of the night for going to the bathroom.”“I thought you’d be mad,” Cass said. A smile pulled at her lips. “But you were never mad about anything I did. You just gave me a high five and we watched Christmas movies all day.”“Still one of my favourite Christmas memories. That and the year we took Tim figure-skating for the first time.”Tim smacked his arm lightly. “Shut up. You swore you’d never mention that again.”Dick grinned mischievously. “I’m pretty sure we still have the video lying around somewhere.”“No, you don’t,” Tim said with absolute certainty, and then, “Do you?”“What about you, Duke?” Bruce interrupted the brewing playfight before Dick could flick his mashed potatoes at his younger brother. “What kind of traditions did you have?”“Me?” Duke blinked, as if surprised Bruce would care. “Oh, well, there was this one year…”
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After dinner, crackers and dessert, they migrated back through to the television room while Bruce helped Alfred clean up from dinner.Cass made a request for board games, so Dick went to dig a couple out of the attic, while Tim switched on the TV and cycled through the channels to find one doing Christmas specials of game shows.“Okay,” Dick hoisted his loot above his head. “I’ve grabbed three. One of them is only one-to-four players but I figured we can rotate, it’s a pretty short game. The other two are up to six.”“Ooh, I get to be red,” Tim snatched the four-player game first. “Jason always goes red, but this year, it’s mine.”“All yours, baby bird,” Dick laughed.“I would like to be blue, in Grayson’s honour,” Damian announced, as Tim shook the playing pieces out over the coffee table. Dick ruffled his hair fondly and he tutted, swatting at Dick’s hand.“Yellow!” Duke called, snatching up the yellow piece.“How about it, Cass?” Dick nudged the green piece towards her. “Green is totally your colour.”She grinned and took the piece, settling onto the floor across from Damian. The others took up their spots around the board. Dick settled back onto the couch to watch, one eye on the game show playing on the TV. The lights from another Christmas tree cast a warm glow over the room, and the noise was comfortably familiar.Bruce arrived just as the first game was finished up and Dick swapped places with Tim. Alfred entered a little while later, carrying a tray of drinks. For Bruce, Dick and now Tim, there was alcohol; while Duke, Cass and Damian were served ginger beer.“I do not understand how you can drink that stuff,” Damian commented, watching his father drink down a whiskey. “I did not find it worth the risk when I tried it.”“You’ll understand when you’re older,” Dick said, taking a quick gulp of his beer.“But not for a few more years,” Bruce interjected quickly. “When did you even try it?”“Liana served me some a few months ago,” Damian said. “It was overly sweet and disgusting.”“To be fair, that stuff wasn’t meant to be drunk on its own,” Tim pointed out. “A lot of alcohol is designed to be mixed in with other drinks to taste better.”Dick shook his head sharply when Bruce went to ask more, indicating that it was not a discussion for Christmas Day. Bruce hesitated but settled back into his seat; he trusted Dick, and it was obvious Damian hadn’t gotten drunk or anything, at least.“Alright, Duke, your turn.”
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“Dick.”Dick groaned and turned his head away from the noise.“Dick, chum, wake up.”A hand shook his shoulder, and he groggily peeled his eyes open. He must’ve dozed off on the couch after all the board games.A Christmas movie was still playing on the TV. Damian and Tim were crashed out on one of the armchairs, both of them half-awake and still watching. Duke was curled up on another armchair, tapping away on his phone. Cass was the only one who still seemed to be fully awake, her knees tucked under her chin as she sat on the floor, glued to the movie.“Everything alright?” Dick rubbed at his face. A quick glance at his watch showed it had just turned eleven at night.“Everything’s fine,” Bruce assured quietly. “Something’s just turned up for you, though. It looks like a present from Jason.”That caught Dick’s attention, his tiredness ebbing away. “Jason? How did he manage that?”“He paid someone to deliver it,” Bruce explained. “It would’ve been here earlier but some of the roads are closed because of the weather.”“Oh.” Dick pushed himself up and stretched. “Where is it?”“I left it for you in the kitchen.”Dick shook off the edges of sleep. The warmth of the room and the effect of the alcohol must have relaxed him enough to fall asleep. Tim glanced over at him as he stood, and smiled tiredly at him.He headed through to the kitchen. He hadn’t been expecting a gift from Jason, certainly not on the day when he was halfway around the world. And yet, there it was: a box tied neatly with red ribbon, sitting on the kitchen counter.He couldn’t help the smile that split across his face. Jason wasn’t here for Christmas but he’d still managed to get Dick a gift.He crossed the room and gently touched the ribbon on the box. He wondered if Jason had picked red because it was his signature colour, or because it was a Christmas colour. He liked the idea of the former, of the little splashes of red that Jason left around him and his life as a way of showing his claim on Dick.He carefully pulled the ribbon free and lifted the top of the box off. Inside lay a carefully folded up leather jacket. Dick ran his fingers over the material, relishing in the familiar buttery feel of the leather, and the smell that wafted from it. Plucking it from the box, he shook it out to get a proper look at it.It was a gorgeous dark brown leather, in the same style of his own leather jacket he’d lost some time before Spyral; with loose three-quarter length sleeves and a wide collar. There was no zip, because he didn’t like zipping his jacket up, and the pockets were quite deep. On the back, stretching across from shoulder to shoulder, was a red leather patch in the shape of Jason’s bat symbol.It meant when Dick wore it, people would know he was under the protection of the Red Hood. Not just protected, in fact, but claimed by him too. He hugged the jacket to his chest. Lately, he’d been stealing Jason’s Red Hood jackets because he liked the look Jason got in his eyes when he saw Dick wearing his clothes; and also because he liked the warmth of it over his Nightwing suit.But this jacket was another splash of red in his life. Something that told all the city that if they messed with Nightwing, they were messing with Red Hood too.“You should try it on,” a voice cut through the quiet room from behind him. Dick startled and spun to face the voice, still clutching the jacket tight in his arms.“Jason!” his face lit up in a bright smile, taking a few steps towards his mate lounging in the doorway. “I thought you were gone until next week.”Jason shrugged, pushing away from the door to meet Dick in the middle of the room. “I told my employer to go fuck themselves if they thought I was gonna stay any longer.”“You’ll still get paid for it, right?”“If I don’t, then I know where to find them,” Jason snorted, slipping his arms around Dick’s waist and tugging him close. Dick melted into the embrace, relishing in the feel of his boyfriend wrapped around him. “Anyway, we got the job done. He was just trying to offer us some kind of bonus, but Roy and I said fuck it. Wasn’t worth the extra time away. You gonna put it on for me?” he nodded to the jacket.Dick grinned and swung it over his shoulders, slipping his arms through. “Fits perfectly.”Jason dragged his gaze slowly up and down Dick’s form. “Of course it does. If I don’t know your measurements by now then I haven’t been treating you right.”“Well, you did almost miss Christmas,” Dick teased, slipping his arms around Jason’s neck. He took a moment to breathe in the scent of his Alpha, closing his eyes and feeling his warmth surrounding him.“Can’t have that, can we?” Jason murmured as he leaned in close, his breath ghosting against Dick’s lips. “Merry Christmas, Dickiebird.”And then they were kissing, Jason eager for the taste of his Omega after five weeks without. He pulled Dick in as close as he could, relishing in the way they fit together as if they’d never been apart; he tilted his head for the best angle as he licked into Dick’s mouth, chasing the faint taste of alcohol and honey-glazed ham and chocolate. Dick pressed back just as eagerly, one hand curling into Jason’s shirt while the other ran through his hair. Something that had been restless inside of him for days finally seemed to click into place at Jason’s touch.Dick let out a soft moan when Jason finally broke for air, instead mouthing along the edge of Dick’s jaw. Dick always submitted to him now, because he truly belonged to Jason; but it still sent a spike of pleasure and pride through him every time Dick tilted his head to bare his scent glands for Jason to mark up.The trust and desire and love Jason had earned from him to have this every time, it knocked the air out of his lungs. Sometimes it was still hard to believe that someone as good and precious as Dick chose him.“Jay?” Dick asked gently, when Jason simply buried his head into Dick’s neck, breathing in the scent of his Omega.“Mine,” he rumbled into Dick’s neck.“Yeah, baby, yours.”“I missed you.”“I missed you too,” Dick smiled, running his fingers through Jason’s hair. “You can ask Tim, he’s been checking up on me while you’ve been gone.”“Good. You’re terrible at taking care of yourself.”Dick huffed out a sigh. “I am a fully-grown, fully-functional adult and have been for many years, thank you. I can take care of myself.”Jason pulled back to look at him with raised eyebrows. “No, you can’t.” And he kissed Dick again before he had a chance to argue.“Cheater,” Dick panted out when they next broke for air. “You can’t just kiss me to win every argument.”Jason smiled smugly, letting Dick go in favour of taking his hand. “Fine. I have something better in mind anyway.” He started to lead Dick from the kitchen, heading for the stairs.“Oh, wait, we were watching Christmas movies.”“No, you weren’t. Bruce told me you were sleeping.”“Only for, like, five minutes. I was cosy.”Jason sighed and turned back to him. “They’ve had all day with you. I only have an hour left of Christmas to unwrap my present.”“Oh,” Dick frowned down at the floor. “I didn’t… bring your present. I wasn’t expecting to see you.”“Idiot,” Jason huffed out. “You’re my present.”Dick laughed, even as he blushed at the same time. “That’s the cheesiest thing you’ve ever said. What kind of Hallmark movies did you watch on your flight home?”“Made you laugh, didn’t it?” Jason responded, not bothering to deny that he had, in fact, stolen it from a movie. “Look, I just spent the last five weeks without you. That’s a lot of time to think about all the things I’m going to do with you once I’ve gotten you all unwrapped,” he emphasised the word, just to see the way Dick cringed and blushed deeper. “And I’d like to do some of it before midnight, so I get my present on time.”Dick’s mouth both watered and went dry at the thought. He had his fair share of fantasies and no doubt Jason could see right through him. “Okay, but you could at least say hi? They’re your siblings too and they missed you today.”Jason sighed. “Fine. You’re lucky I love you.”Dick’s free hand brushed over Jason’s neck, right where he knew the claiming bite sat under his shirt. “Yeah, I am.”“Now who’s been watching too many Hallmark movies?” Jason huffed out as he tugged Dick towards the sitting room.The two of them slipped into the room quietly. Bruce had taken Dick’s spot on the sofa but it was a moment or two before anyone noticed them. Tim glanced over and then sat up so quickly, he almost knocked Damian to the ground, who startled to full awareness.“Jason! I thought you weren’t back until next week.”Jason shrugged. “We ended the job early. Dick insisted I come in and say hi to everyone, so Merry Christmas.”Damian scowled at Tim and moved to sit on the couch. “Welcome back, Todd. Didn’t leave too much damage in your wake, did you?”“Damian,” Dick scolded, while Jason snorted.“If I did, I’ll just set you loose on it all.”“Don’t think that’d fix anything,” Tim muttered, slouching back down onto the armchair. “Merry Christmas, Jason. Good to see you.”“Yeah,” Jason agreed, because it was. He struggled, sometimes, to allow himself to feel attached to his family, but it was good to come back from a job and find everyone still in one piece. “You guys have a good day, yeah?”“Yeah,” Tim nodded, even as he stretched and yawned. “It was good.”“You should head to bed, Tim,” Dick said, his big brother voice coming out. “Get some sleep.”“I will,” Tim waved him off. “Once this movie’s over, okay?”“Everyone should probably head to bed once this movie is over,” Bruce interjected, casting looks at all his children. Cass was the only one who seemed even remotely awake now, but even she was rubbing at her eyes a little.“Jason and I are just heading up,” Dick said. “Just wanted to say goodnight first.”Jason started tugging Dick towards the door, taking the hint for what it was. “Yeah. Merry Christmas. Goodnight everyone.”Tim snorted, as his two older brothers made their escape. “Good thing the rooms are soundproofed. They are definitely not going to sleep.”“Gross,” Duke voiced from his side of the room. “Did not need that image in my head, thanks.”“Just think about something else then,” Tim grinned at him. Duke pulled a cushion from behind his back and threw it at him, missing wildly and almost knocking a glass onto the floor.“Boys,” Bruce scolded, but there was no real heat behind his words, only fondness as he reached to ruffle Damian’s hair.
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Dick barely made it into his room, before Jason had his mouth back on his. He kicked the door shut behind him and the two of them stumbled across to the bed, barely pausing to breathe.At Dick’s insistent hands, Jason pulled his shirt off and flung it across the room; before reaching to unbutton Dick’s own shirt so he could better access that expanse of tanned skin and defined muscles. Dick moved to take it and the jacket off, but Jason caught his hands.“No,” he gasped out, “keep the jacket on. You look good in it.”Dick laughed as he finally hit the mattress, pulling Jason down with him. “You just like that I have your symbol on me.”“Duh,” Jason pressed him gently down onto the pillows, straddling his hips. “Why do you think I had it made?”“So I’d stop stealing yours?”Jason chuckled breathlessly. “Don’t you ever stop stealing mine or I’ll make sure you have nothing else to wear.”“Kinky,” Dick teased, tugging on Jason’s belt loops.“Try me, pretty bird,” Jason leaned in and kissed him harshly, drawing out a gorgeous whimper. “Fuck. Five weeks is far too long to go without you under me.”“Tell me about it,” Dick groaned as Jason nipped along his jaw. “I ended up using a couple of my toys last week because I missed you.”That seemed to catch Jason’s attention and he pulled back to study his Omega. “Really? Did they help?”“Well, no, because they weren’t you,” Dick admitted with a slight chuckle before he sobered a little. “But, yeah, I mean, it felt good. I enjoyed it.”Dick hadn’t used any of his sex toys since before Spyral. Between being a Beta, suffering bond sickness, transitioning back to Omega and going through a burnout, his sex drive had been low. He hadn’t even had a heat yet. But the fact that he’d been aroused enough to use them and even enjoyed it enough to do it multiple times was a good sign.“And this feels good too, right?” Jason asked, realizing he probably should have checked that first. He was so used to Dick having the higher libido between the two of them; these last few months, where Jason had been the more active one, had been a bit of an unexpected role reversal.“Yeah, Jay, this is good,” Dick ground his hips up against Jason’s to emphasise and Jason let out a soft groan. “I missed this. I missed you. Fuck, Jay, when you told me you were gonna be gone for more weeks, I almost cried. I was finally in a good place for sex and you weren’t even here.”“Well, I’m here now, Dickie,” Jason assured, pressing a soft kiss to his Omega’s lips.“Yeah, and we only have twenty minutes of Christmas Day left so you better get moving if you want to get to your present.”“So fucking bossy,” Jason grumbled, even as he started fumbling with his belt buckle.Dick chuckled, running his hands over Jason’s muscles. “Guess you need to put me in my place,” he teased roughly.Jason leaned in to kiss him again. “Your place is at my side, Dickie, and you’re already there.”Dick smiled that little abashed smile he did every time Jason affirmed their relationship. It filled Jason with endless gratitude that he still got to see it after everything, and he cupped Dick’s neck gently, rubbing his thumb against his scent glands.Dick let out a gorgeous purring sound at the sensation, his eyes fluttering shut. “Jay…”“My gorgeous Omega,” he murmured fondly. “Mine.”
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Dick awoke again when he felt Jason moving behind him. He cracked an eye open, turning his head to look at his boyfriend. “Jay?”“Shh, Dickie, go back to sleep,” Jason pressed a quick kiss to his forehead. “I’m just going to talk to Bruce. I’ll be back soon, okay?”Dick hummed sleepily, rolling over onto Jason’s side of the bed where it was still warm and smelled like him. “Try not to break the house, ‘kay?”Jason chuckled, drawing the duvet up and around Dick. “No trust, Dickiebird.” He grabbed a pair of sweats and one of Dick’s t-shirts, quickly getting dressed. He was loath to leave Dick for any amount of time, especially after five weeks without him and especially since he was still gorgeously naked between the sheets; but he did have words to say to his father.Taking one last look at his boyfriend, snuggling into his pillow, Jason slipped out of the bedroom.He headed down to the kitchen where he knew Bruce was most likely to be at this time of the morning, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper.Bruce glanced up when he entered the room. “Jason. Wasn’t expecting to see you up yet.”Jason shrugged. He stepped up towards Bruce and placed a small wrapped box in front of him. “Merry Christmas.”“What is this?”“It’s a present, open it.” When Bruce only eyed it suspiciously, Jason sighed. “It’s not a trick. I got you something for Christmas.”Bruce finally picked up the present and carefully tore the paper off, revealing a small plain box. He opened it and pulled out a slightly-wonky mug, painted with the words World’s Best Dad.“What do you get the man who can buy himself anything? Something that can’t be bought.”“You made this?” Bruce looked up at his son, his eyes conflicted with more emotions than he knew what to do with.“I took a pottery class in the summer,” Jason sat down on one of the other seats.“And you really believe…?” Bruce tapped the words.“Our relationship is… complicated but despite everything, you’re still the closest thing I have to a father. And out of all the ones I’ve had in my life, you are probably the best. Don’t let it go to your head though, it’s a low bar.”“Jason, thank you,” Bruce cradled the mug as if breathing on it too hard would break it. “I can’t tell you how much this means. I know I haven’t always been the best father to you and I regret a lot of the decisions I’ve made along the way but I do care a lot about you.”“I can’t blame you for all of it,” Jason admitted. “I provoked you into a lot of those decisions. Don’t get me wrong though, I almost got you a therapy session for Christmas instead. I’m still tempted on that one.”“Truthfully? I’ve considered it myself over the years but it’s hard to find a therapist who can deal with what we do at night.”“I managed to,” Jason said. “Through the Justice League. I asked Roy and he asked Oliver and Dinah and they set me up with someone.”“You go to therapy?”Jason glanced away, his shoulders tensing a little. “Yeah. I have for a few years. Back when Dick and I were… figuring things out between us, I started meeting someone once a week. I had a lot of stuff to work out back then and I didn’t want any of it to hurt him.”“I’m proud of you, Jaylad,” Bruce said softly.Jason frowned at that. “The point is, Bruce, if you really wanted to, you could be better. You could take that step and make that appointment. Otherwise, it’s just more excuses so you don’t have to face your mistakes. And I get it, it’s scary to have to confront those parts of you. But you don’t get better by ignoring them.”Bruce ran his fingers over the painted text on the mug. “I’ll think about it, Jason. I promise.”Jason pushed himself up from his seat, feeling an urge to go back to bed and snuggle with Dick some more. “You always think about it. Maybe it’s time to actually do something about it instead.”“You’re right,” Bruce agreed, glancing up at his son. “Merry Christmas, Jason. And thank you.”
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Dick was still curled up on his pillow when Jason returned. He did turn to look at Jason as he slipped back into the room, suggesting he hadn’t gone back to sleep in case he was needed to defuse a situation. “House still standing, then?”Jason stripped his clothing off and slid back under the duvet, eager for some skin-to-skin contact. “I told you, no faith.”Dick burrowed back against him, pressing a kiss to the claiming bite on his shoulder. “Maybe I’m just familiar with your talks with Bruce.”“Well, I promise, no property damage.” Jason brought Dick’s wrist up to his mouth and pressed a kiss to his bite in response. “I even gave him a Christmas present.”Dick smiled. “Really?”“You remember that wonky-ass mug I made in that pottery class?”“I do, actually. You gave him that? I bet he loved it.”“He did a very good job pretending if he didn’t,” Jason said, only a touch of insecurity in his words. Dick ran his hands soothingly through Jason’s hair, pressing a soft kiss to his lips.“I’m sure he did, Jay.”“I told him to go to therapy.”“Haha, I bet you did. How’d he take that?”“He said he’d think about it. I told him that’s all he ever did with this stuff. I just… want him to be the father he’s always talking about. I want him to be better. I don’t want what he did to you with Spyral to ever happen again.”Dick pulled Jason into his arms, curling himself protectively around his Alpha. “It won’t. Therapy or no, we won’t let it happen again. You’ll protect me and I’ll protect you and we’ll both protect everyone else. And Bruce will be better too. He’s already trying. Because of you, Jay.”“Because of you,” Jason corrected. He tucked his face into Dick’s neck, and breathed in the scent of his Omega. “I’ll always protect you, Dickie.”“I know. I trust you.”“Tell me you’re mine?”“I’m yours, Jay,” Dick pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “Always yours.”