Strays Verse: Tradition
Summary: Family traditions counter alienation and confusion. They help us define who we are; they provide something steady, reliable and safe in a confusing world. -Susan Lieberman
Fandom: DCU/YJ
Characters/Pairing: The Batfamily
Genre: Gen/Fluff/Angst
Rating: PG-13
Notes: This is a future fic/side story set in the Strays-verse. Familiarity with the Strays-verse may be necessary for any of what follows to make sense. There are no out-right spoilers in this story, but there are hints at what the future holds for the batfam in this verse.
For reference, this details the ages of the kids in the different parts of this fic since that can be hard to follow. Also, if you’re curious, here is an explanation for why this fic exists in the first place.
Finally, I owe a big thanks to pannytheangel who is both an amazing writer and a fantastic artist and who did me a huge favor by beta-ing this fic for ICness. <3<3<3
1.
“Come on, Jason. Stop being so difficult,” Dick pleaded.
“You’re kidding, right? This is stupid,” Jason complained.
“But it’s our first Father’s Day as a family,” Dick said.
“Bruce won’t even want it,” Jason argued.
“Of course he will!” Dick asserted. “And even if he doesn’t, Alfred is always saying we don’t have enough family photos that don’t come from security cameras. You don’t want to make Alfred sad, do you?”
“Low blow, Dickface.” Jason scowled.
Tim spoke up for the first time. “He doesn’t have to, if he doesn’t want to,” he said softly. “It’s just a picture.”
Dick frowned. “Babybird,” he began cautiously, “you’ve taken a family picture before, haven’t you?”
Tim hesitated a moment too long before nodding yes.
Jason swore under his breath and Dick decided that he needed to step up the hug therapy another notch if Tim felt the need to lie about things like that just to make his brothers feel better.
“Right, that’s it,” Jason said grabbing Dick and Tim by the hand and dragging them over to the sofa. “Babybird deserves a real family photo. We’ll take lots of them and you can put them in a book or something and we can add another thing to the list of stuff you did despite those bastard parents of yours.”
“Language,” Tim corrected automatically. But he looked torn between surprise and tentative happiness. Jason pulled the smallest boy into his lap and squeezed him until Tim squeaked in protest.
“Jay…” Tim whined as though he wanted Jason to let him go.
Luckily, Jason was getting better at reading what Tim actually wanted as opposed to what he said he wanted and just held on tighter.
Dick laughed. “Glad to have you on board, Jaybird,” he said as he got up to set up the camera’s timer and make sure it was centered on his brothers. Then he dashed over to couch, plopped down beside Jason.
In the few seconds he had left, he tugged Tim half off of Jason’s lap and partly into his own and threw an arm over Jason’s shoulders.
“Smile!” Dick called and the flash went off.
2.
“Sorry I’m late!” Dick exclaimed as he burst into the room.
Jason and Tim shot him reproachful looks, but Steph just smiled. “Better late than never, Bigbird.”
“You insisted on this stupid tradition and you can’t even show up on time for it,” Jason sneered. “Too busy with the Team to bother.”
“Oi,” Steph admonished, hitting her middle brother on the arm. “Cut him some slack. You know the Team ran into some trouble on their mission. We’re lucky he didn’t get hurt. Don’t be such a jerk.”
“Big whoop,” Jason said, shoving her gently. “Are we doing this thing or what?”
“Hey, hey,” Dick said. “This picture is happening. It would happen even if I was in a hospital bed and breathing out of a tube.”
“Don’t say that!” the three younger birds shouted in unison.
“It’s not as funny as you think it is,” Tim added seriously.
“I’m hilarious,” Dick said, grinning like a maniac. “Come on, you know it’s true.”
Jason, Steph and Tim just looked at him.
Dick deflated slightly. “Harsh, guys. Totally harsh. I’m not feeling the aster here.”
“Ugh,” Jason complained, draping himself over his little brother. “Tiiiim, he’s making up words again.”
“What do you want me to do about?” Tim deadpanned. “I’d have an easier time reversing the polarity of the sun.”
“…You can do that?” Jason asked after a moment.
Tim smiled mysteriously.
“You have to teach me how to smile like that, Tim,” Steph said, sneaking her way into Jason’s hug so that he ended up hugging both of his younger siblings while Steph got the premium Tim-hugging space as she called it.
“Don’t’ encourage him,” Jason said.
“Umm, guys? Picture?” Dick said plaintively. “I rushed all the way over, but you seem to be doing just fine without me…”
“That’s not true,” Tim protested immediately, eyes wide. “Of course we need our big brother.”
“Duh,” Steph added in.
“Stop pretending to restrain yourself, Hug Monster,” Jason said. “We all know you want in on this.”
“Well, yeah,” Dick admitted and he threw himself at his siblings, sending all tumbling to the floor in a mishmash of limbs.
“That’s my spleen,” Jason complained. “Nice going Dickface.”
“Tough it out big boy,” Steph teased. “You’re such a wuss.”
“Who are you calling a wuss, girly girl?” Jason growled.
Anything Steph might have said was cut off by a muffled squeak.
“Babybird?” Jason called nervously. “You okay, kiddo?”
Tim squeaked again.
“Tim?” Steph called. “Oh, no. We’ve crushed him!”
“I’ll save you, Timmy!” Dick exclaimed and began trying to disentangle himself from his siblings.
Once Dick was out of the pile, he pulled Steph free, revealing a trembling Tim. The older birds were immediately concerned.
“You broke him!” Jason accused Dick.
“I didn’t mean to!” Dick whimpered. “You know I didn’t! You encouraged me! Emphasis on the en.”
“I - I’m fine,” Tim gasped as he struggled to sit up. “J-just laughing.” He squeaked again and Dick realized that it wasn’t a squeak; it was a giggle.
“Laughing?” Dick repeated. Tim never laughed, or, well, he did. But he never laughed out loud unless he was being tickle tortured. Otherwise he’d just laugh silently like he thought he’d get in trouble for making a sound.
A part of Dick really wanted to make a big deal out of Tim being so open, but he knew by now that that drawing attention to anything Tim did would probably just make him clam up again. So he just tugged his littlest brother into a brief hug.
“So…Are we doing this thing or what?” Dick asked, waggling his eyebrows at his younger siblings.
Jason rolled his eyes and got to his feet. “Yeah, yeah. How do you want to run this one Dickface?”
“Hmm…” Dick mused allowed.
“That’s not answer,” Jason groused.
“Stop trying to stifle my genius,” Dick said with a grin. “And…I’ve got it.” Nodding happily to himself, he pulled a grinning Steph onto her feet and ushered her over to the couch. “Perfect!” he said as she made a show of posing flamboyantly in her seat.
“I’m ready for my close-up,” she said playfully before giving into giggles.
Dick smirked and scooped Tim up bridal style.
“Hey!” a no longer laughing, but still smiling Tim exclaimed automatically. “Dick, put me down.”
“Sure thing, Babybird,” Dick said as he dropped Tim into Steph’s arms.
“I’ve got a Timmy!” Steph exclaimed in mock surprise. “Oh my! Whatever will I do with him?”
“Hey, no fair Ladybird,” Jason said as threw himself down on the couch besides Steph and her captive. “House rules. You’ve got to share the baby.”
“I’m not a baby,” Tim pouted.
“Except for the part where you are,” Dick said helpfully as he fiddled with the camera.
“You’re all conspiring against me,” Tim accused and if they didn’t know him so well they might have thought he was serious.
“Yep,” his siblings agreed.
Tim pretended to scowl darkly, but after a moment the look evaporated leaving one of the boy’s trademark tiny smiles. It was a good look on him. Dick hoped the progress Tim was making would stick this time. He really, really did.
Ah, but this was photo time. Not a place for serious thoughts, Dick reminded himself firmly. He thought about how wonderful it was to have Steph safely adopted and home where she belonged. It was a good thought. He didn’t even have to fake his smile. It was one hundred percent real.
Grinning happily, Dick finished setting up the camera and dashed over to the couch, plopping down on Steph’s other side.
Tim settled in Steph’s lap and Steph rested her head on her little brother’s shoulder while Dick and Jason leaned in so that their smiling faces were lined up in a row. Perfect.
“Say cheese!” Dick yelled.
“Cheese!” The four batsiblings chorused as the flash went off.
3.
“This was our first picture together as a family,” Jason explained carefully and slowly. He didn’t want Cass to miss anything.
“Family,” Cass said, pointing to the first photo in Tim’s scrapbook. It was the one they had taken five years ago. The very first family photo Tim had ever taken. Today would be Cass’s first time taking part in an official Flock Photo. (She’d been in other family photographs before this, of course, but the Father’s Day pictures for Bruce and Alfred and Tim’s scrapbook were special. It was a tradition. And he really wanted Cass to understand why it was important.)
Jason nodded. He knew that Cass understood what family meant. Her vocabulary was really amazing considering that half a year ago she had known less than a handful of words.
He pointed to Dick, then to Tim and then to himself. He turned the page and showed her the pictures of every year after that until the one two years ago that showed Steph for the first time. “We got bigger,” Jason explained. “This picture shows that we are family.”
“Why?” Cass asked, her brow furrowed in confusion. “Family are. Why…need,” she gestured at the pictures.
Jason considered her question and tried to figure out what she was trying to ask. He looked down at the pictures and struggled to put himself in her place. After a few moments he thought he understood.
“It’s a reminder,” he said. “A moment we captured for Bruce and for us, too. Right in these pictures we’re happy and together and it shows everything we’ve overcome. It…wow, I suck at this.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, Jaybird,” Dick said, almost scaring Jason out of his skin. Damn it. He needed to pay more attention to his surroundings or Bruce was going to bench him. Cass, of course, didn’t jump. She knew Dick was there all along.
“Family. Jason, Steph, Dick, Tim, Bruce, Alfred,” Cass said and pointed at the picture in the scrapbook.
“And Cass,” Dick said, pointing a finger at the younger girl. “We’re welcoming you into the family, Blackbird.”
“Welcome.” Cass cocked her head to the side and Dick realized that she must not know that word yet.
“Um…Bring inside. No, uh, hug?” he tried.
The girl lit up. “Hug,” she said. “Hug Monster Dick.” And then she held out her arms.
Dick grinned and swooped in to hug her. He had taught this one well even in the short amount of time they’d had her.
“A family photo isn’t exactly the same things as a hug,” Jason pointed out.
“Close enough. ‘Welcome’ is kind of an abstract concept. She’ll get it eventually,” Dick said. “Now, come on, everyone’s waiting on us.”
Jason returned Tim’s scrapbook to its place in Tim’s room before running to catch up to Dick and Cass as they made their way down to the sitting room that held the traditional Flock Photo couch.
When they entered the room Steph and Tim were whispering to each other on the couch thick as thieves as usual.
“We’ve got a plan,” Tim said the moment everyone was in the room.
“Really?” Jason asked, raising an eyebrow at his little brother. He’d practiced very hard to pull that off and was using it as much as possible now that he’d finally mastered it.
“Yeah,” Steph said. “And Dick isn’t allowed to interfere. We all know he has a horrible sense of feng shui.”
“Feng shui?” Cass asked.
“Interior design. Well, sort of. It’s kind of - ” Jason tried to explain, but Dick spoke over him, putting on an affected pout as he did so.
“That’s harsh, besides photography has nothing to do with feng shui.”
“Oh, right,” Steph teased. “I meant you have no sense of style, taste or ability to work the cute.”
“Work the - what now?” Jason demanded.
“Way to get off topic Steph,” Tim said with a small smile.
“You know I try,” she said flicking her long blond hair over her shoulder with a sassy grin.
“Right,” Tim said. “This is a coup. We’re setting up the shot.”
“You’re rebelling against my loving fratriarchal guidance, my benevolent dictatorship of love?” Dick brought his hands to his chest and gasped dramatically.
“Yup,” Steph said happily. “So, you’d better do as you’re told or our Thought Police will have you arrested for smiling too much. It’s very suspicious, you know.”
Dick shot Tim an accusing glare. “I can’t believe you fed her lines based on 1984.”
“Hey, I just gave her the cliff notes of the story,” Tim said with a casual shrug. “She came up with all of that on her own. Though we do actually have Thought Police. In fact, I think you’re committing a thought crime right now. What nerve.”
Dick knew Tim was kidding, but damn was Tim a good actor when he put his mind to it. “Ha ha,” the oldest batsibling said. “Well, Big Brother…and Big Sister, what do you want from us?”
Steph grinned widely. “Oh, I thought you’d never ask!”
Steph jumped down from the couch and tugged Jason and then Dick over to couch while Tim went over to adjust the camera. Dick was distracted from jealously watching Tim take over his role as cameraman by Steph demanding that they sit just right on the couch. Once she was satisfied (and that took a while), she went to get Cass. Cass had clearly reverted to following body language in the wake of their confusing conversation about dystopias and Steph tried to make sure her body language was as open and welcoming as she could make it.
“Come on!” She offered her new sister her hand with a smile.
Cass smiled shyly and took her hand after only a moment’s hesitation.
Steph lead Cass over to the couch and had her sit right between Dick and Jason. Then she clambered up onto the back of the couch so that she was seated in the window between Dick and Cass.
“I’m on to your evil plan,” Dick said, winking up at her.
Steph snorted and lightly kicked her oldest brother’s lower back.
Before Dick could respond, Tim finished with the camera and walked leisurely over to his place behind Jason and Cass.
Dick blinked in confusion. “Wait, what about the timer?”
“Thing of the past,” Tim said waving a small controller in the air.
“But it’s tradition!” Dick complained.
“Quit your bellyaching and pose,” Jason said, his hand snaking out to grab Tim’s wrist. Tim slipped slightly from his seat and had to brace himself on Jason’s shoulder. Steph laughed so hard at the sight that she fell from her perch and landed half in Dick’s lap. Before they could do anything but laugh at themselves, Jason waved the remote he’d stolen from Tim’s grasp.
“Smile, Birdies!” he called and the camera flashed.
4.
“What is a ‘family photo’?” Damian asked. The six year old did his best to appear uninterested, but besides Cass, Tim was the best at understanding Damian.
Not that he told anyone that.
“You’ve seen photographs before, right?” Tim asked distractedly as he typed on his computer.
“Tt.”
Tim rolled his eyes. “Right, well, it’s a tradition. We take a picture at the same time every year in the same place and we give copies to Alfred and...Dad.”
“Why?” Damian asked curiously as he played with one of the gadgets he’d found on the corner of Tim’s desk.
Tim quickly considered whether or not the thing could be dangerous if the boy messed up circuitry too much, but decided that the worst Damian could get for his trouble was a small shock. It would teach the kid to be careful and not to touch things without permission. Little Brat.
“It’s…” Tim hesitated. He really didn’t know how to explain something like this. Dick would probably do a better job, but Damian always sought Tim out when he had questions like this. Not that any of the others knew that. But Tim understood Damian’s reasoning. Tim was the only one Damian knew wouldn’t lie to him to make him feel better. “It’s a documentation of the events that shape our lives. But it’s more than that, too. Family photos are a means of communication. Each one is a slice of our lives. And all of them together paint a picture of who we are and who we’ve been. They tell our story, from beginning to end.”
Damian frowned in confusion and then winced as he accidentally shocked himself. “What, so they’re a record of what we’re supposed to be in case we mess up or become deformed?” he asked as he scowled down at the gadget in his hands.
“That’s not it at all,” Tim corrected immediately and pretended to keep working even though at this point he was mostly typing nonsense. “Br- Dad will love you even if something happened to you and he would never consider you deformed, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Then what is it? A way for Father to remember us if we die?” Damian demanded and then winced as he shocked himself twice in a row.
Tim sighed and gave up on getting anything done. His little brother was too obstinate for his own good. He swiveled his chair to face Damian and held out his hand.
Damian glared and held on tightly to the gadget, shocking himself again in the process. “What did I say about taking things that aren’t yours?” Tim asked seriously.
“It’s mine,” Damian insisted.
Tim just looked at the younger boy for almost an entire minute before Damian gave in and grudgingly handed over the device. “Right,” Tim said. “Now, what do you say?”
Damian looked up at him in confusion and Tim wished he were better at this. “Tell me what you want,” he said finally. “And ask nicely. Use ‘please’,” he added after a moment.
The boy’s face scrunched up in consternation before he spoke. “Can I, I want, how does it work, please?”
Close enough. It was better than anything anyone but Dick or Alfred could get out of the kid on a consistent basis.
“That’s all I wanted,” Tim said and then he proceeded to quickly take apart the gadget and put it back together. He then handed the device over to his brother and had him repeat the process. “Now, if you can come up with an improvement for this by next weekend, I’ll let you help me with one of my investigations,” Tim offered.
Damian’s eyes widened. “I can run an investigation?”
Tim resisted the urge to chuckle at how persistent the kid could be. “No. But you can help as long as you finish the improvement and never speak of this agreement to anyone.”
Damian nodded. The boy was trying very hard to appear unaffected by their deal, but Tim knew the little brat was excited.
Tim turned back to his computer and attempted to finish his work for the day before everything got sidetracked by the upcoming family bonding time that would commence the moment Dick got home from college. He barely managed to delete his mistakes from earlier when he felt a tug on his sleeve.
“You didn’t answer my question,” Damian accused.
“What question?” Tim asked, honestly having forgotten what they’d been talking about.
Damian huffed in annoyance. “Honestly, Drake. Just tell me, what is a ‘family photo’?”
Tim frowned and remembered that Damian had been worried about the pictures being some sort of safeguard against them becoming deformed in the line of duty. It was the sort of thing Ra’s would do if he didn’t have the Lazarus Pit at his disposal. Tim fought down a wave of pure hatred for the al Ghuls; getting angry would just upset Damian and the kid didn’t need any more stress.
“There’s an oversized book on the third shelf from the floor in the bookcase by the window. Can you grab that for me, please?” Tim asked.
“You’re not answering my question,” Damian accused.
“I’m trying to,” Tim said. “It would help if you’d actually listen for once.”
Damian made a face at him, but stalked over to the bookcase and retrieved Tim’s scrapbook without making any more of a fuss.
Tim took the book from Damian and opened it the first picture he’d ever taken with his family. They had taken a lot of other pictures since then, for countless different occasions and with many different people, including their ever growing extended family. But this picture of Dick and Jason and himself was the first.
“Is that you?” Damian asked, pointing at the younger Tim in the picture.
“Yes,” Tim said. “We took this photo eight years ago because Dick thought it would be a good Father’s Day present for B- Dad.”
“Was it?” Damian asked curiously.
“It was,” Tim affirmed. “He liked it so much that we made a tradition of it. We take one of the Flock each year and he puts them up in his office.”
“But, why?” Damian asked.
Tim smiled faintly. “Why, why, why,” seemed to be all Damian could say these days. Tim supposed the kid was enjoying having the freedom to explore and ask questions for the first time in his life. Tim just wished the boy wouldn’t ask him such complex questions about social interactions. Dick and Steph were much better at explaining those sorts of things, but for some reason Damian always asked him instead.
As he tried to think up a semi-decent response, Tim flipped through the scrapbook and let Damian look at the carefully organized pages.
“They’re so sloppy,” Damian said suddenly.
Tim almost snapped at the boy before he realized that Damian was commenting about the pictures themselves rather than their organization. He couldn’t fault the kid for noticing how unprofessional the pictures were. It was true. They’d never been meant to be perfect.
“So?” Tim asked.
“But why would you give Dad something so…silly?”
“Is it silly?” Tim asked as he turned to the page again. “Is that all that you see in these pictures?”
“You all look absurd…and happy,” Damian said finally. “Were you?”
“Yes,” Tim answered. “We were very happy...and silly. It comes with the territory.”
“Then I shouldn’t be in the picture,” Damian stated.
“What, why?” Tim demanded.
“I’m not silly,” Damian said simply. “I will ruin it.”
Tim winced and awkwardly laid a hand on Damian’s shoulder. “You won’t ruin anything,” he said seriously. “Besides we can’t take it without you.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re part of The Flock and so, by definition, you need to be in The Flock Photo,” Tim explained.
Damian bit his lip but nodded slowly. “Give me, uh, can- can I have a copy of the picture?” the boy asked tentatively.
“Say please,” Tim said. He got up, took the scrapbook from his brother and put it back in its rightful place.
Damian rolled his eyes. “…Please.”
“Of course you can have a copy,” Tim said. “You just needed to ask.”
“You’re such a jerk, Drake.” Damian pouted.
Tim didn’t deign that with a response. “Come on. Dick should be home any minute now. I’ll race you to the entryway.”
Damian didn’t respond; he just started running.
***
“Picture time!” Dick shouted as he ushered everyone into the sitting room, following behind with a squirming Damian held tightly in his arms.
“Put me down, Richard,” Damian demanded.
Dick ignored his youngest brother and swung him around a few times. “Come on Little D! Don’t be such a downer. This is a big deal. Your very first Flock Photo!”
“If he hurls, you’re cleaning it up,” Jason said from his spot on the couch.
Before Dick could respond to that, he was brought up short as Cass skillfully plucked Damian from his hold and set him down. She smiled happily at him. “Welcome home, Family,” she said and pulled him into a hug.
Jason snorted. “That’s hilarious Cass,”
“Don’t mock me!” Damian complained.
“Chill out, Brat,” Tim said distractedly as he messed with their newest camera’s settings.
“Yeah,” Steph said, ruffling Damian’s hair as she made her way over to the couch. “If anything she’s making fun of Dickface.”
“Why?” Damian asked with a frown.
“Because when we first adopted her Dick told her that a family photo was a hug,” Jason explained.
“And Welcome,” Cass said with a wry smile.
“Oi, you all make fun of me, but you got the point didn’t you Blackbird?” Dick complained as he draped himself over Cass’s back.
“It’s hilarious and you know it,” Jason said with a smirk. “Our Cass has quite the sense of humor.”
“You’d never guess it, would you?” Dick agreed good naturedly as Cass ducked out of his hug and led Damian over to the couch, a huge smile on her face.
“I win,” she said and took her seat before pulling Damian into her lap. “Very important.”
Damian stiffened at the action, but relaxed into her hold after a moment. He still wasn’t used to being touched so casually, but he was getting better. And he always made an extra effort when Cass was the one hugging him.
“It never fails,” Steph said, plopping down beside her sister. “Cass must be the Dami-Whisperer or something. If I tried that Alfred would have to treat me for a bite wound.”
Damian growled at her and a laughing Dick squeezed in between his feuding siblings to prevent them from launching themselves at each other.
“Hey, hey,” Dick admonished. “No fighting on Flock Photo Day!”
“The She-Witch started it,” Damian said with a huff.
“Call me that again and I’ll show you witchcraft, Demon,” Steph threatened, a too-wide grin on her face.
“Timmy,” Dick called nervously. “Please hurry before they start World War Three.”
“You just don’t want to choose sides,” Jason accused. “It’s okay, Stephiepoo. I’ve got your back. ”
“Damn straight you do,” Steph said. “What about you Cass? You’re not going to abandon me for the baby brat, are you?”
Cass looked upset at the prospect of having to pick between her siblings.
“Don’t worry. They’re just joking, Cass,” Tim said as he finished up with the camera. “No one is choosing sides.”
“Yes we are,” Jason said. “You finished hacking our advanced copy of Space Combats Wars 6, right? We’re picking teams.” Everyone perked up at that, even Damian. He was still getting a hang of videogames, but he was a natural.
“You and Steph can’t be on the same team, that’s cheating,” Tim said, “So I guess that means you’re on Damian’s team.”
“Oh, we can make it boys vs. girls!” Steph said excitedly.
“I am a boy, you know,” Tim pointed out placidly as he sat down between Jason and Cass.
“Sure you are kiddo,” Jason said, scooting closer to his little brother. “You just make the most convincing girl out of the rest of us males. That takes skill, Little Bird.”
Tim smiled and elbowed his brother in the stomach. “Thanks Jay. I’m just drowning in love, here.”
“Hey, Picture Time!” Cass interrupted with an affected pout.
“Sorry,” Tim said unapologetically. “Everyone ready?”
“Yes!” his siblings shouted back in exasperation, even Damian who had been working very hard not to show how nervous this whole ordeal was making him.
“No, wait!” Steph said. “We’re missing someone!”
“We are?” Dick and Jason asked in unison.
“Ace!” Cass called with a wide grin. “Come!”
A moment later their oversized black German Shepard puppy loped into the room and leapt onto Steph’s lap, casting the entire group into giggling disarray.
In the confusion, Tim accidentally pressed the wrong button on the remote and the camera flashed.
5.
“That’s quite the collection you’ve got there,” Clark said as he examined the eight photographs lining one wall of Bruce’s study.
“I think it’s cute,” Diana said, smirking playfully over her shoulder at her old friend.
Bruce grunted and took another sip of champagne. He was already regretting letting his two so-called friends drag him away from the festivities to “chat”. The whole party was probably a bad idea and an endangerment of the secret identities of his entire family. But his children had begged to have their friends over for the holidays and he’d finally given in.
Hence why his family home was being overrun by nosey imbeciles.
“Don’t be like that, Bruce,” Diana teased. “It’s incredible to see how much they’ve all grown over the years.”
She leaned in to get a better look at the oldest picture on the wall.
Bruce knew that one well. The details were burned into his brain after all of the years he had spent memorizing every last nuance of the amateur photograph. Dick’s overjoyed smile and Jason’s overprotective hold on a tiny Tim who still hadn’t quite gotten the hang of smiling yet.
“Some days I can’t believe they were ever so young,” Bruce said.
“Who took these?” Clark asked curiously as he inspected one of the newer photos. It was the first one that his second daughter appeared in. Bruce loved all of the pictures his children had given him, but that was one of his favorites. They all looked so carefree…
“The kids,” Bruce said. “I don’t know the specifics because they go out of the way to keep their Father’s Day present a secret.”
“These were presents?” Clark asked in surprise.
Bruce smiled faintly, recalling increasingly noisy Father’s Day celebrations. “It’s become something of a tradition over the years.”
“I like it,” Diana said. “It’s like seeing The Flock being born again from the very beginning.”
She was looking at the first picture Steph appeared in now.
“They weren’t always The Flock,” Bruce pointed out. That name hadn’t come into play until Steph arrived, sent everything into chaos…and helped make their family stronger than ever. They could have just as easily chosen another name. From what he remembered, Dick and Tim had been big fans of calling themselves “The Dissimulation”.
“Of course they were,” Diana corrected him. “They just didn’t know it yet.”
Typical Wonder Woman and her belief in the Fates. Bruce resisted the urge to snort derisively. He was supposed to play nice tonight.
“And here’s the newest addition,” Clark cut in neatly as he looked at the most recent photo on the wall. “That makes six now, doesn’t it?”
“Yes,” Bruce confirmed.
He quite liked that picture. It was a perfect slice cut out of time, capturing his children in a moment of joy:
Dick, grinning like a loon, looked all grown up now, despite Bruce’s reluctance to let him leave the nest. Jason was growing like a weed, but as he looked at the photo Bruce could almost hear his second oldest son’s deepening laughter ringing through the study. Still clutched in Jason’s arms even after all of these years, Tim would never be the most expressive of his children, but Bruce’s heart warmed at the open amusement on the boy’s face. Stephanie, sandwiched between Cassandra and Dick, looked infinitely pleased with herself and Bruce could almost hear her cooing at Ace as she told the dog what a good boy he was. Cass was hugging his youngest and Bruce could just imagine that quiet laugh of hers joining in with the ruckus her siblings were making. Half a year after the picture was taken, Damian was still adjusting to his new home, but in that picture it was obvious that the bewildered little boy was already well on his way to finding a place for himself right in the middle of their ever growing family.
“Cheers,” Clark said, clinking his champagne glass against Bruce’s.
Bruce took a moment to berate himself for losing himself in his thoughts and not noticing Clark’s approach, but then he offered his friend a tight smile. “What are we toasting to?” he asked.
“How about to ‘new additions’?” Diana suggested as she joined her old friends, a glass of her own in her hand.
“Or to the Future?” Clark offered.
“To Family,” Bruce said firmly, raising his glass.
“To Family, by blood and otherwise,” Diana agreed, raising her own.
“And to Old Friends,” Clark added, raising his.
They clinked their glasses together and sipped at their champagne.
“Happy New Year, Boys,” Diana said with a smile.
Anything else they could have said was interrupted by the study door banging open. Jason and Steph appeared in the doorway, both out of breath, apparently having raced to reach the study first.
“Bruce, you’re so antisocial,” Steph complained. “I can’t believe you’re hiding up here when there’s a party going on!”
“Chill out, Sunshine,” Jason said, pushing her out of the way. “Bruce, come on, Little Bird wants a photo of the extended family and we can’t do it without you.”
“Or you two,” Steph added smiling at Diana and Clark around Jason’s shoulder.
“How can we refuse an invitation like that?” Clark asked rhetorically.
Bruce chuckled and let his children drag him downstairs to rejoin the festivities.
Who knew? Perhaps this too would become a family tradition.
Fandom: DCU/YJ
Characters/Pairing: The Batfamily
Genre: Gen/Fluff/Angst
Rating: PG-13
Notes: This is a future fic/side story set in the Strays-verse. Familiarity with the Strays-verse may be necessary for any of what follows to make sense. There are no out-right spoilers in this story, but there are hints at what the future holds for the batfam in this verse.
For reference, this details the ages of the kids in the different parts of this fic since that can be hard to follow. Also, if you’re curious, here is an explanation for why this fic exists in the first place.
Finally, I owe a big thanks to pannytheangel who is both an amazing writer and a fantastic artist and who did me a huge favor by beta-ing this fic for ICness. <3<3<3
1.
“Come on, Jason. Stop being so difficult,” Dick pleaded.
“You’re kidding, right? This is stupid,” Jason complained.
“But it’s our first Father’s Day as a family,” Dick said.
“Bruce won’t even want it,” Jason argued.
“Of course he will!” Dick asserted. “And even if he doesn’t, Alfred is always saying we don’t have enough family photos that don’t come from security cameras. You don’t want to make Alfred sad, do you?”
“Low blow, Dickface.” Jason scowled.
Tim spoke up for the first time. “He doesn’t have to, if he doesn’t want to,” he said softly. “It’s just a picture.”
Dick frowned. “Babybird,” he began cautiously, “you’ve taken a family picture before, haven’t you?”
Tim hesitated a moment too long before nodding yes.
Jason swore under his breath and Dick decided that he needed to step up the hug therapy another notch if Tim felt the need to lie about things like that just to make his brothers feel better.
“Right, that’s it,” Jason said grabbing Dick and Tim by the hand and dragging them over to the sofa. “Babybird deserves a real family photo. We’ll take lots of them and you can put them in a book or something and we can add another thing to the list of stuff you did despite those bastard parents of yours.”
“Language,” Tim corrected automatically. But he looked torn between surprise and tentative happiness. Jason pulled the smallest boy into his lap and squeezed him until Tim squeaked in protest.
“Jay…” Tim whined as though he wanted Jason to let him go.
Luckily, Jason was getting better at reading what Tim actually wanted as opposed to what he said he wanted and just held on tighter.
Dick laughed. “Glad to have you on board, Jaybird,” he said as he got up to set up the camera’s timer and make sure it was centered on his brothers. Then he dashed over to couch, plopped down beside Jason.
In the few seconds he had left, he tugged Tim half off of Jason’s lap and partly into his own and threw an arm over Jason’s shoulders.
“Smile!” Dick called and the flash went off.
2.
“Sorry I’m late!” Dick exclaimed as he burst into the room.
Jason and Tim shot him reproachful looks, but Steph just smiled. “Better late than never, Bigbird.”
“You insisted on this stupid tradition and you can’t even show up on time for it,” Jason sneered. “Too busy with the Team to bother.”
“Oi,” Steph admonished, hitting her middle brother on the arm. “Cut him some slack. You know the Team ran into some trouble on their mission. We’re lucky he didn’t get hurt. Don’t be such a jerk.”
“Big whoop,” Jason said, shoving her gently. “Are we doing this thing or what?”
“Hey, hey,” Dick said. “This picture is happening. It would happen even if I was in a hospital bed and breathing out of a tube.”
“Don’t say that!” the three younger birds shouted in unison.
“It’s not as funny as you think it is,” Tim added seriously.
“I’m hilarious,” Dick said, grinning like a maniac. “Come on, you know it’s true.”
Jason, Steph and Tim just looked at him.
Dick deflated slightly. “Harsh, guys. Totally harsh. I’m not feeling the aster here.”
“Ugh,” Jason complained, draping himself over his little brother. “Tiiiim, he’s making up words again.”
“What do you want me to do about?” Tim deadpanned. “I’d have an easier time reversing the polarity of the sun.”
“…You can do that?” Jason asked after a moment.
Tim smiled mysteriously.
“You have to teach me how to smile like that, Tim,” Steph said, sneaking her way into Jason’s hug so that he ended up hugging both of his younger siblings while Steph got the premium Tim-hugging space as she called it.
“Don’t’ encourage him,” Jason said.
“Umm, guys? Picture?” Dick said plaintively. “I rushed all the way over, but you seem to be doing just fine without me…”
“That’s not true,” Tim protested immediately, eyes wide. “Of course we need our big brother.”
“Duh,” Steph added in.
“Stop pretending to restrain yourself, Hug Monster,” Jason said. “We all know you want in on this.”
“Well, yeah,” Dick admitted and he threw himself at his siblings, sending all tumbling to the floor in a mishmash of limbs.
“That’s my spleen,” Jason complained. “Nice going Dickface.”
“Tough it out big boy,” Steph teased. “You’re such a wuss.”
“Who are you calling a wuss, girly girl?” Jason growled.
Anything Steph might have said was cut off by a muffled squeak.
“Babybird?” Jason called nervously. “You okay, kiddo?”
Tim squeaked again.
“Tim?” Steph called. “Oh, no. We’ve crushed him!”
“I’ll save you, Timmy!” Dick exclaimed and began trying to disentangle himself from his siblings.
Once Dick was out of the pile, he pulled Steph free, revealing a trembling Tim. The older birds were immediately concerned.
“You broke him!” Jason accused Dick.
“I didn’t mean to!” Dick whimpered. “You know I didn’t! You encouraged me! Emphasis on the en.”
“I - I’m fine,” Tim gasped as he struggled to sit up. “J-just laughing.” He squeaked again and Dick realized that it wasn’t a squeak; it was a giggle.
“Laughing?” Dick repeated. Tim never laughed, or, well, he did. But he never laughed out loud unless he was being tickle tortured. Otherwise he’d just laugh silently like he thought he’d get in trouble for making a sound.
A part of Dick really wanted to make a big deal out of Tim being so open, but he knew by now that that drawing attention to anything Tim did would probably just make him clam up again. So he just tugged his littlest brother into a brief hug.
“So…Are we doing this thing or what?” Dick asked, waggling his eyebrows at his younger siblings.
Jason rolled his eyes and got to his feet. “Yeah, yeah. How do you want to run this one Dickface?”
“Hmm…” Dick mused allowed.
“That’s not answer,” Jason groused.
“Stop trying to stifle my genius,” Dick said with a grin. “And…I’ve got it.” Nodding happily to himself, he pulled a grinning Steph onto her feet and ushered her over to the couch. “Perfect!” he said as she made a show of posing flamboyantly in her seat.
“I’m ready for my close-up,” she said playfully before giving into giggles.
Dick smirked and scooped Tim up bridal style.
“Hey!” a no longer laughing, but still smiling Tim exclaimed automatically. “Dick, put me down.”
“Sure thing, Babybird,” Dick said as he dropped Tim into Steph’s arms.
“I’ve got a Timmy!” Steph exclaimed in mock surprise. “Oh my! Whatever will I do with him?”
“Hey, no fair Ladybird,” Jason said as threw himself down on the couch besides Steph and her captive. “House rules. You’ve got to share the baby.”
“I’m not a baby,” Tim pouted.
“Except for the part where you are,” Dick said helpfully as he fiddled with the camera.
“You’re all conspiring against me,” Tim accused and if they didn’t know him so well they might have thought he was serious.
“Yep,” his siblings agreed.
Tim pretended to scowl darkly, but after a moment the look evaporated leaving one of the boy’s trademark tiny smiles. It was a good look on him. Dick hoped the progress Tim was making would stick this time. He really, really did.
Ah, but this was photo time. Not a place for serious thoughts, Dick reminded himself firmly. He thought about how wonderful it was to have Steph safely adopted and home where she belonged. It was a good thought. He didn’t even have to fake his smile. It was one hundred percent real.
Grinning happily, Dick finished setting up the camera and dashed over to the couch, plopping down on Steph’s other side.
Tim settled in Steph’s lap and Steph rested her head on her little brother’s shoulder while Dick and Jason leaned in so that their smiling faces were lined up in a row. Perfect.
“Say cheese!” Dick yelled.
“Cheese!” The four batsiblings chorused as the flash went off.
3.
“This was our first picture together as a family,” Jason explained carefully and slowly. He didn’t want Cass to miss anything.
“Family,” Cass said, pointing to the first photo in Tim’s scrapbook. It was the one they had taken five years ago. The very first family photo Tim had ever taken. Today would be Cass’s first time taking part in an official Flock Photo. (She’d been in other family photographs before this, of course, but the Father’s Day pictures for Bruce and Alfred and Tim’s scrapbook were special. It was a tradition. And he really wanted Cass to understand why it was important.)
Jason nodded. He knew that Cass understood what family meant. Her vocabulary was really amazing considering that half a year ago she had known less than a handful of words.
He pointed to Dick, then to Tim and then to himself. He turned the page and showed her the pictures of every year after that until the one two years ago that showed Steph for the first time. “We got bigger,” Jason explained. “This picture shows that we are family.”
“Why?” Cass asked, her brow furrowed in confusion. “Family are. Why…need,” she gestured at the pictures.
Jason considered her question and tried to figure out what she was trying to ask. He looked down at the pictures and struggled to put himself in her place. After a few moments he thought he understood.
“It’s a reminder,” he said. “A moment we captured for Bruce and for us, too. Right in these pictures we’re happy and together and it shows everything we’ve overcome. It…wow, I suck at this.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, Jaybird,” Dick said, almost scaring Jason out of his skin. Damn it. He needed to pay more attention to his surroundings or Bruce was going to bench him. Cass, of course, didn’t jump. She knew Dick was there all along.
“Family. Jason, Steph, Dick, Tim, Bruce, Alfred,” Cass said and pointed at the picture in the scrapbook.
“And Cass,” Dick said, pointing a finger at the younger girl. “We’re welcoming you into the family, Blackbird.”
“Welcome.” Cass cocked her head to the side and Dick realized that she must not know that word yet.
“Um…Bring inside. No, uh, hug?” he tried.
The girl lit up. “Hug,” she said. “Hug Monster Dick.” And then she held out her arms.
Dick grinned and swooped in to hug her. He had taught this one well even in the short amount of time they’d had her.
“A family photo isn’t exactly the same things as a hug,” Jason pointed out.
“Close enough. ‘Welcome’ is kind of an abstract concept. She’ll get it eventually,” Dick said. “Now, come on, everyone’s waiting on us.”
Jason returned Tim’s scrapbook to its place in Tim’s room before running to catch up to Dick and Cass as they made their way down to the sitting room that held the traditional Flock Photo couch.
When they entered the room Steph and Tim were whispering to each other on the couch thick as thieves as usual.
“We’ve got a plan,” Tim said the moment everyone was in the room.
“Really?” Jason asked, raising an eyebrow at his little brother. He’d practiced very hard to pull that off and was using it as much as possible now that he’d finally mastered it.
“Yeah,” Steph said. “And Dick isn’t allowed to interfere. We all know he has a horrible sense of feng shui.”
“Feng shui?” Cass asked.
“Interior design. Well, sort of. It’s kind of - ” Jason tried to explain, but Dick spoke over him, putting on an affected pout as he did so.
“That’s harsh, besides photography has nothing to do with feng shui.”
“Oh, right,” Steph teased. “I meant you have no sense of style, taste or ability to work the cute.”
“Work the - what now?” Jason demanded.
“Way to get off topic Steph,” Tim said with a small smile.
“You know I try,” she said flicking her long blond hair over her shoulder with a sassy grin.
“Right,” Tim said. “This is a coup. We’re setting up the shot.”
“You’re rebelling against my loving fratriarchal guidance, my benevolent dictatorship of love?” Dick brought his hands to his chest and gasped dramatically.
“Yup,” Steph said happily. “So, you’d better do as you’re told or our Thought Police will have you arrested for smiling too much. It’s very suspicious, you know.”
Dick shot Tim an accusing glare. “I can’t believe you fed her lines based on 1984.”
“Hey, I just gave her the cliff notes of the story,” Tim said with a casual shrug. “She came up with all of that on her own. Though we do actually have Thought Police. In fact, I think you’re committing a thought crime right now. What nerve.”
Dick knew Tim was kidding, but damn was Tim a good actor when he put his mind to it. “Ha ha,” the oldest batsibling said. “Well, Big Brother…and Big Sister, what do you want from us?”
Steph grinned widely. “Oh, I thought you’d never ask!”
Steph jumped down from the couch and tugged Jason and then Dick over to couch while Tim went over to adjust the camera. Dick was distracted from jealously watching Tim take over his role as cameraman by Steph demanding that they sit just right on the couch. Once she was satisfied (and that took a while), she went to get Cass. Cass had clearly reverted to following body language in the wake of their confusing conversation about dystopias and Steph tried to make sure her body language was as open and welcoming as she could make it.
“Come on!” She offered her new sister her hand with a smile.
Cass smiled shyly and took her hand after only a moment’s hesitation.
Steph lead Cass over to the couch and had her sit right between Dick and Jason. Then she clambered up onto the back of the couch so that she was seated in the window between Dick and Cass.
“I’m on to your evil plan,” Dick said, winking up at her.
Steph snorted and lightly kicked her oldest brother’s lower back.
Before Dick could respond, Tim finished with the camera and walked leisurely over to his place behind Jason and Cass.
Dick blinked in confusion. “Wait, what about the timer?”
“Thing of the past,” Tim said waving a small controller in the air.
“But it’s tradition!” Dick complained.
“Quit your bellyaching and pose,” Jason said, his hand snaking out to grab Tim’s wrist. Tim slipped slightly from his seat and had to brace himself on Jason’s shoulder. Steph laughed so hard at the sight that she fell from her perch and landed half in Dick’s lap. Before they could do anything but laugh at themselves, Jason waved the remote he’d stolen from Tim’s grasp.
“Smile, Birdies!” he called and the camera flashed.
4.
“What is a ‘family photo’?” Damian asked. The six year old did his best to appear uninterested, but besides Cass, Tim was the best at understanding Damian.
Not that he told anyone that.
“You’ve seen photographs before, right?” Tim asked distractedly as he typed on his computer.
“Tt.”
Tim rolled his eyes. “Right, well, it’s a tradition. We take a picture at the same time every year in the same place and we give copies to Alfred and...Dad.”
“Why?” Damian asked curiously as he played with one of the gadgets he’d found on the corner of Tim’s desk.
Tim quickly considered whether or not the thing could be dangerous if the boy messed up circuitry too much, but decided that the worst Damian could get for his trouble was a small shock. It would teach the kid to be careful and not to touch things without permission. Little Brat.
“It’s…” Tim hesitated. He really didn’t know how to explain something like this. Dick would probably do a better job, but Damian always sought Tim out when he had questions like this. Not that any of the others knew that. But Tim understood Damian’s reasoning. Tim was the only one Damian knew wouldn’t lie to him to make him feel better. “It’s a documentation of the events that shape our lives. But it’s more than that, too. Family photos are a means of communication. Each one is a slice of our lives. And all of them together paint a picture of who we are and who we’ve been. They tell our story, from beginning to end.”
Damian frowned in confusion and then winced as he accidentally shocked himself. “What, so they’re a record of what we’re supposed to be in case we mess up or become deformed?” he asked as he scowled down at the gadget in his hands.
“That’s not it at all,” Tim corrected immediately and pretended to keep working even though at this point he was mostly typing nonsense. “Br- Dad will love you even if something happened to you and he would never consider you deformed, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Then what is it? A way for Father to remember us if we die?” Damian demanded and then winced as he shocked himself twice in a row.
Tim sighed and gave up on getting anything done. His little brother was too obstinate for his own good. He swiveled his chair to face Damian and held out his hand.
Damian glared and held on tightly to the gadget, shocking himself again in the process. “What did I say about taking things that aren’t yours?” Tim asked seriously.
“It’s mine,” Damian insisted.
Tim just looked at the younger boy for almost an entire minute before Damian gave in and grudgingly handed over the device. “Right,” Tim said. “Now, what do you say?”
Damian looked up at him in confusion and Tim wished he were better at this. “Tell me what you want,” he said finally. “And ask nicely. Use ‘please’,” he added after a moment.
The boy’s face scrunched up in consternation before he spoke. “Can I, I want, how does it work, please?”
Close enough. It was better than anything anyone but Dick or Alfred could get out of the kid on a consistent basis.
“That’s all I wanted,” Tim said and then he proceeded to quickly take apart the gadget and put it back together. He then handed the device over to his brother and had him repeat the process. “Now, if you can come up with an improvement for this by next weekend, I’ll let you help me with one of my investigations,” Tim offered.
Damian’s eyes widened. “I can run an investigation?”
Tim resisted the urge to chuckle at how persistent the kid could be. “No. But you can help as long as you finish the improvement and never speak of this agreement to anyone.”
Damian nodded. The boy was trying very hard to appear unaffected by their deal, but Tim knew the little brat was excited.
Tim turned back to his computer and attempted to finish his work for the day before everything got sidetracked by the upcoming family bonding time that would commence the moment Dick got home from college. He barely managed to delete his mistakes from earlier when he felt a tug on his sleeve.
“You didn’t answer my question,” Damian accused.
“What question?” Tim asked, honestly having forgotten what they’d been talking about.
Damian huffed in annoyance. “Honestly, Drake. Just tell me, what is a ‘family photo’?”
Tim frowned and remembered that Damian had been worried about the pictures being some sort of safeguard against them becoming deformed in the line of duty. It was the sort of thing Ra’s would do if he didn’t have the Lazarus Pit at his disposal. Tim fought down a wave of pure hatred for the al Ghuls; getting angry would just upset Damian and the kid didn’t need any more stress.
“There’s an oversized book on the third shelf from the floor in the bookcase by the window. Can you grab that for me, please?” Tim asked.
“You’re not answering my question,” Damian accused.
“I’m trying to,” Tim said. “It would help if you’d actually listen for once.”
Damian made a face at him, but stalked over to the bookcase and retrieved Tim’s scrapbook without making any more of a fuss.
Tim took the book from Damian and opened it the first picture he’d ever taken with his family. They had taken a lot of other pictures since then, for countless different occasions and with many different people, including their ever growing extended family. But this picture of Dick and Jason and himself was the first.
“Is that you?” Damian asked, pointing at the younger Tim in the picture.
“Yes,” Tim said. “We took this photo eight years ago because Dick thought it would be a good Father’s Day present for B- Dad.”
“Was it?” Damian asked curiously.
“It was,” Tim affirmed. “He liked it so much that we made a tradition of it. We take one of the Flock each year and he puts them up in his office.”
“But, why?” Damian asked.
Tim smiled faintly. “Why, why, why,” seemed to be all Damian could say these days. Tim supposed the kid was enjoying having the freedom to explore and ask questions for the first time in his life. Tim just wished the boy wouldn’t ask him such complex questions about social interactions. Dick and Steph were much better at explaining those sorts of things, but for some reason Damian always asked him instead.
As he tried to think up a semi-decent response, Tim flipped through the scrapbook and let Damian look at the carefully organized pages.
“They’re so sloppy,” Damian said suddenly.
Tim almost snapped at the boy before he realized that Damian was commenting about the pictures themselves rather than their organization. He couldn’t fault the kid for noticing how unprofessional the pictures were. It was true. They’d never been meant to be perfect.
“So?” Tim asked.
“But why would you give Dad something so…silly?”
“Is it silly?” Tim asked as he turned to the page again. “Is that all that you see in these pictures?”
“You all look absurd…and happy,” Damian said finally. “Were you?”
“Yes,” Tim answered. “We were very happy...and silly. It comes with the territory.”
“Then I shouldn’t be in the picture,” Damian stated.
“What, why?” Tim demanded.
“I’m not silly,” Damian said simply. “I will ruin it.”
Tim winced and awkwardly laid a hand on Damian’s shoulder. “You won’t ruin anything,” he said seriously. “Besides we can’t take it without you.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re part of The Flock and so, by definition, you need to be in The Flock Photo,” Tim explained.
Damian bit his lip but nodded slowly. “Give me, uh, can- can I have a copy of the picture?” the boy asked tentatively.
“Say please,” Tim said. He got up, took the scrapbook from his brother and put it back in its rightful place.
Damian rolled his eyes. “…Please.”
“Of course you can have a copy,” Tim said. “You just needed to ask.”
“You’re such a jerk, Drake.” Damian pouted.
Tim didn’t deign that with a response. “Come on. Dick should be home any minute now. I’ll race you to the entryway.”
Damian didn’t respond; he just started running.
***
“Picture time!” Dick shouted as he ushered everyone into the sitting room, following behind with a squirming Damian held tightly in his arms.
“Put me down, Richard,” Damian demanded.
Dick ignored his youngest brother and swung him around a few times. “Come on Little D! Don’t be such a downer. This is a big deal. Your very first Flock Photo!”
“If he hurls, you’re cleaning it up,” Jason said from his spot on the couch.
Before Dick could respond to that, he was brought up short as Cass skillfully plucked Damian from his hold and set him down. She smiled happily at him. “Welcome home, Family,” she said and pulled him into a hug.
Jason snorted. “That’s hilarious Cass,”
“Don’t mock me!” Damian complained.
“Chill out, Brat,” Tim said distractedly as he messed with their newest camera’s settings.
“Yeah,” Steph said, ruffling Damian’s hair as she made her way over to the couch. “If anything she’s making fun of Dickface.”
“Why?” Damian asked with a frown.
“Because when we first adopted her Dick told her that a family photo was a hug,” Jason explained.
“And Welcome,” Cass said with a wry smile.
“Oi, you all make fun of me, but you got the point didn’t you Blackbird?” Dick complained as he draped himself over Cass’s back.
“It’s hilarious and you know it,” Jason said with a smirk. “Our Cass has quite the sense of humor.”
“You’d never guess it, would you?” Dick agreed good naturedly as Cass ducked out of his hug and led Damian over to the couch, a huge smile on her face.
“I win,” she said and took her seat before pulling Damian into her lap. “Very important.”
Damian stiffened at the action, but relaxed into her hold after a moment. He still wasn’t used to being touched so casually, but he was getting better. And he always made an extra effort when Cass was the one hugging him.
“It never fails,” Steph said, plopping down beside her sister. “Cass must be the Dami-Whisperer or something. If I tried that Alfred would have to treat me for a bite wound.”
Damian growled at her and a laughing Dick squeezed in between his feuding siblings to prevent them from launching themselves at each other.
“Hey, hey,” Dick admonished. “No fighting on Flock Photo Day!”
“The She-Witch started it,” Damian said with a huff.
“Call me that again and I’ll show you witchcraft, Demon,” Steph threatened, a too-wide grin on her face.
“Timmy,” Dick called nervously. “Please hurry before they start World War Three.”
“You just don’t want to choose sides,” Jason accused. “It’s okay, Stephiepoo. I’ve got your back. ”
“Damn straight you do,” Steph said. “What about you Cass? You’re not going to abandon me for the baby brat, are you?”
Cass looked upset at the prospect of having to pick between her siblings.
“Don’t worry. They’re just joking, Cass,” Tim said as he finished up with the camera. “No one is choosing sides.”
“Yes we are,” Jason said. “You finished hacking our advanced copy of Space Combats Wars 6, right? We’re picking teams.” Everyone perked up at that, even Damian. He was still getting a hang of videogames, but he was a natural.
“You and Steph can’t be on the same team, that’s cheating,” Tim said, “So I guess that means you’re on Damian’s team.”
“Oh, we can make it boys vs. girls!” Steph said excitedly.
“I am a boy, you know,” Tim pointed out placidly as he sat down between Jason and Cass.
“Sure you are kiddo,” Jason said, scooting closer to his little brother. “You just make the most convincing girl out of the rest of us males. That takes skill, Little Bird.”
Tim smiled and elbowed his brother in the stomach. “Thanks Jay. I’m just drowning in love, here.”
“Hey, Picture Time!” Cass interrupted with an affected pout.
“Sorry,” Tim said unapologetically. “Everyone ready?”
“Yes!” his siblings shouted back in exasperation, even Damian who had been working very hard not to show how nervous this whole ordeal was making him.
“No, wait!” Steph said. “We’re missing someone!”
“We are?” Dick and Jason asked in unison.
“Ace!” Cass called with a wide grin. “Come!”
A moment later their oversized black German Shepard puppy loped into the room and leapt onto Steph’s lap, casting the entire group into giggling disarray.
In the confusion, Tim accidentally pressed the wrong button on the remote and the camera flashed.
5.
“That’s quite the collection you’ve got there,” Clark said as he examined the eight photographs lining one wall of Bruce’s study.
“I think it’s cute,” Diana said, smirking playfully over her shoulder at her old friend.
Bruce grunted and took another sip of champagne. He was already regretting letting his two so-called friends drag him away from the festivities to “chat”. The whole party was probably a bad idea and an endangerment of the secret identities of his entire family. But his children had begged to have their friends over for the holidays and he’d finally given in.
Hence why his family home was being overrun by nosey imbeciles.
“Don’t be like that, Bruce,” Diana teased. “It’s incredible to see how much they’ve all grown over the years.”
She leaned in to get a better look at the oldest picture on the wall.
Bruce knew that one well. The details were burned into his brain after all of the years he had spent memorizing every last nuance of the amateur photograph. Dick’s overjoyed smile and Jason’s overprotective hold on a tiny Tim who still hadn’t quite gotten the hang of smiling yet.
“Some days I can’t believe they were ever so young,” Bruce said.
“Who took these?” Clark asked curiously as he inspected one of the newer photos. It was the first one that his second daughter appeared in. Bruce loved all of the pictures his children had given him, but that was one of his favorites. They all looked so carefree…
“The kids,” Bruce said. “I don’t know the specifics because they go out of the way to keep their Father’s Day present a secret.”
“These were presents?” Clark asked in surprise.
Bruce smiled faintly, recalling increasingly noisy Father’s Day celebrations. “It’s become something of a tradition over the years.”
“I like it,” Diana said. “It’s like seeing The Flock being born again from the very beginning.”
She was looking at the first picture Steph appeared in now.
“They weren’t always The Flock,” Bruce pointed out. That name hadn’t come into play until Steph arrived, sent everything into chaos…and helped make their family stronger than ever. They could have just as easily chosen another name. From what he remembered, Dick and Tim had been big fans of calling themselves “The Dissimulation”.
“Of course they were,” Diana corrected him. “They just didn’t know it yet.”
Typical Wonder Woman and her belief in the Fates. Bruce resisted the urge to snort derisively. He was supposed to play nice tonight.
“And here’s the newest addition,” Clark cut in neatly as he looked at the most recent photo on the wall. “That makes six now, doesn’t it?”
“Yes,” Bruce confirmed.
He quite liked that picture. It was a perfect slice cut out of time, capturing his children in a moment of joy:
Dick, grinning like a loon, looked all grown up now, despite Bruce’s reluctance to let him leave the nest. Jason was growing like a weed, but as he looked at the photo Bruce could almost hear his second oldest son’s deepening laughter ringing through the study. Still clutched in Jason’s arms even after all of these years, Tim would never be the most expressive of his children, but Bruce’s heart warmed at the open amusement on the boy’s face. Stephanie, sandwiched between Cassandra and Dick, looked infinitely pleased with herself and Bruce could almost hear her cooing at Ace as she told the dog what a good boy he was. Cass was hugging his youngest and Bruce could just imagine that quiet laugh of hers joining in with the ruckus her siblings were making. Half a year after the picture was taken, Damian was still adjusting to his new home, but in that picture it was obvious that the bewildered little boy was already well on his way to finding a place for himself right in the middle of their ever growing family.
“Cheers,” Clark said, clinking his champagne glass against Bruce’s.
Bruce took a moment to berate himself for losing himself in his thoughts and not noticing Clark’s approach, but then he offered his friend a tight smile. “What are we toasting to?” he asked.
“How about to ‘new additions’?” Diana suggested as she joined her old friends, a glass of her own in her hand.
“Or to the Future?” Clark offered.
“To Family,” Bruce said firmly, raising his glass.
“To Family, by blood and otherwise,” Diana agreed, raising her own.
“And to Old Friends,” Clark added, raising his.
They clinked their glasses together and sipped at their champagne.
“Happy New Year, Boys,” Diana said with a smile.
Anything else they could have said was interrupted by the study door banging open. Jason and Steph appeared in the doorway, both out of breath, apparently having raced to reach the study first.
“Bruce, you’re so antisocial,” Steph complained. “I can’t believe you’re hiding up here when there’s a party going on!”
“Chill out, Sunshine,” Jason said, pushing her out of the way. “Bruce, come on, Little Bird wants a photo of the extended family and we can’t do it without you.”
“Or you two,” Steph added smiling at Diana and Clark around Jason’s shoulder.
“How can we refuse an invitation like that?” Clark asked rhetorically.
Bruce chuckled and let his children drag him downstairs to rejoin the festivities.
Who knew? Perhaps this too would become a family tradition.