Fic: 12 Years of Christmas, 11/12: Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men
Title: 12 Years of Christmas, 10/12
Authors:lady_sarai and zoe_chan
Continuity: Follows Young Justice and Teen Titans and main continuity up to the OYL events of Flash 13, then deviates.
Pairing/Characters: Tim/Cissie.
Rating/Warnings: PGish
Disclaimer: We do not own anything or anyone. We promise.
Summary: Jason accepts the annual Christmas invitation.
Note: Tim and Cissie now have three children-Sadie, 11, Aiden, 7, and Sophie, 4.
Each of the twelve parts of this fic take place on a different year--they *are* in order, but they are not twelve consecutive years. We skipped over a few. Huge thanks to xenokattz for beta-reading! ♥
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10
Year 24: Peace on Earth, Goodwill To Men
~*~
“Merry Christmas, little brother,” said a too familiar, too mocking, too wrong voice as Tim carried his four year old daughter and a bag of gifts into the Manor. He glanced up at the man holding the door and scowled, his suspicion confirmed.
“What the Hell are you doing here, Jason?” he asked crossly. “Don’t you usually spend Christmas under a rock or something?”
“Hi Jason!” Sophie said with entirely too much excitement for Tim’s liking.
“Hey, squirt.” Jason tugged on her dark hair. “And really, Tim, whatever happened to peace on Earth, goodwill toward man?”
Tim raised an eyebrow. “I have lots of good will for you, Jason-I’m always really happy and full of holiday cheer when you’re very far away. What are you doing here?”
“Thought I’d make good on the annual Christmas invitation,” he said with a smirk, obviously enjoying Tim’s irritation.
“God,” Tim muttered, rolling his eyes. “I was afraid this would happen someday.”
"What were you afraid of, Daddy?" Sophie asked, pulling on his scarf. "What happened?"
“Nothing, baby,” he said with a sigh, shifting her in his arms. “Do you think we can talk Mommy into heading back home tonight? Maybe go to bed early for Santa?”
"We can't go home!" she cried, eyes wide.
"Yeah, come on Timmy," Jason said. He wore the definition of a shit-eating grin. "Don't be such a Scrooge. You don't want the midgets to miss out on their presents, do you?"
Tim gritted his teeth. “I hate you more than burning,” he muttered, glaring at Jason. He turned back to Sophie. “Of course we don’t have to go home, sweet pea.”
She threw her arms around his neck in a hug. "Yay!" She pulled back, squirming. "Put me down, Daddy!"
Tim lowered her to the ground. “Go give Grampa a hug and a kiss. And maybe you can kick Jason in the shins on the way by. Santa wrote and told me that little girls who do that might get extra candy in their stockings.”
Sophie paused, looking up at him skeptically. "No, he didn't."
He grinned. “Sure he did-he sent the note to my office, though, because he didn’t want you to think it’s okay to kick everyone, just Jason. A lot.”
She frowned. "But I don't want to kick Jason."
"It's okay, squirt," Jason said, winking at her. "Santa told me that he gives extra presents to little girls who don't eat their peas." He knelt down and continued in a stage whisper, "Santa doesn't like peas either."
“Jason,” Tim said with forced politeness. “I’m sure you don’t want me to tell Alfred that you’re lying to my daughter. You might not be allowed back.” He paused. “On second thought, let me go get him.”
Sophie's brow furrowed as she looked from one man to the other.
Jason stood and smiled at Tim. "And I'm sure your wife would love to hear that you're encouraging Sophie to resort to violence."
Sophie tugged on Tim's jacket. "Can I go find Grampa now?"
“Go ahead, baby,” he said, helping her out of her jacket. He watched her take off down the hallway before standing again and smiling at Jason. “Besides, I’m pretty sure Cissie would understand.”
"What would I understand?" Cissie asked, entering the Manor with Aiden, Sadie and the rest of the presents. Her eyebrows shot up when she saw Jason. "Jason! Hi."
“You’d understand me telling Sophie to kick Jason in the shins, right?”
Cissie blinked at him. Sadie hid a laugh behind her scarf, earning her a stern look from her mother. She turned back to Tim. "I'm just going to pretend I didn't hear that."
Tim turned a slightly smug smile on Jason, as if to say “see?”
Cissie rolled her eyes and set the bags down to remove her coat. She took Aiden’s from him and nodded at the gifts. “How about you two take the presents in and put them under the tree?”
Sadie scowled and shrugged out of her coat. “You always tell us to go away when something interesting is happening.”
Cissie gave her a look, raising an eyebrow. “Nothing interesting is happening here.” She turned to Tim. “Is it.”
He grimaced slightly. “Of course not. Why don’t you take the presents in and see if you can talk Uncle Dick out of It’s a Wonderful Life this year.”
Aiden laughed, picking up a bag of presents. “That never works, Dad!”
“A man can dream.” He glanced at Sadie who was folding her scarf remarkably slowly. “You too, sweet pea.” He took her scarf and pushed a bag of gifts into her hands. “Follow your brother.”
She made a face and scowled. “Come on, Aiden,” she said grudgingly. “We always miss the fun stuff.”
“What do you mean, the fun stuff?” Aiden asked, following her and dragging a bag too heavy for him to carry. “The presents are the fun stuff!”
Sadie took one handle of the bag to help him, shaking her head. “Secrets are the fun stuff-you get it when you’re older,” she said, as they made their way down the hall.
Tim grinned at little at their backs. Sadie sounded just like him at that age. He tucked Sadie’s scarf in her jacket pocket and began hanging up coats. “So what made you decide to accept the invitation this year, Jason?” he asked, striving toward politeness.
Jason shoved his hands in his pockets, grinning dangerously. "Oh, I heard how sad you always are that I never come. Wouldn't want to disappoint my baby brother on Christmas."
Cissie made a noise in the back of her throat.
Tim felt himself twitch at Jason’s words. “I’m not your brother,” he said flatly.
Cissie made another noise, closing her eyes.
"There are court appointed papers that would disagree," Jason pointed out cheerfully. He put a hand over his heart, looking wounded. "And it wounds me when you play favorites, Timmy."
"Oh God," Cissie muttered.
“Tim,” he corrected irritably. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly over a count of ten. He was not going to let Jason Todd ruin his Christmas Eve.
Cissie picked up the last of the bags left behind by the children and touched Tim's arm. "Come on, let's go say hello to everyone else."
He nodded mutely, still not trusting himself completely to be civil.
“Good idea,” Jason said, still smirking. “I haven’t said hi to anyone yet either. I wanted to see my favorite little brother first.”
Tim ground his teeth together until he tasted blood, but managed to keep from speaking.
Cissie gripped Tim's elbow and began hauling him down the hall, shooting Jason a warning look as they passed. Jason smirked and followed them.
Sophie pelted into the hall, latching onto Tim's other hand. "Mommy, Daddy, are you coming?!"
Tim bent down and scooped her up into his arms. “Of course we’re coming. Didn’t you see us walking down the hall?”
"You're not fast enough!"
Cissie slowed her pace, watching Tim carry Sophie into the room. She waited until he was in the room before putting a hand out and stopping Jason from following. She turned to him and he raised an eyebrow at her.
She took a deep breath. "Jason, I am only saying this once-do not ruin Christmas for my children."
"I wouldn't-"
"Yes, you would," she interrupted. "If you continue to provoke Tim, you will put him in a bad mood and if you think the kids don't notice our moods, you really are as stupid as Tim claims."
Jason tucked his hands in his pockets and gave her a winning smile. “I don’t think Timmy would know what to do with me if I stopped baiting him. Then he’d ruin the kids’ Christmas by worrying about what I was planning under all the politeness. Catch-22.”
Cissie narrowed her eyes at him, crossing her arms. "Look. I am just saying-if your presence here tonight makes any of my children the least bit worried, upset or sad? For any reason? I will take Sophie aside and explain in detail why it is that her daddy doesn't like you."
He looked at her with a surprised respect in his eyes. “You do know how to threaten a man, don’t you?”
She gave him a sharp smile. "I'm glad we're on the same page."
“Same page, sentence, and paragraph,” Jason said, smirking slightly. “I like you. You’ve got spirit. How’d you end up with Timmy, anyway?”
Cissie stared at him for a second before rolling her eyes skyward and turning on her heel to follow her family. Jason laughed and followed her to the Great Room where the tree and the rest of the family awaited.
~*~
Next time, part 12: Through the Years We All Will be Together
Authors:lady_sarai and zoe_chan
Continuity: Follows Young Justice and Teen Titans and main continuity up to the OYL events of Flash 13, then deviates.
Pairing/Characters: Tim/Cissie.
Rating/Warnings: PGish
Disclaimer: We do not own anything or anyone. We promise.
Summary: Jason accepts the annual Christmas invitation.
Note: Tim and Cissie now have three children-Sadie, 11, Aiden, 7, and Sophie, 4.
Each of the twelve parts of this fic take place on a different year--they *are* in order, but they are not twelve consecutive years. We skipped over a few. Huge thanks to xenokattz for beta-reading! ♥
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10
Year 24: Peace on Earth, Goodwill To Men
~*~
“Merry Christmas, little brother,” said a too familiar, too mocking, too wrong voice as Tim carried his four year old daughter and a bag of gifts into the Manor. He glanced up at the man holding the door and scowled, his suspicion confirmed.
“What the Hell are you doing here, Jason?” he asked crossly. “Don’t you usually spend Christmas under a rock or something?”
“Hi Jason!” Sophie said with entirely too much excitement for Tim’s liking.
“Hey, squirt.” Jason tugged on her dark hair. “And really, Tim, whatever happened to peace on Earth, goodwill toward man?”
Tim raised an eyebrow. “I have lots of good will for you, Jason-I’m always really happy and full of holiday cheer when you’re very far away. What are you doing here?”
“Thought I’d make good on the annual Christmas invitation,” he said with a smirk, obviously enjoying Tim’s irritation.
“God,” Tim muttered, rolling his eyes. “I was afraid this would happen someday.”
"What were you afraid of, Daddy?" Sophie asked, pulling on his scarf. "What happened?"
“Nothing, baby,” he said with a sigh, shifting her in his arms. “Do you think we can talk Mommy into heading back home tonight? Maybe go to bed early for Santa?”
"We can't go home!" she cried, eyes wide.
"Yeah, come on Timmy," Jason said. He wore the definition of a shit-eating grin. "Don't be such a Scrooge. You don't want the midgets to miss out on their presents, do you?"
Tim gritted his teeth. “I hate you more than burning,” he muttered, glaring at Jason. He turned back to Sophie. “Of course we don’t have to go home, sweet pea.”
She threw her arms around his neck in a hug. "Yay!" She pulled back, squirming. "Put me down, Daddy!"
Tim lowered her to the ground. “Go give Grampa a hug and a kiss. And maybe you can kick Jason in the shins on the way by. Santa wrote and told me that little girls who do that might get extra candy in their stockings.”
Sophie paused, looking up at him skeptically. "No, he didn't."
He grinned. “Sure he did-he sent the note to my office, though, because he didn’t want you to think it’s okay to kick everyone, just Jason. A lot.”
She frowned. "But I don't want to kick Jason."
"It's okay, squirt," Jason said, winking at her. "Santa told me that he gives extra presents to little girls who don't eat their peas." He knelt down and continued in a stage whisper, "Santa doesn't like peas either."
“Jason,” Tim said with forced politeness. “I’m sure you don’t want me to tell Alfred that you’re lying to my daughter. You might not be allowed back.” He paused. “On second thought, let me go get him.”
Sophie's brow furrowed as she looked from one man to the other.
Jason stood and smiled at Tim. "And I'm sure your wife would love to hear that you're encouraging Sophie to resort to violence."
Sophie tugged on Tim's jacket. "Can I go find Grampa now?"
“Go ahead, baby,” he said, helping her out of her jacket. He watched her take off down the hallway before standing again and smiling at Jason. “Besides, I’m pretty sure Cissie would understand.”
"What would I understand?" Cissie asked, entering the Manor with Aiden, Sadie and the rest of the presents. Her eyebrows shot up when she saw Jason. "Jason! Hi."
“You’d understand me telling Sophie to kick Jason in the shins, right?”
Cissie blinked at him. Sadie hid a laugh behind her scarf, earning her a stern look from her mother. She turned back to Tim. "I'm just going to pretend I didn't hear that."
Tim turned a slightly smug smile on Jason, as if to say “see?”
Cissie rolled her eyes and set the bags down to remove her coat. She took Aiden’s from him and nodded at the gifts. “How about you two take the presents in and put them under the tree?”
Sadie scowled and shrugged out of her coat. “You always tell us to go away when something interesting is happening.”
Cissie gave her a look, raising an eyebrow. “Nothing interesting is happening here.” She turned to Tim. “Is it.”
He grimaced slightly. “Of course not. Why don’t you take the presents in and see if you can talk Uncle Dick out of It’s a Wonderful Life this year.”
Aiden laughed, picking up a bag of presents. “That never works, Dad!”
“A man can dream.” He glanced at Sadie who was folding her scarf remarkably slowly. “You too, sweet pea.” He took her scarf and pushed a bag of gifts into her hands. “Follow your brother.”
She made a face and scowled. “Come on, Aiden,” she said grudgingly. “We always miss the fun stuff.”
“What do you mean, the fun stuff?” Aiden asked, following her and dragging a bag too heavy for him to carry. “The presents are the fun stuff!”
Sadie took one handle of the bag to help him, shaking her head. “Secrets are the fun stuff-you get it when you’re older,” she said, as they made their way down the hall.
Tim grinned at little at their backs. Sadie sounded just like him at that age. He tucked Sadie’s scarf in her jacket pocket and began hanging up coats. “So what made you decide to accept the invitation this year, Jason?” he asked, striving toward politeness.
Jason shoved his hands in his pockets, grinning dangerously. "Oh, I heard how sad you always are that I never come. Wouldn't want to disappoint my baby brother on Christmas."
Cissie made a noise in the back of her throat.
Tim felt himself twitch at Jason’s words. “I’m not your brother,” he said flatly.
Cissie made another noise, closing her eyes.
"There are court appointed papers that would disagree," Jason pointed out cheerfully. He put a hand over his heart, looking wounded. "And it wounds me when you play favorites, Timmy."
"Oh God," Cissie muttered.
“Tim,” he corrected irritably. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly over a count of ten. He was not going to let Jason Todd ruin his Christmas Eve.
Cissie picked up the last of the bags left behind by the children and touched Tim's arm. "Come on, let's go say hello to everyone else."
He nodded mutely, still not trusting himself completely to be civil.
“Good idea,” Jason said, still smirking. “I haven’t said hi to anyone yet either. I wanted to see my favorite little brother first.”
Tim ground his teeth together until he tasted blood, but managed to keep from speaking.
Cissie gripped Tim's elbow and began hauling him down the hall, shooting Jason a warning look as they passed. Jason smirked and followed them.
Sophie pelted into the hall, latching onto Tim's other hand. "Mommy, Daddy, are you coming?!"
Tim bent down and scooped her up into his arms. “Of course we’re coming. Didn’t you see us walking down the hall?”
"You're not fast enough!"
Cissie slowed her pace, watching Tim carry Sophie into the room. She waited until he was in the room before putting a hand out and stopping Jason from following. She turned to him and he raised an eyebrow at her.
She took a deep breath. "Jason, I am only saying this once-do not ruin Christmas for my children."
"I wouldn't-"
"Yes, you would," she interrupted. "If you continue to provoke Tim, you will put him in a bad mood and if you think the kids don't notice our moods, you really are as stupid as Tim claims."
Jason tucked his hands in his pockets and gave her a winning smile. “I don’t think Timmy would know what to do with me if I stopped baiting him. Then he’d ruin the kids’ Christmas by worrying about what I was planning under all the politeness. Catch-22.”
Cissie narrowed her eyes at him, crossing her arms. "Look. I am just saying-if your presence here tonight makes any of my children the least bit worried, upset or sad? For any reason? I will take Sophie aside and explain in detail why it is that her daddy doesn't like you."
He looked at her with a surprised respect in his eyes. “You do know how to threaten a man, don’t you?”
She gave him a sharp smile. "I'm glad we're on the same page."
“Same page, sentence, and paragraph,” Jason said, smirking slightly. “I like you. You’ve got spirit. How’d you end up with Timmy, anyway?”
Cissie stared at him for a second before rolling her eyes skyward and turning on her heel to follow her family. Jason laughed and followed her to the Great Room where the tree and the rest of the family awaited.
~*~
Next time, part 12: Through the Years We All Will be Together