Chapter Text
Bruce was on the phone with the foreman when Duke walked in. The boy had a sling and more wraps around his shoulder than a mummy. "Conrad, just a moment," Bruce interrupted. He pulled the phone away from his face and asked, "Status report."
"Broken collar bone, a very slight, absolute baby of a concussion, dislocated shoulder, some deep bruising," Duke rattled off. "All good in the hood."
"There's food. Jason made breakfast."
Duke smiled, eyes blinking heavy. "Nah, thanks though. Think I'm gonna crash for awhile."
"Where's your discharge paperwork."
"Uhh. Dick has it?"
Bruce grunted. As Duke went to pass him, he stopped the boy and gently pulled him in for a side hug. The sigh he gave told Bruce exactly how exhausted he really was. "Rest well, sport."
Duke snorted. "Sure thing, old man."
Bruce watched him head up the stairs. "My apologies, Conrad. That was one of my boys."
"No worries, boss. I uh, I heard that list of injuries. You sure you don't need to go take care of him?"
Bruce smiled. "Well, he made it to the top of the staircase and flipped me off. I think he's fine. Now he's shooing me away. He'll shout if he needs anything."
Conrad chuckled. "I kinda miss the precocious teen years."
"How is Riley?"
"He's good, he's doing real good. His youngest just turned two. Thanks for askin'."
"That's nice. I'm glad to hear it." Bruce paused, grabbing his coat from the hall closet. "I would like to get started on the demolition and removal as soon as possible—"
The front door opened, bringing in a burst of cold morning air and a tired Dick.
"—but I understand with the holiday, and the weather, we need to delay." Bruce looped his coat over his arm, looking over his boy, still in his tux from last night, and reached out. Dick hesitated, pulling back ever so slightly. Bruce took Dick's chin in his fingers, holding a silent argument as Conrad explained their current schedule delays. Dick only lasted a minute before slumping against Bruce, pressing their foreheads together.
Bruce wrapped his hand around the back of young man's neck, finding the muscle that always goes tight. Dick tilted his head like one of the cats. "Hn," he said. "Well, that's understandable. At the very least we can start clearing some of the rubble away. I've got a farmer who's hanging around."
Conrad chuckled. "Anyone else, Mr. Wayne, and I'd say they'd only be causing more trouble than it's worth. One of your boys has construction experience, right? He know how to look for electrical?"
"He does." Dick pulled away and grabbed his coat. Bruce frowned. Dick rolled his eyes and grabbed his now free arm, sliding the coat on. Bruce rolled his eyes in response, passing the phone to his other hand so Dick could continue dressing him.
"Good, good. Then I'll have Riley up there as soon as the snow's cleared. Hopefully that'll be soon. Lord, it's been a damnable cold winter. Almost makes ya think Freeze was out causin' trouble again."
Bruce huffed. "He isn't. I checked." Dick pretended to dust the coat off, straightening the lapels.
"Freak weather. If you need me for anything else, boss, you know how to reach me. Oh. And congratulations on the wedding."
"Thank you, Conrad. Again, my apologies for calling so early. Happy New Year."
Bruce slipped his phone into his pocket and looked at his boy. His bottom lip was torn, raw, with a spot of dried blood. The shadows under his eyes had tear tracks. A light bruise shaded his cheek in a pattern that could only form if he'd been leaning against his own fist for hours.
"Chum."
Dick closed his bloodshot eyes. "She's fine. She's fine, B. The twins are... stable. Everyone's stable."
"Including you?"
Dick cackled. It trailed off into a sigh as he covered his face with both hands.
"Hn. Shower. Food. Sleep." Bruce pulled his boy close to kiss his forehead. "Jay made breakfast. I'll be there in a minute."
"Yessir," Dick said sarcastically, with a twisted grin.
"Cheeky lad."
"Grumpy old man." He half turned and paused. Bruce put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed. Dick's smile reached his eyes. He nodded, once, and headed to the kitchen.
***
"Do you think it'll affect Watchtower communications like last time?" Oliver asked.
Clark shook his head. "Shouldn't. That's what the Thanagarians used to hide their scanning capabilities, and we've updated since then. I'm pretty sure this was just a normal solar flare."
Hal grunted and scratched his jaw. "John or Kyle can check it out. Just to be safe."
Clark nodded, stabbing another bite of eggs and potatoes. "Sure."
Carol squinted over her coffee. "Doesn't Alfred have a rule about mask talk upstairs? He mentioned it at Christmas."
"Do you see Alfred in here right now?" Jason turned around, Kiss the Cook apron neatly tied. He pointed his spatula threateningly. "Let the man sleep. This is my kitchen now."
"Big words, Little Wing. Dangerous words." Dick grinned, grossly displaying his last bite of breakfast to his brother.
"Go shower and sleep, Bird Brain."
"Don't tell me what to do." The statement lost its bite when Dick yawned halfway through.
Oliver snorted. "Dinah will call if there's an update, kiddo. Shoo."
Dick glared at Ollie. Clark waited to see if lasers were going to burst from his eyes, but all he did was flip him off. Jason joined him. Clark hid his smirk behind his mug.
"Oh come on. Why do I deserve that? What did I say?" Oliver protested.
Roy walked in. He looked around, saw his two best friends flipping off his mentor, and joined in.
"Aw, c'mon, kid. Don't be like that."
"Jay, why are we flipping off Ollie?"
"Dick started it."
"Good enough."
Carol covered Hal's mouth. Clark silently saluted her.
"Jaybird, Lian's almost up. She's requesting fancy pancakes. I have no idea what that means."
Jason smiled. "I do. Three fancy pancakes coming up."
"You didn't make me fancy pancakes," Dick whined.
Clark shook his head and let the boys' chatter wash over him. He listened for other heartbeats, hearing the slow-still-asleep sounds of Conner and Jon with their friends, Lois awake and moving, Bruce stomping across the yard. He looked to the kitchen doorway expectantly.
Bruce opened the door and immediately met his gaze. He glared. "Don't do that."
Clark smiled. "How's the damage lookin' this morning?" Clark knew exactly how bad it looked. He flew over it several times last night and this morning, examining it with all the levels of his vision.
Bruce grunted as he shed his coat. Clark hummed and nodded in return.
"Chum, I thought I told you to go rest." Bruce put his hand on Dick's head, pillowed on his arms.
"'M goin', I'm goin'," Dick mumbled. "Food was good."
Bruce looked at Jason, who's ears were ever-so-slightly pink, eyes were firmly on the skillet in front of him. Clark heard the boy's heart pick up slightly. How this kid ran half the Gotham underworld in an iron fist when compliments from his big brother made him blush was one of the paradoxical mysteries of the universe, and Clark was grateful for it.
"Food? Please say there's real food. Ice cream does not count," groused Lois, stomping into the kitchen with all the grace of thunderstorm.
Diana gasped. "How can you say that? Iced cream is one of the best creations of man's world. It is integral to our friendship, Lois. I have never been so offended by your words before."
Lois snorted and stole Clark's coffee out of his hand. He let her.
Bruce squinted as Selina dumped three spoons in the sink. "Are there ice cream stains all over my silk eucalyptus sheets."
"Don't you mean our silk eucalyptus sheets?" Selina purred as she sidled up to him.
"Hn." Bruce slid a hand around the small of her back and pulled her close.
"Mhm." Selina kissed his chin. "Yeah, there are absolutely stains. Diana got into your Fudgy Flan."
"Diana."
"Selina, I cannot believe you ratted me out." Diana put her hands on her hips, glaring at her and Lois. "And after the night we shared together. Intimate. Affectionate. Down right cozy."
Clark snorted. "Di, you can't steal Bruce's wife, he just got her."
"What about yours?"
"You've stolen my wife many times. Cut it out."
"But she's always returned me." Lois gave him a light kiss on the lips, tasting like his coffee and Americone Dreams.
"This is disgusting. They're disgusting." Carol shook her head, bewildered. She looked across the kitchen and asked, "How are you ignoring them?"
"Practice," Dick and Jason responded.
Hal threw up his arms. "I told you! Did I not freaking tell you? This is why we have a time limit for our long we hang out with—" he waved his hands vaguely. "Them."
"It's true," Oliver muttered, scratching his goatee.
"You're free to leave,"Bruce said dryly, eyes still on his wife.
"Nah, man, what kind of friends would we be if we didn't stick around to help clean up after your party?"
"Thanks, Hal."
"You know I'm here for you, Spooky."
***
There was a curl poking out of her purple cap. He curled his hands in his pockets. The same hands that had beat a human trafficker last month. The same hands that had pulled countless triggers and held countless knives.
"Yeah, I just, um," Jason paused. "I wanted to check in on you after last night."
Steph's eyes widened slightly. "Yeah, last night. In the library. That was..."
"A bit farther than I meant to go. I definitely got a little handsy there."
"A little, mhm. One way to put it." Steph bit her lip.
"Sorry."
Steph frowned. "For what? Didn't like what you found?" She took a step back, wrapping her arms around her chest. "I mean, we don't have to pick up where we left off, like, I was—"
"No!" Jason reached for her, then jerked his hand back. "God, fuck, I'm not saying this right." He stared at his glove, flexing his fingers. "It was late, or early, and I didn't— I don't want you to regret me... holding you."
She tilted her head. "Why would I regret that? Do... do you?"
"No. No, never. I just." He scratched the back of his neck, trying to find the words. "I don't have the cleanest hands."
Steph shrugged. "Neither do I," she said wryly. "Is there a reason you're bringing this up now? Like, we've been dating for eight months now. Did you just now think about this after coping a feel last night?"
"... well."
"Holy shit."
"I might not have slept."
"Jason."
"I thought making breakfast for everyone would distract me, but I think I'm still spiraling. I kept looking at the knives and thinking about how I would throw them."
"Yeah, dude. That's a fucked spiral."
"Shut up."
She smiled. "Nah." Steph licked her lips and stepped closer. "Um, I like your hands." She rose up on her toes and kissed him. "Just to be clear."
He slipped his hands around her waist. "My hands like you. I don't want you to become one of the thing I take apart."
She shook her head. "Not gonna happen." She glared, and kissed him again. "It feels like you put me back together."
The grin spreading across his face hurt in a way the cold air didn't. "Your cheeks are red."
"Shut up."
"Nah. It hurt to say that out loud, sunshine?"
"Oh fuck you."
"Don't," Jason snorted, pulling her closer. "Don't joke about that."
"Oh now whose cheeks are red?"
"Still," he kissed one side of her face, then the other, "yours." Steph cackled in his arms.
"Jay!" Hal's voice rang out over the lawn. "Come up with clean-up!"
Jason waved him off. "I'm gonna stab him," he muttered darkly.
"Don't stab him. Diana would frown at you."
"Hn. Yeah." He sighed, letting his arms fall away from her. "I'm gonna help a Kryptonian, the universe's rudest Lantern, and two billionaires with that mess."
"Yikes. I'm gonna hang with Dami, Jon, and Lian."
"That's definitely the more dangerous job, for sure."
"Oh yeah, I deserve hazard pay." Steph smiled, rocking back on her heels. "See you later?"
"Yeah. You will." Jason searched her face. "Just... one more thing." He peeled off his glove, tucking a loose curl back into her cap. His fingers trailed down her jaw. Steph watched him with wide blue eyes.
"Jay! Daylight's wasting!"
"I'm going to stab him." Jason glared daggers.
"No stabbing. It's New Year's Day."
"As you wish." He pulled his glove back on as Steph started walking backwards. "Later?"
"Later."