Chapter Text
The door slams behind Lian, and Roy sighs into his hands. That whole conversation could have gone better, but his daughter could have taken the news much worse. Why he didn’t make this whole talk Ollie’s problem is beyond him at that moment, because he caused all this, and then Lian could be mad at her grandpa instead of her dad.
Dragging his palms down his cheeks, Roy straightens, heading over the kitchen to make Lian some after-school snacks. Which have now become peace-making snacks. It’ll give Lian a bit of space to process it all and calm down.
As he’s rifling through the fridge, looking for the half a cucumber he knows they had left, arms wrap around his torso. Warmth bleeds across his back, and Roy grins as he straightens and reaches a hand behind him to ruffle the head of hair leaning on the back of his shoulder. “Hey, Jaybird,” Roy greets.
“Hmmmrr,” Jason hums eloquently, nuzzling closer. He sighs, a bit of tension leaking from his muscles, and Roy feels a spark of warmth at the knowledge that he causes that. He leans back, closing his eyes and enjoying the domestic moment.
Bats are strange creatures, but between being on a team with Dick through their teenagehood and working alongside Jason for years, he knows how to read them well. Trust is a hard-worn and rare gift for them, and yet Roy has managed to prove himself worth such trust that Jason feels safe around him.
Safe enough that Roy gets to see just how much Jason is not a morning person.
“Lian ‘kay?” Jason asks, and Roy sighs tiredly. He opens his eyes, finds the cucumber staring him in the face, and snags it along with the container of hummus and block of cheese. Balancing it on one arm, Roy grabs the arm around his waist and pushes it against him as he steps away from Jason. The man gets the cue immediately, stepping with him on the next step in order to move to the chopping board left on the kitchen countertop this morning.
Roy flicks on the coffee pot on his way past.
Settling all the food onto the benchtop, he reaches over to the knife block Jason brought months ago. Roy had always been more of a knife-drawer guy, but he has to admit the block works nicely. “Broke the news to her about Christmas, so she’s gotta digest that. She’ll come around.”
Chopping a hunk of cucumber off, Roy starts to slice it into strips. “Christmas?” Jason questions, syllables lost in the fabric of Roy’s shirt, but the intent comes across all the same.
“Ollie’s stuck overseas on a company trip, Dinah is with him, so the whole ‘big Christmas’ isn’t happening this year. We’ll have a gathering for New Years instead, probably,” Roy explains, splitting a portion of cheese into matching sticks with the cucumber. “Lian loves Christmas, especially with her grandpa and so much of the family, and it’s the first year it hasn’t happened since she was born.”
The pot dings, and Jason presses a kiss into Roy’s jaw before shuffling over to make himself a cup. After some clinking and knocking, Jason moves around to the barstools on the other side of the counter, settling with a mug cradled in his hands and another left on the counter for Roy.
Leaving his partner to slowly wake himself up, Roy collects the finished plate, moving over to the closed door of his daughter’s room. Normally, he would insist on her eating in the living room, but he isn’t going to push that on Lian today if she still needs space.
Knocking, he calls a quiet, “Lian, sweetheart?” and waits for an answer.
It takes far longer than normal, and he knocks again, but eventually there is a muffled, sullen, “come in,” through the wood. Breathing a small sigh of relief that he isn’t subjected to pointed silence, which used to be Lian’s favourite passive aggressive measure, he gently opens the door and nudges it open.
There’s no sign of the girl at first, and Roy frowns. Confused, he scans the room, before noticing the slightly ajar closet door, allowing light from the window into the space, and he feels his mouth quirk into a tiny smile despite himself.
Walking closer, he pulls the door further open, the light falling onto the pile of plushies that live in the corner beneath the clothes rack. Amongst the plush forms is the head of Lian, hair askew from where she’d been lying on it, squinting up at him. She takes him in, then focuses on the plate, which Roy settles onto one of the firmer, flatter soft toys, rocking back into a crouch at her level. A small hand snakes out from under a yellow Pikachu, snagging a cucumber stick and swiping it through the blob of hummus.
“You ready to talk about it, yet?” Roy asks. Lian shakes her head, and Roy blows out an exaggerated sigh between his lips. It turns into a raspberry, which draws a quiet giggle from the huddle of a girl.
“‘M sorry for slamming the door,” Lian murmurs. She’s still got words on the tip of her tongue, so Roy waits for her to piece them together. “Did I wake up Jay?”
“Yeah, but it’s alright poppet. There’s much worse you could have done. Although you might want to apologise to Jason for interrupting his sleep,” Roy responds. “Do you want to stay in here for a bit longer?”
“Yeah.”
“Alright. Love you,” Roy says, receiving an echo in response, and he pulls the closet door back into place. Standing back up, he leaves the room and drifts back to Jason’s side where the man sits at the counter, looking a bit more awake and with the program. Roy kisses him on the cheek on his way past, scooping up his mug from where it was left to cool and taking a deep sip.
Gathering up all the leftover pieces from assembling the snacks, he returns them to the fridge, and turns back to give Jason a proper examination.
The man is still shaking off the last grasps of sleep, staring into the drink he leaves resting on the counter, palms curled around the mug. His hair is messy, falling in frizzy waves across his forehead, the stark streak of white only glimpsed amongst the fluffy pile. The bags beneath his eyes are a little deeper than usual, and Roy wonders how long he’d have slept in if Lian hadn’t woken him up by accident. Wearing one of Dick’s old sweaters — That thing is far too old, Roy remembers that from the Titans. Does Jason even realise it was his brother’s? — and a pair of Roy’s sweatpants to boot. He does that as a safety thing, Roy’s pretty sure.
Overall, he looks much better than he did at four in the morning. Good.
“What?” Jason asks, squinting in what is supposed to be a suspicious display. Instead, he just looks vaguely disgruntled. Like a cat with its fur askew.
“Nothing,” Roy answers mildly.
“No, not nothin’,” Jason refutes, rolling his eyes. “You got that look about ya.” The crime-alley drawl sits heavy on his tongue, weighing his syllables and giving his voice the gravel Roy so enjoys. While Jason stopped hiding his accent around Roy years ago, it’s completely different when his voice is rough, deep with sleep that enhances the general Gotham growl.
Roy hadn’t experienced a true Gotham accent before Jason showed up in the pixie boots, years ago. Dick speaks in a variety of accents that all swirl together, sharpening on specific words and softening with an undercurrent of Romani. The Gotham really comes out whenever he’s shouting. Or swearing. Something he did much more in his teenage years than he does now.
Batman just sounds like he gargled gravel. Constantly. Although in the few snippets of unguarded speech Roy has catched, his vowels are far more crisp than the average Gothamite. The Bristol accent, or as Jason called it when Roy asked, the Rich-Prick accent, is far less abrasive to the unfamiliar ear.
Then along came a thirteen year old with not only a true Gotham accent, but a crime-alley one on top, which Jason insisted all those years ago as being an important distinction. Roy avoids that toxic city as much as he can, even knowing Batman and Wayne Enterprises have made leaps and bounds in the efforts to make it far more habitable, so he hasn’t experienced a baseline Gotham accent to this day.
“Do I have somethin’ in my teeth?” Jason says, and Roy smiles back at him. He has no doubt his grin is goofy as all hell, but he enjoys seeing the man in these domestic moments just as much as he enjoys watching him in action as a vigilante.
Red creeps across Jason’s cheeks, and he hunches slightly into his shoulders as Roy continues to stare unabashedly. “Quit it, Roy.”
“Am I not allowed to enjoy the sight of you?” Roy teases, and Jason only blushes further. It’s hilarious how easy it is to fluster his partner, never will he let Jason forget the time he panicked at the advances of a flight attendant and told her he was going to a funeral, and in the safe privacy of their home Jason doesn’t hide his reactions for any reason other than lighthearted embarrassment.
Roy leans closer, over the counter, propping his face on the palm of his hand, elbow planted on the benchtop. He’s really milking it now, but it still riles Jason up. He breathes a quick, stuttering gasp, before reaching forward and shoving Roy back by his face, sending him flailing as his neck clicks. “Yer fuckin’ ridiculous,” Jason grumbles, and Roy laughs.
Straightening, Roy takes another drink of his coffee through a smile, and Jason clears his throat. “Figured I’d make a stir-fry for dinner,” He says, and Roy allows the conversation to move forward.
“Sounds great.” Roy finishes his mug, taking Jason’s empty one and rinsing them before stacking them into the dishwasher. “Chicken?”
Humming in agreement, Jason gets up from the barstool, disappearing into their bedroom. Roy finishes up, and then moves to the couch, settling in and checking his phone. There’s a couple notifications on the family group chat, and he opens it to see Dinah had posted a photo of Ollie frowning at a display of gingerbread cookies depicting various members of the JLA.
The next photo is of Ollie grinning at Dinah past the camera, holding a gingerbread Green Arrow in his hands, complete with a bow.
Huffing a laugh, Roy saves the photos to show Lian when she’s in a better mood. Maybe somewhere in New York does something similar? He should get her a Batman, just to piss Ollie off. Lian might actually be on board, if she still harbours a grudge about the cancelled Christmas party.
“What are you laughing at?” Jason asks, and Roy looks over as he settles onto the couch next to him. Obliging, he shows the other the photos, Jason chuckling with a roll of his eyes. “I’m surprised they made him. What kid wants the Green Arrow cookie?” Roy shoves him lightly on the shoulder, taking his phone back and reading the rest of the messages.
“Dinah says that they had a lot of the cookies, and Ollie thinks that it’s because he’s really popular. She hasn’t had the heart to tell him the truth,” Roy reads aloud, before cackling. “He’s so happy that they had to make extra of him.”
“That’s the man that runs a multimillion dollar company?” Jason asks, sarcastically, and Roy laughs brightly. “The empty trays of Bats, Supes, and Wonder Woman didn’t tip him off?”
“Hey, your family are the ‘world’s greatest detectives’. We just shoot things,” Roy argues, kicking Jason gently with his foot. “I’d like to see you land an explosive arrow from two hundred feet away, both of you running.”
“See why would I do that when I can just use a grenade and a bullet?”
“If you can’t respect the family craft, then I can’t be in bed with the enemy,” Roy says, sniffing haughtily. Jason rolls his eyes.
“You can’t keep your hands off of me when you’re asleep,” Jason grumbles, pointing an accusing finger. “It’s awful in summer.”
“Oh you love me and my cuddling,” Roy retorts, enjoying the back-and-forth. Jason hums an unconvinced note, and Roy tugs him up and closer, pressing a firm kiss to his mouth. Despite his mock argument, Jason returns it readily, deepening it in turn.
Before they get too carried away, there’s the click of the door, and they pull away to see Lian standing in the open doorway, shifting on her feet. She glances up, and lights up at the sight of Jason. “Dad!”
“Hey, munchkin,” Jason returns, smiling and shifting back in preparation for the inevitable. Sure enough, Lian sprints forward, leaping and tackling him back into the couch. Lian squeezes him, squeaking as she does so, before pulling back and looking him in the eye. Roy watches the two, as at ease as always at the sight of his two favourite people together in front of him.
Lian turns serious, eyebrows crinkling slightly. “I’m really sorry for slamming the door and waking you up.” Roy watches his partner soften, practically melt at the apology, and is slapped with the reminder of why he is the hard parent here. Jason is well and truly wrapped around their daughter’s finger, that's for sure. Jason accepts the apology with at least a little grace, and then Lian turns to Roy. “I’m ready to talk about it now,” She declares, and Roy smiles at the authority in her voice.
“Okay,” Roy agrees. “What’s on your mind?”
“Mum,” Lian says, pulling no punches, and Roy blinks. It’s out of left field, but Lian seems to know where she’s going with this, so he nods encouragingly. Jason looks vaguely uncomfortable, but shows no other signs that he needs an escape, so Roy lets him be. “Mum doesn’t want to see me. Or come on Christmases. Now Grandpa doesn’t want to either, so he doesn’t want to see me, and I don’t…” Lian trails off, voice thick as tears collect on the corners of her eyes. Roy feels an ache in his chest, and he leans forward to scoop Lian into his lap.
She cries in earnest now, and Roy rubs her back as she hugs him tight. He’s always made an effort to not let his own feelings about Jade be known by his daughter. Someday, when she’s older, he’ll be open about that part of his life, but as it stands she doesn’t need to hear about those years or his less than favourable opinion of her mother. In this moment, he hates Jade, irrationally and irrevocably in a way that a scorned parent does.
Flicking his gaze to Jason, the man is watching with a pained expression. Roy shoots him a strained smile, and Jason gestures with his head to the bedroom. Roy shakes his head, and Jason appears relieved.
When Lian has calmed some, Roy pulls back, allowing him to look her in the eyes. “Lian, what happened with your mother is very different from what is happening here. Grandpa isn’t leaving forever. Sometimes, life gets in the way of seeing our family as often as we would like, and that’s what happened to Grandpa and Grandma. They would be here for Christmas if they could, but because they can’t be, we will see them at a different time. It just won’t be on Christmas. Family means we make the time to see each other, even if it isn’t as soon as we hope.”
Lian sniffles, and nods. “I don’t want Grandpa and Grandma to leave. Or Uncle Connor. Sophie asked about what mum’s family was doing, but I don’t have another family like she does.”
“And that’s okay, sweetheart. You’re always gonna feel sad about that. It’s important that you don’t let it control how you feel about the family you do have. Okay? We aren’t going anywhere. Definitely not without you. Besides, does Sophie have a Grandpa who can shoot an apple off your head?” Roy adds, voice turning upbeat. It’s one of Lian’s favourite stories, making it almost worth the complete heart attack Roy had had when he walked out of the bathroom and saw that particular scene.
Giggling, Lian shakes her head.
“Do your classmates have an awesome dad like me?”
“No!” Lian squeals, grinning toothily. “Sophie’s dad works in money! She doesn’t even have two dads like I do!”
Roy laughs, pulling his kid into his chest. Lian giggles along, and when they’ve both laughed enough they pull away and Roy ruffles her hair. “We’ll have a great Christmas just us, okay?”
“With Jay-Jay?” Lian asks, looking over at the man in question. Roy follows her gaze, only to freeze when he meets his partner’s gaze. Jason’s green eyes are wide, expression stiff with bewilderment, giving the distinct impression of a deer in headlights. Roy rifles through the conversation they just had, trying to figure out what has thrown the man so off kilter, but everything they talked about is old news to Jason.
When Jason realises they both are watching him, Lian expectant and Roy concerned, he schools his expression into one of excitement. “Course, Lian!”
That satisfies Lian, who begins chattering on about all her ideas for festive activities, but Roy remains unconvinced. He keeps a steady watch on Jason, who meets his gaze and gives a tight smile. He’s rattled, but the why escapes Roy. Tilting his head, Roy asks, but Jason just shakes his head, waving off his concern for later.
“I’m going to get dinner started,” Jason decides, standing up from the couch. As he walks around the back of the couch, Lian springs up, clambering over to Jason for a hug and kicking Roy sharply in the stomach in the process.
“Oomph,” Roy groans, not breathing fully until Lian is satisfied with her hug and settles back on the couch next to him. “You’re killing me, kid,” He says, and Lian laughs.
“You can’t die. It’s close to Christmas!” Lian chirps, and Roy chuckles. “You can die after Christmas,” She says, nodding sagely.
“Ah, but then it’s New Years!” Jason chips in, and Lian gasps before humming in contemplative agreement.
“Is there anything after New Years?” Lian wonders aloud, and Jason snickers as he begins chopping something. Roy twists slightly, letting him have both of them in his field of view, resting his back against the arm of the couch. “When’s Halloween?”
“Not till October, sweetheart,” Roy answers. “Remember? We had it before Thanksgiving.”
Lian seems to actually remember this, rather than just nod along like she used to do, and she visibly wracks her brain for any other holidays she can remember. “What about Falentines?”
“Valentines,” Roy corrects gently.
“That’s what I said.” Roy rolls his eyes, but doesn’t comment on her remark. Jason tells her it’s in February, to which she responds, “Then you can’t die in January, because Jason will be sad, and he can’t be sad on the love day.” With logic like that, who are they to argue?
They move to Easter, where Lian says Roy needs to be alive to let the Easter Bunny into the apartment to hide the eggs. Roy has no idea where she got that from, she’d never questioned how the Bunny actually got in to hide the eggs, so Roy never had to come up with an excuse, but it seems to all work within reason for the kid.
In the following months come various family birthdays, eventually looping back around to Christmas. Lian frowns at all this laid out before her, before looking Roy directly in the eyes with far too much intensity.
“Daddy.”
“Yes?” Roy asks, feeling vaguely nervous.
“You can never, ever, die,” Lian orders, and Roy licks his lips around the urge to laugh. She breaks first, her giggles dissolving his resolve. When she recovers her breath, she clambers down and runs off, begging Jason to let her help with the stir-fry.
Exhaling the last of the laughter from his lungs, Roy turns to watch the two in the kitchen, as Lian drags over her designated stool and pops up between Jason and the bench, little fingers curling over the edge as she surveys what her father is up to. Jason adjusts to the helpful shadow with practiced ease, narrating what he’s doing and guiding her grip on the knife to chop zucchini.
As the night ages, he soaks up the domesticity of the evening, and decides that maybe the smaller Christmas won’t be so different afterall.