Ok...so generic title is generic. This is a Halloween present for a friend of mine. Se role plays Cheshire on tumbler and wanted a Halloween based fic with Roy, Jade, and Lian. I'd like some feedback before I give it to her so comments are much appreciated.
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or organizations from the Young Justice cartoon, comics, or general DC universe.
A Harper family Halloween.
It wasn't dark yet, far too early to go Trick or Treating in Roy's opinion, but Lian wasn't over being afraid of the dark yet. "It's better in the dark! If the kid's gonna make me do this, we should at least do it right," Roy grumbled at Lian's bedroom door. She was taking forever to put on her costume but Lian insisted she was old enough to dress herself. Roy tapped his foot impatiently, and inadvertently shook his boot laces loose. He cursed under his breath as he bent over to retie them. The tights he wore were too tight, and severely restricted his movement. His wife probably felt they'd make his ass look good; it explained why he had to force her to lower the hemline of his tunic.
His city, or more accurately the quarter of the city Dinah made Ollie promise not to patrol, needed him tonight. Halloween called out all the freaks. It was for the best. Go out, make Lian happy, and get back in time to change and patrol. Still, he hadn't gone Trick or Treating since… Damn, was that Kaldur's second year on the surface, or his third? So yeah, if he was going to do this he'd rather do it right. There needed to be copious amounts of (badly applied) face paint, eggs (not so) discreetly stolen from Mrs. West's fridge, and a detailed map (in washable markers) of the Gothamites most likely to have good candy.
Afraid wasn't the best word to describe how his daughter felt about the dark. Lian had a habit of shooting at shadows. Objectively he should be proud. His little girl had great aim, and although there were no monsters in the closet, he had met enough actual monsters to admire her bravery. The nerf bow and arrow set ( spray painted Barney purple. And yeah her parents were happy she hadn't hit the "pink stage". But really? Bright plasticity purple?) didn't damage her room's walls, but the constant thumping as the little darts hit their mark kept her father and mother up at night. And if any thumping was going to happen in the middle of the night Roy'd rather be the one responsible for it.
Lian stepped out of her room and adjusted her tunic. The costume was mostly homemade, as were all their costumes. For some inane reason Jade knew how to sew. Roy had discovered this rather domestic talent when he'd irreparably damaged his Red Arrow costume. She made him another whilst glaring a message. "Say anything and the sewing machine goes up your ass."
Roy knelt down to straighten Lian's tights. She had chosen to be Robin Hood for her first real Halloween. The choice baffled Roy. He was glad his daughter had taken an interest in archery, but Robin Hood? He adjusted her hat, resisting the urge to scowl at its single brightly colored feather. He wanted to snatch it off his daughter's (Now dark brown. The "good" genes had finally won out) hair and throw it to the ground. He made it a rule to not allow that particular movie into his house. Not even Cary Elwes, and especially not those damn foxes. So how did she learn of the character? Was it Wally? It seemed like something he'd do despite threats to his life. Then again, it was Jade that scouted Wonder Tits the Second as a babysitter on their sporadic date nights. So maybe Cassie did it. Whoever it was he'd ferret them out and revenge would be had.
"You don't have your hat on," Lian accused.
"I'll put it on later," he said stiffly. Adding insult to injury, Roy had been bullied (Yes, his daughter's puppy dog eyes counted as coercion. No, that doesn't make him a bad parent. Those eyes are reason that a dull batarang was Lian's favorite teething ring…) into dressing as Little John.
"Mom!" Lian yelled. "Dad's being grumpy!"
Jade poked her head from her bedroom. She finished applying her mascara before entering the hallway. Roy raised an eyebrow at her attire. Well…she had the corset right. And her hair was veiled but Roy was fairly certain that Maid Marian never wore a mini skirt accompanied by six inch heels.
"You're right, Baby," Jade said as the noted her husband's look. "He is grumpy."
"How is that appropriate?" Roy spoke as he gestured to Jade's costume.
Jade rolled her eyes. "If I was in some sexy Geisha get up you'd be all over it."
Roy decided to drop the subject. Mentioning that it'd still be inappropriate because she not Japanese would lead into another "Guess Jade's nationality" discussion (Never mind the fact that he would think the sexy Geisha outfit was hot) and he always lost those.
"This is supposed to be fun remember?" Jade pulled out her cell phone (Roy could only guess from where) and snapped a picture.
"Hey!" Roy protested, raising his arm to cover his face
"We need memories," Jade said brightly. She looked to her cell phone and frowned. "I'll have to take another one. Besides you're getting off easy." She pressed a few buttons before she walked forward and handed the phone to Roy.
On the screen was a picture of a disgruntled looking Kaldur, in a red wig, covered in glitter, with ill fitting purple sea shells strapped to his chest.
"Guess who's Prince Eric," Jade said smugly.
Roy laughed uncontrollably. Lian balanced her hands on her father's shoulders as she leaned over to look at the picture. She giggled as well.
"Raquel?" Roy guessed. "How? That's impossible. We've been trying to get him to do that for years."
"Well, you didn't just get knocked up by him. That does give one a bit more leverage."
"Knocked up?" Roy and Lian asked at the same time, much to Roy's horror.
"Auntie Raquel is going to have a baby." Jade explained. Unlike her husband she didn't feel the need to tiptoe around such subjects.
"That means Amistad's gonna be a big brother!" Lian clapped her hands excitedly.
"Since when?" Roy asked . He still wasn't certain when his wife and Raquel even met…much less became friendly enough to text message each other. He did know that Amistad was not allowed to be over without supervision. Lian had become attached to the older boy. Roy had caught them passed out on the sofa once, the dvd player still on long after a movie was over, with Lian's head on Amistad's lap. Everyone else thought it was cute. He viewed it for what it was…a threat.
Jade shrugged. "They just found out a week ago."
"A week!" Roy yelled unintentionally. He had thought Kaldur seemed odd when he saw him yesterday, happy, but also on edge. Kaldur assured him that it was nothing and he believed him. Roy wasn't as certain as he once was of the Atlantean's emotional state, he used to be able to read him easily. But since Kaldur's big secret mission a few years back, well, Roy still wasn't sure what to think.
Jade didn't give Roy time to finish processing the information before she snatched the phone away from him. "I promised Raquel pictures in exchange. So grab your hat and line up."
Lian skipped down the hall to retrieve her father's hat.
Roy groaned as he stood. "Shouldn't we make this a family photo? With you know, a real camera?"
"Oh?" Jade's eyebrow rose. "You want this above the mantel and everything?"
"We don't have a mantel," Roy said sourly.
Lian returned. She tugged on her father's tunic before passing up his hat. "Grandpa has one." She looked up in thought before amending her statement. "Twelve."
"No." Roy said as he put on his hat.
"Awwwwww," Lian whined. "Dinah wants a picture too."
"Your grandma doesn't need one."
Lian pouted. "Dinah doesn't like to be called grandma."
"Well, she's your grandma. So she has to deal."
Jade sucked her teeth. "Maybe I should tell her during our next Bird's meeting…"
Roy paled, and avoided his wife's gaze. It's a bit hard to get away with anything when your Step mom and wife were in the same crime fighting group.
"Anyway. Let's get going. Someone on our street will take a picture for us." Jade held out her hand and Lian rushed to grab hold of it. They walked down the hallway and towards the front door.
"Mom, I don't have my bow."
"It's in the living room."
"Dad's staff?"
"Also in the living room."
Roy watched their backs as they proceeded down the hallway. He had barely lived a decade, and yet he had everything a grown man could ask for, not that he deserved it. He wasn't supposed to think that way, Jade'd scold him. Kaldur would threaten to dunk him in the Arctic (Yes the Pacific is closer. And warmer. But he had a point to make and he didn't do things half way.) ocean. Hell, even the original Roy was tired of his clone accounting for every year, every second, of his life. Roy was physically in his late twenties, chronologically in his early teens, but he felt like an old man. Too much trauma he'd guess. But for all that he shouldn't be here he'd found two really good reasons to stay. One sucky Halloween could be made up with a decade of good ones. Maybe two decades…Lian wasn't going to leave his house until she was married to a man of his choosing. Not that he'd ever find anyone good enough.
His smile was sappy, dopey, and he didn't want Jade to have another reason to pick on him if she looked back. He needed to move, to do something to show how nonchalant he was about everything. Roy smirked at his failed attempt to put his hands in his pockets; tights didn't have them, and followed his family to the door.