Prompt from my tumblr: Anonymous asked: Hi! I love you and all your work and it's so freaking good and I just melt every time. For a Batfamily prompt, what about a good old fashioned car ride with the batboys? Karaoke, QT pit stops, the AC breaking at the worst possible time, ya know, the works? Please and thank you, and please don't feel pressured to write this! I totally get it it you have no inspiration for it.
"Grayson, we have to stop right now."
Dick glances at Damian through the rearview mirror, blinking a little as the sun hits his face. It's the second night of their road trip cross country, and so far it's remained peacefully quiet. Everyone is either sleeping or working on something, and they had only left the previous night. Today was the first full day. They're actually headed back to Gotham, and Dick thought it'd be fun to ride the van back instead of the jet.
They wouldn't be here if Alfred hadn't been fond of the idea.
"What?" he whispered back, because Jason was sleeping next to him in the passenger seat, and Tim looked like he was knocked out.
"We have to stop. Right. Now," Damian hissed, leaning forward to grab Dick's seat and pull it back.
"Do you… do you have to pee?" Dick asked, glancing back again.
"No, just pull over!"
Dick sighed, pulling the car over and blinking away sleep from his eyes. It wasn't too late, but he'd been the one volunteered to drive because, well, he'd suggested it. So he'd been driving from Jump City all the way to wherever they were now. Damian hurriedly opened the door of the van, grabbing the backpack at his feet, and leapt out of the car. It was then that Dick finally stopped a moment to actually look outside of the window. They'd made it out past the Rockies and the sun was setting behind them. It cast the whole landscape into dark gold and blue. They'd been driving on the edge of a canyon, the road a straight shot.
Damian sprinted out toward the edge of the cliff, plopping down on the ground and grabbing out a notepad— no, the sketchbook, from his backpack.
Dick grinned softly to himself and, turning off the car, got out. Jason and Tim would be safe, and fine so long as they didn't speak. So Dick got out and went to sit behind Damian, watching the sun set and watching his brother paint the mountains with his pastels.
"You could've just said you had to draw it," Dick said quietly.
"I'm not simply drawing it, Grayson," Damain replied, "I am observing my surroundings and making an acute observation based on color and light."
"It looks good," Dick said with a grin.
Damian paused. "Thank you."
As the sun descended further behind the mountains, it cast long shadows across the landscape. The plants turned glaring green-orange and the sand was a deep blue and all the colors shifted to look like a painting, like Damian's. Dick thought about traveling like he used to with family, and smiled at the thought. Maybe he should ask Damian for the painting as a reminder of traveling with a new family.
Stars began to peak out in the sky and everything was lit of a fiery red before, at least, the sun was gone behind the mountains. Darkness shifted in— but it wasn't the same darkness like Gotham. It wasn't creeping or heavy. This was a soft darkness, like Damian's ink washes or like blue shadows and bright lights. Dick felt calm and relaxed, and as he laid back in the dirt and sand he almost wished to just fall asleep.
But then a car door opening and slamming shut made his eyes snap open. Footsteps crunching the rocks and brushing past shrubs made him wake up.
"Why the hell did we stop?"
"Damian was observing the landscape," Dick replied, "So I stopped the car. I was hoping you'd stay asleep."
Jason grumbled something or the other and went to sit on Dick's other side. He'd covered himself in a blanket, a gift no doubt from Stephanie or Alfred, and had it held tightly around his shoulder like a cape. Dick wanted to comment, but Jason was tired and he didn't want to risk an upset Jay for the next day, or get pushed off the cliff.
Damian has moved onto doing some other type of sketches, and Dick doesn't feel like rushing him. He can do as many sketches as he wants, because it's a warm summer night and the stars a bright and he thinks he can see the milky-way if he focuses hard enough. Jason pointed up into the sky.
"That bright light up there, that's… uh… Venus, I think," he said. "I read a book once on Astronomy. Somewhere in B's library or something, I don't know. Um… there's… Jupiter right there."
The light is a little brighter, bluer too, than the other one.
"I'm ready," Damian called out, packing up Mary Grayson's old sketchbook* and swinging his backpack over his shoulder.
They all silently pile into the car. Tim is still sleeping. None of them talk either, not sure what to say. Dick wonders about the books Jason has read and about all the paintings Damian's done that he's never seen and about how much he knows about art and he thinks about how glad he is for Tim to be getting some sleep.
The next morning they're all awake, the radio silently playing music. Tim is working on a case and Damian has his music in. Jason has his arms crossed, leaning against the window and glaring out at the cacti as if they'd been the ones to force him in the van. Dick mind-numbingly flips back between several stations before Jason finally shuts the radio off.
"It's annoying," he said without waiting for Dick to say anything.
"Well now you have to sing for me."
"I'm not singing worth shit."
"Jason, I have to be entertained somehow."
"Unless you want some Enya up in this bitch—."
Dick blinked, a small grin crawling across his face. "You memorized Enya?"
He glanced over to find Jason's face a bright red. The boy had almost completely turned away from Dick now, trying to hide it, but Dick feels laughter bubbling up in his stomach.
"Please, Jay. Little Wing. Jason. Jaybird. You memorized Enya? I have to know!" Dick exclaims.
"What'd Todd do?"
"How can you even memorize Enya?" Tim asked in the back.
"I learned the one song from Lord of the Rings. I liked the book and it was in the movies so… shut up," Jason practically shouts, exploding in the front seat of the car, arms going wide in the little space as he can.
Dick burst out laughing. "Okay! Okay! I won't ask you to sing it. But the next question is. How long did that take?"
They can all feel the anticipation in the car. Damian takes out his headphones and Tim actually shuts down his laptop and leans forward. Jason rubs his forward, pushing white bangs and black strands from his face.
"Two days," he mumbled.
"Two days!" Dick exclaimed, laughing. "You learned a fictional language in two days!"
"I think I'm impressed. Do you know Klingon too?" Tim asked, smirking.
"What's Klingon?" Damian asked, oblivious.
"Shut up!" Jason growled, snapping the hook on the seat up and sliding the chair back to slim into Tim's knees. Thankfully the boy lifted his legs up and slammed his fist on the back of Jason's car.
"Hey!"
"Okay, okay!" Dick laughed. "Enough, enough. Leave Jason alone, he has to work on his Narnian.
"Oh, shove off," Jason muttered, face still bright red.
Dick grinned. Nothing like a good road trip.