Roy was kind of happy. He was compromising. He was excited to meet Santa Clause, as a matter of fact, in the pocket of his red hoodie, the one he hadn't really wanted to wear, was a small list of things he wanted to ask the old man. What he didn't love was the hustle and bustle of people rushing everywhere. There seemed to be hundreds of people, all with coats and too many bags. He liked the lights, and he liked being with his best friend, but as a small girl who was rushing toward her mother bumped into him, his frown deepened.
Oliver, having seen it and not wanting to deal with a temper tantrum, picked him up and arranged him on his hip.
"What are you going to ask Santa for?"
The small boy considered for a second. The question was innocent enough, but leave it to Ollie to be completely ignorant! If he told his dad, then his wishes probably wouldn't come true! "Well...It's a secret"
The man cursed under his breath. Well, damn...
"But I won't tell." He had no idea what to get him for Christmas.
Roy's green eyes squinted, not trusting the blond man at all. "Put me down!" He demanded, "I was walking with Jays!" At his sudden outburst, Roy noticed that Bruce Wayne, his best friend's dad turned to give him a disapproving look.
"Don't yell at me," Oliver frowned.
Seeing his father frown, Roy frowned too. "Dinah says when we're outside, we can use our outside voice" He tried to explain, though he knew that she hadn't meant he could yell at people. Bruce actually smiled at that, the boy was witty. "And Dinah is always right, huh Ollie?"
"I'm not so sure anymore," he put the boy down and held his hand, "Let go and we're getting a child leash for you."
"I wanna go to the playground," Jason whined, trying to pull his hand free. Bruce groaned mentally, it had been a great few minutes of being amused by Oliver's child, but somehow, when his own son complained, it was less entertaining. "We're going to see Santa first."
"I wanna go to the playground too!" Roy beamed, Jason was always so smart and cool.
"Yeah, I don't even know this 'Santa' dude."
It kind of broke Bruce's heart to hear that. Dick had always loved Christmas, and Santa- the boy was all joy, after all. He'd been so upset at not being able to come, but he'd been so sick that Bruce had to leave him at the Manor under the care of Alfred, but Jason? Jason came from horror and had never had a real Christmas, didn't know the magic of Santa, and Bruce was determined to change that. "Jason, Santa is one of the good guys. You'll tell him what gift you want most, and you'll get it for Christmas-as long as you behave" He added that last part with a squeeze to Jason's hand.
"How come?" Jason looked up. That sounded tricky...
"Because... Santa loves children" Bruce tried, wondering if his answer sounded creepy... He was trying here. He had never actually cared for Holidays, so this wasn't easy for him. "No!" Roy shook his head at the adult, Bruce was just as clueless as Ollie, "It's because Santa is magic, Jays, and you really can ask him anything! Like..." The boy blushed. He wanted to tell his friend, but he also didn't want anybody else to know his Christmas wish. "Like anything" He finished lamely.
"That sounds FAKE," Jason pulled again, "I want to go to the playground. Roy, let's go play while they wait in line." They had taken him to see the decorations downtown, Bruce never said anything about this Santa guy.
While Roy had been more than excited to go to the playground with Jason earlier, he was now personally insulted. "SANTA IS NOT FAKE!" He yelled, turning to his father for reinforcement. "TELL HIM!"
Oliver almost burst out laughing at the seriousness on the kid's face, but made an effort to keep calm.
"He's the most real thing ever, he's so real he watches you kids all the time to check if you behave."
Jason frowned now.
"I don't like that guy," he informed Bruce.
Well with that explanation... Bruce sighed. "Just go play. We'll wait here..."
"Let's go, Roy," Jason grabbed his friend's arm.
Bruce Wayne watched the boys go, and then turned to the man next to him. "I don't think I care much for Santa, myself "
"Well, pretend to, the boy will never believe you with that skeptic look on your face."
"You made Santa sound like a stalker" Bruce grumbled, checking his watch yet again. The line was ridiculous.
"Well, you made him look like a creep," the other man retorted.
"You're not wrong." Another look at his watch. "How much longer is this going to take?"
"I don't know, those kids are asking for a lot of stuff."
Bruce nodded, looking over at his son who had reached the playground. Bruce made sure to keep an eye on them, the last thing he needed was to lose the boy.
At the playground now, Roy went straight for the swings, dragging Jason along. "So, what are you going to ask Santa for?" he asked, as he began pumping on the swing.
"I'm not asking anything from a stranger," Jason climbed on the monkey bars.
"Jays, Jays, Jays" Roy tsk'd "You're so dumb"
"You're dumb," Jason aimed a Kick at him.
"Hey!" Roy cried out, jumping out of the swing, grabbing wood chips and throwing them at the raven haired boy.
"Stop!" Jason jumped down and started chasing his friend.
A short distance away, Bruce watched, unsure if he should be yelling at his son or not. "Are they playing or fighting?"
"I think play fighting."
"I'm just gonna go check on them..." Bruce told Ollie, really just needing a break from the ridiculous line and the woman behind him who kept bumping into him.
"Where are they?" Oliver couldn't find them.
At that, Bruce froze, realizing that he no longer saw the hard to miss boys.
"Bruce, where are they?!"
"I don't know!" He yelled, his instincts kicking in, as he started running toward where he'd last seen the children. "Damn," Oliver got out of the line and started following him, "Roy!"
"Jason!" Bruce yelled, his anger and worry mixing. Hadn't he told the boy to stay where he could see him?
"Stop running!" Jason kept going after Roy.
"Stop chasing me!" Roy called back, gasping for air.
Jason tackled him to the ground and started rolling on the floor.
"Ouch!" Roy cried, shoving the boy away, and yelling for his dad. Only...only he didn't actually know where his dad was. "Dad?!"
"Don't be a crybaby," but when Jason looked around to see if his dad was coming, he didn't see anyone.
Roy would have protested to being called a crybaby...but he suddenly had bigger worries. "Um... where are we?"
"Uhm..." Jason didn't know. "You brought us here..."
Oh. Suddenly his face grew warm. "Well, you were being mean! This is all your fault!" He yelled, his temper showing. There were too many lights, sounds, and people. He wanted to be at home.
"It's your fault! Where's my dad?!"
"Hmmm... maybe... maybe we should ask someone for help?"
"Talk to strangers?"
A good stranger! Like the police!" Roy said, excitedly, though he didn't really see anyone other than rushed shoppers, and he doubted they'd be any help.
"No way, José," Jason didn't trust any police officer except Gordon. "Let's just try to go back... I think it's that way." The boy wasn't really sure, but anything was better than just standing there.
"Fine" Roy grumbled, not happy, but totally trusting his best friend. However, not even Jason was tall enough to see above all the people, so he really didn't know where they were going.
"You know what? I'm calling the League, this is an emergency," Oliver was getting paranoid. Some of them were on a mission on space, but this was more important.
"Don't be ridiculous Oliver, we've been looking for 5 minutes" Bruce groaned. "We should probably start by informing Guest Services-they'll help"
"I'm calling the police at least," the other man replied, still looking around.
Bruce nodded, trying to hide his own panic. "I'm going to kill that boy" He muttered, hoping that this was a case of the boys running off, and not a case of them having been taken.
"ROY!" Oliver started yelling. "ROY, WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?!"
"Oliver!" Bruce hissed, "that is NOT helping!" The man glared at a few people who had turned to stare at the two. However, on the other side of one of the shops, Roy's ears perked up. "I think I hear my dad... he's mad! I'm going to be in trouble because of you, Jays!" The boy yelled, punching his best friend's arm.
"Don't punch me!" Jason pinched him and pushed him. "Not my fault Ollie's so grumpy."
Thanks to being pinched and pushed (forgetting that he had thrown the first punch, completely) Roy's eyes teared up and he wailed. "I WANTED TO SEE SANTA!" He sobbed, heart-wrenching cries that made people stop and stare.
"That was Roy! ROY!" Oliver yelled, after hearing his child.
"This way!" Bruce instructed, heading toward the sobs.
"I don't wanna live outside again," Jason started crying too.
Bruce ran up to the crying children, ignoring the people staring, but also having 0 sympathy. "Jason! Where have you been!?"
But instead of calming down, all the yelling upset him even more.
"Stop." Came the cold response. Bruce couldn't remember ever being so embarrassed. That only made things worse in the crying department.
"Roy, what on earth were you thinking?!" Oliver approached them too, but kneeled in front of his kid to check if he was fine, checking Jason after.
"Where the hell were you?!" Oliver barked, only to have both kids latch onto his chest immediately.
"I was lost" Roy said, in a very small voice, taking his hand and putting it on Ollie's face, like he did when he wanted attention. "It was Jason's fault!" He then accused, not happy to share his dad.
"Was not! You're a tattle tale," Jason sniffled, hiding his face in Oliver's disgusting beard. Jason and Bruce had had some issues since his arrival to the Manor, but things were getting slightly better. However, Jason hadn't liked being yelled at when he'd been so scared.
At that, Roy frowned, and used his left hand to smack Jason. Bruce watched the exchange with new found sympathy, and decided to intervene before his child could do something to the red head. He grabbed Jason, and pulled him close. "What happened?" He asked, almost kindly.
"Nothing," Jason pushed him away.
"Roy, don't hit your friend," Oliver had seen too.
"Why did you leave the playground? " Bruce kept questioning, Jason had run off before, but he thought they were done with this kind of behavior. Was Roy right, had it been Jason's fault? The little red headed boy now seemed to be pouting and on the verge of tears-but of course, Bruce knew that Roy could be known to exaggerate.
"Not your business..." Jason said, and Bruce considered being harder on the boy with that response, but didn't want to embarrass him.
"Don't be dramatic" Oliver said to Roy, "I just told you not to hit your friends... Unless they hit you first. Are you both okay? Did something happen to either of you?" Oliver asked.
Roy took the questions to heart, and suddenly threw himself on his dad, "I'm not okay! I wanted to see SANTA!"
"Well, yes, but are you kids hurt or did someone scare you?"
Roy thought for a second. They HAD been scared, but really he had just run off because Jason was chasing him. Not wanting to get in trouble, he lied. "...Yeah... a man..."
"WHO?!"
Alarmed, Bruce turned to Jason. "What did he look like? What was wearing? Did he hurt you boys?"
Roy gave Jason a look. "Umm..."
"We're fine," Jason didn't know whether he wanted to lie or not right then.
"What did he say?" Oliver asked too.
Roy shrugged, trying to look innocent. "I don't remember, Dad, can we please, please go see Santa now?"
"No, of course not, we lost our place in line and are not getting in again."
That was a heart crushing thing to hear for Roy, and he immediately pulled away. "Why?! Why did you get out of line!? I hate you!"
"Hey! Stop it right there! If you hadn't ran off I wouldn't have left the line."
Ignoring the little tantrum, Bruce turned to his son. "Jason, please tell me more about this person that scared you. Was he young? old?"
"Uhm... Young." He pictured Roy.
"Young...? Did he try to take you?" Bruce wasn't sure he believed this story. Seeing that Oliver wasn't having better luck with Roy, the raven haired man turned to the other adult. "Oliver, do you want to come over to the manor? We can have dinner together...and I'm sure Alfred can call someone over to play Santa at my place." He whispered that last part.
"Are you sure?" He asked, watching as Jason went over to Roy.
"Yeah, I mean, it's up to you, but we can probably get the full story once the boys are warm and fed."
"Well, he'd have fun playing with the boys."
Having heard only part of the conversation, Roy immediately frowned. "I'm not going anywhere, I'm staying here!"
"Shut it, Roy, we're going."
"You boys will have a great time, tell him Jason" Bruce encouraged, but was cut off by Roy's hearty "Noooooooo!"
"Roy, we're going," Oliver repeated. "I'm not making line again, it's too long and it's late already," he grabbed the kid's hand.
Roy immediately pulled his hand away, but didn't say more. Just simmered. Oliver, not feeling like enduring another tantrum, picked the boy up and headed to his car.
"I'm sure Alfred can make cookies" Bruce offered, before taking his son's hand.
"Let go," Jason immediately pulled away. He didn't like being yelled at, it always became a game of power whenever Bruce tried to be too firm.
"I did NOT want to be carried!" Roy's voice rang out, and Bruce noticed how he landed a good kick to his guardian. Oliver delivered a stinging slap to the child's backside. "I'm not asking."
Roy, feeling miserable and betrayed gave up, and just sobbed-though the slap hadn't really hurt. He'd just wanted to ask Santa one little question...
"We can come another day," Oliver tried to calm him down a little bit.
Bruce, not wanting to be in the same boat, turned to Jason. "Are you going to walk right beside me, not get lost, and behave?"
Jason merely stuck his tongue out at the man.
Bruce grabbed Jason's arm, no longer giving him an option, and practically dragged him to the car. "That was the wrong answer Jason."
"Nooooo!" Jason bit the guy's arm after pulling some more.
Bruce felt his nerves actually fry. Had Jason just... yeah, there was the saliva to prove it. He finally grabbed his youngest son, and basically shoved him into the car. "You are in big trouble!" He yelled, but knew he needed a few minutes to calm down before he said or did more.
"YOU are in big trouble!" Jason yelled back, he had started crying again and was hiding behind the backrest of the front seat.
Bruce stared for a second, still outside the car. He saw Ollie, who had parked next to him, and gave him a look of solidarity. "I'd day, let's trade kids, but I don't think anyone would win in that deal"
"I wanna go in Ollie's car!" Jason bawled.
"No!" Bruce yelled, but then again... "Oliver, actually, would you mind? I think I'm going to kill him if I don't get a minute to myself."
"Jason, come over here!" Oliver yelled from his car.
The boy didn't have to be told twice, he got down and ran straight to Oliver's car.
Roy, in the car, didn't even look at his EX best friend, according to him, he hadn't gotten to see Santa, and he had gotten smacked BECAUSE of Jason. "I hate you, Jays"
"That sounds fake too." The other boy replied.
"haha!" Roy finally laughed, forgetting most of his troubles. "You're so..." he whispered "badass"
Jason laughed to, drying his cheek with the jacket sleeve.
"You too... Bruce's a jerk, though..."
"He is! He's not very nice... do you want me to kick him, for you?"
"Maybe..." He had just been adjusting those last months, but he had had more downs than ups with Bruce. The guy just got exasperated so fast for stuff Jason couldn't always control.
Roy gave him a sympathetic smile. He had always thought Bruce was too intense and mean, even when Dick was always defending him, but now seeing Jason, Roy decided that he officially didn't like the older man.
"Don't worry, Jays, I'll defend you"
"Thanks, Roy."
As soon as Oliver got in the car, Roy from the back seat, practically smothered the man with his hands. "Dad! Can we go get milkshakes?-Cause Jays is sad"
"Well, I guess one won't hurt."
"Yay, and maybe french fries too" Roy beamed, realizing he was actually pretty hungry.
"Yeah, a couple of fries," he stopped at the McDonald's drive through.
"Annnd chicken nuggets, what do you want, Jason? Have you ever even been to McDonald's?" Roy asked, completely hyper.
"No..." Bruce wasn't a fan of junk food.
"Did you HEAR that, Dad! Never, that means, we should get him a happy meal-because it comes with a toy, Jays" Roy knew all about junk food, and felt like his friend was being deprived.
"Sure, kiddo. Jay, I'll order you a mcflurry too, alright?"
At the manor, Bruce was frustrated and annoyed. He'd arrived a few minutes ago, had checked in with Alfred and asked him about finding a Santa, had checked on Dick, who was feeling better, and yet Oliver and the boys had still not arrived.
A few minutes later, the boys arrived with ice cream stains all over their faces.
At the sight, Bruce glared. "What is on your face? ... and shirt?"
"Nothing," Jason didn't even look at him.
"Go upstairs and change." He then directed his glare to Oliver, "I didn't realize bad behavior gets rewarded with ice cream, Ollie"
"What? I wasn't rewarding any behavior, they were just hungry." Oliver hadn't expected that kind of reaction.
"They couldn't wait a few minutes? Alfred's made dinner here...ice cream is hardly filling, anyway." Bruce went on, he never let his boys eat junk food, but Oliver on the other hand was just irresponsible.
"Be nice to my dad!" Roy had finally had enough. Mr. Wayne was too much.
"Roy, go play with Jason and Dick," he didn't care much if Roy was around the other child, that's how kids got defenses; and more importantly, he was not about to argue in front of his son.
"-Okay" As he ran up the stairs, he heard Bruce call out. "You can borrow a clean sweatshirt from Jason" Ugh, no thanks, the boy thought.
"First of all, I try not to argue in front of my son," Oliver began when the boy left, "Besides, it was just McDonald's, don't freak out. We're talking about Jason and Roy, they'll be hungry again in no time."
"That's true enough, I just don't get your obsession with junk food"
"The boys were hungry, don't get your panties in a twist."
With a frown, Bruce headed toward the living room, "Alfred found a Santa. He'll be here in 20 minutes"
"That's great, where's Alfred, I'd like to thank him."
"Kitchen"
Upstairs, Roy ran up and down the hall looking for his friends. "Jays? Dick?" "Hellooooo" He laughed, hyper.
"Roy, we're in here!" Jason peeked from Dick's room. He was really excited telling his brother about McDonald's food.
"Here, I brought you this" Roy said, as he climbed on top of Dick's bed. It was the bouncy ball he'd gotten from his meal-he already had 3.
"Dick, those are really cool, I got one too!" Jason showed him his.
"Thanks" boy stretched out to grab the ball and then turned to Jason, "but that's not really fair, why did Dad let you go to McDonald's?" Being sick was the worst!
"I didn't ask, it was Ollie's idea," he laid next to his brother and started telling him all about it.
"Your dad's kinda cool, Roy" Dick admitted after hearing all about the ice cream, but then he turned serious.
"But I can't believe you guys lied about a stranger scaring you"
"Well, Bruce scared me when he was yelling at me, it wasn't a total lie..."
"Oh, I'm sorry Jays" Dick answered, always trying to be a good big brother.
Roy on the other hand, was bored with the subject (of his lies) "So, what can we play?"
"Boys, come downstairs!" They heard Oliver calling.
"Dick, can you come too?" Jason asked, his brother looked a little better.
"I think so" Dick called, Alfred had just given him medicine, and he WAS feeling better. He followed the other two boys
As soon as they got downstairs, Jason randomly hugged Ollie's legs, unaware of the look his father was throwing him.
"Hey, kiddo," the blonde man smiled at him and ruffled the child's hair, "Did you like the happy meal?" Jason merely nodded his head.
Bruce couldn't quite pinpoint the feeling in the pit of his stomach. Dick had gone right for him, and he was carrying the boy, but still, the fact that Jason had gone over to OLLIE of all people...
"Well, I hope you're still hungry Jason, Alfred made dinner, we can sit down right after..." Just then, the doorbell rang. "A surprise"
"Cover your eyes, kids, it's gonna be a good one." Oliver was excited for Roy, maybe that Santa could tell him what his kid wanted for Christmas.
Bruce went over to the door, hoping for the best, he knew Jason hadn't been excited for Santa, but he knew Dick and Roy would be. He opened the door and let Santa in. Alfred had done a great job, this Santa was standing there with a great costume, pretty good looking beard, Santa sack, and a smile on his face. Bruce turned to Dick, who he was still carrying and saw the great big smile on his face after opening his eyes.
Roy, from across the room lit up. "Santa!"
"Let's go greet him," Ollie grabbed both kids hands, "Wanna come see Santa, Jay?"
"Well... Maybe." He gripped the old man's hand tighter.
Roy on the other hand, didn't need to be told twice, he slipped out of Oliver's grip and ran to the Santa, who was now in the entrance, hugging him freely. "Santa, Santa! I was so worried I wouldn't see you!"
"Let's go," Oliver picked Jason up and went with the others.
"Of course I would see you, I knew you kids wanted to tell me something." Santa smiled at Roy.
Roy smiled back, he was amazed by the magical man. "Can I sit on your lap? Can I tell you my Christmas wish?" He asked, excitedly, still hugging Santa.
"Of course, let's ask Mr. Wayne where we can sit."
"Thanks again for coming, Santa" Bruce said, leading them to the nearest couch. "Dick, Jason, you can make your Christmas wish after Roy."
"What's that?" Jason scrunched up his nose from Oliver's arms.
"Jays" Dick said, going over to his brother, who he could tell was feeling apprehensive "You can just tell Santa what toy you want for Christmas"
"It'll be fine, Jason." Bruce added.
"I have toys already," he grabbed his brother's hand when Oliver put him down.
Bruce almost rolled his eyes. It was so hard to deal with the boy's negative outlook. He turned to look at Santa and Roy, he was mildly curious about what they boy wanted.
Roy was staring up at Santa, totally believing, eyes practically sparkling. "Santa, I just want two things. One is a puppy, but if you can only get me one thing, I really, really want my Dad and Dinah to get married"
Oliver almost choked on the eggnog Alfred had given him, he started coughing so much Santa turned to look at him.
"Well, little Roy," Santa turned his attention back at the child on his lap, "I can promise you that if they really love each other, they'll do their best stay to together."
"They do really love each other! The boy beamed, and then whispered. "and I want Dinah to be my mom." Bruce had to hide his face, trying not to laugh at Oliver's predicament.
"See? I can't promise you a wedding, but things will be as fine as they can."
"Thanks Santa" Roy gave him one last hug and then rushed over to Oliver, pushing Jason slightly out of the way.
"Dick, why don't you go next" Bruce said, hoping that would help Jason see that Santa was great...
"How are you feeling, Dick?" Santa asked once the kid was close.
"A little bit sick... how are you, Santa?" Dick asked, remembering his manners.
"A well mannered child," Santa smiled, "I'm good, thank you very much. How have you behaved this year, Dickie?"
"I've been really, really good" He turned to look at his Dad, who didn't oppose, so he turned back to Santa and smiled.
"And what's your Christmas wish?"
"Just... to get better soon, cause I hate being sick... Oh! And a soccer ball if you can..."
Bruce smiled at that, the boy was just perfect.
"Of course!" Santa pinched his cheek. He was so sweet!
"Jason" Bruce tried, pushing the boy forward "Go meet Santa" He gave the boy a smile.
Jason shook his head.
"Please don't be difficult... "
"I don't wanna..."
Bruce groaned, biting back his thoughts of 'Why can't you be like Dick?' instead, he carried the boy. "Well, what if I go over with you?"
"...Maybe," he clung to Bruce's neck.
Completely oblivious of the man's thoughts.
Bruce felt some relief at that as he went and sat next to Santa. He really wanted this to be a good memory for Jason. "See? He's harmless"
As Roy watched, he turned to his own father "Why is Jason so weird?"
"He's not weird, he just doesn't like strangers very much."
"Don't touch me!" Jason smacked Santa's hand away when he tried to ruffle his hair.
"Jason! You do NOT hit people!" Bruce lectured, giving an apologetic look to the poor Santa, "I'm so sorry..."
Dick and Roy's eyes widened. "He HIT Santa!" Roy exclaimed. "He's going to be on the naughty list!"
"Stop yelling at me!" Jason's eyes watered.
"YOU'RE yelling!" Bruce shot back, feeling dumb. "Just calm down."
Dick had now rushed over, trying to help, but Bruce just found it annoying and put a hand up so he'd keep his distance.
"YOU CALM DOWN!" the little boy, even more upset smacked him in the middle of the face. He didn't even know what was all that bullshit about a list...
Instantly, Bruce was seeing red. This was the 2nd time the child had attacked him. He couldn't smack the child in front of Santa, could he? No. Instead he grabbed Jason and headed toward the kitchen. As he passed Oliver and Roy, the green eyed little boy kicked him, "Let Jays go!" He yelled, but that only made Bruce's anger hitch, as he kept heading to the kitchen.
"Roy, don't kick adults," Oliver dragged him closer by the little red-head tried throwing himself on the floor to get away, but found Oliver's grip to be strong.
"LET ME GO! LET ME GO, LET ME GO, LET ME GO!" Jason was crying, kicking and screaming. He had gotten scared with that Santa dude and now Bruce was yelling at him and pulling his arm.
In the kitchen, Bruce was sure this was the most humiliating night of his life. He held on to Jason and smacked his bottom 3 times. "Stop your attitude Jason! Stop acting like a wild animal!"
"I HATE YOU!" that was the most hurtful thing the guy had said to him.
Bruce was taken aback, for a moment, letting the words hurt him "Then go upstairs! I don't want to see you right now!"
"I don't wanna see you ever again!" Jason replied.
"Go to you room, NOW!" Bruce yelled, he couldn't believe he still had to go to the living room and face everyone.
"NO!"
Bruce glared. How was it possible that a little boy could upset him this much? "Jason. I want you to go to your room. You can either go on your own, or I'M going to take you upstairs, and really give you the smacking you deserve"
"Stop being an ass!"
That was all it took, Bruce grabbed Jason like a football, and headed towards his room. Unfortunately for Bruce, he had to go back into the living area, where Dick was giving him judgey-eyes of disapproval, not wanting to get kicked by Roy again, he side stepped, only for the child to grab on to Jason's leg. "Leave him alone, you big, mean jerk-face!" Roy yelled, while Bruce tried pulling Jason away. What the fuck...
What he didn't count on was for Jason to bite him again.
At that, from surprise or anger, Bruce dropped the child, who landed with a solid 'thud'. Bruce just turned, hoping that Santa had gone on his merry way. Nope. Still there. Bruce coughed, temporarily ignoring the problem.
"Santa, you probably have places to be... here, let me walk you to the door..." He didn't need too many witnessed when he murdered his child.
"Is Jason okay?" Santa dared to ask.
"Just fine" Bruce managed, before slamming the door and turning around, darkly.
"Bruce, you should really calm down..." Oliver started, clearly worried about the child.
Bruce gave him the fakest smile he'd ever given anyone. "Oliver. Clearly you're fine with your son hitting and kicking whoever he wants to, but MY sons know better"
"You're obviously upset, so I'm gonna just ignore how rude you're being, but Jason has issues, and you're not helping.
Roy had some issues of his own, yes, but Jason was a little bit more complex and he may not be a pedagogue, but it was obvious you were not supposed to call your recently adopted kid a 'wild animal'.
"I bet you wanted this to be a good day for the boys," Oliver continued as Bruce's child clung to his leg and kept on sobbing, "And it has been just the opposite."
Jason, on the other hand was trying really hard to pay attention at whatever explanation Roy and Dick were giving him about why it wasn't it okay to hit Santa, but it was extremely complicated with all the chaos going on in his head at the moment and the argument the adults maintained at the same time.
"Well, I don't care if I get coal, I'm not bad!" He stepped aside They had just said something about Santa bringing coal to naughty kids and toys to the good ones, even when he always tried his best to be good... "And whatever, I hate that fat ass Santa jerk anyways! I hate him! I hate that stupid list! I hate Christmas!" The little boy was getting more and more upset every second to the point there were tears and snot soaking his face and he was coughing so much he looked about to throw up.
Bruce was indignant, he couldn't believe he was being lectured by Oliver, on PARENTING of all things. He listened, considering things, but not really giving him the time of day. "Oliver, I'm doing the best I can." He grumbled, but was stopped by his child's complete meltdown. It was like he was mesmerized by the scene unfolding.
He snapped out of it, when Dick looked over at him, the one person in the room that still apparently had any faith in him. "Dad... help him."
"Oh Jason..." He went over to try and help the boy, who was still hysterical, but was met with the angry little bodyguard of his. "Get away from him!" Roy snapped. He was entirely sure that Bruce was the devil.
Oliver was not really sure Bruce wouldn't make things worse, but he was supposed to at least try to fix it. Not that the Archer were an excellent father, but at least he was used to those kind of breakdowns... Bruce apparently wasn't.
"Roy, come here," Ollie picked his son up.
"Don't carry me!" Roy yelled,thrashing around. He hated being small. He couldn't believe his father, such a traitor! They were supposed to be helping Jays. Bruce gave Oliver a nod that meant "thanks" and then put a hand on Jason's shoulder. "Hey. ... I'm... it's okay... we don't have to have Christmas"
"Don't touch me!" Jason snapped, jerking away, "I told you I didn't wanna meet that jackass and you didn't care! You know I hate strangers!"
"Roy, calm the fuck down," Oliver took him to the kitchen.
"Stop with the language" Bruce said, firmly, but not yelling now. He was trying to figure out this child, he knew he should apologize, but he almost couldn't bring himself to say he was sorry.
"Shut up!" Jason's face was all red, " You should have gotten another Dick instead of a Jason..." He was young, but not deaf or stupid.
In the kitchen, Roy was still furiously trying to get back to his friend. " No! Put me down, put me down, put me down now!" He wiggled, scratching at the arms that held him. He didn't understand why his father had left poor Jason with Bruce.
"Roy, calm down!" Oliver sat with him at the table and held him tight.
He made sure to hold the kids arms against his sides and trapped both boy's legs with one his.
Feeling totally trapped and unable to help his best friend, Roy went for the last weapon in his arsenal. Tears. "Daaaad! You're being a bad person!" He cried, deciding he hated the guy.
"I'm not, but at least now we have to give Bruce a chance to make it better."
Roy heard the words, and stilled. His dad really wasn't going to protect Jason! With all the authority he possessed (none?) He sentenced, "Let me go NOW, or I am never, ever going to speak to you again-ever!"
"Excuse me? What did you just say?"
Bruce stood frozen. Jason's comment had hit him like a slap to the face. His youngest just started bawling louder and clung tighter to his brother
Dick had come over to try and help. "Jays.. He loves you"
"He doesn't like me," the boy let Dick hug him before looking at Bruce, still upset, "But I like me less, so leave me alone!"
It broke Bruce's heart to hear that, and still he stood there like an idiot. He could recognize it. Dick was nudging him, actual nudging! "Dick, stop." He then turned to Jason, "Are you hungry?" He asked suddenly, hoping the child was just suffering from not having eaten a nutritious dinner.
Bruce sighed, unsure. "Do... do you want me to get Alfred...?"
"Let's go somewhere else, Dick," Jason ignored Bruce as best as he could.
"Okay..." Dick started, but Bruce was not about to give up on this yet, though perhaps he should. "Well actually, Dick needs to eat dinner, so If you want to be with him, I guess you'll have to join us."
Jason glared at the man through his tears and let go off Dick before running off to the backyard door.
"I said, NOW!" Roy growled out, a little over-confident in his approach, after all, if Ollie and Dinah could play the 'I'm not speaking to you' game, why couldn't he?
Oliver smacked him in the mouth.
"Do not speak to me like that."
Roy's eyes widened, and then filled with tears; that hadn't gone as he'd imagined it would go... He stared at his father with a look of total betrayal, and then a look of indignation. Nope. Never speaking to him again.
"Do you remember how it was when you arrived?"
"..."
"Yes or no?"
Roy glared stubbornly, he had managed to get a an arm free, and pushed Oliver's face away with his hand. It wasn't hard in any way, but he hoped what he was trying to communicate was clear. He wanted to be put down.
"Roy..." Oliver held his hand.
Roy continued to glare and frown, and considered biting his father's hand, but remembering what happened last time he did, he licked it instead. Surely that was better...
"Don't be gross!"
Dick was alarmed when he saw Jason bolt. "Dad!". Bruce realized he had pushed it too far, as he raced after Jason, panic taking over.
"Jason!" But Jason kept going, he was not staying where he wasn't wanted.
Just barely outside, Bruce caught up with Jason and carried him back inside, "Jason, don't ever leave like that! I... we want you to be safe. You can't go off by yourself!"
"Let me go, I don't want you to hold me," he started struggling in Bruce's arms.
"Hm" Bruce let Jason go somewhat ungracefully. "Just don't go outside... you can go play with your brother and Roy." The man admitted defeat-for the moment anyway.
"I'm NOT staying," Jason stated firmly, stomping his foot. "So you go and adopt a happy well mannered kid that's not an animal and likes that Santa dude and your noisy stupid parties and doesn't embarrass you, I don't care."
"Jason...I...I'm sorry I called you wild!" ..well, a wild animal, Bruce thought, but didn't want to repeat it. "I know you're not perfect, but...nobody is. I'm not perfect either, but I'm glad I adopted you. So glad" He admitted now, ashamed that he'd clearly made the boy feel inferior.
In the kitchen, Roy was confused. Nothing was working,and he really, really wanted to go check on Jays, so, "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" He finally snapped. "POLICE! SANTA! DINAH! Help! Help! Help!" The screaming brought forth Richard Grayson, who had decided to give Bruce and Jason a minute. "Um... is everything okay?"
"Yes, it is, Dick," Oliver answered with a frown, "Roy's just about to get a spanking."
"Oh" Dick nodded, leaving the two. Roy immediately stopped yelling and looked at Oliver. "No! Dad..." He whined, forgetting his vow of never speaking to his father again.
"No? You don't deserve it?"
"Nooo!"Roy cried, smacking Oliver's hand away. "I've been really good today!" He yelled, though in truth, he knew he hadn't been that great. Still. He'd been better than Jason.
"Have you? Because I don't believe that a stranger scared you kids when we were waiting for Santa."
"I don't care, I don't want you to keep a kid you don't like."
"I do like you" Bruce said, and even to him it sounded fake. Did he like Jason? He was so much harder than Dick had ever been. Stubborn, wild, energetic and angry... but he DID love the boy.
"I don't always like the things you DO, but I love you."
"I don't believe you..." He had freakin' yelled at him for not liking a stranger.
"What would help you believe me?" Bruce really wanted to know.
"...I don't know." Bruce gave Jason a sympathetic smile. "If something comes to you, will you let me know?"
"Maybe."
Roy gasped, almost asking 'How did you know?' , instead he played with the drawstrings of his hoodie, and lied some more. "Well, Jason told me to say that..."
"And if Jason says to jump from a cliff, you just do it?"
Roy didn't really have an answer to that. All he knew was that his dad was being unfair and this was turning out to be a crappy night. "Stop asking STUPID questions!" He whined, trying once again to get away. "You're being so dumb! I want to go with my friends!"
"Stop speaking to me like that! We're going to say goodbye right now, we'll talk at home." Oliver stood up.
Bruce nodded, hoping the night could be salvaged after All. What did Jason like? What could they do? Damn, how did he have no idea ? "Do you wanna watch a movie?"
"...I like movies with dinosaurs." The boy sniffled.
"A movie with dinosaurs it is" Bruce gave a tentative smile and then turned to poor Dick who had been patiently waiting. "What do you say, Chum?" When the boy nodded, Bruce smiled, ready to tell them to invite the little redheaded terror, but his smile faltered when he saw Oliver and said terror, who was screaming so loudly that Bruce was sure the glass windows would shatter.
"Thanks for everything, Bruce, we need to go home. Get better soon, Dick, and goodbye, Jay... You know what? Maybe you could give Santa a second chance, he didn't know you don't feel very comfortable with strangers, but he's a good guy."
"...Are you sure?"
"He's telling the truth" Bruce added, turning to the blond. "Oliver, thank you, really... you've given me a lot to think about" Bruce turned to Roy, and waved, only for the child to stick his tongue out at him. Well, he'd tried...
"Stop being rude, Roy," Oliver rolled his eyes. "You're welcome, Bruce. See you, kids." Before he could go anywhere, Jason ran towards him and hugged him, being careful so Roy wouldn't kick him.
"Thanks for everything and for McDonald's."
Bruce groaned inwardly. Really? McDonald's? Damn, was he going to have to bribe the kid with that? Maybe one trip wouldn't hurt. ...
Roy frowned as Jason hugged his dad. He'd had enough of sharing. "Jays, it's YOUR fault I'm in trouble!"
Jason stuck his tongue out at him. It was so not.
"No problem, Jason," Oliver smiled and ruffled the boy's hair, "You're a good kid and we enjoyed having you around. There's nothing wrong in being scared of something, you were really brave."
Roy felt jealousy engulf him, and he didn't like it. He'd been so good! He'd been nice to Jason and had stood up for him, HE had been brave. "Stop talking" he grumbled placing his hand on Oliver's mouth. His dad wasn't being fair!
Oliver rolled his eyes and patted Jason's head before walking towards the entrance.
"I don't feel good!" Roy groaned out, with tears in his eyes as they headed toward the car. He was upset that the night hadn't ended up going his way.
"What do you feel?"
THAT was a good question. Roy frowned, he didn't have a good answer. "I just want to go see Dinah" -she always gave him attention.
"Maybe tomorrow," it was dinner time already.
"You're being a bad dad!" The child wailed. This was officially the worst day ever.
"Shut it already, Roy." Oliver buckled him up and started driving home.
Seeing he'd get no sympathy, the little green eyed boy decided to close his eyes, after all, his dad couldn't punish him if he just fell asleep. He drifted off, with thoughts of Santa Clause close by.
"Roy, we're here," Oliver woke him up as soon as they arrived.
"Carry me!"
"Excuse me, are you asking me or demanding me?"
Roy rolled his eyes, with sleep leaving, he was reminded of the days events. "Never mind" he started walking, stubbornly.
"Go to your room." Oliver had already opened the house and turned on the lights of the living room.
The boy suddenly stopped mid-step. "But don't tell me what to do!"
"One..."
"Stop!" He whined, but also ran to his room, only to slam the door and lean on it.
Oliver rolled his eyes and headed upstairs.
"Roy, I need to talk with you."
"What?"
"Open the door, we need to talk."
The boy stood up and carefully opened the door just a crack. "But I don't feel good!" He lied, "My head hurts"
"Look, Roy," Oliver entered, trying to remain calmed, "I know you're mad I didn't let you kick Bruce more..."
"He was being mean! I hate him! I was being a good friend to Jays!"
"You were, champ, but do you remember how things were between us when you arrived?"
Roy nodded, remembering how things had been hard - extremely so, before he'd come to trust Oliver. Everything had seemed so new and scary. " ... yeah" He said, in a small voice.
"And how I didn't always know what to do..."
The little boy sighed, exasperated. He understood what Ollie was getting at, but he hated being lectured. "Okay, already! Just leave me alone!"
Oliver smacked him in the mouth again.
"I told you not to speak like that."
"Ow!" The little scrappy boy yelled, impulsively returning the smack to Oliver's own face. Once he had, though, his brain began to work. "Sorry!"
Oliver frowned and sighed exasperated, between turning the little boy on his lap face down.
"I told you plenty of times today to not be rude," he smacked the little child's backside hard three times.
Roy cried at that, not surprised, but still hurt by the action, "But I said sorry!" Wasn't that the magic word that usually got him out of trouble?
"Yeah, after misbehaving the whole day."
"I was better than Jason! And you hugged HIM!" Roy accused, with tears running freely down his face. "I don't want you to love anyone else!"
What the fuck?
"I hugged you too. Jason was difficult because he was scared, you were difficult because you didn't want to listen to me."
Roy considered that, maybe he hadn't been on his best behavior. He looked up at his father now, with bright eyes. "Sorry dad" as an afterthought, he added, "But don't adopt Jays, ok?"
"What?"
"Well you like him, and I do too, he's so cool... but I don't want you to like him more than you like me"
Oliver actually laughed at that.
"Well, I guess he's a cool kid, but you are too. And even if I adopted another kid, that doesn't mean I'd like one more than the other."
Roy frowned at that, taking it to mean that Oliver WAS planning on adopting more children, probably like 10 or more, and he'd be forgotten. "Well I don't think you should have more kids! Because you're really mean, and you spank too hard!" Stupid Oliver.
"I'm not mean."
"...then can we have ice cream for dinner?" Roy asked, hopefully.
"Maybe as dessert, but just a little bit."
That earned Oliver a happy hug, finally. "My Christmas wish was for you, dad!" He beamed, remembering the nice Santa.
Oliver faked a smile. "Thanks, kiddo," he rubbed the boy's head.
The End