A/N: So here's the first chapter of my Thanksgiving two-shot. The second chapter will be up sometime tomorrow (I'm about a third of the way done it.) Hope you guys enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: Sadly, I do not own Batman or any of the Robins. If I did, Jaybird would spend more time with his family (heck, he may not even have died at all!).
Something to Be Thankful For
Everything was set. Dick could feel the heat from the turkey halfway across the over-large dining room. He had three days off from work on the police force, and was determined to spend every minute of it with his family. The only problem was that Jason wasn't there yet.
CRASH!
Make that two problems. Dick ran into the living room just in time to see Damian throw Tim off the crystal chandelier. Dick flipped forward and caught a more than slightly disoriented Tim before he hit the ground. So much for Dick's surprise entrance at dinner.
"Dick?" Tim's eyes grew wide as he scanned his older brother's face.
"Glad ya recognized me, Timmy," Dick laughed. He put Tim down and ruffled his hair.
"I thought you were having dinner in Bludhaven with your girlfriend."
"Sarah?" Dick laughed. "I broke up with her a few days ago. Besides, I'd been planning on coming here for weeks."
"Does Father know you're here?" Damian asked, jumping down from the chandelier. It really was a miracle the two hadn't broken the thing.
"Hello to you too, Dami." Dick pulled his youngest brother into a side hug, who immediately wriggled out of it. "He does know. It was his idea to surprise you guys since I wasn't here last year."
Damian nodded. "Where's Todd?"
"Not here yet," Dick said. "He should be coming…"
There was a slight scraping noise from the window and all three brothers turned to see the Red Hood sliding in the window, attempting—and failing—to be discreet. He removed his hood and threw it onto one of the armchairs.
"Jaybird!" Dick crushed Jason in a hug as soon as the hood left his hand.
"Dammit, Dick! I didn't come here to be killed by you." Dick let Jason go. "It's good to see you too, Dickiebird." Jason was the only one in the room not surprised by Dick's being there.
"Did Todd know you were going to be here, Grayson?" Damian asked with a frown.
"Of course," Dick replied. I invited him.
Tim's face was a mask of shock, but he covered it quickly. "Does Bruce know?"
Jason scoffed. "Of course he does, Replacement." He glanced at Dick. "He does, doesn't he?"
"Of course," Dick replied. "I told him. We should get in there. Alfred won't be happy if we're late."
Damian rolled his eyes and walked out of the room without saying another word. His brothers followed closely behind.
Again the smell of the turkey hit Dick as he inhaled deeply. Bruce was already sitting at the head of the table, and Alfred was sitting two chairs down from him, leaving room for two boys in between. Dick and Jason took those. To Bruce's left, there were two more place settings, which Damian and Tim took. Although Damian tried to hide it, he was staring at the turkey hungrily.
"I'm glad you could come, Jason," Bruce said to his second son. "I was worried you wouldn't."
Jason smirked. "Don't think I'm doing this because I want to. I just had nothing else better to do tonight," Jason lied. Dick knew that there was that one dealer by the docks Jason could be taking care of right now. Dick had been wanting to go after him as well.
He elbowed his brother and gave him a look that said We'll go after dinner, before saying, "I almost didn't make it myself. The chief wanted me to be on duty tonight." He didn't miss Jason's subtle eye roll response.
"I'm glad he allowed you a little time with your family, Master Dick," Alfred said.
"Yeah," Dick said. "And not being with Sarah really freed up the night."
"What happened between you two?" Tim asked.
"She just didn't agree with some of my views," Dick explained, trying to wave off Tim's question before shoving a large amount of turkey in his mouth. He swallowed when he saw Tim's raised eyebrows. "She thought Nightwing was more of a hindrance than a help in Bludhaven."
Bruce looked over at Dick. "Really? She seemed like such a good girl."
"Well, something's off about her, I can tell you that," Dick said.
"You'll look into it."
"Of course I will."
"Probably just another corrupt cop who doesn't want anyone stumbling onto them," Damian snorted.
"Master Damian, you will be respectful of other people," Alfred reminded the boy.
"Why, Pennyworth?" Damian sneered.
"Damian," Bruce warned, his voice low. Damian suddenly had an almost obsessive interest in his potatoes.
The meal was finished in an awkward silence, which was not an uncommon occurrence when all of Dick's brothers were in the same place. Once all the plates were empty and Alfred began collecting them, Bruce suggested hanging out for a while before having dessert.
"Sorry, Bruce," Dick said. "Jason and I have something we need to take care of." There's a drug dealer on the docks who sells to kids, and I need to make sure Jason doesn't kill anyone.
"You'll be back in time for pie?" Be careful.
"We will." Always.
Jason rolled his eyes as he and Dick made their way to the Batcave. "I don't need you to come."
"I've had my eye on him for a while," Dick replied. "He came over from Bludhaven, which makes him my responsibility."
"He's in Gotham, so he's mine," Jason shot back as the elevator to the Batcave slowed. "I don't need your help."
"You can't go around killing any criminal you see."
"He sells to kids, Dick," Jason said.
"I know," Dick replied quietly. "That's why we need to get him off the streets. He's from my city, so we'll do it my way tonight."
Jason responded with surly silence.
A/N: Hope you guys liked that! Second chapter will be up sometime tomorrow! Reviews are desperately wanted!
Happy Thanksgiving!
~Red~
