Chapter 1: Sneak Outs and Snuggling

Sneaking out of Wayne Manor in the middle of the night was hard. Even for the stealthily trained protege of Batman.

The Bedroom windows had alarms, and the stairs had motion sensors. But worst of all, was the uncanny ability that all his older siblings seemed to have to know exactly what he planned on doing before he did it.

And so, even though Dick had easily managed to hack the motion sensors and security cameras, he had not been able to hack his brothers sixth senses. Terry, Damian, Tim, and Jason were all lounging lazily around the living room, silently waiting for him to make his appearance.

Dick turned on his heel, ready to make one final attempt at escape and pretend this never happened, when the floorboard beneath him creaked loudly. Crap. At the sound, four heads immediately turned towards the sound, keen eyes watching for sudden movements.

Terry was the first to break the silence.

"How long are you going to pretend you're not there, Dick?"

"As long as it takes," Dick replied. He could practically hear them rolling their eyes at him.

"Just get in here, Grayson," said Damian.

Dick sighed. "Someday, I'm gonna get past you guys!" He said as he walked through the archway and into the view of his brothers.

"And risk your well-being because you're alone in Gotham in the middle of the night?" Tim crossed his arms, "I don't think so."

Dick crossed his arms, too. "I can take care of myself, you know. I'm not the helpless toddler you all seem to think I am."

"Aww, we know that," said Jason, "We just couldn't stand to see our little Dickie-Bird getting hurt."

"Don't call me 'Dickie-Bird'."

Jason pouted. "But it's so fitting...Dickie-Bird."

"Whatever," said Dick, "I'm going back to bed."

Before Dick could run back up the stairs Tim jumped in front of him.

"Woah, woah, woah. Stop right there. You're not off the hook, yet. You still have yet to tell us just what you were sneaking out for. So please, do tell."

Crap, crap, crap. Luckily, being a highly trained member of a super paranoid bat family, Dick was experienced in thinking on his feet.

"Wally and I were going to show Conner the night life. We even got fake ID's and everything." Dick said. Tim laughed.

"Fake ID's? Wally and Conner I could get...maybe. But Dick! You're tiny! Last week the clerk at the grocery store gave you a sticker." Tim said.

Jason's eyes widened, a smirk on his lips. "Seriously? That is SO cute!"

"It's not cute and I'm not tiny." Dick mumbled.

"Dick, we get that you might not think you are, but," Terry let out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. "Gotham is the last place a thirteen-year-old needs to be out, running around. We worry about you, Dick, and we don't want anything bad to happen to you."

Dick's features softened at his brother's explanation, but he couldn't resist the urge to add: "But you don't worry as much when I'm Robin."

"Oh, we worry alright. We just trust Batman and the team enough to know you're in good hands." Terry replied. Dick looked at his feet. The rest of Dick's siblings looked knowingly at each other. Tim took a step forward and laid a hand on Dick's shoulder.

"Come on, It's late…" Tim looked at the grandfather clock in the room, "or, actually incredibly early and we all need our sleep." He sent a pointed look at Dick.

Terry hummed in agreement. Jason, however, looked uncertain.

"I don't know, Dick," Jason said. "Can we trust you to not try and sneak out again?" Jason pretended to be deep in thought.

Terry, catching on, decided to play along. "Tim's right, Dick. But I think I have a sound solution. What do you think, Tim?"

Tim's eyes gleamed. "I completely agree. You on board, Damian?" Damian shrugged.

By now Dick had figured out what was going on. "Um, guys? I think I'm just going to head up to bed now…"

"Sorry, Dick," sang Jason. "But you can't escape the cuddles!" Jason quickly nuzzled his face into Dick's hair before hoisting over his shoulder, and with Terry, Tim, and Damian close behind, he ran upstairs to Dick's room and threw him on the bed.

"Ah, guys, stop it-mmph!" And just like that, Dick was smothered in a brotherly dogpile.

"I hate you all," said Dick.

"We love you, too."