Snow seems to slow everything down.
Thanksgiving night has tapered off, and with the sleet storm beginning to turn to heavy snow, no criminal will be out on the streets. Good thing, too, because the heroes won't be, either. Bruce has declared a stay-at-home night, or rather- Selina has demanded it- and no one is leaving the Manor.
Not even Carrie. Damian's friend is a bit of a mystery to the others, but she's been his friend for months now. And any friend of Damian's is accepted immediately. It's not like he makes many. And she seems to fit in better than they would have thought.
"Where did Richard go?"
"He's upstairs."
"Why?"
"He's upstairs," Tim said again, his knees pulled to his chest as he glanced at Damian pointedly. Steph snorted where her head lay against Tim's shoulder, a blanket wrapped around everything but her head.
"Dick and Harley sittin' in a tree…" she whispered. Tim laughed, trying to keep his heart from skipping.
"Well where are Cassandra and Todd?" Damian asked.
"Upstairs," Tim replied.
"Not together," Steph added. "We hope."
Damian stared at them from where he stood by the doorway, half bathed in shadow. Stephanie and Tim had been chatting with Carrie, sitting on the couch, for a while. Through the past few months, they'd seen more and more of her; Damian invited her over every time there was a family gathering, and she'd grown to be one of them, in a way. As far as they all knew, however, she knew nothing about their double identities. Tim and Steph, too, had grown closer. Damian tilted his nose up into the air, crossing his arms. "What happened between you two?"
"What?" Tim asked blushing.
"Go sit by your girlfriend and be quiet," Steph told him. "Or I'll hug you."
"She is far too old to be my girlfriend," Damian said, lithely jumping over the back of the sofa and sliding into a seat beside Carrie. She smirked at him and tucked her legs underneath her.
"So. Jason dated Pam," Steph reminded him. "There was probably like a fifty year difference there."
"Does anyone even know what happened there?" Tim asked.
"Not at all," Damian said. Carrie looked confused.
"I'm filing it away under 'pester Jason about later'." Steph said, yawning. Tim smiled a little. Damian watched the fire in the fireplace burn, yawning after her.
"My father is still here, right?" he asked quietly, glancing at Tim. Steph giggled.
"He tried to sneak off I think. All I heard was Selina yelling."
Damian smirked. "Good. He's not leaving without me."
"And Selina's not letting him leave, so it looks like you're stuck being pestered by Steph," Tim told him. Steph elbowed him.
"The two people that annoy me most in the world," Damian scowled at them. Carrie elbowed him.
"Be nice," she laughed.
"If I told him that, he'd bite my head off," Tim muttered.
"Well that's because he pretends to hate you," Carrie rolled her eyes. "Classic baby brother syndrome."
"There were so many things wrong in that statement, I won't even try to correct you." Damian crossed his arms.
"He must like her," Steph gasped, grinning.
"I do enjoy her company, which is much more than I can say for you," he narrowed his eyes, daring her to imply further.
"Damian likes Carrie!" she squealed. "K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"
"Shut up!" Damian cried, but his cheeks flushed involuntarily. Carrie laughed out loud, and Damian shoved her over on the couch.
"You're not denying it," Tim pointed out.
"I don't need to justify myself to the likes of you two," Damian sniffed.
"First comes love," Steph cooed.
"I'm sorry, you are going to lecture me on relationships? Were you not just dumped, Drake?!"
"It was mutual," Tim defended reflexively, blushing.
"A mutual breakup with a girlfriend of a year whom you work with. Tell me, how well do team exercises go now?" Damian smirked. Carrie nodded in agreement, the 'Team' reference going right over her head.
"No breakup is painless," she said.
"Oh look," Steph pointed at Carrie, "even she's trying to distract us now! They do like each other!"
Carrie leaned back, laughing, and shook her head. Damian fumed beside her. "She is far too old for me," he repeated.
"You've already used that excuse," Tim said. "Is that all you can come up with?"
"Jason, Dick, even Damian… The Wayne boys have a thing for redheads, don't they?" Steph snorted.
"Except Tim. He seems to favor blondes," Carrie pointed out. Damian actually burst into laughter as she grinned.
"Hey… that's not… no," Tim spluttered, his face crimson. Steph glanced at him and blushed, looking away, and Damian high fived Carrie. She smirked, looking at Tim.
"Okay, cards on the table, is there something between you two? Answer right now, in front of each other. And go." She sat forward eagerly.
"We've dated before, but that's… this…" Steph tapered off, blushing too now.
"Now is about the time Jason usually walks in." Tim glanced at the door. "Where is he?"
"Nope, no getting out of this," Carrie giggled. "You totally have a crush on her, still, don't you?"
"We asked you two first!" Tim objected.
"Yeah, you can't keep dancing around the subject," Steph cried.
"Okay, if I give you a straight answer, will you give me one?" Carrie asked thoughtfully, and Damian sat up.
"What?! No, you can't-"
"Ooooo." Steph leaned forward. "There is something!"
Damian lunged at Carrie, and she laughed, holding him at arms length as his hands tried to cover her mouth. "I was the one who taught him how to kiss-" she choked between giggles. Damian let out a strangled cry, clamping his hands over her mouth.
"AHHH!" Steph squealed, jumping up as Tim grabbed a pillow, laughing into it so hard he almost started crying. Damian's face had gone scarlet, and he glared at them furiously.
"Stop laughing this instant, Drake!" he cried, shooting to his feet. Carrie giggled and pulled him back down on the couch, and he shoved her away.
"What the hell is going on in here!?" Jason demanded, running his fingers through his shaggy hair as he shuffled into the room.
"Carrie taught Damian how to kiss!" Steph cried, her hands on her cheeks. Tim burst into a new fit of laughter.
"She what!?" Jason looked around at everyone. "Dami!" He pulled Damian into his arms before he could react. "You're all grown up!"
"Get off of me, Todd!" Damian punched him in the stomach. Jason coughed and laughed, leaning against the couch where Carrie sat.
"Maybe you could give me a few pointers," Jason said suavely. Damian cried out furiously.
"Todd why do you always have to do this to me!?" Damian tried to shove him, but Jason stood his ground, laughing. "You can never let me get a girl!" he shouted angrily, and then went pale at what he'd said. Steph squealed again and grabbed Tim's arm as she jumped up and down.
"Aw! Damian's first crush," Jason teased, pinching Damian's cheek. Damian's eyes narrowed, and he launched himself at Jason, his leg shooting out in a spinning kick to catch Jason's knees. He fumed above him when he hit the floor.
"Don't touch me!"
"I bet you want Carrie to touch you," Jason coughed. Tim and Steph fell all over each other laughing, and even Carrie giggled.
"I do not-" he began, but she cut him off.
"-maybe later," she smirked.
"Oh God," Tim cried.
"This is so great!" Steph cheered.
"Do you need any pointers?" Jason asked Damian.
"Leave me alone!" he shouted angrily, his voice cracking. He covered his mouth furiously.
"Girls and puberty! They grow up so fast!" Jason cried out, pretending to wipe away tears. Damian stuck his lip out, his hands shaking, and then he turned and ran from the room. Carrie winced.
"It was a little mean, but it was just too damn funny. Plus he deserves it," she shook her head. "Cut him down to size a bit, that ego rivals his dad's…"
"Did we just make him cry?" Steph asked, her hands on either side of her face as she looked around.
"Two things," Jason said. "One, he does deserve it, I don't know how many times the little brat has humiliated me, he could use some of his own. And two: we probably did. I don't think we've ever had dirt that good on him, he's too… perfect, really. He never makes a mistake." Jason nudged Carrie. "I like you."
"Oh my God," Steph said, "I feel guilty."
"I don't," Tim said, sitting back down. Carrie shrugged.
"I'll calm him down later. Though to be fair, you did say that you would own up to your mutual crushes," she pointed out.
"We promised nothing," Tim retorted. "Damian kinda interjected by freaking out."
"Eh, who cares anyway. what did you mean by Dick and a redhead? Isn't Harley a blonde…?"
"Barbara," Jason clarified, leaning against the back of the couch.
"The girl in the coma?"
Tim and Steph nodded. Carrie frowned.
"That's surprising."
"What is?" Steph asked.
"Nothing," Carrie shrugged. "He just struck me as the gay-turned-straight type."
"Whaaaat?" Jason laughed, covering his mouth. Tim snorted.
"Yeah, there seemed to be a lot of tension there with Bruce…"
"Nope," Tim covered his ears, as Stephanie burst into laughter. Jason shook his head.
"Well to be fair, I also kinda felt a 'screw me' vibe between you two, too," she glanced over her shoulder at Jason with a smirk. Stephanie fell off of the couch.
"No, no, no!" Tim cried. "You stop it you devil. Stop it right now!" Carrie held up her hands in surrender.
"Five guys living under one roof? I'm just saying, it's pretty sketchy." She glanced between Tim and Jason. "Like good-boy-meets-bad-boy sketchy."
"Ugh!" Jason stood up backing away. "Ugh!" he repeated. "You do know he's my… brother right?"
"Hey, guys have girl-on-girl fantasies, that's all I'm saying," Carrie laughed. Stephanie had deteriorated into a fit of giggles, laying on her back on the rug.
"No!" Tim and Jason cried together.
"That is just-"
"-No, no way," Tim mumbled.
"-wrong all wrong!"
Carrie stood and stretched, satisfied with the chaos she'd caused. "And with that, I'll leave you," she laughed. The sleetstorm outside had intensified, and the crackling of the fire mixed with the icy droplets splashing on the windows, warping the panes and the world outside. "Good night, guys, sweet nightmares. Don't think too hard about each other," she giggled, her laughter echoing eerily down the hallway as she went to the guest bedroom.