A VERY YJ THANKSGIVING (pt.1)

Pairings: Batfam time! Dick/Babs, Tim/Steph, BatCat, with additional Jason and Damian for your viewing pleasure c:

A/N: Wow, how long has it been since I've updated? Tooooo long, my friends. Since this is the season, I figured I could toss out a couple new chapters (seeing as I'm pretty behind in my one-a-day mantra)

Wayne Manor, Thanksgiving morning.

"JAAAAAASOONNNNNN TODDDDDD!"

Alfred bellowed, (yes, bellowed) up the main staircase to a cackling Red Hood at oh, six AM on November 22. His white apron was a mess of feathers, stuffing and turkey guts as he prepared for a feast like no other. However, he seemed to have hit certain, er, roadblocks already.

Namely, Jason stealing the whip cream for the pie topping.

"Aw, but Alfie, you don't need this quite yet. Besides, it's not like we have a bomb-shelter worthy stash of food in the pantry." Jason smirked, preparing to eat the whip cream straight from the can when-

"SON OF A-" Outraged, Jason whirled around to find a grinning Damian casually throwing the half-empty can of Reddi-Whip around. "Too bad, Todd. Finders keepers." He dashed off, leaving an enraged Jason in his wake. "That little shit." Alfred threw up a finger to show that swearing would not be tolerated, blah blah blah, and Jason took the stairs two at a time to try and capture his prize again from the filthy little mitts of his adopted brother.

"What in the world is going on at this hour?" Groaned a half-asleep Dick from his doorway, glancing at the two figures sprinting down the stairs and the angry one at the bottom. Ruffling his hair, he managed a weak smile. "Jeez, guys, I thought this was the one day of the year where sleeping in was a good thing?"

Alfred sucked in a deep breath and tried to return Dick's smile. "I apologize for all the yelling Master Dick, but it seems we have a thief on our hands. One who will signifigantly slow the procession of the Thanksgiving meal creation if he doesn't hand over the whipping cream soon." At his last words, a familiar redhead stepped out behind Dick, rubbing her head and smiling at the chaos below. "Wow, guys, I think there might've been people in Hong Kong who couldn't hear you. Speak up a little next time."

And as if a mysterious signal had called them all to the scene, one by one the Bats stepped out from their rooms with sleepy grins on their faces. Stephanie and Barbara had been allowed to stay overnight under the guise that they would call their respective guardians immediately when they woke up and when Thanksgiving dinner was finished. That, and Commissioner Gordon had been extremely strict about no bedroom sharing between mixed genders (although, as Babs points out later, he had no way to monitor that and therefore could not stop her and Dick's midnight 'sleepover' no matter how much he wanted to).

"Whassmatter, Alfred?" Tim groaned, blinking in the harsh sunlight that had started streaming from the windows. "I'm going to need all hands on deck for this feast, no thanks to Master Todd and Master Damian. Care to join in the fun, anyone?" He raised an eyebrow and glanced hopefully at the young Bats, who only blinked in response. Ah, teenagers.

"Alright, alright. I think I can manage to help with something. C'mon, Grayson. We have a turkey to stuff." Babs volunteered, grabbing Dick's arm and tugging him down the stairs. Stephanie took this as her cue to chip in and slid down the banister, dragging a still-half-asleep Tim with her. Cass even joined in, although this would only be her third Thanksgiving and she still had no idea what eating turkey on a Thursday had to do with all of it. In the end, Alfred had a kitchen filled with five happy (although sleep-deprived) children making dinner and two rebellious children running around, attempting to knock the other out using various household items as weapons ("No, Damian! NOT THE LAMP!")

In the end, the result was quite lovely. Bruce and Selina woke up around noontime, and dinner was on the table by three PM. Everyone sat down to experience the wonder that was Alfred's legendary Thanksgiving cooking. Heaps of steaming mashed potatoes, bowls of various salads, piles of green beans, cans of cranberry sauce, and one enormous turkey awaited the hungry Batfam. Kate Kane was celebrating with Renee Montoya and her niece Bette somewhere else, but would've otherwise made the drive across town to join her "brother" Bruce. All was well, and the smell from the kitchen was enough to make everyone settle down at the table within five minutes.

Everyone except...

Halfway through the meal, Stephanie looked up. "Hey. Where are Damian and Jason?" Alarmed glances spread across the table, and suddenly there was a loud BANG! And the gleeful scream of someone who had just caught a very large fish. Or a very large boy.

Springing out from under the table was a messy-haired Damian, triumphantly squirting the remains of the whip cream in his mouth and clocking Jason over the head with the can. Jason ground his teeth in annoyance, and leapt up right between Tim and Stephanie. "Sorry, Drake, mind if I borrow this?" He growled, grabbing a steak knife from Tim's hand and preparing to throw it at Damian. The scheming young assassin swiped the empty turkey plate off the table and held it in front of his face as a shield, launching a fistful of mashed potatoes as he did so. Unfortunately, the potatoes hit Stephanie square in the face.

"DAMIAN! YOU LITTLE BRAT!"

Needless to say, Thanksgiving was peaceful for about five minutes before it became a new tradition: Food Fight Turkey Day at the Wayne Manor.