"I can tell you're feeling better." Oliver grinned as Roy dug into his lunch- Roy was, in truth, already big, but it was clear he was having another growth spurt, despite his recent illness, by the way he ate.
"Sorry-" Roy muttered around a mouthful of food. "just hungry, I guess..."
"It's just good to see you eating, We almost lost you guys..." Oliver said.
"Hey- where's Scarlet?" Wally looked up from his third plate of food. Dick was asleep, since he'd woken to eat earlier, and Oliver looked up, snapping to attention when he saw the empty bed next to the boy wonder.
"Oh crap. Bats left me in charge, when he finds out I lost her..."
"You're dead." Roy finished for him.
"Thanks for the confidence, Roy." Oliver ran a nervous hand through his hair and started to pace. "He's going to kill me..."
A giggle echoed throughout the room and Oliver crouched down, seeing the littlest bird had flattened herself out on the floor under Roy's bed and was currently staring at him with those cute baby blues...
"Hey Roy, there's a little monster under your bed..." Oliver said, smiling as she giggled again.
"Is there, now?" Roy asked, playing along. "Maybe you should tickle it..."
"First I'll catch it!" Oliver pulled her out from under the bed and she squealed in delight as the archer hefted her into his arms, before starting to tickle her madly...
The ringing giggles, so like the peel of tiny, magical silver bells, filled the room, and everyone found themselves smiling. Dick woke up and grinned slightly, glad to see his sister looking so happy...
Finally, Oliver quit tickling her and she caught her breath. Oliver found it both adorable and endearing- the kid fought crime on a daily basis but was ticklish.
"Hi uncle Ollie." she grinned, cocking her head curiously at him. "I'm kinda bored."
"Bored?" Oliver asked, and she nodded. "Like a piece of wood."
Oliver chuckled at her cuteness. "You're bored, huh?" she nodded seriously.
"Alright, who feels up to playing a game?" Oliver asked, setting Scarlet down and looking over at the children.
"I do!" Dick said, grinning slightly.
"Me too!" Wally announced.
"Please, Roy?" Scarlet asked, tugging on the older boy's blankets.
"When I'm done eating." Roy promised, mouth still full off food.
"Alright, what do you guys want to play? You're not officially out of the med bay yet, so it has to be pretty simple..."
"Hide and seek?" Scarlet asked hopefully.
"I like hide and seek." Wally agreed.
"Alright- let's play. Not it!" Dick yelled.
"Not it!" Scarlet cried.
"Not it!" Both Roy and Wally yelled in unison, and all eyes fell on Oliver.
"Looks like you're the seeker, Uncle Ollie." Dick said, and Oliver nodded.
"Alright, you guys get twenty five seconds to hide. One, two..."
There was the massive ruckus of feet running out of the room and down the hallways, and Oliver grinned- he'd find them all in no time if they kept making noise like this...
But by the time he'd reached twenty-five, it was dead silent in the cave, like it had been when they'd all been sick, and Oliver was slightly surprised...
"Ready or not, here I come!" he announced, stepping into the hallway. It was dead silent, and he realized this was going to be harder than he'd thought...
He searched all the obvious places, under the beds and tables, behind the chairs and even in the vents, thinking Scarlet and Dick might be there, but he found nothing...
Wally, the devious speedster that he was, was still hungry, and had managed to jam himself in the snack cupboard. He munched silently on a few gummy bears as he watched Oliver search the high and low cupboards through the gap between the doors... The cupboard was normally full, leaving n room to hide inside, but while they'd been sick the leaguers had been too busy to shop, so there was just enough room for the speedster to crawl in... Oliver, however, didn't know this, and didn't even consider the cupboard as a possible hiding place...
"I'm going to find you..." he called, hoping Scarlet's tell-tale giggling would give her away. No such luck. He sighed. Of course she wouldn't giggle. When it came down to it, she was a Bat, and Bats played for keeps...
"Aha!" Oliver wrenched open the janitor's closet door to be greeted by a bedraggled looking mop and broom, as well as several other cleaning products lining the shelf, a bucket, and some rags... His face fell, and his worry rose slightly- what if he couldn't find the kids?
He shut the door, and soon after is footsteps faded, the mop bucket and rags piled up started to move slightly, and Roy stuck his head out. He'd chosen the closet for two reasons; one, he knew the rags and bucket as well as low light would be easy to hide in; and two, he figured he might as well guard most of the cleaning products, since Scarlet and Dick were Bats, and might decide to mix some stuff together to make chloroform or something... Bats played to win.
"Guys? Where are you?" Oliver asked, voice bordering on dread now. He didn't want the leaguers to know he'd lost the kids, but they'd certainly noticed... He walked directly under the rafters in the main room, where Dick laid flat on top of the one rafter, on his stomach, cheek pressed against the cool metal, and grinned. Bats were made for hide and seek.
Finally, an hour later, their absence was noted. It might've been noteworthy Oliver had been yelling that he gave up and they'd won at twenty minutes, but none of the kids came out at his calls... darn Bats, always needed to prove a point!
"Queen- where are they?" Batman demanded, voice stone-cold.
Oliver chuckled nervously, running a nervous hand through his hair... Batman was flanked by Flash, Superman and Wonder Woman... Crap, this was bad...
"Funny thing about that..." he started.
"There isn't anything funny about it. Now where's Wally?" Flash asked.
"I... um... I kinda decided to play hide and seek with them... and they won..." Oliver said, sweating bullets.
"Did you tell them you gave up?" Wonder Woman asked.
"Yes! I've been yelling it, but they won't come out..." Oliver said, and Batman shook his head. "They've been trained not to come out when someone says they give up. I figured the Joker would play that card sooner or later..."
"This is just hide and seek!" Oliver said, practically tearing his hair out.
"Doesn't matter. Every situation presents some danger." Batman said simply
"So you lost the kids? Nice going, Oliver- and I thought I was irresponsible. They just got over radiation sickness, for pete's sake..." Flash said.
"Well sorry I'm not super nanny over here! You try and find your kid!" Oliver yelled.
Batman shot his grappling hook up at the rafters and came down a moment later holding a sleeping Dick.
"Found one." he said, looking down at his son before affectionately brushing the hair from the boy's face before setting him on the couch.
"He was ASLEEP up there!?" Oliver said, shocked.
Batman shot him a death glare when his outburst caused Dick to stir, but thankfully not wake, and Oliver decided if he wanted his head to stay on his shoulders he'd best shut up.
"I found Wally." Flash dragged his nephew out from the snack cupboard. The ten year old speedster had oreo cookie crumbs all around his mouth, and Flash grinned. "Always so resourceful..." he said, looking proud...
"Ollie- what the heck? How did you not find me? I've been in the janitor's closet for a friggin hour!" Roy said, looking grumpy as he entered the room.
"I was busy trying to find the other demons!" Oliver said, motioning to a sleeping Dick, who Batman had set on the couch with Wally.
Roy crossed his arms. "You have GOT to be kidding me."
"Where's Scarlet, then?" Wonder Woman asked, but Batman was already headed towards the hatch that led to the crawl space. He lifted it to find Scarlet, covered in the dust that had accumulated over the years but also sound asleep, and lifted her out.
"She was in the crawl-space?" Oliver asked, jaw practically hitting the floor.
Batman, once again, chose to ignore those whose intelligence he deemed inferior, instead allowing what looked to be a smile to ghost across his features as his gloved fingers combed through the raven hair, getting rid of the majority of the dust, before setting her on the couch as well.
"Savvano anikka, mi chirklos." (Sleep well, my birds.) he muttered, voice low enough so that no one else could make out what he was saying. Both children stirred in their sleep, recognizing their native tongue before they were al carried off to bed by their mentors.
"I am never playing hide and seek with the demons again." Oliver said, slightly angry.
He turned to go, a sleeping child slung over each shoulder as he disappeared down the hall, no doubt to take the kids to his room so he could keep an eye on them and get some work done.
Queen's mouth, which had been hanging open, snapped shut, and he frowned. "Can someone please tell me how the antisocial man who dresses as a bat is a better parent than us?"