Merry Christmas!
It's a bright and not-so-early morning on December the twenty-fifth, and the Wayne family is just waking up to the snowy Christmas morning. After last night's cozy encounters, some family time is well overdue.
The Gordon family joins them after presents are unwrapped and the surprise of the new baby is shared with all. Old friends and new friends, Bruce admires his family, happy to be together and safe for the holiday.
Harley woke up tangled in the bedsheets on her side of the bed. She'd put Dick's t-shirt back on when it was her turn to comfort Haly, but after that... She couldn't remember waking up to her crying. Beside her, Dick was breathing gently, his arm curled around Haly where she slept against his bare chest. The sheets barely covered his waist. Dick's dark hair was a mess, hanging over his gentle and serene face; his lips were parted slightly as he breathed slowly. Haly's tiny fist was wrapped around Dick's finger. Harley smiled at the two of them before carefully getting up, trying not to jostle the bed. She grabbed the bag and headed into the bathroom.
When she came out twenty minutes later, her wet hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she was wearing a long red v-neck over black leggings. She pushed her glasses up her nose as she smiled at Haly.
"It's about time for you to eat isn't it?" Harley whispered. "Should we get you out of here before you start crying and wake him up?"
"I'm up," Dick yawned sleepily, rolling over. Haly remained tucked under his arm, and he smiled up at her. "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas." Harley leaned down and kissed his cheek. "Did she not like her new crib?" she teased.
"Well I got up to feed her, and she wouldn't stop fussing. She calmed right down when I took her with me downstairs to get myself a drink, and I didn't want her to cry and wake you up." Dick smiled lovingly at her. "You look nice."
"Thank you. It's called showering and being well rested. You should try it sometime." She grinned. "And well sexed," she admitted.
Dick laughed and ran a hand through his hair, biting his lip. "That last part I've got down, I think," he smiled sleepily. "But I could use a shower." Dick jumped as Jason pounded on their door, imitating Do You Want to Build a Snowman as he sang, off key and high pitched. "Jackass? Do you want to open presents? Get up you fu-"
"-Master Jason!" Alfred shouted from the end of the hall. They heard Jason cackle evilly and bang on doors as he went down the hallway. Dick grinned.
"Wait for it- as soon as he gets to Damian's room-"
As if on cue, there was a loud thud and a strangled choking sound. Dick laughed, sitting up, careful not to wake Haly. He beamed at Harley and then caught her shirt, pulling her down to his level. He kissed her enthusiastically, and then leaned back. Holding his hand out; Harley gasped at her engagement ring in his palm. She'd thought the Joker had taken it when he'd kidnapped her. "Merry Christmas, beautiful," Dick whispered.
"Where did you… How…" She put it on, hugging him. "Thank you." He held her tight.
"I couldn't find any opportunities to give it to you after he took you." Haly fussed a bit, and Dick stretched. "Here we go. I had her all night, it's your turn," he stood carefully and walked to the bathroom. Harley happily scooped Haly into her arms.
"Hello baby," she cooed. "Merry Christmas. Are you excited to see what you got? I guess more accurately: am I excited to see what you got? You bet." She grinned at the baby, bouncing her in her arms. She heard the shower start in the bathroom, the door mostly open, and Alfred knocked.
"Miss Harley? Is Master Dick up and moving?" he called. Harley moved closer to the door, so she wouldn't have to shout.
"Yup. And Haly isn't, so so far so good."
Alfred smiled lovingly, and he walked away from the door. Dick turned the water off and dried off, digging through the bag Harley had left in the bathroom. "Is she asleep still?" He called, getting dressed.
"Not if everyone keeps shouting," Harley sighed. She walked over to the bathroom and peeked her head in. "If she woke up, I think you'd know."
"Thanks for the heads up. Ready to go downstairs?" He came out of the bathroom. His fitted black t-shirt was tight enough to show off his muscular torso; broad shoulders and thin, lithe waist. He put a hand on the small of her back, guiding her out of the room with Haly in her arms.
"Oh no," Harley muttered, stepping away from Dick as Wally charged down the hall toward him. The dog tackled Dick as Clark and Titus trotted happily around the corner. Dick stumbled, and then knelt to play with him. Wally barked, biting at Dick's hands, his tail smacking against Harley's legs as he egged the dog on in baby-talk. "I see he's as hyper as always." Clark stood in front of Harley, sniffing the baby in her arms as he stared up at her. "I've missed you too," she laughed. Dick reached over and bear-hugged Clark, rubbing his back. His black t-shirt was already collecting dog hair. He stood and spat some out of his mouth, grinning.
"Come on, Wally, let's go open presents," Dick smiled, patting his leg so the dog would follow. Haly squirmed in Harley's arms.
"Uh oh, someone's waking up," she bounced Haly in her arms as she started to wail, "and is hungry." She started walking down the stairs; Wally perked his ears up at the sound of the crying. "Let's get you some formula and me some eggnog." Dick followed her down to the kitchen, yawning again. He started making a bottle while Harley poured each of them a glass of eggnog.
"You do remember Jason spiked it, right?" Dick smiled at her, handing her the bottle. He picked up a glass of eggnog and choked a bit when he took a sip. "Strongly. Strongly spiked it."
"Merry Christmas," Harley chuckled, getting Haly to quiet as she finally took her bottle. "She's crying because she wants her bottle, but won't stop crying to take it. You are a paradox child." She rolled her eyes. Dick leaned against the counter and smiled, sipping his eggnog.
"Just like her mom," he chuckled. "Begging for it last night, but too distracted to take it." Dick lifted the glass to his lips again with a grin.
"You know I get distracted when you do that one acrobatic move," she laughed, smirking. "And if you keep laughing, I'm going to keep telling jokes. You know this by now."
"Why do you think I kept laughing?" Dick asked quietly, smiling at her, his eyes shining.
"If you two don't get in here, I'm opening your presents!" Jason cried from the parlor. There was an uproar of noise that was various people yelling at him. Dick laughed and walked into the parlor. "No, he's right. I'm holding up the party."
Damian moved over for him on the couch as Harley came in, taking a seat between Dick and Damian. Haly sucked away happily on her bottle.
"If we were holding everything up, why don't you have your presents ready to go?" Harley asked.
"Youngest passes out presents!" Jason cried. He took a swig from his eggnog as Ivy rolled her eyes next to him; she was perched on the armrest of his chair.
"Yeah Damian, it's your year," Tim said from the couch where Steph was curled up on his lap. "We've all done it, and Haly's too young."
"Oh Joy, so I get to be fourth to the crazy person, the criminal, and the imbecile," Damian crossed his arms. "No thank you."
"Wait, am I the crazy person?" Dick pointed at himself, and Damian scowled.
"Marrying and raising a child with an ex murderous psychopath," he pointed out, and Dick frowned.
"Well if you can't do it," he shrugged. "Tim, you're next in line, if Damian can't."
"I'm perfectly capable," he jumped to his feet, walking over to the tree. Dick grinned slyly at Harley and kissed her cheek.
"Works every time," he whispered. Damian began handing out presents irritably, and they tore into them one at a time, exclamations of delight and laughter filling the room.
"This one is from all of us," Damian said stiffly, handing his father and Selina a small flat box. Bruce handed it to Selina, and she tore the paper open.
"Aww!" she cried, tilting the box so Bruce could see the new plane tickets they'd bought them for to go on their delayed honeymoon. He smiled and nodded.
"This was very generous of you, boys. And girls," he added, looking around at all of them. Dick smiled proudly, an arm over Harley's shoulders.
"And we have a gift for all of you," Selina glanced at Bruce, and he went white.
"Selina, I'm not so sure-"
"-you're all going to have a baby sibling," she said gently, pressing a finger to Bruce's lips to keep him from protesting. Instead, he smiled. Jason stared at them with his mouth hanging open as Tim choked on his eggnog.
"But…" Jason spluttered, looking around; his eyes landed on Harley and Dick. "Wait. They knew!? They aren't surprised. You told them before us?"
"Yeah, and it's about time," Dick beamed. Damian stared at the wrapping paper on the floor, his dark hair still tousled from sleep. Glancing at Harley, Dick laughed a little. "This family, I swear."
"Why did they get to know first?" Jason demanded. Harley shushed him when Haly squirmed at the loud noise.
"I told Harley, when she found Haly again. It's been a while. We weren't going to mention it, not wanting to… well." Selina shook her head. "Why does it matter, Jason?" she laughed. Bruce looked at Tim.
"You okay, kid?" he nudged his leg.
"Is it a competition between the four of you?" he asked, looking between Bruce and Selina and Dick and Harley.
"Why, you want in?" Dick quipped. "You're a little young."
"Definitely no kids," Steph said, putting on the Bat Symbol necklace Tim had gotten her. "For a while." She kissed Tim on the cheek. Damian pushed a large box in front of Dick. It was long and wide, but not very tall.
"It's from me," Harley told him as he tore into the paper.
"Sure, he gets the big present," Jason taunted.
"Well, he proposed," Harley countered.
"Fair enough." Jason shrugged. Dick opened the box to a framed Flying Grayson's poster.
"Yvette helped me dig around the old circus storage before the fire. I thought we could hang it up in the house, so Haly can see her other grandparents." She bounced the baby in her arms who was falling back asleep as she sucked on her bottle. Under the framed poster were a few more rolled posters, his family's acrobatic costumes, a box full of pictures from the circus, and a folded Haly's circus display tarp. "I was going to think of a clever way to display them, but I gave up," she admitted.
"This is…" Dick bit his lip, smiling a little. "Wow, Harley," he laughed breathlessly, stroking the glittering stripe on one of the costumes, his eyes a bit sad. Reaching over, Dick wrapped his arm around Harley's shoulder and hugged her, kissing her on the head. "There aren't words," he smiled, admiring the poster. "Thank you."
The poster was passed around so others could look at it, and Damian picked up Alfred's presents. He insisted they all open them at the same time. Bruce and Selina opened their presents to find Thomas and Martha Wayne's wedding bands. Jason ripped the paper off and inside his box was a custom hunting knife, his initials carved into the blade near the handle, red accents in the detailing, and Tim smiled at the college survival kit that was tucked neatly in the box, showing it to Steph. She ignored him and squealed with delight, clutching her own present to her chest, her cheeks bright pink. Alfred smiled a little.
Cassandra grinned at her own gift, a language learning program, and Damian curiously opened his. Inside his gift was a new sketchbook and charcoal set. He actually smiled in delight, and Ivy tore open the little box with the small package of seeds in it.
Dick and Harley both had one gift together. It was a baby monitoring system that could be synced to the Batcave comms.
"Great, so her crying can follow us everywhere," Jason taunted.
"It'll be better than listening to you," Harley fired back.
"Wait, who said you even get a comm? Are you even part of the team yet, pigtails?" Jason leaned back on his hands, and Ivy hit his shoulder. "Ow! What?"
"I approve of her being in the cave more than Ivy," Bruce said. He shot Jason a look. "Don't think I don't know about that."
"Merry Christmas?" Jason asked hopefully.
"We'll talk about it later." Bruce looked at the two of them, turning to Damian as he handed him a present. They continued to add to the colorful paper pile in the middle of the circle they had formed around the fireplace, Damian pulled out a folder from under the tree.
"Um… Harley told me that… well she told me that I should share my drawings with the rest of you. So…" Damian frowned, sticking his nose in the air. "Here." He coolly handed each of them a sketched drawing of themselves, ranging from Bruce and Selina at their wedding kissing at the altar, to Jason kneeling in front of his bike with tools dumped everywhere and grease all over his clothes.
"They're beautiful," Selina gushed.
"Thank you Damian," Bruce said.
"Yeah, thanks you little stalker." Jason elbowed Damian. Damian scowled at him. Tim admired his proudly, and Steph smiled over his shoulder at Damian, who blushed harder.
"We brought presents, losers!" Barbara cried, swooping into the parlor with Sam and her dad following behind her. "We would have stayed home, but Dad started a fire on the stove." She stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of Haly who had fallen asleep in Harley's arms. "Holy shit!"
"Language, Miss Gordon," Alfred scolded, getting up to get eggnog for the three of them.
Dick smiled over his shoulder at Barbara. "Be quiet, you'll wake her up."
Barbara shushed him as she ran around the side of the couch and dropped down next to Harley, staring at the tiny baby. "Oh my God, she's prettier than me! She's prettier than you, Dick she's so adorable!" She squealed in a whisper, covering her mouth. "Look how little she is! She looks just like you, Harley," Barbara smiled. Dick elbowed her.
"I told you so," he winked. Jason looked over her shoulder at Sam.
"What's the cop doing here?"
Barbara glanced at Sam and glared at Jason. "I invited him."
"You've got a thing for cops, and it's weird," he pointed out. Barbara shook her head.
"No, honey, every girl has a thing for cops. We outgrow bad boys in high school," she smirked. Alfred returned with their eggnog and handed Barbara a glass. Gordon took a drink and laughed.
"Now that's how to make eggnog."
"Oh, Gordon," Harley spoke up, "the murder victim, Martinez, her brother is missing- most likely dead- and they were working with the Joker. To take Haly. Sorry we didn't update you." She shrugged, smiling. He shook his head.
"Nightwing called me and made sure to tell me. Let's not mix work… or whatever that is… with the holidays. I'm on vacation for two more days," he smiled, sitting down in the chair Alfred brought him. Sam sat down on the floor casually beside Barbara on the couch.
"I can't get over how adorable she is. Can I hold her?" she asked, smiling at Harley.
"Sure, but if she starts crying, you're holding her until she stops," Harley warned. Barbara nodded eagerly and gingerly took Haly from Harley, supporting her head as she did. Haly fussed a bit and then settled down into the blankets again. Dick smiled proudly at his daughter.
"Now where's yours?" Barbara laughed, with a pointed look at Bruce and Selina.
"Actually you missed the announcement," Selina smiled a little, taking Bruce's hand and stroking his fingers with her thumb gently. Barbara's jaw dropped.
"Wait, you're serious? Bruce, you said you wouldn't!" she whispered, grinning.
"I guess it's a very merry Christmas," Gordon laughed. "Congratulations and good luck," he told Bruce.
Looking around the room, Bruce smiled. Tim and Stephanie were sitting in front off the couch, flipping through a book that Tim got and looking at the pictures. Steph wrapped a hand around his bicep and kissed his cheek, smiling. Jason and Ivy were talking quietly, the package of seeds clutched in her hands. She hid her face behind her hair, out of Gordon's view; Bruce never would have thought that he'd invite Poison Ivy into his home. Or that she'd make his son so happy. Jason laughed, and Bruce smiled a little. Damian sat in front of the fire with a pile of animals, his cats and the dogs, and Cassandra sat beside him. Damian said something to her quietly and jerked his head towards Dick, and she laughed and wrapped her arms around her knees. Bruce looked finally at Dick and Harley. His arm hung over her shoulders, his smile plastered across his face as usual; Bruce watched Harley turn her head and kiss Dick lovingly. Even with Barbara, he'd never seen his son look like that. So content. So consumed with his love for her. Bruce smiled a little. The baby in Barbara's arms slept soundly, her pretty blue eyes closed, her mouth slightly open as she breathed. Safe. Alive. Looking around at the boys and girls he'd adopted- the men and women he'd come to love more than he thought he could- Bruce smiled happily. Selina watched him, her eyes shining, and Bruce wrapped his arms around her, holding her as he laced his fingers together over her belly. Maybe I am ready. Maybe we all are.
"Thank you, Commissioner. I'll need all the luck I can get."