Starting School

Jason sighed deeply as he lay in bed, the room dimly lit by the first rays of dawn. He glanced over at Dick who lay on his stomach, arms around his pillow, sound asleep. Then he glanced down at Kaden who was stretched out between them. Poor little guy had had a nightmare about a clown, to which Jason could very much sympathize, and came running into their room scared.

Kaden turned four this year and in a short week, he'd be heading off for his first day of preschool. So Jason lay there, looking down at his sleeping son, through his messy black hair at his little face and thought fuck, stop growing up so fast, kid.

He glanced over at the clock; it was almost eight in the morning, so Alfred would be here shortly.

"Morning," came a hoarse, tired voice from beside him. He looked over to see Dick staring at him through half lidded eyes with a smile on his face. Jason smiled back at him and leaned in closer for a quick kiss.

"Morning," Jason replied, finally pushing himself up in the bed, glancing back out the window. Then he looked back to Kaden, who had just snuggled up against Dick. Dick snickered in amusement and looked up at Jason.

"Sleeps like you," he said. Jason quirked an eyebrow.

"Yeah? How's that?" Jason asked. Dick snorted.

"You really don't know? You both cuddle in your sleep," Dick replied. Jason shrugged and shook his head.

"Must be some other Jason, because you see, I'm a bad ass, and bad asses don't snuggle. You cheatin' on me Dickie-bird?" Jason said with a teasing smirk. Dick just nodded while he spoke, grin on his face.

"Right, right. Another Jason, because my husband doesn't have a soft, teddy bear center," Dick teased. Jason snorted.

"Absolutely not," he said with an affirmative nod. Dick laughed in amusement, keeping his voice down to let Kaden sleep. That wasn't to be, however, because the little boy yawned and stretched, sitting up in the bed. Dick pressed a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing, because Kaden had the most adorable little scowl on his face. He looked up at his father, yawned, then looked at Dick, and that's when he broke, and laughed.

"Mornin," the little boy muttered, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Good morning, Jason Jr," Dick replied, patting his head. Jason snorted and rolled his eyes, moving over to the dressed to grab a shirt. He pulled on a white t-shirt he bought as a gag at the store. When he turned, Dick couldn't help but snort as he tried not to laugh again. The shirt said "I Love Dick" and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out exactly what it meant.

"What's wrong, Dick?" Jason asked innocently. Fortunately, their four year old son had no idea what the shirt meant. He thought it was referring to Dick, which of course made Jason laugh even harder.

"You're not really going to where that when Alfred gets here, are you?" Dick asked, quirking an eyebrow. Jason just wiggled his eyebrows and shuffled out of the bedroom. Dick sighed, facepalming as he sat up in the bed, watching as Kaden followed after his father.

Moments later, the door opened up and Alfred came through, having his own set of keys for the apartment.

"Good morning Master Jason. Young Kaden," Alfred said, inclining his head as he shut the door behind him.

"You're both up early," he observed, and it was early for them because they were normally dead asleep for at least an hour after he arrived. But the man wasted no time in getting to work, starting with cooking breakfast.

"Morning Alfred," Jason called, shuffling into the kitchen to start some coffee.

"Morning Alfie," Kaden called, following his father around the living room. Jason flopped down on the couch and turned on the morning cartoons and Kaden climbed up into Jason's lap. It had become a ritual of sorts; every Saturday morning, Jason and Kaden would turn on Saturday morning cartoons and Kaden would climb up on his father's lap and they'd sit there and watch cartoons together for a couple of hours.

"Well, isn't that cute," came Dick's voice from the bedroom. Jason and Kaden both glanced up at the man who was already in uniform, ready to head over to Bludhaven for work. He moved over toward the couch and kissed Kaden's head, then stole a kiss from Jason.

"Good morning, Master Dick. You have time for breakfast?" Alfred asked. Dick glanced at the clock; he still had an hour before he had to head out.

"Yeah, sure. Thanks Alf," Dick replied, sitting down beside Jason. He wrapped an arm around Jason's shoulders and tugged him a little closer. Jason glared at him, his 'it's too early for this crap' glare. And Dick just snickered in amusement.

About fifteen minutes later, Alfred called from the kitchen "breakfast is ready." So Kaden hopped down from his father's lap and ran to the kitchen and climbed into one of the chairs; the kid was pretty adamant about 'being a big boy now' and no longer needing his high chair. Dick and Jason follwed him minutes later to find plates of pancakes already waiting for the, with cups of coffee.

"Mm, shit, looks good Alfred," Jason said with a grin.

"Language Master Jason. You don't want a certain child to be repeating those words, do you?" Alfred asked, glancing over at Jason. Jason bit his lip.

"Oops." And so they ate breakfast, mostly in silence, aside from Kaden's usually humming while he ate. He finished first, naturally and was ready to go and play with his toys.

"Can I be excused?" he asked, little feet swaying back and forth impatiently. Alfred gave the boy a smile and a nod.

"You may." And without further delay, Kaden smiled, hopped down from the chair and hurried into his room to play with his toys. Jason and Dick watched in amusement as he vanished into his bedroom, then they turned their attention to each other.

"He's got preschool next week. We have a few things we need to hash out," Dick said smoothly. Jason gave a nod, finishing the last bite of his food.

"I know. The kid's getting smart. I hear he's already asking where we go at night," Jason said with an amused grin. Dick gave a nod.

"Oh yeah, he's like his father."

"And you. You're his father now too, y'know," Jason pointed out, sipping his coffee. Dick gave a curt nod.

"Two years and still getting used to that. To being a dad," Dick said with a small smile. He turned back to Jason and said "but yeah, you need a cover story or something. I mean, I'm a cop, so that's all the excuse I need." Jason gave a nod, sipping his coffee again.

"I'm sure I'll think of something. In the meantime, we may need a new place to hide our gear. I think we've procrastinated on that point long enough. It's only a matter of time before he started asking why we have a pad locked closet," Jason said in an amused tone.

"Already got it covered!" Dick said with a grin. Jason quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"Zeta tube. You know that shitty old phone booth in the alleyway? Yeah, had that retrofitted as a Zeta Tube. Leads directly to my Bludhaven apartment building. Perfect place to store our gear," Dick explained. Jason chuckled in amusement.

"Well, you've thought of everything, haven't you, Dickie-bird?" Jason asked. Dick smiled at him and patted him on the back.

"Almost everything."

The week passed by like nothing in which Jason and Dick worked on a cover story for Jason to explain where he goes at night when he goes out as the Red Hood. They even contacted Bruce for help when they couldn't think of anything, and so he offered the explanation that Jason was working as a bartender at a local club. Jason rather liked the idea, and it was plausible enough to work for now. At least for a few years anyway.

And while Kaden slept at night, he and Dick began moving their gear over to Bludhaven via zeta tube. They'd already caught Kaden staring at the padlock on the closet a few times, so the timing couldn't have been any better.

And now, Kaden's first day of preschool was here. Jason and Dick were running around the house helping Kaden get ready because they almost overslept too long. Only five minutes, but still! They didn't want him to be late on his first day!

Alfred wasn't here today, so they were on their own, so they made breakfast just for Kaden with a glass of orange juice. And Dick, the nerd that he was, had Kaden dressed in a blue superman t-shirt with a pair of jeans and batman sneakers.

Jason had just come out of his room with the usual on; jeans, boots, t-shirt, leather jacket, and Dick was in uniform, having convinced his boss to let him come in early so he could see Kaden off on his first day of preschool. Jason came into the kitchen and patted Kaden's head.

"You all set, champ?" he asked, moving toward the coffee pot and filling a travel cup with coffee. He screwed the lid on tight and tossed it to Dick as the man came out of the bathroom. Dick snatched it out of the air and blew Jason a kiss. The man just smirked and rolled his eyes, filling a cup of his own.

"Okay daddy, I'm ready!" Kaden called, hopping out of his chair.

"Alright, let's get going then. I'm driving!" Jason called, snatched the keys up off of the coffee table and heading out the door, Dick and Kaden behind him. They chose the Lamborghini, or rather Jason chose it, the three of them climbing in, Dick in the passenger's seat and Kaden in the back. Jason grinned like a kid in a candy store as he revved the engine once and-

"We have a kid in the car," Dick scolded. Jason frowned a little, glancing back at Kaden who was just looking out the window.

"Yeah, I know, I know. Spoil sport," Jason replied, sticking out his tongue at the man as he pulled away from the apartment building. The entire drive the the preschool was silent save for the sounds of Jason or Dick sipping their coffee. Then the building came into view and Kaden leaned against his seat belt to point to it out the window excitedly.

"There it is daddy!" he called. Jason flashed an amused look back at the boy from his rear view mirror.

"Yeah, I see it kiddo," he called back, coming to a stop right in front of the building. A couple of the preschool teachers, an elderly woman and a young brunette woman, stood at the end of the walkway waiting for the children. Jason heaved a sigh and hopped out of the car along with Dick and the two of them went to the back to let Kaden out. The boy hopped out of the car and Jason knelt down in front of him, hands resting on the boy's shoulders.

"Okay buddy, listen up! Behave today, okay? And you remember what we talked about?" Jason asked, looking his son in the eye.

"Yes daddy. If anyone picks on me-"

"Go and tell a teacher," he and Jason said in unison. Jason smiled at him and pressed a kiss to the boy's forehead. Frankly, he wanted to teach the boy to make a fist and punch the little turd that tried to pick on him, but Dick scolded him about that.

"Good boy. Now, daddy and Dickie both love you, okay?" Jason asked with a smile. Kaden looked to his father, then to Dick who was smiling at him too, then he smiled and hugged Jason. Jason hugged the boy and then Kaden ran up to Dick and hugged him too.

"Have fun at school okay? And stay out of trouble!" Dick said. Kaden nodded.

"I will. Love you, bye bye!" he called, heading for the building. Jason jammed his hands into his pockets and the two of them stood there and watched him go.

"First child?" the young woman asked. Jason glanced over at her and flashed a smile.

"Yeah," he replied simply. The girl smiled at him and gave a knowing look.

"All first time parents are always anxious when their kids go off to school for the first time. But don't worry, he'll be fine," she offered, following the children as the bell rang.

"You already miss him, don't you Jaybird?" Dick teased. Jason snorted, about to make a smart ass comment. Then he looked Dick in the eye, seeing a sincere look instead of his usual snarky one.

"Shit, yeah," Jason replied with a little laugh, heading for the car. Dick pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Don't worry Jaybird, he'll be fine. He's your kid after all," Dick said with a smile. Jason grinned and hopped into the driver's seat.

"He's ours Dick. So yeah, I know he'll be fine on his own."