Awake and Alive

Star jumped up on Kaden's bed as his alarm clock went off and started licking his face. Kaden groaned and attempted to roll away from the dog, but Star wasn't having it. Dick and Jason trained her as Kaden's backup alarm clock, just in case his actual one didn't work.

"Okay Star, I'm up, I'm up!" Kaden chuckled in amusement, patting the dog as he sat up in the bed. He yawned and stretched a bit before sliding out of bed and moving to his dresser, pulling out a t-shirt, his favorite pair of jeans and dressing, kicking on his boots and popping his earrings back in. He shuffled out of his bedroom, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and sat at the kitchen table. His pa was cooking breakfast and was already dressed for work, and his dad was apparently still in bed.

"Morning," he mumbled to Dick. Dick flashed a smile at him and slid a plate of bacon and eggs onto the table in front of him as well as a glass of orange juice.

"Morning, baby bird," Dick said cheerily, kissing the boy's head. Kaden cringed, and playfully shoved his papa away.

"Aw, c'mon, I'm too old for that crap!" he protested. Dick snorted and waved his hand dismissively as he retreated down the hallway to wake up his husband.

"Kaden, rule number one of being someone's kid, you'll never be too old. JASON, GET YOUR ASS UP" Dick called. Kaden snorted when he glanced back in time to see his pa duck an alarm clock that crashed against the wall.

"Fuck off, I didn't get in 'till two in the morning. We can't all be morning people, you freak," Jason replied, rolling back over in bed. Dick sighed and rolled his eyes, closing the door behind him.

"Has dad always-"

"Yup."

"Even when-"

"Yup." Kaden laughed in amusement at how well his pa could read him. It was a little annoying, but also funny.

"You and dad going to come to the High School Gymnastics Competition next week? Coah says there's a good chance I could take it this year. All thanks to the shit-"

"Language"

"Right, sorry. All thanks to the stuff you taught me. It's pretty cool, having a Flying Grayson for a father," Kaden said with a smile. Dick chuckled in amusement, filling his own plate before rounding the table, giving Kaden another kiss who cringed yet again, and sitting beside him.

"No problem. And we'll be there if I have to drag his lazy ass out of bed," Dick replied, shouting the last part so Jason could hear it.

"Bite me," Jason shouted back, earning a laugh from Dick and Kaden. Kaden finished his breakfast and glanced up at the clock. Chugging his orange juice, he tossed the glass back to Dick who caught it with ease and scooped up his side bag, heading for the door.

"I'll catch you later pa! Love you," Kaden called back. Dick gave a wave as he rinsed the glass off.

"Love you too Kade," Dick called back as the teen disappeared through the doorway.

Gotham Academy...was very much like a prison to Kaden, who hated school despite the fact that he got straight A's and was the Top Gymnast on his team. There was no redeeming quality to coming to school except two things; guys and girls. Oh yeah, just like his dad, he swung both ways and that was okay, because he had plenty of options and not just because he was the grandson of Bruce Wayne. Popular opinion among both guys and girls alike was that he was hot.

He'd had five girlfriends since middle school and only one boyfriend, who his parents decided they didn't like. Of course, he agreed with them later when he found the guy dry humping some girl after school. Needless to say that was the last time they spoke to each other. So he was single now, which meant girls and guys alike were vying for his attention. Which, were he completely honest, was pretty cool.

After the day dragged on for what felt like an eternity, the final fell finally rang. Kaden sighed in relief, slamming his text book shut and stuffing it into his side bag. He grabbed up the bag and made his way first to his locked to ditch the books and work he wouldn't need stashed the, in his locker and closed it shut. Standing beside him, however, was a black haired boy, his age, with half-frame black glasses. His hair was short and his eyes were green, and he looked a bit nerdy, but maybe it was just the glasses? He was dressed plainly in a pair of jeans, a white t-shirt and a black zipper hoodie.

"Er, hey, Kaden?" the boy asked a bit nervously. Kaden looked him over once and quirked an eyebrow. By the social pecking order of high school, Kaden would be way out of his league, not that he paid much mind to that crap anyway.

"Yeah, what's up?" he asked, running a hand through his own short black hair, lingering for a second on a lock of white in the front (thanks dad! Pa was a bit annoyed when he dyed it). The sound of giggling caught his attention and the guy he was talking to looked back nervously. The girls gasped when Kaden looked at them and turned way from him, pretending they weren't paying any mind.

"Um, I don't know if you, uh, know me. I'm-"

"Matthew, right? Yeah, I have a few classes with you," Kaden answered easily, leaning back against his locker nonchalantly. The teen blushed a bit and looked surprised He gave a curt nod and cleared his throat.

"Um, yeah. Well I was, uh, wondering if-" the girls giggled again and he blushed a bit. Kaden rolled his eyes, fed up with this game.

"Let me guess, the girls over there pushed you to ask me out on a date, but you're not really interested, are you?" He asked in an annoyed tone. The girls suddenly shut up. Matt blushed an even deeper shade of red and shook his head.

"N-no! I'm interested, really! Shit, I mean, I have a crush on-wait, um-dammit," the teen stammered, much to Kaden's amusement. The girls started giggling again so Kaden grabbed the teen's arm and dragged him into the boy's bathroom, catching the 'aw' sounds the girls made as the two of them retreated inside.

"Okay, spill. Now that they're out of the way, why don't you start over, hm?" Kaden said in an amused tone. Matt cleared his throat and gave a nod, face still bright red.

"W-well I uh...I've kinda...had a crush on you for a long time, and uh..." the guy fidgeted in place, looking nervous as hell, but Kaden was patient as the teen continued "-but uh...the girls, you see, my friends, they uh...encouraged me to...well, you see...I was wondering if...ifyou'dgooutonadatewithmenextfriday," the teen speed spoke nervously. Kaden caught most of it, the words 'go out' 'date' and 'Friday'. He turned the request over in his head for a few moments.

He wasn't dating anyone currently, and hadn't for a while, and after his last girlfriend, he could definitely use a damn break from girls for a while. This guy, Matt, seemed average in every way, though physically, he was a little above average. Kaden didn't usually judge based on appearance, but he was also honest, and frankly, he liked his dates to be somewhat attractive. He was a hormonal teenager after all! So he looked the guy over once more and gave a shrug.

"Sure, why not. Got nothing better to do," he said coolly, playing it off. He patted the guy on the back and said "Friday, eight o'clock." With the, he made his way out of the bathroom, flashing a wink toward the giggling girls and making his way off the campus.

Kaden dug through the pocket on his jacket for his iPod and ear buds, popping in the buds and flipping on his music as he walked down the street back to his apartment building. He jammed on hand in his pocket, music blaring as he crossed the street, jogging across because Gotham drivers were fucking assholes.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and flicked through the numbers until he found just the one he was looking for and hit call, pulling out his ear buds and pausing his music. A few rings later and he got an answer.

"It's Damian. What do you want, Kaden?" Damian asked flatly. Kaden snorted in amusement; typical Damian. His half-brother was kind of an ass, but he'd sort of mellowed out a bit over the years. From the stories his dad and papa told him, he was much worse when he was younger.

"Hey, sorry to bug you. Just wondering if you're still up for 'training' this weekend," Kaden asked, making air quotes as he spoke. Damian taught him different combat techniques, to defend himself when his dad and papa couldn't or when he just felt like hanging out with Damian. Despite his half-brother's demeanor, he wasn't half bad when you got to know him.

"I heard those air quotes you little ass. And yeah, sure. Just don't be late like last time," Damian replied. Kaden snorted.

"Ten minutes! One time! I was on time literally every other time!" Kaden replied, equally amused and annoyed. Damien snorted softly and Kaden could practically hear him rolling his eyes.

"Whatever, just don't be late," and with that, Damian hung up. Kaden clicked 'end' and then pocketed the phone, digging his earbuds back out and popping them back into his ears, resuming his music. He glanced up at the street signs to see where he was; his apartment building was just a few blocks away. But then something loud and very familiar rang out, over his music.

A fearful look on his face, he ripped the ear buds out and looked around to find the source of the sound. A gunshot ripped through the air and a bunch of armed men, gangsters from the looks of things began hopping out of cars and shooting at each other. Kaden didn't need to think twice about what to do, but before he could react, he felt a sudden, sharp pain shoot up his side. He stumbled backwards, his hands going straight to the source of the pain. He looked down to find his hands covered in blood, his blood. He'd be shot in the side.

He cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground, whipping off his jacket and tying it around his waist, applying pressure to the wound. His dad and papa had taught him simple things like this and he'd always thought it was a bit strange, but in that moment, he couldn't be more grateful.

The teen dragged himself to a nearby alleyway, pain lancing up his side as he pulled out his phone again and dialed 9-1-1.

Jason was sitting on the couch watching a UFC match between a Kick Boxer and a Tai Jutsu Master. He shouted at the television, as per the norm, rooting or the Tai Jutsu Master, fists swinging in the air as if fighting an invisible opponent.

"That's it! Go! Get him! Put him down!" Jason shouted, jumping off the couch. He was about to cheer when his fighter won, when his phone rang. He looked around the room for it and found it on the coffee table. It was Kaden.

"Hey, what's up champ?" Jason asked. It wasn't a single moment later that he hard gunshots in the background. He heard a pained gasp from his son and alarm bells went off in his head.

"Dad...I've been shot," Kaden managed followed by another groan. It only took a split second for Jason to decide on a course of action; he raced around the room, grabbing his jacket, kicking on his boots and grabbing up the keys to his motorcycle.

"I-ah-called 9-1-1, but...fuck! Dad, I...I'm...I'm scared. Please," Kaden breathed out, another pained gasp escaping his lips.

"Kaden, listen to me! Sit tight! I'm coming! Keep pressure on the wound, you here me?!" Jason damn near shouted into the phone, racing out of the apartment.

"Okay dad." Jason felt a tidal wave of guilt was over him, because just last night, he got a call on his black phone about a dispute between gang lords and he told them to deal with it, because it was his day off. He hadn't realized they were this close to a fucking gang war, and now his son-no. He couldn't think like that.

"Listen, baby bird, tell me where you are," Jason said in a soothing tone, hopping on his motorcycle. He'd had a sidecar attached to it years ago for Kaden when he was a little boy, and he was confident he could still fit in it now. There was a silence, save for the sounds of gunshot, and Jason's heart damn near stopped beating.

"I'm at-" Kaden's voice was drowned out by gunshots, but it didn't matter; Jason had already traced the call.

"Listen to me, baby bird. Just stay down, Dad is on his way. Do you hear me?! Kaden, stay with me!" Jason shouted.

"Dad, I'm here, but, aaah! Fuck, it hurts," he cried out in pain. Jason revved the motorcycle again, the fucking speed limit be damned.

Author's Note: First of all, if you're wondering, the title is named after the song "Awake and Alive" by Skillet. Second, there was way too much fluff in my lovely AU, so I decided it need a little angst. Mwuahahaha.