I didn't think I'd be able to get this done in time for Father's Day but I'm glad I did. I can't promise regular updates but I am trying to be a bit more consistent.

With Victor's birthday (June 29th) always only a few days after Father's Day, they didn't typically do a lot to celebrate that particular Hallmark holiday, opting instead to focus on Vic. But the year Victor turned nine he was determined to do things differently. He'd noticed his friends from school talking about what they were going to do for their dads for Father's Day and he decided that, all by himself, he'd do something special for Bruce.

His plans got derailed almost immediately.

It wasn't his fault. It really wasn't. The first part had been easy, asking Alfred for permission (and assistance) to use the kitchen to make Bruce a Father's Day breakfast. The second part should have been easy because making cards was something any toddler could do. Gar was notably not a toddler, but the six-year-old still insisted on investigating what his big brother was doing. Normally, Victor would be more than happy to stop what he was doing and chat with his brother, but chatting with Gar meant paying complete attention to Gar so as not to miss any signs and Victor wanted to focus on making his card.

Gar pointed at the card, asking what Victor was doing.

"I'm making a card for dad. For Father's Day. Do you know what Father's Day is?"

Gar nodded excitedly and reached for one of Victor's markers.

Victor stopped him, hesitating a little.

"Let me get you your own paper, okay? That way we can each make him a card."

Gar nodded and signed to ask about their other siblings. Victor didn't want to admit that he hadn't been planning on including any of them in his plans, because he wanted this to go perfectly and he didn't want the little kids slowing him down. But he knew that Bruce would be even more touched if all of his kids participated in this surprise, so he decided to change his plans.

"Alright, go get them and we'll all make a card. But don't tell dad." That was one of the best things about Gar, though he could be a bit chaotic he never gave away people's secrets. The not talking part helped, sure, but he was also just smart enough to know which things should be kept private and which things he could share with his family.

Soon the whole family had gathered for super-secret arts and crafts, which got interesting.

Gar had commandeered several markers and a small mirror and was drawing a picture of a chicken, using himself for reference by turning into the chicken, looking at himself in the mirror, and turning back to add more details. It was a pretty good drawing of a chicken, but Victor had no idea what that had to do with Father's day. Raven had foregone the drawing and was writing Bruce a little poem for Father's Day. Victor was going to make sure the poem was appropriate before he let their dad see it. Kori was using practically every sticker they had and Richard was promising that his card was going to be so much better than everyone else's.

Sometimes it was exhausting, wrangling all of his siblings, but by the end of the process, Victor was pretty pleased with all the cards they had made.

"Good job, everyone."

"Mine's the best, though. Right?" Richard asked.

"Easily in the top five," Victor assured, which satisfied Richard for now.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to make dad breakfast, and then we'll give him the cards. He's going to be so happy and surprised."

Gar mentioned that he loved surprises, which was one thing most of them could agree on. Surprises were fun, and dad didn't get enough of them. Victor felt very fortunate that no one had offered to help him make breakfast. They'd get it done much faster if it was just him and Alfred.

Of course, Victor wasn't as much of a help in the kitchen as he thought he was, so after doing his best for a while, he was banished from the kitchen to wrangle his siblings for the surprise. They were all lined up and ready to go in the dining room when Bruce came downstairs to see his beaming children and steaming breakfast.

"Happy Father's Day!" Victor said, jubilantly, with the others echoing or signing along.

"You guys did this for me?" Bruce asked, incredibly moved.

"Well, Alfred did most of the cooking, and they made most of the cards…" Victor was starting to feel that he didn't do much at all.

Bruce didn't see it like that, pulling his oldest into a big hug.

"But you set it up, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did."

"That means the world to me. Thank you, Vic. Thank you, kids. I love it."

"Well, we love you. You're the best dad in the world and we're all really lucky to be your kids."

"And I am really lucky to be your dad." Bruce gathered all of his children into a hug, feeling so proud and so very loved. Later he would thank Alfred for the breakfast and give him his Father's Day gift, but for now, he enjoyed some time with his kids.