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Jason pushed the front door open, bags looped around his wrists. He just managed to free his keys, closing it with his foot and heading straight for the kitchen. He plopped all the bags on the table, pocketing his keys and sighing, wondering how hard it’d be to corral some help with the groceries.
“Lian?” he called, stepping out of the kitchen. He moved towards the doorway to Roy’s workshop, and could feel the floor vibrating. He was probably lost in whatever his current project was.
Jason figured he was better off not even bothering.
“Lian?” he called again, and got a living room! yelled at him. He headed towards her voice, expecting to see her with the television on, yet her earbuds in, tablet or book or phone or all three in her lap and strewn about the couch.
Which was, honestly, what he found. A book flopped open, her tablet left ignored in her lap, while she typed away on her phone. He took about two seconds to take it in, before he glanced up-
And noticed her hair. It was subtle, barely a change at all- but there was a sudden, harsh blonde to almost white streak, on one side. Her fringe was left alone, she hadn’t cut it- just that single, tiny change.
Jason nearly reached up to touch his own hair, when she glanced up at smiled at him. “Need some help with the groceries?” He nodded, feeling like his tongue had forgotten how to work, and Lian spilled everything to the couch, except for her phone which she stuffed in the pocket of her skinny jeans. She walked past him, heading right for their destination, and Jason hard to force himself to turn, to follow.
When he reached the kitchen she was already digging into the bags, sorting items on the table. “Dad’s been down there since like, three seconds after you left,” she started, heading for the fridge while holding the milk. “He fried one of the Roybots last night.” Jason only managed a quiet oh, still trying to study her hair.
Trying to figure out why.
“He told me not to tell you, though. He thinks you’ll give him some lecture about being careless- you know, typical dad.” Lian glanced up, before she frowned, staring at Jason. “What? Is there something on my face.” She reached up, rubbing her cheek, careful to avoid her eyeliner by her eyes.
Jason only shook his head. “Your hair.”
Lian reached up, ran her fingers along the streak, before she twirled it around one. “This? Oh, yeah. When dad disappeared into the workshop and said I wasn’t allowed down this time, I did it. Does it look stupid?” Jason shook his head, and Lian grinned. “Okay, good. I know like, it’s not as cool as yours, but I tried.”
“Why?” Jason felt like an utter idiot, but, bless Lian, she kept her smile.
“I dunno. I thought it’d be cool. Yours is cool. You’re cool.” She leaned her hip against the table. “And… this is so lame. Shut me up. But I know I look like my mom a lot, and I act like dad… I just thought it was only fair that people look at us and realize we belong together too. I mean…” she glanced away, shrugging her shoulder. “You’re my dad and all, too.”
Jason swallowed, felt his heart suddenly racing. It wasn’t like Lian hadn’t called him her dad before- he’d been around since she was so little, he’d been with Roy for over well over ten years now. But the fact that she wanted it to be so blatant, that she looked at Jason and needed the world to know she was his family too-
He was hugging her before he realized it, had both arms tight around her. She was tall now, at sixteen, maybe just a few inches shy of Roy- but Jason swore she fit in his arms as easily as she did when she was four. When she was even younger.
“You’re gonna get all sentimental on me, aren’t you?” She asked, huffing- but she was smiling, returning his hug, leaning her cheek onto his chest.
“I’ll spare you, if you go tell your father he needs to get his ass upstairs if he wants to eat before we leave tonight.” Lian laughed at that, lifting her head. She tipped up onto her toes, kissed his cheek affectionately, before pulling away, heading towards the kitchen doorway. “And Lian?”
She paused, glancing back- and that little smile on her face, the light in her eyes- it was all Roy, all gorgeous, and Jason loved her so much in that moment he wasn’t sure he even knew how to breathe.
“It looks good, buttercup.”
Lian’s smile grew then. “Thanks Jayjay.”
*
Roy hummed along to the beat of the music, re-soldering a part of the Roybot into place. He didn’t hear the door open, or footsteps descending the stairs- didn’t hear anything at all, until Lian was suddenly leaning over his shoulder with a loud, “It fixed yet?”
Roy jerked, his heart rate skyrocketing for a moment, and he dropped his soldering gun. Thankfully, his finger went off the trigger and it turned off, but he still turned, glaring at his daughter.
“Lian, you know you’re not supposed to sneak up on me down here.”
She stepped back as he turned, shrugging a shoulder. “Not my fault you married a bat and he taught me all the cool tricks.” Roy rolled his eyes, leaning against his workbench. “Speaking off, Jay says if you want to eat before patrol, you’ve gotta come upstairs now.”
“He’s home already?”
Lian nodded. “Yeah. Oh, and he knows you broke a Roybot. I didn’t tell him how, but he’ll probably ask.” Roy groaned, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose.
“You want me to get stuck sleeping on the couch?” Lian laughed at that, reaching up to cover her mouth.
“No because then you and Jay have to make up and I have to find something to do out of the house or pray I can get my music loud enough.” That had Roy’s cheeks tinging- and he would have asked where his Lian had gone- but he’d been wondering that since she was about ten, and she’d gotten his attitude.
He wasn’t sure how he didn’t have gray hair yet. Maybe he did and he was missing it…
That had him looking at Lian’s hair, and noticing the sudden streak. He stood up, brushing dust off his jeans. “Did you just do that?”
She looked to her side, just catching a glimpse of the blonde. “Yeah, after Jay left.”
Roy nodded. “It looks like his.”
Lian settled her hands on her hips, smiling. “That was the point dad. You’re a genius. I shouldn’t have to spell it out.” She shrugged a shoulder then. “Jay’s cool. I just… want everyone to know he’s a part of my family.”
Roy smiled at that, reaching to to drape his arm around her shoulders and turn her back towards the stairs. “Did you tell him that?” She nodded. “Did he turn into an emotional mess?”
“Nah, he kept it pretty chill. For now.” Roy grinned at that, kissed her temple, before he pulled his arm back, let her hurry up the stairs. But the grin stayed on his face, when he closed the door behind him and made his way into the kitchen, found Lian hanging onto one of Jason’s arms and trying to peer at what he was cooking.
Like she had, as a kid. Always under foot, always clinging to Jason in some way.
Roy was pretty sure he wouldn’t stop smiling for the rest of the night.
*
Lian crouched down on the rooftop, one hand pressing on her mask, magnifying her view. She scanned the street, looking for any subtle changes to the road, anything that might prove to be a trap-
“We’re all clear,” she said, her hand moving to press her comlink. “You got a lock on your man, Arse?”
She heard an exasberated sigh. “We’ve been over this, young lady. That wasn’t funny when you were twelve, and it’s not funny now.”
“It’s a little funny,” she said, standing up, resetting the view on her mask. She blinked to clear her eyes, listened to the city around her. Traffic in the far distance, the sound of her leather jacket when she moved, her thick boots when she shifted her weight. And then, faintly, the thrumming engine she knew to be Jason’s bike.
She’d been around it long enough, watched her father put enough time and work into the bike to constantly modify it, to know it’s sounds. She reached to her hip, pulled out one of her mini crossbows, holding it out and lining up with the street.
This was a shot she’d practiced a thousand times.
“Lock on Red Hood. Twenty seconds at best, little Red.”
Lian didn’t respond. At best was being pretty liberal, by the sound of the bike she was guessing thirteen, fourteen seconds- max.
Sure enough, she saw Jason turn a corner, so sharp she had no idea how his bike didn’t topple over. It made her heart leap, for a second- but he kept right on going, revving the engine as if he could get any more speed out of the thing. And behind him, three more men. She could see the shapes of the guns on their backs- and knew the only reason they weren’t raining bullets down on Jason was because of the speed they had to keep at to chase him.
She had one shot to knock them all out. One. She missed, and her dads would have to pick up the slack.
As if she ever missed.
Lian took a single breath, aimed for the leading bike’s front wheel, and shot off one small but very sharp arrow. It pierced the tire, sent the bike toppling forward, the rider flying off. the bike flipped to it’s side, and the other two crashed right into it. The sounds of metal scratched and grating on pavement, on other metal, made her wince, but she still grinned, reaching up with her free and as she holstered his hand held crossbow quickly.
“Bull’s eye.” She grabbed her grappling hook, shot off across the street and launched off the building, falling for a minute like her uncle Dick at taught her- enjoying the air through her hair, against her suit, hitting her cheeks and neck- and then she line caught and she stuck her feet out, let herself launch off the opposite building and slide down, feet landing firmly on the sidewalk.
Jason had already looped around, was off his bike, guns drawn and aimed at the bodies of the wreck. The first guy was out cold, and that left Lian with a smug grin of satisfaction.
The other two were moving, but when Jason barked out for them to stay down, neither seemed interested in disobeying.
“You’re so scary,” Lian teased, walking over. Jason glanced at her- she knew, behind the helmet he did- before he focused completely in front of him again.
“Call your father. Tell him to contact the police. I doubt they want to let us interrogate them.”
Lian nodded, taking a step behind Jason and facing away, pressing her comlink. “Speedy to Arsenal. We’re all clear. Call in the cops, and we can totally call it a night early. I’m thinking maybe a movie is in order?”
She heard her father chuckle. “Did you finish your homework?”
Lian huffed, was about to counter with of course I did- she hadn’t- when she heard the string of sounds, the click of a tigger, the growl of Jason’s yelling voice, the bang of a bullet leaving a barrell. She whirled around, hand immediately going to her small crossbow, pulling it and holding it, aiming towards the motorcycle wreckage.
It took her brain all of two seconds to realize one of the man had pulled a small firearm, had shot. And in that second it took her to piece things together, Jason was already returning fire-
But the second conscious man, he was moving too.
“Hood!” Lian yelled, turning her crossbow and firing. She got a small pin right in his shoulder, jerked him back, and pulled another from her thigh to reload. Jason heard her, but ignored her- well, ignored was the wrong word, she knew. He trusted that from the tone of her voice she had it handled. She lifted the crossbow again, just to see the man toss something out over the wreckage-
And Jason was turning on his heel, bolting towards her. She barely got to move before his arm was around her waist, turning and nearly dragging her towards one of the old building across the street, screaming get down as he shoved her behind an old set of stone stairs. He followed, hitting the pavement as the grenade went off, debris from one of the bikes smacking right into the stairs.
Lian felt the stone move.
“Fuckin’ hell,” she cursed, realizing she’d dropped her handheld in the move. Jason had tossed one of his guns to grab her, but was holding the other. “What sort of drug runners carry grenades?”
“The kind I don’t feel bad for,” Jason offered, popping a fresh clip in his gun and staring at her through his helmet. “Stay down. Do not move.”
“Jay-”
“Lian.” It was a growl, right up from his chest, and she froze for a minute, nodding. Even though she’d seen so much worse, so much worse, over the years. It was different, when she was with the Titans. It was different when she was anyone who wasn’t her dad.
None of them worried like Jason or Roy did.
Jason was up, shooting off a few rounds. Lian heard one guy give a cry- and she didn’t ask where Jason had hit him. The first man was a lost cause, and Lian wouldn’t be surprised if some of the debris on the stairs was him. But there was another round of gunfire- and a very, very distinct groan from Jason, as he jerked back. Lian pushed herself up at that, reaching back for her full bow. She wasn’t the shot her dad was with it, but she could provide cover fire-
She drew, popped up long enough to aim as Jason attempted to regain his balance, and shot her arrow. It drifted left, but not by much, stuck just in the man’s shoulder. She didn’t fall back, drew and fired a second time in the rapid succession that had been drilled into her, this time hitting right below it.
He finally dropped his gun- and at this point, Jason was up, opening fire. A bullet to his other shoulder, and he was down, bleeding, unable to properly lift a gun.
Lian dropped down to her knees, dropping her bow, as Jason slouched down, leaning against the stairs, pressing a hand to his side. Lian saw blood, over his glove, and felt her heart in her throat.
“Shit, shit, shit, Jay-”
“I’m alright,” he offered, “Skimmed me. Looks worse than it is.” He gritted his teeth a little, and then, “Call your dad again. Get the police here before I decide to put a bullet in their heads.”
Lian nodded, pressing her comlink. “Dad?” she asked, her voice shaking a little- and dammit, when someone got shot on a mission with her before, she never felt her fingers shake. She reacted and she protected.
But this was Jason. And Jason- he couldn’t get hurt. Which was ridiculous. She’d seen the scars, she’d watched her dad stitch him up. She’d seen him damn near dead more often than she could count.
But still.
“Dad!” she said, louder- but all she got was static. She cursed. “Comlink’s out.”
“Trust him then,” Jason said, pushing himself up. Lian was quick to grab her bow and stand, helping to pull him to his feet. “He probably called it in before. Neither of them are getting very far- let’s get out of here.”
Lian nodded- tried to help Jason, but he walked on his own, holding his side, trying to slow the bleeding. Lian raced to his bike, stood it up and hopped on, knowing he was glaring beneath his helmet.
“I’m driving,” she said, “get your ass on here.”
Jason slid on behind her, one arm going around her waist. “Keep it reasonable,” he said, and she knew he was talking about the speeding, “And watch your mouth, young lady.”
She huffed out a yes dad that was lost in the sound of the bike tearing away.
*
Lian watched Roy cleaning the wound on Jason’s side, Jason sitting on the kitchen table. He wasn’t thrilled about it, but Roy had gritted out he’d clean the damn table, and had told Lian to get him his first aid kit. The workshop was a mess and Jason was better off upstairs anyway.
Jason hadn’t lied- the bullet had grazed him. The second one, anyway. The first had shatter part of his breastplate, allowed the second to dig past it and break skin.
“I knew I should have gotten you a new one,” Roy fussed, as he worked the first stitch into Jason’s skin. Jason barely flinched.
“Regular pistol wouldn’t shatter my armor, whatever they’re packing… it’s rough. We’re going to need to see the evidence the cops took. I want a look at one of those guns.”
“I can get it,” Lian said. It wasn’t like she hadn’t broken in and stolen evidence before- just that her dads only knew about a few occassions.
“No,” Roy said, shaking his head. “No one is doing anything else tonight. The cops will clean that mess up, and we’ll think about it with clear heads tomorrow.” He continued working the needle, and Lian sighed, giving up and walking out. She headed down into the workshop to stash her suit, realizing she’d have to tell her dad about her lost crossbow. Not that he didn’t have plenty of back ups- she’d lost plenty before. Still, he put time into tinkering with them, time into showing her exactly how to make them fit her needs. She hated losing that.
She was walking back up, tank top and pajama shorts having replaced her suit and leather jacket, and paused outside the kitchen, listening for a minute.
“You’re lucky the second one only grazed you.”
“No, I’m lucky I didn’t get a little angrier and put bullets in heads.”
Roy sighed. “You’re not indestructible, you know?”
“Coming from the man who seems to think he is.”
Lian frowned. They weren’t fighting- she knew what that sounded like. Fighting with them was explosive, and rare, thank god. But this still hurt- because she knew her dad was worried, and she knew that Jason was right. They both always seemed to think they were a bit more indestructible than they were.
She heard their voices dropping lower, and the distinct sounds of their kisses- those had a noise she knew too well too. She rolled her eyes, folding her arms, counting slowly up to ten in her head, before stomping her foot once, making it sound like she was just walking over.
When she walked in, Roy was tucking things back in the kid, and Jason had a bandage taped to his side. “You all good?”
“As ever princess.” Lian smiled at that, walking around them and reaching up into the freezer.
“So since we’re alive, how about ice cream and a movie?”
“Or bed and some sleep,” Roy corrected, and Lian waved him off. She heard Jason moving, and when she turned around, he was opening a drawer, grabbing spoons.
“I’m with her on this one,” Jason pointed out, and Roy only shook his head- but he didn’t stop them. Lian grinned, marching into the living room, waiting for Jason to settle on the couch before plopping down next to him, opening the tub of ice cream and accepting the spoon he offered her happily. A minute later, and Roy walked out as well, settling on the couch and flipping the TV on, methodically going up through the channels. Lian lifted her legs, settled them over his lap, while she leaned back, against Jason’s chest, content when one of his arms went around her.
She popped her spoon into her mouth, holding it and took Jason’ from him, digging it into the ice cream and passing it back, so that he wouldn’t have to move the arm around her. It was a system they had, one that had been perfected over the years. As if on queue, Jason passed her two spoons. She filled her own first, before his, and then passed the tub over to Roy, who shook his head, taking it anyway.
“Jason’s going to be asleep within twenty minutes,” Roy pointed out, and Lian snorted.
“Usually that’s you, dad.”
“I didn’t get shot.”
Jason huffed, rolling his eye, as the ice cream was passed back. Lian held it so Jason could reach, snuggling back against him more- stifling a yawn herself. She hadn’t been tired, until she flopped down on the couch, was wrapped up in the comfort of having both her dads so close. The contact was nice- reminded her that they both had come back home in one piece, again.
She used to worry they wouldn’t.
She still worried.
She yawned, audible this time. Jason passed the ice cream towards Roy, left his own spoon in it, while he reached out, brushed her hair back- took time to wrap the blonde streak around his fingers. Lian just smiled over it, felt a little fuzzy.
“I’ll make your dad carry you, if you fall asleep,” Jason said, and Roy laughed- but didn’t deny that he would. He always would. Lian couldn’t remember the last time she fell asleep anywhere in the house that wasn’t her bed, and actually woke up there. Roy seemed to have a sense that told him when she needed to be carried to bed.
She wasn’t complaining.
She didn’t argue, stretching out a little, felt a gentle pat on one of her thighs from her dad. She smiled, lazy, and let her eyes flutter shut, to the sound of whatever crappy movie Roy had found droning in the background.
“I love you dad,” she offered, and in unison, she heard Jason and Roy both say,
“I love you too.” She knew they were smiling as they said it, and turned, tucked her chin against her shoulder. She’d just rest her eyes for a few minutes. Then maybe she’d take that ice cream back- after all, this was her idea, and if she didn’t take it back her dad would eat all of it.
But she’d never get that far. She’d wake up in the morning tucked into her bed, and be convinced that Roy really did have some sort of superpower.