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[video transcript: the video shows a lange sitting room with a large L-shaped couch. In front of the couch is a large flat-screen TV playing Frozen II. Into The Unknown is playing from unseen speakers on quite a loud volume. On the couch lays a pile of teenagers and blankets. One of then, a tall, muscular man with black hair and a white stripe on front, is laughing at the two men standing between the couch and TV. They are both tall, the other one with dark hair and tan skin, other with red hair and light skin. They are singing Into The Unknown in a volume louder than the movie. Both men have surprisingly good singing voices.]
It's a quiet friday evening when Jason gets the text from Dick.
Dickhead: heyyyyy r u doing anything tmrrw??
Jason looks at the text with apprehension. It's not like Dick doesn't text him almost every other day, but the tone of his text sends alarm bells ringing in Jasons ears.
And lo and behold, Dick sends another text and Jason's apprehension is immediately proven correct.
Dickhead: were having a movie night at the manor
Dickhead: wallys comuing too
Dickhead: u should bring roy
Just then he gets another text, and it's from Roy, not Dick.
Roy: hey Dick said theres a movie night at manor saturday
Roy: he also told me to drag you there kicking and screaming if nessecary
Jason sighs. There is no way he'll get out of it now. He sends Roy back a text.
Jay: i hate you
Jay: fine
Roy: love you too!
Roy's response puts a small smile on his face. At least he'll have Roy when the idiots he calls his siblings get too annoying.
In truth, he enjoys hanging out at the Manor. Alfred's kitchen was god-tier, and the library was unrivaled by any he's seen. Also, Jason would rather die than admit it, but Dick's casual affection makes him feel warm inside. It reminds him of the good times before his death. Reminds him that his family loves and accepts him even though all of them are atrocious at showing it most of the time.
Jason shoots a text to Dick, agreeing to come on the condition of Alfred's cookies, and tosses his phone on the kitchen counter. He's hungry, and he's been craving quesadillas the whole day.
The next day Jason's regretting all his life decisions when Red Robin strolls in mid-meeting with some of his goons.
"Hey Hood, N wants to know if you want caramel or triple chocolate chip cookies?" Tim asks, ignoring the five guns pointed at him.
Jason sighs audibly, and wants so badly to rub at his temples, but alas, helmet, so he settles to crossing his arms and sighing disapprovingly.
"You could have just sent me a text", Jason tells him. "Like a normal person." Tim just shrugs, unapologetic.
"This was more efficient. Agent A needs the answer in 10 minutes and you wouldn't have looked at your phone until after the meeting."
Jason sighs. His goons look confused. Tim continues to stare at him. Jason sighs again, defeated.
"Caramel", he finally answers. Tim grins brightly at him.
"Cool, I'll inform Agent A you said that!"
Then, he strolls out like he owns the place. Jason's goons continue to stare after him, still confused.
Roy shows up at his apartment slash safehouse at seven pm sharp. Jason had no idea he was coming until Roy was letting himself in through the front door with a key Jason does not remember giving him and complaining about the afternoon traffic. Jason sighs as Roy goes to his kitchen and gets two beers from the fridge, still complaining.
"Did'ya come by car or we taking the bikes?" Jason asks. Roy hands him a beer and takes a swig his own before answering.
"I got one of Ollies cars." He fishes a key ring with a car key on it and tosses it to Jason. "Your favorite one", Roy adds with a wink.
Jason catches the keys and grins when he recognizes which one it is.
When Jason and Roy walk into the Wayne Manor kitchen, they walk in the middle of a war. Tim and, surprisingly, Damian are clambering up the cabinets to get away from Dick, who's shouting at them in mock anger. Tim and Damian are laughing as they spot Jason and Roy at the doorway. Jason barely has time to notice Wally sitting at the dinner table before Tim launches himself from on top of the cabinets towards Jason with the agility of a Robin. Jason scrambles to catch him, and only after Tim is safely in his arms does he notice that Dick caught up to Damian and was now aggressively hugging him. Damian retaliates by kicking Dick in the knees and booking it. Damian hides behind Roy, looking at Dick warily.
"What is going on here?" Jason asks, bewildered. Tim huffs and Damian tsks. Dick grins widely. None of them answer Jason. Jason sighs and puts Tim back on the floor.
"Never mind then. Where's Alfie?" Jason shakes his head and turns to leave.
"He went to get B", Tim answers. "They should be coming in a few minutes."
Jason makes a vague noise in answer. Roy walks to Wally, greeting him with a fist bump. Jason listens to the start of their conversation with half his focus, the rest on Tim as the teen begins to talk to him about movie options.
"Damian wants to watch some horror movie, but B banned all horror movies after that incident last month, you remember it? Dick wants to watch Finding Nemo again, but we all vetoed it cus we literally watched it yesterday. Wally suggested Disney movies, and we all agreed but then we got into an argument about which Disney movie we should watch, and it escalated. That's why Dick was chasing us, by the way", Tim says, walking towards the sitting room with Jason. Jason snorts. Tim smiles up at him and continues, "Do you have any recommendations btw? I figured if we just put on a movie before the rest get there we'll get away with the least amount of fighting."
"Good thinking, Timbo. And Roy wanted to watch Frozen ll, so. I don't really care, as long as we dont watch Finding Nemo again", Jason says with a laugh. Tim huffs out a laugh.
They put on Frozen ll. Dick seems to think it an acceptable substitution to Finding Nemo, and draws Roy and Wally into a intense discussion about Frozen lore. Those three are weirdly into theories surrounding different Disney movies, and Jason ignores them in order to answer to a text from Kori.
He hears Tim getting sucked into the conversation, and he quickly gets into a heated argument with Roy about one thing or another, Jason isn't keeping track. Kory is telling him about a planet she's visiting.
Bruce and Alfred step in the room, getting absolutely no-ones attention. Bruce sits next to Damian and draws him into a conversation about - something. Jason's still not paying much attention to his surroundings.
He focuses back to the room when Tim falls into his lap with a whine.
"Jasooon agree with mee Roy is being an idiot!"
Sending a quick 'gtg, family movie night' to Kori, Jason pockets his phone and looks down at Tim.
"The fuck happened now?" Jason asks.
"Roy's opinions are wrong", Tim says, glaring at Roy. Roy snorts and wiggles himself to lean against Jason's side and pokes Tim in the ribs.
"Tim has very strong opinions on what actually happened to Elsa's and Anna's parents", Roy says mostly to Jason. Tim pouts but makes himself comfortable laying down across Jason's and Roy's laps. Jason starts to absentmindedly card his fingers through Tims hair.
"Cuddle pile!" Dick yells and throws himself on top Roy, who lets out a 'oof'. Wally laughs and lays himself across Dick, much gentler, thank you very much.
From the other side of the couch Bruce snorts at his children's antics. He stands up, picking up Damian, and settles on Jasons other side. Jason huffs but leans against Bruce's side. Tim pokes Damian's ribs until he lets Tim lay his head against his thigh. Then Tim immediately starts the discussion (argument) with Roy, Wally and Dick again. Jason chimes in occasionally with observations and insults to the four, but is otherwise sucked in to a conversation with Damian and Bruce about one of Damian's teachers being an asshole. Jason remembers the lady from his time at the Gotham academy. She was everyone's least favorite teacher even then.
Jason is animatedly telling an anecdote of his experiences with Mrs. Asshole, when the door opens once again and two German Shepherds run into the room. Titus beelines to Damian, while Ace finds the closest human willing to give pets, which ends up being Wally. After the dogs in walk Stephanie and Cassandra, followed by Alfred and Duke carrying Alfred the Cat. Human Alfred is carrying a tray with various snacks. Steph and Cass are carrying the drinks.
"Hey Alfie, how are you doing?" Jason asks the old butler. Alfred smiles at him, setting the snacks on the table in front of the sofa.
"I've been good, thank you for asking, master Jason", Alfred answers and ruffles his hair. Jason gently swats at his hand, but smiles none the less.
"Now, settle down, children", Alfred says to the room at large, "So we can begin the movie."
Immediately, everyone quiets. Cass squeezes herself between the end of the couch and Bruce. Steph lays on top Tims legs and Dick and Wally's laps. Duke sits down on the floor, leaning against Roy's legs. Ace lays down next to Duke, who starts to pet the dog.
"Titus, down", Damian orders the other dog.
When everyone is comfortably settled down, Alfred starts the movie and sits down on a armchair next to Bruce's end of the couch, Alfred the Cat jumping onto his lap.
Dick and Wally are standing between the couch and TV, table pushed to the side and both holding a bottle as a microphone. Jason, now squished under Roy, Tim and Steph, wishes he could get his hands free enough to get his phone out to record. He then catches Duke's eyes, across the room. Duke has his phone out, pointed at the duo singing 'Into the Unknown'. Duke winks at him. Jason grins back, a wide toothy grin. He poked Tim and Steph, subtly nodding towards Duke. Steph stifled a laugh and Tim snorted. Dick and Wally continue to pour their hearths out into their performance.
"Twenty bucks they sing every song", Jason whispers.
Roy snorts. "Fifteen they start another movie and sing through that one too."
"Twenty on them singing through four Disney movies", Bruce says in a low voice, leaning closer to Jason. "And another twenty on Dick stopping only because his voice gives out."
Jason, Tim and Steph let out identical snorts of laughter. Roy's face goes through multiple emotions in the span of a second.
"You bats are so in sync, it's creepy", he says. Bruce, Jason, Tim and Steph tilt their head in question in unison.
"Exactly what i mean", Roy gestures to them.
Before any of them can answer, Dick flops over all of them, one elbow catching Tim in the stomach and another hitting Steph's collarbone. Both let out a hiss of pain and dump Dick on the floor.
"Why weren't you listening to our amazing performance?" Dick whines from the floor. Wally snorts and flops down onto Dick, who 'oof's but cuddles closer to Wally. Bruce huffs out a laugh.
"We were, chum, we were just also taking bets on how many movies you two were going to sing."
Dick and Wally make an offended sound so identically indignant it makes everyone else laugh.
Somewhere during 'The Lion King' Jason starts to nod off, Dick and Wally singing 'I just can't wait to be King' in the backround. The weight of Tim and Steph on top of him, and Bruce and Roy on both sides of him are a comforting weight. They make him feel safe.
As Jason closes his eyes and leans more heavily against Bruce, as his awareness begins to slip further and furter away, Jason feels a soft kiss on his forehead and a whispered "Sleep well, Jaylad" in Bruces comforting low rumble. Jason lets his awareness drift away, his family's sounds a comforting backround noice.