A low, rectangular wooden box emerged as Bruce peeled the paper back. Thick shellac protected the intricate pattern of colors arranged on the box's top and sides. It also reflected the light, making the box seem to glow from within. Dick gave an appreciative 'ooh'. Even Bruce appeared entranced as his fingertips skated over the sleek surface. "I don't know why this would make me mad," he remarked. "It's beautiful."

Alfred wanted to beam at that assessment. He had spent hours scouring workshops across the city in his quest to build the most attractive backgammon set possible. The skillful woodwork of the box's exterior continued inside, where alternating peaks of blond and honey stood out against an ebony backdrop. In the counter bins built into one end of the board were discs of bright blue lapis lazuli and forest green jade. The pair of dice nestled alongside them had been carved from white marble. Alfred knew all of this, but he felt no pride at his achievement. Not yet; not when he hadn't seen Bruce's reaction to the full contents of his gift.

"Open it?" Dick requested. "Please? Inside…inside's the part you might be mad about."

Bruce lifted the lid, then froze. Alfred could tell that the craftsmanship of the game was what had first struck his charge, and for a moment he felt relief. Then Bruce's brow knit. "This is backgammon," he said flatly. His stare rose to meet Alfred's. "We talked about this."

"We talked about it some fifteen years ago, sir," Alfred replied tetchily. While he wasn't surprised by the reaction that was unfolding, he was disappointed, and he couldn't hide it. "I thought perhaps the mood had passed by now."

"Alfred-"

"It's my fault," Dick murmured. Both Alfred and Bruce turned to face him, drawn by the sadness in his tone. "It's my fault, Bruce," the boy repeated in a stronger voice. "Don't be mad at Alfred. I was the one who gave him the idea." Behind Dick's confession came the whole story – his memories of playing backgammon with his father, his desire to do so with Bruce, the way he'd gone through every game in the house in his attempt to make it happen. By the end there were tears standing in his eyes. "I didn't want to make you mad, honest. When Alfred told me you didn't like it I tried to pick some other games we could play." He gestured to the pile of boxes in the corner. "See? We don't have to play backgammon. I know you don't like it. It's…it's okay. "

"As gallant as Master Dick is being in trying to take the blame, he had no idea that I would take his idea and run away with it," Alfred put in. "As you saw, Master Wayne, he wasn't expecting this gift any more than you were. If you're going to be upset with anyone, let it be me."

"No!" Dick protested. He latched onto Bruce's arm with both hands. "You can't be mad at Alfred on Father's Day. That'd be like me being mad at you today. It wouldn't be right."

Bruce started as if the boy was carrying an electric current. He shot Alfred a guilty glance, then quickly returned his attention to Dick. "Kiddo-"

"It's not right, Bruce!"

"I'm not mad, chum! I'm not…I'm not mad. Okay?" The billionaire closed the box that had started all of the trouble and lifted his free hand to dry his son's cheeks. "Stop crying. It's okay."

"But you were mad a minute ago," Dick sniffled.

"Well…yes, I was. But I'm not now. So calm down." Bruce pulled the child into his lap. "I'm not mad now that I know it's something you used to do with your dad."

"It is, but we don't have to-"

"Hush. I know we don't have to. But we're going to, and for a couple of reasons. First, because it's important to you. That makes it important to me, too, regardless of how I feel about it otherwise. Second, because I don't think Alfred just walked into a store and bought this. I think he had to put some time into it and buy each part of the game from a different place. Am I right about that, Alfred?"

"You are, sir." The box had been the easy part. Having the counters and dice made to replace the plain ones that had come with the board had been far more challenging.

"Then this is the complete opposite of the off-the-shelf version that I told him to throw out years ago. Plus…" Bruce considered the box for a second, and sighed as if he was about to give in to something he didn't want to. "It really is beautiful. It would be a crime to get rid of it without using it once or twice."

Dick peeked up at Bruce. "You want to play? Honest?"

"I'm honestly willing to play. Is that good enough for you?"

"Yeah." A tiny smile started across the boy's lips. "Could we play now? Please?"

The billionaire looked pained, but he nodded. "Sure. Let's play now."

Alfred knew better than to start celebrating just yet. For all that Dick had turned the tide of Bruce's anger, there was still every chance for a blow-up if luck came into play. Wishing not for the first time that he could see the future, Alfred perched on the edge of a chair and prepared to watch the game unfold.

Dick had moved to the floor opposite Bruce. "Do you remember the rules?" he asked when the gleaming pieces were all in place.

"Don't worry," Bruce answered, his nostrils flaring as he regarded the board. "I remember everything about backgammon. You start."

After the first few turns Alfred began to relax. Dick was a good player, but Bruce had years of strategic experience on him. As counters began stacking up in their respective bins, Bruce's shoulders loosened. His forehead smoothed, and his lips unpursed themselves. "This isn't as unpleasant as I remember," he said when Dick asked how he was enjoying their game. "Your move, kiddo."

Eventually it was clear that Bruce would win during the next round. He had but two checkers left to bear off, and both sat in the lane nearest to his home box. No matter what he rolled on his next turn, the last of his pieces would be removed. Dick, on the other hand, still had four pieces in play. While they were all eligible to be cleared from the board, they were spread out; one sat a single spot from the box, two sat three spots from safety, and the fourth was all the way out on six. "You're going to win," the boy said.

"Are you giving up?" Bruce asked.

"No. I'm just saying." Dick picked up the dice for his final turn. "Let's see what I can get, anyway."

Alfred's stomach dropped as the marble cubes came to rest. Twelve onyx dots pointed towards the ceiling – double sixes. Doubles meant Dick had up to four moves to make, and the fact that he'd rolled double sixes meant that it was now possible for him to empty his side of the board. He had, in short, won, and by a sheer stroke of luck at that. "Oh, dear..."

Dick had gone pale. Slowly, he raised his gaze to Bruce. "I...I'm sorry..."

Bruce was staring at the dice, his eyes wide with disbelief. Alfred pinched his fingers tightly between his knees, preparing for a storm that he expected would rival the one still roaring outside. Several seconds passed. "Sir?" Alfred ventured, breaking the awkward silence. "I'm sure-"

He stopped speaking as a sound escaped the billionaire. The noise went on longer than any word in the English language, but Alfred recognized it nonetheless. "Is...is he laughing?" Dick asked hesitantly.

"...Yes, Master Dick. I believe he is." Or rather, Alfred didn't believe it. Shock and ire were what he'd been anticipating Bruce's reaction would be composed of; laughter was consequently astounding. He wasn't complaining by any means, but this was so unusual that he had to press for answers. "Master Wayne, are you...are you all right, sir?"

Bruce wiped his streaming eyes. "I'm fine, Alfred," he chuckled.

"Are you sure?" Dick inquired in a worried tone. "I mean, I'd rather you laughed than got mad, but...you lost."

"Yes. I did. That game was mine, and I lost it for the stupidest reason in the world – luck. Pure, unadulterated luck." A smile stayed on his face as he shook his head. "I hate that shit. Sorry, Alfred."

Alfred waved the apology away. A single swear word was a gift compared to what he had been bracing for. "As much as I agree with Master Dick," he ventured, "aren't you upset? This is exactly what happened the last time you played."

"It is. And I can't tell you how ridiculous it is that I lost to chance two times running, fifteen years apart. The odds of that are astronomical. But as little as I like it, luck is a part of life. I suppose I understand that better now than I did when I was younger. More importantly," Bruce turned his smile on Dick, "if there's anyone in the world that I don't mind having better luck than me, it's you, chum. I guess it isn't realistic to want you to have good fortune in every aspect of your life other than backgammon, so...I can live with you beating me."

Dick beamed. "You can laugh at it, too. That's impressive."

"Impressive indeed," Alfred concurred. Pride filled him as Bruce leaned back and watched Dick move his last pieces off the board. Despite everything, his boy really had grown up well. He couldn't have been more pleased with his progress if they'd shared the same blood.

"Do you want to play again?" Dick asked, already setting up the counters for a new game.

"Let's...let's take a break, chum. We'll play again later. We will," Bruce insisted when the child gave him a skeptical look. "I promise. Now come up here on the couch with me, and we'll watch a movie."

"Okay!" Dick scrambled into place beside Bruce and curled up under his arm. "Alfred? Could we have popcorn? Pretty please?"

Alfred smiled. "You are getting ready for a growth spurt, Master Dick," he said as he stood up. "Of course you may have popcorn. I'll go and make it for you."

He hadn't gotten far down the hall when Bruce's voice stopped him. "Alfred."

"Yes, Master Wayne? Did you want drinks as well as popcorn, or...?"

"No. That is, yes, drinks would be nice, but that's not what I came out here for." Bruce glanced back into the den, where Dick could be heard flipping through movie selections. Shutting the door, he took a few steps closer. "I just wanted to say...well...it's a beautiful set, Alfred. And I wouldn't blame you for not believing this, but...I could live with you beating me occasionally, too."

Alfred realized suddenly that he'd been wrong when he'd thought that he couldn't be any prouder of the man standing before him. "Considering all the good fortune I've already had in my life, sir, I'm bound to be soundly defeated if I sit down at a backgammon board again. But that doesn't mean I'm not willing to try sometime."

"Good. Good. Happy...happy Father's Day, Alfred." A faint pink flush appeared in Bruce's cheeks. "You've, ah...you've earned it far more than I have."

Alfred had to clear his throat before he could speak. "That's hardly the case, Bruce, but I appreciate the sentiment." Reaching out, he squeezed his charge's shoulder for the briefest of moments. "I'll be in shortly with your snack, hmm?"

Bruce swallowed hard. "Thank you," he whispered. And with that he vanished back into the den.

Eyes hot, Alfred turned back to his own business. It was strange, he thought, how many unexpected things had come up in the last week. They had all ended well, but their outcomes could have been much worse. Dick might have hurt himself scaling the closet shelves; the backgammon set might have proven impossible to pull together at the last minute; Bruce might have gone through with his fit at seeing the game back in his house, or pitched a new one upon losing at it. None of those ends would have surprised him.

But none of them had come to pass. Perhaps, Alfred smiled, he still had a bit of luck to spare after all. And if he did have a little left, there could be no more pleasurable way to spend it than by trying to make Bruce repeat the wild, wonderful laugh he'd given a few minutes earlier. After dinner would be a fine time for such an attempt. Until then, he was content to just enjoy the most marvelous Father's Day of his life.

Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed this bit of Father's Day fluff. If you did, I hope you'll be so kind as to check out some of my original fiction on my website, www dot jleehazlett dot com. I'll be posting a fun sci-fi piece there in the next week or so, along with a new piece of travel writing.

Until next time, happy reading!