Hello, everybody, and welcome to my fanfiction! There are several things I want to address, so if you want to skip to the voting on ships for this fic, then skip down to the ***

Okie dokie! So, I've addressed this before, but I'm going to do it once more... This is an AU, which means ALTERNATE UNIVERSE. I do appreciate that a few people are trying to get me to fact-check, but please understand that I DO fact-check. Very often, in fact. Vary rarely is anything put into my writing that I didn't INTEND to be there. Yes, I understand that the age difference between Dick and Wally is not the same as in the show- there is a purpose for this. Yes, I understand Damian is not Nightwing and Tim has never been Spoiler- there is a purpose for this. I'm not trying to be rude, I am just trying to clear things up so there won't be any more concerns about 'canon'. I don't claim to be an expert, but I know quite a bit about Batman, Nightwing, Robin, Young Justice, the Teen Titans... etc. So I appreciate it, but it is not currently needed. If I have any specific questions that I cannot find the answer to, I will ask in an A/N. Thank you! :)

*** Now that's over... Pairings! Alright, the way I'm doing this is that I am tallying off pairings that people want. You can choose from the pairings I suggested, or come up with a pairing of your own. HOWEVER, I will NOT put a pairing on the voting list UNLESS two or more (2+) people have suggested/voted for it. ((ALSO, I am NOT currently taking pairing votes for Dickie... That will be an entirely DIFFERENT voting round. For now, assume any 'pairings' with Dick are harmless puppy love.))

Here are the current votes!

Tim/Kon(Connor): (7)

Megan/Kon(Connor): (4)

Jason/Artemis: (4)

Bruce/Selina: (4)

Wally/Artemis: (3)

Bruce/Wonder Woman: (2)

Bruce/Talia: (2)

Jason/none: (2)

Damian/Colin: (2)

Terry/Maxine: (2)

***** Cassandra Cain will be asexual in this fic, other headcanons and/or prompts are not applicable to her

So remember to vote!

*** THE POLL ON MY BLOG HAS NO EFFECT WHO DICK WILL BE PAIRED WITH IN THIS STORY. IT IS MERELY FOR ENTERTAINMENT.

Okay! FINALLY (I apologize for the length of this A/N but if you've read to here you obviously won't have a problem reading one more paragraph :]) About the pairing with Dick... I recently posted a Kaldur/Dick AU ficlet, and a few people have been asking me if that will be a pairing in this fic... As of right now, NO, it will not be. I will NOT be accepting prompts for pairings for Dick, I will ONLY be giving options to vote for. This is for the sole fact that if a writer is forced to write a pairing they do not care for/dislike, they will not write it WELL... ((and ANOTHER THING to the people who think I'm making the Batfamily too 'gay'... a) it's FANfiction, b) I love to screw up our heteronormative society, and c) …... do you REALLY think that the Batboys are straight... like... seriously?

I don't own DC comics D':

...

WARNINGS: slight language, this chapter WASN'T edited (like at all), maybe allusions to child abuse?

"What'cha doooin?"

Alfred cocked an eyebrow as he looked down at the Manor's resident acrobat. Little Dick Grayson was dressed in red footie pajamas, his smile missing both upper teeth. His toes grappled for purchase atop the baseboards as he pulled himself up to look over the counter. Alfred was kneading dough, his forearms covered in flour and sugar.

"It is 'what are you doing', Master Dick. I say, you are spending too much time with Master Jason... It does nothing for you English..."

"What-are-you-doing?" Dick enunciated sarcastically, and Alfred sighed heavily. He is learning sass from his brothers as well, I see...

"I am making crust for pumpkin pie. It is Master Timothy's holiday favorite."

"Oh."

Dick watched enraptured as Alfred rolled out the dough and then gently placed it in the pie tin, folding out the grooves and creases before cutting off the excess. He began to fill the crust with a sweet orange substance afterward, using a spatula to smooth it out, topping it off with whipped cream. A little noise brought the butler's attention to where Dick was trying to keep from drooling as his eyes stared after the whipped cream-coated spatula in the butler's hand. With an impassive face, the butler handed the child said spatula, putting a finger to his lips in a 'hush, hush' motion. Giggling madly, Dick nodded and began to lap at the spatula like a puppy. Alfred smiled gently at the boy and shook his head, remembering a time not long ago where Bruce had done something frighteningly similar.

After a few minutes passed, Dick chirped, "What're we doing for Thanksgiving?"

Alfred sighed at the boy's grammar, but answered the question despite such. "It is tradition in the Wayne family household that on Thanksgiving day the family gathers to eat and enjoy in festivities."

"Fes-tiv-it-ees?"

Mostly cantankerous drinking at late-night galas, but Alfred wouldn't say as much. Besides, Bruce hardly drank anything anymore due to his constant need to be vigilant around a brood of mischievous children. "A phrase, Master Dick, for talking and making merry. Thanksgiving is also the day that Master Bruce and Master Terrence go out to pick the Christmas tree from the grounds. Most recently in Master Terrence's absence, Master Damian will go out with your father to fetch the tree... Although he is much less exuberant about it..."

Dick nodded and handed the clean spoon over to Alfred, chirping, "All done!"

"And what do we say, Master Dick?"

"Thank you!"

Alfred set the spoon in the sink for later and turned back to his mess to clean the cabinet and set the pie in the fridge.

"Is Ter comin' home for Thanksgiving?"

Alfred nodded as he wiped his hands on his apron. "Yes. He should be here any minute now. And he is bringing a guest for us all to meet, I am to understand."

"Oh..."

Alfred looked up upon hearing the boy's reluctance, noting the way Dick's feet had stopped kicking. The boy was still shy around newcomers, despite being so happy-go-lucky for the rest of his family. The poor child had grown an abandonment complex ever since his family's deaths, and somehow that equated to foreign people taking away his new family. Dr. Tompkins was able to explain it in a way that made much more sense.

Alfred was about to speak up to placate the boy's fears, but the sound of the door chime going off interrupted him. "Well. That ought to be them now. Would you like to- Master Dick?"

The acrobat had scampered off somewhere, leaving Alfred alone in the kitchen. "Well, that answers that."

…

"I'm excited to meet your family, Batboy."

"Dude-"

"Oh, shut it, we're in your car. No one can hear us... How's the new kid, by the way? Dickie, you called him?"

"Dick. And he's pretty good, I guess... It's been a couple weeks since I've seen them last. I left a little while before Halloween."

"You ever tell the old man you dropped outta Uni?"

"Uh- I'm still alive, aren't I?"

"Uch. You are insufferable, McGinnis."

"Oh, shut it.!"

"... Do you think they'll like me?"

"Ha! Scared of a couple of little boys, are ya?"

"Um, excuse you- one of them's a trained assassin, one hacked into the Pentagon when he was ten you told me, and the other you call- and I quote- 'the street-rat equivalent to Jackie Chan'."

"Eh. They're not so bad."

"..."

"Really, Max, they'll love you. Alfred, especially. He's always asking me about bringing a girl home."

"Har-har-har. Very funny, McGinnis."

"What?"

…

Alfred opened the door with a bow, a smile fixed upon his face when he saw Terry at the door with armfuls of boxes. "I was under the impression you were only staying the weekend, Master Terrence."

"Presents!" Terry cheered.

Alfred sighed. "I swear, you spoil those boys more than Mister Kent and Master Bruce combined..."

The butler took two smaller boxes from Terry, setting them down in the foyer. "And your guest, Mister Max-"

"Ah! I think there was a mix-up, Alfie, Max is a-"

"Ter?"

Alfred and Terry turned to the doorway where a smiling young woman stood. She was African-American, her hair neon pink and spiked up, a septum piercing on her nose and a tattoo visible on her lower stomach. "Hello," she greeted Alfred formally, blushing at the butler's brief surprise.

"Hello, Miss Max," Alfred recovered instantaneously, inclining ever so slightly as he shook her hand. A charming smile lit his features up as he offered the young woman his elbow. "I am Alfred Pennyworth, the household butler. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. It is also quite refreshing to see the young Master finally bring a lovely young lady to our dreary estate-"

"Alllllfred-"

Max giggled and punched Terry's arm, shaking her head to Alfred. "Nope. Sorry, Mr. Pennyworth, Terry wouldn't be so lucky."

"Ah. Alas, it is still wonderful to meet you, my dear. And please, call me Alfred."

"IS TERRY HOME?"

Alfred winced at the sound of Jason's voice booming through the Manor. "I daresay, child," he chastised as Jason slid down the bannister and body rolled over to his eldest brother, "the good Lord did not give us stairs for you to slide down the bannister like a monkey. Nor did He give us inside voices for you to be shouting like a chimpanzee."

"Oo-oo, Aa-aa!" Jason shouted and made monkey arm motions in mockery.

"Jason," came the deep, warning voice of none other than Bruce Wayne. The billionaire stepped forward in business casual wear, somehow managing to scowl at Jason and smile at Max at the same time. "Miss Max, I'd assume? It's lovely to meet you."

Max chuckled. "What's with all this 'Miss' going around? You gentlemen'll spoil a girl. Just call me Max."

"Max, then. I see you've met Alfred and Jason?"

"Not quite..."

"Tt. I see the prodigal son has returned."

"Damian-"

"Terry!" Tim cheered as he slid towards his brother in fuzzy socks, giving the older boy a fist-bump in greeting.

"Hey, kid! How's that robot coming?"

Tim shrugged. "Eh. It's coming. I'm theorizing with Lucius about nano-droids, but he says the tech is beyond our years."

"Nano-droids?" Max piped up, eyes twinkling. "Not like the PT-2002?"

Tim froze, neck twisting around to look at the newcomer in his house. "Uh... yeah... who are you?"

"Max Gibson," Terry introduced his friend, "Double major in Nanotech and Robotics, full ride to the San Fransokyo School of Technology."

"I take mostly online lessons, but do my labwork on campus," she explained to Bruce and Alfred. "It helps me keep this one in line during his extracurriculars."

"Hey!"

Bruce suddenly looked disgruntled and stern. "Terrence didn't tell me you were privvy to his... extracurricular activities."

"She's clean, Dad," Terry piped up, coming to stand behind Max. "Trust me. And before you ask, I didn't tell her... She kinda figured it out." At Bruce's disapproving stare, Terry squeaked, "She's a certified genius, Bruce! We're talking Mensa-level sh-"

"Master Terrence, unless you end that sentence with something other than what I know you are aiming to say, there will be no pie for you."

"-iiiiitake mushrooms!"

Alfred sighed, while Max and Bruce rolled their eyes.

"Enough of that, what'd you bring us?" Jason chirped up, punching Terry's shoulder as he hopped up and down.

"Where's Dick?" Terry hadn't expected Dick to rush to the door since he had a guest coming over, but he had hoped the boy would at least poke his head in to check things out.

"He was in the kitchen last I checked," Bruce said, looking to Alfred.

The butler shook his head. "The lad scampered after the doorbell rang."

Max frowned. "I hope I didn't scare him off... Terry tells me he's not one for newcomers..."

"He's just shy," Bruce said as he turned back towards the kitchen. "I'll go look for him."

"I'll help!" Terry piped up. "Dami, Timmy, Jase, don't open the presents until we find the runt, alright?"

"D'aww..."

"Master Jason-"

"Alright, alright!"

Terry and Bruce split up, the latter going through the two upper floors where the bedrooms, family parlor, entertainment room, and smaller gym- designed specifically for Jason's and Dick's needs- were located. Terry covered the ground floor, cruising through the kitchen and going on towards the large gymnasium, glancing into the formal and informal ballrooms, and finally coming to stop by the library. It took a bit of searching, but Terry finally found Dick nestled up in an alcove with an oversized quilt and his beloved toys- Zitka, the elephant, his Batman doll, and a little plastic bird that fit in the palm of his tiny hand.

Terry groaned with the effort it took to hunker down in the small alcove- which was really just a floor level shelf that had been cleared out of its books- and peered into his littlest brother's eyes. "Hey, pipsqueak. Ya miss me?"

Dick's answer was muffled as he burrowed his face in Terry's chest, arms wrapped in a tight hug around the young man's neck. "Ooph! I'll take that as a 'yes'... Gyah- loosen up a little bit, kiddo- you'll choke me to death!"

Dick jumped back with a frightened expression, and Terry ruffled his hair. "Don't worry pipsqueak, it's just an expression... So whatcha doin' down here? Don't you wanna meet my friend?"

Dick looked down at his covered feet, playing with the little pom-poms on his toes. "Mmngphgl..."

"What?"

"Mmnmhmmnllgn."

"Uh... You're gonna have to speak up, Dickie."

"No!" Dick exclaimed suddenly, taking Terry aback. "You-You'll just stay a few days an' then run off wi'd your friend again an- an' you'll leave us again!"

Terry crooned as the little boy began to cry, pulling Dick out from under the shelf and cradling the little boy to his chest. "C'mon now, kiddo... Ssh, ssh, I'm right here, right here, kiddo..."

It took a few minutes for Dick to calm down. When he did- albeit still sniffling and rubbing at red eyes- Terry tilted his chin up. "C'mon, kiddo, you know I'd never leave you forever- not on purpose, anyways. Yeah, I travel a lot, but I always come back, don't I?"

Dick pouted but nodded in agreement all the same.

"There, see?" Terry nuzzled his nose against Dick's, making the little boy squeak and giggle. "I'll always come back, baby bro."

"Promise?"

Terry couldn't promise. He was a hero- it what he did; it was who he was. And the truth was that he would likely die a hero- and that day could come at any passing moment. His chances were actually higher than the quote-un-quote 'normal' hero's, seeing as how he was hardly an adult and also a solo hero... But Dick was giving him those big, blue, Bambi-like eyes, and they were slowly filling with tears again-

"I promise that I'll do my best, Dickie..."

The child seemed satisfied enough by this answer and lifted his arms to be picked up. Terry obliged him, carrying Dick all the way back to the kitchen where the entire family had convened. Bruce came down the stairs shortly, his worried face quickly turning to one of relief as he saw his littlest boy in Terry's arms. The man exchanged a knowing look with his oldest before escorting the two to the dining table.

"Now that we're all present," Bruce spoke with a distinctly Wayne grin, "let's eat."

…

Dick ended up eating mostly mashed potatoes with a bit of turkey on the side, smearing his plate with gravy and getting chastised by Alfred for it. The whole time, he was glued to Terry's side as he sent worried looks over to Max, who sat on Terry's opposite side. The first couple of times she had caught the little boy staring, Max smiled and waved at him. This always ended up with Dick gasping at being caught and burrowing his face in Terry's sleeve, getting food on the young man's jacket.

Finally, after a dessert of apple crisp, devil's food, and pudding pie, Alfred chauffeured the boys into the family den, where a less extravagant Christmas tree had been arranged. Max approached the tree with a sense of awe, looking over the ornaments with a contented smile. This tree was obviously exclusive to the Wayne family, and she admittedly felt a sense of honor at being allowed to look at it. A good portion of the ornaments were made of construction paper and glitter glue, while another quarter of them held pictures of each of the boys currently relaxing in the den. There were a few that weren't obvious in meaning to her, but she knew must have had stories along with them- a pair of snowshoes, Santa's hat with an arrow through it, a little mouse eating a slice of apple pie... the assortment of them was varied far and wide. The den itself was decorated to match the Wayne children as well, it seemed. An easel was shoved haphazardly behind the couch, a dreidel abandoned under the tree. A pocket knife was here, a lonely sock was there. Max could illusion herself that this was her own house, if not for the staggering amount of gifts already under the tree.

"Alfred likes to shop early," Terry whispered in her ear as he led her to sit on the couch. "Alright! Line up!"

Jason and Dick scrambled to stand in front of their biggest brother, Tim not far behind as he dragged the grumbling and grumpy Damian behind him. "These are from Max," Terry said, "You're not getting mine until the 25th, ya hear?"

Damian rolled his eyes. "Quit speaking like an imbecile-"

"WE HEAR!" Dick and Jason cut off their older brother, making Damian scowl.

"Ah, well, I guess we'll start with the oldest...?" Max trailed off, digging around the presents she had brought before handing over a green-wrapped package. "I heard you like art, so..."

It was a set of drawing pencils, not the fancy kind Damian was used to, but still nice. The teenager nodded his thanks, whipping a sketchbook out of nowhere as he slumped into the couch cushions to entertain himself.

Max took that as a 'thank-you' and handed Tim his gift. As the boy shredded the gold paper, his face lit up. "Yes! It's a Beebox 2000! Thanks, Max!" Tim hugged the girl, catching her off guard. She eagerly returned the affection after her brain caught up with her, though. Jason opened his own red-wrapped gift to find a Nerf bow-and-arrow (Terry had warned Max against buying anything resembling a gun for the boy, should she "deign to feel the wrath of the goddamn Batman").

Upon reaching Dick's gift, Max crouched down to look the six-year-old in the eye. "I've got a present for you, Dick. I hope you like it."

Hesitantly, the boy approached and took the blue box. Terry grinned- a few months ago, Dick would have been scared out of his wits of the woman and run off as soon as she lifted the box. Sure, he had run off earlier, but the fact that he was even in the same room as her was amazing. There was a little social butterfly burrowed beneath the boy's protective coating, Terry just knew it.

"Thank you," Dick nodded his head and plopped down on the floor to open his gift. Jason scooted on the floor over to 'help' with the wrapping paper, and Tim loomed over both boys' shoulders.

"It's a book!" Dick cheered happily, grinning at the cover. His little eyes went wide upon seeing the cover, and he gaped at Max with disbelief.

"What's wrong with it?" Jason exclaimed, twisting his head and squinting to try to read the cover.

"It's in Arabic," Max explained. "I figured you didn't have many picture books not in English, and I couldn't find any in Romani..."

Dick paused for a moment before turning to look at Max. His brothers had quieted down and were all watching to see what the boy would do.

After blinking once- twice- Dick launched into Max's arms and began repeating "thank you, thank you, thank you," in multiple tongues.

Max giggled and hugged the boy back, patting his hair and replying to the questions that spouted out between the 'thank you's ("I can't read Arabic, but I'll listen if you want to read it to me"; "I'm sure Damian or Bruce could read it to you, yes"; and "Um... cards? Sure, I can help you with those...").

Terry stood and brushed off his pants, looking over to where Bruce and Alfred stood in the doorway. He slunk away from where his younger brothers were beginning to get noisy, with the unfortunate Max in the middle, to speak to the two.

"So...?"

Bruce cocked an eyebrow. "So what?"

Alfred spoke up, "I believe she is a lovely young lady, Master Terrence... And I also believe you ought to ask her out before someone else does."

Terry's face burned bright red. "Alllllfred-"

"I'd like to see her in action," Bruce interrupted, "down in the Cave."

Terry's eyes bugged out of his head. "Wait- you want to show her the Cave?"

Bruce chuckled at his son's expression and ruffled the young man's bangs. "Maybe I'm feeling generous for the holiday season."

"Batman? Generous? Alfred- call the League. He's been brainwashed!"

"Very well, Master Terrence. I believe you ought to help your friend over there while I go phone Master Kent- it seems Master Jason is about to launch a sneak attack on Master Damian, and Miss Max is in the line of fire."

"Oh, sh-"

"Eh-hem."

"-itakii mushrooms."

Bruce chuckled as Terry bounded forward to protect Max from what quickly became a wrapping paper-slash-pillow fight. Bows and ribbons flew through the air, and Alfred was quick to remove what little breakables that where still in the room. "My word," Alfred chuckled as Max tackled Tim in revenge for a particularly nasty blow to the cheek, "I do say she will fit right in... Master Bruce?"

Bruce nodded slowly. "She's alright."

"Ha. Coming from the Batman, that means she will have her own codename and serial numbers before the holidays are over."

...

I know the ending is crappy. I'm so sorry! I'm going RIGHT NOW to write another chapter as a thank-you for your guys' patience with me! I just started a new job which is why I'm so behind... (Not to mention finals week :P)

Thank you guys for reading, and don't forget to vote for the pairings and give me your own prompts!