#that's batfam and especially batgrandad certified (tm)

[squiddybeifong]

The Hunt

Wayne Manor was a fucking madhouse.

It usually was, of course. But especially today.  

Raven crouched down behind a pair of topiaries, blinking incredulously as she watched Tim jump out of the fountain to side-tackle Jason in an attempt to knock the basket out of his hand. A few choice words escaped the man as he lost his balance, sending chocolate pieces and pastel shells flying. Dick scampered out of hiding, propelling down and cackling like a maniac as he hid the free eggs in his shirt.

The acrobat sprinted off again, blowing a kiss to Babs as he just barely dodged a trap, only losing one egg in his flip. One of Damian’s shurikens stole a square of chocolate, followed by a chorus of “No weapons!” from the rest of the (still expertly hidden) family.

The mystic clutched her basket tight to her chest, jumping as Steph silently snuck up next to her. The blonde was practically vibrating in excitement, “Heya, Babe.”

She pecked the empath’s cheek and sat down next to her, quickly counting all the brightly dyed eggs that were stacked in her basket. She raised a brow as her girlfriend bemoaned, “What chaos did you bring me to?”

Steph couldn’t hide her laugh but she tried to muffle it, lest one of the Bats figure out their spot. Shaking her head, she raised a candy egg as if it were obvious (which it was), shifting the real dyed ones into her lap, “Easter egg hunt.”

Raven let out a sigh and let her head fall back. She bit back a smile as she felt the spike of Steph’s emotions as the blonde watched her swallow the air in her throat. Amethyst eyes flicked to the Manor, “Batfam style?”

“Yep!” The blonde popped her ‘P’ and leaned back, taking a bite of the chocolate egg. She tilted her head when Raven bit the inside of her cheek and handed her one of the foil-wrapped candies that were intermingled with her eggs.

“I didn’t even think you guys celebrated Easter.”

“Eh, we’re sorta hodgepodge when it comes to the holidays. But egg hunts mean prizes and cheap chocolate is the beeeest so,” Steph giggled, resting her head on the ex-Titan’s shoulder. She raised her hand, unwrapping one of the big chocolate rabbits. Its eyes weren’t properly molded and the scent of chocolate filled the air between them, “You want any?”

Raven sniffed the candy but shook her head. She poked her girlfriend’s hand away and pressed a peck to her temple, “I’m honored, but no.”

Steph snickered and Raven shifted closer, a soft “Shut up” escaping as she rested her chin on top of blonde strands. Her Bat raised her head and Raven’s nose scrunched up a half second before Duke and Tim practically pounced on each other, scrambling for a half-buried nest balanced in a statue’s frozen arms.

A particularly dangerous looking flip make the demoness hum. She wondered if she’d need to heal anyone before the night was over and asked, “Do you guys really do this every year?”

“Yep! Alfred hides all the eggs and whoever ends up with the most gets his prize of the year.”

She paused and peeked past the hedge, silently looking for all of her kinda-siblings’ hiding spots. A snort escaped her at the sight of Bruce, who had elected to stuff himself with candy on the balcony as he watched the anarchy that was his children competing against themselves. Alfred rung out a bell, calling out “Ten minutes left!!”

Navy eyes narrowed as she realized who was missing. Steph licked her lips, her grip tightening on her basket as she revealed, “Cass is the reigning champ, obviously. I haven’t seen her yet.”

A sound escaped her girlfriend and she turned, watching as Raven’s brows furrowed as she finally thought about where the dancer was. “I… I can’t even feel her aura.” Rubbing at her temples, the healer let out an exasperated sigh as an explosion rocked the grounds, filling the air with bright confetti and more curses as someone lost a few eggs, “What is going on?”

They both pointedly ignored Damian’s screech of “Get back here, Gordon!” and the sound of Babs’ giddy laughter, accompanied by the skip of her wheels on the brickway.  

Snickering as she watched them go (and happily noting that her stash alone was larger than the others), Steph kissed the mystic’s shoulder. “Pfft, you’re basically a Bat now, Rae,” Steph’s smile was bright as she winked at her girlfriend, grabbing her hand and savoring the flush that curled up the empath’s pale cheeks. “I figured you already knew that chaos is a normal thing around here.”

A hum escaped the Azarathian and she couldn’t help but ask, “Are kisses normal too?”

“Asking to make out in the middle of the egg hunt? Oh, how scandalous,” Steph purred out, her lopsided smile and future teases quickly covered by her love’s lips. Raven let go of her basket to pull the Bat closer, a soft groan escaping as Steph’s hands slid down to tug at her jean’s belt loops. Chuckling as their movements made the leaves rustle behind them, the demoness softly pulled away.

She licked her lips, softly tracing a scar that followed the curve of Steph’s jaw, “You taste like cheap chocolate.”

The blonde pecked her once, twice, her teeth softly sinking into Raven’s lower lip, “Tastes good, right?”

Raven chuckled and leaned in for another kiss, letting out a breathless squawk as a shadow flew over them and Cass appeared out of nowhere, snatching her basket and handspringing away in less than a second.

Violet eyes wide, Raven could only gape at her, her fingers going slack as they rested in blonde hair. Steph’s reaction was less calm, an indignant “CASS!!!” roaring out of her as she jumped to her feet.

She pushed her basket into the mage’s hands and took off after the now-cackling Bat, shouting out over her shoulder, “We’re winning this one, Babe! I promise!”

Raven blinked as she turned her gaze away from her lover’s retreating back, noting how all of the other Bats were now staring at her spot against the topiaries. Their curiosity and competitiveness hit her empathy all at once and Raven ran a tongue over her teeth at the stares directed at her.

Well not at her, but at the very full basket of eggs in her arms. Dick poked his head out from a bush and singsonged out a “No powers, Rae!” the same time Damian and Tim suddenly appeared at the ends of the hedges.

“Clever bats…” She grumbled, pulling her arms around the basket as she prepared to fight them off. The two robins shifted as Alfred’s bell rang out again, “Five minutes left!!”

Just great.