Worlds Away

Tim was practically flying out of the classroom as the last bell rang, pulling Peter, Duke, and Stephanie along with an energy the three teens normally didn’t see in him. “What’s gotten you so excited?” Peter asked, climbing into the passenger seat of Tim’s car.

“It’s Christmas break, dude, why do you think he’s excited?” Duke teased, elbowing Peter lightly in the ribs. 

“It was pretty cool of them to let us out on a Thursday, huh?” Peter mused. 

Tim rolled his eyes, climbing into the driver’s seat of his car. “It’s not just that— Alfred will have put the trees up today,” Tim gushed as he clicked his seatbelt into place. He tore out of the school parking lot, managing to only go ten over the speed limit as he raced towards Wayne Manor. 

Tim parked in the driveway and pulled Peter along until they were bursting through the front door. “Come on, come on!”

There, standing in the foyer, was one of the biggest pine trees Peter had ever seen. Peter gawked at the massive coniferous thing, nudging Tim. “Is it always this big?”

Tim snorted. “That’s what she said.”

Peter raised his eyebrows, staring deadpan at Tim, who rolled his eyes. “Yeah, it’s always this big.”

“Ah, good.” The two boys turned to see Alfred descending the large staircase in front of them, a large, plastic box in his hand. “You’re just in time to help with the lights and decorations. If it helps incentivize you, you should know that afterwards we shall be decorating cookies for the gala, and those who help always get a couple.”

Tim pumped his fist, turning to Peter and shaking his arm excitedly. “Dude, Alfred’s cookies are the best!”

Peter smiled and giggled at his boyfriend’s excitement, before frowning. “Wait, did Alfred say ‘gala?’”

“Oh, you’ve never been to any of the Wayne Galas, have you?”

Peter shook his head, his eyes wide. “We need to go suit shopping for you,” Tim continued, his eyes sparkling as he gave Peter a once-over. 

“When’s the gala?” Peter asked, climbing up the stairs to take the box from Alfred, who gladly passed it onto the younger man before heading up the stairs to get another. 

“It’s this Sunday. It’s always on the Sunday before Christmas,” Tim explained. “It’s considered one of the biggest parties of the year, a must-attend for any wealthy person in Gotham. All funds raised go to the Thomas Wayne Foundation and the Martha Wayne Foundation.”

Bruce’s parents, right. “I don’t think I’ve ever been to something like that.”

Tim waved it off. “It’s not a big deal, all you have to do is smile, shake hands, make small talk, and then dance with me before we run off to—” his voice dropped to a whisper “—The Fort and take notes on any suspicious characters.”

“The Fort?”

“You’ll see.”

Well, that didn’t sound too bad, right? Peter set the box down in front of the tree and opened it, staring at hundreds of tiny bulbs strung together with green wire. He carefully took a spool out, staring up at the tree and the two ladders on either side of it, wondering how they were going to do this. There was a knocking at the door and Peter set the spool down, wondering if he should open it or if that was still something that he should let someone else do. 

“Could you get that for me, Master Peter?” Alfred asked, carrying another box which Tim quickly took from him. 

Peter nodded and stared out the peephole, slumping in relief when it was just Dick and Kory. He opened it, smiling at his two friends. “Hey, Pete!” Dick said, wrapping the younger man in a hug, which Peter gladly returned. 

“Hello, Peter!” Kory exclaimed, pulling Peter into another hug, this one with super-strength, which Peter returned as best he could. Kory flew a little ways off the ground, spinning them around in a circle before setting a giggling Peter back down. “It is most wonderful to finally have a human in Gotham that I am not able to hold back as much with!”

Peter’s cheeks nearly hurt with the big grin he was sporting. Okay, he could see why Tim was into this, this was pretty great. The three heroes turned to see Alfred setting the box he was carrying at the foot of the stairs before turning and extending his arms to the couple. They both briefly embraced him, and Alfred’s smile was fatherly (or grandfatherly, rather) and warm. “Ah, Princess Koriand’r, it is wonderful to see you again. You wouldn’t mind…” he gestured at the Christmas tree.

She giggled and flew over to the tree, taking the spool of lights Peter had set on the ground. “Of course not, Alfred! I would be delighted to!”

In a blur of red hair and orange skin, Kory flew around the tree, wrapping the colorful lights around it until there were no more lights in the box. She plugged the end into a conveniently placed outlet, standing back and hovering as she examined the tree. “It is perfect, my dear,” Alfred said, nodding approvingly. 

“Oh good!” Kory landed back on the ground and turned to see Duke, Steph, Tim, and Cass, coming back down the stairs with large boxes of their own. 

They set them down and each squeaked in surprise as Kory hugged each of them. “It is wonderful to see all of you! You just keep getting bigger and bigger!” she exclaimed.

All were smiling just as much as Peter was. Feeling an elbow resting on his head, Peter looked up to see Dick smiling down at him. “She just has that effect, doesn’t she?” he remarked softly. 

Peter fake gagged. “That’s so fucking sappy, man.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Are the rest of the Titans going to be joining us?” 

Dick shook his head. “They celebrate their own way back in Jump City. Kory typically comes with me to Gotham, then spends Christmas Day with them. Then I come up the day after Christmas and spend New Years with them.”

Alfred cleared his throat, drawing several pairs of eyes to him, including Bruce, Damian, and a kid Peter had never seen before, who were coming downstairs. “Normally, I am not fond of the use of powers and gymnastics in the main area of the Manor, but, as always, I condone it when decorating the tree. Please do try to not break anything, but, as they say, go mad. I shall be in the kitchen, and you may join me when the two trees are decorated. I trust your judgement, as bad of an idea as that is.”

Alfred stepped to the side, pausing just before he left for the kitchen. “Master Jonathan, it is always a pleasure to see you.” Alfred nodded to the kid next to Damian and walked away, leaving the huge tree in the care of the heroes.

“Who are you?” Jonathan asked, flying (flying?) over to Peter and offering his hand in a handshake. 

“I’m Peter, who are you?”

“I’m Jon Kent!”

“Oh, you’re Superboy, huh?” Peter asked, taking Jon’s hand and shaking it firmly. 

Jon beamed. “Yep, that’s me! And you’re Spider-Man, right?”

Peter nodded, still not fully used to that just being semi-common knowledge among heroes. 

“You saved my dad the other day, thank you!”

Peter chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “I do what I can, Jon.”

Jon opened his mouth to say something else, only to be tackled mid-air by Kory. The two flew towards the ceiling, giggling and hugging each other with what Peter betted was enough strength to destroy a couple of moons. “Jon! Oh it is wonderful to see you again! Keeping Damian out of trouble, are we?”

Jon giggled, shaking his head. “Of course not!”

“That’s my boy!”

The two landed back on the ground. Peter turned to see Bruce watching everything with a content smile, something that was a rare sight on the man. Peter clasped his hands behind his head, smiling. There was only one person missing, though. Peter’s hands fell back to his sides and he fished his phone out of his back pocket. 

Peter: hey, we’re decorating the tree at the manor. it would mean the world to me (and Alfred and Damian) if you could make it

Jason: no

Peter took a selfie of his big, sad eyes and sent it. 

Peter: please?

Jason: fine. give me a minute to get there

Jason: and i reserve the right to leave the second i don’t want to be there anymore, got it?

Peter: ofc dude!! thank you :D

Jason: yeah yeah

Peter pumped his fist and beamed at Dick, who was raising an eyebrow. “What’s that all about?”

“I got Jason to agree to come.”

Dick’s mouth dropped open, and he cheered loudly. “Yes! I knew you could use those Bambi eyes for evil!”

Peter cackled and high-fived the acrobat. 

“What did you do?” a bemused Bruce asked, making his way over to them. 

“I got Jason to agree to come over.”

Bruce blinked, then formed the biggest smile that Peter had ever seen on him. “Thank you, Peter. Thank you .” 

Peter nodded and squeaked in surprise when he felt arms around his waist and a chin rest on his shoulder as Tim hugged him from behind. “What was that about?” Tim wondered. 

“I got Jason to agree to come over and help.”

Tim blinked, some of the color draining out of his face. Peter bit his bottom lip, wincing a little. “Is that okay?”

Tim sighed. “Yeah, it is. I don’t know if I’ll ever fully get over what he did, but I’m getting there, you know? Besides, he likes you, so he can’t be that bad, right?”

Peter smiled, pressing a kiss to Tim’s cheek. “Yeah. He’s really just a big softie, you know. And I know he regrets what he did every day, Tim.”

Tim swallowed, his eyes distant. “Yeah, if you say so.”

“Come on.” Peter started to pull Tim towards the boxes of decorations that had been set down. “Let’s get this tree decorated.”

Soon enough, the doorbell rang and, knowing who it was, Peter rushed over to answer it, not wanting to freak Jason out by Bruce being the first thing he saw. Peter swung the door open and pulled Jason into a hug, eliciting a chuckle out of the older man. “Hey, kid.”

Peter pulled back and beamed at him. “Thank you.”

Turning around to lead Jason to where everyone was, Peter was surprised to see Damian, looking at the ground and shifting from foot to foot. With only a slight second to react, Peter stepped to the side as Damian launched himself at Jason, hugging him tightly. Jason sported the Gotham Half-Smirk and hugged the kid closely. “Hey, Dami.”

“Hello, Jason.” Damian let go and squared his shoulders, schooling his face into a neutral expression like his face wasn’t red. It reminded Peter of Tim, and he smiled to himself, letting Damian drag Jason towards the festivities. 

“They are doing an absolutely horrific job of decorating,” Damian informed Jason. “I don’t know what we would have done if you hadn't shown up.”

Jason chuckled and raised an eyebrow at Peter as if to say, get a load of this kid . Peter shrugged and ambled after them, a small smile on his face and warmth in his heart. 

Bruce was hanging an ornament. He turned to grab another one, only to freeze when he saw Jason. He looked a bit like a fish for a moment, opening and closing his mouth several times. He stepped forward hesitantly, before pulling Jason into a hug. Jason paused, before cautiously hugging him back. The two let go with wary smiles, and Bruce handed Jason an ornament, which Jason hung. 

Peter clasped his hands behind his head and watched the scene, surprised to find the Gotham Half-Smirk on himself. Tim made his way to Peter’s side, kissing his cheek. “You didn’t see what Bruce was like afterwards, what Batman was like afterwards. I was never able to make Bruce this happy. Thank you.”

Peter wrapped an arm around Tim’s waist and kissed him fully. “Comparison is the thief of happiness, Tim. Don’t fall into that, okay?”

Tim sighed and leaned into it, nodding. “I’ll try.”

Tim let go and reached into the box, pulling out another ornament and unwrapping it. He handed the delicate glass snowflake to Peter, who smirked, shot a web at the ceiling, then lowered himself to the perfect height. Peter hung upside down, grasping the web with his feet, and hung it, letting go and dropping to the ground next to a laughing Jason. “Pretty advanced technique, kid. I don’t know how the rest of us are going to compare.”

Dick made a noise of offense, placing his hand on his chest. “How dare you, I’ll have you know I’ve been using ‘advanced techniques’ since the beginning!”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Like what?”

“Like this.” Dick sprinted up the stairs and to the landing a bit away from the tree. Dick backed up and ran at the ledge full speed, pushing up off the banister and grabbing onto the chandelier. He used his momentum to flip off of it, hanging an ornament before rolling into a landing back on the ground. Dick stood, arms in a Y shape before bowing dramatically.

Jason squinted, a teasing smile on his face and a challenging glint in his eye. “Meh, I’ve seen better.”

“How dare you!”

“I bet Pete could do better, couldn’t you, kid?”

Peter froze as several sets of eyes landed on him. “Uh… Maybe?”

Peter narrowed his eyes at the tree thoughtfully. Mentally, he calculated the distance between the tree, the floor, and the ceiling. 

“Uh oh,” Peter heard Tim say, “you better watch out, Dick. He’s got his Science Eyes on.”

Inhaling shakily, Peter took a running start, running up the wall behind the Christmas tree as fast as he could. When he was a couple feet away from the ceiling, Peter launched himself off, backflipping over the top of the tree. Peter hung the ornament as he fell downwards, rolling to absorb the impact before righting himself and bowing, just to make Dick a bit mad. 

“I don’t know, Grayson,” Damian began, wearing the Gotham Half-Smirk, “I think Parker’s was better.”

Peter’s jaw was on the floor, and he turned to the youngest Wayne with a startled laugh. Dick’s face was twisted in outrage. “Betrayed!” he cried. “By my own flesh and blood, oh the pain!”

He closed both eyes and ‘fainted’ dramatically onto Damian, sending them both to the floor. “Your butt is crushing me!” Damian yelled.

Dick cracked one eye open, smirking at Peter, who giggled. “It is not.”

“Yes it is!” Damian shoved Dick off with an oof, standing up and dusting himself off. “I bet Jon and I can do better than the both of you.”

Peter had no doubt of that, though he’d never admit such a thing out loud. Jon’s eyes were as big as saucers and sparkling. He giggled maniacally at Damian, who pulled him aside and whispered the plan (while Peter pretended not to listen). Jon nodded and the two stepped apart. Damian sprinted up the staircase and threw himself over the banister the same way Dick had. Damian managed to do a double front flip, hanging an ornament as he plummeted to the ground. Somehow the kid managed to keep himself parallel to the floor, landing in a Superman pose into Jon’s waiting arms, who held Damian above his head by holding onto his waist. Jon tossed Damian up a bit, and Damian twisted in the air, landing upright and bowing. 

“Alright,” Peter nodded, clapping. “I can admit defeat. That was amazing.”

Damian eyed him skeptically, nodding curtly. “It was. Your acknowledgement is appreciated, Parker. Did I do well, Cain?”

Cass was watching with a tear in her eye, nodding rapidly. She scooped her little brother into a tight hug, making him squawk in surprise. She kissed him on the head and released him, letting him go back towards Jon. 

Steph was next, performing a complicated move that Peter couldn’t name if he tried. Cass sat it out, choosing instead to record the whole thing with Bruce and Tim and Jason, who was trying (and failing) to be sneaky about it. Kory helped Dick perform an even more complicated move, similar to the one that Dick had instructed Peter on all those months ago. Duke convinced Peter to do something with him, and the two performed some fun flips using Peter’s webs. Peter opted to not go again after that, choosing to watch, until he was convinced by Tim to be at the bottom of a three man tower, with Jon at the top (who wouldn’t fall if something went wrong). Peter obliged, holding them steady as he shuffled them around the tree. Damian insisted he was next, scampering up Tim and Peter and steadily hanging a couple more, with Jon and Kori on standby. 

Jon convinced Peter to grab his wrist, which Peter did, before Jon flew them up, where Peter hung an ornament. Kory laughed and flew a ways across from them, getting ready when she caught Jon’s eye. Jon started swinging Peter back and forth, who looked up at Jon frantically. “One, two, three!” 

Jon let Peter go, sending the hero towards Kory, who caught his hand and held him steady and Peter giggled in disbelief. “Ok, ok, put me down,” he begged in-between giggles. She did, and Peter stumbled towards Tim, who helped him right himself back on the ground. 

Damian watched with sparkling green eyes, demanding, “I’m next!”

Jon obliged with a huge smile, and Peter watched from the safety of the floor as Jon and Kory tossed Damian back and forth. Damian, frickin’ Damian was laughing with pure ecstasy, and Peter swore he saw Bruce’s eyes shine with joyful tears. 

Eventually, the tree was decorated and the smell of fresh sugar cookies wafted through the house. “We’ll do the other tree tomorrow,” Bruce stated, pushing himself to his feet with a grunt. 

Peter blinked, then squinted at Tim. “Other tree?”

“This one is for us,” Tim explained. “The other is in the ballroom, for the gala. Those we decorate with very special ornaments.”

“That’s right,” Jason mused. “I forgot about that. Every year, the kids in the orphanages around Gotham make a new batch of ornaments, replacing the regular ornaments that are put on there to fill the space.”

“That’s the cutest fucking thing I have ever heard in my life,” Peter declared. He gasped, turning to Tim with sparkling eyes. “Do you think we could help make ornaments this year? Like, as Spider-Man?”

Tim hummed thoughtfully, turning to Bruce. “That’s actually not a bad idea. Spidey’s only been here for a bit, but he’s already beloved by the entirety of Gotham.”

Peter put a hand to his heart, beaming. “Aww, that’s so sweet!”

Bruce wore the exact same expression as Tim when he was thinking, Peter noticed. “It is a good idea. Let’s take it to the Watchtower after we’re done helping Alfred.”

Peter smiled giddily at his boyfriend, who hummed pleasantly and pulled Peter in for a kiss.