Being Titans II | Teen Titans [7]

Remember This Day

17
Remember This Day

EARTH-9
2025

Calvin woke up standing. He blinked as he came to. Mahogany stairs formed a path beneath his feat. They swayed. He took the handrail to keep himself upright.

"Where am I?" He asked.

An acoustic rift echoed from below. He glanced over the rail and noticed a warm light creeping through the dark foyer.  His brows furrowed.

Calvin descended the stairs. He followed the sound to a room down a wide hall. The door was half-cracked.

Slowly, he reached for it. When his hands met the wood, they phased through. He retracted his hand. "Right, I'm dreaming." He remembered.

Calvin dropped his hand. He inhaled a sharp breath. "Whatever's on the other side of this door can't hurt you," He whispered to himself.

He stepped through the door. The light blinded him at first. He shielded his eyes. Within a passing second, his eyes began to adjust...

"Please Dad, one more?" Begged a 4 year-old Abel. They wore Buzz Lightyear PJs and big blue eyes as they pleaded with their father. Their blanket long abandoned on the ground, along with their favorite seahorse plush "Mister Dad." Their little hands came together as their father glanced at the time.

"I dunno, Bug, it's way past your bedtime. Don't you feel tired?" Asked Dick Grayson. His soft, but tired, eyes warmed on the toddler crammed into his side on the sofa. An acoustic guitar propped on his lap and a half-glass of scotch on the coffee table.

"I don't," Abel answered quickly. Rubbing stars in their eyes a second later. "I just need a song to sleep." They added. They strummed their tiny finger on a string. They smiled when the note bubbled in the quiet study.

Dick chuckled. "You need a sleep song, is that it Bug?" He asked. He gave his child a playful pinch near their pit. A stream of cackles escaped Abel. He smiled at Abel's grip on his fingers.

"Hey, stop that, Dad!" They gigged as they pushed their dad's hand away.

"Shh," Dick whispered softly. "You don't want to wake Dad up, do you? He'll take you straight to bed without a sleep song." He warned, a finger pressed to his lips.

Abel sewed their lips shut. They traced them with their finger to "zip" them. "I'll be quiet, Dad." They swore.

"Promise?" Asked Dick, playing along for bed time's sake.

"Promise." Abel stuck out their pinky. They tried to add on the word "quadruple," but didn't quite know how to pronounce it. Lucky for them, their Dad knew what they meant.

"And you promise to go to bed after one last song?" He asked. Pinky hovering over Abel's. 

Abel nodded eagerly. "I promise." They swore though their blue eyes sparkled with mischief.

"Then we have a deal." Dick gently looped their pinkies. He stood with the guitar. He scooped Abel's blanket and Mister Dad off of the floor. Smiling as Krypto's paws clicked from the living room into the study.

Calvin smiled as he watched them. "This isn't my dream, it's Abel's." He realized out loud.

"Did Pop Pop Bruce sing you sleep songs?" Questioned Abel. Their baby blue eyes on their father's knelt figure. They scooted to make room for Krypto. Leaning on the dog's warm body soon after. A giggle escaped them as Krypto kissed their arm.