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[DC + Uncharted] For Christmas
Title: For Christmas
Fandom: Uncharted + DC Comics crossover
Universe: next-gen
Relationship: Nathan Drake/Elena Fisher, Russel Drake + Tim Drake (platonic), Russell Drake/Nasreen Asselah (OC/OC)
Summary: Tim wants nothing more than his older brother to come home for Christmas... and learns that sometimes, his idol's more of an idiot than he remembered.
For a family that claimed to eschew social norms, Christmas in the Drake household was remarkably normal. Mom and Dad had planned out a menu about two weeks in advance - Mom even bought a halal1 turkey for Russ and Nasreen! - and Tori decided to come home early from her latest treasure hunt, bringing Aunt Chloe in tow. Over the past couple of weeks, Tim only took on last-minute cases, the kind that could be settled in Gotham, and for once in his life, nearly everything seemed to fall neatly into place.
That is, until Christmas Eve morning. Mom looked up from her mystery novel (one of those dumb ones about the crime-solving cat) and glanced up at Dad. "Sweetheart, was Russ coming tonight?"
Dad shrugged, pulling Mom closer towards him. "I don't think he said anything of the sort."
Tim hadn't meant to eavesdrop on them! He really hadn't! This time, he'd simply walked through the living room on his way upstairs when they mentioned his big brother's name. He couldn't help blurting out, "Russ isn't coming?"
Mom and Dad both shot him worried looks.
"We're not sure, Timbo," Dad said after a moment, reaching out for Tim's hand. "Don't worry about it too much."
That was practically an open invitation to worry, and Tim and Mom both knew it. Mom elbowed him ("ELENA!") before she managed an exasperated smile at her youngest boy. "Tim, could you go check up on Tori? Make sure she hasn't snuck out of the house?"
It was code for 'I'll yell at your father for his insensitivity,' and Tim didn't want to stick around to watch the fight and the aftermath, which would inevitably consist of a weird make-out session between his parents. God, did his parents leave the honeymoon phase? Ever?
He waited until he was safely out of sight before he ran up the stairs, tapped Tori's door, and said something along the lines of "I don't care if your boyfriend or girlfriend or itfriend's in there, just don't leave the country," before he headed back into his room.
Carefully locking the door behind him, Tim flopped down onto his bed and called his brother. It took a couple of rings before a groggy voice asked, "Hello?"
"Russ? Did I call at a bad time?"
"Tim? What? No! Of course not! It's never a bad time for you!" Then Russ yawned, and Tim had the sneaky feeling that he'd just interrupted his brother's sleep schedule. There were worse things he could've ruined, Tim supposed.
So Tim managed to keep things straight-forward. "Awesome. Mom and Dad didn't know if you were coming home for Christmas, so I wanted to double-check... when're you flying in?"
There was no way Russ and Nasreen hadn't booked a flight. Russ was on top of things! He was more organized than Tim was (and more normal, if Tim wanted to be cynical). He definitely had a flight, right?
Russ sighed. "About that..."
Tim felt his heart sink. "You're not... You're not coming home for Christmas? You always come home for Christmas."
Russ's voice sounded so distant that Tim might as well have been speaking Mandarin. "Not this year, kiddo."
"Why not? Dad didn't screw up the turkey this year, and Grandpa Sully's coming and Aunt Chloe and and---"
Russ immediately cut him off, "It's not a Thing in Islam. I don't feel quite right celebrating Jesus's birthday when we don't even make a big deal about the Prophet - peace be upon him's - birthday, and besides, we sent you Eidi2 this year."
"Yeah, in July."
While Tim was a fan of Christmas in July, he wasn't exactly happy with the current turn of events. Screw Islam; his big brother should be able to fly from California to Gotham for a big Christmas dinner if he wanted to! Nasreen was some kind of slave-driver! Nasreen sucked! Nasreen...
"Hang on, kid, Nasreen wants to talk."
Jeez. What would she have to tell him? Tim sighed, "Fine. I've got a case file to finish, so I won't be able to talk for long."
Then Nasreen's voice came loud and clear over the phone, "Tim? I know you're upset about this."
What did she know? She was only the stupid girl that brainwashed his brother into no longer believing in the Christmas spirit. They only went to mass twice a year anyways! (Even then, Mom only insisted because she felt like she was the world's worst Catholic, and Dad flat out admitted that he was agnostic, so religion could die in a hole if they so pleased.)
"Not really."
"Russ's been having some trouble reconciling Christmas with Eid Al-Fitr3 and Eid Al-Adha4," Nasreen explained quietly. Tim could practically hear the pity in his sister-in-law's voice. Still, Nasreen continued, "Which I find rather silly, considering that Abba5 put on all these Christmas office parties and celebrated it as well as anyone else. We just didn't partake in the religious aspect..."
"... Which Mom would've insisted, considering we go to midnight mass every year." Tim said with a small groan, rubbing his temples. "Are you guys still coming?"
"Not this year." Nasreen sounded remorseful. "Your brother's kind of a doofus sometimes, but he's our doofus."
"I can fly you guys there."
He didn't even know why he thought of it so quickly - Batman would kill him for spilling the beans to his sister-in-law, but didn't Nasreen deserve to know? She married into this crazy family; she'd have to learn their secrets eventually. "I'm friends with Red Robin," Tim explained in hushed tones. "I'm sure he can get the Batplane over there and get you guys here before you can even say Flash's name."
Nasreen chuckled. "Doesn't Red Robin celebrate Christmas too? I'd hate to make him work tonight."
"I don't think he'd mind," Tim said, noticing how his lips curled up into a wide smile. "Anything to bring a family together for the holidays, right?"
"I've got work tomorrow." He could practically hear the wince in her voice. "I don't want to be that kid, but it's a family tradition in the Asselah household to accept work on Christmas so that the Christians can celebrate it without worrying."
At least she was being honest. Tim couldn't blame her - not entirely - but a small part of him asked, "What about Russ?"
"Go ahead, take the doofus home. He'll mope around too much if he doesn't go."
They completed each other. Tim had never thought so about Nasreen, not when he'd first met her, but he was slowly starting to understand just why Russ would've changed his entire lifestyle for her. Ms. Nasreen Asselah had been a very, very special girl indeed. Tim chuckled softly, "Alright. Would you still like to meet Red Robin?"
"I don't know. I think I already have."
Tim blinked back surprise. "You have? When?" Was she a cape in disguise? Seriously? He knew that Russ had strange taste in women, but he never considered the possibility of her being one of them.
"I'm talking to him right now, aren't I?"
"I-I have no clue what you're talking about."
Nasreen giggled, the kind that made him feel bad instantly for lying because somehow she knew. "If you say so. Just send him and Batman my regards, alright? I'll see them the next time I'm in the area."
"Alright. They'll meet you in a couple of hours," he promised, just before hanging up on her.
Dad peered from the doorway, looking remarkably pitiful with his stained 'Kiss the Cook' apron. Tim leapt to his feet and started to wipe the gravy off Dad's face. "Hey."
"So Russ's coming home?" Dad asked, in the most hopeful tone Tim'd adopted all night.
"He is," Tim grinned. "That doesn't give you the right to screw up the turkey, just so you know."
"Oh, it's okay," Mom called from the hallway. "He screwed up the gravy instead."
Tim shook his head fondly. Some things never changed. Even if his dad screwed up dinner every year, and Tori almost always decorated the house with her artsy ideas stolen from Instagram and Pinterest, they were still a family, and family let family do anything for the sake of staying together. Even if it meant revealing your deepest, darkest secret to bring your big brother back home for just one night.
Notes:
1) halal is a term used to designate food that is permissible to eat by Islamic law. Both Nasreen and Russ practice Islam, so they only eat halal meat.
2) Eidi is the money given out to children on both Eid-Al'Fitr and Eid-Al'Adha.
3 and 4) Eid-Al'Fitr and Eid-Al'Adha are the two biggest holidays in Islam (both are commonly shortened to Eid, so the context is everything)
5) Abba is the Hindi/Bengali/Indian subcontinent word for "father."
Fandom: Uncharted + DC Comics crossover
Universe: next-gen
Relationship: Nathan Drake/Elena Fisher, Russel Drake + Tim Drake (platonic), Russell Drake/Nasreen Asselah (OC/OC)
Summary: Tim wants nothing more than his older brother to come home for Christmas... and learns that sometimes, his idol's more of an idiot than he remembered.
For a family that claimed to eschew social norms, Christmas in the Drake household was remarkably normal. Mom and Dad had planned out a menu about two weeks in advance - Mom even bought a halal1 turkey for Russ and Nasreen! - and Tori decided to come home early from her latest treasure hunt, bringing Aunt Chloe in tow. Over the past couple of weeks, Tim only took on last-minute cases, the kind that could be settled in Gotham, and for once in his life, nearly everything seemed to fall neatly into place.
That is, until Christmas Eve morning. Mom looked up from her mystery novel (one of those dumb ones about the crime-solving cat) and glanced up at Dad. "Sweetheart, was Russ coming tonight?"
Dad shrugged, pulling Mom closer towards him. "I don't think he said anything of the sort."
Tim hadn't meant to eavesdrop on them! He really hadn't! This time, he'd simply walked through the living room on his way upstairs when they mentioned his big brother's name. He couldn't help blurting out, "Russ isn't coming?"
Mom and Dad both shot him worried looks.
"We're not sure, Timbo," Dad said after a moment, reaching out for Tim's hand. "Don't worry about it too much."
That was practically an open invitation to worry, and Tim and Mom both knew it. Mom elbowed him ("ELENA!") before she managed an exasperated smile at her youngest boy. "Tim, could you go check up on Tori? Make sure she hasn't snuck out of the house?"
It was code for 'I'll yell at your father for his insensitivity,' and Tim didn't want to stick around to watch the fight and the aftermath, which would inevitably consist of a weird make-out session between his parents. God, did his parents leave the honeymoon phase? Ever?
He waited until he was safely out of sight before he ran up the stairs, tapped Tori's door, and said something along the lines of "I don't care if your boyfriend or girlfriend or itfriend's in there, just don't leave the country," before he headed back into his room.
Carefully locking the door behind him, Tim flopped down onto his bed and called his brother. It took a couple of rings before a groggy voice asked, "Hello?"
"Russ? Did I call at a bad time?"
"Tim? What? No! Of course not! It's never a bad time for you!" Then Russ yawned, and Tim had the sneaky feeling that he'd just interrupted his brother's sleep schedule. There were worse things he could've ruined, Tim supposed.
So Tim managed to keep things straight-forward. "Awesome. Mom and Dad didn't know if you were coming home for Christmas, so I wanted to double-check... when're you flying in?"
There was no way Russ and Nasreen hadn't booked a flight. Russ was on top of things! He was more organized than Tim was (and more normal, if Tim wanted to be cynical). He definitely had a flight, right?
Russ sighed. "About that..."
Tim felt his heart sink. "You're not... You're not coming home for Christmas? You always come home for Christmas."
Russ's voice sounded so distant that Tim might as well have been speaking Mandarin. "Not this year, kiddo."
"Why not? Dad didn't screw up the turkey this year, and Grandpa Sully's coming and Aunt Chloe and and---"
Russ immediately cut him off, "It's not a Thing in Islam. I don't feel quite right celebrating Jesus's birthday when we don't even make a big deal about the Prophet - peace be upon him's - birthday, and besides, we sent you Eidi2 this year."
"Yeah, in July."
While Tim was a fan of Christmas in July, he wasn't exactly happy with the current turn of events. Screw Islam; his big brother should be able to fly from California to Gotham for a big Christmas dinner if he wanted to! Nasreen was some kind of slave-driver! Nasreen sucked! Nasreen...
"Hang on, kid, Nasreen wants to talk."
Jeez. What would she have to tell him? Tim sighed, "Fine. I've got a case file to finish, so I won't be able to talk for long."
Then Nasreen's voice came loud and clear over the phone, "Tim? I know you're upset about this."
What did she know? She was only the stupid girl that brainwashed his brother into no longer believing in the Christmas spirit. They only went to mass twice a year anyways! (Even then, Mom only insisted because she felt like she was the world's worst Catholic, and Dad flat out admitted that he was agnostic, so religion could die in a hole if they so pleased.)
"Not really."
"Russ's been having some trouble reconciling Christmas with Eid Al-Fitr3 and Eid Al-Adha4," Nasreen explained quietly. Tim could practically hear the pity in his sister-in-law's voice. Still, Nasreen continued, "Which I find rather silly, considering that Abba5 put on all these Christmas office parties and celebrated it as well as anyone else. We just didn't partake in the religious aspect..."
"... Which Mom would've insisted, considering we go to midnight mass every year." Tim said with a small groan, rubbing his temples. "Are you guys still coming?"
"Not this year." Nasreen sounded remorseful. "Your brother's kind of a doofus sometimes, but he's our doofus."
"I can fly you guys there."
He didn't even know why he thought of it so quickly - Batman would kill him for spilling the beans to his sister-in-law, but didn't Nasreen deserve to know? She married into this crazy family; she'd have to learn their secrets eventually. "I'm friends with Red Robin," Tim explained in hushed tones. "I'm sure he can get the Batplane over there and get you guys here before you can even say Flash's name."
Nasreen chuckled. "Doesn't Red Robin celebrate Christmas too? I'd hate to make him work tonight."
"I don't think he'd mind," Tim said, noticing how his lips curled up into a wide smile. "Anything to bring a family together for the holidays, right?"
"I've got work tomorrow." He could practically hear the wince in her voice. "I don't want to be that kid, but it's a family tradition in the Asselah household to accept work on Christmas so that the Christians can celebrate it without worrying."
At least she was being honest. Tim couldn't blame her - not entirely - but a small part of him asked, "What about Russ?"
"Go ahead, take the doofus home. He'll mope around too much if he doesn't go."
They completed each other. Tim had never thought so about Nasreen, not when he'd first met her, but he was slowly starting to understand just why Russ would've changed his entire lifestyle for her. Ms. Nasreen Asselah had been a very, very special girl indeed. Tim chuckled softly, "Alright. Would you still like to meet Red Robin?"
"I don't know. I think I already have."
Tim blinked back surprise. "You have? When?" Was she a cape in disguise? Seriously? He knew that Russ had strange taste in women, but he never considered the possibility of her being one of them.
"I'm talking to him right now, aren't I?"
"I-I have no clue what you're talking about."
Nasreen giggled, the kind that made him feel bad instantly for lying because somehow she knew. "If you say so. Just send him and Batman my regards, alright? I'll see them the next time I'm in the area."
"Alright. They'll meet you in a couple of hours," he promised, just before hanging up on her.
Dad peered from the doorway, looking remarkably pitiful with his stained 'Kiss the Cook' apron. Tim leapt to his feet and started to wipe the gravy off Dad's face. "Hey."
"So Russ's coming home?" Dad asked, in the most hopeful tone Tim'd adopted all night.
"He is," Tim grinned. "That doesn't give you the right to screw up the turkey, just so you know."
"Oh, it's okay," Mom called from the hallway. "He screwed up the gravy instead."
Tim shook his head fondly. Some things never changed. Even if his dad screwed up dinner every year, and Tori almost always decorated the house with her artsy ideas stolen from Instagram and Pinterest, they were still a family, and family let family do anything for the sake of staying together. Even if it meant revealing your deepest, darkest secret to bring your big brother back home for just one night.
Notes:
1) halal is a term used to designate food that is permissible to eat by Islamic law. Both Nasreen and Russ practice Islam, so they only eat halal meat.
2) Eidi is the money given out to children on both Eid-Al'Fitr and Eid-Al'Adha.
3 and 4) Eid-Al'Fitr and Eid-Al'Adha are the two biggest holidays in Islam (both are commonly shortened to Eid, so the context is everything)
5) Abba is the Hindi/Bengali/Indian subcontinent word for "father."