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"This was a terrible idea," Roy says miserably as he tries to shake some of the snow from his hair, splatters of slushy water hitting the hardwood floor of your apartment.
"You're making a mess," you point out mildly - but really, you're too concerned trying to peel off your own soaked jacket to care very much. "And I think it was your idea."
"You agreed!" Roy points accusingly at you, and Jason takes it as an opportunity to throw a towel over his head before handing you your own.
"You're dripping everywhere," he reminds you both - and you think, mildly, as you begin trying to pay yourself dry, that the puddle under Jason is no smaller than you and Roy.
"Ice skating is supposed to be fun," you sigh, and Jason huffs out a half laugh as he begins scrubbing at his own wet hair.
"Yea, but it's Gotham," he says flatly. "We should've known."
And maybe you should've, you think. Going skating, while good in theory, quickly deteriorated along with Gotham's temperamental weather.
The beautiful, picturesque snow of the early morning didn't last very long before it all became grey, muddied slush that caked the streets and layered the outdoor ice rink in freezing water. And skating had, in turn, gone from enjoyable to wet and freezing and muddy.
You sigh as you drop your towel onto the floor, wiping up the water with your foot while Roy shivers his way into this kitchen.
"What's he doing?" you ask without looking up.
"I don't know why you think I'd ever know that," comes Jason's response as he squats down to finish scrubbing the floor and then bundles up the dirty towels. "Go find out, I'll get these in the wash."
You bend down to press a quick kiss to Jason's forehead, watching as his lips twitch into a reluctant smile before you step around him towards the kitchen.
"Wow, you're my hero," you say sweetly as you hear the coffee maker hum and whir. Roy has his back to you, pulling three mugs from the cupboard as you move to press your forehead against his back and slouch your weight against him.
"Oh, babe -" he laughs, putting the mugs down so he can reach one arm back and try to hold you up. "Come on, c'mere."
"I'm too cold, I can't move," you sigh forlornly, keeping yourself pressed against his back as you slide your hands under his shirt to skim freezing fingers across his skin.
It's just as he sucks in a sharp breath at the feeling, though, that Jason's hands find your waist and he manhandles you away.
"Causing problems?" he asks kindly as he lifts you up to sit on the counter, leaving Roy to finish making the coffee as he shivers.
"Problems?" you say indignantly. "I freeze to death trying to give the two of you holiday joy and you accuse me of causing problems?"
"I don't know how much holiday joy you were handing out, baby," Jason muses as he runs his hands up and down your arms to warm you up. "When you fell, you took me down with you."
"I thought you'd be sturdier than that," you respond pointedly, and Roy snorts a laugh as he presses a quick kiss to Jason's cheek.
"You caught him by surprise," he supplies, handing you a coffee as Jason sniffs indignantly.
"Thank you," you murmur, but then, as you take the mug, you stare down at the plain, steaming coffee, your palms pressing into the warm ceramic.
"What?" Jason nudges you. You look up pensively.
"I don't think this is filling me with holiday joy."
"I could stick a candy cane in it if you want," Roy says idly as he hands Jason the other mug, and you wrinkle your nose.
"In plain coffee? That's gross," you retort, and he sends you a long suffering look.
When you finally do take a sip of your coffee, though, you pause.
"Did you… put cinnamon in this?" you ask curiously, and Jason takes his own experimental little sip of his coffee.
"Yea, baby," Roy shrugs. "You're not the only one who knows about holiday joy."
"C'mere," you say earnestly, putting your coffee aside and beckoning Roy closer, Jason already leaning against the counter next to you with his front pressed against your thigh.
"I'm glad we went skating," you murmur once Roy's close enough that you can squish his cheeks together with your hands and kiss him gently.
"Even though you froze to death?" Jason asks in amusement and Roy wraps his hands around your wrists, blinking and stumbling from the affection of it all.
"Yes," you insist, and the smile that you send him is so real that Jason thinks maybe, if he looked out the window, the snow would be gone and the sun would be shining. "Because this is nice."
"Yea," Jason agrees, and you can see the way that he softens, slouching further against you and the counter. "But we could've just done this, anyway. No freezing necessary."
"No," you shake your head, using your hands on Roy's cheeks still to shake his at the same time. "It's not the same."
"So we were right to try even though it was doomed from the start?" Roy asks, pulling your hands from his face gently to press kisses across your palms.
"Yes," you insist. "The point is that we tried."
Neither of them really disagree with you, then. Jason reaches past you to the little radio that you'd bought some time ago - for the late nights, you'd said. If you're up because you're hurt or you can't sleep, or… I don't know. Wouldn't it be nice to have a little music? Just because it's bad doesn't mean you can't try to make it a little better.
He flicks through radio stations as Roy hands you your coffee again, leaving it on some staticy station that's playing slow, easy Christmas music.
"Aw, see - now you get it," you smile, leaning in to kiss Jason gently - something grateful in your touch that he's not sure he really deserves.
Roy looks down at the coffee in your hands - at the cinnamon that's swirled into it like endless little specs of something that feels, all of a sudden, like it matters so much more.
As he sips his own drink, as it warms him from the inside out and he watches you and Jason sway slightly to whatever tune is playing, he wonders why he doesn't put cinnamon in his coffee all the time.
He thinks, maybe, as you smile at him like he deserves it, that maybe he should make things a little better more often.
He thinks, as Jason's lips press to your cheek and his fingers find the belt loop of Roy's jeans to tug him a little closer, that it's about time the three of you got something so good.