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Tim never thought he’d be living in space.
He had grown up with expectations. He was expected to get good grades. He was expected to get into a pretentious business school. He was expected to take over the family business when he was older.
It was not expected, however, for him to be kidnapped by aliens.
The first ship he had been on had been what Tim deduced as a ship of scientists. Tim had been shoved into a small cage and only let out when they wanted to run tests on him or take samples. In the early days Tim had tried to explore the small area, but learned early on not to touch the strange barrier that was keeping him enclosed or else he would be zapped. It was hard enough to pull the air straight from his lungs, so he stopped exploring almost immediately after that. He didn’t bother with anything at that point, other than eating the meager sludge that they passed off as food that was pushed through a small gap in the front of the cage.
Then they came.
It had been weeks (months? years?) since he was taken. Time was funny when you were stuck in a cage with bright lights being a constant bother. Tim had been waiting for the scientists to pull him out of the cage for another round of tests when the whole ship jolted.
Then there was gunfire.
Then there was an alien in front of his cage.
Tim didn’t recognise this one. It wasn’t any of the scientists that had worn identical uniforms, regardless of species. This one was… different.
It was armed, for one.
The scientists had never carried weapons. At most, they’d held scanners or needles or devices that hummed ominously before doing something painful. This alien, on the other hand, held a blaster that was currently smoking at the barrel.
“Huh.” The alien said. “They did have a human. You look small, a juvenile?”
English. The alien was speaking English. Tim almost cried at the familiar language, no matter how stilted and rough it sounded. Before Tim could respond, however, another explosion rocked the ship. The alien braced itself, one armored hand slamming into the wall next to Tim’s cage to steady itself. He felt the force reverberate through the floor.
“Stay.” The alien said, powering on the blaster that was in its hand. “I’ll be back for you. I promise.” Tim didn’t argue. He had learned very early that compliance was safer than resistance, and even though the language was familiar he didn’t trust that he was in safe hands.
When the alien disappeared around the corner, Tim started counting. By the time the alien returned, Tim had made it to a thousand.
“Hi.” The alien said. “I’ll get the lock.” Tim’s thin fingers curled into the flimsy fabric of his shirt as the large alien pulled an unfamiliar device from its pocket. It crackled with blue light. Tim held his breath.
The barrier fizzed, and Tim instinctively flinched back. Instead of the pain he was expecting, the barrier almost collapsed in on itself and vanished.
The door was open, and for a long moment neither of them moved. Tim stared at the open cage like it might be a trick. He wasn’t completely convinced that this wasn’t a trick, that this strange alien wasn’t just someone the scientists had brought to lull him into a false sense of security as a test.
The alien noticed his hesitation.
“You’re not stuck anymore.” It said, sounding almost baffled. “You can come out now.”
Tim stayed put.
Another voice crackled over the communication device it had in its ear, but this time Tim couldn’t understand the words being said. The alien responded in the same foreign language before turning back to him.
“Okay, kid. Here’s the deal. This ship’s about to stop existing. You can stay here and become debris, or you can come with me.” It looked at Tim expectantly.
Tim swallowed.
“Are you…” His voice cracked from disuse. “Are you going to hurt me?” The alien froze, before slowly crouching down.
“No.” It swore. “I promise.” It held out a claw.
Tim took it, and allowed himself to be carefully pulled out.
“My name is J̸̬̠̗̤͛̇̃a̵̭̘̟͖͛́̅͝s̴̟̟̈̆o̵͍̼͈͕̓̃͌͒n̷̡͓̋̈́̂̿.” At Tim’s confused look, it hesitated. “Jae-sun.”
“Jason?” Tim whispered. The alien let out a small laugh.
“Close enough kid. Come on.” Tim followed cautiously, keeping his hands close to his chest as he walked behind Jason. At every turn they made, Tim half expected a scientist and braced himself to be ripped away from his saviour. Yet, there were none, except for the bodies that littered the ground with blaster holes.
Finally, they reached a small shuttle at the back of the ship. Jason tapped a panel on the side, and the hatch hissed open. He (?) gestured for Tim to get in first. Tim hesitated again, but did.
He was off the ship.
Then, it was a whirlwind of different things. Jason brought him to his ship and introduced him to the crew on board. They didn’t speak English like Jason, so they slowly taught him their language. He learned (and most likely butchered) their names. They fed him. They gave him water. They replaced the threadbare clothes that he was wearing. They gave him somewhere to sleep. Jason eventually explained that he was taught English on a ship similar to what Tim had been on, before Bruce had saved Jason and taken him in.
Slowly, Tim grew used to living on the ship with them.
“Do you want to go back to Earth?” Jason asked him one day while they were sitting and gazing out at the vastness of space. “Bruce can find a way to bring you back home. If you want.” Jason looked unsure.
Tim thought about it. He thought about all of the expectations that had been placed on his shoulders back home. He thought about how lonely he was. He thought about how he never saw his parents, and how they only spoke to him when they were disappointed.
“Can I stay here?” Jason nodded.
“Of course.” After that, it was like a weight had been lifted off of everyone. Slowly, Tim started to teach them about Earth and its customs too. He spoke to Bruce about schooling and the technology of his planet. He spoke to Dick about his hobbies and things he missed doing. He spoke to Damian about the weapons and fighting from his home.
“You know what I miss?” Tim said one day, sitting in the general common room of the ship that he equated to a living room with Jason. “Christmas.”
“Christmas?” Jason asked, confused but curious. “What’s that?”
“A… holiday.” Tim tried to explain. “A celebration. It happens in our winter season. There’s decorations, and snow, and gifts, and spending time with loved ones.” Tim sighed wistfully. “It’s the only time of year I used to see my parents. It was almost like we were a proper family.” Jason let him ramble about trees and snowball fights before they parted ways for the night.
The next morning when Tim wandered into the common room, he blinked.
There was some sort of shrub in the middle of the room, decorated with various trinkets and glowing objects that Tim couldn’t name. There were boxes underneath, varying in sizes. Colourful strings and ribbons were strewn around the room, imitating the decor Tim had tried his best to explain to his alien friend the night before. Off to the side, Jason stood grinning. He was surrounded by the rest of the crew.
“Surprise! Christmas!”
Tim swallowed, tears pricking the corners of his eyes.
“You… you did all this for me?” Tim’s voice wavered. Jason shuffled, suddenly seeming unsure.
“I tried to mimic what you told me. Was I close?” Tim launched himself at Jason and hugged him tightly.
“It’s perfect.”
The day was spent with Tim teaching everyone traditions with makeshift items from around the ship.
He showed Damian how to build a gingerbread house with various wafers and sweet fruits stuck together with a paste he had made out of what he thought was a honey equivalent and more wafers, and laughed when he tried to take a careful bite out of the top when they were finished. He tried to teach Dick Christmas carols, until Jason had thrown a box at Dick’s head for the screeching he was doing. He smiled as Bruce carefully welded hooks to a wall to hang fabric pouches filled with food in an imitation of stocking for everyone. He smiled when they sat him down to open the boxes that they had filled with trinkets that had caught his eye and new clothes to wear.
The end of the day was spent with the crew surrounding Tim as he tried his best to retell A Christmas Carol from memory. Finally, after everyone had retired for the evening, Jason sat down next to him.
“I know it’s not like Earth, but I think it was fun.” Jason murmured. He hesitated again before handing over one last box. “Here. Happy Christmas.” Tim carefully opened the box and pulled out a familiar blaster.
“Is this…?” Jason nodded.
“You said Christmas is about family and traditions, and it felt fitting to give you something from when we found you and made you our family.”
Tim hugged Jason tightly again.
“Thank you. For saving me, for letting me stay, for putting all of this together.” He felt Jason’s claws carefully wrap around his back. “Merry Christmas, Jason.”
Tim never thought he’d be living in space, but at the end of the day he was glad he was.
It had brought him a family.