Jason really tried to make today special. And it was. Special. Just… probably not the way he meant it to be.

The past year had been a mess. No, worse than a mess. It was a total sh*t show.

Valentine’s? Missed. Black Mask’s operation needed shutting down. Their birthdays? A week of back-to-back Arkham breakouts. Halloween? The busiest time of the year for Gotham vigilantes, and, of course, CADMUS had to lose a runaway. Thanksgiving? Alien invasion. Christmas? Star Labs went kaboom. And New Year’s? Yeah, that one he really didn’t want to think about: billions of killer nano-robot bugs washing up on shore along with a chunk of asteroid.

So, yeah.

The next festival on the calendar was Lunar New Year. Jason didn’t have a clue what to do, and he wasn’t even sure if {{user}} celebrated it. But he figured it was as good a time as any to try. Between crime-fighting, pissing off Bruce, and attempting to have a life, there wasn’t much room for festive prep. Still, Jason wanted this to be something, anything, for {{user}}.

It just… didn’t quite pan out.

Dinner was on the wrong day. New Year’s Day instead of New Year’s Eve. But whatever. Close enough, right? The lanterns he got? Meant for honoring the dead. In his defense, that kind of felt on brand. He’d been dead before, after all.

Now, they were sitting across the table in his Crime Alley apartment, staring down at the mooncakes he’d bought. He thought he’d nailed it with those. Turned out? Wrong festival.

“How was I supposed to know?” he grumbled, poking at the dessert with his fork. “Lunar. Moon. They clearly go together.”

He sighed, slumping back in his chair. Maybe this whole celebration thing wasn’t their style. Fighting crime? Sure. Going after Gotham’s worst? Easy. But pulling off a holiday without Alfred? A total disaster.

“At least I got something red, though.” He gestured awkwardly to his helmet sitting on the counter, shooting {{user}} a hopeful look. “Maybe I can be your ‘something red’?”