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“Everyone will be at the manor on the 1 st of Mars at 2 pm. No exceptions.” The ominous message had popped up on everyone's phone, with no sender. Only after Bruce asked Barbara did they figure out it was from Jason, who had no comment on the topic. Well, it wasn't the weirdest thing that had happened in the family.
Jason arrived at the manor just before 1 pm, a large bag sitting atop his motorcycle as he slid to a stop in front of the doors. He let himself in and walked to the kitchen, where he met one of his brothers.
“G’morning Jase,” Tim muttered, a large cup of coffee in his hands.
“It’s past lunch but alright,” Jason answered, dumping the large bag onto the counter. “When did you last sleep?”
“Hmm… What day is it?”
Jason sighed. “Tuesday. Please go to bed.”
“Tues… wait. Oh shit, it’s today you’re coming!” Tim sat up and looked at Jason. “Which, obviously, seeing you’re here. You gonna tell anyone what the big secret is?”
“I’m baking. Get some sleep before patrol or I’ll make sure you’re not going on patrol.”
“Whatever,” Tim answered, not caring much about his brother’s threats. “What are you baking? Does Alfred know?”
Jason gave Tim a look TM . Even though Jason was allowed in the kitchen, no one entered it without the butler knowing. He didn’t give any answer to the first question, instead unpacking the bag. From it he took up a large box filled with buns, multiple packages of coconut cream as well as lots of almond paste. Tim looked confused.
“I hope you don’t expect me to know what this is.”
“It’s semlor.” Tim still looked confused, the answer not explaining anything.
“Could you whip this for me?” Jason asked as he poured cream into a large bowl before placing it in front of the boy. Tim, knowing when to argue and when to not, simply obeyed.
Jason began with cutting off the top of the buns, creating small and delicate lids.
“Jason! You’re here, I thought you’d meet us in the cave?” Dick exclaimed before attacking Jason with a hug from behind.
“Learn to read, I said the manor,” Jason shot back. “You can help me by hollowing them out, not too much though.” Using the knife and a spoon, he showed how on one of the buns, before passing it alone to Dick.
“O-kay, I’ll just pretend to know what’s going on here then,” Dick said, but got started on the task.
“I’m making semlor.”
“Mind explaining what that is?”
“It’s a Swedish tradition where they make those pastries once a year, before easter,” Jason offered as an explanation.
“…why would we follow a Swedish tradition?” Tim asked, both he and Dick confused.
“Because it tastes good?” Jason countered. “I lived in Sweden for a couple of months and got to try these. They’re really good.”
“And you figured that was a good enough reason to send out an ominous text telling everyone to be here?” Bruce asked, as he had appeared in the door opening.
“Yes.”
“You do realise you’re making Damian skip his last class? I’m on my way to get him now.”
“He’ll miss history, they’re learning about the French revolution. He already knows more than they’re going to learn in his whole school time. I think he’ll manage.” Jason didn’t look up from cutting the buns and Bruce sighed.
“We’ll see you soon, please don’t burn down the house.”
“Tim, how’s the cream going? It’s supposed to be pretty stiff.”
“It needs a bit more,” Tim answered, none of the children (Dick included) bothering to answer their father.
Jason nodded and started dumping the almond paste into a food processor, adding the last of the coconut cream to it before turning it on. The noise managed the near-impossible and quited the boys down. Jason helped Dick hollow out the rest of the buns, where Tim soon joined them.
When every bun had been hollowed out, he dumped the crumbs into the almond paste and let it mix together, before turning off the food processor.
Steph looked into the kitchen just a moment after Jason shut off the processor.
“Is that awful noise finally gone?” She wondered as Cass entered behind her. The girl didn’t make a sound as she conjured up a spoon and dipped it into the mix. The next thing they knew she was sitting atop a shelf.
Jason grunted in response as he carried the container over to the counter, where the buns sat. He spooned the paste into the buns, motioning for the others to help. Cass stayed atop the shelf, but Jason knew better than to argue with her.
“That encryption you used was good, but you might want to change some variables. Believe it or not, but basing it upon your own death is not the best way to make it secure,” Babs commented as she joined them.
“It’s effective if you don’t want B to break it,” Jason countered.
“Fair enough, he did need help with it,” Barbara agreed.
The siblings, plus Steph and Barbara, continued chatting as they kept filling up the semlor. After the paste they placed whipped cream on top, before the lid was carefully placed back on. Jason finished it off with dusting powdered sugar over them.
“Dickiebird, could you gather everyone in the dining hall?” Jason asked when they were finished. When Steph tried to pick up one of the plates he swatted her hands away, before handing Cass one and taking the other himself.
“Offensive but understandable,” Steph said with a huff. Tim laughed and picked up the coffee pot. Jason let him, knowing Tim would never risk spilling coffee.
Alfred had set the large table in the dining hall, where the family had seated.
“So, some have questioned why i’ve gathered you here today, and I’m sorry to inform you all that this will not include a drug bust. Whether it has anything to do with drugs will not be revealed. Those are semlor, a Swedish tradition.”
Cass helped him serve them out, before sitting down at their own seats. Most everyone seemed a bit sceptical but still tried a bite, after which the uncertainty seemed to disappear.
“Hey, this is actually good!” Steph said.
“When you first told me of this dessert, I’ll admit I was a bit suspicious, but this is actually good. It is not as much like a hamburger as I had feared,” Alfred said.
No one had any complaints about the semlor and afterwards, it was clear that it would now also be a batradition.