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Title: But Which We Cherish
Fandom: DC (Wayne Family Adventures)
Characters/Pairings: Bruce, Ace, Damian, Jason, Tim, Dick, Steph, Cass, Duke, Titus
Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with DC. It's not my toy box and I'm merely playing.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Bruce decides to check on his children before heading to bed, except he can't seem to find them.
A/N: Thank you to moon_multifandom_disater for the prompt. The title is from the Mary Oliver poem 'Coming Home'.
But Which We Cherish:
Bruce is weary by the time he gets back up into the manor. He reminds himself that Dick should be here sometime in the morning and, then after Duke and Damian get home from school, everyone should be staying for the weekend. Jason sent him a message that Tim is already back. Steph will even be here. Maybe she’s not staying the weekend? Bruce is just going to trust that they’ll get her to stay for the weekend. Maybe he should order breakfast? Or should he wait until tomorrow morning to order breakfast? He’s too tired to make these decisions.
Ace meets him in the hallway and Bruce pauses to pet him. He stifles a yawn, then asks, “Who should we check on first?”
Damian and Cass always wake up when he checks on them. He used to feel guilty about waking them, but he also has trouble relaxing until he can see that they’re safe. He and Ace pause outside Cass’ door.
“Don’t get too excited. Steph is here,” Bruce warns. Ace’s tail starts wagging faster. He loves Steph. “Sit. Stay.”
Ace sits and wiggles slightly, but then stills. Bruce nods. Cass had said earlier that Steph is staying over because she’s been having nightmares and Cass wants to be there to comfort her if she needs it. Bruce opens the door carefully, expecting to see both young women. The bed is empty. Bruce frowns. Maybe Cass is staying at Stephs’? Then why does the bed look like it’s been slept in? Maybe they’re in the kitchen? He closes Cass’ door.
Damian next then. Damian says he sleeps better after Bruce checks on him because he knows that his father is home safe. Bruce tells Ace to come with him. He opens the door expecting to see Damian cuddling Titus and Alfred the cat. Alfred the cat is sleeping on Damian’s pillow. There’s no Damian and no Titus. Maybe Damian is down in the kitchen too? Bruce considers what the Batcave look like when he got in. Damian didn’t go out. He doesn’t fully close Damian’s door, just in case the cat wants out.
The light in Duke’s room is off, which is usually an indication that he’s gone to bed. Bruce opens the door and stares at the empty bed. There’s an explanation. There’s no need for nervousness to start churning in his gut. They can’t have gone far, both Duke and Damian have school in the morning. Bruce tells himself that one more time. Ace nudges his hand and Bruce pauses to pet him. There’s an explanation for his wayward children. He just hasn’t found it yet.
At the very least one of them is probably cuddling Tim, since Tim sleeps better if he’s sharing a bed. That in mind Bruce heads for Tim’s room. The light is off, but a lot of time Tim works in the dark so it’s not really an indicator of if he’s asleep or not. Bruce hopes he’s asleep, especially this soon back from a mission. Bruce spares a moment to hope that Tim’s boyfriend likes cuddling or that Tim at last had the ‘I sleep better if there is cuddling’ discussion with his boyfriend. Tim would, right? Maybe. Should he ask or is he overreaching if he asks? Bruce yawns and decides that he’ll think about this more later, when he’s not so tired. He opens Tim’s door expecting to at least see Tim and some of his other children. The bed’s empty and Tim’s laptop is sitting in the middle of it. Bruce steps into the room and makes sure the laptop is turned off. He takes it to Tim’s desk and makes sure it’s plugged in to charge. The least he can do is makes sure it’s ready for Tim to use later. He closes Tim’s door and glances down the hall, making sure he’s remembered to shut everyone else’s door.
Should he check Jay’s room? Just because Jason said that Tim is home doesn’t mean that Jason stayed. Except Steph isn’t sleeping well and Bruce thinks Damian might not be either. Also, Tim just got home and Dick is supposed to be here tomorrow. Jason is like him and seems to relax when he knows everyone is safe. It makes Bruce think that maybe Jason would decide to spend the night, keep an eye on everyone until either Bruce or Dick are here, or at least until Alfred is awake to do the fussing. Bruce opens Jason’s door. His bed is empty too. Bruce lets himself lean against the doorframe frowning.
Ace whines and starts to wander away. Maybe they’re in the kitchen? Maybe everyone is having a late-night snack or a late-night movie night? Not the best thing when two of them have school in the morning, but understandable if they’re having trouble sleeping. Ace whines again and paws at Dick’s door. Bruce lets himself have a self-deprecating smile and shakes his head. Then again all of his kids might be missing Dick and have decided to borrow their brother’s specifically built so it can hold all of them bed. Bruce makes his way over. He pauses before he opens the door, reminding himself that the manor is large and there are so many different places his kids could be. He doesn’t need to worry if they’re not in Dick’s room.
He opens the door. He stares. He pats his pocket and locates his phone so he can quickly and quietly as possible takes a few pictures. Cass is on the outside of the bed near the door. She makes a waving motion at him and then goes back to cuddling Steph. Steph’s blonde hair just peeks out from where she’s surrounded by Cass and Dick. Tim’s face is barely visible against Dick’s back. Damian is cuddling Tim. Duke is cuddling Damian and Jason has the outside of the bed. Jason lifts his head, makes a motion similar to the one Cass did and goes back to sleep. Damian shifts, lifting his head off Tim’s back to blink at him. Damian’s curls stick up in several directions. This surrounded he’s likely not been moving around enough to mess up his hair. He’s also wearing Jason’s Wonder Women hoodie. There’s the collar of another sweater visible underneath. Damian only layers like that if he’s stressed. He must have had a nightmare. Bruce decides to find time to take him aside tomorrow. Maybe he can pick up Duke and Damian after school and have them decide on a treat to pick up for everyone on the way home? Damian might not decide to share with him, but he might, and if he doesn’t Bruce can encourage Dick to ask. Cass is already checking in with Steph, but he can find time to talk to her too.
Damian says a soft command to Titus and his dog gets off his dog bed to come over to Bruce and lean on him slightly. Bruce pets him. He lets himself take in his children again. He feels himself relax. It’s rare to have them home like this. He wants to just stand there and bask in their presence; except they need their rest and he doesn’t want to risk waking all of them. He steps out of the room, both dogs following. He shuts the door quietly. He glances at the few pictures he took of them sleeping. He smiles at them for a moment, then yawns. He shakes his head at himself, selects the best picture, and sends it to Alfred. That done he heads to his room with the dogs for some rest of his own.
Fandom: DC (Wayne Family Adventures)
Characters/Pairings: Bruce, Ace, Damian, Jason, Tim, Dick, Steph, Cass, Duke, Titus
Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with DC. It's not my toy box and I'm merely playing.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Bruce decides to check on his children before heading to bed, except he can't seem to find them.
A/N: Thank you to moon_multifandom_disater for the prompt. The title is from the Mary Oliver poem 'Coming Home'.
But Which We Cherish:
Bruce is weary by the time he gets back up into the manor. He reminds himself that Dick should be here sometime in the morning and, then after Duke and Damian get home from school, everyone should be staying for the weekend. Jason sent him a message that Tim is already back. Steph will even be here. Maybe she’s not staying the weekend? Bruce is just going to trust that they’ll get her to stay for the weekend. Maybe he should order breakfast? Or should he wait until tomorrow morning to order breakfast? He’s too tired to make these decisions.
Ace meets him in the hallway and Bruce pauses to pet him. He stifles a yawn, then asks, “Who should we check on first?”
Damian and Cass always wake up when he checks on them. He used to feel guilty about waking them, but he also has trouble relaxing until he can see that they’re safe. He and Ace pause outside Cass’ door.
“Don’t get too excited. Steph is here,” Bruce warns. Ace’s tail starts wagging faster. He loves Steph. “Sit. Stay.”
Ace sits and wiggles slightly, but then stills. Bruce nods. Cass had said earlier that Steph is staying over because she’s been having nightmares and Cass wants to be there to comfort her if she needs it. Bruce opens the door carefully, expecting to see both young women. The bed is empty. Bruce frowns. Maybe Cass is staying at Stephs’? Then why does the bed look like it’s been slept in? Maybe they’re in the kitchen? He closes Cass’ door.
Damian next then. Damian says he sleeps better after Bruce checks on him because he knows that his father is home safe. Bruce tells Ace to come with him. He opens the door expecting to see Damian cuddling Titus and Alfred the cat. Alfred the cat is sleeping on Damian’s pillow. There’s no Damian and no Titus. Maybe Damian is down in the kitchen too? Bruce considers what the Batcave look like when he got in. Damian didn’t go out. He doesn’t fully close Damian’s door, just in case the cat wants out.
The light in Duke’s room is off, which is usually an indication that he’s gone to bed. Bruce opens the door and stares at the empty bed. There’s an explanation. There’s no need for nervousness to start churning in his gut. They can’t have gone far, both Duke and Damian have school in the morning. Bruce tells himself that one more time. Ace nudges his hand and Bruce pauses to pet him. There’s an explanation for his wayward children. He just hasn’t found it yet.
At the very least one of them is probably cuddling Tim, since Tim sleeps better if he’s sharing a bed. That in mind Bruce heads for Tim’s room. The light is off, but a lot of time Tim works in the dark so it’s not really an indicator of if he’s asleep or not. Bruce hopes he’s asleep, especially this soon back from a mission. Bruce spares a moment to hope that Tim’s boyfriend likes cuddling or that Tim at last had the ‘I sleep better if there is cuddling’ discussion with his boyfriend. Tim would, right? Maybe. Should he ask or is he overreaching if he asks? Bruce yawns and decides that he’ll think about this more later, when he’s not so tired. He opens Tim’s door expecting to at least see Tim and some of his other children. The bed’s empty and Tim’s laptop is sitting in the middle of it. Bruce steps into the room and makes sure the laptop is turned off. He takes it to Tim’s desk and makes sure it’s plugged in to charge. The least he can do is makes sure it’s ready for Tim to use later. He closes Tim’s door and glances down the hall, making sure he’s remembered to shut everyone else’s door.
Should he check Jay’s room? Just because Jason said that Tim is home doesn’t mean that Jason stayed. Except Steph isn’t sleeping well and Bruce thinks Damian might not be either. Also, Tim just got home and Dick is supposed to be here tomorrow. Jason is like him and seems to relax when he knows everyone is safe. It makes Bruce think that maybe Jason would decide to spend the night, keep an eye on everyone until either Bruce or Dick are here, or at least until Alfred is awake to do the fussing. Bruce opens Jason’s door. His bed is empty too. Bruce lets himself lean against the doorframe frowning.
Ace whines and starts to wander away. Maybe they’re in the kitchen? Maybe everyone is having a late-night snack or a late-night movie night? Not the best thing when two of them have school in the morning, but understandable if they’re having trouble sleeping. Ace whines again and paws at Dick’s door. Bruce lets himself have a self-deprecating smile and shakes his head. Then again all of his kids might be missing Dick and have decided to borrow their brother’s specifically built so it can hold all of them bed. Bruce makes his way over. He pauses before he opens the door, reminding himself that the manor is large and there are so many different places his kids could be. He doesn’t need to worry if they’re not in Dick’s room.
He opens the door. He stares. He pats his pocket and locates his phone so he can quickly and quietly as possible takes a few pictures. Cass is on the outside of the bed near the door. She makes a waving motion at him and then goes back to cuddling Steph. Steph’s blonde hair just peeks out from where she’s surrounded by Cass and Dick. Tim’s face is barely visible against Dick’s back. Damian is cuddling Tim. Duke is cuddling Damian and Jason has the outside of the bed. Jason lifts his head, makes a motion similar to the one Cass did and goes back to sleep. Damian shifts, lifting his head off Tim’s back to blink at him. Damian’s curls stick up in several directions. This surrounded he’s likely not been moving around enough to mess up his hair. He’s also wearing Jason’s Wonder Women hoodie. There’s the collar of another sweater visible underneath. Damian only layers like that if he’s stressed. He must have had a nightmare. Bruce decides to find time to take him aside tomorrow. Maybe he can pick up Duke and Damian after school and have them decide on a treat to pick up for everyone on the way home? Damian might not decide to share with him, but he might, and if he doesn’t Bruce can encourage Dick to ask. Cass is already checking in with Steph, but he can find time to talk to her too.
Damian says a soft command to Titus and his dog gets off his dog bed to come over to Bruce and lean on him slightly. Bruce pets him. He lets himself take in his children again. He feels himself relax. It’s rare to have them home like this. He wants to just stand there and bask in their presence; except they need their rest and he doesn’t want to risk waking all of them. He steps out of the room, both dogs following. He shuts the door quietly. He glances at the few pictures he took of them sleeping. He smiles at them for a moment, then yawns. He shakes his head at himself, selects the best picture, and sends it to Alfred. That done he heads to his room with the dogs for some rest of his own.