Thanks for all the positive feedback on this story! I really appreciate it :)
After all tha in the last chapter, I thought a lil fluff would be needed.
Dick: 21
Jason: 19
Tim: 16
Damien: 10
Wayne Manor
Gotham City
"Sir... Master Bruce.."
A gentle but firm hand on Bruce's shoulder awoke him from his unexpected nap. The man's eyes opened slowly as he furrowed his eyebrows slightly, glancing over his shoulder at the man behind him. Alfred was standing with a cup of coffee in his free hand, his other rested on Bruce's shoulder.
"Thanks Alfred."
Silently, Bruce reached out and took the warm mug, remembering he hadn't yet changed out of his uniform. He had a long night, granted not the most dangerous. Penguin and his lackeys decided to stir up some trouble at the bank and the gem depository, one of his many...many failed attempts at robbery the Batman had thwarted. Frankly it was often after fighting Penguin and his friends that tired Bruce out the most. They weren't that tough just stubborn and persistent, they were exhausting really. He was just lucky to get the strange man back to Arkham and off the streets.
"Do try and get to get some sleep, Master Bruce." Alfred commented and Bruce didn't miss the slight teasing tone in his voice.
"I'll do what I can." he retorted quietly, taking a small sip of the coffee as Alfred turned and began to remove several coffee mugs scattered about by the bat-computer.
"Then again, perhaps your substituting caffeine for sleep?" The elderly butler perked a brow when he noticed a few of the mugs on the floor, almost hidden under one of the computers.
"Not me." Bruce responded quietly, sipping once again at the coffee. Alfred didn't have to ask who the culprit was then, the realization dawned on him almost immediately. The mugs quickly piled up on the metal tray he carried in both hands and with an exasperated sigh, he turned and began to walk to the elevator.
"I'll be back for the rest..." he spoke quietly, eyeing the mountain of mugs on the tray in front of him and the ones that still remained scattered about various working areas in the cave.
Bruce shook his head quietly, rubbing his hand over his face. Tim was never one to shy away from hard work and late nights, but as soon as he was introduced to the limitless amount of coffee Alfred supplied him, he was hooked. It was a miracle if he went two hours without the drink. Bruce thought it'd be funny if it wasn't so concerning.
A buzzing noise from under a pile of case files snagged Bruce's attention and he quickly swept the papers neatly to the side and glanced to the phone underneath. He sighed quietly and picked it up, reading the message displayed on the screen.
Where are you? Meeting starts in one hour.
"Shit.." Bruce quietly muttered, setting the mug down beside the keyboard carefully. One of the downsides of staying out late was the occasional work repercussions. Typically balancing his work as Batman and his life as Bruce Wayne came easily to him, but there were some days when it didn't and he'd find himself late for a meeting or two. This is one of those days. Slowly, he stood before moving to the elevator, his gaze sweeping up to Alfred who had returned from upstairs and now held a folded suit in his arms. An otherwise unnoticeable smile graced his lips as he nodded in thanks to the butler. One of the very few mysteries Bruce was unable to solve was how Alfred seemed to know everything.
"I thought I'd inform you of the cancellation of school, sir." Alfred handed over the clothes to Bruce, watching as the man walked past him and to the elevator.
"I should only be a little while then if the weather's bad." Bruce responded briskly. "Think you can handle them?"
Alfred perked a brow at Bruce before turning and moving to collect the rest of the coffee mugs.
"I'll do what I can." the butler responded in the same dry tone Bruce had used moments before. Bruce didn't bother responding, the smile remaining on his face as the doors to the elevator closed then opened again on the second floor. He knew Alfred could handle the boys, and they could handle themselves, they were all old enough. But it still didn't stop the strange concern he felt, perhaps an overprotectiveness. But he quickly shook it off, they were staying home not going out on patrol. Still.. they were rarely all stuck in the same place indoors at once, and they didn't always get along either... But Alfred was capable..
Then the doors opened.
"GRAYSON! If you don't return that cereal to me immediately-!"
A cackle.
Then two figures flew right past his nose, one after the other. He identified one as his eldest.. still in his pajamas, a dark blue shirt and pajama pants, wearing only a pair of thin socks over his feet. The other was a fuming Damian, rolling pin in hand as he sprinted after the blue streak that was Dick. In Dick's hand was a box of sugary cereal which he held above his head while running from the ball of fury.
"No way, little buddy, this thing as wAaAaY too much sugar for a growing, precious angel like yoursel- OOF!"
Bruce stepped out of the elevator in time for Damian to leap up and ontop of Dick, the latter managing to keep his balance for a few moments before toppling over. Damian waved the rolling pin in front of his brother's face, eyes blazing with fury while Dick hugged the box to his chest, a goofy grin on his face.
"Give me the box now or die." he hissed. And somehow the idea of Damian killing someone over cereal didn't surprise him.
Bruce slowly glanced over to the kitchen table where Tim sat with a mug of coffee in his hands, watching with a blank, but almost exasperated expression while Jason sat across from him, cleaning a pistol while occasionally glancing over to watch with a smirk on his face.
"Yeah get him, you little gremlin." he called out, giving his own pistol a wave.
"Don't encourage him, Jay.." Tim reprimanded quietly, he took an almost nervous sip from the mug, his leg already bouncing up and down.
"What you think he's going to actually kill him?" Jason scoffed, leaning on the table. "It's a rolling pin not a sword."
Tim scrunched up his nose, clinging to the mug as he shrugged his shoulders.
"And yet somehow the idea of Damian killing someone over a box of cereal doesn't surprise me.."
"Shut up, Drake!" Damian snapped from where he was seated, effectively silencing the clearly irritated Tim.
Meanwhile Dick continued to laugh light-heartedly, smiling innocently at Damian.
"Well you won't be able to kill anyone if you end up with diabetes at twenty- oW!"
Bruce gave a small sigh as Damian whacked Dick hard on the shoulder with the rolling pin repeatedly, showing no signs of stopping. The man quietly stepped forward, gently grabbed Damian by the back of the shirt and pulled him off Dick, holding him in the air for a moment as the current Robin flailed his arms at his brother.
"Hey! Put me down!" Damian turned his attention to Bruce, scowling.
"Enough. No fighting." Bruce finally set Damian down.
"But he started it by robbing me!" The young Wayne shifted his attention and pointed to Dick who was still rubbing his sore shoulder with an amused grin.
"Damian, I said enough. Do I have to ground you from patrol for a week?"
"Again.." Tim coughed quietly, holding the coffee mug in front of his face as Jason gave a bark of laughter.
Damian whipped around, eyes alight with fury.
"Care to repeat that, Drake?" he snapped viciously, taking a step forward as Tim smiled innocently. Bruce placed a firm hand on his son's shoulder, pulling him back slightly.
"How come he never gets in trouble like I do!" Damian scowled and pointed to Tim.
"Because I'm not a homicidal lunatic."
"You want to see a homicidal lunatic, huh?!" Damian waved the rolling pin and tried to approach again only for Bruce to grab it and the back of Damian's shirt once again.
"No matter what I do, I'm always the one to get in trouble!" The boy continued, his gaze glued onto Tim's. "And when he does something wrong, it's brushed aside!"
"Suffer."
"DRAKE!"
Bruce placed both hands on Damian's shoulders now.
"Both of you. I said enough." Bruce snapped suddenly, basking in the momentary silence that fell over the room. His gaze shifted to person to person, before he let go of Damian and sighed.
"I'm going to a meeting, Alfred's in charge and I expect you won't give him any trouble. Understand?" He made his way in the direction of the stairs quietly.
Damian grumbled to himself but responded only with a curt nod. Dick and Tim both exchanged a glance before nodding while Jason continued to clean the pistol, not giving any sort of reaction.
"That applies to you too, Jason."
The only response from the preoccupied man was a singular middle finger before he went back to fiddling with the gun.
"Glad we're all on the same page..." Bruce sighed as he headed up the stairs. "Don't kill each other."
"What about Drake?"
"Wh-"
"No."
"Fine.."
Cold air whipped at Dick's face as he remained perched on the snowy bank, vigilant eyes staring out at the vast snow-covered landscape. His breathing was quiet, his posture tense. He didn't know how long he was crouched there or how much longer he had to remain hidden, he just knew he was waiting for the first strike. A head poked up beside him, peering over the snow bank as well.
"Stay down, Damian..." Dick quietly muttered, his eyes never leaving the landscape before him.
And then suddenly, movement from behind one of the trees, it was brief and subtle. Anyone else probably wouldn't have seen it.
"Right there, Grayson." Damian spoke up, having neglected Dick's request to stay concealed.
"I saw.."
Slowly, Dick slipped down behind the snow bank, gesturing for Damian to follow his lead. The young boy did so, narrowing his eyes slightly and Dick couldn't help giving a small smile. His little brother looked so... unintimidating at that moment, all wrapped up in a snow coat almost a bit too big for him, the hood pulled up dramatically over his head.
"Here's the plan... we let them make the first move, okay?"
Damian nodded quietly, narrowing his eyes slightly as he peered back over the snowbank, eyeing the treeline. Then suddenly the quiet crunching of snow from behind them and a menacing voice.
"We'll make the first move alright."
Dick barely had time to turn around before something cold and hard connected with his chest, sending him reeling into the snowbank. Damian, however, was hit hard in the back of the head. He gave a cry of rage and whipped around, standing up.
"You'll pay for thA-"
He was cut off by another object straight to the face, sending him flying back to the ground, snow flying upward as he hit the ground. The sound of laughter filled Dick's ears as he sat up, grinning at his other two brothers who high-fived each other, a snowball in each of their hands.
"Sorry, Damian, care to say that again?" Tim teased with a mocking grin.
Dick stared at the pair, beside Tim stood Jason, one hand on his hip while the other tossed a snowball up and down in the air, preparing to throw it. He quickly sprang to the side, narrowly dodging the icy weapon and glanced back to Damian who was scrambling to his feet, grabbing up a literal armful of snow.
"You're DEAD, Drake!"
"Eep-!"
Jason himself leapt after Dick as Damian practically threw himself at Tim, the latter giving a startled yelp and scrambling away from the baby assassin.
"Sorry to ruin your plans, Dickie." Jason grinned, grabbing up another handful of snow and forming it carefully into a ball. Meanwhile, Dick had rolled to the other side of the snowbank, crouching behind it, just out of Jason's sight. The acrobat smiled deviously to himself, scooping up his own handful of snow before leaping up onto the bank, using it to shove himself up and into the air to flip right over Jason.
"Who said it's ruined?"
He landed gracefully behind his brother, pulling back the hood on his coat to dump the handful of snow right down his shirt.
"Shit!" Jason scowled and whirled around, spinning frantically before tripping over his own feet and landing hard into the snowbank as Dick laughed hysterically, taking a few steps back.
"Gotcha." Dick flashed a smile and a pair of goofy hand guns. "See Dami, you just gotta- oh."
The boy was missing, as was Tim. Not good.
"jEsuS-"
Dick perked up at the sound of a distressed shout, peering over the snowbank to see a cursing Damian literally dragging Tim by the ankles through the snow.
"Damian-!"
Dick leapt up to intervene, only to be grabbed by the leg and yanked downward by the still grumbling Jason.
"Hey hold on a minute, can't we just talk about this-!" he broke off with a squeal as Jason shoved a handful of snow down his shirt, but he didn't stop there. He held Dick in place and continued to mercilessly shovel handful after handful of snow into his jacket.
"Little shit-" Jason scowled, continuing his icy attack on his brother.
Dick flailed comedically in an attempt to escape from his snowy fate, but to no avail. In fact the only thing that even slowed Jason down was the sound of pounding footsteps in the snow and a startled scream.
"The fuck?" Dick heard Jason grumble then watched as he peered over the top of the snow bank just in time for Tim to fly into the pair, knocking them all into the snow. Tim groaned as he stayed right where he had fallen, sprawled on top of both Jason and Dick. The eldest of the brothers slowly sat up, forcing Tim to roll off of them and into the snow. He tossed him a glance before looking back up over the mound of snow and ice.
Damian stood a few feet away, breathing heavily, before he slowly began to advance on the trio.
"Damian- hold on. We're on the same team here."
"The hell do you think you're doing, you little cretin?"
"Wait...Damian, don'T-!"
Dick watched helpless as Damian leapt up into the air, right over the snow bank and landed on top of all three of them, effectively winding all of them. Jason let out a colorful stream of strained curses, the weight on Dick dissipating as Jason grabbed Damian by the hood and shoved him away from them. For a moment they all remained on the ground, Damian the only one to sit up and toss an arrogant smile their way.
"I win."
Tim groaned from underneath Jason.
"Kill me.."
Damian stood slowly and cracked his knuckles.
"Finally."
"Hey wait-"
Alfred had left the boys up to their own devices the moment Bruce had left. In truth, he assumed they could all take care of and entertain themselves, his job was just to keep them from killing each other. And by how quiet everything was in the house, he assumed he was successful. At least he was able to do the dishes in peace.
Granted he had seen the four of them outside an hour before, screaming and chasing each other around like maniacs and he wasn't quite sure if he was meant to intervene or not. So he stayed out of it and let them have their fun, which ended up to be a good decision on his part. They had all returned inside shortly after their snowball war, each and every one of them covered in snow and ice.
The snacks and hot chocolate he was preparing for them went mostly undisturbed as well. Normally Dick or Jason, sometimes both, would sneak into the kitchen while he was making up meals and steal various bits of food before he brought them out. He assumed they had gotten themselves tired out as all the food was accounted for.
The butler carefully arranged some cookies and mugs of hot chocolate then moved from the kitchen to the den where he knew the four would be. But the sight he walked in on was not one he had initially expected.
All four of them were asleep in generally the same area. Dick was passed out on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket with Damian dozing quite literally on top of him, while Jason had fallen asleep sitting up, his head resting in his hand where he had leaned on the arm of the couch. Tim himself was in a nearby chair, curled up and practically covered head to toe in a massive fluffy blanket, a mug of coffee sitting on the table beside him.
Alfred watched for a moment, a very small smile crossing his face as he set the tray down on an end table and turned to quietly walk back into the kitchen, letting his family sleep in peace.
A/N: Hey freeeens, hope you enjoyed this! Again if you have any requests, just shoot me a DM and I'd love to write it up!
:)
