Gifts From the Sea, a Batman fanfic by Raberba girl
Batfam Bingo 2019: AU: Zoo
Chapter 21 - Perfectly Normal (rough draft 2)
Due to the circumstances, Jason was allowed, after some basic checks, to live in the manor while Bruce worked on his foster parent training. Dick was kept secret from social services, but the Waynes couldn't keep their staff on holiday indefinitely.
On the day most of the staff were scheduled to return, Bruce decided to take the boys into town to visit a museum, park, and library. By the time they returned home and had cleaned themselves up a bit, everyone was ready to gather in the front hall for the announcement.
"Everyone," Thomas greeted from where he stood with the rest of the Family on the first stair landing, "We have some good news. First of all, we're welcoming back Bruce, as you can see. The rest of it is his news, so I'll let him tell it."
He moved back and clapped his son on the shoulder, and Bruce awkwardly stepped forward. A mere signaling tap was enough to prompt Dick to wheel forward with him, but Jason fiercely resisted the hand pressing against his back, and Bruce only got the boy to move in the end by subtly lifting him an inch off his feet and setting him down in the proper place. Jason jabbed two fingers into his side as punishment and attempted to duck behind him, but Bruce's arm, now around his shoulders, firmly held him in place. "Keep your eyes on Alfred," Bruce murmured to him. Jason remained tense, but at least he finally went still.
Bruce cleared his throat and surveyed his audience. The entire household staff currently present in the manor were assembled, arranged by hierarchy with Alfred in the place of highest prominence. The butler looked serene; everyone else was staring at the children, particularly Dick, in great curiosity.
"So," Bruce said, "I decided to start a family." The staff were too well-trained to react verbally, but there was some very interested rustling. "Still no lady in the picture, but I had the great pleasure of making the acquaintance of Jason here, and after getting to know each other, it seemed a natural step to begin formally fostering him as we sort out matters with his surviving parent. In the event she doesn't have the means to care for him, I hope to make my guardianship of him permanent." He couldn't see the boy's face, but he did see Alfred smile gently and felt Jason relax a tiny bit under his arm.
Bruce then set his free hand on Dick's shoulder. "This young man here is Dick, the son of very dear friends who are away at present. Until their return, I have the privilege of looking after him myself. I am very fond of both boys and love them as sons, which is also their place in this household. Dickie has a number of special needs which I will see to personally and, as such, he will be staying with me in my room. In the event you find his condition relevant to your work, please defer to his judgment, as he is well aware of his own needs and limits - or lack thereof. Alfred can answer any appropriate questions you may have, and please don't hesitate to come to us, either, if you feel the situation warrants it. Dick and Jason's safety and comfort are our highest priority." He glanced at the kids. "Would you boys like to add anything?"
Jason frantically shook his head, but Dick waved and declared, "Hi~! I love B and Grandma and Grandpa and Ah-fed and Jay a lot. They are good people."
The staff kept silent in accordance with propriety, but several of them smiled in response to the young mer's enthusiasm.
Bruce glanced at his parents, then made way when his mother stepped forward. "All right, everyone!" Martha said brightly. "That's enough of keeping dinner waiting. We're very glad to have Dickie and Jay here, and it's wonderful to have you all back as well. You're dismissed to your duties, my loves!"
As soon as the Family turned away to prepare for dinner, Bruce noticed out of the corner of his eye that half the servants were eagerly swarming Alfred. Since the faithful butler could be trusted to weed out gossip bait from the legitimate questions, Bruce didn't bother worrying.
Without having to discuss it, the three of them headed straight for Bruce's room, where Jason threw himself on the bed and rolled around, groaning.
"What is it, Jay?" Bruce chuckled, lying down on his side and propping his head on his hand. Dick launched himself onto the bed and seized the opportunity to cuddle.
"Too many peoplllle," Jason whined. "We were doing fine without them, we don't need freakin' servants!"
"It's a mansion, Jay, we can't maintain this place without servants. My parents aren't used to fending for themselves and it's not Alfred's job to do menial housework, even though he graciously picked up the slack while we figured out what we were doing. And it's a lot easier for me to look after you and Dick when I don't also have to worry about laundry and cooking and things like that."
"I don't like them," Jason said into a pillow, his voice muffled.
"You haven't even given them a chance yet."
"They'll find out about Dick and kill him."
"No one is killing Dick."
"Dad will save me," Dick said confidently, and Bruce gently kissed the top of his head.
o.o.o
Despite what he'd told Jason, Bruce was on pins and needles during dinner, hoping none of the staff would notice anything weird about the older of their new charges. Dick was his normal, cheerful self, keeping up a lively conversation with the other diners, and nothing went amiss. The Family retired to the theater after dinner to watch a movie together, and then Bruce took the boys to their rooms to get ready for bed.
"You need anything, Jay?" he asked.
"Nah, I've got it."
"Feel free to join us at any time if you like. Just knock with the code first, since I need to keep the door locked."
"Yeah, I know."
"Don't stay up late watching TV or playing video games, or I'll have Alfred take your TV away."
"I know!"
"Or reading. You need to rest."
"Bruuuuce!"
Bruce kissed the top of his head; Jason made a show of fighting him off while not actually resisting, then Bruce left the boy to his own devices and accompanied Dick next door to his own room.
The first thing he did was fill the tub with saltwater. Dick was already yanking off his hoodie and tail sleeve, and groaned in relief when Bruce lowered him into the water.
The sat quietly for several long minutes, Dick limp and weary, Bruce softly moving his fingers through his son's silky blue hair. "Tired?" he finally murmured.
"Yeah," Dick mumbled back.
"Alfred told me he set a curfew of 11:00, so none of the staff are allowed out of the servants' quarters between then and 4:30 a.m. Do you want me to wake you up a little later and take you to the pool?"
"Yes!"
"All right. Rest up, chum."
When the coast was clear, Bruce took Dick down to the indoor pool, which the mer gratefully slipped into. Dick immediately raced around a few laps, then surfaced to chitter happily at Bruce in his native language. Bruce got out some water toys and they spent an enjoyable hour or so playing around. Then Bruce sat on the steps with his son cuddled in his arms, and Dick soon fell asleep.
Bruce gently let the mer sink out of his arms and went to set up a makeshift bed for himself with some towels and a deck chair. His alarm went off at 4:00 a.m. and he groaned, but forced himself to get up and wake his son. "Dickie, come on, we need to get back to our room."
Dick was groggy and only half-conscious, and he fell right back asleep the moment Bruce set him in the bathtub. Bruce changed into dry clothes and then crawled into bed, so exhausted that he, too, fell back asleep immediately. He managed to sleep until about 7:00, when the code knock started banging on his door over and over again, more forcefully the longer Bruce procrastinated.
"Why aren't you up yet?" Jason demanded the minute the door opened.
"I didn't get much sleep last night. I had to take Dick down to the pool and then bring him back before the servants' curfew lifted."
"Why didn't you bring me?!"
"Sorry, Jay, I was too tired to remember. I'll bring you tonight, all right?"
"Okay. Where's Dick?"
"Sleeping."
Jason waltzed into the bathroom and Bruce tried to go back to sleep, but then Jason was literally jumping on his bed and Dick was loudly singing some annoying pop song, so he gave up and forced himself out of bed yet again to get ready for the day.
After breakfast, Bruce and the boys spent the morning working on paperwork and schoolwork, respectively, then he took them into town for some leisurely shopping, because they had no other plans and he liked buying things for people.
Dick ended up with five new hoodies and a couple of blankets, all with eye-catching designs; a silicone giraffe toy; a waterproof tablet so he'd have a bigger screen to occupy himself with while stuck in the bathtub; and a set of sparkly cheap jewelry that he insisted he liked better than the real jewelry Bruce tried to show him. Jason looked happy about the small pile of books he picked out, but grew alarmed and upset when Bruce tried to suggest anything else, and looked annoyed at how much Dick was getting.
"Geez, Bruce, I know you're rich, but this is dumb. Can't you, I dunno, pace yourself?"
"I like buying people things..."
"Then go to a thrift store, or a garage sale! Buying all this crap brand-new is a waste."
Bruce, feeling challenged, looked up the nearest thrift store even though he'd never in his life set foot in one. He stared around curiously as Jason showed them around, and was both amused and exasperated when, even here, Dick filled up the shopping cart and Jason didn't make any selections. "Do you want that?" Bruce asked hopefully when he saw Jason fingering a keychain.
"Nah. I don't even have any keys."
"I can still get it for you."
"I don't want it enough to buy it, I was just looking."
"Why did you want to come here if you don't want me to get you anything?"
"I never said I wanted to come here! I just think if you have to buy a ton of random crap, better a thrift store than a freakin' mall."
Bruce resisted the impulse to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Is there anywhere we can possibly go where you will find things you might want to buy today."
"No, Bruce, you already got me all these books!" Then he paused and went thoughtful.
"What did you just think of?" Bruce asked hopefully.
"Well..."
Their next stop was the central library, which had an ongoing sale of books, movies, and music that had been withdrawn or donated. Bruce's heart filled with happiness to at last see his prickly younger son filling up a shopping basket to the brim (whereas Dick, in contrast, looked around, noted the lack of sparklies, and started whining).
"Now this is how you shop," Jason declared, proudly walking out with two cheap plastic bags straining to contain their contents. "Fifteen books and one movie for $7.75! That costs less than ONE friggin' book at Barnes & Noble."
"Jason, we are billionaires. We can afford to buy fifteen books and one movie brand-new, and they wouldn't have the yellowed pages and dusty book jackets-"
"The words are the same, Bruce, it doesn't matter what color the pages are! Whaddaya think the point of a book is?!"
Bruce sighed. "As long as you're happy."
"I'm happy," Jason said defensively.
"I'm not!" Dick yelled. "Bored!"
"Okay, Dickie, we'll stop for some food and then head home."
o.o.o
Dick was dragging by the afternoon and nearly cried when it became apparent that his only options were to sit in the bathtub or remain stuck in his wheelchair. Bruce's heart ached when he remembered that around this time back home ('home' being the beach house), Dick would have finished socializing for the day and was usually able to ditch his disguise and swim in the pool or the ocean. Here at the manor where there were always servants around, he was almost constantly on the clock.
"Come on, chum," Bruce murmured, hefting his son back up into his arms. Dick clung to him and buried his face in Bruce's shoulder. "Jay," Bruce asked his worried-looking youngest, "will you go fetch Alfred for me?"
"Yeah," Jason said immediately, running to find the butler.
Bruce carried Dick to the outdoor pool and watched anxiously as Dick sank to the bottom, curling up in what looked like the very deepest part. Alfred soon strode out to join him. "You called, sir?" Jason, trotting at Alfred's heels, hopped into the pool without pausing, drawing his hood up as he went. His sleek dark form joined Dick's in the water.
"I can't keep him trapped in his chair and the tub all day," Bruce said in a low voice. "Can you...keep everyone away, but discreetly?" He didn't want anyone to get suspicious about why they might be forbidden from going outside in the afternoons.
"Certainly, sir."
"This will probably be a daily thing."
"Yes, of course."
Bruce had no idea what Alfred said to the servants, but none of the indoor ones came outside for hours, and the groundskeepers, though visible in the distance, kept far away from the pool area as they went about their work. Alfred and Martha came out every so often to check on their boys, but the kids seemed all right now.
Dick eventually surfaced, Jason at his side, and Bruce tossed them some pool toys to play with. Dick had to be careful about how much of his body was visible above water, but he seemed a lot happier now that he had much more room.
"Better?" Bruce asked from where he sat at the pool's edge.
"Yeah," Dick cooed, leaning his head against his father's knee. Bruce stroked his hair, and when Jason leaned on the edge of the pool on his other side and artfully gazed off in the distance, Bruce petted him, too.
By suppertime, Dick was refreshed enough to don his disguise again without a fuss. He hugged his grandmother when they met in the dining room and got settled in the chair next to Bruce. The evening went much like before, though this time, Jason retired for the night to Bruce's room rather than his own. "Jus' seems easier," he remarked, shrugging.
"All right, but we've got some time to kill before curfew, and I'd like to get some sleep. You and Dick keep it down and stay out of trouble, all right?"
A few hours later by the indoor pool, Bruce fell asleep before the boys did, lying on a deck chair as the boys played in the water. He woke up to find himself in a towel nest on the floor, with Dick cuddled in his arms and Jason curled up against his back.
"Turn it off," the younger boy moaned, wrapping both arms over his head.
"We need to get back to my room," Bruce said, shutting off his phone alarm. "You can sleep again once we're there."
Thankfully, the boys let him sleep in longer this time. It was late in the morning by the time all three of them were ready for the day, and Jason, probably because he was hungry, was whiny and irritable as Bruce packed everything mer-related out of sight and scrubbed stray scales from the tub. "Almost ready, Jay."
"No one's gonna come in, the door's friggin' locked!"
"Yes, but I'm not the only one with the key, Jason, and I don't want to take unnecessary risks with Dick's safety."
"Fire your servants if you can't trust 'em!"
"Jay, please..."
They were all startled to open the door and find a cluster of maids right outside, leaning together and whispering intently. The young women startled back. "Oh! Master Bruce, we didn't- Er, we've come to clean your room, sir."
"Didn't Alfred give you special instructions about my room?" Bruce demanded. Dick, looking uncertain, was hanging onto his sleeve, and Jason, probably picking up on his angry anxiety, had hidden behind him.
The maids hastily curtsied. "Ah, forgive the presumption, sir, it's just, there's no need to clean your own room-"
"My room is off-limits while the boys are here," Bruce snapped. "There's delicate medical equipment and I have things optimally arranged to make it easier for Dick. No one other than Alfred even touches the doorknob of my room, are we clear?"
"Yes, Master Bruce," they all murmured, curtsying again before scurrying off.
"Nosy pests," Jason snarled into the back of Bruce's shirt.
Since these particular young maids were fairly new, having presumably been hired after Bruce had left for college, he didn't really know them personally, and so had nothing to say in defense of them.
They stopped briefly by the kitchen to let the cook know they were up, and she immediately paused her work to start fetching the meals she'd saved for them. "Ah, young masters! Take a seat in the dining room, my loves, I'll have your breakfast out in a minute."
There was raw fish for Dick as usual, presumably because of his extremely specific dietary needs and restrictions. Bruce was glad that they had convinced the staff not to have any servant on hand for the meal when his parents weren't present, since it meant he could consume Dick's dipping sauce and avoid suspicion about why the boy ate nothing but raw seafood. Jason would eat pretty much anything, and Bruce wasn't picky, either. They had a bell to ring if they needed any help, though Jason seemed averse to it and Bruce had long ago grown used to eating without any servants at his beck and call. Dick only used it for the sheer amusement of watching people in uniform appear like magic in response.
"Not a false alarm, for once," Bruce said apologetically when Carlos entered the room for the final time. "I think we're finished."
"Very good, sir," the man said cheerfully, starting to gather up dishes.
"You come every time I ring the bell!" Dick laughed.
"I do, indeed, Master Richard," Carlos said with an indulgent smile.
o.o.o
For several reasons, Bruce hoped very much that he could adopt Jason, and one of those reasons was because he could see how hard the landlocked living conditions were on Dick and wanted to get him back to the ocean as soon as possible. The mer at first refused Bruce's offer to send him down to Atlantis for a while, but as the weeks dragged on, Dick started to reconsider the prospect. His feelings were so torn that he'd often get overwhelmed and throw a fit, then cry himself to sleep in his father's arms.
Though Jason was faring better, he, too, indicated several times that he missed the sea. "I didn't know," he mumbled once, not looking up from his book. Dick and Martha (and Ace) were laughing and splashing loudly in the lake, but it was quiet here in the shade under the trees. "Living here m' whole life, I didn't know what was missing, but now... I need- The water, real water, I just- need it."
He risked a glimpse up at Bruce, who rested a hand on his arm. "That's not surprising. I'm working as fast as I can, lad."
The corner of Jason's mouth quirked. "I know. I'm jus' complaining. Venting."
Bruce pulled him close and Jason curled into his side, settling down again with the book.
Bruce hesitated a long time before asking, "Jay?"
"Huh...?"
"Can you...be Robin for a few minutes?"
Jason squinted up at him suspiciously.
"I love both versions of you very much, but I haven't gotten to cuddle Robin in a long time."
"You just like me better when I can't talk," Jason grumbled.
"Can't you talk as a seal?" Bruce wondered. "You have a pretty impressive vocal range."
Jason hesitated, then took a deep breath, sat up, and hesitantly tugged his hood down over his head.
Bruce gathered the furry pup into his arms and crooned as if to a baby.
"Sound...like...moron," the seal croaked, and Bruce burst into laughter because that was cute, too. "You can talk like this!"
"Haaaaard!"
"All right, all right, ssshhh. I love you, Jay. Sshh." He was amazed and touched when he realized, a few minutes later, that Jason had actually dozed off in his arms. He lightly kissed his precious son's head and then settled back to watch Dick, feeling utterly content.
TBC
A/N: Before I started working on this fic, I'd had no idea what kind of sounds seals make, other than maybe barking. Come to find out, their noises are extremely varied, weird, adorable, and hilarious, and in some cases uncannily similar to human speech. XD
