Gifts From the Sea, a Batman fanfic by Raberba girl

Batfam Bingo 2019: AU: Zoo

Chapter 57 - Back To the Sea (rough draft 2)

The truth was, much as Bruce loved his parents and Gotham, his heart was with his kids, and his kids were children of the sea. As soon as the last obligation was finished, Bruce started packing their bags.

"See you soon, dear," Martha said, kissing him goodbye.

"See you soon, Mother."

Bruce, the kids, Alfred, Ravi, and Goliath left in the dead of night by private means, hoping that Gotham wouldn't immediately notice their absence.

As soon as they arrived at their destination, Dick whooped with joy and plunged into the ocean, reveling in his natural element. His brothers were quick to follow. Bruce took the sleeping baby and left Ravi and Goliath to watch over the boys.

The beach house was untouched, the air stale. Alfred immediately got to work and Bruce set up the playpen as a temporary bed for Athanasia. Once his daughter was settled, Bruce went through the whole house, making note of what needed to be done and feeling sheepish about the state he'd left things in. With the fallout of his panicked packing layered over Tim's destructive early explorations of the surface world layered over the mess that had accumulated during Bruce's depression, the house was a disaster.

Bruce started a load in the washing machine and was just coming out of the laundry room when he smelled food cooking. "Oh, Alfred, you don't have to do that! It's the middle of the night." He hadn't even known there was any food to be cooked. Alfred must have brought it.

"Nonsense, Master Bruce. You have four growing boys."

The boys accidentally woke up Athanasia when they came barging in after their swim. Dick and Jason contritely tried to calm her down, then Ravi, Bruce, and Alfred in turn, but when she finally fell back asleep, it was while being very carefully carried around in Goliath's giant paw.

"Well done," Damian praised in a whisper. The dragon-bat remained silent, perhaps out of fear of waking the baby again, but he did lean over to lick his young companion. "Ugh, Goliath!"

Dick and Tim went to sleep in the pool; Goliath made a nest in the sand. Bruce apportioned one bedroom to Alfred and another to Ravi, the latter taking Asia as usual. Jason barricaded himself in his old room and refused to share. "You can sleep in the master suite tonight," Bruce told Damian, "but my parents will be using it while they're here. You and I will have to share in the meantime."

"That's ridiculous," Damian stormed, having apparently never had to share a room in his life.

"Take the master suite tonight, Damian. We'll work out the rest tomorrow." Bruce needed some sleep before he'd be able to deal with his spoiled little prince properly.

Everyone slept in late the next morning. Bruce woke up slowly to the sound of ocean waves, feeling a small body cuddled against him. Damian had often done this at the manor, too, going to bed alone but then climbing into Bruce's in the middle of the night. When Bruce finally got out of bed, he laid a kiss on Damian's hair and then went to get ready for the day.

Later, while everyone was enjoying a lazy brunch, Bruce asked, "Who wants to go into town with me?"

"Ooh, me! Me!" Dick cheered.

"Pass," Jason snorted.

"We'll be needing quite a lot of supplies," Alfred said.

Bruce ended up taking Dick, Tim, and Alfred. The older boy was in his wheelchair, though now without the cumbersome disguise of the past; he simply wore a T-shirt, protective tail sleeve, and wide-brimmed hat. Tim, wearing his usual sunglasses and carrying an umbrella to shield him from the sun, was riding in a wagon pulled by Bruce. He had a tub filled with water to keep him hydrated and a blanket for him to hide in if he felt shy. Alfred had brought a cart to transport the supplies on the way back.

They made their way toward the post office first and were greeted by people all along the way with surprise and delight. "*gasp* Aaahh, is that little Dickie I see?! Oh, you're all grown up, you handsome man!"

"Jeannie, get out here! Dick's back, and Bruce!"

"Heeeey, Bruce! I read that book of yours; wow!"

"DICK! DICK! HEY! DICKIIIIEEE, YOU CAME BAAACK!"

Bruce and Dick spent so long talking to old friends and acquaintances that Alfred politely excused himself and headed off for the grocery store on his own. Even when Bruce managed to escape, Dick was still happily occupied catching up with his old friends from school. Bruce ended up just leaving Dick there and going to the post office with only Tim (who was hiding in his submerged blanket).

"Hey there, Bruce! Heard you were back!"

"Word travels fast," Bruce chuckled.

"Whatcha got there?"

"Oh, er, my son Tim is shy-"

"Son?"

"Ohhh, is that the octopus boy?!" exclaimed a customer who had been buying stamps.

"Yes, but please, he's very shy," Bruce said quickly, moving to block the way to the wagon. "He's already been frightened by how many people there were outside, he needs some time to calm down."

"Aww, little fella."

The legitimate mail and deliveries that had arrived for Bruce during his absence had been forwarded to Wayne Manor, so all that was left was some recent junk mail. "Thanks, Sam. I mostly just stopped by to let you know that the kids and I are back indefinitely."

"Glad to hear it, Bruce, glad to hear it. And tell Dick I said hello!"

"I certainly will."

He and Alfred met up after finishing their errands and tracked Dick to a friend's house, where a bunch of teenagers were listening to music, talking, eating snacks, and admiring Dick's bared tail.

"Dick, we're leaving."

"You go, I'll swim back," Dick said carelessly.

"You can't swim with your wheelchair, Dick."

"You take it back! My friends will carry me," Dick signed impatiently.

"Yeah, we can carry him to the truck, Bruce," one of the teenage boys assured him. Two of them scooped up Dick in a four-hand seat carry and presented him triumphantly. Dick grinned at Bruce from his throne of arms - right before the guys carrying him shouted in alarm as he slipped out of their grasp with a thump.

"You're slippery, dude!"

"Ow," Dick said pointedly.

"Aww, Dickie!" One of the girls pretended she was about to kiss the butt he'd fallen on. When he playfully wiggled it at her, she jerked back and slapped it instead, then shrieked laughingly about the mer slime now on her hand.

"Why are they like this," Bruce muttered, briefly covering his eyes in exasperation.

"Seriously, Bruce, we'll make sure he gets to the water safe," another girl assured. "We can drag him along on a tarp or something."

Bruce raised an eyebrow. "Dick?"

"Daaaad!" Dick whined. "It's FINE!"

Bruce exhaled, reminding himself that Dick was a superhero who had overcome much more challenging situations than how to get from a house to the beach with only the help of some semi-competent friends. "Fine. Just get home safe, Dick, and don't forget to put your phone in the pouch." The device was waterproof, but it was better not to unnecessarily strain it. Dick had a waterproof pouch for a reason.

"Okay, okay, Dad!"

Bruce smiled a little, signed goodbye, then left to rejoin Alfred. When they returned home, they found that Thomas and Martha had arrived, filling the little island with even more comfortable chaos. Alfred started on a late lunch and Bruce tried to do some more cleaning as the kids tumbled around the house and beach with their grandparents and Goliath.

The rest of the afternoon passed sweetly, and to Bruce's relief, Dick showed up as the sun was starting to set. By the time it got dark, they had a campfire going and were roasting dinner over it. Martha was sitting with her little granddaughter in her lap, reading a board book which Asia stared at intently. Thomas was playing with his grandsons in the water. Goliath appeared to be catching fish for his own dinner, and Ravi was helping Alfred tend the fire and check on the food.

Bruce sat, watching his loved ones. His parents would be returning to Gotham in about a week and Dick planned to continue splitting his time between his family and the Titans.

Damian, unhappily contemplating the slow, boring passage of time on a relatively isolated island, had tentatively decided to stay with his father for a month or two and then go live with his grandparents. Alfred had quietly confided to Bruce that he would accompany the boy: with the vast improvement in Bruce's mental health, Alfred felt that it was now his responsibility to return to his post at Wayne Manor.

Bruce was strongly considering sending Athanasia and Ravi with them. He loved his daughter and had grown comfortable with her, but he was better at parenting older children than babies, and he felt like a life in the city with her wealthy grandparents would give Asia more opportunities and resources. If she changed her mind when she grew old enough to express an opinion on the matter, he would welcome her into his home gladly.

The rest of them planned to live in the beach house full-time, Jason until he was ready for college and Bruce and Tim indefinitely. Jason needed safety and quiet for a while after all he had suffered in his short life, and Bruce and Tim felt more at home on the island than they did anywhere else.

For now, though, the entire family was together. Even when the time came for their paths to diverge, it was what they had all chosen, what would make them happiest. Bruce felt more pleased and content than he ever had in his entire life.

He settled back in his chair and looked out over the water, waves passing endlessly beneath the starry sky. 'Thank you,' he thought. Gifts from the sea, indeed.

TBC