brucedefender4eva

[brucedefender4eva]

Bruce is the kind of Dad/Mom that wherever he goes, knows someone.

Whether it’s as Batman or simply just Bruce Wayne, someone his going to recognize him from his travels across the world and treat him like family.

And if a member of his family is also there, when he introduces them, they’re also now family.

Bruce has got a lot of professional connections due to the good he’s done with Wayne Industries, but he’s got a lot more personal connections due to the good he’s done as Bruce.

The kids are always surprised, but there's a lot of Bruce lore that they simply don't know because they don't ask, and Bruce doesn't share things about himself.

Luckily, Bruce isn't much of a conversationalist when he's being himself, so they don't have to stand behind him awkwardly for very long.

Unless it's someone he really vibed with, then he just gets to yapping while the kids wait for Bruce to remember he's with his family.

[brucedefender4eva]

Tim walks into Bruce’s study where he’s ’working’ but in actuality just texting Clark, who was canceling on a date they had planned

Tim: *holding out his hand* Give me fifty bucks

Bruce: *takes out his wallet and hands 50 bucks to him* Wait, why?

Tim: *pocketing the money* You haven’t wished me happy Pride month yet

Bruce: *holding out his hand* You haven’t wished me happy Pride Month either. I’ve been out longer than you’ve been alive

Tim: *whispers* Fuck *hands him back the 50* Can’t believe I forgot you were bi too

Bruce: *hums and puts his money back in his wallet before glancing down at his phone with an evil grin* … Y’know, Clark would probably feel guilty enough to give you money

Tim: *evil grin that’s the exact same as Bruce’s* Interesting… *leaves*

Bruce: *sighs with a small smile* I gave birth to that boy… he’s just like me

[brucedefender4eva]

Kid Jason gets so mad at all the mean comments that people write about Bruce online, cause he knows it’s not true and it never will be

And he’s ranting to Bruce, who is just smiling softly at him while Dick lies on the couch nearby, rolling his eyes since he was forced to be there and try to heal his relationship with Bruce.

“Why don’t you care more about this, Dad? They’re being so… well, horrible!”

Bruce taps his fingers on his desk before pulling Jason closer, hoisting the small boy onto his lap. “When people say those mean things about me online, I just think, it’s nowhere near what I’ve said about myself.” Bruce shrugs, incorrectly assuming that this would somehow calm his son. “It puts it all into perspective.”

Jason makes a pitiful, wounded sound and hugs Bruce tightly. Bruce doesn’t necessarily understand why what he said ignited such a reaction, but he loves hugs from Jason, so he hugs him back happily

Dick is still lying down on the couch, his face obscured from view by the book he was reading, hiding the devastated expression on his face.

The boys have a telepathic communication moment where they agree to hunt down the motherfuckers who keep saying bad things about their Dad. They can’t decide whether it’s better that Bruce doesn’t feel bad, or it’s bad that he thinks worse stuff about himself.

[brucedefender4eva]

After the fourth night in a row where one of his kids directly disobeys his orders and gets hurt even more

Bruce is just done

Burnt out, drained, weary; whatever the fuck you want to call it at this point

He’s been working on himself a lot lately. And at this point in all his relationships, he understands that taking away their alter-ego and benching them will only backfire on him.

So he doesn’t do anything

He mentally throws his hands up in defeat and just… does whatever they wants to diffuse the situation

Dick is expecting another yelling match to commence the moment they get back to the cave. In fact, he went out tonight deliberately trying to get to this moment. He brought cough drops for the aftermath to soothe his throat from all the yelling. He knows it isn’t healthy, but he just needs to let out some steam

Instead of their usual routine, Bruce gets out of the Batmobile and doesn’t even look at Dick. You can’t say his posture is… relaxed… but it isn’t wound up tightly like it usually is when one of his children gets hurt

Bruce goes over to the Batcomputer and starts typing down what happened on patrol that night while Dick does his best not to put any pressure on his possibly broken leg

After a few minutes of silence, Bruce sighs and turns back to Duck with a raised eyebrow, his face passively blank

“What?”

Dick shifts and winces as his entire leg throbs painfully. “A-aren’t you gonna call Alfred?” Dick responded back petulantly, keeping his voice low in hopes Bruce wouldn’t hear him then get annoyed and finally show some emotion

“Your arm isn’t broken, is it? Use it.” Bruce said simply before turning back around and continuing to type.

Dick felt anger bubble up in his chest, but it felt stupid to try and start a fight when Bruce obviously wouldn’t engage.

Dick storms off in a huff, at least he tries. He makes it a few steps before deciding to sit down and call Alfred.

“Love you,” Bruce calls back to him without turning around, causing Dick to stick up both of his middle fingers in retaliation.

Or with Jason, he’ll pick his battles and accept whatever happens afterwards

Jason’s waiting for the other shoe to drop. Extremely reminiscent of when he first came to the Manor

He had shot someone on patrol. Could he have used his rubber bullets instead of his real ones? Yes. Did he lie to Bruce and say that he didn’t have real bullets in him? Also yes

But fuck Bruce and all the rules he has

Now it was completely silent as they rode home in the Batmobile.

Jason checked over his gun for the fourth time before carefully tucking it back in her holster.

“You’re seriously not gonna say anything, old man?” Jason griped. Usually, this would be the catalyst for a large-scale argument, but there was nothing. Not even an eye roll for Jason's old man comment.

“What’s the point? Not like you’ll listen anyway.” Bruce shrugged, ignoring Jason's angry scoff as he stopped the Batmobile. “Here, your safe house.”

Jason blinked at Bruce, looking at him incredulously. “Are you fucking serious? You’re dropping me off at my safe house? Not gonna allow me in the cave anymore?” Jason snarled, not even thinking to question how Bruce knew where his super secret safe house was.

“You said, and I quote, ‘never wanna set foot in this fuck ass cave another day of my undead life’.” Bruce raised an eyebrow, at least it sounded like he did. Hard to tell with the cowl.

“Fuck you!” Jason decidedly does not pout as he gets out of the car and starts storming up to his door.

Bruce rolls down the windows and shouts out a quick ‘love you’ before speeding off into the night.

He won't enable it, but he's not gonna go out of his way to stop them if he's tried once before

Tim’s sitting down at the Batcomputer, mulling over a case that Bruce said to drop several times or at least put a pause in it, cause it's taking its toll on the young detective

When Bruce walks downstairs, Tim’s expecting a confrontation since Bruce had told him to go to sleep at least four times already

But nope

When Bruce noticed Tim looking at him, he simply gave him a greeting grunt before shuffling through his own stack of papers

“I know you said to go to bed, but I’m almost done! I swear!” Tim pressed his back firmly against the swivel chair, waiting…

“Mhmm…” Bruce hummed, barely listening. “Sleep, don’t sleep. Whatever.” Bruce takes another sip of his tea before placing it beside Tim, grabbing a folder full of paper, and pressing a kiss to Tim’s forehead. “Have fun, love you.”

Damian’s angry at him for something perfectly normal to be angry about, whether it’s regular teen stuff or vigilante stuff? Agree with him

While he’s threatening to stay a week at Dick’s place or even the Kent farm, Bruce is packing a bag for him

He nods and hums along absentmindedly as Damian rants that he can’t stand being in the Manor. Nothing he hasn’t heard a million times before from his children and other non-children

“What are you doing?” Damian questioned, finally stopping his rant to actually pay attention to what his father’s doing

“You said you needed a break from me, right?” Bruce grinned, actually okay with the house being quiet for a few days. “You’ve been dying to hang out with Jon more, go on.”

Jon, who was listening in just like his father always is, was already floating outside with the biggest and brightest smile on his face

“Have fun, kiddos. Love you!” Bruce called out, ignoring Damian’s sputtering as he shut the manor door behind him

[brucedefender4eva]

A little fanfic idea in my head cause I read this fanfic (multiple times)

You’re all Grounded by: SamLikesToRead on Ao3

So all of the teams are gathered together because of an alien invasion or some other large-scale event that required all of them to work together

All of the batkids are the leaders of their individual teams, as we all know, but they act completely differently

Smiling and relaxing happen extremely rarely, and they’re very ‘Batman’ when it comes down to it

They’re very strict and precise in their leadership. No joking around, no goofing off, no sarcastic quips

But suddenly, as far as all the other heroes know, they’re acting all friendly with these different heroes that they’ve never met before, or even purposefully antagonistic when they're usually level-headed and never provoke anyone

They’re very much so acting like annoying siblings to each other

And when Batman enters the room, suddenly they swear they’re useless

“B, open my Pringles, please. I swear they glued it shut.”

“B, do you have any juice boxes?” And they're just digging through his belt nonchalantly

Nightwing is just lying across Bruce’s shoulder, and Red Robin has stolen his iPad and is reading all the confidential information he has on it

Just stupid stuff, and they’ll whine if they have to do anything, complaining that they’re too tired from the fight, and Bruce will obviously give in

And then it’ll be revealed that the lazy couch potatoes are indeed his children. Whether there's a reveal that they're the Wayne family plus his bonus children doesn't really matter to me

[brucedefender4eva]

“Ugh.” Damian groaned under his breath as he picked up his now-empty bucket of magenta paint. He was going to use it for a mural at the local animal shelter where he volunteered; however, thanks to a freak earthquake, it had been banged open and unfortunately drenched half of his carpet in the bright color.

Now, Damian’s gotten the hang of how this family works. He knows for certain that he’s not gonna get in trouble for this, especially since it was completely out of his control. That didn't mean it would get rid of the small pit he was feeling at the bottom of his stomach.

“Ask for… help.” Damian shuddered, setting down the empty bucket and walking out of his room.

Walking down the hallways of Wayne Manor had become a new kind of hazard. With this family, there was always a chance someone would come jumping out from around the corner to prank you, but it wasn’t like that at all.

Glass littered the usually immaculate floors. Vases, flowers, water, broken portraits, and a few crystals from the chandeliers above littered the ground as Damian carefully made his way to his father’s study. The earthquake had even temporarily knocked out all power in the majority of Gotham, so it was twice as hard to maneuver through the halls.

Damian froze in front of one of the many doors that they had. He had no idea what this room was… or if it was even there the day before.

But someone was in there; he could feel their presence.

Damian swung the door open, refusing to ever feel fear in the place that he had long since called home.

There was Father.

Just…

Standing there?

And he was facing the wall for some reason.

He hadn’t even reacted when Damian opened the door, nor did he react to the dim lights of the various candles illuminating the hallway that trickled in.

“Father? What are you doing here?” Damian asked, lifting his foot to take a step into the room before hesitating. Something was wrong.

Deeply.

Bruce still hadn’t turned around, nor had he said anything. He was still staring at the wall, his body language not changing in the slightest, as if he hadn’t heard his youngest son speak.

“… Baba…?” The silence was suffocating. Damian felt as though the walls in this strange bare room were closing in on him.

“Dames?” Damian jumped, barely holding back a yelp of surprise as his name was called.

Tim looked concerned, not used to his younger brother being so skittish. Damian, without a thought in his mind, ran into Tim’s arms, tucking his face away from the uncanny sight of his father’s broad back.

“What the-“ Tim, of course, wrapped his arms around Damian’s back, patting him gently. “Seriously, what’s going on? Dad?” Tim squinted as he looked into the dark room, tilting his head to the side. “Did… did you change your clothes?”

“I need to show you something.” Bruce’s deep voice suddenly echoed through the room, causing both boys to flinch harshly. Damian’s fingers dug into the back of Tim’s arms while Tim tightened his hold. “Come here.”

Every fiber in their being screamed out DANGER.

“Dick! Jason!” Tim screamed, wanting to wildly look around the hallways for his older brothers, but for some reason, he felt as though he shouldn’t take his eyes off of Bruce, whatever that was.

“Yo, Tim Tam, you can’t just go around yelling like that. Some people are trying to destress from having the ground literally shake out from under them.” Jason grumbled, poking his head around the corner with Dick not far behind.

Dick slung an arm around Jason’s shoulder and ignored the petulant look on his brother’s face. “You’re just embarrassed cause everyone saw you fall on your ass,” Dick smirked before it slid off his face, immediately on guard by the terrified expressions on his siblings faces.

“S-something wrong with Baba!” Damian choked out. Jason immediately moved in front of his two brothers, pushing Damian and Tim behind his larger stature and glaring at Bruce.

“Hey, old man. You’re scaring your kids out here. Why don’t you come out of that creepy as fuck room and explain yourself?” Jason barked, the hairs on his forearms standing up the moment his eyes landed on Bruce, that man, that thing.

“Bruce…?” Dick stepped forward, shivering at the weirdly frigid air inside of the room. “D-Dad?”

Follow me, follow me.

The boys groaned loudly, clutching their heads as a voice echoed painfully throughout their skulls. And it got louder.

Follow me, follow me.

I have something to show you.

“Ugh… Dad…” Dick groaned quietly before a familiar and comforting large hand covered his eyes. Dick felt his body relax involuntarily, subconsciously relaxing he was now safe.

“Close your eyes, boys.” Bruce gently murmured, pushing all of his sons behind him. “Nothing to be afraid of. Let me take care of this.”

A minute later, or maybe 30, Bruce let out a soft grunt, and they all opened their eyes.

“I’m sorry about that, boys,” Bruce said, the sleeves of his turtle neck rolled up on his forearms. “The basement door must have gotten loose due to the earthquake. I would have warned you if I knew.”

The room was now completely empty, void of any entity that had plagued it before. Tim couldn’t help the shudder that moved through his body as Bruce closed and locked the door, as if it still posed a danger to them all.

“We have a basement?” Jason questioned, leaning his head against Bruce’s shoulder and letting his Dad ground him.

Tim handed Damian over to Bruce, unable to stop the grin from forming on his face as Damian was picked up and hid his face in the crook of Bruce’s neck. Even Damian could be cute sometimes.

“Why would… that come out of our basement?” Dick questioned, hugging Tim close to his side as he asked Bruce. “Why is our basement locked up in the first place?”

“I think the most important question here is, why did that thing look like you, Dad?” Tim asked, exhaustion seeping into his bones, even if it was only the middle of the day.

“It’s what they do. It’s a mimic. Again, don’t worry too much about it, I’ll have to call Zatanna and get it taken care of again.” Bruce ran his fingers through Damian’s hair and sighed. “For future reference, no matter what anyone says, don’t go down to the basement.”

The boys all nodded, still uneasy and unsure of why what happened happened.

“How about a nice afternoon nap?” Bruce asked Damian, giving him a squeeze. Damian nodded into his Dad’s shoulder, hands clutching Bruce’s shoulders.

“I’ll go to! To, uh, keep the little brat safe!” Tim stuttered, his face burning in embarrassment at Dick’s cheesy grin. “Shut the fuck up-“

“You’re so cute! You’re worried about Damian!” Dick cooed before letting out a playfully whine as Tim struggled out of his grip and clung onto Bruce, glaring at his older brother. “Or maybe you’re just scared and wanna be with Dad?”

“Die!” Tim hissed.

“Boys.”

“Whatever. Now that whatever the fuck this was is over, I’m out.” Jason said, turning on his heel to walk down the hallway.

“As fucking if.” Dick scoffed, grabbing Jason’s collar and dragging him along as they all made their way to Bruce’s room for a group nap session.

“Cass is gonna be so fucking pissed that she missed this.”

“Text her before she kills us all. Steph and Duke too, let’s get all our bases covered.”

[brucedefender4eva]

Just… amazing. Amazing writing. Capturing Damian’s thoughts so beautifully.

And Bruce saying that Damian doesn’t need to pretend he wants him around?? Just… wow.

I love it.

Hello!

For one, love the Batfam vibes from your stuff-

Two, the most recent Tim bit from the "NeglectedBruceWayne" tag post gave me thoughts on similar aspects of those posts with Damian and Stephanie. (At least from what I am capable of generating from the information I know of them and their characters)

Would it be okay to share?

(In any case, I have been enjoying the angst and thank you for your work)

Uhh yeah pookie! Literally go crazy!!

And tag me when you post so I can read it!!

[brucedefender4eva]

Hello!

For one, love the Batfam vibes from your stuff-

Two, the most recent Tim bit from the "NeglectedBruceWayne" tag post gave me thoughts on similar aspects of those posts with Damian and Stephanie. (At least from what I am capable of generating from the information I know of them and their characters)

Would it be okay to share?

(In any case, I have been enjoying the angst and thank you for your work)

Uhh yeah pookie! Literally go crazy!!

And tag me when you post so I can read it!!

[brucedefender4eva]

< prev >

——

Tim: I have never seen you as an obligation- as a means to an end

Bruce: … Neither have I

——

Bruce slowly sipped his chamomile tea. Alfred had somehow noticed his back flaring up and brewed him a nice cup of tea to help with the inflammation. Bruce had asked for extra honey and sugar, which the older man generously allowed.

“I can feel you staring at me, Tim.” Bruce rumbled, taking another slow sip, making sure not to slurp. Both he and Tim hated the sound of people slurping their drinks; it was horrid. “Drink your tea, sweetheart, it’s good for gut health.”

Tim let out a small hum of acknowledgment but didn’t look away, his own chamomile tea going untouched in his cup.

“Switch?” Tim asked, pushing himself up from the couch he was sprawled out on and carefully bringing his full cup to Bruce. “Want yours.”

Without a second thought, Bruce took Tim’s teacup and placed his own on his son’s saucer, grabbing two more sugar cubes and plopping them in the tea for Tim. “Still hot,” Bruce warned, watching Tim as he took a sip and let out a soft hum, making Bruce smile softly.

The two lapsed into another comfortable silence; the only sound audible in the study was the soft clicking of their teacups every time they set them down on their saucers.

“Hey.” Bruce looked up from the newspaper he was absentmindedly skimming, tilting his head at Tim. “Say I love you.”

Bruce blinked but complied nonetheless. “I love you. A lot. I love you very much, Timmothy.” Bruce stated, his face remaining in a relaxed expression.

Tim wrinkled his nose at his Dad using his full name, trying to hide the flush on his cheeks from Bruce being able to say the three words so easily, compared to how it was before. “Ew, you full named me.” Tim pouted, hiding a grin behind his teacup as he heard Bruce chuckle lightly.

“Me too, by the way…” Tim set down the teacup, looking into Bruce’s eyes before shifting them to look at his forehead. Much easier than actually looking into his eyes. “I love you lots, Dad.”

This time, Bruce wrinkled his nose in confusion. “Did your brothers put you up to this?”

Bruce’s voice wasn’t accusing, but then again, it never really is when he talks to his children. He always gives them the benefit of the doubt.

Tim scowled, feeling a twinge of embarrassment bubble up in his chest. “No. Why would you think that, Bruce?”

Uh oh, he was back to being Bruce right now. Bruce let out a small huff of air from his nose and folded his hands over one another. “You and your brothers have been acting… strange. Coming here, to me, once a week and interrogating me over… menial topics.”

“Menial?” Tim’s voice took on a sharp edge once he heard the word. “You made Dick cry and Jason looked like he was in fucking shock. Obviously, those conversations were important.” Tim accused, pointing his finger at Bruce.

Bruce blinked, the only sign that would tell he was surprised by the change of tone. “I did no such thing. I have no idea why that happened, and they refused to tell me. You can not blame that on me, I will not allow it.” Bruce asserted.

“You’re supposed to know!” Tim raised his voice.

“How am I supposed to know when no one will tell me?! You guys always get mad at me for ‘snooping’ or ‘going through your business’ on normal days! How am I supposed to know when it’s appropriate?” Bruce struggled not to raise his voice at Tim. He knew Tim would shut down immediately and this… conversation would devolve into a screaming match that would rival the ones with Dick and Jason.

“You told Jason that you think we hate you! How could you do that?!”

Bruce threw his hands up in the air. Fuck! Not this stupid conversation again. Was this the only thing people wanted to talk about in this household?

“When someone says they hate you, you tend to believe that!” Bruce shouted, immediately regretting the action when he saw Tim curl into himself and his face harden.

Bruce let out a shuddering breath and ran a hand through his hair, grateful that he had forgone putting gel into it. He did not need to be overstimulated on top of this talk with Tim.

“I don’t understand why this is a topic of discussion in the household as of late.” Bruce continued quietly. “And I don’t know why you would insert yourself into something like this.”

Tim squinted his eyes, not understanding what the fuck that meant. Before he could ask, Bruce continued speaking.

“Look… I know how this relationship between the two of us officially started. I see you as my son, Tim, one of my own, and I’ll always love you as such.” Bruce reassured, but instead of it making Tim feel better, he felt like he was about to be dropped off into a gaping black hole. “But I know that this,” Bruce gestured between the two of them, “is nothing more than a… responsibility on your part.”

And just like that, the floor was swept out from underneath Tim’s feet.

“What makes you say that?” Tim could feel his lips move and feel the way his vocal cords vibrated to ask the question, but blood rushed through his ears, making everything sound muffled. "What have I done that could possibly make you say that?"

“You came to me because I was a danger to myself, which meant I was a danger to Gotham,” Bruce said matter of factly, like he knew what the fuck he was talking about. “I’m just glad that somewhere along the way you decided to stay with us, even if it wasn’t for me.”

The words leave Tim’s lips before they even have a chance to register in his mind. “But it’s the same for you!”

“The only reason why you took me is because I pestered you so much! And even then, you didn’t want me; Alfred was the one who gave me Robin.” Tim tried to pretend that his voice didn't break in the middle of his sentence, silently glad that Bruce didn't mention it and allowed him to keep his dignity.

Bruce tapped his fingers against the arm of his chair, peeling off the flaking paint and ripping it up into smaller pieces. He would run out of paint soon enough if people kept trying to lie right to his face that they didn't hate him.

“You became Robin not just because Alfred gave it to you, but because you wanted to do good. Because you are good.” Bruce let out a small hum. “If I could go back in time, I would change how our relationship started. How everything started.”

“Change how?”

“I would be better. I would show you that I love you.” Bruce nodded to himself, smiling softly as he turned to Tim. “I would tell you it’s okay to hate me, that you don’t have to pretend that you love me. I already know. Everyone hates me. I also hate myself.”

And truly, what the fuck do you say to that?

Because if Bruce could believe something so… twisted, then how could Tim believe anything that this man in front of him was saying?

How could he believe that Bruce truly loved him if Bruce didn’t believe that Tim loved him?

[brucedefender4eva]

<Kinda continuation of: prev>

——

Dick: Have you ever doubted that I love you?

Bruce: …

——

It wasn’t a fight. At least it didn’t really feel like all those usual fights, and Bruce was pretty sure it wasn’t a fight. But then again, he’s always been wrong in guessing about his children.

Dick seems… distant. Distant but still close. Usually when Dick wants to be distant, he leaves. His children are very good at leaving and not telling him where they are. He always knows, though, he’s Batman.

Bruce doesn’t remember any scathing words being exchanged between them. No heated glares, heavy air, stilted conversations. Nothing that usually promises an argument is to come or has passed without Bruce realizing it.

But for some reason, Dick was still lingering around the hallways. If Bruce turned around, he would see his eldest child standing around the edges, his body tense, and a perturbed expression on his face. Just watching him, waiting for a moment that Bruce was honestly scared to come.

It was starting to worry Bruce. His baby has always been a bright and shining star, even when he doesn’t want to be.

But Bruce also knew that if he tried to pry, he would only push Dick away. After many years of trail and errors, Bruce decided the best course of action would be to let Dick figure it out himself or come to Bruce on his own.

Strangely enough, it didn’t take very long for Dick to come into his study, his face trying and failing to adopt a calm and nonchalant expression as he sat in the edge of his desk.

“Hey B…” Dick said lowly, fiddling with one of the snow globes he had on his desk. Bruce had gotten that specific one from Dick when they first visited Zitka at the zoo when he was nine and Dick had begged to get something from the gift shop.

“Dick.” Bruce nodded, setting down his pen and giving his son his full attention.

Dick let out a shuddering sigh and set down the snow globe. Bruce’s hands twitched with the urge to fix it and set it straight, but then Dick turned the globe and moved it to the exact position that he liked.

Bruce couldn’t help the small twitch of his lips. He was probably being too obvious, Dick most likely remembers the several panic attacks he had when Dick was a child, unable to process and handle when his prized possessions were askew. He worked on it. He's fine now.

“I heard something pretty interesting… from Jay.” Dick started haltingly, his eyes staring deeply into Bruce’s. “You guys had a pretty… deep convo recently… right?”

Bruce felt stupid. A deep conversation? He’s assuming that Dick means an emotionally charged conversation but he truly doesn’t remember anything like that happening recently.

“Okay, okay, I can see you racking your brain, so I’ll just tell you,” Dick said, grabbing his Dad’s hands and holding them in his own. Bruce hadn’t even noticed when he started digging his fingernails into the flesh of his arm, close to drawing blood.

Shit. He always fucking does this. Making Dick worry and take care of him like he was an invalid incompetent manchild.

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine, I’m used to it.” Dick murmured causing Bruce to purse his lips together silently. “Seriously, it’s okay B. I know why you are the way you are. There’s nothing wrong with you.”

Bruce nodded silently because it was easier to do so than argue why he should’ve already grown out of his childish habits. You’d think having the media point out his self inflected scars when he was 12 would’ve kicked him out of the habit already…

“What was it that you wanted to talk to me about? I don’t remember any particularly deep conversation with Jason.” Bruce rumbled, tilting his head to the side when Dick’s nose scrunched in annoyance.

“Of course you don’t, just like Jay said…” Dick huffed under his breath. “Okay, let’s just… blurt it out. Get it over with.”

Dick seemed to try and hype himself up, squeezing Bruce’s hands tightly before releasing and continuing the action a few more times.

“Jason said that you think that we hate you, but like, I really don’t know where that came from, and I’m just super confused because I don’t think I’ve said it that often, and yeah I’ve said it, I probably shouldn’t have, really shouldn’t have since you think that I hate you, well you think that all of us-“

“Chum.” Bruce stopped his son’s rapid word vomit with one word, his eyes crinkled with fondness and amusement as he squeezed Dick’s hands back. “Sweetheart, I didn’t understand a single word you just said. Slow down for me, okay?”

Dick took large gulps of air, his face burning with embarrassment as he squeezed his eyes shut. “Right! Right duh, I just- ugh…”

Bruce absentmindedly trailed his eyes over Dick’s face, so much older than when he had last seen him. Maybe a little gaunt… he’ll make Dick some brownies, the ones he used to make when Dick was smaller. Maybe they could watch a movie later, anything that would get DIck to fall asleep.

“Dad…” Dick breathed softy, making Bruce’s heart race. Uh oh, why was this a Dad moment? Did Dick want something?

“Jason came to me and he told me that… you think that I… we hate you. Do you?”

Bruce let out a confused hum. Was that the important conversation he had? Bruce didn’t feel like it was an important conversation; it had been mostly resolved by the time Jason decided to leave. Well, Bruce felt as though it had been resolved.

“… you said it,” Bruce said slowly. The last time he said that, Jason had gone silent and stared at Bruce with a horrified expression before hugging him. It was a nice hug, so Bruce guessed he had read his second son’s expression wrong, and it was all okay in the end.

“No, B, I could… I could never…” Dick’s throat dried up. Why couldn’t he just force the full sentence out? 'No, I don't hate you.' Why does his tongue feel like it's a million pounds? Why do his lips refuse to move?

Bruce hummed sympathetically and nodded his head, like he understood, like he could sort through the mess in Dick’s mind. Bruce had always had an uncanny way of peering into all of their minds when it was the most jumbled, and yet, he was getting it completely wrong this time.

“It’s okay. I’m not mad. It makes perfect sense.” Bruce nodded, having the fucking audacity to pretend that it did make sense. Like Dick hating him was perfectly normal, like living in a house and caring for people who he thinks hate him is nothing out of the ordinary.

“Wha-? No, Bruce, it’s not supposed to make sense!” Dick ran a hand through his hair, carelessly ripping through the knots and tangles, barely feeling the pain radiating from his scalp. The one in his chest hurt a fuckton more.

Bruce chewed on his lower lip, unable to dig his fingernails into the palm of his hand, he settled for digging the heel of his foot against the dorsum of his other, still bruised painfully from a rough night of crime fighting alone.

“What did I do wrong this time?” Bruce asked, wanting to know why Dick was here and why he seemed so… distraught. Not even angry, which was somehow worse.

He had to have done something wrong, after all, both DIck and Jason had come to him separately to rehash this same old conversation. Something must have happened.

That, for some reason, seemed to be the wrong thing to say.

“Dad, you know we love you… right…?” Dick whispered quietly. “You know that I love you, right?” Dick tried to grin, hoping that he would see his father’s face transform into a smile, to hear his deep chuckle of amusement, to listen to his Dad say ‘yes, of course I know that you love me, that you all love me.’

But it never came.

Bruce was quiet. No he was completely silent, staring at his son with a truly baffled expression that Dick has only seen very few times in his life. Like the words coming out of his son’s mouth were such an obvious lie, and he was trying to figure out why he was lying right to his face. Like Dick's love was such an unreachable object for him that there was no way he could already have it.

No no no no no no-

“Dad-!” Dick choked on a sudden sob, forcefully tearing its way out of his throat without his permission. “Please! Tati please! You have to know that I love you!”

Bruce swallowed and slowly extracted his hands from Dick’s grip, well, he tried to. Dick held on tight, steadfastly refusing to let go. “Dick, sweetheart, let me get you a cup of water. I don’t know why you’re crying, but I promise we can figure it out together. I’ll be right back, I swear.” Bruce said, his voice giving away how stressed he was in this situation.

Dick desperately clawed at his Dad’s hands, trying to stop him from leaving, but somehow Bruce escaped his hold. He always escapes his grasp.

As Bruce quickly fled the room, Dick slid down off Bruce’s desk and onto the floor, curling up into hisself. Trying to hide away from the shame and horror that was threatening to explode from his body.

How could this have happened? When had he stopped telling his Dad that he loved him? When had Bruce stopped believing him?

Dick tugged harshly on his hair and wailed, waiting for Bruce to come back.

[brucedefender4eva]

For the one who wanted to see a pic, teehee

Guess who just got their Epic sweatshirt!!! Finally! I’ve been waiting!

I’m so fucking happy! It fits perfectly! I was a little worried that I should’ve gotten a large instead lol. ☆*:.｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆

[brucedefender4eva]

Bruce just has an absurd amount of suicide attempts

Batkids are going through some old stuff in the attic and one of them pulls out an old newspaper from way back in the day

Sole Wayne Heir fails his 37th suicide attempt or some bullshit

[brucedefender4eva]

Guess who just got their Epic sweatshirt!!! Finally! I’ve been waiting!

I’m so fucking happy! It fits perfectly! I was a little worried that I should’ve gotten a large instead lol. ☆*:.｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆

[brucedefender4eva]

On a Justice League mission

Wonder Woman: Where’s Barry? I had assumed he would be here before us

*Flash runs in, holding Bruce in a Princess carry*

Flash: Incoming! *sets Batman down* Whew! Damn Bats, you gain some weight?

Batman: *glares* …

Flash: Sorry… that was mean

Batman: Hrn *pats Barry on the head once*

Superman: *clears throat and floats in between them* Ehem… anyways… how are we supposed to-

Batman: *cuts Clark off by shaking his cape. This causes Spoiler and Black Bat to fall out* Got it covered

Spoiler: Damn it B! I was taking a nap! You could’ve at least given us a warning

Black Bat: *finishes that macaroons she was eating* Lets get to work

Batman: *nods at them as they walk off chattering*

Justice League: …?

Green Lantern: How… how do you keep doing that?

Green Arrow: *muttering to himself* It’s not possible… it’s not possible…

Superman: I… are there more in there?

Wonder Woman: Batman, is the small fierce and stabby warrior with you? I would enjoy teaching him more techniques!

Batman: *ignores them*

[brucedefender4eva]

Jason and Bruce had an intense fight, which somehow led to an even more intense heart-to-heart

——

Jason: … *feeling awkward since he spilled his guts on how Willis still affects him*

Bruce: … *wringing his hands* I called Alfred Dad once… when I was younger…

Jason: *turns to Bruce* ?

Jason: I mean… yeah? Isn’t he basically your Dad and everything?

Bruce: *chuckles softly* Yeah, now. But definitely not back then.

Bruce: He got so… *closes eyes as he searches for the word* mad at me.

Jason: *in disbelief* Mad??? He got mad??

Bruce: Maybe that’s not the right word, but that's what it felt like. He wouldn’t talk to me for two weeks. And even after, he was… distant.

Jason: That’s so fucking cruel! Why would Alfred…? *Jason scowls but relaxes slightly as Bruce throws an arm over his shoulder and snuggles with him*

Bruce: I wasn’t allowed to go outside yet. It was still too fresh from my parents' death, and being swarmed by the media would be… bad. I was stuck alone in the manor with the only person I could talk to giving me the worst silent treatment of my life.

Bruce: Honestly, some of the things I had to go through in my childhood... I don't know why Alfred did the things that he did, or why I had to go through it. But... it happened.

——

Bruce can feel Jason get angry before he can see or hear it. He can feel how his son’s body tenses up, as if he were moments away from jumping off the couch and storming the manor to search for the old butler.

Bruce squeezed him closer and ran his fingers through Jason’s hair, wincing as he snagged a few unbrushed knots in the tangled mess.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Bruce murmured, unable to suppress the small smile that crept up on his face from the grunt Jason let out, incredibly reminiscent of when Jason was barely up to his waist.

“It’s not,” Jason argued, turning slightly and pushing his face into the crook of Bruce’s neck. “It’s not. Why didn’t you tell us? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Bruce knows that Jason doesn’t mean the questions to sound like accusations, but he winces at the tone anyway. None of his kids can handle being left out of information, even if Bruce deemed it unimportant, like his history with Alfred.

“Alfred was put in a very… difficult position,” Bruce said slowly, tugging gently on one of Jason’s curls. “I’m surprised he kept me. I’m not the easiest person to take care of. You know how I am.”

“That shouldn’t matter if you’re a child.” Jason snapped. “It didn’t matter for you when it was me!” Jason huffed, then paused. “Right? It didn’t matter, did it?”

“I’d go back a trillion and one times to take care of you over and over again. You and all of your siblings.” Bruce chuckled. “But… I wanted you. Wanted all of you. I had a choice. I… I took that away from Alfred.”

Jason grimaces and squeezes Bruce’s hand, pulling his Dad away from the dark thoughts he was bound to fall into.

“Alfred was forced to take care of a traumatized problem child when he only signed up to be a butler. He most likely figured that my parents would shift my custody over to another branch of the family if it came down to it.” Bruce’s fingers twitched with the urge to scratch at his skin, give him something to control, unlike his emotions. “He wasn’t prepared. Who would want to take care of their dead employers' child?”

“But-“

“Alfred is only human, Jay, even if he acts like he’s not,” Bruce said firmly, tilting Jason’s head so he could look into his son’s beautiful green eyes, filled with the determination and need to defend his Dad. “I forgive him. For every mistake that he’s ever made. For all the mistakes he will continue to make. I… I love him, nothing will change that.”

Jason was silent, staring off into the distance as Bruce continued to play with his hair. He turned over what Bruce said in his mind. He could tell that Bruce still hadn’t told him everything, and maybe he never would.

“I forgive you, too.”

“You don’t have to.”

“… yeah. I know.”

[brucedefender4eva]

Bruce at literally any age after he got into an argument with Alfred: Now I gotta die so you feel bad for yelling at me and you’ll admit that I’m right.

[brucedefender4eva]

Dick, bouncing into the cave happily, his arms outstretched for a hug: B!

Bruce, incredibly overstimulated from a long day of Gala’s, tea parties, and other social events: No *actively shrinking into himself*

Dick, stepping back but still smiling: No good today? Thats alright, can I sit by you?

Bruce, avoiding his son’s eyes and trying his best to unclench his hand: *nods*

Dick hums softly and sits on the floor by Bruce’s chair: Thanks Dad… can I keep talking?

Bruce twitches and thinks it over, before shaking his head: No

Dick, nods and pulls out his phone, content on being silent his with his Dad