Chapter Text
Tim awoke to the blanketing scent of contented Alpha, so deeply intoxicating that for a moment, he couldn’t move, just wanted to bask in it. Eventually, he lifted his head from where it was pushed into the corner of the nest. Bruce clocked it instantly.
“Tim, sweetheart,” Bruce whispered, “How are you feeling?”
Tim took a second to answer. He felt decently present, but a little like his brain was moving through molasses, as if everything had slowed down and taken on a heady quality. “‘M okay. Don’t worry so much,” he finally managed to reply.
Bruce made a humming noise of acknowledgment somewhere in his throat, his face still lightly creased with concern. He reached over Damian to touch Tim, pushing the hair off of his forehead. “How does your neck feel?”
“It’s fine—a little sore. The bandages are itchy. Might need to take them off soon,” Tim answered, wiggling a bit so he could press his face against Bruce’s wrist, trying to encourage a scenting.
A low growl and the sound of teeth clashing caused Bruce to draw his arm back with a quickness. Damian glared at him, the growl emanating from his throat.
“Easy, Alpha. Was just checking on our omega.”
The second Bruce had fully backed away, Damian sprang into action, grabbing the nearest throw blanket from the nest and tossing it over Tim, hiding him from sight and doing his best to loom menacingly over him, using his body to fully block Tim from Bruce’s line of sight.
“Hey!” Tim protested, attempting to push the blanket off his head. Damian’s hand shot out, pushing Tim back to the “floor” of the nest.
“Stay!” Damian snapped, looking up at Bruce and growling aggressively at him.
The commotion must have woken Dick up, because suddenly he was sitting up, attempting to get Damian’s attention.
“Dami! Hey, buddy. Too much. Bruce isn’t going to hurt anyone, you don’t have to hide Tim from him,” Dick said, slight amusement creasing his face.
Damian’s growl tapered off into a whimper as he looked between Dick and Bruce with trepidation, finally covering Tim’s body with his own entirely. Dick nudged Jason, waking him up gently.
“Wha?” Jason mumbled, rolling over to face Dick.
“Can you rescue Tim from blanket hell? Damian is struggling a little bit with Bruce and me. I think he’s trying to hide him,” Dick told his brother, fighting to keep the mirth from his voice.
Jason rolled back over, took one look at Damian and Tim, and burst out laughing.
“Not funny!” Tim yelped from under the blanket, “Can’t breathe!”
Jason took pity, scooting closer to the pair and petting the back of Damian’s head gently. “Alpha?”
Damian lifted his head, looking at Jason anxiously. Some of the rut fog appeared to clear from his eyes.
“Hey. You’re safe. You’re with your pack, alpha. No one here wants to bring any harm to you or to Tim. We need to move this blanket, because he can’t breathe under there, okay?”
“‘Mega,” Damian whined, nudging Jason’s hand with his head. Jason grinned, bringing his hand down to scent the side of Damian’s face.
“That’s right. Good alpha. I’m just gonna uncover Tim’s head, okay?” Jason gently started to peel back the blanket from over Tim.
Damian whined, grabbing Jason’s wrist. “The Alpha,” he hissed urgently, indicating Bruce with his head. “He’s much bigger than me.”
Jason laughed, then chirped gently in apology when Damian pouted up at him. “It’s alright. He’s our alpha. Even if he’s bigger than you, he’s not going to hurt us. I promise.” Finally, Jason managed to pull the blanket down, allowing Tim to breathe easier.
“Geez,” Tim huffed, “I thought I was going to suffocate.”
“Don’t be so dramatic,” Jason admonished, smacking the side of Tim’s head. “Your alpha just wants to keep you safe, isn’t that sweet?”
“Sure..” Tim said, looking at Damian cautiously, like he might throw the blankets back over him at any second.
Damian just tucked his own body back over Tim’s, curling his arms around Tim’s neck and watching Bruce with an air of stress.
“Damian, you’re being silly. You let Dickie in the nest. You can let Bruce in too,” Jason instructed, gesturing over at Dick.
Damian followed his gesture, eyes narrowing when they locked in on Dick. “Don’t like that alpha being here. But that alpha smells like pack. Keeps you safe, omega. I protect the smaller omega.”
“I’m bigger than you, actually,” Tim tried to interject, before being shushed by Jason.
“Bruce smells like pack, too. You should get closer and see,” Dick said, attempting to bridge the gap.
“Quiet!” Damian hissed at him.
Jason barely managed to stifle his laughter. “You heard the baby alpha, Dick. Be quiet.”
Dick shot Jason a dirty look, causing him to relent.
“But he’s right. Bruce, give me your wrist,” Jason instructed.
Bruce eyed Damian warily.
“He’ll behave. Won’t you, Damian? No biting?” Jason shot Damian a stern look.
Damian made a face, briefly tightening his grip on Tim, but finally gave a small nod. Bruce extended his arm, Jason wrapped his fingers around his wrist, and brought it down towards Damian who stiffened before relaxing when the proximity seemed to help him recognize Bruce’s scent, all of the tension leaving his body at once. Damian’s eyes flicked to Bruce, clearing a bit.
“Father?”
Bruce nodded, and Damian launched himself into his arms.
Bruce froze for just a second before absolutely draping himself over his puppy, wrapping his arms around him, and holding him close. “Hi, son,” he whispered into his ear.
“Father,” Damian whimpered, pressing himself closer and resting his head against the scent gland in Bruce’s neck. “My brothers, the omegas. We have to protect them.”
Tim huffed, crossing his arms over his chest, but Jason shoved his arm in a gentle reprimand and shook his head. Normally, he too would take issue with this, but really, there was only so much reasoning to be done with an alpha in rut, especially their presentation rut.
“They’re safe, son. I promise. I will protect all of you with my life,” Bruce swore.
“You’re doing a really great job, Dami,” Dick spoke from the other side of the nest, his voice tinged with pride.
The pleased alpha pheromones that rolled off Damian in response spelled trouble for Tim, who keened for his brother, against his better judgment.
Damian whipped around, eyes locking in on Tim as he dropped out of his dad’s lap and back into the nest, bringing himself to Tim’s side. Bruce mourned the loss, but was happy to see his boys be sweet to each other and for Damian’s presentation to settle into something that, while still stressful, was a little more typical.
“Timothy. What’s wrong, are you hurt?” Damian gently prodded his brother, eyeing him with worry.
“Dami,” Tim muttered, baring his neck to the boy.
“Oh,” Dick said, a small smile gracing his face, “he’s offering you his submission, do you remember how I taught you to accept?”
Damian brought his hand to Tim’s neck and then looked at Dick for his approval.
“Yes, just like that. Gentle squeeze to the front, you don’t want to scruff him right now,” Dick instructed.
Damian obeyed, squeezing the front of Tim’s throat lightly and looking shocked when Tim’s answering purr echoed.
A deep alpha’s rumble worked its way from Damian’s chest, his first ever, and the reaction from the rest of the room was instantaneous, a cacophony of pleased scents and vocalizations. Damian cut the rumble off, blushing fiercely.
Tim reached for Damian, attempting to tug him down. “Alpha, alpha,” he insisted, keening softly.
Damian followed the tugging, lying down next to his brother and managing to school his pleasant surprise as Tim draped himself over Damian’s chest. “Are you sure you’re alright, Timothy?”
Tim nodded blearily, another soft purr working its way from his throat now that Damian was where he wanted him.
“Ah,” Bruce observed, “it seems that Tim is slightly incapacitated. Likely your pheromones are having an effect on his Styers Syndrome, Damian.”
Instantly, Damian preened, puffing himself up larger than he was and letting his not-so-secret pride over the fact that he was “alpha enough” to cause a reaction from Tim show clearly on his face and in his scent.
Jason snorted. “Are you seriously getting all proud alpha over kicking poor little Timmy’s system into overdrive? He can’t help it.”
The ribbing seemed to curb Damian’s enthusiasm, a sudden look of stress crossing his face. “No, it isn’t that…I just, I’m…he considers me an alpha. A protector.”
“I was only teasing, Damian.” Jason’s voice was warm, affectionate in a way they were starting to hear more of, but that still tended to catch at least Bruce off guard. “You are an alpha, kid. I have a feeling you’ll be a damn good one.”
Damian looked up at him, his emotion at Jason’s words threatening to spill over. He swallowed a couple of times before just giving a small nod, unable to speak. He glanced back down at Tim. “It doesn’t hurt him, right?”
“It doesn’t hurt him,” Dick affirmed softly. “It’s more embarrassing for him than anything else, and only afterwards. Right now, he seems pretty happy. Listen to how he’s purring, look how lax he is. You’re doing a good job.”
Damian nodded, tucking his chin over Tim’s head. Tim purred louder for a second, nuzzling Damian and causing him to grin.
The sight sent a bolt of warm affection through Bruce’s chest, his youngest two children’s open affection towards each other still managed to make his day every time he got to witness it. They had both been through so much, together and before being his.
After a moment passed in silence, all three of the older men subtly watching Damian and Tim and pretending like they weren’t, and that it wasn’t the cutest thing they’d ever seen, Damian wrapped his hand around Jason’s wrist, tugging gently.
“Lie down?” Damian asked, a slight unease creasing his voice.
Jason hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to lie back down, deciding his disdain for being bossed around wasn’t a good enough reason to cause the kid to get upset. He nestled back down into his spot a couple of feet away from Damian and Tim.
“Better?” He asked.
Damian shook his head and attempted to pull him closer by his wrist. “No. Not over there. By me,” he insisted.
Jason smiled a small, slightly sad-looking smile at his brother. “Listen, I’m gonna stay here, alright? Ruts are…a little overwhelming to me. The doting. If the next wave hits, and it starts getting really bad, let me know. For now, focus your attention on Timmy. He likes the doting. I think you’re giving him something he didn’t get a whole lot of growing up, you know?”
Dick and Bruce both bristled, their scents growing displeased at Jason’s unfortunately accurate reading of Tim’s upbringing. Damian just hummed, rubbing his wrists over Tim’s back almost mindlessly, as if to reassure himself that he was there, safe and happy. When Damian looked at Jason, he felt a sharp spike of anxiety through their bond.
“How can I make sure you’re safe when you’re so far?”
For once, Jason didn’t feel the need to point out that, save for Bruce, he was the largest person in the room. He didn’t point out his strength, or that it had been months since anyone, alpha or not, got the better of him. He didn’t push Damian off with ire, insisting that he could take care of himself. He didn’t even point out how close he actually was to Damian. Instead, he grinned at his brother. “Someone would have to be real dumb to come after me when I have three of the best, strongest alphas to protect me.”
The overwhelming pulse of happy, proud alpha scent that rolled off of all three of them after that made Jason roll his eyes. He hadn’t said it for his older brother or his father, just the kid, but that was fine. If it pleased their egos, let them have it.
Damian nodded, going back to rubbing Tim’s back and whispering soft assurances into his ear before looking at Jason again a few minutes later.
Again, Jason could pick up on the fretting anxiety bubbling over through their bond. He tried to push down the desire to run that it triggered.
“Aren’t you cold?” Damian finally asked.
Jason cocked his head, grinning at the kid's question. “No? Why? Are you cold?”
“No, I am..warm,” Damian quickly replied, wrinkling his face, just now realizing how hot he was before managing to shake it off. “I am asking if you are cold?”
“No, I’m fine. Why?”
“I..don’t know. It just seems like you should be cold, and I should fix it.” Damian’s face wrinkled with frustration, obviously unable to identify where these feelings were coming from.
Dick chuckled from his spot in the nest, sharing a glance with Bruce, whose lips also quirked up in amusement.
“What?” Damian demanded, irritation flaring in his scent.
“Relax, they aren’t laughing at you, little alpha,” Jason said soothingly, fighting off his own laughter.
Damian didn’t know what, or who to believe, examining his family with narrowed eyes.
“We aren’t!” Dick was quick to jump in, “We just know how you feel. It’s the alpha version of nesting. You want your omega packmates safe, warm, and fed, somewhere where you can protect them. It’s just instinct.”
It hadn’t even occurred to Damian to be worried that Jason hadn’t eaten. His eyes widened, flicking back to him. “Are you hungry?” He blurted.
This time, Bruce and Dick couldn’t hold back their laughter, and even Jason chuckled too, much to Damian’s dismay.
“No, Damian. I’ve eaten. We all did. Are you hungry, baby bat?” Jason asked, smirking.
“I’m not a baby,” Damian was quick to huff out, before realizing that he was actually kind of hungry. “I could eat.” He sat up, gently shifting Tim back over into the nest. As he tried to climb out, Bruce stopped him with a hand to the chest.
“I’ve got it, I’ll tell Alfred you need something to eat. You just rest,” Bruce said.
“I don’t need to rest. I’m not tired,” Damian insisted, still trying to get up.
“The sedatives probably haven’t totally worn off yet. You blew through them faster than you should have. You might still be shaky. Let me handle this, you just keep your brother's company.”
Damian was about to protest, but a soft keen echoed from the nest. Dick, Bruce, and Damian all looked at Tim, but he appeared to be perfectly content, if not a little sleepy.
“Alpha,” Jason spoke, avoiding their eyes. “I want you to stay.” His face was flushed, his embarrassment clear to both Dick and Bruce, even as he fought to keep it from entering his scent. Luckily, Damian was too foggy to realize what he was trying to do.
“Okay, I’ll stay. Don’t worry, you’re safe. I will make sure nothing bad happens. So will…Richard.” Damian lay back into the nest, careful not to disturb Tim who almost seemed to be dozing, at this point. Bruce snuck away while Damian was preoccupied.
Jason, against all odds, was endeared by the attempt. Honestly, if you looked past it being patronizing, it was cute. Damian was probably just trying to reflect the behavior he’d seen modeled for him by Dick and Bruce. His older brother and his father knew better than to try and baby Jason when he was in his clear mind, unaddled from heat, but they were both guilty of babying the shit out of Tim, sometimes. Jason understood the desire. While Tim was a grown man now, only a couple of years younger than Jason himself, and extremely competent, he was also his little brother, and occasionally you had to baby your little brother.
Damian however, just hadn’t learned to channel his protector and provider instincts into the appropriate way to behave with each packmate, taking into account their particular preference. Honestly, even the best, most experienced alphas struggled with that during their rut, so Jason could forgive it.
“You know, Damian. I think you’re right. Jason does look cold,” Dick volunteered conspiratorially, clearly thrilled to be considered a fellow protector in Damian’s mind and willing to play it up to stay on his good side.
Jason shot him a dirty look. “Oh, fuck off. Don’t do that,” he huffed.
“No really, you do. I think you need to bundle up, don’t you agree, Dami?”
Jason’s face creased with utter annoyance, knowing exactly what Dick’s game was. He looked at Damian, fully prepared to talk him down, but the openness on his face stopped Jason in his tracks.
“It’d make me feel better if you did,” Damian spoke, softly.
“…….give me the damn blanket.” Jason truly lamented how soft he was getting, all it took were the kids' sad little anxious puppy dog eyes and he caved to being treated like a whelp. “But it better be a soft one. Jesus.”
Dick snorted, jumping up with glee and grabbing Tim’s blanket from the nest, since he wasn’t using it.
Jason could live with that. Tim’s blanket was VERY soft, and tended to always carry everyone’s scents, not that Jason cared much about that kind of thing, of course.
Dick tucked the blanket up and around Jason’s shoulders, whistling with self-satisfaction as he did it. Jason tried with everything in him to suppress the burst of pleasure that came with being tucked in so gently from making it into his scent, but Dick and Damian both noticed, pleased alpha hitting his nose like a thick fog.
“You’re both ridiculous….” Jason muttered, secretly feeling very pleased that Damian so obviously cared about his well-being too, and not just Tim’s.
“Yes, two ridiculous alphas that have committed the crime of loving you, oh the horror,” Dick teased.
Dick lay back down himself, much closer than Jason would’ve preferred, but then his arm hesitated, hovering over Jason’s waist, and fuck it, in for a penny, in for a pound.
“Go ahead, octopus. Might as well.” The arm wrapped around Jason’s waist, Dick’s hand coming to rest against Jason’s chest, pushing him back into Dick’s frame as Dick stuck his face into the back of Jason’s neck. A pulse of anxiety flared through him. “Little less tight,” he mumbled.
Instantly, the grip loosened, Dick’s hand no longer pressing him into the other man, and he pulled his face away from Jason’s neck.
“Better?” Dick asked.
“Yeah, it’s fine,” Jason answered, refusing to acknowledge how NICE it actually felt, how much Dick’s instant adjustment for Jason’s current comfort level really meant to him.He looked over at Damian and Tim, and while Tim still seemed to be napping, Damian was watching the two of them carefully, contemplative.
“Richard is a good alpha,” Damian said after a few moments of silence, decisively.
Dick’s grip briefly tightened around Jason as he started to rumble, but he quickly remembered himself and relaxed his grip.
“Eh, he’s alright,” Jason teased.
“I will strive to be like him,” Damian declared with a small, determined nod.
Jason’s heart swelled, god, he’d never really thought Damian was all that cute until he’d gotten to know him, but this was downright friggin adorable.
Dick was body slammed with emotion at the simple approval, instantly having to fight back tears as Jason leaned back more securely against his chest in a grounding manner. Thankfully, Bruce came in with Damian’s food and the moment passed, Dick able to get a handle on his emotions.
As Damian ate, Dick pressed the button to bring the TV out, putting on one of Damian’s favorite movies to hopefully soothe any leftover stressors. It seemed to work alright, Damian watching with rapt attention, although he occasionally broke away to glance over at Tim and Jason, probably to make sure they were doing okay. Dick watched over his pack with fond amusement. Tim was still dozing, and Dick briefly wondered if the cure for his recent Styers Syndrome-induced insomnia was just to toss him into bed with a rutting packmate. Jason was scrolling through his phone, and Bruce was catching up on emails on his laptop, although he occasionally glanced over the nest too. Like father like son.
About an hour into the movie, Damian long done eating, Tim woke himself up with a brutal coughing fit. Damian instantly snapped to attention.
“Timothy? Are you alright? Can you breathe?” He asked, questions coming out all in a rush.
Tim held up his hand, flashing their patrol sign for all good, before finally catching his breath enough to say “Fine, my throat is dry,” In between coughs.
“It’s still bothering you?” Damian asked, tense.
Dick instantly clocked Damian’s word usage. “Still?”
“Oh my god, guys. I’m fine. My throat has just been a little dry today. I probably just need some water,” Tim said, fondly exasperated.
“I’ll get your water bottle from downstairs,” Bruce volunteered, placing his laptop to the side as he got up to leave.
“How much water did you drink today, Timothy?”
Tim winced. “Uh, I had that tea over breakfast?”
“All you’ve had to drink today was tea?” Jason asked, thrown by Tim’s answer.
“But Timothy! That was hours ago!” Damian fretted, coming too close into Tim’s space for his current comfort.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Tim snapped, “you may remember, someone fucking BIT ME!”
The room went still and silent in the wake of Tim’s outburst, Dick and Jason both tensing in preparation to grab the younger two and break up any kind of fight that might happen. Instead, Damian’s face crumpled.
“I know. I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you,” Damian said, quiet and small, drawing away from Tim to hunch in on himself.
Tim blinked in shock a few times, shaking his head, before he fully processed that Damian wasn’t going to rise to his threat, and instead, looked fucking miserable. He rushed to reassure him. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. It’s not a big deal. I scruffed you that one time, so, we’re even now.”
Dick made a quick mental calculation, looking from each of his younger brothers to the other, assessing if Damian was in a good enough place to hear what he needed to say. He still looked upset, but had uncurled a bit, and didn’t seem like he was beating himself up too badly. Dick couldn’t really let him operate under the assumption that it wasn’t a big deal.
“Uh, if I may, that’s very sweet Tim, and I’m glad you’re doing alright, but it actually is a big deal,” Dick started. Damian’s eyes flicked to him, and he looked remorseful, but receptive. “That really wasn’t cool Damian, and it could’ve gone much, much worse than it did. Luckily, Tim wasn’t seriously hurt, but he could’ve needed stitches, or worse. I know that you weren’t in your right mind, and that you were scared, but you need to have control over those instincts. That’s something that you will learn in time. It’s just important to know that going straight for a bite is never a good idea. It’s very easy for something that is meant to be pleasant, like a submission bite, to turn traumatic for someone.”
“What if it’s in a fight?” Damian asked, the training to use whatever he could to bring his opponent down always active in the back of his mind.
Dick thought for a moment, not quite sure how to answer that question. “In a fight, you can do whatever you need to do to get back to us. Just…don’t go for the neck, unless you absolutely have to, okay?”
Damian nodded. “I understand. I’m…really sorry, Timothy. I’ll be more careful. I’m pleased that you’re okay.”
Dick’s eyes flicked to Tim, hoping he wouldn’t immediately brush the seriousness of the situation off again.
“You’re forgiven,” Tim said instead, smiling at his brother and reaching forward to ruffle his hair.
Damian scowled, but he didn’t bat his hand away, tolerating the affection.
Bruce returned with Tim’s water bottle, passing it to his son, who let go of Damian in order to start greedily gulping it as quickly as possible.
“God, slow down, birdie. You’re going to choke,” Jason teased.
Tim flipped him off, finally pulling the bottle away from his mouth. “God, I guess I was thirsty. Whoops.”
Damian’s scowl deepened, observing Tim closely. “You need to take better care of yourself, Timothy.”
Thankfully, before Tim could snap back, Bruce interrupted.
“Listen, boys, Lucius called. There’s an issue with the merger, and I have to call in to a quick meeting. When that’s over, I’ll take leave for the rest of your rut. Will you be okay for a couple of hours with your brothers, you think?” Bruce asked his youngest son, watching his reaction carefully.
Damian just nodded, leaning towards his father in the closest imitation of asking for a scenting that he ever allowed himself to do.
Bruce caught his son’s silent request, and obliged, rubbing his wrist along his son’s jaw and back towards his neck before asking if he was sure.
“Yes, father. I’m feeling much better right now. Clear-headed. I’ll be fine.”
“Got it, alright. You boys be good, call me if you need anything,” Bruce directed, mostly towards Dick, and Dick nodded, indicating that he understood Bruce’s directions. Bruce leaned forward, pressing a kiss to Damian’s head before leaving the room.
“He worries too much,” Damian huffed, leaning back a bit, against the piled pillows in the nest.
“He just cares,” Jason said, softly, staring down at the blankets. He pretended to ignore several surprised pairs of eyes flicking towards him, his siblings shocked that he had been the one to say it.
“It’s no wonder. This pack hasn’t exactly had the best luck with presentation cycles, lately,” Dick pitched in, recovering from his surprise.
Tim shifted uncomfortably, placing his water bottle on the nightstand, and leaning towards Damian a bit. “Well, it always turns out okay in the end, doesn’t it? Can I…?” He gestured at the space next to Damian.
Damian flicked his eyes up, confused. “What is it you’re asking permission for?”
“Uh. Can I- you know. Cuddle?” Tim flinched after asking, clearly embarrassed.
Jason and Dick exchanged a glance, a small smirk on Jason’s face.
Damian’s eyes went wide, as he looked at his brother. “You still want to? Are you alright?”
Tim nodded with a quickness, looking slightly mortified. “No, yeah, I’m good. It’s just that you smell really good right now, and my omega is practically screaming to nest with you, make it easier.”
“Oh, right. Yes. That would be acceptable,” Damian agreed, lifting the arm at his side up as though welcoming Tim to snuggle in. Dick gently jabbed him in the side out of Tim’s line of sight, and Damian corrected himself. “In fact, it would be welcome.”
“Sweet,” Tim huffed out in relief, finally lying back down and gently tucking himself into the space between Damian’s body and his outstretched arm. Damian brought the arm down, wrapping it around Tim, and Tim let out a small purr, before blushing furiously.
Dick started to coo, only making it worse. Tim tucked his face into Damian’s neck, hiding it, causing Damian to snap at his older brother.
“Control yourself, Richard. There’s no reason to embarrass him. This is perfectly natural.” A wave of protective alpha hormones flooded the room as Damian wrapped his fingers protectively into the hair at the back of Tim’s head, tucking him closer into his neck.
Tim keened, twisting his head to bite Damian’s shoulder, and immediately soothing it with an apologetic lick. “Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
The pulse of contentment and belonging that flooded through Damian at Tim’s nip was so disorienting and overwhelming that for a second, all Damian could do was blink his eyes several times.
Dick grew concerned at his lack of answer, drawing closer to the boys. “Dami? Are you alright?” It was a mistake.
Damian snapped his teeth in a low snarl, growling at Dick as he caged Tim in with his arms, pressing Tim’s face hard into his neck, shielding him from the perceived threat. “Stay back. He’s mine.”
Dick quickly withdrew, hands up in surrender. “Hey, I’m not taking him. Just checking on you. You’re alright. We’re all pack, remember?”
The fog over Damian retreated just as fast as it had descended, not even lasting long enough to count as an actual wave of his rut. He blinked a few times, licking over his teeth.
“Uh. I’m sorry. Just…don’t get too close.”
“You’ve got it, I’ll stay over here. I’m no threat to either of you,” Dick acquiesced, scooting further back in the nest.
Damian still felt agitated, a burning heat starting to flicker just under his skin again. Still, he had no desire to shuck the omega off, even with his added body heat. Instead, he was still clutching him close and tight.
Tim attempted to pull back, and Damian reacted on instinct, tightening his grip.
Tim whined uncomfortably.
“Hey, alpha? You’ve got him a little too tight, Kid. With his face being held against your neck like that, he’s practically huffing your pheromones. You’re gonna get him all foggy,” Jason pointed out, gently.
Damian knew he was right, snapping back to clarity and loosening his hold to allow Tim to pull his face away and lay against his chest instead. “Sorry, ‘mega. Didn’t mean to be so intense,” he said, stroking his hand through Tim’s hair. He brushed against the bandage on Tim’s neck, and the pulse of guilt in his scent was so strong, Dick and Jason’s heads both snapped to him.
“It’s alright, Damian. You’re still learning. You’ve never even had a nestmate before.” Dick tried to soothe, referencing the behavior young puppies around the same age who spent a lot of time together tended to display, nesting down with each other innocently and practicing the behavior instinct would eventually demand of them. Scenting, cuddling, nurturing each other, that sort of thing.
Something about the words felt wrong to Damian, and it took him a minute to realize why. He didn’t usually share much about his time in the league, he didn’t like the pity it tended to elicit, and he preferred to think of the good memories he had of growing up. Rut fog and having his pack surrounding him had left him feeling vulnerable and open, though, and he found himself starting to correct his brother.
“I have, actually.”
Dick wrinkled his eyebrows questioningly as Jason stiffened and even Tim, who seemed to be a little foggy himself, raised his head and rested his chin on Damian’s chest so that he could look at him.
“What?” Dick asked.
“A nestmate. I’ve had one. In…the league.” Damian’s voice was light, faraway, but his face creased with pain.
“But I thought-“
“Dick…” Jason interrupted, placing a hand on his older brother’s shoulder and shaking his head. He didn’t know for sure, but he was pretty sure he knew where this story was going.
“No, it’s alright. I had one. A girl. She was younger than me. Just a couple of years. Her name was Zahra.”
“What happened?” Tim asked apprehensively.
“One of grandfather’s Lieutenants caught us curled into a nest one day. We weren’t doing anything bad, we were…so young. I think she was only six. It didn’t matter. They dragged us into grandfather’s throne room, and my pleas and explanations fell on deaf ears.”
“Damian, did they….kill her?” Dick asked, horrified.
Damian shook his head, continuing his story. “No. But they told us that if it ever happened again, they would. They stripped her down, and whipped her, for daring to lay hands on the heir.”
“Did they hit you, too?” Jason asked. Damian shifted uncomfortably.
“No. My punishment was that I had to watch, and be told her blood was on my hands. I never talked to her again, after that. I didn’t want to get her in trouble.” Damian sighed, clutching Tim a bit tighter, seeking comfort in his omega. “I think I’d have rather been hit. I could go somewhere else in my mind when that happened. Without the physical pain, it wouldn’t come.”
Dick made a strangled noise, halfway between a sob and a scream. He’d never been able to get details about Damian’s abuse from him before, and they were just as horrific as he had feared. “Oh my god Damian, I’m so, sorry that happened to you. You didn’t deserve it.”
Damian shrugged. “It’s alright. Just one of those things that happens.”
“But it shouldn’t be. Not to anyone. You didn’t deserve that, you were just a puppy,” Jason spoke up, his voice cold and hard with anger.
Tim could sense that Damian was growing uncomfortable, his shifting and agitation growing. He hated to have attention on him in this way. Tim could relate. “You’re not alone. Something similar happened to me, too. It wasn’t as bad, obviously, and I was a little older, but.”
“But you weren’t even allowed to nest?” Dick blurted, without thinking, and Jason smacked the back of his head.
“Exactly,” Tim answered with a smirk, giggling at his brother rubbing his head sheepishly.
“What happened?” Damian asked, small-sounding, like he needed Tim’s story, too.
Tim sighed, shrugging. He turned to Dick. “You know how my parents passed out those letters to the school? That none of my friends were supposed to scent me, or anything?”
Dick nodded, and Tim continued.
“Well, this was why. When I was eleven, one of the boys on my floor presented early. Omega. Somehow, he hid it, so they didn’t move him to the omega dorms. He went into pre-heat, and he asked me to come and nest with him. I knew I wasn’t allowed, but I’d never done it before, and I was curious, and he seemed like he needed it, so I did. Nothing happened. He didn’t even scent me. He just wrapped me up in blankets and we cuddled. Well, one of the dorm mothers walked in on us like that, and when they called my parents, they freaked.”
“What did they do?” Jason asked.
“Honestly, I’m surprised they didn’t pull me out of the school, but it was in the middle of the semester and I’m sure they didn’t want to come home and handle me getting set up in a different one. But they brought the hammer down hard on the school, I think some people even got fired, since we certainly weren’t allowed to be in each other’s rooms, and the kid was obviously moved to the omega dorms. I still consider when I nested with you to be my first time nesting, Dick. I can barely even remember this, and I was scared of getting in trouble the whole time. I don’t even remember his name. The nesting was nice while it lasted, though.”
“It certainly was for me, too. Nice, I mean,” Damian agreed, running his fingers through Tim’s hair.
Tim smiled at his brother, a little sadly, before leaning up and rubbing the top of his head under Damian’s chin gently, mixing their scents together.
Damian giggled. “But this is nice, too,” he said, swallowing. “Especially because I know I’ll never get in trouble for it.”
“Absolutely not. We can nest literally anytime you want or need to, Dames,” Dick agreed.
“In fact…” Jason trailed off, leaning over his brothers. “Why don’t you two scooch, make room for Dickie and me?” Jason collapsed into the nest, causing Tim to squeal and Damian to push at his shoulder.
“Off! You’re too heavy. We’ll make room, you don’t have to smash us!” He admonished.
Jason laughed, rolling over and letting the other two boys get settled before reaching out for Dick. “Cmon, Dickie bird. The big bad alpha’s gotta box us in,” he insisted, eyebrow raised.
Dick still felt terrible about the things his brothers had been through, and sad about how Damian’s presentation had started, but like Tim had said, things always worked out. And right now? Right now he just wanted to snuggle with his brothers and ensure that they knew they were in a space where they’d never, ever, be punished for it again.