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Chapter Text

Bruce grins down at Jason sleeping soundly as he uses Bruce’s shoulder as a pillow regardless of there being plenty of better options in their tiny nest that Jason has built for them in the den. Jason’s first heat is coming to a close, and the overly sweet scent of a newly presented Omega is slowly dissipating to reveal Jason’s true scent, warm and spicy like cinnamon with hints of ginger.

When Bruce became Dick’s guardian, many assumed he’d present as an Omega like Bruce. They looked at the disarming smile Dick would throw their way, watched him work a crowd and in seconds have them wrapped around his little finger, and thought “Now, there’s a future Omega”.

But those people would fail to see the aggression hidden behind those toothy grins, the dangerous gleam in Dick’s eyes whenever someone made a less-than-savory comment about Bruce, or how Dick’s posture would subtly shift to tense and protective as a stranger dared to step into their pack’s territory.

Small signs that no one but Bruce (and maybe Alfred) seemed to pick up on, and it could’ve easily meant nothing but Bruce had a feeling that when the time came his pup would present as an Alpha. So when Dick did just that when he was a few days out from his fifteenth birthday, everybody was surprised besides Bruce (and, again, Alfred).

Bruce thought Gotham’s upper-class society learned their lesson of assuming a child’s presentation, but when he adopted Jason they went right back to it. During galas, Bruce would catch whispers of his latest “charity case” and how “hostile and violent” the boy was. How it might be unwise to leave a “potentially feral Alpha” alone with an Omega and his geriatric butler.

Bruce would clench his fist and bite his tongue to stop himself from causing a scene, cause they didn’t know. They didn’t know how all of that antagonistic posturing was just an act that Jason learned to protect himself. They didn’t know how behind closed doors, Jason’s walls would come down to reveal the sweet little pup he truly was. They didn’t know how, as both Robin and Jason Todd-Wayne, he always made sure the younger pups of Park Row were being taken care of. They didn’t know how despite Jason’s weak protests, when Bruce had his heat and dragged the pup to the den, Jason would cling to the Omega and rub his face into Bruce’s neck. Seemingly just as eager to smell like his adopted Omega parent as Bruce was to make sure he did.

But Bruce knew, and once again he was not surprised when he came home from patrol to find Jason in his first heat. Maybe a little unprepared, Bruce has to admit to himself (Bruce thought Jason’s presentation would be way later considering the malnutrition he suffered that keeps him so small even though he’s fifteen), but not surprised.

Bruce runs his hand that isn’t trapped under his sleeping pup through Jason’s dark curls, causing a fresh wave of cinnamon and ginger to spread across the den and perfectly mix with the rest of the pack’s lingering scents. Bruce briefly wonders if the rich and famous of Gotham, after their initial shock, would pretend that they’ve always known Jason would present as an Omega, like they did when Dick presented as an Alpha.

Speaking of his eldest, Bruce can hear Dick downstairs excitedly talking to Alfred. Probably eager to cover his Omega little brother with his protective Alpha scent. Bruce can easily imagine Dick scaring off any of Jason’s potential partners with a strained smile and whispered threat. Bruce pictures an older Jason running to him afterward to complain about how Dick has embarrassed him, again. Though Bruce knows he will be just as bad. Bruce quietly chuckle to himself at the thought, but not quite enough apparently.

Jason grumbles as he blinks awake.

“Morning, Jay,” Bruce greets. “How are you feeling?” Bruce passes his fingers over Jason’s neck to make sure the swelling of his scent gland there has gone down.

“Like I can sleep for a week,” Jason replies, emphasizing his point by squeezing his eyes back shut and borrowing further into Bruce’s side.

Bruce hums in sympathy. A heat, especially the first heat, can be exhausting. “I’m afraid sleep will have to wait for a little while. Your brother is downstairs, and I’m sure he’d keep on talking Alfred’s ear off until he sees you.”

Jason shakes his head. “Then tell Dickwad to buzz off.”

Bruce sighs and doesn’t bother to chastise Jason for calling his brother names. Bruce knew he lost that fight a long time ago, his only consolation prize being that at least they were no longer combative towards each other. “But you haven’t had anything but granola bars and water in the past three days,” Bruce says, changing tactics. “I’m sure Alfred has made a breakfast spread with all of your favorites.”

As if on cue, Jason’s stomach rumbles. Jason’s eyes fly open, wide and alert, and his brown cheeks are a tinge pink. “Fine,” Jason coincides. “But only for Alfie’s cooking.”

Neither Bruce nor Jason bothers to change out of their sleeping clothes before making their way downstairs to the kitchen where the rest of their pack waits for them. Usually, Alfred will make some sort of passive-aggressive comment about it or at least frown, but this morning he simply grins at the two of them before rubbing his wrist on both of their necks.

“Little Wing,” Dick squeals before effortlessly sweeping Jason up off the ground and into a hug. “Congratulations!”

Bruce watches as his eldest affirms his earlier assumption and rubs a thick layer of his toasted almond scent over Jason’s own cinnamon one, much to Jason’s clear annoyance.

Dick takes in a deep breath of Jason’s new scent. “You smell like snickerdoodles, no ginger snaps. Horchata?” Dick continues to list possible treats as Jason tries to shake him off.

“Get off of me, Dickwing!” Jason screams. “No one’s going to know I presented when I just smell like you!” Jason does not see the sly smirk on Dick’s face, or else he’ll know that is exactly the point.

“Master Richard,” Alfred says. “Please put down Master Jason so we can proceed with breakfast.”

Dick puts on a show of sighing and pouting before placing Jason back on his own two feet. As soon as Jason is free, he runs over to hide behind Alfred’s legs and childishly sticks his tongue out at his brother.

As Alfred leads Jason to the dining table, covered with every sweet and savory breakfast item a teenager will want to eat, Dick walks up to Bruce. The last time the two of them were together, Dick was yelling at him for still treating him like a sidekick rather than his own hero. Bruce shouted back that he was still Dick’s Pack Omega, and what Bruce says goes. Dick had pursed his lips together in a tight, stern line before silently storming out of the Cave. That was almost two months ago, and, like after every argument, Bruce was beginning to worry that he had truly driven his eldest away from the pack forever. But now here Dick is, tilting his head back a little to let his Pack Omega scent him. Bruce happily does so.

“Be nice to your brother,” Bruce says while he thoroughly scents his Alpha son. Once he’s done, Bruce tilts his own head back.

Rather than simply rub his wrist against Bruce’s neck, Dick wraps his arms around Bruce’s torso like he is still a pup that only comes up to Bruce’s waist. Bruce huffs a little at suddenly having the weight of his full-grown son leaning against him. And just as he did to Jason, Dick starts to enthusiastically cover his own scent over Bruce’s.

“I am being nice,” Dick insists into the crook of Bruce’s neck. “I’m just making sure any Alpha brat that might mess with Jason knows whose pack he belongs to.”

“Dick,” Bruce says in warning.

With Bruce properly scented, Dick lets go of him. “Yes, Mom,” Dick says with an eye roll then goes off to eat.

Bruce knows Dick is being sarcastic, mocking even, but he can’t help but feel his heart burst in his chest. Bruce is sure in a week’s time the two of them will be back to screaming at each other with Jason, unfortunately, stuck in the middle. But that wouldn’t change anything, to Bruce, Dick and Jason will always be his pups and he’ll be their parent.

After breakfast, Bruce brings Jason back upstairs to go over “Omega things” and then take a well-deserved nap. Dick opens his mouth as if to whine about being left out, only to get distracted by Alfred’s promise of packing him a ridiculous amount of food for his apartment back in Blüdhaven.

Bruce and Jason walk past Bruce’s room, fashioned and treated as the master bedroom for years now, and through the heavy mahogany door of the true master bedroom of the Wayne Manor. It still looks exactly the same way it did when Bruce’s parents were last in it, though there is now a thick layer of dust that blankets the eternity of the room. Bruce can still picture his mother sitting at her vanity as she finishes up her makeup while his father tries yet ultimately fails to tie an uncrooked bow until he caves and calls for Alfred.

“B,” Jason calls out, pulling Bruce away from his memories and noticing that he has been squeezing Jason’s hand in his own.

Bruce eases his iron-clad hold but doesn’t let go. With his son in hand, Bruce guides Jason to Martha’s old vanity, no longer as big as it was in eight-year-old Bruce’s eyes. On the vanity is an ornate jewelry box painted black with gold trimmings. Bruce opens the box’s middle drawer, having to put a bit of force behind the motion due to its old rails. Delicately, he holds out the silver collar encrusted with diamond-clear and jet-black gemstones.

“It was my mother’s,” Bruce explains to Jason. “Her Omega dame passed it on to her when she mated my father.”

Collars passed out of fashion with Omegas a long time ago. Martha rarely ever wore the collar herself preferring to accessorize with a simple line of pearls, but this collar has been passed down in Bruce’s family from Omega parent to Omega child for generations. At least until Bruce’s generation. He was sure that the collar would remain forgotten in his mother’s jewelry box, but now with Jason maybe …

Jason reaches out to touch the collar but stops himself from actually touching the delicate jewels.

“Maybe when you mate with someone, I can pass it down to you,” Bruce says.

Once again, Bruce finds himself imagining his son’s future. Jason will come running to Bruce once again, not to complain about his overprotective brother, but to announce his proposal. He’d be so flushed with happiness and love that Bruce wouldn’t be able to hold back his smile, and after braving shovel talks from Dick, Bruce, and even Alfred then this person must truly be the one for Jason. Bruce imagines himself helping Jason put on the collar right before walking him down the aisle. There’s a tight ache in Bruce’s chest at the mere prospect of one day giving Jason away.

Jason’s nose scrunches up in disgust. “Gross! I never want to mate anyone,” the teen declares.

Bruce returns the collar to its place in the jewelry box. “Not any time soon, but maybe one day.”

Jason pretends to retch. “Nope, I’m going to stay here with you and Alfie forever.”

Forever? If only that can be the case with both his pups. “I’m sure you’ll grow tired of me eventually.” Bruce brings Jason into a side hug and kisses the top of his curly head. “But for now you’re all mine.”

Bruce watches as Jason’s casket is lowered into the ground. It’s so small, smaller than any coffin should ever be. With tremoring hands, Bruce tosses some dirt onto it, burying his pup and any dreams of the future Bruce had for him.

Chapter Text

Bruce leans back into his office chair and lets out an exhausted sigh. Even with Tim taking on most of the work of running Wayne Enterprises, Bruce still needs to make an appearance every now and then, put in his own two cents on the future of W.E.. Bruce briefly wonders if he is still too young to fully retire, completely pass on the title of CEO to Tim and focus just on being Batman until he actually is too old.

He supposes now probably isn’t the best time to suddenly announce his retirement. Instead, he should focus on fulfilling his promise to both Tim and Lucius in being an actual participant in the upcoming W.E. meeting. Bruce sighs again and sits up straight in his chair, but before he can get back to work on his computer, there is a knock on the door.

There is only one person who it could be, but Alfred usually just walks into Bruce’s office after a quick rap on the door. Damian, the only one of his kids that still live in the Manor, is visiting Jon in Smallville for the week. And, the last time Bruce checked none of the others had plans to visit him.

“Come in,” Bruce announces.

The door opens to reveal his second eldest son.

Bruce shoots up out of his chair. “Jason,” he says.

Sometimes, Bruce is still unsure of how to interact with Jason. Not only because he can feel some remnants of the tension, anger, misunderstandings, and broken promises between them, but also because of the fierce protectiveness that threatens to overcome Bruce whenever he looks at his once-dead son. His inner Omega wants to drag his pup into the nest and keep him there forever so he would be safe, warm, and sheltered in the combined scents of the pack. So nothing bad can ever happen to him again. Jason is no longer a pup, though, no matter how much Bruce’s Omega insists otherwise. He’s an adult now with his own pup to take care of and an Alpha seriously courting him, far too old to be coddled by his aging Omega dad.

“What’s up, old man?” Jason greets. His body is relaxed with his hands in his pockets, almost too relaxed like Jason is purposefully trying to make himself seem as such. Something must be bothering him.

“Is there something wrong?” Bruce asks.

Jason rolls his eyes as he enters further into the office. “Not everything is a crisis. It’s just Roy -”

At the mention of the Alpha, Bruce feels his Omega start to bristle with rage. If Harper tried to do anything to his pup or grand-pup, Bruce will make sure he’ll never be able to even pull back a bowstring ever again.

“- asked me to be his mate.”

Bruce’s hot rage suddenly cools down.

“I said yes.”

Oh. It wasn’t pain or anger or anything of the sort that Jason was trying to hide but excitement. Bruce can tell by the subtle way Jason shifts his stance, from one foot to the other, and the little upward tick at the corners of his lips that he instantly fixes. But there is also a touch of nervousness.

Bruce gets out from behind his desk to get to his son, “Congratulations, Jaylad,” he says as he places a hand on his shoulder and squeezes. “I suppose the rest of the pack already knows.”

Jason’s eyes dart to right beside Bruce’s face, creating an allusion that he’s actually making eye contact without actually doing so. “You’re the first person to know,” he corrects.

Bruce can’t help but feel a bit boastful of that fact.

“Roy insists on having a ceremony. I would’ve been fine if we just went to the city hall, got the certificate, and went back home to bite each other’s neck, but we compromised and agreed on a small event,” Jason says with another eye roll like it’s such an inconvenience to him, but Bruce can tell by the fondness in his voice that it really isn’t. He forces himself to look Bruce in the eyes before continuing. “So I was wondering if you would mind, y’know, walking me down the aisle.”

Thanks to his years of training, Bruce’s face and scent remain carefully neutral, but on the inside, it felt like his heart was going to burst. There was once a time when Bruce was sure that if Jason ever did find a mate he’d be the one to give his second son away. Up until a minute ago, Bruce wasn’t so sure of that anymore. He figured Jason would ask Alfred or Dick or even Cassandra, and Bruce would be grateful just for an invite.

Bruce squeezes Jason’s shoulder again. “Of course, I will,” he says. “I’m honored.”

“It’s not that big of a deal, B,” Jason says. “... But thanks.”

As Jason said, the ceremony is small. Just the Wayne pack, the Queen pack, the Outlaws, and a few of Roy’s old Titans teammates like Wally, Garth, and Donna. All of them are seated in the Wayne Manor ballroom as they wait for the soon-to-be-mated Omega.

Bruce clutches the black velvet jewelry box as he knocks on the door of the room Jason is getting ready in. He waits until he hears an affirmative before entering.

Jason is already finely dressed in a suit tailored specifically for Omega males so that it better accentuates their subtle curves. But for a moment, when Bruce looks at Jason he doesn’t see the young man he’s grown up to be, Bruce sees the little boy he once was. The little boy that had to tilt his head all of the way back to be able to look at Bruce with those trusting teal eyes. The little boy that tucked himself to Bruce’s side, believing that he will always be protected as long as he was with his dad. The little boy Bruce loved, still loves, yet failed.

“ … B, is it time to go? Bruce!”

Bruce blinks and his pup is no longer a pup. “What?”

Jason snorts. “Don’t tell me you’re already having memory problems, old man,” he jokes with an amused smirk. “Is it time for us to start walking?”

“Almost,” Bruce says. “I wanted to give you something first.”

Bruce opens the thin black box and holds it out for Jason to see the jewel-encrusted collar that once belonged to Martha Wayne.

Jason inhales sharply. “Bruce … I can’t accept that.”

“I promised I would pass it down to you someday.”

“That was forever ago, and what about Damian, huh?” Jason asks. “He’s your ‘blood son’.” He raises his voice an octave or two and puts up air quotes as he says “blood son”.

“Damian may be my biological son, but you’re still my eldest Omega son, and I want you to have this collar.” Bruce considers that maybe Jason already has a collar picked out, or more likely, he simply doesn’t want one. Collars are after all not that popular with younger Omegas. “Unless you don’t want it.”

“No,” Jason quickly responds. “I guess I’m a bit surprised you still want me to have it.”

Bruce lamely says again, “I promised.”

Jason glances down at the collar, still in its box, and then back up at Bruce. “Would you - uh - mind helping me put it on?”

Bruce nods, and Jason turns his back to him. Jason’s neck is thicker than Martha’s was, thicker than Bruce thought Jason’s would end up being since he was such a tiny teenager. Which is why he had Alfred take it to the jeweler to be resized a few weeks ago. Now as Bruce clasps the collar around Jason’s neck it fits perfectly.

Jason turns back around. The line of diamond-clear and jet-black gemstones glimmer on his tan neck.

“You look beautiful, son,” Bruce says.

Jason smiles, a wide, toothy smile that Bruce hasn’t seen in years. “Thanks, Dad.”

Suddenly, Bruce isn’t sure he can go through with this. He can’t give away his pup when it feels like Bruce just got Jason back. After this, Jason will be spending the majority of his time on the other side of the country, Roy and him both agreed it would be cruel to uproot Lian’s life, especially when she is just now getting used to high school, so they decided to have their main home in Star City. Other than to check on Park Row or for an emergency, Jason will be gone. Away from Gotham. Away from the pack. Away from Bruce.

“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” Bruce says. “I can go get Zora and the rest of the pack, and we can go have a family vacation somewhere. Bora Bora or Lake Como. Anywhere you want to go.”

Jason’s smile immediately disappears and his eyebrows furrow together. He opens his mouth as if to start arguing, but then he stops. Closely examines Bruce, and sees something in his dad’s expression. Something that only another parent can see. The desperation to keep your pups as you will always see them, your pups.

“I want to do this,” Jason reassures. “I love Roy, and it’s not like I can stay here with you and Alfie forever.”

“I know.” But you wanted to, once. “I know,” Bruce repeats. “It’s just - “

Outside of heat, scenting, and his daughter, Jason isn’t a touchy person, preferring to keep his contact limited to shoulder pats and squeezes or ruffling the younger pack members’ hair. So it’s a shock when Jason wraps his arms around Bruce’s abdomen and pulls him in for a hug.

Hesitantly, Bruce returns the hug. He takes in a deep breath of his son’s cinnamony scent. Remembers a time when the Manor was filled with this scent. Remembers when it started to fade away. Now it’s just a small note mixed in with the rest of the pack’s scent. “It’s just you’ll always be my pup,” he finishes his earlier statement.

“I know, Mamá,” Jason whispers so quietly that even with his head on Bruce’s shoulder, he barely hears it.

Bruce sighs at the same time his Omega purrs. Most male Omega and female Alpha parents are constantly shifting between feminine and masculine titles when being referred to by their pups, but nearly all of Bruce’s kids never call him mom or anything of the variant. To Damian, Bruce is “Father” or sometimes even “Baba”. For everyone else, they typically call Bruce by his name, and on some rare occasions, they refer to him as “Dad”, though Duke makes a point to tact “foster” in front. Dick and Jason are the only two who have ever called Bruce mom and only when they were young. It isn’t until Bruce hears “Mamá” coming out of Jason’s mouth, that he realizes how much he misses it.

They stay like that for a moment before Jason pulls away. Bruce wants to tighten his hold, wants to never let go of his son ever again, but he knows Jason is right, he can’t stay with Bruce forever. Bruce has always known this even when a freshly presented Jason didn’t. So Bruce lets him go.

Bruce watches as Jason and Roy symbolically seal their commitment to each other with a kiss. Once they are in private they would truly cement their bond with a bite on each other’s scent gland. And just like that the Waynes will no longer be Jason’s primary pack, he’ll be the Pack Omega of his own pack made up of his Alpha mate and their two pups.

Bruce realizes he was right, all of those years ago when he imagined one day having to give Jason away. It does hurt, a tight clench in his chest kind of hurt, but when he sees the smile on his pup’s face, flushed with happiness and love, Bruce can’t help but smile as well.