Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Like most problems in Bruce’s life, this was his fault.

It was hard to pin down at first. He hadn’t told anyone he and Clark were dating, and they didn’t get time alone often. He hadn’t gotten sick as much as one would expect, nor did he have any other significant symptoms, which is why he didn’t know about it until a completely unrelated injury check.

He’d been in the bat cave after patrol, on his own this time since it was a school night for Damian. Alfred had already gone upstairs, seeing that Bruce had returned home safe.

He really hadn’t been that concerned. Other than one wave of dizziness after grappling to a building, patrol had been completely normal. It was entirely likely he had simply overworked himself like usual, but it was better to check just in case. Any symptoms were suspicious with all the toxins and pollens floating around Gotham.

So he sat in front of the big screen in his usual chair and removed his cowl.

“Computer, run health check.”

He was scanned up and down for a moment while placing his hand in the little cubby that took his pulse and oxygen. The screen flickered to results.
Blood Oxygen- Normal
Pulse- Normal
Blood Pressure- Normal
Temperature- Normal

“Alert.” The bat computer interrupted. “Elevated hormone levels detected.”
Bruce rubbed his chin. “Show results.”

The computer pulled up another screen on the side monitor.

HCG Levels- Elevated

He raised an eyebrow.
“Run diagnostic.”

The computer scanned him again, this time taking a more detailed look.

“Abnormal activity found in the abdominal region.”

Bruce’s brow furrowed.

“Recommended course of action?” He prompted.

The computer loaded for a bit. “Abdominal Ultrasound.”

He sighed. Probably a tumor then. As long as it wasn’t cancerous, he could have Leslie deal with it without worrying the rest of the family.

He stood up from his chair, removing the rest of the Kevlar on his arms and torso but not bothering with the leg pieces, leaving his upper body in only his black athletic undershirt.
Making his way over to the medbay, he turned on the radiology machine and rolled over the chair. It would be easier to have Alfred do this, but Bruce rarely asked for help dealing with time-sensitive injuries. He wasn’t about to wake the older man up for this. And If it was something serious, he didn’t want to give Alfred the burden of being the one to tell him. Nor did he want to worry him until he knew all the facts.

He spread the gel over his abdomen, grimacing at the cold, and grabbed the wand. Positioning on himself was difficult, but after a minute or so, he managed to get a clear picture.

And he blinked.

And he blinked again.

Disbelieving what he was looking at, he turned back to the computer across the cold stone expanse.

“Computer- analyze results.”

The computer downloaded the ultrasound data and cross-referenced it with his other symptoms.

“Additional heartbeat detected. Fetal life form present. Estimated: 7-8 weeks gestation”

Bruce blinked again. Ever the logical one when faced with a crisis, he asked: “Any additional data?”

“Kryptonian DNA detected.”

That’s when Bruce gave himself permission to panic. Kryptonian DNA meant this was more than just a fluke or a spell or some fucked up experiment. It was an actual baby. Clarks baby. That Bruce was pregnant with.

Pregnant.

He stressed a hand through his hair, ruffling the steel slivers on his temples. He turned the machine off and grabbed a towel with more force than necessary to wipe the gunk off his stomach. Once that was dealt with, he stood up to pace back and forth across the floor. When he looked back at the med bay, he saw the chair still sitting by the ultrasound and quickly dashed over to roll it away before anyone came down and saw its placement. Once he straightened back up again, it occurred to him that he was probably in the middle of a crisis and should probably get a second opinion on the situation.

He quickly pulled out his phone, ignoring the time that read 6:00 AM, and called Leslie’s contact.

“It’s past your bedtime Bruce, what do I need to scold you for this time?”

Bruce took a deep breath to collect himself and steady his voice.

“Come to the cave as soon as you can. It’s not an emergency but I need you to take a look at something.”

There was shuffling on the other line before Leslie’s voice came through sounding more concerned. “What is it? Are the boys alright?”

He sighed. “Yes they’re fine, I’m calling about me. I’ve had some abnormal test results.”

He could hear Leslie’s footsteps through the phone as she walked about her house. “What are the results?”

Bruce sighed. “It’s probably easier to just show you.”

“Alright.” Said Leslie. “Can I come by this afternoon? I have appointments all morning.”

“Yes, that would be great. I appreciate this Leslie.”

“Of course. Take care, Bruce. Get some rest before I see you.”

“Sure.” Bruce lied, knowing there was no way he could sleep now.

.

Alfred frowned at him when Bruce came up for breakfast. “Trouble sleeping, Master Bruce?”

“Hrm.” Bruce hummed in his usual gruff manner. Was it so obvious something was troubling him?

“Coffee then, sir?” Alfred asked.

Bruce opened his mouth to answer in the affirmative when a strange thought struck him. Were pregnant people allowed to drink coffee? He knew the answer of course, that it was fine in small amounts. But should he be drinking coffee? Since he was… possibly…

Eventually, he shook his head, deciding he might as well be extra careful before he had a confirmation of what was going on. “I’m alright, thank you, Alfred.”

Alfred looked at Bruce without bothering to disguise his suspicion. He always had a way of seeing through him. “I’ve prepared a breakfast of eggs and toast for Damian, are you hungry?”

For some reason the thought of eggs made his stomach turn. He covered his mouth with a fist and disguised a cough. “Maybe later.”
Alfred took note of that too but didn’t show it on his face this time, since Bruce skipping meals and taking overall poor care of himself was nothing new.

“You are looking unwell father,” Damian interjected bluntly. Coming from Damian, this was nothing new, but Bruce internalized it.

I look different? 

He hadn’t noticed anything before the health check, but now it seemed everyone was suspicious of his condition.

“I’m fine Damian, don’t worry about me.”

.

Leslie came to the cave as planned since Bruce was against visiting her clinic. One, because he didn’t want to be seen going in as Bruce Wayne, and second, so he could show her the results of his own tests.

“Okay Bruce, what’s going on?”

Bruce leaned back in the examination chair. “Noticed some strange results. Elevated HCG levels, secondary DNA detected, abnormal ultrasound results.”

Leslie tried not to show her amusement on her face. “You’re aware of how it sounds, right?”
Bruce huffed a sigh. “Yes. I was hoping you could tell me why.”

Leslie tutted, preparing the ultrasound machine. “Roll your shirt up. Let’s see what’s going on.”

The wand thrummed across his stomach through the cold gel as Leslie positioned it. After a few moments, the screen focused. Leslie pursed her lips and turned to Bruce. “

Is this what you meant by abnormal ultrasound results?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a baby, Bruce.”

“Yes.”

Leslie removed her glasses and studied the screen for a moment. “Is there any conceivable explanation as to why you’re pregnant right now?”

Bruce’s eyes were locked on the screen, on the very baby-shaped blob that was encased God knows where in his abdomen.

“So I am?” he whispered. “Pregnant, you mean?”

“I’d say this is pretty damning evidence.”

She adjusted something on the machine and suddenly there was a new sound to accompany the soft hum of the machine. A soft, yet rapid,
thump thump thump thump.

Bruce gasped silently. “Oh,” he whispered. “That’s a heartbeat.”

Leslie nodded. “The baby seems healthy if that’s any consolation. No mutations or alien limbs of the sort. Doesn’t bring us any closer to understanding how this happened though.”

Bruce wrung his hands together. “The- the computer said the additional DNA detected was Kryptonian.” He cringed at how his voice stuttered.

“Kryptonian.” She hummed intently. “Like Superman?”

Bruce nodded. “I… think it’s fairly likely he’s the father.”

Leslie flicked the machine off and began rubbing her glasses against her lab coat, looking like the whole experience had taken years off her life. “Normally this is the part where I ask when your last menstrual cycle was but I don’t think that applies here. The fetus looks to be around eight weeks, so I’ll ask you straight. Did you and… Superman, have intercourse during the appropriate time frame two months ago?”
Bruce avoided her gaze like an embarrassed teenager. “Clark prefers to call it lovemaking.”

Leslie didn’t look amused.

“Yes.” He corrected.

Leslie handed Bruce a towel to clean himself off. “Normally I’d write you a referral, but when it comes to Kryptonian biology, you’d probably have better luck finding a doctor who knows about this sort of thing than I do.”

Bruce nodded.

“I’d still like to follow up with you in a couple of weeks. To know how things are progressing, what your plans are, etc.”

“My plans?”

“If you plan to terminate or not.”

And God, wasn’t that a dilemma? Bruce felt like a teenage girl in a bad lifetime movie. He leaned forward, placing his head in his hands while Leslie packed up her stuff. She knew it was better to give him space than try to comfort him.

That was proven, when, just when it seemed Bruce would get some time alone to think, he heard a voice coming from the staircase.

“Dr. Thompkins? When did you get here?” Dicks eyes fell on his surrogate father's defeated posture. “You good B?”

Bruce sat up and released a long heavy sigh.

“I think I’m gonna be sick.”

Chapter Text

Bruce wore a mask in addition to the cowl. The mask that kept him from grimacing when he was in pain, kept his voice steady when his kids gave him mini-heart attacks, and kept his eyes from watering when they were hurt. So when Dick heard B admit he wasn’t feeling well for probably the first time ever, the ensuing panic that followed was warranted.

He practically vaulted over the railing to reach Bruce and then was by his side, tugging his arm.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” He cried frantically.

Leslie, who was actually using her head, quickly grabbed the trashcan in the corner and shoved it under Bruce’s chin just as he started heaving. Dick flinched away in a panic. He’d only seen Bruce vulnerable on a few occasions, and to see him so causally ill caught him off guard. He hesitantly returned his hand to Bruce’s shoulder, awkwardly rubbing it the way he thought you were meant to do when people were sick.

After throwing up thankfully only the one time, Bruce set the trashcan down on the floor, looking absolutely awful. He was pale (but like, more than usual) and looked tired (also more than usual, if that’s possible).

“Call me if you need anything. I’ll leave you two to talk. Or if not him, please talk to someone Bruce. This is serious.”

Dicks brow furrowed. He leaned closer, hand still clasped over Bruce’s shoulder. “What’s she talking about B?” He whispered nervously. “Is something wrong?”

Bruce kept his face blank as he got up and went for the sink to wash his mouth out. Which- fair enough, but still a total cop-out. Like, at least pretend not to ignore him!

Water fshhhhed from the sink and Dick could see him patting his face dry mechanically with a paper towel. When he was done, he finally turned to face Dick but kept his focus cast away from him.

“I’m fine.”

Dick rolled his eyes from the familiarity of the response. “Bruce, those words have no meaning in this household. If you’re going to lie, at least say something believable.”

“I’m not dying.” He corrected.

“Congratulations. Still doesn’t answer my question.”

“I’m pregnant.”

Dick groaned. “Can you be serious for a second!” He meant to say something else in an exasperated tone but realized not only did Bruce look dead serious, but he looked nervous too. Or at least as nervous as Bruce was capable of looking.

“B…?” Dick said softly, inching forward.

“I’m pregnant.” Bruce repeated, tossing the balled-up paper towel into the trashcan and of course making it in.

“So you’ve mentioned…” Dick replied in a bewildered tone. “Is there an explanation in my near future?”

“I don’t know Dick! I’d love one myself!” Bruce snapped suddenly. Dick was taken aback.

“I don’t know how it happened! I don’t know what to do! I don’t understand any of this!” Bruce yelled in frustration. He was breathing heavily when he was done, hands still in the air from gesticulating wildly. Just as quickly as the anger had appeared, it fled. His face crumpled as he took in Dick’s bewildered look and he buried his head in his hands. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to yell.” He warbled.

Dick quickly took action, wrapping his arms around him. “Hey, hey it’s okay. Talk to me, we’ll figure this out.” Dick soothed. Bruce leaned his forehead against Dick’s shoulder.

“I ran a health check last night because I felt dizzy on patrol.” He said hoarsely. “The tests indicated something was off so I ran an ultrasound- which showed I was pregnant. I asked Leslie to come verify my findings.”

Dick hummed softly, trying to process what he was saying. Bruce was pregnant? Like with a baby? How? Since when was he getting any action anyway? Did this mean Dick was gonna have another sibling? Batman is having a fucking baby!?

Bruce backed away from Dick, rubbing his eyes. “I think I need to add pregnancy hormone-induced mood swings to my list of symptoms.”

Dick quirked an eyebrow, still unsure if Bruce was okay. “So you throwing up earlier, was that morning sickness?” He hummed in the affirmative.

“So you’ve got a bun in the oven.” Dick clarified. He hummed again.

“I didn’t know you had an oven.”

Bruce chuckled pitifully. “The leading theory is it’s got something to do with Kryptonian biology. I should probably go to the fortress of solitude to research.”

Dick grabbed Bruce by the shoulders suddenly so he was facing him head-on. “Kryptonian? Like an alien baby? Oh my God are you having Superman’s baby!?”

Bruce cast his glance sideways. “It seems that way, yes.”

Dick gaped. “Oh man… Jason owes me so much money.”

.

Bruce was not ready to confess to his sort of father that he’d been knocked up. He definitely didn’t want to, but… he felt he needed his advice. Of all the people Bruce was going to have to inform of his… current situation, Alfred was the only one who wasn’t younger than him. Aside from Leslie of course, but she was a general practitioner, not a therapist.

So, after swearing Dick to secrecy and pacing in the cave for an hour, Bruce knocked on the kitchen door frame to get Alfred's attention.

Alfred answered without even turning to look. “I hope you weren’t planning on cooking anything Master Bruce. You’re banned from this room for good reason.”

Bruce smiled softly, wondering how Alfred could tell it was him. “I know better.”

Alfred turned the sink off and put the dishtowel away before facing him. “What can I do for you, my boy?” The older man's voice hummed in that soothing fatherly way of his. Bruce could hardly keep it together.

Bruce stepped into the kitchen, contemplating how this would go. “Not entirely,” he murmured.

Alfred pulled out a chair at the kitchen table and gestured for him to sit, which Bruce did hesitantly.

“Alfred, If I tell you something, will you promise not to have a heart attack?”

Alfred chuckled. “If a heart attack was my way to go you’d have scared me to death years ago.”

Bruce's mouth quirked. “I guess that’s true.” he fiddled with his watch. “I mean, we’ve seen some pretty crazy stuff, haven’t we? Monsters, aliens, robots, fish people. Stuff that would’ve seemed impossible years ago. Stuff that would’ve seemed impossible yesterday.”

Alfred nodded, listening intently to wherever Bruce was going with this.

Bruce took a deep breath. “Something impossible happened Alfred.”

He paused, looking down at the floor like he might see his reflection in it. He might’ve, the way Alfred cleaned it, if the rug underneath the table weren’t in the way. If he could see his reflection now, he might see the frightened child Alfred still saw whenever Bruce got like this, in need of someone to tell him it was all going to be okay. Because he was forty years old, unmarried, a man, and yet he wound up pregnant. Because he was a father to several children, and yet he’d never even held a baby before. He was still nervous holding Damian’s cat Alfred, afraid that he wouldn’t know his own strength. How often had the thought of a feeble limb breaking intrusively crept into his mind? He was never good at being gentle. Not with his kids when they needed it. Not with the people he cared about. Maybe it was inevitable, for him to mess it all up again.

Alfred placed a worn hand on the table, not quite reaching out, but still showing Bruce it was there if he needed it. “If this is about you and Mr. Kent I already know.”

“Wha- how?”

Alfred just smiled, shrugging his shoulders. He knew everything.

Bruce reached forward and took Alfred's hand, because he did need it. “It’s not that. I mean, it’s related to that but there’s more. When I said something impossible happened, I meant-”

The words got stuck in his throat. He swallowed and tried again, looking anywhere but Alfred’s gaze. “I mean, that I’m pregnant Alfred.”

Alfred stilled. He did not know everything. Yet in spite of his shock, his gaze softened taking in Bruce’s nervous posture. “Impossible indeed.” Alfred murmured. Bruce huffed a laugh at that.

“I still don’t know how it happened, but Leslie’s confirmed it. There’s really a baby.”

Alfred patted his hand. “Well, how far along are you?”

Something about the question, such a normal response in spite of the weirdness of the situation, it made Bruce feel at ease.

“Leslie thinks eight weeks. I just found out last night. I mean, I didn’t have hardly any symptoms up until then anyway.”

Alfred nodded. “If you experience any morning sickness I can make you some ginger tea. I made it for your mother often when she was carrying you.”

Bruce’s eyes glimmered at the thought of sharing this experience with his mother. He nodded gratefully. “Thanks, Alfie. I almost threw up on Dick earlier. He’s excited about maybe having a new sibling though, so I think he’ll forgive me.”

There was an odd sound from up near the ceiling, seemingly one of the kids making noise upstairs so it was ignored.

The corners of Alfred's eyes crinkled as his gaze softened. “How are you feeling? About the possibility of having another child?”

Bruce pursed his lips, his face frozen. “I’m still lost. Clark doesn’t know yet, and I’d hate for this to cause a rift between us but…”

He sighed. “I’m pretty certain I’m having it.”

Alfred tried to mask his joy. He’d never want Bruce forced into something he didn’t want, but Alfred was over the moon every time he gained a new grandchild to spoil.

“Well, as honored as I am that you came to me first, do tell the lad?”

“I will. Soon. I think I’ll head to the fortress of solitude for answers tomorrow, and… it’ll probably come up while I’m there.”

Alfred's eyes crinkled. “Between you and me, I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

Chapter Text

Damian didn’t come down for dinner that night. It was rare for everyone to show up most nights anyway but considering that Damian was one of the kids who actually lived in the manor, Dick was worried. So of course, what was a good big brother to do besides stand in front of his door wondering if knocking was worth getting his head bitten off.

He heard a quiet shuffle from inside before Damian spoke up, his voice small and muffled, like he was talking into his pillow.
“I know you’re there Richard.”

He lowered his folded fist with a sigh. “Can I come in Dames?”

There was silence from the other end, but from Damian, if it wasn’t a resounding “no” it was an invitation.

He slowly pushed the door open, watching the sliver of warm light from the hallway cascade over Damian’s bed. All the lights were off, the curtains were drawn, and underneath the expanding glow was Damian curled up under his blanket, facing away from him.

Dick shut the door behind him, creeping in quietly, until he heard a soft sniffle, bringing him to the bedside in an instant.

“Oh, Dami what’s wrong?” He cooed sadly. Damian curled in on himself further. Dick sat down next to him on the bed, not reaching out just yet but sitting pressed against his back so he could feel his presence.

Damian breathed out shakily. “Richard.” He began. “Do you think my performance as Robin was unsatisfactory?”

His eyebrow furrowed. “Of course not Dami. You’re amazing. You’re so smart, and physically stronger than any of us were at your age. I know things were rocky when you first showed up, but you could never disappoint us. What brought this on? Did Bruce say something?”

Damian rolled over so he was facing Dick, but wouldn’t look at him. Through the dark grain of the room, Dick could see the red rims of his eyes as his own adjusted. “I fear I will be sent back.”

Dick balked. “What? To the League? Of course not Dami. You know Bruce has a notorious habit of putting his foot in his mouth. If he said something he didn’t mean it. Even if you wanted to go back I doubt B would even let you. Seriously, what’s going on?”

Damon sat up, eyes blazing with fury. “Father is procuring another heir.” He spat coldly.

“Huh? Oh- OH! I think I know what you’re talking about. Bruce told you?”

Damian scoffed. “You admit it then? I heard Father and Alfred talking in the kitchen.”

“You were eavesdropping?”

“Yes, I was in the vents.”

“Right. Of course. What did you hear?”

Damian fidgeted with his blanket. “Alfred asked Father how he felt about having another child, and Father said he was certain. He must have no need for me any longer.”

Dicks face fell. “Oh, Dami… you can’t think that’s true.”

“But it is! When you retired from being Robin, Father took in Jason. When Jason passed, there was Tim. Then I showed up and replaced him. Clearly, Father has found my performance unsatisfactory and has taken measures to correct his mistake.”

Dick sighed. “First of all, for that to be true, he’d need to be having the kid on purpose, and I have fair reason to believe the kid’s an accident. Second of all, even if Bruce did want to train a new Robin, the kid won’t be old enough for more than a decade, and you’ll probably be more than ready to pass it on by then.”

Damian scoffed. “This was no accident. Do you really think Father would make the same mistake he made with my conception? He’d never be so careless. It must have been planned. Second of all, how old do you think I am Richard?”

“Um… eleven last I checked.”

“Physically yes. But after I was conceived my aging was increased to match my training. I was born only six years ago. With Father’s technology, I’d be lucky to have 3 years before my replacement is ready. If Father doesn’t demote me before then.”

And that… was true. Damian was technically only six years old. He’d had his childhood stolen from him in both time and discipline. Of course he’d be upset to think he was losing something else. Yet in a weird way, it was adorable to see Damian jealous of the new baby like any other youngest child would be.

Dick pulled Damian onto his lap so his head was resting against his chest. His lip was wobbling, which was just heartbreaking.

“Damian listen to me.” He whispered. “You are wanted. You are so so wanted.”

His breath hitched. “Then why…?”

Dick pulled him tighter to his chest. “Let’s go see Baba, okay?” Damian shook his head fervently.

Dick stood up anyway, lifting Damian, both legs around his waist and his arms around Dick’s neck. He carried the boy down the hall to Bruce’s room and awkwardly knocked with his arms still pressed around Damian.

“It’s unlocked.” A gruff voice called out.

Dick entered the room and saw Bruce sitting up in bed with a book in his hand. His gaze immediately snapped to the weeping boy in his arms.

The book snapped shut and Bruce immediately went into protective dad mode. “What happened?” He demanded, probably thinking something had hurt Damian, other than his own words.

Dick shuffled over to the bed and sat next to Bruce, rubbing Damian’s back.

“He’s okay,” Dick murmured. “But I think there’s been a misunderstanding. He was eavesdropping on your conversation with Alfred.”

Bruce’s face paled. “What?”

“Yeah.”

“And… that’s what got him so upset?”

“He doesn’t know the details.”

Bruce shuffled closer cupping a hand around the back of Damian’s head. He rubbed his thumb gently over his hair, trying to resist the urge to pry him from Dicks arms and trap him in a hug.

“Damian… can you look at me?”

Damian shook his head, sniffling into Dicks shirt.

“This is about the baby?”

Damian hiccuped, finally turning to face him. “Why Father?” He warbled. “Did I do something wrong? I can correct my behavior. I don’t need to be disposed of.”

Bruce’s eyebrows creased as his face fell. “Oh, Damian no. You didn’t do anything wrong. The baby is completely unrelated. I’m not having a baby to replace you.”

Damian stilled, lips pressed in a thin line. “Then why?”

Bruce’s lip quirked. “Do you know who I’m having a baby with?” Damian shook his head.

“Clark.”

Damian pulled away from Dick, confusion laying on his face. “Kent is the Father? But I thought you were the one having a child?”

Bruce leaned over to grab the book he’d been reading from his nightstand. He held it up for Damian to see, the cover reading ‘Pregnancy for Dummies’.

“I am,” Bruce said, blushing slightly. “I’m sort of the mother I guess.”

This did not clarify anything for Damian, who looked like he was losing his sanity.

“I do not understand Father.”

“Damian.” Said Bruce, pointing a finger toward his stomach. “The baby’s in here.”

Damian balked. “You cannot be serious.”

Dick laughed and squeezed Damian in his lap. “I told you Dames. No one’s replacing you. B’s just preggo.”

Damian shoved Dick away, squawking as he tried to crawl towards Bruce. “Father you are with child?!”

Once Damian was in hugging range, Bruce finally lowered his inhibitions and wrapped his arms around him, holding him on his lap. “Seems that way.”

Damian’s eyes were bugging out of his head

“Do you know what that means Damian?” Said Dick. “Bruce is taking a break from being Batman for a while and I’m filling in. You get to be my Robin again. And you get to be a big brother. How does that sound?”

Damian was practically catatonic in Bruce's arms.

“Damian?”

Damian blinked. “I do not understand.”

Bruce rubbed Damian's back. “I know. That’s okay. We’re all a little confused by it.”

“Why are you having the aliens child?”

Bruce grimaced at the name, knowing Damian likely wouldn’t approve of the explanation. “Clark and I have been seeing each other for a while. We kept it to ourselves because we weren’t sure if it was even possible for the two of us to make it work. I had to be sure he was the one before we complicate things for our families and the league.”

Damian had his hands clenched in his lap, brow furrowed in contemplation. “Do you… love him, Father?”

Bruce’s hands tightened in anticipation. “I do.”

Damian sighed and turned away, pouting his face. “Then I suppose I will not slay him for leaving you in this condition. Is he supportive of you and the baby?”

“He doesn’t know yet.” Bruce murmured guiltily.

“Well if he is not then I can remove his manhood to prevent him from making the same mistake again.”

“...Thanks, Damian.”

Dick ruffled Damian's hair. “It’s adorable seeing you all protective of B like this.” Damian swatted Dicks hand away.

“I am simply doing my duty as his son to protect him and his illegitimate child.”

Bruce didn’t comment on the fact that Damian was also technically illegitimate, choosing instead just to bury his face in his son's soft hair, trying not to think about all the moments he'd have with his new baby that he missed with his youngest son. 

Chapter Text

Bruce had been in the situation before. Some girl he’d had a fling with as Brucie Wayne comes to him with a pregnancy test, and he does his best to be supportive while running his own tests to verify. 99% of the time, (Damian being the 1%) she’s caught lying about being pregnant or lying about him being the father. He didn’t take it personally. As a rich socialite with an interesting reputation, he was used to people doing crazy things to get close to him. And since he was technically using these girls to protect his identity, he didn’t find them using him right back to be unwarranted.

Indeed, he’d been in this situation before, but never like this. Now, things were different because he was the one telling about the pregnancy, not the one told. This time, there really was a baby, Clark really was the father, and Bruce really felt like throwing up.

He’d called Clark the night before, too exhausted from the Damian fiasco to deal with telling anyone else the same day- let alone the father. He asked if he could use the fortress of solitude to “research a case”, and Clark was all “Oh sure Bruce!” and “I’ll unlock it for you Bruce!” “Anything you need Bruce!” In a voice cheerfully contrasting Bruce’s inner turmoil. Well, maybe those weren’t the exact phrases he used but that was how Bruce remembered the conversation as he stewed in the bomb he was about to drop on Clark.

In this case, bomb meant aircraft. Bruce had found himself in the arctic in the batplane in his batsuit which was already getting snug around the middle, trying not to hurl all over the console as he saw Superman descending from the sky.

The plane’s side door opened and Clark's head popped in, face flushed from flying through the cold wind and smiling at Bruce with those perfect dimples.

“You need a coat?” He asked.

“The suit is insulated.” Bruce grunted, getting up from his chair.

“Right, of course. C’mon, I’ll let you in.”

Bruce’s nerves eased a bit seeing Clark lift the ridiculously large key to open the fortress. He really couldn’t take it seriously. He’d offered to help set up a security system, but Clark liked the key.

The doors to the fortress opened and Clark tossed the key down and waved Bruce over. He sobered up real quick as he stepped out of the plane onto the snow. As he passed between the arching ice crystals over to meet the man who held his heart, he wondered if when he passed through those towering glaciers again to leave, he would still feel whole. Clark always made him feel whole, like the parts of him missing were there all along. But just because all the parts were there didn’t mean they couldn’t be broken.

“So how’ve you been?” Clark asked as he walked alongside Bruce, trying to sound nonchalant but still sneaking nervous glances at him. Ironic. Bruce thought. He’s not the one with something to be nervous about.

“Fine.” Bruce grumbled, since that was his usual answer and he wasn’t ready to rip the bandaid off yet.

“Good, good.” Clark replied awkwardly. “So what’s the case?”

“Hrm?”

“What case did you need the fortress to research?”

And that was as good an invitation as any, so Bruce stopped walking as they passed through the hall in stood with his fists clenched. Clark had to know. He deserved to know. Even if Bruce wanted to bolt back to the plane and hide from him. But Bruce knew how it felt to have a child kept secret from you, and he couldn’t even consider doing something like that to Clark.

“It’s not… really for a case. It’s personal.”

Clark turned to face him from where he’d passed. “Oh?”

“Yes… I… needed information on a sensitive subject.”

Clark returned to him, walking forward until his face was inches from his. Technically at least twelve inches, but still too close. Bruce knew Clark could hear how fast his heart was beating. He could probably hear the baby’s heartbeat too, if he listened for it.

“Superman…” he paused. “Clark. Could you use your powers for a second?”

Clark nodded, locking eyes with Bruce despite the lenses of the cowl blocking them. Was he using his X-ray vision just to look into his eyes? That was such a Clark thing to do. Such an unnecessary, yet intimate gesture.

“Sure. What do you need me to do?”

Bruce took a deep breath and breathed out shakily. “I need you to listen to my heartbeat.”

Clark reached for Bruce’s hand and took it gently in his, thumb brushing gingerly over the knuckles of his gloves. “I always listen for your heartbeat, Bruce.”

God. It was like he was trying to make this harder for him. “I need you to really listen. Hear anything different?”

Clark smiled, pulling Bruce towards him. “Yeah.” His eyes flickered to Bruce’s stomach, not with astonishment but warmth. “You’ve got an echo.”

Bruce’s brow furrowed, and he tightened his grip on Clark’s hand. He didn’t seem nearly as shocked as Bruce had been when he found out. “What are you talking about?”

“There’s a second heartbeat, I hear it. I’ve been hearing it for a while now.”

Bruce balked at that, his heart stopping cold. Then, once he recovered, he whacked Clark upside the head, only because he deserved it and he knew it wouldn’t hurt. “Are you kidding me? You knew I was pregnant the whole time and didn’t think to tell me?”

Clark’s mouth hung open as he gave him the ‘kicked puppy’ look. “Wait- you didn’t know? I thought you were just waiting for the right time to tell me!”

“No I didn’t know!”

“You’re the world's greatest detective! I was trying to give you space to come to terms with it before we talked about it!”

“Being pregnant wasn’t exactly at the top of my list of leads! Which you should’ve told me was possible when we started seeing eachother!”

“I didn’t know!” Clark exclaimed. “I didn’t know any of this was possible until I heard the heartbeat for myself, and I maybe used my x-ray vision to look last time I spent the night. I went to the fortress myself the next day to figure out what was happening.”

Bruce folded his arms in front of himself grumpily, still irritated at Clark for not sharing vital information but secretly relieved to learn that Clark had known for a while and hadn’t immediately called things off between them.

Clark stepped forward, holding his arms out to ask permission. Bruce looked away but didn’t refuse, so Clark wrapped his arms over his shoulders, letting him slump forward reluctantly.

“You know I don’t like you using your powers on me without permission.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I should’ve said something first thing. Told you what I heard and asked you if I could look. For some reason, I got the idea in my head that you already knew, and I was overstepping by looking into it. I’m sorry you had to find out on your own. That was probably scary.”

Bruce reached up and pulled his cowl off so he could press his face into Clark's neck. “I’ve handled worse.”

“Are you okay?”

Bruce finally reached up to fist his hands into Clark's cape as he held him back. “Yes. I’ve only thrown up once so far if that’s any consolation.”

Clark pressed his lips to Bruce’s head. “I should come over to take care of you. I’ll hold your hair back next time.”

Bruce chuffed a laugh at that. “Alfred taking care of me, don’t worry. Dick and Damian too. You were meant to know before them but the house is full of detectives.” Then, in a quieter voice: “So you aren’t upset?”

Clark's arms tightened gently as he pulled away to face Bruce. “What? God no! I’m over the moon! I love you so much. You know that right? You know how much I love you? I want this, Bruce. Er- I mean, if you do, that is.”

Bruce pressed a chaste kiss to Clark's lips, taking in their soft comfort. “I love you too. And I want this. I'll admit was scared at first, freaking out about the whole thing, sort of hoping there was a mistake. But I'm glad it’s real, our baby is real. I think… if I woke up tomorrow and this all had been a dream, my heart would break.”

Clark smiled, lips pressed shut to keep from wobbling as Bruce spotted tears pricking the corners of his eyes.

Clark wiped his eyes, laughing with embarrassment. “I have something for you.”
He reached into his pocket and grabbed a flash drive. “It’s a copy of all the data I found at the fortress on Kryptonian fertility, hybrids, and pregnancy. I’ve read through it already. I figured this might be what you were really coming for.”

Bruce nodded his thanks, taking the drive and putting in his belt. He felt Clark pull away and when he looked back up, he was kneeling in front of him on one knee.

“I have something else.” He confessed, smile quirked to one side. Bruce was frozen in place as Clark pulled a small blue velvet box from his pocket.

The box opened, and inside was a ring, gleaming as bright as the yellow sun.

“Bruce Thomas Wayne-”

“Stop.” Bruce cut him off with a choked voice. Clark's face fell, fearing he would be leaving with the ring after all.

Bruce knelt in front of him and clasped his hands over Clark's arms. “My hormones have been a little on the fritz lately, and if you keep going I will start sobbing.” He said with a wet laugh. “But yes I will marry you. A million times yes.”

Clark’s face lit up with relief as he pulled Bruce into a bone-crushing hug, floating above the ground from joy as he spun them both around. “You worried me for a second, you jerk.”

“Now you know how I’ve felt.” Bruce chuckled smugly, burying his face into Clark's shoulder to conceal the tears that had begun to form regardless.

When they left, he still felt whole. More than whole, with the extra piece of them both he carried inside him.

Chapter Text

Bruce tapped the keyboard in front of him anxiously, trying not to let himself get distracted by the folder on his desk. Inside was a photo from his ultrasound earlier that day, and ever since Leslie handed him a copy, he hadn’t been able to stop staring at it. Clark came along too, of course, and cried as soon as the grainy image came on screen. Which was a little much considering Clark had already seen the baby (and could anytime he wanted, which was totally unfair). Bruce honestly felt a little ridiculous himself for getting so emotional. He was only ten weeks along at this point. The baby looked more like a legume than a fetus, and yet a strange feeling would wash over him every time he looked at the picture. 

It was something he’d entirely missed with Damian. The knowledge that you’re responsible for a little being entirely dependent on you for survival. Damian hadn’t even gotten that from Talia. He was grown in a test tube like a fungus, and Bruce wasn’t there to care for him after he was born either. He missed it all because he hadn’t known about him. He felt the same way about the rest of his kids, of course, but none of them were missing his presence growing up because they weren’t his biological children. They already had their own parents. Damian had the league. 

Damian had luckily taken the “new baby” thing surprisingly well, after the initial hiccups. Bruce was worried that Damian would be upset about no longer being the only blood son, but he’d grown a lot since coming to stay with Bruce. His violent ways diminished as he realized he could not prove himself by attacking his brothers, and had grown more protective than jealous. And, he was especially protective of the baby. 

It was his other kids he was worried about telling. Dick already knew, but taking up the Batman mantle again was probably stressful so there was still that to worry about. 

He couldn’t predict how Jason would react. He felt betrayed and replaced when Tim joined the family (albeit, probably because he was dead at the time), but with Damian, it was the opposite. It wasn’t common knowledge, but after being resurrected by the pit, Jason had been Damians body guard through infancy befre returning to gotham as the Red Hood. Damian probably didn’t remember, but Jason had baby pictures to prove it. He loved that kid to death.

Tim was an enigma. He was too similar to Bruce in that he could never tell what he was thinking. He couldn’t predict how he’d react, and worse than that, even when he did tell him, he probably still wouldn’t know how really Tim felt. He was good at putting his emotions before others. He would tell Bruce he was over the moon if he thought that was what would make him happy, even if he felt devastated inside. Which, he might. Things hadn’t gone well for Tim when Damian came along, but as long as no one gave the new baby ninja stars, it’d probably be fine.

Not to mention, none of them knew he was engaged. 

Speaking of his other kids, the sound of a motorcycle engine echoed and roared through the halls of the cave until it approached the main area. Jason slung his leg around and hopped off, removing his helmet as he went. 

Bruce looked up in surprise. “Jason.” He called out awkwardly. “I didn’t know you were coming.” 

He cursed himself internally for his word choice. He never wanted to make it sound like Jason was an inconvenience. He practically jumped for joy whenever Jason came to visit, despite their still heavily strained relationship. He was just happy he was alive. 

“What’s going on?” Jason asked tersely, heavy boots making waves across the floor. 

Bruce furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, B. You haven’t been out in weeks. Last few times I ran into the Bat and the Bird, Dickheads been wearing your suit. I thought maybe you’d gotten hurt, but you seem fine to me. Then again, no one tells me shit around here.” He said bitterly.

Oh. So that’s why he was here. “I… appreciate you’re concern,” He mumbled poorly. 

“Cut the bullshit Bruce.” 

Bruce’s eyes flitted away nervously. He didn’t have the slightest clue what to tell Jason. Preferably, not the truth. He glanced up again as the elevator dinged and Damian stepped out in his civilian clothes, probably planning to train. His eyes widened in slight surprise at Jason's presence. “Akhi.” He greeted. 

Jason nodded in greeting before turning back to Bruce. “Fine. Don’t tell me. I’ll just search your computer.” 

“That’s not necessary, Jason, I’m only taking a leave of absence.” 

Jason balked at him. “A leave of absence? Why?” He said in disbelief. “You didn’t even take a day off when your appendix burst.”

“It was a minor surgery, I was fine.”

“We're not! And if t hat was minor what the fuck is wrong now?”

“Nothing.”

Jason pursed his lips, concern seeping over his angry face. “You don’t take sick days, B.” 

Before he could stop him, he was pushing past Bruce to the keyboard. The movement of his hands managed to jostle the table, knocking Bruce’s folder to the ground. A grainy black and white photo peeked out from the corner, catching Jason's eye. 

Bruce reached for it, but he’d been too slow. He’d hate to see his reaction time bending over in the next few months. Jason snatched the file and opened it. His brows folded in confusion. His gaze snapped up to Bruce. 

“What the fuck is this.” He asked coldly. 

Bruce cleared his throat. “It’s an ultrasound.”

Jason's mouth hung open. From his expression, you’d think Bruce told him he just drove a bus full of orphans off a cliff. 

“Is this why you’re taking time off?” he asked incredulously. “Because you’ve gotten some… some Brucie fling pregnant!?”

Bruce raised his hands in surrender. “No-no that’s not it at all.” He replied frantically. 

“Well, whose is it?” 

“Mine technically.”

Jason laughed in his face at that. “Right, fine. Girlfriend, one-night stand, whatever you want to call it. I cannot believe you right now.”

The door to the locker room swung shut as Damian stepped out in his training gear. The extra noise stimulus only caused Jason to see more green. “So this is how it is, huh? Every time you fuck up one of your kids, just make another one.” He snapped, getting in Bruce’s face. 

Bruce’s mouth clamped shut. Did Jason really feel that way? Will Jason feel replaced by the baby? Will Bruce fuck up them too?

Damian saw Jason's clenched fists and an attack-ready posture standing a bit too close to his father, and acted before thinking. He’d blame it on his newfound brotherly protectiveness. He took a running start and leapt onto Jason's back, arms latched around his neck, yanking him backwards. “Don’t you dare hurt him!” He hollered. 

Jason made a strangled noise and spun around, trying to get Damian off, hands coming up around his throat. “Ack- since when did you- care so much about the old man??”

“You were gonna hurt the baby!” Damian shouted, refusing to be thrown off. 

“Damian,” Bruce called firmly. 

“I raised you brat! What fucking baby??” Jason wheezed.

“Damian!” Bruce repeated. 

"Damian slowly let go and slid down Jason's back with a pout. Jason wheezed for air. “What the fuck is going on.”

Bruce stepped closer, pulling Damian to his side. “It’s okay, Dami, it’s just a misunderstanding. Jason and I might have our issues, but he wouldn’t try to hurt the baby. Thank you for protecting us, though.”

Damian huffed and turned away, a slight flush of embarrassment in his cheeks at being praised. Jason was looking around, wondering if he was going crazy. “Um, is the baby in the room with us??”

Bruce bit his lip nervously before reaching to the ground to pick up the ultrasound photo Jason dropped when Damian attacked him. 

“Jason, there’s something I have to tell you.”  Jason nodded hesitantly for Bruce to continue. 

He let out a deep sigh. “The reason I haven’t been out as Batman in a while is because of the baby, yes. But I wasn’t using a figure of speech when I said it was my ultrasound. I’m pregnant.”

Jason stood there catatonic as he took in Bruce’s words. He turned to Damian, whose gaze was fixed on the ultrasound photo on the floor, eyes sparkling. He turned back up to Bruce. 

“You’re joking.”

“I’m not.”

“You’re joking.”

“It’s not what I’m known for.”

Jason wheezed out a laugh of disbelief, clasping his hands behind his head. “You’re serious. You’re actually fucking pregnant.” 

Bruce found himself awkwardly laughing along with him, out of awkwardness or the incredulity of the situation- he didn’t know. 

Damian held up the photo to Bruce, pointing to the blob in the middle. “Is this my new sibling, Father?”

Bruce ruffled his hair with a smile. “Yeah, Dami, right there.”

“Hm. Seems quite frail to me. When I was their age, I was 25 weeks old.”

Jason let out another laugh of disbelief. “What is going on with my life?”

Bruce looked at him then, eyes full of guilt. “Are you upset?” He mumbled.

Jason straightened back up, taking on a more sympathetic look. “No, B.”

“I’m not replacing you.”

“I know. I only said that because I was mad. Y’know, since I was under the impression you’d done the one thing every teenage boy is drilled not to do. But I also think it’s safe to assume this was an accident…?”

Bruce chuckled. “You could say that.”

“Whose the baby daddy?”

Bruce quirked an eyebrow. “If you are inquiring about the father of my child , then that would be Clark.”

Jason's jaw dropped before burying his face in his hands. “I owe Dick so much money…”

“Is everyone in this house betting on my love life?”

“Only the plebians.” Said Damian.

Jason stepped closer, now that there was no threat of Damian karate chopping him for getting too close to Bruce. He gazed down at his stomach. 

“I’m probably not supposed to say this, but you don’t look pregnant.”

Bruce placed a hand over his diaphragm, where the top of his belly would be if he were showing. “I’m only ten weeks, so there’s not much. My abs are toast, though.”

Jason laughed at that, eyes glimmering with something that wasn’t there before. “So, new baby, huh?”

Bruce’s eyes crinkled with a smile. “Yeah.”

“Congratulations, B.” 

Bruce’s eyes widened at the earnest response, before his face crumpled. His hormones overtook him once again, and before he knew it, he was charging forward to embrace his son.

“Ack-! B?!” Jason exclaimed, flailing his arms in Bruce’s hold.

“It’s the pregnancy hormones. He gets like this sometimes.” Damian supplied. 

Jason patted Bruce's back awkwardly, returning the hug. “So I’ve noticed. Remind me not to say anything mushy until the baby’s born.”

"Oh, Jay-Jay," Bruce said in a wobbly voice.

"Yeah, yeah, it's alright, big guy."

As ridiculous as the situation was, Jason couldn’t ignore how nice it felt to be hugged by his father for the first time in a very long time.

Chapter Text

Tim had been up the better part of the night reorganizing case files. It was one of those unnecessary, extra particular things he did when he was feeling somewhat anxious, to chase away the pit in his stomach. Something he did to feel useful, even if it wasn’t necessary.

He glanced at the clock on the lower right of the computer screen and realized it was 2:00 am already, and wondered what he was even doing there. He’d been wondering that a lot lately.

Bruce had needed him once, albeit for a short period of time. Then Jason came back and beat the shit out of him. Bruce was very distressed to find out his son was alive, but all things considered was doing better after discovering the fact, Tim not so much. 

Even if Bruce was no longer on the brink of homicide or suicide, he still needed Tim. Batman needed a Robin, and for all Jason’s groaning about Tim being his replacement, he didn’t want the role back. He seemed content to live in his own world as an antihero/crime lord/angsty teen.

But then Damian showed up. And suddenly, Damian was Robin. Batman needs a Robin. Tim was not Robin. Batman didn’t need him. 

He didn’t have his own name. He couldn’t think of a new one after having Robin ripped away, he wasn’t ready to let it go, so Red Robin was his solution. And of course, to add salt in the wound, Damian had to absolutely despise him. Not just despise, in fact, but wanted him dead. He had the scars to prove it. His insides twisted.

So now, he was once again wondering what he was doing here. The others didn’t know this, but Bruce was actually supposed to adopt him. After Tim’s parents died, they thought it would make Tim’s living arrangements easier if he took full custody as his legal guardian, instead of his current temporary guardian status. He never thought it would happen before, not while Jason was still dead and Bruce was against the idea of letting anyone else get close to him. But Jason came back, and Bruce said Tim could be a Wayne.

And then Damian showed up, and Bruce got, for lack of a better term, distracted.

He’d like to say that Bruce simply forgot about his promise to adopt Tim, but Bruce wasn’t the kind of guy to let things slip his mind. This was simply a reallocation of his priorities, of which Tim was not.

He’d been getting more anxious as the days passed, because his birthday would be next week, uncelebrated as usual. He’d be 18 and wouldn’t need a legal guardian anymore. There would be no reason for Bruce to adopt him. There would be no reason to stay in the manor. He’d started looking into apartments, since he didn’t know what else to do. The Waynes were too polite to outright kick him out, but they didn’t need him, and he no longer needed them. What he wanted was besides the point. Even if the thought made his stomach hurt.

He was interrupted from his self-deprecating spiral by the sound of the Batmobile’s engine revving, echoing through the cave as it returned from patrol. His expression tightened as he braced himself for the usual awkward obligatory interaction with Bruce, but when the door to the Batmobile opened, the Batman who stepped out wasn’t Bruce. 

Dick shut the door and pulled his cowl off as Damian hopped out. Gears were still turning in Tim’s head when he was spotted. 

“Oh… hey Tim,” Dick said.

Tim nodded awkwardly at the enthusiastic greeting. “…where’s Bruce?” 

Dicks posture stiffened. “Um, not sure. Maybe upstairs?”

“Okay… so why are you going out as Batman instead of him?”

“TT.” Damian interrupted. “Father is allowed a night off.”

“Oh- well, of course, that’s not what I meant. Just- don’t you usually go out as Nightwing when Bruce is busy?” He asked facing Dick.

“Yeah,” he chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “But he’s kind of on leave right now, so I’m filling in.”

Bruce was on leave? Did something happen? Why did nobody think to tell him? Did they not think it was relevant for him to know?

“Why?” Was all he found himself asking.

“…You should probably just ask him yourself.” Said Dick, before leaving to go change, marking the end of the conversation.

Tim found himself staring at his blank wall later that night. He never decorated his room, because it wasn’t ever really his room, just the guest room he stayed in when he was over too late as Robin, and later, where he stayed after his parents died. He thought maybe, after Bruce adopted him, he might feel secure enough in his place here to put a poster on the wall or something.

The walls were still blank. 

“Ask him yourself.” Dick had said. Meaning, what exactly? If it was something serious enough that Bruce had to tell him personally, why was it that he was the last to know?  

There was a soft knock on his door. 

“Yeah?” Tim called out.

“Can I come in?” Bruce’s voice echoed from the hall.

Tim sat up in bed. “Sure.”

Bruce came in and sat down on the edge of the bed, signifying that Bruce was planning to talk talk to him.

“You’ve got quite the minimalist vibe going on in here.” Bruce started awkwardly. 

Tim shrugged and cut through Bruce’s sad excuse for small talk. “So Dick went out as Batman tonight?” 

Bruce nodded. “Yeah, he told me he ran into you when they came back.”

Tim pursed his lips. “Are you okay?” 

Bruce picked at his thumbnail almost nervously. “Well, that’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about.”

Tim nodded, anxiety twisting in his stomach. 

“I’m fine, better than fine actually. But I’m not able to patrol for a while.” 

Okay, that was not confusing at all.

“You aren’t injured?”

Bruce shook his head. 

“But you can’t patrol?”

Bruce sighed. “There’s been a sort of medical anomaly going on with me recently. There’s really no way to say it without sounding crazy, but essentially, I’m pregnant.”

Tim choked on his saliva. Bruce patted his back until he could catch his breath. 

“I know you don’t have talent for humor, but are you joking?” He wheezed.

Bruce chuckled. “No. I’m not. The truth is, I’ve been seeing Clark for a while, which you probably guessed already since everyone else seems to know. Apparently, we have a lot to learn about Kryptonian reproduction.”

Tim’s throat felt dry. “So, because of his alien biology, you two were… able to miraculously conceive a child?”

“Yes, as far as we know, that’s what happened.”

Awesome. This was awesome. Bruce would do the biologically impossible and birth a child himself before he’d adopt Tim. His life was a complete joke. 

Why would Bruce adopt him anyway? Why would he bother? Dick seemed indifferent to him, Damian hated him, Jason didn’t hate him so much now but still avoided him on principle, why would Bruce feel any different? Something must be wrong with Tim, something fundamentally built into him that drove away anyone he might feel attached to. Now it was Bruce’s turn.

Tim swallowed past the lump in his throat. “That’s great. I’m really happy for you, B.” And he wished he meant it. He wished he didn’t feel so gross for lying, but the pit in his stomach was all consuming now, it felt like his insides were collapsing, and holy shit his stomach really hurt.

“Tim?” Bruce questioned, noticing the grimace on Tim’s face. There was a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead, and he was panting slightly. Maybe, Tim was now realizing, it wasn’t just emotional turmoil causing his discomfort. His stomach had been hurting all day, which he thought was from anxiety or too much coffee or both, but this felt different. 

“Tim, what's wrong?” Bruce said, his voice laced with worry. “Nothing,” Tim said, as calmly as he could force his voice to sound, but when he tried to stand, another cramp caught him in a vice grip and his knees buckled. 

Bruce caught him under the armpits. “Tim!” He shouted. A whimper slipped through Tim’s lips before he could help it in response to the harsh movement. Bruce immediately went into Batman mode and slid an arm beneath Tim’s knees so he could carry him. He bolted down to the batcave, his heavy footsteps pounding down the steps, alerting Dick and Damian to his presence. 

Dick, who’d been rubbing his hair with a towel after showering, followed Bruce to the medbay. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

Bruce set Tim down on the cot, and he immediately curled up on his side, arms wrapped tightly around his abdomen. 

“I don’t know.” Said Bruce, more than a hint of panic in his voice. “He just collapsed.”

Damian came along to the side of the bed with a sniff. “Drake. What is this display?”

Dick swatted him upside the head. “Give the kid a break, can’t you see something's wrong?”

Bruce cleared his throat. “Robin. Report.”

Tim’s demeanor changed as he stiffened, gaze locked straight ahead. “Abdominal cramping has been increasing in severity since this morning. No known illnesses, injuries, or related wounds.”

Bruce leaned over the bed, taking Tim’s temperature and pulse. “Can you lean back for me, Tim?”

Tim grunted in pain as he rolled onto his back and uncurled from his abdomen. Bruce pulled up his shirt and began palpating different areas. 

“Does it hurt when I press here?” Bruce asked, pressing a finger to Tim's right side. 

“Not particularly.” Said Tim. “The pain just comes and goes.”

Bruce frowned, brow furrowing. Not appendicitis then. He took Tim's hand and placed it in the cubby by the bed. “Computer, run health check.” The screen loaded for a moment. 

Blood Oxygen- Normal

Pulse- Slightly elevated

Blood Pressure- Slightly elevated

Temperature- .2 degrees higher than normal

“Run diagnostic,” Bruce said, letting the computer take a more detailed scan. 

“Foreign body detected in abdominal region.”

“Like a tumor?” Dick asked. Bruce pressed his lips together. 

“I’m not sure. We’ll do an ultrasound.”

Damian rolled the machine over. He’d been quietly suppressing his usual snarky comments since he realized the potential severity of the situation. 

Bruce spread the gel over Tim's abdomen and adjusted the wand while Tim did breathing exercises. The grainy image came into view. 

“Holy shit.” Said Dick. “Is that what I think it is?”

Damian's jaw dropped.

Bruce was tense, his arm frozen in place. 

“Tim.” He said calmly. “Have you been seeing Kon? Romantically?”

Tim flushed with embarrassment. “I don’t- I mean- well I- um… yeah.

Bruce let out a deep breath, obviously doing his utmost to remain calm.

“Tim. Do you know what a cryptic pregnancy is?”

Chapter Text

“W-what?” Tim choked.

Bruce turned the monitor to face Tim, where he saw what appeared to be a fully formed fetus. 

“You’re in labor, Tim. Those weren’t cramps, they were contractions. The head is fully engaged.” Said Bruce. 

Tim shook his head, voice stuttering. “No- I’m not- I can't be…!” 

Bruce rested his free hand on Tim's arm. “It’s okay, you’ll be okay, we’ll figure this out.”

Tim breathed in panicked gasps as Bruce comforted him with soft words. “Just breathe Tim.”

“How can this be happening?!” Tim wailed. “I didn’t even know this was possible until like ten minutes ago!”

Bruce grimaced as he began to wipe off the ultrasound gel. “I’m sorry Tim, I should’ve told you about my own situation sooner. Then we might’ve realized this was possible with you and Kon.”

Tim’s eyes were clenched shut as he breathed through another contraction. “Just-, can you please call him?”

Bruce nodded. “Dick, call Leslie.” He said as he pulled out his own phone. On the second ring, Clark picked up. 

“Heyyyyy hot stuff-”

“Not now, Clark. There’s an emergency.”

Clark immediately changed his tone. “What’s wrong?”

“I need you to get Kon to the Batcave as soon as possible. I don’t have his number. Or at least he doesn’t know I have it.”

“Of course. What’s going on?”

Bruce glanced to Dick who looked panicked as he called Leslie. “Well… were you aware Tim and Kon are dating?”

He heard a choking sound on the other line. “Uh, no, I was not.”

“Me neither. Maybe if we had, we’d have known to give them the Kryptonian sex talk.”

“Huh?”

“I’m saying that Tim’s pregnant.”

“Oh Rao…”

“Yeah. It was cryptic, so nobody knew about it, including him. The only reason we know now is because he’s in labor.”

“He’s in labor?!”

“Yes. Get Kon here as soon as possible.”

“Already on my way.”

“Thank you. Love you. Hurry up. Bye.” Bruce said in quick succession before hanging up. He turned to Dick, who looked pale. “Dick?”

“She can’t come.” He mumbled, handing Bruce the phone.

“ What?! ” He exclaimed. He held the phone up to his ear. 

“Leslie? What’s going on?:

“Hello Bruce, I’m so sorry. I’m at a conference in Georgia right now. Normally, I’d leave at the drop of a hat for you and your boys, but I’d never make it in time.”

“Superman could fly you over?” 

“Bruce, I’m an old lady. I’d keel over before we made it fifty feet.”

“I could send the Batplane?”

“Not without being seen.”

Bruce was beginning to panic. “Leslie we need you. I don’t know what to do. There’s no precedent for this. It was supposed to be me going through this, but Tim beat me to it, and we have no idea how it works or if it’s safe. What if something goes wrong? We can’t take him to a hospital without exposing that the baby’s Kryptonian, and I don’t think the hospital would know what to do any better than we do!”

“Just breathe, Bruce. I’ll still assist however I can. I can tell you what is and isn’t normal, and any issues that may arise, I can propose as a hypothetical to any of the hundreds of doctors at the conference with me.”

“Okay… that’s… that’s better than nothing.”

He handed the phone back to Dick before returnning to Tim’s side. “Hey, Kon’s on his way.” he murmured, pushing the hair from Tim’s eyes. His face was all pinched up from the pain and his skin was pale and clammy.

“Contractions are five minutes apart.” Said Damian. 

“You’ve been timing them?” Asked Bruce. 

He nodded. “When will doctor Thompkins be arriving?”

“She’s not. She’s in Georgia.”

“What?!” Tim exclaimed, sitting up in bed. Bruce shushed him gently and rubbed his back. “It’s okay, she can still help us. She just won’t be as hands on as I would like.”

“Akhi can help.” Said Damian. Bruce sent him a questioning look. 

“Jason has experience delivering babies.” He said matter of factly. 

“He does??” Said Dick. 

“Of course. He delivered many children in Nanda Parbat as part of his medical training.”

Tim shot him a sidelong glance. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea… Jason doesn’t like me very much.”

Damian crossed his arms. “So he tried to kill you. Big deal. I did too and I’m still helping.” 

“Which I am grateful for and very nervous about.” Said Tim. 

“I will alert him to the situation.”

“Great.” Tim sighed. 

Tim was not holding up well, but he could be doing worse considering the situation. He was pregnant . He was about to give birth . He and Kon were going to be parents? Who let that happen? He placed a hand over his stomach wistfully. It was mostly flat, but he had gained ten or so odd pounds, which he assumed was from being depressed for awhile. Apparantly that was not the cause. How could he have not known? He missed the whole pregnancy. He didn’t have a single thing prepared. He didn’t know where he was going to go, what he was going to do. His parents were gone, and he was planning on having to move out after next week. 

Bruce held Tim’s hand, the distress clear on the young boys face. “It’s going to be okay Tim. The baby is full term, and healthy. Kryptonians are strong, remember? And so are you. You’ll get through this.”

Tim clenched the blanket between his fists, he was sitting on top of it since he was too hot to lie down. “Yeah.” But he had trouble believing it. 

There was a whoosh, and suddenly Clark was there next to Bruce, Kon pulled tightly behind him by his clothing. 

“Jesus- I’m coming. Watch the jacket Supes. Whats going on?” He said, pulling his sleeve out of Clarks grasp. He noticed Tim sitting hunched over on the bed. “Tim? What’s wrong? Are you okay?” He asked, gently pushing past Bruce to get to Tims side. 

Tim shook his head miserably. “Kon…” He started, voice breaking. Kons eyes widned. He’d never seen Tim so vulnerable around other before. Tim latched onto Kons jacket, so Kon pulled him into his chest for a hug, wrapping his arms around him. 

“Shhh, shh whatever it is, it’ll be okay.”

“I didn’t know Kon.” Tim hiccuped. “How could I not know? I know everything!”

“What didn’t you know?” Kon murmured. He fixed his gaze on Clark. He’d shown up in Kansas out of nowhere and yanked Kon out of bed, stating there was an emergency, but had yet to explain what. 

“Kon.” Said Bruce, catching his attention. “Listen to me carefully. We’ve recently discovered that Kryptonian males are capeable of getting human males pregnant. We first discovered this when I was a few weeks along, but Tim’s had a cryptic pregnancy and now he’s in labor.”

Kon stared at him stunned by four rapid revelations .

1. Bruce and Clark were dating.
2. Batman was pregnant?
3. Tim was pregnant??

• And In labor!?

His head whipped toward Tim who nodded. 

“Holy shit! Fuck! Holy fucking shit!”

“Do we need to get the swear jar?” Said Damian. 

“Fuck the swear jar! Tim’s having a baby!” He yelled. 

Tims face scrunched up in pain and Kon pulled him closer, rubbing a hand up and down his arm. “Ah, jesus I’m so sorry Tim.” 

“Not your fault.” Tim groaned. “It takes two…”

“How are you feeling about all this?”

“Not as upset as I should be. But maybe I’m just too panicked to consider anything thats going to happen after the actual squeezing the baby out part.”

“That was four minutes apart.” Said Damian. Kon hummed nervously.

“Four minutes huh? That’s close. How long have you been in labor?”

“Don’t know. My stomachs been hurting all day, but obviously I didn’t know I was pregnant so I wasn’t paying attention. And I’ve got a high pain tolerance, so I probably didn’t notice anything was wrong for longer than that.”

The sound of a motorcycle revving roared through the batcave as Jason arrived. “Great.” Tim muttered. “More people here to watch me suffer. Awesome.”

Jason threw his helmet off and jogged over. “Damian said you got knocked up too huh? You guys have got to work on your pull-out game.”

“I think I’m going through enough right now as it is Jason, I don’t need your commentary.”

Jason rolled his eyes as he stalked over. “I’m trying to help you, ya little dweeb.”

“The rest of us have medical training too.”

“Yeah you’ve seen the slideshows but you don’t have hands on experience.” 

Tim crossed his arms. “Whatever. Help or don’t. Just don’t try to kill us please.”

“Consider this my restitution.” Jason said sarcastically. He looked around the makeshift birthing area with disdain. “Bruce, where’s all the shit? Someone boil some water, get some towels, chop chop!”

Dick left to gather the items. Jason turned to Damian. “Scissors, clamps, string, bulb syringe, gloves, and disinfectant.” Damian bowed and quickly turned to obey his orders. 

He turned to Bruce. “Have you gotten any baby supplies yet? Diapers? Formula? Bottles?” Bruce nodded. He was always overprepared ahead of schedule. 

“Good. Get them, well need that stuff for Tim’s baby.”

Bruce nodded. He was reluctant to leave Tim’s side, but still pulled away to head upstairs, Clark following after him. 

“He seems to really know his stuff. I’m surprised, I’d thought I’d have to do it.” 

Bruce shot him a confused glance as they made their way to the nursery in progress. “Why would you be the one delivering the baby?”

“Well, I’ve delivered a couple animals back on the farm. Foals, calves, a litter of kittens. I wasn’t sure if anyone else had any experience.” 

Bruce found himself laughing as he ducked to look into the cabinet. “Glad to hear you were ready to step up. Not sure it’s the same thing though.”

“Well, we're all mammals.” Clark replied, taking a pack of diapers off the shelf.

Bruce grabbed the formula and bottles. “Sure. Keep that in mind when it’s our turn.”

…

Jason clapped his hands together. “Okay, so the bad news is none of us are qualified to perform a C-section, except maybe Alfred, but he definitely doesn’t get paid enough for this. Good news is, it seems like your body is preparing to deliver naturally.”

“Um… how?” Asked Tim. 

“Same way the baby got in there.”

Tim paled. “It’s gonna come out of my ass?”

“Yep. Sorry bro. Better than coming out the front though.” Kon shuddered at the thought. Bruce also looked slightly uncomfortable at the revelation of how he’d be delivering his own baby when the time came. 

“We should check his dilation.” Said Jason. 

Tim scoffed. “You are not sticking your hand up my ass.”

“Have it your way, but you can only keep so much dignity when the babies shitting out of you.” Tim groaned and rolled over as another contraction struck. “Fuck off.”

“Three minutes.” Said Damian.

“Fuck.” Tim huffed. “I need to move around. Help me up.” Kon helped Tim off the bed with and arm over his shoulders. He shuffled a few steps forward before leaning forward with both hands on the computer console. “Ugh, this feels so weird. There’s so much pressure.”

“That’s normal.” Said Jason. “It’s the babys head dilating your cervix.”

“Do I have a cervix?” Tim asked incredulously. 

“Gee, I’m not sure. You wouldn’t let me check.” 

Tim waved him off with a groan. “ Ohhhh .”

“You okay?” Kon asked. Tim grimaced, a hand pressed against his abdomen. 

“I think somethings happening.”

Jason rushed over to Tim, a hand on his shoulder. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

Tim bent his knees slightly as another contraction overtook him and some of the pressure suddenly gave way. The sound of something trickling caught everyone’s attention. Tim slowly looked down to see a puddle of water beneath his feet and his pants dripping with fluid. 

“Your water broke. Good, wont be long now.” Said Jason. 

Tim paled. “Oh god. This is really happening.”

Jason turned to the others. “Anyone who doesn’t wanna watch should leave now. It’s getting too crowded in here.” 

Bruce turned to Clark, increasingly nervous. “I’ll stay with Tim.”

Clark nodded. “I understand. I’ll wait outside with Dick and Damian.”

“I will not! I will assist Akhi.” Said Damian. 

Bruce ruffled Damians hair. “Only if it’s okay with Tim.”

“I don’t give a fuck.” Tim called from across the room, the pain obviously having lowered his inhibitions. 

Damian turned to Bruce defiantly. 

“Don’t have to ask me twice.” Said Dick. “Good luck Tim, I’d love to stay and help but there are some things I won’t be able to unsee.” Tim gave him a thumbs up as he waded through another contraction. 

Clark and Dick left the room. Kon was helping Tim pace back and forth. Jason and Damian were preparing the medical supplies. Bruce… was standing there like an idiot. Jason sniggered at Bruce’s lost expression. “So, how’s it feel to be old enough to be a grandfather but young enough to get pregnant, old man?”

Bruce sighed. “Feels like we need to invent some form of Kryptonian birth control.” 

“I already offered to remove Kent’s manhood.” Said Damian. 

“You did?” Tim said through pants. “Thats… huff …. Hilarious. 

“If he figures out how to do that keep him far away from me.” Said Kon. 

Tim waddled towards the cot, weighed down by the heavy feeling in his pelvis. “Jason…” 

“Yeah?”

“Check me?”

Jasons eyebrows shot up. “Are you sure? How come?” 

Tim bit his lip, eyes clenched shut as his forehead gleamed with sweat. “I think it’s time.”

“Oh shit!” Jason said, immediatly sitting up to snap his gloves on. “You have to push?”

“I think so?”

Bruce and Kon rushed to either side of Tim to help him lay down on the bed. Damian tossed a blanket over Tims knees to preserve some modesty while Tim removed his pants. Jason knelt down to look. 

“Ohhh yeah I see it.” Said Jason, pulling the blanket back down. “Lying on your back isn’t a great position for pushing. You wanna try kneeling or standing or something?”

“Uhmm I don’t know.” Tim groaned, holding his stomach through another contraction. 

“Thirty seconds apart.” Said Damian. 

“Jesus.” Jason replied. “Alright. How about this, Kon, you get behind him and help him sit up. It’s a good support position.”

Kon nodded, looking absolutely terrified as he moved to sit behind Tim on the cot. 

“Do you know any breathing exercises for this Bruce?” Jason asked.

“Yes I think so.”

“Great. Try to help Tim breathe through his contractions. Alright, now Tim, with the next contraction were gonna start with a couple gentle pushes alright?”

Tim nodded, clasping Kons hands where they were wrapped around his front. 

Tim grunted with the first push, face turning red. 

“Keep breathing through it Tim.” Said Bruce. “With me, hee hee hoo hoo… ”

Tim tried to copy him but a scream ripping from his throat interrupted him. 

Kon gently kissed Tim’s temple as he collapsed back against him after the contraction. “You’re doing so good. You’re so close Rob.”

“I can’t.” Tim whined.

“You can do it-” Bruce tried to encourage.

“I can’t!” Tim yelled, devolving into a fit of sobs. “I can’t be a father. I’m not good enough. I’m ruining everything.”

“Hey, no no none of that.” Bruce shushed. “You’re gonna be a great dad, you haven’t ruined anything.”

“I’m sorry- I’m sorry. Fuck, Kon please don’t go.” He said in a wobbly voice. 

“I won’t.” Said Kon softly. “I don’t know how to be a dad either but we’re figuring it out together, okay?”

Tim hiccuped, turning his face away from Bruce and into Kons shoulder as he nodded. Another contraction hit and Jason guided him through it. They went through the same process a few more times before Jason announced the head was finally emerging.

“It hurts-!” Tim yelped as he clenched the bedding beneath him. It was hard for Bruce to see Tim like this. Tim never let on how much pain he was in when he was hurt, he’d never seen him like this. He knew it must be really bad. 

“Keep going, the heads about to crown.” 

Meanwhile, in the hall, Dick and Clark looked at eachother as they heard the loudest scream they’d ever heard echoing from the cave. 

“The head is out!” Jason announced. “Just the shoulders and your done Timmy.”

Tim didn’t respond, to busy catching his breath with gasps that sounded like sobs. 

“Hey, the kids got black hair!” Said Kon, hoping to distract him. “I wonder who they got that from?” Tim gave him a small huffy smile before leaning forward again to push. He bared down with all his strength and Jason manuvered the shoulders out one at a time, before finally pulling the baby out. 

Tim collapsed back against Kon and Jason lifted the baby over his knees to place on Tim’s chest. 

Tim felt a soft warm weight on his chest, pulling him away from the bone-deep tiredness beckoning him to conk out. He looked down, and saw Jason gently wiping off the baby with a warm towl. 

The baby. 

His baby. 

He was here. He was a boy and he was here and he was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen in his life. Tim raised his shaky hands and placed them over the infants back. “Hi there.” He croaked. “You surprised daddy, huh?” 

The baby mewled softly, soft cries muffled into Tims chest. A tiny curled up fist gently hit Tim as the newborn squirmed. 

“Oh my god, Tim.” Said Kon, voice wavering. 

“I know.” Tim replied. He moved his hands slightly for Jason to lay a soft blanket over the baby and Tim quickly swaddled him. 

“He’s perfect Tim.” Bruce said, looking a little misty eyed himself, though he could still blame the pregnancy hormones. 

After a few minutes, Tim delivered the afterbirth and Jason clamped the cord. The ordeal was officially over.

Tim pressed his lips to his babys soft hair in a gentle kiss. No matter what happened after he turned 18, he wouldn’t be alone. Because now he had his baby, and he had Kon. It should be enough.

It would be selfish to want more.

Chapter Text

Tim lay in bed with his new baby resting on his chest. Like, brand spanking new. The kid was still pink and wrinkly and everything. He and Kon had decided to name him Jack, after Tim’s father. It wasn’t his first choice but Kon said something about it being ‘bad luck’ to name the baby after someone who's ‘Not dead yet.’  

Tim sighed as he rubbed the baby’s back. He’d been told to take it easy and rest since the baby was born, but as a result, he still hadn’t made any arrangements for his future living situation. As it would turn out, New Jersey law prevents foster kids from staying with their placements after turning eighteen. Which meant he had three days before he and his baby would be virtually homeless.

Yes, Tim was technically a trust fund kid with an inheritance he’d come into once he became of age, but there’s no way he could find a lease that would let him move in within three days, nor would his lawyers be able to get him access to his money in time.

So now came the thing he hated most in the world. Asking for help.

“Kon?” He asked, after clearing his throat. Kon wasn’t in the room but he knew he’d hear him anywhere in the house. Within seconds, the door was creaking open and Kon popped his head in, holding a bottle. 

Normally it’s pregnant women who glow, but ever since the baby came last night Kon had been absolutely beaming with fatherhood. TIm just looked tired, but he was still excited on the inside. 

“Feeding time?” Kon asked with a smile, dimples popping out. Tim poked the baby's cheek and he turned his small head in a rooting motion. 

“He could eat.” Said Tim.

Kon gently took the baby from Tims arms, holding him against his chest, cradled in the crook of his arm. Kon lifted the bottle to Jack’s lips and the newborn started suckling rapidly. 

“He’s got a Kryptonian appetite, this one.” Kon chuckled. 

“Oh my god don’t even joke about that. I’m going to have nightmares about him sneezing and blowing my head up.”

“Pfft that’s not one of my powers.”

“Okay, then he’ll laser it off.”

“You’d dodge.”

“Judging by the amount of baby spit up I’ve gotten on myself in the past few days, no I would not.”

Kon chuckled, sitting on the edge of the bed by Tim. “How are you feeling?” He asked earnestly. 

“Fine. Nervous. I wanted to ask you a favor actually.”

Kon chuckled. “You pushed my kid out just a few days ago. I think we're past favors.”

Tim swallowed nervously. “Do you think the Kent's would mind if Jack and I stayed with you for a little while? Just until I can get my inheritance. Then I can get my own apartment and be out of their hair.”

Kon looked at him confused, “What? Of course they wouldn’t mind, but- wouldn’t you rather stay here with your own family? This place is a lot bigger.”

Tim shrugged. “I can’t stay here. After I turn eighteen I gotta split. Jersey law says foster kids can’t stay with their foster families once they’re adults.”

Kon’s eyes widened in astonishment. “You- you’re getting kicked out? You just had a baby! That can’t be right.”

Tim sniffed and wiped his eyes a little. “You know this isn’t really my family Kon. I’m more like an employee to them. And I’m not needed here anymore.”

Now, rather than looking confused, Kon looked like Tim just told him he wasn’t really a coffee person.

“What on earth are you talking about? They love you Tim! They’re literally setting up a nursery for Jack right now!”

Tim paused. “What?”

“It was supposed to be a surprise… but I think I should show you now.”

Kon hefted Jack up so he leaned against his shoulder to burp, and walked out of the room holding Tim’s hand behind him. Tim let himself be dragged down the hallway until they reached a door that had been cracked open. Soft ambient music could be heard playing from someone's phone as Kon pushed the door open. Tim was surprised to see Damian sitting on the floor, painting a mural of little ducklings on the newly painted light-peach wall. Across the room, Clark was helping Bruce put together a rocking chair, not that Bruce needed any help, but Clark refused to let him do any of the heavy lifting. 

For a moment, Tim felt like there had been a mistake in Kon’s judgement. Surely this was the nursery for Bruce’s baby, and he was intruding. Until he saw the crib in the corner, galaxy mobile hanging overhead, and a name engraved into the wooden crib. 

Jackson Jonathan Kent El Drake Wayne. 

Which, despite being a mouthful, was incredibly sweet.

Bruce looked up at the sound of the door creaking open. “Tim! You weren’t supposed to see it till it was finished!”

Tim just stood there, mouth hanging open slightly, clutching the door-frame. 

“What's- what is all this?”

“The nursery. For Jack.” Bruce supplied with a smile. “You’ll probably want to keep him with you in your room for a few more months till he’s old enough though. What do you think so far?”

Tim's throat bobbed as he swallowed the lump in his throat, eyes stinging suddenly. 

“But I mean- I mean aren’t I-” He struggled, finding it hard to talk when his voice kept catching. 

Bruce quickly stood up and made his way over to him. “Tim? What’s wrong? Don’t you like it?”

Tim laughed shakily, poorly masking the wetness of his voice. “I love it. Just… confused I guess.”

“Confused? Why? I mean, sorry if I was being presumptuous but I thought you and the baby (and probably also Kon now) would continue living here. At least for a little while.”

“But- but you never adopted me.” Tim whispered before he could think better of it. 

Bruce made a pained expression like he’d been punched in the face. Except worse, because Tim had seen him get punched in the face and not react at all.  “I never adopted you?” He whispered in confusion. 

“Don’t feel bad,” Tim mumbled. “I turn 18 next week anyway, so I was planning to just be out of your hair after that.”

“You forgot??” Asked Damian. “How could you forget to adopt him father? That’s perhaps your favorite thing to do.”

“I- What do you mean you’ll be out of my hair?” Said Bruce, ignoring Damian. 

“Well I just… you won’t need to have custody of me anymore.”

“So you want to move out?”

Tim gave Bruce the saddest look he’d ever seen. “What I want isn’t important.”

“It is to me, Tim. Why do you think you need to leave?”

“Because-” Tim’s voice broke. “Because I’m not wanted here. Your kids don’t like me, you don’t need me to be Robin anymore, and it’s technically a violation of the law for me to stay in my current foster home after I turn eighteen.”

And maybe it was the postpartum hormones or the exhaustion but suddenly Tim couldn’t take it anymore. “Because nobody ever wants me.” He sobbed, burying his face in his hands. 

Bruce closed the distance instantly, encapsulating him within his broad arms and holding him against his chest. Bruce’s belly only pressed against him a little bit since he was still so early on, but it felt nice to be held so tightly, so securely.

Bruce bit his lip. “Tim, I have a confession to make.” He said, voice watery, face downcast so his nose was pressed into Tim's hair, and he was mumbling against his forehead. 

“I forged your signature on your adoption papers.” 

“What?” Tim warbled. 

“I- I know we talked about adoption before but I was nervous that when it came down to it you might change your mind. I was just- I was so scared you would age out of the system and end up on your own, away from our family. When Dick was younger, he always reacted badly when I brought up possibly adopting him, because he didn’t like the idea of me replacing his parents. I was scared that you might react in a similar way. Especially since you were older than Dick was when you lost your parents. I didn’t want to lose you.” 

Tim pulled away slightly, but didn’t let go. He looked up to meet Bruce’s eyes and whispered. “You adopted me?”

“Yes. And I’m so sorry I didn’t ask you about it. I never meant to make you feel-” But he was cut off from his ramblings as Tim rushed forward, hugging him tightly, as his small frame shook with silent sobs. 

Bruce stilled, before tightening his hold again. “I will always want you Tim. I’m sorry if I ever made you believe otherwise. You are my son, and I love you very much. Always and forever.”

Tim hiccuped softly. “I love you too, Dad.” 

Clark was also there, standing a bit off to the side with a hand on Bruce's shoulder. “We really need to talk about your paranoia and communication issues.” He said in a teasing voice. 

“I know.” Bruce chuckled wetly. “I’m working on it.”