Chapter Text
-At Titan Tower-
Nightwing, Starfire, Flash, Beast Boy, Raven, Troia, and Aqualad were all gathered in the Tower’s meeting room going over plans for their next mission.
Nightwing was at the head of the table, in front of a computer screen mapping out the plan, while the others sat around the table.
Nightwing clasped his hands together, “Okay Titans, we need to invade their base of operations tomorrow night. Any questions?” They were raiding a facility that had tied to a cult they were investigating, the mission had been planned out for weeks. Everything had to be meticulously planned.
But as Nightwing was about to move onto the next phase of his plan, the tower’s phone line began to ring and a name popped up on the screen instead.
Dick looked at the screen in confusion, “It’s Alfred.”
His girlfriend, Starfire tilted her head in alarm, “Alfred? That cannot be good right?” She’d lived through enough Bat Family crises to know when something bad was coming.
Dick clenched his teeth, “He only calls when there’s trouble.” And usually Alfred would call his phone, but be left his phone in his room on the floor above. So for Alfred to call up the Tower directly couldn’t be a good sign.
“Well answer it!” Wally urged his friend
And so he did. Dick pressed the answer button on the computer, “…Alfred?”
They heard Alfred breathing heavily on the other side of the line, “Master Dick! Thank goodness, we have a situation…” he spoke urgently, taking in quick breaths.
Dick’s entire body stiffened in alarm, “What happened?!” His mind ran through possibilities, did Bruce get hurt, did one of his brothers get hurt, did someone blow up Gotham?
“Master Bruce is missing!” The butler muttered.
Dick’s eyes widened in surprise, “What?” And even his teammates got up from their seats.
“How the hell is Batman missing?” Wally asked in skepticism.
Alfred made a noise of surprise on the other end, “..Master Dick?”
“Sorry Alfred, your on speaker. But what happened to Bruce?” Bruce had gone missing before, granted that time he’d gotten himself kidnapped. But for Alfred to sound so nervous and worried, it wasn’t a normal disappearance.
The butler sighed, “Well I suppose you are all aware….” So he ripped the bandage, “…Master Bruce has entered his heat, and Master Clark has been off world for nearly a month.” He’d been out on an off world mission with Hal Jordan for an alien delegation, because for some reason having an alien from a world that no longer existed was somehow helpful.
This time Beast Boy chimed in. “Shit, aren’t they bonded?” Because while the Justice League didn’t know that Batman was an Omega, and some didn’t even know his identity under the cowl. All the younger heroes were aware, since Bruce always welcomed them in his home, treating them like his own pups.
“Yes” Alfred replied on the phone.
Starfire gave her boyfriend a look of concern, “Well that cannot end well.”
Dick took in a deep breath and tried to stay calm. “Okay, but what does that have to do with Bruce being missing?” Because being in heat was one thing, it wasn’t great without Clark being here, but it was manageable. But being missing while in heat, was an entirely different story.
Alfred cleared his throat, here came the more uncomfortable part. “Well, when bonded Omegas go into heat without their alpha, they tend to get…frantic and seek comfort in other ways. And well, Master Bruce started making a nest in his room and asking for his pups.”
“….” Everyone was silent on the other end.
So Alfred continued, “I told him his pups would arrive soon and to continue making a nest while I prepared some tea. I was going to call you or the others to come aid him, but when I returned Master Bruce was gone!”
“Where did he go?” Raven asked her teammate.
Because Dick knew Bruce and his Omega the most outside of Alfred of course, Bruce had been the one to comfort him when his parents died, and he’d nested with Bruce for years until he’d mated with Clark. So if Bruce was looking for his pups…”Alfred do you think..”
“I do believe he’s gone after his pups” Alfred reached the same conclusion. “I don’t know which of you, but one of you is bound to find him.”
“Can’t you just track the Batmobile?” Wally asked.
“He didn’t take the Batmobile.”
‘Okay’ Dick’s mind said, it was definitely time to panic, “Shit, we need to find him before someone else does.” What if a rogue found Bruce? What if a bad intentioned Alpha found him? What if he got hurt?
Wally ran over to his friend, “Alright let’s chill, how bad could it be?” Dick gave him an ‘What the hell did you just say look’. “He’s going after the Robins right, so he’s not in danger. If he finds one of you, you’d keep him safe.”
Well Dick couldn’t argue with that, all his siblings would protect Bruce with this life, “Still, we gotta find him.”
“And how do we find a frantic Omega that could be anywhere?” Beast Boy asked.
Aqualad turned to him, “Can’t you like, track his scent?”
Beast Boy rolled his eyes, “You got something with his scent on it for me to smell?”
Aqualad’s face fell, “No.”
“Just call up your siblings” Troia suggested.
Dick’s mind was spinning. Okay, so his dad was god knows where, would even know if where to look for them in his Omega high mind? He needed to focus, he needed a plan, the mission they were working on just got thrown out the window. He slammed a hand on the desk, “Okay, everyone stop! Alfred, stay at the manor in case he comes back.”
The butler sighed, he just wanted to know where his son went. “Alright Master Dick.” But he ended the call.
Dick then focused his attention on the team, “Okay Titans, meeting is over. I gotta go call up my brothers.”
“We can help!” Kori spoke up.
“Yeah, Bruce always helps us” Wally chimed in.
“They say heats without your mate is worse than normal, it’s our duty to help” Aqualad added.
“An Amazon always helps someone in need” Donna joined in.
Dick smiled, his mind was racing, his instincts at his dad getting hurt were going into overdrive. But he was glad to have his friends with him to help. He took in a deep breath, “Okay so we have to cover as much ground as…”
But then the tower’s alarms began to go off. A red light went off and an alert sign popped up on the computer’s screen.
“Security Alert!”
“Security Alert!”
“What’s that?” Raven asked.
Wally walked over to the window that overlooked the entrance to the tower, “Oh my god I think it’s Batman!”
Dick practically ran to the window and looked down towards the ground. And right there, he saw Bruce, in pajamas, banging on the door. He could feel his scent growing sour at the sight, he had to get to his dad.
Garfield went to the window next, “How did he even get her?”
Dick gritted his teeth, “I need to get there before he gets hurt.”
But before he could get far, Wally scooped him up, “I got you buddy!” And he ran them all the way down the tower to the front entrance.
When they got to the ground floor, Wally put his friend down in front of the front doors, “Thanks Wally.” Dick then went to the control panel to the triple locked metal doors to the tower. He pressed the unlock button and the doors began to open.
Under normal circumstances, Bruce would be able to open the door himself. He knew all the access codes to all Justice League and affiliated bases by heart. But these were not normal circumstances.
And when the doors opened, Dick saw his father. His hair was a mess, like he’d been either pulling or messing with it, his pajamas were messy too. And his pupils seemed dilated.
“Bruce!” Dick yelled to get his attention. He could smell the scent from the door. Usually Bruce’s scent during heat was sweet and calming, and nostalgic from his younger days. But right now, the scent was bitter, the scent of an Omega in high distress.
And as soon as Bruce spotted him, he ran and tackled his son to the ground, “Need pups!” He then started looking Dick’s entire body over for any injuries, “Pup could be in danger!” Once he was satisfied with his search, he started scenting Dick, “Pup is inside!”
“Bruce!” Dick tried to get his dad off of himself. But at least Bruce’s scent was a little less bitter, showing his happiness at seeing his pup.
“Pup!” Bruce hugged him tightly like a Koala.
“Ahh..Bruce, too tight!”
But Bruce didn’t care, keeping his grip tight. “Need to nest, need to keep pup safe!”
And just then, the rest of the Titans arrived. All catching the scent of the frantic Omega in the air.
“We’re here” Donna announced.
“What’s..oh!” Garfield suppressed a laugh.
“Don’t laugh” Dick said through gritted teeth as he and Bruce got off the floor, even though Bruce still clung to him.
“I’m not laughing!” Garfield
Dick sighed and tried speaking with his dad, “Hey Bruce are you okay?” But the Omega just let out a happy coo as he kept scenting his pup.
“He’s out of it” Wally pointed out the obvious.
“Totally out of it” Garfield agreed.
Bruce then finally noticed the others and spoke rapidly, “Alpha is gone, without Alpha who’s gonna protect pups? Need to nest, need to keep pups safe!” And he grabbed onto Dick’s arm a little more tightly.
“Well I guess we call up Alfred and that’s that” Garfield spoke up again.
“See, nothing to worry about.”
But Dick gave them a glare, “I’m not sending him back.”
“What?”
Dick looked at his dad again, at the man currently holding him like when he was a pup and Bruce would hide him inside his cape. “I know it’s irrational…but without Clark, his Omega thinks it needs to protect his pups. He ran from home just to find me, sending him back would be cruel.”
“I agree with Dick” Kori said in his favor.
Raven tilted her head, “So what do we do?”
Dick knew what to do, “Hey Bruce, let’s go inside..” a distressed Omega had to be cared for, and the tower provided more than enough space and supplies for them to do so.
Bruce perked up at that, “Nest?!”
Dick nodded, “Yes, you can nest there.”
Bruce gave a cheerful smile and his scent got sweeter, “Pup will help you make a big nest? Big nest, to fit all pups?”
Dick smiled nervously, getting all the pups would be hard. But he’d build a nest, “Sure, let’s go.”
They all took Bruce to their living room, it was spacious, it would fit a nest. And Dick addressed the group in his commanding leader voice, “Alright Titans, new mission. Make a giant nest!”
“And how do we do that?” Garth asked.
Donna was next, “Amazons don’t have secondary genders, I don’t know how to make a nest.”
Garfield rolled up his sleeves, “Can’t be too different from an animals’ nest, just get a bunch of soft things.”
Dick sighed, guess this would be a learning day. “Get a bunch of mattresses down here!”
Wally raised an eyebrow, “You wanna build it here? In the common room?”
“It’s the safest place, we can all keep an eye on him, and it’s easy access to the kitchen. Trust me, he’ll get hungry.” He’d lived through enough of Bruce’s heats to know how this would go down.
But then Bruce tugged on his arm, “Pup?”
Dick looked at him nervously, “Yeah.”
“Where are the other pups? Where’s Tim, Damian, Jonathan…Jason!” His voice grew louder and panicked. Because while Bruce loved all his kids equally, his Omega had an obvious favor, and it was Jason! “Where’s Jason! Pups could be in danger! Need to make sure pups are safe!” And he let go of Dick and tried to bolt it to the door.
“Oh no you don’t..” Dick held his dad by the waist to prevent him from leaving, “…Star help!”
Star flew to stand in front of Bruce, blocking his passage to the door, lIt’s alright, the other pups are okay.”
Bruce shook his head and let out an unhappy sound, “No, need to see them. Need to know pups are okay!”
Dick used up all his strength to hold Bruce back, but Kori’s words seemed to have soothed him a little. “Okay, guys this is worse than I thought. Activate Tower lockdown protocol!”
And so the Tower went into lockdown, locking all windows and doors, only opening them with a passcode. Which again, normal Batman would easily be able to get in, but Dick was confident that right now that would be impossible.
And while Dick and Kori were holding Bruce back, the others were arranging a giant nest as instructed. Wally had run to all the vacant rooms in the tower and brought in eight mattresses and arranged them together to form one giant mattress. Raven had used her powers to move the sofas and lounge chairs in the living room around the mattress, forming a shield, but also a great support to prop pillows against. Donna and Garfield had run through several rooms and brought back as many pillows and blankets they could carry so Bruce could arrange them how he liked. And Garth had fetched several bottles of water and snacks from the kitchen.
“We’re building a nest, what else can we do?” Garfield asked as he dumped a pile of couch cushions into the giant nest enclosure.
“We need to get my siblings here. It’s the only way he’ll calm down” Dick replied. It was the only way, if Bruce wouldn’t calm down until all his pups were within his sight, they had to get them here.
“Should be easy” Wally said sarcastically as he finished arranging the mattresses together.
Dick grunted, “I can’t go, he’ll go crazy if I leave.”
“Uhh Dick!” Kori called out to him. And that’s when Dick noticed, Bruce was scenting Kori!
“Need to scent pups!” The Omega said as he covered the girl in his scent.
Kori didn’t mind, she was actually quite surprised at how similar Dick and Bruce’s scents were. But one thing didn’t make sense, “Um Bruce, I’m not your pup.”
Bruce stopped what he was doing and looked at her with a pout, “Yes you are. You mated my pup, you’re also my pup!” He said it like it was obvious and continued what he was doing.
Dick sighed, again! “Okay, now Star can’t leave.”
Wally laughed at the situation, he’d helped out his family member through this sort of crisis before. “Just tell us where to go.”
Dick was once again grateful at having his friends here. “Okay. Wally, can you go get Tim and Conner in Mount Justice?”
Wall nodded and took off, “Already on it!”
“Tell them to bring nesting supplies!” Dick yelled after him.
“Got it!” He heard his friend say.
Dick then turned to the others, “Garth, I think Cass said she’d go to the Gotham harbor today. Can you go get her?”
Aqualad finished placing the water bottles and nodded, “Of course my friend.” He then left through the kitchen as to not give Bruce ideas.
“Donna, can you call Artemis and find the Outlaws, I have no idea where Jason is.” And Jason was the most crucial one needed. Because Bruce’s Omega would probably have a fit if all the pups showed up but no Jason.
Donna finished putting down all the fluffy blankets she’d found, “I’ll call her now and get to them. We won’t fail Batman!” She flew off to go call her fellow Amazonian.
Dick then turned to the remaining team members, “And that leaves Damian and Jon, they went to spend a week in Smallville. I guess Bruce wasn’t anticipating his heat.” Or maybe he’d thought that Clark would have been back by now, but it didn’t matter right now.
“Well get them” Raven assured him. And Garfield agreed as they left for Smallville.
“Thanks guys…woah. Bruce!” Dick had barely finished sending his team off when Bruce grabbed him again and plopped him into the nest.
“Pups help me work on the nets!” Bruce declared as he started going over the materials the others had brought.
Dick just accepted it, “Fine.”
Then Kori put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, “Don’t worry Dick, the others will be back soon.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about. They just have to make it back before he’s fully under. And I have to call Alfred!” The challenge would be leaving the nest without triggering Bruce.
“There, now the pups are safe!” Bruce said in triumph as he started organizing the pillows against the couch barrier of the nest.
Dick gulped, “Hey Bruce?”
“Yes pup?” The Omega looked at him with worry, he’d be heartbroken if his pup didn’t like the nest.
“I have to go to my room..”
“No” Bruce shut him down firmly, “Pups stay in the nest!”
“But I have to….” He tried coming up with an excuse Bruce would accept in a state like this. “…I need to get my…clothes! Won’t the nest be better if it smells like your pups?” He got it, the one thing no Omega could ever resist. The scent of people they loved in their nest.
Bruce took the bait and nodded enthusiastically, “Yes, I want clothes!” He was so proud of his pup for having such a good idea.
So Dick started making his way out of the nest, “Okay, so I’ll go get clothes. I’ll bring some of Kori’s too!”
“Come back fast!” Bruce said, still a little worried. And Dick had no doubt that Bruce would come after him if he took too long.
“I will” he promised, then bolted to the elevator. “Phew, didn’t think that would work” he patted himself on the back.
He got to his floor and raced to his room, he quickly got his phone and texted Alfred to let him know Bruce was safe.
From Dick, to Alfred
‘Alfred, Bruce showed up at Titan Tower. We’re building a nest and working on getting everyone here. He’s safe.…but please try contacting Clark.’
And less than a minute later, he got a reply.
From Alfred, to Dick
‘Thank goodness. Keep him as calm as you can. I will try to make contact with Superman and Green Lantern from the cave.’
Dick sighed in relief. He really hoped Alfred could get Clark to come home. But he couldn’t keep his hopes up.
He moved fast to gather some dirty clothes for Bruce’s nest then made his way to Kori’s room across the hall for some clothes. She probably wouldn’t mind if he just took a sweater and some pants right?
He got as much as he could carry and made his way back to the now nesting room. And when he got there Bruce, as expected, came running to him.
“Dick!!”
“I got the clothes!” He handed them to the purring Omega.
“You took a long time” Bruce scolded lightly.
“Sorry” he apologized and made his way to the nest, where his girlfriend was arranging blankets over the mattresses. They’d made nests together before, so she just assumed that Dick had gotten some of his nesting abilities and preferences from Bruce.
“Now stay in the nest” Bruce instructed as he laid the clothes down for him to go through and figure out where they each went.
And Dick sat there watching. He felt like he was Bruce’s pup again, like when he’d bring his clothes to Bruce’s room where they’d make a nest and then cuddle for the rest of the day. He’d get to watch movies on Bruce’s tv while the Omega hugged him in his sleep, they’d eat with Alfred inside the nest, and Alfred would always prepare two bubble baths for them afterwards.
He had to admit he did miss it a little as he got older and moved out, letting Bruce nest with his younger siblings. Part of him missed the clinginess, the scent, he missed being Bruce’s pup.
He watched Bruce arrange everything in the way he wanted, and once he was down he pulled both Dick and Kori close so they could cuddle.
And as he took in Bruce’s scent which was back to fully sweet now, Dick thought to himself that maybe…maybe helping out during this heat wouldn’t be that bad.