-Requested by broodmochi -
Ages:
Damian - 15
Tim - 12
Jason - 9
Dick - 3
"Look up, dickie." Bruce pushed Dick's chin up, fixing his perfectly starched collar. "There you go! Look at you!" He buried his nose on the springy black hair and planted a kiss on The little boy's head. Still the three-year-old clung to his trouser leg. "Go show Alfred."
The little boy cautiously let go of him and waddled a few steps away, checking over his shoulder to make sure Bruce wouldn't leave him.
"Hey! I'll take you to Alfred!" Jason announced, he was always showing off because he knew his baby brother thought he was the coolest. "Come on! I always know where Alfred is!" He bragged, grabbing the toddler's arm and towing him along from the room.
"He's not ready." Damian said. "He's too little for you to tote along to a Gala."
"He's got to have his first party eventually."
"He's three! It's too early!" The oldest bat son protested. "He shouldn't be forced into this environment until he at least doesn't need diapers!"
"Only at nights."
"Well, he's going to be overstimulated." Damian warned. "He's going to cry."
Bruce chewed on this for a second, but just a second. "We'll ease him into it, slowly, like my parents did. Plus he has you three and Peanuts, he'll be fine!"
"I doubt that. Highly."
Bruce tried not to roll his eyes at his teenage kid. "How about you make sure that if Dick gets overwhelmed, he gets up to bed?"
"I will, but because I like him, not because I'm the one who adopted him. Because I'm not."
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Dick clung to his adoptive father's leg. everyone was trying to see him and touch him... he wanted to cry but every time he came close, Bruce picked him up and carried him and he liked that.
They'd been going strong for about half an hour when Bruce received an important looking notification. He almost swore.
"Dickie, I have to do something really important, can you-" He scanned the room for Alfred, but he wasn't there. Between leaving his baby alone, and letting The Penguin crash the same party his baby was at, he begrudgingly chose the former. "How about you go play with some of the other kids? Me and your brothers will be back really soon?"
"No!" The three-year-old gripped his neck, refusing to be put down.
"Please, Dickie? I'll send Alfred over to get you as soon as I find him. Will you please let me pet you down? Just for a minute?"
"No." There was a frightening tremor in the child's voice that threatened tears.
"SHHH." Bruce internally begged him not to cry. "Here, you can keep Peanut? Peanut can keep you safe? and then we'll be back quickly and I can carry you again."
"No..." the child pleaded, although he let go of Bruce's neck.
"Good Boy." Bruce muttered, crossing the room, Where there were some kids playing. "I'll be right back."
Dick clutched Peanut against his chest, looking timidly around at the other kids. They were generally between the ages of five and eleven.
Most of the tweens and teens had their own friends at these functions, and most kids Dick's age were left at home with Babysitters. There were only about ten kids here, because most rich people with young kids just left them at home."Hello."
"Why are you here? This is supposed to be the KID'S corner." A blonde girl, about nine, exclaimed. "Not a baby corner."
Dick wanting to protest that he, in fact, was not a baby, but it was hard to speak English.
"How old are you?"
Dick held up two fingers and then realized he was wrong and held up three.
"So you're a baby?" One of them asked.
"No." He replied.
"But you are. Three is a baby."
"No."
"Can't you say anything else?" The blonde ordered.
"Of course he can't!" One of the other kids said. "C'mon Sophia, let's just leave the baby!"
The blonde girl, Sophia, scoffed, arms crossed. "He should leave! He's not even old enough to be here!"
Dick held Peanut tighter. Peanut could keep him safe.
"Why do you have a stuffie?" The Sophia ordered. "Gimme that!"
"NO!" Dick shouted, trying to tug his stuffie back. "STOP!"
"GIVE IT!" The blonde girl ripped it from his hands. She threw it back, over her head so he couldn't reach. "THERE!"
"STOP!" Dick cried, trying to grab Peanut back. "PEANUT!" He jumped, trying to grab his friend. He felt the tears flooding his eyes and making his nose sting.
"GET OFF!" Sophia shouted, turning to her friends. "Let's go!"
Dick ran, trying to catch up, casing after his friend, but his three-year-old legs couldn't keep up with the older kids. his vision turned blurry with tears, and Dick's legs couldn't run any more.
Defeated, the toddler sat down on the floor and cried. A few adults approached and tried to help, but he was crying too hard to hear them. He wanted Daddy! He wanted Peanut! He Wanted his brothers! He wanted Alfred!
He knew there were a handful of adults trying to calm him, but they were strangers, and Daddy said not to talk to them without him.
He kept crying , bawling, just ignoring his surrounding and letting out all the anguish in his little three-year-old heart. He didn't open his eyes until he faintly heard a voice that he recognized.
"Master Dick, calm down, I can't help if you dont Calm down."
Questioningly, he opened his eye.
"ALFRED!" Dick threw his arms around the man, letting the faithful butler pick him up off the floor, carrying the toddler to safety like the real superhero he is.
Dick was carried out of the banquet room, and through to the kitchen. Alfred sat him on the counter and filled a sippy cup with water for him. "Now, tell me what's wrong."
Dick, sobbing and sniffling and clutching his water, tried to explain everything, but his words mostly came out as garbled nothing, and the only comprehensive words were Romani. Eventually, He gave up, crying out in frustration. "DADDY!"
"Master Bruce will me back shortly." Alfred busied himself around the boy, fixing his hair, wiping his face and fixing his clothes. He understood that Gotham needed saving, but would it kill the dark knight to put his son to bed first?
Dick leaned against the butler, hiccuping and sniffling. He sipped his water a little. He finished it and held up his sippy cup. "'lfred."
Alfred took the cup and refilled it for him, patting the boy's head affectionately.
"Hey, Dickie. What're you doing in here?" Bruce asked, brushing back his damp, sweaty hair.
"DADDY!" Dick threw up his hands and let Bruce sweep him off the counter.
"Hey Dickie, What's wrong?" Bruce frowned, noticing how red the toddler's eyes were, and the dried tear streams down his cheeks. Dick just threw his arms around his father's chest and gave the biggest hug his arms were capable of. "Aw, Dick."
"Didja miss us?" Jason asked, trampling in after Bruce. He groaned as Alfred stopped him for sprucing-up before he rejoined society.
"I need to go entertain the guests, do you want to come?" Bruce asked the little boy, who still clutched him like his life depended on it.
"I should put him to bed." Damian observed, trailing in. "Come on, Richard, it's late."
"Dam'in!" Dick quickly removed his arms from Bruce and threw himself at Damian.
Damian barely suppressed a smile and carried him out of the kitchen, passing Tim, who gave Dick a little hair-ruffle, on the way out.
The oldest Wayne boy carried him to his bedroom, setting Dick on his bed. "Which ones do you want?" Damian asked, holding up two pairs of pyjamas. Shakily, Dick pointed to the set he wanted. Damian helped the toddler strip his formal wear, which was far too fancy for a three-year-old, and helped dress him in a pair of car-themed pyjamas. He got Dick tucked in under his covers before he noticed something was off. "Where's Peanut?"
Dick's lip trembling a little, and almost immediately tears began drizzling down his cheek. "She-" He panted a little. "Took him." He whined a little.
"Who did?" Damian ordered, he pulled Dick out from his bed and set him on his leg. Dick began whimpering, trying to explain everything. Damian retrieved Dick's robe, which was a bit too big since it was Jason's hand-me-down, and wrapped it around him, carrying Dick downstairs.
The brothers arrived in the ballroom, circumnavigating it until Dick clutched his big brother's shirt. "Peanut"
Damian saw what he meant, there was a little Blonde girl, about Jason's age, Playing with a cluster of kids. Well, "playing" as in bossing them around, she had Dick's prized stuffie on the chair next to her with her cardigan.
Damian strode over, feeling Dick bury his face in his shoulder. He stood, towering over the girl until she noticed him.
"What?"
Damian closed his eyes for a second, and shot her with the hardest batglare he could muster. He froze the brat to her chair.
"Give back the elephant." The girl didn't move, gaping at him in fear. Damian took the elephant back, giving it to Dick. He held the boy tighter, glaring at her. "Apologize."
"Bu-"
"Apologize to him."
"...Sorry..." The girl sniffed.
"Sorry for what?"
"...Taking the elephant..." She muttered.
"Richard, do you forgive her?" Damian asked. Dick buried his face in his elephant. Damian turned back to the girl. "Never. Do. This. Again." He growled, turning and marching Dick back up to his bedroom. He snuggled Dick back into bed. "Better?"
"Peanut!" Dick squeaked, hugging the elephant against his chest.
"Anything for you." Damian brushed his baby brother's hair back. "Do you want a story?"
Dick nodded, comforted by just having his big brother there.