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Bruce knows there's someone in his bedroom right as his body wakes. He doesn't move immediately, calculating where the intruder is and how to best defuse the situation.
He slides one eyelid open, then lets his body relax.
"Dick?" In Bruce's defense, the young pup had only been living in the manor for barely a month. And he had only just fallen asleep, if his internal clock was anything to go by.
"Bruce?" the pup asks, shutting the door and walking towards the bed. "I don't feel good."
Bruce sits up and beckons the boy to his side of the bed. He keeps his hand out to take Dick's temperature.
Dick hesitates for a moment before leaning into the touch.
Bruce's Omega tries not to whine at the pup. Between dealing with the police in and out of the cowl regarding the death of Mary and John Grayson, Bruce hasn't actually been around that much to properly spend quality time with him.
He also hadn't wanted to overstep or smother the boy with his Omega. Dick was already so overwhelmed—Bruce didn't want to make it worse.
"You are a little warm," Bruce says quietly. "What else, chum?"
Dick bites his bottom lip. "My tummy hurts."
The boy has been around a lot of new people in the last few weeks. It wouldn't surprise Bruce if he caught something. He debates on giving him some ibuprofen for the fever, but his stomach might not tolerate it.
He looks Dick up and down, taking in his sullen face and disheveled hair. His Omega screams at him to pull the pup close and comfort him. The urge overwhelms him for a moment. He's never felt his Omega this intensely, even during heats.
"Do you… want to stay here for the rest of the night?" Bruce hesitantly asks, removing his hand from Dick's forehead.
The two look at each other until finally Dick nods. Bruce scoots over to the let the pup into his nest, realizing belatedly that no one else has been in his nest—not since he moved into the master bedroom and built this one.
Dick curls up against a pillow, facing Bruce. Bruce settles back down and pulls the soft duvet over them both.
"Let me know if it gets worse, okay?"
"Okay."
— — —
It does get worse.
Bruce wakes up to Dick crying out in pain, doubled over and clutching his stomach.
Bruce yells for Alfred, who in turn calls Dr. Leslie Thompkins to see if she can do a house visit.
As they wait for the doctor, Bruce asks Dick if he wants to move back to his own bedroom or stay in here.
Dick shuffles around weakly and leans against Bruce's side. "Can I stay here?"
"Of course, chum."
Dick's movement disturbs the blankets, and that's when Bruce smells it—the pup's milky undertone shifting into a more solidified sandalwood and vanilla.
Bruce tries to hide his panic from the pup.
He knew Dick would eventually present as an Omega, based on the pup's medical record and duel sex organs. It was one of his arguing points to obtain guardianship, that he was also a male Omega.
But Dick had only just turned eight a few months ago. Most male Omegas presented anywhere from ten to thirteen. Bruce had presented when he was twelve.
Leslie knocks on the door frame, and enters after a nod from Bruce.
"Hello again, Richard," Leslie greets the boy, setting her bag on a side table. "I heard you weren't feeling good."
Dick nods, one small hand still on his stomach.
"Can you sit on the edge of the bed for me?"
Dick crawls over to the end of the bed and swings his legs out. His feet don't touch the ground.
"Can you show me where the pain is?"
Dick points a finger at his lower abdomen.
"Okay. I'm gonna do a routine exam, check all the usual stuff."
She makes quick work of listening to his heart and lungs, and checking his eyes and ears.
Leslie pulls out a swab kit from her bag. "I'm gonna do a flu test. Can you open your mouth for me?"
As she collects the sample, she and Bruce make quick eye contact.
Once the sample is set, she steps back. "Lay back down, honey. I'm gonna talk to Bruce while we wait for the test results, okay?"
Dick nods, pulling his body back into the blankets.
Leslie heads out of the room and into Bruce's study, with Bruce following close behind.
"We both know it's not the flu."
Leslie just raises an eyebrow. "I needed a reason to talk to you first before telling him."
Bruce rubs a hand over his face. "He's only eight. It's way too early for this."
Leslie sighs. "It's rare, but not completely unheard of, given the circumstances."
"To go into his first pre-heat already?"
Leslie reads the unsaid part too well. It's one of the many reasons he let her in on the secret.
"I can only speculate," Leslie says, "but I think the difference here is you had Alfred."
It's Bruce's turn to raise an eyebrow.
"Look, Bruce, I'm just gonna ask. Have you scent bonded with him yet?"
"I-" Bruce starts, shaking his head. "It-it's too soon."
"Maybe," Leslie replies. "For you, for Dick, for both of you. But I'm telling you, not only as your friend, but as Dick's doctor, it's time."
She pauses and looks him right in the eye. "Right now there's a pup in there, about to enter his first pre-heat, and he literally has no pack bonds."
His Omega whines at the thought.
Her face relaxes."You adopted him for a reason, remember? Well here's your sign."
Bruce just nods, jaw clenched.
"Please tell me you were able to save some materials from the old nest."
"Yes."
"How many bags?"
"Five."
"Open one now. Then one for his own nest, and one for his first full heat. Save the other two for emergencies."
"He can't go back to his room?" Bruce asks, noticing her emphasis on the difference.
"If you're okay with him staying with you," she replies, "I wouldn't move him now."
Bruce has Alfred walk Leslie out while he takes a detour to grab the needed item from one of the hidden safes. On his way back to the bedroom, he grabs a blanket from the hall linen closet to hide the pack for now.
He sighs as he stops in front of the door.
Leslie's right, of course. When Mary and John had hit the ground, everyone in the audience screamed in horror and looked at the bodies—but not Bruce. He had looked up, at the small pup who suddenly became an orphan. And it was then, one of the only times in his entire life, when his logical mind and his Omega were in complete agreement.
Bruce enters the bedroom and shuts the door behind him. The scent of sandalwood and vanilla is stronger now, radiating from the nest.
Dick looks at him, but doesn't sit up. "Where's Dr. Leslie?"
"We got the test results, and I said I could take it from here," Bruce replies as he sits down on the bed next to the boy.
"Do I have the flu? My stomach still hurts."
"No, chum. It's not the flu." Bruce takes a breath. "Is it okay if I ask you a few questions, about your parents."
Dick whimpers. "Why? Is something wrong?"
"Did your parents ever talk to you about being an Omega like your mother?"
Dick nods weakly. "Yeah. Like puberty?"
"Well, sometimes, presentations happen earlier than expected, especially when the pup is under a lot of prolonged stress."
Dick pulls his knees to his chest, body curled towards Bruce. "I don't…"
"Dr. Leslie and I think you're presenting early."
Dick gasps softly, then winces as another cramp rolls through him.
"Take a deep breath, chum. Breathe through it."
Stress-fear-pain roll off the pup. Bruce's Omega begs him to reach out, to do something, anything.
"What's gonna happen?" Dick whispers. "Are you gonna… send me away?"
"No, Dick," Bruce replies quickly. "I would never do that. I knew when I took you in that you were an Omega, like me."
Dick sits up slowly. Bruce turns so they sit shoulder to shoulder.
"I have something for you." Bruce grabs the blanket and unwinds it, revealing the vacuum-sealed pack.
Dick looks at the plastic, eyebrows wrinkling in confusion.
Bruce pops the seal and tilts the opening to the boy. "Go ahead, pull it out."
The reaction is instant. Dick gets one hand on the fabric and bursts into tears. He rabidly pulls out the contents, revealing a blanket and a shirt—items from Mary Grayson's nest.
Sweet vanilla and lavender, and fresh linen and chalk, linger on the fabric.
Dick buries his face in it, muffling his sobs.
"I had the forensics team save as much as they could from your mom's nest, so there's a few more of these."
Dick hiccups as he pulls his face away from the fabric. "There's more?"
Bruce nods. "There's four left. Dr. Leslie gave me a list of when to best use them."
"I don't understand," Dick cries, body pressing harder against Bruce, like he's going to fall over.
Bruce wraps his arm around the pup to keep him steady.
"I know it's a little early to present, but-" Bruce starts, but Dick's wail cuts him off.
"Mom said-she said she would be here, to help me!"
"I know. I'm so sorry."
"She promised!"
Bruce feels his Omega taking over, and for the first time in a very long time, he doesn't fight it. He rubs his hand up and down Dick's back, and continues to whisper reassurances while the pup tires himself out.
Eventually, Dick's sobs dwindle into soft sniffs.
"Can I get you anything?" Bruce whispers. "Water or something?"
Dick nods weakly.
"I'll be right back, okay?"
Bruce quickly heads to the bathroom to fill up a plastic cup with water. He grabs a tissue box, and with the items in his hands, he heads back to the nest.
"Here you go," Bruce says, handing both to the pup. He doesn't know where he should sit now—getting up from the nest had withered his confidence. He tries to pull it back to the surface.
Bruce climbs back into the nest, now facing the pup. Dick slowly sips the water from the plastic cup, but his eyes are looking down at the fabric in his lap.
The box of tissues sits between them.
"The reason I gave you the first one now is, you're most likely going to feel this way for another day or two. And if you're okay with it, since you're already here." He pauses. "I want you to stay here. If you're okay with that."
Dick looks up, his eyes wet with tears. "Here?"
"In my nest," Bruce clarifies. "With me."
"Oh," Dick whispers. "Okay."
"I know I can never replace her, either of your parents. And I'm not asking to, I don't want to." Bruce tries to pull himself together. "But I'm here to help you, okay? In any way I can."
Bruce takes a deep breath and raises his his wrist. "Can I?"
Dick silently raises his own hand and connects their scent glands together.
Vanilla and sandalwood fill his nose, along with exhausted-scared-unsure. Bruce pushes back as much reassurance and comfort as he can.
Later, after showing Dick how to position the shirt and blanket around him, they lay back down.
Bruce runs his finger through Dick's hair, and they both fall asleep to the sounds of Bruce's purrs, radiating deep within his chest.