Chapter Text
"I can't do it, Bruce."
"Selina..."
"It's...it's too much. I'm grateful for helping me with finding her, you know that. But I can't raise a kid, let alone a baby. You raised five kids, you'll do much better than I would. Take her."
And so he did.
And here she was, five months old, wrapped in a baby blue blanket and asleep in one of his old cribs that Alfred found. So often Bruce had found himself in the Batcave, staring at the Batcomputer for hours on end with nothing able to distract him from the task at hand.
Not the arguments between Damian and Tim, not the pleading from Dick to at least spend ten seconds with the rest of the family or Jason's 'passive aggressive' insults and barbed words.
But tonight was different. Instead of tapping light blue keys, his fingers gently thread themselves through wisps of dark blue hair. He sat there, mesmerized at the sight of this bundle of blankets.
Her chubby hands that twitched and flailed around in her sleep, the apples of her cheeks, the way her eyes moved around under her eyelids, surely dreaming of something fantastical, something only babies could dream of.
"Master Bruce?"
He didn't bother looking up from the baby's peaceful face, he merely focused on the sound of Alfred's footsteps getting closer. "Yes, Alfred?"
"The young masters are all gathered as you requested," Alfred said, taking his place to the right of him. "Master Jason in particular is quite...anxious to know why he has been called."
"I imagine he would be," Bruce mumbled, rubbing his face as the reality of his situation hit him. He had just found a five month old baby an hour ago with Selina who had left him with said baby, and now his four sons were about to meet her and probably question why he had 'collected another child' as Jason loved to say.
Bruce felt exhaustion seep into his bones and mentally prepared himself for the storm of questions, confusion and some manner of petulant quips that only his sons could muster up.
As if reading his thoughts, Alfred put a hand on his shoulder. "Chin up, Master Bruce. It could be much worse."
"Could it?" Bruce asked, furrowing his brow as he looked at his father figure.
"Of course," Alfred looked back at him with a twinkle in his eye. "She could be your illegitimate child."
Bruce groaned and buried his face in his hands.
"I'm sure Master Damian would get a hoot out of that."
"Alright, Alfred."
As Bruce walked into the living room without removing his suit, he lightly frowned at the sight of only three of his children sitting on the couch. Well two of them were sitting on the couch, Jason was sitting on the arm of it, but same thing. Dick was whistling a cheery tune while Damian sat with his arms crossed and scowling, looking like the world's angriest nine year old.
Which well...he was.
"Where's Tim?" Bruce asked, getting his sons' attention. "And Duke and Cass?"
Dick hummed and pointed upwards, "Tim is actually asleep for once. And no offense B, I know this is important, but I'd rather not wake him."
"Ah."
"And Duke and Cass are over Steph's right now. It's their 'movie night'."
Ah yes, Steph's 'movie night'. It mainly consisted of everything like the typical girl's sleepover with the addition of Duke, considering he was the newest member of the family. Steph wanted to get to know him better, 'without all of the bat angst' as she puts it.
Honestly he couldn't blame her.
"Alright, is there a reason you called me so fu-..." Jason clamped his mouth shut as he and his brothers all drew a sharp intake of breath and stared at the wriggling bundle in Bruce's arms. Bruce, for his part, merely adjusted the bundle, gently pulling down the blue blanket so they could get a good look at what he was holding.
"What the fuck..?"
The baby swiveled its head in Jason's direction, making the boys gape at the large white eyes that stared back at them in curiosity. There was an awkward silence for the next ten seconds, both parties almost sizing each other up before the baby broke out into a big gummy smile and started flailing her arms around. "Bah!"
That seemed to break some of the awkward tension in the room as Dick smiled slightly and shuffled towards them, the baby's happy gaze on him the whole time."So," he gently poked her nose, making her squeal and hide her face in Bruce's shoulder, "what's this little one's story?" The baby turned her head slightly and giggled as Dick made faces at her. Absolutely beaming at this point, Dick plucked the baby out of Bruce's arms and started cooing at her, much to the baby's delight.
Bruce felt his lips twitch at the sight of his eldest making faces and baby talking while his brothers, Damian in particular, watched in horror. "Boys," he said, getting their attention. "This is Hinata. She'll be staying with us for...a long time."
"How long?" Damian asked in a tone that made Jason roll his eyes. The boy crossed his arms and furrowed his brow, and Bruce could feel the beginnings of a headache already. He looked down at Damian and gave him a look. "As long as I say so."
"Tch." Ah, there was the petulance. Bruce and Jason watched as Damian sent Dick and the baby a heated look before scoffing and walking out of the room. His second son snorted and plopped down in a chair, running a hand through his hair. "Welp. Another one for the cause, huh B?"
"Jason..."
"Please don't start." Dick mumbled, frowning slightly as Hinata started gumming on his fingers. "I think she might be hungry." The baby was drooling all over his hand, her bright eyes watching his every move as if daring Dick to remove his hand.
Jason watched his brother's discomfort with a slight smile. "There's formula in the cabinet over the stove...with baby bottles."
"..." Dick and Bruce shared an odd look before they both turned to Jason, who merely shrugged. "Prank war between Replacement and the demon brat. They forgot to throw it out. How convenient."
Dick blinked and sighed, whispering a 'nevermind' before he started baby talking to Hinata about being fed and her crazy brothers. She gave him another gummy smile, releasing his finger and making him grin in return.
Jason watched them before he grunted and stood up. "Well, since you called me so late and I really don't feel like driving right now, I'm staying the night." He announced, before he turned and started walking out of the room. "Let's hope you don't fail this one, B."
Bruce refused to acknowledge that last sentence and looked at his eldest, ignoring the disappointed twist of his lips. "She seems to like you," he pointed out, watching Hinata gently pat Dick's face with her chubby hands.
"Yeah, she's sweet..." Dick smiled down at her for a little bit before his blue eyes met his own. "Bruce...I knew you wouldn't have...brought her here if you weren't serious." He adjusted the baby slightly, gently resting his chin on top of her head. "So you know I'm here to support you however I can."
Bruce gave his eldest a small half smile. "I know, Dick."
"Good." He beamed and stood up, adjusting Hinata so that she was on his hip. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be kidnapping her now. Isn't that right, Hinny?" Dick grinned and blew a raspberry into her stomach, causing her to squeal in delight and kick her legs happily.
"...Hinny?"
"Don't judge me." Dick winked at him and promptly turned around, striding from the room.
Bruce watched them leave before sighing heavily and throwing all his weight into the chair that Jason had vacated. He had just brought a baby that he had helped Selina find into his house for him to raise.
That made seven children. Seven.
God, he had a problem.