Archive of Our Own

As Alfred finished picking up his coat, Damian frowned with a twisted mouth. When he was upset, he would sharpen his green eyes and make a little noise with his teeth.

“Tt.”

Dick seemed a little more lost in himself, but still alert enough to notice the puppy's behavior. He couldn't tell him everything was fine, but he couldn't leave him this angry all night either.

“It's time to go to bed”

“I don't want to go to bed.”

He sighed, reaching out to the little one and grabbing his shoulder. Dick leaned in slightly and put his fingers on Damian’s chin, so that he could raise his face a little and look at him directly.

“I know you don't want to, but you must. You have an important breakfast with your father tomorrow, don't you?”

“He needs to know today, Grayson. Today!”

“Your father knows what he heard. You don't need to tell him anything, Dami.”

“What he needs to know is my opinion of it.” Damian clenched his fists, determined to make his way to his father's office and shout at the top of his lungs what he thought of the event they had just attended. Or rather, of their hosts.

“Damian.” This time Dick spoke louder, a little harshly. “Please. I'll handle this, okay?”

“But...!” Damian wanted to continue to protest, to defend him. It was in his nature as an alpha, to fight for his family. But Dick had that look that said he was losing his patience. Damian didn't know if it were about him or about the same problem, but he preferred not to take any risks. He huffed angrily and turned his cheek. “Good. Have it your way.”

Dick smiled back at him. He leaned in and kissed his cheek.

“Thank you, Dami.” The boy felt embarrassed and rushed up to his room to rest. Although he kept calling him Grayson, he had long since begun to think of him as a mother. Still, that didn't mean he could get used to a mother's affection.

At least Dick was more relaxed and could take a long breath.

“Is there anything else you would like me to do for you, sir?” Alfred, who didn't know what was going on but was usually the reasonable adult in the house, expected him to be more confident in asking for advice.

“No, Alfred. You should also go and get some rest.” After a couple seconds, the butler nodded and left while still holding the coats on his arm.

Richard sighed, grasping the railing of the elegant stairs of this mansion. The many steps overwhelmed him for a few seconds. There were so many of them.

Bruce appeared suddenly in the room, heaving a tired sigh.

“I'm sorry, I had to call Lucius back urgently. It could not wait.”

Bruce had different types of businesses and factories all over Gotham. He had topped the list of the richest men in the entire country in 1953. Dick would not be surprised if soon, with the speed at which his business empire was growing, he’d enter a world list.

That kind of power was what kept him busy most of the day. It was also what had them coming home at this time of night, dressed in elegant clothes with touches of opulence. Damian and Bruce's suit had touches of gold threads on the neck and sleeves. Richard had royal sapphires as cufflinks and a light silver necklace.

When other wealthy alphas from ancient Gotham families invite you to one of their parties, you can't just say no. Their decisions and friendship helped keep the money flowing easily into their hands. It was always like a new world when he went there. So much food, so much jewelry, so many jokes that felt alien to the rest of the world. That's why he liked Bruce; Bruce’s thoughts were never so banal.

“Richard?” Bruce was by his side, a little confused.

Ah. Now he realized that he hadn't answered him for several minutes.

“Sorry, I'm tired.” He said, starting to climb the stairs. He was too tired to start faking a smile. Bruce was already beginning to feel that something was wrong, but he didn't understand what.

Dick assumed that what happened wouldn’t be so important to Bruce. Not like it was to himself. He couldn't blame him either. He was a handsome, rich alpha who had always lived in the upper class of Gotham. As much as they loved each other, there were things Bruce would never understand.

His love story had already been told a couple of times in some newspaper or magazine specializing in the high society life. They didn't all do it the same way. Some of them were exaggerated and called it a fairy tale. The worst were those who used them as examples to criticize how people were "losing their morality because of modernity." Dick was an artist, but he had never had to deal with such an aggressive part of the press.

He was born in the circus. His parents' act was world-renowned. The Flying Graysons were the main show, besides being accompanied by the extraordinary performances of all those who had been his friends since he was a child. Richard was destined to continue that tradition, practicing with them since he had started walking. He never felt bound by it. The circus was a huge and sweet pack that he was happy to be a part of. When he learned that he was a beta, he was even relieved. His parents were betas and he preferred to be one too. They didn't have the responsibilities that the alphas did, and they weren't oppressed the way the Omegas were.

Everything changed when young entrepreneur Bruce Wayne came into their lives. Richard was captivated by this handsome alpha from the very first moment. Dick would smile to himself every time he thought about his face. Gotham quickly became his favorite place to perform. He waited with excitement for spring to come and return to that place. Bruce had become one of the sponsors of the circus, so they were now spending several weeks, almost two months, there. It was the best time of the year. Bruce would invite him for walks to different places, they would have dinner together, have a drink or two, and Dick was so happy.

He felt his heart tremble when one spring, after Bruce didn't show up on the setup days, Dick saw him from the top of the trapeze accompanied by a redheaded girl and a small puppy with blue eyes and black hair. Dick stumbled on one of his jumps and the audience shouted in horror. He acted as if it was a planned slip and everyone applauded. It was a great relief when Bruce introduced him to both of them after the show! Barbara was the daughter of James Gordon, his good friend from the alpha squad that was the police. Jason was his protégé. A boy he had adopted to start a pack.

Still, the word pack made him a little tense. Dick was well aware of the restrictions society had placed on them. A young alpha was likely to be a loner, but as the years passed, he had to join or form a family. Bruce was too rich to join a new pack, he thought. Bruce had taken a puppy to start it, but Dick doubted that it would be too long before he started to look for an Omega. He must have been doing it already.

He was a wealthy, strong, and handsome alpha. He had a perfect chance of finding an Omega in his own social class. Some Omega with fine features and excellent manners. Or, if he so desired, there were still poor places where they sold the most beautiful and exotic Omegas that an alpha could afford. Sometimes even their own families sold them. Bruce had a lot of options, but Dick wanted to get his hopes up for a while longer.

A couple of years later while Jason, who had already presented his secondary gender as an alpha, was becoming more rebellious, Bruce appeared at the circus with one more child. Tim Drake. The boy was a little older than Jason had been when he had arrived. Tim had lost his pack, had recently emerged as an Omega, and of course could not be left alone.

After that, even in the circus, rumors began about the strange man Bruce was. He wasn't getting married, this was the second child he had adopted, and his time was beginning to run. Dick even became personally offended when they insinuated that the only reason he had to adopt Tim was to make him his omega, since Tim had a couple of million in trust. Bruce didn't help those kids because of things like that. He was a decent man. He was kind.

Time proved him right, to his misfortune. Bruce announced to the press that he was engaged to someone, although they would wait a while to have a wedding. She was a beautiful woman, tall, thin, with wonderful green eyes. A Middle Eastern woman who really looked beautiful in the photographs, at his side, with one hand on his chest, while Bruce held her by the waist. The fuss about her being an Alpha was not very big, as she was from the same social class as Bruce.

Dick decided to stop crying the day the couple announced their first puppy. To be an Alpha, Talia Al Ghul had become pregnant early, with the first of many heirs.

He followed the news for months, even pretending to be quite happy when he met her upon his return to Gotham. It was something he should have known from the beginning. He was a beta, and he was the trapeze artist for a circus that went around the country. The chances of dating this man were... zero. Maybe if he had been a beta woman, things would be different. The chances of an alpha getting a beta woman pregnant were low, but they were higher than for an alpha woman. With that small chance, perhaps, Bruce would have noticed him. But he only took one look in the mirror and accepted what he should have accepted from the moment he met him.

Bruce Wayne's first puppy was born, but within weeks the headlines changed to a new scandal. Bruce and Talia had broken off their engagement. The pregnancy and delivery had been too complicated for her, and her father was not happy. She was an alpha, with much more autonomy than an omega, but she was not the leader of her pack, and according to her traditions, with such a small pack and without the same authority as her father, she decided that she should leave Bruce. The little pup stayed in Wayne's hands, and the press began to pursue him once again.

By this point, Dick no longer knew how to feel about all the changes in Bruce's life. The many ups and downs seemed to have affected his jovial expression, but he was still an attractive and kind man, one who invited him out again as soon as the circus returned to Gotham.

He expected to see him a little sadder at the loss of his fiancée, but he only looked tired. Three kids must have been enough for an alpha. They are not maternal by nature and he had to take care of so many. He didn't see much of Jason at the shows anymore; Tim sat next to Bruce, so the rumors started up again. But Dick could talk to Tim after the show and he knew full well that they were just like a father and son. Although it seemed that his children were the source of Bruce’s fatigue, it was actually the aggressive press.

Dick tried to comfort him. The media was always like that with public figures, depending on how big they were. It was also cruel to the circus at times, although traveling so often protected them a bit. Dick reassured Bruce that he would soon find another partner. This time, an Omega with whom he could have that family that those reporters and rich men had been waiting on for so long; surely Bruce had been waiting too.

But Bruce just seemed tired when Dick said that. As if something about Dick's words tasted as bitter as the others’. What a surprise he got when he discovered the reason, one that appeared one night, after going out to dinner as they had so often done. There were no words at first. Bruce took him by the waist, pressed their bodies together, and kissed him in a way Dick had never been kissed before. He didn't even think about refusing. Dick’s arms circled Bruce’s neck and he kissed him back with all that love he had kept for years.

Another reason why Bruce had ended his engagement, why he let it go so easily, was because of a love for the beta that he could not understand. He knew well the social implications, and that he couldn't attract him with traditional methods, as if he were an omega, and that's why he had tried to continue living as he had done until now. Trying with someone who was willing to endure it. But he was the one who couldn't endure it anymore. He couldn't see Richard leave his side again.

The love Dick had so often thought was unrequited was mutual, with the same stupid insecurities about the world and about each other.

Life had given Dick a golden opportunity and he didn't intend to miss it. Two months flew by in the midst of love, gifts, and dates, and Dick had to make a final decision. Face the world for Bruce, or stay hidden inside the circus tent.

It was only because Bruce promised to stand by him during the press circuit that Dick decided to stay with him, with all that their relationship implied. Despite all the sadness it caused him, he decided to leave his act, his parents, and his pack. Everyone loved him as much as he loved them and so they wished him well, promising to see him every spring. It was sad to leave the skies, but it was time for him to plant his feet on the ground.

The following spring, as soon as his parents were in Gotham, to the surprise of the world, Richard and Bruce married happily and sweetly. And so things became a little more entertaining.

Jason was only six years younger than Dick, so they were never able to have a mother-son relationship. With Tim it was much more peaceful. He was a smart and capable boy, who asked for advice on things like Alpha issues from a very young age, like any young Omega does. Damian was the most complicated of the three. Neither Dick nor Bruce wanted to forbid Damian to be in contact with his mother. That would be cruel to everyone, so the puppy got to see the beautiful Talia several times a year at home. The looks she gave Dick were murderous... but she was good to Damian. She brought him gifts, spoiled him, and told him about his grandfather, who would never set foot in this house again, in his own words, in his "congratulations" letter for the wedding. That the alpha who had a puppy with his daughter ended up marrying a mere beta had deeply offended him.

But Dick was always patient with Damian. Dick played with him every time Damian let him, helping him with occasional homework. When the puppy showed interest in the maneuvers he was doing on the bars, Dick taught him from the basics of balance to everything he could do. Seeing Damian’s face light up as he managed to stand on the rope was reward enough for the hours spent training.

Slowly, the youngest member of the Wayne family became more attached to Dick. Again and again the word "mother" slipped out and his cheeks turned red, before he ran away. Dick found that absolutely adorable, and it gave him a lot of peace of mind. As the years went by, the house seemed more and more like a home. It was peaceful, and Bruce was as happy as Dick was.

When he’d gotten married, he had thought all this would be enough. To be happy, to be together, to take care of each other... But society was as cruel as ever.

“Is something wrong?” Bruce's voice took him out of his thoughts again. Until now it felt like he had been acting on autopilot.

“No, nothing is wrong,” Dick responded with a small smile, pulling on a light pair of linen pajama pants. As he took off his shirt, he looked at his reflection and his neck: absolutely clean. No bite that affirmed his bond with Bruce. Just the silver ring resting on his finger. He put on the last piece of clothing, a matching pajama shirt, and moved to the bed at a heavy pace.

Bruce didn't think it was "nothing." Since the car, Dick had been distant. Something had happened, but Dick didn't want to tell him.

“You don't have to hide things from me.”

“I'm not hiding anything from you.” Dick covered himself with the heavy blanket. The nights in Gotham were cold. He wanted Bruce to hurry up and change. The sooner he went to sleep, the sooner he would forget the bitter taste in his mouth.

The alpha sighed, leaving his shirt open and sitting on his side of the bed, staring at his beta. Dick was not the best at communicating when something was wrong with him, though he always asked Bruce and Damian to do so. Bruce kept watching him, even if it made him uncomfortable. He wanted to know.

“What?” Dick asked softly. Bruce just wouldn't move. “What?” he insisted in a much less patient tone.

“Please tell me what happened. Something is bothering you, and I can't do anything about it if you don't tell me what it was.”

“... It's nothing important,” he mumbled.

“It's important enough to have you like this, Dick…” He reached out to stroke his hair, tucking it behind his ear.

“I don't…” He sighed at Bruce's insistence. ”It's stupid. There's nothing you can do to change it, so... Never mind.”

“I want to know what it is.” His voice was much firmer this time. He wasn't so patient. “Even if I can't do anything about it, at least I want to share it with you.” And Bruce took his hand. He was so warm despite that rough expression on his face... Dick sighed.

“... I heard what the host and his friends were telling you…”

“... What they said about our marriage?”

Dick nodded, looking away, in a gesture of pain that he couldn't quite hide.

Their cruel laughter was still stuck in Dick's mind.

Because Bruce was good, Dick used to forget how cruel alphas could be about omega and beta bodies. Treating them both as objects. One as a tool, the other as a convenience to inflate the number of members in a pack.

“Everything they say is nonsense.” Bruce stood up, clearly annoyed.

“That's not true…” Dick still couldn't look at his face. “They are fools about many things, but they are right about... about something.” Dick stretched out the blanket in his hands. “The pack is too small for their own safety, Bruce. At this size, anyone else could... point out that you don't do a good job as an Alpha, that you're not strong enough to keep everything you own.”

“We have children. They will have their own puppies.” Bruce finished changing, with rough, irritated movements. ”And the pack will grow.”

“Bruce, please.” Bruce didn't have to lie to him to make him feel better either. “Jason has left the pack, and you know it. He decided to go his own way. Tim found an extraordinary and kind alpha, I'm very happy for him, but... You have to accept what Tim decided. He's going to go with Kon. He's going to live with his pack. He's an Omega. It's the typical thing to do.”

“Ours has much more resources and opportunities for him than Kent's.”

“But not the strength to stick together…” Too small. Clark's pack was big and strong, with the Kents and Lanes living in Metropolis. “It's just Alfred, Dami, you, and me... That's nothing. Packs are... big. At least eight people, and we've never been that big. Not even when Jason and Tim were here…”

Bruce was upset about this. One could tell by the way he threw his shirt in the basket. It was frustration... Dick felt a little responsible.

“I know I'm not exactly the matriarch of this pack. I'm not and never will be the first Omega, but still, I want to... help in any way I can.” Telling him this hurt Dick much more than the things he’d heard at the party. “If that's what this pack needs... If that's what you need, then…” He bit his lip, gathering strength to say it. “You can have the children you want with other Omegas. Just... don't buy a vulnerable Omega... That would be a horrible example for Damian.”

“Richard!” Bruce directed his anger at his husband, approaching the bed, almost growling. “How can you say that!? How can you even think of that!?”

“That's what this pack needs!” Dick wasn't happy about the possibility either. He just... wanted to do what was best for everyone...

“Of course not!”

“Yes, it is!” He didn't know who he was trying to convince, Bruce or himself. “I don't want a much more aggressive Alpha to come one day, do something to you, hurt Damian, hurt Alfred... I don't want everything your family has worked for to be taken away from you.”

“Do you consider me weak enough to lose to any alpha?”

“No, Bruce, of course not.” He felt that his husband was deflecting the issue and it frustrated him. “You are strong, you could easily beat any alpha in this city. But you are just one alpha... What will you do if a lot of them come? Will you be able to protect all of us by yourself?”

“Of course I can.”

“Bruce…” He just wanted Bruce to think clearly. “If this is about me... you don't have to worry. You've done a lot over the years. Fighting for your puppies and their circumstances, marrying me and giving me a rightful place at your side... I can take their gossip, whatever the other spouses say about me. You have nothing to worry about.” Besides, a beta couldn't replace an omega in bed, could they? “I can do this for the pack, and for you.”

“I don't want you to do anything for me!” He raised his voice a few tones louder than he should have, and Dick watched him, hurt. Bruce put his hand on his forehead and sighed, trying to calm down. Losing his patience wasn't going to get them anywhere.

Bruce sat close to his husband, even though Dick turned his face away. It didn't matter. One of Bruce’s hands interlaced their fingers, and with the other he caressed Dick’s cheek, so that Dick would look at him.

“Dick... I don't care at all what they say.” He caressed a little bit of that skin he loved. “I have never wanted to live my life according to what they and their rumors say. Never.”

“But it's not just their rumors…”

“I know, the strength of the pack,” Bruce spoke softly to him, trying to make him understand. “There's no point in having a strong pack if we're going to rely on something like that. Bringing puppies into this world just to please others... That would be terrible. It would be like betraying my parents, who endured the same thing for so many years."

“That doesn't mean you can't try. Your parents were alphas, Bruce... I'm just a beta. You're an easy target, because of me…”

“It's not your fault. I could have chosen to marry any Omega in this city, but that was never my intention. I wanted to be happy, and I can only be happy with you…”

“But…” Dick felt that his eyes were beginning to crystallize and his voice was breaking. “The omegas... They…”

“What about them?” Bruce stroked his husband's face with his thumb, smiling softly. “What are you going to say about them? That they can give me children? That they are better in bed for me just because they are Omegas?”

Dick felt exposed, and two tears fell down his face. Bruce let out a soft smile, wiping one of his tears with another caress.

“There is nothing that an Omega can offer me that would make me prefer him over you, Richard.”

“Bruce…”

“No, listen to me.” He released Dick’s hand to cradle his face with both hands in order to wipe those silent tears that were disturbing the beautiful face of his husband. “I don't care what they say, and I don't care how many times they say it. They are never going to like anything about me, or you. Even if you were an Omega with six puppies, they would find something to be cruel to our family about. For many years it has always been the same. They have always told me things about everything. For being the son of two alphas. For adopting an alpha. For thinking I stole an Omega. For breaking off my engagement. For raising a puppy on my own. For marrying you... If I were guided by what they think, I would never have had the courage to tell you how much I have loved you since I met you.”

“Bruce…”

“We would never have married. I would never have given Jason another chance. Who knows what rich alpha would have stolen Tim just for his resources. Even if things didn't work out with Talia, I have a wonderful puppy that I take care of with you. Can you imagine that? How many people would have been unhappy?” He smiled softly at him. “I think Alfred would have stopped being as proud of me as he always says he is.”

“But Bruce, the pack…”

“If that's what you're worried about, it's something I've thought about before…” He passed his fingertips over Dick's profile in a soft caress. “I've... We've given opportunities to kids without a pack who needed someone to love them, to look out for them. Why not keep doing it?”

“Uh...? What are you talking about?”

“There are too many kids on the street, in orphanages... All those idiots who say those same rumors, think that those kids who don't have the blood of their pack aren't worthy of one. We know that's not true. I want to give them a chance too.”

“You mean... Us? Adopt one more of them?”

“Many of them…” He came over to give Dick a soft kiss. “You're the only person I'd want to do that with. I married you not only because of your beauty, or your bad jokes.” Now he kissed his cheek. “I did it because you have a beautiful heart. One that has loved my children as if they were your own. And I know you will do the same with them. We can make many children who need us happy, and avoid the risks you fear from larger packs. What do you say?”

Dick was silent for a second, looking at the possibility, seeing the faces of the three puppies in the house. What it was like before they arrived and what it was after. He nodded, a little excited and touched. Bruce, as always... thinking and feeling much more than his face showed. Dick wrapped his arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

“I would love to…”

“I knew it.” Bruce returned his hug with a strong embrace. If Dick was happy, he was happy. If Dick wanted to do this by his side, there was nothing else to stop him.

“But…” Dick separated himself just enough to be near his husband's face. “Are you sure you're okay with me? I will never give you what an Omega could... Not just children, but…” He didn't want to continue that sentence. It made him sad to think about it.

Bruce smiled, touched by that display of insecurity that Dick didn't usually show. At least, not about his appearance.

“Dick…” he gently called him, lowering his face to leave a small kiss on Dick’s neck. When Bruce saw him shaking, he started to bestow a couple more in a soft line that went down to the edge of his shirt. “I don't make love to you because I'm expecting a child... Or because I'm expecting hormonal satisfaction…”

He kept kissing him, involving his tongue, tasting his husband's mouth. One of the hands on his back trailed down in a daring caress and his fingertips slipped under the hem of Dick’slight blue pajama shirt...

“Mngh…”

Dick tightened his grip on his husband, taking a breath when he felt his teeth sink into his neck, softly enough to not hurt him but hard enough to ignite his libido.

“I do it because I love you.” Bruce pulled back to finally look at him, and felt an immense peace as he noticed joy again in those beautiful blue eyes. After a few seconds of sharing a loving smile, they began to kiss again, losing themselves in the heat of the moment and in their love.

People and their words would always be chasing them... but they would always have each other and their immense love to guard them.