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Bruce is assisting Alfred with the attic for this year’s spring cleaning.
It’s the first time Bruce has been in the attic since he first came home nearly twenty years ago- too many trinkets and memories of his parents made it painful. Now, however, the attic is full of hic children’s time here. There are whole tubs of things that are his children’s- from childhood artwork and report cards to knickknacks and clothes- his children are everywhere in this attic. When he comes across something that makes him think of his parents he comes across three more that make him think of his kids which makes the things that belonged to his parents much less painful.
Alfred has taken a tub of children’s clothes downstairs, to hand off to Jason, when he finds it hidden in a tub of pastel decorations.
It’s pristine still, due to Alfred’s storage and careful care, but he remembers it perfectly- the first Easter basket his father ever gave him. It’s white with a stuffed lamb head, arms, and feet with the basket as the body of the lamb. Bruce remembers- hazily- that he refused to hunt for eggs with any other basket. His mom and dad got him a new one every year but he refused to use any basket but his lamb basket until he was 9 years old and then Lamb got thrown across the room his first Easter without his mom and dad. Alfred must have stored it for him.
He runs his hand over the plush of the lamb, losing himself in memories of stomach aches from Easter chocolate.
“Ah, I see you found Lamb, Master Bruce,” Alfred says as he opens another tub.
“I did,” Bruce replies, “I wish I would have given Lamb to one of the kids. They’re a little old for this kind of thing now,”
“I do not believe they are, sir,” Alfred smiles, “One is never too old for a bit of childish fun- especially your children, Master Bruce. It may be a bit late, but if you so desired I imagine the children would delight in it,”
“You think so?” Bruce tries to imagine how his kids would react to the surprise. None of them are religious, but neither was Bruce growing up. His father was a Catholic and his mother was Jewish- but they made sure to share with him all the fun and cultural things from their own childhoods. To Bruce, Easter was prizes, candy, and egg hunts. They never attended Easter Mass but he always painted eggs together with Alfred while his mother and father hid themselves away to fill the plastic eggs with candy and prizes.
He could imagine Damian enjoying decorating eggs- using them as a small round canvas that would be eaten later or used for deviled eggs in supper. Dick would love the candy and the brightly colored decorations. Tim and Jason would enjoy the hunt for eggs- probably make it a competition. Duke might find it all nostalgic and Cass would enjoy experiencing a new thing.
He could also imagine them rolling their eyes at him for treating them like children. Bruce could see Damian being annoyed with the whole concept.
He should have done it sooner- when Dick was a child but he was still learning to parent when Dick was a child and Jason was at the age when kids started to think Easter stuff was lame- even if he never told Brice that directly- Bruce assumed he wouldn’t care for Easter fun. He was too deep in his grief when Tim came along- as well as Tim being in that Easter is lame age. By the time the other three came along he’d basically forgotten Easter was a thing people even did.
He’d missed so much.
“Of course, sir,” Alfred pulls out an old photo of Bruce as a child, dressed in his Easter best of white button down with beige shorts, suspenders, and pastel blue bowtie. He’s holding Lamb of course while holding up an egg that he and Alfred painted together, “This family- despite being unconventional- could do with some conventional fun traditions. What harm could it cause to try? They’ll always have a memory of you trying your best and loving them- like you do of your parents,”
“I do want them to have that. I want them to have memories like I do holding this basket- even if it stings a little bit,” Bruce whispers, “But it would be unfair to give only one of them my childhood basket. They’ll have their own baskets, I think,” Bruce smiles conspiratorially at Alfred, “First grandkid gets Lamb,”
Alfred laughs, “I do agree, sir, but I doubt those will be coming any time soon,”
“Those don’t have to come at all,” Bruce smiles, “I just like to tease the kids,”
“A fatherly hobby indeed, Master Bruce,” Alfred says, “Now do take that tub down. I have a feeling- based on the twinkle in your eyes- that we’ll have some use for it this year,”
Bruce places the lid back on the tub before toting it down the stairs to stash in his room for now. He’s got a lot of cleaning to help with before he can begin preparing after all.
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Two days after the spring cleaning is done all of Bruce’s children are out of the Manor- Dick is back in Blüdhaven, Jason is out of town with The Outlaws, Tim is with his friends, Cass is having a Batgirl girl’s day, Duke is with some civilian friends, and Damian is with his friends. Dick and Jason won’t be home for two days, Tim and Cass aren’t expected home until tomorrow, and Duke and Damian aren’t going to be home until later in the evening.
It’s the perfect time to do some pre-Easter shopping.
Bruce dons a disguise- that involves the shirt Cass had gotten him for his birthday, selects one of the actually inconspicuous cars, and heads out of Bristol and into Gotham’s Grand Avenue.
His first stop is to get the baskets.
There’s a local shop that does customized items for holidays that he’s heard of but never gone to, but as soon as he walks in he recognizes the smell the usually accompanies hobby and craft stores. There’s a handful of mothers and a couple of fathers in the shop gathering Easter supplies with a single minded determination- Bruce suddenly feels way out of his depth. There’s plush rabbits all over the place that stare at him with empty creepy eyes.
A woman about ten years older than him approaches him as he stares dumbly into the soulless eyes of a bright pink rabbit, “Can I help you, sir?”
Bruce clears his throat awkwardly, “I’m going to need six baskets,”
“Oh big family!” She says, “Well I can certainly help you with selecting baskets. Is there any particular style you’re considering?”
“Nothing too…childish, I suppose. My youngest is thirteen,” Bruce informs her.
“I see. Well, I can help you there. Adult and teen baskets are all the rage,” She informs him, “Follow me please, sir,”
Bruce follows the woman to a selection of baskets that line the wall. There’s several classic style baskets, soft ones with character like faces, ones for sports teams, and there’s even Justice League ones- including Batman. He nearly rolls his eyes when he sees them. There’re also some ‘Local’ hero baskets for each of his children and allies in Gotham. Some are clearly sold more than others. Bruce loves his son incredibly but he doesn’t see many parents- that could afford these specialty baskets- being okay with buying Red Hood baskets.
The temptation is there to get a Red Hood basket for Jay so long as he doesn’t purchase all the others this year as well.
There’s a classic style basket that is robin’s egg blue with a thick corded handle that he’s eying for Dickie, though, “What are the customization options?” He asks the woman.
She goes on to explain that they can make sustainable ad long lasting embroidered tags for the baskets or fit them with embroidered felt or other fabrics that they can permanently fix to the basket. They’re also able to add charms if a customer would like- this option if often picked for heirloom baskets meant to last an entire childhood from baby’s first Easter through to adulthood. Bruce immediately decides to go with embroidered tagging.
He would like the kids to hold onto these for a while- even if they decide to never celebrate the holiday again they’re a good sentimental item.
He selects the Robin’s Egg Blue basket and an oval forest green basket for Dick and Jason respectively before he browses through the rest.
He picks up a classic shaped basket with gold detailing for Damian- It’s an understated brown but embellished enough that his son won’t hate the site of it. Bruce decides to do something similar for Tim, but knows Tim will be a little more open to a fun looking basket. His selection for Tim is a round dark brown basket with red and yellow detailing.
Bruce can’t stop himself when he sees the perfect basket for Cass- a solid dark hard material basket that shifts colors in the light. She’ll love it and find it’s shifting colors interesting. Duke’s a harder find- but he does eventually find a basket that appears to be patterned with a historical map of Gotham that he thinks Duke will find intriguing.
Samantha- as she had introduced herself- takes the baskets to apply the tags after Bruce gives her his children’s names.
He knows she’s figured out who he is when she pauses her writing on a note pad and squints her eyes at Bruce. She doesn’t say anything to him about it, thankfully, but he doesn’t doubt she’s going to tell her co-workers.
After the baskets are taken by Samantha he wanders the shop in search of basket fillers. He’s lucky to find some eco-friendly plastic eggs- made out of recycled materials that can be recycled themselves- as well as bio-degradable basket grass made of recycled paper.
This being Gotham, there are stuffed bats in pastel colors. He finds one in particular that has those sequins that you can move back and forth to change the color so he gets it to stuff in Cassandra’s basket. She’ll enjoy the sensory experience.
He also grabs some standard egg stencils for his less artistically inclined children.
While he’s paying- baskets bound together with twine and other items placed into a recyclable paper bag- Samantha has clearly told her co-worker just like Bruce expected. Not that he wouldn’t have gotten away unrecognized while he’s paying with a card.
After he’s loaded up the baskets into the car, he takes a breath. He’s got several more stops to make and he’s already socially exhausted, but Easter is this Sunday so he’s gotta push on.
Several stops later and Bruce has everything he needs to fill the baskets.
He’s just got everything put away- where his kids won’t stumble upon it all- when Damian arrives home.
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The next day Bruce gives Clark a call.
“Hey, Bruce,” Clark says when he answers the phone, “How’re you doing?”
“I’m doing fine, Clark,” Bruce replies, “I actually called to ask a favor of you,”
“What can I do for you, B? I’m happy to help,” the ‘especially since you never ask’ is implied heavily by his best friend’s tone. Sometimes, Bruce wishes pinching that man would work. He’s not above childish pouting when he’s got six of his own and all their friends- which include Clark’s brood.
“I need eggs, Clark,” Bruce says, “Roughly 3 dozen unfertilized eggs. Your parents keep chickens right? I’ll be happy to pay for the eggs”
“Sure do. What’s the occasion?” Clark asks.
“Easter,”
“I thought you were Jewish?” Clark’s tone is genuinely confused
Bruce snorts, “I am a non-practicing Jew, Clark, but my Father was Catholic and my family only did the fun traditions,” He explains, “Traditions I want to share with my children- even if they’re a little old for it,”
“That’s admirable, Bruce. I’d be happy to get you eggs for Easter. Ma and Pa don’t have a Rooster right now so you’re lucky that you won’t have to worry about the usual thing with Farm Fresh eggs,” Clark says, “They will be brown though- Little harder to dye than store bought,”
“Brown is fine,” Bruce replies, “Thank you, Clark. I’ll give you some money to give to your parents and your time- knowing them and you, you all will refuse to name a price but I’ve got plenty of money so don’t be stubborn about this,”
“I’ll make sure my folks get the money, Bruce, but you’re my best friend so I won’t be taking any,” Clark says, sounding smug.
“Damn it, Kent,” Bruce sighs.
“Maybe, if your kids enjoy it this year, we can do it together next year. Maybe I’ll drag you and your colony to Smallville with Lois and the boys,” Clark presses on, ignoring him entirely.
“Damian always appreciates seeing the farm animals and spending time with Jon-,” Bruce registers what Clark just called his family, “Did you just call my family a colony?”
“Yeah, Bruce- A colony of Bats,” Clark seems to think it was obvious, “You know that’s what most everyone in the League calls your family, right? I mean, sometimes your boys specifically are called a flock, but they’re all Bats under their feathers,”
“Good Lord,” Bruce rests his forehead in his hand, “I get that because of the cave and Dick naming my equipment when he was nine made it look like I was incredibly committed to the bat theme, but to refer to my family as the collective for Bats?”
“I’m fairly sure Lois started it actually,” Clark snorts, “Back when it was just you, Dick, and Barbara- she wrote an article about the mysterious group of vigilantes in Gotham and referred to you three as a colony. I’m surprised you didn’t read it,”
“I did,” Bruce sighs, “I didn’t think it’d caught on though,”
“You check social media for mentions of you guys, right? I think only people who know how far your family really extends refer to you guys by a colony,”
“I think that’s exactly why I never knew it’d caught on,” Bruce says, “Anyway- I agree that if the kids like it we’ll do a hunt together next year,”
“I think I’ll be giving the boys a fun Easter this year too- I don’t think Conner and Biz really have had many chances to experience anything like that,” Clark ponders, “I’ll deliver the eggs this evening. My lunch break is over now though so I’m going to have to let you go. Goodbye, B,”
“See you this evening, Clark,”
Bruce hangs up and texts Clark a discreet address to meet him with the eggs- Bruce thinks it makes this look like a drug deal.
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After patrol the following night- once all of his children have settled in for bed- he starts preparing.
Bruce takes all of the supplies downstairs to the dining room, with every bit of stealth he possesses. He pulls his more perishable supplies from the hidden mini fridge he keeps in his study- not a single child has found it yet. It’s where he keeps the things he doesn’t want his gremlins eating. Once all his supplies are gathered in the dining room, he sets about arranging the baskets and setting them in their usual seating arrangement.
When he feels he’s done a pretty damn good job, he stands back and looks at his work with his hands on his hips.
“Master Bruce,” There are two people capable of sneaking up on Bruce and they both live in this house. Bruce jolts when his father speaks to him “The baskets looks lovely, Sir. There are still the decorations. Would you like my assistance putting them up?”
After Bruce has his heart back under control, he replies, “That would be great. Thank you, Alfred,”
“Of course, Sir,” Alfred smiles.
They spend about ten minutes dressing up the dining room in the few Easter decorations they have left from Bruce’s childhood. There’s very little changed about the dining room. An old ceramic rabbit sits as center piece on the table and a faded garland of illustrated eggs hanging above the window, but that’s all that’s left. That’s really all they need anymore, but Bruce remembers his mother throwing herself into every holiday- whether she celebrated it before or not- just to give Bruce some fun. He likes to think she’d be proud he’s trying.
Bruce has taken the chance to get as much rest as he could throughout the day and will probably take a short nap before morning truly comes, but still he doesn’t think he’ll be getting much sleep.
He still has yet to hide prizes in the hollow eggs.
Bruce is sitting in his room, putting all sorts of goodies in the eggs, when Alfred comes in once again.
This time, however, his guardian has knocked to warn him.
“Master Bruce, I’ve gotten plenty of rest this evening,” He says, looking at Bruce with a stern eye, “Please let me help you,”
“I- How about we do it together?” Bruce offers instead, “I want to do this as their Father, Alfie,”
Alfred smiles warmly at him, “Very well, Master Bruce. We shall divide up the work,”
They spend ages filling the little recycled plastic eggs. Bruce puts money in some, bite sized versions of his kids’ favorite sweets in others, and he even puts some dice in a few of the slightly larger eggs.
He finds himself getting a bit excited about hiding these in challenging but findable places for his kids. Even the older ones make an adorable picture in his mind’s eye as he imagens Jason’s burlier form holding his basket as he runs around the expansive Manor grounds hunting for eggs.
Bruce really regrets not doing this sort of thing sooner.
By five-thirty am, all the eggs are filled and Bruce is starting to doze off. Alfred puts the large tub of eggs to the side by Bruce’s bed and runs his fingers through Bruce’s hair- lulling Bruce further into sleep, “Thanks, Dad,” Bruce slurs at Alfred.
“Always, my boy, always,” Bruce can’t find it in him to be embarrassed when Alfred plants a kiss on his forehead just as Bruce lets sleep fully take him.
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Alfred wakes Bruce just four hours later, telling him the children are starting to rouse and that Duke is already awake- though the boy has not gone to the dining room yet, opting to eat a morning snack before breakfast in the kitchen.
Bruce rapidly gets out of bed- his motor skills ragged and floppy, but he manages to dress himself in something comfortable for the day.
He grabs the tub filled with plastic eggs with him as he leaves his bedroom, ready to stash them by the patio door to hide after breakfast and painting a handful of boiled eggs with his kids. Alfred was kind enough to hard boil all three dozen eggs while they were on patrol to cut down on the wait time.
After he’s stashed the tub of eggs by the patio door he heads back to his children’s hall.
He can hear the sounds of them rousing for the day- most are done or almost with their morning routines. Good, that’s five of them now to find Duke.
Duke is exactly where Bruce expected his second youngest to be- relaxing in a window nook to catch the morning sun as he watches a movie on his laptop. Duke’s dark skin absorbs the first rays of sun on a surprisingly clear and nice day for Gotham. His newest child looks so content and happy. Bruce feared Duke would be uncomfortable in this house forever, but here he is- thriving and comfortable. Bruce’s heart is full.
“Good morning, Sunshine,” Bruce says, calling Duke’s attention to him, “What’re you watching this morning?”
Duke beams at him, pulling one of his earbuds out, when Bruce gets his attention, “Mornin’, B. Just watching this movie Jay recommended- 9 to 5. It’s got Dolly Parton in it. She just threatened to shoot her boss in his lap,”
Bruce snorts, “Jason loves anything with Dolly in it,”
“It was surprising considering his taste in books,” Duke says.
“Not as surprising as you would think,” Bruce laughs, squeezing Duke’s shoulder gingerly, “The rest of you kids are almost down stairs, why don’t we head to the dining room and you can finish your movie another time?”
“Alright, B,” Duke says shutting his laptop, “But if I don’t finish it before tonight I’m going to be annoyed with you,”
“That’s fair,” Bruce laughs, walking with his son to the dining room.
They enter just as the others file in- all of them having been informed by Alfred to head into the dining room.
Bruce watches their faces excitedly as they all spot the baskets. Their faces flash through many emotions in rapid succession. They go from confused, to shocked, back to confused, and then most settle on delighted.
Dick in particular looks thrilled.
Bruce guides his eyes back over to the table, pleased that he’s managed to surprise his children, when he spots Lamb on the table too- Lamb is sitting at his spot and filled.
Bruce’s eyes snap over to Alfred, who is not looking at him but at his grandchildren as they take in the surprise Bruce has prepared for them. Slowly, almost comically cautious, his children head to their places at the table. Bruce also heads to his spot, beyond confused as to why Alfred had prepared him a basket of Easter goodies in his childhood basket- Dick and Jason are eyeing his basket even more confused.
“Alfie?” Dick hedges, “What’s all this?”
“Oh, do not look at me young Masters and Miss- Your father prepared your baskets. I, however, prepared one for my child as well,” Alfred says, his tone not giving his away his amusement- the twinkle in his eye does that.
“Father?” Damian says, looking even more confused.
“Yes, Damian. I did all of these for all of you,” Bruce is staring into the white face of Lamb. The last time Alfred had prepared him a basket for Easter was the last time Lamb had seen the sun in a very long time. Lamb wouldn’t be getting thrown in a fit a grief this time, however. Bruce feels ridiculous for wanting to apologize to his childhood basket right now.
“Um,” Tim starts, “Not that I don’t appreciate it, but why?”
“I just- I was reminded of traditions my parents and I used to have and I wanted to share that with you,” Bruce answers, running his thumb over Lamb’s foot, “I know that most of you are grown now, but I still wanted to do this with you. I wanted to share this with you,”
“And your basket?”
“Is my childhood basket. My parents gave me Lamb as a small child and I refused to use any other basket from then on,” Bruce smiles at the basket, “Alfred, it seems, has decided to use her once again,”
“Aw, that’s really sweet,” Dick says, “Thank you. I’m glad you want to share this with us- doesn’t matter how grown up we are,”
Bruce smiles at his eldest- He knew Dick would enjoy this the most, but he’s glad to see his other kids aren’t against it, “Dig into your baskets,” Bruce orders, “After breakfast there’s eggs to dye and paint- There’s also going to be eggs to hunt,”
Jason laughs, his eyes shining, “Seriously?”
Bruce nods, poking through his own basket- He keeps an eye on Damian though.
His youngest looks less confused but mildly put upon by the childish concept- as Bruce knew he would- but Damian also has a habit of not letting himself be a kid. Its part of the reason Bruce wanted to do all of this- to give his kid’s a bit of childhood.
Alfred’s kept Bruce’s basket light, considering the size of Lamb that’s not too shocking, but still personal. Inside his basket is a small bag of his favorite of Alfred’s cookies, a pack of novelty socks, a selection of chocolates and jelly beans, hilariously Travel Clue™, and seven home plate tickets for a Gotham Knights game. Bruce loves it.
Cassandra is already eating one of her cake pops as she digs through her prizes. She runs her fingers over the sequins of the bat, enjoying the sensory experience just like Bruce knew she would. She moves onto the other prizes- An Easter themed bath bomb, nail polish, candy, chocolates, and a drop-resistant water bottle that Bruce has added a ballet slipper decal to. She gives Bruce the largest smile she can and he lips are covered in crumbs from the cake pop. Bruce beams back at his only daughter, “Thanks, Dad,”
“You’re welcome, Princess,”
Jason is losing himself in hysterics as he digs through his basket- he’s carefully set his cake pops to the side while he marvels at the water pistols that Bruce had placed in his basket. Bruce very carefully selected red ones for his second oldest boy, knowing his Jaylad would get a kick out of it. Jason eventually sets aside the water pistols to go through the rest of his basket- An Easter themed bath bar, red hood rubber duck (Bruce couldn’t stop himself when he saw it), candy, chocolates, and his own drop-resistant water bottle with bullet decal. Jason shoves a gourmet chocolate egg into his mouth and says, “Shanksh, Popsh,”
“Of course, Jaylad,” Bruce laughs.
Duke’s cheeks are already stuffed with cake as he sorts through his basket. Bruce had a hell of a time finding something Duke wouldn’t find too easy, but the same day shipping order he got of a small multiple puzzle box seemed to fit his second youngest perfectly. Duke seems delighted by the puzzle box but sets it aside to dig through his other prizes- Easter themed bath bar (same as all his brothers (though, Duke’s is a little more moisturizing), a solar powered dancing duckling, candy, chocolates, and, again, a drop-resistant water bottle with a sun decal. Duke is very happy with his basket, but Bruce can tell from the dewiness of his eyes that he’s thinking about his parents- As much as Bruce loves him, Bruce knows that he’ll never be the Thomas family, “Happy Easter, Sunshine,” Bruce says, his voice soft.
“Happy Easter, B,” Duke replies just as softly back, “Thanks,”
Tim is carefully going through his basket- not having shoved any of the treats in his mouth just yet. Bruce was reluctant to purchase Tim coffee, something Tim enjoys to an addictive amount, but decided to go with a safer less gray hair inducing choice of a tablet cover patterned with a variety of cameras from various time periods. Tim immediately puts it on his tablet, before going back through his treats- The bath bar, a pack of socks similar to what Alfred had gotten Bruce, the standard candy and chocolate, and water bottle but Tim’s decal is a D20. Tim smiles softly at Bruce, “Thanks, Dad. I love it,”
“You’re welcome, Sweetheart,”
Dick, ever the sugar fiend of a son, has eaten several pieces of chocolate and a cake pop. His eldest appears to love his basket and all its treats. From the stuffed blue elephant, holding a chick on its trunk, to the more standard treats and water bottle, Dick loves it all. His first Robin’s decal is that of a bird’s silhouette- utterly perfect for his boy who loves to fly. Dick has never been shy about showing how he feels and leans his head against Bruce’s shoulder while blissed out on sugar so early already.
Bruce kisses the top of his head, “Thanks, Dad!” Dick cheers.
“Any time, Chum,”
Damian is the hardest one to get a read on- Bruce still struggles sometimes. Damian has set each of his treats aside, and is looking them over with a face so skeptical it would be comical if Bruce wasn’t nervous about Damian thinking the whole thing foolish. Bruce had selected something a bit out of character for his youngest child- a realistic stuffed rabbit. Bruce knew Damian would detest the more cutesy and cartoonish stuffed rabbits usually sold around the holiday and had opted for one that could easily be mistaken for the real thing. Bruce had put a kibosh on new pets after Goliath, but Damian enjoys animals so much- a fake rabbit that his son can hold and squeeze when he’s upset seemed a simple compromise. Damian ran his hands over the soft synthetic fur of the rabbit for a moment before looking at his other prizes. He’d gotten the usual Easter themed bath bar as his brothers- as well as the candy, chocolate, and water bottle with paw print decal- as well as a small sketchbook.
Damian looks over at Bruce, his brows furrowed for a moment before letting one of his small adorable smiles quirks at his lips, “This was an enjoyable gift, Father. Thank you,”
“Of course, Little Prince,” Bruce smiles back.
“So…Lamb?” Jason grins causing the rest of his family to snort.
Bruce sighs.
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After breakfast they head into the kitchen, where the ever benevolent god- Alfred, has laid out the hardboiled eggs, food safe dyes and paints, and other supplies.
His children set to work on dying eggs right away- Bruce colors an egg with each of his children. There’s a mild mess but Alfred had the forethought to cover the island counter.
Damian creates beautiful works of art on a handful of eggs. His youngest doesn’t get too detailed, since these eggs will be eaten or used as an ingredient, but they’re lovely works of art. Dick, on the other hand, tries the stencils Bruce bought and makes a bit of a mess in his excitement.
His kitchen is filled with laughing and bickering children and he couldn’t be more pleased.
Bruce has taken a probably a million pictures of his kids while they work on their eggs. There’s one of Jason with brightly colored fingers as he holds his freshly decorated egg in the air. There’s one of Dick looking over Damian’s shoulder while his youngest details an egg.
His kids have made it through a dozen and a half eggs when Bruce ducks out- he’s got eggs to hide.
He moves the tub full of prize eggs to the patio and begins the long process of hiding the eggs.
Some eggs he hides in the open but in difficult to reach spots and others he hides well. All over the Manor’s back grounds he leaves one hundred and fifty prize eggs scattered and hidden- he makes sure to memorize where places all of them in case they need to be collected later as not to damage the environment. He hides some in trees, some near the roots, and some in taller grass that is much less manicured by the garden staff that comes by.
Bruce is placing the final egg when Alfred lets him know the children are done and their eggs are dry through text massage. Its perfect timing, so Bruce makes his way back to the main patio door.
The kids are all in the dining room again, taking pictures of their decorated eggs for social media- Bruce will take some of his own while his kids hunt for the plastic ones.
“All of you have your baskets emptied?” Bruce asks.
“Yeah,” Duke says, “Alfred told us we should while we waited for you to be done,”
“Good. Grab your baskets and let’s head outside,” Bruce claps his hands together.
The kids do so and head out the patio door while Bruce pulls out his phone- taking a few quick shots and adding a heartfelt but very “Brucie” caption to his Instagram and twitter posts, before joining his children outside.
It’s just as adorable and comical as Bruce thought it would be seeing Jason throw himself into the hunt, being the tallest and most muscular of his children its quite the sight.
But it Damian that catches Bruce’s eye. He doesn’t appear to be as into the hunt as his older siblings are- it’s to be expected really though it does sadden Bruce a little. Damian is more casually walking around, basket in hand and Titus walking beside him, while his siblings throw themselves into it one hundred percent. It all changes when Damian spots his first egg, however- up in the tree was a bright yellow egg resting between two branches- a perfect target for his smaller and more agile son.
Damian shrugs, putting his basket down beside Titus, who sniffs at the new object curiously, and nimbly climbs the old plum tree to snatch the egg. Instead of opening the egg later Damian sits in the tree and opens the yellow egg immediately. That’s the moment things change. Inside the yellow egg is a Monk-E-Monster collectable mini figure- Bruce is lucky this is the first one Damian found.
His youngest leaps from the tree, in an impressive acrobatic stunt he clearly learned from Dick, to his basket and dog. Damian joins the hunt with the fervor his siblings had been displaying after that.
Bruce is glad he made the prizes tradable to a certain extent.
Alfred joins him shortly into the hunt with lemonade and Bruce sits with his father at the patio table, drinking refreshing lemonade and watching his children have fun.
He’s takes a few pictures and carefully timed videos of the kids hunting- though he does catch a snippet of Jason cursing Dick making it to a harder to reach egg before him. Cassandra very nearly startles him as she goes for the one under his chair and Tim aims for the one precariously placed in the center of the pool tarp- his middle son takes a running leap and flips grabbing the egg before landing on the other side. Bruce and Alfred clap, making Tim blush.
Bruce whistles, calling for a break, and all his little gremlins run over to the patio table. They all get their own drinks of lemonade while Bruce quickly counts their eggs- to see if they’ve gotten them all- and they’re six eggs short of a complete count.
“There’s only six eggs left to find,” Bruce informs them, “This went much more quickly than I had expected, but you are all detectives. Finish your lemonade- hydration is important, Tim- and then you all can find the last six,”
He watches them all gulp their lemonade down quickly- Damian tries to drink his just as quickly while maintaining some semblance of propriety- before all six are off like a shot, making Bruce laugh.
It doesn’t take them long to return with the rest of the eggs- Jason with his arm draped heavily over Tim in a playful manor- and all smiles.
Bruce takes another picture.
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They’re all in the den with Rise of the Guardians playing as the kids open and sort through their eggs.
There’s some trading happening- Damian is trying to get all the Monk-E-Monsters figures from his siblings and is more than willing to trade some of the smaller dollar bills for them. Once their trading and sorting has finished- and the plastic eggs gathered up by Bruce to use next year- they’re just snacking on their candy and watching the film; content.
“Did you all like it? Too childish?” Bruce asks casually.
“Nah, not too childish” Duke says, “I liked it, actually. It was fun,”
“Same,” Jason says, popping another chocolate in his mouth- the boy is going to get a stomach ache.
“I liked it. It was very fun. Good for us,” Cass says and Dick nods in agreement.
“Yeah, I mean I could see why you might not have done it when a lot of us were younger, but it felt good. Normal,”
“Mhm,” Tim mutters, biting into a gelatin free marshmallow bar, “My parents never did this sort of thing, so it was nice to have done it,”
Damian fiddles with the Monk-E-Monsters in his hand, “I enjoyed it. It was something of your childhood that you wished to share with us- You do not often speak about your childhood- and it made me…happy,” Damian’s ears are pink as he admits this.
Dick looks like he’s physically restraining himself from cooing and hugging his youngest brother.
Bruce is beaming, “Would you all be opposed to doing it next year too? Clark was wondering if you kids would like to do it with his boys then,”
Damian looks thrilled at the prospect of doing this with Jon, but smooths his features quickly, “I would not be opposed, Father,”
“We gotta make sure they don’t cheat with their super senses,” Dick says, laughing.
They all chat about next year’s Easter while they stuff themselves with sugar and Bruce just basks in this moment.
During Patrol they’re going to be sugared up little hellions and Bruce wouldn’t change it for anything.