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English
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Part 4 of Searching for a Place to Call Home
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Instant Favorites, From Ghibli to Star Wars, S.T.I.L.L.
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Published:
2022-03-16
Completed:
2022-03-18
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2,989
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2/2
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Brothers and Bonding

Summary:

Jason and Dick bring Tim to Jason’s cabin for a movie night!

 

Trigger Warning: Mentioned child abuse, mentioned child abandonment.

Notes:

Hello All! I’m back with more content today!

I will probably have the next chapter up tomorrow or the next day! This chapter is cute, but the next one is PRECIOUS. I literally cannot wait to write it. There needed to be some set up for it though, so here is that set up!

Trigger Warning: Mentioned child abuse, mentioned child abandonment.

Let me know what you think!

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1: A Nice Night at the Cabin

Chapter Text

Jason knew he was in trouble the first time he set eyes on the injured, shivering pup at the bottom of that ravine. He had been overwhelmed by his protective instinct and had taken the abandoned puppy home to his den. What else was he supposed to do, leave the poor kid alone to get attacked by god knows what? Is this how Bruce felt when he had found Jason and brought him back? Though Jason had never been that small as a pup, even when he had been nearly starving to death.

As he walked back with the precious little pup in his arms, Jason knew that he couldn’t let the kid go back to his pack—if they could even be called that. The pit had been almost unbearable when he had seen the scars that lined most of his back. He had wondered when the tawny fur had stuck up on his back a bit, but deep down he had already known. Once upon a time Jason himself had sported some nasty scars like the pup’s. Years later magical rage water had rid him of his scars at the price of painting his world a caustic shade of green.

The kid must have fallen asleep again; not that Jason could blame him. Dickface had scared him pretty badly, and apparently the kid was afraid to shift which was another set of potentially dangerous problems. Jason was distracted by his thoughts as the kid tried to burrow further into his chest, rubbing his face gently against Jason’s shirt. As he looked down at the sleepy pup, Jason tried to wipe the tenderness off of his face, but he couldn’t quite manage it. He leaned down to press a soft kiss to the small wolf’s forehead; the wolf’s nose scrunched a bit and his ears flicked into Jason’s face, but he didn’t wake up.

“He’s adorable,” Dick murmured beside him, “How long has he been with you?”

Jason glared over at his older brother, but continued to stroke the tawny fluff in his arms. “Found him last night in my territory. Scared him quite a bit, but he agreed to come back to my den for the night. He doesn’t seem to have a good home, if he wants he can stay with me.”

He was waiting for his older brother to talk him out of his decision; to tell him that he was barely fit to take care of himself let alone a pup. Jason was in his early twenties with powerful enemies and severe trauma of his own, but looking at Dick, he only saw affection and a bit of pride.

“You’ve always been good with kids.” Dick brushed shoulders with him. “He certainly seems to trust you despite whatever trauma he’s been through. I can’t think of anyone who would take better care of the little guy.”

Jason’s eyes didn’t burn with the beginning of tears. They didn’t. Ever since he had come back, the family had been untrusting at best and downright hostile at worst. Jason had been a wreck, to be fair, but Dick was his big brother; his approval of him mattered more to Jason than he was willing to admit.

“Yeah, yeah, you big sap,” His voice was a bit watery to his own ears, “You staying for dinner or what?”

“I do owe the kid a nice meal, and Alfred has been giving me lessons. So it shouldn’t be all bad!”

“I’ll believe it when I see it, birdbrain. Speaking of; how is Alfie doing?”

“Well! We hadn’t heard from you in a while which was why I was in your territory; everyone was getting worried.” Dick chuckled quietly. “You might not be okay if you try and hide Alfred’s newest grandchild from him though. Especially one that thin.”

Jason figured he would at least ask the kid what he wanted to do, and hopefully learn his name while he was at it. His investigation of the kid’s home life had come to an abrupt halt when he had heard the puppy’s distress. Luckily it was only Dick, who would never hurt him, instead of something more sinister.

The rest of their walk was done in companionable silence. They gathered his haul and, soon enough, they came upon a decent sized cabin that Jason had come to associate with home. It wasn’t as large as the Wayne Manor, not even close, but it had a nice kitchen with two bedrooms, a large den, and two bathrooms. It was more than Jason had ever thought he would have, maybe more than he deserved, and he was grateful for it.

Dick opened the front door because Jason had his arms full; the puppy waking up with a jaw-cracking yawn with a little whine at the end. His big brother looked completely enamored with him, and Jason sensed a lot of mother hening in the boy’s future.

The puppy watched his new surroundings with wide eyes that would put Dick’s baby blues to shame. God, this kid already had Jason wrapped around his finger, didn’t he? But look at that face; he wouldn’t use his powers for evil like Jason certainly would have if their positions were reversed. He nearly growled again at the thought of someone being able to hurt the kid, and breathed deeply to regain control of his growing rage. Dick went right to the kitchen after ruffling the fur on the pup’s head, and Jason got an enthusiastic yip when he offered a bath again.

He carried the pup to the bathroom and set him down on the plush bath mat as he filled the tub. Jason was loath to ask the kid if he wanted to shift and take a shower; instead, he asked detailed questions to avoid triggering the little wolf. Was he comfortable with Jason helping him wash?; did he want citrus or brown sugar body wash?; did he want the water a bit warmer? Jason had received affirmative licks and happy barks in response to his questions; it was the best he could do with the situation at hand.

As he scrubbed the citrus gel into his fur, Jason went through breathing exercises to keep calm. He could feel every rib and knot of the boy’s spine through his fur even as the boy relaxed into his ministrations. Month old dirt and grime made a ring around the bathtub, but when he was done, the dark tawny fur was a shade brighter. It took another fifteen minutes to towel dry the pup, but by the time he was done, the kid looked like a brand new wolf.

A wonderful smell wafted in from the kitchen, and Jason had to hand it to Alfred. If he could teach Dick Grayson how to cook then he must be every bit the miracle worker Jason thought he was. His older brother had just finished plating the roasted rabbit, mashed potatoes, and brussel sprouts when they entered the kitchen.

Dick’s eyes lit up when his eyes landed on the pup. “Are we sure that’s the same puppy, Jason?”

Jason barked a laugh when he caught sight of the unimpressed stare the pup sent Dick’s way. He didn’t realize shifters could be that expressive in wolf form. The sass was as impressive as it was endearing; he would fit right in with their band of misfits.

“Why don’t we watch a movie in the den while we eat? It’s been a while since we’ve had a movie night.” Jason suggested.

Dick agreed enthusiastically, and the pup seemed delighted by the idea. Of course his older brother whined until they watched Frozen for the upteenth time, but Jason could admit it was a good choice in this instance. Jason balanced both his and the pup’s plate on his lap with the kid being plastered to the side of his thigh.

When they started to eat, Jason gently reminded the kid to slow his eating so that he didn’t get sick. After he gobbled up the rabbit, he lapped the heaping mound of mashed potatoes from the plate next. Jason had to actively concentrate on Elsa building her ice castle to stop from cooing at the little kid; even when the kid reached over to Jason’s plate to sneak another helping of rabbit.

The kid—maybe he would start calling the pup Baby Bird because he was so small—looked a little off-put by the brussel sprouts with a small scrunch of his nose and careful sniff, but he snapped them up regardless. Jason slowly rolled a few of the green mounds off of his plate, and onto the Baby Bird’s. When the little head looked up at him in question, Jason grinned and brought a silent finger to his lips.

By the time the movie ended, it was about time for bed. Jason discretely asked if Baby Bird would be comfortable having Dick stay the night with them, to which he received a hand lick. It wasn’t that cute; it wasn’t that cute; okay, it was the cutest thing Jason had ever seen. The kid was already turning his heart to mush. His street credit would never recover from this. Looking at the Baby Bird, Jason couldn’t help but think the kid was worth it though.

Jason and Dick shifted to their wolf forms in the den after they had lit the fireplace for the night and snuggled into a makeshift blanket fort. Dick and the puppy had gotten into a mock game of tug-of-war, and Jason snuck a few pictures on his civilian phone. His favorite showed the puppy’s eyes glimmering bright with mischief and one of Dick’s thousand watt grins. Maybe Jason would develop that one and put it in his wallet some day.

With the pup snuggled into Jason’s fur and Dick curled around them both, Jason felt more at peace than he had since he woke up choking on Lazarus water. He soaked up the comfort and drifted off into a peaceful sleep, a happy rumble emanating from his chest.

Chapter 2: Scary Nightmares and Peaceful Realities

Summary:

Jason has a nightmare, but Tim knows just what to do.

Notes:

Hey all! So now that I’ve written it, there is definitely some angst here, but it is non specific and only mentions a nightmare and not the contents of said nightmare. However, Baby! Tim is once again very cute, if I do say so myself, and he is ready to help!

That being said, I think this is the first thing I’ve written that doesn’t need a trigger warning before it!

This is unbeta’d and it is about 1 AM where I’m at. Please let me know if there are any grammar errors!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Tim woke up extremely comfortable, still wrapped in ebony and dark brown fur. The smell of roasted rabbit permeated the air from dinner, and the blankets and pillows were downy soft and felt wonderful against his fur. The den was still dark, and Tim had to wonder what had awoken him; it wasn’t often he got to go to sleep feeling safe. Normally, he had to be aware of every change in his environment to make sure he wasn’t attacked in his den. No one was going to attack Jason of all wolves; sure, Dick was larger than your average wolf, but Jason was the biggest wolf he had ever seen! And, for whatever reason, he was nice to Tim and seemed to generally care about his well-being.

So what had woken him up? Tim rubbed a paw over his snout and shifted with a sleepy sigh. That was when he noticed the smell in the air: sleepy-scared-nightmare. A whimper sounded so close to Tim that he could feel it down to his bones. But who would be scared with Jason there? His ear stood up to see where it was coming from. Dick seemed to still be sleeping peacefully, his head placed over top of Jason’s back protectively.

Oh. Jason was having a nightmare.

Swallowing down his disbelief, Tim watched the tension in the older wolf’s face, his lips curled back into an angry snarl. But there was something off about it. Jason looked furious first and foremost, but there seemed to be a bone deep terror that radiated off of him as well. But Jason was so strong! Nothing could hurt him right? He was everything Tim wasn’t, but in all the best ways. His parents had said that being afraid was a weakness but, while admittedly Tim hadn’t known him that long, Jason was so cool! As the other boy let out a whine that turned into another whimper, he knew that his parents were wrong.

That didn’t mean Tim knew what to do about it though. His parents weren’t around enough to help him with his own nightmares, and he had never seen them have bad dreams either. With a frustrated huff, Tim tried to think. He had to do something because Jason didn’t deserve to be trapped in a bad dream any longer than he had to be; especially when he was surrounded by a nice den and his older brother.

Thinking quickly, Tim went back through all of the things Jason did that made him feel safe. Step one: wriggle out of Jason’s protective bubble. It proved to be difficult, specifically because Tim didn’t want his movements to make the other wolf’s nightmares worse. However, he managed the feat with some creative movement that definitely made his ribs ache, but which was worth the outcome.

Step two involved a spare blanket that had been tossed aside when they had made the fort, but which was perfect for what Tim had in mind. Grabbing a corner of the material in his mouth, Tim pulled the blanket closer to Jason; this proved difficult because the blanket was so much larger than he was, but he was rewarded with a large portion of material to work with. Wrestling the material over the other wolf was much more arduous. His legs were little and—while there were times when Tim had been grateful to be small—he couldn’t quite get the blanket over Jason’s shoulder. Using only his hind legs, Tim yanked his head quickly to try and toss the material over the mound of ebony wolf, but it proved to be a Pyrrhic victory. The blanket did indeed go over Jason’s shoulder, but he also managed to smack Dick directly in the snout with it as well.

With a sleepy rear of his head, the brown wolf blinked his eyes open and let out a small grumble at being awoken. Confusion was replaced on Dick’s face when he felt a shudder run through Jason’s body. Looking solemnly first at Jason and then Tim, he helped pull the blanket the rest of the way over the boy. Leaving the older wolf to finish that, he limped around to where Jason’s head was resting on the floor.

He decided that Jason should never look so distressed—not if there was something Tim could do about it. Carefully, Tim let his own smaller body press against the side of Jason’s neck and carefully nuzzled the underside of the wolf’s jaw. A mournful noise escaped Tim’s throat as he flinched away from the contact with another whine, but he didn’t give up. Rumbling softly, Tim licked his forehead and began softly nibbling on one of Jason’s ears. Dick had also started to rumble in tandem with Tim, though his was a more soothing baritone that made even Tim’s eyes heavy. No. He still had a job to do; no sleeping yet.

Jason startled awake and launched himself forward and away from them, chest heaving. Tim had never seen Jason’s eye blaze so green, or the white forelock look so menacing in the darkness, but he knew that the older wolf wouldn’t hurt him. With a thump Jason collapsed to the floor trembling heavily; he pressed his forehead into the wooden floorboards, and tried to catch his breath and calm his heart.

Tim hunched his shoulders and tried to make himself appear as small as possible—he was already pretty small, but he did it just in case it would help. Stalking forward slowly, Tim regained his position at Jason’s side and groomed him wherever he could reach, trying to scrub away the fear in his scent and replace it with happy-calm-safe. It must have been working because Jason curled his neck fully around him and dug his nose into the fur of Tim’s back, rubbing his nose back and forth in soothing strokes. When Dick joined them, Jason tensed a bit, but relaxed when he started to lovingly groom the fur between his ears. He couldn’t say how long they sat there, but it was quite some time later that Jason gently extracted himself from the pile and shifted to his human form.

The older boy looked ragged and apologetic, running a trembling hand through his hair. “Sorry about that. Just a bad dream. Do…do you mind if I stay human tonight and sleep on the couch? Neither of you have to come or anything, if you don’t want to. I just can’t be a wolf right now.”

Tim let out an indignant huff at the thought that he wouldn’t want to be close to Jason, and nuzzled at his shin until the other boy scooped him into his arms. With a chuckle, Jason ruffled the fur on his neck affectionately.

“Okay, okay, little guy. Can’t let Dick keep ya’ all to himself anyway.”

The brown wolf let out an affronted bark, but otherwise followed Jason to the couch, pulling a comforter in his jaws. Once Jason was settled with a pillow under his head, he set Tim down at the juncture between his neck and collarbone, pulling the comforter up his torso; Dick curled up at his feet looking ready to physically fight off another nightmare if it came down to it.

Tim wiggled from his spot, and submerged himself in the quilted fabric, resting his head on top of Jason’s sternum and allowing his back legs to splay behind him carelessly. Only the tip of his muzzle poked out into open air, the comforter covering the rest of his body, and his nose was filled with the scent of content-relaxed-love. The warmth of a large hand seeped through the blanket as it rested on his back, holding Tim gently. He drifted off again, content with the knowledge that Jason felt as safe as Tim did.

Notes:

What did you all think? I’m always so excited to hear from you all! I’ve been a bit bad at responding to comments lately, but I will get caught up soon! I love interacting with you all, and so I try to respond to most comments and thing :) Stay safe and healthy out there!

Notes:

This is an unbeta’d work, so if you see any egregious errors please let me know!

Also, I’m open to future suggestions for this fic if you have any tropes you really want to see!

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