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Bruce Wayne was a quiet boy. Of course, he was. At eight years old he had lost the most important people in his life. Had been forced to grow up far faster than he had ever expected to at such a young age. It was a difficult thing for the little boy to come to terms with and while Alfred was wonderful and was certainly doing his best to raise his young ward, Bruce Wayne often found himself wondering if he would ever have a chance of a family again, something he highly doubted would happen. Bruce was an only child, as were his parents. His grandparents both maternal and paternal had died long before Bruce had ever been born. Alfred himself did not have any other living family members.
It seemed that the two were alone. No more family for either of them. And for the most part, Bruce was okay with it. Yes, he missed the way his mother would wrap him up in a tight hug and kiss all over his face leaving behind remnants of her usual dark red lipstick across his cheeks. And he missed the way that his father would throw him high in the air, catch him once more, and call him chum as he asked about his day.
Alfred did neither of those things.
Alfred was kind and caring and he gave Bruce wonderful hugs and he cooked Bruce delicious meals but it wasn’t the same. He wasn’t sure that Alfred knew how to be a dad but he was trying his best. The scary thing, though, was that this was it for Bruce. He would never have a family again, he would be alone. Alfred was already old, there was no way he would be able to live forever.
Bruce once thought that the adults in his life were immortal. Two bullets quickly ruined that dream for the eight-year-old boy. And now he found himself riddled with anxiety for the day that he would also lose Alfred, the only family left in his life. And that thought hurt. It hurt far more than Bruce had ever imagined. He had never even imagined something as scary and as painful as losing his parents and then it had happened and he had lost it all.
What was worse was that Alfred was trying, he was and Bruce knew that the butler was trying his best. But it wasn’t the same. He wasn’t Bruce’s dad and he never would be! And he had told the butler as such, had screamed it in his face after a nightmare, after bright flashes and the thundering sound of gunshots woke him from a dead sleep. It had left him sweaty and scared and angry. He was so angry his little boy couldn’t handle it any longer and when Alfred had tried to hug him, Bruce had run, had shouted mean words that he had almost immediately regretted. But it was too late, he couldn’t take back his words and he couldn’t fix his now completely broken family.
It had led him to run to his favorite hiding space, a place where no one would find him.
It was what led the eight-year-old boy to the current situation before him. Here he stood in the attic of the manor staring at a bright green swirling circle that seemed to be one with the north wall.
Ever the curious boy, he found himself walking towards it cautiously. A small, sure hand pressed against the green swirls and let out a gasp as his hand pushed through it. He let out a small grunt as his little body fell through before he could stop himself.
The boy tumbled through the portal and landed on his knees in another room. It looked almost like the attic that he had just been in only, only it had been completely and totally made over! The room had been entirely renovated, the walls painted a soft gray color. Work desks lined the walls with all kinds of trinkets. Behind him stood a large metal circle that was plastered to the wall, the green swirling mass gone completely.
“Oh no,” he whispered, scurrying to his feet as he pressed his hands against the smooth wall. “Oh no, oh no, oh no,” he chanted out.
Anxiety filled his bones and veins, his heart started to thud in his chest as he hit his tiny little fists against the wall. Bruce let out a sob as he hit at the wall. He didn’t know where he was, he didn’t know what had happened. Not only that but he had run away from Alfred, and had tried to hide from the man who had done nothing but love Bruce. Who was trying his best when no one else was. Who was trying to just take care of the most selfish little boy in the world.
He couldn’t believe he had done this.
Couldn’t believe he had run away and fallen through a strange portal.
“Demon Brat, what the hell are you doing up here? I’m pretty sure Dad banned you after last time,” a voice said and Bruce spun around to find a teenager staring down at him in annoyance. The boy’s face fell as he took in Bruce and let out a soft curse. “Oh shit. Oh fuck don’t tell me you came out of that portal.”
Bruce nodded his head slowly, still staring up at the teenager, his heart racing in his chest.
“Shit,” he groaned. “You have no clue how long I’ve been waiting for the chance to go through that portal!”
“Um, why?” Bruce asked hesitantly. “Can’t you just reopen it? I need to go home.”
“Shit,” the guy said again, running his hand across his face in annoyance. “No, I can’t open it! I’ve been planning this for weeks, kid!”
Bruce watched as the teenager let out a huff and tapped his foot in thought. Bruce took it as a moment to take in his surroundings and the teenager in front of him. He was tall, insanely tall, and built like the army men that Mother had bought him once a few years ago. He had large muscles up and down his arms and legs and looked like he could crush Bruce’s skull with one hand. He had dark black hair and a single white stripe right up the front.
Bruce had to hold back a giggle as it reminded him of a skunk. But he was still young, definitely a teenager, maybe eighteen or nineteen from what Bruce could tell.
“What are we going to do? I need to go home,” Bruce finally said as it seemed that the teenager still hadn’t come up with an idea.
The teenager stared at him for a moment and Bruce could practically see the cogs in his brain moving slowly as he tried to come up with a solution. “What we’re not going to do is tell my dads. They’ll ground me for life if they find out I let someone in through a portal. And we’re going to find Tim. Because if anyone in this manor knows how to open the portal it’s him!”
Bruce pursed his lips and nodded his head once. “Then we need to find him fast. My,” he stopped for a moment. What was Alfred to him? He wasn’t his dad, he was more than just a butler. “My guardian will be worried,” he finally decided, staring up at the teenager.
“I understand. We’ll get Tim and we’ll fix this as fast as possible, got it?” He said before grabbing Bruce’s hand and dragging him out of the attic. Bruce found himself staring in wonder as they hurried down the steps and took in everything around him.
He was still in Wayne Manor, that much was for sure. But everything was so different. There were so many pictures on the walls and they had all been painted so many different colors.
It wasn’t the same as his manor. It looked lived in now.
Maybe he was in an alternate reality! Maybe this was like Narnia. Only instead of going through a wardrobe to a magical land. He fell through a portal to an alternate reality! It had his heart feeling a little happy that the old manor looked so nice and pretty and lived in when his was so plain and sad. It had him wondering if Alfred would let him paint the walls in their manor.
Maybe a little color would bring a little life to the place that Bruce called home.
They hurried down a hallway until the teenager barged into a bedroom door and threw a finger at another teenage boy, this one Bruce assumed was named Tim.
“You! I need your brain!” The older teenager shouted. “I screwed up.”
“Jason? What did you do now?” Tim asked and Bruce watched as the teenager climbed out of a large fluffy chair and set his laptop to the side when he let out a loud gasp as his eyes landed on Bruce. “Is that Bruce?” He squeaked out.
“Bruce?” Jason said before he looked down at the little boy at his side. “Bruce!”
Bruce frowned and nodded his head. “Bruce Wayne. Do-do you know me?” He asked quietly, eyeing the two teenage boys suspiciously.
Tim gave him a kind smile. “In a way,” he said softly. “We know you when you’re a lot older.” He looked up at Jason and frowned. “Wanna tell me how you kidnapped a–how old are you Bruce?”
“Eight,” he said, playing with his fingers nervously as he watched both of the boys’ faces pale.
“H-how are your parents?” Jason asked, his voice nervous and slightly high-pitched.
“Dead,” Bruce said simply, still not understanding what was happening. He was starting to wonder if he would ever understand what was going on.
“I see,” Tim said before he looked up at Jason. “Why was the portal set to that time, Jason?”
Jason blanched, getting even paler. Bruce was genuinely starting to worry that the teenager was going to keel over soon. “You know how people constantly debate about whether it would be morally wrong to go back in time and kill baby Hitler?”
Tim narrowed his eyes. “I don’t like where this is going.”
“I was going to do the same to baby Joker,” he said slowly and Tim slapped his hand against his head. “Jesus Christ.”
“It’s fine! I didn’t do it, Bruce came through the portal before I was able to go through. I went to grab my helmet and when I came back he was there and the portal closed.”
“How did you even get the portal open in the first place?” Tim demanded, throwing his arms out. Bruce flinched slightly at the raised voice and the teenager cast him an apologetic smile.
“I may have distracted Dad so he left it unattended while he was doing maintenance on it and used that as the opportunity to key in the coordinates. I figured I’d go in, get the job done, Dad would notice eventually that I was gone and he’d come and find me and bring me back!”
“So you were just going to casually change the timeline and think everything would be okay?” Tim asked, now pinching the bridge of his nose. Bruce looked between the two teenagers as they started arguing with one another and let out a sigh. They weren’t going to be of any help for him. He spun on his heel and marched out of the room. He needed to find a competent adult.
Someone who could actually help him get back home before he gave Alfred a heart attack. Sure Alfred wasn’t his father and he never would replace Bruce’s father. But he was nice, and he tucked Bruce in at night and kissed his forehead. And he made Bruce hot chocolate when he had nightmares and he held Bruce’s hand when Alfred was dusting just so that Bruce wouldn’t feel alone. He wasn’t Bruce’s father but he loved him just as much and he was all Bruce had. He had to get back home.
He marched down the halls, taking in more pictures and paintings that covered the walls. It felt so homey and safe here, unlike anything Bruce had seen. He didn’t know who owned the manor now but they had truly made it feel like a home and Bruce found himself almost jealous.
Bruce turned the corner and made his way to the purple sitting room and stopped when he found a young man hanging by his knees from the chandelier.
“Hi Baby Bat!” The man called, waving his hand at Bruce. The eight-year-old frowned and looked at him.
“Why did you call me that? I hate bats,” he said, screwing his nose up in disgust. The man let out a laugh before he carefully flipped from the chandelier and looked down at Bruce. He tilted his head to the side for a moment before he froze. He looked at Bruce for a moment before he turned his head to look at the large painting that hung over the fireplace. Bruce followed his gaze to find the family portrait from his world still hanging there. It was a portrait of Bruce sitting on his mother’s lap with Father standing behind her with his hand on Mother’s shoulder.
The man looked back at Bruce and let out a breath. “Bruce?”
“Yes, do you know me? Jason and Tim knew me too but then they started fighting because Jason wanted to kill someone named Joker and so I left. I just want to go home,” Bruce rushed out, staring up at Dick with big, wide eyes, his heart still racing in his chest. Everything here was so strange and different and his picture was on the wall and these guys all knew him but no one was explaining anything to him.
The man let out an incredulous laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. “That sounds about right for Jason and Tim,” he said before he held his hand out. “Come on, we can find my dad and he can fix this.”
“Jason and Tim didn’t want their dad to know,” Bruce said, shifting nervously from one foot to the other. “I don’t want them to get in trouble. I just want to go home, Alfred is going to be worried if he can’t find me and we had a fight. I yelled at him,” he said.
“And do not worry, Master Bruce, I forgave you as soon as you did,” a familiar voice said and Bruce spun on his heel to stare up at his butler. Or at least, he thought he was the butler. Alfred was so much older than Bruce last saw him. His hair was completely gone and his face bore deep wrinkles but a small smile still played on his lips. Bruce called it his secret smile because it always meant that he knew something Bruce didn’t.
“Alfred?” He gasped out and the old butler nodded his head.
“Yes, Master Bruce,” he said before opening his arms just as Bruce collided with his waist, wrapping his arms around him tight. “I see you ran into Master Dick,” he said, rubbing Bruce’s back softly.
“He said he would help me get home. He said his Dad would help. I just wanna go home.”
Alfred kneeled down in front of him. “We will send you home shortly, Master Bruce. But, if I recall correctly, we had an argument because you said you would never have a family again. Is that correct?” He asked, tilting his head to the side. Beside him, Dick let out a muffled squeak.
Bruce nodded. “I-I know but I was wrong. You’re my family and I don’t want to lose you,” he said, his eyes welled up in tears. Alfred wiped a gloved thumb along Bruce’s cheek, drying up the single tear that had streamed down carefully.
“And you never will. But, I believe it is nearly dinner time and I believe that you will be very happy to see what will await us. Now, take Master Dick’s hand and he will lead you to the dining room. I will bring in supper shortly,”
Bruce nodded and took Dick’s hand who let out a sweet coo. He swept Bruce up into his arms and settled him on his waist as Alfred made his way back to the kitchens.
“I don’t understand,” Bruce said with a sniff, looping his arms around Dick’s shoulders. “Why is Alfred here? Why is my painting here?”
Dick gave him a small smile. “Don’t worry kiddo, my dads are going to explain everything to you soon. I think you’re going to be really happy when you see,” he said softly just as two sets of footsteps pounded through the hall and Tim and Jason turned the corner, harried looks on their faces.
“Dick! Have you seen-”
The words died on Jason’s lips as Dick turned around, Bruce still in his arms as he gave the two teenagers a look of complete annoyance. “Alfred said supper is almost ready. We should get going,” he said simply as he started towards the dining room. Tim and Jason let out soft whimpers as they followed behind, heads bowed in shame.
Dick pushed open the doors to the dining room and grinned.
“Hey everyone! We have a guest for dinner,” he said as Bruce looked around in shock. The large table was the same as the one in his manor, but this one was full of people. Sitting on one side were two boys and a girl. One boy, a teenager was staring at him in surprise, his jaw practically on the floor. Beside him was a teenage girl who was beaming at them, her eyes bright and happy. And the last was a boy who looked like he was Bruce’s twin, he wondered if this was the boy that Jason called Demon Brat and that Dick called Baby Bat. They looked practically identical except for their skin tones and eye color. He stared at Bruce like he was a ghost.
On the end of the table sat two adults who were both staring at Bruce in surprise. One man was tall and thin with salt and pepper hair and pretty blue eyes. He was pretty and something in Bruce’s stomach fluttered when he looked at him. And next to him was Bruce’s dad.
But– but not? He didn’t look exactly like Bruce’s father but the resemblance was close. It was the same black hair and blue eyes as Thomas Wayne but the smile was Martha’s and he was smiling at Bruce the same way Mother once smiled at him.
“And who do we have here?” The pretty man with salt and pepper hair asked.
“I-I’m Bruce. I fell through a portal and I just wanna go home,” he stammered out, still staring at the two men in absolute wonder.
“It was Jason! Jason did it and he tried to make me his accomplice!” Tim rushed out before letting out a yelp as Jason punched him in the arm. “Ow!”
“Fuckin’ snitch,” Jason muttered only for the grown-ups to all say “Language” in amused tones.
The man who looked like Bruce’s dad stood up and came towards him as Dick set him on the ground. The man kneeled down in front of Bruce and gave him a soft smile.
“Hi Bruce, my name is Bruce,” he said softly and Bruce swore his heart stopped beating. The older Bruce let out a quiet laugh as he cupped the younger Bruce’s face in his hand. “I know, it’s crazy, huh? But I’m you in about thirty years.”
“R-really?” he whispered, looking around at all the people staring down at him before he looked back at Bruce. “Who’s all this?”
“This is our family,” he said and he gave Bruce a soft smile. “I know, we never thought we’d get another one after Mother and Father died. But we do. We meet Danny and he becomes a pain in our side but for some reason, we fall in love with him and after a bunch of back and forth and running away from each other because we’re both scared about not having a family, we finally get married. And then we have so many kids that we adopt and we love and take care of. And we laugh and play and have so much fun.”
“We get married?” Bruce asked, looking over at the pretty man who was now walking towards them. He held out his hand for Bruce and gave him a small smile.
“I’m Danny,” he said quietly and Bruce gulped as he took his hand.
“Pretty,” he whispered, staring up at Danny with starry eyes. Danny laughed and shook his head.
“You’re the pretty one, B. Always have been,” he said before he gave Bruce a serious look. “Now, I’m going to tell you some really important advice for the future.”
Bruce tilted his head as Older Bruce just gave his husband an amused smile. “What is it?”
Danny grinned. “I am always right. Got it, B? Always.”
Bruce looked back at older Bruce who just laughed. “He is,” he agreed, smiling down at younger Bruce. “Now, how about you get dinner with us and then Danny will take you home? Okay? And just be patient. You’ll meet Danny when you’re sixteen and he’s going to change everything. Got it?”
“Got it,” he said and let Bruce carry him over to a chair right next to Danny as Alfred came out and served dinner.
Dinner went well, Bruce thought. His kids were all funny and very nice. He got to watch as Danny and Older Bruce scolded Jason for trying to change the timeline and for sneaking into Danny’s lab. Danny was a scientist who was studying time travel and the multiverse which was why he had the portal in the attic. Everyone was banned from the attic, including Bruce! Apparently, Danny didn’t trust any of them with his experiments which was so crazy to Bruce but he understood.
And his kids all told Bruce stories about growing up with Bruce and talking about how Bruce was a good dad. They said he made mistakes sometimes but he always, always fixed them and they were all so welcoming. Bruce had felt a warmth in his tummy the entire time he ate with them as Danny and Bruce asked him questions about home even though Bruce knew everything that happened already!
He even gave Little Bruce advice on how to apologize to Alfred and explained that even though Alfred wasn’t their dad he was like a dad to them and that it was okay. He even said that sometimes when he was really sad he called Alfred his dad and promised Bruce that it was okay. That he wasn’t replacing Father by calling Alfred his new dad.
And Older Bruce couldn’t be wrong, could he? He had been alive for so much longer than Little Bruce and he knew him better than anyone. And even older Alfred promised him that it would be okay and that he wouldn’t be freaked out if Bruce called him dad. That he was honored he got to take care of Bruce and be his second dad.
All too soon, it was over though. And Danny was carrying Bruce up to the attic as he said his goodbyes to the family. To his family.
“I don’t wanna go,” Bruce whispered to Danny as they stood in the attic.
Danny gave him a kind smile. “Sure you do,” he said softly. “If you don’t go, then you won’t get to find me and if you don’t find me, we can’t build this family together.”
“But it’s so quiet. I love Alfred, but it’s different it–”
“I know,” Danny whispered, cupping Bruce’s face in his hands. “But think about it this way. For the next eight years, you’re going to grow up, you’re going to get to know Alfred better and you’re going to be friends with so many people and then one day you’re going to meet me and we’ll be instant best friends. In fact, I even kinda annoy you sometimes because I talk so much. But you like it and we go to the skatepark together and go to school together. And then I go off to college and you decide to take a trip around the world to get to understand yourself better. And when you’re twenty-two, you come back to Gotham. And then we go on a few dates and you get scared and run away sometimes or I get scared and run away but we always come back to each other. And at some point you adopt Dick and I come over and you’re really embarrassed because there’s this little boy sleeping on the couch and you tell me “i don’t know if having kids together is too soon, but do you want to raise him with me.” And I laugh because you’re so crazy and but so loving and I kiss you. And we raise Dick together and then we get married,” Danny said and his smile is wide and his eyes are bright and Bruce wants it. He wants it so bad he could cry.
“And then we get Jason and then Tim and Cass and Damian show up and then Duke and our family becomes complete. And we have a family together,” Danny whispers. “But none of that can happen unless you go home. So go home, apologize to Alfred, and I’ll see you soon. Got it?”
Bruce sniffed once but nodded his head in agreement. Danny smiled and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. “The portal is ready to go,” he said quietly.
“I’m going to be the best husband ever, I promise,” Bruce told him and Danny let out a soft laugh.
“You are, without a doubt, the best husband in the world,” Danny said before Bruce made his way through the portal and let out a breath as he stood in the attic. He pressed a hand to his cheek and smiled to himself. He was going to have the best family ever. But first, he had to apologize to Alfred and then they could build their family together.