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Jason and Damian were fighting. It was far from being unusual for those two, but it never stopped being a pain to deal with for everyone around them. Tim in particular has very little tolerance for when they get like this. And yet, he’s stuck mediating today.
“None of this would be a problem if you knew how to mind your own business!” Damian snaps. This whole fight started because Jason went into Damian’s room to look for him only to find he wasn’t there. Upon hearing this, Damian immediately jumped to assuming Jason had been rooting through his things, and Jason has done very little to try and explain otherwise.
“Oh shut it kid, it’s not the end of the world.” If anything, Jason seems to be trying to freak out their younger brother as much as possible.
“It is an invasion of my privacy you godforsaken fool!” Damian was still yelling.
“Oh, I’ll show you godforsaken, you little-” And Jason was still egging him on.
“Could you two shove it for one day?” Tim was so incredibly sick of this. He wasn’t exactly fond of either of his brothers, but he also knew that some things are more important than getting one up on a bratty sibling. Some things like their mother.
“Could you stay out of it for once?” It was impressive, how despite being the oldest Jason still manages to act like a child. A child who’s old enough to legally have a smoking problem, but the point still stands.
“I don’t know if you forgot, but mom isn’t exactly having a great time right now, and the last thing he needs is the scent of you two being upset flooding the house.” Tim does his best to be reasonable, because somebody has to be.
Jason and Damian don’t immediately try to chew him out for being right, so they at least have some self-awareness. That, and none of them like to be the reason that their mom is hurting. He’s done so much for them, been an ideal matriarch in every way he can, and it’s a bit sad if this is how they repay him.
“Should we check on him?” Damian suggests, with no small amount of hesitance. It’s jarring, seeing the abrasive and arrogant kid acting so unsure of himself. He may hate Jason and Tim, but he still cares about their mom as much as they do.
“If you two can keep it together, then sure, I bet he’d love that.” Tim gets some glares for that, and he supposes it’s deserved. He’s not above petty jabs and condescension. Playing nice is just as hard for him as it is for them, he realizes.
“Worry about yourself, dweeb.” Jason sticks his tongue out at him, and Tim rolls his eyes right back. It’s truly a wonder that they’re related.
While Jason and Tim were making faces, Damian had already started on his way to Dick’s room. The two older siblings quickly drop their teasing to catch up with him.
Tim expects Damian to wait for them by the door, but it seems the little menace was having one of his tunnel vision moments and went on without them. As Jason and Tim enter the room, the scent of lonely omega fills the air. The regret over not paying more attention to their mom is swift and humbling.
Damian has already burrowed his way into the nest. Jason and Tim exchange a brief look before following suit.
“Hm? What’re you guys doing here?” Mom’s voice is rough. Maybe it’s because they woke him up, or maybe it was because he was calling for a pack that never heard him...
“Checkin’ on you. Need anything?” Jason does his best to act casually, but anyone who knows him would be able to tell that he’s worried.
“… M’ fine.” Mom gives a mildly confused blink. “Did you all want to nest here?” He asks.
“If you don’t mind.” Tim says before Jason can. He doesn’t want Jason to get all the credit for their attempt to comfort mom.
“No kicking. Now get comfy.” It’s a bit weird, seeing mom act so… snippy? Tim thinks it must be a heat thing, making it harder for him to put together long thoughtful sentences. Still, he’s pulled Damian into his arms and moved to make room for Tim and Jason. He must not be mad, just tired.
Some omegas spend their heats with… partners, which is an intrusive thought Tim could’ve lived without. Some, their mother included, just prefer to spend it nesting with their pack. Tim’s glad for that. It’s… nice. Mom runs his fingers through Tim’s hair, and purrs over all of his babies. The smell surrounding them becomes lighter, a kinder thing than it was before. Tim thinks that they made the right call. He also thinks that he deserves some kind of reward for not kicking Jason, who keeps getting his knee into Tim’s personal space.
It isn’t long before mom starts to doze off again, and Tim has no idea how he’s going to do the same with his brothers around.
“Oi. Dweeb. You good?” Jason whispers. He’s way too close.
“Since when do you care?” Tim snaps back at him as quietly as he can.
“Where’s this coming from? I swear, I never understand you.” Jason seems genuinely surprised. Tim feels his rib being pushed beyond what’s comfortable. Why the hell is his leg so heavy?
“Good.” He’s not sure he wants to be understood by the big oaf.
“Thought we were supposed to keep it together, Timbo.” Jason’s tone is something between teasing and bitter, and Tim doesn’t know what to make of it. He… makes a point though. Tim was the one who was giving them a hard time earlier, and now he’s turning around and making things worse. Shit, he has to actually talk to Jason, doesn't he?
“Your knee.” Tim say, direct and simple. He had assumed Jason already knew and was doing it on purpose, but if Tim wants to avoid this turning into a fight then he’ll have to try and give his brother the benefit of the doubt for once.
“My- what?” Jason asks, seeming genuinely confused.
“Your knee. It’s hurting my ribs.” Tim reiterates. It seems like Jason actually didn’t notice, somehow. He should work on his spatial awareness sometime, because that level of obliviousness is just stupid.
“Oh. Sorry.” Jason shuffles around to remedy the situation almost immediately, and Tim feels a bit guilty for not just telling him before getting snippy with him. He didn’t realize Jason would actually care, to be honest. He feels a bit more guilty still when he starts to wonder if his judgment of Jason was even founded in the first place. He’s never really considered the idea that Jason was even capable of being… nice. At least not to him.
The position the end up settling into is still a bit too close for Tim’s anti-social tastes, but it’s more comfortable at the very least. It puts his nose level with the scent glands on Jason’s neck, and loathe as he does to admit it, the smell of a protective alpha pack member is indeed as comforting as he’s heard it would be. He’s not going to start asking Jason to scent him or anything, but if he happens to fall asleep in a shared space… Tim wouldn’t mind watching him sleep for a bit.
It’s stupid, how Tim is only really thinking about it now. He’s surrounded by his pack’s scents all the time, but he’s never really paid attention to any of them before now. It strikes him, with his pack on all sides, that being an introvert only goes so far in excusing self-isolation. He spends far too much wallowing in how alone he is, and nowhere near enough time trying to change it.
That’s not to say he’ll be able to stop butting heads with his brothers overnight, but he could at least… try. Try to- get along with them a bit more. Maybe he should pay attention next time they get dragged to one of Damian’s art shows. Maybe he should actually ask Jason about the book he’s always reading. Tim knows surprisingly little about them, when he stops to think about it.
He’s shocked out of his thoughts when he catches Damian making a genuine purring noise. He can also feel Jason holding back a laugh. He can’t really blame him. Their baby brother doesn’t act like a proper baby all that often. It’s… cute.
Once the shock wears off the purring becomes a pretty effective background noise. It wouldn’t be hard to close his eye and drift off like this. He holds back, if only to wait for Jason to fall asleep first. He very much intends to be the last asleep and the first awake, because he’ll be damned if one of them makes fun of him for how he sounds when he sleeps tomorrow.
Thankfully, Jason seems to doze off not long after. Perfect. Tim takes a deep breath, and lets himself be lulled to sleep by the scents and sounds of this peaceful moment with his pack. He finds himself hoping that there will be more moments like these in the future.
Not that he’ll ever tell his brothers that.