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Danny yelped, clutching Bruce’s arm tightly as the large siren charged from the beach, straight home, dashing into their den in a storm of black. Bruce burst into the bed chamber, causing the other siblings in there to jump in surprise, a cacophony of chirps and trills following them, even more so when Dick spotted Danny nestled within their father’s arms.
In contrast to his wild charge back home, Bruce’s hands were tremblingly gentle as he laid Danny down on a flat plain of rock. The little guppy shivered at the touch of the cold stone, but he didn’t have to wait long before Bruce’s fingers were flipping over Danny’s fins, turning him over, his eyes searching for injury.
“I’m ok, B-Bruce. I’m ok!” he chirped. The rest of the siblings crowded around him, heads peeking over Bruce’s shoulder.
“Where did you find him B? Where was he??” Dick asked.
“Are you hurt? I’ll kill them!” Damian snarled.
“Why don’t you focus on watching Danny more closely, demon brat? You were supposed to bring him home!”
A black-finned hand slapped Jason’s and Damian’s alike, causing the siren boys to hiss. “Quiet…” Cass whispered.
Danny was flipped over onto his belly, as Bruce’s fingers ran down his sail. Finally, Bruce let out a sigh, before scooping Danny back up and hugging him tightly.
Danny whimpered, squeezing back despite his meagre size. “I’m sorry Bruce…” His eyes drooped, a result of his exhausting journey. Almost immediately his chest thrummed with a soft purr.
“I was so worried,” Bruce rumbled. “We all were. Please don’t do that again, guppy.”
Danny chirped apologetically. “I didn’t mean to swim so far away. A current caught me, and I couldn’t swim back and I was so lost and it was so scary.”
“Sshh…” Bruce soothed, rubbing circles into Danny’s scales. “It’s alright. I’ve got you.”
A large shadow fell over them. Danny trilled a question, looking up to see a huge blanket had fallen over Bruce, draping them in shadow. “Blanket time!” Dick declared.
Despite being really big himself, Dick didn’t hesitate to burrow underneath Bruce and snatching Danny for himself. Sirens loved to touch, and cuddle and brush tails, so Danny was used to this by now, their habit of snatching him away to hold him. That didn’t mean he liked it all the time!
He squirmed in Dick’s grip, beating his tail against his big brother’s hold. “Lemme go!”
“Nuh uh, little man. After the stunt you pulled, you’re not going anywhere.”
Some fabric swished as Damian joined the blanket pile. Cass tried to wiggle in as well, but the blanket wasn’t big enough. And where were Jason, Tim and Duke?
“You’re going to be grounded, guppy,” Bruce said. “and you’ll be put on heating duty.”
Danny whined. Heating duty was when he had to sit still while other people in the pod held him or strapped him to their backs. He hated it…
But he accepted his punishment, because no matter what, he was still home and safe after his harrowing ordeal.
But Bruce still seemed bothered by something. He had stared at that human lady for so long, but never said a word.
“Bruce?” Danny chirped. By the time he’d gathered the energy to speak again, a difficult task as the sleepiness crept up on him, Jason had found some more blankets, and pulled Cass in to snuggle next to Dick.
“So where was Danny when you found him?” Jason interrupted. Danny pouted at his turn having been revoked, and scratched at Jason, even though he was too far away for his tiny arms to reach.
“I found him beached, being carried by a human woman.”
Immediately the others gasped, but a slight hiss from Cass quietened them down.
“Bruce?” Danny asked again, tugging gently on Bruce’s arm fin. “Do you know that lady? You were staring at her for ages…”
Bruce stiffened, his eyes looking at the wall, unmoving.
“I don’t know. I don’t remember meeting anyone like her.” Bruce lowered his head, draping his fins over Dick and Danny alike.
The others tried pressing Bruce for more answers, but that just got them subsumed into his massive reach, or pinched on the back of the neck like they were little kittens. Danny drifted off to sleep, wondering about the connecting between those people…