Work Text:
Tim shivers in the cold of the manor. The heat hasn’t fully had time to rise in the old house, as big as it is it takes a few days to get the heat fully going for the winter. His fireplace in his room is out, having not been tended to overnight.
He sniffles his nose, and blearily rubs his eyes as he wraps his blanket around himself and shuffles off towards Bruce’s room. Hopefully, he will find his dad and maybe Damian there, and he can join them to keep warm.
He sneezes and manages to hit his head on his door as he shuts it, but it barely registers as he keeps walking. He is on a mission to get there as swiftly as possible.
He gets to Bruce’s door and nudges it open, expecting to only find Bruce and Damian. His younger brother always has back issues when it’s cold like this, his spinal implant aching from the chill.
Tim usually wraps around him, and Bruce wraps around them both.
Instead, he pushes open the door to see Dick lying folded over Bruce’s side, and Jason’s where he is curled into Bruce. Damian on the edge of it all, half awake and seeming weary.
“Why are you awake?”
He mumbles, padding over and nudging Damian over.
The younger boy resists, shaking his head.
“No… I do not wish to interrupt…” Tim sighs. “You aren’t interrupting. Cmon, it’s cold.”
Damian refuses. He’s lying facing away from the rest of the family, his body curled up and very, very still. Tim studies his face for a minute. His expression is tight and his eyes seem glossy and red-rimmed.
“Ugh… making me do wooork…” he groans, but leaves the warmth of his blanket cocoon. He drapes his blanket over Damian, and then climbs up from the foot of the bed, flopping dramatically and sighing.
“You’re a brat, you know that?” He murmurs softly.
Damian scoffs and rolls his eyes. “I’m no worse than you, Timothy. Now leave me alone or I’ll stab you.” Tim smiles softly and chuckles, ignoring the mild edge in Damian’s voice. He’s heard Damian when he actually has murderous intent, and this is not it. His voice is strained however, tinged with thinly masked pain. So, Tim sighs and slips under the blankets covering the younger boy. He frowns though, hissing slightly at how cold his back is.
“Oh dude… you could’ve told someone.” He sighs.
Damian trembles in front of him.
“I’m not a baby. I can handle myself.”
“I didn’t say you were.” Tim sasses back. “I just said you could have told someone. Everyone here loves you. Any of them would be happy to help. Here, I’ll be right back.”
He tucks the blanket tightly around Damian and dashes back to his room. He grabs his heating pad and comes back, plugging it in and setting it to low. Tim carefully tucks it between himself and Damian’s back as he lies down, placing the bulk of it across as much of the boys spine as the pad will cover..
“Here. This should help.” He whispers.
He gently presses the controller into Damian’s hands. “To adjust the heat. This button.” He puts Damian’s thumb over the correct button, knowing sometimes, when he is cold and locked up like this that he has reduced movements even in his feet and hands.
Damian sniffles, and Tim ruffles his hair.
“It’s okay, brat. Rest.”
“I-it’s just the cold!” Tim nods wisely and kisses the top of his head.
“Oh, I know. Totally dude.” He wraps his arms around Damian, and soon they both fall asleep.
In the morning they wake to the sound of laughter and and camera shutters. Damian flushes bright red as he bolts upright.
“I. Todd! Hand me that this-!” Bruce grabs Jason’s phone, sending himself all of the pictures before Damian can even finish talking.
Tim just sits up and rubs his eyes, before joining in the laughing as Damian starts chasing does Jason through the house.
Dick raises a brow at him, as if to question why they, of all of them, were curled up.
“His back.” Tim says with a shrug.
Dick smiles at that, always happy to see his babiest brothers getting along, and wraps Tim up in a hug. Peace only lasts a few moments however, and then Dick is hoisting him over his shoulder and running off, ignoring Tim’s protests to be put down.
Bruce watches it all with a smile. It’s always a good day to be alive when his boys all get along.