Chapter Text
It was one of Gotham’s rare sunny days, Bruce mused as he led the two excited little girls around Wayne Manor’s grounds. It was a bit chilly in the mid-morning, so he had insisted they grab jackets and throw on leggings before their big walk, but the girls were fortunately compliant. Really, despite Harley’s hyper nature and Pamela’s cautious distance, they were good kids and didn’t make even half as much of a fuss as he’d seen other small children do.
(Eddie too was quite the sweet baby. And while he clearly had a little more work cut out for him with Jonathan, it wasn’t general bratty behavior, it was trauma and could be forgiven.)
So he was happy to give Pammy her tour. It seemed she was already into nature and gardening, no surprise given her late parents’ careers in botany. From what he remembered of her files, her mother was an environmental scientist with a specific focus on plants, along with being avid gardener, and her father was a rather accomplished biotechnician.
Adult Pamela had clearly followed in their footsteps, even if she had definitely taken more of an extreme approach in both her methods and obsession.
Still, that wasn’t something Bruce was willing to punish the child version of her for. As long as he instilled a little more appreciation for people as well as the plants she already clearly loved, he’d count it as progress.
As they walked the well-manicured bushes and walkways, both girls remained polite but antsy. Pamela was just too excited to see his mother’s garden, no matter how restrained she tried to be. While Harley had really only come in combination of not wanting to leave her friend, and the idea of there being more interesting things on the grounds – Pamela had sly suggested that there could be a pool at the manor, which of course instilled much more excitement in the little blonde. (There was a pool, of course, but he wouldn’t ruin her ‘discovery’.)
Just as he thought, as soon as they were within sight of the garden Pamela’s eyes lit up.
“Do you want to take a walk through,” he asked, already knowing the answer.
She nodded enthusiastically, and he chuckled at her adorable eagerness.
It was a beautiful garden. Even Bruce, who didn’t have a passion for gardening, could see that (not to mention the bias of it having been his mother’s). He especially enjoyed being able to share the space with someone who appreciated it; he was sure even grown up Pamela would have.
They entered through the black, steel gate that fenced off Martha’s Garden from the rest of the property, onto a cobblestone path that led through the many sections of plants. The beginning featured many types of flowers, before branching off into other foliage – herbs, shrubs, grasses, trees, fruits, vegetables. None of it was arranged in neat rows like your typical garden would be, instead the plants were placed strategically next to neighbors that would at the very least not hinder growth, if not actually help each other grow.
Bruce didn’t really remember much of his mother’s explanations, though Alfred had expanded his understanding somewhat (for as much as he had no actual interest in the subject itself) but that was the basics of how his mother had set it up.
It was a piece that mimicked nature’s natural beauty to the best of its ability, and was quite the contrast to the rest of the orderly manor grounds. He liked to think it really represented his mother, while the grounds did his father; the two coming together in harmony, in a way.
“It’s gorgeous,” Pamela muttered in what sounded like awe.
“I’m glad you think so,” Bruce said, also softly. “My mother would have loved to talk about plants with you, I think.”
He didn’t even think it’d be a lie. Sure, she wouldn’t have been a fan of Poison Ivy’s extremes, but Martha had been a humanitarian and an environmentalist, among many other things, and would have still sympathized with Isley’s causes.
“Do you also?” Pamela asked him, sounding cautiously optimistic.
“I admittedly don’t know as much about plant care as my mother had, or even Alfred, as he’s the one who maintains it. But I’d still be happy to talk about them with you, maybe you’ll even teach me a thing or two.”
He wouldn’t mind hearing Pammy talk about something she was passionate about, it was sweet hearing children ramble on about things they loved (this included his actual children who, no matter their age, were not exempt from being found cute when they did this, still).
As they walked through the rest of the garden, Pammy indeed started talking about everything she could see growing, and how they worked off each other – like how the oregano growing along the vegetables helped fight off weeds and grass enclosure, how living mulches would reduce weeds and conserve water, or how certain plants that needed full or partial shade were specifically planted under now full grown trees, and so on.
It was actually quite fascinating, Bruce thought as he listened attentively (which he could see Pamela was both surprised and pleased about). Harley asked a few questions, but mainly just let her friend talk.
When they got to the end, he could tell Pammy was sad that this part of the tour was over with.
“That was really pretty,” Harley said, mainly to Pamela, probably trying to cheer her up. “It was like the kind of place you’d see in movies, you know like in some uppity rich schmuck’s backyard.”
After a moment, she realized what she said. “Uh, no offense Mr. B.”
Bruce just waved her off, “Don’t worry, Honey, you aren’t the first to say something like that. Jason still does, and definitely on purpose.”
Like Harley, when Jaylad first came to the manor he would make similar comments without thinking, before realizing it was could be considered rude. Bruce never took it personally though. Now Jason does it intentionally just to annoy him, but Bruce was too used to it.
Harley looked amused at the thought of Jason being a menace. Oh boy. He’d been glad she was getting along with Dick (he had been a rambunctious child and was just as lively as an adult, but he wasn’t Jason levels of trouble). If Harley and Jason teamed up, he didn’t even want to imagine the headache; there was no telling what he could convince a small child to do just to be an annoyance to him.
He didn’t let his potential weariness show on his face though, not wanting to have another upset child this early in the morning. He kept the amused smile on his face as he led the children through the other structures on the property.
Next was the barn that housed Bat-Cow, which Harley immediately insisted on going in and petting.
“She stinks but she’s soooo freaking cute,” was what she declared while hugging the tolerant cow around the neck. Pamela wasn’t as excited about it, but she did give Alfred the cat, who had also wandered in, some pets instead.
Other than that, there was an outdoor exercise area, a path that lead to the family grave sight (he steered them away from there since he figured it was a bit too morbid for a pair of young children), and eventually-
“THERE IS A POOL, YES!”
Bruce chuckled at the little blonde’s excitement. It was much more charming to see it directed at something so innocent instead of destructive.
“We have to go swimming! Please Bruce,” she pleaded up at him.
He ruffled her hair, but mentally sighed in resignation as he doubted she’d let it go.
“I’ll have to get you all some swimsuits.”
And flotation devices, swim diapers, pool toys and games. He’d need to make a list.
At least the pool was in an indoor enclosure – necessary for Gotham’s constant gloomy weather – so they wouldn’t need to actually wait for a warm enough day. And it’d be a fun activity for them all, one even his ‘bigger kids’ could enjoy with the little ones.
“Yeessss,” Harley hissed in a cheer.
“Could we-” the speaker cut herself off.
Bruce turned to Pamela, who was looking rather shy. He supposed she wanted to ask for something specific as well but was too afraid of being told no, or perhaps of being ‘impolite’.
“What is it, Pammy?”
He crouched down to her level and kept his tone as open and kind as possible.
He wanted the little girl to feel comfortable enough to ask for something, to help close that self-imposed distance between them that she seemed to keep for adults. At least she was making steady progress without him having to nudge things.
“Could we also eat lunch outside, in the garden? I saw tables there,” she said the last part unsurely, perhaps wondering if they had been for decoration only.
Well, they hadn’t meant to be. Just because he hardly ventured out there after his parents’ death, didn’t mean his mother hadn’t wanted the set up for that exact purpose.
“Of course we can,” he assured her. “I’m sure Alfred would love to put together a picnic lunch for everyone, we can all eat it out there in the garden. That’s a wonderful idea, Pammy.”
He pet her head, unsure if she would appreciate her wilder hair being messed up in any way. She didn’t lean into the touch like Harley or Eddie would have, but she didn’t flinch or push him away like Jonny would have either; he’d count it as a win.
For now, they’d head back inside.
Maybe he could convince Alfred to let Pammy help out in the garden before lunch. He knew she’d love that. Harley would either tag along (he’d need to ask another of his kids to help out poor Alfred, there was no way he’d be able to handle both girls at once when distracted) or she’d join one of the others who were watching over the two younger ones.
Jason would no doubt keep Eddie entertained with books in the library, and he was sure Stephanie would still be there. He wasn’t quite sure how Dick was handling Jonathan, who had wanted no specific activity other than to not be near Bruce for a while (a little hurtful, but understandable since he was no doubt completely overwhelmed before), but he was sure he’d welcome Harley’s arrival.
Or if he could summon Cassandra or Tim, then Harley could do her own thing. Though both he and Tim had paperwork to get through today, and two separate meetings for the company, so he’d likely not be available until later – he was definitely dragging him out to the garden for lunch though, he would not upset Pammy by chancing her thinking he didn’t want to come, after all.
He'd also have to get the kids down for naps before he left. Internally he sighed, wondering how much of a challenge they would make it.
If you had told Harley that she and Ivy would be spending a (rare) nice day outside, sitting at an elegant little table, nibbling on snacks and coloring leisurely (it was the best relaxing hobby, she stood by it!), while her beautiful girlfriend worked her magic in a garden just 10 feet away (with a butler she might add), well she would have assumed they’d taken a well deserved vacation. (And if you had told her it would have been at Batman’s house, she would have laughed herself to death, even without Joker Gas.)
But here she was, under a lovely sun, in a cute outfit that was not her usual style but not terrible either, with free food and little activities to do. (Ah, just for a little while she could pretend to be a pretentious rich bitch.)
Sure she had to be watched over by one of the BatBrats, but it was the silent one, Cass, who was pretty chill. The quiet girl was was coloring right beside her, also just enjoying the atmosphere.
Alfred chilled out pretty quickly too.
Sure, as soon as Bruce left the room he had threatened them with a well-hidden gun, declaring that if they so much as even thought about using any of the plants to hurt anyone he wouldn't hesitate to end them (honestly in that moment, the old man earned her respect and admiration, that was cool). But as soon as Ivy sincerely expressed that she really was just looking forward to working in that garden, which they both could tell she was already in love with, he chilled back down.
Cass had been asked to ‘watch’ Harley, but she was definitely there as backup for Ivy, ‘just in case’. Hey, Harley didn’t fault them one bit for being precautious, they’d have to be idiots not to. But both she and Pammy (she totally was stealing that nickname from B, it was hers now) both knew and respected it.
“So I said to him, no I’m not calling you a class act narcissist because of ‘internet lingo,’ I’m calling you one because I’m an actual doctor, and YOU are a goon with a god complex,” she rambled to her ‘babysitter’.
“He, of course, got pissed, called me a bitch, and tried to attack me – ended that real quick before he could even think. Like I know I’m a pretty face, but I still earned my degree! Eight years of college and a three years of residency, and people just dismiss me! And I’m not even talkin after the whole ‘went off the deep end’ thing with Mr. J, I was getting disrespected way before that.”
Cass stayed surprisingly attentive, nodding in agreement as she had been for the past half hour. Even if she didn’t speak much (it wasn’t due to anxiety, Harley could tell; Cass was very calm in her presence, and when she did speak it was very self-assured, so another type of issue perhaps, if even one at all), she was still pretty nice company.
“I understand,” Cassandra replied. “The same has happened to me, but mainly with civilians, surprisingly.”
Now it was Harley’s turn to agree enthusiastically.
“Yes! Girl, same. Randos, not even goons or crooks, heckling, acting like they’d be superior in a fight. Treating me like some brain dead arm candy, still wet behind the ears despite me having a rap sheet longer than a CVS receipt. Straight up delusional.”
It was fun to rant to someone new, and who could apparently also understand. Ivy’s heard it all before, and shared her own experiences, but her girlfriend preferred not to dwell on it (usually because she’d already gotten revenge, or made her point, in the moment).
Crane didn’t receive the same disrespect, at least not in regard to his degree (lucky bastard). And while she could go on about it with Eddie, and had before, sometimes his OCD got in the way and the conversation would go in loops as he’d spiral, and as a doctor, she couldn’t in good conscience do that to him, purposely (unless he deserved it).
Speaking of Eddie though, she wondered how he was getting on with Jason. He hadn’t wanted to come with from the get-go, so he had looked pleadingly at Tim, and then looked utterly defeated when Tim told him they’d ‘play later’ (he could be so dramatic sometimes, it was so funny), only for Jason to jump in and offer to ‘babysit’.
She was surprised he had, even more so when he said he’d take him to the library to ‘read to him’ saying he was ‘probably still a book nerd,’ to which Stephanie threw in ‘Jay, you’re a book nerd,’ (which was a great discovery about Red Hood, in her opinion), and that was all it took. Yeah, no doubt Riddler would love to pursue Batman’s library, try to get in his head, yadda yadda. (Honestly she thought they were learning more about him by observation than anything, but to each their own.)
As for Jonathan, Dick just told B that he’d ‘watch him.’ Going by what they discussed earlier, he was no doubt taking him to work on reversing the Fear Toxin formula. It actually left her feeling rather divided – on the one hand, she was happy that they’d be making progress on it already, since it was unclear how long it’d take; but at the same time, it felt like they just started this vacation. She… felt safe here, like she could relax. Like she and Ivy could just spend time together without worrying about being a target. It was nice. Even if they had to keep any intimacy to a G rating (not necessarily a bad thing short term), it was still just nice. She’d miss it.
“Speaking of delusions,” she said, picking the conversation back up. “You hear about the latest about that ‘King Tut’ guy, or whatever?”
She’d just have to enjoy it for as long as possible.
It had been so nice to have an adult discussion, even for just a little while, Edward thought.
He hadn’t actually expected an intellectual debate to come from Jason of all people. Not just for the stereotype that a gangster like Red Hood had, but also since he’d been a little antagonistic thus far (not severely so, just more obviously reveling in their discomfort and humiliation, than any of the others had).
He'd been skeptical when the bulky man (What the hell was with this family and their abnormal sizes and strength, just what was Batman feeding his Robins?) had suggested he could take him to the library instead of having Bruce carry him around while Ivy ogled the foliage. He knew it was rather obvious that he hadn’t wanted to be dragged outside, but after failing to appeal to Tim to let him take a look at those cases early, he hadn’t expected anyone else to volunteer to spend time with him (not willingly, not for his benefit, and certainly not Jason).
But he had taken him to the library as promised, with Stephanie tagging along, no doubt wanting to witness his shock at Red Hood actually being cultured. And he was! He couldn’t deny it (not that he would, he was petty but not delusional).
Jason had led him to a beautiful library that contained multitudes of subjects ranging from classical literature, history, fiction, various nonfiction works, psychology, and even things like mystery and romance novels! He also spotted some children’s books as well, but had quickly turned away from that selection, not wanting to add more fodder for teasing.
As he went wild exploring the room from top to bottom, Jason had sat down with a rather well-loved copy of Pride and Prejudice (worn but not abused, the condition showed repeated reads but no actual damage). Edward of course couldn’t hide his surprise, and Jason, upon noticing, made a quip about “hasty judgements” – a reference and an opening – which got the two talking.
It was so thrilling to have not only an adult conversation, but an intellectual one as well! They jumped from topic to topic, not even stopping when Alfred rounded them all up for a picnic lunch outside. They debated philosophies as Jason held his hand and brought him outside. Ed didn’t even stop fully as he picked at a plate of fruits, meats, cheeses and crackers, to appease Bruce (all of good quality too, which definitely didn’t hurt).
After eating two plates, he fully refocused his attention on Jason their discussion of No Exit’s most famous line “hell is other people” and the debate on whether it had merit – Jason was in agreement, while Edward agreed only to an extent (he thought he was well versed in experience with the idea, considering most of the rogues would all kill each other if forced to cohabit long-term, and yet still disagreed with the notion as an absolute as long as they shared a common enemy).
To keep Bruce from worrying over how heated their talk could get, they had decided on a strategy: Ed would gesture Paddington around, as if he was the one ‘speaking,’ and Jason would ‘respond’ to Paddington with his own toy – a random soft dinosaur toy he had grabbed on the way outside.
Thus Jason was seen as ‘entertaining the baby,’ a great play cover for Bruce to not-quite-coo over (even if Bruce didn’t quite do that, he did appear to soften at the sight, and from Batman that was pretty much what it was.)
While Ed and Jason ‘played,’ Harley and Dick occupied themselves with an intense but non-serious gymnastics competition, that felt more reminiscent of a cheer routine by the end of it.
Edward wasn’t quite sure what was happening with Jonathan, only that he tried to stay as sullen and silent as possible, despite Bruce repeatedly trying to draw him into conversation. It was quickly becoming a game amongst the remaining unoccupied Batfamily members to ‘help’ Bruce with his goal to, Ed supposed, get Jon to open up more. (Any time Ed took a moment to look over, it was always a hilarious sight.)
The only one seemingly grumpier than Jonathan was the youngest Robin, Damien, who had come home earlier than usual from school with Duke, the second youngest. Bruce had gone to pick them up after a false alarm for a Joker bomb, the entire school having been dismissed early. (The longer Joker stayed hidden, the more tense Gotham became. The only good news was that it meant Batman would be out looking for the clown for as long as possible, which meant a cure could be worked on more easily in the Batcave after he left.)
Lastly, Ivy was probably the most content of the bunch. After, apparently, several hours of gardening with Alfred, the two had come to some sort of truce/understanding… or at least discovered some kind of kinship over a shared love of the garden. As such, the two were near each other, sipping tea and observing those around them fondly (how strangely domestic).
The point being it wasn’t a bad afternoon at all. At least it wasn’t until Bruce stood up, maybe half an hour after everyone had finished eating, and declared:
“Alright kids, it’s nap time.”
All four ‘kids’ managed stunned silence at the announcement, before the protests started. Edward and Jonathan were of course the most vocal.
“I’m not tired!” Ed tried to reason, keeping Bruce’s mental state in mind at least.
“I don’t need a nap,” Jonathan started out before also trying to argue his point. “I don’t take those.”
“I don’t know, Eddie, you sound just a bit fussy to me, Baby.” Bruce reasoned. “And Jonny, that’s not a good thing, Pumpkin, you’re really too little to be going without a nap in the afternoon, still.”
Jonathan immediately went red at the sound of a new endearment, and Ed took the opportunity to raise an eyebrow at him, giving him an overly smug look, as the brunet glared back. Ed loved karma, sometimes… when he believed it in.
“Gee Bruce,” Harley interrupted their impromptu stare down with her own theatrical performance. “I’m in kindergarten-” she glanced over at Jason, who she must have gotten the idea from. “We don’t really do naps anymore, we do Quiet Time. Can I do that?”
Bruce actually took a moment to think on that, before acquiescing to her point.
“Alright, Harley, as long as you promise to actually lay down and have Quiet Time, that’s what you and Pammy can do,” he promised her.
“Sounds good, B!” She gave a thumbs up, and Ivy nodded in agreement.
“Dick, would you mind setting the girls up in either their rooms or maybe the family room on the couches? Just get them comfortable and the room dark, for ‘Quiet Time,’ please. I need to get the younger ones down.”
Dick’s agreement was lost in the sounds of the Edward and Jonathan immediately protesting again.
“Nope, sorry,” Bruce said, unapologetically, walking over and picking Ed up. “I’m more lenient with the girls since they’re a bit bigger.”
Ed heard Harley’s muffled laughter at their misfortune, and glared at her over Bruce’s shoulder.
“But you two are still too little to go without a nap. End of discussion,” he continued as he walked over to Jonathan.
The other, assuming B would want to hold his hand, crossed his arms and turned away with a scowl. But Bruce didn’t, instead, he swept Jon up onto his other hip with his remaining arm, no hesitation or sign of strain in sight.
Only Ed had heard the barely audible squeak of surprise that Jon let out after he was unexpectedly lifted, but he was just too surprised by Batman’s strength to comment on it. (Forget the Robins, what was Batman feeding himself?!) And judging by the wide-eyed looks worn by many others as Bruce turned around to address another, they weren’t expecting it either.
“Alfred, I hate to bother you, but would you mind helping me with the kids for a few minutes,” Bruce addressed the butler.
“Of course, Master Bruce,” Alfred said looking the least surprised of the entire group, standing and walking over to follow Bruce back up to the manor. Edward had a moment of intrigue for the man who never seemed to break composure despite his boss’s antics.
“Thanks,” Bruce said as they walked, looking like he was carrying oversized pillows instead of two grown men (admittedly, Edward acknowledged, he and Jonathan weren’t the biggest people, more tall than anything, but still).
“Would you mind making two bottles for me please?”
Edward blinked in surprise, wondering if Bruce’s brain was rewriting their ages or something (if he was, he may be able to convince he man that he was older), while Jonathan scowled.
“I’m not the baby, here!”
Like the oh-so mature adult he actually was, Ed tried to kick him in retaliation (hey, glaring only accomplished so much at this point). Bruce sighed, bouncing both ‘children’ as he answered Alfred’s raised eyebrow more than Jon’s objection.
“I know Jonny is technically too big for one, but in certain cases it can be used as a comfort item,” he explained. “I’m hoping it’ll help him relax naturally enough to actually fall asleep.”
At that explanation, Alfred nodded in understanding.
“I see, very well, I shall prepare them and meet you in the ‘children’s’ bedrooms,” he said.
“My room, actually,” Bruce corrected. “I don’t think I trust these two not to forgo naptime if left alone, so I’ll have to get them down while they’re both with me. I’ll probably have a little power nap with them, honestly.”
Edward frowned at B stopping any future plans before they even became a thought; damn, he could have used the opportunity to slip out and explore! Bruce said he’d lay down as well though, maybe he could sneak out while he was sleeping?
“Very well, sir. I’ll meet you there.”
With that, Alfred broke off towards the kitchen area, while Bruce carried both boys upstairs (without even breaking a sweat, sheesh), after making a pit stop to the room where their new clothes were being kept.
“It wouldn’t be very comfy to sleep in overalls, would it? Let’s get you two into some jammies.”
For Edward, B picked out a white footed set with tiny repeating purple Batman symbols. While Jonathan was given a purple set with yellow Batman symbols. (And Joker thought Batman didn’t have a sense of humor, if only he knew… actually No, he wasn’t going to jinx himself with that thought. Joker must Never find out about this - as far as he'd know, Batman was as serious as a gunshot wound!)
Ed suffered through Bruce undressing him, frowning at his, again, unused diaper, and redressing him in new pajamas. Jon fought against Bruce helping him, insisting he was perfectly capable, and grumbling when the man hovered nearby ‘just in case’.
They were then led into Bruce’s bedroom, the same Master bedroom Ed had been in the night before (though he had been rather distracted and too over-stimulated at the time to really look around). He picked them up placed them on the king sized bed, before grabbing some extra pillows and laying them on the floor off the sides of the beds as a precaution.
Next, the lights were turned low, not completely dark due to the sunlight peeking in through the blinds, but enough to create the right atmosphere. Bruce then grabbed a remote to, not a tv, but to a surround sound system, hitting play on what sounded to Edward like meditation music – something with low, tikling notes, and vibrations, designed to relax the body (he supposed he should be happy they weren’t lullabies, the situation was awkward enough).
A knock sounded as Bruce hopped up onto the bed last, placing himself in the middle with Edward and Jonathan on either side of him.
“Come in, Alfred.”
The door opened and Alfred strolled in like this was just another day, two bottles held in his hand.
“Here you are, sir,” he said, handing them over to Bruce, no doubt knowing that handing them to the ‘kids’ themselves wouldn’t be the best idea.
Bruce thanked and dismissed Alfred before handing the first bottle over to Ed.
Now, Edward had a few choices here: he could reject it and spend the entire afternoon fighting with Bruce about sleeping, and cause Batman some much deserved stress (it definitely sounded cathartic). But after witnessing Jonathan being put in Time Out that morning, he would rather not deal with that as a possibility (not that it would actually do anything, it just sounded annoying to deal with). It also wasn’t like napping was a new concept to him either, he did it plenty in Arkham when there wasn’t much to do. …Plus, if Bruce got mad at him, he might not want to solve his riddles, and that would make staying here for the foreseeable future so much worse.
With that last thought, he took the bottle and popped it into this mouth. It was definitely more awkward to do himself than be forced to by Bruce, but not by a large margin. Just as last night, it seemed to be regular, plain milk.
Bruce smiled at him and laid him down, before turning to Jonathan expectantly. The other, however, did not cooperate.
“I told you, I’m too old for that.”
“Alright, you don’t have to drink it if you don’t want to,” Bruce allowed. “But it’s here if you want it. You remember what I told you before? It’s okay to want comfort. It also might make you sleepy.”
“I don’t want to sleep.”
The two went back and forth for a bit, it was pretty entertaining to watch Jon try to argue with a delusional Batman. He knew that neither Harley nor Ivy had it as bad as them, so her advice to ‘just go with it’ wasn’t nearly as easy as she liked to preach. But at the same time, he could acknowledge that it did make it easier sometimes, like in that moment.
“Sorry Jonny, but like I said before, you’re too little to go without a nap. You’ll feel a lot better after you sleep for a bit, especially with the late night you guys had.”
“I’ve never needed ‘extra sleep’ b'fore, I’ll be fine, I assure you. I- it was never necessary.”
“Oh it very much was necessary,” Bruce said sounding slightly angry.
Even though Edward knew, based off of B’s actions in the last day, that it was most likely righteous anger at Jonathan’s past guardians, he still couldn’t help but flinch slightly at the tone. (Normally it wouldn’t affect him, but normally he purposely brought Batman’s ire on himself, so it was very much expected. Here it felt like it came out of nowhere.)
Bruce, surprisingly, noticed and wrapped an arm around Eddie, pulling him flush against him in a partial hug; shushing him, apologizing as he ran his fingers through his auburn hair.
“Sorry Sweetpea, it’s okay. You’re okay.”
It was unbelievably awkward… but also weirdly comforting. And warm.
B continued to affectionately running a hand through his hair, even after picking his conversation back up with Jonathan, though now in a much quieter tone. Strangely, Ed seemed to actually find himself getting tired. Normally, it took hours of monotony for the boredom to turn to tiredness. And when properly occupied (and/or in a spiral) he could go DAYS without sleep.
So why-
His eyes widened, as much as they could while being brought low by exhaustion: The Bottle.
Or more specifically, the milk inside.
But it didn’t taste drugged – there was no off flavor, he couldn’t smell anything either, the color was normal. It all pointed to it being just regular, plain milk.
And yet this sleepiness was NOT natural.
There certainly were colorless, odorless, tasteless drugs (and poisons) out there, but they weren’t Batman’s style.
His butler however-
He yawned, finally dropping the bottle he’d been still subconsciously sucking on, eyes closing. At least the old man wouldn’t kill them, if only to keep ‘Master Bruce’ from getting upset.
With that last thought, he was out.
Jonathan stared incredulously at the sight of Edward actually falling asleep.
Was the other man serious?
He knew Edward had been more complicit in the coddling after it showed that Bruce couldn’t understand him and thus would do whatever he wanted anyway, but he could also see that it wasn’t just that. Not only from this moment, but in other small instances as well – looking genuinely happy at Bruce taking the time to solve his riddles without being forced, gazing at him in appreciation after being given approval for something as trivial as choosing a toy name, cooperating when being held by not only Bruce, but Nightwing now too!
Edward was someone who craved attention and validation, especially from people in positions of authority (and if he didn’t get it, he retaliated, because, as the saying went, ‘even negative attention was good attention’). Normally, that resulted in challenging Batman, not only to show off his cunning, but to have the man’s acknowledgement, even if by force.
But here, there was no force necessary, he had Batman’s gaze, and for once in a more positive light. He couldn’t say whether the infantilizing was actually helping deal with his issues, as it wasn’t an aspect of psychology he had really delved into – it had come up of course, plenty of people dealing with their fears regressed into a younger state of mind, but he never bothered to look deeper into it as a tool that could be utilized, instead of just a reaction from fear – though he had at least heard of the concept in passing.
The point being that Edward was clearly being affected by this; Jonathan couldn’t say if it was negatively impacting him or not, at least not without more data.
Though he could acknowledge that Edward didn’t seem to be spiraling as much as usual. The Riddler had an extreme case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - OCD. Most people associated that with excessive hand washing, but that was only true for some – such as if they had any sort of fear of germs or of being dirty – as Obsessive Compulsions are based on anxieties or thoughts.
Edward’s OCD triggers stemmed from not being thought of as smart enough – causing him to issue challenges (usually riddles) to prove intellect and/or superiority. He had other tie-ins as well; being mostly neglected growing up (with some physical and emotional abuse mixed in, but also rooted in his father trying to make him feel inferior), caused him to seek out attention if not validation, and validation if not approval.
Having talked about it with him before, he knew that sometimes Edward’s thoughts would spiral when he hyper-focused on a train of thought so much that it went in circles, until he was essentially stuck in a loop.
But in the day they’d been here, he hadn’t seen Edward work himself up like that. It had only been a day though, which was hardly enough data to really tell, especially in a new environment with a rather distracting situation, but based on how his pattern of behavior usually went… it was odd.
He couldn’t say that the babying was a positive for sure, but he didn’t believe it was affecting him negatively either.
“What are you thinking so hard about?”
Jonathan looked up Bruce, who was watching him with open concern. What really threw Jonathan off about this whole thing was Batman showing true care. Of course he thought they were small children, and (frustratingly) young children at that. But he never held their real selves against them: even when he saw Ivy still obsessed with plants, or delt with Edward still asking him riddles. And while he’d gotten upset with Jon for his behavior, it was never for long and always (confusingly, infuriatingly) came with empathy and affection.
It felt strange but he supposed, like with Edward, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
And thus, perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to be a little more cooperative, if only to lessen the amateur therapy Bruce was trying to force on him.
Jonathan just shook his head in dismissal. The other man didn’t look convinced, but didn’t push him either.
“Okay Jonny, you really need to sleep now, okay. I’d still like you to try the milk because it’ll help make you sleepy. But if you really don’t want it, we can try a soother, instead. You want me to have Dick bring you a paci?”
Absolutely not. He may have decided to cooperate more, but he’d still like to limit the amount of humiliation he endured, thank you.
At least the bottle was already here, and it would finally appease him. It would also hopefully end this conversation.
“I-” He took a breath. “I’ll try the bottle, I suppose.”
“Thank you, Pumpkin. Good job giving it a try,” Bruce said handing over the bottle.
Even if he had agreed to it, he still blushed when he took it, and avoided Bruce’s gaze as he stuck the nipple in his mouth, giving it a small suck. It was… unfamiliar.
Not the taste, that was to be expected, but the action, the concept. He couldn’t help but feel shame, even though he knew Bruce saw him as a very young child.
Obviously seeing his hesitance, Bruce guided him into laying back on the bed, and settled down beside him, present but not looking at him any longer. Jon appreciated the slight space, feeling slightly calmer already. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the reality of what was happening, instead choosing to think of it as an experiment.
His studies on biology focused more on how the areas of the brain reacted to certain stimulants, a very specific focus rather than a wide range of knowledge. Still, it was pretty well known that infants, both human and not, had the instinct to suckle from birth (from the womb even), and was a natural source of comfort; so Bruce was correct in that aspect. He also understood what Bruce was trying to do from a psychological perspective as well – allowing a seemingly traumatized child to explore the comforts they had been denied, in a way that was also biologically self-soothing.
Thus, this would be an experiment for himself, in suddenly conducting what was basically the opposite of what he usually put himself through. It would be interesting to see if he could even accept it, as he admittedly (if only to himself) wasn’t great at allowing himself comfort. He was especially curious as to how it would affect him once he went back to his usual experiments; would it result in a more potent reaction? Might be something to consider…
It took a few minutes, but he did calm down a surprising amount. He wasn’t quite asleep - though as he felt Bruce gently brush the hair from his face, reminiscent of what he had been doing with Edward before - he suddenly felt like he was much too awake to be dealing with this right now, and allowed himself to succumb to the sleep that Bruce wanted.