Chapter Text
“Hey, Baby,” Damian looked up, meeting Selina’s gaze as she parked her hip in his doorframe. “Whatcha workin on?”
He smiled, body lax against his comforter, legs kicking freely in the air. “Just drawing.”
“Yeah?” She hummed, arms crossing. “Still working on that portrait of Titus?
“Yep.”
He couldn’t help but smile at the page. Tons of sketches surrounding a perfect picture of his hound. Damian would say it’s the best drawing he’d done in a while.
Selina slunk in, climbing up on the bed and scooting in close. “Lemme see how it’s going, come on—” She bumped their elbows together, getting a giggle out of him before he pushed over the drawing— “Oh, Damian, this is beautiful.” Selina reached an arm around him, hugging them close together.
He beamed at the praise, giggle again as Selina kissed the top of his head. “Imma do one for Alfred!”
“Oh, he would love that.”
“Mhmm,” Damian looked at his armoire, a black tail flicking over the side of its top. “He Won’t sit still.” He frowned, pointing up at the swishing.
“Maybe you could ask Tim to take a few pictures of her. Work from those,” She shifted back to her knees, pushing against the headrest. “You could ask him-”
“Right now!?!”
Laughing, Selina shook her head, pulling Damian over to her lap. “No, what I was going to say was you could ask him after,” She fluffed yo the comforter, pulling Damian into its embrace. “We have a little nap.”
Damian groan into her side. He kicked at the blankets.
“I know—” she swiftly tucked the comfort around around his legs— “it’s too late in the day for a nap. But Baba is going to be home very very late tonight and you, little mister, are notorious for staying up till he gets home.
“If we take our nap now, then we can stay up till Baba gets home.” Selina brush her fingers along Damian’s cheeks, trying to sooth through his little fussings.
It wasn’t so much the staying up that was the problem. Bruce got back late every night, but that was because of patrol. Tonight he was in New York. Some event about the new governor- old friend with Martha and Thomas. He wouldn’t be back at 1 in the morning like usual, more likely around 4 in the morning. And that was where the problem lies. Damian staying up was fine. He wasn’t in school, didn’t follow a strict sleep schedule, and, was usually, happy to nap and make up sleeping hours. However, if Bruce wasn’t home? He’d try to stay up.
The word is try. Too late in the day without a nap? Sleep would over take the boy. Leave him in a panic sleepy state that brought on the worst nightmares. Someone would be interrupted in the middle of the night, Damian banging on their door or pushing at their shoulder. Then he would stay up the rest of the night, too panicked to even think about sleep.
“I’m not tired!” Damian pulled his arms from the folds.
“Yeah, but you will be,” She chuckled, pushing herself in closer to tuck them together. “Besides, you want to snuggle with Mama, don’t you?”
“No!”
“No?” Selina gussied up her frown, making Damian giggle and laugh as he tried to wiggle himself away. “You don’t want to snuggle with your poor—” She tickled at his shoulders— “Old—” She tickled down his arms— “Mama!” The tips of her fingers barely graced the boy’s belly before he was hollering with laughter.
Damian pulled himself fully from the covers with his kicks, trying to grab over his stomach to stop the attack. He lent into Selina even as she sighed and slowed her fingers, tickling moving on to simple soothing. He never yawned, never stretched. Just kept the wide awake look in the center of his eyes.
She shook her head, kneeling it into his thick head of hair. “You aren’t napping for me, are you?” His head shake just brought on more sighing, her lips pecking at his forehead. She smoothed down his spiky little baby hairs, petting them gently. “And why not?”
“I’m too big.” He mumbled back, leaning in till his head hit the nook of her neck.
“Too big?”
“Mhmm.”
“Who told you that nonsense, Damian? Mama needs to teach them a lesson.”
His laugh was meeker now, calmer “Nobody.”
“Nobody?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Selina chuckled, wrapping her arms right round his shoulders. “Well then, I must be in the wrong mansion,” She saw Damian’s face screw up in confusion as she nabbed at his chin. “Cause all I see here is my baby and my baby cannot be too big to take a nap with me.”
“Mama—“
“I am not your Mama,” She pushed his chin away, moving Damian out of her lap.” No, you said you were too big and I know my baby isn’t too big to take a nap with me,” Selina shook her head, standing from the bed. “Now who is your mama, because I need to have a word with her about how big you are, young man.”
“You’re my mama!” Damian giggled, pushing himself to the edge of the bed.
“I don’t think so,” She trotted out the room, hearing little socked feet running after her. “And Why are you following me? I thought you were a big boy who didn’t need a mama to nap with? I’m just going to find her.”
“You’re my mama!” Damian kept giggling, following Selina down to the master suite.
She pushed open the door, putting on an over dramatic smile full of relief the second Bruce was in view. “Oh goodness, for a minute there I thought I had walked into the wrong house,” She laughed, linked her arm into Bruce’s as he glance her over.
“Oh yeah?” He pecked at her cheek, looking more puzzled as Damian came in after her. “What’s—“
“You let a child walk into the house all by himself, Bruce. Just some mama’s boy,” Selina shook her head, gesturing back at Damian. “He says he’s too big to take a nap with his mama and I know my baby isn’t that big,” Her arms crossed.
Damian only kept laughing, his little fists grabbing at Selina’s pant leg. “I’m not Mama’s baby!”
Bruce caught on quick.
“Of course you aren’t,” He said, watching as Damian smirked back up at Selina- as if he had won the argument. “You’re someone else’s baby.”
The two had never seen Damian’s face fall so quickly. “No! No I am! I am!”
“That’s right,” Bruce just laughed along, his hand messing with the tie round his neck. “You’re someone else’s baby, don’t worry we’ll help you find you’r folks and get you sorted.”
“Baba!”
“Oh, hun,” Selina rubbed at Damian’s back lightly. “That’s not your Baba. This Baba has a nice little boy who takes naps with his mama.”
They were making Damian shriek, his fists pulling at Selina’s pant a bit too hard for comforts same as he jumped. “No, I’m your baby,” His laughs turned more to tears, body pushing in closer. “You’re my mama! My Baba!” He cried out, hands up in the air and grabbing towards either parent.
Bruce sighed, locking his hands under Damian’s rump and clipping him straight on his hip. “There’s our baby,” he soothes, “There was a big boy here saying he was you. And saying he was too big for naps with his mama,” Bruce rocked them towards the bed. “But we knew better. Knew it wasn’t our baby.”
Selina cooed lightly, coming from the other side of the bed to kiss at his temple. “Is my baby ready for a nap now?” His little head shook, tears still dripping down his cheeks. “No? Oh, but baby—“ her hand started brushing the little streaks away— “ain’t no way you’re making it till Baba gets home. He hasn’t even left yet, hun, and he won’t be back home for another 12 hours.
“Tell you what,” Selina caught his chin again, smiling wide and eyes crinkled. “Why don’t we see Baba, Alfie, and Tim to the car? Then we’ll head back up here for a rest and see about having breakfast for dinner, what do you think?” She thumb round his ears, taking his bitty cheeks in her palms. “That sound about right?”
Damian coughed, gasping a bit before nodding, reaching back out to grasp around her neck. “Need Titus,” he mumbled out, coughing again.
“We’ll meet you in the garage,” She mumbled out, pulling Damian up and off the bed. “Let’s grab you some water before we see them off.” There was more grumbling, but Damian was too slack in her arms to put up much fight.
Selina rocked him down the stairs, keeping his head to her neck the whole way down. She listened to his breathing, felt his grip tighten and loosen as he fell in and out of sleepy spells. Her eyes rolled as she caught sight of Tim in a similar position in Alfred’s lap. The boy was lopsiding his shoulders, head and open mouth press on an efficiently placed handkerchief. It was keeping a drool strain from forming on the grandfather’s waistcoat. They were both pressed into the kitchen nook, just to the side of the garage.
“Seems like we both have our hands full,” Alfred mussed, sip at a cup. “Better make care to keep him awake while he drinks. Would not be fair to have him choke and cough up a storm.”
Selina chuckled softly, pulling a water bottle from the fridge and making herself comfortable in the nook. She gave the bottle over, Damian subduedly sipping at the straw. Her eyes caught on Tim— his figure rising and falling with deep breaths, body still a tad stiff in his suit— settling softly crinkled.
“His car seat set up alright?”
“I assure you, he will be safely strapped in. No need to worry.”
“I’m still going to.”
Alfred smiled down at the boy, head shaking. “I’m sure even Thomas would be worried about Bruce if he were here today.”
“If my father were here he’d have had me committed to an institution,” Bruce pushed in the kitchen doors, grabbing himself a water bottle and an apple from the fridge. “And that’d just be for my tie color.” They all chuckled, Bruce leaning over to give Selina a proper kiss and Damian a little peck on the cheek. “Try and get some sleep for me, bubba.” He got a little mumbled agreement as well as a thumbs up while Damian stayed glued to his water bottle.
“And you,” Bruce ruffled Tim’s hair, tossing the boy up into the air before catching him roughly. Any other kid would have screamed, maybe even cried. Tim just laughed, yawning as he giggled. “You and I have a few episodes of Scooby Doo waiting in the car.”
“Mystery Incorporated?” Tim asked, jumping as Bruce set him down.
Patting his back, Bruce nodded. “Two of those and two What’s New Scooby Doo’s.”
“Yes!” Tim pushed at the garage door, whooping his way to the car.
Bruce shook his head, eyes rolling as he took off after him.
Alfred folded the napkin, dusting himself off. “Please mind that breakfast will be served later tomorrow.”
“Please mind that none of us will be awake before 2 o’clock.” Selina shot back, smirking as the elder disappeared.
She waited for the garage door to open. Then to close. Then for the security perimeter to be triggered on. She watched the car pull off and away down the lane, leaving them alone.