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Richard and Jason feel relaxed after coming back from a mini vacation of sorts, the older had insisted that they should go take a trip and hang out as brothers, not having to worry about work or crime fighting for a couple days. Jason threw a fit at first at even having such a thing be suggested, but slowly grew soft to the idea as it has been a long while since he had one-on-one time with his older brother.
The trip was payed in full by Bruce, the stubborn mule winning the argument with Richard on who was going to pay for it when the man pulled out how he loves spending money on his kids. In that moment, both Richard and Jason understood where Damian got his puppy eyes from, they never knew their dad could look so...pitifully adorable. Anywho, the point is that the two brothers enjoyed a time of bonding-and maybe slight mischief on Jason's part-the two enjoying their relaxation so much that they were almost tempted to call Bruce up and ask him to extend their stay. And Jason would have done it, but Richard scolded him on not taking advantage of their dad's kindness.
Now the two have returned back home and immediately feel something off in the atmosphere.
It's obvious no one in the family had a fight, because Alfred isn't stress baking or cleaning the always pristine house due to his worry, but there is something off in the atmosphere, especially when they go down to the cave to see Bruce.
"Oh! Hi, Clark!"
Richard smiles brightly at the man, his eyes quickly narrowing into a suspicious gaze at the slightly strained smile the superhero gives back to him. To anyone else the smile would seem normal, but Richard is no fool, and neither is Jason as the nineteen-year-old comes to stand next to his older brother, his posture stiffening as though something might go wrong any second.
Before the older teen can say something, he takes a moment to look at Bruce, his eyebrow raising at what he sees: the man clutching onto Damian and Tim like a lifeline, his body tense as if he is protecting them from Clark. Richard must realize the same thing as they both turn to look at each other, a silent conversation being had while trying to deduce what may have happened, who started it, what it's about and even the possibility of the Kryptonian being under the influence of Kryptonite. Because if it's the last one, then one of them needs to distract while another slips away to get the glowing green rock. "What exactly is going on here? Why are we standing around like wild deer in headlights?"
Richard turns his smile up a notch, his analytical gaze turning to one of harmless curiosity as he cocks his hip to the side and rests a hand on it. Jason immediately loosens his posture as well, his pinched eyebrows loosening up and his lips lifting into a small smirk, "What happened this time? Bet it was Bruce's fault again, huh?"
The comment was supposed to be a light joke, nothing serious as usual, but as Bruce turns to look at them through his mask, the two almost swear they can see the tears in his eyes. Jason thinks that if the man had a pair of cat ears on his head that they'd be lying flat in displeasure from what he just said, but before anyone can say anything about why Bruce looks like he saw Jason die for the second time, the man speaks up. "I did nothing wrong...it was all Kent. I am never trusting him with my babies ever again-did you hear that, alien? Never again."
The worry is slowly replaced with confusion, so Clark isn't mind controlled or possessed by Kryptonite? Then what exactly did the other do to have Bruce referring to him as alien again?
The super sighs loudly at the baffled looks he receives from Richard and Jason, "Your dad is being dramatic. We were on a mission together while you guys were away, it involved magic, and you both know how vulnerable I am to it, so I was assigned Tim and Damian to aid me in the fight-" okay...the story sounds decent so far, so what's wrong?-"But then I-
"He left himself opened like an idiot and caused my children to get hit by a spell." Bruce meets Clark's irritated look head-on, his head tilting upwards in a challenge while his lips curl into a slight snarl, huffing victoriously when the taller stands down. The alien turns his attention back to Jason and Richard, his hand gesturing to the huffy Bat, "He also got hit by it too. Turns out all of you inherited Bruce's penchant for self-sacrifice, so congratulations." The boys don't think that they've ever heard Clark sound so sarcastic before, but the man just sounds tired and exhausted, though there is one thing that is bothering Jason-
"He's not biologically our dad, you know that right? We can't inherit anything from him."
Richard chuckles at Jason's comment and gently nudges his side, "That isn't the point of all this. You guys had us really worried at first...me and Jay thought that Clark was mind controlled there for a second. But, are you three okay? What was the spell?" Jason and Richard turn to look at Bruce, their eyebrows raising at the displeased, very cat-like hiss that escapes his mouth, Clark's reaction not helping either. "C'mon, B...it isn't that bad, really. It could have ended up worse and you know it. I've tried to apologize for it...you know I don't like anyone jumping in front of me, especially as I am usually invulnerable, it makes me feel worse when you guys have to protect me in such serious ways. Plus, I even brought your kids sardines as they craved, is that not good enough?"
Sardines? Craved? What the hell is going on here?
"What the hell is going on here?" Jason question's while looking between Bruce and Clark curiously, trying to sneak a peak at Timothy and Damian snuggled into their dad's side while also being hidden slightly by the cape, their faces being the only things that are seen at the moment.
Clark turns towards Bruce, "Take off the mask. Your other children deserve to know...and I know you desire to imprint on them as you have done the younger two." He sighs at the hiss directed towards him, why must Bruce always be so difficult? "What do you know about my desires? I desire to claw your eyes out of your skull for such ignorance, alien. I entrusted the safety of my children to you and you get them fucking hit by a spell!? You are always supposed to be watching your back as well and yet when I turn to look at the three of you, the only people who seemed to notice something off was my two kids. Which I expect nothing less from-but still!"
Clark looks like a kicked puppy as he looks at the other man, "You don't have to resort to calling me an alien again. I said I was sorry, you don't have to give me a lecture on how to fight crime."
It's at this moment that Damian chooses to speak up, his small face poking out of the black cloth. "You should know of the alien's deficiencies by now, father. Not only is he lacking in the mental, but it seems his physical prowess is just as pitiable, how ever did you find this specimen?" Clark sputters and prepares to protest, but Bruce cuts him off, "Said pitiable specimen is the one that found me. He was always so insistent no matter how rude I was to him."
Richard doesn't know whether to laugh at how similar Bruce and Damian sound right now or cry on Clark's behalf of how savage the two can be when upset. "Come on you two...be a little nicer to uncle Clark, I'm sure he did his best during the fight, yeah?" The eldest Wayne child smiles kindly Clark's way before turning to look at his dad again, curiosity once again overcoming him at remembering something the Kryptonian said, "Although I do have to ask why he asked you to take off your mask. Did the spell mess with your physical appearance some? Damian and Tim's faces look fine to me from here." The question seems to make Bruce displeased all over again, the left side of his cape wiggling before Tim fully pops his head out with a large smile on his face and...cat ears on his head? "Woah..." He trails off as he stares amazingly at the two fluffy ears flickering back and forth on his littlest brother's head.
"It gave us all cat ears and tails. I personally think that dad is being a bit dramatic over the situation moreso than usual...but that might be because it gave him protective instincts over what he sees as kittens now."
Jason snorts, "So that's why you two are fighting like an old married couple? C'mon and take off the mask, dad, please? I wanna see your ears and tail, I bet they are pinned to your head in discontentment." Bruce pouts frowns at the request, but because it's one of his babies asking it, he slowly reaches up to carefully tug off his mask, his cat ears quickly flicking at being freed from the confines of the mask.
Bruce supposes showing off his ears isn't too bad at the wondrous look he receives from his second eldest son, the boy immediately rushing forward to get his hands on the older man's ears, freezing for just a moment and looking down at Bruce in silent permission. Jason smiles wider when his dad gives a resigned sigh and bows his head so Jason can softly run the tips of his fingers through the fuzzy ears. "Woah! They're so soft and shiny, dad! Your ears look as though they've been well kept by a caring owner. Come feel them, Dick!"
Richard smiles wide and quickly rushes over to stand next to Jason, his hand reaching out in preparation to pet the soft appendages, but a small, kitten-like squeak-hiss noise makes him pause. Well, that little noise as well as the small hand that quickly reaches up to claw at his hand, good thing for his fast reflexes or else he would have been scratched.
"Aww, don't feel like sharing, baby bird?" Richard pouts and looks down at Damian, his lips immediately stretching into a fond smile at the glare on the boy's face, his eyes looking more cat-like as he gives a weak hiss and tries tugging Bruce away from them. Tim just rolls his eyes at Damian's antics before looking up at his two older brothers apologetically, "Don't mind him. He has been having random moments of possessiveness towards dad...he's even attempted scratching me too." Damian smiles impishly at Tim and nudges the older boy's leg with his boot, "That was on purpose, Drake."
Tim narrows his eyes at the youngest, a much clearer sounding hiss escaping his throat, the sound being replaced by an apologetic mewl when Bruce squeezes his and Damian's napes in warning.
"Enough with the arguing you two. If there's any pent up aggression between you both, your dear uncle Clark would be happy to help you I'm sure." Bruce practically purrs out, his hand massaging his youngest childrens napes in apology for the treatment, his ears perking up and his smile pleased at Clark's protests. "Wha-why!? I'm not their scratching post, Bruce!"
Bruce hums and watches as Tim once again tries slipping out of his arms, "Why not? It's the least you could do after getting us into this mess, I mean, you can handle it...can't you?" He gives Clark a sharp look while he gathers Tim in his arms once again, meowing in displeasure when the teen tries to wiggle free. "I truly despise you and the magic user for this. Do you know how humiliating making these sounds are?" Clark sighs and shrugs his shoulders, taking his chance to push himself away from the wall and towards Bruce, his right hand reaching up to touch a fluffy ear, his smile soft at how large his hand seems compared to the ear.
"I don't know...I think the sounds are endearing and pretty cute. The way you cuddle them like a mama cat is not too far off from the regular Bruce I know."
Richard, Jason, Tim and Damian are surprised that Bruce even allowed the man to get this close, even more shocking is the fact that their dad seemed to enjoy Clark's brand of ear scratches as a deep rumble was being made in his throat. Damian almost started hissing at the alien for touching his father and almost took Bruce up on his suggestion of using Clark as a scratching post, but luckily he didn't even need to defend his father's honor as the man suddenly hisses loudly and bites at the taller one's hand. "What the hell did you just say about me!? I do not cuddle my kids like a mama cat! I am perfectly normal about my love for them, do you hear me!?"
Clark frowns worriedly for Bruce's teeth, his left hand reaching to the back of the other's head uncertainly, his fingers flexing indecisively on whether he should scruff him or not. Bruce must understand what Clark is trying to decide as he hisses louder, all while cursing Clark out. "I swear if you even think about doing that to me, I will-" his rant is cut off by a large, warm hand squeezing the back of his neck, his body responding immediately to the correction by falling limp, a small and pathetic mewl escaping his lips at the treatment. How dare Clark treat him this way! Like some disobedient child kitten.
Clark looks apologetically down at Bruce, "I'm sorry...but it was either I let you keep going at the sacrifice of your teeth because it is kind of cute seeing you huff and puff while your adorable ears are pinned to your head, or, I stop you by scruffing you so that you don't lose your teeth biting my hand."
What Clark didn't pay attention to was that during his interaction with Bruce, the man's two temporary kittens slipped out of his arms to stand next to Richard and Jason, not realizing that Damian is now free to defend his father's honor without any scruffing repercussions. And the Kryptonians little act towards Bruce is not appreciated by the baby of the family, a small hiss escaping the boy as he lunges himself at the older man's leg, claws coming out to scratch the blue spandex apart while Bruce silently cheers his youngest on.
"How dare you treat my father in such a way, you fatuous plebian! I demand you get your vile hands off of him this instant!"
Clark almost makes the second mistake of cooing loudly at the small, aggravated squeaks and meows coming from Damian, he doesn't wish to make the child any angrier at him...especially since the boy hasn't realized he could pull Kryptonite out from his utility belt.
Instead, the alien tiredly looks at the small child's three brothers for assistance, especially since scruffing Damian would only make Bruce angrier with him. "Can one of you lend a hand, Richard? Besides Bruce and Alfred, Damian listens to you the most." Richard huffs a laugh at Clark, his mind distracted with the thought of wishing Clark also got hit by the spell just to see how the other would fit into this dynamic, would he act as papa cat?
"Richard, are you even listening to me? I need you to hold Damian back so I can let Bruce go...I would rather not have two angry cats attacking me at once. And why are you recording this, Jason?" Jason snickers while zooming into Clark's exhausted look, "Because the girls will never believe me when I tell them this story. Nah, actually they would, but having video proof is all that much better. I mean, this is hilarious!" Clark deadpans at the camera as if he's in an episode of The Office, causing Jason to laugh louder for it.
Alright, so Richard and Jason prove to be useless in this situation, maybe Tim will-
"Tim...what are you doing?" Clark tilts his head as the teen is swatting at the edges of his cape while lying on the ground, the boy seeming to snap out of his trance with a couple blinks and one embarrassed cough later, his cheeks turning pink as he loudly groans and lies his head down on the floor.
"This really is embarrassing! I can't believe I've come to stoop so low..." Tim presses his palms against his eyes and sighs, sitting up groaning at having to be the one that deals with Damian in all his feral glory. The teen stealthily approaches the younger, his tongue poking out in concentration as he quickly lunges his hands out for the child's nape, shouting joyfully as he successfully scruffs the younger. "I did it!"
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Tim's eyes widen in worry, "Holy cow I did it!? I can't ever let him go or he'll actually kill me this time. Why didn't you just scruff him, uncle Clark? You have the power to handle both of them at once." Clark swears the longer that this story is written goes on, the more aged he gets...he has never felt so human before, not even with green or blue Kryptonite. "The reason is that your family has a very special way of making me feel weak without the use of Kryptonite or magic, you all have a knack of making me adore you while simultaneously wanting to drink liquid Kryptonite while also eating it."
Jason snorts on the sidelines (no, not drugs!), "We make you want to commit suicide? I know our family can be tough as nails and as stubborn as an ass, but I don't think we are that bad."
Jason zooms in on a snarling Damian and a loudly hissing and meowing Bruce, humming thoughtfully before sighing. "You know what...I can see what you mean. Carry on, Uncle C." The older superhero tilts his head back with a loud sigh before gently shaking Bruce around by his nape, "It's mainly this man that pushes all my buttons. Now, I'm going to let go of you, Bruce...and when I do, I don't want to see you reach for your Kryptonite. I also don't want you punching me or biting me as your teeth and hands could get severely hurt-and I know what you are thinking: "it wouldn't hurt as much if I used my Kryptonite." But that is used only for emergencies, and this is not an emergency."
Bruce at this point has stopped hissing, but his icy blue eyes narrow dangerously at Clark while his tongue licks at his canines, the action not making the man feel any comfort. The Kryptonian clears his throat and presses onward, "Now. I'll count to three and let you go...and I really hope that you'll care about me and my life enough to not pull out any dangerous green rocks."
"One."
"Two."
"Three."
Clark quickly snatched his hand off of the other's surprisingly elegant neck as if he's ripping off a bandaid, though he has never had that experience before, but he imagines it must hurt quite a bit as humans make a big fuss about it.
Bruce grumbles to himself, his ears flattening to his head at Clark's "rough" treatment, he can't believe the other man. If Bruce would have known being turned into part cat would make him this much of a whiny bitch about the littlest things, he would have let Clark get hit by the magic spell instead. The man swats irately at the alien when standing up and passing by him, his newfound (or maybe not so newfound) instincts telling him to grab his kittens and sulk in one big pile with them, so, that's how he finds himself replacing Tim's hand on Damian's neck and lifting the boy quickly up and into the safety of his arms.
Tim pouts slightly at the look Bruce gives him, the teen understand the meaning of the gaze and quickly shuffles under the man's cape, latching into the man and meowing to let the other know he's secure and he can walk now.
Bruce's ears perk up slightly in contentment when standing in front of the oldest two, his expression embarrassed as his body sways back and forth indecisively as though he's suppressing an instinct and won't allow himself to act on it. Luckily for Bruce, Richard just smiles wide, and with an excited squeal, hugs onto his dad and nuzzles his cheek, smiling wider at guessing accurately to Bruce's want as the man's posture relaxes and he nuzzles his cheek into his eldest child's own in return.
A soft purr builds up in Bruce's throat as he scents and imprints onto his eldest son, his pupils dilating as he leans away to stare at Jason, the black slits widening and narrowing from staring at an object of interest to him. Jason blushes and grumbles at the adorable wide-eyed look his dad is giving him, leaning forward and feeling warm at how enthusiastic Bruce is to scent and imprint on him too, the energy for his second eldest not dwindling in the slightest but remaining just as excited and pleased to have a chance to love on another kitten of his. The second eldest shyly returns the affection back, his cheek rubbing against Bruce's own as he slowly relaxes into it, grunting as Richard bumps into him and joins in on the cheek rubs.
All Jason can think is that his older brother is enjoying this too much, he bets that if the other was here for the incident, he would have enjoyed turning into part cat...the little weirdo would probably see if he could get away with kitten licks or something.
Damian interrupts with a little meow of his own, the boy surprisingly not being as embarrassed by the sounds he makes as Bruce and Tim are about them, maybe it's because he loves animals? So it's like living a secret dream of his come true. The boy pouts frowns up at Bruce, his hands unconsciously pawing at the man's chest for attention as well, Jason and Richard quietly admitting how adorable Damian's kitten-like behaviors are as the boy makes a happy sound when Bruce bends his head and lifts the boy up so they are cheek-to-cheek. Bruce purrs loudly again at what he sees as his baby kitten happily receiving his love instead of pushing it away, the young child even going as far as to raise his hands to grab at his dad's face as well.
A whooshing sound causes Bruce to perk up, the man feeling bad for ignoring his baby kitten as he pulls his face away to stare at the newcomer, which is just Superman again...when did he even leave?
Icy blue eyes narrow suspiciously at the bag Clark is carrying, his head lifting as he scents whatever is in the bag and finds his tail swishing excitedly at the very pleasant smell of his favorite salmon. His eyebrows raise questioningly at the Kryptonian when the man takes a step forward and holds up the large bag as if it's an atonement offering, "I apologize for grabbing you like that earlier. I just didn't want you to break your teeth on me, but, I did go to get your favorite salmon from that one overpriced restaurant you and Diana take me to sometimes...so, truce?"
Bruce is doing his best to hold back his pleased smile, especially since his babies show an interest in the food, his instincts are telling him that Clark isn't so bad if he's providing food for the kittens and his mind is calling him stupid for ever being mad at the other in the first place.
With a small nod, Bruce steps forward to take the bag from Clark, his tail swaying as even his eldest two crowd against him in attempts to peak in the bag. "Did you two not eat before coming home?" Bruce chuckles at how Jason and Richard are practically salivating over the smell of freshly cooked salmon, the former shaking his head in response to the question. "We didn't get to eat, we just thought we'd head back as quickly as possible." Bruce's ears flatten in displeasure at the comment, handing over the bag to Richard with instructions to evenly divide the meal and kissing Damian's cheek as he lowers the boy to the ground and tell him and Tim that they are free to leave his watch to go eat with their brothers.
Bruce finds himself smiling at the endearing way Damian paws at Richard's leg and how Tim circles around the older as they dig through the bag. Content at seeing his the children in his home safely together, Bruce relaxes and flits his eyes between his kids and Clark thoughtfully before sucking up his pride and also nuzzling into the taller, ignoring the way he has to stand on his tiptoes and tug the other down just to reach his cheek.
Clark allows himself to be tugged down, his smile charmed at Bruce's actions, "I thought you were mad at me? And didn't you say doing this was a sign of imprinting on family?"
Bruce huffs at how Clark always has to say something but continues to nuzzle the man enthusiastically, "Why does that matter now? Aren't I always mad at you for one thing or another? You should be used to it, or at the very least, learn from your mistakes already and listen to me." Clark gasps in mock shock, "Wow! That's rude of you. I listen to you very well, thank you very much! You just get kind of bossy sometimes...I think you'd be classified as a diva."
Bruce growls in displeasure and quickly nips at Clark's cheek in retaliation for the comment, his eyes softening at remembering what he was originally going to say to the other. "About you asking if I do this for family, the answer is yes, I did say that. I guess Damian was right about lacking mental skills if you...if you don't yet realize that you're family." His voice is stupidly shy as he says it, the Batman never thinking he could ever cringe this badly at himself, he can feel slight irritation mix with affection at this bumbling fool name Clark Joseph Kent and how it takes a moment for him to process what Bruce just said.
The Kryptonian's eyes widen and water with happy tears as he hugs Bruce tightly, lifting the shorter up to his height so he's not crouching anymore and nuzzling the man back in return. "You can be really cute when you aren't busy glaring daggers into my skull! Thank you, Bruce!"
Bruce almost chooses to struggle away but stops at the last second, his tail leaving the protection of his cape to wrap around Clark's arm while he slowly returns the hug, his smile soft as he watches his kids fill themselves up with Clark's peace offering and the warmth from the man's hug. Something inside of himself fully feeling satisfied at giving and receiving love back from all present loved ones.
Bruce allows himself to purr contentedly while patting Clark's back and nuzzling his face: "I'll ignore that first comment. And thank you, Clark...for being patient in all of my...diva glory and for providing for the kitte-children." Clark's smile somehow gets wider as he holds Bruce just a bit tighter, his tone playful when speaking. "Did you just admit to being a diva?"
Bruce groans and blushes, hiding his reddening cheeks in Clark's neck and plotting his revenge as the other continues to laugh, "Shut up, Clark. Just shut up."