You Found Home Right In My Soul

you found home right in my soul

Hal found them in the living room. He leaned against the doorway and smiled at the scene.

Bruce, asleep in his favorite recliner, reading glasses askew on his face. Even in his sleep, his arm was firmly in place, holding baby Martha to his chest. She too was asleep, tiny hands grasping at Bruce’s sweater.

Hal had to suppress a laugh of pure joy at the sight. His husband looked like such a grandfather in that moment.

He stood there for a long time, simply watching them breathe.

Eventually Dick joined him in the doorway, giving a soft chuckle at the sight.

“So that’s where they ended up,” he whispered. Hal glanced over at him and smiled.

“You know that your father is already wrapped around her finger right? That child is going to be spoiled by her grandfather,” he said.

“You mean both of her grandfathers?” Dick said. His voice was serious, but he was smiling. Hal struggled not to get choked up. Almost two decades in and it still made him emotional when the kids referred to him as family.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it, I’m old,” Hal said. Dick rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to respond, but a blast of wind cut him off. The fiery red hair of Dick’s husband sagged in relief at the sight of Martha safely asleep in Bruce’s arms.

“There she is, Jesus,” Wally said, out of breath from panicking or searching the entire city, Hal couldn’t tell. They were both new parents, but Dick had grown up around younger siblings. Wally was considerably more nervous. Hal smiled, reminded of his own nerves with Bruce’s children when they first got together. Dick and Wally would be just fine.

“There better not be scorch marks on my carpet,” Bruce mumbled from the recliner, eyes still closed. Hal rolled his eyes. For awhile Bruce’s rule had been “no speed force in the manor,” but trying to tell speedsters not to use the speed force was like telling people not to breathe, so it had turned into “for the love of god please don’t ruin the carpet or Alfred’s ghost will haunt you.”

“Yeah yeah we know dad. Now give me my daughter back, you’ve been hogging her all day.” Dick walked up to the recliner and held his hands out. Bruce glared at him, but it didn’t have much of an effect on Dick anymore. The sleep rumpled hair and old-man sweater didn’t help, either. He reluctantly handed his granddaughter back to her father, careful not to wake her.

“You have to teach me how to do that, it takes us hours to get her to sleep,” Wally said, voice low as Dick walked back to him, Martha in his arms.

“The secret is about a dozen children,” Hal joked, chuckling as Wally’s face turned a little pale.

“Go on you two, Jason is starting on dinner and I’m sure he could use some extra hands,” Hal said. Dick shot him a knowing look, seeing right through Hal’s flimsy excuse to be alone with Bruce, but dragged Wally along behind him anyways.

Hal turned back to Bruce, who was watching him with a smile.

“Hey you,” Hal said, making his way to the recliner.

“Hi,” Bruce murmured back as Hal sat on the arm of the chair. He ran a hand through Bruce’s hair and absentmindedly adjusted his reading glasses. His husband leaned into the motion, practically purring at the attention.

“Did you not get enough sleep last night?” Hal asked. Bruce raised an eyebrow at him.

“You know exactly how much sleep I did not get.”

“Okay, I walked right into that one. You still have to be awake for dinner though,” Hal said, grinning at the pout that was now on his husband’s face.

“Dinner’s not for at least another half hour. Come here,” Bruce grumbled. He tugged Hal onto the recliner, forcing him to lay across his body. Hal huffed and looked up at Bruce, who captured his lips in a soft kiss. Hal pulled back.

“We are not making out in the living room,” Hal stated. Bruce rolled his eyes.

“Of course not, we’re napping.”

Hal sighed and resigned himself to being his grumpy husband’s blanket until someone came to drag them to the dinner table. Not that it was much of a hardship. Laying on top of Bruce would always be one of Hal’s favorite past times, but their family was here, including their first grandchild. And Hal missed their children.

“Baby, I love you so much, but our children are in our house unattended right now. Who knows what kind of chaos they could get up to?”

Bruce cracked one eye open and looked at Hal.

“They’re all adults now, you know,” Bruce said, “and my very warm husband is right here. It’s my birthday, I think I get to nap for a bit with my husband.” With that, Bruce leaned back further and wrapped his arms firmly around Hal.

Hal sighed again, knowing that nothing short of the world ending would get Bruce to move. Just a couple of years ago it would’ve been extremely difficult to get Bruce to willingly nap at any time of day.

“Happy Birthday, you giant toddler,” Hal muttered. Bruce smiled and rubbed a hand across Hal’s back. Maybe napping wasn’t such a bad idea, might even be worth all the old man jokes from Tim and Jason. As long as Bruce continued to look that happy and relaxed, anything would be worth it.

you cannot escape the Dad™

Hygiene

Jason uses three in one shampoo bodywash and conditioner.

Tim blow dries his hair

Steph’s leave in conditioner is fire

Damian has extreme brand loyalty to axe body spray. It might be because it annoys everyone else, it might be because it’s named after a weapon, who can say?

Bruce secretly loves bath bombs.

Dick has always had ridiculously perfect skin, we blame genetics, cause it’s definitely not his skincare routine or his diet.

Everyone else has wild breakouts around where their masks touch their skin if they don’t appease the skincare gods.

Alfred taught Bruce how to shave, and everytime Bruce teaches one of the boys they both feel feelings.

When Cass came along she only had assassin skills not life skills. She wanted to shave her legs, but she had no idea how.

Bruce called Babs in a panic and she walked them through it. Bruce shaved his legs too, in solidarity.

Batfam + Co as conversation my friends and I have pt.4

Jason, walking past Damian's room: goodnight snotty

Damian: goodnight thotty

Been thinkin bout you,,,, mr. 16-year-old Bruce Wayne