Damian was made aware from the very first day that he arrived that his mother was not a typical omega.
Unfortunately, his biology does not agree. As much as he wants to grow into the powerful alpha he knows he will be, for now, he is stuck with the base instincts of a pup.
And pups crave their mother’s presence like second nature.
His siblings had warned him over and over ‘Bruce doesn’t do scenting and other typical omega stuff. He’s not our mother, he’s only biologically yours.’ And Damian had listened.
He tried his best to keep his distance, to fit in, to follow the rules of interacting with his mother.
But he couldn’t stop himself from wanting. He wanted to be scented, to be cuddled, to be held, to freely enter and exit his mother’s nest as he pleased.
Bringing his woes to an outside source, Jon, had led him to one conclusion: he must simply ask.
“Go for it, Damian, I’m sure your mama wouldn’t mind. Mr. Wayne is always so nice and sweet to pups!” Jon had cheerfully chirped over the phone, sharing his joy that Damian had gone to him for advice out of all people.
"Kon was kinda in the same boat. I mean, being an alien doesn't really have that biology, but me and him are half human, and he was so nervous, but once he asked-!" Damian could hear him flop onto his bed. "It seems scary, but sometimes we're too much in our own heads, and it only seems scary. Just ask, and you'll owe me an entire bucket of premium ice cream if I'm right."
He simply couldn’t go to the other members of the family. They all seemed silted and disconnected from their mother in a unique way, which would only give biased intel. He simply couldn't risk it.
An outside perspective made him willing to actually try.
Damian stands in front of his mother’s bedroom door. It has never looked so imposing. He's been in there before, of course, but this time was completely different.
Instead of knocking, he simply pushes it open and peeks his head inside. “Mother…?”
Bruce looks up from the WE contracts he was perusing, tilting his head in curiosity as his youngest child hovered uncertainly at his door. He knows Damian does his best not to seem uncertain about anything.
“Damian? Are you alright?” Bruce took off his glasses and folded them before placing them on the nightstand. “Isn’t it almost your bedtime? Did you need something?”
Damian still lingered at the doorway, uncharacteristically looking unsure of himself.
Bruce allowed himself to smile, seeing Damian act like a child was very rare, and patted the space beside him invitingly. “Cmon.”
Damian only let a split second of hesitation stall his feet before padding his way up to the bed and climbing on. If he were a regular pup in a regular family, this would be the point where he’d snuggle into his mother’s side.
Damian stared at the intricate patterns swirling on the duvet covers.
“I… was wondering if you would… scent me?”
The air around them stilled, and Damian watched Bruce's eyes widen and his entire body freeze. And then, like a flood gate being forcibly pushed open, tears flooded the omega's eyes and poured down his cheeks.
Damian panicked. "I-I'm sorry!" Damian could, embarrassingly, feel tears start to build pressure behind his eyes. "Ummi-" Damian made a move to quickly get out of bed and escape.
"No!" Bruce shouted, immediately latching onto his pup and holding him close. "No- I- yes, please. I want to scent you." Bruce whispered, his voice shaking audibly as his body trembled.
Damian let out a soft cry, the kind a pup makes to call for comfort from its mother. Bruce easily responded with his own croon, pulling Damian impossibly closer and slowly starting to scent him.
His movements were at first stiff and unsure, as if Bruce was waiting for Damian to abruptly pull away. Still, when Damian only leaned into it, Bruce grew more confident, letting his instincts take over to thoroughly cover his pup in his scent.
Being covered in his scent was a lot different from standing nearby and being able to smell him or catching the tail end of his pheromones as he passed. Damina melts. It just feels right, like a missing part of him has finally been reunited.
It's crisp, like a soft, expensive fragrance misted during a heavy rainfall, and the blueberries. This was home.
"Damain..." Bruce's voice is a soft hush. "Would you... Would you like to come into my nest?" His voice is light, as if what he was asking wasn't a big deal, but Damian could hear hesitation and insecurity in his dam's voice.
Inviting anyone into an omega's nest was the biggest deal, even Damain knew that. But...
Bruce gave no hesitation as he scooped Damian up when he nodded, pushing open the door to his walk-in closet, moving to the very back where Bruce kept his nest away from any prying eyes.
"I-" Bruce cleared his throat as he set his pup down. "Do you... like it?" he asked quietly.
Damian opened his mouth, ready to automatically say yes, but stopped himself to actually look at his nest. He could see the soft, fluffy fabrics used as the base, and the biggest, squishiest pillows as the walls. Between the blankets, he could see familiar pieces of clothing woven in between.
A jacket that Todd accused Timmothy of stealing. Baggy sweatpants, Tim had accused Jason of retaliatory stealing. A worn band shirt that Dick had gone on a rampage for. A sweatshirt that Cassandra was wearing a week ago, but didn't seem to be surprised when it disappeared. A small handkerchief from Pennyworth. A hoodie from Duke. A bandana and multiple hair ties from Stephaine.
His clothes were also there. His Ummi had his clothes in his nest, because it comforted him.
"It's wonderful, Ummi." Damian breathed, shuffling closer. "I've... I've never been in a nest before... can I?"
And Bruce, he smiled so softly and so happily, stepping into his nest and beckoning Damian to him. "I've never had anyone in my nest before. C'mere, pup." Bruce crooned, catching Damian easily as the young boy flung himself into Bruce's arms.
The two purred in sync as they finally gave into their instincts. Bruce, allowing himself to finally take care of his pup without the fear of being rejected as he had been before. Damian was able to be a pup. Just a pup. He could be taken care of without feeling shame, getting to indulge in something he had never been allowed to even think of in the League.
"Ummi!" Damian ran up to Bruce at the dining table, making the man look up from the morning paper and raise an eyebrow. "Can I head over to the Kent's farm? Jon says one of the dairy cows is pregnant."
"Of course, the only reason he shows excitement is for a fucking cow." Jason rolls his eyes, dodging the fork Dick flung in his direction, sticking his tongue out at his older brother, and taunting him.
"Shut up, you'd be acting the same way if there was a book signing for your favorite author." Dick shot back, aiming to hit Jason with his spoon.
Tim was jolted out of staring at his phone when Jason grabbed him by the shoulders and started using him as a shield. "Let go of me, you asshole!" he shrieked loudly.
Bruce hummed, taking a sip of his coffee, expertly tuning out the fighting of his other children. "Jon is going to fly you?"
"And you'll be back before lunch?"
"Yes," Bruce said firmly. "Lunch, no later. You were at the farm all last week. I do want to see you at home sometimes."
"Ugh, okay, lunch." Damian groaned but agreed, ignoring how his brothers, still polishing off their breakfast, collectively laughed at him. "Are you giving me permission?"
Bruce nodded. "Be safe. Call Clark or me if there's any problem." Bruce, ever the overprotective man, was feeling even more protective of Damian in particular after their eye-opening bonding session in his nest.
"I can handle myself... but I will, Ummi," Damian added on quietly, taking a split second to think about what he was doing before leaning forward for Bruce to scent him before he left.
Bruce willingly leaned down as well, taking his time to cover his pup in his scent, filled with happiness that he just couldn't hide. Bruce chirped softly, and Damina responded in back with his own. He allowed Bruce to scent him for a while before pushing away with heated cheeks, feeling his brothers staring at him.
"Be safe," Bruce said again, calling out softly.
Damian nodded before heading to the front door, where Jon was likely waiting for him. As he moved, he looked over to see the disbelief and shock on his siblings' faces. And... jealousy.
He took a little pride in that.
They were the ones who convinced him that Ummi would never want to do any omega and pup things with him. Maybe it was delusion, maybe it was trauma, maybe they had never really tried to see if Ummi would do it. It didn't matter; he had a right to be angry at them, making him almost miss this chance at connection.
Let them stew in jealousy for a while.