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“Noooo,” Jason sobbed, clutching as tightly as he could to the little body he was curled around. Everything hurt so much, but he couldn’t let them take his baby. “He’s my puppy!”
The little puppy, Jason’s son—Jason was sure he would remember the kid’s name later—nuzzled closer with a high pitch whine of displeasure. “Mama!”
Batman tugged lightly at Jason’s puppy again, trying to steal him away.
“He is not your pup,” Batman argued. “I don’t even think you’re related.”
“Go away!” Jason tried to do his best fierce snarl to scare the nasty alpha away, but it wasn’t working, and Batman was going to steal…whatever the kid’s name was!
“I need to return him to his parents,” Batman argued. He let go of the puppy and stepped back, though.
Jason keened pleadingly, but Batman wasn’t going to let him keep his baby no matter how much he begged because no one trusted single omega mamas.
“You’ve been hit by heat pollen, and it’s making you very maternal, but you need to let me get him home before his parents worry,” Batman said firmly. “We’ll find you somewhere safe to go too.”
Jason tightened his grip around his puppy and rolled over, putting his back to Batman to shield his baby.
There was a small rustle of movement, and a hand was placed on his shoulder.
Jason snapped his teeth at the fingers, but when he looked up, he was looking at a soft smile and a young face obscured by shadows and a mask.
“Robin,” Jason breathed.
Everyone knew that Robin was an omega. He’d protect Jason and his puppy from Batman.
“Hi, kiddo,” Robin said with a bright smile. “You’ve got a lovely baby there. How long have you had him?”
Jason frowned, thinking. Yes, he definitely had a very lovely baby, but how long had he had his pup? There had been…an explosion. Not a bomb, but an explosion of glittery gold dust, all over him and everyone nearby. Jason’s pup…he’d been there. He didn’t smell of a pack. He needed a mama.
He was Jason’s.
But how long ago had that been?
“…five years?”
“Two hours,” Batman corrected.
Jason scowled at him and flopped back over to hug his baby. His pup smelled of distress and fear, like he thought Jason was going to let anyone take him away. Jason nuzzled against his neck and gently cleaned the bad scent from his pup’s scent gland with small puppy licks before he rubbed his own scent gland over the pup’s to cover him with possessive maternal scent.
“You’re a good mama,” Robin reminded Jason.
Jason smiled at the compliment and cooed at his puppy, who sniffled and turned so that Jason could clean his other scent gland of his sad scent. Jason was a good mama, but he had a good baby too.
“But, did you know that you’re my baby?” Robin continued.
Jason snapped his head around to squint at Robin. Robin had black hair and was small and male…Jason did not think his mama looked like that.
He thought he remembered her dying.
But his head felt like it had been melted, so maybe Robin really was his mama. It would be embarrassing to have forgotten about his mama, though, so Jason nodded and said, “Uh huh.”
Batman choked and looked away like he was trying to hide a smile, but Robin did smile, fresh and warm like bread. Mmm, yes, Robin was a good mama too.
Robin scooted closer until he was at the very edge of the nest. He looked at Jason, but when Jason nodded at him, he crawled closer until he was sitting right next to Jason and the puppy.
“Be careful not to touch any of the pollen, Robin,” Batman warned. “They’re still covered in it.”
“I’ll do my best,” Robin answered, but he didn’t look away from Jason.
Jason wriggled the last couple inches to Robin and set his head in Robin’s lap while his pup snuggled into Jason’s chest. Jason trailed his fingers through his puppy’s hair, and apparently Robin got the message.
“You know,” Robin said as he ran his gloved hand over Jason’s hair, “you’re not safe here. Anyone could find you, and then they can hurt you and your puppy.”
Jason’s eyes welled with tears. He was…he loved his puppy so much it hurt, but he couldn’t even protect his own child. He was a miserable failure as a mother.
“Shh, shh, it’s okay,” Robin said, and Jason realized that he’d said all that out loud. Robin started using both hands to untangle some of the knots in Jason’s hair. “I’m your mama, remember?”
Jason nodded. Yes, he remembered.
“Well, I have a safe place for us to go. There’s a safe nest where no one will touch us, clean water, food… Will you come with me?” Robin—Mama— ran his wrist over Jason’s scent gland on his collarbone. Robin’s wrist glands were covered by his gloves, but it still felt so nice, so much like pack, that Jason could feel himself melting.
That…Jason did not know. He didn’t want to leave, but he had to keep his puppy safe, and since Jason’s mama said that it was safe, and Jason’s mama had to keep Jason safe, then Jason should say yes. He was very tired and hungry, and having a safe place to raise his pup and plenty to feed him sounded very good.
Jason nodded slightly, but Mama must have been able to feel it through his leg.
“Great! Batman is going to carry both of you, okay? So you don’t have to let go of your pup,” Mama assured him, standing up and leaving Jason.
Jason whined desperately and reached with one hand for Mama. Mama took Jason’s hand in his and squeezed it lightly.
“Everything’s alright, puppy,” Mama promised. “I’m not going to leave you.”
Jason keened again, and this time his puppy joined in, even though he didn’t seem to know what was going on.
Mama frowned. “B. Think you could carry all three of us to the Batmobile?”
Batman eyed Jason and his puppy suspiciously. “I think so, yes.”
Mama nodded in approval and knelt down. Broadcasting his movements, he reached forward, then slowly slid his hands under Jason’s body and scooped Jason and the pup on top of him into the air.
“We need to feed you two,” Robin laughed as he stood up.
Batman swept Robin off his feet, pulling the puppy pile up against his chest. Jason held onto the cape with one hand to keep from tipping off, and held tightly to his pup with the other.
“We’re only keeping the older one,” Batman said.
Jason’s blood ran cold and he bit Batman’s arm as hard as he could.
Batman…didn’t seem to notice.
Mama noticed that Batman was wrong. “The little one doesn’t smell like a pack. He’s probably a foster kid, maybe a recent runaway. They both need someplace to stay, and they need to stay together at least for now.”
Batman sighed, but he did not argue with Mama’s smart tone. He carried the three of them a long ways…maybe a blockish, but it felt like forever, to a black car. He opened the backseat and let them all scramble in together, and even left and came back with blankets for them to nest with.
Jason snuggled into Mama as the grandmother built a nest around the three of them. Jason’s puppy was pretty much asleep by that point, and that sounded like it would be an excellent idea. Jason’s mama would protect him while he slept, Jason was sure, and Batman…
He was maybe not awful if he did not take Jason’s puppy away.
As the hum of the car engine lulled Jason to sleep, he lolled his head onto Mama’s shoulder. Mama made a soft happy noise and pet Jason’s hair. When his fingers caught on tangles, Mama scratched slowly over Jason’s scalp, drawing a rusty purr from Jason.
Jason was glad his mama had found him. And his mama’s dad. His…grandpa. Mhmm, he didn’t remember losing them, but he was very glad he was home now.