The Bats and The Wolf

Late (Bruce)

It was so very late when Bruce finally slogged up the stairs, wincing at every brush of his night shirt against the dark purple bruise that colored his ribs. The boys should've been long asleep by now -he'd sent Jason home early, Dick was back in Bludhaven, and both of the pups had been conked out long before he'd ever said goodnight- but as he limped down the hall, he noticed a sliver of light shining through the door to the room he'd had converted to a library. Ears pricking, he poked his head inside.

Jason sat comfortably in the plush of the library's couch, legs crossed over the ottoman and tail tip flicking back and forth in his lap. A deep-seated purr rumbled from his chest, and the contented scent of blooming roses stuck to every available surface. There was the quiet shuffle of pages as he turned them, and the grumble of sleepy pups whenever he shifted around, but the room was quiet otherwise.

Brin and Tim sat on either side of their brother, heads pillowed on Jason's thigh and shoulder and sitting at two different levels of awareness. Brin was out like a light, curled in a ball and mouth open a bit as he snored, while Tim was in that odd, almost-asleep state, nodding off only to jolt when his forehead hit his knees.

"Thought I told you to go to sleep?" Bruce hummed amusedly, and Jason shrugged with his free shoulder.

"Couldn't."

"And these two just happened to appear, did they?" He opened the door further and shuffled towards them gingerly, not missing the sharp frown his second eldest gave him.

"You really suck at dodging, you know that, right?" Jason scoffed lightly as he closed his book and nudged Tim's side, who loosed a confused mrp? and smacked him in the face with a tufted ear.

"Trust me, I don't need an outside reminder." Bruce sighed, hooking an arm around Tim's shoulder and standing him up. "You got Brin?"

"Yeah, I got him."

"Okay." Bruce ruffled the boy's hair and started leading Tim out. "You did good tonight, but go to bed. For real, this time."

"Yes sir." Jason snarked behind him, and Bruce puffed a laugh.

"Love you, Jay."