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Dick knew it was bound to happen eventually.
After all, he was twenty-eight years old with four kids. Obviously people were going to talk. He saw it in the papers often enough, but that he could handle. That was easy enough to hide. From Jason, Catherine, Mary, Thomas, and John. Not that John, at three years old, could read.
But did someone really have to approach him while he was at the store with all four of his kids?
Dick didn’t have a job. Everyone knew this. The press knew this. Jason worked as a mechanic. Dick didn’t have a job because one, he didn’t really need one, and two, he had pups to care for.
It was on a day where Catherine, Mary, and Thomas didn’t have school since it was a teacher workday. Dick had decided that same day he was going to go to the grocery store since Jason had a huge idea of what he wanted to make for dinner and needed some stuff.
Thomas had asked if he could come with Dick to the store and since Cath and Mary were only eight, too young to be left alone, Dick took all four of them.
Thirteen year old Thomas walked next to Dick while John rode in the little kids seat in the shopping cart and Catherine and Mary rode in the shopping cart themselves.
They were in the cereal aisle, a few other folks nearby. Dick was looking through his grocery list while Thomas entertained Cath and Mary and John chewed on his fist.
Dick could distinctly hear the people on the other end talking but he didn’t think anything of it at first. Until, of course, he heard his name.
“Yes, I think that is Richard Grayson,” one of the people huddled in the group murmured. Dick glanced at them out of the corner of his eye but ultimately decided to ignore it. That didn’t stop them. “Oh my, look at all those kids.”
“Indeed,” another agreed.
“I heard they all have the same father.”
“Impossible,” the first one said, shaking their head. “Richard sleeps around just as much as Wayne did when he was that age.”
“Still though, four kids at not even thirty?”
The first one shook their head. “Such a slut.”
Dick gnashed his teeth together, forcing himself to ignore them. It was easier said than done.
“Well you know he’s a gypsy.” it was obvious they knew he could hear them. But of course that wasn’t stopping them. If anything, they were still talking. “And an Omega.”
“What do those things have to do with anything?” the third asked.
“Well haven’t you heard?” the second asked, placing a hand on her chest. “In gypsy packs, the Omega is the baby maker for everyone.”
“What are you suggesting?” the first asked, narrowing her eyes.
“He’s not even bonded,” the second whispered. “I bet he doesn’t have his own Alpha. He just sluts around with the other members of his pack, bearing their pups for him.”
“Actually,” Dick said hotly, unable to ignore them anymore. “These pups are
mine
.”
“That’s what we’re saying, dear.”
Dick stared. Were they serious? Were they seriously saying this to his face. In a rage, he told Thomas to stay with the cart while he stormed over to the woman.
“I have a mate,” he said hotly. “And those children are all his. I do not ‘slut around’ with the other members of my pack.”
The first woman sniffled. The elite of Gotham didn’t like being corrected. “Well-”
“Those children are mine and my mate’s.”
“If you have a mate, why aren’t you bonded?” the woman asked. “And can you be certain your mate was the only one who helped you through your-”
Dick wanted so
so
badly to hit her. As it was, he was saved by the bell.
“Grayson.”
He let out a soft breath, forcing a smile on his face when he turned to find Damian and Jon Kent.
“Hey,” he said, turning his back on the women. He should have known they wouldn’t let that go, especially since Damian and Jon were Alphas.
“You should teach your Omega some better manners,” they told Damian. “Teach him how to sit down and-”
“Grayson is not
my
Omega,” Damian said hotly. “He is my
brother
. And you will wathc your mouth, Mrs. Cavenaugh. Otherwise you may no longer find yourself tied to anything with Wayne Industries.”
The second woman coughed. “Ignore him, Lucy,” she said. “He’s one of
those
Alphas. One of the modern generation. Look at him, thinking Alphas have any place in a relationship with other Alphas.”
Damian, for all he lacked in temper control, surprised Dick by taking hold of Dick’s cart and pushing it the other way.
“Come, Grayson,” he declared. “Let’s finish our shopping elsewhere.”
“Damian?” Dick said softly once they were in another aisle. “Thank you.”
Damian clicked his tongue, releasing Dick’s cart to him. “When you return to the penthouse,” he said, moving back to Jon’s side. “I suggest you cuddle your pups and demand for Todd to return.”
Dick gave a weak laugh, even though he really really just wanted to cry. He should have been used to women like that. Everyone had made those comments when Dick had been pregnant with Thomas. It was just...it became hard to bear after a while.
“Thanks Dami,” Dick said with a smile.
………...
Jason was on his lunch break, talking with on of his coworkers about having such a full household - the man had seven kids - when his phone went off.
“Sorry,” Jason said, shoving his sandwich into his mouth and brushing crumbs off his pants before he answered, mouth still full. “Hello?”
“
What Grayson sees in an Alpha who lacks manners is far beyond me
,” Damian huffed.
Jason rolled his eyes, swallowing down the rest of the sandwich. “Good to hear from you too, Demon,” he taunted. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“
Can you get off work early?
”
Jason frowned. “Why?” he asked cautiously.
“
You need to go home and cuddle your Omega
,” Damian replied. “
And bond with him, for god’s sake, Todd
.”
“What happened?” Jason asked, already getting to his feet to ask his boss for permission to leave early. The man knew Jason had an Omega and four kids at home and so was pretty lenient with him.
“
That is not my story to tell,
” Damian replied. “
Go.
” he hung up, leaving Jason to scramble for his things.
……...
“Dick?!”
“Bedroom.”
Jason tried not to run and let out a quiet breath when he found Dick in a makeshift nest, Thomas sleeping beside him, Catherine and Mary sleeping on their legs, and John in Dick’s lap, gurgling happily as he chewed on his hand.
“Hey,” Jason murmured, shucking off his coat and shoes and climbing into bed on Dick’s other side. “What’s going on? Damian called, said I needed to come home and bond with you?”
Dick chuckled, shaking his head and resting it on Jason’s shoulder when the Alpha settled down next to him.
“Just some jerks at the grocery store,” he replied softly. “I’ll get over it.”
“I assume they were judging again?” Jason asked. “For having four kids and not being officially bonded?”
“Yeah,” Dick replied gently. “But it’s alright. I’m used to it.”
“You shouldn’t be.”
“We have four pups, Jason,” Dick said. “We don’t have the time. We’d need to take three days just us to do the bonding and recovery and we can’t leave the kids for that long.”
“Sure we can,” Jason replied. “Bruce wouldn’t mind. Tim and Damian certainly wouldn’t mind.”
“Yeah, but-”
“You have wanted a pack ever since you were a kid,” Jason said. “Remember telling me that?”
“Yeah?”
“Well our packs almost complete,” Jason murmured. “You just need an official mate. Tell you what. I’ll take off work Friday and Monday. We can take the kids to Bruce after school Thursday night.”
“I don’t know-”
“Or,” Jason said gently. “We can wait. We can wait to bond and mate as long as you want.”
“No,” Dick said, shaking his head. “No, I...I want to bond, I do…” he took a soft breath. “Let me think about it. John’s still so little, I feel awful leaving him.”
“We’ll wait as long as you want,” Jason said, smiling as he leaned over to kiss Dick’s cheek. “For now, let’s just rest with our pack.”
“I love you, Jason.”
“I love you too.”