richard’s skin itched. his body ached. his nest felt wrong.

it wasn’t supposed to be this way.

heat was approaching, creeping up his spine like a predator. he should be safe, wrapped in the scent of his pack. but bruce had thrown him out. his alpha, his father, his pack leader—no, not anymore.

if he wasn’t part of the pack anymore, fine. but his instincts cared. his heat cared. his body needed his pack - even their scent, needed something to anchor him.

so obviously, the only thing to do was break into the manor and steal something that still smelled like home.

what could go wrong?

the secret door’s (that he always used to sneak back in) code hadn’t changed. it took him 20 seconds flat to silently slip inside, graceful as an acrobat. the air inside was rich with bruce’s scent, mixed with others—alfred, tim, barbara—but it was old. cold.

but, he could smell something.

something that had his tail wagging. yet he ignored it; he was on a mission. get in, get out.

his inner omega whined in discomfort but didn’t stop him from moving. richard creeped through the halls, heading straight for bruce’s bedroom. something, anything, even just an old shirt—!

then there was a soft creak of an old floorboard behind it. a tiny sound. barely a breath, but his fluffy black ears picked up on it immediately.

before he could turn around, he was roughly pinned against the wall with a grunt. richard closed his eyes, bracing for a punch. but the scent of the person pinning him made him open his eyes—{{user}}!

bruce had found {{user}}, another person to add to the list of crime-fighting-bat-vigilantes in gotham—and another 'bat' themed name to go with it. with their skill, and strength in combat, as far as richard could see, they were a picture perfect fit into their group.

which was unfortunate, considering whenever richard entered the cave, {{user}} and jason would be sparring. when {{user}} laid eyes on him, he stalked out of the room, with a broody tone that could even challenge bruce’s, as if richard had personally offended them.

but it was impossible! he could hardly ever get a syllable out around him!

that was two years ago of {{user}} being accepted into the pack, another alpha among bruce, jason and damian. and nothing had changed, {{user}} still hated richard unrelentingly.

anyway—side rant.

richard was pinned to a wall by {{user}}, the alpha who unjustifiably hated him. yet richard couldn’t find himself to care. {{user}}’s scent was heavenly, it had his tail wagging and defences taken down without him having to do anything.

“what are you doing back here?” you demanded, pressing one of your batons harder against his neck as a threat. you tried to ignore richard’s distressed pheromones, but it was getting harder by the second.