Chapter Ten
Liam walked downstairs and into the kitchen. Alfred spotted him and smiled. "Ah, there you are. I was just coming to look for you. Is Jack around?" Alfred asked.
"He's resting" was Liam's simple reply.
"Alright, I'll do his measurements later" Alfred said as looked through a kitchen draw. "Ok, if you wouldn't mind standing here, I'll just jot down your measurements and then you can tell me what outfits you'd like me to order for you" Alfred said with a smile.
He walked over to Liam and told him to open his arms and hold them out to which Liam complied.
"Alriiiight" Alfred said as he jotted down the sizes on some paper.
"Do you know your waist size?" he asked the younger man.
Liam shook his head. "I've lost a lot of weight since being imprisoned and not having access to any gym equipment; my mask would contribute to my size also" he told the butler honestly.
Alfred nodded. "Ok, lets measure you now then" he said.
Once Alfred had finished taking all of the necessary measurements, he went and collected Bruce's laptop and went onto the internet.
"I hate using these blasted contraptions" Alfred told Liam who just looked at him.
After typing in a particular website Alfred smiled and clapped his hands together.
"Ah, here we are. What sort of clothing would you like?" Alfred asked politely.
Liam didn't say anything.
"No need to feel uncomfortable. What ever you're used to wearing I can make sure we get for you" Alfred said reassuringly.
Liam still didn't answer.
Alfred scanned him and smiled. "How about some cargo trousers?" he asked.
He typed it in the search bar and a number of different designs and colours appeared on the screen.
"What colour would you prefer?" Alfred asked.
"Black" Liam said simply.
"Ok. And is this design alright for you?" he asked.
Liam gave a simple nod.
"Right, we'll get a few pairs of them" Alfred said adding them to the shopping cart.
"What's your preference in shirts? T-shirts, long sleeved, vests?" Alfred asked.
"All of them" Liam told him.
After half an hour of searching, Alfred had a full shopping cart and after putting in Bruce's credit card details, Alfred clicked on 'same day delivery' for a little extra price.
"There. All done" he said smiling over at Liam.
"You're very quiet aren't you?" he said with a chuckle.
"I'm not used to conversing in an ordinary manor" Liam told Alfred bluntly.
"I'm adapting to this new life slowly and I'm finding its adjustments...difficult" he added.
"Well, I wont force you to converse with me if you don't want to Liam. I am here if you do want to have a chat though" Alfred said with a smile before picking up the laptop and leaving Liam in the kitchen.
Jack woke up later that day when he heard loud banging and voices.
He slowly sat up and got out of his bed. Making his way to the door he listened for a second before walking out into the hall.
He began to make his way to the stair case but was stopped when Liam called to him.
"Payaso" the larger man said.
Jack walked towards Liam's room and stood in the doorway.
"Yeees?" he drawled out.
"Alfred said we must stay up here. There is gym equipment being delivered and we are not to be seen" Liam told him.
"But I'm...ah...hungry" Jack moaned.
Liam chuckled. "I'm sure you can wait twenty minutes payaso" he told him.
Jack stood awkwardly in the door way.
He was about to turn to leave and head back into his room when Liam spoke again.
"Are you feeling any better?" the man asked.
"Ah...yeah...I am" Jack nodded.
Small talk was neither one of the mens best qualities but they were trying at least.
"Do you...have you had...ah...dreams...about..." Jack began to ask.
"Every night" Liam told him, not needing the clown to finish his sentence to know he was talking about what happened to them both at Arkham.
Jack nodded to Liam's answer and sighed.
Suddenly a smile spread across Jacks face. "You wanna know how I got these scaaars?" he asked.
Liam looked straight at Jack and slowly shook his head 'no'.
"I have no use for that knowledge and I also know that what you tell me is highly unlikely to be the truth anyway" Liam told him.
Jack clicked his tongue off of the back of his teeth.
"You're no fun" he said as he leant against the door frame, a smirk on his scarred lips.
"What are you...ah...reading?" Jack asked when he noticed the newspaper in Liam's hands.
"I'm reading about our tragic deaths payaso" Liam said with a smirk.
"Ohh...do...ah...fill me in" Jack purred, taking a few more steps into Liam's room.
He wasn't sure if the larger man would be annoyed at him being in his space but when he didn't say anything or tell him to leave, Jack walked in further.
He leant against an arm chair that sat near the corner of the room and wrapped an arm around his middle.
"Sit payaso" Liam said not looking up from the paper.
Jack did as Liam had said and took a seat on the chair, releaving some of the pressure on his still sore midsection.
"So, what's it...ah...say?" Jack asked.
Liam scanned the article and read from the beginning.
"Gotham is safe once more" he started.
"Two of Gotham's most evil psychopaths who recently managed to escape their incarceration at Arkham Asylum have been killed when their escape car was run off the road by Commissioner Jim Gordon" he read aloud.
Jack rolled his eyes.
Liam continued "the former mercenary known as Bane and the psychotic clown prince of crime known only as The Joker were killed when Mr Gordon ran their car off of the road and it burst into flame. The coroner who attended the scene and inspected the wreckage found DNA evidence to confirm that both men were in the vehicle at the time of its explosion. No further investigation is required" Liam finished.
He turned the paper around to show Jack a picture of their death wreckage.
Jack leant forward and squinted as he looked at the picture before smiling.
"Oh if only they...ah...knew" he said chuckling.
Liam nodded and put the newspaper next to him on the bed.
There was silence in to room.
"So what dreams have you been having?" Liam asked which caught Jack off guard.
"Oh...um...ya know; being back there. Them doing what they were doing before ol' Brucey busted us out" he said.
Liam nodded. "I do too" he admitted to the clown.
"Do you think it will go away?" Jack asked.
"No" Liam told him honestly.
"I still have nightmares about my time in the pit..." Liam said but cut Jack off when he saw he was about to start asking questions.
"Another story for another time perhaps" he told the smaller man.
Jack sighed in defeat and leant back into the chair, his stomach rumbling loudly.
Both men sat silently but not in awkwardness.
They remained that way for some time until they heard a knock on the open door.
Alfred stood in the door way, a smile on his face as usual.
"The gym equipment has been delivered and put into the gymnasium so its safe for you to come down now" Alfred told Liam who nodded to the older man.
Alfred was about to head to Jacks room when Liam called out to him.
"He's in here" he said.
Alfred turned and walked back to Liam's room.
He walked inside and found Jack sitting casually on the arm chair.
"Ah good, your awake. I've already measured and ordered for Liam so if you want to follow me, I'll take down your sizes and you can tell me what you want me to order for you" Alfred said politely as he walked out of the bedroom.
Jack sat up and winced at the pain that shot through his ribs. He stood slowly and followed the older man down into the kitchen.
"Why do we always do stuff like this in the...ah...kitchen?" Jack asked.
"Me and master Wayne have been having meetings of all sorts in this very kitchen for years. I don't see why that should change anytime soon" Alfred said smiling.
"Now, if you wouldn't mind holding your arms out, ill start taking some measurements from you" he said politely as he walked over to the clown.
Jack began to raise his arms outwards but stopped when it pulled on his sore ribs.
His left arm dropped and wrapped itself around his stomach instantly.
Alfred sighed sympathetically.
"How about we just measure the one side and I'll add on the same again and work it our from there" he told the man who nodded.
"Alright...that's done. Do you know your waist size?" Alfred asked.
"Ah...twelve...I think" Jack answered.
Alfred measured him just to make sure and he nodded in confirmation that Jack did indeed, have a size twelve waist.
"Ok. Now, lets see what they have" Alfred said as he opened Bruce's laptop that sat on the counter.
When the screen didn't come on Alfred tapped the keys loudly and huffed. "Blast this machinery" he said aloud as he tried to get the screen to come on.
"I think it's off. You have to turn it on" Jack told the man.
Alfred looked and the laptop was indeed turned off. He switched it on and smiled. "Good thing you noticed" Alfred said smiling.
After Alfred managed to get the computer working and went online, he showed Jack some clothing.
"So...what clothing would you like?" Alfred asked.
"Ah...some jeans, I suppose" Jack stated.
"Alright, lets see what they have" Alfred said as he typed 'Jeans' into the search bar.
"I like those" Jack said as he pointed out some straight cut dark blue jeans.
"Ok, we'll get two pairs of those. What about 'stone wash'?" Alfred asked showing Jack a picture.
"They're fine" Jack nodded and Alfred added two pairs of them to the basket also.
"Ok, t-shirts, long sleeved shirts and jumpers. Whats your preference?" Alfred asked.
"T-shirts" Jack stated and Alfred looked for some plain t-shirts for the man.
"What colours would you prefer?" Alfred asked.
"Any, I don't mind" Jack replied taking a seat on the stool next to Alfred.
"Alright, we'll get some in black, white, grey and...navy blue?" Alfred asked to which Jack nodded.
"Ok, what shoes would you prefer?" he asked Jack who began to swivel his stool around slightly.
"Boots" Jack answered simply.
"Boots seem to be a favorite in this house today" Alfred said chuckling.
"Liam asked for a pair for himself today also" he added.
After selecting a pair of boots for himself, Jack walked over to the refrigerator not noticing Alfred add a few more items to the basket without him seeing.
He put his hand on the door of the refrigerator and turned to look at Alfred for permission.
When Alfred noticed the questioning look on the clowns face he waved his hand in the air.
"Help yourself Jack. After all, this is your home now too" he told the man with a smile.
Jack inwardly shook. He had a...home.
He turned and opened to fridge and peered inside for something to eat. He was tired of soups and fruit and wanted something different for a change.
As he looked about at the various foods his mind wandered back to what Alfred had just said.
"It really is a funny world we live in" he mumbled before pulling out some left over lasagna and closing the door behind him.
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