A/N Hello, everybody! I apologize again for the very, very long delay, but the computer I'm stuck with right now will not allow me to log into my fanfiction account, which means I have to go to the library in order to publish new chapters. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to make it to the library lately, which also means late updates.

It's starting to look like weekly updates are just wishful thinking on my part. :/

And as always, a big thanks to Purplehood and Meritt for being encouraging, supportive and all kinds of awesome. And a big thank you to all my reviewers/readers/followers/favoriters… Is that last one a word? Probably not… Anyways, you guys seriously rock!

Also, Meritt just posted an awesome Batman one-shot. It's called Return to Wayne Manor and if Dick and Jason brother fics are your thing, it's totally worth checking out! : D And, while most people reading these probably aren't in the Voltron fandom (but you might be! Who knows?), I'm still going to direct those of you who like a good angsty, hurt/comfort story towards Purplehood's fic Out Like a Flame.

And now… The moment we've all been waiting for! Chapter six!

…

Okay, I lied… I just have a few more things to say! I promise!

Chapter six is the result of a prompt from both Purplehood and Meritt… I'm not going to say what the prompt was because that would give away the chapter… ;)

Also, Dick seems to have stolen the narrative for now… I have no idea how that happened, but the next few chapters will be told from his POV.

Okay, so now… ON WITH THE FIC!

Chapter Six: An Uninvited (and unwelcome!) Guest

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Dick hadn't seen Jason all day.

On a normal day, that usually meant Jason was up to no good, planning out some sort of prank or a way to get back at Dick, but today?

There hadn't been a single peep out of him.

Dick took that as a bad sign.

Bruce was in his study… it was probably best not to disturb him and it was unlikely anyways that Jason would have been in there.

That left Alfred, currently in the kitchen and preparing a meal that made Dick's mouth water just to look at it. Not to mention the smell.

But he had a mission, one that not even Alfred's cooking could interrupt.

Unfortunately, Alfred had not seen Jason either.

That meant Dick had too options: he could scour the very extensive grounds of the Manor or he could check Jason's bedroom.

He opted for the bedroom.

That, at the very least, wouldn't take long.

Jason's door was open only a crack and Dick nudged it the rest of the way with his foot, expecting at any second to have a furious Jason demanding why he was barging into his room without reason.

There was nothing.

That was… odd. Unless Jason wasn't actually in his room…

Having taken one step into the room, Dick stopped short.

Jason was sitting cross-legged on the floor. He was facing away from Dick, seemingly deeply involved in whatever it was he was doing, which explained the lack of a response.

"You're gonna be all right…"

At the sound of his brother's soft voice, Dick jerked his head up sharply. Was Jason… talking to somebody?

Something?

There was no one in the room, aside from the two of them.

Although… he noticed something on the floor directly in front of Jason.

What was he doing with a cat carrier?

"Jason?" Dick questioned, taking care that to keep his voice soft. He didn't know what Jason was doing, but he didn't want to startle him.

It didn't work.

Jason started, spinning around, his expression an odd mix of surprised, angry and embarrassed.

"Dick?" he gasped. He seemed to be about to say more, but, before he could, a gray blur suddenly zipped around him.

"No!" Jason cried, lunging forward. His hands closed on nothing but air. "Peanut!"

Dick jumped back. Was that… was that a squirrel?

Why did Jason have a squirrel?

The squirrel dodged around Jason, avoiding his every attempt to grab it.

"Dick!" Jason shouted, snapping Dick right out of his stupor.

The squirrel was darting around the room, looking every bit like a streak of gray lighting.

Dick wasn't sure exactly what Jason wanted him to do, but… As soon as the squirrel was close, he jumped for it, but inevitably wound up empty-handed.

"Dick! The door!"

To his horror, Dick realized he had left the door to Jason's bedroom wide open. He scrambled to regain his footing, but the squirrel was faster.

It weaved through his legs, getting around him before he could do anything to stop it, and disappeared out the door.

"No!" Jason shouted. "No, no, no!" He turned on Dick. "You let him get away!"

"Me?" Dick asked indignantly. "What the heck were you doing with a squirrel in your room?"

"He was hurt!" Jason defended himself. He ran past Dick, into the hallway. "I was trying to help him!" He was suddenly facing Dick, looking completely panicked. "He's loose in the Manor! We have to catch him before Bruce or Alfred finds him!"

"You mean before the squirrel finds them, don't you?" Dick corrected wryly.

Jason glared at him. "That's not funny."

Dick held up his hands. "Okay, okay. Bruce is in his study though. I don't think the squirrel…"

"Peanut!"

Dick gave him a funny look. "I don't think Peanut," he corrected, "will be able to get in there." Meaning they didn't have to worry about Bruce as long as he stayed where he was. And he probably would, seeing as he had a tendency to not let himself get distracted from his work.

Alfred was another story.

"Alfred's… in the kitchen." He shared a glance with Jason.

"What if Peanut gets in the kitchen?" Jason asked, eyes going wide. "Alfred will kill us!"

Dick found himself wondering what exactly had possessed his brother into naming a squirrel, of all things, Peanut, but there would be time for that later.

First, though, they had to find the squirrel.

And finding a squirrel in a house this big would be no simple task.

"Split up!" Dick told Jason quickly. "I'll take down the stairs and you take up here," he directed, taking off down the stairs without waiting to see if Jason was willing to go along with his plan.

"But…!"

"Just do it!" he shouted up the stairs.

Distantly, he heard Jason's running footsteps as the boy took off, maybe even with a set plan on where to look.

Dick took off too, except… he was looking for a squirrel.

And the Manor was huge.

Finding a squirrel in this place was like finding a needle in a haystack.

Groaning, he pressed his palm against his forehead.

Jason had a squirrel.

Jason had somehow caught and brought a squirrel into the Manor.

He had no idea how he'd even managed that, let alone getting it past Alfred, Ace and Bruce and into the Manor.

And now this squirrel was loose in the Manor.

And he had no idea how he was going to find it.

He spun around, his eyes scanning every inch of the room for a blur of gray fur streaking past. For anything.

There was nothing.

Oh well. In for a penny, in for a pound, right?

"Peanut? Peanut!"

There! Something sounding a lot like tiny claws on hardwood.

"Peanut!" Without thinking, Dick ran in that direction, not stopping until he realized exactly what room he was in…

The Kitchen.

"Peanut!" He skidded to a stop. "Peanu…" He trailed off, taking note of his surroundings.

The kitchen was empty and, judging from the delicious smell wafting from the oven, Alfred had finished in his preparations here and moved on.

"Master Richard?"
Or maybe he hadn't.

Dick turned around slowly. "Uh… hey, Alfred." He smiled disarmingly, leaning with one elbow against the counter. "Smells good."

Alfred arched an eyebrow. "Then let's hope it tastes as good as it smells, shall we, Master Richard?"

"Doubting your own abilities, Alfred?" It was Dick's turn to raise his eyebrows, feigning disbelief.

Alfred smiled. "Never," he said firmly. "I am, however, interested in your explanation as for why you and Jason have been running through the Manor like a pair of lunatics for the past half hour."

Dick felt his heart sink along with his shoulders and he slowly deflated. "Um…" Exactly how was he supposed to explain that he and Jason had accidentally let a squirrel loose in the Manor?

Okay, so it might have been Jason's fault for bringing the squirrel into the Manor in the first place, but Dick had still been the one to unleash it upon the Manor in a sense.

Alfred hadn't moved, still waiting for his explanation.

"It's nothing. Just… a game, you know," Dick said quickly. He spotted a jar sitting on the counter to his left and reached out, drawing it to him. "Just coming down here for some peanuts." He smiled again.

If possible, Alfred's brow traveled even higher. "Is that so, Master Richard?"

"Yep!" Dick opened the jar, grabbing a handful of peanuts. Maybe if they were lucky, they could use them to bait a trap. Lure the squirrel in.

Peanuts for Peanut.

He almost liked the way that sounded, but that was a big "almost."

"I certainly hope you're not planning on ruining your appetite so close to dinner." Alfred's voice stopped him dead in his tracks. Caught.

"You know, just seeing where Jason is off to… maybe see if he'd like some… peanuts?" He was sure the smile he managed at that moment wasn't nearly as charming-or convincing-as the first one.

Alfred didn't seem to think so either. "I trust you are aware that lying is not your best quality?" Up went the eyebrow.

Dick fidgeted, clearing his throat. "Uh… yeah. I think people have brought that to my attention before." Honestly, he was starting to feel a little sheepish.

"Then perhaps you might like to tell me what is really going on? The truth this time?"

Tell him the truth? That there was a squirrel lose in the Manor?

Hell, no!

Everyone knew what a clean freak Alfred was. It didn't take the world's greatest detective to guess at his reaction if he knew that a rodent was on the run in the Manor.

But Dick couldn't hold out. Not against Alfred.

One more second in this kitchen and he was doomed to spill the beans.

"Uhhh…" Dick's jaw dropped open, before quickly snapping it shut.

"Dick! I got 'em!" Jason's voice, promptly followed by a loud crash, carried all the way downstairs.

"Oh my!" The butler's startled gasp was what spurred Dick to action.

Taking advantage of the distraction- which he would have been grateful for if it didn't mean that Alfred would soon be following him upstairs with or without Bruce in tow (and hopefully it would be the latter)-Dick darted out of the room, shouting something about checking on Jason himself.

He was gone before he could catch Alfred's response.

"Jason!" Dick darted up the stairs, still holding tightly to the peanuts he had snatched from the kitchen and praying that his brother hadn't managed to break anything quite yet.

Given the crash heard earlier, that seemed like too much to hope for.

He was proven right about five seconds later when he reached the top of the stairs.

"Jason?" he gasped. A table-and the vase that had once rested peacefully atop it-was overturned, the vase smashed to pieces on the ground, explaining the crash.

Bruce was… not going to be happy about that, he realized with a sense of dread that he quietly shoved to the back of his mind.

Nothing else was broken… yet.

Dick's eyes traveled from the shatter remains of the vase to his brother.

Jason was currently in the middle of the hall, pressing down on a box with all his weight.

"Dick, I've got him under here!"

"Is that why the vase is broken?"

Jason flushed slightly. "That wasn't me! Okay, okay, I might have knocked over the table, but… that was after he'd already knocked the vase over. I was just trying to grab him! Honest!"

There was a scrabbling sound from under the box and Jason glanced down briefly before readjusting his grip on the box's sides.

"Dick, we need to get him out before Bruce finds out!" Jason said, sounding slightly panicked.

"Why did you even bring it in the Manor in the first place?" Dick asked, bewildered.

"He was hurt!"

"Yeah, well, he looked perfectly fine to me when he ran out of your room earlier."

"But he wasn't!" Jason stressed carefully, looking more than a little annoyed with Dick's lack of understanding.

Dick sighed, not having the patience to debate the matter currently, and threw up his hands, the peanuts forgotten. "Okay, you know what? Whatever. He's in the Manor. He's under that box. What are we going to do with him? We need to get him out! Did you even think about what would happen if Ace got him?"

Jason wrinkled his nose, offended. "Ace wouldn't eat him."

"You seem so sure."

"Because he wouldn't." Jason was nothing if not stubborn.

"Yeah, sure he wouldn't." Dick rolled his eyes and held out the peanuts. "Here. Use these."

Jason stared at him. "You got peanuts?"

Dick grinned, unable to resist. "For Peanut."

"You're ridiculous," Jason muttered.

"You're jealous," Dick retorted.

"Of what?" Jason scoffed. "Your superior wit? Please."

Dick sighed. "Take them."

"He's already under the box! If I try and give those to him, he'll get away, idiot! He's already trying to escape!"

Almost as if it had intended to confirm Jason's statement, there was a scratching sound from underneath the box and Jason adjusted his position, continuing to press down.

"We need to get him out of here before he… chews through the carpet or something." Dick knelt down beside Jason, slipping the peanuts into his pocket. Maybe they'd get a chance to actually eat them later. "We have to get something to slip under the box. Then we can bring it over to a window and let him out."

"Boys?"

Jason and Dick spun around simultaneously, Jason careful to maintain pressure on the top of the box.

It was Bruce, more wary than angry as he reached the top of the stairs, but he certainly didn't sound happy with either of them.

Guess all the noise really had reached Bruce in his study.

Or Alfred had told on them.

That or the butler had simply had it with dealing with them and had decided to turn things over to Bruce, which… really didn't sound like Alfred, so it had to be something else.

Dick's attention was drawn back to Bruce as the man's eyes landed on the once beautiful vase that was now lying in shards on the carpeted floor.

"Jason? Do you want to explain to me how this happened?" Voice dangerously low, Bruce's eyes were instantly on the most likely suspect: his youngest.

Jason threw up his hands. "It wasn't me! Why does everyone assume it was me?"

Because it usually is. The words formulated in Dick's head, but came no further as memories of a time when he was the one crashing into things forced themselves to the forefront.

There was a high likelihood that nearly every mishap Jason made was one that he already had. Key word being "nearly."

Dick had, after all, never dragged a squirrel into the Manor.

But he was sure that Alfred would be able to produce a list of all the things he'd broken if pressured.

And Bruce hadn't mentioned the box yet. There was no doubt in Dick's mind that Bruce had noticed it, that he was suspicious about it, but it was probably too much to hope for that he wouldn't bring it up.

"Jason." Bruce stared at him doubtfully. Before he could press any further, his eyes lighted on the box. His expression darkened with suspicion.

"Jason, what's in the box?"

Too much to hope for.

Jason's hands instinctively tightened around the edge of the box and he glanced at Dick.

Bruce's gaze went from the box, which Jason was clinging to so protectively, to the broken vase, piecing things together.

"What's in the box, Jason?" he asked again. Jason didn't answer and Bruce's attention turned to his eldest, standing only a few feet away.

"Dick?"

"It's a… it's a squirrel?" Dick winced. Ouch. He couldn't even say that sounded less ridiculous in his head.

Jason stared at him in utter outrage. "Traitor!"

"A squirrel?!"

Apparently, years of combating every kind of lunatic and madman the city of Gotham could throw at him was not enough to prepare Bruce for that answer.

Dick coughed, not really sure how to process the bug-eyed look they were currently getting.

Jason, of course, simply went for the direct and simple approach. "Gee, Bruce. If you opened your mouth any wider, your jaw would fall off."

Blunt, with a touch of the suicidal. As always.

But it wound up being enough to bring Bruce back to reality.

His mouth snapped shut and he faced Jason. "Before you open your mouth again, Jason, it would be wise to take into consideration that I have the power to ensure that you don't see the outside of your room for the next two months."

Jason wisely shut his mouth for the time being, but the mischievous glimmer in his eyes remained.

"Now," Bruce continued, "explain to me why there is a squirrel inside."

"He was hurt!" Jason said again. "I was trying to help him! Until Dick let him out of my room." He turned accusatory eyes on his older brother.

"Hey!" Dick protested. "How was I supposed to know you were keeping a squirrel in your room?"

"You weren't!" Jason shot back. "You were supposed to stay out of my room!"

"Boys!" Bruce snapped before things could escalate further. They fell silent, still glaring at one another.

Satisfied that there would be no more interruptions, he proceeded, "Now tell me, no excuses, no finger-pointing, just why you have a squirrel in the house."

Bruce's eyes could bore holes in you better than Superman's heat vision could when angry enough.

That was something Dick had learned years ago.

And from the looks of things, Jason was learning it too.

"I found him! He was hurt!" Jason repeated himself and Bruce's frown deepened.

"But not hurt enough that he wouldn't try and tear through the whole Manor?"

Jason looked vaguely uncomfortable. "I guess he got better?" he suggested. "Ace found him. I don't know what happened. I just thought if I brought him to my room, I could make him… better. I just didn't think he'd get out."

"Well, it worked," Dick said, giving Jason a wry smirk. "He's all better now."

Bruce sighed, but most of the anger seemed to have drained from his face at the very least. "Jason… your heart was certainly in the right place, but… taking in a squirrel was not the right way to go."

"Then what…?" Jason began.

" For all you knew, it could have been a sick animal. You're lucky it didn't bite you." Bruce glanced back down at the box, as if he could see the furry prisoner trapped underneath. "We're going to continue this discussion, but for now, we need to get that thing back outside where it belongs. We'll need something to slide under there so we can flip it right-side up. Once we've done that, we can let him go out in the front."

"And Alfred need never know?" Jason suggested, earning himself an infamous bat-glare from Bruce.

He shrugged. "What? Don't tell me I didn't warn you guys when it comes time for the funerals."

"That doesn't make any-" Dick stopped himself before he got any further. "You know what? Never mind. Let's just… get it outside, okay?"

Jason stared at him. "That's what we're doing, stupid!"

"Hey." Dick's protest was mild.

"Jason…" Bruce warned. "Be thankful Alfred didn't just hear you say that or else it'd be..."

"No dessert for a month," Jason finished for him. "Yeah, yeah. I know the drill." He grinned somewhat sheepishly. "Sorry."

Bruce narrowed his eyes. "Good."

And then it was back to the matter at hand.

Dick was able to find a board, one that was thin enough to slip underneath the box.

They let Bruce do that, not wanting to risk the squirrel-or Peanut- getting loose in the Manor again.

There was a squeak and scrabbling of nails as the board was slipped underneath, but Bruce ignored it as he deftly flipped the box over. The scrabbling ceased, followed then by a thump. There was another squeak and more scrabbling as it struggled for purchase inside its prison.

Bruce spared the two of them a weary glance as he climbed to his feet. "Let's just get this thing outside now."

Dick and Jason exchanged looks before following him mutely down the stairs.

Dick briefly wondered if Jason had had any intention of pleading to keep the squirrel, at least for a small while, but he felt that it might be a relief to all of them to see it go.

Once out in the front yard, Bruce knelt on the grass, gently lowering it onto its side and removing the board they had blocking the top.

Instantaneously, the squirrel was off like a shot, darting up the nearest tree, a small oak, where it chattered down at them, its voice loud and scolding.

Dick laughed. "Why'd you think he was hurt? He seems fine to me."

He should have known better.

Jason turned on him, eyes flashing fire and Dick was sure he was about to unleash everything upon him. Then, Jason seemed to reign in his emotions for the time being, because when he spoke next, it was with a surprising calmness. The defensive edge, though, remained. "I found him when I was out with Ace last night. He was just on the ground there. I guess he fell and… hurt his leg or something. I didn't want to leave him!"

"No," Bruce agreed. He looked up the tree, where the temporary "guest" was still perched, looking down at them with disapproval. "You didn't. But…" he paused just long enough to see that Jason was still paying attention, "next time don't bring guests into the Manor. And certainly don't try to pick up any wild animals. Especially not with your bare hands." He sighed, low and drawn out, running a hand through the back of his hair. "You need to sweep up the pieces of that vase," he finally said, turning his eyes back on Jason, and then I'll see about giving you extra chores. You can help Alfred in the kitchen. I'm sure he'd appreciate an extra pair of hands cleaning up."

"Wait…" Jason turned on him, not even concerned about the chores anymore. He was just surprised to hear Bruce sounding so… calm. "Aren't you… angry?"

"I'm not happy with you, Jason," Bruce clarifying, tilting his head back as the squirrel finally finished its scolding and leapt to the next tree over, "but your intentions were good. That counts for something. And… I'm proud of you for that."

Proud of you.

The words made something warm grow inside of Jason and he turned grateful eyes on his guardian.

Dick punched Jason lightly in the arm before he could speak. "See? You weren't all bad."

"Hey!" Jason glared at him, rubbing his arm.

"Inside now," Bruce said. "You've got to get to cleaning up that vase, Jason."

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It was inside that Jason ran into Alfred, waiting for him, broom and dustpan in hand. Both of which he handed to Jason without ceremony.

"So… you know?" Jason asked, somewhat sheepishly.

"Indeed, Master Jason."

Dick had come in behind him and was looking at the scene with no less than amusement shining in his eyes. "There's no keeping anything from you, is there?" he asked.

"I'd certainly hope not," Alfred answered with a huff. "Heaven knows the trouble the two of you and Master Bruce would get into should that ever occur. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other matters to attend to. Matters," he looked pointedly at Jason, "which you will be helping me with as soon as you've finished with that vase upstairs."

How had he known about that? Had Bruce spoken to him before hand?

Jason accepted both broom and dustpan from Alfred and was almost surprised to feel the butler's hand land on his shoulder before he could turn away.

Confused, Jason looked up to meet his eyes. "Under normal circumstances, I would add to whatever lecture Master Bruce has already given you, but I don't think we'll be having a repeat of this incident, will we?"

Jason shook his head earnestly. "No, sir."

Alfred smiled then, giving Jason a conspiratorial wink. "Then perhaps, Master Jason, we can skip the lecture for now. However," he added, before Jason could do more than grin gratefully and the boy slumped in defeat. There was always a "however." "I am compelled to add to your discipline and insist that you write a brief essay on the variety of vases on display around the Manor, including their significance and their value."

Jason groaned. "But…!"

"Consider yourself lucky that Master Bruce didn't see fit to take away your allowance as well, Master Jason," Alfred replied, before turning to leave Jason and Dick by themselves.

"So," Dick said, following as Jason trudged off to do his designated task, "Peanut, huh?"

Jason shot him a fierce look. "Something wrong with that?" he snapped.

Dick held out his hands, palms up, in a gesture of peace. "No. I like it actually."

Jason snorted. "Well, if you like it then," he muttered, picking up his pace halfway up the staircase.

Dick trotted after him. "Hey, I'm not that bad!"

"Yeah, you are."

"No, I'm not!"

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A/N And there you have it… the last lighthearted chapter for… at least two more, but who knows really? I should probably apologize for the utter ridiculous of this chapter, but eh. **shrugs**

Chapter Seven Status: Complete

Chapter Eight Status: …In progress… but we're getting there!

In any case, please review! Reviews give an author life!

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