A Light in the Dark
Another Shout out to my beta Alex Skywalker
I really love all the favorites and follows I do but can I get some more reviews? It's not for attention and I'm not going to threaten to hold chapters it's just reviews helps me know if I am doing well or if I need to improve on anything or if you gets like the way I am writing the characters.
Chapter 4
Jason awoke to an empty bedroom. He'd slept pretty well, only having awoken a couple of times from Dick's whines and tossing and turning. Luckily Dick never fully awoke and Jason did not plan on telling Dick that he'd woken him. Jason didn't feel the need to add more guilt to Dick's resume of accomplishments. Jason figured, after looking at the clock, that everyone was eating breakfast so he threw the blanket off of him and headed down to the small breakfast table in the kitchen.
Jason's suspicions were correct; as he got closer to the kitchen he could smell what he missed most about this house: Alfred's cooking. When he arrived in the kitchen, he saw Alfred still tinkering around the stove and Dick and Damian already seated at the table. Damian said nothing to Jason and did not seemed surprised that he was still here. Damian was whole heartedly enjoying his breakfast while Dick chose to poke and prod at it only taking a bite here and there. Sitting down between the two brothers Jason took notice of the empty chair.
"And, where is Tim?" Jason pointed to the vacancy in question.
"Tim doesn't want to come down to breakfast this morning. I tried to get him to come down, but….he just wasn't having it." Dick said, obviously depressed over having failed at his quest.
"And that was ok with you?" Jason challenged back.
"No, but what do YOU want me to do Jason?"
Jason decided to take it as it was his turn to do something. He was here to help, right?
"OK, fine." Jason put down his silverware and stood up, about to head to the stairwell.
"Don't hurt him!" Dick called after him.
"I'm not going to hurt him. Geesh." Jason stopped at the edge of the kitchen and turned back with a confused look on his face, pointing upwards.
"Top of the stairs, third door on the left," Damian replied with a mouth full of food. Jason took off to Damian's directions.
When Jason reached Tim's door he pressed his ear against the door, and heard silence in response. He knocked twice then slowly entered. He was met with a sight that both shocked and frightened him. Tim was lying on the bed staring up at the ceiling. His room was a grade A disaster area. Tim was always a neat person- like OCD neat person. Jason recalled all the times Dick would complain about Tim's neatness and voice his concerns that the boy actually had a disorder. This wasn't the same kid Dick used to tell him about. This wasn't the brother he'd been growing to know. As Jason stepped in the room Tim shot up off the bed in surprise.
"Jason! When did they find you?" Tim asked.
"Last night."
"And you're still here."
"Surprised?"
"No, just….I didn't know. Something I can help you with?" Tim watched Jason slowly enter his room eyeing everything all over the floor.
"What happened in here?"
"You come up here to question my lack of cleanliness?"
"No, I was commenting on the unusual lack of cleanliness. It's breakfast time, we're all eating downstairs."
"Dick didn't tell you? I don't want any breakfast." Tim finally stood up all the way off his bed and Jason got a better look at Tim. Tim had definitely lost weight. He was skinny to begin with, but the way the thin white T-shirt and sweatpants hung on him looking as if they could easily fall all the way off of him, Tim looked like a skeleton. Jason continued to eye the room and the things on the floor-dirty clothes, papers, CD's- he wondered if the things just landed there from Tim's lack of picking them up or if they were thrown there in a fit of rage.
"Well, breakfast isn't optional and I'm not Dick so let's go."
"Jason, I'm just not hungry."
"Your emaciating figure tells me otherwise. Let's. Go. Now."
"Jason I'm not- UMMPHH!" Jason had picked Tim up and put him over his shoulder. Tim's lack of weight did not surprise Jason.
"Jason, put me down!"
"Not until we get to the breakfast table. Now I can carry you all the way in there and let it be known to the others that is how you chose to get down there or you can walk the rest of the way. I really don't care which but you are going down there and eating breakfast."
"Ok, Ok, fine I'll walk." Tim said as they reached the end of the upstairs hallway. Tim didn't like the idea of Jason carrying him kicking and screaming in front of Dick- and especially in front of Damian.
Jason set him down. He looked Tim over and knew he kept his promise: Tim was unharmed. There was a slight redness to his face, but whether that was from the blood rushing to his face or his embarrassment was anyone's guess. The two stood there in silence, each waiting for the other to make a move.
"After you." Jason motioned with his hand and followed after Tim. "And after breakfast you're taking a shower."
Alfred was the first to take notice of the two of them entering the kitchen. "Ahh! Master Timothy, it is good to see you up and about for breakfast." Alfred put a plate of food in front of him, but Tim made no move to eat it. Jason grabbed Tim's napkin and made like he was going to spread it over his lap when Tim snatched it away from him and glared at Jason.
Jason noticed Damian was going for seconds while Dick looked like he had barely made any progress on his plate. Jason complimented Alfred's cooking as a plate was set in front of him. Jason wondered why Dick was backsliding into not eating again. He couldn't use the excuse he forgot; it was right there in front of him. Something was bothering Dick and Jason's question as to what was answered when Dick spoke up.
"We need to find a way to make it so that Gotham still knows it has a Batman looking out after them." Dick looked like he was going to vomit. Jason's fork paused mid-way to his mouth, astonished that this was how Dick was going to start things.
"You mean who is going to wear father's costume," Damian said. Dick nodded. Damian continued: "I had assumed you would-"
"I don't want to. I don't think I am the best person suited for it. I'm….I just don't think it should be me." A few eyes fluttered to Jason before going back to their plates full of food.
"Don't look at me. I'm not putting up my guns and I'm sure you don't want a gun toting Batman out there." Jason went back to eating.
"You aren't….I mean after everything you aren't going to try?" Tim gently prodded. Jason put his fork down on the table…hard.
"I'm not changing. This changes nothing as to who I am. Got it?!" Jason was quickly becoming agitated. "Look, Dick, let's just eat first and we'll figure things out a little later ok?"
"I just thought that with everyone seated here-"
"Later, Dick." Jason purposefully put more force behind Grayson's first name, almost turning it into an insult. "Alfred, come on and sit down and eat with us. We all have our plates, come on."
"Yah, Alfred, you've done enough, come sit with us." Dick chimed in.
"Well, I'm not sure it is proper." Alfred started.
"It's proper Alfred, we want you here," Tim piped up.
"Well, if you insist."
"We do," Jason said with a glare sent to Damian, who had yet to speak up.
"Yes, of course, please come sit." Damian got up and retrieved Alfred a chair. The look on Alfred's face said it all when he sat with his four young charges. Alfred was happy as he had waited for this for a long time, yet sad as Master Bruce wasn't here to see it.
Dick was settled with the change of topic, having found it difficult to start the long list of things that needed to be gone over as a family. He couldn't blame Jason for getting upset. After all, they all had had two weeks to get used to Bruce's death. Jason had only had one night.
Jason took notice of the amount of times Tim kept wiping his mouth with his napkin. The younger boy was being way too compliant. Jason saw Tim's folded napkin next to his plate and reached over and unfolded it on the table. In the napkin was half chewed pieces of food.
"Nice one. Try again," Jason said and stood up with Tim's napkin and threw it away. Now Tim would have no place to hide his little eating shananigans. "Just eat. You look like you need it," Jason quietly grumbled at Tim, hoping the other's couldn't hear him. Finding no other way Tim ate…slowly.
Slowly but surely the family finished eating. Jason was happy to find that Dick ended up finishing his plate. Tim left about half of his food on his plate but after what he'd seen he figured half of his plate was a success. Damian was the most successful eater of the bunch having finished a third helping. Alfred rose to start collecting the plates but Jason followed.
"I'll do that Alfred. Take a day off man. Go read a book, go to the gardens, do something else." Jason smiled at Alfred as he started to collect the plates from the table. "Damian, wash the dishes."
"I will do no such thing."
Jason took three quick strides to get in Damian's face. "I said; Do. The. Dishes." Jason felt a hand on his shoulder. Jason grabbed the offending appendage tightly and removed it from his shoulder.
"Come on Damian, you wash, I'll dry; it won't take long," Dick appeased rubbing his now sore hand, and Jason relented.
"Jeesh, it's like no one's ever asked you to do a chore," Jason rumbled at Damian.
"No one has," Damian replied.
"I'm going to go check on Tim. Hopefully he went to go take a shower," Jason said noticing Tim was gone.
"Glad I am not the only one to take notice that Drake smells," Damian grumbled as he started the dishes.
After a while, Dick and Damian were in a routine finishing up the dishes.
"I hope you know, Grayson, that Todd is not the savior you would like him to be."
"And what does that mean?" Dick quirked an eyebrow at Damian.
"He is not here to save the family. He is incapable of it."
"I know he isn't here to save the family, but give him some credit; he did get Tim down to breakfast and got Alfred to sit down with us and eat."
"Tt."
"And he isn't here to save the family; he is here to be part of the family."
"I hope you truly mean that, Grayson, because if you don't, you may be doing more damage than you realize."
"Meaning?" Dick wondered where Damian was going with this. He certainly didn't want to cause Jason any problems or damage and had hoped he wasn't putting too much responsibility, too much family, too much …..everything on Jason, too soon.
"Meaning, Todd is probably taking father's death the worst out of all of us. He is simply the best at hiding it."