Bruce had just woken up. He slept in a little considering the last couple nights of patrol kept him quite busy. It was Saturday and usually all his boys would be home for the day. It had become a semi-weekly tradition to have Saturday breakfast, lunch, or dinner together. Bruce made his way to the kitchen. He could smell the French toast wafting through the air. As he got closer to the kitchen, he could hear light chatter and laughing. A small smile graced his lips as he rounded the corner into the room. His smile dropped and his brows furrowed almost immediately. Dick, Jason, and Damian were at one side of the island, facing towards the door, staring at Tim who was sat on a barstool on the other side of the island, his back to Bruce. Dick noticed him first.
"Bruce…come here. You've got to see this." Dick said his face nearly splitting in half with his massive grin. Jason was also smiling. Damian looked amused with a half-smile gracing his lips.
Damian didn't take his eyes off of Tim when he said, "Father, Drake has lost his mind." This just made Bruce's eyebrows furrow more, the lines now quite pronounced on his aging face. Alfred was minding his own business cooking though Bruce caught him shaking his head ever so slightly.
Bruce joined his sons at the island, eyeing them one last time, then turned to Tim. Tim was sitting there staring off into nowhere. His eyes were open, and he had a mug of what was assumed to be coffee, death gripped in his hand. He looked disheveled and large, grey bags graced the underneath of his eyes.
"Tim has been saying some weird shit." Jason piped up, giving Bruce an insight into their time in the kitchen thus far.
"Oh? Like what?" Bruce eyed his boys carefully before turning back to Tim.
"Just watch." Dick insists before Jason asks Tim, "Hey, Tim. Watcha doin'?"
Tim stares blankly into a void, not blinking, and says, "I haven't showered in four days." Then he smiles and starts giggling. Jason started laughing again as Dick replied "Gross, dude."
Damian gave a sour look towards Tim, "Drake, that's vile. I urge you to bathe at once."
"You're more zombie than human, Babybird." Jason tells him. Alfred had finished cooking at this point and was just plating the food while watching, one eyebrow quirked.
After Tim registers what Jason had said, he stands up and climbs on the counter before anyone can stop him. He stomps a socked foot and yells, "I can't get naked here! Everyone's watching!" He gestures wildly at them and proceeds to pass out. Bruce catches him and just stands there for a minute, wondering if he did in fact just witness his son scream about getting naked. He lets out a sigh through his nose.
He just turns to the other boys and says, "I'll be back down. I'm going to put Tim to bed." No one can say anything else before he leaves the room. Once out of the room, Jason and Dick start laughing again.
Damian just stood there before asking, "Drake did know I meant for him to go bathe privately, right?"
"Dami, he was out of his mind. He probably didn't register much of anything that was going on. I'm certain he won't remember anything about all of this." Dick said as he grabbed a plate of food and sat down.
"We'll just have to remind him." Jason ginned mischievously grabbing his own plate and shoving a bite of food into his mouth.
Alfred just chastised the two older boys, for which they apologized. "Master Damian, please do grab a plate before it gets cold." Alfred grabbed the boy by his shoulders and steered him towards the plates.
Bruce reappeared back in the kitchen after a few minutes and addressed Alfred. "Alfred, Tim is going to need fresh bedding later after he wakes up. I will ask him later about his disregard for personal hygiene." He grabs a plate and joins his other boys. "Do any of you know how long he's been awake?" Bruce asked them.
Dick and Jason just shrugged.
Damian was the one who responded. "He has been awake since Tuesday." He ate another bite of his French toast, then his fruit.
"Four days?" Bruce was bewildered. He pinched the bridge of his nose before adding, "I guess I need to talk to him about his self-preservation skills as well."
"And do tell me what you plan on saying to him when you yourself are almost no better?" Alfred quirked an eyebrow at Bruce. Bruce had frozen, daring not to look the old man in the eye. He didn't respond. "That's what I thought." Alfred smiled as the boys laughed again. Tim would definitely get an ear full from at least Alfred.