Chapter Text
A cold breeze slips in through the open window. TC rolls over in his sleep, stretching and kicking out with his paws. Somewhere downstairs, there’s the sound of footsteps and the light clanging of kitchenware and the smell of bacon drifts in the air. He gets up, yawning.
He pads over to Jason’s bed and he can smell Jason’s deodorant on the covers, but Jason isn’t there. Charlie and Kevin are fast asleep on the floor beside the bed, laying on the mattress that Jason and that nice older man (Alfie? Wasn’t that what Jason called him?) brought up.
Jason took him, Charlie and Kevin around the manor and it’s the biggest place that he’s ever been outside of the bunker. There are all these rooms and little nooks and crannies, and it’s honestly a mystery how Jason and Alfie knew where to go. They went left and right and up and down for hours and then Jason had led them to his room.
It’s like Jason’s room at the bunker, although much bigger – books crammed into shelves and completely spotless, except for the desk. Jason never could manage to keep his desk as tidy as the rest of his room; there’d always be something on it. Books and pens and pages torn out of notebooks for some project that he was working on.
It was honestly very confusing. One day, Jason would have his camera and hundreds of little photographs, and the next, he’d have books filled with post-it notes and little inky scribbles and TC would have to sit through Jason’s presentation on some woman called ‘Austen’ and all of her books. But it made Jason happy and that was all that mattered.
Jason single-handedly lugged the two mattresses up to the top-floor – on his own insistence, too. Alfie, Kevin and Charlie all offered to help, but Jason delegated them to carrying up blankets and pillows instead. He then helped Alfie make the beds and Alfie even folded up a duvet for TC to sleep on; he can see why Jason likes him so much.
They all went to sleep but Jason left to go on a walk, saying something about wanting some time to think, and just never came back.
TC isn’t too worried, though; Jason’s a tough kid and can take care of himself – as he has been doing since he left. Still, being concerned isn’t such a terrible thing.
And there’s also the matter of the bacon that’s being cooked downstairs.
He trots over to the door and, with some effort, manages to grab the door handle, pulling it open. There are huge two double doors opposite him, which he’s sure leads to the library, and a long corridor either side of him. The glorious smell of bacon has gotten even stronger now and he’s almost certain that he can now smell sausages.
He has no idea where he’s actually going, he’s just following his nose, and eventually, he manages to find his way downstairs and into the kitchen.
Alfie is in there and so is the woman in the wheelchair who looks a little like Charlie (her name is Babs. right?). Babs has a stack of plates on her lap and is taking cutlery out of a drawer, and Alfie is busy at the stove.
TC pads in through the door and both look over to him with kind expressions. He goes over to Babs first, resting his head on her knee.
“Good morning to you, too,” she says, smiling and petting him. “Where’s Jason then?”
He cocks his head to the side and for a moment, she swears that he shrugs at her. Her guess is just as good as anyone’s, then.
He wanders over to Alfie next, who’s plating all of the food on the counter, and stares up at him expectantly. Babs lets out a laugh.
“I think he wants something, Alfred,” she says.
Alfie glances down and him and drops down a slice of bacon, which TC wolfs down before looking back up at him hopefully. The man sighs, dropping down another piece and returning to his work. “Just like Master Jason,” he mutters.
Seemingly content, TC wanders around the kitchen for a while. Jason took them through here on the way to the ballroom and TC hasn’t gotten the chance to explore. He also wants to take a little look around the rest of the manor, but he wants to see Jason first.
If he waits long enough in the kitchen, Jason is bound to show up eventually – Jason would never skip a meal.
The kitchen is much larger than the one in the bunker, but it’s still ridiculously clean – that must be a habit that Jason picked up from Alfie – and the floors smell faintly like citrus and bleach.
By the door, there are two empty food bowls that haven’t escaped TC’s notice, as well as a large water bowl. There’s a cat, named Alfred, and a dog, named Titus – from the size of Titus’s bowl, he’s TC’s size or larger.
After a few minutes of idle wandering, TC trots back to Alfie, in an attempt to secure more of that bacon. He’s successful. Very successful.
Alfie and Babs begin to take the plates into another room, significantly smaller with a large wooden table that smells like polish. He happily follows after them, curious to explore this new room. Jason didn’t take them in here, though he did point it out when they came into the kitchen.
Alfie rushes in and out of the kitchen with armfuls of food whilst Barbara sets down cutlery and napkins – TC trails behind her complacently.
“Well, then, Alfred,” she says, smoothing out the table cover, “I suppose we should get everyone else down here.”
“Indeed, Miss Barbara,” Alfred replies. TC watches the exchange carefully – judging their body language, they’re comfortable with each other, but the stiffness in the way that Alfie addresses her seems to suggest otherwise. Maybe it’s just habit; Alfred always refers to Jason as ‘Master Jason.’ Barbara gives the same little smile that Jason does at the formality.
“Dick, Damian, and Bruce are still in the cave, but they should be coming up by themselves,” Barbara says, half to herself, as she moves towards the door. “I think Jason and Tim are still on the roof, so you’ll have to grab them. I can get Jason’s guests, though.”
TC’s head perks up at the mention of Jason’s name and Alfred gives a small tut at the fact that they’ve been on the roof all night.
-
The manor is a lot larger than TC remembers. It must be, because he definitely doesn’t remember this hallway, or the elevator that he goes in with Alfie and Babs. Still, he recognises this floor – Jason’s room is on this floor. Maybe he’s back by now.
From around the corner, voices can be heard – boisterous, carefree, happy. TC recognises one of them immediately and sprints towards it.
At the end of the hallway, climbing in through a large, open window, are Jason and another boy – Tim? They’re laughing as they drop down. Jason lands heavily, stumbling slightly as he steadies himself. The other boy cackles at him. “Smooth,” he says. “Very smooth.”
“Shut up, Timothy,” Jason replies, grinning. TC barks and runs to him, jumping up. Jason smells like cigarettes and rain, and his clothes and hair are wet. “Hey, TC.”
Behind Jason, Tim shifts, obviously uncomfortable. Jason looks at him, genuinely concerned. “What’s up? Are you afraid of dogs?”
“No,” Tim says, apparently a little too defensively for even his own liking, because he immediately straightens up and corrects himself. “I’m just… not fond of big dogs.”
That’s obviously not entirely true, but Jason nods as though it is. “Well, you haven’t gotta worry about TC. He’s harmless.” TC barks indignantly and Jason looks at him sternly. “You really gonna argue otherwise? You’ve growled at your own shadow.”
A momentary stand-off ensues and Tim laughs. “Dude, you’re arguing with your dog. He can’t understand you.”
“I beg to differ, Timbo,” Jason says, crouching down to pet TC. “Smart little bastard, aren’t you? Lull me into a false sense of security and then rob me blind, why don’t you?” TC looks at him innocently and then licks a huge stripe down the side of his face. Jason wrinkles his nose and nods slowly. “Didn’t think so. Watch your shoes, Tim. Don’t let them out of your sight.”
Tim scoffs, shaking his head.
“Master Jason, Master Tim,” comes a very stern voice from down the hall. Alfred is walking towards them, eyeing their wet clothes disdainfully. “Breakfast is being served. Perhaps the both of you would care to join us?”
Just before he can answer, Tim’s stomach growls loudly and Jason breaks into roaring laughter, doubling over on the carpet. Tim looks at Jason with a pursed smile. “Breakfast sounds great, Alfred.”
“Yeah,” Jason agrees, still slightly breathless, finally managing to calm down and hauling himself to his feet. “Breakfast is good, Alf. Good.”
Alfred nods curtly, glancing amusedly between the two of them before turning sharply on his heel and making down the hallway. Tim and Jason follow after him, with TC plodding along between them.