FIC: Little Lonely Boy in Front of the Fire
Heeeeeeeeeeey! It’s an update! :O Sorry I’m so slow, guys. ;_;
This one is deadicated to Neme (again) who drew this adorable little picture (again). I love her sooooo. ;w;
Enjoy! :DDD
Title: Little Lonely Boy - Chapter 5
Fandom: DCU
Pairing: Eventual Jason/Tim
Rating: PG
Warnings: fluff, and other stuff?
It’s December.
There’s snow on the ground.
Christmas is in a few weeks.
And Alfred’s baking Christmas cookies.
Tim is sitting at the kitchen counter, watching the elderly man work his magic. It’s surprisingly fun watching someone do something, even something as simple as baking.
Alfred is also a good source of conversation. Tim can’t really talk to the others like he can talk to this man. He wonders vaguely if that’s how it is in his future, as well.
There’s a beater in front of his face.
He blinks.
“Would you care to lick off the dough, Master Timothy?” Alfred had scooped out the last of the dough, leaving the beaters to be cleaned.
Tim hadn’t been expecting this. “But… that’s raw dough, Alfred.”
“I can assure you, Master Timothy, that it will cause you no problems. Normally Master Richard is the one who is here and he vastly enjoys eating what won’t be baked. But I think that you should have some, especially since he is not here.” Alfred sets the beater next to its twin on a plate in front of Tim. Then he goes to the cookie sheets.
Tim stares down at the dough-covered devices.
He picks one up.
He looks once at Alfred, who is shaping some of the cookies while the oven finishes pre-heating.
Then he stares down at the beater and hesitantly licks off some of the dough.
It’s sweet.
He’s never had something so sweet and smooth before.
He likes it.
Slowly, so as not to test his stomach, he licks away off the dough from the beater. Then he goes to the second one and does the same to it.
It’s definitely not healthy. It’s risky, even. But Tim trusts Alfred and even with all the possible repercussions, Tim enjoys the experience. He feels like a child watching their grandfather cook, waiting and begging for samples.
It’s a funny feeling and Tim rubs at his chest absently.
“Are you quite alright, Master Timothy?”
Tim blinks and stops rubbing, “Oh, I’m fine Alfred. Thank you for the…” Tim isn’t quite sure what to call it, “…treat.”
Alfred nods and smiles a little, “Very good, sir. The cookies will be done in about a half hour. Perhaps you would like to go do something else? I assure you that waiting for them to bake is not the most exciting of endeavors.”
“Alright,” Tim nods and slips off the stool. “Thanks again, Alfred.”
“Not at all, Master Timothy.”
Tim walks out of the kitchen, standing outside the doorway considering where to go. He is almost certain that everyone else is in the cave. Training or preparing for patrol.
He thinks about it, then decides that he’d rather not be subjected to Dick’s cuddles or Damian’s glares. So he makes his way to the library.
When he gets there, he wanders the bookshelves before finding a book on mythology that looks interesting. Just as he takes it off the shelf, Alfred walks in carrying supplies for a fire. The butler smiles at him and sets about starting a fire in the lovely fireplace. Tim blinks a bit, knowing he shouldn’t be surprised by now, but he is anyway.
Taking the book, he goes to the sofa where a blanket is draped. It’s huge, but it’s Tim’s favorite because it’s very soft and warm. Alfred soon has the fire going and Tim goes over to it. He settles in front of the warm blaze, settling the blanket across his shoulders and placing the book on his lap. He smiles at Alfred, who smiles back and leaves the room.
Tim breathes in the smell of heat, wood, and smoke.
It’s comfortable in ways he hadn’t really realized when he was alone at home.
He opens his book and starts reading.
_
Jason finds himself in the kitchen, staring at a plate of cookies and two steaming mugs of hot chocolate.
“Master Jason, if you would stop staring and take the those up to Young Timothy it would be greatly appreciated.” Alfred doesn’t look up from where he’s cleaning pans.
Jason grunts, mouth twisting a bit in several ways before he sighs and picks up the plate and mugs. “Fine.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Jason huffs and leaves the kitchen. Alfred had said to take them up, so that meant Tim was upstairs. He was probably in his room or the library, he considered as he made his way to the stairs.
He passes Tim’s room first but doesn’t find him there. So he moves on to the library. The door is mostly open, so he leans against it and pushes it enough for it to swing out a bit more. He looks around and sees Tim curled up in front of the fire, blanket hiding all but his dark hair from view.
Tim doesn’t move when Jason appears at his side. He does blink and look over when he sits down, though.
“Hey kid.”
“…Hello.” Tim eyes look at the plate in Jason’s hand. “Is that…?”
Jason nods and sets the mugs down before he lies down on his stomach near Tim, setting the plate between them, “Yeah. Mind if we share?”
Tim shakes his head, abandoning his book in favor of picking up one of the cookies. Jason stares at the boy staring at the cookie like he’s not sure what to do with it. So Jason picks up one of the cookies himself and takes a large bite out of it.
He closes his eyes and sighs mentally. He had really missed Alfred’s cookies. They are just so fantastic! He chews and opens his eyes to watch Tim again, just in time to see him take a little nibble of the delicious cookie.
Tim makes a little humming noise that sounds happy and appreciative. Jason doesn’t know how to feel about that, but he settles on just finding it annoying. He’ll never admit to anyone how cute he thinks it is.
Jason reaches out and steals Tim’s book to see what he was reading. Half a cookie is between his lips as he uses his hands to close it around his finger to mark the place Tim was. He reads the cover and takes the cookie out with his free hand, “An in depth study of mythology? Jeez, babybird, why are you reading things like this?”
Tim shrugs and continues to nibble on his treat. “I like to learn and mythology is an interesting subject.”
Rolling his eyes, Jason takes out his finger and opens the book from the beginning. “What’s so interesting about mythology? It’s just a bunch of stories.”
“Yes, they are stories, but they hold more significance than you apparently think.”
Jason blinks, and blinks again in surprise, “Did you just say that snippily?” Tim crosses his arms and blushes as Jason bursts out laughing. The large man rolls a bit and then takes some of the blanket to drape it over himself. “Man, that’s fucking precious.” Tim blushes more deeply and hides his face in his arms. Jason nudges the small child with a cookie. “Shit, don’t be like that. It’s okay.”
Jason waits until Tim uncurls himself enough before opening the book that had fallen closed, “So tell me what I’m missing.”
So Tim does.
_
Alfred stands outside of the library, listening to the boys talk and banter. He smiles as he watches Jason play keep-away with the last cookie.
“Jason, please?”
“It’s the last one, you troll!”
Tim huffs, “What does that even mean?”
He laughs silently to himself. He’s glad that the family is all together and he just wishes that Tim was back to normal so he could enjoy it in all his nuances himself.
But Alfred knows.
He knows why Tim is like this.
He recalls the day Tim told him his deepest wishes.
He smiles and walks away from the room. He just hopes that things will continue to work out, even as the last piece of his wish falls into place.
This one is deadicated to Neme (again) who drew this adorable little picture (again). I love her sooooo. ;w;
Enjoy! :DDD
Title: Little Lonely Boy - Chapter 5
Fandom: DCU
Pairing: Eventual Jason/Tim
Rating: PG
Warnings: fluff, and other stuff?
It’s December.
There’s snow on the ground.
Christmas is in a few weeks.
And Alfred’s baking Christmas cookies.
Tim is sitting at the kitchen counter, watching the elderly man work his magic. It’s surprisingly fun watching someone do something, even something as simple as baking.
Alfred is also a good source of conversation. Tim can’t really talk to the others like he can talk to this man. He wonders vaguely if that’s how it is in his future, as well.
There’s a beater in front of his face.
He blinks.
“Would you care to lick off the dough, Master Timothy?” Alfred had scooped out the last of the dough, leaving the beaters to be cleaned.
Tim hadn’t been expecting this. “But… that’s raw dough, Alfred.”
“I can assure you, Master Timothy, that it will cause you no problems. Normally Master Richard is the one who is here and he vastly enjoys eating what won’t be baked. But I think that you should have some, especially since he is not here.” Alfred sets the beater next to its twin on a plate in front of Tim. Then he goes to the cookie sheets.
Tim stares down at the dough-covered devices.
He picks one up.
He looks once at Alfred, who is shaping some of the cookies while the oven finishes pre-heating.
Then he stares down at the beater and hesitantly licks off some of the dough.
It’s sweet.
He’s never had something so sweet and smooth before.
He likes it.
Slowly, so as not to test his stomach, he licks away off the dough from the beater. Then he goes to the second one and does the same to it.
It’s definitely not healthy. It’s risky, even. But Tim trusts Alfred and even with all the possible repercussions, Tim enjoys the experience. He feels like a child watching their grandfather cook, waiting and begging for samples.
It’s a funny feeling and Tim rubs at his chest absently.
“Are you quite alright, Master Timothy?”
Tim blinks and stops rubbing, “Oh, I’m fine Alfred. Thank you for the…” Tim isn’t quite sure what to call it, “…treat.”
Alfred nods and smiles a little, “Very good, sir. The cookies will be done in about a half hour. Perhaps you would like to go do something else? I assure you that waiting for them to bake is not the most exciting of endeavors.”
“Alright,” Tim nods and slips off the stool. “Thanks again, Alfred.”
“Not at all, Master Timothy.”
Tim walks out of the kitchen, standing outside the doorway considering where to go. He is almost certain that everyone else is in the cave. Training or preparing for patrol.
He thinks about it, then decides that he’d rather not be subjected to Dick’s cuddles or Damian’s glares. So he makes his way to the library.
When he gets there, he wanders the bookshelves before finding a book on mythology that looks interesting. Just as he takes it off the shelf, Alfred walks in carrying supplies for a fire. The butler smiles at him and sets about starting a fire in the lovely fireplace. Tim blinks a bit, knowing he shouldn’t be surprised by now, but he is anyway.
Taking the book, he goes to the sofa where a blanket is draped. It’s huge, but it’s Tim’s favorite because it’s very soft and warm. Alfred soon has the fire going and Tim goes over to it. He settles in front of the warm blaze, settling the blanket across his shoulders and placing the book on his lap. He smiles at Alfred, who smiles back and leaves the room.
Tim breathes in the smell of heat, wood, and smoke.
It’s comfortable in ways he hadn’t really realized when he was alone at home.
He opens his book and starts reading.
_
Jason finds himself in the kitchen, staring at a plate of cookies and two steaming mugs of hot chocolate.
“Master Jason, if you would stop staring and take the those up to Young Timothy it would be greatly appreciated.” Alfred doesn’t look up from where he’s cleaning pans.
Jason grunts, mouth twisting a bit in several ways before he sighs and picks up the plate and mugs. “Fine.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Jason huffs and leaves the kitchen. Alfred had said to take them up, so that meant Tim was upstairs. He was probably in his room or the library, he considered as he made his way to the stairs.
He passes Tim’s room first but doesn’t find him there. So he moves on to the library. The door is mostly open, so he leans against it and pushes it enough for it to swing out a bit more. He looks around and sees Tim curled up in front of the fire, blanket hiding all but his dark hair from view.
Tim doesn’t move when Jason appears at his side. He does blink and look over when he sits down, though.
“Hey kid.”
“…Hello.” Tim eyes look at the plate in Jason’s hand. “Is that…?”
Jason nods and sets the mugs down before he lies down on his stomach near Tim, setting the plate between them, “Yeah. Mind if we share?”
Tim shakes his head, abandoning his book in favor of picking up one of the cookies. Jason stares at the boy staring at the cookie like he’s not sure what to do with it. So Jason picks up one of the cookies himself and takes a large bite out of it.
He closes his eyes and sighs mentally. He had really missed Alfred’s cookies. They are just so fantastic! He chews and opens his eyes to watch Tim again, just in time to see him take a little nibble of the delicious cookie.
Tim makes a little humming noise that sounds happy and appreciative. Jason doesn’t know how to feel about that, but he settles on just finding it annoying. He’ll never admit to anyone how cute he thinks it is.
Jason reaches out and steals Tim’s book to see what he was reading. Half a cookie is between his lips as he uses his hands to close it around his finger to mark the place Tim was. He reads the cover and takes the cookie out with his free hand, “An in depth study of mythology? Jeez, babybird, why are you reading things like this?”
Tim shrugs and continues to nibble on his treat. “I like to learn and mythology is an interesting subject.”
Rolling his eyes, Jason takes out his finger and opens the book from the beginning. “What’s so interesting about mythology? It’s just a bunch of stories.”
“Yes, they are stories, but they hold more significance than you apparently think.”
Jason blinks, and blinks again in surprise, “Did you just say that snippily?” Tim crosses his arms and blushes as Jason bursts out laughing. The large man rolls a bit and then takes some of the blanket to drape it over himself. “Man, that’s fucking precious.” Tim blushes more deeply and hides his face in his arms. Jason nudges the small child with a cookie. “Shit, don’t be like that. It’s okay.”
Jason waits until Tim uncurls himself enough before opening the book that had fallen closed, “So tell me what I’m missing.”
So Tim does.
_
Alfred stands outside of the library, listening to the boys talk and banter. He smiles as he watches Jason play keep-away with the last cookie.
“Jason, please?”
“It’s the last one, you troll!”
Tim huffs, “What does that even mean?”
He laughs silently to himself. He’s glad that the family is all together and he just wishes that Tim was back to normal so he could enjoy it in all his nuances himself.
But Alfred knows.
He knows why Tim is like this.
He recalls the day Tim told him his deepest wishes.
He smiles and walks away from the room. He just hopes that things will continue to work out, even as the last piece of his wish falls into place.