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piedpiperart · 2 years ago

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Can We Keep Him pt 3

Chapter 2

Jason was laying on his bed with the little rascal next to him, playing a cute little puzzle game on Jason’s ipad. It was a bit surprising to find out how smart the kid was. Even though he didn’t know words, the kid was good at following patterns and puzzles. Angry Birds was a favorite so far, and Jason got to see the kid swish his tail to the music. It was adorable.

The two elder residents spent the day keeping the kid occupied, whether with games or snacks. It was harder to keep him occupied without food, and Jason was glad to discover that ipad games were a hit. He didn’t risk leaving the kid alone yet, too afraid he’d wander off and they’d lose him in the gigantic manor. Absently, he wondered if they should get him one of those child leashes.

After a scare with the kid trying to climb out the window, Alfred figured out how to teach the kid how to use the toilet. He’d told Jason that the kid caught on pretty quick, even looking around for a step stool to wash his hands. The man speculated that the kid might have memories from before he was abandoned that he recalled, such as having a step stool under the sink. Jason hoped that was a good sign, considering they might have an easier time acclimating him to indoors.

Surprisingly, the kid let Alfred trim his hair, but screeched and cried when they’d tried to de-tangle it. Both Jason and Alfred had scratches on their arms from trying to hold the kid still, and not even grapes calmed him. He’d only been soothed when Jason gave him a few cookies in apology. The little guy’s hair turned out to be straight and jet black now that it wasn’t a tangled mess. Jason had thought the kid’s hair was curly before, but turns out it was just knots and tangles, some of the hairs even had twigs attached.

Jason looked up from where the kid was sling-shooting pigs to the door when he heard a knock. Alfred stood in the doorway with a fond smile. “I’ll be starting on dinner in a moment if you’d like me to watch the little one,”Alfred said,”Master Bruce will be home soon if you would like to get started on any homework you may have.”

“Alright,”Jason groaned, rolling off the bed. He did have homework, and had asked his teachers to email him anything he’d missed today. “Can he keep playing?”

“Perhaps a bit longer,”Alfred nodded, coming into the room to scoop the baby up. He growled a little at being disturbed, but stopped when he realized he could keep playing the game. He leaned his head on Alfred’s shoulder as they walked out to the kitchen. “You’re welcome to join us,”He added, and Jason shot him a smile and a wave as they left.

Bruce was happy to be home after a long day of doing paperwork. He felt himself relax unconsciously when he opened the door and stepped through. Taking a deep breath, he smelled the beginnings of dinner. He was pretty sure it was spaghetti, and Bruce was suddenly overwhelmingly grateful for Alfred. He didn’t know how he’d be able to function without the man.

Pulling off his jacket, he hung it in the hall closet, catching the umbrella inside before it hit the floor. That one never stayed in its spot, so he was always ready to catch it. Closing the door, he hummed to himself, thinking about what Jason was up to. He was almost to the kitchen when something on the floor caught his eye,and he paused.

“Alfred,”Bruce called out, a little strained as he kept an eye on the raccoon tail disappearing behind the kitchen island. The thing was dangerously close to the elder man as he turned from the stove to look at Bruce.

“Ah, perfect timing Master Bruce, you-”Alfred began, but was cut off by the other.

“Alfred, don’t move,”Bruce cautioned, holding his hands out like he was trying to prevent the butler from freaking out. “There’s a raccoon in the kitchen. Just come towards me, slowly.”

“Oh,”Alfred blinked. He looked down to the ground and back up to his son. “You mean our guest. Master Jason found him last night in the dumpster and brought him home.”

Bruce paused. “You let him keep a pet raccoon? Alfred-”

“Good heavens, no,”Alfred cut him off, shaking his head. Before Bruce could protest, the man bent down to pick up the animal. He came back up, cradling-

“Is that a child?” Bruce nearly gasped, approaching the two. He couldn’t take his eyes off the little black haired boy who closely resembled a raccoon. His blue eyes were bright against the black marks around his eyes.

Bruce reeled back as the child hissed at him, tiny fangs on display until Alfred shushed him with a few pets to his hair. “He responds best to food,”Alfred said,”Do pick up the bowl of orange slices on the counter there. He’ll get acclimated to you faster if you give him snacks.”

“I.. what?” Bruce says, still staring at the child glaring at him.

“Do I need to repeat myself?” Alfred retorted, raising an eyebrow. Bruce shook his head, still confused but mind running with theories and possibilities.

The kid perked up when Bruce picked up the bowl of fruit, switching from glare to puppy dog eyes faster than the Flash. Despite his confusion with the situation, he couldn’t help but give a fond smile at the little guy. Alfred set the child down when he started wriggling, and Bruce was amused to see him scurry around the kitchen to stop at his feet.

Little claws hesitantly latched onto his pant leg with big blue eyes pleading up at him. He dutifully handed a slice to the kid, who snatched it with a chirp. “Alfred?” Bruce pleaded. He didn’t see any signs of comprehension when he or Alfred spoke, and the child was clearly food-motivated.

Taking pity on the man, Alfred explained,“Master Jason found him.”

“He wasn’t patrolling,”Bruce cut in, much to Alfred’s exasperation. He felt a tug on his pants and fed the child another orange slice.

“No, the young master went out exploring on the premises,”Alfred said fondly,”Something about a treehouse. He found the child in the dumpster out front, eating trash.”

Bruce squinted at the kid, examining him. He doubted the kid was plant for Batman if he was eating trash. He assumed Alfred and Jason to be the reason he was so clean and clothed with what Bruce was sure to be his old baby clothes. He frowned when he thought about the reason why the kid was all alone in a dumpster of all things. It wasn’t hard to speculate from the kid’s appearance.

“I can hear you brooding,”Alfred chimed in, making Bruce sigh. “I hope you’ll be able to help Master Jason find the boy’s name, and perhaps a call to Dr. Thompson is in order.”

“I’ll call Leslie,”Bruce grunted. After a moment of consideration, he bent down to meet the little guy. Cheeks puffed out and orange juice on his face, Bruce couldn’t help the warm feeling in his chest at the way the kid brightened at the sight of him up close. He stayed dutifully still as the kid poked his cheek with a clawed hand, rubbing his slightly stubbly jaw before turning his attention to Bruce’s colorful tie.

“After dinner. If you would bring the young one to the highchair, Master Bruce, I shall fetch Master Jason,”Alfred said, leaving the two alone in the room.

Brief panic overtook Bruce for a moment before he shoved it down. He passed the boy another orange slice that was immediately accepted, and carefully picked the kid up. His heart swelled when the boy seemed content in his arms, eating the orange slice and stroking the flowery tie. Bruce held the boy carefully, feeling the soft fur of his tail and brought him over to the high chair.

Bruce didn’t quite want to let the boy down just yet, especially when the kid seemed perfectly fine in his arms, so he merely sat in the seat next to the highchair with the kid still in his arms. “You met Baby Bear!” Jason exclaimed, sliding into view. He came up to the two of them, ruffling the kids hair before climbing into the other open seat next to the highchair.

Alfred came strolling in behind him, eyebrow raised to Bruce. “I assume you need assistance with the high chair if you are still holding him?”

Bruce was sheepish, but moved to put the boy into the highchair while Jason snickered. “You know, I’ve always wanted a little brother,”Jason hedged, and Bruce shot him a look.

“He might have parents,”Bruce argued weakly. “With his… attributes, he might be better suited with someone with similar abilities.”

“Aw, but he already likes us,”Jason bargained, watching Bruce feed the kid another orange slice with glee.”And we’ve made a lot of progress! He’s not eating trash and he's not covered in dirt. I even got him to wear pants!”

Bruce winced at the image, but looking at the adorable little ears on the boy he couldn’t bring himself to argue with Jason more. “We’ll see,”He hedged.

Truthfully, he was still processing the information and making plans to get the boy medical exams and blood tests to find his parents. There was no way the boy had been left in Bruce’s dumpster on purpose. If anything, the boy had been living in the woods around the manor for a while, and either regularly went to the dumpster for food or recently discovered it. He’d have to check the security footage to see when the kid started showing up.

Bruce was brought out of his musings when Alfred placed a plate in front of him.He gave a smile in thanks at the plate of spaghetti and meatballs, with a side of garlic bread. A bowl was given to the toddler, and a plate to Jason. It would be a lie to say they weren’t all watching the kid skip over the fork to grab a handful of noodles and sauce. He was obviously delighted at the taste, even if they cringed at the sauce decorating his hands and face as he munched.

“Aww,”Jason cooed when the kid found a meatball and held it with both hands to nibble on it. “He’s just so cute, isn’t he B?”

Bruce hummed neutrally. As of now, the boy’s placement with them is only temporary. Just as long as it took for Bruce to find him a better home. A home more suitable to a feral boy with raccoon traits, not a billionaire’s lifestyle constantly in the eye of the media. It wouldn’t be fair to the boy to subject him to that or the nightlife. He just had to ignore the wry smile from Alfred and Jason’s knowing grin.

Chapter four

#Can we keep him #chapter 3 #raccoon tim #tim drake #meta tim drake #jason todd #bruce wayne #tim likes fruit #Tim: Stranger dange- oh he has fruit- maybe..maybe he will share? *puppy eyes*#Bruce: I cant take care of another kid- *sees Tim's cute lil face* Okay maybe just onemore #Bruce: I will give him all the fruit he wants #Jason upon seeing bruce holding the kid: aw yeah hes definitely attatched- new brother!#Tim: I see you have food... what kind of food? Can I have some? Please?#Bruce: these were for you anyway...

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