no rest for the wicked [jason todd]

twenty one

THEY GOT THERE EARLY,

with time still left before they were meant to arrive. Tye had an arm looped through Jason's, feeling severely underdressed when faced with the castle-sized building in front of them. They were stood at the door, but Jason seemed hesitant on knocking. He scanned the wood of the door and pressed his lips together, silence starting to build between the two of them.

It was early November at this point. Snow still covered some of the ground and Tye tucked her hand into her pocket, turning toward the man next to her. "Jason," she said after a moment, "if you want us to turn around and go back to the apartment, we can. If you need time and you can't do this right now..." She broke off, mainly because she could see the look in his eyes. It wasn't the hellfire sort of anger she saw earlier. He seemed sad, even.

"I can do this as long as you're here with me," he said after a moment, raising his fist again. He knocked this time. It took a second of waiting in the cold night air for someone to open the door, and when they did, Tye was surprised it wasn't Bruce.

It was an older looking man with a moustache, a neatly pressed suit and the slightest of smiles on his lips. He almost looked as if he was ready to cry, and Tye could even feel Jason's hand shaking slightly. If she'd ever described someone as "looking as if they'd finally returned home", that was nothing compared to how happy Jason looked for the moment.

He didn't smile for a second, and when he did, he wiped his eyes and pulled his arm away from Tye to pull the older man into a hug. Jason had never felt so intruding until then, and he pulled back, clearing his throat. "Alfred," he practically whispered, pretending his voice wasn't breaking slightly, "it's been so long -- I--"

"Master Jason," greeted Alfred when he pulled back, scanning his face, "have you been starving yourself? Must I have to remind a grown man whether to eat?" Jason noticed the water in his eyes and his emotions curled into his throat, causing a lodge there. So, Alfred took the time to glance toward Tye. "You've forgotten your manners at home," he said to Jason.

Shock crossed his face briefly. "Oh," he managed, "Tye, this is Alfred. Alfred, Tye."

"Pleased to meet you," Alfred told Tye, "Miss Tye. Won't you two come in? I'm sure the snow must be freezing." He stepped back to allow them inside, and he waited patiently as the two pulled off their shoes. Jason shut the door, hanging his coat up, and offered a hand to take Tye's as well when she struggled to pull it off. "Now," Alfred added, "Master Bruce is waiting for you in the library. I must return to making the preparations for dinner."

Once he was gone, Jason turned toward Tye. "Can you wait outside?" He said softly, reaching for one of her hands as he led her into the house. It still felt like intruding into a stranger's place, but this was for Jason. "In case things get bad. If anyone yells, come in."

"I can do that," Tye agreed as they got to the library. Another boy seemed to be waiting off to the side, but Jason paid him no mind as he stepped into the library. Once the doors shut, the boy immediately glanced over toward her, extending a hand. "Hi," she offered, shaking his hand, "my name's Tye. Who would you be?"

The boy's eyes went a little round and his mouth fell open, but he clamped it shut for a second. "Tim," he relented after consideration, "my name is Tim, I'm-- I'm..."

There wasn't any shouting, surprisingly. Tye glanced over toward the door and she stepped away, until words retreated to voices. They deserved privacy at the very least. "So," she said, "you're here for the other side of the team, I'm guessing?"

"Bruce says we're all on the same team," Tim told her, "so no."

A few minutes later, or maybe it was closer to half an hour, the door opened. Bruce appeared first, offering a glance toward her and a little nod. Jason came next, passing her a smile that seemed close to genuine. He turned toward Tim next when the boy all but ran up to him, offering out a hand. Jason didn't accept, choosing to turn toward Bruce and say, "Hey, the replacement's a little small."

Tim perked up. "You were small too," he told him, practically forgetting Tye was even there, "I've seen. You-- You were awesome as Robin. I mean, you and Dick were awesome, and I'm not -- I'm not trying to replace anyone. I'm just trying to live up to your legacy now."

Jason ruffled his hair, peering toward him. "You're right," he said, glancing toward Bruce. The man's eyes were locked on Tye now. "She already knew," he finally explained to Bruce, an eyebrow raising, "your protege didn't spoil anything."

Bruce took a deep breath. He was just trying to give Jason what he needed, what he wanted... "Let's all go to the dining room," he announced, "the others will be here soon."

So, they did. They got to the dining room -- which was bigger than the size of Tye's apartment -- and sat down. The only two other people that arrived once they'd sat down were Dick and Barbara, respectively. They didn't arrive together, which was disappointing, because honestly, they deserved that. Dick deserved that. Tye was so frustrated with the chemistry they had, and yet they still chose not to do a thing about it.

Dinner was nice though. Good food, and after the food was all cleared up, they retreated to a different room. One with a fireplace and places to sit. Tye chose to sit on the rug in front of the fireplace, and she wasn't alone there. Dick took a spot next to her, and Jason was on the chair closest, Barbara opposite to him on the other side. They were close, and Tim looked out of place, almost. "Hey, kid," she offered, patting the spot in front of her and Dick. "Come sit down."

His face brightened and he moved over to take a seat.

It was a couple moments later when Bruce sat down with the newspaper from today and Alfred came in with a tray of hot chocolate. Everyone got a cup, even Tye.

"So," she began, taking a sip of the hot chocolate in between, "what's everyone been up to as of late? You know..."

Barbara actually laughed at her feeble attempt at small talk, but they all responded in turn. Even Tim looked engaged with everything, and honestly, it was nice. They talked for what seemed like hours, and it probably wasn't even close to hours. It was just past ten when Jason offered that they should head home.

It was at that very moment Bruce realized Tye wouldn't be the worst addition to the family.