My name is Overwatch (DC)

Gardening

Wayne Manor 22/11/2021 1000hrs

Waking up to the morning sun lighting up his entire room, Jake walked up to the tall window that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. Looking out to see Bruce and Dick in the gardens just in front of the kitchen. Getting dressed in a black pair of jeans and a plain white T-shirt Jake looked around to see various pairs of designer sneakers. Grabbing a pair of Nike Air Max Plus, they were a perfect fit for him. It was a black shoe with red decals on it, deciding to go with a matching top, Jake put on a bright red hoodie.

Walking down the stairs into the kitchen, Jake saw Alfred, who was looking at the other two members of the household with a slight smile on his face. Noticing another presence in the room, Alfred quickly spun around on his heel just like he did in his time with the RAF.

"Master Jake, I hope you slept well, seeing as you only got up after the sun rose to its full morning glory," Alfred said in a smart tone. Thanking Alfred for the nice room and clothes, Jake asked what was for breakfast. Unfortunately, because he had slept so far into the morning the remaining breakfast had been consumed by the rich billionaire and teen. However, Alfred did mention that morning tea should be ready in about an hour. About to head off back into the cave, Alfred suggested that maybe Jake should go join Bruce and Dick in the garden.

"Perhaps it could be a good bonding experience for you three," Alfred pointed out, Jake thought for a second before walking up to Alfred and telling him that it was a good idea and he will be joining them shortly. Jake still wore his family watch but felt that it would disrespect their memory by getting it all dirty in the dirt. So Jake took off the watch for the first time since he had received it, giving it to Alfred who put it in a glass display case on one of the tables. Taking out a flat rectangular box, Alfred presented Jake with a variety of watches. Some were super flashy with diamonds and gold while others were more practical.

After looking over the collection, Jake ended up picking a grey Garmin Instinct Solar. It was a rather lightweight watch and Jake barely felt the weight of it after a while. The watch had a variety of different GPS features and was also relatively cheap compared to some of the other watches that were in the collection.

"Oh Master Jake, just so that you know, those roses were planted by Bruce's mother. They are one of the last few things that we have left of her. So please respect this time you can spend with them in the garden."

"No problem Alfred, thanks for the information," After giving a small wave to Alfred, who retired back into the depths of the manor, Jake headed out the door. Walking over to the pair, Jake asked politely whether he could join them. Bruce replied with a smile on his face, telling him that if he wanted to help he would have to go get a bucket of spare tools from the shed.

After doing so, Jake took a knee next to Bruce, putting the middle-aged man between his two adopted teenagers. The trio trimmed, watered the roses for a few minutes till each one of them was maintained and their best form. It is also important to mention that all three of the guys were itching up to their elbows in small cuts from the thorns. Deciding to make a new addition to the garden, Bruce stood up and led the two boys back into the shed. Telling the two to each take a wheel burrow and a bag of soil, the two teens obeyed.

Following Bruce to a new section of the lawn, when they reached the spot, Bruce quickly sketched a rough circle in the grass before handing the two boys a shovel each and telling them to start digging while he headed in to go make a quick phone call. By the time he got back, the two had productively dug around the circle, making a 40cm deep trench. Telling them to keep up the good work, Bruce quickly ran off to the gate for reasons unknown to the two.

Just after they had finished it, they heard a low rumble coming from the gate. Looking over to see that it was Bruce in a digger coming over to them. Walking up to the Bobcat, the pair ask if there was anything they could do to help. Bruce told them that there were a large number of tiles and bricks that they needed to bring over from the delivery truck. Quickly making short work using the wheel burrows, Jake and Dick had moved all of the bricks over to the dig site where Bruce had started digging a large hole in the center of the circle.

By this point all three of them were sweating like there was no tomorrow, luckily Alfred called the group over to a little white table with three chairs where he had prepared morning tea. The light meal included fruits, sandwiches, and a variety of juices. Digging in Dick asked what all the materials were for. Bruce replied saying that they were going to build a fountain with a new type of flowers surrounding it. Both Dick and Jake thought this was a great idea.

After devouring the food and thanking Alfred for the meal, the three got back to work and started with installing the water systems and building the fountain. Bruce would work on assembling the pipes and pumps, Dick would start assembling the intricate stone workings and details. That left Jake with the fun task of mixing the cement to bring the whole thing together. Stepping a few paces away from the main worksite, Jake started pouring the correct amount of cement powder and water. Starting the mixing process was back-breaking, the powder was being compressed by the water and just wouldn't break apart. After hitting it a few times with a shovel, Jake managed to get the mixing process going. Thankfully it started to get easier as the two became more mixed. But difficulties were soon back on Jake as his fatigued arms had to keep the concrete from hardening and becoming solid.

Fortunately for Jake, both Bruce and Dick wouldn't take too long to finish their respective jobs. As the pair came and collected cement from Jake, he had to keep stirring it as they assembled the fountain. Eventually, the last amount of cement was taken by Dick to fix the last brick in place.

As they waited for the cement to dry, they started planting the new flowers. They had a selection of Tulips, Irises, Daffodils, and Peonies. Deciding that they would plant a row of Irises at the back and Daffodils at the front, the team got to work. Jake had to rest his arms and took a quick 10-minute break as Bruce and Dick started planting the Irises at the back. Joining back in the fun, Jake started with the Daffodils in front of the Irises. By the time the other two had finished, Jake was about a quarter of the way around the circle. Dick joined him for the remainder while Bruce went to go connect the manor's water supply to the fountain.

Upon finishing, both Jake and Dick took a step back as the fountain started flowing to life. It looked so peaceful and surreal. What's more, is that it looked great alongside the roses, which actually made Bruce smile. Jake liked seeing his new father figure smile, it reminded him that there was still a man behind the mask of the darkest being in Gotham.