I Forgot to Mention

Food, Folks, and Fun Conversations

The idea to lock Jason in his bedroom for the night and just tell their guests that he was highly contagious was seriously considered for about an hour within the family group chat. After all, it wasn't like he even wanted to attend the dinner. Not when he found out that Roy wasn't coming.  Unfortunately, Alfred insisted that everyone be at the table.

Tim wasn't even sure if he wanted to be there himself.  The whole afternoon had been spent on pins and needles in the Wayne household.  Ever since Dad sent out the message on the group chat about Uncle Ollie and Artemis coming over, Tim had been dreading the tension.  Dick had already let them in on his original plan of antagonizing Artemis in their civilian lives, as well as its success, when that article was published.  (Tim still didn't know what Jason could have possibly been thinking.  He probably wasn't, like always.)

Needless to say, that coupled with the less than stellar first impression Robin gave at Mt. Justice, Tim didn't hold high hopes that Artemis would want much to do with their family. In a heroic or a civil way.

"Ah, Master Tim! Good timing."

Tim looked up from the book he had been pretending to read. After arriving home from school, he hadn't much felt like being alone up in his bedroom until their guests arrived. He settled into one of the living rooms with some homework. Alfred had been in the kitchen making dinner, while Jason and Damian were upstairs. He thought he'd just wait for Dick to show up, as his oldest brother always made time for him.

"Yes, Alfred?" Tim tilted his head to the side. "Did you need something?"

Alfred could be extremely subtle when he wanted to. It was probably an English thing. Now, however, was not one of those moments.

"It seems that in addition to Mr. Queen and Miss Artemis, Miss Barbara Gordon has also been invited to join us this evening. As such, I was hoping that perhaps I might receive a little help preparing dessert."

Tim immediately perked up. It was no secret that the Waynes belonged outside of the kitchen at all times, between their dad setting the toaster on fire, Dick spilling cereal and milk all behind the stove and on the wall, Damian breaking several heirloom dishes when hiding in the cabinets during his three day hide-and-seek game, and Jason...being Jason, Alfred made it a point to keep them out. Well, except for Tim that was.

He didn't remember much before his adoption, (he didn't want to think about that time) but Tim did recall his attempt to make pancakes for everyone when he first moved in to Wayne Manor. Pancakes were one of the few things he knew how to make, as his old housekeeper had gotten tired of always having to cook them when she was supposed to be busy cleaning, so she taught him how to do it for himself.

Alfred had taken this apparent enthusiasm for the culinary arts and decided that it was the perfect way to help Tim feel more comfortable in his new home. Tim honestly just wanted to be helpful back then. He hadn't seen through the old butler's ruse, but by the time he had, Tim found that he didn't much care. Even if Alfred didn't actually need any help, Tim liked to think that maybe he enjoyed his company. It was a rare feeling for him at the time, to have an adult want him around for more than a few minutes to show him off before sending him back to stand silently in the corner of the room until he was eventually called back again to repeat the process.

Besides, Tim didn't mind. He liked spending time with his grandfather as well.

"Sure, I'd love to help."

***
Dick took a deep breath as he stared at himself in the mirror.  He practiced a couple smiles, before settling on his most "polite-but-not-overly-so" looking one.  He didn't usually make such a fuss when it came to dinners with Uncle Ollie or Barbara, but this was different.