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Riviellan — Panthra Rising, Chapter Forty Nine
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Published: 2014-12-16 07:08:47 +0000 UTC; Views: 2995; Favourites: 2; Downloads: 0
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--“Eavesdropping is rude, runt.”--
The rest of the day went fairly well. The movie, as Dick predicted, was mind-numbing. Lots of action, lots of ridiculous dialog, not really a plot to follow… “Okay, next time you want to see one of those, take Bart. I can’t sit through another one of those.” Tim was imitating the ninja moves. “Are you kidding, that was awesome! Did you see the way the ninja dodged the cannonballs?” The teen jumped sideways, “Shhhhhhhhhhhew!” Dick got his keys out, “Okay. Food. We’re going to Joe’s.” The younger brother glowered, “I want pizza, though.”
Dick shook his head. “You picked the movie, I pick lunch.” Tim rolled his eyes. “When did we make that rule?” Dick unlocked the doors of his car. “I’m driving. My rules. What’s wrong with Joe’s?” The younger brother shrugged. “Not really in the mood for burgers.” Dick climbed in the driver’s side while Tim sulked in the up front passenger seat. “Joe’s has other stuff. Get what you want, just not pizza today. I know that’s all you eat for lunch at school.” The shorter brother glared at Dick. “Says who?” The man driving arched an eyebrow. “Says the fact that you’ve come home smelling like pizza for six weeks. Says the sauce stains on your clothes. And I know for a fact that Gotham Academy serves pizza every day and when I was 14 I ate next to nothing else either. I don’t care what you eat, but you need more than pizza if you want to actually get any taller.”
Tim rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” The ride to the restaurant was quiet, Tim silently fuming. Joe’s was a pretty nice place, in a newer part of town, or at least a part of town that had been rebuilt in the past five years. The restaurant had diner fare, but with flair. Dick’s favorite was an original creation. Two beef patties, one with cheddar cheese in the middle, the other with bacon, put together with avocado and spinach, topped with spicy mayo, house made mustard, and a fried egg, all that on a sour dough bun with sweet pickles on the side and the option of lettuce, tomato, and onions. They called that one The Double Down. You got a choice of sides, and Dick favored the house cut seasoned steak fries with spicy ketchup. You could top the fries with cheese or house made smoked ham chili, but he usually got them plain. Then there were the handmade mint chocolate shakes, with real mint. Dick only ate here maybe once a month, but oh, it was heaven.
Tim was still sulking when the server came over. “Hey guys! I’m Nikki, what can I get you boys to drink?” The younger brother glanced over the menu, not seeing his options right away. Dick spoke up. “We’ll have two waters, I’d like root beer, and hit this guy up with a Fire Cracker.” Nikki nodded, “Coming right up, I’ll be back in a few.” As she left, Tim eyed Dick warily. “What did you order?” Dick chuckled, pushing the menu a little closer to the teen. “Trust me, it’s awesome. Figure out what you want. If you really still want pizza, try the Mozza Melt. It’s like pizza on a bun.” Tim looked like he was considering it, and Dick flipped through the pages to see if there was anything new. Nothing peaked his interest until he got to the last page.
There was a new dessert called the Apple Slam. Fresh apple-cinnamon cobbler, hot from the oven, with homemade vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce, and your choice of whipped cream or crushed walnuts. Dick was severely tempted to order that before lunch. Even though it was just after 1 pm, he didn’t want to gorge himself. And he was trying to set a good example for Tim. Their server returned, a tray of glasses in her hand. “Here you go. Two waters, a root beer for you, and a Fire Cracker for you Hun. You boys ready to order?” Dick looked at his younger brother, who nodded. “I’ll get the Double Down, no onions, steak fries.” Nikki jotted his request in her little notebook. “How’d you want the egg?” Dick smiled, “Over hard, not runny.” She nodded and turned to Tim. “I’m going to get the Mozza Melt.” Nikki grinned, “Good choice! Pepperoni or sausage?” The youth scrunched his face a moment. “Can I have both?” She nodded, “Sure thing, you want the salad?”
The youth shook his head. “The chili fries sound better.” She wrote it down and flipped the book closed. “I’ll be bring them right out.” Tim looked at the drink in front of him. It was golden yellow and slushy, bubbled slightly, and had a grainy brownish-yellow powder on the lip of the glass. “What is this?” Dick grinned. “Try it, it’s good.” The boy looked skeptical. “Hey, if you don’t want it, I’ll take it.” He reached for the drink. Tim snatched it up, if only to keep Dick from getting it. As his older brother laughed, Tim looked at the concoction. It smelled sweet and fruity. Shrugging, he took a tentative sip. His eyes widened at the unexpected carbonation. Then the fruit hit him. It was a mixture of orange and pineapple, probably lemon-lime soda and ice to make a smoothie. A tiny bit of heat kicked Tim right in the tongue. He looked at Dick, curious.
The older brother, snickered. “Ground ginger and granulated sugar on the glass. It’s good, right?” The youth nodded appreciatively. “Yeah. Somehow cold and hot at the same time.” Dick pushed the menus back to the edge of the table. “No free refills, so make it last.” Tim shrugged, then started speaking as they waited for food. “So… you and Panthra, huh?” The older brother’s face darkened slightly. “And?” The teen glanced out the window. “Nothing. She’s nice, smart too. Seems to like you.” Dick drank some soda. “Yeah. She’s great. Better company than Bruce at least.” The comment had the desired effect and Tim abruptly changed the subject.
“What should I do? He has to have a partner, but if I can’t trust him…” Dick sighed. “Kid, I haven’t trusted Bruce for a while now. The fighter, he’s always got my back. He’s always tried to keep me safe, even if he’s an ass, I trust him in a fight. You do what you need to do to stay sane. Keep having friends over, hang with the team, talk to Al. It’s not always bad.” Tim sipped his smoothie. “What happens if I can’t save him?” Dick shook his head. “Well, then the League will have to step in. I wouldn’t worry too much about that though. You are making a difference." Tim looked away. “Not that I can tell.”
Dick looked sympathetic. “I know it doesn’t look that way from the inside, but I can see him getting better. He’s still a jerk, but he’s not as much of one on purpose anymore. I feel better about Alfred being there with him now. Without you there, I’m always half afraid he’ll do something to make Alfred quit.” Tim shook his head. “Bruce and Alfred are practically symbiotic. They couldn’t survive without each other.” The server returned with their plates. “Double Down for you, sir. Need extra ketchup for the burger?” Dick shook his head, already digging into the fries. Nikki set down Tim’s plate and the boy’s eyes lit up. “Here you go Sweetie. Mozza Melt and Chili Fries. Can I get you boys anything else?” Dick swallowed. “Napkins.” The woman nodded, “Sure thing, Hun. I’ll be right back.”
Tim’s sandwich was an eight inch small loaf of Italian bread, dripping with seasoned pizza sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese. Inside were over a dozen meatballs, some made from Italian sausage, others somehow made from pepperoni. A ramekin of crushed red pepper sauce was on the side. “How do I start this?! It’s going to fall apart if I pick it up.” Dick chuckled, “Do as I do, kid.” The older brother picked up his knife, held down the burger, and sliced it in half, spilling melted cheese down the middle of the burger and onto the plate. Tim followed suit and soon both of them were face deep in sandwich. Nikki dropped off the napkins with a wordless smile, nodding at the brothers as she left.
For a while, they ate in silence. Once the initial feeding frenzy died down a little, Dick finally spoke. “You’re wrong about Alfred. He’s left before.” Tim nearly choked on a mouthful of meatball and had to drain half his water to still the coughing that ensued. When he could breathe again, he stared at his older brother. “Seriously? When? What happened?” Dick swallowed his fries then began.
“I started as Robin when I was just barely nine. I’d had almost a year of training, but I was still green. Naïve. Alfred nearly left then. You should have heard the shouting. Bruce finally convinced him though. That I’d be helping from the fringes. That the martial arts training was just a backup just in case I got in trouble. And for a while, that’s how it was. When I was twelve though, I got captured. They beat me pretty badly, and before Batman could reach me, one of them took a crowbar and broke my left arm.” Tim sat quietly, waiting for more.
“By the time I was rescued, I was sick. Infection was setting into the cuts, and the broken bone was all the way through the skin, so that needed tending. I was in shock, I nearly died.” Tim made a sound. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?” Dick shrugged. “I don’t know. Anyways, Bruce was able to convince the doctors that I’d wandered off on the manor grounds, and fell out of a tree. Kept Child Protective Services out of his hair. I had to have two surgeries and was in the hospital almost a month. Bruce came to see me every day, and Al spent the night almost every night.”
“When they thought I was asleep, they’d argue. Oh, I had a private room in a private wing, so they could bicker and no one would hear. No one but me. I’ve never heard Alfred swear before, or since, but he was so angry it scared me. They yelled at each other, one time it nearly came to actual violence and I had to pretend to wake up so they’d stop.” Dick shuddered, but went on. “When I got home, I was still in a cast. But then, Alfred and Bruce really went at it. You’ve never heard such terrible things said by two people who are basically father and son, people who care about each other.”
“At one point, it got so bad that I threw myself between them, crying like a baby, begging them to stop yelling. It was the worst thing that had happened since my parents died.” Tim had still been eating and his sandwich was almost gone, as well as half of his fries. “Then what happened?” Dick actually grimaced, recalling the memory. “Alfred stormed off. He packed a bag, he left his notice and drove away. We didn’t know if he was coming back, but Bruce wouldn’t talk to anyone about it. Not even me. He was barely there anyways. He stewed it over at the office, in the cave, at the house, in the field. I was at the manor alone most of the time. Ordered a lot of take out. Made a lot of PBJ’s. Learned to do my own laundry. Everything Alfred usually did, I was doing on my own. One handed.”
Tim shook his head. “What brought him back?” Dick sighed. “Batman went up against Mr. Freeze for the first time. His suit wasn’t meant for it, wasn’t designed for those kind of temperature extremes back then. Freeze used that gun of his and froze Bats almost solid. I was still out of the field, but was in the cave, at the computer. I triggered the warming unit on his belt, melting the ice. Then I took control of the car, winched him into the cab, and drove him home remotely. I had no idea how to help him, and I couldn’t get ahold of Alfred, so I called Leslie. You know Dr. Thompkins.” Tim nodded, finishing the smoothie.
“She called Alfred. Turns out, they’d been in contact the entire time. Alfred was home the very next morning. Bruce was still unconscious, recovering from critical hypothermia. As soon as Alfred walked into the cave, Leslie slapped him so hard he bruised. She screamed at him for leaving me alone with Bruce. Said it was the most irresponsible, negligent thing Alfred had ever done. Made him swear to never leave me with Bruce like that again. Once Bruce recovered and took out Freeze, he and Al had a really long conversation which I was not allowed to take part in. That’s where they hashed out all the rules. You know. Curfews, bedtime, homework, schedules, when you’re not allowed to go with him because it’s too dangerous.”
“And they were like a pair of angry porcupines for a good two months. I didn’t go back into the field until after I was out of the cast and the physical therapy was done. It sucked. And Bruce was never the same afterwards. His outlook had changed. He didn’t treat me like a soldier anymore. I was his kid brother and he did everything humanly possible to shield me from harm.” The story over, both brothers sat in silence, picking at the little bit of food left on their plates. Eventually, Tim said, “Wow. That’s… that’s messed up, man.” Dick nodded. “Yeah. It’s really the only bad time I had with Bruce until I discovered he was lying to me and manipulating me. I was 17 and angry. And you know what happened there.”
Nikki returned. “You boys enjoyed your lunch?” Tim leaned back smiling. “Best sandwich ever.” She grinned. “I’ll pass that to the cook. Can I get any dessert for you boys?” Weakly, Tim shook his head. Dick snickered. “Let me get the mint chocolate shake, please. To go. Tim, you want one for the car?” The teen shook his head a second time. “I’m never going to need to eat again.” Dick laughed. “Just the one shake then.” Nikki nodded and went to the back. “You okay, Tim?” The youth put a hand on his stomach and closed his eyes. “I’m going to explode.”
Dick stacked their plates, cleaning the table a bit. A few minutes later, the server came back, a tall styrofoam cup in one hand, the check in the other. She set both down and took the plates up. Dick got out his wallet, taking out some cash and handed the money with the bill to Nikki. “Keep the change. Thanks for everything.” The two stood and the server called to them as they left.
“See you boys next time!”
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Comments: 9
It was 2 am when I had my husband read this. He got done with the description of the Mozza Melt, and he turned to me and said, "I should NOT want to eat right now. I'm going to Subway tomorrow."
I ad libbed the meltdown. It's not part of canon. But I thought it would be crucial to how the men interact in my story.
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I happened to be awake then because I didn't have to work the next day.
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Because he's a night creature.
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Eh, sometimes.
Other times it's a drag because I work and he stays home with the toddler.
I have to get up super early some days, so I have to kick him out of the room so I can sleep.
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