Forced Bonds

Chapter 60

Gotham
March 24, 11:59 EDT

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Someone is at the door of Wayne Manor. They are hooded and facing away from the camera so Alfred does not recognize who it is. Sighing, he makes his way to the entrance hall. Master Bruce is out at the moment. The CEO is being forced to return by the board, who usually couldn't get him to do anything. They made a pretty convincing argument. Not getting into any details...words were used.

It had been a two months since Bruce returned to his regular life. Though he is a master of disguises, his fake smile can not fool his butler. If Batman had been broody before, he is borderline depressed now. Alfred might have been in the same state had he not undergone intensive mental training while he served in the MI-6. They have both dealt with the loss of family before, especially when young Bruce watched his parents die. However, losing a kid- let alone all of them...saying that it was painful would be a huge understatement.

Now, it is noon. Bruce is at work and Alfred is home alone. The butler retrieves the shotgun that he hid in the coat closet. Cocking it, he glimpses through the eyehole.

He is not in a good mood.

The figure still stands turned away, seemingly nervous, but Alfred knew to expect anything.

Taking a deep breath, Alfred wrenches open the door and aims at the man. "State your name and purpose here," Alfred rattles off with his thick British accent. His finger is on the trigger.

Tim turns around, holding up a hand and lowering his hood to calm the butler. "Woah woah, Alfred. It's me," he says urgently.

There is an instant moment of relief, but it is pushed away due to Tim's demeanor. He is anxious, stress clear on his face. Alfred restrains himself from pulling his youngest grandson into his arms. Something is clearly wrong.

The butler moves his aim past Tim and to the lawn, looking for any threats.

"No! Alfred, stop that," Tim says quickly, pushing the barrel towards the ground. "You'll scare him!"

Oh, so there wasn't a threat. That's good. "Scare who?" Alfred replies to clarify. He might still need the gun. However, Tim has already turned back away.

"I'm not scared, I'm just...nervous," a disembodied voice retorts. Alfred looks around for the source.

Tim looks as a fidgety as the voice sounded, "Well, you're making me nervous. C'mon, it's only Alfred. We made sure Bruce wasn't here, remember?"

"...yeah..."

"Do you not want to? You don't have to do it now."

"Master Timothy, who are you talking to?"

Tim holds up a finger to Alfred, the meaning clear. Though, the butler wasn't sure how he felt about being perceived as a threat to someone he couldn't even see. Of course, he is still holding the shot gun...he props it against the wall inside the manor.

"We can leave if you're not ready, but it'll be harder to hide. Alfred knows we're here."

"..."

Alfred agreed that it would be harder to hide. He does not want Master Timothy to leave. The retired agent still has to hug him.

"I...I can do it."

"Okay...You're going to have to take off the cloak, then," Tim instructs slowly.

Tim turns back around and gives Alfred a heavy sigh before smiling. The boy jumps into the elders ready arms. Alfred crushes him into his chest, never wanting to let go. Thank God, Tim is back, thank the almighty Lord. It's enough to make Alfred's eyes glossy.