All the Lines We Cross

Ch8. Convenient Timing

The Manor is quiet the morning after the snowstorm.
Snow still blankets the grounds, muffling the usual hum of the city beyond.

Briana's in the kitchen, hands wrapped around a mug of tea, when Alfred walks in with a stack of fresh linens.

⸻

Briana walks up to Alfred.
"Can I ask you something?" she says as he sets the linens on the counter.

"You may always ask," Alfred replies, tone calm as ever.

"Why doesn't Jason... come to family dinners? Or stay here much?"

Alfred pauses, the faintest beat before he starts arranging the linens into a neat pile. "Master Jason is... independent by nature. The Manor has not always felt like home to him."

Pushing Gently
Briana tilts her head. "Is it a him thing or a... Manor thing?"

Alfred's mouth curves faintly. "Both, I suspect. Some people carry their home with them wherever they go. Others find it only in certain company."

"And Jason?"

He meets her eyes. "Jason finds home in people more than places. But trust, Miss Briana, is a currency he spends carefully."

Letting It Sit
She doesn't press. Instead, she sips her tea, filing the words away.

"Why do you ask?" Alfred says after a moment.

She shrugs. "Just... trying to understand the people I'm sharing a roof with. Even if it's only sometimes."

"A noble pursuit," Alfred says, picking up the linens again. "And in this household, an ongoing one."

He leaves her with the quiet hum of the refrigerator and the thought that maybe Jason's distance isn't disinterest — maybe it's just the way he's built.

⸻

Later — Tim's Turn
She finds Tim in the den later, laptop balanced on his knees, three mugs of coffee within reach.

"Hey," she says, leaning on the doorway. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, but if it's about why we don't use the good china, that's a Bruce thing, not me."

She smirks. "It's about Jason."

That earns her a raised brow. "Oh?"

"Why doesn't he come around much?"

Tim leans back in the chair, considering. "Jason's... complicated. He likes his space, doesn't like explaining himself, and honestly? Sometimes being here reminds him of stuff he'd rather not think about."

"So it's personal."

"Yeah. But not... personal against you, if that's what you're wondering." Tim's expression softens. "If he doesn't like someone, you'll know. You're not on that list."

Briana crosses her arms, thinking. "Alfred said trust is a currency he spends carefully."

"Sounds like Alfred," Tim says, smirking. "He's not wrong. Jason doesn't do casual trust. But if you make the cut, he'll back you harder than anyone."

She files that away too.

Maybe distance isn't a wall so much as a gate.
———

The Pattern Starts

Briana notices it a week later.
Jason's not suddenly camped at the Manor, but his visits... increase.

Once it's to drop off parts for the Batmobile. Another time it's because Alfred "needed" something from the city — though Alfred looks suspiciously surprised when Jason actually shows up with it.