Batfamily Short Stories

Old Time Rock And Roll

On the very, very rare day of being home alone in the manor, Jason took full advantage of it. Still in just his pajama pants, Jason headed down the kitchen and played a familiar tune on his phone. The intro riff played as Jason slid into the kitchen on his fuzzy new socks, holding an imaginary microphone as he lip synced the lyrics.

Setting the phone on the counter, Jason took bread from the pantry and eggs and other supplies from the fridge.

"Today's music ain't got the same soul," Jason murmured under his breath as he put two slices of bread into the toaster, followed by expertly cracking a few eggs in a pan on the stove.

Tapping his foot, Jason enjoyed the scent of the eggs cooking in the buttered pan as he sang along with the song.

"I like that old-time rock and roll. The kinda music that soothes my soul."

Unbeknownst to Jason, he wasn't quite home alone. Tim sat around the corner of the hallway trying very hard to keep from snickering as he recorded the event on his phone.

As the song came to an end and Jason was dishing up his late breakfast, an alert popped up on his phone screen. PROPERTY PERIMETER BREACHED

Tim scurried away from the kitchen and up the stairs, launching himself onto his bed and pulling on his headphones, opening his laptop to make it seem as if he had been there the whole morning.

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, Jason was thoroughly enjoying his brunch as Bruce and Alfred entered the kitchen with their arms full of groceries, followed by the even more heavily loaded Damian and Dick.

"Need any help, Alfred?" Jason inquired, scraping the last of his eggs onto his fork.

The butler shook his head with a small smile, "Masters Dick and Damian got the last of it, sir. Thank you, though."

Just then, Dick struggled to set one of the bags on the table next to Jason, only for it to tip slightly. Dick's life flashed before his eyes as a lone peach rolled out of the bag and across the table, falling over the edge.

Everything went slow motion but lighting fast at the same time as Jason flung his hand out and grabbed the stray piece of fruit just before it hit the ground.

Dick let out a sigh as Jason put the peach back in the bag, straightening up the bag so the accident couldn't repeat itself.

"Thanks," Dick breathed, incredibly grateful that Alfred's back had been turned.

"God help us if we bruise the fruit," Jason replied under his breath, giving Dick a knowing look before getting to his feet with a sly grin and carrying his dishes to the dishwasher.

After helping put away the groceries, Jason headed upstairs, humming the tune of Old Time Rock And Roll. As he passed by Tim's room, he couldn't help but notice that the door was wide open. Looking in, Jason would deny the fact that he paled at the sight of the wiry younger boy sprawled across his bedspread.

Stepping into the room, Jason waved and snapped his fingers in order to get Tim's attention.

Pressing a few keys on his laptop and removing his headphones, Time turned his attention to Jason, "What's up, Jay?"

"Have you... been home this whole time?" Jason inquired carefully.

Tim furrowed his brow slightly in feigned confusion, "Yeah...? I have to finish this report for Wayne Enterprises before the shareholders meeting tomorrow."

Jason nodded slowly, "Oh, 'kay. You didn't happen to hear anything... weird... did you?"

"Uh, no." Tim replied with a shake of his head.

"Okay, cool." Jason said quickly, backing out of the room. "Cool-cool-cool. See ya, Replacement."

As Jason hurried down the hallway, Tim flipped over his phone, which had been lying face down on the blanket next to him. Unlocking it, Tim smirked at the sight of the paused video he had gotten that morning.