Ah, Alfred. The tried and true method of scolding each other for not taking care of themselves in the name of their caretaker.
“I’ll get to it,” he answered with an easy smile, bringing both mugs over to the countertop where Damian had taken up residence. Dick set one down for the child as he raised the other to his lips to take a sip.
“Fill me in while you’re here. How’s school? Training? I heard you and B put away a few more of Black Mask’s higher ups the other night; good job.” Dick had been missing out on the child’s company while he avoided the Manor, so he was going to take advantage of the chance while he had it.
Damian claimed to hate whenever Dick ‘smothered’ him with affection and attention, but bit by bit he was working his way around the facade of anger and disgust to understanding, getting the child to open up. The wouldn’t have managed to function as partners if Damian didn’t have some level of attachment toward him.
“Two weeks, by my estimate. Pennyworth will be disappointed.” He stubbornly clung to the topic of Dick’s laundry, eyeing the apartment critically. He accepted the mug, taking a sip with a quiet hum of appreciation. Then he sighed, settled it back on the countertop, and folded his hands in front of him.
“We have made good progress in the Black Mask case, yes. Training, however hardly seems to be moving forward. Father is convinced I’m not ready for the next step, which is ridiculous. School is a bore, a waste of time surrounded by children and exceptionally dull instructors. Father insists that it’s necessary, but I suspect his only reasoning is his familial tradition of pouring money into the lost cause of an institution.”
He took another sip, his face thoughtful for a moment.
“You haven’t been by the manor. It’s been nearly two months.”
And if he did a poor job of masking the accusations in his voice, the tinge of hurt coloring his words, well.....he couldn’t really be blamed, he reasoned. It was Grayson’s fault, anyways.