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The beach was deserted. Waves crashed along the rocky shore, intimidating in their power. The sunlight glinted through dark clouds, doing little to alleviate the chill of the sea breeze, while the seagulls swirled overhead, the only other living creatures visible along the coast.
It was beautiful.
Tim wandered down closer to the rocks, camera lifted to the sky in an attempt to capture the striking image of the birds backlit against the clouds. This beach was excellent for photography, out of the way of any potential tourists due to its stony sands and harsh waters. There would be no swimming along this particular coastline; at least, not for people. If you were lucky, sometimes you could see interesting wildlife cavorting through the waves. Tim was hoping to be lucky today.
He meandered further along the coastline, a small figure shivering in his red windbreaker. Occasionally, the bluffs down by the empty cabin on the beach had seals sunning themselves on the bigger rocks. They made fun subjects, big and oddly intelligent. Sometimes, in his more fanciful moods, Tim swore they knew he was photographing them and were posing specifically for his shots, with the biggest one managing to look regal despite being like 40% blubber, and the smallest, sleekest seal showing an almost playful delight. A third one was bigger than the second, smaller than the first, and perpetually grumpy. He was Tim’s favourite. Photos of a grumpy faced seal would never not look hilarious.
Today, however, Tim was not in a fanciful mood. His parents had once again left on another overseas trip. This time, he didn’t even have a housekeeper for company because clearly twelve was old enough to look out for himself, and Mrs. Mac would come once a week to cook meals for the fridge and clean the house. He was a big boy, there was no need to babysit him. He could handle himself, he knew that, his parents had made sure of it. Independence, they proclaimed, was a vital trait for every young man, especially one who would one day inherit their empire. Being independent seemed awfully lonely though.
Sad and quiet and cold, Tim reached the turn in the beach where the bluffs were visible. He squinted at the monochrome landscape, searching, hoping he hadn’t hiked here in vain. There they were! There were his seals, sprawled on the headland in the weak sunlight. He grinned to himself and edged his way towards them. When he got as close as he dared, he raised his camera and waited for the perfect moment. His patience was soon rewarded when the biggest seal lifted its head and looked straight at him. The shutter clicked, and Tim smiled.
***
Bruce lifted his head from the rocks and stared thoughtfully. The little human was back again with his camera today. Alone, of course. This particular human always was. Bruce frowned to himself, irritated. Why wasn’t anyone ever with this pup? Pups shouldn’t be left alone, and this one was so small. And cold. He always shivered.
Dick rolled over to flop beside Bruce. “Sitting and worrying over him from a distance will do absolutely nothing, Bruce. If you want to talk to him, go talk to him,” Dick’s words were exasperated. He was tired of Bruce’s brooding.
“Yeah, B,” Jason rumbled, “Go talk to the kid who you originally wanted nothing to do with and considered chasing off the beach. That’ll go great.” Dick rolled over to where Jason was sprawled and used his momentum to push the larger seal into the water. Jason gave an undignified squawk of outrage.
Content, Dick turned to face Bruce once more. “So? Are you gonna do anything, or just sit and sulk?”
Bruce frowned. He didn’t sulk. He brooded. With great dignity.
That wasn’t what Dick asked. “Talking to him seems unwise. I will not give up our secrets to a human, even if he is a pup.”
“Or,” Jason heaved himself back out of the water, glaring at Dick, “you could go swim up the tunnel to the house, shift there, and talk to him as a human. Y’know, sensibly.” Dick snorted.
Bruce narrowed his eyes, and returned his attention to the pup. While he’d been distracted, the pup had crept closer and was taking his photos barely 30 feet from the rocks. That wasn’t safe, the footing there wasn’t all that steady. Bruce sighed. Clearly, someone had to look out for this pup, and if none of the humans would do it, Bruce would.
***
Tim lowered his camera after the largest seal dove into the waves. Somehow, despite its size, that seal managed to look majestic. How a seal looked majestic, Tim wasn’t sure, but it totally did. The remaining two smaller seals almost seemed to be play fighting, with the larger of the two chasing the smaller around the rocks. Maybe it wanted revenge for the earlier stunt. Tim smiled. Grumpy seal falling into the water as the playful one posed in victory above was one of Tim’s favourite shots he’d ever captured of the creatures. Distracted by their tumbling, Tim took a few steps closer for a better angle, forgetting to test the ground beneath his feet. Inevitably, the second he forgot to do so was when it became necessary, and the rocks shifted beneath him. He yelped as he lost his footing, clutched his camera to his chest, and prepared for an uncomfortable landing.
A pair of hands grabbed his shoulders before he hit the ground, and he yelped again. Eyes flying back open, he stared in shock at the large man holding him upright. The man had striking features, with dark hair styled in a soft wave, icy blue eyes, and a square jawline. Before he’d even really thought about it, Tim lifted his camera and took a photo.
“Are you quite alright, there?” The man raised a single dark eyebrow, sounding gruff but amused. Blushing in mortification, Tim lowered the camera.
“S-sorry, sir,” he stuttered out. What was he thinking! The man stops him from falling and he immediately takes a photo. God, he must seem like such a creep.
Fortunately for Tim, the man still seems amused. “It’s fine, pup. I saw you from the windows of my house, and I wondered what such a young kid was doing out here by himself.” He kicked carelessly at one of the smaller rocks. “As you’ve seen it’s not that safe down here.”
“I’m not that young! I’m twelve!” Tim burst out. That was just rude, really. Tim might be small, but he wasn’t a child, not really. He could take care of himself, even his parents thought so. And who called people ‘pup’? That was just strange.
“Right, of course,” the man laughed. “Twelve is a perfectly respectable age. Still, that didn’t answer my question. Do your parents know where you are?”
“I don’t even know your name,” Tim pointed out. “Why should I tell you anything?”
“Did I not introduce myself? How rude of me. I’m Bruce, and I own that house up on the hill above the rocks. Who are you?”
***
Bruce did his best to seem open and friendly, but every non-answer the pup gave made him frown inwardly. In his admittedly limited experience, children tended towards straightforward answers. The only exception he’d found to that rule was Jason, and he had a history of poor treatment by adults. All of this meant that Bruce was growing more concerned about the pup by the minute.
The pup stared at him guardedly before coming to a decision. “I’m Tim,” he said quietly, cautiously. “I live in the big house on the cliffs back there.” He pointed behind himself, back towards the other end of the beach.
Bruce attempted a gentle smile. “I’ve seen it, it looks like a lovely home. Are your parents there? You should go let them know where you are, if you haven’t already. They must be worried, you’ve been out here for hours.”
Tim’s lower lip wobbled, just a little, but Bruce saw it. “They won’t worry,” he muttered. “They aren’t home.”
Not home? Maybe they’d gone out for a while. It was best not to leap to conclusions, even if the pup did come down to take photos at the bluffs by himself on a regular basis. “I see. When will they be home? If no one knows where you are, you probably should stick to the safer parts of the beach.”
Tim stared down at his feet and murmured something.
“Sorry? I didn’t catch that.” He bent over Tim in an attempt to hear the boy more clearly.
“I said, they’ll be home in June.”
Bruce reeled back half a step, stunned. June? That was a summer month. It was only April, as the humans counted it, and summer was still half a season away. How could anyone leave a pup alone like that? Maybe he had another guardian. After all, Alfred had often looked after Bruce, even… even before. “Is there someone else you can tell? No one will know where you are if you get hurt.”
Tim raised his eyes and glared fiercely. “I’m twelve, not a baby! I can look after myself! Mom and dad said so, and twelve is a perfectly acceptable age for a kid to be left alone. No one needs to babysit me.”
Bruce stared at Tim, this tiny fierce pup proclaiming to be perfectly fine on his own, and sighed inwardly. Despite his claims, twelve was not a perfectly acceptable age to be alone, and his parents were clearly insane for saying so. If he had been a selkie, he would still have his white-bellied puppy coat draped over his shoulders. He was still so small and vulnerable to things like seagulls and orcas and humans.
Bruce wondered how Dick and Jason would feel if he took in a human. He had a feeling they were going to laugh at him. Looking down at Tim, who gazed back with a firm set to his mouth and eyes that were wide and a little bit lonely, Bruce decided it was okay if the boys laughed. Tim clearly needed someone to look after him, and apparently Bruce was going to be the one to do it.