never gonna let you down; alfred (yes_sir) wrote in rooms,
[Little got past Alfred, at least little that happened in the Manor, and while there were so many people and alternate histories and timelines converging that he just couldn't work out, he did the best with the information he had, and he made himself useful. He was a butler, after all. Being a butler meant taking care of the house and the people who lived there, all of them, like them or not, doing all the thankless work, and keeping order when things always threatened to turn to chaos.
So of course he showed up in the Cave as events unfolded, and he saw Bruce leave, but he stayed with the others then. He couldn't do anything for Damian. It was far too late for that, but he could stay to do what he could for the others. Bruce he would deal with in the morning, whether Master Wayne liked it or not.
It wasn't much of a surprise that Bruce wasn't in his bedroom the next morning: that would have been too sensible. But Alfred had served the Waynes for 40 years, and been the sole guardian of Bruce for much of that time. There was nowhere in the manor the man could hide, and Alfred had seen Bruce in every mood. He remembered the boy's nightmares about his parent's death better than his own dreams, at least what Bruce was willing to share with him. Talking was not his strong suit, and Alfred didn't think Bruce would be much different now, once again hiding in his father's study, seeking some sort of support there in the shadows of the room and of his own memories.
It was 8 AM when Alfred let himself into the room, drawing a cart with two trays: the top had breakfast, the bottom had medical supplies. He shut the door firmly behind him and, without a by-your-leave, opened the curtains to let in what passed for the morning light in Gotham. He wasn't there to cast blame or to give obligatory words of comfort. There wasn't much to say when family was lost, when you had to bury someone who was a son (or like a son) to you. That was a fresh enough memory for Alfred. It might have all worked out in the end, but at the time, he thought he had failed Bruce and that if he had done something else, Bruce would not have died. He didn't need to ask if that was how Bruce felt now, but Alfred didn't know Damian and the situation well enough to judge the true causes. It seemed most likely to him that everyone bore some blame for his outburst, but there was nothing they could do now.
But it was 8 AM, so Master Wayne was getting breakfast.]