The first few times food went missing at dinner, Jason Todd blamed Dick Grayson immediately.

“Touch my fries again and I’m breaking your fingers.”

Dick looked up from his plate, offended. “I’m literally across the table.”

“Yeah, and you’re a thief by nature.”

“That’s rich coming from—”

“Boys,” Bruce Wayne warned without even glancing up from the newspaper.

The argument died down, but Jason narrowed his eyes anyway. Because he knew exactly how many fries had been on his plate.

And one had definitely vanished.

It kept happening.

Not just fries either.

Toast disappearing during breakfast. Chicken nuggets gone from the kitchen counter. Alfred’s fresh cookies mysteriously reduced by half before cooling.

Alfred suspected the dog.

Jason suspected Dick.

Dick suspected Jason was losing his mind.

Until one rainy evening during dinner, Jason finally caught it.

The dining room at Wayne Manor was quiet except for silverware clinking against plates. Bruce was late. Tim was buried in a tablet. Damian looked two seconds away from starting a fight for entertainment.

Jason stabbed another piece of chicken-

And froze.

The edge of the massive tablecloth moved.

Tiny fingers slowly emerged from beneath it.

A little hand.

Small. Dirty. Careful.

The hand stretched toward Jason’s plate with the seriousness of a military operation.

Jason stared.

The hand grabbed a dinner roll.

Jason grabbed the wrist.

There was an immediate gasp from under the table.

Everyone went silent.

Dick blinked. “...What the hell?”

Jason yanked the tablecloth upward.

Curled beneath the table was a little baby no older than maybe four or five. Wild hair. Oversized hoodie (his) Huge terrified eyes.

And Jason’s dinner roll clenched in both hands like a survival prize.

For a second nobody moved.

Then the kid hissed at Jason like an angry alley cat.

Jason actually recoiled. “Did she just hiss at me?”

“She hissed at you,” Tim confirmed, sounding delighted.

The girl scrambled backward deeper beneath the table, bumping into Damian’s chair. Damian immediately leaned down to stare at her.

“A feral child,” he announced calmly. “Excellent.”

“Do not encourage her,” Dick sighed.

Alfred looked less surprised than everyone else, which honestly should’ve been concerning.

Jason pointed accusingly under the table. “THAT’S where my food’s been going?”