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hanabihanabi · 3 years ago

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Blue and Grey (MyRobin!Au)

Summary: Tim has just gotten home from school, and he wanted nothing more than a moment of relaxation to himself- maybe even crack some cases once he reaches his room.

Those plans were thwarted the moment Dick spots him in the hallway.

Warnings: Tiny angst, implied/mentioned character's death, Desc. of Spit (? Honestly it's small; it's mostly Tim's panicking over raspberries)

Word Count: 1.9k

A/N: Woohoo, first time posting a fic! It's a small drabble (Well.. I consider it small since it's not a lot of plot) For those wondering- No, this isn't exactly the official prologue or chapter to the MyRobin!Au, but I thought this drabble might give a gist of what it's like. If people are interested enough, then maybe I'll post more :D or maybe not cause my writing is bad haha-

Drabble inspired by this post. (I want to note how much I appreciate the love on that post <3 Thank you!) Title inspired from 'Blue and Grey' by BTS.

___

Damian has been insufferable for the past few days.

.. Well, more than he usually is.

He’s been refusing to do anything, no matter how nice they’ve asked him. He’s barely tolerable during meals and he would get into fits whenever he was denied something, retaliating in a way that even Bruce wasn’t sure what to do with him.

Tim could tell that everybody was on their wits end with his behavior. That plus the stress of their nightlife- He was surprised that there weren't any fights breaking amongst themselves.

When Tim entered the fold, he was used to the quiet tensions and animosity between Bruce and Dick. In the beginning, they would snap at each other constantly, sometimes evolving to screaming matches. It happened a lot while Tim was in the middle of solving a case, trying to drown out their shouts before he would find himself being guided away by Alfred’s hand.

(It wasn’t lost on anyone, especially him, that lots of it has to do with his predecessor. Tim almost never asks about Jason, no matter how badly he wanted to.)

Now, things are.. different. The tensions are still there, but their focus has shifted to the sudden arrival of an eight-year-old named Damian. A boy that is actually Bruce’s son by blood, and even that fact couldn’t compare to the shock when learning the other half of his lineage.

The Bats once again found themselves adapting, changing and just living with another variable in their lives. One of the most noticeable change was how Bruce and Dick became more tolerant of each other, talking long enough to get things done. And just- talking, Tim realized.

Damian must’ve been their wake-up call. They just couldn’t let themselves be stuck in this endless cycle of recriminations. They had to be better for their own sakes- and others.

Tim mentally notes all of this as he watches Dick duck from a stuffed cat aimed at his head.

He must’ve been trying to coax Damian out of his room while Tim was at school. The preteen tried to quietly slip by him, wanting nothing more than to review cases in the confines of his room. But, Dick quickly notices him before a relieved and quite desperate look plasters his face.

“Oh look, Timmy is home!”

Tim shot him a dirty look. It was met with Dick’s apologetic one, but he didn’t have time to berate the older man before he felt the force of an eight-year-old slamming into his side.

“Drake!” And with the way the boy looked at him with such adoration, anybody would have forgotten how much of a brat he was.

Reluctantly, he rested a hand onto the boy’s head. Damian leaned into the touch, his arms encircling Tim’s waist as he hugged him tight. It’s befuddling that the kid hugging him is the same one who’s been throwing fits and tantrums every hour of the day.

It’s times like these that makes Tim question the relationship between them. He hasn’t done anything to earn the boy’s trust- if anything, the others had spent more time and effort in their attempts, only to receive a crumb of attention compared to Tim’s.

It’s because of Robin.

But Tim wasn’t really Robin. He was just this random kid who was too stubborn to be turned away for his own good. A kid who took up the Robin suit because Batman needs Robin. And when nobody else was up for it, he decided to fill in the role until somebody better comes along. So, no, he’s not Robin- just a temporary one attempting to make up the hole that Jason left.

But this kid can’t stop looking at him as if he was his whole world. And Tim doesn’t know what to do with that. And you would think he would’ve at this point because he can’t remember the last time he even had a day all to himself. The boy follows him everywhere. Damian would intrude in his space, one way or another.

“Hey Squirt,” He says, because if he has to endure Dick’s nicknames, then Tim should be granted some of his own. “Looks like you’ve been giving Dick and the others a hard time.”

Damian just huffs. Judging by the tired look in Dick’s eyes (And Alfred’s gradual, constant need to shine the silverware), Tim already knows the answer.

The younger boy releases him for a moment, raising his arms upwards. “I demand to be carried.”

Tim raised a brow and did nothing.

Damian frowns. It took a moment before he figured it out and added, “.. Please.”

He made grabby hand gestures for emphasis.

Tim had to stifle his laughter behind a cough. The look of awe and disbelief on Dick’s face was the epitome of feeling cheated. He can’t blame him because, really, Tim seems to be the only one who could get this close to Damian.

He slid off his backpack first, tossing it towards Dick. He bent down a bit, sliding his arms under Damian’s. Once he had a good grip, it took little effort in hoisting him up. The boy wrapped his arms around Tim’s shoulders, letting his entire weight lean against him.

The teen placed one arm beneath his legs and the other against his back. Once he felt like he had Damian secured, he turned to look at the oldest amongst them.

Dick already had the phone out to sneak some pics, of course.

Tim gave him an unamused look before asking, “Where’s Bruce?”

“He left earlier for Wayne Enterprises,” Dick grimaces. “Lucius was very persuasive in making him come back in person.”

“Ah.”

Tim has met Lucius Fox on a few occasions. He learned firsthand just how amazing and intuitive the man can be, always handing tasks and projects in a timely manner. He could understand why Bruce could entrust him with everything within his company.

Bruce has been taking some time off due to.. recent circumstances. But he could only leave his company alone for so long, and it wouldn’t be fair to let Lucius continuously bear the work alone.

Maybe that is why Dick was still here in the manor. Tim was used to only seeing him during the weekends because that’s when they’re mostly free. There’s also the fact that Dick would have to drive back and forth from Bludhaven whenever he visits, so seeing him was usually a weekly thing.

Tim peered down at the mop of dark brown hair resting against his neck.

So many changes that they’ll have to adapt to.

“I want to go over case files with you,” Damian said, cutting into the conversation. “You need Batman’s input for them.”

It’s one of the things that Damian loves to do with him. It’s the closest he’ll get to partaking in their vigilantism while also indulging the title of ‘Batman’. Though, it usually ends up with Tim having to explain things to Damian than him actually getting input, but it was gratifying all the same.

Tim was about to comply because that was what he wanted to do anyway, but Dick caught his eye. He was taking huge bites while his hand seemed to scoop into nothing but air. When all he got was a confused (and mildly concerned) look, Dick mouths it out.

He hasn’t eaten all day, Dick says.

Oh.

No wonder Dick seemed stressed out. Damian had also skipped dinner last night in retaliation. The boy is already irritable as is- being hungry on top of that isn’t ideal for anyone.

Tim rolled his eyes at the exaggerated charade. He wondered why Dick didn’t bother with lip-reading first, but he went along with it as he peers back down at the kid in his arms.

“Sure, Damian, but how about we go get some lunch first?”

“I don’t want to eat,” he replied. “I want to solve cases!”

“I know, but I’m pretty hungry. Batman can’t have his Robin not be in tip-top shape, right?”

Damian let his words sink in for a bit.

“.. I suppose not. It would be terrible if you miss an important detail because of it,” He tutted. “But I get to choose what we eat. You’re probably not eating properly, which is unacceptable. I’ll have to go over future meal plans with Pennyworth.”

Oops. Tim wasn’t sure about Alfred receiving criticism on his food, but maybe he’ll let it slide for Damian?

“Sounds good to me.” Tim added a pat on his back for reassurance. “I’m about to go down the stairs, so make sure to hang on tight.”

“I’m not that simple-minded, Drake,” Damian says, but did as he was told anyway.

Good. That’s one out of the many hurdles out of the way.

Just as Tim reaches the stairs, he turns to look back towards the first Robin. “Coming?”

Dick’s face lit up a bit. “That would be great!”

It has been a while since Dick sat down and had a leisure meal with Tim. Things have been hectic these past few days as he juggled between cases in Bludhaven and the ones here in Gotham. There were also the matters of his job as an officer, and he was lucky that he could have a bit more time off than Bruce did.

But, then he eyed Damian’s face. He could see how he held onto Tim tighter after hearing his answer.

He pursed his lips. “On second thought- I think I’ll eat later. I’ll join you guys for dinner, okay?”

Damian relaxed a bit after that.

“Alright.” Tim sighed, not missing the reason why Dick’s changed his mind. He began to descend the stairs with Damian in tow.

Tim really thought that out of all of them, Dick would be the first Damian would open up to. For one, it’s Dick that Tim feels the closest to, and well, it’s Dick. Anybody could tell you that it’s harder to not befriend the guy than trying. He’s also a well-liked and respectable leader in the hero community. He leads the Titans, protects his own city, was the first Robin and-

Out of nowhere, Dick blew raspberries towards them.

Tim has never turned so fast with the look of bewilderment etched on his face. “Did you really just-”

But nothing prepared him for the moment when Damian blew a raspberry back.

Tim could tell he put his all into that one just from the way the spittle flew by his ear. “Ugh, gross, Damian!”

“He started it!”

Tim didn’t pay no mind, already running down the steps because ew, ew, ew- there’s spit on his face! As he drifted further away, howls of laughter could be heard from on top of the stairs.

He’s gonna kill Dick.

When Tim reaches the bottom floor, he sees Alfred tending to one of the vases at the entrance. “Why, Master Tim, I see you’ve returned with-”

“Ew, can’t talk Alfred, ew, ew, ew!”

“Drake, you shouldn’t show weakness so easily! What would’ve happened if this happened with a foe?"

“They wouldn’t have spit at me," Tim's face then morph into the look of horror. "Nooo, you've made me imagined it! Aughh, gross, gross!”

The butler watches as their youngest duo race towards the kitchen, bickering all the way. With a raised brow, he turned his gaze towards the top of the stairs. There, he spots their eldest doubling over on himself, not caring about the mayhem he caused.

Alfred let out a bemused sigh. He picks up the feather duster and continues his work.

It’s slow progress, but maybe this family could have a decent meal together someday soon.

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earnmysong · 4 years ago

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Ooh! For Chenford - tell me: who gets jealous the most, who takes care of who sick days and who brings up having kids! pS - I so loved your story about them and can only hope you’ll write more!

pairing: lucy/tim

who gets jealous the most - until they’re actually an item? definitely lucy. but it’s sort of an unconscious habit. as in: at first she thinks she misses him in a safety net capacity, and then she convinces herself she basically imprinted on him - like a damn duckling - because he saved her life and is someone really just not supposed to talk to the person who’d done that every day afterward? but then jackson and angela - and wes, hovering in the background with the baby - stage a taco tuesday-themed intervention. the gist of which is: woman, you’re not his rookie anymore, and this is notttt a savior complex or whatever the psych-drenched jiminy cricket who lives in in your brain is telling you. timmy boy is ten times more obvious than you are, which is saying a lotttt. etc, etc, etc.

who takes care of who on sick days - tim ends up taking care of lucy wayyyy more often because he’s the only one who can get her to sit still and shut her brain off for more than five minutes at a stretch. she’s perfectly content to power through and he’s had to literally catch her when she drops on more than one occasion. he secretly loves yelling at great british bake-off like it’s the super bowl but she’s always so out of it that she can’t properly place these scenes in the DREAM or REALITY category.

who brings up having kids - in my fic-verse/mind, even though the actual ‘having a kid now’ was a surprise, they’d definitely had the discussion multiple times prior to this. lucy waits for tim to bring up the subject the first time because she doesn’t know how much he and isabel had discussed it or how close the two of them might’ve come to having or not having one before they nose-dove. they definitely both want kids because yes, the world is scary and intense and confusing and sometimes people can genuinely suck, but none of that’s going to be any more or less true if they have a tiny hand to hold or a toddler to teach to ride a bike. plus, because their own parentals are interestinggggg, they know how to go about the business a bit better.

ALSO. thank you so much for the compliment, lovely! while i’ve got no concrete plans for more as of this moment, ideas are definitely brewing!

#an air of anonymystery #fictional favorite who's who #chenford #chenford headcanon #lucy x tim #otp: you are gonna move up at some point though right #the rookie #thoughts: i have them #people can be so nice!#thank youuuu!

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this-is-fox-speaking · 5 years ago

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just a whole post about me rambling about certain cut characters (tim’s friend, moonjumper, and shapeshifter) backstories and whatnot i made up. keep in mind these are also inspired by lots of other posts or content ive consumed and kept in my head to add to my stuff, so if any of it sounds INCREDIBLY familiar to headcanons you’ve made or someone else made, thats why.

Moonjumper - was Princey’s lawyer tutor. after they escaped the iced over kingdom with the rest of the survivors from it (another thought for a different post), they just stuck to being a librarian and painting or crafting for fun in subcon town 2.0 till the day they died. also (ftm) trans! his spirit form is night based cause love for space, of course, and their cloak/cape is more based off dracula in a way! ive never read the book personally, but i just like the idea he started to read some books from said library in subcon 2.0 through the centuries, and made his form more and more comforting for themself. they do possess badgeseller, but it was handed to them by Goat before they left the horizon. mj talks through the badgeseller, too, so thats his real voice. their physical connection is their cloak.

Goat/Tim’s Friend - used to be the alpine goat that’s been told through generations of the storybook you get. they went searching for some location that was? somethin??? idk man but they found the horizon somehow and got their conciousness/spirit sucked into it for almost eternity (till timmy and them came along). so they got stuck in the horizon and were alone until all the other horizon members came along. they could still interact with the world below, somewhat, by possessing their decreasingly withering body below. they started patching it up back together to the point its mostly bones and stuffing and cloth now, and barely looks like them. when about to leave the horizon for good to go and finally adventure again with timmy, they gave their puppet/body to moonjumper, knowing he couldn’t properly leave the horizon (from lack of having a physical connection to that world at the time and the form they chose wasn’t exactly normal), and went on their merry way. they’re almost dead silent, but really they just wanna look cryptic and vibe.

Shapeshifter - used to be a regular goat (small, like the nomads) that travelled around in a circus, and could do multiple tricks and acts in it. but one sad day, they got killed in an act “gone wrong”, and passed on to the horizon as a still goofy little creature. they’re not a murderer or anything in this afterlife, but moreso still an entertainer. while everyone was moping about in the horizon, they did everything they could to keep the mood positive at every turn, since it really was their job, and still feels as if it is. their form is black, goat shaped goop, with eyes covering their face, like the crowd that watched them almost constantly, with a big grin almost plastered onto it. their physical connection is a poorly stitched together hoodie kind of thing that keeps their form mostly together and hidden. they’re still frozen in queen vanessa’s manor when trying to go get something from there for moonjumper. their whole gist is entirely from Circus Hop.

#this is all i got rn #they're My Favorites afterall #ahit #tim's friend ahit #the shapeshifter ahit #the moonjumper ahit

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skiesoftwilight · 6 years ago

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An Important Purpose (Jason Todd)

This was a fun one to write, not gonna lie. This piece was inspired by @incorrectclichefandom‘s recent “quote” from Jason Todd about the plants. It had me cracking up and I knew I had to write something about it, so I did!I tried to make it short but you know me: detail, detail, detail! I tried to make it funny just like the quote, but I don’t know, we all have different types of funny, lol. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy!

Inspiration

Word Count: 1753

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Tim walked around the living room, taking in all of the little details that you worked so hard to put up. He complimented you on your decorating skills, giving you credit for the look cause he knew that Jason didn’t have a creative bone in his body when it came to decorating. Tim stopped by the window as he saw the four trays of flowers sitting by the open window, soaking up all the sunlight they could.

“Nice flowers, they’re very vibrant, they really make the room pop with color,” Tim complimented your choice of flowers as he walked up to them to get a closer look. He leaned down to smell them, but there was nothing–not even the smell of the soil was evident. Inspecting them further with his fingers, he pinched a pedal and instantly picked up the thick plastic coating. He turned to you with a look of confusion, “They’re fake?”

A soft chuckle fell from your lips as you poured the drinks on the coffee table, “Yup. Got them cheap too; to be completely honest with you? They are the best investment that has gone into this house, trust me.”

Tim still didn’t understand, shaking his head while he collapsed onto your couch, still staring at the fake plants by the window, “But why? Why would you spend money on fake plants?”

“Just know that they serve a very important purpose.” Tim just nodded his head with a sloppy smile before sipping on his drink.

In the middle of their brief silence, there was a knock at the door. Excusing yourself, you stood up from the couch and made your way to the door and opened it to find Jason standing there, struggling to hold onto all the bags in his hands and the one between his teeth. With quick action, you took the one from his mouth and moved aside so he could get to the kitchen. After closing the door, you trailed behind him to help him with the groceries.

“You bought a lot,” You made note of the abundance of bags on the table and floor as you leaned over to pull Jason close to you for a peck on the lips, “Did you leave anything in the store for others to buy?”

“Funny, I know how everyone eats in this family and I’ll tell you it isn’t like birds,” his response made you laugh, “It’s mostly snacks, but I thought we could stock up the kitchen as well.”

“Oh good,” You nodded in agreement while you began to go through the bags. Turning your head to the living room, you saw Tim just lounging away on the couch while on his phone, “Tim’s here, by the way; he got here maybe half an hour before you.”

Jason stopped what he was doing to go and greet Tim by the couch, wearing one of his biggest, most genuine smiles he rarely used. “Good to see you, Timmy. Where’re the others?”

“Dick said he was on his way, Damian and Cass had other things to do, but they said they would make it up to us.” Tim’s response dampened Jason’s smile, but he barely made it noticeable as he turned back to the kitchen to help with the bags, “Dick should be here soon, though.”

“Well, that’s quite alright,” You spoke up, placing a hand on Jason’s shoulder, “That just means there is more space for us in this little place and plus we can do the goofy things that we used to.”

Jason chuckled, shaking his head as Tim smiled, thinking back on the old times before things got hectic with Damian and Cassandra becoming new additions to the wild Wayne family. Everyone smiled fondly at the thoughts in their head before returning to their activities.

After you and Jason had finished in the kitchen, you both got settled in on the couch across from Tim. You all to chatted about what had been going on in your lives and what had been going on during patrols and with Bruce and the Manor, never once seeing an end to the conversation. The conversation soon shifted towards yours and Jason’s newly bought house that was a long way out from Gotham.

“I was just telling (Y/N), that you guys do got a nice place out here and the decorating is very different from the last place,” Tim told Jason while looking around the room at all the pieces of furniture, when he looked at the plants, he let his gaze linger there for a moment, shaking his head with a small chuckle falling from his lips.

Jason saw Tim’s gaze on the plants, “Oh you like those? (Y/N) got them about four months back and ever since then, we’ve been taking good care of them; they’ve never lost their appearance, resilient flowers I’ll say,” Jason nodded, sending a smile your way, “Speaking about them, I should water them.”

Tim’s eyes narrowed in a confused manner, watching Jason enthusiastically pick up the small watering off of the coffee table and quickly walking over to the window to water the bunch of flowers that had been sitting in the bare sunlight. The smile on Jason’s face was bright and genuine as he looked down at the flowers with a loving gaze while he poured the water all over the petals and soil.

Tim turned to you with his confusion and in a hushed manner you sent him a small smile with your finger pressed firmly against your lips. He turned his attention back to Jason who was shifting the plants to get more sunlight. Tim’s mouth fell open slightly as he thought that Jason would be smart enough to figure out if they were real or not, but he was clearly wrong about his brother’s intelligence.

Jason excused himself to go to the bathroom afterwards and that’s when Tim lost it. “You didn’t tell him about the flowers?”

“No, I thought he would’ve caught on by now, but I guess not; anyway, that was the purpose I was telling you about,” Chuckling quietly, you shifted in your seat to look over towards the bathroom door, “Jason’s been more domestic and responsible since I got them. Who knew plastic plants would change someone for the better? Maybe if he keeps it up for another couple of months, I’ll upgrade him to some real ones.” Tim laughed alongside you with your comment while you both looked at the plants in the window.

“What do you mean “upgrade me to real ones”? What are you two talking about?” Jason’s voice startled both of you, making you both turn to see him standing behind the couch. His curious blue gaze danced in between the both of you as the small smile on his face seemed to droop.

“Oh nothing, Tim was talking about some tech that he was using that was outdated,” You chuckled, trying to change the subject, but you could see it in his eyes that he wasn’t convinced.

“Funny, Timmy boy here rarely talks tech around us cause he thinks we don’t understand,” Jason stated, looking at his brother with narrow eyes.

“After what I had witnessed today, I’m glad I simplify my research…”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jason asked, his tone still playful, but hurt. “What were you guys talking about?”

With a heavy sigh, you knew he wouldn’t give it up, so it was only best to tell him. “The plants, we were talking about the plants, Jason.”

“What about them?”

“They’re fake.”

Jason’s smile faded as he looked at the plants, then at you, “What?”

“Jason, they’re fake. Covered in plastic, and the soil is foam.” You told him the truth as if you were ripping off a band-aid and his face looked crushed.

He was silent for a moment, walking over to the plants to inspect them himself, when sat the plastic stem and the pushed the soil down only for it to rise back up he turned to you with complete disbelief. During his inspecting, Dick walked through the door and gave brief hellos before joining you on the couch.

“FOUR MONTHS,” Jason shouted, trying to hide his disappointment, but failing miserably.

Dick, sitting in between you and Tim, was confused by his brother’s sudden outburst turned to look at you, “What’s he talking about?”

Trying to stop yourself from laughing from Jason’s reaction, you leaned over and told Dick, “It’s not that big of a deal, but—”

Jason cut you off as he lifted the plant off the table and turned to you with wide eyes, “You stood by and watched me water a fake plant for four months?”

Everyone except Jason bust out laughing at the whole situation, Tim’s cheeks were a rosy red from laughing and smiling too much, Dick, who was still confused by the who thing but got the gist of it laughed softly as he watched his brother slap around the fake flowers, and you stood up from your spot on the couch and made your way towards Jason, taking the plant from his grasp and pulling him in for a hug.

“Don’t be upset, I thought you would catch on, but then I noticed you had changed for the better with those things, so I didn’t want to disappoint you,” your laughter died down as Jason looked at you with a hurt expression, “You were doing so well with them that I was seriously thinking about getting real ones.”

“Why didn’t you do that in the first place?” Jason huffed, looking at the plants with disdain, thinking that he wasted time on something that wasn’t even real.

“These were cheaper.”

Shaking his head, Jason moved around you to sit on the couch, “If it makes you feel any better, me and Tim were talking about upgrading you to real ones since I saw how good you took care of these ones.”

Jason looked at you with dead eyes, “are you serious?”

“I’ll even let you come along to pick them out.”

Jason’s expression lifted like a kid being given another cone after the first one dropped. His smile returned to some degree and he shook your hand to make an agreement, telling his brothers to take note of it and to not tell anyone what he had done for the past four months. Tim reluctantly agreed and Dick shook his head in agreement, still not sure of what really went on as he arrived.

#Jason Todd #Jason #Red Hood #Batfam #Batfam imagine #Batfam imagines #Jason Todd imagine #Jason Todd imagines #Jason imagines #Jason imagine #Jason Todd x reader #Jason x reader #Red Hood x reader #Red Hood imagines #Red Hood imagine #DC comics #DC imagines

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drawingsanddrabbles · 6 years ago

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Scandals Stick Together

ao3

Prompt: No Capes AU - First Kiss

Woo! I did it! All seven days, hell yeah!

~~~

Tim thinks that if the room was any more glittery he'd probably be having a seizure. He can't help but wonder if the many chandeliers in the room are real diamond. Bruce only uses crystal in his.

Bruce's hand closes on Tim's shoulder and Tim's eyes flutter closed for a moment. He wishes Bruce's hand was his dad's. But his dad is in a coma, he reminds himself. It's not his fault that he can't be here to work Tim through his first professional gala.

"Hey there, Timmy." Bruce says with a smile just as glittery as the rest of the room. "It's good to see you at one of these!"

"Bruce, good to see you too."

"Have you thought any further about my offer?"

"To buy Drake Industries?" Or the other offer? Tim wonders. The one where he offered Tim to move in with him and Alfred. To work at Wayne Enterprises. To become Tim's legal guardian while his father is still in a coma.

Social workers are terrified to touch Tim's case, and as long as Tim keeps paying them to push it to the bottom of the pile they never will. But it's getting expensive. He can't push it off forever, and having Bruce Wayne as his legal guardian wouldn't be so bad. His other strays seemed to have done well--well, Dick anyway.

Tim is losing hold on Drake Industries. Every since the plane crash stock has been going down. It's going to crash soon. News of the buyout could, frankly, make it go either way at this point. If Tim agrees he'll have nothing to lose.

But it's the last thing he has of his parents. Dad.... Dad's probably never going to wake up.

"I told you, I have no interest in selling. I am going to bring Drake Industries out of the ground, you know I can." It's not totally a lie. Bruce does know how competent Tim is. He knows that Tim, if he dropped out of high school, got emancipated, and managed to convince his company that a fifteen year old CEO is a good idea, could do it. If he really tried.

But Tim's tired. He's so tired.

Bruce knows that Lois Lane is watching the two of them too closely for Tim's comfort. One word from her and his stock price plummets, and Tim can lose everything.

Bruce's eyes slide to Clark Kent who sits next to her. He's only focused on Luthor--as always--so even if he did catch something they're saying he wouldn't care, or he'd be nice enough about it that he might actually tick DI up a few points in the stock market.

Bruce lets out a big belly laugh (one that Tim can tell is fake) and slaps Tim on the shoulder. Not hard enough to hurt.

"Well, you know, if you ever need anything, Kid. Come straight to me." He says with an easy smile and he ruffles Tim's (meticulously gelled) hair. But Tim takes that for exactly what he knows Bruce means. They'll talk about this later. Bruce walks backwards away from him with a wave. "Let's do lunch!"

"Yeah," Tim mumbles, a little pink from the way people are now staring at him, "let's."

Bruce goes off to flirt with Lois and (probably, from the way Mr. Kansas City has turned bright red) Clark, which leaves Tim some reprieve from endless questions about his future for the company. Tim's hair is now sticking up in a non-artful way so he narrowly dodges old white rich folks and their perfectly made up children as he weaves his way to the bathroom.

He's not the only one fixing his hair it seems, as two other men are as well. One is a boy a little older than him and (presumably) his father. Both of whom are trying to hide that they are watching Tim out of the corners of their eyes.

As Tim turns his back on them to leave (although he can clearly see them in the reflection on the shiny eco-friendly heat dryer) the father leans over to his son and whispers: "That's Tim Drake. He's acting chair of his company and he's going to lose it to that Wayne idiot in a few weeks. Read it in Forbes."

Tim ignores the way his cheeks turn red and rushes out of there as fast as he can.

Tim hates the way people look at him now. Ives feels sorry for him, but that's because Ives actually cares about him. The fake way these people do, makes him want to snatch a champagne flute from one of the servers and down it. But really the last thing he needs is to get drunk or tipsy, to say the wrong word in a room filled with piranhas who have diamond teeth and lose everything before he ever gets a chance to earn it back.

Mrs. Powers corners him (old Gotham money, he tells himself) and starts with condolences (as they always do) before moving onto the obligatory "How's your father doing?" ("Well! Doctors just want him to stay a little more for observation but he'll be up and about in no time!" He says,) then to "do you need anything, darling?" ("Fuck you too Mrs. Powers," he doesn't say).

Tim doesn't know when exactly he gets surrounded by old rich women, but suddenly they're engulfing him. None of them squeeze his cheeks like they used to, or pat his head, or try to straighten his tie (he hopes that one's because it's still straight but he knows that's probably not the case). Instead they keep distance from him. He's no longer a child of a rival but the rival himself (the floundering rival, perhaps). They're not treating him as an equal so much as something diseased to excise.

He misses the days when he could just blend in next to his father's side or, at least, hang out with the other rich kids. Wow them with his knowledge (and the thrill) of living in Gotham.

Tim passes the drink counter (under which he's positive Winston Price the Third and Jennifer Wallaby are making out, because last gala, when he was one of them, Winston had told him he planned to do just that next time he saw her) and orders a soder despite what he really wants. The waiter laughs at him but cuts it out with a glare from Tim and gets him what he ordered.

He wishes that Luthor would just get on with the dinner part of the night. He was too nervous to eat all day and now he's starving. Also, prearranged seating means people will stop coming up to him to show him they care.

"Tim Drake, I am shocked to see you here," speak of the devil... "shouldn't you be caring for your father?"

Luthor knows. Luthor has always known, just as Tim has. His father isn't waking up, no matter what Tim manages to fool the rest of the world into thinking.

Lex Luthor smirks and Tim turns around. He plasters what he hopes is a Bruce Wayne brand smile on his face. "Mr. Luthor!" He covers his eyes and squints, as if the sun is blinding him. "Good to see you!"

Luthor frowns slightly. "Are... you feeling alright, Mr. Drake?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, it's just," Tim lowers his voice and leans closer to Luthor as if he is telling a secret, "with all these lights, your head is just blinding me." Luthor's lips turn into a pale line. "Really, I think you might want to see a doctor about your perspiration, it's so.... shiny. I'm sure my father's doctor would love to offer some... discreet suggestions."

The snicker behind Luthor almost makes Tim drop his hand. Luthor whips around. Ah yes, and there is the boy that made Tim's takeover of DI old news.

Conner Luthor. Appeared, as if from nowhere, just after everything from Haiti was settled. The de facto heir to Lex Luthor. Being trained to succeed him, but who's training wasn't even close to succeeding.

Partier, playboy, and very hot. Luthor's polar opposite. Also, the same age as Tim.

"Conner, maybe you should carry this conversation with Tim, after all you two have more in common than I do with him." A dig at his youth, lovely.

But before Tim can bite anything back, Conner says in a flippant way: "Well, beauty before age. Isn't that the saying?"

So the rumors are true, they don't seem to be able to stand each other.

Careful, Tim, he warns himself, cute boys with sparkling smiles might be more than they appear.

"Lex! How wonderful to see you!" A familiar voice hums behind Luthor, snapping the tension building. The singsong voice can only be Bruce.

Tim wonders if Bruce has been watching him. Tim doesn't need his help. He doesn't want his help. He just wants to go home.

Luthor grimaces at Bruce. "Wayne."

"Say, is this your son?" Bruce asks, turning his attention on Conner. He sticks out a hand. "Good to meet you, chum!" Bruce flashes a grin at Lex, "And they call me a playboy. Wow, she must have been a looker, huh, Lex?"

Luthor looks as though he might combust. Conner doesn't take the bait or the hand (he's been famously tight-lipped about his other parent and life before he took on the Luthor name). Conner glares at Bruce. Tim notices that Luthor hasn't convinced him to get rid of the earring for tonight (one more scandal to add to the Conner Luthor package) and wishes he hadn't. He doesn't have time to notice these things. He has to network. To try and dig himself back into a good light for the sake of his company.

But Bruce, in his blundering and self-focused way, has managed to give Tim a way to slip out of this interaction. All eyes are on Bruce.

Tim used to have a theory that Bruce was smarter than he appeared. His father had told him that was stupid. Sometimes, Tim thought he was right, but ever since he'd gotten to know Bruce he'd understood his mistake. So he gratefully takes the exit Bruce offers.

He can't hide, but he wants to. He really wants to.

Thankfully, though it seems that it's time for the dinner part of the gala to begin and everyone and their drinks are ushered into the next room.

Tim is seated at table nineteen with eight other people who only represent five different companies. Tim sits next to the daughter of a mogul on his left and the son of a different one on his right and it's clear to everyone that the artful Mr. Timothy Drake (Drake Industries) on his place card is just a courtesy. Everyone knows where he really belongs.

Luthor stands and begins his speech which Tim tries really hard to listen to but gets bored. He knows the gist of it, new tech, bringing Metropolis into the future, thank you for coming, etc etc etc.

Tim's eyes travel to Conner's seat at table number one, and finds that he's not there. Of course not, probably ditching.

Tim wishes he could ditch. He knows that the teens on either side of him will find one of their go-to excuses after a respectable amount of dinner and go up to one of the balconies or the roof to drink and smoke and play spin the bottle and other things their parents wouldn't approve of, before making their way back down by dessert and leaving completely respectably, none of the parents the wiser. Tim knows this because Tim used to do just that.

Despite that Tim hasn't eaten all day his salad just doesn't look that appetizing anymore.

"So, Timothy, I'm so sorry to hear about your parents. Who are you staying with?" The old lady across from him asks. The speech has ended and everyone has begun their first course. He can feel heat rising to his cheeks. None of his family members wanted him.

"Myself. I have an attorney for general legal issues but I can live on my own until my father can come home."

"What a smart young lad you are!" The father of the girl on his right says.

"And so well organized too! I can't imagine my Peter running my company at his age." The father of the boy on his left says. The kid himself looks like he would give anything not to be there right then, Tim agrees.

"Well, I just worry. It's so difficult to be a deciding factor in a company's decisions and for one so young-why, it must bore you to death!"

Don't tell them anything they can use, Tim reminds himself, lie.

"Really, it's a piece of cake."

"Well then!" The other adults (read: vultures) around the table seem delighted.

"Well he may not be bored," one of the younger people at the table says, he's the head of some start-up or another, "but I'm sure we don't want to bore the other kids with this table talk. How is your dog, Miranda? I heard she was sick?" And from there the conversation, thankfully, is led away from the topic of Tim and Drake Industries. The girl next to Tim begins going on about how her teacup poodle has cancer or something and Tim fazes out again.

Just after the soup course is served Miranda explains to her father that she's having some "lady problems" and might be a while. At the end of it Peter tells his father that he thinks he sees Conner Luthor over by that way, would it be alright if he says hi? (Tim glances over, and Conner isn't there). He's excused as well with a chortling: "Already networking! What an entrepreneurial spirit, that one!"

By the meat course Tim is losing his mind. The Start-Up Guy tries valiantly to steer the conversation away from Tim's parents but eventually even he is overwhelmed by rich old people and Tim has to repeat the same lies he's been saying for days now.

It's only once Miranda's father says that Tim might have been a good match for her, if only he were a little older that Tim decides to excuse himself with a 'phone call' from work. Something these people will understand.

Tim makes it all the way out of the ballroom, and then he decides to push his luck and go looking for some people his own age.

Since breaking down in a bathroom isn't an option (old rich people use bathrooms too), Tim decides that he might be able to find himself a secluded area where the kids are.

It's not hard to find them. They're in a much smaller ballroom on the second floor of the Luthor Concert Hall. There's a balcony, Tim knows, he's been here before.

Rock music blares and can be felt outside the room. Tim used to think that them playing music that loudly was a challenge to their parents: catch us. But now Tim understands it for what it is, just loud music.

Tim opens the door and a son of an African CEO hands him a joint. Tim wants to, but like so many things lately, he can't. He can't risk it.

The kid just shrugs, and lights it himself.

The room smells like smoke: all sorts. Tim spies some beers some of them smuggled in, and some wines from the receiving hall downstairs. His eyes snag on the champagne, but it's the cognac that he really wants.

"Traitor." Someone says to his left. He turns. It's Joseph. His dad is COO for Maxie Zeus. It's good natured, Tim knows, because Joseph is smiling. "I thought we weren't going to turn into our parents."

"Didn't have much of a choice."

"Bullshit." Lucy says from Joseph's side. "Let them go belly up and cash out."

"My Dad's going to pick the company back up in a bit." This is the last thing Tim wants, he came up here to stop talking about DI. People are starting to watch him. He can see Conner eating Miranda's face in the corner of the room.

"How'd you even swing it anyway?" Ha Joon asks.

"Yeah, aren't social services up your ass?"

"Guys, leave him alone." He hears Tam Fox say. She's always had his back.

"What happens in Gotham stays in Gotham." Preston snipes.

"Be nice!" Lucy says.

"What about school?" Peter asks.

There's enough of a lull in the interrogation that Tim answers with a shrug and scuffs his shoe against the tile floor. "I'm dropping out." This causes more of an uproar than anything else.

"No way!"

"God, my Mom would kill me if I dropped out."

"Kill you? My Dad would disown me!"

"Only disown? Wow, your parents are uncreative. There's more than one way to skin a kid that's for fucking sure."

It doesn't occur to any of them that Tim wouldn't have to drop out if his father really was doing okay.

"Seriously?" Tam asks. Clearly Lucius hadn't told her. Because Tim had told Bruce and there was no way that Bruce hadn't told Lucius.

"Yeah, seriously." Tim says.

"What's the big deal? I dropped out." Conner Luthor says with a shrug and all eyes turn towards him.

"Did you really?" Lucy asks.

"I mean, I basically did. I never go anyway."

"Ah, young grasshopper. We all don't go to school. But it takes some special cajones to drop out." Vido says.

"What's the difference?" Conner asks.

"See, don't go to school and your Dad just pays the administration office to keep it quiet. Drop out and he pays the reporters to keep it out of the newspapers." Preston tells him.

Conner cocks a wicked eyebrow. "And if he pays both?"

Everyone listening shakes with laughter. "Then you must have done something really bad," Lucy says, eyes traveling up and down Conner as if only now sizing him up. Conner languishes in the attention from her and Miranda who is staring at him like he's a god. Conner winks at Lucy and Tim feels a little sick. The smoke swirls around Tim's head, making it swim.

“What about that girl of yours? What was her name… Ariana?” Peter asks. “Did you ever get that first kiss?”

“My parents were held hostage and my mom died.” Tim says more harshly than he means to. He needs some fresh air.

Tim heads to the balcony but before he gets there Tam grabs his arm. "Hey, how are you really doing? Really?"

Tim grimaces. "What happens in Gotham stays in Gotham, right?"

Tam looks disappointed but she doesn't push and Tim opens the balcony doors.

The night is cool which is good against his burning cheeks. He wants to rip off the monkey suit. The tie itches and the gel is making his hair feel greasy and his feet hurt and he's still a little hungry. All these little things are coming up and bashing him in the face now.

"You really from Gotham?" Conner Luthor asks from behind him, making Tim jump.

"Yeah." He says.

"Rad." He says which makes Tim laugh even though it shouldn't. Conner grins at him. "So, a kid CEO, huh? Didn't know that was possible."

"It's not. Not really. But I'm trying." (And failing, he doesn't say. Again, it doesn't seem to occur to Conner that it wouldn't matter whether he fails or not, if his father is coming back.)

"No one's given you shit about being bisexual?" Conner asks.

"What? I'm not-"

"Oh. Sorry, I just assumed since they said about that Ariana chick and the way you look at me so-"

"I don't-Not you-!"

Conner snorts. "Please, I'm scandalous, not blind."

Tim shuts his mouth abruptly. "What do you want?" Tim asks in a low voice. Conner must be spying on him, there's no way Lex would give up this information.

"Nothing!" Conner frowns. "Why should I want anything?"

So that was how he wanted to play it. Tim frowns. "I should probably head back down-" He says but when he turns around to go back into the room he finds the balcony door is locked.

Tim tries not to cry. This can't be happening. It can't- He has to be able to get back down to the party, he-!

"Locked out?" Conner asks.

Tim leans his forehead on the door. He wants to die.

Conner leans over him and bangs on the door but the music is loud enough that no one hears him.

Conner scowls. "Well I guess now you're stuck out here with me."

"I'm screwed." Tim says in disbelief. They'll be locked out here forever, and even if they aren't it doesn't matter. Coming up here in the first place was a stupid thing to do. Ten more minutes is enough to ruin whatever reputation he has left downstairs.

Maybe he should just accept Bruce's offer. Whatever he'll get for Drake Industries will be more than whatever it's worth.

Tim feels tears leak from his eyes. He rubs at them angrily. He's going to lose everything. Every part of his parents, of his Dad.... Mom...

"Hey, it's not so bad! I promise! I'm less annoying than I seem at first impression!" Conner says hastily. Tim wipes at his face but he's sobbing now.

"I-It's not you. It's not-It's not- I'm not-" but he can't say anything without the words coming out as a garbled mess.

Conner, confused and worried, tries to comfort him by putting a hand on his back. Tim pushes him away. "Hey, it's okay." Conner says. He pulls Tim into a hug anyway.

"I'm going to lose everything." Tim tells him, words spilling out of his mouth. He'll accept Bruce's offer tonight. The paperwork will be done before they get home to Gotham and it won't matter what Conner tells Luthor because it'll already be done. "My company... everything my parents worked so hard for... it's going to be gone. I'm going to lose the last of them."

"But... I thought your father was getting better..." Conner says. Then he realizes what Tim's been hiding. "He's not getting better, is he?"

Tim shakes his head. His shoulders tremble. Conner holds him tight and he cries into Conner's shirt--soaking it.

Tim tells him everything. From Bruce's offer for the company to his offer of fatherhood. Conner listens silently, rubbing Tim's back and nodding. When Tim finally calms down, Conner presses his lips to the top of Tim's head. The kiss so fleeting Tim wonders if he imagined it. "You're going to be okay. You at least have Bruce Wayne, don't you? And don't lose hope, stranger things have happened. Your father could wake up."

"And if he does, I'll have sold his company away, don't think that he'll be happy about that."

"He'll be happy enough that he's alive and so are you."

You don't know my father, Tim wants to tell him. But he doesn't.

Conner wipes his thumb across Tim's tear-streaked face. "I don't even know why I told you all of that."

"I've got a listener's face." He says.

Tim snorts. "Yes, exactly. That's what everyone says about you. Lex's infamously obedient child."

Conner winks. "Only for cute boys. Lex can screw himself."

Tim raises an eyebrow. "Really?" The mysterious boy, who came from nowhere, heir to a fortune and company whose CEO he looked nothing like. Tim likes mysteries. Always did.

And then there was the cute boy comment. Tim tries not to think about that one too hard.

"Isn't that what the tabloids say?" Conner asks. He spreads his hands out in a half-shrug.

"Guess I never really believed they really knew anything about you. Not that they really know anything about you."

"I'm a man of mystery." Conner shrugs uncomfortably.

"Clearly." Tim raises an eyebrow. "Come on, tell me something about yourself. Anything. I told you my entire life story."

"Uh uh. That's my business to keep." Conner says shaking his head, arms crossed over his chest. Tim sighs, but supposes that is his right.

Of course, without DI on his plate he can go back to his amatur conspiracy theorist detective work. Maybe he'll figure it out on his own.

Tim sizes Conner up. Yeah, he can figure it out. Conner's a teenager, and he exists which means he had to come from somewhere. He wasn't just born fifteen. Made in some lab.

"Yeah," Tim agrees though, "that's fair."

Conner nods. There's a knock on the door and both boys jump as Tam pokes her head out.

"Tim? Dad's says you better get back downstairs, Mr. Lord is saying some pretty nasty things about your father and Bruce is doing what he can but-"

"Thanks, Tam. I'll head down now." Tim tells her.

She looks from him to Conner suspiciously. "Gothamites stick together," is her veiled response, her glare at Conner showing what she really wants to say.

She leans back into the room and Tim just barely catches the door before it locks the two of them out again.

"Wow. Tell us how you really feel." Conner grumbles at her back.

Tim turns back to Conner. "Thanks. For... not being weirded out by me sobbing into your silk shirt." (Which is now ruined by the way, he doesn't say.)

"Hey, scandals stick together, right?" Conner offers with a quick grin.

Tim smiles back and turns to leave when Conner grabs him by the hand. "Hey, wait-!"

Tim turns just as Conner bends down to kiss his lips gently. Tim is too stunned to react as Conner pushes past him into the room. His first kiss and it’s with a Luthor. "Text me next time you want to vent. Listening face." He says, pointing to said face to emphasize his point. "Wayne's got my number. I think." Then he disappears into the party.

Tim watches him go, shocked. He's standing there so long, mouth open, that Luke walks past him at some point and he says: "I thought Tam told you what Dad said? You going back downstairs?"

Which restarts Tim and he rushes downstairs, cheeks pink.

~~~

"Well?" Lex asks as he and Conner sit in the limo back to the penthouse. "Learn anything useful from that Drake boy?"

Conner stares out the black tinted windows, watching as the streetlights zoom past and trying not to think about how Tim's lips had felt pressed against his. "Not a thing. Didn't even show up to the kid party like you said he would."

Lex narrows his eyes at his son. "I see."

Conner just shrugs. "Better luck next time."

#diana writes timkon #timkonweek #timkon week #timkon week 2019 #timkon week: day 7 #diana writes dc

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