#red robin angst

[nightwolf14292]

[froggyfics]

Left Behind

Tim works so hard. He works so hard that he neglects important relationships in his life.

again with the angst! Sorry, not sorry.

This is gonna get some of y'all in the feels, but I hope this fic is a reminder to never settle for less than what you deserve. You deserve to be happy!

Feedback is always appreciated. Feel free to message me privately or comment below to let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcome! 

Pairing: Tim Drake x gn!reader

Theme: Angst 

Word Count: 1,746

Being stood up is awkward. It probably wouldn’t be so awkward at some 24-hour raggedy diner, because lots of people eat alone at places like that. But, no one, literally no one, goes to eat alone at a five-star restaurant. Being alone in a place like this automatically makes others assume that you got stood up.

To be fair, your behavior only confirms their suspicions. You fidget constantly, looking around the restaurant for any sign of him. You check your phone countless times. You reread your text messages to see if you got the timing wrong. The waiter passes by…again. There are only so many times they can refill your glass of water before it becomes downright humiliating. 

“Ugh- no,” You groan as you place your hands on your forehead to hide your face. You can feel people at the neighboring tables stare at you. The hair on your arms and neck prickle in embarrassment. How much longer do you wait for him? Enough time has already passed to make you assume that he’s either forgotten or is in some sort of life-or-death situation that makes him incapable of giving you a heads up. If he hasn’t arrived by now, he probably won’t come. 

Defeated, you wave the waiter over and explain the situation. Or a shortened version of it.

“You know what? I was actually supposed to meet someone here, and uh- well, you see-, they, uh- got into an accident, so…”

You left the restaurant that night with an empty belly and abandonment issues. You pull out your phone and begin to type out a text message to Tim.

Guess you’re not coming haha. 

You hit the backspace button on your keyboard. No, don’t say that.

You stupid son of a bit-

Nope, not that either.

You sigh and place your phone back. You’ll text him later that night. 

You recall him sweetly saying just a few days prior, “I’ll take you anywhere you wanna go, my love.” He nuzzled your neck before leaving hot kisses all around your neck, face, and lips. His voice was laced with honey. But after being stood up, you realize his voice was laced with something else: arrogance.

He knew you would become putty in his hands. He knew that you could never stay mad at him for very long. That’s the kind of effect Tim Drake had of you. You could never say no to him. It truly was a terrible cycle. You oftentimes would wonder why you and Tim could never work it out. You’d give him a chance, and he’d eventually shatter your heart. You would become infuriated and hateful. He would apologize so sincerely that you had no choice but to run back into his arms. Then, he’d break his promises again and leave you devastated. You two would break things off again, but eventually, you’d go back to wondering why you two couldn’t just work it out. As if the answer wasn’t right in front of you already. 

What Tim couldn’t fathom was that he was the endgame for you. You wanted him so badly it hurt. You wanted the bare minimum from him, because you knew that’s all Tim could give you. And you would be satisfied with that. Except Tim could only give you the bare minimum for so long. Eventually, even the bare minimum would be too much for him. And for some reason, you just took it. Because you loved him. You wanted to settle down with him and have kids with this man.  And you believed that he loved you, too. And love is supposed to overcome any obstacle, right? Right?

You weren’t so sure anymore. There was no denying it, you were getting older. Your family was sending you hints about starting a family of your own. More and more of your friends were getting married or moving in with their significant others or having children. Everyone seemed to be moving forward in their relationships. And yet you struggled to even get Tim to go out on a date with you. 

Was it you? Were you the problem? Were you not understanding enough? Tim had so much on his plate. He was the least likely of the Batboys to have downtime. Bruce and Tim were so alike in that way. They worked themselves to the bone, neglecting anyone who dared to care about them. Like they say: like father, like son. 

You naively thought you could change Tim, at least. And you did! Sort of. Temporarily. Your relationship was very hot and cold. When it was hot, you were an inseparable pair. But when you were cold, it was as if you didn’t even exist to Tim. 

Your contemplation of your relationship continued as you reach your home. You weren’t even mad anymore. You just felt incredible loneliness. What’s a home if you have no one to share it with?

It takes guts to admit that you want to have what everyone else seems to have. To fall in line with the crowd. You want someone to come home to. You want someone to wake up to. You want someone who you’ll fight with. You want someone to make love with. You want someone to make you feel like your relationship actually exists in the real world. 

You pull out your phone once more. What should you say?

Hey, should we reschedule?

No! That doesn’t feel right. It felt inauthentic to brush over the pain you were feeling. You hit backspace and begin again.

Tim, I love you so much, but I can’t keep doing this with you. My heart hurts. My heart’s bleeding for you. I’d die for you, but I’m dying because of you now. Please tell me how to fix things. Please tell me what I can do to make you love me. I love you. I don’t want to continue things like this. I’m begging-

You stop typing. Tears make your cheeks their new home. What is wrong with you?! Where was your self-respect? You love Tim, but where was the love you had for youself? 

You look outside your window. You see the moonlight stream in. You knew that within just a few hours, the moon will be replaced by the sun, and then the process will be repeated the next day, and the day after. You hear birds squawking outside. You know they’ll migrate south during the winter, and then come back north during the summer, and they’ll continue the process for generations. You look at the grass outside. You know it’ll dry up in the winter, and regrow in the spring, and continue that pattern.

What you didn’t know was is Tim would be yours tomorrow. Hell, you weren’t even sure if he was yours tonight. If he was ever yours to begin with. You always wanted to be an adaptable person, always ready for life’s unpredictability. But sometimes, it’s nice to have things to look forward to. It’s nice to be able to live on the safe side. It’s nice to not have to live on the edge, unsure if you going to be loved or discarded that day. 

It’s also nice to put yourself first for once. It’s nice to protect your heart and your sanity, even if it means losing the person you thought you’d grow old with.

The sun comes shining through the one portion that the curtain doesn’t cover and hits Tim’s eyes. He groans, upset that though his eyes are closed, he can feel the heat of the sun. It felt like he slept for two seconds last night. He groggily sat up on his bed, blinking slowly. 

Coffee. His first conscious thought of the morning was about his need for coffee. He worked all through the night trying to crack a particularly difficult case. He felt like his efforts were meaningless though, as he didn’t get any closer to solving it. He lifts his arms above his head and stretcccchhhhesssss. 

Pop! “Ooh, yeah, that felt good,” he says to himself as his back joints pop. He takes a few moments for himself and enjoys his solitude.

He reaches to grab his undisturbed phone. He hasn’t looked at it for almost an entire day. Correction: he didn’t have the time to look at his phone for almost an entire day.

He has so many notifications. Some from friends. Some from family. He’ll read them later. Just as he’s about to put his phone away, he notices the notifications from you. 

Okay, he’ll reply to you, but then he must go back to the Batcave and work. 

He clicks on your name and immediately, dread strikes through him. He sees the several messages you sent him last night about your date.

He smacks his forehead with his palm, as your messages remind him of the date you two were supposed to go on yesterday. He knows he messed up. Again. For the billionth time. 

Hi ❤️ I’m about to reach the restaurant. Can’t wait to see youuuuuu ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I’m sitting at a table that’s towards the back, go left when you enter

Lemme know when you’re close ❤️❤️❤️

Hey, what’s your ETA?

Timmy! Did something come up? Are you coming?

I called, but you didn’t pick up. Please let me know if you’re still coming

Are you coming or not? Everyone’s staring at me

Please pick up

Tim, please don’t do this to me

Once he’s done reading your message, he makes a promise to himself and to you that he’ll make up for it. You’ll understand. After all, this isn’t the first time this has happened. You were angry before, but you got over it. You always do. 

He clicks on your name and calls you. He’s already formulating an apology in his head. He knows just what to say to break down your inhibitions and your reservations about him. Just as he puts the phone to his ear, just as his apology has already made its way from his brain down to the tip of his tongue, just when he hears a ring and he thinks the line connects and that you’ll answer, he hears an automated voice.

“I’m sorry, but the number you have dialed has been disconnected or is no longer in service.”

[ghost-bxrd]

the past was kinder…

Some higher resolution pics :3

[strange-birb]

Based on og bost by @thethirdtriplet

Order left to right pic 1 lolz

Damian, cass, dick, duke, Tim, Steph :)

[arrowheadedbitch]

Jason and Tim are arguing, Jason brings up how Tim stole his mantle

Tim, yelling: I did what I was supposed to do!! I got an adult! It's not my fault the adult wouldn't help! I had to take matters into my own hands, I will not be shamed for that! If you want to be mad at someone? Don't be mad at me. Or Bruce. Or Alfred. You wanna be mad at someone? Be mad at Dick Grayson, because when I saw that Batman was falling apart at the seams, I went straight to him! I asked him to help, when Batman was going to tear Gotham apart, piece by piece, in his grief, I BEGGED Dick to help, and he said no, so I had to step up because otherwise no one would.

Jason, not angry anymore: Wh- Tim, you were, you were 13! It wasn't your job to fix a grown man, you didn't have to be the one to save him...

Tim: Then why didn't anyone help!!

Jason: Tim...

Tim: why didn't anyone help?

[ktkat99]

Angst/humor fic idea, if you need a prompt:

Bruce finds out the hard way which of his kids is okay with the 'unadoption' joke threats he makes when they annoy or stress him out. "Why did I adopt you?"..."I still have your adoption certificate. I wonder if the orphanage accepts returns?"..."I knew I should have left you on that street corner where I found you."

Dick fires back with twice as much sass, sometimes rolling his eyes and flipping off Bruce when he gets older.

Young!Jason looks so scared the first time he hears one, and Bruce never jokes about it again. Adult!Jason makes jokes about unadopting himself.

Tim is far too tired to register that it was a joke and gets quiet and avoids Bruce completely for the rest of the week until Bruce realizes what he did wrong and tracks his son down. They talk and Bruce never implies regretting to adopt Tim again.

Cass laughs along with him before pulling out her adoption certificate from her pocket and grinning, scaring him. His kids's adoption paperwork was all stored in a hidden, impenetrable, designed-by-Batman safe. Laughter fades and she just whispers "You'll never be rid of me."

Bruce- Maybe Talia wants you back.

Damian, not even phased- And maybe Alfred would have rather been working for a doctor than a clown-hating, nocturnal, combat furry, but I guess we're both out here disappointing our parents.

[arunneronthird]

actually i think they should do stupid things together sometimes, i also fully embraced the fact that none of them have any fashion sense

[in-som-niyah]

oh nothing, just jason’s cute little eyebrow crease

[brucewaynehater101]

Tim Drake hc:

After rescuing Bruce from the timestream, the other Bats eventually notice that Tim is 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 without at least one weapon on him at all times. He usually has three (the small knife he built hideaway spots in all his shoes for, the larger knife either on his hip or shelved on his back, and a nonlethal option such as a taser), but he doesn't even sleep without them within reach.

The shoe knife was introduced to his outfits after the Titan Tower Attack. He wanted a hidden way to never be caught off guard again (he wasn't sure his precautions would be well-received by the Bats). The larger knife was added after the desert (Tim's not sure he'd resort to using it, but he lost two friends during a time he had only himself and them to rely on). The nonlethal one was added after Damian cut his line.

He does end up forgiving all the Bats for their transgressions and seeking forgiveness for his faults, but he's never without a weapon. He's learned that even "safe" spaces can suddenly become unsafe. He learned that, when it came down to it, he has only himself to constantly rely on.

[jasontoddsthickbabe]

Baby daddy Jason todd 😍 I would do anything for this man

[incorrectbatfamandfriends]

Stephanie: Back when I was pregnant Tim was a big support-

Damian: when you were what?

Stephanie: Oh yeah I forget you and Jason weren’t really around back then.

Damian: Brown I thought you respected yourself more that-

Stephanie: Excuse me there’s nothing wrong with being a teen mom-

Damian: Letting Drake father a child?

Stephanie:…

Stephanie: I’m sorry what?

[froggyfics]

The Golden Child

Dick tries to be the golden child at the detriment of his own health. 

Thank you to the anon that requested this. I may or may not have cried at the end.

Feedback is always appreciated. Feel free to message me privately or comment below to let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcome!

Pairing: Dick Grayson x Tim Drake

Theme: Angst, Fluff

Word Count: 1,962

“Argh- aah- aah- argh!”

“Have medical supplies on standby! ETA 60 seconds!” Dick screams into his earpiece.

Tim shakes and shakes and shakes in the passenger seat. Tears leak from his eyes with no sign of stopping. His chest heaves up and down. He’s struggling to catch a full breath. 

“Tim, please,” Dick places one hand on Tim’s shoulder and other grips the steering wheel of the Batmobile. “Tim!”

“Please…stop. No more,” he moans.

“Tim! Snap out of it! Tim,” Dick begs. “Please, please come back to me.”

Dick sees the bay doors to the Batcave opening. He slams on the gas pedal even harder. Every second counts. 

“We’re almost there, Timmy. Stay with me now.”

The Batmobile zooms into the Batcave. Dicks smashes on the brake, and the vehicle jerks to a violent stop. 

This is the moment when Dick first feels it. A throbbing pain in his lower abdomen. 

No time to check it out, it’s probably just a scratch. 

Batman flings the passenger door open. He reaches in to drag Tim’s thrashing body out. There’s so much chaos. Tim’s still screaming. Batman barks orders at Alfred. Machines are beeping incessantly. 

Batman struggles to get Tim into the medical bay. Tim’s screams pierce the air and the bats in the cave respond with screams of their own. 

Dick attempts to run towards the medical bay to assist, but is momentarily stopped by the stiffness in his hip. He can only helplessly hobble towards the frenzied scene. Batman tries to place Tim in the gurney, but Tim is fighting back.

“What’s happening?! What are you doin’ to me?!” Tim continues to struggle with Batman. The fear toxin was coursing through his veins and wreaking havoc on his nervous system. The normally logical and practical Tim Drake was no match for the horror and intensity of Scarecrow’s fear toxin. Tim kicks and kicks, until he finally lands one into his mentor’s upper thigh.

“Oomph!” Batman grabs his thigh in response to the blooming pain. A big mistake. Tim takes advantage of Batman’s injured state and hops off the gurney. He lands on his feet before he feels hands clawing on his shoulders. He reels backwards and his upper body makes contact with the gurney again. Alfred desperately latches onto Tim’s shoulders, trying to get the young man back onto the gurney completely. 

Dick watches the scene unfold. If only he could get there faster. He could feel his heartbeat pulsing in his abdomen. 

Batman firmly grabs onto Tim’s ankles and drags them onto the gurney. Alfred strains to pull Tim to the top, so that his entire body finally occupies it. The two men quickly make do of the restraints and attach them to Tim’s limbs. 

“No! No! No! No! No! No! No! What’s happening?!” Tim screeches. His voice is higher than it’s ever been before, reaching a decibel that probably wasn’t humanly possible under normal circumstances.

After what feels like an eternity, Dick finally reaches the medical bay. He’s out of breath, gulping in air. Uh-oh, his lower body feels like it’s being poked by a million tiny needles. Dick shakily grabs onto a nearby machine. Batman looks over his shoulder and shouts, “Get the antidote! Now! Get 10 cc’s of diazepam, too!” 

Dick swallows and attempts to steady his posture. His vision has speckles of black. But he has his orders. He fumbles around to the freezer that stores the required medications. He grabs a needle and pokes the antidote’s vial, extracting the medication. He sets the needle on top of the fridge for just a moment. He attempts to grab another needle for the diazepam, but…but he misses? 

What? The stack of needles is right there. Just grab one.

His second attempt is pointless, too. He sees the needles. He knows he needs to grab one of them. But when he tries to bring his hand to the stack, his hand misses it entirely. 

“Nightwing! What are you doing back there? I need those needles now!” 

Dick takes in a deep breath. Tim needs him. Batman needs him. Poor Alfred needs him. Dick uses every ounce of energy in his body to focus on the stack of needles in front on him. He grunts as he lifts both hands up, and slams them down onto the needles. Dozens of them scatter onto the floor and outside of their container.

Whatever, it’s not like Batman can’t afford some more. 

Using both hands, Dick grabs one of the needles that managed to stay in its rightful container. He sticks it into the diazepam vial and draws out the required amount. His vision blurs for a few seconds. 

Get it together, Dick. 

He shakes his head and his vision fully returns. He grabs both needles and wobbles to Batman’s side. Batman snatches both needles from Dick and injects them into one of Tim’s popping veins. 

A few seconds pass before Tim’s breathing drastically slows. His eyes nearly pop out of his head and his tongue slightly hangs out from his mouth, but the EKG monitor that Alfred managed to attach to him shows that his heart rate is steadily returning to normal levels.

“The diazepam is working,” Batman begins. Tim is still jerking slightly and muttering to himself. “The antidote will take a few hours to work.” 

Just go to sleep. Dick can suddenly feel the lack of energy in himself. His head lolls to the side, but he continues fighting to stay upright. He can only wheeze, as Batman and Alfred continue fussing over Tim’s shell-shocked body. 

Five seconds. Just close your eyes for five seconds. Okay, he can do that. Dick closes his eyes and counts in his head. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. 

His eyes snap open and his heart begins to race. 

Five more seconds, please. He closes his eyes again. One. Two. Three. His abdomen becomes unbearably hot. He loses count. One. Two. Four. Has it been more than five seconds? Dick hears the warbling voices of Batman and Alfred. One. Two. Three. His body shakes. Why is he shaking? His wound is searing now. 

“Dick!” 

Who’s calling his name? He can’t pinpoint the voice, but it sounds familiar.

“Dick!”

He feels hands grabbing at him. His eyes are still closed. One. Three. Is it time to open his eyes? No, not yet. It’s hasn’t been five seconds yet.

Dick feels like he’s falling in slow motion. His wound doesn’t even hurt anymore. He just feels tingles all throughout his lower body. 

“Ready the…” 

“…your eyes!”

“…losing blood…dammit Dick.”

Dick wants to chuckle. He knows that last disapproving voice belonged to Batman. What had he done wrong this time? He’ll have to find out once he wakes up.

Dick stands on the lawn, breathing in the fresh air. Even though Dick no longer lives at the manor, he still feels a sense of belonging on the sprawling estate. This is where he began his second chance at life after his parents were murdered. And it’s also where he nearly lost his life, just 48 hours prior.

He hears crunching grass behind him. Someone is approaching. Dick doesn’t mind. In fact, he’d love some company just about now. He’ll be out of commission for at least two weeks due to his stab wound. Two weeks to recover and relax and just live in the moment. Take time to rediscover who Dick Grayson was rather than living as Nightwing. Perhaps he could convince Alfred to set up a picnic around here. Ooh, Dick was craving Alfred’s famous homemade pecan-

“Hey.”

Dick’s thoughts are interrupted by Tim’s soft intrusion. Dick turns to look at his brother. His friend. His coworker. Tim’s arm is in a cast and his face has splotches of red and purple across it. 

Dick smiles genuinely. “Hey. How long will you be out of action?”

Tim sheepishly looks down. “Batman says at least two months. My arm was pretty badly broken.”

Dick can sense Tim’s disappointment. How could he not? Dick saw himself in the young man. He remembered his own strong drive to work and to never take breaks when he was younger. To live up to the glorious Batman who never seemed to take a day off. 

“It’ll fly by,” Dick replies. “I’m out for a while, too.”

“Yeah, I heard.”

“Hmm.”

The two stood facing one another in complete silence. Not an uncomfortable silence, but a necessary silence. Tim gathers the confidence to speak his mind and Dick gathers the confidence to apologize.

“I’m sorry,” Dick begins. “It should’ve been me. I should’ve protected you. I didn’t see him…Scarecrow, I mean.”

Tim shakes his head. “Please, don’t. It’s not your fault.”

“Yes, it is Tim. It should always be me rather than you. I failed-,”

“Don’t,” Tim sharply exhales. “Don’t you dare say that you failed me.”

The pair fall into silence once more. Moments pass before Tim speaks up again.

“They told me what happened. You passed out. You were...bleeding out.”

Dick stood there, unable to reply. What could he say?

“You didn’t fail me when I got gassed with the fear toxin. It’s a risk I take every time I become Red Robin. I risk my body and my life. I know what I signed up for.” Tim takes a shaky breath in. “But, what I didn’t sign up for, was you dying on me. You didn’t fail me when I got gassed, but you damn near failed me when you almost died from blood loss.”

The whites of Tim’s eyes turn red as he struggles to hold his tears back. “You don’t know, do you?”

Dick’s not sure what Tim is getting at, but he feels like he’s a child again being scolded. He swallows before nervously replying, “What do you mean?”

Tim sniffles and looks his big brother directly in his eyes. “You don’t know how much you mean to us? What you mean tome?”

Dick’s heart drops to his tummy. His looks at Tim’s teary eyes and feels his own eyes moisten. 

“You don’t always have to be strong, Dick,” Tim whispers. He looks at his feet and kicks a nearby pebble away. “You don’t always have to put others first. Without you, we would all fall apart.”

“No,” Dick quivers his lip. “You are my first priority. Don’t worry about me. You and Jason and Damian, and Cassandra and-,”

Tim laughs dryly. “No, Dick, You are your own first priority. Because if you don’t take care of yourself, how can you come back to us?”

Now Dick is really speechless. Did he get just lectured? By his baby brother? Is this really Tim?

“I’ve lost a lot of people in my life, Dick. I just can’t…I can’t lose you, too.”

Dick feels a throbbing pressure once again. Not in his abdomen, but right in his heart. Dick sniffles and holds his arms open, and Tim walks right into his embrace. It’s definitely awkward. Tim isn’t normally a hugger. But this is the moment that Dick has been waiting for, for what feels like an eternity. 

“I can’t believe my baby bro just lectured me. What has the world come to?” Dick murmurs.

Tim snorts and playfully shoves Dick away. “Yeah, sometimes you’re the one that needs a talking to. Just…please take better care of yourself.”

Dick nods. How can he argue with Tim? How can he deny his brother anything? Dick and Tim begin to walk side-by-side back to the manor. Dick slings an arm over Tim’s shoulder. “You don’t know how to hug. Good thing I’ll be around for a few weeks to teach you how.”

Tim groans and Dick’s laugh permeates the air. 

Yeah, a few weeks of rest will do them just fine. 

[ghost-bxrd]

Prompt:

After Jason’s resurrection he finds that his body works… wrong somehow.

Some days he forgets to breathe until he wants to say something and finds there’s no air in lungs. Other days his body goes eerily cold until someone points out that his lips are blue and he needs to warm up.

And some days his heart stops beating in his sleeps.

It’s fine, really. It always starts again eventually a short while after he wakes up. And yeah, of course it was a bit scary the first couple times it happened but it’s not like his resurrection and Pit-dip came with an instruction manual, so this is probably pretty normal stuff, all things considered. He is kind of the definition of “undead”.

The real trouble starts when he forgets to mention those little details to the Batfamily when he stays over for the night.

[im-totally-not-an-alien-2]

Danny couldn't really explain why he always answered this specific summoning ritual. It was like a feeling. One of warmth. Of a mug of hot cocoa in your hands and a nice weighted blanket dropped around your shoulders as a fire blazed in the hearth in front of you, keeping the chill in the rest of the room at bay.

Danny always lost himself in the sensation and found himself back in that stupid circle of protection with that same wierd guy demanding answers. But Danny didn't know anything about a "Lazarus Pit" or a "Pit Madness" let alone a cure for it. Even if he did he wasn't going to tell Red Robin anything after all the times he'd used the marriage summoning spell to get him here.

Earlier on Red had explained it was the only spell known to thier universe that could summon an entity from "The Lazarus Dimension" Which he guessed was another name for the ghost zone and Phantom was the only one to ever be summoned.

Danny couldn't help but wonder why...

After escaping Bird boy and his supernatural pop quiz (oh look, another test for him to flunk) he returns home only to discover his parents had seen him get summoned and accused him of being a ghost that replaced thier baby boy.

Naturalally the next time Red Robin had summoned Phantom he was angry. He was tired and dirty from being on the run from his parents, his worlds US government, and Vlad. Not to mention his own rogues gallery didn't exactly cut him any slack.

So Danny decided that if Red Robin wanted to abuse the power of a marriage ritual than the very least he can do is put his money where his mouth is.

Danny grinned and exited the magic circle, taking delight in Reds widening eyes before he lunged. A kiss sealed the deal, making sure Danny had a safeish place to stay.

After all, married couples in the infinite realms were obligated and even compelled to protect and care for eachother.

[deadsetobsessions]

Your name is Tim Drake and you are nine years old.

Today, tomorrow, and soon, you're going to save Robin.

----

Tim stares at his reflection on the sink tap. It trembles, along with the plane, as he contemplates his situation.

His face is rounder, now, with unfamiliar baby-fat rounding out the sharp lines he'd come to expect. Even with the subpar reflection, Tim can tell that his dark eyebags are all but gone, replaced with youthful skin.

Magic. He's being quite literal, seeing as he's been tossed into the body of his younger self at the hands of a crazed magician.

He could find a way back... or he could create a completely different timeline by fixing everything that went wrong. It's not like he has anything to go back to, anyways. That crazed magician was actually competent and killed everyone he ever cared about. Tim barely got away with his life. He could go back to save that shell of a world- surrounded by people whose minds were broken beyond magical and medical repair- or stay here, fix his own personal troubles and cut off the magician before he could start with his world domination bullshit.

Well, Tim already has an idea of what he wants. So he begins a list, after having oriented himself.

Save Robin

There's no point trying to convince Bruce that he knows where Jason's being held. So, Tim finds himself on a plane to Ethiopia a day before Jason's meant to die. This was long before Barbara even thought of being Oracle, and the tech is ancient in his hands. In short order, nine year old Tim has a trust fund with millions in it, all siphoned from billionaires like Lex Luthor and his own parents.

Tim toddles back to his seat, after washing his hands because he still can't shake the extra bit of paranoia that came with a missing spleen. Oh. Tim blinks guilelessly at his seat neighbor, smiling like Timothy Drake, Angel of a Son as he reels from the realization that he still has his spleen.

Tim adds another box to his list:

Keep Ra's away from my spleen, creepy bastard.

What else...? Ah, the League of Assassins.

Damian

Tim pauses. Holy crap. Damian's only six right now. Tim moves Damian's box upwards in urgency. Tim might have a mildly antagonistic relationship with his younger brother back then, but he wants baby pictures of his siblings, dammit. He's gonna put that photography expertise to good use if it's the last thing he does.

Watch over Z, Owens, Pru

'They're alive!' His mind screams. Cold rationality slaps the sentimentality down with a quick 'But they won't be if I fail.'

His mind wanders to Dick Grayson. He scowls as something pops up in the back of his head.

Catalina Flores

Contact Nightwing- in space

He's gotta call Dick back from that Teen Titans mission, Jason's gonna need all of the support he's going to get.

Find Cass

Train Steph

Save Duke's family from Venom

Tim taps at that last point. He'll save them. But that might mean Duke might never join their family.

But he'll be happy and Tim... will deal with it. He'll be the only one mourning, anyways. To end on a lighter note, he adds something that he should have done ages ago.

Give Tam a raise.

Tim sighs as he gets out of the airport, the hired escort he found and vetted, delivering him to a predetermined hotel. They think his parents are already inside. He laughs and does not say anything to make them think otherwise. He has so many things to do, Tim laments as he settles down to track the Joker's movements. Here. That's where Jason's being held. Being tortured.

He can, however, knock two things off his list in one go. Tim picks up the burner phone he acquired. He doesn't have time, or else he would have done this sooner and saved them all the trouble.

[RR: Are you in Ethiopia yet?]

[Deathstroke: Payment confirmed. In Ethiopia.]

[RR: Third building by the docks.]

An hour.

[Deathstroke: Confirmed. Target spotted.]

Ten minutes.

[Deathstroke: Target eliminated. Bringing Robin to Safehouse.]

Twenty minutes.

[Deathstroke: Basic first aid applied. Leaving.]

[RR: Secondary payment sent. Confirm?]

[Deathstroke: Confirmed. Pleasure doing business with you.]

Tim sprawls on the king bed. He sighs a breath of relief. He'd check on Jason in person, if he weren't paranoid about leaving traces that would get back to him. Tim's pretty sure that Deathstroke's going to get hunted down in the near future, regardless, so he made sure to add a huge tip on top of the extra fees for burning one of Deathstroke's safe houses and the emergency first aid. He taps into the rudimentary camera Deathstroke had given him the access codes to, to stare at Jason's rising and falling chest. On a further table, the Joker's head laid in a preservation box.

He bypasses all of the security on the Teen Titan's tech to send Dick a message.

[Robin has been retrieved from the Joker. Contact Batman for details.]

Then, he sends Bruce the location of the safe house. Tim spends the rest of the day staring at Jason and watching his father in another timeline break as he huddles close to the broken body of Tim's Robin.

Timothy Drake destroys the burner phone.

[trashmakerarticle]

Jason: no tim, it’s not the same. I make dead jokes, you make death jokes

Tim: I am failing to see how that’s any different

Jason: I didn’t want to die Tim. I didn’t make plans that would result in my own death, but you do. You plan to die.