#timrai january

[moonlitceleste]

among us

Timari January Day 3 - Among Us

@timari-month-event​

Tim does an investigation after someone steals his coffee.

“There is an imposter among us.”

Tim’s declaration rang through the otherwise silent Wayne Manor as he stared deep into the eyes of each of his siblings, who were all lined up like soldiers.

A loud groan interrupted, well… whatever he was doing.

“Seriously, Replacement? This is what you called us here for?”

From his brash declaration, it was clear Jason wasn’t enthused to be there.

Tim continued without sparing a glance at his older brother, decidedly ignoring his outburst.

“As I was saying, I suppose you're all wondering why I've gathered you here today.”

Stephanie stifled a snort behind her hand, no doubt laughing at his use of the overdramatized phrase.

“One of you stole my coffee, and I intend to find out who.”

His eyes swept over the line: Dick, Jason, Damian, Cass, Steph, and Duke. Marinette was stationed next to him, a second set of eyes to aid his search for the perpetrator.

None of his siblings were especially delighted, judging by their exasperated expressions.

“Why would any of us steal your coffee, Drake?”

The vigilante in question made an are-you-serious face.

“To spite me? I wouldn’t put it past you.”

Dick jumped forward to hold his tiny ex-assassin brother back before he could lunge at Tim and maim him too badly.

“Unhand me, Grayson!” Damian scowled, writhing in his grip. “I’m not a child!”

It was quite the contrary, but his statement went unchecked. No one wanted to deal with the consequences of their poking fun at him, which would likely be a feral, katana-wielding child chasing after them in the after hours of the night.

…Well, none except for Cass.

A smile tugged on the edges of her lips as she watched Damian struggle to break free from their eldest brother’s hold.

“Are,” she said, the one-word response more than enough to communicate her thoughts.

But rather than attack, Damian resigned himself to slump in Dick’s grip and glower sullenly.

If it were anyone else commenting it would have come to blows, but Cass was beloved by the entire Wayne family. She had Damian’s respect, no matter how grudging.

“...Well, I’m outta here,” Jason exclaimed, breaking the brief silence that had befallen the group.

He seemed done with the dramatics, which was ironic considering he was the most dramatic theatre kid of them all.

Unfortunately, his plan to make a quick exit was foiled by Tim. He got all of three steps forward before the younger got into his face and glared.

It was a nice effort, really, but the height difference really detracted from Tim’s intimidation factor.

This little fact didn’t seem to matter as he continued to stare down Jason.

“You’re not going anywhere until we figure out who did this.”

“You mean when you figure out who did this.”

In a blink, Jason had hoisted Tim up and moved him to the side, leaving an obstruction-free path.

Finally. With the string bean out of the way, there was absolutely nothing that could possibly prevent him from escaping—

“Jason,” Dick called.

No. Fuck no.

It was his stupid big brother voice—the pleading one Dick used to drag everyone into doing “family bonding activities.”

If this is supposed to be family bonding, I don’t want any fucking part of it.

Still, Jason stopped mid-stride to weigh his options.

If he left, he’d get undoubtedly get a lecture from Dick later. But if he managed to sweet-talk his way out… well, no one could blame him for playing by the rules.

Jason whirled around, but rather than walking back in line, he turned to Marinette.

“You’ll let me leave, won’t you, Cupcake?”

He put on his best set of puppy-dog eyes, dignity out the window. All he wanted to do was get away from this crazy family.

“Hey,” Tim snapped, grabbing Marinette by the waist and resting his head on top of hers protectively. “That’s my girlfriend you’re talking to. No cute nicknames.”

Normally this statement would warrant some concern from the rest of the family, but they all knew it was just his attempt to come off as intimidating. He could really get too in-character with his detective role sometimes.

Jason rolled his eyes in response.

“C’mon. You trust me, right?”

Marinette hesitated, her big blue eyes flitting around in confusion. She looked more tired than usual, probably because of the huge commission she had received days ago.

Jason decided to take pity on her and not push any farther. Having to deal with so much work on top of the Replacement had to be exhausting.

Plus, if he stayed and sped the process up, he could score brownie points with everyone.

“Fine,” he said, face neutral.

“It’s not me, it’s not Cass,” the rest of the family clamored in agreement, “and it’s not Golden Boy, unless he took it to stop you from dying of overcaffeination.”

“I didn’t take it!” said Golden Boy defended. “You know I didn’t come back from Bludhaven until this morning. I’ve been unpacking all day!”

Tim tapped a finger to his chin, nodding thoughtfully.

“Steph.”

He turned abruptly to the blonde and stared her down.

Either the family had become desensitized to his glares or he was just really bad at them, because within seconds Steph had her lips pressed together, shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

“What’s your alibi?”

She shook her head, struggling to keep her amusement contained. Attempting to speak would only end in peals of uncontrollable laughter.

Duke pinched the bridge of his nose, a habit he likely caught from Bruce, and sighed.

“Steph didn’t do it because we were both at Big Belly Burger until 3 AM. I drove home and she fell asleep on the way, so I carried her to her room and went straight to bed.”

“What about you, then?”

“Tt. If you must know, Drake, I was training. I could care less about your stash of junk,” Damian sniffed, arms crossed and nose pointed in the air.

The Wayne siblings looked around in confusion. If they were all telling the truth, who could it be?

“Jay?” Cass interjected.

The antihero straightened up at the sound of his name, an expression akin to betrayal on his face.

“What? I already said it wasn’t me! Besides, I could care less if the Replacement decides to destroy his health.”

This statement was debatable, but they let it slide.

“Not to mention there are better ways to mess with him.”

Jason winked at Marinette, an obvious provocation, but to Tim’s credit he didn’t take the bait.

“It wasn’t Jason.”

Her words were soft, a contrast with the rambunctious family, and they showed just how fatigued the designer was.

Amidst his concern, Jason couldn’t help but smirk in victory.

“Well, it couldn’t have been anyone else, so one of you is lying.”

“Not necessarily,” Damian interrupted.

His piercing gaze shifted, and the rest of the family found themselves following it.

“What about Marinette?”

“What?!”

Twin exclamations came from the couple, and Tim pulled her closer against him.

“I didn’t take it! I was designing all night.”

“All the more reason we should suspect you.”

The rest of the siblings exchanged glances, as if trying to communicate with their eyes.

“It wasn’t Marinette. I trust her.”

“Then let us fucking leave already!”

“No! No one is leaving until I find out who took my freaking coffee.”

And with that started an all-out war.

The squabbles grew in volume, insults thrown back and forth, until they were practically yelling over one another.

Marinette groaned at the volume and pressed her head against Tim’s shoulder, trying to block out the arguments.

“If I may, Master Tim.”

A hush fell upon the group at the voice of none other than Alfred Pennyworth.

No one had noticed him among the uproar, but his unimpressed expression currently had everyone’s attention.

“I believe the perpetrator—or as you insist on calling it, the imposter—was Mistress Marinette.”

A beat of silence passed before Jason’s cackles filled the room.

“Betrayed by your own girlfriend!” he whooped.

Said girlfriend was standing with a look of utter confusion on her face.

“What? It wasn’t me, I swear!”

The strange thing was that she didn’t appear to be lying at all.

Marinette wore her heart on her sleeve; it was easy for anyone, especially a group of trained detectives, to decipher her emotions. So why did she seem to be telling the truth?

There was no way Alfred would intervene without being sure, either.

Tim turned to the butler questioningly, the conflict clear on his face.

“Fear not—Mistress Marinette is still a less-than-stellar liar. I believe she was simply unaware of her actions until now.”

Everyone leaned forward in anticipation of his next words, enraptured.

“Over the last few days, Mistress Marinette has been foregoing sleep in order to work on her designs—or as you kids say, ‘pulling all-nighters.’ Shortly after Master Duke and Miss Stephanie returned to the Manor, I witnessed her stumble into the kitchen and make a brew from the last of Master Tim’s stash.

“She spotted me and assured me that she would recompense Master Tim with ‘kisses and cuddles.’ I presume she has no memory of this event because it occurred while she was not fully cognizant.”

By the end of Alfred’s story, the rest of the family found themselves nodding alongside him.

It wasn’t that hard to imagine Marinette unknowingly stealing Tim’s coffee in one of her sleep-induced hazes.

Speaking of Marinette…

“I’m so sorry, Tim,” she said.

There was an expression of genuine regret on her face, one that would be much more fitting for telling someone she had just run over their dog rather than a minuscule accident like this.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Tim replied.

He grabbed her fidgeting hands and pulled her close, voice soft.

“I know it was an accident. I’m sorry I didn’t notice how tired you were—I should have been paying more attention. It’s not your fault, okay?”

The devastation in her eyes left at his reassuring words, and Marinette’s head bobbed up and down in a small nod.

Tim smiled and pressed a kiss onto the tip of her nose.

“Let’s go get some rest together. I believe I have some cuddles to cash in on.”

Marinette shrieked quietly as he picked her up bridal style; after a few seconds, she adjusted to the position and snuggled into his chest, eyes closed.

The rest of the family, who were long forgotten, watched as he carried her off to his room.

“Gross.”

Jason made an exaggerated gagging gesture with the sound to accompany it.

“You know they’re cute,” Dick elbowed. “Just admit it.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

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