Chapter Text
Tim was worried. The conversation with Bruce feels like it’s going to be the end of the world. Would Bruce be disappointed? Tim still doesn’t get what this is for though. It’s his responsibility to take care of the company, he was just doing his job!
Now with Damian he understood the issue. His brother was being neglectful to his needs by not getting medical help when he needed it. That could have ended really badly. Damian could have made it far, far worse! He could have permanently damaged his muscles! One would think he knows better but Tim supposed he doesn’t.
And now, Tim and his younger brother are sitting on a couch, waiting for Bruce to finish up a meeting. The idea of running away and avoiding the meeting altogether crosses his mind but it is dismissed quickly. Not because he doesn’t want to do just that, but because he knows his brothers would hunt him down and then that talk would be even worse.
So for now, Tim sits on a couch, next to Damian, Both of them waiting for the inevitable. Tim fiddles with the strings of his hoodie while Damian seems to be lost in thought. No one talks. It’s completely silent aside from the ticking of the clock. The loud eerie ticking that irritates Tim while also making him more uncomfortable by the minute.
The silence is soon interrupted by the clacking of shoes coming towards the main living area. Tim soon realizes that means Bruce is coming, the clacking is probably coming from Bruce’s Oxford dress shoes, meaning the meeting just ended. Dress shoes tend to be loud, Tim had learned the hard way after trying to sneak away from greeting relatives with Jack. The loud sound of his shoes had alerted his aunt and she dragged him back into the circle to meet her husband.
Just as Bruce enters, Damian looks up, and then back down, as if he were afraid. Tim can’t blame him, he quite frankly is terrified as well. Alfred follows shortly after Bruce, carrying a spare chair in one hand. The other hand is down by his leg. Alfred walks straight and confident, but in a nice way. Not in an annoyingly pompous way like Damian, or hunched like Tim. Just confident. Alfred sets the chair down in front of the couch Tim and Damian are seated down on and gives them both a small smile before leaving.
Bruce walks up to the chair Alfred had just set down and takes a seat. Bruce’s eyes are dark, but not cold or condescending. Not like how Jack’s eyes would be when he was disappointed or angry. Bruce isn’t Jack though, Tim has to remind himself that sometimes. But just because Bruce isn’t Jack doesn’t mean he can’t do the same things, or feel the same way. Just because Bruce isn’t Jack doesn’t mean he won’t ground Tim, not allowing him to come out of his room. It doesn’t mean Bruce can’t ignore Tim for days, or weeks, or even months at a time.
Bruce clears his throat before talking, interrupting Tim’s thoughts in the process . “Boys, I assume you understand why we are here?” Bruce says, or asks, in a questioning tone. No. Tim doesn’t know why he’s here. He doesn’t know why this is necessary, he just did his job, that’s all, so why is he in trouble? But Tim keeps his mouth shut. He just nods, and looks over to Damian who is also nodding, a solemn look on his face. Bruce nods at both of them.
“Well then I hope you both can explain why you risked your health, either mentally or physically?” Tim paused, he wasn’t risking his health… too much.
There was a long pause, both of the siblings waiting, hoping for the other to speak up. Finally, Tim opens his mouth only to be interrupted by his brother.
“An injury would mean I am not able to go out on patrol for the next month or so, reducing my worth.” Damian spits out the words, fast and barely understandable, like they pained him to say. Tim turns his head, looking at his brother, Bruce then does the same.
Tim’s first instinct is to provide comfort, to hug his little brother. He wants to provide a safe space, and that he does. As Tim leans in he’s half expecting to be pushed away, but no. Damian allows Tim to envelop him in warmth, even leaning in a little at some point.
Bruce scoots the chair closer and puts one hand on Damian’s head and the other on Tim’s. They sit like that for a minute, before Bruce retracts his hands and speaks up.
“Damian, you're never going to be worth less because of anything. You are human, your worth is not determined by usefulness.” Bruce says, choosing his words carefully, by Bruce standards at least.
Tim pauses and then says “You are so very important, and young. So if you ignore injuries and let them grow it could damage you severely.” Damian looks scared for a second at Tim’s words before talking.
“It was an irrational decision. I am aware of that now and I apologize for worrying you.” Damien says. This time his voice is calm and quiet.
“You don’t have to apologize son, just don’t hide things like this.” Bruce calms Damian, speaking sweetly. It warms Tim’s heart just looking at the interaction. The father-son interaction is so sweet. Tim wonders if he would have ever gotten something like that with Jack. He wonders that if Jack were here today that he would reassure Tim that he does matter.
But as soon as the idea formed, it died. Tim remembers all the cruel words and the neglect. It took ages for him to realize that it wasn’t normal, and even longer to understand that it was a form of abuse. He remembers having to do things for himself, sometimes Jack would forget to call the company and pay the bills. Tim would be left without heat, food, or electricity for days. The food in the fridge would go bad quickly, and the pantry could only last so long.
Once Tim had made the mistake of calling and asking Jack to pay the bills. Jack had called him many names that day, none of which were good. At least he woke up the next morning with electricity and water. But he had disappointed his parents, that was his worst fear. So from then on he just dealt with the lack of hygiene, light, warmth, or anything else he had to face.
Tim snapped out of his thoughts as he felt someone staring at him. He found Bruce and Damian giving him a questioning look, hoping for an answer to the earlier question. Tim closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath in.
“I was just doing the work that needed to be done, I don’t get why I’m in trouble.” Tim spit out. Now he realizes how Damian had felt explaining himself.
Silence. Everyone is silent as Tim fiddles with his ring. Finally he looks up, regretting the decision as soon as he made it.
“Tim-“ Bruce starts. Tim is scared, scared of disappointing Bruce. Scared of being tossed aside the second he does something wrong. Fortunately enough, Bruce is interrupted by a certain younger sibling of his.
“That’s stupid, Drake and you know it. Just because you have responsibilities doesn’t mean you can neglect yourself. Because frankly taking care of yourself is also a responsibility. And do not get me started on the side effects of sleep deprivation, because you would not survive those in this state. So shut up and take a nap every once in a while, cut down on the coffee too because you look like you’re a meth addict.”
Tim pauses whatever rambling he was about to go on. He smiles to himself, and a dry sound comes out of his throat, something of a laugh. Like that, Tim starts laughing, he looks up to see Damian smiling at him.
“It worked.” Is all he says. And then Tim is laughing harder than before.
“You little shit-“ Tim tries, before getting interrupted by wheeze. Tim laughs for a minute, letting himself calm down before speaking up for a second time “A meth addict, really!?” Tim asks with a smile on his face.
“Yes, Drake, a meth addict. God are you deaf too now?” Damian says, grinning. Tim lets out a yawn and Bruce finally says something.
“Tim, we can talk more about this later. Maybe a therapist will benefit you. And we will also talk about your past, and such. But for now just try to eat three meals and get seven hours. Of course it will take a while to build the habit, but me, your siblings, and Alfred will be here to remind you to eat or sleep. If you do not cooperate I may have to use the Bernard method.”
Tim stared for a minute, then he dramatically made a terrified face. “NoOOoooOoOOooOo~ don’t bring my boyfriend into thissss.” He wailed out, sounding even more dramatic than he intended, if that was possible. He faked tears and even Damian let out a little snicker, that evil little demon-child, laughing at a terribly sad time like this.
Bruce tried to suppress a smile as he raised his eyebrows, trying to look wise. “If it must be done, I will resort to it.” He says. His voice is lower than usual, but not exactly Batman levels of low. As Tim starts laughing Bruce lets out a chuckle as well before turning completely serious and saying the scariest shit ever.
“But Dick probably called Bernard and told him everything.” Tim stops laughing immediately. Not even a minute later a familiar voice is heard yelling through the manor.
“TIMOTHY DRAKE-WAYNE YOU FUCKER!” Bernard calls. SHIT. Tim’s brain then decides to be stupid, as brains do.
“I'M NOT HOME!” Answered Tim. Damian turned to look at him with a flat expression, no doubt judging the couple harshly. Damian kept staring at him with the ‘Really? Really Drake?’ Expression. Tim just shrugged.
Bernard came into view, entering the living area with a scowl worn on his face. Tim tried to run, to get out, to escape. But unfortunately he was tackled by a warm bear hug.
“God, remind me why you aren’t in football again?” Fuck, he’s probably never going to get to work again now. Shit. Bernard said nothing for a while just holding Tim. Tim soon remembered his family was still there, most likely staring at the couple, “Okay let's get this cuddle session away from my family, so Im not teased for life y’know?
Bernard says nothing. He only gets up, waits for Tim to do the same, and grabs his hand. Bernard basically drags Tim up to his room, getting a questioning look from Jason in the process.
When they arrive Bernard jumps onto the bed and tells Tim to do the same. Tim follows after Bernard and is immediately surrounded by warmth. He sighs as he hugs Bernard back.
“I love you Timmy.” Bernard says, his voice so sweet and gentle that Tim’s brain threatens to malfunction.
“I love you too Bernie.” He replied, and laying there with his boyfriend, Tim knew that he would be here for a long while. But he didn’t mind, not one bit, in fact the thought brought a smile onto his face.
Bernard snuggled in close then before, if that was possible, and placed a kiss on Tim’s cheek. “No more doing shit like that okay? If you do, I will find you and you will regret all your life choices.”
The threat was sweet as it was terrifying, and honestly, Tim loved that. He loved how Bernard will take care of him no matter what, even if the things he sometimes says are mildly terrifying. Tim knows Bernard is trying to take care of his boyfriend.
The thought is funny if you think about it. Bernard, a conspiracy theorist, wants to take care of his boyfriend, the guy who basically runs a huge company and is secretly Red Robin. The same Red Robin who goes out every night, and almost dies way too often, but Bernard doesn’t know that. It’s amusing to listen to the theories Bernard has when you know the truth. Honestly Tim is surprised at how spit on Bernard gets with some things, it’s scary when your boyfriend almost figures out that you’re the guy that almost died last Saturday.
“I love you too.” Tim replies.
Both boys drift into a deep sleep, Tim finally listening to his body and relaxing a bit. Bernard breathing evens out, as does Tim’s just a minute later.
And if there are a few siblings standing at the doorway with their cameras out, no one has to know.