Chapter Text
Jason vibrated with anxiety as he waited for Tim to pick him up.
He’d told Bruce and Alfred the same night Tim had asked him, of course. Bruce took the news with the same gravitas with which he took everything. He’d finished chewing his braised carrots, and then said, “It sounds like Timothy really is in a bind. I know his parents are often… not home. This really isn’t something two kids should deal with on their own.”
Jason rolled his eyes. “I know. That’s why we’re not alone. I’m telling you.”
Bruce shared a look with Alfred. Jason waited. He’d seen them do this before, usually when Bruce didn’t know what to do. It seemed like Alfred was no help this time, because Bruce turned back to Jason and said, “It’s very brave and kind of you to want to help Timothy. I can’t say… I can’t say that if I was in your position at your age, I wouldn't have done the same. I will do what I can as the adult; I’ll call the school and see if they can’t decrease the amount of harassment. I’m aware I can’t stop you but… Jaylad, please know that if you need us, Alfred and I are here for you.”
Bruce’s speech had earned him a rare Jason hug and a whispered, “I love you, dad.”
Bruce had done as he’d promised; he’d called the school to complain about harassment, keeping Tim’s name anonymous. As Jason had expected, all this did was earn them a little lecture over the morning announcements and brand new hall monitors.
Tim had texted him a couple of days before the agreed-upon weekend.
Bring clothes for the Jane Austen cafe, the public library museum, and Batburgers for dinner Saturday, unless you have objections. Open to ideas for Sunday.
Jason had no objections. Jason enjoyed all those activities. Tim really was going out of his way to make sure this was as painless as possible for Jason. Jason would figure out what made sense for Sunday after their first few ‘dates’ were over.
Steph came over the night before, as she had promised. “If you’re going to be a fake boyfriend, you’re going to be fake all the way,” she said, rustling dramatically through Jason’s closet.
“I don’t think that sentence means what you think it means,” Jason said. He had to duck under a shirt that Steph flung at his head.
“You know what I mean!” she glared. “You’re going to be so hot Tim is going to faint when he sees you and everyone else will have to give up on the spot!”
Jason laughed. “Now you’re being silly.”
Steph squawked at him. “Silly? Look at you!”
“I am?”
Steph punched him in the arm. “Clearly you’re not! C’mon, you’re way out of Tim’s league.”
Jason leveled Steph with a dead stare. “C’mon, we have to be reasonable,” he said. “Tim’s literally the number one in our whole school, and I’m a basket case with issues upon issues. I just….” Jason sighed. “I just already feel so out of place here,” he mumbled. “It’s better than it was when I first came back, but standing next to Tim Drake… I’m worried I’ll feel worse.”
Steph walked over to stand in front of Jason. She clapped both her palms on Jason’s cheeks and squished his face.
“Ow!” Jason complained.
Steph ignored him. “Jason Peter Wayne! Are you or are you not my best friend?” she demanded.
“’Eah?” Jason said, muffled by Steph’s palms.
“Are you or are you not the light of Bruce Wayne’s life?”
“‘At ha’ to be Dick - ”
“Are you or are you not!”
“’Es! God!”
“Then trust me when I say you are worth more than your weight in gold. Don’t forget you are doing Timothy a favor here. The only reason I haven’t tried to set that boy on fire for taking advantage of your kindness is because I can tell he knows how big this favor is too.” Steph’s expression gentled, and her small hands relaxed on Jason’s face. “You deserve nice things too, Jason. Having Timothy Drake bankroll your favorite hobbies is just one of those things.”
Jason didn’t really understand why Steph seemed to think Tim was taking such big advantage of Jason, but he could feel Steph’s love for him in every word she said. He smiled back at her. “Thanks, Steph.”
Steph nodded at him and then went back to his closet. “Oh, and by the way,” she tossed over her shoulder, “you are hot. You’re tall, you have a handsome face, you’ve even got great tits - for a man, anyway - ”
“Steph!”
Tim arrived at Wayne Manor exactly on time.
Jason didn’t know why he’d expected anything different; everything he’d learned about Tim so far suggested that he was meticulous.
Jason was wearing his first outfit for the Regency-themed cafe, with his other two outfits stuffed inside his school backpack. Jason liked to tap into his softer side when he settled down to read. He was wearing ripped jeans and a v-neck shirt, but over that was his biggest, softest, fluffiest cardigan.
It wasn’t his usual style, but it was rare for him to find clothes in his size, and as soon as he’d tried it on he fell in love. The thing was a soft baby pink, with little heart patches sewn onto the arms. Jason liked how soft it made him look, how soft it made him feel. He’d found it while thrifting with Steph, shortly after returning to Gotham Academy from his therapeutic school. At that time, people still looked at him like he was some kind of crash out thug, always moments away from losing it on someone else.
At that time, Jason wasn’t sure if they were right.
The cardigan reminded Jason that he wasn’t just someone who’d gone through hell and came out the other side, he was also a reader, a romantic, someone who still loved and hoped despite the pain that dogged his steps. Now, it was one of his favorite items of clothing.
Tim’s eyes widened when he saw Jason. “You look really cozy,” he commented.
Jason belatedly realized that he’d never seen Tim in anything but his school uniform and suits for the Wayne galas, and Tim had never seen him in anything different either.
Tim dressed way more alternative than Jason had expected. He didn’t know why, but the Tim in Jason’s mind only wore his school uniform and suits. The Tim standing in front of Jason wore skinny jeans, combat boots, and a leather jacket. A shiny silver cuff and a star-shaped dangly earring glinted from Tim’s left ear. Lip gloss shone on Tim’s lips. A small bag in the shape of a professional camera was slung across Tim’s shoulders.
“You look so cool,” Jason breathed.
Tim grinned at Jason, lightning quick. The edges of his lips curled up when he smiled, and Jason’s stomach did a funny flip. “You like it?” Tim asked.
Jason’s stomach flipped again, but outwardly he rolled his eyes and smiled. “I didn’t know you had it in you, Timmy.”
“I contain multitudes,” Tim said grandly, but he still held his hand out for Jason to take.
The two of them took the subway to the Bowery. Tim was too young to get his permit, and while Jason could drive, it was easier to take public transit into the deeper parts of the city.
Jason had worried the day would feel awkward, was prepared to weather hours of silence interspersed only by a few moments of photographed closeness, but Tim’s hand was warm and his attitude was easy. By the time he asked Jason a few questions about Jane Austen, Jason had forgotten to feel anxious.
“So when did you learn that you liked Jane Austen?” Tim asked.
“Eh, I think it was one of the first books I found on the library shelf when I first got to Wayne Manor,” Jason said, casting his memory back. “It was before everything fell apart, and it’s one of the few things that didn’t get complicated, later. Besides,” Jason added with a grin, “what’s not to love about Austen? She said things like they were and forced people to listen. She stayed true to herself until she died. She was a fucking beast.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever read anything by her,” Tim admitted. “We’ve never had to for school, and my family isn’t big on reading.”
“We will fix that today,” Jason said. “Everyone has to read Pride and Prejudice, at least.”
“I’ve seen the movie?”
“With Keira Knightly? I mean, that one was fine, but I like the BBC version better.”
Tim’s expression was noticeably lost. “O-Okay.”
“Don’t worry,” Jason promised, his words sounding like a threat. “I will make sure you get the education you need today. School is for chumps. Jane Austen is forever.”
The Regency-themed cafe was arranged on two floors: the first floor was primarily the cafe, with options for coffee and pastries and a number of pleasant reading nooks scattered around the open floor plan. The second floor was more of a bookstore, carrying multiple copies and arrangements of not only Jane Austen’s works, but also her contemporaries’ works, as well as other related novels.
Jason dragged Tim to the second floor first. Part of him still felt nervous, but the rest of him was wiggling happily in one of the few places on the planet that felt safe to Jason.
Jason’s first order of business: making sure that Tim knew how awesome Jane Austen was.
“You said you don’t really read?” Jason asked, scanning the bookshelves for a particular series.
“I mean, it’s not like I don’t read anything,” Tim said, standing behind Jason with his hands clasped behind his back. “It’s just, reading fiction wasn’t really encouraged in my house, so I never got into the habit. I don’t have anything against fiction. My friends like to read manga.”
“Mmm, well, Austen’s a great writer, of course, but I think sometimes people find it easier to start with things that have fewer words.” Jason found the series he was looking for. He slid the first volume out from the bookshelf and held it out to Tim.
Tim took the book from Jason and started flipping through the pages. “Pride and Prejudice… as a manga?”
Jason nodded. “That way you can get all the story without having to read too much. It’s a nice way to get introduced to her stuff.”
Tim was staring at the cover like he’d never seen a book before. “That’s… that’s really nice. Thank you.”
Jason shrugged. It wasn’t a big deal. “Now let me go find a couple of books.”
Tim followed Jason around as Jason went hunting for either a version of a book he already had, or a new book he hadn’t read yet. Jason wanted to tell Tim that he didn’t have to follow him, but Tim seemed genuinely curious himself, his eyes scanning the bookshelves as he went.
Jason eventually found a copy of Sense and Sensibility that he didn’t own yet, and a new regency-era romance novel that had just been published. He hoped Tim wouldn’t ask him about it; even though Tim had so far proven to be nice and nonjudgmental, he was still afraid that Tim might make fun of Jason’s interests.
The two of them stepped up to the cash register to pay. Jason had brought his own wallet, but as promised, Tim gently nudged him out of the way and paid for both their books.
Jason tried to catch Tim’s eye to thank him, but Tim just smiled at Jason and said, “Let’s go downstairs and find someplace to sit?”
Tim and Jason set up on a nice pair of beanbags near the windows. Tim waited until Jason sat down, and then dropped his bags next to the other beanbag. “I’ll go order. What do you want?”
Jason looked down at himself, and then up at Tim, who was smiling guilelessly at Jason. Duped again. Jason didn’t know if he should be angry or impressed. “…Earl Gray tea, please.”
“Milk or sugar?”
“Nah, I’m good.”
Jason observed Tim as he went to go get their drinks. He didn’t know what to make of Tim. Tim was being awfully attentive when he didn’t have to be, although Jason thought that from Tim’s perspective, maybe Tim wanted to get to know Jason better, since Tim was stuck with Jason for the year.
Tim looked back at Jason while he was waiting in line and gave him a crinkly-eyed smile. Jason waved back.
Jason decided to just go with the flow for the time being. This was Tim’s scheme, after all, and Jason just had to be present for it. He cracked open his new romance novel and sank into the first chapter.
Halfway through the second chapter, Jason looked up when a steaming cup of tea nudged his elbow. He found a camera lens looking down at him.
Click.
Tim’s face appeared from behind the camera. “You looked cozy,” he said.
“Is this the photographic evidence?” Jason asked as Tim settled into the beanbag opposite him.
Tim see-sawed his hand. “Yes and no. Photography is one of my hobbies, so if I had a boyfriend I’d definitely be taking photos of him. I’ll probably use a mix of, like, regular phone photos and digital camera photos when we hard launch next week. I just have to adjust the meta data….”
“Can I see your photos?”
Tim handed Jason his camera. It took Jason a couple of tries, but he figured out how to review Tim’s photos. Tim seemed to like taking photos of the urban landscape, with the humans very small and the landscape very large. There were photos of the Drake house, with a handful of gardeners in the back; the Wayne gardens during the most recent of Bruce’s galas, high society mingling like busy bees; the Gotham clock tower; the Drake Industries building. The newest photo of Jason was a clear departure from Tim’s usual subjects.
Jason wasn’t much of a photographer, but he could tell that while Tim’s other photographs looked meticulously designed, the photo of him was less so. It was slightly blurry and grainy, and the Jason in the photo looked surprised.
Jason had never been the subject of a photo like it.
Jason looked up from the camera to see Tim’s phone camera pointed at him. Trying not to overthink his expression, Jason extended Tim’s camera back to Tim.
“Try not to look like I’m torturing you,” Tim teased.
Jason deadpanned, “Impossible.”
Tim took his camera back, but didn’t lower his phone. “C’mon, go back to reading. Actually, rest your cheek on your hand - move your hand back - yeah, like that.”
Jason tried to follow each of Tim’s instructions. The position didn’t feel natural at all, and he couldn’t focus on the words in the book.
“Now can you smile, just a little. Really just, like, the corners of your mouth. Yes! That’s it. Okay, you can relax now.”
Jason slumped back in his beanbag. “Jesus, taking photos is exhausting.”
Tim smiled apologetically at him. “Sorry.”
Jason waved him away. “No, you’re good. Can I see?”
“Yeah, let me just edit a little - ” Tim tapped on his phone screen a few times before holding it out to Jason.
Jason hardly recognized himself. It was him in the photo alright, and he knew exactly how uncomfortable that posture was, but in the actual picture he looked relaxed, effortless. The tiny smile playing about his lips made him look fond. The entire photo seemed alight with a subtle glow.
“Wow, you’re good,” Jason said, handing the phone back to Tim.
Tim beamed at him. “It’s a perfect lockscreen photo.”
Jason’s eyes widened. Shutting his book, he said, “Shit, I forgot people have those! Wait, that means I need one of you. Ah, but I’m not that good at taking photos….”
“Just take one whenever,” Tim encouraged. “It’ll be authentic that way. Photography is honest.”
“Is that what you like about it?” Jason asked, curious.
Tim shrugged. “One of many. I mean, you can always edit photos, and there are tons of ways to create optical illusions or stage scenes. But no matter what, photographs have to reflect what was actually there one way or another. It makes it different from drawing or painting, for example. It’s just a different kind of medium.”
Jason hummed. So, Tim not only liked photography, he was an artist about it.
“Do you ever do film photography?”
One corner of Tim’s mouth lifted. “I actually almost always use film. I decided not to today because I knew we’d be running around, and I have some old photos on this camera that I wanted to edit, anyway.” Tim checked his watch. Jason noticed that it was a fancy analog watch, and not a digital one. “I think we have about… an hour here before we have to go to the library museum. I was thinking we could change, then get lunch at the museum cafe and take photos.”
Jason shrugged. “Works for me.”
“Do what you would do naturally here,” Tim said. “I’m going to take some more photos.”
It was hard to relax under Tim’s sharp eyes, but soon Jason forgot about being watched, relaxed in his beanbag chair with a new book in his lap and a steaming mug of Earl Gray by his ankle.
When Jason took a break from reading to drink his tea, he noticed that Tim was focused on his camera, probably editing photos from the way his thumb moved every now and again to press a different button. Jason snuck his phone out of his pocket to try to get a photo of Tim.
It was blurry.
Jason frowned at his phone. Maybe the lens wasn’t clean?
He breathed on the camera lens and wiped at it with his shirt.
Now sunlight from the windows was a streak across Tim’s head.
Jason scrubbed at the phone lens again. Better.
His next photo of Tim was off center. Maybe he was on the wrong setting?
As Jason contemplated his phone camera, he heard a gentle laugh from the beanbag across from him. He looked up to see Tim giggling at him, his hand a fist in front of his mouth.
Jason narrowed his eyes at Tim and snapped another picture out of spite. It was blurrier than the first, somehow.
“Don’t laugh at me,” Jason grumbled, his cheeks flushing.
Tim motioned for Jason to give Tim his phone. Still grumbling to himself, Jason complied.
Tim tapped at Jason’s screen a few times. “Here,” he said, turning the screen back to Jason and showing him the settings. “WayneTech automatic photo settings are pretty good, just make sure you’re on ‘Photo’ and not ‘Portrait’ or something. Everything else should happen automatically now.”
Jason inspected his phone. It looked the same as when he handed it to Tim. Suspicious, he raised his phone to his eye level and took another photo of Tim.
This one turned out much better. It wasn’t as blurry, and Tim was at least centered in the photo. His expression was pretty cute, too, smiling vaguely in Jason’s direction.
Jason pocketed his phone. “Thanks,” he said without making eye contact with Tim. He could feel his ears burning red for no reason.
Tim shrugged. “No problem. Honestly, taking good photos isn’t that hard on a phone, but I find the WayneTech settings more convoluted than they have to be.”
“Oh, yeah, and what about Drake Industries?” Jason snapped, immediately defensive on behalf of his father’s company.
Tim smirked. “Oh, DI is worse by every metric.”
Jason stared for a second. Then, he burst out laughing. “Oh my god! You’re a little shit! You’re an actual little shit!”
Tim’s smirk widened. “I plead the fifth.”
Jason shook his head. “It’s too late, the mask is already off.”
“Damn, and here I thought I could reel you in with my sparkling personality before showing you what you actually got into,” Tim teased.
“Nah,” Jason said. “I actually like you better as a little shit.”
Tim’s jaw snapped shut.
“And,” Jason added, “You reeled me in with your money, not your personality.”
Tim burst out laughing. “I appreciate the honesty.”
He stood up and stretched, the bottom of his dark shirt riding up. Jason looked up at Tim’s face just in time to make eye contact with Tim. Tim smiled at him. “Just needed to stretch. How do you feel about heading out now?”
Jason looked back down at his book, which was still damningly on the second chapter. He shut it. “Yeah, let’s go.”
Jason looked up just as Tim took a photo of him, his soup spoon midway to his mouth. Jason snapped his teeth at Tim jokingly before finishing his spoonful of soup.
“Why would you want a photo of me eating?” he asked after he swallowed.
Tim fiddled with the settings on his phone. “I’d want photos of my boyfriend doing anything,” he said. “I wouldn’t want just posed photos. I like the little moments. You get a little furrow, like, here,” he said, pointing at the space between his own eyes, “when you’re concentrating on something. You were furrowing at the soup. It was cute.”
“Furrowing?” Jason sputtered.
“What? That’s a real word!”
“That’s not the problem - ”
Jason snapped a photo of Tim as he was in the middle of a rant about plumbing infrastructure in front of the water fountain.
Tim gave Jason a deadpan look.
“What!”
“You couldn’t possibly have gotten a good photo with the flash on like that. Did you touch something on the settings?”
“You set it up this way!”
“I would not have let you keep the auto flash on.”
“Check yourself, jackass!”
Tim took a photo of Jason with his head tilted back, squinting at the shimmering mosaic that tiled the museum ceiling. “It’s just so cool, how it all fits together, you know?” Jason mused. “I’ve always wanted to be good at puzzles, but I never had the patience for them.”
Tim hummed. “I think you’d be good at them.”
Jason tilted his head to look at Tim. “Do you think so? Wait - hey, did you take a picture of me?!”
Jason shot a photo of Tim fixing his jacket.
Tim looked up and raised his eyebrow. “Are you serious? What could be so interesting about this?”
At this point, Jason was more interested in getting Tim back than taking good photos, but he didn’t want Tim to know that. “What, did no one teach you about composition, rich boy?”
Tim threw his head back and laughed.
Jason grinned.
Tim got a photo of Jason with his face up close to the W. E. B. Du Bois display, lips moving noiselessly as he read over the hand-written manuscripts, his face slack with awe.
Jason got a photo of Tim laughing in the gift shop over bookmarks shaped like silly ties.
Tim took a picture of Jason flipping him off when Tim swiped the books he wanted and paid for them; Jason took one right back of Tim paying, but unfortunately Tim looked like a damn gentleman in his old man cardigan, and it was not the payback Jason wanted it to be.
As the sun was setting, Jason settled down into the booth at Joan’s Batburger across from Tim after his last clothing change of the day. Steph had helped him choose a casual outfit in his normal style: a band T-shirt and ripped jeans, a perfect outfit for Jason’s favorite burger joint in Gotham.
Joan’s Batburger was a mom-and-pop diner that took its inspiration from a short-lived run of comics from the forties, ‘Batman and Robin.’ While the comic series didn’t survive past its first few issues, Joan’s Batburger had been a local staple for decades.
Jason used to walk past Joan’s Batburger on his way home from school. He’d never been able to afford anything on the menu, him and his mom’s SNAP benefits never lasting the full month, but he remembered how good it smelled. Bruce had taken Jason there on the day they met, and on the day Bruce officially adopted Jason, Jason took them both to Joan’s Batburger, and they both ate their deluxe Absolute Batburgers with huge grins on their faces. Now it was something of a ritual for them, whenever either of them had a big achievement to celebrate.
“I was surprised you knew about this place. It’s kind of a Bowery secret.” Jason said. He didn’t even pick up the menu in front of him; he always ordered the same thing when he came here.
Tim’s head popped up from behind his menu. “Hm? Oh, you mean, I’m too rich to be here?” he laughed. “You can say that, Jason, it’s okay, I know. To be honest, I found this place on accident. I like to come to the Bowery to take photos sometimes, ’cause it’s got really stunning architecture, and one day I walked past this place and just… followed my nose in.”
“You’ve got good taste,” Jason said, nodding seriously. “Joan’s got the best burgers in the whole city.”
Tim laughed. “I’m glad I found this place, then. Do you know what you want?”
Jason nodded. “Bruce and I come here sometimes. We get the same thing every time: the Absolute Batburger, with a side of loaded Robin fries and a strawberry Clocktower shake.”
Tim waved his hand for the waitress, but instead of the young woman at the counter, an older woman came out of the back from the kitchen. “Well, if it isn’t Jason! Where’s Bruce?”
“Hi, Mrs. Joan,” Jason grinned. “This is Tim. He’s taking me on a date.”
Jason said it casually, so it could be taken as a joke in case Tim didn’t want every stranger to think they were dating, but Tim didn’t miss a beat. He aimed his most winning smile at Mrs. Joan. “I’m trying to win him over with the best burgers in the city,” he said.
Mrs. Joan smiled back, charmed. “You’ve come to the right place. We’ve been here since 1940. My great grandpa founded this place. He passed it down to my father, who passed it down to me. We’ve been here through three generations.”
“I’m assuming today isn’t the day you give me your burger recipe, is it, Ms. Joan?” Jason pouted at her exaggeratedly.
“Cheeky boy,” she smiled. “You’ll have to order again today, I’m afraid.”
“Darn.” Now that he completed his ritual with Ms. Joan, Jason turned his attention back to Tim. “Tim, do you know what you want?”
“I’ll get the Ivy veggie burger, with a side of regular fries. And Jason - ”
“Your regular?” Mrs. Joan asked.
Jason shot her a thumbs up. “You know it!”
“I’ll have your food out in a jiffy!”
When Mrs. Joan left, Jason asked Tim, “Are you a vegetarian?” He’d noticed that Tim had only a salad at lunch as well.
Tim shook his head. “Not strictly. But soccer season has already started, so I have to be careful about what I eat.”
Jason started to feel guilty. He was sure that Tim had chosen to come to Joan’s Batburger because Jason loved it; it had probably come up sometime at a Wayne Gala, or Jason and Bruce were pictured by the paparazzi often enough that it wasn’t exactly uncommon knowledge. Jason didn’t want Tim to put his own needs below Jason’s. “Sorry,” Jason apologized. “Tomorrow we can be more careful about where we eat, or if you want we can even bring our own food - ”
Tim laughed. “No, it’s fine, Jason, really. One weekend of eating out isn’t going to hurt me. I just pick the foods that are closest to my diet out of habit. It’s really not a big deal.”
Jason remained unconvinced.
Tim’s smile softened. “Will you share a bite of your Batburger with me?”
Jason relaxed, which he was sure was Tim’s intent. “Only if you don’t take half the burger with one bite,” he teased. “I’m a growing boy, I need my food!”
Tim eyed the top of Jason’s head with playful jealousy. “I think you’ve grown enough. You don’t need to be so tall, what do you even do with all that height?”
“Lie down so I can be at the same eye level as you regular folk,” Jason said immediately.
Tim burst out laughing. “Oh, fuck you!”
“I can reach the top shelf. I dust the tops of cabinets for Alfie,” Jason continued, pompous.
“I can jump above seven feet, so doesn’t that make me taller?”
“Jumping can only make you seven feet for a second, I’m up here all the time, we are not the same.”
“Okay, okay, stop, you’ve said enough,” Tim said, giggling into one hand and holding the other out to make Jason stop.
“I don’t think I’ve said enough - ”
“Boys!” Mrs. Joan reappeared at the side of their table holding two trays in her hands. “Are you fighting already?”
Jason and Tim looked at each other. “No, ma’am,” they chorused.
Levering them both a stern look, she set their respective trays in front of each other. “An Ivyburger with regular fries for you, and the Absolute Batburger with Robinfries and a Clocktower shake for you, my dear. Do you want anything else?”
“No, thank you,” Tim said.
Jason shook his head.
Mrs. Joan nodded at them. “Enjoy.” Turning more fully towards Tim, she added, “This one - ” she inclined her head toward Jason, “is sensitive. Be careful with him, hmm?”
“Hey - ”
“I will,” Tim promised.
Mrs. Joan left their table with a smile.
Jason pouted at her back just to be dramatic, but dropped it when he turned back to the table to see Tim in the middle of stealing one of his fries. “Hey!”
“Hm?” The last of the fry disappeared into Tim’s mouth. A fox’s smile appeared on his lips as he tilted his head to the side, innocent. “What?”
“You - !”
Tim’s smile widened. “Me?”
Jason continued to make sputtering outraged noises.
Tim slid his tray toward Jason. “Would you like to try my Ivyburger, Jason?”
Jason snatched up the burger with a sniff that he hoped conveyed the depth of his betrayed feelings. He took a small bite, and then forgot all about how he was pretending to feel outraged. “Oh my god, this is so fucking good! Tim, what the fuck!” He held it back out towards Tim.
Tim laughed. “Right?” he said, taking the burger and his tray back.
“God!” Jason said. “I’ve never even thought about ordering it. Now I’ll have to when I come back!” Jason thought Dick, who was vegetarian, might like it too.
Jason unwrapped his Batburger and offered it to Tim.
“I’ve never had the Absolute version,” Tim said, taking the burger from Jason.
“It’s the regular Batburger, but with extra meat and on steroids,” Jason promised fervently. “It’s so good.”
Jason watched closely as Tim opened his mouth and took a bite. Chewed. Swallowed. Evaluated. Finally, he nodded. “That is really good,” he said, handing the burger back to Jason. “I wasn’t expecting all those spices to be layered on top of each other, but they contrast really nicely with the nuttiness of the sauce.”
“Right? Right? Right?” Jason took a big bite of his own burger. He tipped his head back and groaned as the complex layer of flavors hit his tongue. “Sfo fu’ing ‘ood.”
He didn’t see Tim hiding the flush of his cheeks behind his own Ivyburger.
The rest of the dinner proceeded smoothly. Jason and Tim fell into a comfortable banter between bites, Tim gently ribbing Jason and Jason hamming up his responses to make Tim laugh.
Normally Jason found spending time with people tiring, but he didn’t feel that way with Tim. Despite thoughts of what if I mess up hovering in the back of his mind, they didn’t fill up the front of his brain the way they did when there were awkward silences or the other person seemed to be judging him. Tim just seemed too comfortable for Jason to feel anxious.
After they finished eating, Tim used some kind of ninja skills to get his credit card to Mrs. Joan before Jason did. Jason was used to winning when it came to feats of physicality based on his size alone, but Tim moved before Jason could process what had happened.
Tim wrapped up paying, then handed Jason his jacket and opened the door for Jason, like a perfect gentleman.
Jason waited for the doors to close after Tim before coughing awkwardly to get his attention. Tim turned to Jason, eyebrows raised.
Jason coughed again. “Hey, this is kind of. I know you said you owe me, or whatever, but, uh. You know I can afford all this stuff on my own, too, right?”
“Oh. Well. That…” Tim blushed. “Remember the spring Wayne Foundation gala from sophomore year?”
It was Jason’s first year back at Gotham Academy from the alternative therapeutic school. “Not… particularly.”
“You probably wouldn’t have. It wasn’t eventful,” Tim said, immediately assuaging any worries Jason had about having done something embarrassing at the gala. “But, um, I noticed that it was the first time you were back in a few years. I just wanted to say hello, I swear, but you spent all night talking with Alfred.”
That, Jason remembered. For the first few events after returning to the public eye, Jason stuck close to Alfred, anxious about what other people might think or say to him.
Tim continued, “You were by the buffet table and… well, I don’t remember the exact context, but basically you said that even though you know have an allowance now and Mr. Wayne will make sure you stay fed, there’s still a part of you that’s anxious about where your next meal is coming from, so you prefer not to spend your allowance.”
Tim turned his eyes on Jason and held both of Jason’s hands in his, strangely intense. Jason found himself holding his breath as Tim spoke. “Even though I know you can afford everything on your own, it’s my responsibility to pay because you’re doing me this huge favor. And, well… I don’t want you to use your own money for something you’re doing for me, y'know?”
Jason let Tim’s words marinate. “I guess I can see where you’re coming from,” he said. “I’d probably be the same way. It’s just… I think you think this is a bigger favor than it is. It’s really not a big deal.”
“I asked you to fake a relationship with me for a whole year, how is that not - ”
“Timmy, we’re friends, aren’t we?”
Tim startled. “Um. I guess that depends on you? I mean we started from a weird place, I know, but I’ve genuinely been enjoying spending time with you, and I think of you as a friend, but if you want to keep this professional then - ”
“Timothy!”
Tim’s jaw snapped shut.
“Relax,” Jason instructed, amused. “I think of us as friends, too. Which means you should stop feeling so bad about whatever you think you’re taking advantage of me for, or whatever.”
“This is still a lot to ask of a friend - ”
“Well, I don’t think so. This comes free with the Jason Wayne package, and you’re just going to have to suck that the fuck up.”
“What if me paying you back is part of the Tim Drake friendship package? What then?”
Jason narrowed his eyes at Tim.
Tim narrowed his right back at Jason.
They glared at each other, before they both broke down laughing.
“This is so stupid,” Tim giggled.
“The look - on your face - ” Jason choked out between snorts.
Jason attempted to school his face, but as soon as he made eye contact with Tim, they both started cracking up again.
Finally, they got their faces under control enough to look at each other again without laughing.
Jason said, “Okay, I guess we can agree that we’re friends and… we’ll agree to disagree.”
“For now.”
“For now,” Jason amended, amused.
They shook on it.
As they started walking home together, Tim started to say, “Okay, so for tomorrow - ”
Jason interrupted, “Can I suggest something for tomorrow?”
Tim’s head tilted to the side. “Yeah? You don’t have to, though; when I said all you had to do was come, I meant it - ”
Jason shook his head. “Nah, today was fun. I just… I had some ideas.”
“Oh!” Tim’s eyes widened for a moment, before his face split into a grin. “I’d love to hear them!”
Jason had been turning this idea around in his head since he thought of Dick. “What do you think about going to the fall fest?”
Tim’s eyebrows furrowed. “I’ve never heard of it?”
“Oh, you might not have. There’s a fall festival every year at Battery Park this weekend. Me ‘n Dick used to go every year, but he can’t because he’s at college this year. I thought… well, it would be nice to go with someone anyway.”
Tim’s expression softened. “Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude if this was, like, your thing with your brother.”
“I’m sure,” Jason said.
“Then I’d love to.”
Under the lamplight, Tim’s gentle smile made Jason’s breath catch. In a strange way, Tim reminded him of Dick. They were very different people, but the way they considered Jason so carefully felt similarly gentle.
“Good,” Jason said, after a beat. “It’ll be fun! We can have festival food and play the games.”
Tim brightened. “I love games!”
“Oh? In that case, do you want to hit up the arcade after? I go there all the time; the guy who’s at the front most of the time is one of my friends.”
Tim nodded so fast Jason thought his head might fall off. “I’m always on the lookout for new arcades.” He grinned at Jason. “I love this plan, Jason. Thank you.”
Jason felt his cheeks warm. “It’s nothing.”
Jason fell into his bed face first.
After a couple of seconds rubbing his face into his pillows, he rolled over onto his back.
Jason expected to feel more… anxious. He’d been expecting his social anxiety to rear its ugly head all day, and now that it hadn’t he didn’t know what to do with all the empty space. He’d spent all day with a boy he didn’t really know, and a rich one to boot. After this weekend, he would be known as ‘Tim Drake’s boyfriend.’ The judgment would come rushing in. He didn’t know if he was ready.
A gentle knock sounded at his door.
Jason rolled over again. “Come in,” he called.
The door cracked open, and Bruce poked his head in. “Hey, Jaylad.”
Jason shuffled over to make room for Bruce on the bed and motioned for Bruce to join him.
Bruce entered the room more fully and shut the door behind him. He was already wearing his silk pajamas. Bruce was pretty down-to-earth for a rich guy, but he still had his rich guy habits.
Bruce sat down on the bed next to Jason.
Jason immediately moved to put his head in Bruce’s lap. There was a time when Jason would rather be shot dead than ask for this kind of affection, and when Bruce wouldn’t know what to do with a child asking for affection, but the Bruce of today just moved his hand to Jason’s head and began to run his fingers through Jason’s hair.
“So… how was your date today?” Bruce asked after a few seconds of silence.
Jason groaned. “Ugh, not you too! Steph already has been making fun of me. It wasn’t a date! Tim just wants to make sure he has photos for proof if anyone needs it.”
“Timothy really has thought of everything,” Bruce said, thoughtful.
“He’s really smart,” Jason said. “He even said he was going to change the meta data of the photos, or whatever.”
Bruce hummed. “How did you feel about today?”
Jason shifted. “I don’t know. Not as anxious as I thought I’d be. Tim’s a cool guy. I wish….” Jason didn’t know how to put it into words. He wished he’d become friends with Tim sooner. He washed he wasn’t so fucked up, so that he could have become friends with Tim sooner. He wished he wasn’t always thinking about how he wasn’t good enough for the people around him, even people he wasn’t close to, like Tim. “Well. I guess I wish things were different.”
Bruce’s hand stilled. “Like… something different that you want me to do?”
Bruce had changed a lot, since Jason came to live with him. After their rocky start, Bruce was now anxious about if he was doing something that could be hurtful to Jason. Too anxious sometimes, in Jason’s opinion.
Jason shook his head. “No, nothing like that. I just wish I wasn’t born into Crime Alley, and things weren’t so hard, you know?”
“Oh, Jaylad.” Bruce resumed raking his hands through Jason’s hair. “I wish you knew how proud I am of you. I wish you saw all the work you’ve done as a strength, not a weakness. You’ve made me a better person.”
Jason dislodged Bruce’s hand and turned into Bruce’s body, burying his face in Bruce’s stomach and wrapping his arms around Bruce’s waist. Jason was almost as tall and as big as Bruce now, and he could easily hold Bruce in place. “I know you’re proud of me. I know that.”
“Maybe that’s not it, then.” Bruce’s hands rested gently on Jason’s back. “I want you to feel proud of yourself, too.”
Jason tightened his grip. He didn’t say anything.