Chapter Text
Tim and Jason eat dinner before patrol.
“Don’t look at me like that Timbo, you don’t even need the spaghetti why are you giving me puppy dog eyes, oh jesus christ I made enough for one Tim, one!”4
Tim smiles. The pasta was delicious.
The night is slow, it’s not freezing, but it’s not yet warm enough to encourage the mass amounts of crime seen during summer. Spring is taking her sweet time coming to Gotham.
A robbery is foiled, then a kidnapping, it’s barely even one in the morning when they get a message over the coms.
“Hood, Red, “ Oracle’s voice echoes in Tim’s ear, “Ivy’s been spotted downtown. Nothing serious yet, let’s keep it that way.”
Tim nods knowing she’s probably watching them through one of her many cameras. “On it Oracle.”
“Bet someone’s been using too much pesticides on their houseplants,” Jason jokes. “It’s odd for her to be out and about this early.”
It is strange. Normally Ivy wouldn’t be up and moving for another month, unless something drastic happened, like real bad or someone bothered her. Jason’s adopted Dick’s habit of joking to hide his real feelings. When you’re a Bat, you joke to hide your feelings, or you go the route of Bruce and probably Damian, pretend you have none then sob while texting your sons because the free cocktails were stronger than believed.
Downtown is a short five minutes away. The GCPD are waiting outside an apartment building, Jason stays on the roof (he is still sort of a murderer after all, there's only so much the police can excuse), while Tim grapples to stand beside Commissioner Gordon.
“Ivy’s been spotted on the fifth floor, no one’s been reported dead, no hostages, it still hasn’t been moved into. Can’t be sure there aren’t squatters being held so we haven’t gone in yet.”
Tim nods. “Thank you Commissioner, we’ll handle it.”
Gordon only grunts before Tim’s zipping back up to where is Jason is. He relays the information.
“I’m still not sure about her having no hostages. Ivy’s always liked you little bird, you go in the front, I’ll sneak in through the back, see if she’s got anyone stashed away,” Jason readies his glocks, “Don’t worry, they’re just tranqs tonight.”
Tim scoffs. “That’s not what I was worried about. I’m more concerned about you shooting yourself and having to carry your big ass home.”
Jason lets out a gasp of insult. “How dare you! I’ll have you know I keep myself trim!”
He hoots out laughter before grappling for the back of the building.
Tim shakes his head smiling. It’s quick work opening a window from the floor above. Like the polite young man he is, Tim even knocks when he gets to the apartment Ivy’s in.
She opens the door on the second knock. The normally rich jade of her skin is pale. Ivy yawns trying to wipe the sleep from her eyes. “Come in Red Robin.”
“Hello Ivy, any particular reason you’re up so soon?”
She fixes her emerald eyes on him, suddenly very awake. “You’re different,”
Her eyes roves up and down his body.
Somehow through the whole being dead thing, Tim still manages to feel a chill go down his spine.
“Not a clue what you mean Ivy.”
“Red Robin, you and I have never played stupid with each other, let’s not start now.”
Reluctantly, he nods in agreement.
She gives him a once over again, her brows crinkling in thought. Ivy picks up one of his hands, feeling the chill even through the gauntlet.
“You feel the same as me, and yet so different. One thing’s for certain, you’re not human anymore. Though, now that I draw on my memories of our first meetings, I’m not entirely sure you were all that human to start with,” she looks him square in the eye, seemingly straight into his own rapidly moving thoughts.
“I think,” Ivy begins, “I think that we’re alike in that neither of us are entirely human. But I think we’re on different realms of being. You don’t have the same vibration as I, it feels as though you’re no longer living where as I am growing constantly. I think that’s it.”
Well, even if there was any doubt in the beginning, there’s none now. Tim’s for sure dead.
“Are you going to tell Batman?” he asks tentatively.
Ivy strokes his face with her hand, it feels warm. Odd considering she had always been so much cooler than himself.
“Little bird, your secret is safe. Batman will hear nothing from my lips.” A rush of relief goes through Tim. Now that he knows Ivy won’t say anything, he can focus on why she’s up.
“I thought you didn’t wake up until after April showers, we haven’t had too much rain yet.”
“I try to sleep as long as I can help it, but something woke me up. My babies and feelers felt something come into town yesterday and woke me up. They said something unusual came to town. Red Robin, I know that according to your own moral code I am by no other word a villain, and according to many human’s opinions, evil. Now being myself not the most upstanding person of ethics, my next words have dire meaning. The thing in town, it’s evil.”
Great, cause Tim couldn’t be turned by just any old morally gray vampire, no, it had to be an evil vampire.
“My plants, my brave little soldiers, recoiled Robin. The thing that came to town made them run for me. Watch yourself bird. Things are coming, things have already arrived, and some things, some never left at all.”
Tim thinks. He knows he shouldn’t keep this from Bruce, but he’s still afraid of what Bruce would say, what he would do. He can handle this on his own, he’s done it before.
“Thank you Ivy, I appreciate it. You haven’t broken any serious laws, the GCPD is willing to let you return to Robinson Park to sleep again.”
“Yes, I think I’d like that. Also, Red Robin, tell your boyfriend in the back I know he’s there,” there’s a smirk on Ivy’s face as she says that.
Tim freezes.
“He’s uh, he’s not my boyfriend.”
“Whatever you say dear,” she leans down to whisper in his ear, “I’m rather fond of the bad ones myself, and I have to say you picked very nice.”
Tim can feel himself blushing (and oh that’s interesting, maybe when he’s freshly fed his body behaves more like he’s living, Jason did say something about him feeling warmer than before).
Red Hood steps out from the back bedroom.
“Games up Red Robin, our secret love has been discovered. Drat to you Ivy.”
Ivy chuckles. “If only Harley were here, she’d love you. Let’s get going, there’s a dirt bed that’s calling me.”
It’s easy to get Ivy back to the park. The rest of their patrol goes smoothly. After muting their mics Tim and Jason discuss the visit with Ivy.
“That’s real concerning. On the bright side, if this thing is so evil, maybe ol’ dad will let me use big boy bullets again.”
The window to Jason’s apartment is open when they return. Automatically they’re both on high alert. It had been shut when they left.
Jason motions for him to stay behind him, ridiculous considering Tim’s not likely to be the one hurt, but whatever.
The apartment smells like cigarettes. There’s a tall figure standing in front of the other window, silhouette highlighted by the moon. A single ember near where their face is illuminates the rising plume of cigarette smoke.
“So, I heard you have a vampire problem.”