Chapter Text
It was hard being Tim Drake-Wayne. Probably no one else would think that- being the adopted son of Gotham’s beloved philanthropist billionaire, no one would think to pity Tim. But then no one thinks to befriend him too. Oh, not the fawning, obviously favor-currying type of friendship he had to deal with the first few years after the adoption went through (he had been Bruce’s ward beforehand, but after it became official the obsequiousness levels went through the roof). No one actually wanted to be a true friend. At least, not to Tim. Not for a while.
His oldest brother handled it better- Dick Grayson, a born performer, was all charm and grace. It helped that he was naturally friendly. His second oldest brother handled it not at all- Jason Todd was a born rebel, came straight from the mean streets of Gotham (Bruce met Jason when the latter was trying to steel his hubcaps for goodness sake), and had never cared to please the upper crust circle of his adopted father. Bruce didn’t mind, all he cared for was that his sons were his sons, adopted or not. But Tim didn’t come from a traveling band of circus performers, nor was he from an abusive family from Crime Alley. Before becoming Bruce’s ward, he was solidly middle class, and that meant social norms like fitting in and being polite and friendly and having a social life had been taught and instilled in him from a young age. All the normcore stuff, he thought. But he also had anxiety and low self-esteem so it was a struggle even then. When he “hit the adoption jackpot”, as the gossip rags called it, the pressure to fit in got even worse. Asking his brothers for advice hadn’t really helped- Dick just said he’ll get used to it, and Jason just said to fuck it all. So Tim decided to strike a middle ground. This meant being as perfect as he can on the outside, and then being his true self when he was alone in his room.
His true self being a slob, a caffeine addicted mess who was online 24/7 on his laptop while in bed. Or at least the hours of the day and the days of the week that their butler and caretaker Alfred would let him hide out in his room. When night comes, Tim stayed up late not to do homework like Jason (the secret nerd) or party like Dick (ever the social butterfly), but to play games and post memes and just be his online self- someone without the social expectations and the anxiety. He goes by PrimeSB, after Superboy, his favorite comic book character. Oh, he has an official Wayne account- his father’s PR team handles that, but for himself he’s PrimeSB on all social media platforms. He keeps it anonymous though, and is careful not to include anything that could hint at PrimeSB being the same person as Tim Drake-Wayne. It kinda worked, in a way. At school he was quiet and polite and obliging to the sons and daughters of rich people, at home he was the quiet younger brother, but online he was a foul-mouthed memelord. He had online friends from around the world and oh, one more important thing. Online, he was out. As in, gay.
He was out to his family too, and they were very welcoming, loving and understanding (Dick had been out as bisexual for a while) but he had chosen not to come out in any other place outside the manor. It wasn’t anyone else’s business, Tim decided. It would probably be a media nightmare, he thought, at least from what he remembered from Dick’s public coming out. And anyway it would only contribute to his barely managed social anxiety. But behind the PrimeSB username, he could be as out as he wanted. And anyway, he was only seventeen. It wasn’t like he was going to do anything with being gay, right? Never been kissed at seventeen, to Dick’s mild surprise and Jason’s gruff approval (he could get very protective). But online he had all the support he could ever need, and the thought of his online friends were what sustained him through the drudgery of having to be pleasant to the snobbish kids at school. There was one particular online friend, lately, that occupied most of his thoughts.
RedRobinTT, who identified as a male bisexual from Kansas, of all places, was someone he met at an online forum about the Teen Titans comic books. They hit it off right away, and just like their usernames they became the best of friends. RedRobinTT was the only one who Tim would constantly chat and text with, even outside the hours he was online. They’d shoot the shit about just anything, and RedRobinTT was probably the person Tim felt the most comfortable with. He even, on a particularly trying day, confided about his feelings of being out of place, the closest he got to ever saying anything truly personal to anyone outside his family.
“Hey, I get it. I mean, I’m adopted so I know how it feels to be in place but also out of place?”
RedRobinTT had replied, and that was the moment their friendship was truly cemented.
“I’m adopted too!” Tim typed out before thinking. RedRobinTT replied with a bunch of smiling emojis and “adoption bros!”
One night, after decimating RedRobinTT in a chat Scrabble game, his friend asked the question Tim didn’t know he was dreading to hear, ever.
“Hey, can I call you?”
With sweating palms, Tim typed and erased and then typed again a response for a solid five minutes.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to. Just thought, we’d never actually heard or seen each other haha”
Tim bit his lip. What could go wrong? Everything, his mind treacherously replied. He could turn out to be just like everyone at school. Or not, Tim debated his own mind. Maybe he’s just, you know, normal. Like he’s always been. His fingers hovered over his laptop keyboard. He screwed his eyes shut and typed in “sure”. A few seconds after RedRobinTT was on videocall. Tim carefully hit the no video button and answered the call. The chat window opened up to a screen, and there was RedRobinTT, from a cell phone screen. Oh no, Tim thought. He’s fucking gorgeous. He immediately regretted his decision.
On screen, RedRobinTT was smiling but his brows were furrowed. Oh gods he looks like an Insta-model, Tim thought again, and his insides felt loopy.
“Hey, you’re video’s not on?”
Oh and of course he has a deep voice. My god what do they eat over at Kansas? Probably all those corn, Tim continued talking to himself internally, forgetting he was on a call. Eventually RedRobinTT frowned, and said,
“Um, hello?”
Tim finally remembered and croaked out, to his forever embarrassment, an answering hello. RedRobinTT’s face broke out in a relieved grin.
“Ah there you are.”
“Yeah.”
“So... no video?”
“Um...”
“S’okay. You want me to turn mine off too? Didn’t know you just wanted a voice call.”
Tim said no so fast it surprised even himself. RedRobinTT just smiled.
“So, I’m Conner, by the way. You can call me Con, or Kon with a K. It’s my nickname.”
And here, a conundrum. Of course they couldn’t call each other their online handles. He’d been getting by with hey, bro and guy in their chats but now that there was an actual human face on the other end it seemed weird and wrong to not give an actual name. But then again, the very reason Tim was online in the first place was the anonymity of it. He bit his lip. Conner had given him a true name, going by the honesty of his deep voice and handsome face. God, he was actually going to do it, wasn’t he?
“I’m Tim. Sorry about the video.”
“Don’t worry about it. If you’re not comfortable, it’s fine.”
“It’s... not that I’m not comfortable.”
“Oh?”
“Um.”
What to say? How to say it? Tim found solace in his online persona and managed a hauteur he didn’t have in real life personal interactions.
“It’s just that you probably couldn’t handle me.”
Conner, or Kon, broke out in laughter.
“Really? You think I can’t handle you?”
High on the rush of a gambit working, Tim replied with continued haughtiness. “You couldn’t handle me even if I came with instructions.”
The video showed Kon leaning back and putting a hand behind his head, inadvertently showing off a bicep. Tim almost gulped. And of course he’s got the body to match the voice and the face. Kon grinned at the camera, and said, “Just because you won one round of scrabble you’re all high and mighty, huh?”
“What can I say? I’m good at what I do.”
“And does that include flirting with me?”
“I- what?” Tim’s brain momentarily glitched. He didn’t hear what he just heard, did he? He watched Kon lick his lips (a gesture Tim would later on find as just a thing Kon did when he had dry lips, and not something he did to drive Tim crazy on purpose). Kon still had a smile on his face, and didn’t seem fazed by what he had just said.
“So, anyway, how’s your day been?”
Is he just going to pretend that he didn’t say that? Tim thought. He didn’t say anything back for a while and Kon looked worried again.
“Hey, you still there? Must be my internet...”
“I’m here!” Tim hurriedly replied.
“Oh, you were quiet for a bit.”
“Yeah, I ah... just, you know.” Tim floundered. “Uh, you said, flirting and I was... I dunno I was surprised?”
“Huh? Oh. You. Weren’t you flirting...?”
“ME? Oh no. No no no no no. I wouldn’t know how to flirt if it saved my life.”
“Shucks, sorry. Just, you said that line about handling you and I thought... jeez I’m such a goober.” Kon replied, face flushed and apologetic. Tim had only known Kon’s face for just minutes, but he already knew he didn’t like seeing it embarrassed.
“Oh no! You’re fine! Sorry I should... shit sorry I didn’t know that was flirting?” Tim said in all honesty. It brought a smile back to Kon’s face at least. Tim felt immediate relief, and what was that about really.
“Should’ve known you wouldn’t know what flirting is. Half the time I’ve been trying to over chats and you always just send me memes in reply.” Kon ended with a chuckle. Tim felt his brain short circuit again. Kon... had been flirting with him? Jesus Christ and all that’s mighty. Tim what the fuck is wrong with you? Never mind Kon not being able to handle him, Tim couldn’t even handle his own self.
“Were you?”
“Um, it’s kinda embarrassing to admit it now but yeah.”
Kansas corn must also provide boundless confidence because wow Tim would never be able to say that, not in a million years, and while smiling to boot. What to do? What to say? This was flirting? This was feelings? Who even knew. Tim’s eyes saw the no video button. He bit his lip again. What could go wrong, he thought. Everything, his mind supplied. Well, fuck it, he answered, recalling his older brother’s advice. He clicked on the button.
“Oh, hey there you are.” Kon’s smile grew wider. And for the first time in a while, Tim smiled a genuine smile back.