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Tim took a deep breath. Then another. Then another. He wrung his hands together, staring at the heavy french doors in front of him. A hand landed on his shoulder, upsetting his even breathing and setting his heart racing.
"I'll be right out here if you need me, okay?" Dick asked, and Tim nodded, eyes not moving from the door. He took one more deep breath and closed his eyes, reaching out to push down on the handle and let the door swing open.
When he opened his eyes, he was staring at Bruce, hunched over his desk and reading over something. He shut the door behind him, and Bruce's eyes flicked up at him when the latch clicked.
"Yes, Tim?" He asked, picking up a pen and signing the document on his desk.
"Bruce, I, uh, I need to talk to you about something," Tim said, taking a few steps forward. "Something important."
At that, Bruce set his pen aside and looked up.
"Have a seat," He said, motioning to the chairs on Tim's side of the desk. He slid into one quickly, already feeling like he was in trouble. "What's going on?"
"Bruce, I, um, I need to tell you something," Tim said, looking down at his lap and wringing his hands again. "I've been wanting to tell you this for a, a while now."
"What is it?" Bruce asked, furrowing his brows. Tim took a deep breath. Then another. Then a shorter one. Then there were tears welling in his eyes. "Tim, what's the matter?"
"I-I," Tim choked out, his bottom lip trembling. "I broke the vase in the front hall."
That. That was what he blurted out.
And it was true, he and Damian had been fighting and Damian had pushed him into it, but they had cleaned it up and replaced it with a different vase and neither brought it up again. Aside from seeing Alfred tilt his head at it before dusting it, Tim didn't think anyone had noticed.
Also that was like four months ago, but apparently that was the best his brain could come up with. Why was he the smart one? He was a moron.
"Tim, it's okay, it's nothing to cry about," Bruce said with a chuckle. He got up from his seat and strode around the desk until he was in front of Tim. "Come here."
Tim got to his wobbly legs and felt himself being pulled into Bruce's arms, and he choked out a sob he'd been holding back. He could feel Bruce's small laugh again.
"As long as you cleaned it up and no one was hurt, it doesn't matter," He said, and Tim nodded, biting his lip. "We don't even have to tell anyone, okay? Don't worry about it, Sport."
"Okay," Tim nodded, stepping back and drying his face on his sleeve, letting out a sniffle.
"Aw, Bud," Bruce said, squeezing Tim's shoulder. "I'm not mad, promise. Go ahead and let Alfred know what you want for dinner, okay? Your choice."
Tim nodded again, hurrying out of Bruce's office and shutting the door behind him. Dick pushed off of the wall where he'd been leaning, brows knit in concern.
"How'd it go?" Dick asked.
"I couldn't do it," Tim shook his head, and Dick frowned at him with sympathy. "I told him I broke the vase in the front hall."
"The blue one?" Dick asked, furrowing his brows. "On the front table? You didn't break that."
"Damian and I did in February," Tim said, raising a brow at his brother.
"No way, I just saw it there," Dick shook his head and started for the stairs.
"Dick, I threw it out months ago," Tim called as he followed after his older brother, only to find that yes, Tim did break it, and yes, that was an entirely different vase, and no, Dick didn't pay that good of attention when it didn't matter.
So maybe the office was too much pressure. Maybe Tim was just too nervous to say it when he sat in the same chairs he and Damian sat in when they were being grounded.
And there were plenty of times when he wasn’t sitting there that he and Bruce could talk. Like patrol, they could talk on patrol.
Damian and Dick were off on their once-a-week team up, following a lead on the Penguin in uptown. Tim was trailing Bruce like the old days, except he was a bit taller, as they made their way through crime alley. There was something going on and it had a distinct Riddler vibe. Or at least Tim deduced that from the riddle they had found in a warehouse by the docks that had led them to crime alley. Now they were investigating.
“Hey, B?” Tim asked, sweeping his binoculars over the cityscape. He was looking high, Bruce was looking low.
“Yes?” Bruce asked, and Tim could tell he wasn’t looking directly at him. Perfect.
“I have something to tell you,” He said, and he caught a glimpse of green out of the corner of his eye. Turned out to be a light glowing from a cell tower.
“What is it, Robin?” Bruce asked, and Tim’s heart swelled. Sure, they all got called Robin when alone sometimes, but it was nice to be part of that group in Bruce’s eyes.
“B, I’m-“
Before Tim could finish his sentence, the building they were on was shaking after being hit, and the pair ran to the side to look down.
Superboy was groaning as he got to his feet, glancing up at the wall he had hit and seeing the cracked bricks.
“Superboy!” Tim shouted before he could stop himself. Conner looked up higher, smiling up at the dynamic duo.
“Hey, Red!” He called back, flying up to be eye level with them. “Sorry about the damage, Mr. Batman, Sir. I got thrown from Metropolis.”
“Just be more careful, Superboy,” Bruce said, and Tim could hear the frustration in his voice. He didn’t want metas in his city, but yet again they just show up.
“Kon?” Tim asked, chuckling at his friend. Kon raised a brow at him in question. “Metropolis?”
“Right!” He said, offering them a wave. “Catch ya’ later, Rob.”
“You too,” Tim said as he flew off. He could see Batman return to his surveillance on the ground out of the corner of his eye as he smiled in the direction of Metropolis.
“There,” Bruce said, waving Tim over, and Tim looked through his own binoculars to see a question mark stuck on a window down below.
Tim was going to do it, he had to. He had chickened out so many times now, and he had to say something.
It was early morning, and Tim was still awake from the night before. He’d been too nervous to sleep, and he got up out of bed as soon as he knew Bruce would be jumping in the shower. It wasn’t the first time he’d done it.
Bruce knew he had a lot of trouble talking about his problems, so he said if he ever needed to talk to someone without anyone looking at him or pressuring him, he could talk to Bruce while he was in the shower.
He’d done it quite a few times after his dad died, sitting on the floor against the vanity and staring at the intricate ‘W’ on Bruce’s shower curtain as he talked through some stuff. Even when he was with Steph and she was pregnant and he was so conflicted about everything and uncertain, he’d sit beside the shower where he could feel the steam and chat.
This time, Tim moved to sit on the vanity, not yet damp from the shower steam. Bruce hadn’t been in long.
“It’s me,” Tim announced, though he was sure Bruce knew that. He tugged on his hoodie strings, tying them in a knot and untying them a few times before he opened his mouth again. Bruce didn’t say anything, exactly how Tim was used to. It was just easier this way.
“Bruce, there’s been something I’ve been trying to tell you, and it’s really not easy for me to say,” Tim said, reaching down to touch the quartz counter beneath him. It was still cool, the condensation gathering quickly as the air warmed. “Bruce-“
Tim paused as his phone started ringing in his pocket. He pulled it out, fully ready to silence it, when he saw who was calling.
“Hey, Kon, can I call you back?” Tim asked, lifting the phone to his ear.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah, just in the middle of something,” Tim explained, and he could see Bruce poke his head out and raise a brow.
“Okay. Just wanted to hear your voice. Call me when you’re done.”
“Yeah, I will,” Tim said, biting his lip as he hung up. Bruce smiled as he pulled his head back into the shower. “Bruce, I like boys. Guys. I’m, uh, I’m gay.”
Tim could hear the shower turn off, and he closed his eyes as he knew to do. Not that Bruce cared, none of them other than himself were particularly shy, but he didn’t want to look at Bruce in general.
“I’ve been trying to say that to you for a while, and I know it’s probably kind of weird since I dated Stephanie and everything but I just needed to get that off my chest,” Tim rambled. “I told Dick, but only because I needed help figuring out what to say to you and he knows you best and-“
“Tim?”
Tim finally opened his eyes, saw that Bruce was tying his robe shut. He was looked at Tim with a smirk.
“I know,” Bruce said finally, coming over to put a hand on his shoulder. “I’ve known for a while.”
“You have?” Tim asked, eyes widening. “Why did you let me tell you I broke the vase?”
“To be honest, I hadn’t even noticed it was gone,” Bruce shrugged a shoulder. “And I thought if you weren’t comfortable telling me yet, I wasn’t going to say anything.”
“How long have you known?”
“Listen, Sport,” Bruce said, moving to sit on the vanity beside him. “You’ve been walking around smiling at your phone, and spending more time in your room than normal. I know when something is going on with one of you boys. And I had a few guesses. I hadn’t heard you talking about a new girl, and I hadn’t seen you with them at school or anything. That meant either you were seeing someone who wasn’t a girl or you and Damian were hiding something. And since Damian wasn’t acting strange, that gave me my answer.”
“And you’re okay with it?” Tim asked. “Like, me dating boys?”
“It’s no different than you dating girls,” Bruce said with a shrug. “But you know that means the rules change. Conner can’t be in your room with the door shut, and I expect to know when he’s here.”
“I didn’t say anything about Conner,” Tim said, furrowing his brows and blushing. He hoped it was masked by the steam in the room.
“Didn’t have to,” Bruce said, cupping the back of Tim’s neck and pulling him forward to place a kiss on his forehead. “A father knows.”
“Thanks, Bruce,” Tim said, leaning in for a hug.
“Anytime, kiddo,” Bruce ruffled his hair. “Now go call him back and invite him over for dinner. I’d like to talk to him out of uniform sometime.”
“Really?” Tim asked, lighting up as he pulled back. Bruce nodded, clapping him on the back. “Thanks, Bruce. You’re the best.”
Bruce smiled as Tim pulled his phone out of his pocket and headed out the door. As he left Bruce’s room, he heard another one of his kids come in. And based on the heavier footsteps, he knew it was Dick appearing in the bathroom doorway.
“Well?”
“He told me,” Bruce nodded, and Dick beamed at him.
“Thanks for not telling him I accidentally told you,” Dick said, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Tim was gone. “He’d be so mad.”
“To be fair, I think he’s a bit too distracted to be mad,” Bruce chuckled, getting up and heading to his bedroom with his oldest on his heels.