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“I’m in love with you.”
Tim could only stare as Marinette’s confession rang through the clearing where she asked him to meet that late afternoon.
He didn’t think he’d ever hear those words fall from her lips—not because of the implication behind them, but because of the timing.
After months of waiting and wondering, Tim hadn’t expected them to come now, of all times.
Maybe because he had hoped it wouldn’t be now.
Marinette stood there fidgeting nervously at his lack of response, clearly doubting her decision to pour her heart out to him, and god , he wanted nothing more than to grab her face and kiss her senseless.
...but he couldn’t, because in two days Red Robin would be leaving on a three-month undercover mission. No contact, no communication, no nothing.
How could he tell her he loved her just to let her down?
How could he possibly ask her to wait for him without knowing if he’d ever return?
Even if he told her of his job as a vigilante, he would have to leave in a few days’ time, not to mention the danger knowing his identity would put her in.
Marinette might have been extraordinary, but she was still a civilian.
He loved her too much to let her get hurt.
So he steeled his emotions, put on a carefully blank mask, and hoped she could forgive whatever he said next.
“Why would I ever date someone like you?”
Marinette immediately recoiled at his harsh tone and took a step back.
Her face adopted a look between hurt and confusion, and Tim felt his chest ache because he did that.
“What? But I thought—”
“You thought what? That I liked you?”
I love you.
He forced himself to laugh, but it sounded wrong to his own ears.
“You will never be good enough for me.”
You’re too good for me.
“I-Tim, are you okay? This isn’t like you.”
He forced himself to channel the Tim Drake side of Tim Drake-Wayne, all unflinching glares and ice-cold stares.
Her eyes flitted over his face, as if searching for something. A hint of emotion, maybe.
But he couldn’t let her see him cracking beneath his stone mask.
“I’m your friend. If something’s wrong, I can help.”
He shrugged her hand of his shoulder harshly.
“We’re not friends,” he snapped.
We were never just friends.
“What?”
“Don’t you get it? I lied . I only ever talked to you to get you to stop annoying me.”
I’m sorry. IloveyouI’msorry—
The words finally struck a chord in Marinette, and she blinked rapidly in a vain attempt to stop her tears.
But she couldn’t hide her pain, because regardless of Tim’s detective skills, she always wore her heart on her sleeve.
It was one of the many things he loved about her.
“Is that how you really feel?”
The whispered words sounded so broken , almost as much as his heart.
No.
“Yes.”
His response was robotic and so utterly fake , but Marinette was too deep in her own head to notice.
Her cheeks shone with dampness, and Tim felt the unbearable urge to pull her close in his arms and kiss her tear-streaked face.
It tore him apart to see her try and hide behind her hair, as if he was someone she had to hide from.
He tried not to think about weeks ago, when a sobbing Marinette ran into his arms for comfort and he promised he’d never make her cry.
He was a liar, and Marinette hated liars—but he’d gladly take her animosity if it meant she was safe.
He’d rather her hate him than get hurt for loving him.
She looked up, and he felt his world stop as her enchanting blue eyes met his.
Her lips moved, forming syllables he couldn’t understand through the deafening roar in his ears that told him to drop to his knees and beg for forgiveness.
They sounded a lot like “goodbye.”
This reaction of numb acceptance wasn’t one Tim had expected, and a dreaded feeling in his gut said he had hurt her more than intended.
He diverted his eyes away from her retreating form, staring blankly at the rose bushes to his right. There were never roses before Marinette came to Gotham.
His brain whispered that it wasn’t too late for him to chase after her, and it took all of his willpower to not give in.
Every cell in his body urged him to run to her regardless of the consequences, like one of those cheesy romance movies where they bypassed airport security just to tell the love of their life to stay.
But he shoved his emotions down, down, down, until all he felt was numb.
It could have been hours after her footsteps left when Tim finally fell to his knees and cried.