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Tim balanced near the edge of the building, slowly getting closer and closer. His camera was poised, his muscles were tense, he could just imagine how beautiful this shot would be.
The vigilantes were positioned perfectly, a large crescent moon outlining their silhouettes. They looked invincible there, bathed in moonlight and shadow.
Nightwing was on Hellhound’s back, leaning forward to whisper something in a flat, listening ear. The Wolf’s head was lifted and proud. Flecks of moonlight shone on his fur, making him glisten silver.
The Druid was relaxed into the Werewolf’s neck, completely comfortable on the back of the dangerous mythical creature.
The fox inside of Tim perked up at seeing another Creature like him. He only met a couple other Creatures in the circuit of the Gotham aristocracy and none of them had a canine shift. Werewolves and Kitsunes were cousins in Creature lineage and something inside Tim whined to go meet the other dog.
Other than his parents, he had never met another canine, and they didn’t shift anymore.
His father stopped fully shifting into his Kitsune form years ago, and Tim only had faint memories of falling asleep next to russet fur. Occasionally when his father allowed himself to relax at the Manor, he would drop his full human glamour and let his tails and his ears show.
His mother didn’t shift at all, not even partially. He had never seen her in full Kitsune form. He didn’t know how many tails she had. He didn’t even know what colour her fur was, though he guessed it was something light to match Tim’s almost fully white coat.
Tim had always gotten the sense that they thought their Kitsune shift was below them, but they never stayed around long enough to prove Tim wrong or right.
Which was fine…
He had learned to make do with seeing his parents five times a year. He had learned to get used to a constantly empty home. He had learned how to live with a family or really any friends.
He had learned.
But that didn’t mean he didn’t silently want things to be different.
Tim watched as the pair of brothers began to bicker with each other. The Wolf must have said something, because the Druid was laughing and patting the Wolf’s side in his mirth.
Once he caught his breath, the Druid said something snarky and the Wolf startled. He playfully nipped at the Druid, jaws coming close to the Druid’s tail as he tried to catch it. The Druid swacked, flicking his tail out of reach, even as Wolf kept whipping around to try to bite it.
Tim had seen them start this game a dozen times. Sometimes Jason would catch Dick’s tail and drag Dick off his back to wrestle with him on the ground. Sometimes Dick would successfully evade Jason’s jaws and spin the Wolf around until they were both dizzy. They were just playing, like the brothers they were.
It looked so familiar and so… nice.
Like there wasn’t anywhere else in the world they would rather be.
It was starkly different from the hollowness that ate at his own insides.
His family who was on the other side of the globe, far away from Tim.
The sudden burst of loneliness cut right into his heart and he couldn’t hold back the whimper that tore from his throat.
The sound was loud in the Gotham night and the vigilantes immediately perked, two sets of pointed ears straight and honing in on him.
Tim scrambled to hide, stuffing his hand in his mouth and shoving himself behind the AC unit he had been using for cover. Maybe, if he was lucky, they would think he’s just a cat and…
There was the thump of four paws landing on the roof and the sniff of a nose to the ground.
He was stupid to think he could hide from a Wolf. Especially one that had been trained in tracking by Batman.
Which left one other option.
He shifted, trading two legs for four and feeling his two tails burst forth from where they were hidden behind a glamour. His fur instantly made him feel warmer and he could have sighed at how nice it felt to shift when he had forced himself to remain hidden for so long.
He almost did slump right there against the dirty building wall, just because of how nice it felt, but then there was a whuff and a sniffing nose getting steadily closer.
Now was not time for relaxation.
Tim shot like a bullet out from under the air conditioning unit, narrowly missing slamming right into the Werewolf’s face.
The Wolf reared back with a sharp yelp and the Druid on his back squawked as he scrambled to dig his hands into fur.
Tim ran to the other side of the roof jumping onto the ledge and-
The next roof suddenly seemed so far away. And the ground seemed to be hundreds of feet below and if he didn’t make this jump then… then…
“Hey!” Nightwing shouted, making Tim’s head whip back.
Nightwing was standing in front of Hellhound, arms out forward like he was trying to calm a scared animal. “Hey, why don’t we all calm down…”
“Like hell,” the Wolf behind him snapped, his jaws flashing with his snarl. “He’s someone’s little fox spy. I say we grab him.”
Tim shivered, his thoughts a frantic mess inside his head. He couldn’t let Jason catch him because then they would take him to Batman and then they might figure out who he was and then they might call his parents and …
He couldn’t let his parents be bothered with him.
They would just stay away from him longer if he was a nuisance and he already hadn’t seen them for two months.
Tim couldn’t give them any reason for them to want to avoid him more.
Tim gulped and looked back at the other building. He swallowed down his fear and tensed his legs and… leapt.
“Shit!” Jason’s voice said behind Tim as he landed on the other roof and began to sprint towards the next building.
Tim’s heart was pounding in his chest. His breath was a frantic puff in the air around him. His paws ached from the harsh rooftop gravel. He didn’t let himself think of the drop below him when he jumped. He didn’t let himself think about the possibility of falling. He didn’t let himself think of what could happen if he was caught.
Tim bounced between buildings, leading the Werewolf and his rider through a twisted path across the Gotham skyline. He wouldn’t be able to keep this up. His agility was the only thing that was keeping him at least somewhat ahead, but the Wolf would catch up eventually. He was so much bigger than Tim and actually had practice running up and down the roofs of Gotham. But maybe if Tim could find a fire escape and then mayb—
A crack of bone.
Under his skin as he landed wrong.
An instant tearing pain lighting up his entire left arm.
Tim yelped as he skidded to a halt on the rooftop, landing on his face and chest. Everything ached. Gravel filled his vision and caught in his fur. The moon was a wicked smile in the sky above him, almost like it was grinning at the little fox about to be eaten by a Wolf.
The Werewolf landed delicately on the roof and his eyes instantly found Tim’s slumped, white form. The Druid on his back straightened, eyes narrow and hard.
He slid off the Wolf’s back, landing easily on both feet. His long tail swayed behind him, the tip twitching every couple of seconds.
“Hey, little fox,” the Druid said, approaching the Kitsune with open hands like he was coming towards a scared animal. “Why don’t we have a little chat?”
Tim whimpered and tested some weight on his hurt foot. The limb immediately screamed, sharp agony spiking from his toes to his shoulder, and Tim yelped.
It was terrifyingly clear that he wasn’t going to be able to run anymore, which meant he had to stay and think of something he could say to save him now.
What… what could he say that didn’t make him seem like a spy?
That he was just taking pictures of them?
No, that was suspicious.
That he was just Tim Drake, their neighbour?
No, that gave away that he knew that Nightwing and Hellhound were Dick Grayson and Jason Todd.
“How do you know those names?” Nightwing snapped, his ears flicked forward and intent on him. The gentle tone in his voice was gone and replaced with something chillingly colder.
“Know what names?” the Wolf asked, eyes switching between the Druid and Tim.
“Dick Grayson and Jason Todd.”
Almost imperceptibly, the Wolf tensed, muscles going stone under his skin. When his eyes met Tim’s, they were hard and dangerous.
“Who told you those names?” the Wolf repeated the Druid’s question, but with a feral growl. “What business do you have with them?”
“No business,” Tim forced himself to say. His belly was pressed to the ground and his two tails were tucked between his legs. “I don’t know who those people are.”
The Druid hissed, his tail swinging with irritation. “Don’t lie to a Druid, fox. I can tell.”
Tim froze, his fear rising so much that it was eating up all the other thoughts in his brain.
Stupid. He was so stupid. He thought he could outrun them. He thought he could lie to them.
Of course, he couldn’t.
They were Nightwing and Hellhound. Vigilantes. Batman’s protégés.
And he was just stupid little Tim Drake.
The Bats didn’t kill but… he was spying on them.
He had made himself their enemy.
And if there was one thing that could test that ‘no killing’ rule, it was a threat to their close-knit family.
Tim’s ears were flat against his skull as he stared up at the Wolf towering over him. A canine part of him told him to roll over and show the Wolf his belly, but a human prt of him screeched about how dumb that was.
Which would the Wolf respond to more? Canine or human?
The Wolf snarled, flashing Tim every one of his razor-sharp fangs.
Tim could imagine those teeth sinking into his skin. Fangs like steak knives picking him, shaking all the life out of him. The crush of his bones as they snapped under pressure and… and…
And…
Tim couldn’t breathe.
His lungs worked furiously as he tried to desperately take in air. Air was going through his nose, his mouth, but nothing stayed. Nothing relieved the burn in his chest or made the dots in his vision lessen.
He couldn’t breathe.
He whined, high-pitched and terrified, as the world began to grow fuzzy.
He couldn’t breathe.
Somewhere in the distance, there were voices. Hands too. Fingers in the fur of his ruff. The swirl of maybe a face.
Tim didn’t figure out who it was.
He blacked out before he could.
When he came to, there was a tongue lapping down his fur and clearing away his sour fear scent.
It was… surprising and… nice?
So so nice, especially considering he was expecting teeth and pain.
He whined, a question in the sound and the Wolf above him murmured before continuing to lick him.
Tim practically purred into the soft ministrations, tilting his head back to give the Wolf access under his chin.
This must be a dream. One of the best dreams he ever had. He refused to open his eyes, too afraid that doing that would shatter the illusion.
He sighed, nestling himself against the larger dog. He was in between the Wolf’s legs, head pressed into his chest. His heartbeat pounded, soft and slow in Tim’s ear.
It calmed that kit part of him. The part that he didn’t even get to have with his parents. The part that desperately just wanted to feel fur against his fur and to be able to curl up against a larger belly.
Just more proof that this was a dream.
Tim had forced himself to learn to live without this a long time ago.
He couldn’t help another whine. This all hurt so much when it stopped, and he couldn’t get this in real life.
“Shhh… it’s okay. It’s okay, puppy,” a gentle voice said, and the licking stopped. Tim tried to chase the tongue and the Wolf huffed a laugh.
“He’s awake?” A vaguely familiar said from beyond Tim, and he turned an ear in that direction.
“I think so?” Another voice. Still familiar but Tim couldn’t say why. “He hasn’t opened his eyes, though.”
That’s because opening his eyes would break this nice, warm heaven of a dream.
“Tim? How are you feeling?”
Dick, he registered in the back of his head. Which probably meant that the large wolf was Jason.
They were being a lot nicer than they had been a couple of hours ago…
A couple of hours…
Tim froze as memories crashed into his brain.
A broken bone that still ached in his leg. His chest failing him as he panicked. A futile chase across Gotham that he would never win.
This wasn’t a dream.
It was a capture.
Suddenly the tongue lapping at ears seemed a lot less friendly, and a lot more like a reminder of barely hidden teeth.
He wouldn’t be able to run when he was already practically within the Wolf’s mouth.
Maybe he could sneak out? Slip away when they weren’t looking?
But how could he possibly do that while he was nestled into the Wolf’s chest?
He was trapped. No defences. No chance for escape. They could do whatever they wanted with him.
“He’s getting scared,” Dick said, and a cold realisation ran through Tim’s veins.
Dick was a Druid and they could read thoughts and emotions. They could pry open heads, extract thoughts and charmspeak people into doing whatever they wanted.
Tim would be an easy target for him. A young panicking mind that Dick could make his with only a couple of words.
He would be justified in doing it too. Tim had already proved himself their enemy.
He couldn’t even hide his own thoughts in his head.
“Dick, get back,” Jason snapped over Tim and he could feel the edge of the Wolf’s growl in his throat. “You’re scaring the puppy.”
There was a shuffle of feet and the burble of a chuckle.
“You know he’s not actually your puppy, Jason. Bruce said that the records say he’s only three years younger than you.”
The Wolf huffed instead of answering and went back to licking down the fur of Tim’s neck.
With each lap, Tim could feel a little bit of his anxiety edging away as his instincts cooed safe.
Slowly, he felt his body relaxing as the Kitsune part of him submitted to the gentle tongue.
“You’re such a mom, Jason.”
The Wolf growled and blatantly ignored the laughing Druid.
Maybe Tim should have been afraid of the sound, but he couldn’t draw the emotion up. The Wolf was being too tender with him for him to be scared, too much like how Tim imagined that canine creatures treated their pups.
He hadn’t even gotten this from his own father and mother. He had only ever fantasied that this is what his life could have been if his parents stayed home longer.
This… this couldn’t be real, right?
But his leg still ached from a broken bone, and the pain grounded him in reality. It was the only part of what was happening that actually seemed real.
Slowly, he opened his eyes, not even sure what he was expecting.
But a flickering fireplace and a smiling Druid laying on his belly wasn’t it.
Tim blinked, and the image didn’t change.
“Hey,” Dick chirped, his ears bobbing as he noticed Tim’s eyes. “Look who decided to join the world again.”
Tim didn’t know what to say, and before he could figure it out, the Wolf was using his muzzle to scoot Tim closer to him and hide him from the Druid.
Almost like he actually thought Tim was his puppy and not a spy that deserved whatever Bat punishment they could cook up.
“Don’t overcrowd him,” Jason said roughly.
“I don’t think I’m the one overcrowding him.”
“Well, at least, I’m not the one prying into his head.”
“Well, I’m not the one—”
“What’s going on?” Tim said, the question slipping out of Tim without his permission. And of course, once he started asking, he couldn’t stop.
“Where are we? What’s going to happen to me? Are you going to hurt me?”
The Wolf jolted, pulling his head back to get a better look at the Kitsune.
“Hurt you?” he rumbled. “We wouldn’t hurt a puppy.”
“But, but… you were chasing me? You know that I know…” He couldn’t finish the sentence. He could feel his breath getting shallower.
The Druid sighed heavily and moved his legs so he was sitting cross-legged in front of the fireplace.
“Tim, we’re going to need to talk about some things.”
This was it. This is where the good-feeling licks ended and the interrogation began. This is when the illusion truly began to shatter around him.
He tensed and tried to prepare himself. This would be hard, but he would get through it… maybe… probably… he had to.
He would tell them exactly what he knew. Everything. Anything that Batman needed—
“When was the last time your parents came home?”
What?
Tim blinked.
That was the question that Batman wanted the answer to? Didn’t he already give away that he knew their identities?
“Uh… two months ago?”
“And when will they be back?”
“On the 16th of next month, I think?”
“You don’t know for sure?” Jason cut in.
“Do you need me to find out? I have the exact date in my phone. I can double-check.”
The Druid shook his head, waving away Tim’s offer. “That doesn’t matter. What does matter is that your parents thought that it was okay to leave a thirteen-year-old alone in a house for three months.”
Dick paused, looking into Tim’s eyes. “And apparently you’ve been left alone for most of your life.”
Months…
Months without his parents or anyone at all. Months where he whined into an empty house and no one was there to answer back. Months where Tim felt like no one would care if he died in that empty Manor… no one would even notice.
“It’s fine,” Tim mumbled. “I’m used to it.”
“Look Tim,” the Druid sighed, “I looked in your head. I’m sorry I did it, but I had to know how much you knew.”
Dick dropped his gaze like he was ashamed.
Tim didn’t know why he would be, though. It made sense that Dick would have to make sure that Tim wasn’t a threat.
“And I saw flashes of your home and what you felt about it and how lonely you are…” Dick paused like it hurt him to know Tim’s life. Like he cared that Tim “No child deserves to grow up alone.”
Tim flinched into the Wolf’s chest, trying to ignore the part of him that wanted to just curl up into the larger dog’s fur.
“My parents love me,” Tim said, but the words were caught between a question and an assertion. “They love me. They care about me.”
“They don’t even know you’re here,” Jason snapped. “You could be kidnapped and they wouldn’t even know it.”
“I’m… I…” Tim struggled to figure out what to say. “They care about me. I-I-I know they care about me.”
The Druid and the Wolf met eyes over Tim’s head, a silent exchange going between them.
“They care,” Tim repeated. He didn’t know why, but he kept repeating it. “They care. They have to… They have to…”
“And I’m sure they do,” Dick cut through Tim’s repetition. “But you need someone to take care of you.”
Tim narrowed his eyes. “I can take care of myself.”
“But you don’t have to.”
“You’re just a puppy,” Jason said, nosing at Tim’s fur and putting his huge head right by Tim’s. The Werewolf was so much larger than him; Jason’s head spanned almost all of Tim’s Kitsune body. “Puppies need a pack. People to protect them.”
Tim scrunched his face. “I’m not a Wolf. Kitsunes don’t have packs.”
Jason rolled his eyes, brushing off Tim’s comments. “Packs. Families. It’s the same difference. The point is that you need people around you.”
The Druid smiled at the Wolf, before turning back to Tim. His expression was as soft as butter, and warmer than anything his parents ever gave him.
They never looked at him like that.
Sometimes he would see an echo of it, a glimmer of affection as his mother smoothed his hair or held his smaller Kitsune body up to her chest. He could feel it when his father praised him on his two tails (“two tails before you’re even thirteen. You are such a smart boy, Timothy. I expect nothing less.”)
But it was all so fleeting. Just a couple of seconds of affection in the dark sea of Tim’s loneliness.
People around him. People who would stay for more than a week and wouldn’t leave him behind on a whim. People who would be around long enough for Tim to prove that he could be someone to love. That he was worth staying for.
Maybe.
He wasn’t sure he could ever get there, but maybe they would give him enough time to try.
The thought was foreign to Tim… but he wanted it. He wanted it desperately.
He looked at the roaring fireplace, the Druid’s soft smile, and paws that were keeping him close.
He had only dreamt of having something like this. He never thought it could be real and offered to him by Nightwing and Hellhound.
“I-I can’t ask you to do that. I’ll be a burden.”
Jason snorted, his breath puffing into Tim’s white fur. Tim must have looked like a little cotton ball against Jason’s dark coat.
“You won’t be a burden,” Dick insisted. “We want you here. Anyways, Jason has already practically declared you his puppy. It took him less than twenty minutes to start motherhenning over you once we realised you were a kid.”
“I don’t hurt kids,” Jason mumbled in Tim’s fur, so low that he almost didn’t hear it. There was a small underlying guilt in his tone.
Tim hated that little bit of guilt instantly and leaned up to give a small and tentative lick at the Wolf’s muzzle.
The Wolf started in surprise, but then rumbled happily.
Tim could hardly believe that he could inspire such a nice sound and before he could do it again, he was getting scooped up into two arms.
Behind him, Jason yelped an affronted “Hey!”, which Dick clearly ignored.
“He’s so cute!” The Druid chirped, hugging Tim close and rubbing his cheek into Tim’s white fur. “I could literally die at how cute he is.”
“You’re smothering him,” Jason mumbled, getting to his feet and shaking out his fur. He stood for a second before shifting. Four legs became two, fur receded, and his huge Wolf body compacted into a human one.
Jason groaned, stretching his arms over his head to release some of the lingering tension of the shift.
“You were licking him for like an hour,” Dick shot back. Tim rocked in his arms, held like a baby by the Druid. “I deserve some puppy love too.”
Jason grunted and began to walk towards the exit of the room. “Come on, Dickface, we gotta take him to Dad. The bat is still stuck in the denial phase of his five stages of adoption, even though we both know he can’t resist puppy eyes.”
And indeed, when the Bat saw Tim’s puppy eyes, he couldn’t resist.