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Tim had just gotten back into his apartment when his phone buzzed, which was odd for half past 3am after patrol. Most people trying to get ahold of him at this time of night just used the comms.
[3:32 am] Bernard: BABE WAKE UP NEW ROBIN THEORY DROPPED !!!
Tim smiled down at his phone, so incredibly tempted to send him a selfie in full Robin getup just to break his brain. But alas, secret identities were important to keep. One day he’ll tell him, one day.
[3:36 am] Tim: im listening 👀
[3:36 am] Bernard: okay so you know Young Justice. like the team
Tim took his mask off as he sat down on his bed, wondering where this could be going.
[3:37 am] Tim: is that the team with superboy and wondergirl or the one with kid flash and red arrow?
Had to play dumb, at least a little bit. Theory discussion with Bernard walked a fine line, and letting himself seem too aware could come back and bite him in the ass.
[3:38 am] Bernard: sb & wg. those other guys are on the teen titans, very different. ANYWAYS there was this article a while back in the daily planet about how their team had disappeared because of weird multiverse stuff
[3:39 am] Bernard: btw can not BELIEVE thats an actual sentence i can say. we really live in the era of weird multiverse stuff
Tim just grinned again, it was adorable when Bernard got like this. Seeing civilians start to process the things the hero community had been knowingly dealing with for a while is always interesting, but seeing your new boyfriend get so fascinated by it was inherently better.
[3:40 am] Tim: truly a wild time to be alive
[3:40 am] Tim: but what do you mean disappeared? robin & wonder girl at least have been around for years
[3:41 am] Bernard: shhhhh the TEAM is what was gone. their history and everything... that is UNTIL stuff started getting restored
After the whole catastrophe with The Batman Who Laughs, when multiverse & altered reality news broke into the mainstream, the world had gotten a lot stranger. Tim had already known his memories had been tampered with by the universe, but it'd surprised him to learn it was by more than even Zatanna could have known or fixed.
[3:43 am] Tim: ok that checks out. so what’s the new theory then?
[3:44 am] Bernard: i was getting there!! so since the timeline is restored or whatever, i was able to find THIS from the original Young Justice http://youtube.com/watch?v=8zw...
Tim hesitantly stared at the link before tapping it. What the hell could he have found?
“Huh?! Rob— I mean… Huh?!?” On screen, Cassie was sitting up on a couch, next to a blonde man, she couldn’t be more than 15 and had her goggles pulled down over her eyes.
“Aw, C’mon sweetie. Like you could forget me? One of the group’s founding members.” Tim’s own voice came from off screen, but it was higher and meaner sounding than normal. Realization dawned as the camera swung around to show an outfit Tim wished he’d never have to be reminded of again. Shaved head, more fake tattoos than he wanted to count, mesh-sided tank top, and a fluffy cape with flames.
He hated to admit it, but looking at that outfit he had picked himself made him wonder how anyone ever thought he was completely straight in the first place.
Younger Tim kept talking on the screen but Tim didn’t process anything until hearing that cursed name, “Your old friend… Mister Sarcastic!”
He quickly closed the video to go back to his text chat, trying to figure out how he could even respond to that.
[3:51 am] Tim: lol what is this??
[3:52 am] Bernard: apparently YJ had some short-lived reality show
[3:53 am] Bernard: but anyways that kid with the fake tattoos and sunglasses is TOTALLY robin. wonder girl even kinda said so she just got cut off
Tim groaned, audibly.
[3:54 am] Tim: no way. robin wouldn’t dress like that
[3:55 am] Bernard: it’s a disguise! but it’s him. robin, impulse, wonder girl, and superboy like *are* Young Justice. robin’s the only one not there in the show!
[3:55 am] Tim: hmmmmm
This was torture. Torture. He had thought Mister Sarcastic was a secret that died along with the original iteration of the team. If Conner and Bart knew there’s footage of it still floating around out there… oh god no.
[3:57 am] Bernard: also. maybe its just because its 4 am, i’m tired, and i miss you but. doesn’t he kinda look like you?
[3:58 am] Bernard: take away the sunglasses, bald cap, and fake facial hair and like…
The only course of action Tim could think of was bluffing.
[4:00 am] Tim: damn, you figured it out! i’ve *clearly* been robin this whole time. how does it feel dating a superhero?
[4:02 am] Bernard: OKAY, okay it does sound ridiculous
[4:02 am] Bernard: (you could absolutely pull off robin’s look though 😉)
Tim flopped back onto his bed in a sigh of relief.
[4:03 am] Tim: you should close your conspiracy subreddits and go to sleep, it’s late
[4:04 am] Bernard: 🙄 fiiiiine
[4:05 am] Bernard: I wish you were here
The grin that spread across his face was automatic. It wouldn’t be that hard for him to go swing into Bernard’s room, just tell him everything for real, and hold him as he drifted off to sleep. He really does wish he could do that.
[4:06 am] Tim: I wish so too
[4:06 am] Bernard: goodnight tim 💕
[4:07 am] Tim: goodnight! ❤️
Tim set his phone down, peeled off the rest of his costume, took a quick shower, and was about to lay down when his mask communicator started going off. He picked it up to answer, Conner’s voice ringing through.
“GUESS WHAT REALITY TV SHOW IS GOING VIRAL-“