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Tim has a love/hate relationship with Jason’s wardrobe. On the one hand, Jason’s cut off tank top shows off his arms beautifully. On the other hand, Tim has nearly walked into a wall because he couldn’t stop staring at said arms. Twice.
He’s long since accepted that his doomed crush on Jason isn’t really going anywhere. It’s a part of life. The sky is blue, the grass is green, and Tim Drake has a crush on Jason Todd. But he really needs to stop staring before Jason notices.
Some moron had the brilliant idea to bring a carnival to Gotham. It’s practically asking for a Joker attack, despite the extra security they’ve placed around his cell for the week of the fair. So the Bats have come out in force, ostensibly to investigate, but also to enjoy the fair. Tim has already gone through the financials with a fine tooth comb, and surprisingly there had been no connection to the Joker. He hadn’t found anything about the council member who suggested the carnival either. He’d even stopped by Robinson Park to ask Harley if she knew of any connections, and it had all turned up clean. So while technically they were there to investigate, Dick had declared it a family bonding experience.
They’d split off into various groups throughout the day, coming together and apart as they went about the fair. Tim had just gotten off the teacups ride, which Steph had flat out refused to ride again. She said all the spinning was “vomit inducing,” as if that wasn’t the entire point. Jason is walking by, so Tim falls into step beside him.
“Find anything?” Jason asks.
“Nothing in the manager’s office,” Tim reports. He had broken into it earlier with Dick. “It looks like this place might actually be legit.”
Jason lets out a low whistle. “That’d be a first for Gotham.”
“Tell me about it,” Tim says. “Where are you headed?”
“Nowhere in particular. I rode the coaster with Dickiebird and did the squirt guns with the demon brat, so I’m flexible.”
Tim is about to suggest they head to the bumper cars when one of the game barkers calls out “You, young gentleman with the white streak! You seem like a strong young fella! Care to test yourself in a true battle of strength?”
Jason turns to see a man dressed as a stereotypical carnie, down to the twirly mustache, calling him from a high striker game.
“Step right up, step right up! If you hit the bell, you win a prize!” The carnie calls.
Jason glances at Tim, who shrugs, and then steps up to the game.
“Only three dollars to play! If you make it past tough guy you win a prize! The higher the puck goes, the bigger the prize.”
Tim pulls out his wallet to pay before Jason can. There are benefits to being a multimillionaire.
The carnie takes the cash and hands Jason the mallet. “Win something nice for your fella,” he says with a wink.
“Oh, he’s not my–“ Tim starts to say.
“I definitely will,” Jason interrupts, smirking at him. Tim feels himself blush, and curses his pale skin.
Jason gives the mallet a few test swings to get a feel for it. Tim can’t help but notice how Jason’s muscles flex as he slams the hammer down onto the lever. The puck shoots up past wimpy man, through tough guy, and finally rings the bell up top.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have got a gen-u-ine strong man over here!” The barker crows, holding up Jason’s hand up in the air. A few people stop to look. Jason grins and flexes, showing off for the crowd.
Tim should avert his eyes. Jason wouldn’t want Tim staring at him like this. But… guh, muscles. Jason’s got guns, and they are his most lethal weapons.
“Pick out your prize!” The carnie says. “And make it good for your fella.”
“Oh I will,” Jason says, grinning smugly at Tim. He picks out a ginormous cherry red stuffed panda and hands it to him. Tim rolls his eyes, but he’s fighting back a smile. Jason throws an arm around his shoulders.
“You guys are so cute!” A teenage girl calls. Jason grins at her and Tim ducks his head, embarrassed. Jason leaves his arm there all the way to the bumper cars. Tim takes a two seater so his panda can ride with him.
It’s a warm, sunny day, so after bashing each other thoroughly on the bumper cars Tim buys them snow cones. Grape for Tim, strawberry for Jason. Jason tries to take his wallet out, but Tim beats him to it.
“You won me a panda, it’s the least I can do.”
“Technically you paid for the panda,” Jason points out.
“Yeah, but I probably couldn’t have won it on my own. You’re freakishly strong.”
Oh, great going Tim. Call the boy you like a freak, real smooth. But Jason just grins and flexes with the arm not holding the snow cone. They take a seat on a shady bench as they eat, chatting. It’s nice. Tim doesn’t often get to sit and talk to Jason like this. Usually when they’re together it’s purely about the mission.
When the snow cones are finished Jason gets up and throws them out, then returns to their seat. He stretches out, putting his arm around the back of the bench. It’s almost like he’s putting his arm around Tim.
“So, there anything else you wanna do?” He asks.
“No, I think I’ve seen pretty much everything. It’s not a huge carnival,” Tim replies.
“It’d be pretty nice if Gotham was able to have this without it turning into a fucking nightmare,” Jason comments idly. He’s started playing Tim’s hair. Tim tries to remember how to breathe.
“It would be nice,” he agrees. “Bruce came up with the security measures for Arkham himself, and Commissioner Gordon’s overseeing the implementation personally, so I think we’ve got a real shot.”
“It’s crazy how different things are. You know the last time Two Face broke out he couldn’t get his plans in motion because he couldn’t find enough men?”
“No kidding, really?” Tim had been in San Francisco during that particular breakout, so he hadn’t been involved.
“Yeah. No recent Blackgate breakouts, so all the old faces are in jail. And the Neon Knights are pretty damn effective at keeping people out of the lifestyle. It’s some damn good work you’re doing.” Tim lights up at the praise. Jason knows the best out of any of them what a program like Neon Knights needs to be, so to hear him praise it means a lot.
“I’ve actually been wondering if you’d look over a few proposals for me,” Tim asks. He had been wondering, but there had never been a right time to bring it up. Now is the perfect opportunity.
“Me? Why?” Jason sounds surprised.
“Because I haven’t been in their shoes. I was never a low income kid who turned to gangs for lack of better options. You were. That plus your night work gives you a really unique perspective that our other workers don’t have,” Tim explains.
“Oh. Yeah, I guess you’re right. Sure, I’ll take a look if you think it’ll help.” Jason seems pleased that Tim wants his expertise. He’s blushing slightly, and Tim can’t help the smile that breaks out across his face. Bashful is a good look on him. To be fair, everything is a good look on him, but Tim’s the one who put that look there.
“Is there anything you still want to do?” Tim asks Jason. “The only thing I haven’t done is the tunnel of love.”
“Oh, well we can’t have that. How can you have the true carnival experience if you haven’t gone through the tunnel of love?” Jason says.
“Well it’s not really the sort of thing you ride alone,” Tim snarks.
“Good thing you’re not alone then. You’ve got me and Panda Red over there.” Tim rolls his eyes, but obediently picks up his panda and follows Jason to the ride. Tim clambers on first, and Jason climbs in next to him. It’s a wide seat, but Jason sits close enough that their knees are knocking together, and he puts his arm around the back of the seat again.
Tim is not always the best at noticing relational cues, not when it comes to himself. But he’s a detective. He can pick up what Jason’s putting down. Or what he thinks Jason’s putting down. He decides to test his theory. He scoots closer to Jason, so that there’s no space between them, and tentatively rests his head on Jason’s shoulder. Jason wraps his arm more firmly around him, and Tim relaxes.
Okay, so they’re going there. This is a thing that is happening. Tim’s lifelong crush is maybe (probably?) reciprocated, and he can feel the firm weight of Jason’s muscle through the thin fabric of his t-shirt. His heart spends up and his palms are sweating, but he keeps his body relaxed. He doesn’t want to scare Jason off.
Jason’s hand moves from Tim’s shoulder to his hair, playing with the silky strands. It feels really nice, and he releases tension he didn’t realize he was holding, going boneless in Jason’s arms.
When they get off the ride, Jason keeps his arm around Tim. He keeps his arm around Tim when they run into Steph and Cass, both of whom are well aware of Tim’s crush on Jason and are having frantic but silent conversations about it with only their eyes and facial expressions. He keeps his arm around Tim when they split off from the girls to go order corndogs. He keeps his arm around Tim as they sit down and eat.
They’re walking aimlessly around the fair when Tim can’t take it any more. He pulls away, turning to face Jason properly.
“Jason. Is this… is this a thing? Between us?” He asks nervously.
“Depends. Do you want it to be?” Jason asks, faux casually.
The ball is in Tim’s court. He could lie and say he doesn’t care, say that he could go either way, put it on Jason to make things clear. Tim can lie to Batman, he can certainly handle not telling Jason the full truth. But that wouldn’t be fair to Jason, and it wouldn’t get him what he wants.
“Yeah,” he says. “I want it to be.”
“Good.” Jason grins, stretching his arms above his head. “It’s about time you caught on. I’ve been flexing all day, my arms are gonna be so sore tomorrow.”
“You’ve been doing that on purpose?!” Tim says indignantly.
“Since the first time I noticed you staring,” Jason grins, holding his arm up and flexing again. Tim is momentarily distracted by the display of strength, which only makes Jason more smug.
“I nearly walked into a wall because of you,” Tim grouses, but he’s fighting a smile.
“I noticed. But I wasn’t sure if you wanted more or if you just thought I was hot,” Jason shrugs, and Tim can see the insecurity he’s trying to hide.
“And you’re happy I want more? You’re interested in that?” Tim asks, because he has to be sure. Tim doesn’t usually get the things he wants, not like this.
“Yeah baby bird, I’m happy you want more. I want to give you more. I want this to be a thing.” Tim breaks into a thousand watt smile. He can’t help it. Jason Todd wants to date him. Actually for real date him. The boy he’s been half in love with for nearly half his life wants to date him. Tim’s not sure who’s smiling down on him today, but he’s sure it’s someone.
“I know you’re probably used to something fancier, but there’s a great chili dog cart on fifth that I really like. It’s not far from Robinson Park, there’s a really nice place to sit not too far away,” Jason offers.
“That’s by the good ice cream store, right? They do neapolitan there.” Tim says thoughtfully.
“You know my favorite ice cream flavor?” Jason asks, surprised.
“I… uh, yeah.” Tim says, bashful at being caught in his slightly stalkerish tendencies. “I pay attention, when it’s you.”
Jason breaks out into a grin. “Good to know. Guess I’ll have to catch up.”
“So it’s a date?” Tim asks.
“It’s a date.”
Tim is sure his cheeks are going to hurt from smiling later, but he doesn’t care. He takes Jason’s hand in his own, blushing slightly. Jason grins back at him, and together, they walk off into the sunset.