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Tim has been to more galas and parties and dinners than he can count and he still feels as out of his depth as he did at his first. It doesn’t help that, every few minutes, some man in a suit that Tim would not be able to name if he had a gun to his head comes up to him and offers condolences. We were so sorry to hear about your father. Gotham’s really going off the rails these days. We know he’d be proud of you.
Tim nods along and forces smiles and resist the urge to call them out on their bullshit. It’s not that his dad was actively disappointed in him, it’s that he didn’t notice Tim enough to care about what he did at all. Most of Tim’s teenage years were defined by resentment and a need to prove himself and a search for better father figures, but now that he’s gone all the frustration of being raised by him just feels like a dull ache from a wound that’s long grown over. None of it matters anymore, not really.
He’d really like to forget about the man, but apparently every member of Gotham’s elite is on a quest to bother him tonight.
Tim lasts an hour (and receives about a dozen condolences) before he goes upstairs to hide in one of the guest rooms.
He reaches for a door handle at random and the door swings open and suddenly he’s face to face with Jason Todd.
Tim has heard (and Googled) a lot of things about Jason, from his childhood in Crime Alley to his current role as Bruce Wayne’s troublemaking kid and, unknown to the public, as the newer Robin. Tim knows Jason’s reputation for being snarky and sarcastic whenever someone manages to sit him down long enough to interview him and he’s seen clips of Robin’s badass street fighting abilities. All in all, Tim knows exactly enough about Jason to be terrified of him.
He opens his mouth a few times and can’t seem to remember how to form words. Jason raises his eyebrows as if to ask ‘what the fuck are you doing here’.
Tim forces his voice to work and says, very eloquently, “I was…I, um…”
“Come on, you can get a full sentence, I believe in you,” Jason says, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe like he’s ready to wait all night for Tim to master the art of speech.
Tim snaps. “I just wanted a place to get away from everything. Everybody keeps talking about my dad and how sorry they are and I just– I feel bad, but I honestly just want to forget it. I’m sad, obviously I’m sad, but I don’t want to keep being reminded of it by everyone that he ever had a business meeting with and I– I hate these stupid galas and I’m pretty sure my tie is choking me and I– I wanted to just fucking hide.” His voice breaks on the last word and he prays that Jason didn’t notice.
Jason’s expression remains unreadable for a moment before he sighs and steps back to open the door further, gesturing for Tim to step inside.
Torn between being relieved and being terrified, Tim does. It looks like a fairly standard bedroom and it takes him a second to notice that, on the other side of the king-sized bed, Cassandra Cain is sitting with her back to the wall and staring directly at him.
Tim knows a lot about Jason, but almost nothing about Cass. That’s not due to lack of trying, either; it just seems like there’s nothing about her anywhere. Nobody’s sure where she came from, how she met Bruce Wayne, or even why she doesn’t talk much (although Tim thinks that isn’t anybody’s business). There’s no lack of speculation, but none of it has remotely made him feel prepared to be in the same room with her.
Jason slams the door shut behind him and Tim barely stops himself from jumping. Jason says, “Cass, this one’s joining us, he’s not a fan of parties either.”
Cass holds up a hand in greeting, still unsmiling.
Jason continues, “This is what we do at most social events Bruce manages to force us into. Neither of us are exactly people pleasers the way Dick is. You might have seen him downstairs greeting adoring fans, but the two of us make people uncomfortable and they make us annoyed, so limiting our amount of social interaction is best for everyone involved. You can join the club just for tonight because you look like you’re about to cry.”
Tim tries very hard not to feel embarrassed. “...thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
Cass holds her phone up and waves it to get her brother’s attention. He goes over and takes it, reading out, “‘I’m ready to pick you up down the street, we can go buy some junk food if you can sneak out.’” He looks up at Cass. “Were you plotting an escape without me?”
Cass smiles a little and shakes her head, saying quietly, “I need you for distraction.”
Jason puts a hand to his chest, pretending to be wounded. “So it’s all about my utility or you would have left me here to rot among the one percent?”
Cass nods and Jason sighs. “Fucking traitor. Get up, let’s go.”
She hops up easily and Tim gets a full view of her suit. She’s wearing a dark purple blazer with a red pocket square that matches Jason’s partially undone tie. Her hair’s pinned away from her face, but mostly down. It isn’t a complex outfit by any means, but it makes her look striking.
Jason offers her his arm and she takes it, grinning like it’s an inside joke between them. Tim steps aside to let them head out. It’s fine. He wanted a room to sit in by himself and that’s what he’s getting. He’s not jealous at all. It’s fine. Everything’s–
“Hey, Drake, you coming?” Jason yells back and Tim doesn’t even try to hide his sigh of relief as he runs to follow.
Jason and Cass head confidently down the stupidly huge staircase, still arm in arm, and Tim follows, suddenly remembering that Jason’s meant to be the distraction for their escape. There’s several things Jason could do that would cause everyone to pay attention to him and him only and Tim is running through the possibilities in his mind before he notices where the other two are heading and his blood runs cold.
There is a champagne tower set up on a table in the middle of the room. The top few rows have been dismantled by guests already, but the rest of it is still sizable and, in the moment before Jason reaches it, Tim gets the sense of horror and anticipation that he imagines only comes from watching a train wreck or seeing your newly minted foster brother hook his foot around the ankle of a guest trying to get some champagne and pull.
The guest slips. The tower falls. The glorious sound of dozens of champagne flutes shattering fills Tim’s ears and he stands, transfixed by the sheer destruction, for only a second.
Then, he books it towards Cass and Jason as the three of them speed walk towards the main door, ignoring the chaos behind them.
Jason opens the door and holds it for Cass to go through, waving for Tim to hurry up. As he goes through, Tim turns back just in time to see Bruce Wayne glaring at them from across the room. Jason touches two fingers to his temple in a salute and pushes Tim forward, letting the door shut behind them. “Come on, come on, let’s go, kids,” he says, hooking one arm around his sister and the other around Tim as he breaks into a jog down the street.
A car parked by the curb that looks significantly less fancy than the ones around it honks twice and Cass breaks away from Jason to get into the front seat. Jason opens the back door and pushes Tim in before sliding in after.
Stephanie Brown raises her eyebrows in the rear-view mirror at Tim, but doesn’t say anything as she pulls out and starts driving. This simple acceptance of him into their little group makes something slightly painful pang in Tim’s chest and he covers it up by clearing his throat and asking, “So where are we going?”
Jason immediately pipes up, “It’s my turn to pick, Cass picked last time.”
Cass shakes her head vehemently.
Steph groans loudly. “Compromise! Tim’s new, he can pick.”
Jason sighs. “Fine, what do you want, kid?”
Tim doesn’t have to think about it. “Coffee?”
Jason looks at him like he’s insane. “It’s nine PM.”
Tim looks back at him. “So?”
Steph snorts. “Starbucks it is. Did either of you clowns bring cash?”
Cass pulls out a wad of bills from her blazer pocket that definitely weren’t there at the start of the night.
Steph nods approvingly and takes a sharp turn into Gotham traffic, earning about a dozen honks in their direction.
Half an hour later, Steph takes a sip of her frappuccino and asks, “Gonna tell me how you got away from the clutches of rich people?”
“Champagne tower and Jason,” Cass replies succinctly, in the middle of licking whipped cream from her straw
Steph’s eyes widen and she starts laughing. “Jesus, next time I’m coming with you losers. I would kill to see that.”
Jason grins. “What can I say? It’s a Wayne kid privilege to watch me fuck shit up at formal events.”
Tim finds himself smiling while nursing his americano. This definitely isn’t how he saw his night ending. As if she can read his mind, Cass looks up at him and asks, “Better than party?”
Tim nods. “This is much better than the party.”
Jason slings an arm around Tim’s shoulders and nearly makes him spill his drink as he rubs his knuckles into his scalp. “Enjoy it while it lasts,” he says, ignoring Tim trying to squirm away. “Usually we’re all assholes to each other. Moments like these only come once a month or so.”
Steph holds up her plastic cup. “To being assholes to each other.”
Cass mirrors her and Jason finally lets go of Tim to let both of them touch their cups to Steph’s.
“To being assholes,” they repeat solemnly before they all break into laughter again.
As he dodges another attempt by Jason to further ruin his hair, Tim thinks this may be the best night he’s ever had.