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At 7:30 AM, Tim sat alone at the kitchen counter. He sipped his disgusting protein drink and doom scrolled through the news on his phone.
At 8:15 AM, Tim sat in the back row of his precalculus class. He sat with his back straight and tried not to fall asleep as his teacher, Mrs. Kasun, rambled on about the equations on the board.
At lunch, Tim sat at his usual table with Duke, Duke’s friends, Cass, Cass’ friends, and Bernard. He took small bites of his school lunch and listened to Bernard talk about Dungeons and Dragons.
After school, Duke went on patrol, Cass went to her ballet rehearsal, and Tim went home alone. He made coffee and flipped through his case files. He pulled up the Wayne Enterprise drive on his laptop, even though since Bruce’s return, there was no need to take such an active role. He still itched to lose himself in spreadsheets and quarterly reports, which is exactly what he did for the next few hours.
At 10 pm, Red Robin went on patrol. He could lose himself in patrol, too, which was a welcome relief. He’d be anything as long as he didn’t have to be Tim Drake.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Harley Quinn kidnapped him when he was walking home from school. It was, frankly, embarrassing. He blamed the C- precalculus quiz burning a hole in his backpack. He was distracted, thinking about bad grades and whether or not Bruce would bench him for it. If he couldn’t be Red Robin, what was the point of the rest of his day? What was the point of going to school, going through the motions, if not to serve as a cover for his night job?
Harley knocked him out and when he came to, he was tied upside down over a giant pot of boiling water. Of course he was. She ranted about some plan— he got the jist of it while testing the strength of his restraints. He was, apparently, being used for ransom so Harley could buy Ivy a really nice anniversary gift. He thought of a few escape plans, but none that he could pull off realistically as Tim Drake.
By the time it grew dark, Bruce Wayne still hadn’t sent the money. Harley was impatient and decided the best way to speed things along was by throwing out the boiling water and sending Bruce a pot filled with Tim’s blood.
Damian, as Robin, was the one who finally rescued him. Tim didn’t have the capacity to be annoyed about it, because he was bleeding out, slumped against the bloody pot. Ivy arrived on the scene, and Damian attacked. The three fought, until Ivy’s vines wrapped around Tim’s neck. Damian rushed toward him and sliced through the plants, but by then, Ivy and Harley had escaped.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Bruce told Tim the plan in the Batcave. Tim had lost a lot of blood, and he told himself that’s why he suddenly felt sick and light headed. Bruce asked if he had any questions. Tim took a deep breath.
“Can you ask Nightwing instead?”
“He was the first person I thought of, but he can’t miss work.”
Tim kept his expression neutral, but Bruce’s words stung. He wanted to say: I almost died Friday. Dick can’t take a sick day? He would only have to act as a bodyguard when I’m playing civilian, and only until Harley Quinn is apprehended. It won’t take long to find her. She’s the least subtle villain in Gotham, which is really saying something.
“What about Signal?” Tim asked, instead.
“The children at your school know Duke. They shouldn’t get such a close look at Signal.”
“What about Bart?”
Bruce raised a single eyebrow.
Tim realized he’d pushed too far. Now Bruce had questions. Dammit.
“I thought you and Superboy had a good working relationship.”
Tim’s skin crawled hearing Bruce say the words Superboy and relationship in the same sentence. This was getting close to dangerous territory. He needed to act swiftly.
“We do. It’s just— Conner can be a lot to deal with. I don’t want him following me around everywhere.”
“Hm.”
“And think about it— Bruce Wayne has connections to everyone on the Justice League. Why would he pick Superboy to protect his son? He’s immature, sleeps with civilians, and he’s definitely the most likely to get distracted on the job.”
“And Bart is your suggestion?”
“Bart would be better than Conner,” Tim said, firmly. “So would Cassie. Or Steph— Steph doesn’t even go to my school. Or what about—”
“I’ve already spoken to Superboy.”
Of course he had. Tim should’ve known. Why would Bruce ask for his opinion about a major decision affecting his life, when he could just make the decision alone and force him to deal with the consequences?
This was going to be torture.
They used to hang out all the time, but that was before Conner died. Since his resurrection, they mostly saw each other in groups or in the middle of a fight. In those situations, it was easy for Tim to ignore the crushing weight of his inconvenient feelings.
“He’ll arrive tomorrow morning. But if it would make you feel safer I could—”
“It’s fine,” Tim said, swallowing his anger. Bruce dismissed him.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The next morning, Tim was in the kitchen sipping his protein shake. Alfred walked in and Kon, in his full Superboy fit, followed behind him.
Kon’s hair was cut short on the sides, and a wind-swept mess of curls on top. He was tall and broad, with a certain stage presence that he brought into every room he entered. There was something about him, beyond his tight black t-shirt and perfect looks, that made it impossible to look away. The air around him seemed to buzz with energy.
Their eyes met, and Tim’s grip tightened around his cup.
“Good morning, Mr. Drake. I’m your new bodyguard.”
The corner of Tim’s mouth quirked up.
“Are you going to be like this all day?”
Kon grinned.
“Oh yeah. Maybe worse. Hey, Alfred, do you guys have like a walkie talkie or something I could borrow?”
Alfred’s mouth pressed into a straight line, which Tim recognized as Alfred holding back a smile.
“I’ll look into it at once,” Alfred said, in his typical dry tone. He gave Tim a nod and then left the kitchen.
“Dude, this is so awesome,” Kon said, joining him by the counter. Tim had to look up to look him in the eyes. He didn’t usually notice their height difference, until they were standing close together. Tim took a small step back, but Kon didn’t seem to notice.
“It’s cool that Bruce let you pick me. I’m surprised he didn’t make himself your security team.”
Tim smiled back, but wondered what the hell Bruce told him that made him think he’d been picked by Tim. He certainly wasn’t going to correct him.
“Yeah,” Tim said, trying to sound nonchalant, “But honestly, I can’t imagine Batman lurking around Gotham Academy.”
“Academy. God, I can’t wait to meet all your rich friends. Are they hot?”
“Depends. Do you think Duke and Cassandra are hot?”
“Are your siblings really your only friends?”
Bernard’s face flashed in Tim’s mind. It was a moment Tim remembered well, just the two of them in the band room at lunch, their food forgotten on the ground next to them. Bernard’s light blond hair was a mess, his tie was loose around his neck, and he looking at Tim like he hung the moon. If he had to call Bernard something, it wouldn’t be a friend.
“Stephanie’s my friend. But she’s not rich.”
Tim took a sip of his protein shake and Kon stepped closer. Tim’s grip tightened.
“What’s that?”
“It’s my breakfast,” said Tim, flatly.
Kon reached for it. His fingers brushed against Tim’s, and Tim was so surprised he let him take it.
Kon looked pleased.
He took a sip and then immediately spit the drink out. It sprayed out of his mouth and onto the counter.
Tim put a hand over his mouth but valiantly didn’t laugh.
Kon wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and put down the glass.
“That’s the grossest thing I’ve ever tasted. What the fuck was that?”
“It’s. . . a green protein shake,” Tim said, reigning in his laughter.
“I’ve had protein shakes. That was straight up sewer water.”
Tim laughed.
“Dude, I’m so serious right now. What’s in that? Blended gym socks? Rotten eggs?”
“It’s a nutritious breakfast.”
“So are eggs and bacon,” Kon said, dumping the rest of the cup into the sink. Tim stopped laughing.
“Hey,” he said, reaching for the cup.
“As your bodyguard, I’m guarding your body from this demon smoothie. Seriously dude, was there sulfur in that? I could taste sulfur. Don’t you guys have muffins or something?”
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Alfred drove Tim, Damian, Duke, Cass, and Kon to school in a sleek black van.
Damian took the passenger seat, slipped on his headphones, and ignored them all. Tim took the seat in the far back row.
“Are you going to all of Tim’s classes?” Duke asked.
“Yeah. What if Harley attacks him during passing period?”
Tim leaned forward.
“You don’t have to sit in my classes. You have super hearing. Use it.”
Kon rolled his eyes, which was not what Tim wanted to see, no matter how perfectly his curl fell on his forehead.
“You’re gonna make me float above your school super bored? Come on.”
“Class will be boring, too,” Tim shot back.
“I’m never bored if I’m with you,” said Kon, sounding so sincere Tim wasn’t sure how to respond. Duke and Cass shared a look. Duke looked back at Kon.
“Can I tell everyone we’re friends?”
“Totally.”
“No. None of us should have a personal relationship with—” Tim started.
“Stop being paranoid. Can you fly my friend Ana around at lunch? She would freak.”
“Sure.”
“Careful. She might fall in love,” Cass said, knowingly.
Duke’s face fell.
“Uh, actually, maybe don’t talk to Ana.”
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Tim was used to people staring, but today was different. They were usually much more subtle about it. Today, with Superboy floating behind him, the kids in the hallway parted like the red sea. The whispers were loud and embarrassingly obvious, even for those without superhearing. Superboy had his aviators on, but he didn’t look intimidating. With a smile like that, he was throwing a party everyone wanted to be invited to.
Tim hated precalculus. He struggled to pay attention on a good day, but with Superboy sitting in the seat next to him, paying attention was impossible.
Halfway through the lesson, he flicked a crumbled up ball of paper onto Tim’s desk.
He gave him a side eyed glare, but Kon had his hands folded neatly on his desk, pretending to pay attention. Tim slipped the note onto his lap and subtly opened it.
I could help you cheat :o
Tim rolled his eyes. Great, the most incriminating note ever. And frankly, the offer was insulting. If Tim wanted to cheat, he could easily cheat, without the use of superhuman vision to spot test answers. He scribbled a reply and easily slipped it onto Kon’s desk.
if you’re going to be a distraction, you should wait outside p.s. if Mrs. Kasun tries to read this note you better destroy it first
Kon scribbled a reply with a smirk on his face and sent it back.
I can’t go outside, if anyone in this school is a double-agent for Deathstroke it’s Mrs. Kasun
And underneath, he’d started a game of Tic-Tac-Toe. Tim glanced at him again, this time with a slight smile, and made a move.
They played Tic-Tac-Toe for the rest of the hour, and for the first time in his life Tim had fun in math class.
Lunch was complicated.
“I usually eat in the library,” Tim lied.
“Then we couldn’t talk,” Kon complained, “Let’s sit with Duke and Cassandra.”
“No,” Tim said.
Kon looked confused, and Tim hesitated. He needed to think of a better reason. He would’ve during class, but they passed notes and played silly games (that required his full strategic abilities) the whole time. Surely, he could think of an excuse now. He was great at thinking on his feet.
“Hey, Tim,” said Bernard.
Tim, embarrassingly, jumped. He was well trained. He shouldn’t be caught off guard by a guy wearing Gucci loafers.
“I can’t believe Superboy’s your bodyguard.”
“You better believe it,” Kon said, and flew a step closer, like a total showoff.
Tim’s mind melted as he watched Bernard and Kon interact. It was two worlds colliding, but it was also a guy he’d made out with colliding with a guy he’d fantasized about making out with. It was weird, and not in a fun way, in a time-to-puke way.
“Hi,” Bernard said, like Kon was a movie star. Kon seemed to puff up.
“I’m a huge fan,” Bernard continued, “I mean, of course, I’m a fan of all the heroes, but you’re one of my all-time favorites. It’s really great to meet you. Thank you for your service.”
Kon beamed.
Bernard’s groveling snapped Tim out of his panic. Kon already had an ego as big as Metropolis, now he was going to be insufferable. He needed to shut this down.
“You’re welcome,” Kon said, with his hands on his hips.
“Okay,” Tim said, “Well, Bernard and I should get to lunch. Superboy, why don’t you take a lunch break off campus?”
“No can do,” he said in a hero-voice, “Crime doesn’t take a lunch break.”
Bernard tried to share a look with Tim like, isn’t that cool? Tim forced himself to smile back.
“You can join us at our usual table,” Bernard said and the three started walking toward the dinning hall.
Kon raised an eyebrow at Tim.
“Your usual table?”
Tim ignored him, “I’ll buy both of our lunches.”
“Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?” Bernard asked.
Kon pulled his eyes away from Tim and smiled at him.
“Sure.”
“How fast can you fly?”
“Faster than the speed of light,” Kon flatly answered the thirty fourth question. Everyone around the table dutifully ate their lunch, but it was clear they were getting tired of Bernard’s Interrogation. He didn’t seem to notice or care. Tim liked Bernard, but they were similar in far too many ways. Although Tim liked to believe if he was a civilian, he would’ve thought of better questions.
“Have you ever worked with Batman?”
Kon perked up. Duke, Cass, and Tim suddenly started paying attention, too.
“Batman?” Kon leaned back, overly casual, “Oh, yeah. He calls me in for backup all the time.”
“Wow,” Bernard said, wistfully.
Kon glanced at Tim, like an idiot, and continued with a gleam in his eye.
“But my favorite hero to work with is Red Robin.”
Tim wanted to throw down his sandwich and leave the table. He knew he should’ve forced them to eat alone in the library. He couldn’t imagine a scenario in which this conversation went well.
“Really? Tell me everything. Red Robin is like my favorite hero.”
Tim wanted to bang his head against the table repeatedly. Instead he had to sit there and take a bit of his turkey sandwich.
“I don’t know, I’m a big fan of Signal,” Duke said, shooting Ana subtle glances.
“I like Batgirl,” said Ana.
“Me too,” grinned Cass.
“Yeah, she’s great,” Duke said with a sigh.
“Okay, but can we all agree that Red Robin is the hottest?” said Bernard.
Kon was grinning like a kid at Christmas, and Tim took another furious bite of his sandwich but tasted nothing. Bernard seemed to remember Kon was there and his cheeks turned red.
“Uh, please don’t, like, tell him I said that,” he said to Kon.
“No sweat, dude, he hears it all the time.”
“I bet.”
“We shouldn’t ask Superboy personal information about his co-workers,” Tim said pointedly.
“Ask me anything” said Kon breezily, “I’m an open book.”
“Would Red Robin date a civilian?” Bernard asked immediately. Kon stifled a laugh.
“Let’s talk about something else,” Tim said, dropping his sandwich.
Bernard turned to him, with wide, apologetic eyes.
“Oh,” Bernard reached for his hand, “Don’t be jealous,” He rubbed his thumb against the back of Tim’s hand.
Tim tensed. Duke and Cass stared at Kon.
Kon looked like someone just punched him in the nose with kryptonite.
“Are you two dating?” he blurted.
Tim pulled his hand away.
“I thought Bernard was asking the questions,” said Tim.
Nobody moved. Kon looked distinctly betrayed.
Tim cleared his throat and tried again.
“Would it be an issue if we were?” Tim asked, challengingly.
Kon finally blinked out of his shock.
“No. It’s just security. For your security, I should know if you’re dating Bernard. You should’ve told me.”
“We’re not dating,” Tim said, eyes dropping tohis sandwich. Cass winced and Duke awkwardly looked away.
“Anymore,” Bernard added, quietly.
Impossibly, the table grew more tense.
Kon picked up a fry and dragged it through his ketchup.
“Do you guys want to hear about Superman’s birthday party?”
The civilians at the table lit up and begged him for details. Kon launched into the story, charismatically hitting the highlights, but Tim wasn’t fooled by his smiling exterior.
They were gonna have to talk about this.