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Sometimes Tim really had to ask himself if something was worth the effort.
For example: was it really worth his effort to not strangle Damian right now?
On one hand, Dick would be disappointed. On the other, he gets relief. Back to the first hand, it's really hit or miss whether Jason would be disappointed. On that second hand though, Tim might finally be free from this hell.
On the first hand, Alfred and Bruce would be very very disappointed.
On screen another blue shell hits Tim's cart and he doesn’t bother strangling the scream as he loses his place again.
"You motherfucker!" Tim spits as Damian races by him with a crow of victory.
"Ten dollars in the swear jar, Drake." Damian says even as he tilts his entire body to take a sharp turn.
"Fuck you." Tim says even as he tallies the swear jar cost in his head because he doesn't doubt that Alfred will find out one way or another. On screen Tim barrels through an item box and screeches with victory when he gets three speed mushrooms.
He takes them one after the other and passes Damian again just as they complete another lap and Damian hisses with displeasure. Tim swerves out of the way of some banana peels on the track and spies poor Luigi spin out behind them when he takes a turn.
"Give up, Drake."
"Never, you demon brat."
They smash through more item boxes and Tim watches as he gets a fucking banana peel that he tries to throw in Damian’s way. It doesn't work but at least he got rid of it. Fucking banana peels.
Damian pushes forward with a speed mushroom and Tim loses the lap.
They smash through more item boxes and Tim is starting to sweat because it's the final lap and he really needs something useful here.
A blue shell.
He gets a blue fucking shell. Fuck yes.
He manages to tuck past Damian around a corner and secure first place again and keeps it. It ends up looking like he’s not going to need to use the shell in the end when suddenly the worst music Tim has ever heard starts playing.
Damian rushes by, knocking Tim's character out of the way, to go to first place and move up. He had a fucking super star.
Tim screams and shoots off the blue shell as soon as his character stops careening around but he watches as it bounces off of Damian ineffectively. Damian shoots into first place and Tim barely manages to secure second with Bowser in a tight third.
Tim decides it is, in fact, not worth the effort at all.
He drops the controller and lunges for Damian. Damian drops his own controller and fights back immediately, the Mario Kart music a demented song to their grappling.
At one point Tim screams something about how Damian, 'was exactly like Luigi, just a sidekick,' and Damian screamed something about Tim being, 'just like Mario, basic.'
And before they know it there's Dick between them pulling them apart looking disappointed in them both.
"What is going on here?"
Tim and Damian share a glance and look away, a silent mutual understanding to not say a word.
"Seriously guys, I thought you were getting along better now. What was going on —"
"Nothing, Princess Peach, chill." Tim cuts off.
Dick stutters to a stop, a confused frown on his face but Damian snorts and brings a hand up to his face to hide his smirk.
"Princess? What?"
"Boy hostage? Princess Peach? Do you need a map too?" Tim holds up a finger in both hands and draws a line between them both.
The rapid blinking Dick sends his way is broken by the soft snickering from Damian that gets his attention.
"Seriously?" Dick's affront is only half fake, Tim can tell, "I was nine!"
"Yes," Damian says even as he betrays his favorite brother, "but you weren't always nine."
Dick throws his hands up in the air and walks out of the room muttering about how he doesn't know why he bothers and about legacies.
Tim shares a look with Damian and settles back onto the sofa.
"One more round?"
"You must enjoy losing, Drake."
"Best out of five."
"Yes. I will, in fact, be the best out of five. Start the game."
Time honestly wonders sometimes if some things are worth the effort. He takes a deep breath and starts the damn game.