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Tim would much rather be taking pictures of Batman and Robin than literally anything school-related, up to and including this stupid English essay he had to do by tomorrow. He’d been putting it off, and was actually putting it off even further, when he remembered one thing. Jason Todd, aka Robin, was an English nerd. Maybe Tim could do both.
Hence his school laptop stuffed in a bag as he stood on a rooftop, preparing himself for what was to come. This was one of the only stretches of Gotham that Robin patrolled by himself, which was why Tim waited here. Robin would be along in roughly thirty seconds, if all was going well.
Tim waited until he spotted the bright flash of a cape.
And then he screamed.
Tim couldn’t remember the last time he screamed. There was really no point, being alone most of the time, and in school the rest. He was pretty sure, though, the last time he screamed, it hadn’t been nearly so loud. It sounded piercing even to his own ears, and maybe this wasn’t the best way to execute his plan at one in the morning, but oh well. He’d already dug his grave. Tim screamed again.
Robin abruptly changed directions, straight towards Tim. Tim made a great show of flailing to grab his attention even more. “Help!”
Robin landed right next to Tim, immediately scanning the surrounding area for danger. “What’s wrong, kid? Are you okay? What -”
“I’m failing English. Or, I will if you don’t help me with my homework. Please.”
“I - what?”
“My English homework. My essay’s due tomorrow. On The Outsiders. And the role of physical violence in it. You need to help me.”
“Kid, what the hell are you talking about? I’m Robin, not your tutor.” Robin sounded vaguely amused, but mostly confused. Tim couldn’t blame him, but he could catch up a little faster.
“Yeah, but you’re a total nerd!” Tim huffed and crossed his arms.
Robin’s expression softened for some reason. “And what makes you think that?”
“Batman wouldn’t let you be Robin if you had bad grades,” Tim said confidently.
Robin paused, then looked at him carefully. “You’re not wrong, but that’s a weird assumption to make.”
“Yeah, well, I saw you read on patrol!” That was where Tim made his mistake, because he hadn’t intended to reveal the fact that he’d been following/stalking Batman and Robin.
“Wait, were you following me?” Robin frowned, staring at Tim disapprovingly. “Kid, you can’t -”
“Oh, like you’re hard to spot? So sorry, Mr. Traffic Light.” Tim rolled his eyes and gave Robin his very first flat look. “Are you going to help me or not?”
Robin smiled wryly. “C’mon - what even is your name - I have things to do.”
“It’s your civic duty, Robin! I’m a citizen - help me. That’s like your whole job.” Tim did his best to give Robin puppy eyes, but he’d been told he didn’t have the face for it.
Robin heaved a sigh. “The Outsiders, huh? I do like that book.”
Tim beamed and pulled out his laptop, sitting down cross legged on the ground. This was so cool! Jason Todd, the best Robin ever, was helping him with his homework! Because he was awesome! Tim couldn’t stop himself from grinning.
“So, whatcha got so far?” Robin sat next to Tim, peering over as he typed in the password.
“Absolutely nothing!” said Tim enthusiastically.
Robin groaned. “Of course. Okay, so, remind me what this is about?”
“The role of violence in the book.”
“Right.” Robin paused, tipping his head to the side. “Hold that thought, whatever your name is. Think about Johnny. Gotta take this.”
“Yes, B, I’m fine. I know I’m running late. I got caught up with a civilian. No, everything is fine. I probably won’t get back for a while. Just keep going, I’ll meet ya. Yes, I’m sure everything is fine. Robin out.”
“My name’s Tim,” Tim volunteered, putting absolutely no thought into Johnny.
“Already, Timmy, let’s go. So -”
Fifteen minutes of lecturing later, Tim had a first draft. Mostly just putting Robin’s rants into words, which meant minimum effort for Tim, a good grade, and time with the coolest Robin ever. By the time he was finished typing, Robin had scooted closer to see the screen, looking over Tim’s shoulder and pressing his side against Tim’s. Tim was in heaven.
“You’re hopeless,” Robin sighed, scanning through it. “Remind me why I’m doing this, Timbit?”
“If you don’t, I’ll leave you a bad review on Yelp,” Tim threatened with a smirk, daring to tip his head back against Robin.
“I don’t have a Yelp, I’m a vigilante.” Robin snorted, leaning down to squint at the Times New Roman words.
“Don’t you?” Tim resisted the urge to pull out his phone and show him.
Robin seemed to consider it, before he grinned. “Does everyone have one? What's on mine? Forget about mine, what’s on Dick’s - Nightwings?” Robin blanched, and Tim took pity on him.
“You know, you really shouldn’t call your, er, coworkers dicks, Robin. It’s rude.” Tim smirked, aware of how smug he looked.
Robin nudged him with his shoulder. “Oh, shut up. You’re too tiny to be cussing.”
“Fuck,” Tim deadpanned.
“Somewhere out there, a fairy just died.”
Silence.
“That was some sort of reference, wasn’t it?”
“You ignorant, ignorant child. This is why you’re failing English.” Robin shook his head solemnly.
“Not with the mighty Robin helping me! Consider this your good deed of the day.”
“I literally just stopped a mugging, brat.”
“And? Were you furthering the education of an impressionable young mind? Were you securing the future of Gotham with the new generation?” Tim put on his best serious face.
“We’re in the same generation, you know.”
Tim made a face, sticking his tongue out. “But you’re so old and wise, Robin!”
“Damn right I am. Saving the world one essay at a time. Say, what the hell is a shrimp like you doing reading The Outsiders? That’s like, freshman stuff. No way you’re that old.”
“I skipped a few grades,” Tim said primly, feeling suddenly embarrassed.
Robin crowed, but it didn’t seem mocking. Tim allowed himself a smile. “Boy, we gotta smart one here, don’t we?”
“Can’t be that smart, since I’m starting this the night before it’s due.”
Robin waved his comment away. “We all have our flaws.”
“English sucks anyway,” Tim said sulkily, glaring at the rough draft. “There’s no point.”
“What do you mean,” Robin drew himself up to his full height, and Tim knew he made a mistake, “there’s no point?”
Tim was treading on dangerous territory. Of course he’d forgotten how passionate Robin was about literature as he was getting help on his English essay. Typical. Tim never claimed to be brilliant.
“I -”
“Symbolism is everywhere, Tim! No one says what they mean, something represents something else. Knowing how to tell them apart will help you figure out what it means. You can see worldviews from so many people and time periods, and -”
Tim will admit he zoned out. It wasn’t entirely Robin’s fault, but Tim was tired and not super interested.
The wind picked up even more, and maybe Tim didn’t bring a coat. He’d been fine so far, with Robin’s warmth, but even that couldn’t shield him from the biting cold. Tim started to shiver.
Robin’s rant was cut short as he looked at Tim for a moment. “You didn’t bring a coat, did ya?”
“No.”
Robin sighed, then reached back, dislodging Tim as he fiddled with something. “C’mere, Timmy.”
Tim tentatively slid closer, then stiffened when he felt something wrap around him. A cape. Robin’s cape. Tim was wrapped in Robin’s cape.
Best. Day. Ever.
“Better?”
“Yeah,” Tim squeaked, then mentally cursed. He sounded so little. “So? Let’s keep going.”
Robin reached out and snatched the laptop. “Lemme read through this first.”
“‘Kay. Thanks, Robin.”
“Just doin’ my civic duty,” he said with a smirk.
The good mood didn’t last long.
“Tim,” Robin said slowly, “what the fuck is your spelling? Why are there so many extra vowels? How are you alive? No wonder you’re almost failing, you spelled physical three different ways within a page!”
“That’s a hard word,” Tim defended valiantly.
“Sure, but you could have least spelled it wrong consistently! Why is there an ‘e’ in develop? And important? Timberly, this is atrocious.”
“So? I spell it like it feels. Those needed ‘e’s for the vibe. Y’know?”
“This is spelling. No one gives a shit about the vibe. How have you gotten this far in life?”
“Bribery, obviously.”
Robin said nothing for a minute. “I’m going to ignore that, I think. You’re kidding. You’re kidding, right?”
Tim smiled innocently and remained quiet.
“You’re kidding,” Robin said one more time. “Anyway, have you heard of fucking spell-check? It’s super easy, all you do is press a button and it shows you all your spelling mistakes and how to fix them!”
“That’s cheating.”
“So is interrupting a hero’s patrol to ask them to practically write your essay for you.”
“My teacher didn’t mention that, actually. Should I ask?”
“Honestly, more concerned about the fact that you’re like eight and on a rooftop in the middle of the night. Seriously, kid, who the hell’s looking after you?”
“My parents, obviously.” Tim was trying not to panic. If Robin started caring about why he was out here, he might start caring about how often Tim was out here, and Tim really didn’t want to have to lie to his hero.
“And they’re cool with this?”
“I snuck out. They’re asleep and I’m really quiet. ‘Cause I’m slightly below average.”
Robin tucked his cape tighter around Tim and looked at him carefully. “Sure ya are. Tiniest eight year old I ever saw.”
“I’m eleven!”
“No way you’re eleven. You’re too tiny.” Robin looked him over with an expression of disbelief Tim honestly found offensive. He wasn’t that small!
“I am! And you’re not exactly average either!” Tim huffed and looked at Robin smugly. “You’re like two inches shorter than you should be.”
“And? I have prolonged childhood malnutrition to blame - what’s your excuse? Are you just chugging energy drinks all day? Coffee? No vegetables?”
Trained by the World’s Greatest Detective indeed. Tim looked down. “No. I - I don’t even know what energy is.”
“Really,” Robin said flatly. His gaze sharpened as he looked at Tim’s bag. “Then why is there a Red Bull in your backpack?”
“... Aesthetic purposes?”
Robin looked at him judgementally. “Of course.”
“No, seriously!” Tim was scrabbling for excuses. “I watched a documentary on photojournalism and this is part of the outfit!”
“Thought ya didn’t know what energy was. Seems to be a little much to be watching documentaries on photojournalism while having no basic understanding of science.” Robin almost sounded amused, if he hadn’t been so stern.
“We all have our hobbies,” Tim said, chin high.
Robin outright laughed and ruffled his hair. Tim went perfectly still.
“Shit, kid, sorry. Shoulda asked first, my bad.” Robin frowned apologetically.
Tim scrambled to correct him. “No, no, it’s okay, really. Just took me by surprise.” Tim chanced a small smile. “I don’t mind.”
Robin smiled back and slowly reached to ruffle his hair again. Tim leaned into the touch. “Anyway, kid, you really should start eating better. How can you be as cool as me if you don’t grow?”
Tim sighed. “Fine. Let’s get back to the essay?”
“The one I’m practically writing for you? Yeah, alright.” Robin chuckled and pulled the laptop closer. “What school do you go to anyway?”
Tim was not willing to tell Robin he was a trust fund kid and narrow down who he could be by saying Gotham Academy. So he said the first school that came to mind. “Harvard.”
That was unfortunate. For Tim.
Robin laughed again. “Oh, really? Seem a little young, Timmers.”
“I skipped a lot of grades.” Tim grinned impishly.
“And yet you still can’t spell coward. There is no ‘e’ in coward. Or a ‘u’. Do you take French? You should. This is the process of spelling in that wretched language.”
“Are you French-phobic?” Tim asked, but made a mental note to add French to his roster. After all, it was Robin-approved.
“Yes, Timberly. Very much so. Use fucking spell check, I’m begging you.” Robin heaved a long-suffering sigh.
“Nah. I got you for that!” Tim smiled brightly.
“I could be out there fighting a Rogue. I could be stopping a bank robbery. What am I doing? Helping some little punk with his homework.” Robin tipped his face to the sky, as if praying. “Tell me, why is this my fate - oh, shit! Hi, B. Did you hear that?”
Tim saw him reach up and tap something in his ear, probably his com. Awesome.
“Okay, yeah, I told you I was caught up with a civilian! This counts! No, I don’t know why he’s out at two am. Yes, I asked. Christ, B, relax. It’s good. We’re almost finished. He can’t even spell, he needs this. It’s my civic duty. Robin out.”
Tim couldn’t wipe the grin off his face. “Civic duty?”
“Shut up, you little brat.”
“If it’ll get Batman off your back, you can say this is an intervention? I mean, imagine if you weren’t here helping me? What I’d get up to? It’s a good thing you’re here. Read this.” Tim shoved his laptop at Jason, who was getting progressively paler as Tim spoke.
“ I - okay.”
A few minutes of typing later - Robin fixing typos and spelling mistakes - Robin looked back at him. “Hey, kid, this ain’t half bad! I think you should get at least a B!”
Tim would get an A, then. His teacher liked him, and the fact that everything was spelled correctly for once definitely would help. “Awesome! You’re the best, Robin!”
Robin grinned. “I know, I know. A real gift. Now, I gotta scram before Batman yells at me, and you gotta get some fucking sleep. So grab your stuff - not the Red Bull, I’m confiscating that - and go home. I can take ya. Where’s your house?”
Tim made a grab for the Red Bull as Robin snatched it, but he held it in the air, out of Tim’s reach. “Oh, around. I can make it home by myself.”
“I don’t think -”
Tim cut him off by unraveling himself from Robin’s cape - oh my god, Tim had been wrapped in Robin’s cape! - and pulling his backpack on. “It’s fine!”
“Tim -”
Tim was halfway down the fire escape before he called out one last goodbye. “Thanks again, Jason! You’re the best!”
Tim’s eyes widened at Robin’s shout, and then he did what any reasonable stalker would do. He ran.