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A few days ago, Bruce had rushed back into the manor after shortly leaving for patrol. He’d gone alone but come back with company. In his arms, wrapped up in an emergency blanket and shivering, was Tim. The excitement that had washed over Jason on seeing his friend soon turned to confusion when Bruce hurried past him and Dick, calling for Alfred to meet him in the lair. Jason and Dick had shared a worried look - one even more serious than the one they reserved for when there was only one slice of pizza left - and fled down the stairs after Bruce.
It turned out that whilst passing The Drake’s, Bruce had spotted Tim outside on his own, just as a blizzard was beginning. Bruce had asked him why he was outside, and more importantly why he was alone, only to find out that the nanny hired to look after him had left early that morning to avoid the storm herself, leaving Tim on his own, who’d decided he needed to venture out before the storm to get some food. Dick and Jason weren’t told this, but a glass against the wall trick never lets them down.
“Do you think Tim’s gonna end up living here too?” Jason had asked Dick that night as they stood on the countertops. He was looking through the snacks whilst Dick was sifting through the boxes of cereal.
“Definitely,” Dick replied without hesitation. He leaned back so he could see Jason, and motioned between the two of them, “Look at his track record.”
Jason had snorted, and realised his older brother was right. Bruce’s record showed that he adopted one hundred percent of the kids he took in; he couldn’t see Tim being any different, especially if his parents weren’t living up to Bruce’s expectations. “It’s gonna be weird having a younger brother.” He’d grabbed two packets of chips before hopping off the counter.
“Yeah, they’re pretty annoying,” Dick had teased and joined Jason on the floor, ruffling his hair. “Buuuuut you get used to it.”
“Hey!” Jason whined, elbowing Dick.
“See?” Dick had put his arm around Jason’s shoulders, the other holding various snacks and juice boxes to his chest. “Sooo annoying.”
It’s Wednesday when Tim finally emerges from the medbay. Jason and Dick had tried to sneak in to see him multiple times, only to get caught just as they thought they were in the clear. They’d eventually agreed to wait until Tim was ready, though asked if Tim had liked the gift basket they’d put together for him. Bruce had promised them that he did, and had thanked them for being so kind, before sending them back upstairs with Alfred.
Now, Tim stands in the doorway to the lounge with Bruce, hidden behind his leg. From was Jason can see of him, he looks tired, with heavy set eyes and one fist cuffing Bruce’s trouser leg.
“Boys,” Bruce is the first out of all of them to speak, sliding his hand to rest against the back of Tim’s head, “Tim will be staying with us for a little while.”
“Cool!” Jason says, at the same time Dick says ‘okay’. “What room does he get?” He sits up, careful not to his Dick’s knee with his own. “Oh! Is it the one by the library?”
“Actually, I was going to talk to you about that, Jaylad,” Bruce replies, signalling for Jason to come over. He crouches next to Tim, “Go sit with Dick, I won’t be a second.”
Jason ruffles Tim’s hair as they cross one another, pride bursting through his chest when it provokes the smallest of smiles from him. He follows Bruce out of the lounge and into the hallway. Once Bruce is crouched in front of him, he asks, “What is it, dad?”
Bruce’s hands rest on his legs, hands dangling over his inner thighs. “I want you to be honest with me when I ask you this, okay?”
Jason nods, though secretly hopes that it’s not about the fact he accidentally overfed the goldfish yesterday. “Okay.”
“How would you feel about changing rooms for a little while?” Bruce asks. “You’d be going to the room on the other side of Dick’s, and Tim would be in yours as it’s right next to mine. If it’s-”
Jason cuts him off, “Will it help Tim?”
“It will,” Bruce tells him. “And it won’t be long term, just until-”
Again, Jason cuts Bruce off. “He can have my room,” he says. “I don’t mind.”
Bruce smiles and leans forward to kiss Jason’s forehead. “Thank you, Jason.”
Jason smiles toothily, showing off the gap where his right front tooth should be.
Tim’s much quieter than he usually is, and despite their best efforts, everything Dick and Jason do to try and get him out of his shell, nothing works. For the last few hours they’ve racked their brains to try and get Tim back to his happy, energetic self, only for their attempts to be in vain.
“What do you want to do?” Dick asks, sitting on the edge of the coffee table. He places his juggling balls next to him. “Maybe a puppet show?”
“Puppet shows are stupid,” Jason says upon reentering the room, holding a bag of frozen peas against the side of his head, the unfortunate victim of Dick’s juggling routine. “Besides, you can never do the right voices.”
“Can to,” Dick replies, though turns his attention back to Tim. He leans in closer, trying to get a look at Tim’s face with his head drooped down, “What about going outside? There’s not a storm anymore, I’m sure we’ll be allowed to play outside in the snow.”
Finally, Tim speaks. “Okay,” he says softly, sitting up. His eyes are still heavy but Bruce had said he’ll be all right until later on, even if that meant an early bedtime or afternoon nap. “But…” he fiddles with his fingers, “I don’t have a coat with me.”
“You can borrow one of mine,” Jason says, and runs off to get one before Tim can answer.
The coat is too big for Tim. The black and red material hangs above his knees and the sleeves have to be rolled up in order for him to use his hands. Regardless, it’s warm and had left enough space for Bruce to layer him up in some of Jason and Dick’s old jumpers.
The snow outside is thicker than any of the boys had planned, coming up to Tim’s knees. It’s for this reason Alfred had cleared a path and a couple of yards for them. Despite this, Jason and Dick had insisted on holding Tim’s hands to make sure he didn’t fall. Unbeknownst to any of them, Bruce had snapped a picture of them from the kitchen window.
“First things first,” Dick announces once they’re on the cleared ground, the snow now only a couple of inches high. “Snowman competition.”
“But, we don’t have any carrots,” Tim points out, using the hand Dick let go of to fix his (Dick’s) hat.
“Don’t we?” Jason pulls three carrots out of his pockets.
Standing with his hands on his hips, Dick asks, “Did you steal them from the fridge?”
“I would never steal!”
Dick gives him a pointed look.
Jason rolls his eyes. “Alfred gave them to me. Who, by the way, I’d never steal from.”
Half way through the competition, Jason notices Tim frantically looking between his and Dick’s snowmen. They’ve got the advantage of height and strength on their side, with Jason’s snowmen being wider and Dick’s being taller, and it clearly hasn’t gone unnoticed to Tim, whose snowman is rather small. Pushing his competitiveness aside and trying to think like the older brother he now is, he decides to help Tim.
“Tim, your snowman is so much better than mine,” he whispers to Tim whilst Dick is looking for pinecones, “can we work together?”
Tim furrows his eyebrows together. “Yours is way better than mine, Jason. Besides… isn’t that breaking the rules?”
Jason shrugs his shoulders. “We’re the younger brothers, we can get away with it,” he says, not missing the way Tim’s eyes glisten momentarily.
“Okay!” Tim says enthusiastically. “Let’s do it.”
Another ten minutes lead to two completed snowmen, as well as three red noses on each of the boys. They stand to the side whilst Bruce inspects the two snowmen, Alfred on his way down with a tray of hot chocolate.
“Ah, Alfred,” Bruce says upon spotting him. “Just the person I need. Would you like to assist me in judging these snowmen?”
“Why of course, Master Bruce” Alfred replies. He hands the boys a mug of hot chocolate each, before handing one to Bruce, as well. “I must say,” he looks at the two snowmen, “these are some wonderful snowmen, I don’t know if we’ll be able to choose a winner. Perhaps it’s a tie.”
Bruce, after a sip of his hot chocolate, nods his head in agreement. “I think you’re right. It’s a tie, boys.”
Jason, who’s ready to argue that there has to be a winner, decides against it when he sees how happy Tim is. He can’t help but compare him to a puppy with a wagging tail. “Okay, it’s a tie,” he agrees, before his face breaks into a smirk. “But it’s only because you don’t want to tell Dick how awful his snowman is.”
“Hey!” Dick whines. He’s quick to put his mug down and roll a snowball, throwing it in Jason’s face. He doesn’t stick around for Jason to throw one back at him, instead racing up to the house, calling over his shoulder for Jason to try and catch him.
“Come on Tim,” Jason puts his mug down, and Tim’s too, before taking his hand and beginning to run after Dick, “let’s show him who’s faster!”
Once they’re inside, they stay inside. The three of them change into pyjamas and sit down for lunch; soup with hot, buttered rolls and juice boxes. After that Bruce announces he has to leave for a work meeting, though assures them he’s only a phone call away should they need him. They spend the afternoon watching films, with Tim falling asleep between them halfway through the third one, his head on Dick’s shoulder, his bare feet pressed against Jason’s legs.
“Hey Dick?” Jason calls quietly.
Dick turns to look at him. “Yeah?”
“Am I doing it right?”
“Doing what right?”
“Being an older brother,” Jason replies.
Dick nods his head, “Yeah, you’re doing it right,” he says, moving his hand out to fix Jason’s hair the same time Jason goes to do the same to Tim. “I’d be thrilled to have you as my older brother.”
After they finish the movie, Dick decides to spend some time practising his gymnastics; something he usually practises every day, but has put on the backburner since Tim’s arrival. “Whatever you do,” he says, just before he leaves the room, “don’t watch The NeverEnding Story.”
Jason, though his cheeks tint pink, rolls his eyes. “I only had one nightmare.”
“Yeah. Every night for two weeks,” Dick points out. “Don’t watch it, especially if Tim wakes up.”
Jason shoos Dick with a wave of his hand. “All right, whatever.”
Just as Jason’s falling asleep that night, he hears something outside his bedroom door. He sits up, glad for the nightlight in his room, and strains his ears. He hears it again. He works out what it is quickly; shuffling feet and muffled crying. He’s confused for a couple of seconds; Dick never usually makes a sound when he’s sleepwalking, he definitely doesn’t cry, and then he remembers. Tim.
He jumps out of bed and rushes to the door, opening it to find Tim stood there. His hair is all over the place and his eyes are red and shiny with tears, cheeks puffy and wet. “Tim,” he rubs his eyes, “what’s wrong?”
“I-I had a nightmare,” Tim replies, breath hitching. “I didn’t wanna wake an-anyone, so I was gonna sleep on the couch. S-sorry”
It’s then that Jason realises that behind Tim, trailing rather elegantly, is his bedsheets. He takes Tim’s hand, “I know just the cure for nightmares.”
Quietly, Jason opens the door to Dick’s bedroom. With Tim’s hand in his and a storybook under his arm, he leads the way to Dick’s bed. Of course, Dick is already asleep, Zitka his elephant plush in his arms. Jason reaches out to gently shake him.
“Dick,” Jason says, loud enough for Dick to hear but not loud enough to alert Bruce or Alfred. He shakes him again, getting impatient when he barely stirs. “Diiiiick,” he whines.
Dick’s eyes open, though on account of seeing Jason, he shuts them again. “Go away,” he mumbles, voice laced with sleep.
“You need to get up,” Jason says, poking him in the ribs. He tries not to laugh at the yelp Dick gives. “We- Tim, needs a story.”
Dick sits up at the mention of Tim, and rubs his eyes. “What happened?”
“Tim had a nightmare,” Jason explains. He pulls the sheets of Dick’s bed back and lets Tim climb in, before climbing in next to him. He puts the storybook on Dick’s lap, “So you need to read to us- him, to him.”
Dick shakes his head. “Did you let him watch The NeverEnding Story?” He asks, turning his bedside lamp on.
“No!” Jason says, perhaps a little too defensively. He’d put it on, but he hadn’t let Tim watch it! If Tim was awake when it was playing, Jason didn’t know, he’s not to blame. “There’s other reason to have nightmares.”
“Yeah yeah.” Dick gets Zitka and hands her to Tim, “Hold her, she’ll protect you,” he promises. He lets his younger brothers get comfy, with Tim leaning into him and Jason into Tim, before opening the book and beginning to read. “Once upon a time…”
Tim isn’t sure what the time is when he wakes up. What he is sure of, however, is that he’s extremely comfortable. On his left is Dick, with his head just above his own, and to his right is Jason, forehead pressed against the tip of his ear. Both of them have an arm across Tim’s front, and he can’t deny that this is the safest he’s felt in a long time. Quickly, his eyes shut again, desperate to bask in the haven created by his older brothers.