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Jason had been feeling eyes on him for a while now. It felt like someone had been following him on his patrols since he started being Robin. He kept seeing things out of the corner of his eye, but Batman never mentioned anything so Jason figured it was nothing.
He saw something out of the corner of his eye now, and he paused on a rooftop pretending to look at the street below.
There. There was someone standing on the fire escape of the next building.
Time to confront his little shadow.
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Tim swore he had only looked down at his camera for a second, but Robin was already gone. He huffed. It was still early, he didn’t want to go back home yet.
“What are you doing, kid?”
Tim let out an embarrassing squeak and turned around.
That… That was Robin standing behind him. Robin was talking to him! That was Jason!
Robin was staring at him.
Shoot. He’d asked a question hadn’t he?
“Uhhh… I’m just getting some fresh air.”
“Uh huh. With your camera?”
“It’s my emotional support camera.”
Robin smirked.
Yes! He got Robin to smile. Score one for Tim.
But then Robin sighed. “Do your parents know you’re out here?”
Think fast. “They’re not home.” shoot. He wasn’t supposed to tell the truth. “There’s a babysitter.” That was believable, right? Did kids his age even have babysitters? He thinks so, though he hasn’t had one in over two years. But he was special, almost grown up. His parents said so.
“Well, you should probably get home before you worry your babysitter.”
“But–”
“No buts. Little kids like you should be in bed by now.”
“I’m not little!”
Robin raised an eyebrow at him. It was impressive how the mask could show that.
“How about,” Robin started, “I take you home.”
Nope. That couldn’t happen. Tim was grown up enough to be on his own, but his parents also said it was best if other people didn’t know that. It would mean they'd underestimate him. Tim didn’t really care about that. But he didn’t want to make them upset. “It’s okay. I can get home on my own.”
“I don’t think–” Robin tilted his head. Tim thought that he might be listening to his comm. Robin turned to him again. “Are you sure you can make it on your own?”
“Yup.”
“Fine then. It looks like I have to go. You go straight home, agreed?”
Tim nodded.
“Good, and I better not see you again. It’s not safe out here.” With that Robin shot his grapple and disappeared into the night.
Tim smiled so wide it hurt his mouth. This was his best day ever! Robin had talked to him and he’d gotten some good pictures.
Best day ever!
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Tim ran through one of the Tower’s hallways. Well, more like he hobbled through the hallway since one of his ankles was definitely broken, and his ribs were probably fractured, and he could hardly see out of one eye, and the fingers of his left hand were crooked, and… well let’s suffice it to say that he was heavily injured.
“Come out, come out wherever you are.”
Tim’s breath hitched and he stumbled, sliding down the wall and leaving a bloody smear. He was trying to push himself to his feet when something slammed into his back. He grunted, his arms collapsing and making him faceplant into the floor. He didn’t have a chance to recover before a steel toed boot was slamming into his side.
The boot flipped him onto his back and then pressed onto his chest. Tim wheezed.
“Got you.”
Jason stared down at him, eyes blazing green and a deranged smile pulling at his lips. He leaned forward putting more pressure on Tim’s chest. He heard something crack and a whine escaped him.
Jason chuckled.
“And here I thought my replacement would put up more of a fight.”
“I’m not–” Tim cut off as the pressure increased, his hands scrambled at the boot pressing into him but he couldn’t get the bigger man off of him.
Jason’s still holding part of Tim’s broken bo staff and he swings it down. Tim barely has time to get his hands up so that it doesn’t slam into his face. It comes down again landing across his ribs. Jason brings it down a few more times before tossing it to the side and lifting Tim up by his throat. He slams him into the wall. Tim feels his ribs shift and prays that they don't pierce a lung.
But would it really matter at this point? Tim can’t breathe and Jason isn’t letting up. His vision was starting to go black. Would Jason just keep beating him up after he blacked out? Would he be just another dead Robin?
“You should have stayed behind the camera, Replacement.” Jason said, leaning in close.
And Tim… Tim blacked out.