Chapter Text
The feline boy lies easily on the ledge that peaks precariously at the top of one of the lower (but still nauseatingly high) skyscrapers in Gotham city. Stretching out a little initially, he hums with pleasure as he slumps down on his belly, legs crossed leisurely at the ankles, one arm between his cheek and the concrete ledge, and the other swinging playfully off the edge. He yawns and rolls his hips a little, a satisfied smirk taking his lips as he looks over the city through rose-tinted goggles.
It could be his if he wanted it. Selena has made that clear - that if he puts the work in, he can have anything he wants. But he doesn't want it. The light tings and jingles of the jewels in the pouch at his hips was enough for now. And that nasty, rich man that owned the jewellery store wouldn't miss them... Probably.
Everything feels so different for him since Selina. He'd always admired her, even if he forced that way, way down originally. Now, he has so much confidence he's never even dreamed of. And all because of her training. She was such a brilliant mother figure when he needed one, and maintained that until today. Add that to the fact that he's never felt as comfortable with himself as Red Robin, as he does now as Stray... His life is weirdly improving, with the use of unconventional methods.
He's atop their apartment building to be specific. He should go inside, someone could be hunting for the illusive cat burglar. But the city at 3am is so pretty and sparkly from up here. And, as for the danger of falling, cats always land on their feet, right?
Hearing the soft meow ahead of him, he looks up see a slender, black cat sleeking across the ledge towards him. His smile grows instantly.
"Good morning, princess..." He whispers, closing his eyes and allowing the feline to brush against his cheek. "How did you get up here? You know mumma doesn't like it when you go exploring like this."
The cat simply mews quietly in response, before purring as she nuzzles Tim's cheek, jawline and neck. This kitty - Liquorice, as Tim had so aptly named her - was the first that Tim adopted after moving in with Selena. A stray whom a few kids had seemed intent on torturing on Halloween. Tim saved her. And, after that, couldn't quite force himself to take her to a rehoming shelter.
He smooths a gloved hand over her fur at that memory, a proud grin firm in his expression. "Naughty kitty, not sticking to the rules." The precious items in the bag chink lightly as he shifts to pet the cat more. "I guess we have that in common, now."
He softly boops the kitty's nose, causing her to draw back and shake her head a little. He chuckles at this, before pouting at her to offer a kiss. She moves closer, once again, and he presses a soft smooch between her ears with an exaggerated 'mwah'.
"Look at our city, Liquorice." He sighs, returning his attention to the cityscape. "Look how pretty it is!"
Suddenly, the cat recoils, ears twitching with interest. Tim swings round to sit up, his feet planted on the roof now. He sits still for a moment, watching the cat hiss in the direction on the door block that encases the stairs into the apartment building.
"What is it, Liquorice? Have we found a new friend to play with?" He speaks loudly, tilting his head and petting the cat to calm her. "A sweet, little birdie, maybe?"
"Unfortunately not." Tim knows the voice, of course, but it's not the one he expects. He clears his throat a little to force an unfamiliar tone into his own voice, and lies back on the ledge once again, this time facing the stars.
"Well, that's just not fair. I wanted Nightwing. How am I supposed to know if I'm making you blush or not under that silly helmet?" He pouts up at the sky, before returning his attention to the other man. "Red Hood, is it?"
"Call me what you like, I'm the guy that's gonna be kicking your ass by sunrise." Jason replies with a smooth tilt of his head. "Y'know, it comes to something when Nightwing wants my help bringing down some petty thief. What's so special about you?"
"Petty thief?" Tim gasps mockingly, clawed gloves trailing his belt and the pouch that hangs from it. "Ouch. I'm offended!"
"Well, petty and thieving enough to get Nightwing's undivided attention, right now." Jason shrugs, moving closer, before leaning against a large air conditioning vent tube.
"Oooohh..." Tim purrs, rolling his hips up from the ledge, pushing his weight onto his shoulders and feet, a wide smirk held in his expression. Though, he'd be lying if he said he's not totally fangirling a little inside. It doesn't much matter how long he's known Dick, he still gets excited over being worthy of the hero's attention. "What a sweet compliment..."
Tim just knows Jason is rolling his eyes behind that helmet, a little from the kid's attitude and a little because he's totally jealous and why the hell does Dick get so much love from everyone, anyway?!
"Whatever." He growls. He's starting to get a little irritated now. Usually, he wouldn't even be doing this - talking comes after. But he's curious. He wants to know more about this kid before Dick gets his hands on him. This is his own little investigation. "So, what are you? Kitty Boy? Catlad? Some other typical thief with a feline alias?"
"Me?" Tim presses a hand to his chest, flicking his head round to look directly at Jason again. "I'm flattered you're so curious about me."
"Well, y'know what they say; curiosity killed the cat... And the only cat here, is you." Jason is smooth with his reply, maybe sort of enjoying this the tiniest little bit.
"And Liquorice." Tim grins, gesturing to the kitty that still perches calmly by his head.
"Yeah, cute." Jason shrugs, still a little uncomfortable having said cat watching him this whole time.
"Awh, thanks, sweetie." Tim licks his lips a little, enjoying this more than he probably should. But he never really gets to see this side of Jason. He likes it. And he's also currently absolutely loving the thrill of knowing that the only thing stopping Jason discovering his identity is a few scraps of fabric, a fake accent and some pretty, red goggles.
"I was talking about the cat." Jason growls lowly, maybe slightly annoyed that this kid is making him blush a little.
"Mmhmm." Tim hums in dismissive agreement, hooking a clawed fingertip into the loop on the zipper of his catsuit and drawing it down the smallest amount. "Of course."
"Quit screwing around. Let’s start with something simple - gimme a name." Jason commands firmly, and Tim has to force himself not to laugh.
Tim sits up sleekly, back arching perfectly as he does so. "My name?" He turns to sit facing the roof and Jason, and spreads his legs slightly, pressing his hands to the ledge between his thighs, before looking up at the other male. His smirk grows as he realizes, he can have so much fun here... He can really tease Jason, he can give him clues, he can dangle the truth right in front of his face... "So, if you're Red Hood... Would you believe me if I said I was Robin Hood?"
"Stealing from the rich, giving to the poor?" Jason releases a short laugh at this. "Hate to break it to you, kid, but British folklore's already claimed that one. Try again."
"Awh, but we'd make such a brilliant team that way!" Tim pouts exaggeratedly. "Red Hood and Robin Hood - sounds like a real dream team, don't it? Red and Robin. What a perfect combination." He gasps mockingly, sitting up a little straighter. "Oooohh! Robin has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"
Jason noticeably tenses for a second, causing Tim's smile to grow, before he replies. "No. That one's taken too."
"Oh, damn. What a shame!" Tim laughs, enjoying this more than he should.
"No more games, kitty." Jason orders strongly, and Tim would be lying if he said hearing Jay call him that in that voice didn't get him totally hot. "Your real name. Now."
"Maybe Duckling would be cute one, if bird alias' are all the rage right now..." Tim answers in a second. "Wait. No. I'm too grown up for that. I'm a big boy now. A scary, adult duck." He laughs leisurely at how dumb this sounds.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Jason draws back a little in confusion. Of course he doesn't get it. Tim is using Riddler-level clues here. Drake. A grown, male duck is called a drake. Jason's just too riled up to put the clues together. It's cute.
"Never mind. I can see the laws of the animal kingdom go way over your head." Tim grins, pushing to stand from the ledge. "Just like this-" he saunters over to Jason, really thankful that the solid heels in his boots give him an extra couple of inches. "You thought it was a clever idea to help a bird catch a cat. Silly boy."
"Boy?" Jason draws back, losing his confidence from his voice for a moment and just sounding the slightest bit insulted. "What the-"
"Why do you have to hide your pretty face, Red Hood?" Tim purrs through a pout. Slowly, he lifts his hands to Jason's neck, walking gem-set claws up the small amount of exposed skin at Jason's throat. "I bet you're so gorgeous under there..."
"Quit screwing around." Jason hisses lowly, slapping Tim's hand from his neck whilst simultaneously capturing the boy's wrist in a one side of a set of metal cuffs. "Name. Now."
"Cuffs? Kinky!" Tim giggles, flexing his wrist between the metal. His laughter increases when he realizes something. "These are Nightwing's cuffs, aren't they? I've been in them enough to know most of his sets. I like the scuffs on these..."
"Let's just say I'm the type to shoot first, cuff later. Generally doesn't reach the cuffing point." Jason growls darkly and Tim feels a slight shiver run down his spine at the tone in Jason's voice.
"But you're not shooting me? N'awww! I'm flattered!" Pushing up close to Jason, hiding his cuffed wrist between them, Tim beams up at him.
"Don't be. It's only because your perfect, pretty birdie told me not to." Jason's voice is low, as he attempts to take Tim's other wrist, but of course, Tim sees this coming and counters it before it even begins. He knows that Jason's bluffing - there's no way he would've just come in here and killed an almost-innocent thief - but that doesn't stop the shiver of discomfort it sends through Tim's body.
"Y'know," Tim begins, changing the subject purely to show how in control of the situation he is. "I used to love the colour red... But - yeah - I grew out of it."
"Great." Jason huffs dismissively, grabbing clumsily for Tim's other wrist (the latter easily dodging this). "Play nice, kitty. You're not the only thing on my agenda tonight. I have other shit to attend to."
"Awh! Running out on me before the morning's up?" Tim pouts when Jason suddenly has him flipped - the cat boy's back pressed flush to the other's chest. "Where are your manners, Hood?"
"Screw manners, let’s just skip to the good bit, shall we?" Jason makes a sudden blind grab for Tim's cowl and goggles, to which the younger ducks to dodge easily.
"Wow! You take things fast!" Tim laughs, grinding his ass against Jason's crotch for a moment, humming with pleasure. "Not on the first date!"
"Date? You wish..." Jason snarls between groans of exertion at trying to restrain the younger boy. But Tim can just hear the blush in his tone.
"Awh!" Tim whines playfully, still rubbing up against Jason (a little disappointed to remember that masked vigilantes always wear a cup). "What? You more of a one night stand sorta guy?"
"I'm more of a 'getting your pretty ass in cuffs and back to Nightwing so you’re no longer my problem' sorta guy." Jason replies smoothly, and it makes Tim laugh a very Tim-like laugh. He cuts it off immediately. Nope. He's not getting caught. Especially not by Jason fucking Todd.
Jason pauses for a moment and Tim just knows he's working it out. Tim takes advantage in this lapse in Jason's concentration, and, grabbing Jason's arm and twisting their right legs together, flips him onto his back on the hard concrete. He straddles Jason, connecting Jason's right hand into the empty half of the cuffs (alongside his own left) and restraining his other arm by his foot to the older boy's wrist, spreading his own legs even further.
"I love it when people underestimate me." He murmurs, using a metallic claw the pick the mechanism on his side of the cuffs. Jason tugs on the restraint, making it hard for Tim to focus on the wilding moving lock.
"Be a good boy and stay still." Tim orders, biting his lip in concentration, but he soon manages to minimize movement by tensing his muscles and bringing his arm closer to his chest. He has a few good moments on this and is barely a second from release, when Jason tugs on the cuffs one last time, causing Tim to be tugged down onto his chest.
"If you wanted me that bad, you really should've just asked." Tim whispers, using this moment to finally release the cuff on his wrist, immediately pinning Jason's arm with his now free hand.
"Trust me, you're not my type." Jason growls through his struggles against Tim's grip.
"I'm heartbroken." Tim laughs quietly against Jason's neck. "You don't like bad boys?" He draws a claw down the centre of Jason's helmet, moaning a little. "I'm gonna keep this... As a souvenir."
"The hell you are!" Jason snaps, but he's barely finished the words before Tim has removed the helmet easily. The cold air hits Jason's face and he's suddenly very thankful that he always wears his eye mask underneath.
"You see, now you've just made me wanna hurt you..." Jason snarls, and Tim simply sighs peacefully at how nice it is to hear Jason's voice not muffled by his helmet.
"Great. I've always been a masochist at heart." Tim chuckles. He returns to straddling Jason once he's sure he has both arms suitably pinned with his hands and has no need for his foot there anymore. He leans down, tracing his lips over Jason's before the other turns his face away.
"I was right - you are too pretty to be hiding like that..." He purrs, pressing a slow kiss to Jason's cheek. He shouldn't. He really shouldn't. DNA checks would show it was him. But he can't resist. This is too much fun! Plus, he'll probably be the guy Dick wants to do the DNA checks. It'll be fine.
He kisses Jason's neck now, slowly. He's wanted this for so long. Rolling his hips against Jay's, he moans lightly against his skin. This is like every one of his best fantasies...
"Nightwing doesn't have to know... We can play... And then you can go act like this whole thing never happened... It would be a lot less embarrassing for you... And far more exciting for me."
Jason's eyes are closed now and his breathing is deep and heavy - it's obvious he's trying to ignore the situation (and is failing terribly).
"Nobody..." Tim breaths against Jason's lips. "Needs to know..."
He kisses Jason now, and it's barely seconds before Jason is kissing back. Well, that didn't take much persuasion. And now Tim's mind is a mess. Because oh my god. Jason is kissing him. Oh wow. Jason is really kissing him! Practically tongue-fucking Tim's mouth. Tim shudders at the thought of that tongue somewhere else on his body, and if he wasn't already, he's definitely hard now. It's uncomfortable in the restrictive leather and snaps him back to reality, reminding him that he does actually have a job to do. But then Jason bites his lip and his mind is lost again. Wow. He's never been this easily distracted before, but wow. He's lost completely in this. Because this is Jason Todd. This is the guy he used to imagine late at night when he was alone, and dreaming of what it would be like to be fucked by Robin. This is the guy that he used to watch training. This is the guy that had Tim madly loving how much he hated him. Tim has been craving Jason's attention for as long as he can remember, and now he has it! Completely! Undivided! Tim's nearly cumming at just that thought because that is so hot!
He moans into the kiss, before pulling back for air and whining slightly. "Jay..."
"Wait. What?!" There's a split second lapse of concentration and now Jason has Tim pinned, slammed hard against the concrete. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me!" He snarls, hoping for his suspicions to be disproved. Of course, roughly tugging off the cowl and goggles of the boy below him (accidentally tugging his hair a little, much to Tim's surprised, confused arousal), said suspicions are all but confirmed.
"Tim, you- You fucking- I can't- Argh!" Jason stands quickly and hides his face in his hands because this so isn't happening right now. Jesus Christ... "What the fuck are you doing?!"
Tim laughs uncomfortably and offers a short shrug. "Hi..."
"Don't 'hi' me, Drake! Not when you've just- And when- And- Oh my god, I just can't believe you right now!" Jason is yelling and ranting and throwing his hands in the air. "You're so lucky I don't kill you right now."
"Jason..." Tim blushes and looks to the ground, leaning back on his hands. "I was just-"
"What if you got caught doing this shit?" Jason pushes a hand through his hair and releases a sound of pure irritated anger. "You wouldn't last barely a week in jail, Tim."
"Well, I wasn't planning on letting Dick catch me. And no one else was bothering to come after me..." Tim mumbles, more than confused why Jason isn't questioning the fact Tim just stuck his tongue down his throat! Oh god...
"You have to stop this! Right now!" Jason warns sternly, before throwing his helmet a little too forcefully to Tim. "Put this on."
"Bu-"
"No, Tim! Put it on. Now." Jason snaps, cutting through Tim's protests. "I'm not risking anyone else finding out about your Cat Lad bullshit. This covers more of your face."
"It's Stray, not Cat Lad..." Tim murmurs begrudgingly, staring down at Jason's helmet in his hands. Jason's helmet. That he never lets anyone wear, ever.
"What was that?!" Jason hisses, obviously irritated by anything Tim does in this moment.
"Nothing! I just-" Tim clears his throat a little and lowers his voice. "The name... It's- My name's Stray."
Jason stares at Tim in bemused silence for a moment, a single eyebrow raised. He blinks at Tim, dumbfounded.
"That is not your name." Jason states. It's firm and definite. Most certainly not a question. "You're not some cat kid, Tim. Stop screwing around... And put the fucking helmet on!"
Tim's expression draws into an angered scowl and he throws the helmet back with as much force behind it as he can muster. "Because I'm some bat kid, right? Fuck off, Hood. I'm not that guy anymore."
"'That guy'? Do you mean Red Robin; or Tim?" Jason asks bluntly, his frustration masking the hurt in his expression.
Tim is silent for a moment. "I'm not sure."
"Perfect." Jason growls sarcastically. "Stand up."
"What? Why?" Tim snaps back immediately, but follows he order nonetheless.
"Because I'm turning you in." Tim doesn't even have time to react beforehand Jason has him spun and has cuffed his wrists behind his back. "You say that you're not 'that guy' - that you're not my teammate - anymore? Great. Then I have no reason to protect you."
"Jay, don't-"
"I'm not listening to any more of this bullshit." Jason hisses lowly, using a second pair of cuffs to lock Tim to the air conditioning vent.
"You know I can get out of these cuffs, right?" Tim calls when Jason begins to walk away. The older male lifts his cell to his ear slowly refusing to look back at Tim. The woman's voice through the phone informs him that he's reached Gotham Police Department and asks how she can help. His mouth goes dry, before he speaks.
"Yeah, I found someone you're looking for." He replies darkly, before giving the woman the correct coordinates and hanging up abruptly.
He sighs inwardly, closing his eyes, still not looking back at Tim. He can't. He just needs to get out of here.
But of course. Of course he knows Tim can escape those cuffs. He's known that all along. In fact, he's counting on it...