Chapter Text
Wayne Manor Estate
Dark shadows surrounded him, not a single thing to be seen. But not to be heard. An occasionally terrible cackle was heard, a mere whisper, but as much as he tried, he could not locate the sound. Suddenly a hand grasped his shoulder and he whirled, fear shooting through him. But nothing was there. He wished he had his staff with him, but he was weaponless. He would just have to rely on his wits. But in reality, he really just wanted to curl into a ball and hope that the terrible thing out there would leave him alone. He whipped his head around as another cackle of laughter was heard, but this time it didn’t stop. It filled the air around him, coming from all directions. He whipped his head from side to side, desperately trying to locate the source of the terrible sound. He held his hands to his ears, desperately trying to block out the sound of the laughter. He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, and he whipped around to stare into bright green eyes and a pale face. He screamed, and everything went black.
Tim Drake woke screaming, and he sat bolt upright in bed, his chest heaving. His head whipped around the room, taking in every detail. Only then did he realise he wasn’t alone. A hand was rested on his shoulder, firm but reassuring. Tim stared at the man, breathing hard. All he could see were the green eyes and pale face of his biggest nightmare: The Joker. But as he calmed down and regained his breath, he saw that the man before him was not the Joker at all. It was Alfred Pennyworth, Batman’s butler. He was murmuring words to him, but he couldn’t make any of it out. His head was spinning, and his breath was coming in quick, rapid gasps. He felt Alfred rubbing his back gently, drawing circles on it. He eventually calmed down, taking in deep breaths.
“It's ok, Tim, it was only a nightmare,” Alfred comforted.
Tim took a deep breath, still staring at Alfred. Holding onto the fact that he was here. That he wasn’t the Joker. That the nightmare was gone. He slowly tore his gaze from Alfred’s and buried his head in his hands, trying to rid himself of the image of the Joker’s bright, piercing green eyes and pale, white face. And that grin, that terrifying grin that had smiled over the torture of his victims. He took another deep breath, then let the tears fall.
“Tim, I really think you should see Master Bruce about this,” Alfred said gently. “This has been happening quite frequently, and nothing is helping.”
He was right, of course. He’d been having these nightmares more and more frequently, until he could barely get a good night's sleep. Oh, and not to mention he could barely stay awake in class. His teacher was getting more and more annoyed at him, and he could do nothing about it. He’d tried medication, but he’d ended up taking too much to the point where Alfred had had to put an end to it. And why wouldn’t he confide in Bruce about it? Well, it’d probably result in no more patrolling with him at night. No more stopping crimes. No more fun adventures. Bruce would see that this superhero thing was affecting him, and he’d put an end to it. So, under no circumstances could he tell him. Though he wasn’t sure how long Alfred could keep a secret.
Tim shook his head, sniffing. “No,” he mumbled.
“Tim, I must insist,” Alfred insisted. “Bruce will understand.”
Tim shook his head again, lifting his head out of his hands. “I can’t, Alfred. He’ll cut me off from Robin.”
Alfred was silent for a moment. At last he sighed. “Would you rather continue to have these nightmares or fix them?”
“They’ll fix themselves,” Tim reassured Alfred, as much as himself. “They have to,” he whispered.
There was a long silence, then Alfred stood and walked to the door. “I will leave you to get ready then.”
“Ready?” Tim asked, confused. “For what?”
“Why, school.” Alfred left the room, closing the door quietly.
Tim groaned and fell back into the comfort of his bed. He closed his eyes, already tired. He’d been on patrol nearly all night last night, and he’d only had two hours of sleep. He was so not ready for today. As his eyes were closed, an image of the Joker flashed through his mind, and his eyes snapped open, and he could have sworn he’d seen the Joker before him, but it vanished as soon as it had come. He sighed and stood from his bed, walking over to the massive window to the right of his bed. He tiredly peeked through the curtains and was greeted with a blinding light. Great. It really was morning already. Sighing, he walked over to his closet and pulled out his clothes for school. He put them on, then walked to the mirror to fix his messed-up hair. As he looked up at his own reflection he realised his eyes were still red from crying. He rubbed his eyes, then fixed his hair. At last he grabbed his bag and tiredly opened the door. He staggered out, tripping over his own feet.
Can I please go back to bed…?
Tim made his way through the maze of Wayne Manor mansion to the massive kitchen and collapsed into a chair. Too tired to get something to eat, he rested his head on his arms on the table, closing his eyes. He began to drift off, when he heard someone calling his name. He blinked his eyes open reluctantly and looked up to see Bruce staring down at him.
Oh shoot–
Tim sat bolt upright, blinking hard. “Bruce, um, hi. Uh, what’re you doin’?”
Bruce frowned down at him. “I could ask the same thing. What’s wrong?”
“Oh, uh, nothing,” Tim stammered. “Just, uh, y’know, getting in a quick nap before–before–” He broke off into a huge yawn.
“Mhm,” Bruce nodded. “Just what I thought. Hey, Tim, I’ve been thinking…”
Oh no oh no oh no don’t say it…I’ll do anything! I’ll do all the dishes here (I know you have other people do that but still!) and I’ll, uh, I’ll clean the Batmobile everyday! Just don’t take Robin away from me–
“I was thinking of taking you to school today,” Bruce finished.
Tim’s mouth dropped open. Ok, he wasn’t expecting that. Bruce Wayne, the billionaire, driving him to school! How cool would that–oh wait. No, that would not be cool.
“I have a meeting early today, so I thought I’d drop you off on my way there,” Bruce continued. He seemed to spot his hesitance. “What’s wrong, Tim?”
“Uh, I was thinking…could we maybe skip it this time?” Tim literally wanted to punch himself. I'm missing out on such a cool opportunity. Every kid would see him pull in with Bruce Wayne, and then everyone wouldn’t bully him so much. But that’s exactly what he didn’t and did want. He didn’t want people to view him as someone different just because he was the adopted son of a billionaire. He wanted to be known as Tim Drake. “I just…I don’t feel very comfortable being driven by a billionaire to school. Things might get…weird, y’know?”
Bruce frowned. “But you are driven to school everyday by Alfred. How is that different?”
“Because…you’re Bruce Wayne. ” Didn’t Bruce understand?
Bruce’s eyes lightened with understanding. “So you think that you’ll get unwanted attention?”
“Uh, yeah,” Tim nodded. Please understand.
“How about I drop you off a little before, and you can walk the rest of the way?” Bruce suggested.
“That…that’d be nice.” Tim grinned. “Thanks, Bruce.”
Bruce nodded, smiling back. “I’ll meet you in the car, I just need to get a few more things.”
“Ok.” Tim jumped out of his seat, snagging a quick snack, then rushed out the door. Once outside he spotted Bruce’s car, a lush, black Lamborghini Murciélago. He rushed over to the car and shoved his bag in the front seat, then slid in himself. Then waited.
Alfred had taken him on countless drives to school in this very car nearly everyday, and, true, he got many admirers. But he also got bullies, calling him the ‘rich kid’ who lived with the billionaire. He just wanted to be looked upon as himself, not the adopted son of a billionaire. This was a reason why he loved being Robin so much. Once he slipped that mask on, Tim Drake was gone and Robin in his place. It helped him take his mind off what really happened in his other life, so being Robin was actually surprisingly fun. Most people would not agree, once they’d realised how hard it was being the sidekick of Batman, but it was the only thing he had to get away from his hard life. He couldn’t let Bruce find out about his nightmares, or he might take away his only thing that kept him going forward. It was just so… enjoyable to fight crime and solve mysteries, while you could forget all about what was going to happen the next day. It helped relieve the pressure of his everyday life.
A car door slamming shut startled him out of thoughts as Bruce settled in the seat beside him. He realised he’d jumped, and he stared out the window in embarrassment.
“Deep in thought?” Bruce guessed.
“Mhm,” Tim mumbled.
Bruce didn’t respond, just started his car and began to drive. Bushes and houses whizzed past them, and Tim absentmindedly stared at them as they went by. He felt Bruce occasionally glance at him, but refused to acknowledge it. His eyelids were beginning to droop again. He stifled a yawn, leaning his head against the window.
“Is everything alright, Tim?”
Tim jumped, blinking his eyes rapidly. “Hm?”
“Tim, are you alright?” Bruce kept his eyes on the road.
“U-uh yeah,” Tim stammered, stifling another yawn. “Great. Pumped for school. So pumped.”
Bruce sighed and pulled the car over. Oh no. He’s getting serious. Bruce turned to face Tim. “You’re not being honest with me,” Bruce said bluntly.
“I’m fine, really I am, Bruce,” Tim said, trying to look as believable as possible.
“Mhm, and I’m the Joker,” Bruce sighed. Tim jumped a little at the mention of the villain’s name, then looked down. But Bruce didn’t miss a single detail much to Tim’s dismay. “It’s our most recent mission, isn’t it? With the Joker?”
Tim gave a tiny nod, finally deciding to give in. Bruce laid a hand on Tim’s, which surprised the young hero. He looked up into Bruce’s eyes. “You can tell me anything, Tim. I’m your father.”
Tim felt a pulse of anger shoot through him, startling himself. “But you’re not, are you? You’re not my father.” Having had enough, Tim grabbed his bag and exited the car, slamming the door shut. He felt Bruce’s shocked eyes on him, but he didn’t turn back. He continued down the street. He heard the sound of the lamborghini turn back on, and it sped past him. Only after it was well out of view did Tim allow himself to feel guilt. He knew he shouldn’t have said that. Bruce was trying so hard to father him after his real father’s death, and he deserved Tim’s cooperation. But he’d just been so tired lately, and his mind was so messed up that he had random anger outbursts quite often, but never in front of Bruce. This had been the first. And he regretted it so much. He’d have to apologise after school. But he’d have to get through today first. He was going to be late for class. He began to jog, blinking back the guilty tears that threatened to fall. He soon reached his school, the rest of the students already preparing to head to their classes. He headed inside and went to his locker, shoving his bag into it. He tried to stifle a yawn, but it came nonetheless.
“Tim! Tim Drake!” Tim turned at the sound of his name, and he came face to face with his best friend, Ives.
“Oh–hi, Ives,” Tim greeted, stifling yet another yawn.
“Man, you look beaten,” Ives said, looking a little concerned.
“Nah, I’m perfectly fine,” Tim reassured his friend. “Come on, let's go to class before we get in trouble.”
“Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to go see the new movie that just came out recently,” Ives said as the two of them walked to our class.
“Uh, there’s a new movie?” Tim said wearily.
“Yep, and there’s a nine o’clock session tonight,” Ives said excitedly.
“Listen, man, I’d love to but…”
“You’ve got things to finish up,” Ives finished. He sighed. “You’re a busy boy, Tim. Take a break.”
“I can’t,” Tim said, a little too quickly. “It’s really important. I’d love to, I really would, but it’s really important. I’m sorry Ives, maybe another time.”
Ives looked a little annoyed, but he covered it up smoothly. “You’re all good, man. Just maybe start taking a break? These last couple of days you’ve been looking beat.”
“Maybe I’ll put it into consideration,” Tim lied.
“Sure, sure,” Ives joked. The sound of a bell sounded. The two friends shared a worried look. “Oh no.”
They started running down the hall.
“So if we combine…”
Tim rested his head on his desk, dropping off. The teacher kept going on and on and on and…well, I think you get it. He wouldn’t stop talking. And it was about some crazy sort of science thing. Science was alright, sure…but it wasn’t his specialty. His specialty was looking into mysteries and figuring out impossible problems and punching the life out of thieves and murderers. (Ok, not the life out of them, but you get it.) Not science. Sure, science did have its positives, but mainly just the simple stuff. And he very rarely used what he learned from school in the real world. Science was a waste of time. Yes, he was a smart kid. Very smart. He knew computers from the inside out, and could find nearly any thief. He could outwit nearly anyone if he tried hard enough. But when he wasn’t interested in something, he couldn’t focus. And when he was also super tired and couldn’t get any homework done.
“Tim Drake, are you listening?”
“Hm? Whu?” Tim shook his head, sitting up. He rubbed his eyes, looking up into the stern eyes of his teacher.
“Shall I repeat the question?” The teacher’s gaze glared daggers into Tim. He shot a desperate glance at Ives who sat in front of him. Suddenly he realised that Ives was trying to tell him something. He was holding a sheet with something on it. He pointed desperately at the image.
“Uh–an explosion?” Tim guessed.
The teacher actually looked surprised for a split second. “Yes, indeed. See when you combine…”
Tim shot a thankful glance to his best friend. ‘Thanks’ he mouthed.
Ives gave him a thumbs up and quickly turned in his seat. Tim let out a long sigh and blinked hard. He was going to have to try his hardest to stay awake today. How was he going to manage patrolling tonight? Maybe he shouldn’t patrol…besides, it's not like Bruce would want him around anyway. He’d snapped and said the worst possible thing. Maybe he should just skip tonight…no. He had to go out tonight. People’s lives could depend on it. But he’d just have to stay away from Batman.
Somehow.