Chapter Text
Tim looked out over the sea of gala goers, trying to calm his nerves. Luthor’s galas always made him nervous, even if they did always triple check the charities and attendees beforehand. Today was no different. It didn’t help that today it was just him and Bruce, with everyone else stuck on a case or covering in Gotham. Bruce had been anxious recently, ever since some reporter from Metropolis had dug a little too far into Batman’s identity last week. And Tim was always more on edge when Bruce was anxious. Because an anxious Bruce was an unpredictable Bruce.
Despite all that, Bruce appeared to be leaning heavily into the Brucie persona tonight. Tim watched him stumble from one group of people to the next, and couldn’t help but notice that his lack of balance looked a little too real. Bruce tripped into the arms of some socialite and barely avoided spilling his glass of champagne down the front of her dress. Tim turned away before he could start panicking and convince himself that Bruce was actually drunk.
Tim sighed as he noticed an elderly woman wearing far too many pearls making her way towards him. Matilda Barker was not the worst person Tim could think of to run into, but that didn’t mean he wanted to deal with her. She always acted far more familiar with him than she was, and something about that grated on his nerves.
“Timothy, sweet boy.” Her voice was squeaky and high pitched, her accent perfectly refined. She laid a hand on his arm when she reached him, and Tim tried not to wince when her voice cracked as she continued, “It’s so wonderful to see you, dear. You know I hardly make my way out to Gotham anymore, I rather prefer to stay here, in Metropolis.” She squeezed his arm once, and Tim took a calming breath to avoid shaking her off. “I do, however, follow Gotham news, and I must say, you have been doing wonderful things.”
Tim opened his mouth to respond, bland pleasantries on the tip of his tongue, but Mrs. Barker continued, eyes and voice far too soft and full of sympathy, “Just like your mother, you are.”
The words clogged Tim’s throat, and he fought to keep his facade from breaking at her words. His mom. He missed his mom so much. He and his dad had never been close. But his mom… Janet was not a perfect mother. Maybe not even a good one. But she had been his. And he missed her every day. Tim had to clear his throat twice before he could speak without tears burning the back of his eyes, “Thank you, ma’am.” He cleared his throat again, and let his eyes find Bruce on the other side of the room, “It looks like my father needs my attention at the moment, but you have a wonderful time. We’ll catch up later.”
She gave him a bland goodbye, releasing his arm, and Tim made his way into the crowd, at a pace that was fast enough to be barely presentable. He wandered in Bruce’s direction until he was out of her line of sight, and then made a sharp turn towards an unoccupied spot of wall, tucking himself into an alcove where he was partially obscured from view. It didn’t make his lungs feel any less tight, but it was the best he could do at the moment.
Tim had been struggling to pull himself together all week, and he knew that now was not the moment to lose it. Just a few more hours, and then he could lock himself inside a safe house and scream until his voice was gone. He breathed deeply, letting his lungs fill until his chest burned, and let it out slowly. He continued breathing slowly until the lump in his throat subsided, letting his head fall back against the wall behind him.
It was then that Tim heard the squeak of the large front doors opening, the ones that led from the large ballroom into the reception parlor. Tim poked his head around the corner of his little alcove, praying to whatever gods he knew that it wasn’t someone coming to take the gala hostage.
His jaw dropped open when he caught sight of the boy walking through the doors. Tim had nearly forgotten the entire reason that Luthor had decided to host this gala in the first place. He snapped his jaw shut and schooled his features as he watched the teenager saunter through the large doors, heads turning to follow where he went.
Conner Luthor, Lex Luthor’s long lost son and teen pregnancy scandal. It had been one month since the news outlets caught wind of Luthor’s newly acquired son, and Tim had expected the Justice League to be all over this new ploy of Luthor’s, worried about whatever nefarious plans he had for the boy. Except… they weren’t. When Tim had brought up his concern over the boy to Bruce, he had merely grunted something along the lines of “It’s handled.” No further details, no reassurances, nothing.
So Tim was suspicious, to say the least. But as the teenager walked into the room, Tim found a whole new problem with his sudden appearance. Conner was hot. He was every type Tim had ever had curled into one person. Various places on both his ears, his right eyebrow, and his lip glinted in the light, showcasing his various piercings. His arms were thick beneath his tailored suit jacket, and his black hair was a stylized mess, curls falling just right over his piercing blue eyes. Tim knew that this boy could not possibly be Superboy. Conner didn’t really look like Superboy. Plus, SB had told Tim before that he didn’t really have a civilian identity, and Conner’s digital footprint from the last 17 years was airtight. So unless his identity was faked by Oracle herself, Conner was a real person. Despite all that, Tim couldn’t help but be reminded of every Superboy-themed fantasy that he’d ever had.
Tim stepped out of his alcove and straightened his own suit, aiming for an air of casualness as he made his way towards the boy. Tim put on his most charming smile as he reached him. Conner noticed him as he drew near, and looked him up and down with an amused smirk that made Tim’s heart rate speed up.
Tim held out his hand for Conner to shake, voice even and smooth, “The young mister Luthor, so good to finally meet you. I’m Timothy Drake-Wayne.”
Conner grabbed his hand, his grip loose in Tim’s. His eyes sparkled with mischief as he responded, “Mr. Drake-Wayne, it’s a pleasure.”
Tim chuckled, releasing Conner’s hand. “Please, call me Tim.”
Conner smirked and nodded. “Conner.” He looked Tim up and down again, and Tim fought a blush as Conner continued, “It’s good to see that these things aren’t all boring. What’s the point of them anyways?” Conner still had that mischievous glint to his eye, and Tim couldn’t help but lean a little closer.
The words that left Tim’s mouth were more autopilot than anything, his brain too focused on Conner’s wandering eyes and full lips. “Reputation, mostly.” Tim shrugged, his voice breathy as he repeated the words he’d heard his mother say a thousand times, “You know, we are who people think we are, and all that.”
Tim was too busy cataloging the shade of Conner’s eyes to notice the way he frowned slightly, playful attitude forgotten. His voice was firm when he spoke, and Tim nearly flinched, “That’s bullshit.”
The fog in Tim’s brain paused at the words, and he blinked. “What?”
“That’s bullshit,” Conner repeated. His expression was intense, and Tim couldn’t bring himself to look away. “You are who you are. It doesn’t matter what people think of you. This,” Conner gestured around with his hand, encompassing the room around them, “doesn’t matter. It’s pointless. And I’m not going to pretend to be someone else just to impress a bunch of rich people that I don’t give a shit about.”
Tim blinked. Twice. Tim had spent his whole life watching his step. He had been trying so hard to be a good son, a good heir. He had been doing everything in his power to make it easier for Bruce, to take some of the load off. And Conner just… didn’t care?
Anger rose up in him so suddenly, he had no way to fight it. Every move Conner made would affect his father, his company, and his future. And he didn’t care? It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t right, that Tim had to care and he didn’t, and Tim couldn’t take it. He opened his mouth to yell, to scream, to do something-
There was a loud crash from somewhere behind him. Tim whipped around, body on high alert, ready for any attack.
Tim studied the scattered broken glass and shocked faces, trying to piece through what had happened. Tim only sighed when he registered Bruce’s hunched form, standing in the center of the circle of people, Lex Luthor sprawled on the floor below him.
_-_-_
The video is shaky and poor quality, obviously taken on someone’s phone quickly pulled out of a coat pocket. There is a circle of people standing around Lex Luthor. Bruce can barely be made out glaring in the background.
The audio starts mid sentence, and Luthor’s voice is bright as he talks, “-finally learned not to bring circus freaks where they don’t belong.” His laugh rings out in the crowd, followed by a few awkward chuckles.
Behind him, Bruce calls out, voice unusually loud and words slightly slurred, “Maybe you should take uh- a look at your own kid first, Lex.”
Luthor’s face darkens, and he turns towards Bruce, a slight edge to his words, “My kid was born for this, Bruce. That alone means he belongs here more than street trash you’ve let wander into your home.” The crown around them goes silent.
Bruce takes a menacing step forward, and the camera shakes a bit as the person behind it takes a hasty step backwards. Bruce looms, and everyone in the crowd seems to remember how tall he actually is for a moment. Luthor just glares at him, face set in a sneer.
Things seem to happen very quickly after that. Bruce grabs Luthor’s hand in a grip that has Luthor crying out and twisting away from him. Before he can go far, Bruce is sweeping a leg out to trip him. Bruce uses the leverage of the fall to throw Luthor bodily behind him. The man hits the table of champagne and glass shatters across the floor.
The video ends on a shot of Bruce hunched menacingly over Luthor, surrounded by shattered glass and shocked onlookers.
Tim put his head in his hands as the video replayed in front of him. Barbara’s voice was strained in his ear as she spoke, “There are multiple Bruce-Wayne-is-Batman fan accounts that have started gaining a lot of attention since the video went viral. I’ve avoided shutting them down up until this point to avoid being suspicious, but I won’t have much choice if it goes any further. The news is mostly focused on the hypocrisy of Lex’s comments, but a couple of sources have made mention of Bruce’s ‘impressive athletic ability’ and ‘surprising capacity for sincere emotions.’”
Tim hummed in response, mind running through ways he could fix this. “We need to make something else more important. Fill the news and the internet with something more noticeable than this incident.” He mumbled to himself, hardly registering Barbara’s hum of agreement in his ear.
Tim nodded to himself, pushing away from the desk in front of him. His voice was confident as he stood from his chair, moving towards the stairs, “I’ll think on it. Keep me updated on any changes.”
Barbara hummed again, “Will do, and don’t do anything too stupid.”
Tim chuckled, already running through ideas in his mind, “No promises. RR, signing out.” He clicked off the comm in his ear and rushed up the stairs, mind already preparing for the brainstorming session ahead.
_-_-_
It had been 2 full days, and so far, Tim had less than no ideas. Bruce had been supremely unhelpful, and had done nothing but wallow in his own self-pity for the last two days. Tim’s first idea had been to bring Jason back from the dead, but Jason had adamantly refused, and they were on too strenuous terms for Tim to push the idea. At this point, he was running on little more than Zesti Cola and energy drinks.
But despite all that, Tim had agreed to hang out with Steph today. And it had been so long since they’d seen each other that he couldn’t even consider backing out. So Tim slid into the diner booth, and tried to keep the working half of his brain engaged.
It was about halfway through a story about something likely inconsequential - Tim honestly couldn’t remember what - that Steph called him out.
“You’re not paying attention,” She said. Her voice was dry and unimpressed, maybe a little defeated. “What’s wrong?” At least she was trying to sound concerned.
Tim rubbed a hand down his face and shot her an apologetic glance, trying to pull himself together, “It’s just this media thing. I’m thinking too much. I’m sorry. Please continue.” He waved for her to go on, but she just sighed.
She set her milkshake down on the table, and rested her head on one of her hands, leaning forward. “Tell me about it. Talk through it with me. What’s the issue here?”
Tim chewed on his lips for a moment. He felt bad about ruining their time together, but he really wouldn’t be able to enjoy himself until he sorted this out, so… “Okay, so,” He started, folding his arms on the table in front of him, “I have to do something to cover this up, right?” She nodded, and he took that as a sign that she understood his reasoning already, “It has to be something scandalous enough to fill the papers, but not scandalous enough to be damaging to the reputation and/or company.”
Steph took in a breath as if to reply, but he continued, too caught in his train of thought to notice, “It has to be something that will stick around for a long enough time to really cover the tracks. But it can’t be too closely related to Bruce, because that risks bringing the incident up again. So it has to be someone else in the family.”
Steph opened her mouth again, but Tim shook his head before she could respond, “I know you’re willing to do something crazy, but you’re not closely related enough to be long-term newsworthy. Jason would be my first pick, but he already said no. Damian is too young to be dragged through the mud over this. And Cass and Duke both hate the spotlight far too much to go through this. So it’s either me or Dick.”
Tim bit his lip again and stared at Steph, watching as she processed his words. She nodded slowly, eyes trained on his face. “Okay…” She said carefully, “What if…” Her eyes brightened suddenly, and she shot up in her seat, “Hey, did you ever come out publicly?”
Tim shook his head, “That would work, but it wouldn’t be long enough. I’d have to do it in a really-” Tim stopped, thoughts running through his mind. His eyes searched her face as he continued slowly, “I’d have to do it in a really big way, for that to work.” Tim gasped as he finished his sentence, a plan already forming in his mind. He jumped out of his seat, and rushed around to Steph’s side, grabbing her by the arm, “Stephanie, you are a genius,” He said brightly, planting a kiss on her cheek.
He released her arm, and she stood there a little stunned. He turned towards the door, coat already in hand. Steph opened her mouth to protest, but he spoke quickly over her, “I’ll be back soon, I promise, and then we can hang out. Just wait!” And then he was running out the door to the little diner.
Steph slumped back into her chair and picked up her milkshake, preparing herself to wait for a long, long time.
_-_-_
Conner was tired of being bored. He had moved in with Lex less than two months ago, and he'd been bored ever since. Of course, he was grateful for the change. For the last two years, Conner was no one. He had nothing. And Lex had offered to give him a life, an identity. So he was grateful, of course. But he was also a little bored. And a lot suspicious. Because there is no way Lex had offered this out of the goodness of his heart. Lex had even agreed to let him keep being a hero and working with Young Justice.
So of course, Conner had spoken to the Justice League before accepting. They had agreed to keep it low key to preserve Conner's new identity and name. Only the core members of the league knew Lex had offered at all. And they had looked into it. But they found nothing. No ulterior motives, no dastardly plots. So, slightly hesitantly and very excitedly, Conner had agreed.
To Conner's immense surprise, the Justice League had been supportive of the idea, after their initial investigation. Batman had even approached Lex about putting him in contact with people to help create Conner's new identity. Some computer genius from Gotham had helped create the documents and online identity they needed. Additionally, Zatana had been called in to make him a small charm he could carry on his person that would make him unrecognizable to people who didn't know his identity.
Conner ran a finger over the coin shaped necklace charm. There was only one part of the whole thing that really made him sad. Batman had insisted that if he was going to have a civilian identity, it had to be secret. For his safety, and the safety of the people around him, apparently. Batman had made him promise that he wouldn't tell anyone his identity without express permission from the League. Not even his team.
It didn't surprise him, really. Conner had been working with Red Robin for nearly a year and a half, and Batman still hadn't let Rob tell the team his identity. So of course Conner wouldn't be allowed to. But it was still disappointing.
Conner's phone dinged loudly in the silence. For a moment, Conner hoped desperately that it was Rob. But then he realized it was his civilian phone, and very few people had that number, none of them people he wanted to talk to.
The text was short and to the point.
Unknown Number
Meet @ Bibbo's Diner @ 2 PM
- TDW
Conner frowned and checked the time. It was about 1:30. Conner knew where Bibbo's Diner was. It was downtown, near-ish to the penthouse apartment he was currently living in. He could hypothetically make it there in time. But TDW? Who was TDW?
Me
Who is this?
Unknown Number
Tim
Me
Tim?
Unknown Number
Timothy Drake-Wayne
Plz meet me
I have an idea
Me
Fine.
_-_-_
Conner entered the diner at 1:57 PM, and almost didn't recognize Tim, sitting in a booth to his right. Tim's hair was disheveled and there were deep purple bags under his eyes. He wore a wrinkled, faded band T-shirt and a pair of ripped-to-hell black jeans. He was nursing what Conner assumed was supposed to be coffee, but it was filled with so much cream and sugar that it was nearly white. Tim still grimaced every time he took a sip. He was hardly recognizable as the young socialite Conner had met a couple of days ago.
Conner sat down hesitantly across from him, and Tim's bloodshot eyes followed him as he did. The look on Tim's face was calculating, completely void of both the humor and anger that Conner had seen before.
"Okay," Conner said slowly, "Why did you want to meet?"
Tim squinted at him for a moment, considering, and then nodded. He spoke fast, and Conner was reminded of Bart for a moment, "I had to find a way to cover it up, you know? Make the media forget about it. Something big, without making myself look incompetent. Steph suggested coming out publicly, but that's not quite big enough. But then, if two people did, at the same time, in a big way. So anyways, I thought you'd be the one person who might also want this to go away, and so I thought-"
Conner held a hand up to stop him, trying to parse through his rapid speech, "Hold on. Hold on. Make what go away? I'm so confused. What?" Conner blinked a couple of times and tried to go over the words again in his head, but Tim was already talking again.
"The thing at the gala. I need the media to forget about it. I'm sure that you and your father also would like the media to forget about it. So, I thought, maybe if you helped me, it would be the easiest way to-"
Conner cut him off again, voice rising in pitch, "Wait, I'm still confused. What?" Conner said the last word desperately.
Tim sighed, and waved his hand in dismissal. "Let me get straight to the point. My reasoning doesn't matter." Tim took a deep breath, seemingly steeling himself for something. His next words were slow and steady, and they sounded slightly rehearsed, "I want you to fake-date me. I want us to very publicly come out as gay for each other."
Conner blinked. Twice. "What the fuck?"