Archive of Our Own ^beta

Robin clicked his phone off with a groan.

“What’s got your mask in a twist, Robbie?” Kon had kept himself from asking all week. Because Robin had been on edge all week long.

Now, he was messaging Batman and groaning. There was nothing that could stop Kon from asking.

Robin sighed, “It’s nothing-”

Kon leveled him with a blank look. “What have we talked about?”

Even with the mask on, Kon could tell Robin rolled his eyes. “I know I know, I have to share things and stop saying that it’s all “nothing” or it’s all “fine.” I get it!” He was, of course, referring to the many conversations Young Justice had in regards to Robin keeping his identity a secret.

That was his choice, but as his friends, they wanted to hear about whatever he could tell them. Which included mundane daily goings on. Especially those, actually.

Kon smiled and gestured for him to continue, but before Robin could speak up Bart sped into the room. “Fun fact of the day, even the reinforced soles Batman gave me for my civilian shoes shouldn’t be used to go over mach 3.” There was a lingering smell of smoke on him, which only added to his “fun fact.”

Robin actually laughed. Nothing loud or crazy, but it was a laugh and Kon was going to count that as a win.

“It’s almost like that was in the instructions he gave you along with the soles. They’re made to resist consistent running at mach 2, and very little by the time you get to 3.” The silent “duh” still somehow made it to Kon and Bart’s ears.

Bart flushed ever so slightly, “I totally read that thing!”

“It was a video.”

“Damn it! Batman always writes stuff!” Bart dramatically threw his head back, enjoying the laughter it pulled from his friends. “Anyways, burning rubber aside, what we’re you guys up to?”

“Well, Rob here was about to tell me what's got him all worked up this week.” Kon stretched his legs in front of him, crossing them at the ankles.

Bart plopped down on the couch next to him, both facing Robin seated in the loveseat across the small seating area. “Oh, are we finally gonna hear why he’s been groaning all week?”

Robin rolled his eyes again, the action steeped in fondness. “Well sorry a guy gets a little irritated when his dad is trying to set him up on a date he doesn’t want to go on!” His voice was full of humor, bordering on a laugh as he spoke.

Both Kon and Bart perked up at the chance for gossip.

“You’re telling me that, The Batman is trying to set you up on a date?! This is so funny!” Bart broke, laughing before he could get any other words out.

Robin let his head thump against the back of his chair. “Did you miss the part where I said I don't want to go on it? Plus, it’s less of him setting me up on a date and more him encouraging me to go for a guy he is convinced I like- which I don’t!”

Kon and Bart were still laughing at the image of their friend’s stoic father trying to matchmake him. But, after a moment, Robin’s words fully sank in.

“Wait, Batman is trying to set you up with a guy? What’s up with that?” Kon asked, tilting his head to the right, the way Robin always said made him look like a dog.

Robin, for his part, facepalmed. “I seriously cannot believe the amount of times I have literally forgotten who I have and haven’t come out to. This is actually more embarrassing than anything B has been up to lately.”

Kon and Bart gave their friend a moment to continue.

Robin sat up, redness splotching his cheeks. “Surprise, I’m bi?”

Kon stifled a laugh, “Is that a question or a statement, Sunshine?”

The redness on his face flared. “A statement, thank you very much.” The sarcasm was slightly dampened by the blush slowly making its way down Robin’s neck.

“Wait so, hang on, Batman is trying to set you up with a guy you don’t like? What does that have to do with coming out?” Bart asked, wanting to both interrupt what was inevitably going to turn into a weird flirting-bantering match between Robin and Superboy, as well as get answers.

Kon’s gaze quickly found Bart, realizing there was an entire story he was missing here. “Yeah, Rob, he’s right. Why’s Batman trying to pawn you off to the first eligible suitor?” His smirk felt a bit fake on his face.

Robin sighed again. “It’s a whole thing- and really he’s just trying to be reassuring, albeit in the worst way possible. Despite the fact that he is also bi, he feels the need to be overly supportive.”

“We’re going to put a pin in Batman being a bi-icon, because I desperately want to hear this story.” With Kon’s words Bart nodded his head rapidly, both eager to hear the actual reason behind their friend’s torment.

Robin slumped in his chair. “It really is a long story… And not a very interesting one…” He silently hoped his friends would drop it, the story itself was mortifying enough, let alone telling it to… to Kon.

Bart and Kon made a show of getting comfortable, Bart even speeding to the kitchen and back for an armful of snacks- including a grape Zesti for Robin. “We’re ready!”

Robin blew a breath out, “Yeah alright, here goes nothing I guess.” He leaned forward to grab the drink off the table between them.

“So it started a while back, with a civilian friend of mine. Honestly, probably the closest friend I have outside the masks- which mostly comes from the fact that we’ve been friends a long time, honestly.

“Anyway, he’s always kind of had a thing for superheroes- like when we were kids he was capital o, Obsessed with Green Lantern, which is just bad taste at this point. So when we hit high school and he off handedly mentioned thinking Nightwing was hot wasn’t a surprise, however it was gross hearing him talk about my brother but he didn’t know any better-”

Robin cut off his fast paced rambling for a sip of his drink, giving himself a moment to look at Kon and Bart.

They were both quite literally on the edge of their seats. As in, if there was a particularly strong gust of wind they were at risk of falling off the front.

“So he had a thing for Nightwing, go on!” Bart prompted, when Robin sat there, not talking or taking a drink.

Robin huffed out a laugh at his friend’s excitement. “Well, either way. Life goes on, he teeters off talking about Nightwing, but before long- because we live in Fucking Gotham, he ends up in danger. Nothing too crazy, a fairly basic mugging attempt.”

“The kind you could stop in your sleep, you mean.” Kon jumped in.

“Exactly! So it ends up being that I’m the only one around to save him, Robin swoops in, beats the bad guy, and gets him out of there. I asked where I could take him- obviously knowing where but not being able to just say that, and then I grapple him most of the way home.” Robin took another sip from his drink, trying to tamp down the urge to nervously fiddle with the can’s tab.

“This is where it gets dicey. I see him like, a week later or whatever, honestly I had kind of forgotten about saving him- like yeah seeing someone you know in danger can be stressful but I was honestly more worried about changing my voice enough that he didn’t make the connection.”

Both Bart and Kon nodded, neither of them usually had to worry about saving people who might connect the dots on their secret identities, but it sounded bad enough.

“We pass each other on campus, perks of being freshmen, right? And he pulls me to the side and insists that we need to get lunch once we’re out of classes. I didn’t really think anything of it, he gets like that sometimes, I’ve learned to just roll with it by now. Whatever, fast forward to lunch now.

“I’m peacefully trying to eat when he starts the conversation with “Nightwing is old news, Robin is officially my favorite.” And, years of bat-training under my belt means I was able to just raise an eyebrow and him like he was talking stupid.”

“I can’t imagine getting the judgemental eyebrow without the mask, I feel like I would just wither away…” Bart shuddered, clearly exaggerating the movement.

Kon nodded, “The Bat-Glare already makes me feel dead inside.” The trio laughed, mostly at each other.

Robin shook his head, “Well, he continues- entirely disregarding the eyebrow raise, and says “He saved my life the other night, not only that, he held me like I was precious and he didn’t want to let go!” Clearly exaggerating, trying to get me to react, but still!

“So I prompt him to tell me the story of what happened, despite knowing exactly what happened, and he tells it like some kind of fairytale! Of course I had to hold him around the waist, we were grappling! I told him he had to hold on! Most civilians experience a bit of vertigo after grappling for the first time so, yes I held on an extra second to steady him- and so he didn’t yak on me!”

Bart and Kon watch as Robin talks with his hands, gesturing wildly as he tells his story. Both very glad they encouraged him to tell it, as it had clearly been eating at him.

He takes a large gulp of his drink before continuing. “He finishes telling his version of the story, and I’m very gently trying to tell him “oh he was probably just doing what he had to do,” or “you know, that’s kind of his job,” and everything, but he’s not listening! And then he- Well, he starts saying how he thinks-”

Robin cut himself off again, face rapidly growing red again. “He was talking about how he thinks Robin is hot and I just kind of laughed and told him he was wrong? I was trying not to panic! And like, a few years ago this would have probably been the best news ever but now with- well, um, I mean just after so much has happened it freaked me out a little.”

As he paused, Kon and Bart let out the laughs they were trying to hold back. Both of their shoulders shook with it, only serving to make Robin’s face even more red.

“Wait, wait, Rob-” Kon cut himself off trying to catch his breath, “You’re telling me a guy tells you you’re hot and you just, what, disagree with him? And say, “Oh no I’m not a Robin stan, Zatanna’s more my type,” oh this is the best day of my life!”

The growing blush on Robin’s face told Bart and Kon everything they needed to know, “Oh my god! That’s exactly what you told him!”

Robin leveled a halfhearted glare at Kon, “Well… not Zatanna- but that was pretty much the gist, yeah.”

Kon grabbed onto Bart for support as he fell into another fit of laughter.

“See! This is why I didn’t want to tell this story- this isn’t even the worst of it and this is how you’re reacting!” Robin was pouting, he knew he was pouting but he couldn’t help it.

Bart was valiantly trying to catch his breath to reassure Robin, but couldn’t quite manage it when every moment of eye contact he made with Kon sent them both giggling again. “Sorry sorry! We’re not-” More laughter. “It’s just, only you Rob, only you!”

“Har har, laugh at the guy being told his vigilante identity was hot by a guy he used to have a thing for, har har.” He crossed his arms petulantly but could feel the smile tugging at his lips.

Kon quickly got control of his laughter after Robin spoke. “So, you used to have a thing for this guy? What happened? Was it the Nightwing comment?” Kon’s smirk didn’t drown out the curiosity written so clearly on his face.

Inexplicably, Robin went bright red again. “Nothing happened! Nothing specific at least, I just… got over the guy! No crazy story there!” Definitely not because he found himself rapidly falling in love with his best friend, the very person asking him the question in the first damn place!

Bart looked between the pair, making the executive decision to move the conversation forward. “So, he said you were hot, you said nah but you know who is? And then..? What, you confessed your love for fellow hero Red Tornado? What happened?”

Bart was proud of the snicker his Red Tornado comment got out of both Robin and Kon.

“Well, that’s kind of the end of that. We have lunch, I tell him he’s being more than a little delusional about Robin, any footage of the guy would prove that- and thank god for the time I had to drag Kon’s sorry ass out of the street because he got himself knocked out- I was all up in his space and honestly the cameras made it look so much worse than it was.”

Robin very clearly remembered that day, he was panicked out of his mind when Kon hit the ground and nearly tore his way through the fight to check on him. The news broadcast really does make it look worse than it was- but it was pretty incriminating all on its own.

The surge of pure fear driven adrenaline made lifting Kon a breeze, despite the amount of height and width he had on Robin. Again, the footage of the event made it look like Robin was used to carrying Superboy around, and their tenure as teammates had left Robin comfortable hefting him up and arranging his limbs as he needed.

“Glad I could be of some service there, Sunshine. Did the guy let up?” Kon leaned back against the couch again, getting comfortable. Bart followed suit, bringing a snack with him as he leaned back.

Robin nodded, “Yeah, he said I was too biased to give an opinion and moved on.”

Bart crunched a chip, “So, you said that wasn’t even the worst of it. What was the worst of it?”

Robin buried his face in his hands. “When Batman found out…”

Bart and Kon both sucked in twin hisses, already expecting the worst.

Robin nodded. “Yeah, he came by campus to drop off a stupid flash drive I forgot at home that needed to be turned in, thankfully I know he doesn't do jack shit during the day so he could bring it to me- but he dropped by during my usual lunch time. So, he came up to the table with my friend and I, and of course this is the time the guy decides to say, and I quote, “Not my fault that the love of my life, Robin, is not up to your standards, insert my last name here!” Right as B walked up.

“And my friend, who truly has a net zero self-preservation instinct, turns to Batman- well he wasn’t Batman at the time, obviously- whatever, he says “don’t you agree, Mr. Man?” and Batman, who is out to ruin my life at every opportunity, leans into it and is like “hey we all have that hero we dream about saving us!” and goes off on a tangent.”

Robin’s face is back in his hands by the time he is finished talking, looking as if he was questioning every choice that had brought him to where he was.

When he picked his head up to continue his story, Robin saw his friends with matching grimaces, expecting a blow up from Batman.

“Well, I get my flash drive and try to erase the horrendous experience from my mind, until I get home. And who is waiting for me? No one but Batman himself with a stupid little smirk on his face, just waiting for me! He was trying to tease me about everything with my friend!”

Robin let out a small huff, “He remembered asking me about him once, a few years back. He also remembered that I reacted to the question in such a way that convinced him I had feelings for the guy. And he thought that held up years later. What that says about his love life- I don’t want to know.”

Both Kon and Bart let out small laughs, afraid if it was too raucous Batman would somehow sense he was being made fun of.

“So he assumed you still had the hots for this guy, then what?” Bart prompted.

Robin rolled his eyes again. “Well, from then on- all the way through now he’s been sending me stupid articles on how to get someone to like you, how to confess your feelings for someone, how to toe the line of friendship and more,” which he would never admit to reading and bookmarking, “and a few other similar ones. And he knows what he’s doing, he knows that I don’t like this guy. He’s just trying to get me to admit it and admit that I-” Robin cut himself off.

He was going to reveal that he liked someone else. But his friends were the nosiest people in the world and would bug and bug until they had some details about whoever it was.

And he was not about to describe Kon to his face. Especially not with Bart as their witness. Because as much as he acted silly and goofy he wasn’t stupid, he would call that out in a second flat.

“Well, that's the story. Batman’s been bothering me trying to be supportive in the worst way possible. I groaned at my phone earlier because he sent me another article that he swears will be helpful.” He just hope no one asked-

“Wait, what does he want you to admit?”

That. He hoped no one asked that. Of course Bart would know the exact question he was trying to avoid, that's the epitome of both of their luck.

Robin feigned confusion, head tilted fifteen degrees to the right, brows furrowed, mouth slightly pinched. “You mean that I don’t like this guy?” Was it a little gaslight-y? Yes. But Robin could live with a little gaslighting between bros.

He saw Kon about to comment but was saved by the sound of his communicator going off. “Oh sorry, it's B-Man, can’t ignore it- you get it.” Robin stood and walked towards the door, answering him on the way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Turned out Batman was just calling to warn him about a Gotham Gazette headline.

“Tim Drake-Wayne: Superboy Super-Fan?”

He could live with that.

Apparently someone had overheard him and Bernard talking at lunch. They had correctly assumed that Tim was more than a little obsessed with Metropolis’ Superboy.

(Why Bruce didn’t get even a throwaway line about his comment regarding Superman, Tim would never know.)

But Tim Drake-Wayne being obsessed with Superboy? Harmless and true enough. So he promptly forgot about it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, he forgot about it until he revealed his identity to Kon.

More accurately, until a week after Tim revealed his identity to him.

Realistically, it had started about a month before that. With, as most things do, a plan by Batman.

A few days after his conversation with Kon and Bart, and a few days of the non-stop articles and messages of support, Tim snapped.

“Fine! You win! I don’t like Bernard! We’re just friends, and I don’t need help trying to get him to like me as Tim!” He was standing in Bruce’s home office, holding his phone up to show off the most recent article he had been sent by the man.

Bruce stared at him, eyebrow raised, waiting. Expectant. Silent.

Tim took a deep breath in through his nose, trying not to groan in frustration. “Oh my god, learn how to ask like a normal person!”

He was met with more silence. Bruce’s eyebrow arching a tick higher.

Tim closed his eyes and looked up, hoping that someone would simply crash through the ceiling and call them out on an emergency.

He had never thought of himself as lucky.

“I like Kon. I stopped liking Bernard forever ago, and then started liking Kon shortly after. Can you please stop with the articles and supportive messages?” Tim let his gaze meet Bruce’s.

And Bruce was smiling. Honest to fucking god smiling. No hint of smugness, no underlying snark. Just a genuine smile.

Tim might lose his mind.

“And stop smiling! You’re gonna weird me out.”

“I can’t smile at my son?”

Tim glared at him. They were both equally weak to the other directly referring to them as father or son. “Fine. But don’t look so happy about it.” Despite his words Tim couldn’t quite bite back his own smile.

Bruce looked back down at the papers he was leafing through when Tim walked in, silently gesturing at the chair across from him, an invitation for Tim to join him.

“I’ll run and grab my laptop and join you.” True to his words, Tim rushed to get his laptop and sat across from Bruce, preparing to work through some Wayne Enterprises reports that were due soon.

Once his laptop was open in front of him, but no reports had been pulled, Bruce spoke up.

“Did you want to reveal your identity to them?”

Tim blinked at the words, taking a moment to parse their meaning and context.

“I’m sorry I think I just hallucinated, did you just ask me if I wanted to reveal my identity to them, as in Young Justice?” Tim shook his head with a laugh, as if shaking off an absurd thought.

Bruce very clearly smirked before schooling his face into a more neutral expression. “If you wanted to, sure. I don’t see why not.”

Tim scoffed. “You, you with the thousands of contingency plans and a reason for anything and everything, don’t see why not? What the freeze, Bruce?!” Tim felt he might be going a touch hysterical.

When he was “cursing” like Bart, that was usually a good indicator.

Bruce took a sip from the coffee cup that seemed to live on every desk he used. “Well, part of the league already knows my identity, this would be an extension of that. Plus, you know Dick and Wally have already revealed identities, it’s really only a matter of time before someone slips up. Might as well have a controlled environment for it.”

“Oh, now he speaks with logic. What brought this on?” Tim closed his laptop, there was no way he was getting any work done until this whole… thing was resolved.

“I know I’ve been… motivating you to share more of your feelings with me.”

“Provoking, but go on.”

Bruce let out a small huff at that, “Yes, either way. I know I have been trying to get you to open up about your feelings. I’m trying to encourage you to have healthier relationships than I do. My… secrecy has gotten in the way of a lot of my relationships, romantic or otherwise. If you truly care about Kon-El as much as I can tell you do, I think telling him, and the rest of your team, your identity is a good idea.”

Tim leaned back in the chair he was sitting in. He barely resisted the urge of adding a slow clap to, “Wow, Batman himself finally gains the ultimate skill: emotional availability."

Bruce levelled a blank look at him. “Gee thanks. Really feeling the love there- I’m being serious! You deserve happiness, and if you need my permission to pursue it, consider it granted.”

Bruce turned back to his computer, giving Tim the chance to turn the words around in his head.

Tim sat, breathing in the silence. Wondering how long it took Bruce to get to where he was. He couldn’t imagine the Bruce he forcibly yanked from the edge offering something like this. But he could see a Bruce, with two happy kids and an overall positive outlook on life, offering this.

Was it Tim’s turn to take the offer? Was it his place to give other people a small piece of their family?

He wasn’t sure. He knew he wanted to. He knew his friends were the best of them and would be the only ones he’d consider telling.

Was the underlying uncertainty enough to make him back out?

One thought to Kon, Bart, and Cassie convinced him. No, he wouldn’t let the uncertainty stop him from… well giving himself the chance at happiness.

He might be ready to reveal his identity but that didn’t mean he was going to be going around confessing his feelings or anything.

That was excessive.

“Okay.”

Bruce’s gaze snapped up. “Yeah? Good.” He forced his eyes to go back down to his paperwork, giving Tim space if he wanted it.

Tim nodded, knowing Bruce would see it, and reopened his laptop.

Now, all he needed was a plan, and he was quite good at making those.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tim was never going to plan anything ever again.

He tried to work for three weeks to come up with a clever way to reveal his identity. Something fun and memorable, but not over the top.

Just for all of it to be ruined by the fucking Penguin.

Batman, Nightwing, and Red Hood were stuck in New York on a case. Tim Drake was supposed to have the manor to himself and Alfred.

Of course, he had some errands to run, so he took a car into the city and started crossing things off his list. Last stop was a bank- which of fucking course got robbed.

The Penguin was only gunning for Batman’s attention, so the robbery was sloppy, bordering on embarrassing to be caught up in.

Tim looked around, hoping for someone he could pin for the heroics he was about to pull. The security guard in the corner was being held at gunpoint already, there were no visibly trained civilians in the area.

He was, effectively, stuck.

None of the bats were going to come. None of them were close enough to.

He had… an option.

He could call for Kon. But why Tim Drake would know the quickest way to summon Kon-El, Superboy, wouldn’t be easy to explain.

But he didn’t really have any other choice.

He activated his emergency signal, a pitch only Kryptonians could hear. At the same time he whispered, “Kon-El, I need help.”

He knew it was only a matter of time. A few minutes at most, Kon never ignored a Young Justice emergency signal.

Guess now was as good of a time as any to reveal his identity.

He stayed close to the door, trying not to distract Kon from his save. Though, he could see Kon’s eyes flitting around the crowd, wondering which of his team members was here.

Tim knew Kon would have recognized his voice.

Once the fucking Penguin was subdued and shipped back to Arkham, Kon stuck around looking at the crowd.

Tim decided now was probably the only opportunity he had. He walked towards his car, parallel parked in front of the bank, and leaned against it. “Oh, no, I think I need a big strong superhero to save me!” Tim pulled his best Timmie Drake-Wayne voice, direct from a gala.

He remembered Kon being oddly flattered at the article, hopefully he could use that.

Superboy, to his credit, floated down to Tim. “Are you alright, sir?”

Tim would not think about Kon calling him sir, he absolutely would not. “Just need help getting to my car- oops, guess I’m already here!” Tim continued to lean against said car.

Kon tilted his head at Tim, “Are you okay? Do you… do you have a concussion?”

Gods this man was so sweet, after being called into Gotham by one of his team members, who was nowhere to be found, he was still checking in on all of the annoying civilians that shouldn’t be bothering him.

“If I say I have a concussion would that mean you’d have to carry me to safety?” Tim batted his eyelashes at Kon, milking his opportunity for all it was worth.

Kon smiled, “Well, I’m not usually supposed to be rooting around Gotham, but I think I might be able to convince Robin to bring you. I’ve heard he’s quite gentle when he grapples you around a city.” Kon’s eyes flicked meaningfully down to Tim’s watch, where his emergency signal was located.

Tim narrowed his eyes, “I’m sure he’s just doing his job.”

“Well, when he dragged my sorry ass out of the street he was all up in my space. I wonder if he saved that for me, then?” Kon’s smirk was growing by the second.

Tim scoffed, “Oh now that he saves for you, because a Gothamite would know better than to blindly run towards danger.” It was a conversation they have had many times, to varying degrees of severity.

Once Tim had come down from his adrenaline fueled panic and saw that Kon was and would be okay, he kind of lost it on him. There was yelling, pointing, and accusations thrown around. Bart joked it was like watching your parents get divorced in real time. But Tim had been freaked out. Eventually they were able to have a real conversation and Tim was able to unstick his emotional constipation for long enough for it to be productive.

That didn’t change the fact that it was a sentence Kon had heard a million times over. “Well, if we’re talking about the self preservation instincts of myself compared to the average Gotham citizen, I have to say mine is definitely lower. I mean, I’m in Gotham as we speak- not being afraid of The Batman docks most of my points.”

Tim smiled, the genuine kind Kon often pulled from him. “I have it on good authority that Batman would endorse this particular visit…” He trailed off, hoping to any of the prying ears it would sound like a line.

When Kon tilted his head with a smile, no doubt preparing to say something that would absolutely decimate Tim’s already strenuous hold on his composure, Tim got an idea.

He quickly turned and opened the passenger door to his car. He leaned in and grabbed an old receipt sitting in his center console and the pen that had been floating around his car for weeks. Once his head was no longer in his car (and Kon could look him in the eyes once more) Tim shut the door.

“Here, take this. I’m sure it’s a long shot but my dad would kill me if I didn’t at least try.” He used the hood of his car as a table and scribbled a few numbers. To anyone trying to catch a peak they’d assume it was his phone number.

Tim folded the paper and leaned into Kon’s space, playing up the act before he would have to drop it altogether. He used the corner of the old receipt to lift Kon’s glove, tucking it in there nestled against the skin of his wrist.

“At least consider it, yeah?” Tim looked up at Kon through his lashes, taking advantage of Kon’s height on him to lean in closer and whisper, “Give me twenty minutes to make it there.”

(If Kon ever saw a video of the interaction his face would flare in embarrassment at the dumbstruck look on his face as Tim leaned in close.)

Once he was satisfied, Tim leaned back. “Well, thank you again for the save, or I suppose thank you in general, I don’t think I got that far once I got your attention.” Tim winked, knowing he could say he was playing it up for the cameras if everything went south.

If he were any braver when it came to Kon he would have stretched up and pressed a kiss to his cheek. But that would be a bit too much to explain away when the time came. So, he simply smiled and made his way to the driver’s side of his car.

He watched Kon take a small step back, away from the car, before jumping up to fly away. The receipt was held tightly in his hand.

Tim pulled away from the curb, not letting any of his bravado drop until he was well past the horde surrounding the bank.

He had twenty minutes, which seemed both like far too long, and not quite enough time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kon watched Tim Drake-Wayne pull away from the curb before speeding to a rooftop he could hide on.

Robin, his Robin, had just revealed his identity!

Well, mostly. And Kon wasn’t quite sure if it was an accident or not. The robbery he dismantled crumbled the moment he flew on scene, there was no way Robin couldn’t handle that on his own. Did he call on purpose?

Kon was getting distracted. He had a piece of… well an old receipt gripped in his hand given to him by Robin- Tim, he could call him by his real name now! So, Tim had given him an old receipt after he wrote on it.

Kon shook the myriad of thoughts from his head and finally unfolded it.

Written on the back, in Robin’s quick and slightly messy handwriting, was a set of coordinates sitting just under the words “You already have my phone number, so I think you’ll appreciate this more.”

Kon blinked. Robin- Tim! Tim had said to give him twenty minutes, so he was hoping Kon would meet him wherever these coordinates lead.

Kon could do that, he had gotten very good at following Robin’s instructions over the years. He could do this too.

(And perhaps get an answer to all of Tim’s slightly weird but very welcome behavior? Was that wishful thinking?)

Kon had about another fifteen minutes before Tim would make it to wherever they were meeting with his car, so he took the opportunity and took a quick flight around the clouds of Gotham. High enough up that people wouldn’t be able to see him, but not so high that he couldn’t see the ground.

He could feel nerves and excitement thrumming under his skin. He figured Tim would be bringing them somewhere at least somewhat private so they could talk.

(Kon didn’t think he’d ever get over the novelty of calling Robin by his legal name. Though, he would still be using every nickname he could think of, it would be nice to add his actual name and nickname to that list.)

Before he knew it fifteen minutes had passed, he finally got to see Robin!

The coordinates took him to a random road that skirted around a hill. Kon was about to let himself touch the ground when he realized the car engine he could hear was coming towards him.

He didn’t have time to question it, when the hillside opened up to reveal another road. The car, Tim’s he now realized, slowed to a stop next to him.

Tim rolled the window down and said, “Hop in,” as he gestured to the passenger seat.

Kon wasted absolutely no time, he was in the passenger seat of Tim’s, inordinately nice, car before the man could blink.

Tim smiled but faced forward as he drove. The tunnel was enveloped in darkness for a very brief moment, after the secret opening fell shut and before the lights came on.

Kon looked out the windshield in wonder, he never would have gone over Gotham with x-ray vision, but somehow he doubts he would have spotted this if he had.

Kon debates asking Tim what this is and where they’re going, but he had a feeling that this would be taking them to the Batcave.

“It’s where we usually drive the Batmobile through. Can’t really drive that up to Wayne Manor without someone asking questions.” Tim’s half smirk pulled a laugh out of Kon.

“Somehow I feel like Batman could talk his way out of it. Say Mr. Wayne stole it for an adrenaline rush or something.” Kon turned towards Tim, seeing his nose wrinkle.

“Please don’t call him Mr. Wayne, I might actually kick him out if you do.”

Kon laughed again, “Oh you’ll kick him out? Not me?”

Tim let out an amused huff, “Please, never you. Him though? I told him to stop smiling at me the other day because he was weirding me out.” Tim couldn’t help the heat crawling up his neck as he remembered their conversation from a few weeks prior.

The pair fell into companionable silence as Tim drove, Kon taking in the sights of the rapidly approaching Batcave, and Tim taking in the sights of Kon.

As Tim slowed to a stop as the tunnel opened into a large open expanse. “Here we are, the Batcave.”

As much as Kon had always wanted to see the Batcave, he could hardly tear his attention away from Tim long enough to take any of it in. He watched Tim shut off the car and unbuckle his seatbelt, only reacting when the driver’s side door opened and Tim stepped out.

He followed Tim’s lead, not wanting to over-step.

Tim walked around the car, coming to stop in front of Kon. “For someone who has wanted to know my identity longer than just about anyone else, you’ve sure been real quiet since you found out.” His raised eyebrow and smirk had Kon’s eye filling in the image of Robin’s mask over his face.

“S’cuse me for trying to be polite!” Kon joked, knowing Tim could likely see the waves of nerves rolling off of him.

Tim’s answering smile confirmed the thought. “I was being serious when I said Batman would endorse this. I mean, he probably didn’t expect it to happen immediately post robbery, but I’ve been told that revealing my identity would be a net positive.”

“You’re being serious.” It wasn’t a question. Kon could hear the awe in his own voice.

Tim nodded. “Conveniently I had the choice between revealing my identity to you or to the entirety of downtown Gotham, and the choice was easy enough.”

“I knew you could’ve taken that robbery on your own! The dude was sloppy at best.” Kon wasn’t sure why that’s what he focused on, but Tim’s answering laugh made it well worth it.

Tim shook his head, smile still wide on his face. “Yeah, I could have. But there was no one there I could give the credit to, and Timmie Drake-Wayne really shouldn’t be in the business of stopping armed robberies if I can help it.”

Kon let out a small huff of laughter, “Timmie, I like that. Another nickname to add to the list.”

Tim leaned his head back with an exaggerated groan, “I knew there was a reason I wasn’t giving you guys another name to call me!” He lifted his head and peaked at Kon, smiling when he saw the laughter pulled from him.

“Alright, come on. I spend enough time in the dark cave as it is, want to come upstairs?”

Kon wasn’t sure what “upstairs” would be. Did the cave have…roof access? Either way, if Tim wanted to bring him there, he’d follow. “Sure! Wherever you want to go.”

Tim hesitated a moment before nodding and grabbing Kon’s hand. “Let’s go.”

Tim’s hand was cold in his, without the gloves he typically wore Kon could see the calluses, likely from his bo staff, the ridges and small bumps- broken and reset bones if Kon had to guess. He was mystified. From something as simple as holding Robin’s hand.

He was being led up a long staircase; he would follow Robin to the ends of the earth if he asked, though, so it wasn’t a long walk in comparison.

Kon didn’t know what to expect to see on the other side of the door Robin pushed open, but a warm office with a plush carpet and large leather chairs wasn’t it.

“This is Bruce’s study, it doubles as the in-house entrance to the Batcave.” Tim didn’t drop Kon’s hand, but he did use it to turn Kon and show him the rest of the room. “Alright, this is only interesting if you don’t already know the Batcave is here, come on.”

Kon let himself be led through the… mansion, a house that big had to be considered a mansion, right? Well, either way he was about to take a tour of it.

Tim pulled him through the halls, hardly stopping, clearly knowing where he wanted to go. “You’ll have to actually show me around this place if you want to prevent me from getting lost, you know.”

“No time, I can show you around whenever. This might be the only opportunity for a long time where my dad and none of my brothers are home.” Tim took a sharp right turn into a small library. With a squeeze of Kon’s hand, Tim dropped it.

He opened the window and stepped on the ledge. In a second Kon was behind him, holding him steady. “I feel like I know the answer to this already, but are you crazy?”

Tim laughed, “I climb up here all the time, look, just follow my lead.” With that, Tim pulled himself out of the window and out of Kon’s view.

Kon stuck his head out the window, trying to track where Tim was going. After a moment of hesitation he climbed after him.

Tim was sitting on the roof a few feet away from him, watching his attempt to climb. “If you only had this great ability to, oh I don’t know, fly?”

Kon levels a glare and a pout at Robin, “Gee I wonder if I should just start flying out of this civilian’s window and onto their roof, would that be considered a good idea?” Kon continued climbing, silently hoping Tim would tell him he really could fly the rest of the way.

“Do you think I’d bring Superboy, still in his full hero suit, to my roof if I thought someone might see us? This place would shoot you down if it thought you were unauthorized. Now fly up here so I don’t have to see your pathetic attempt at climbing anymore!” Tim’s laugh carried through the air between them.

If Kon were a more poetic person, he might say that it was Tim’s laugh that made his ascent weightless.

As it was, he simply floated down next to Tim and sat. They let their legs dangle off the roof, looking out to the late afternoon sun of Gotham.

“Thanks for the save, by the way.” Tim said.

Kon huffed out a laugh, “You already said that.”

“I’m pretty sure Timmie said that, I figured I’d give you something a bit easier to stomach.”

Kon leaned back against the roof, letting his arms support him. He turned to look at the side of Tim’s face, “So, Timmie, huh? Another role you play? Alvin Draper but with your name.”

Tim didn’t look over, but he did smile. “Yes and no. There are some things I do or play up just for the sake of cameras, but most of it is just me. I mean- despite the serious Bat-ness we are all kids of Bruce Wayne. Eccentricity runs- well not in the blood but, you get the picture.” Tim peeked at Kon from the corner of his eye, matching the wide smile on his face.

“I know it’s kind of the whole point, but I would have literally never guessed that Bruce Wayne was Batman.” Kon paused when Tim laughed. “What?”

“I figured his identity out when I was nine.” Tim was clearly holding in another small laugh.

Kon nudged Tim’s shoulder with his own. “Well, yeah, that tracks for you Wonder Boy, us regular people see Brucie Wayne and don’t think about it any further.” The pair laugh together for a moment.

When the laughing ceased, they were both just a bit closer together than they had been before.

“In all fairness it was actually the first Robin’s fault. Sort of. Once you meet everyone I’ll tell you the full story, for now it’ll be harder to try and tell you before you know all their names.”

Kon’s heart fluttered at the casual mention of meeting all of Robin’s family. Gods, he was going to be so insufferable once he was back home. “I look forward to it, Sunshine.”

Seeing Robin’s blush reach up to the apples of his cheeks with no mask in the way was quickly rising to the top of Kon’s favorite views.

“Alright, what would you like to know?”

Kon furrowed his brow, “How do you mean?”

Tim bumped their shoulders together, “I mean, I can finally tell my best friend all the random bullshit I couldn’t say before because of my identity. So, I ask again, what would you like to know?” Tim turned to face him.

Kon thought for a moment. He had thought about this question a million times before, if you were to ask him on any other day he’d be able to rattle off at least a dozen questions.

But on that rooftop, staring into the blue of Robin’s eyes (because they were blue and he had never been allowed to know that before,) not a single thing came to mind. “Can I- will you let me just look at you for a minute?”

He had seen Robin grow uncomfortable with too much focus on him, so if Tim said no Kon would respect that. (And find official photos of Tim Drake-Wayne to stare at later.)

The blush high on Tim’s cheeks made Kon turn away, assuming he’d get an embarrassed no from his friend.

“Sure.”

Kon’s head snapped back in Robin’s direction, smile wide on his face. Kon turned his entire body, bringing one leg onto the roof, so he could look at Tim, who followed suit.

Tim’s eyes slipped closed just as Kon got settled, he would get to look at his eyes another day- he would take what he could get for now.

Kon wanted to reach out and card his fingers through the gentle swoops of Robin’s hair, not a new urge by any means, but one exacerbated by the lack of mask on his face. It was getting long again, something Tim pretended to lament but Kon knew he enjoyed. Though, only for another month or so, because then it would get in his way while fighting and working on the computer.

(He had once gotten Robin to clip it back. Kon knew where those clips were, perhaps he could convince him to do it again.)

He had smile lines. Not deep ones, or even very prominent ones, but they were there. Crinkling as he nervously chewed the inside of his bottom lip. Being able to see veritable proof of Robin’s happiness left Kon’s heart pounding in his chest. In direct opposition to Tim’s steady beat- one he had impeccable control over.

Robin’s thick eyelashes rested on the top of his cheeks. Kon couldn’t help but imagine they would rub against the mask every time he blinked with it on, given their length. The phantom of Robin’s mask appeared over Tim’s face, bringing Kon’s gaze to the bridge of Tim’s nose.

Kon was going to be riding the high of learning Robin’s identity for a long time. Being able to see where his nose bridge was wider, from various breaks and resets, was a novel experience.

He had never looked at someone's nose and smiled before.

Kon had already stared at and thought up sonnets about Robin’s lips. The gentle curve, the shadow of a scar on the right side of his bottom lip, everything. He watched as they spouted off complex plans with confidence, as they wobbled just before his voice broke, all of it.

He had dreamed about them.

Just as Kon was about to speak up, break the spell around them, Tim held up his hands, palms up.

Without thinking, Kon held onto them, cradling them in his own hands.

“You once mentioned being curious about my calluses. But I usually wear my gloves when I’m in costume so…” Tim trailed off sounding, for the first time all day, unsure.

Kon, for his part, pulled Tim’s right hand closer, letting go of his left in favor of running the pad of his finger over the ridge of skin just below Robin’s fingers. He could feel a slight shiver run up Robin’s arm as he brushed over each callus one after another.

As Kon’s head was bent over his hand, Tim opened his eyes.

The late afternoon light was shining on Kon as if that was its job. Tim couldn’t help the way his hand and arm tensed as Kon touched. He clenched his left hand, trying not to melt into the gentle contact Kon held him with.

Tim was preparing to say something incredibly stupid when Kon’s head perked up. “Oh shit.”

Kon gently placed Tim’s hand in his lap before standing. “There’s an earthquake in Japan and Superman is calling for some back up, I’m so sorry- I have…”

Tim stood with him, “Kon, go. Don’t worry, you’ll still know my identity when you’re done. Go do your faster than a speeding bullet thing.” Tim picked up Kon’s hand and squeezed before giving him a light push.

Kon’s smile was large and relieved. “See ya, Rob.” With a wink he flew away, quickly disappearing from Tim’s view.

Tim let himself sit back down on the roof. He buried his face in his hands and let out a, frankly quite embarrassing, giggle.

He used his hands to wipe his face, still feeling the phantom of Kon’s hands on his.

Tim stood and climbed back inside, he still had to call Bart with the news of his name. He wouldn’t keep his friend waiting when Kon got to find out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A week later Tim was at Mount Justice without his mask and costume for the first time.

It was going to be a quick visit, he planned to do a bit of maintenance on some of his gear, check on some information for a case he worked a while back, and then head back to Gotham.

He really was going to stop planning things.

As he sat down at the computer he saw a pop-up notifying him that Kon had just entered the base. Which he was happy about, they had hardly gotten a chance to speak since he revealed his identity and Tim had been itching for the opportunity.

He didn’t have to be back in Gotham until patrol so he was content letting Kon do whatever he had to do and tracking him down once his work was finished.

Kon, it seemed, had other plans.

“You know, I’m not sure how it took me this long to connect the dots but now that I have, I have to ask: Superboy Super-Fan?”

Tim had never felt ice fill his veins quite like it did upon hearing that damned headline from Kon’s lips.

Years of keeping a secret identity, facing kidnappings and torture for information, and simply being punched into revealing something were nothing in the face of this.

Tim would take actual, very literal, torture over having this conversation.

With torture he could tune out the incessant droning, he had been trained to block his pain centers, he could keep his cool until he was back in the Batcave with enough medicine to keep his cool for him.

But this? Having to face the fact that he is on record going on and on about how Superboy was amazing, handsome, and kind-hearted? All while Kon could look him in the eyes, not a single layer of protection for him?

Scary.

However, the poker face of someone trained by The Batman was nearly unshakable. “Hmm?” Was all he offered Kon, tilting his head over his shoulder but eyes never leaving the computer screen in front of him.

Kon, the fucker, knew Robin better than that, though. “Oh Robbie, don’t get all shy now. Apparently you had plenty to say before…” The tease in his voice was bordering on lethal.

Tim counted three beats before turning more towards Kon, “Before…?” He prompted, hoping Kon would believe that he really didn’t know what he was talking about.

Kon’s answering laugh told him his hope was for naught. “C’mon, Sunshine, you might be able to fool tabloids and reporters, but you’ve never been able to fool me.”

Tim detested the way his face flared red, damning his perpetual pallor. His blush only worsened when Kon leaned against his chair and spoke next to his ear. “Seems like a little birdie was talking about me.”

Tim was resolutely looking forward, if he turned to face Kon now they would hardly be a breath apart, and he was not mentally strong enough to be that close to Kon’s face and keep it together.

If Kon’s dramatic sigh was anything to go off of, he wasn’t a fan of Tim’s reaction.

Which was only proved further when he tugged the rolling chair slightly away from the desk, enough to spin it and leave Robin facing him.

Kon planted his hands on the arm rests, bracketing Tim in. He tilted his head, waiting for Tim to speak.

Tim raised an eyebrow, “I often commune with birds, I don’t recall any of them chirping about you, I mean unless Jason or Dick has something to tell me?”

Kon scoffed. “I’ve got little interest in what they have been saying about me. You on the other hand… There’s a whole article of very flattering things floating around. All quotes from one Timmie Drake-Wayne.”

“Didn’t anyone teach you not to believe everything you read? You’d be shocked about the kinds of things people claim I have said.”

Kon’s smile was all teeth, “Ah, but I know you. That’s what you’re forgetting. You see, the quotes from this enlightening story explain, in an amount of detail that’s a bit scary, how you and a friend were debating the merits of one Robin versus Superboy. A conversation you recounted for Bart and I. Helpfully leaving out the fact that it was me you used in your argument against yourself.”

Kon looked very proud of himself. Rightfully so, he managed to piece together two wholly unrelated incidents over a month after either of them happened. If Tim was on the other end of this, he’d be gloating.

Since he wasn’t on the other end, he conceded. “Fine. It’s true. All of it. Every last detail.” He had read the article front to back at least three times, foolishly hoping he had missed something. Everything was a direct quote, likely recorded for reference.

But, the confirmation was enough to get Kon to blush.

Tim had been very… candid, he would say, with Bernard. In comparing the attractiveness of heroes, specifically Robin and Superboy, Tim had plenty to say. In the comfort of what he thought was a fairly private moment with a friend, he hadn’t held back either.

Tim leaned forward, just enough to make Kon sweat a bit. “So, the line in there comparing you to a Greek statue? Direct quote. The long tangent about your smile? Not the first time I’ve said it.” Tim relished in the way Kon’s face now mirrored his own redness.

Kon’s bravado was slowly crumbling. He could work with a flustered Robin, but an unapologetically confident one was a lot for his heart to handle.

“Robbie, you gotta tell me if you meant it or not, you’re killing me here.” He was breathless, despite having done nothing but lean over Tim’s chair.

Tim smiled, wide and genuine, if not a little predatory. “No one was supposed to hear me, I meant every word, Clone Boy.”

The moment of tension was so thick Kon doubted his TTK could even cut it.

But then, all at once, it snapped. Tim whispered a hurried, “Kiss me already.”

Kon had never complied with something so quickly in his life.

Tim’s head was bent at a bit of an awkward angle and Kon was still hunched over leaning on the chair, but it was perfect.

It was perfectly them.

After a moment, and a small huff of laughter, Tim stood, letting his hands card through Kon’s hair the way he had dreamt about.

They had been toeing this line far before Tim revealed his identity, that had just been the final nail in the coffin.

So there, in the computer room of Mount Justice, they kissed. And they kissed, until all they could see, hear, feel, or think about was each other.

Which meant Bart’s timely arrival and loud exclamation of “Oh freeze, sorry!” before he sped out of the room caused them to practically jump apart.

After their brief moment of panic they couldn’t help their laughter. Tim grabbed onto Kon’s arm as support to hold himself up.

“He just has perfect timing, doesn’t he?” Kon said, laughing all the while.

Tim nodded and tried to suck in a breath. “Come on, let’s go find him.”

Kon shook his head, “Oh no, he’s practically back in Jump now, he might not ever come back without loudly announcing himself ever again.”

Tim’s laughter renewed, “God, Dick is going to so make fun of me for this!”

“Who says he has to know?” Kon looped his arms around Tim, using his shoulders as a rest for his arms and keeping them close.

Tim loosely held onto one of Kon’s forearms, letting his head lean against it as well. “Trust me, he’ll know. I don’t know how he does it, but he always catches wind of anything I do that could be considered romantic or embarrassing. This somehow managed to be both.”

“Anything romantic, so does that mean-”

“Oh, yeah. I’m sure he and Bruce are having tea with Alfred as we speak, discussing the ethics of us kissing before we had a larger conversation about feelings- as if you don’t already know what I feel for you.” He could practically picture the scene, Jason would be standing in the corner, pretending not to be invested, but as soon as Bruce or Dick said something he disagreed with he’d jump in with an opinion. “Not to mention Jason and Alfred judging them for it the whole way.”

Kon flushed at the mention of what Tim feels for him. “Well, if your family is going to judge us, perhaps we should have a quick feelings talk- boring, I know.” His joke landed, as Tim leaned further into his space and laughed.

“Hmm, if they’re judging us anyways, I think there’s something I’d prefer to be doing…” Tim leaned in, with full plans to kiss Kon once again, this time without interruption.

But evidently Tim needed to take his no planning thing seriously, because his communicator rang with Bruce’s ringtone. Tim groaned, “I swear if he’s calling me because he’s watching these cameras I will be breaking his no-kill rule. Jason did it first, he can’t get mad at me.”

The ringtone abruptly cut off as he spoke. “Yep, I’m gonna kill him. But, that can wait.” Tim stepped out of Kon’s hold, but only long enough to grab his hand and lead him out of the room.

He pulled Kon through until they made it to Tim’s room, where he knew there were no cameras.

“You’re gonna kiss me, then we’re gonna talk, and then, when I am less blood thirsty, I will head back to Gotham and tell my annoying family to be less nosey.” Tim stepped back into Kon’s space, positioning his arms around his waist.

Kon nodded. “I can definitely work with that.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bonus:

“If you aren’t going to pull it up faster, I’m going to do it for you!” Dick’s voice was all impatience as he sat in the rolling chair next to Bruce.

Bruce’s eyes were securely on the screens in front of him, “I’m checking to make sure we have the best camera.”

“You, sirs, are incorrigible.” Alfred placed the tray of tea, four cups, onto a nearby table, away from electronics.

Jason grabbed his chamomile tea and leaned against the table next to Alfred. “Insufferable, more like.”

Alfred lifted his own cup and hid a laugh in the rim.

Dick scoffed, “As if you guys aren’t invested in what’s going on between our baby bird and that Kryptonian!”

“Couldn’t give less of a shit if I tried.” Jason said, before taking a sip from his cup. “Oh, that’s good. You’ve done it again, Alfie.”

Alfred raised his cup for Jason to clink his against. “Much appreciated, Master Jason.”

“Oh, he’s got it!” Dick exclaimed.

And, despite the protestations and judgements, Jason and Alfred leaned closer to see the video feed.

With a few clicks from Bruce, the audio feed started to play.

“-commune with birds, I don’t recall any of them chirping about you, I mean unless Jason or Dick has something to tell me?”

“I’ve got little interest in what they’ve been saying about me. You on the other hand… There’s a whole article of very flattering things floating around. All quotes from one Timmie Drake-Wayne.”

Dick leaned back in his chair, “I don't know whether to be offended or happy for Tim.”

“Is he making Tim uncomfortable? Should we step in?” Bruce ignored Dick’s comment entirely in favor of worrying.

Jason snorted, “Trust me, old man, the kid’s exactly where he wants to be. He doesn’t need big bad Batman saving him from his little boyfriend.”

Both Dick and Bruce tried to subdue a flinch at the word “boyfriend.”

“Oh dear lord, you both act as if he is a child! Master Bruce, you were the one who sent him all those articles that led him here!” Alfred continued to mutter under his breath and into his teacup. “Now both of you drink your tea and be happy for the boy!” He gestured to the tray he brought down with a glare.

Dick and Bruce were quick to comply, as it never boded well defying Alfred.

“Bruce! He’s practically got Tim trapped!” Dick exclaimed, just then realizing how far Kon was leaning into his space, ignoring the way Tim leaned forward too.

“No one was supposed to hear me, I meant every word, Clone Boy.”

“Oh so he can call him Clone Boy, but when I do it, it’s suddenly a problem?”

Everyone ignored Jason’s words as Tim and Kon began kissing on the security footage. “Oh for fucks sake, I don't need to see this.” Jason covered his eyes with a hand. “Let me know when the love fest is over-”

“Oh freeze, sorry!”

Dick exclaimed, “Thank god for Bart Allen!”

“He just has perfect timing, doesn’t he?”

“I’ll say.” Bruce said, responding to the on-screen Kon. “You know, I’m not sure I like the way Kon-El was so willing to kiss Tim all willy-nilly without having even a single conversation in regards to how they feel about each other-”

Jason scoffed, “As if you’re one to talk. You talking about feelings is less likely than me, a legally dead man, winning the lottery.”

“Oh, yeah. I’m sure he and Bruce are having tea with Alfred as we speak, discussing the ethics of us kissing before we had a larger conversation about feelings- as if you don’t already know what I feel for you. Not to mention Jason and Alfred judging them for it the whole way.”

All four of them looked towards the screen at the mention of their names. “Well, he certainly has us pinned, doesn't he?” Alfred said, humor evident in his voice.

Bruce was rapidly pulling his communicator from its case as he watched Tim and Kon lean in, as if to kiss again. Before he knew it, he was calling Tim.

“I swear if he’s calling me because he’s watching these cameras I will be breaking his no-kill rule. Jason did it first, he can’t get mad at me.” The on-screen Tim said, prompting Dick, Jason, and Alfred to laugh and Bruce to quickly end the call on his communicator.

“Yep, I’m gonna kill him. But, that can wait.”

The four all standing around the Batcomputer all watched with dawning horror as Tim dragged Kon out of view of the cameras.

“Way to go, B! Now how are we supposed to know what they’re doing?” Dick said, throwing his hands up.

Bruce, for his part, was scanning the other cameras, tracking the pair as they walked into one of the bedrooms and shut the door.

“Damn, he’s got you all figured out- gotta give him credit for that.” Jason drained the last of his tea and turned to leave. “Hey, Dickface, check your phone. I’m sure your little speedster got an earful from the other one.”

“If this is you asking me to relay whatever information I get from Wally, you got it!”

Jason shook his head, “Don’t care, didn’t ask!”

“Oh, he’s totally invested.”

Alfred walked up to Dick and Bruce’s chairs, putting a hand on each of their shoulders. “If you’re both done stalking Master Tim, I’d say it's about time for lunch.”

With one glance Dick and Bruce were up and out of their chairs, following Alfred back up to the manor.

The four of them tried to have a normal lunch, but Bruce only made it about twenty minutes before he asked the table if he should call Tim again.

It was only by the grace of Alfred that they managed not to interrupt Tim again.