Chapter Text
Today was really not Danny’s day.
It was the first time since he had started at Wayne Enterprises that he has had to use his wheelchair, and while he had definitely planned for it, it was a little inconvenient to say the least. His usual subway station was not at all accessible, which meant he had to take the bus. Which, of course, was about 30 minutes late. And it was fine, really, everyone knew how unpredictable public transportation could be in Gotham.
Things really were going fine, until he actually got to work. Normally Danny would just go through the main revolving door, whether he was having a good day or using his crutches. But the problem with that was that even though the building had been renovated relatively recently to make everything more accessible, there had been heavy pushback about the exterior. Apparently the majority of the board members had insisted that the building itself was ‘far too historic’ to even consider adding in a ramp.
But it was fine. Despite the annoyed sigh he let out as he maneuvered his chair down the side of the building- where they had decided to put their more accessible entrance. Still well trafficked due to the parking garage, but far more people in Gotham took public transit than drove. Even if most of the employees had a car, not many wanted to risk it getting destroyed in the event of an attack. It was still downtown Gotham, after all.
The ramp itself was a little steep, and would definitely be a lot more challenging in the winter, but it worked well enough. With a soft breath of relief, Danny took a moment to scan his badge and press the large blue button beside him and… nothing. A soft frown tugged at his lips as he waited a few seconds, thinking that there might just be a bit of a delay. Maybe… Maybe he had to press the button and then scan his badge.
Still nothing.
Danny couldn’t help the small, frustrated groan that spilled from his lips as he leaned forward a bit, resting his head in his hands so he could take a moment to simply accept the fact that he was going to have to struggle with the building's stupidly heavy door on his own. He couldn’t wallow for too long though, since he was already late and really couldn’t afford to waste anymore time.
Resigned to his fate, Danny moved forward as much as he could, angling his chair to hopefully make it easier for himself once he actually had enough space to move into the building.
“Ancients, why do they make these doors so fucking heavy-” He grumbled to himself, his scent spiking slightly with clear frustration as he struggled to get the door open far enough for his chair. It took longer than he had hoped, but he was almost at the point where he could wedge his chair between the door and the frame when he heard another voice.
“Uhm- Can I help you with that?”
Danny wasn’t expecting someone to come up behind him, startling slightly, which caused him to falter and the door to push him back a bit. He reluctantly decided to abandon his progress, rolling back a bit to look at the man who had come up behind him; without him even noticing. He looked to be about Danny’s own age, so he assumed he was a junior… something. And he knew when he had been beat- or not really beat, but when it was better to ask for help.
“If you don’t mind, that’d be great” He said after a moment, giving the man a small smile as he moved out of the way as much as he could. “Of course it’d be broken the first day I’ve had to use my chair, Gotham luck, right?” He tried to joke as the man scooted around him to push the door open, holding it as wide as he could.
“Mhmm.. definitely not good luck” The man agreed as Danny finally wheeled into the building, a bit of relief washing over him.
“Thank you, though. I really appreciate it…?” Danny tilted his head a bit, drawing a blank as he tried to put a name to the man's face. He looked familiar, but in a company this large there were bound to be plenty of people he saw occasionally but never learned the names of.
“Oh- It’s Tim.” The man- Tim- said after a moment, looking a bit surprised and genuinely confused at the fact that he didn't seem to recognize him.
“Tim.” Danny repeated “Thank you for that, it would have probably taken me ages to fully get in here, and I’m already late.. My name’s Danny, by the way, I’m over in engineering.” He introduced himself in turn, turning to head towards the elevators.
“Hmm, small world, I’m heading up that way myself. No need to worry about being late” Tim hummed with a simple shrug, easily falling in step beside Danny. “How long have you been with the company?” He asked as the elevator door opened, using his arm to block the door as Danny made his way on.
“About a month and a half now? I just hit two months in Gotham actually, I moved here from Wisconsin after my internship with Vlad Co. was up. Honestly, it’s a big change. Small midwest town to major east coast city- but I couldn’t be happier with the work im doing, you know? WE is pretty much a dream for anyone..” Danny trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “Sorry, sorry, I promise I don’t mean to ramble- what about you?”
Tim let out a soft laugh, nodding a bit “No, no need to apologize, I’m the one who asked. And I’ve been working here on and off for about five years.. You could say I have a hand in a lot of things, but mostly management.”
Danny’s eyes widened slightly at that. He couldn’t imagine the man beside him being even a couple years older than he was. “Seriously? How old were you when you started then?” He couldn’t stop himself from asking. Maybe it was rude- maybe Tim was some kind of genius prodigy who graduated college at 15.
“I was 16. But that was only for a few months. Like I said, it’s been on and off. This stint has been the longest, though, about 2 years.” Tim said simply, adjusting the bag slung over his shoulder as the elevator dinged, the doors opening a few moments later.
And Danny was going to say something to that, he really was. Something about how impressive that was, maybe a question about how he managed that, or what schools he had gone to- but before he could, a familiar voice caught his attention as they left the elevator.
“Oh thank god- Mr. Wayne, I’ve been trying to call you..” Lucius Fox- Danny’s boss- called as he made his way over to them.
“I was driving, Lucius.. What happened? You only revert to last names when I really screwed up-” Danny stopped listening at that point, simply staring after them as Tim- Timothy Drake-Wayne- gave him an apologetic look, quickly making his way to follow Lucius deeper into the office.