Chapter Text
Tim is 8.
It’s dark. Two shots can be heard, bodies falling, the front door slamming close, and then there is silence.
The child does not dare to get out of his hiding place during the night, not knowing what is waiting for him in the dark.
It’s a sleepless night in the closet. Through the gap in the slightly open doors, he can see the mess that has been made.
As the sun rises, light slowly shines through the windows, giving the dark blobs on the floor color, turning them into two bodies lying in blood.
Mama and Papa are dead.
Their son spends days staring at them as if they would come back to life at any moment.
But they won’t.
Sometimes he lies down with them, hugging them. It is awful, but he cannot let go, desperately hugging his mama and crying, knowing she cannot hug him back.
Tim is flooded by all the happy memories, and it makes him miserable, because nothing will ever be like it was.
Tim cannot travel back in time to live through those memories once more, nor can he make new ones with mama and papa in them.
All the “could have beens” make him feel like something is pressing against his chest, making it hurt physically as well.
When the crying stops, he feels numb.
It helps him think, putting aside his immense grief.
What will happen to Tim?
What will happen to Drake Industries?
What will happen to all the artifacts?
His parents treasured those things, and Tim will make sure to protect them.
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After that, his memories become blurry, remembering only pieces.
Tim cleans up, even using UV light to make sure the house is spotless.
He buries the bodies in the back garden.
With every shovel of dirt landing in his parents’ grave, Tim has to fight the urge to pull them back up, or join them.
Tim is smart for his age. He is a Drake, after all.
He cannot rely on distant family, his parents had basically cut all contact with them.
As an orphan in the system, he wouldn’t be able to take care of Drake Industries or keep the artefacts safe.
So Tim decides to make sure everyone believes Janet and Jack Drake are alive and well, traveling the world.
Easy, right?