Work Text:
You were panicking. Tim hadn’t responded to any of your messages in the past three hours. You knew he had patrol but he was usually quick to respond to your messages because he knew you worried about him. The radio and tv were playing the news in the background of your apartment as you sat on the couch, chewing anxiously on your thumb as you stared down at your unanswered texts. You knew Tim was probably busy with hero work or another case he'd been absorbed into. This had happened before.
You had gone a week without any sign of life from Tim, knowing he was safe at the Manor in the Cave working on a case (only because Steph gave you live updates on your boyfriend) and sure you had only been dating Tim for a year (a long time? you didn't know if the time he spent lying to you about his whole life counted in your days of dating). Your relationship was on the verge of dissolving before he came clean about his second life, you having put the pieces together. you had cried, and then hit him, and yelled until your voice was hoarse. That night had been spent in Tim's arms, the two of you watching your comfort movies until you passed out (you had introduced The Princess Bride to Tim. he loved it).
You couldn't help the sting of hurt that came from seeing your unread messages. you knew the cost of dating a vigilante: you were never going to be first. And you were fine with that, truly, you were. It didn't help that you were never anyone's first. Not for your parents, nor your friends. You wondered if it were time to put yourself forward, the realisation that not even your own boyfriend put you first. It was like a shot of espresso, that realisation. You punched your pillow, a mix of emotions clogging your throat. You were an over thinker, a procrastinator, surely your brain was moving too fast right now. Communication was key. You'd seen enough shitty romcoms to know that breaking up without an explanation was a surefire way to be even more hurt.
You sat up from your couch, conviction running through your veins. you were going to go to Wayne Manor and you were going speak to Tim, let him know your true feelings. and pray, hope that he loved you enough to change. You weren't sure your heart could take that kind of pain. You were so deeply in love with Tim that a rejection would shatter your already broken spirit.
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Now that you stood in front of the Manor's tall gates, you were reconsidering your decision. Maybe you should have let Tim come to you. You shook your head, shoving your hands into you pocket, shaking away the thoughts that wanted you to run far away from this situation and live in bliss away from the truth of how your boyfriend felt. You had already waited for the next day to come, what harm was it checking up on your MIA boyfriend, you grumbled quietly to yourself, steeling your nerves to press the buzzer. As you lifted your hand to press it, the gates swung inwards. you glanced around, confused before catching sight of the security camera in the corner of the gates. you nodded to yourself, shoved you hands into your pockets and began the trek up to the manor.
you shuffled awkwardly in front of the door, debating whether it was too late to run away and hide. you were about to turn on your heel and dash when the door opened and steph leapt out at you, throwing her arms round you in a hug. you stumbled back, almost toppling over. you yank you hands out your pocket to wrap around steph, pressing against the small of her back. "steph- i'm gonna fall-" she jumped back with a bright smile, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder, "hi! you came!" you blinked at her, confused, "what do you mean, 'i came'? i didn't tell anyone i was coming…"
she shrugged, "tim's been a shit boyfriend and it was only a matter of time before you showed up wanting to see mr workaholic. reminds me why we broke up. cass, duke and i were placing bets to when you were gonna turn up. cass definitely won but she's my girlfriend so that means i won too!" you just nodded, used to the steam rolling way your best friend spoke as she threw an arm around you, guiding you inside.
"tim's downstairs, he's been glued to the screen for hours. i don't think he's even gotten up to pee…which is concerning but it's tim."
you nod again, chewing on the inside of your cheek, "is he still working? i don't wanna disturb him…i can wait until he's done.." steph shook her head with a snort, "that loser is never done working, you'd be here the rest of your life. we can disturb him. plus i think jason is already annoying him. your pretty face will be a great distraction!" she tugged you down the corridor.
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steph pulled you in every direction possible, making you incredibly dizzy. you were so disorientated by her yanking you didn't even realise you had entered the batcave.
you jaw dropped in awe as you took in the massive space. this was where batman worked. where your boyfriend worked. holy shit. your awe was quickly dissuaded as you zeroed in on the giant computer set up.
you tugged anxiously at your necklace as steph led you towards the massive screen. you heard tim before you saw him, his familiar voice arguing with the less familiar voice of who you assumed was jason. you had only met the older man once, as red hood and he had a voice modulator so it was a total guess. your hand grew clammy in steph's as the two of you drew closer to the arguing boys.
your teeth sunk into your lower lip as tim and jason finally noticed the two of you. steph simply grinned and patted your shoulders, "timmy your girlfriend is here to see you. stop being a shit boyfriend for once please." with that she turned and left. your eyes widened and you half-turned to her in distress as she skipped away. you looked back at your boyfriend and his brother, the latter looking genuinely confused.
"timbo i didn't know you had a girlfriend."
you shuffled on your feet and spoke before tim could, "we've actually met before mr red hood..mr hood? uhm..yeah. you saved me once."
jason's eyes widened, "first, call me jason. second, were you the girl that timmers went feral over when he found out you were in the danger zone? he was losing his mind-" tim sat straight up at that, his glasses sliding off his nose, "jason-"
you tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, "i hope so…we've been together a year so i hope he cares that much…" you trailed off, staring at a spot in the distance.
jason exploded, "a year!? and he hasn't introduced you yet? that's why steph said you're a shitty boyfriend timothy. fix up." he hit the back of tim's head, picking up his discarded helmet, "i'll leave the two of you alone," he pointed at you, "let him have it. he's terrible and he deserves it." jason stared you down as he left in the same direction as steph, before making a sharp turn back to his motorcycle.
you turned back to your boyfriend, the two of you silent for a second before tim spoke. "so uh..what's up?" you blanched, your eyebrows shooting up, "what's up? tim you haven't responded to any of my messages for days. i didn't know whether you were hurt or not, only that you were alive. you stay cooped down here for weeks on end and i just can't anymore. i'm sick of being second best to your cases. you've left every date night early or just fully missed it, you respond to messages weeks later, you never ever bother to check in with me and worst of all tim, you expect me to be okay with it. to constantly run around after you and pick up your slack in our relationship." your voice broke a little and you rubbed you nose, sniffling quietly. " i just wish- i wish you put me first. i wish we could go back to the beginning where i knew you cared…but now…" you shrugged, looking despondently into the distance.
tim was staring at you, jaw slack in shock, his glasses skewed on his face. you looked back at him with furrowed brows, tears welling at your waterline. "you really don't have anything to say? after a year and our relationship is already turned to shit. seriously tim?" you sniffled and wiped your eyes, "what did i expect." you muttered to yourself, turning away.
tim practically launched himself from his chair, grabbing you wrist and spinning you back towards him before you could leave. "wait- don't- please don't leave me. i'll be better. i just- let me try and explain…" you blinked up at him, unimpressed, removing your wrist from his grip, "fine. but if it's a shit explanation im leaving and we are over."
tim's shoulders slump in minute relief, flopping back into his desk chair and gesturing for you to take the other one. you sit across from him, shrugging you jacket off, leaving you in a sweater that tim realises is his. you must still have a little bit of hope for your relationship then. tim can work with that. he has been a shit boyfriend. he just has to prove he can be better. he loves you and he'll be damned if he loses another person he loves due to his own idiocy.
he took a deep breath, rubbing the bridge of his nose before looking back at you with the energy of a wet cat. "so… i understand that i've been a terrible horrible boyfriend."
"the absolute worst. even my ex was more attentive," you pouted.
tim winced at that, "right…so..uh. i just want to say that..i was scared," he held up a hand, "and i know that's not an excuse to be an asshole but let me finish. i was scared with how much i cared about you. after what happened with bernard i was scared to be in a committed relationship, to give my heart over to someone else. and i fell so hard for you, in such a short space of time that it was jarring."
he sighed deeply, running his clammy hands over his knees, "and then you liked me back and we started dating…you were as much in love with me as i was with you and i was over the moon. and then i realised how much danger i was putting you in.
"i'm fucking red robin, if anyone ever saw me with you, it'd put you in immediate danger. so i lied. i didn't tell you why i was pulling away, why i always turned up injured, why i refused to let you in. and you figured it out. of course you did. you're so smart, so so smart, which is part of the reason i love you."
you looked at him, eyes full of emotion as you saw the pain written clearly across his face. you reached out to grab his hand. tim's head tipped up at you and he reached out as well, gripping your hand tightly in his. he rubbed his thumb over your knuckles before continuing, "and you didn't leave me after that, even though i lied to you throughout our entire relationship. you accepted that part of me with no complaints. but you should have. you should be allowed to be mad at me for lying to you and i don't think i ever gave you the opportunity to do that."
"but then you almost got hurt. and i- " he chuckles, "i lost my mind, the whole team thought i was mad but i was just worried because if you got hurt- " he broke off with a shrp inhale, his grip on your hand tightening, "i don't think i'd be able to forgive myself sweetheart. 'cause i should be protecting you and that one night i wasn't. bruce made me stay here and sent jason out to you. you were safe and i was further realising how bad i was for you."
"so i distanced myself. i let myself become that shitty boyfriend, hoping you'd see the truth and break it off…but you didn't. you kept checking up on me and i realise what i'm saying is counterintuitive to my intent but hear me out. you kept texting, kept scheduling dates, kept loving me."
tim took a shuddering breath, his shoulders slumped, refusing to look you in the eye, "and you turned up today to do exactly what i had planned to happen.. and i was wrong. i love you too much to let you go. selfish of me, but i don't care. i hurt you so bad and i understand if you just want to end this but please. please give me a chance to fix it. i can fix it. for you."
you reached out to cup his face, "am i allowed to speak now?" he nodded, eyes wide with hope. "tim you hurt me. you really hurt me. and i don't even think i should forgive you but i just- i really liked you tim…and you took it all for granted." your gaze dropped and tim looked incredibly disheartened. you continued, "and with all that you said i'm unsure. i want to forgive you and give you another chance…but how do i know you won't just repeat this..?"
tim sat straight up, his face firm with conviction, "i promise sweetheart. i'm going to be better. i will be better for you. i won't let you go without trying." you were already struggling to stay mad, the softer part of your heart already forgiving him. you stood up from your seat, sliding into tim's lap, both hands cupping his face, "promise?" his hands settled comfortably on your thighs, "i promise, as many times as it takes for you to believe me." you smiled, content for the moment. you'd probably make him squirm later. right now all you wanted was the comfort of your boyfriend's touch.
tim looked up at you hopefully, his gaze dropping to your mouth, "can i kiss you? please?" he sounded so desperate, like it was the last thing keeping him sane. you nodded, leaning down to brush your mouth over his. he surged up, capturing your lips in a hungry kiss. you made a surprised noise against his mouth, your fingers twining in his hair and tugging as he bit at your bottom lip. the kiss was passionate, filled with months of regret and longing. you nipped at tim's lower lip, his mouth eagerly opening to your tongue. you moaned in tandem as your tongues slid against each other, the lewd sounds echoing in the empty cave.
tim's hands slid to your ass, gripping handfuls of your flesh making you whimper desperately, "tim- don't tease- " his hands traveled up, disappearing under your sweater, "thought you could wear my sweater and i wouldn't notice, hmm?" his voice was husky as he kissed down your neck. you gripped his shoulders, moans ripped from your throat as he attacked every sensitive spot you had. you were grinding in his lap, whining at the friction from the seam of your jeans. tim unhooked your bra, fingers sliding over your breasts, teasing your sensitive nipples. you keened into his touch, arching you back slightly.
"oh fuck- tim- don't do that right now-"
"hmm?" tim was lost in a daze of lust, his glasses fogged up from his panting breaths against you skin, "you want me to stop?" he immediately pulled away, conscious of the conversation you had just had. you blinked at the sudden shift, "tim.. i just meant that we're in a very public space right now…any one of your family could come down here…"
tim perked back up, his cock twitching in his pants at the suggestion in your tone, "my room is private..we can go there?" you smiled at him, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth, "perfect." tim slid his arms under your thighs and stood up, wrapping your legs around his waist before taking you up to his room.