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Every day used to start the same: cold.
It’s not the type of cold from the weather, though. It’s not as if there’s no heat in the building, especially during the spring and summer, Wayne Industries has been working hard to make sure each and every group home is fully equipped to keep their kids safe and warm and healthy. In that aspect, he’s fine. It’s more like…
A deeply engrained frigid feeling that originated in his chest and then had expanded through his veins. It’s as if it’s in his blood itself. The type of numbingly cold that comes with being… abandoned. Hurt. Left to die.
Well, that last one wasn’t technically accurate. It’s not as if his parents just left him out in the cold. They had the decency to leave him somewhere where he could get shelter and then get to an adult to tell them he’d been abandoned. At least he hadn’t had to make his way to town from the mansion they lived in at the time, that had the driveway that was long enough to be a 10 minute walk, surrounded by a forest and too far away to get to town in one piece during the middle of winter.
It was a small mercy, but it saved his life. That didn't mean they weren’t at fault, though.
All in all, Tim's days are always cold. Then he meets Kon, Bart and Cassie. And then they trauma bonded and kinda just… imprinted on each other. They were later joined by more people, 4 more to be exact, and Tim loves them, it's just slightly different from how he loves those 3 specifically.
He won't spit poetry or all that romantic bullshit, nor will he sugarcoat their first meetings. They didn’t hate each other, but they were mean and no one trusted each other. Well, Bart kind of did, but not in a genuine trust way, in the way that he didn’t know he probably shouldn’t trust them. Mostly it was him and Kon who were assholes to each other, and when Cassie joined they mellowed out and learned to mesh, but it was a terrible start. They didn’t have anyone else though, not in their grade. And no one from other grades wanted to get particularly close to them for awhile (except the Bats, they had been interested in Tim but he avoided them like the plague cause he didn’t want to be recognized as a Drake).
All of that changed as time went on, they grew together and eventually grew to love each other. If Tim’s body had been frigid ever since he was abandoned, the three of them were the sun that thawed him out. After being with them, he learned what it felt to be warm, warmer than in that empty mansion his parents left him behind in, and absolutely warmer than in the group home he lives in currently. They were his.
That didn’t make every day magically better, but it did help ease his soul. It helped on days he felt so bad he just wanted to disappear, or days where his senses were in overdrive due to his insomnia, and so forth. It wasn’t a cure all, he didn’t think there was such a thing, but they helped. He knew they all had that effect on each other, and while none of them were perfect, he wouldn’t trade them for the world.
-
Okay, so, Tim isn’t an idiot. He had been eligible to skip grades when he was younger, but his guardians at the time decided against it. He has great deduction skills, he hasn’t found a puzzle, mystery or even an old cold case that he couldn’t solve (with a little sleuthing). It’s not the hardest thing in the world to know that the Wayne family had some special interest in him.
As Bruce Wayne was the #1 orphan adopter in their area, it wasn’t too hard to think of why. He had this thing with kids, down on their luck, who were traumatized and in need of a home. Or something like that, he’s just amassed that due to the fact that he’s adopted around 4 kids (6 if you count Stephanie Brown and Barbara Gordon as his kids even though they have parents), and the other one, the blood related kid, came to him after 10 years of his mother hiding him away. Or so the media says, but Tim’s 90% sure that story isn’t a lie.
Tim literally checked every single box of a kid looking to be adopted by Bruce Wayne. He didn’t want to, though. Nothing against the guy, but Tim was done with being in the family of rich people. Also, he never wanted to be connected back to his sperm donors, and joining the Wayne family would be like there’s a giant sign on his back reading LOOK INTO MY PAST. No thank you, he’d rather live in the group home. It wasn’t the best, but it wasn’t the worst. Plus, he had his school friends and Kon was more than happy to let him basically live in his house with him when his birth dad wasn’t there (which was most of the time, since neither lived there).
He hasn’t outright told them to fuck off, he doesn’t think any of the Bats are bad people (where they got that group nickname, he has no clue, but they’d even made a little logo and had matching shirts and everything), he just prefers his group. He doesn’t want to be a Wayne, no matter how nice it would feel to have an actual family. Brothers, sisters, a dad… He has his lovely partners but it was a different feeling from having siblings or parents (he thinks, he’s never really had either before).
Either way, getting approached by any of them isn’t unknown, as he does kind of share a friend group with some of them (how is a long list of who knows who and he’s NOT getting into that), but the frequency has seen to have gone up. And it’s not as if he doesn’t want to hang out with them, they can be cool, he’s just avoiding Wayne Manor like the plague. Jason Todd and Dick Grayson might be the people he looks up to the most in life, but he’s refused even him enough times that they know he’ll never hang out with them at their house. (He does not want to talk about how the Bats knew that Jason Todd was his idol and Dick Grayson was the coolest person ever in his eyes.)
They don’t tend to ask him to come back to their place anymore, but they’ll slip it in here or there to see if he’s changed his mind. Normally he doesn’t mind it, it’s fine, they just want to make sure, but today is a Bad Day so they better not ask today. And while they try to be mindful of his mood, he hasn’t had a day like this since before he really knew them, so they don’t even know. He’s good at hiding how terrible he feels so he can get through the day as normally as possible, and while they can probably tell he doesn’t feel the best, they don’t know. Plus he’s not going to tell them, that defeats the purpose of distancing himself. And he has his partners, so he should be fine.
It starts, as all days do, with his body feeling frigid. It’s a bit odd, cause he spent the night laying in the same bed at Kon and therefore should feel more raw, but he doesn’t think much of it in his sleepy haze. And then his scars start to ache. It’s a bone deep feeling, like someone is pressing on them and they’re open wounds once again instead of just scars. This makes his back pain flare, which would normally be manageable (not fine cause it’s never fine), except he’s slept maybe 5 hours total in the past 4 days. His senses are already going haywire, have been since the day before which is why he’s in the same bed as Kon even though he can’t sleep, but this just makes everything worse.
He tries to be a normal person, he really does. Thankfully, Kon catches on right away that it’s a Bad Day, lets everyone know in the YJ groupchat, and then does his best to help. Which, it does help, even if he’s still a little bit too scathing, too mean, too snappy, but his boyfriend doesn’t mind. Just hugs him gently and helps him get dressed into clothes that don’t make his skin feel as if it’s being peeled off slowly.
They take an Uber to school instead of the subway, Kon reassuring him that his dad won’t care (he never does, the prick). It helps keep his head a bit calm. He also has his noise cancelling headphones on, alongside as much skin as possible covered with his outfit. When he arrives, their partners are waiting for them outfront. Despite Bart knowing he already has a plethora of fidget toys, his boyfriend offers one of his personal favorites as a silent reassurance. Cassie just carefully grabs his hand and starts leading her boys to their classes. All throughout the day, they help, with Greta, Anita and Cissie helping when they share space together. It’s nice, makes him feel loved and comfortable.
His last period is a free period that he spends in the library studying. He could go home, but he prefers to stay as he doesn’t like going back to Kon’s place without him. Plus, he normally has plans with someone (mostly his partners, sometimes others) that are still stuck in class. He’ll study and usually he’ll be joined by a few others, Roy and Kori sometimes pop up if their teacher cuts the class time in half (the teacher was weird), Jason also had free period and was there unless Roy got out early and wasn’t coming to the library, and sometimes Barbara would pop up if she felt like it. Mostly he just chilled and studied until his partners appeared around him, and then they’d corral him into putting his notes away so they could leave.
Instead of any of that, he just stays curled up in his usual chair, eyes closed, trying to rest. He’s fallen asleep enough times in the library that he hopes he looks normal enough. He also prays to any god that might exist that he gets left alone today. He’d be up to maybe seeing Barbara, because most of the time they didn’t talk unless he wanted help with a project or she wanted to show him something specific, but the other 3? He couldn’t do that today. Normally when they arrived, all they ended up doing together was talking. He didn’t have the brain capacity to talk today, not after he had an inescapable presentation that he had to be the speaker for because the group members were assholes (he didn’t share that class with any of his friends or even friend-adjacents).
His prayers go unanswered.
He watches Jason and Roy walk over to his table 10 minutes after the period starts. He tries to pretend to be asleep, but keeping his eyes closed is making him paranoid and his scars are aching enough that he cannot let himself go unwatched. It’s not bad enough that he has to take his headphones off due to muffled senses = unsafe, but he can’t keep his eyes closed. He can’t.
“Hey Timbo,” Jason greets, sitting to his left. Roy sits beside his boyfriend, offering his own greeting as he pulls out his school laptop.
Tim offers a grunt of acknowledgement, eyes wandering to the slightest movement around him. Roy’s hands as he opens his laptop, Jason’s arms as he twists to grab something from his own backpack, the entrance to the library as someone walks in. He’s hypervigilant right now, he knows that, and he’s also exhausted. He can’t keep his eyes from wandering, nor stop how shallow his breathing has gotten. He had been fine and now he wasn’t. Fuck. Fuck. He needed-
“Hey, Tim?” Jason leans forward in his seat, one hand under the table, the other holding onto a book.
It irks him. He needs to see his hands. What if he’s hiding something? What if he has a weapon? What if he wants to hurt Tim? He can’t let himself get hurt, not after he fought tooth and nail to get out of that home. Not after he promised Cassie, Bart and Kon that he would take care of himself. He needs to see his hands. And-
His eyes flick to Roy, he’s leaned forward in his seat. From this angle he can see one hand on the keyboard slightly but not the other. He’s not hiding anything… right? He wants to think about it but then someone gets up behind him and he has to look back at Jason, because he’s the potential threat. He can’t see his free hand. He’s going to hurt him. Maybe. Or maybe the person behind him who stood up is, and now he needs to turn to see what they’re doing, to make sure his back is safe.
“Tim,” Jason repeats, a bit louder, and that snaps his eyes back to him. Both of his hands are placed palms flat against the table, his book nowhere in sight. Roy’s computer is pushed forward and he can see both of his hands that mirror Jason’s on the table. They’re both not hiding anything. It’s not possible, not with the way their hands rest and not with the expression on Jason’s face and-
“Tim,” Jason breathes, forcing his eyes to lock with his. “Breathe, Timbo. In and out, count for 4, just breathe.”
Tim releases the breath he didn’t even notice he was holding. His chest seems to loosen with that single breath. He takes the other’s advice, in for 4, hold for 4, then out for 4. He repeats it until he feels his head calm down, fingers unclenching from where they’d been holding his arms in a death grip. Oh. He’d been panicking, hadn’t he? He’d spiralled so fast he hadn’t even realized it.
“Feeling better?” Jason asks gently as soon as he’s gotten his breathing under control.
He nods and then shakes his head. He does feel better, but it’s not over. He still can’t keep his eyes off of movements around him. He’s cataloging all the exits like he normally does when he enters the room, except this is his 4th time since he got here. He doesn’t want to be here anymore, but he cannot leave without one of the YJ members. He doesn’t feel safe enough to do so.
“Do you want to head home? I can tell the front desk you’re not feeling good?” Jason offers.
Something inside Tim seems to crack open. He can’t take this, or else he’s going to do something stupid, like ask his long-time idol to take him back to his home. He can’t do that to himself. He needs one of his partners or one of his friends right this second.
“Can’t,” he manages to say after a moment of his throat feeling like it’s full of molasses. “Need… YJ,” he manages to say.
He watches intently as Jason and Roy have a conversation with their eyes, before they both turn to him.
“I can text Cissie to come here, if that’s okay?” Roy offers, telegraphing his movements as he reaches for his phone.
Tim jerks his head into something akin to a nod. Jason takes a moment, also telegraphing his movements, as he grabs his book. And then he starts reading to him in a low murmur. He’s close enough that he can hear him, despite how quiet he’s being, but not too close that he feels unsafe. The story washes over him, and he starts to feel… better. It doesn’t end his paranoia, but it gives him something else to focus on instead of the overwhelming anxiety of being hypervigilant while sleep deprived. He feels calmer than he was when they entered, and once Cissie appears in his line of sight, all the anxiety ebbs away slowly. It's not gone, but it is severely lessened.
“Hey Birdie,” she murmurs softly once she’s in range, and he’s instantly flying out of his seat.
She catches him with ease, carefully placing an arm around his waist while her free hand goes to his head. She softly runs her fingers through his hair, murmuring reassurances into the side of his head.
“You’re safe, we’re safe, it’s okay. You won’t be hurt. Jason won’t hurt you, neither will Roy. We'll go home soon, and all of YJ will join us soon. Yes, even Slobo. You're safe, and you're free.”
Tim can feel himself relax. Not fully, but he feels so much safer. The urge to check the exits and watch others movements has lessened. He feels okay, which is so much better than he had been before Cissie joined them in the library. No offense to Roy and Jason, but Cissie was family, just like his partners, and just like Anita, Greta and Slobo.
“Home?” He asks, forcing himself to speak even though it's hard.
“Yes, we can go home. Do you want your stuff, or do you want someone to grab it for you?”
He turns, slipping out of her hold to grab his backpack. Thankfully he hadn’t unpacked it. He manages a nod to Roy and Jason, reminding himself to thank them properly another time and then latches back onto Cissie. She says something to the pair and then gives him her full attention as she leads them out of the library.
“Class?” He asks, feeling his throat start to unstick the farther they get from the library and the closer to outside the building.
“I told the teacher and the front desk it was a family emergency, my mom covered when I told her you needed a ride home. She's out front and said she'll take us to Conner's house, she promised to only ask the most basic of questions.”
He nods, feeling something in him loosen. Cissie's mom was a safe person. She hadn't always had a perfect relationship with her daughter due to pressuring her to be a better archer than her, but they had worked through that last year. And she was always kind to her friends, but knew not to push too hard. Not because she didn't want to help, but because she knew that pushing too hard would ultimately push them away and if she wasn't helping, who would?
As soon as they leave the school, Tim feels the pressure around him change. Everything is louder, but his headphones help block out a lot of the noise. His hand tightens in Cissie's, but she just gives a quick squeeze before leading him to her mom's car. They slide into the back together and he catches Bonnie's eye in the rearview mirror.
“You okay?” She asks, loud enough for him to hear.
He shakes his head. “Just- wanna go home,” he admits.
She nods. “I told the school that you went home with me due to Cissie also being sick, so if you need another day off, you can just call them.”
He nods. “Thanks Bonnie.”
She offers a smile and then they're off.
He spends the ride resting against Cissie, head on her shoulder, arms and legs pressed together. He’s half asleep by the time they’re outside of Kon’s home, but he startles once the car stops. He manages to thank Bonnie one more time before Cissie leads him out of the car and into the mini manor that Lex Luthor paid for and never fucking uses unless he feels like torturing Kon.
Ugh, thinking of Luthor makes his head hurt.
“What do you need now, Tim?” Cissie asks as soon as she’s disarmed the alarm and gotten him to take his shoes off.
“Bed,” he decides after a few moments of thinking.
He wants to lay down and pretend he doesn’t exist. He wants to see if it’ll calm down his brain enough for him to rest. His insomnia is a bitch but eventually he’ll have to pass the fuck out, right?
She leads him to Kon’s room and he is quick to shed his layers. He lays down with only a shirt and sleep shorts on, curling himself above the covers. He takes a few deep breaths, hearing as Cissie moves to grab some of Cassie or Kon’s clothing from the closet. A few moments later she’s slipping into bed behind him, letting him be the little spoon. He feels safer, safer than he did at school and especially in that library. He also feels exhausted. All the paranoia and panicking had taken the life out of him. He can feel as he drifts off, Cissie holding him as she scrolls through her phone.
-
He only manages to calm his brain down enough to go back to school after 2 days of rest. Kon also calls in sick, and the only reason Bart and Cassie don’t are because of their parents strictness. Once he’s feeling less like he got run over by a truck then was forced into shock therapy, he goes back to school. He hadn’t managed to text any of the Bats back that messaged him (aka all of them), besides 1 text to Jason to let them know he’s okay just taking some mental health days. Or, he has Kon text Jason all of that after some grumbled communication.
The first thing he does when he enters the building, aside from greeting his partners, is seek out Jason and Roy. Thankfully they’re together, with Dick, Wally and Cass, hanging around one of their lockers. Bart gives them all a look, conveying he’ll see them in class, and then rushes off. Tim watches with a critical eye as Wally’s eyes seem to chase after Bart, before he shakes his head, turning his attention back to the trio.
That was something to unpack later, though, as he turns his attention to Jason and Roy.
“Thank you for the other day,” he says after a moment, offering what he hopes isn’t an awkward smile.
He had wanted to apologize, but Cassie had gently reminded him that they didn’t mind that he was having a breakdown, they just wanted to make sure he was okay. Apologizing would just make them think they had to reassure him, so the easiest way was to just thank them and skip the unneeded apology.
Or something like that, he let Cassie and the others guide him when it came to social interactions like this. Outside of them (and even with them sometimes), he wasn’t too used to genuine affection or care. He was getting better at it, but some primal part of him either thought he was the problem or that he had to apologize, which could have negative effects.
“You feeling better now, baby bird?” Jason asks, eyebrows furrowed.
He nods. “Yes, I am. That hasn’t happened in awhile, I probably shouldn’t have come to school like that in the first place, so thanks for helping me get Cissie.”
Cass catches his attention, pointing at him and then signing “OKAY” with an eyebrow raised.
“Yes, I’m okay,” he assures again, fingerspelling the word to help get his point across.
She narrows her eyes at him, but nods, as if satisfied for now. She gives them all a wave and then signs Steph’s name sign (the letter S and then the sign for bubbles), before she heads off.
“What did you mean by that hasn’t happened in awhile?” Dick asks, eyebrows furrowed in concern.
Tim wants to ignore the question and move on, knowing that he’ll absolutely set off every single Bats adoption urges again if he does, but Cassie’s gentle hand on his shoulder reminds him that he shouldn’t. His partners have been urging him to be more open with his feelings, and reminding him that the Bats were safe. All 3 of them had vetted them, alongside Anita and Cissie, so he knew his hesitance was unfounded, he just…
Didn’t think he deserved a family. And even if he did, why would the fucking Wayne’s want him? Also, he didn’t want to give himself hope and then have it all thrown in his face, just like with his birth parents.
“Sometimes my insomnia, paranoia and hypervigilance clash and give me grief. I’ve been getting better since I started high school, but I hadn’t slept more than 5 hours in 4 days and my brain was not very happy with that,” he explains.
“Ah, I get that,” Jason nods, and no stories need to be told for Tim to understand that he absolutely understands. “Mine was managed through therapy after B adopted me,” he admits.
“Yeah, well, can’t exactly afford that right now,” he tries to say it lightly, to diffuse the tension building, but it doesn’t sway Dick’s worry at all.
Or Roy’s, but he’s better at containing it, Tim can only see it in his eyes. He can see Dick’s worry literally roll off of him in waves as he stares at him.
At least Wally is distracted enough (probably because of Bart) that he’s not also overly worried about him, small mercies.
Also, Kon could also probably afford to get him therapy (with Luthor’s money), but they’d need a lot of paperwork that Tim can’t provide. He could probably fake it, and would, if he had any interest in therapy. As of the moment it just seemed like a hassle out of his already long and hard days.
The bell rings, interrupting their conversation before Dick can start outwardly talking about his worry. Tim is quick to say his goodbyes and scampers off with Kon and Cassie in tow.
“Never make me do that again,” he requests.
“Request denied,” Cassie replies.
“Yeah, Tim, ya gotta talk about your feelings more often. And maybe open up to the Bats more. They already consider you their sibling, I’m 80% sure Cass’ signs ‘little brother’ every time she refers to you.”
“Shhhhh!” He shushes his boyfriend, cheeks turning pink. “I know that but you don’t have to remind me!” He groans, hiding his face in his hands. “This is the worst.”
“How are people wanting you the worst?” Cassie asks with a snort. “Suck it up, buttercup, it’s more than the rest of us have.”
“Don’t guilt trip me,” he says halfheartedly.
“You know we’re not,” Kon pushes his shoulder gently. “Just reminding you that people wanting you is a novelty, one you should chase after.”
Tim thinks about it for 5 seconds before sighing. “Maybe, okay? I’ll think about it.”
“Good, cause I think we’re late-”
“Guys-”
-
Okay, Tim just wants to say, none of this is his fault, okay?
Highschool is a weird space where teenagers just perpetually kinda suck and are all trying to find themselves before they realize they don’t have to do all that before they're adults. Or something like that. Either way, social circles were weird in high school.
Tim was popular? Kind of? The Bats and Titans were popular. Why wouldn’t they be? They had so many different types of people, and if you tried hating one of them, no one else in the circle would ever agree with your reasons, so you would be screwed socially. That didn’t deter everyone, especially those that believed they were above everyone due to their status (even though they all went to fucking public school, but who cares), but it was still well known that hey! Fucking with a Titan? Bad idea!
Not everyone got the memo, though.
One of the only days he goes home without his partners, due to Bart having track, Kon having band practice, and Cassie having wrestling, just happens to be a day that none of the other YJ’s are free either. Cissie had archery, Anita and Greta had to be home early, and Slobo was out sick. It’s fine, he can head back to Kon’s place alone, he just doesn’t really like to. He’d rather have someone with him, but he has some online coding work to do and he can only do that at home.
Of course, it’s just one of those days where the universe seems to hate him, cause as soon as he’s seen alone, they pounce.
It wasn’t exactly unfamiliar for other rich kids to recognize him, but he’s managed to keep a specific group’s mouth shut through threats. He’s scrappy, and he’s not the same 11 year old who would get scared at the thought of being recognized as a Drake. At this point it’s not a fear thing that keeps him wanting to keep the Drake thing hidden, it’s that he just doesn’t want to be associated with them anymore. Some small part of him will always want his parents' attention, and want to beg on his hands and knees for them to love him. But he’s grown up, and he’s made real friends, real family, and he knows he doesn’t need it anymore.
Hell, he could even get another, better parent if he gets his head out of his ass! (Or so his partners say.)
But anyways, he didn’t want it getting out, so he threatened them. They minded their business, he minded his, and no one had to know the bajillion secrets he’d dug up about their stupid smug rich families. He thought that would keep them at bay.
However, as they’re rich kids and dumb to a fault, it did not. And he’s now paying the price.
See, whenever he had the chance, he liked to use his skateboard. Most of the time he could skate home with his partners or friends as long as he remembered to slow down or loop back if he went too far, etc. He didn’t do any of that often enough, so he tended to walk, or if it was just 2 of them walking together, he’d have them stand on his skateboard with him. Mostly Bart since Kon and Cassie were reaching the size that it could be too dangerous for them and him on the skateboard.
Anyways, he decided to skateboard home. Which was a very bad call, cause as soon as he’s out of sight of the school, there’s a board flying for his chest. He’s aware enough of it coming to dodge, but to do so he crouches down and his balance is thrown off. He ends up tumbling off of his skateboard, the pavement scratching his hands roughly as he tries to stop himself from getting hurt too bad. His knees ache, and there’s a sharp type of pain throbbing from his scraped hands, but it’s not the worse he’s had. He moves to stand and get away, and he’s quick, but the person with the board is quicker. He’s grabbed by his arm and forced to look at who exactly has grabbed him.
He barely has the chance to recognize the perpetrator as Paul Walton before he’s being pulled into an alleyway. He knows exactly what’s going to happen when he sees 3 of Paul’s friends waiting in there, all holding malicious looks. He knows they’re all rich assholes, but he can’t seem to remember their names as his panic kicks in.
He shoves the panic aside and does his best to escape Paul’s grasp. He goes to trip Paul up so his grip will loosen, but one of his friends notices and grabs his free arm tight enough that he can feel bruises form. He hisses, attempting again to pull free, the panic making his breath stutter, but he can’t. Their grip is too tight and he’s not thinking straight.
They’re quick to throw him against the back wall of the alley, all 4 of them standing in front of him. One of them kicks at his knees, which lands him in a heap on his stomach. He’s quick to get back up, in a crouch, one hand flat against the ground as the other goes to cover his stomach.
“What do you want?” He practically growls, eyes flitting around to find an exit.
They don’t say anything right away, instead they just start attacking. Tim takes it all the best he can, curling up to protect his head and stomach. It hurts like a bitch, but he endures. They all just kick him, aiming for any vulnerable spot they can find, and if they can’t find any, they just kick at his arms and legs. It goes on for a good while, and Tim knows he’s probably bruised and bleeding, but he refuses to give up. Eventually it all stops with one final strong kick to his back that steals his breath away. He can feel as they all back up and he gets himself back into his crouching position, one hand behind him, resting against a patch of dry gravel. He ignores how his body shakes.
Paul steps forward, that same board from earlier in his hands.
“Do you understand what will happen next time you threaten us, you fucking rat?” Paul asks, tone angry.
“You’ll regret this,” Tim replies darkly, spitting out a dark glob of blood straight at his shoes, staining them.
Paul’s eyes flash red and he prepares to swing his board. Tim doesn’t give him the chance. He’s quick to throw the handful of dirt he’d grabbed, going straight for the eyes. Even if it doesn’t blind him, it surprises the boy, and Tim is quick to tackle him. Paul drops the board in surprise and his friends are exclaiming in shock as they watch him go down. He doesn’t give them time to recover, jumping up and whipping out the pepper spray he keeps in his pocket. He’s quick to spray down the two guys closest to him, who had moved in to help, which causes them to yell in shock. The 3rd guy is too slow to catch Tim as he quickly sprints out of there.
He goes towards his skateboard, despite how he aches, and is quick to take off as soon as he can get his feet to cooperate enough to get on the board. He doesn’t even think, just starts skateboarding away from the situation. Fuck, fuck.
He hadn’t gotten this beaten in a long time, not since he lived full time in the group home. His body aches and it’s after he manages to make it far enough away for him to feel safe that he realizes he’d gone the opposite way from home.
Fuck.
He goes to grab his phone, but the cracked screen and the way it refuses to turn on tells him that he’s shit out of luck with it. He could just go back to the school or towards Kon’s place, but who knows if those bullies were waiting for him. They didn’t seem like the type to give up easily, and they had easy access to cars, so they could literally wait outside either place if they really wanted to get to him. And it seemed like they really wanted to get to him, based off of how much his body fucking ached.
He looks around, trying to find out where he is, and that’s when he realizes it.
He’s closer to the fucking Drake and Wayne manors than he is to his group home or Kon’s place. Somehow he’d managed to head towards the rich part of the city, where mansions were common. He still knew his way to the Drake’s place, and he knew that the Wayne’s house was less than a 20 minute walk away from them.
Logically, he knew that was his best option. He’d lost his wallet sometime during the scuffle so he couldn’t use a payphone, and he knew the Waynes were safe. They wouldn’t hurt him, or judge him. Hell, they’d probably want to hunt those bullies down as soon as they heard the story. But he was hesitating due to the plethora of reasons he always did: if he went in, would he be able to go out? And if he was forced out, could his heart take it?
He can already hear his partner’s voices in his head. Kon telling him over and over that they’re safe and won’t abandon him. Cassie assuring him that they did want him, and that it was in no way related to the Drake’s. Bart telling him to just go for it and that he deserved a family.
With a shaky sigh, he starts the trek to Wayne Manor, skateboard digging into his side a bit painfully. He focuses on the road ahead of him, and refuses to even think about the amount of pain he’s in. If he focuses on it too much, he might just collapse. He’s had worse, but that didn’t make this pain just suddenly stop or help his body just magically get better. When he gets to the gate, he can’t help but panic for a second. And then he remembers there’s a fancy little button he can push to request to open it, so he does that and starts the trek up the massive driveway once the gate opens. He assumes there’s a camera there to see who it is, and he’s proven right when 2 figures end up jogging down the driveway towards him.
It’s Cass and Duke, both of them looking very concerned. Tim thanks heaven above that it’s them and not Jason ‘i-freak-out-lowkey-when-you’re-hurt’ Todd or Dick ‘mother-hen-of-all-mother-hens’ Grayson. He does not need a confrontation right now (even if it would be one full of care and worry), he needs help with his throbbing body.
“Tim, man!” Duke is at his side in an instant, wrapping his arm around his shoulder and taking his skateboard.
‘Inside.’ Cass signs quickly, before taking up his free side.
The both of them help him walk up the rest of the driveway, a great call cause he’s not sure he won’t pass out. His body is exhausted and in lots of pain.
When they make it into the actual Manor, there’s no one loitering. He thanks whatever god above that made that happen. There is, however, an older man in a suit with a kind smile who directs them to what looks to be the kitchen. It’s a big kitchen, and there’s space to sit at the counter. He’s helped into one of the spinny stools there, and he can’t help as he slumps backwards against the counter. He instantly jolts forward with a small cry of pain as that action sends sharp pain through his back.
“Tim, look at me,” Duke requests, and he does, feeling tears prick his eyes as his body throbs in a new way. “Where are you injured?” He asks gently.
“Everywhere,” he manages to say, feeling a fresh wave of tears. “They were- I was on the ground- they kicked- everything hurts,” he whines.
After that, he stops processing things. He understands that Alfred (he had learned his name sometime) checks him over. He disinfects any abrasions or lacerations and makes sure they’re taken care of, and puts some type of cream over his bruises. He checks his ribs, and checks him for a concussion (his ribs are lightly bruised and he does not have a concussion), and then he finally clears him. He does feel a bit better, still painful but his full body isn’t throbbing with endless hurt.
He also calls him ‘Master Tim’ the whole time, which is a bit weird, but he’s given painkillers so he just takes it in stride. He then starts to prepare some snacks and hot chocolate, encouraging them to head to the living room to assure the others that he is okay.
‘The others’ turn out to be only Damian. Dick’s at gymnastics, Jason is at rehearsals, Steph was at her mom’s place tonight, and Barbara wasn’t coming over today so she was at home. Damian was only here due to his afterschool art program thing being cancelled.
“Timothy,” he greets, walking over to give him a once over. What he finds must not impress him, for he gives a little “Tt”, before grabbing Tim’s hand and leading him over to the couch. He sits him down and then curls up against his side, close enough to feel him breathe but with enough leeway that he continues sketching in his sketchbook.
Cass is on his free side in an instant.
‘Little brother okay?’ She asks, eyebrows furrowed.
“Not really, but I will be,” he admits, feeling shaky and tired. “Can I borrow someone’s phone? Mine broke and I need- I need Kon or Cassie or Bart, please.”
Duke offers his without a word, and Tim is quick to find Kon’s contact. It’s late enough that he should be done with wrestling, and will be panicking if he’s already home and Tim’s not there. He calls him, refusing to entertain the idea of just simply texting him. He needs to hear his voice. Hopefully he’s with Cassie and Bart, or he’s calling them as well and Duke’s not getting his phone back.
“Hey Duke, what’s up?” Kon asks a bit distractedly as he answers, and Tim can hear Cassie and Bart arguing about something in the background.
Simply just hearing their voices makes him feel infinitely better. The Waynes had helped, but these were the loves of his life. He can feel himself loosen up, shoulders relaxing and body tilting forward a bit.
“Hey, sunshine,” he greets gently.
Tim can practically hear Kon bluescreen. He’s quick to catch on, though, because he’s replying in mere seconds.
“What happened? Where are you? Are you safe?” He asks in quick succession, Cassie and Bart’s voices going silent in the background.
“I got jumped,” he admits quietly. “I was on my way home and some bullies banged me up real good. I managed to escape, I’ll explain later, and I just ran. My phone was broken, and I didn’t know if they would follow me home or wait at school, so I came up to Wayne Manor. The butler here, Alfred, patched me up, and I’m with Cass, Duke and Damian right now.”
Kon sighs in relief, and Tim hears as the phone switches hands.
“Do you need us to come pick you up?” Cassie asks through the phone, her leader and no funny business voice in place. “If you feel uncomfortable, we’ll be there as soon as possible and bring you to my house. My adoptive parents won’t mind an impromptu sleepover since they think I’m simply a lesbian.”
“No, no, I’m fine here,” he assures. “I’m more worried about you guys going back to the house. I know you guys can handle them,” he pauses. “I know you and Kon can handle them and Bart can run like there’s no tomorrow, but I don’t know if the house is safe.”
Cassie sighs in relief. “Bart and I can go home, will you need Kon to sleep tonight or should I bring him to my place?”
“Uhhhh, I’d have to talk to a Wayne first,” he starts, but Cass cuts him off by poking his side. He looks at her, head tilted.
‘Kon, Cassie, or Bart can stay. Dad won’t mind.’ She assures.
Tim nods, focusing back on the call. “Okay, can I have Kon please?”
Cassie snorts. “You ask that like I want him.”
“Hey!” Kon shouts in the background and the phone is shifting hands again.
“Hi Birdie!” Bart says excitedly, voice fast enough his words slightly slur, but never too fast.
“Hi Imp,” he replies easily, a gentle smile splitting across his face. “How was track?”
“Coach says I’m improving and I managed to shave a few seconds off my time! Plus, Wally didn’t glare at me today and didn’t move when we accidentally stood near each other!” He explains happily, and Tim can already see him spinning or doing his tippy tappy stims.
“That’s amazing! I’m sure you’ll do great at the next meet. And Wally will come around eventually, it’s been nearly 2 years.”
“Wallace is stubborn,” Damian mutters a bit bitterly, eyes narrowed as he stares into the distance.
“That’s true,” Duke nods in agreement.
Tim listens to Bart ramble before the phone is handed back to Cassie.
“Okay, Kon’s gonna take an Uber up to you guys, he’ll be outside the gate eventually. I’m gonna walk Bart home and then take the bus home,” she relays the plan.
“Sounds good. Stay safe, and use the cash I gave Bart earlier to buy him something, he forgot to eat more than a granola bar for lunch.”
“Will do! Love you, boy wonder.”
“Love you!” Bart and Kon chorus after Cassie.
He giggles. “Love you too, girl wonder,” he replies easily. “And you too, sunshine, Imp,” he adds once he knows Cassie has put him on speaker.
They share another round of goodbyes before he hangs up and offers Duke his phone back.
“Kon’s coming, he’ll be outside the gate sometime,” he explains.
“Sounds good,” Duke nods, before he looks at his phone. “Oh, Jason and Dick are getting home, be prepared,” he warns.
Tim groans.
Look, he really likes the pair. When he got into high school, Jason was his idol, the upperclassmen that he wanted to be. He was his role model. And Dick was literally the coolest person on Earth in his eyes (alongside Jason) when they met for the first time. He was pretty, great at gymnastics and most sports, with charisma and an awesome partner as well. He was nice to everyone, and only really got mean when his loved ones were getting hurt. They were so cool.
But they fucking imprinted on him or something, because they could get WAY too overprotective when it came to him. Simple snide comments could make them get way too close and personal with the person who decided to speak. They were like that for all their siblings and friends, and Tim loved that they cared for him, but they could also be a bit… much.
Which would be an understatement when they learned what happened. Fuck.
Before he has time to mentally prepare himself, the front door opens. He can hear it and he wishes he could curl up and hide.
“Cass! Duke! Damian!” Dick calls, attempting to find the three as soon as he’s entered and slipped off his shoes and coat.
“In the den!” Duke calls back, giving Tim an apologetic look at the betrayed one he flashes his way.
“Why didn’t you come to- Oh, Tim?” Jason pauses as he enters the room, surprise painted across his face.
“Baby bird?” Dick asks excitedly, peeking his head out from behind Jason. He’s excited for about 5 seconds, before both brothers notice his split lip and the bandages that litter his free to see skin.
“What happened?” Jason asks as they both rush over.
Damian and Cass have evacuated their seats, giving room for the pair of older brothers to take their places. Both of them look over him with urgency, clearly worried and upset.
“What happened, baby bird?” Dick asks, voice gentle and full of worry.
Tim sighs, looking for help, but the other 3 have suddenly disappeared. He sighs, resisting the urge to groan again. Really??? What traitors.
“I got jumped on my way home,” he says after a few moments, feeling a bit weak as he admits it for a second time.
He watches as worry quickly shifts to anger in both of their faces. The anger stays clear on Jason’s face, while worry just overtakes Dick’s once again.
“Who the fuck jumped you!?” Jason exclaims, jumping out of his seat to pace as he runs a hand roughly through his hair.
“He didn’t mention,” Damian pitches in oh so helpfully from the other room.
Tim groans. “So, let’s say, hypothetically-”
“Hypothetically my ass,” Jason cuts him off, as Dick looks at him with a raised eyebrow.
“This group of rich assholes were trying to blackmail me with my whole birth parents thing, so I was blackmailing them in return with like, a bajillion secrets I knew about their families. I guess they really didn’t like that, cause they lowkey kinda attacked me.”
“What exactly happened? And I need their names, Tim,” Dick speaks up, his gaze full of steel.
“Uh, I was skateboarding home and Paul Walton tried to hit me with a board. I dodged, fell off my skateboard, and then was dragged to an alley where his friends were waiting. They kicked me as I was on the ground for a while, and then stopped. I assume Paul wanted to hit me with the board cause he brought it over, but thats when I threw dirt in his eyes, tackled him, pepper sprayed 2 of his friends who got too close and then got the fuck outta dodge not gonna lie.”
“Wait, that’s how you escaped?” Duke asks, peeking in from the adjacent room.
“If you guys were going to eavesdrop, why the fuck did you leave?” Tim asks, eyebrow raised.
‘Big brothers needed to get little brother to talk,’ Cass explains with a shrug.
“I’m going to-” Jason is already moving towards the door, but Cass stops him before he can leave the room.
He’s fuming, Tim can tell. He’d already been angry but after hearing the full story? He was most likely beyond pissed. Again, the Waynes were notably very protective of their family, they did not care if the media caught whiff of it if it involved protecting one of their own.
“Little wing, sit your butt back down,” Dick commands, having turned partly to lock eyes with Jason.
The two share a silent conversation with their eyes, before Jason huffs and stomps back over to the couch, flopping down into the free seat beside Tim. The younger takes that as the opportunity to gesture the other 3 Waynes back into the room, which they all comply to. Damian and Cass sit at his feet, one with a sketchbook in hand and the other a phone. Duke takes up the free spot beside Dick on the couch, giving him a smile.
“Not that we don’t want you here,” Dick starts, catching Tim’s attention. “But why did you come here of all places, baby bird? We’re all aware that most of the time you seek out your partners or YJ if there’s a problem.”
Tim sucks in a breath, not expecting the question but understanding where it’s coming from. “Scared of them following me back home, or trying to get to Cassie, Bart n Kon. They have rich parents and cars and so much free time with no adult supervision, so I didn’t exactly feel safe exposing my loved ones to them as well. But the Waynes are kinda… untouchable, ya know?” He shrugs, starting to pick at his nails. “I knew you guys would keep me safe since I couldn’t go home.”
He’s barely done with his explanation before Dick’s arms are around him in a (gentle) hug. He still winces slightly, no amount of gentle will leave all his wounds pain free, but he does reciprocate. The elder just coos at him and Tim gets the urge to pull away out of spite, but he does feel inexplicably safe in the hug. He sinks into Dick’s warmth, feeling a sudden wave of exhaustion.
“Kon’ll be here soon,” he slurs out slightly as he feels his eyelids droop, a calm tiredness washing through him as he sinks deeper and deeper into Dick’s arm.
“We’ll get you set up in a room and lead him there when he arrives,” Dick reassures “You’re safe, baby bird, go ahead and go to sleep.”
Tim hums an affirmative as he drifts off.
-
After that everything and yet nothing at the same time changes. Paul Walton transfers schools without warning and his friends who got left behind leave Tim alone. It’s not outright stated that it was the Wayne children who caused the sudden transfer, but everyone knows it was. He gets added to the Batfam groupchat (which is just the name for all of them alongside their dad, Bruce, and their grandfather, Alfred), and he gets swept into hanging out more at the manor.
He meets Bruce and it’s… nice. He’s not the best at communicating (which every single Batclan member has bemoaned about and also picked up in some way) but he tries and is very nice and accommodating. Tim has the feeling he’s an overprotective dad with how he acts towards his other children’s partners (Roy for Jason, Wally for Dick, and even Steph and Cass for each other), but he never says a word about his three partners. Not in the “he doesn't care” way, more in the “I respect your history before you became mine” way. He seems to know that Tim’s soul and being is intertwined with the other 3 in a way he won’t ever fully understand and respects them and their space.
It’s… nice, honestly, not that it doesn’t have its fair share of ups and downs. Still nice, though. Especially when Bruce finally talks to him about officially adopting him, if he’s up for it. He talks to his partners first, mostly to make sure that it’s real and then to reassure him that there’s literally know way in hell he’d ever be able to ‘mess this up’ or whatever his brain is screaming at him. And then he agrees.
Bruce and Alfred work hard to keep his birth parents' identities out of the press and it somehow works. He is regarded as a dirty street kid, but he’d prefer that to causing a scandal with the Drake family. Even if they cut ties with him, who knows what they’d do if he randomly appeared again.
Life isn’t perfect, but it doesn’t have to be. He’s happy, he’s safe and he’s loved, even if it’s sometimes still hard to believe. And that’s all that matters.