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Tim Drake, as recently proven, has a habit of getting into situations.
The only consolation he can get out of this mess was that this wasn’t a direct cause of his actions.
As it is, Tim often finds himself having to leave Gotham. Mostly for Wayne Enterprises, but also because Red Robin is needed in certain places to maintain the connections he’s painstakingly built over the years.
An international mob case in Italy for Helena who was still tied down in Gotham.
A cybercrime operation in Asia that Cass needed him for.
A trafficking operation in South Africa where he had to begrudgingly obtain intel from for Lonnie.
A weapons ring somewhere in the Middle East for Pru (though he can admit it was more for fun than actual business).
Tim doesn’t leave often, but when he does he has to account for Tim Drake-Wayne’s absence in Gotham. So he creates perfectly good opportunities; R&D consultation work in Paris, WE meeting, visiting friends, and taking a vacation away from work, being some of many. What he didn’t expect was for the public to be so damn observant.
Tim had made sure to book appropriate hotel stays, visit local places and post many pictures. He planned for every single imaginable event to hide his true purpose of visiting.
Except for this, he thought wrily as he stared at his phone.
Someone had posted a theory based on every time Tim was photographed outside of Gotham, along with every time Red Robin was reportedly spotted in the same country. Paris, Barcelona, Tokyo… It was frankly embarrassing that Tim hadn’t thought of this scenario happening before.
And soon enough #redtimbin started trending. The prevailing theory was not that Tim was Red Robin. Nooo, because that would make Tim’s life so much easier to handle.
Instead, twitter user bananawhiz_ theorized that Tim and Red Robin are dating. And everyone was entertaining it.
“What?” Tim muttered for about the tenth time since he sat on the manor couch. He heard a curious sound from behind him and felt someone leaning against the back of the couch and reading over his shoulder.
“Oh my God,” Dick chuffed. “Welcome to the club, baby bird. Yours is actually much tamer than mine and Bruce’s.”
“Dick,” he whined. “It’s weird! That’s me! Both of them!”
“It could’ve been your identity getting revealed, Timmy,” Dick shrugged, ruffling his hair and walking off. No, Tim would much rather prefer the latter, please. At least the problem was predictable enough to have contingencies in place.
Even more unfortunate for him, the internet had become invested pretty quickly. Tabloids have started releasing conspiracy posts and analysis threads. “TIM DRAKE-WAYNE AND RED ROBIN— MY CRIMINAL ROMANCE?” “10 TIMES TIM DRAKE-WAYNE AND RED ROBIN DEFINITELY HOOKED UP.”
“Dear God,” Tim sighed, running a hand down his face.
And because God hated Tim in particular, he saw the fan accounts. Fanarts and fanfiction of him and Red Robin started popping up on every platform. To Tim’s horror, apparently people have decided that Tim and Red Robin are very romantically involved. There are drawings of them holding hands, sitting on rooftops, of Red Robin carrying him, and of others he’d rather not say.
Tim then stumbled across a highly recommended fanfic of him and his supposed lover in the fortieth minute of his rabbit hole spiral. He clicked on it with dreadful curiosity, read half of it, and immediately slammed his laptop shut with a high pitched sound.
He sat there still with a reddening face, then opened the laptop back only to delete his browser history before closing it again. He wasn’t as religious as he was as a child, but holy batman would he pray for the rest of his life to forget what he just read.
And because life couldn’t get enough of Tim’s misery, he had to deal with the press.
“Mister Drake-Wayne, any comment about rumors surrounding yours and Red Robin’s relationship?” Yeah, I have the worst luck in the entire world.
"Mister Drake-Wayne, what would your parents say about your relationship with Red Robin?” Nothing, because there isn’t a relationship to begin with.
“Mister Drake-Wayne, how will your relationship with the Gotham vigilante affect WE’s ability to function?” Oh no, damage control.
“In no way whatsoever. I am committed to serve WE and Gothamites without letting any of my interpersonal relationships affect my standard of professionalism,” came the subconscious reply from Tim’s mouth and he wanted to smack himself seeing the glint in the reporter’s eye. Crap, crap, crap, get to the car.
“So you confirm you are in a romantically involved relationship with Red Robin as fans speculate?”
Tim’s traitorous memory couldn’t have chosen a worse time to remind him of the graphic fanart and fanfiction that reminded him of his and Kon's own time together. Tim felt his cheeks heat on its own accord. And of course, the presence of so many flashes might as well be a glaring neon sign to the blush that wasn’t about his relationship with Red Robin, dammit.
“No comment,” he smiled tensely as he fled into the car and cranked the aircon to cool himself down.
Tim’s life was on the verge of flipping over, all because a random Twitter user had no life and decided to make it Tim’s problem. Fuck his life.
“TIM DRAKE-WAYNE BLUSHES WHEN ASKED ABOUT RED ROBIN— WE HEIR REFUSES TO DENY VIGILANTE ROMANCE”
Tim screamed into his pillow, dreading the PR stunts he’ll need to do for damage control. Hell, he was dreading the inevitable teasing from his family, eye twitching at just the thought of whatever Damian would sneer about him now.
His phone lit up with messages piling in from his family and Tim groaned at his misery, ignoring them after a quick glance.
Bruce: Do you have the situation under control?
Jason: how did you even get yourself into this mess?
Steph: LMAO TIM LOOK AT THIS
Steph: * sent 5 screenshots *
Dick: i take it back urs is worse than bruce’s ship w batman
Tim’s phone then buzzed with a message from Kon. He knew because he’d muted his notifications from everything else except him.
Kon: * sent a screenshot *
Kon: am i going to have to compete with your super hot boyfriend?
Tim: i hate you
Kon: really?
Kon: you didnt say that last night ;)
Tim immediately put his phone down.
Tim was able to suppress the press by flooding out news on social programmes and infrastructure that were scheduled to be released much later, as well three new interviews where any and all questions about Red Robin were banned by his PR team. Deflect until they forget the problem; Tim was going to give each and every one of his PRs a raise for the next few months at least.
Now he was in Metropolis representing WE at an event. And the person who had his voodoo doll did not seem to be giving up anytime soon, because he had just entered the hall when he was grabbed from the back.
Tim stiffened, suppressing the reflexive defense as he allowed himself to be shoved against the wall.
“I got him, let’s go!” the guy holding him hollered over the commotion, dragging him towards a van. Tim as ‘Tim Drake-Wayne’ wasn’t able to do more than feebly kick at and shove his kidnappers, but even then Tim had no choice but to let himself be manhandled into the musty van.
“Let’s see how much people are willing to pay for you,” the same guy who grabbed him sneered and Tim’s stomach dropped. “This ought to teach him a lesson.” Oh.
This wasn’t a ransom.
This was a trafficking ring.
Fuck.
The worst part was that Tim was eighty percent sure he recognised the guy from one of his past cases. Tim had stopped one of the ring’s major shipments as Red Robin the previous year with Jason and it seems like Powell got out of prison for payback. Because Tim Drake-Wayne was rumored to be dating Red Robin.
Double fuck.
Before the van could even move the door was wrenched open and Superboy glared angrily at the men surrounding Tim.
“You’ve made a mistake,” his voice dropped low enough to send shivers down Tim’s spine. Before he could comprehend Kon swung and plucked Tim out of the van, pushing him behind his body and dealing with the guns that were drawn on them. Tim held on tight to the back of Superboy's suit, partly to stabilize himself and partly to hold his kryptonian back. Kon glanced back to check if Tim was okay before continuing to pummel the traffickers.
“Kon, stop,” Tim whispered low enough for only Kon to hear, tugging on his suit. “He’s someone from my case, I need him alive to find his next shipment.”
Kon scowled down at the unconscious men, turning around to give him an incredulous ‘Are you serious?’ expression before gathering Tim in his arms.
"I’ve got you,” Kon’s voice was soft despite his previous violence and Tim barely had time to cling tight and bury his face against Kon’s shoulder before they were shooting up into the air.
Kon flew them to a rooftop four streets away, high enough to have a private conversation but unfortunately low enough for people to notice their arrival. Tim still clung to Kon, face tucked into his neck and eyes closed.
“You’re alright, sweetheart,” Kon smiled, running a hand down Tim’s back.
Tim’s brain short-circuited. He released Kon and stepped backward, resolutely ignoring the way his face was turning red.
“Um, thank you, Superboy,” Tim mumbled, cheeks turning redder. Kon practically melted before Tim, grinning softly at him.
“Anytime,” he said and because he was a menace, winked at Tim before flying off.
Tim sighed and mourned the rest of his peace when he saw the headlines after he landed back in Gotham.
“TIM DRAKE-WAYNE SAVED BY SUPERBOY— SUPERHERO DRAMA?”
He watched in dismay as totally new theories started arising.
#1: Tim cheated on Red Robin with Superboy
#2: Tim is dating Superboy and Red Robin is a jealous ex
#3: Tim is in a polyamorous relationship with the both of them
"Absolutely not,” he declared. He was going to murder Kon, and for many reasons. Mainly being giving his siblings generational blackmail material on him, and for entirely complicating his civilian love life again. Tim was inclined to press charges for defamation, only because there was absolutely no way for anyone to actually know that Superboy had called him ‘sweetheart’.
Tim also knew Kon would try his luck crawling in through his window later that night, so he waited.
“You!” Tim pointed an accusing finger at the figure stepping into his room.
“Me?” Kon replied, and the irritating, attractive, instigating man he called his boyfriend had the audacity to raise an eyebrow.
“You!” Tim repeated. “You made everything worse!”
“How?”
“‘Sweetheart’?”
Kon bit back a laugh and Tim wanted to throttle him.
“It just slipped out,” he smiled.
“And the wink?”
“Oh, that was intentional.”
“Why?”
Tim starts, “Do you know what the media are saying? They’re saying we’re dating. They think I’m cheating on Red Robin— which I don’t even want to get into right now.” Kon’s smile softened. He walked towards his gorgeous, idiot boyfriend as he continued, “They’re saying we’re all in some ridiculous—”
Kon caught Tim around the waist and pulled him onto the bed. Tim let himself be moved with a startled noise.
“You were saying?” Kon grinned and Tim glared at him with no heat behind his eyes.
“You’re so impossible—” Kon kissed him as he spoke, cutting off his words.
“Mhm?” he murmured, looking at him with soft eyes. Tim stammered, eyes wide.
“The press is impossible—” Another kiss.
“Yes?”
Tim felt himself grow flustered. Kon rubbed his thumb gently against his shirt from where his hand remained on his waist.
“The media has been hounding me ever since—” Kiss.
“—you pulled that stunt, and—” Kiss.
“—I have a reputation!” He finally managed around his stuttering tongue.
“You have several,” Kon laughed, not at all feeling guilty about what he’s doing to Tim. He sighed, pressing his face into Kon’s shoulder and inhaling the sharp scent of ozone.
“Can I be honest?” Kon murmured, and the mischievous tone of his voice immediately made Tim suspicious.
“What?” Tim narrowed his eyes.
“I personally wouldn’t mind you being in a threesome with Superboy and Red Robin.”
“KON!” Tim screeched, feeling himself go scarlet.
Kon, the traitor, just started cackling. Tim grabbed a pillow and smacked him on the arm. Once more for good measure, and another time just because he could.
“Don’t tell me you don’t secretly enjoy it?” Kon leaned forward and caught the pillow at the next swing.
“I don’t,” Tim huffed, still bright red.
“Liar,” Kon smiled. “And you know I know you’re lying.”
“Okay, well, maybe I do like to imagine it a little bit,” Tim mumbled and Jesus, can he get even redder? Apparently so.
Kon pulled him flush against him. “Now you know what we’re doing next time,” he murmured against his lips.
“Not this time?” Tim asked, slightly breathless.
“No,” he said, leaning Tim gently against the pillows. “This time it’s just you and me. Tim and Kon.”
He kissed Tim, and this time Tim kissed back just as hard.