Chapter Text
Jason left his after-school math tutoring session to a commotion in the hallway. It sounded like a bunch of boys fighting. Normally Jason would go out of his way to avoid fights, but it sounded like it was coming from the same direction as the classroom where Steph said she would wait for him, and Jason had promised to walk to the bus stop with her.
Jason carefully made his way down the hall. As he got closer to the sounds, he could start to make out and differentiate the voices.
“ - come on, just one coffee date, it doesn’t even have to be romantic,” a male voice said.
A voice that Jason recognized but couldn’t quite place responded, “I - I’m sorry, I just, I can’t.”
”What’s your problem?” the first voice said, angry. “You’re not even straight!”
Anger rushed into Jason’s head. He hated it when people used people’s sexuality against them. Thoughts of avoiding the fight forgotten - sorry, Bruce - Jason moved closer to the shouting.
Turning the corner, Jason found a group of boys standing in a semicircle right outside of Steph’s classroom. Most of the boys were wearing the tie colors of the years below Jason so he didn’t recognize them, but Jason recognized the guy they had backed into the lockers: Tim Drake.
Tim was doing his best to hold his ground, his posture loose and confident, his chin tilted up, but Jason could see his eyes scanning the crowd for an escape route.
Jason only kind of knew Tim Drake.
Being Bruce Wayne’s ward, it was inevitable that Jason would become familiar with the faces that made up Bruce Wayne's economic class - and Drake Industries, run by the indomitable Jack and Janet Drake, was one of the top performing companies in the entire United States year after year. They only had one child, a son, who was poised to take over the Drake empire: Tim Drake.
Tim and Jason were both seniors at Gotham Academy, but they rarely interacted with each other. Tim was in all the math and science AP classes, and Jason was only in AP lit, so he didn’t share any classes with Tim. Jason also didn’t share any extracurriculars with Tim: Jason really only participated in the school musical once a year, but Tim was in band, educational extracurriculars, and played multiple sports.
Tim lived down the street from Jason, but they both lived in a rich-rich neighborhood, where ‘down the street’ was a fifteen minute walk, and Jason had never seen Tim on the bus. Jason sometimes ran into Tim at the Wayne Foundation galas that Bruce held a few times a year, but they’d never said more than ‘hi’ and a short exchange of pleasantries to each other.
Still, despite all this, Tim had always been perfectly nice to Jason.
And Jason couldn’t stand bullies.
“Hey!” he shouted. A couple of the boys looked over at him. Jason still didn’t have enough of the group’s attention. “What’s your problem?” he added, intentionally making his voice loud and disdainful to anger the other boys.
It worked. All the boys in the crowd, including Tim Drake, turned to look at Jason.
Jason straightened to his full height and puffed his chest out. At seventeen years old, Jason was nearly six foot - Willis Todd had been six-foot four - and had a broad frame covered in a healthy layer of fat. He knew his stature intimidated other people, even though Jason was actually a bit of a couch potato. His asthma made it difficult to play organized sports, and to be honest he would rather read than do anything else. These boys probably wouldn’t know that, though. Jason hoped it wouldn’t come to an actual fist fight. It had been years since he’d actually had to fight, and he didn’t want to break his streak.
He met Tim’s eyes. Tim looked relieved to see him. The tightness around his eyes loosened, although he kept scanning his surroundings for an escape.
One of the boys scoffed at Jason. “Nothing. This doesn’t have anything to do with you.”
“You harassing someone does have something to do with me, actually,” Jason said. “Move along. School is out. No one wants to hear you screeching.”
“I’m in the middle of something,” the boy said. “You move along.”
“Sounds to me like your business is over,” Jason said. “Learn to take no for an answer. No one likes a sore loser.”
“What’s it to you?” the boy sneered. “You his little girlfriend or something?”
So that’s what it would take to get them to back off, huh? Jason tilted his chin up. “Yeah, I am. You going to back off now or are we gonna have a problem?”
The boy scowled. It seemed like he didn’t like that answer very much. “Fine, whatever. You’re not worth it, anyway.”
He turned around and left the hallway, his friends trailing behind him. Jason kept his eyes trained on them until they turned the corner and he couldn’t hear them complaining to each other anymore.
After he thought they were gone for good, Jason finally relaxed his posture and turned to Tim.
Tim had his hand pressed over his chest and his back against the lockers. Now that the group of boys was gone, his entire body seemed to sag. “Phew! That one was rough. Thanks for helping me out, Jason.”
Jason shook his head. “It’s fine. They were being bullies.”
Tim eyed Jason appreciatively. “Must be nice to be so tall. I thought it would escalate into a fight for sure.”
Jason crossed his arms. “Thank god it didn’t,” he grumbled. “I’d get suspended, and then I’d never hear the end of it.”
Tim laughed. “I’d vouch for you,” he assured. “It’s the least I could do.”
“What, gonna get daddy to write an email to the superintendent?” Jason joked. Internally he winced. This was why he had such a hard time making friends.
Tim didn’t miss a beat. “Nah, I’d just break into his account and write it myself,” he said with a grin.
The response startled a real laugh from Jason.
The sound made one corner of Tim’s lips rise higher. Tim hoisted his backpack higher up on his shoulders. “I should probably get going, it’s actually a Math Counts day and I’m late.”
Jason stepped aside, and Tim left in the opposite direction as the group of boys.
As soon as Tim left, Steph poked her head outside the door. “Is it all clear now?”
“You were listening the whole time?” Jason demanded. “Why didn’t you handle it?”
“Who, me, a girl?” Steph opened the door fully and batted her eyelashes at Jason.
Jason narrowed his eyes at her.
Steph laughed, dropping the saccharine expression. “Fine, fine. To be honest, I didn’t know how to get in between them without actually getting into a fight,” she admitted. “I didn’t think they’d find me very intimidating, and with a crowd that big, I’d have to use a weapon. I can’t afford to get suspended again.”
Steph, like Jason, was from Crime Alley, where fights between students were common. However, unlike Jason, who had been adopted by one of the city’s richest men and was attending Gotham Academy on his dime, Steph was on a scholarship. She was wicked smart and an incredible artist to boot. She just suffered from the same tendencies that Jason did, wanting to solve things the way that worked in their old neighborhood, but would only get them into trouble at Gotham Academy.
“Besides,” Steph added, smiling sweetly up at Jason, “I knew you were coming.”
Jason made a disgusted noise. “Put that face away, Brown. C’mon, pack up, let’s go.”
Steph and Jason chatted as they walked to Steph’s bus stop.
Jason told Steph about how he didn’t really like his math tutor this year. “She’s, I don’t know, she’s okay. But I really feel like I’m not fully understanding what she’s trying to tell me.”
Steph told Jason about her progress in Mandarin. Steph had been getting really into learning Mandarin after Jason had taken her to one of his favorite Chinese restaurants in their old neighborhood a couple of months ago. “I can definitely order from the menu now,” she bragged. “I’m starting to read some simple newspaper articles!”
Once they got to her bus stop, she gave Jason a big hug. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said.
Jason asked, “Do you want me to wait with you today?”
Steph shook her head. “I’ll be fine. It’s basically almost here, anyway. You get home before Alfred paces a hole into the ground.”
“Call me if something comes up.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Go home. Don’t be a hero again.”
Jason rolled his eyes, but turned around and started the short walk back to Wayne Manor.
A few weeks passed since the Incident. Thankfully, none of the boys had come after him for revenge, and no one had come looking for new trouble. Jason had heard whisper of his name a couple of times since then, but no one dared say anything within earshot of him.
Jason had all but forgotten about it until he ran into Tim again after school.
He was lost in his head, thinking about how he still didn’t really understand senior-level algebra even after a month of tutoring, and worrying about what that would mean for his grades this year. It took a few seconds for him to register that his name was being called.
“Jason, Jason! Jason Wayne!”
Jason turned around to see Tim Drake running down the hall towards him, his backpack swinging precariously from one shoulder.
Tim skidded to a stop in front of Jason. “Hey, Jason. Can we talk?”
Anxiety spiked in Jason’s chest - what did Tim want with him, was Jason in trouble, was Tim going to get Jason in trouble - but he pushed it aside the way his therapist had taught him. There was no point in borrowing grief from the future. “Sure,” Jason said.
He stood still, thinking that Tim would say whatever he wanted to say in the hallway, but instead Tim turned around, motioning for Jason to follow him.
Tim took Jason around to the same hallway where the group of boys had cornered Tim. He peeked inside one of the classrooms, and then opened the door for Jason. “Here,” he said. “This one is empty.”
Jason walked into the classroom and stood there silently, anxiety mounting, as Tim carefully checked that the hallway was empty before shutting the door and then doing a lap around the room to make sure the windows were shut as well.
Finally, Tim turned around to face Jason.
Jason had never really just looked at Tim before. Sure, they’d passed each other in the school halls and talked a little at Wayne Galas, but Jason was always focused on trying not to let his anxiety get the best of him and protecting his peace.
Now, Jason took the opportunity to look. Tim was shorter than him, but most people were, and Tim was only just - he was probably taller than the average person. He had a slim frame but still seemed athletic, with wide shoulders and narrow hips. Jason just looked dumpy in his school uniform, but the collared shirt and sweater really worked for Tim, accentuating his shoulders. His black hair fell in the kind of artfully messy waves that Jason knew required one of those fancy diffuser hair dryers that Dick had once tried to show him how to use. He had elegant facial features, his eyelashes long and thick, his lips shimmering with some kind of gloss.
Everything about Tim screamed high effort and expensive.
Underneath all the effort, though, Jason could see that Tim also looked tired. He had dark circles under his eyes that were just barely visible through his concealer, and Jason knew all about concealing bruises. There were already small creases between his eyebrows, like he spent most of his time with his eyebrows furrowed. His lips seemed to naturally turn down.
Tim and Jason stared at each other, wide-eyed for a few long moments, before Tim blurted out, “Please fake date me.”
Jason’s image of Tim shattered. He was sure that he must have heard Tim wrong. “What?”
“I know it’s a weird request, I know it would be asking a lot of you, but this was the most peaceful month I’ve had since I turned fourteen and I would really appreciate you doing me this solid for this year, and then we can go to college and just forget about it - ”
“Did you just ask me to fake date you?” Jason interrupted.
It was Tim’s turn to blink, confused. “Yeah?”
“Wh - wha - why?”
The corners of Tim’s lips turned down. “Well, um, remember a few weeks ago, when - ”
Jason nodded and waved his hand to indicate that he didn’t need his memory refreshed. “Yeah, yeah.”
Tim took a deep breath. “Right, so. To be honest, that wasn’t the first time that had happened,” he said. “It actually happens… fairly regularly. I guess since news got out that I’m the only heir to the Drake Industries empire, or whatever.”
Understanding hit Jason like lightning.
Jason was fortunate: he had an older brother to shoulder the responsibility of being seen as the ‘heir,’ and Jason had a reputation as a mentally unstable troublemaker to boot. He’d been propositioned relatively few times.
Tim, on the other hand, had a reputation of being kind and smart and a shark of a businessman in the making. Who wouldn’t want a piece of that?
Jason made a sympathetic noise. “Are they always so….” He gestured vaguely with his hand to express aggressive.
Tim shrugged. “Sometimes they are, sometimes they’re not. I’m usually able to deal with it myself, but it doesn’t stop them from coming back.”
“And… something happened that made them stop coming back?”
“You did, Jason.” Tim’s eyes were wide and earnest. “A rumor’s been spreading for the last few weeks that you and I are dating. The couple of weeks after you stood up for me were the most peaceful my life had been… well, ever. It was…. refreshing.”
“‘Was’?”
Tim grimaced. “Well, you said you were my boyfriend, and then we were never seen together again. Things have been… escalating again.”
Jason’s heart twinged in sympathy.
Was he really going to do this?
The Steph living in the back of Jason’s brain rolled her eyes. Who was Jason kidding? He already knew what he was going to do. “Well, it’s not like I was going to be doing anything else with my year,” he began.
Tim’s eyes lit up. It was like opening the curtains on a bright, sunny morning. “You won’t regret this,” he promised. “I promise, I’ll make it worth your while, I’ll pay for everything, I’ll - ”
Jason’s gut stabbed him with anxiety, the way it did whenever someone regarded Jason too positively, and Jason was afraid he’d mess it up. “You might regret this,” he said.
Tim didn’t seem phased. “Why would I regret this? It was my idea. I’m getting the most out of this. I’m asking a lot of you.”
“What could you be asking of me?” Jason asked. Fake dating, at least when he read it in novels, didn’t seem that complicated. They’d go out a couple of times, maybe hold hands, maybe make a couple of announcements, and then break up quietly once they went to college. Jason was sure they wouldn't go to the same college, either, since Tim had much better grades. If anything this would go smoother than any of the romcoms that Jason had on his e-reader.
To be honest, Jason was kind of excited at the prospect. Jason, in a fake-dating trope? The Jason of five years ago could only have dreamed of being so close to starring in a Jane Austen novel.
Tim grinned. “Oh! Well. If you have the time. I have an itemized list.”
Jason laughed. What a little weirdo. “Hit me with it. Since you went out of your way, we might as well just handle all the details now.”
Jason made a big show of dragging two desks out into the center of the room and sitting down at one of the desks before motioning for Tim to do the same. Tim’s grin widened. He sat down at the desk like it was his throne.
Tim spread his hands apart. “Well, first, I have to check if you’re already dating someone. If you are, then it would be a much bigger ask.”
Jason shook his head. “No. Not interested either. Don’t worry about it.”
“What about that girl you’re always with?”
Jason kept his expression carefully even and raised an eyebrow. “Steph? She’s my best friend. She’s the only one here who gets what it’s like for me.”
“Because she’s also from Crime Alley, yeah, I know. I just don’t want to get in between you two if there’s something - ”
Jason burst out laughing. “Oh my god, Tim! She’s gay! She’s so unbelievably gay! We would never!”
Tim still didn’t look satisfied. “On that note, what about you, I don’t want to make it seem like you’re something you’re not - ”
“I’m gay too, and I’m out,” Jason assured Tim, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. “I mean, even if I was straight I’d agree anyway, but Bruce isn’t like that, don’t worry.”
Tim’s serious expression finally relaxed. “Oh. Good. I mean I guessed, when you were so chill about telling Shawn that we were boyfriends - ”
“Ugh, don’t tell me his name, I don’t need that information in my brain - ”
“ - but it doesn’t hurt to make sure.”
“Relax,” Jason told Tim. “None of the queer shit bothers me. Unless you think that’s the only thing that I need to worry about?”
“Not necessarily.” Tim’s gaze dropped to the table in front of him. “The rumors have been enough for these past few weeks, but I anticipate issues; there always are. All rumors need to escalate to become truth. More than likely, we’ll have to both produce backdated proof of us as boyfriends, make a real declaration, and actually go out with each other. That’ll mean spending a lot of time with each other.”
Something occurred to Jason. “Hey, is there anyone you’re sweet on?”
Tim grimaced. “Me?”
“Yeah. You were so worried about me wanting to date someone, but what about you? If you have to spend a lot of time with me, I would be getting in your way. I mean, I’m happy to stage a public breakup whenever, but - ”
“No! No, no, I’m not.” Tim was turning red. “Not planning on it either. I’m good. I just want to finish high school as normally as possible.”
Jason found himself fascinated by the color spreading blotchily down Tim’s neck. If he was being honest with himself, he’d always been a little intimidated by the perfect, unflappable Drake heir. It was part of the reason his anxiety always ratcheted so high around him and the reason he’d never said more than a few words to him. He was delighted to find out these new, human sides of Tim.
“Okay,” he told Tim after the color spread to the tips of Tim’s ears. “That’s fine. If there’s anyone you do want to really date, though, just let me know. I promise my feelings won’t be hurt,” he added with a laugh, so Tim would know that it really was not a big deal.
“Sure. Same to you, though. If - if there’s someone you really want to date.” Tim seemed determined to get control back of his face. “Just let me know and we can call this whole thing off. You not being able to pursue someone you like isn’t comparable to a minor annoyance to me, okay?”
“I mean, one, I wouldn’t call what happened the other day a ‘minor annoyance,’ and two, I think it’ll be fine.”
“Promise me,” Tim insisted.
Jason rolled his eyes. “Jesus Christ, alright, I promise,” he said, not really meaning it. “Do you?”
“Of course.”
“Alright then, we should have no issues. What’s next?”
“Well, it’s not just about future partners. It’s that we’d have to spend a lot of time with each other. I don’t blame you if you’d rather be doing something else.”
Jason snorted. “I think you’ve got it backwards, man. I don’t really do much with my time. I hang out with Steph, I hang out with Bruce and Alfred, I read, I go to my after-school algebra tutoring. That’s pretty much it. If anything, you’d be giving me something to do with my time. But you’re a busy guy, aren’t you? Last time you were running off to some kinda Math Matters meeting, or something.”
“It was Math Counts, and yeah, that’s kind of what I mean. You might have to come with me to some of my after-school activities, if it comes to that.”
Jason shrugged. “Okay, so I stay later some days per week. What’s wrong with that?”
“I’m just saying I might end up taking up a lot of your time, Jason. Are you sure you’re okay with that?”
“I already told you that I don’t really mind, but if it makes you feel better, I’ll tell you if I really don’t want to come, how’s that?”
Tim nodded. “Okay. And if at any time you don’t like my plans, just let me know. I know I can be a little overbearing sometimes - ”
“A little?” Jason teased.
“I’m sorry! I’m just like this, I can’t help it - ”
“Relax, Timbit,” Jason said, still grinning, the nickname slipping out of him easily. He was starting to feel more comfortable around Tim. “I like that you came with a plan, to be honest. Better to have one than not.”
Tim’s shoulders relaxed from where they were up around his ears. “That’s what I always say! But it’s always, ‘No, you’re so neurotic, Tim,’ and ‘You’re too obsessive, Tim,’” he complained. “I just like to have a plan, is that so bad?”
“Sounds like it’s not a bad thing for you,” Jason said.
Tim’s expression grew a little distant. “Not really. It’s gotten me this far, hasn’t it?”
Jason got the sense that they weren’t really talking about Tim’s fake dating plan anymore. He cast about for something to change the subject. “Oh! About how many people we need to hide this from - to be honest, I’ve seen enough Hallmark movies to know that lying to everyone is a bad idea, and I’m a bad liar anyway. I have to tell Bruce and Steph, or I’m going to go crazy. I promise they’re good liars, though,” he added when he saw Tim’s lips start to turn down. “They’re much better people to have on our side than against it, trust me.”
Tim blew out a slow breath. “Okay. I’m just hoping it won’t get that far.”
“For your sake, I hope so too,” Jason told Tim. He gave Tim his brightest grin, hoping to imbue confidence in him. “Come on, it’ll be fine! It’s worked so far, and we haven’t even been trying! How hard could this be?”
Tim couldn’t help but smile back. “Sorry. You’re right. I’m just always thinking of the possibilities.”
“That’s not a bad thing either. It means we’ll be prepared if something does go wrong.”
“Yeah. But I think you’re right. We’ve come this far without having to lift a finger. It’ll be fine.”
Jason slapped the table. “That's the spirit! Now, what’s next on that itemized list of yours?”
Tim walked Jason through his master plan, producing a little moleskin notebook from thin air. “I think based on the timeline, it makes sense for us to have been dating for around two months. If we went on one date per week, then we should have evidence of eight dates. I think it would be fine if we had photographic evidence of five or six, though, because no one will bother to look past that. We can say that we decided to go public now because of the incident that happened last month.”
“How did we meet?”
“Well, we’ve known each other for a while, haven’t we?” Tim shrugged. “I can just say that we got to talking at the Wayne Foundation Charity Auction and I realized I really wanted to date you, so I asked you out then.”
Jason was impressed. Bruce threw a Charity Auction at the start of every school year in honor of Jason, with all proceeds donated to local public schools and libraries. The Drakes always showed up, or if his parents couldn’t make it, Tim Drake always showed up to represent them. It was the perfect alibi. Most of the other students at their school were not ‘exclusive’ enough to be invited to the Auction, and it was close enough to the truth that Jason would have no trouble following the story.
“Why didn’t we tell anyone from the beginning?” Jason asked.
“I know how people used to treat you, and I know how much attention I get as a Drake. We both decided to keep things private until we knew where they were going.”
Damn, Tim had even chosen a realistic reason for Jason to want to keep their relationship private. “And do we know where things are going?”
Tim grinned. “Well, you did ask me to be your boyfriend in the middle of the hallway last month, so I’d say they’re going pretty well.”
Jason burst out laughing. Tim really did think of everything. “Man, you’re something else. That works for me. So where are we going on these dates?”
Tim froze like a deer. “Dates?”
“You know, the ones we have to backdate,” Jason said patiently. Tim’s mind seemed to always be going a mile a minute; he seemed so surprised that Jason was keeping up.
Tim unfroze himself. “Well, for the first one, I would have done the planning since I was the one who asked you out originally.”
“A real gentleman,” Jason commented.
“I’d have done my research. I’d know you from before, of course, so I’d take you to the Regency-themed cafe in the Bowery.”
Jason hummed in approval. He’d gone already with Bruce for the grand opening, of course, but he wouldn’t turn down an opportunity to go again. He felt a little surprised that Tim knew this about him, but he supposed it wasn’t exactly a secret when Bruce talked about Jason’s love of Jane Austen to anyone unfortunate enough to have ears.
Tim continued, “I imagine you’d want to go shopping and pick up some new books.”
Jason nodded. Right again, although he supposed this would not be news to anyone who had been exposed to Bruce for any length of time.
“Then we’d settle down for tea and dessert while you read.”
“What would you be doing?” Jason asked.
“What?”
“While I’m reading,” Jason clarified. “You know, it’s weird to read while someone else is sitting right there.”
“I’d do some editing on my camera,” Tim shrugged. “I don’t mind.”
Jason thought it was a little quiet for a first date, but it would have won Tim a second date, which was the point of this whole charade. “Okay, then what next?”
Jason had been expecting a list of generic date locations that he’d read about in his books: the movies, dinner at a fancy Italian restaurant, bowling.
To his surprise, Tim rattled off a list of activities that were all things that Jason would have chosen for himself: the literature and culture museum, Batburgers, a botanical garden tour, a picnic in Robinson Park. Maybe this would be even easier than Jason thought.
“Those all sound good to me,” Jason agreed. “So, when are we going on these dates?”
Tim’s demeanor became more businesslike. He sat up straighter. “We’re going to need one full weekend,” he said, unconsciously becoming more commanding, “depending on our energy levels. We can probably get all the photoshoots done in two days. You’ll need two or three changes of clothes per day.”
Jason mirrored Tim’s demeanor. “Got it. I’ll make sure I’m rested, then. What weekend?”
“I have a soccer game this weekend, but I’m free next weekend?”
“That works for me.”
Tim smiled at him. “Don’t worry about anything. Seriously. Just show up with a couple of changes of clothes that you think you might wear on a real date, and I’ll take care of the rest. Don’t even bring your wallet. This is my problem you’re helping me with. I’ll owe you for the rest of my life.”
“Oh, no, the most eligible bachelor in Gotham taking me to my favorite places and paying for everything, whatever shall I do,” Jason deadpanned. “This isn’t exactly a hardship, Tim.”
In fact, it even sounded kind of fun. It was just like the kinds of whirlwind romances Jason read about in his books, just fake.
“You’re saying that now,” Tim started.
“I can take care of myself,” Jason reminded Tim.
Tim sighed, and then, as if it was against his will, smiled. “I know.”
“Good, then we’re in agreement. Relax.”
“Not a chance,” Tim said, but now he was grinning.
They ran through the rest of the plan together: first get a bunch of photos on ‘dates’ to backdate as proof, then hard launch Jason as Tim’s boyfriend on Tim’s instagram a couple of days later. Jason didn’t have any social media that needed tending. After that, Jason would go to Tim’s games and practices and whatever, and Tim would walk Jason home every day. It was already after five when they finished plotting.
Jason stood up. “Sounds like you’ve got everything under control,” he said. “Do we need to go over anything else?”
“I’m going to need your number to coordinate,” Tim said.
“You don’t already have it?” Jason asked, surprised. He’d thought for sure at some point he would have either acquired Tim’s number or Tim would have gotten his over the years.
Tim shrugged. “Never came up, I guess.”
Tim offered Jason his phone, already opened to his contacts page. Jason typed in his name and number, and then as an afterthought, added a heart emoji next to his name. Tim raised an eyebrow at him when Jason handed his phone back to him.
“It’s what I’d want my boyfriend to do,” Jason said with a shrug.
Tim laughed. “Got it. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Jason received a text from a new number that just said ‘Timothy Drake’, with a little kissy emoji after it. Jason saved the number, emoji and all.
“Let me know if there’s any new incidents or if the plan has to change,” Jason said.
“I’ll text you,” Tim promised.
Jason and Tim moved their desks back to their original positions.
Jason was halfway out the door when he heard Tim say, “Jason?”
Jason turned around to face Tim again.
Tim looked smaller than he did when he was actively scheming, standing alone in the middle of the room. He kept opening and closing his mouth like he wanted to say something to Jason. Then he made a little aborted movement towards Jason, like he meant to hug Jason but he wasn’t sure if Jason would be open to that. Jason appreciated the thought; although he didn’t think he’d mind a hug from Tim, he’d only really just had his first real conversation with the guy, and most of it was spent on scheming. Instead, Tim just rocked back on his heels, chewing on his lower lip. “Thanks,” he said. “Really. This means a lot to me.”
Jason smiled at him. “Don’t mention it. I’ve got your back, Tim. No one deserves to be harassed like this.”
Tim smiled back at Jason, a small, shy thing.
It stuck in Jason’s mind all the way home.
As soon as he was home, Jason made a beeline for his room, yelling out a greeting to Alfred and Bruce as he passed the kitchen. As soon as the door to his room shut, he called Steph.
Steph picked up after one ring. “What’s up, loser?”
“What do I do on a date? You know I’ve never been on a date before,” Jason asked in a rush.
Steph shrieked. “You’re going on a date? Finally! With who?”
“It’s a fake date - well, lots of fake dates - but we’re still going.” Jason fell backwards onto his bed. “Oh my god, I can’t believe I’m doing a fake dating trope. There’s no way that’s real life.”
“You were adopted by one of the richest men on earth, that’s not real life,” Steph said. “A little fake dating is nothing. But you need to back up. You’re fake dating someone?”
Jason told Steph the whole story - from meeting Tim in passing at Wayne functions, to finding him in the hall that day, to scheming together in a classroom.
“Wow,” Steph said when Jason finished. “You really are like, in a BookTok novel. How are you feeling about that?”
“Nervous,” Jason admitted.
“What about?”
What about, Jason wondered. Jason hadn’t even taken the time to ask why. He always felt nervous about new social situations.
He blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “What if I mess it up?”
Steph laughed. “Mess what up? This whole thing was Tim’s idea! If anything, he brought this mess into your life.”
It wasn’t anything different from what Tim had said, but it sounded different when Steph said it. “That’s true,” he acknowledged. “He’s nice about it, though. I feel like….” Jason fell back onto his bed with a soft whump. “I feel like this could be the closest I’ll ever get to a real romance, you know? I know it’s pretend but….” He closed his eyes. “It still feels nice.”
“You deserve it,” Steph said. “You deserve to be wooed! Hell, you deserve to be wooed for real!”
But this is a good start,” she sniffed. “Jason Wayne, hear me now. If that Tim Drake guy does anything to hurt you, he’ll have to go through me. I’ll break the knives out.”
Jason smiled. Jason’s life had changed significantly for the better when he met Steph, and he was forever grateful to have her in his corner.
“Thanks, Steph. We’re going to speedrun a bunch of dates so we can backdate them in a couple of weeks,” Jason told Steph. “Want to come over and help me pick out clothes next Friday?
“You couldn’t keep me away,” Steph promised. “You’re on.”