Chapter Text
Tim Drake gasps awake when a hand touches his shoulder. It’s so odd, not being able to tell how long he’s been asleep or who exactly is next to him. Odd, but unfortunately not unusual. He still hates it though. It’s in his nature to be aware, after all.
The good news is that he already knows where he is. He’s in his office at Wayne Enterprises, as he normally is these days. Which means the faint mumbling he can hear has to be coming from Tam, Lucius, or maybe Paula who works the front desk.
“-orried about you. Tim? Are you listening to me?”
He blinks hard, finally looking up to see that it is Tam. His first guess was right. Luckily, the ringing in his ears has stopped.
“Sorry, Tam, you just startled me. I’m okay.”
Her mouth tightens, and her back is tense. Her fingers curl into fists. Tim wants to shrink away from her gaze. He wants to apologize for burdening her. He wants to go back to sleep. There’s a warmth on his face and he wipes at it, startling when his fingers come back wet.
“Hey…” Tam’s voice is softer now. She crouches down next to him. “It’s late. You should go home, Tim.”
He’s been wearing the same suit for two days straight. He passed out in his office yesterday, and was out for two hours before deciding that it wasn’t worth it to go home when he needed to be back for a meeting in an hour. He can’t remember if he ate today, which isn’t good. If he didn’t eat then he didn’t take his antibiotics.
“Ya, I will. What time is it?” Tim asks her.
“Just past eleven. Everyone’s gone except us, and Paula.”
His legs shake and there’s a sharp ache in his left knee from a break that didn’t heal right. It’s all background noise to him as he stands up and gathers his files to shove in his bag. There’s a half eaten salad at the edge of his desk. He did eat today, then. That’s good.
“Leslie called today.” Tam says as they start walking out of his office. “You have a check up due this week.”
Tim presses the button for the elevator. “Okay. I’ll text her when I get home. Thanks, Tam.”
They step inside and the metal doors slide closed. His stomach lurches as they go down. He closes his eyes against the dizziness and tries not feel like he’s falling. When it dings he opens his eyes again, ready to go.
Tam steps inside front of him “Tim..” She sighs, darts her tongue out to wet her lips briefly. “Have you been going out at night lately?”
The question catches him off guard. Tim looks past her shoulder to where Paula is talking on the phone. “Um yes, yes I-I have. Why? Is something going on?”
She blinks. “No, nothing is going on. Just…just get some sleep tonight, okay? You have back to back meetings tomorrow.”
Right. He already knows that. Unfortunately, there’s also a heroin shipment coming in at the docs tonight at one. He’s been tracking the gang that’s planning on selling it, and this is the best time to get a drop on them. But he’s not gonna tell her that. So he nods, and smiles the way his mother taught him when he was four years old.
“Your expression, your words, your posture. These are all things that you can use, Timothy. It’s important to remember that.”
He was a fast learner. Always had been. When Janet had grinned with all her teeth and lightened her eyes, he mimicked it. It only took him two tries to get it down perfectly. She had kissed his head and told him he was a good boy.
Now, with Tam, it eases the tension in her shoulders and she steps aside so they can both leave. He doesn’t know if it comforts him or not that he can still do that without trying. It can’t be a coincidence that his nausea returns as he does it, but along with being a quick learner he’s also good at lying.
Even to himself. It’s another thing he inherited from his mother.
***
Jason Todd breathed in the stale, recycled air of his helmet as he watched a new drug shipment come in from the docs. He was patrolling alone tonight, in Crime Alley, for the first time since last week. Since Bruce’s return three months ago, he’s been spending a lot more time at the Manor.
They’ve been going out together, as a team. It’s been nice, having people to lean back on. Still, he’s missed his own place, and there’s lots to do when you’re a crime lord. Like stopping new gangs from selling heroin to the kids of Park Row.
“Hood.”
Jason nearly falls off the roof when he hears Red Robin. Jesus fuck, this kid was quiet. When did he learn how to do that? Not even Damian can get the drop on Jason.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” Drake says, coming to stand next to him on the roof.
“S’fine. What the hell are you doing in my territory?” He asks.
The Replacement pauses. “Oh. Sorry..I didn’t even realize I had ventured so far. I’ve been tracking that gang.” He points to the shitheads unloading boxes below them.
“Hmm. What’s your plan?”
“What?”
Jason snaps his fingers. “Your plan, Red. I know you didn’t come here without one.”
Drake furrows his brows “…Why?”
Jesus, was the kid high or something? He seemed fine from a glance. He hasn’t been around at all, which nobody seemed to question. It confused Jason at first, but he figured that the little brat just didn’t wanna be around them anymore.
Now though, when he really looks, he can see that the kid has lost some weight, but gotten taller. He had circles under his eyes that were visible even with the domino on. There was a barely there tremor to his fingers. To put it simply-he looked liked shit.
“Well we might as well work together on it, right? You’re already here, so no use gettin’ mad at ya for being in my territory.” Jason answers after a second.
“Right. Makes sense.”
“So Replacement, what’s the plan?”
Red tells him in short sentences what he’s planning on doing, and Jason jumps in when he wants to add or change something. They come to an agreement and get to it.
For two highly trained vigilantes with their skills, these guys don’t stand a chance. However, there are a fucking lot of them, so Jason gets his upper arm grazed by a bullet. It doesn’t stop him, doesn’t even slow him down, but the Replacement notices once they’re all done.
“Oh shit, you okay Hood? Did you get hit?”
Jason snorts “Ya, a little. Nothing to worry about, Red.”
He turns to leave but Drake’s voice stops him. “My place isn’t far from here, let me patch you up.”
His instinct is to say no. Tell the kid to fuck off. But…a part of him is curious about Timothy Drake. Where the hell he’s been living, for one thing, but also what the hell is going on with him. Why has he been avoiding them? He’s the one that brought Bruce back, after all.
So he nods. “Ya alright, lead the way brat.”
***
Nothing is for free. Tim learned that young. From his parents, from their…associates. It was reinforced by a grieving Batman, and then again by the leader of the League of Assassins. Everybody wants something, everybody expects something. It’s how the world works.
He felt a familiar weight in his stomach when he realized that he had intruded on Hood’s territory. But then Jason was asking for his help, and he realized that the man was just using this opportunity to his advantage. It’s smart.
Luckily, a way to repay him was offered up on a silver platter. Tim could patch the graze on his arm and then they would be even. Easy. Never mind the fact that it was already four in the morning and he had to be at the office by eight. He just had to manage his time right. That’s fine, he’s good at that.
It takes them exactly fourteen minutes to get to his apartment. Tim hasn’t been home in three days so he forgot that it wasn’t exactly the cleanest right now. There were work files and case files strewn about his coffee table and kitchen counter. The couch that he’s been using as a bed has crumpled blankets and pillows all over it.
At least there wasn’t any old food or trash on the floor. That would have been really embarrassing. So it’s not as bad as it could be.
“Wow Replacement, you’re pretty messy for a rich kid. Not used to living without a nanny?”
Tim doesn’t think as he says “Never had one.”
He was rooting around his cupboards for the first aid kit, but he doesn’t miss the way that Jason’s expression morphs into confusion. Tim ignores it as he pulls the kit down and forces the wince down when it pulls at a healing cut on his shoulder. Then he grabs some spare clothes and throws them at Jason.
“Go change. The bathroom is just down the hall.”
He goes without a word, which is kind of weird for Jason Todd. But honestly Tim is much too tired to really think about it right now. He quickly changes into sweats and a t-shirt before the man comes back out.
“I’m surprised you had clothes that fit me.” He says as he walks out of the bathroom. “Are these Bruce’s?”
Tim shrugs. “Kon’s, I think.”
His voice doesn’t break when he says the name, which is a first. And he turns his face away so that there’s no signs of grief for Jason to see. After a deep breath he sits on the couch and shoves pillows off for Jason to sit down next to him.
“Let me see your arm, please.”
He sits with a huff, giving Tim his arm to start cleaning and stitching. They work in silence for a bit before Jason speaks up again.
“What did you mean, earlier?”
Tim threads the needle with practiced ease. “About what?”
“The nanny thing.”
“Oh. I just didn’t ever have one.”
Jason hisses through his teeth as Tim pierces his skin. It only needs three stitches before he ties it off.
“Your parents work from home, then?” He asks.
Tim hums in a way that could mean yes or no. He doesn’t want to talk about his parents, or his house. He doesn’t really wanna talk about anything. He wants to sleep so he doesn’t pass out at the office again. The only reason he’s doing any of this is so Jason doesn’t have a debt to hold over him.
“It’s done.” Tim tells him, sticking a bandage over the stitches. “You can stay here if you want, it’ll probably be easier not to drive right now. We’ll have to share the couch though.”
He throws the bloody gauze on top of the ones that were already in the trash. He doesn’t want to pull at the cut on his shoulder again so he just sets the first aid kit on the counter. He’ll deal with it tomorrow when he’s not being watched.
“Somethin’ wrong with the bedroom?”
“There isn’t one. I sleep on the couch.”
Jason frowns as he watches Tim move about his apartment and set an alarm on his phone. “What do you do when you have someone over?”
Tim finally sits back down, stretching his bad knee out in front of him for a moment to ease some of the aching. Then he grabs a pillow from the floor and curls up to go to sleep, laying his head by Jason’s legs.
“Dunno.” He replies. “I haven’t had to think about it before now. Sorry.”
“Seriously? You haven’t had anyone over yet? Dickie hasn’t come and crashed, or one of your old teammates?”
His brain is slowing down. Jason sounds kind of far away now. The words come out easily.
“No one knows.”
“No one knows what?”
Tim sighs, eyes fluttering closed. “That m’here.”
He doesn’t bother listening to the response as he finally falls asleep.
***
Jason doesn’t know what he’s doing. To be fair, he usually doesn’t. But right now he really doesn’t. The Replacement was passed out next to him on the couch, cause apparently he doesn’t have a fucking bed and has been sleeping on his ratty old couch for god knows how long. He was curled into himself, hugging a pillow to his chest but with no blanket on him.
There were three blankets on the floor but the kid didn’t bother grabbing one when he got a pillow. Drake has always been odd, but Jason has noticed a lot after spending a couple of hours with him. Like how he’s always apologizing. And how he grimaces when he stretches his left leg but he’s not limping.
Then there’s the whole weird deflecting thing when asked about his parents. Plus the fact that nobody has been to his apartment before? Jason knew that he hadn’t been patrolling with The Bats but it seems like he’s not even talking to them.
Tim shuffles a bit in his sleep so Jason looks down at him, and his jaw fucking drops. The kid was crying. Two streams of tears from his closed eyelids, and brow furrowed in distress. He was clutching the pillow tightly.
He was crying, probably having a nightmare. But he was silent. Not quiet, or muffled. Silent. If Jason hadn’t looked at him he wouldn’t have known. His hand reaches out of its own accord and settles on Tim’s head, thumb absently stroking his temple.
The kid just fucking melts. His grip loosens on the pillow, and his agonized expression smooths out. He seems to burrow deeper into the cushion while simultaneously pushing into Jason’s hand for more contact.
He sighs. “Jesus, Timmy…”
Tim makes a soft noise then, scooting closer until his head was in Jason’s lap.
“Okay, shh, I’ve got you kiddo.” He wraps his arm around Tim’s chest, softly petting his hair with his other hand. “I’ve got you.”
Jason leans back, staring at the ceiling as his mind reels. His whole perception of his Replacement is changing, and it’s changing in a way that makes guilt pool in his stomach instead of green tinting his vision.
He doesn’t know how long it’s been when an alarm goes off on Tim’s phone, making him jerk awake and quickly turn the offending sound off. The kid doesn’t seem to care that he’s been lying practically on top of Jason.
Maybe he didn’t even realize that he was, cause he was already on his feet. Not very steadily, though. He leans against the wall a bit as he walks towards the bathroom.
“I have to go. You can stay as long as you want, just lock the door on your way out please.” He calls out.
“Where you going?” Jason asks, pushing himself up to look through the fridge. He was starving.
He’s not entirely surprised when all he finds is some old leftovers, coffee creamer, and energy drinks. Still concerning, even though he was half expecting it. What does the kid eat?
“Work.” Tim answers as he steps out, dressed in a nice shirt and slacks. His hair was neater, and he put a watch on his left wrist. “Sorry, I don’t really have a lot of food right now. You can take my card to go get breakfast.”
Drake takes his wallet out and pulls out one of his many credit cards. Jason sees a couple of pictures sticking out from the third pocket. One of them is of him and Stephanie, hanging upside down from a swing set at the park. Another one shows Tim with his old team, his first one. They’re all smiling, at the beach. Tim is on Superboy’s back.
The wallet closes before Jason can look at the two other ones. The kid shoves a sleek black card at him. “Here.”
“What?” Jason says stupidly, cause he’s still trying to process everything.
“For breakfast. Or you can get coffee or whatever, just drop it off at WE on your way back.”
“WE? As in Wayne Enterprises?”
Tim nods. “Or you can just slip it under the door if you don’t wanna go there. I just figured it’d be easier since it’s closer to your place.”
“Why are you going to WE?”
“…because I work there?”
Okay, pause. Freeze. What? Isn’t he like seventeen or something? Why the hell isn’t he in school? Jason feels like there’s so much that he’s missing. He’s not just missing a piece of the puzzle, he’s got the wrong fucking box.
But Tim is already walking out the door, so Jason does the best thing he can think of. He goes and gets breakfast. Cause the Replacement told him to, and he hasn’t eaten since yesterday afternoon. Plus the shop around the corner has really good muffins.
He doesn’t use Tim’s card, of course. He’s got plenty of money himself, but he does decide to bring it to Wayne Enterprises. Where the kid works. It’s on his way home, and he feels bad not giving it back. So here he is.
He stands in front of the large glass doors for a moment before going in. There’s a kind eyed woman at the front desk who smiles at him when he comes in.
“What can I do for you, dear?” She asks politely.
Jason stuff his hands in his pockets. “I need to see Tim, you know where I can find him?”
The lady clicks her tongue. “Ah, well I’m afraid that Mr. Drake is in a meeting right now, but he should be getting done soon. Can I ask what you need him for?”
“I just borrowed something from him that I need to return. He asked me to drop it by.”
“Okay, I see.” She nods, reaching for a button on the phone in front of her. It beeps. “Tam?”
The voice on the other line-Tam. Tamara Fox most likely, responds immediately. “Yes, Paula?”
“I have someone here who says that he needs to see Mr. Drake.”
“What’s his name?”
The receptionist, Paula apparently, looks to him expectantly. Jason leans forward a little so that they can both hear him. “Uh, Jay. My name is Jay Peters.”
“Oh.” Tam says “Send him up, Paula. Tim is just about done with these shareholders.”
Paula nods “Will do.” She looks back at Jason with her genuine smile that reminds him of Ma Kent. “Go ahead, dear. Floor five.”
Jason smiles back. “Thank you.”
The elevator ride is short, and then he’s standing in front of Tam Fox. Lucius’s daughter. She looks so much like him, it’s almost uncanny.
“Hey.” Jason gives a small wave. “I didn’t know you were still working here.”
“I wasn’t, for a bit. Then I came back.”
Her eyes shone with something like anger. Jason doesn’t bother asking more about that vague answer. Instead he gestures to the office door. “Is he in there?”
“Yes. He’ll come out when he’s finished.” She squints at him. “Jay Peters huh?”
“Ya..?”
“Kind of a lazy alias, don’t you think?”
Jason tenses, gritting his teeth. “Only if you knew me before.”
Tam hums casually, tapping her pen against her desk. She doesn’t say anything else, so he doesn’t either. They just kind of stare at each other for a moment before the office door opens.
“I’m glad we’re in agreement, Mrs. Reynolds. I’ll send you those documents to sign, and we can go from there?” Tim walks out of the room with three other people.
One of them shakes his hand. “Sounds good, Mr. Drake. Thank you for meeting with us.”
The two others nod in agreement, smiling in the polite businessman way that makes Jason want to gag. Tim does it back, but it drops the moment they walk away. He startles when he sees Jason.
“Oh, hi Jason.”
He didn’t bother using the alias, so that means that he knows that Tam knows about it. Or he just doesn’t care. Maybe a little of both.
“Hey. Can I come in?” Jason gestures to the door.
“Ya, ya of course. Um, Tam can you hold my calls for a bit?”
Tam gives a thumbs up, typing something on her computer. Tim and Jason go inside the office, clicking the door shut behind them. Tim stands at his desk, shuffling some papers together.
“So, what’s going on Jason? Do you need something?” Tim asks him.
Jason stares at him. “I brought your card back.”
Tim pauses for a moment, then rubs his eye. “My card?”
“Ya, Replacement, your card. The one you gave me this morning? What, you just have so many it slipped your mind?”
Jason was being unfair, he knows that. But part of him wants to see Tim rise to the bait, maybe snap back at him. Just something that’s not the exhaustion that seems to fully encompass the kid.
Tim doesn’t rise to it. He just nods absentmindedly. “Right, sorry it’s just been a weird morning. How was breakfast?”
Jason pauses, watching as Tim sits down and jots something down on a sticky note at the edge of his desk. He can’t make out what is says from here.
“It was fine. Tim-“ He gets cut off when the door opens.
Paula comes in, holding a pharmacy bag and a doctor’s note. “Mr. Drake? Sorry to bother you, but Dr. Thompkins insisted that I bring you your new antibiotics right as they arrived.”
Tim sighs, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Right. Okay, thank you Paula. Can you just give them to Tam for now?”
“Sure thing, Mr. Drake.” She backs out, closing the door behind her.
Tim closes his eyes for a second, then turns back to Jason. “Well, I appreciate you bringing it back. I’ll see you around?”
As much as Jason wants to ask a bunch of follow up questions, he knows this is the kid’s polite way of kicking him out. So he just nods, and makes his way out without another word. Tam barely glances at him as he walks past her to get to the elevators.
Paula smiles when she sees him. “Have a good day, Mr. Peters.”
“Ya, you too ma’am.”
He leaves the tall, sterile building with a weird feeling. Like something is pulling him to go back. Something like responsibility.
Something like guilt.
***
Every step he takes he feels like he’s going to collapse. This is not a new feeling for Tim, so he keeps walking. It doesn’t matter that his knee aches with every movement. It doesn’t matter that his shoulder strains every time he breathes. It doesn’t matter that his skin burns with phantom touches.
It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter.
Tim stops in front of the building. He barely remembers walking here. Muscle memory took care of it for him. After all, he’s been here at least twice a month since he was eleven years old.
Park Row Brothel
Except, it’s been a year. He was so busy trying to find Bruce that he hasn’t been here in thirteen months and seven days. It makes him feel nauseous with guilt. He abandoned these people who were depending on him.
That’s probably why it’s taken this long to come back, even though he’s been back in the country for three months now. He was a coward. He couldn’t face them.
Until now. It’s been long enough. Tim takes a stuttering breath and walks in.
Immediately he hears a familiar voice. “Oh my…”
He was five years old. He was wearing a suit that was buttoned too tight. Breathing felt hard. His hands were sticky with sweat. There was a man-Mr. Johnson-that was pulling him into one of the bedrooms upstairs.
His father was the one who told him to go. So he does. It’s not the first time he’s gone off with one of his parent’s friends during an event.
This time though, there was somebody else already in the room. A red haired lady who Tim recognized from other parties, and Mr. Strauss. Their clothes were not on right. Some buttons not done, and the man’s tie was hanging from his neck.
Oh. They were doing what Tim was brought here to do.
“What the fuck?” The lady swears.
She has an accent. The one that people have when they’re not from this part of Gotham. The one that Tim’s mother calls dirty.
“This-this is my son. He was just having a rough time downstairs.” Mr. Johnson says. He squeezes Tim’s hand really hard.
Tim keeps his face friendly, just like mother taught him. He’s good at that.
Mr. Strauss and the lady look at both of them. The lady was scowling, like she was angry at somebody. Mr. Strauss looked confused.
“S’that so?” The lady says “You really expect me to believe that?!”
She was yelling now, and Tim tenses against his will. He didn’t like when people yelled. It usually means he’s being bad. But he hasn’t been bad! He’s been good! He was listening to his parents and doing favors for their friends so that they could do business stuff.
Mr. Strauss leaves the room, pushing past them and looking at Tim weirdly. The lady was still yelling.
“Get out! Get the fuck out and don’t lemme see you again, you got that?!” She shoves at Mr. Johnson’s shoulder. He lets go of Tim’s hand and scrambles to leave the room.
The lady was breathing really fast now. Was she scared? It’s not fun to be scared. Tim should help her.
“Miss? Are you okay?” He asks her, taking a hesitant step toward her.
She looks down at him, and then takes a deep breath. She kneels down so that they are looking at each other.
“I’m okay, honey. Are you okay? Where are your parents?”
“Downstairs. Why did you yell at Mr. Johnson?”
She frowns. “What’s your name, kiddo?”
“I’m Timothy. What’s your name, miss?”
“I’m Ruth.” She smiles at him. It looks kind. “Let’s go find your parents ‘kay? They’re probably worried about ya.”
“But I’m supposed to be with Mr. Johnson.” He tells her.
“Your parents know you’re with him up here?”
Tim nods. “Mhmm. They asked me to be good for him so that he will do business with them.”
Ruth’s eyes get wet. She was sad. Tim was making her sad.
“Oh my…”
Tim snaps back to present day, to where Ruth is looking at him like she’s seen a ghost. He ignores the rush of guilt, and tries to smile as kindly as he can.
“Hey, Ruthie.” His voice cracks.
That makes her stand up, and she rushes toward him so fast that he has to clench his fists to stop the flinch. She stops just short of him, gently grabbing his arms.
“We thought you were dead! Where the hell have you been?”
Her touch makes his skin itch, but he doesn’t want to pull away. The opposite, actually.
“I’m uh-“ His voice cracks again. He clears his throat. “I’m sorry. I have stuff for you, though. Can-can you get the others? The ones that are available right now?”
He must look truly pathetic, because she just frowns at him and nods. When she pulls away to go get the others he can’t help the way he shivers from the cold. Even though he’s wearing a jacket and it’s actually pretty warm in here.
In one blink and the next, three other woman are standing there too. Ruth stays behind them as they all gasp at the sight of Tim. It’s Annie, Bea, and Penny. Maria, Angel, and Lulu must be busy right now.
“Is that-?”
“Holy shit.“
“What the hell?”
They speak at the same time, voices overlapping with each other once the initial shock of seeing him wears off.
“Hi, guys.” Tim shuffles awkwardly for a second.
Bea takes pity on him, butting in. “Let’s go to my room, ya?”
Tim nods, and follows them down the hall and up a flight of stairs to get to her room. She must have gotten a new one since the last time he was here. It used to be on the ground floor. It’s blue instead of beige. Nicer, too. Maybe she got a promotion.
He sets his backpack down on the bed once they’ve all shuffled inside and shut the door. He opens it and pulls out the new tasers he made, the upgraded mini first aid kits, and a stack of bills.
“This is all I’ve got right now. I’ll come back in a couple weeks with some more. And maybe some canned food?” He tugs a hand through his hair. His fingers are shaking. “I don’t know what you guys need right now, so I just kind of guessed? Sorry it’s not as much as usual.”
Penny had tears in her eyes. “Where have you been, sweetheart? We thought-“ She doesn’t finish saying it. Doesn’t have to.
“I didn’t mean to leave you guys hanging. There was just..some stuff I had to take care of.”
“Some stuff? You look half dead!” Annie says. “What happened to you?”
That’s the question, he supposes. What happened to him? There’s not a good answer. Not one that he can say. Not one that he wants to. But they’re all staring at him like he’s breaking right in front of them.
Is he? Is that what’s happening?
No. No. He’s not. He’s just..a little off, lately. A bit more shaky than normal. He’ll be fine.
“Tim?” Ruth comes closer to him. “Do you wanna sit down, honey?”
Ya, sitting. That sounds good. His body hurts, more so than usual. He’s gently nudged backwards until the back of his knees hit the bed, forcing him to sit down on it. Penny and Bea sit on either side of him. Annie and Ruth stand in front of them.
“You can talk to us. If it’ll help.” Bea tells him.
“I know.” He breathes. “M’okay.”
They’re sharing looks over his head. Penny kneels down in front of him, gently taking his hands. His fingers still shake. Annie brushes his hair out of his face and he shudders, leaning his face into her hand.
“How about you lay down for a bit, baby.” Ruth suggests. “Get some rest.”
He can’t. He wants to, more than anything. Wants to lay down with people that he trusts watching over him so he can finally sleep more than a couple fitful hours. But they have clients to get to, and he has to go on patrol. They shouldn’t be wasting their time taking care of him.
Tim pulls away from them all, and stands up. He zips up his bag and slings it over his shoulder.
“I’ll see you in two weeks.” He smiles. “The money is for your time.”
They won’t take it otherwise, he knows. He tunes out their protests and ignores their footsteps as they follow him out of the room and down the stairs. He leaves the building without looking back, knowing they can’t follow him any farther.
Something is making his shirt sticky and wet. He grinds his teeth together against the feeling. It sticks to the skin of his shoulder uncomfortably.
Tim decides that he needs to be higher up. He doesn’t like people brushing past him as he walks, and he doesn’t like their probing eyes. So he ducks into the next alley he can see and immediately scales the fire escape to get to the roof.
Good. This is better. He’s safer up here. He sits against the air conditioning unit and holds his bag to his chest. He looks out at the sky and breathes. The Gotham skyline turns orange as the sun goes down. Tim should get up and head back to his apartment. He needs to patrol. He should get up.
Instead he closes his eyes. He sits on the roof and pretends he doesn’t feel the tears make their way down his cheeks.
***
The kid is sitting on the roof in his civvies. Jason can see him from his apartment where he’s getting ready to go to the Manor. Tim Drake is in Crime Alley, just fucking lounging on a rooftop wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and a jacket. No domino or nothing.
After everything that happened the other day, he decides that he should go see what’s going on. So he heads over to the roof in a hoodie that he can use as a shitty way to kind of hide his face. Not that it really matters. It’s dark out and it’s just Tim.
As he climbs the ladder he sees a familiar figure approach Tim from the other side of the roof. Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, stalks forward and crouches down in front of the kid. Jason can’t remember the last time he even saw her in Crime Alley. Not much to rob here.
Jason stays halfway on the ladder so that they don’t see him. He doesn’t have the best view from here but he can see tears streaming down the boy’s face, and a red spot on his shoulder that spreads through his shirt and jacket.
“What’s a little birdie doing all alone here, hmm?” Catwoman asks once she sees who it is.
Tim startles at her voice, apparently not having noticed her approach. That’s more than a little concerning. The Replacement was usually overly aware of his surroundings.
“What?” Tim mumbles “What’re you doing here?”
The woman frowns, reaching for the kid, and he flinches hard. His head smacks against the air conditioning unit he was sitting against.
“Don’t-” He gasps, wincing in pain. He squeezes his eyes closed. “Don’t touch me.”
She immediately backs off, holding her hands in front of her. “Okay, okay I won’t touch you, kitten. Do you know where you are?”
Tim’s whole body was trembling. His eyes were still shut. Selina pulls her gloves and her mask off carefully, which is something she only does to soothe scared children. This is close enough, Jason supposes.
“I need you to look at me.” She orders gently.
He slowly peels his eyes open and sees her. Even from here Jason can see the relief that floods him. He deflates, slumping back down.
“S-Sorry. M’sorry Selina.”
Selina gives him a second to catch his breath, then she scoots a little closer. “Can I hold you? You can say no, kitten.”
Tim nods, fast. “Yes..Yes, please.”
She doesn’t waste another second, pulling him close until he’s clutching at her with shaky limbs, tears and blood soaking into her suit. He doesn’t seem to notice, just goes limp as she cradles his head to her shoulder.
He continues muttering apologies and she shushes him softly. It feels…familiar. Like she’s done this with him before. Jason wasn’t aware that they were close. He clearly isn’t aware about a lot of things involving his Replacement.
After a moment Tim pulls back slightly, and he frowns at the blood on her. “You’re bleeding. Why are you bleeding? Are you hurt?”
Selina smiles sadly at him, cupping his face with gentle hands. “Oh, sweet boy…it’s not mine.”
Tim eyes her curiously, waiting for her to explain.
“It’s yours, kitten. Your shoulder.”
“Oh…sorry.”
Despite the fact that it’s dark out, and Jason is nearly twenty feet away, he can see with perfect clarity the way that her heart breaks at his words. He doesn’t blame her.
She wipes his tears away with her thumbs. “What happened?”
Tim shrugs, even though it must aggravate the cut. “Must’ve ripped my stitches. It was from a ninja.”
She doesn’t question him about the ninja thing. Or ask him any follow up questions, which has gotta take an impressive amount of self restraint. Instead she just nods.
“Let’s get you home. You need to redress that wound.”
“I’ll take care of it.” He pulls away and reaches for his bag. “You don’t need to come with me.”
“I know. But to be honest, you’re worrying me kitten. More so than usual.”
Tim’s expression flickers, and he exhales shakily. “Don’t do that.”
“Don’t do what?”
He shakes his head mutely, standing up. She rises to her feet as well. Watching him. Analyzing.
“It was good to see you, Selina.”
Then he was off. Selina doesn’t try and follow him. Tim can hide from anybody when he wants to. She pulls her gloves and mask back on with a deep sigh. Jason feels stuck as she starts walking in his direction.
“I know you’re there, Jason.”
Of fucking course she does. He doesn’t know why he assumed any different. Jason finally pulls himself all the way onto the roof to come stand next to her. She was staring into the night where Tim had left.
“How long you been close with the kid?” Jason asks her.
“I met Timothy Drake when he was seven years old and I was playing the part of charming socialite, like your father. The fact that Bruce didn’t really meet the boy until later still astounds me.”
“He made that much of an impression?”
She glances at him. “You could say that.”
Jason hums, trying to read her expression through the mask. He doesn’t succeed.
“How much do you know of the Drakes?” Selina asks after a moment of silence. “Did you ever meet them at a gala?”
“Once or twice. I don’t remember much about those events other than the fact that they were boring as hell.” He answers. “Why?”
“They.…were not good people. It was hard to see, but I’ve dealt with people like them. Everything was a show. A manipulation.”
“Why are you telling me this, Selina?”
“Because he hasn’t flinched from me in years. Not since he was a child who didn’t know how to trust anyone.”
Jason tries not to feel sick at the reminder that Tim still regularly flinches from the whole family. He always thought that the kid just didn’t trust anyone. Maybe none of them tried hard enough to fix that.
“He’s breaking, Jason. He’s slipping away.”
“…I know.”
He’s seen it these last few days. In the exhaustion, and the hidden pains, and the silent crying. In the empty fridge, and the lack of a real bed. The isolation.
Selina turns to face him fully. “So what are you going to do about it?”
That’s the thing. He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know how to fix somebody who he helped break in the first place. For Christ’s sake he hasn’t even fixed himself.
The only thing he does know is that he has to try.
And he can’t do it alone.