Chapter Text
Tim stirred slightly, the blinding light through the window causing him to wince.
He wasn't sure when he passed out: he remembered being in Kon's arms, holding onto him awkwardly, & now all of a sudden he was in his room in the Wayne Manor.
The pain in his side was instantly crushed by a sudden throbbing in his head. Dehydration, he thought, noting how dry & cottony his mouth felt.
Just how long had he been out for?
Now much more awake, Tim fully took in his surroundings. It looked like the sun had only just come up, sitting pink & orange & pleasant in the sky. He had the blanket pulled up to his chest, arms resting over the covers, hooked up to an IV.
He also took note of another fabric covering him, wrapped over his shoulders. The material was thicker & heavier, & Tim recognised the smell of leather.
Just to be sure, he reached his hand back to feel the item, fingers findings the metal studs strewn across the shoulders of the jacket.
"Kon..." he whispered, hand bunching into the material, holding onto it like a lifeline.
He thought back to the rooftop. The conversation they'd had. He remarked on Kon's words, playing them over & over in his mind.
Kon wanted him? So what were all the sad looks & weird interactions about? Why was Kon so hesitant?
'You're breaking my heart, Rob'. Tim nearly squealed in frustration.
"𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 heart?! How the hell do you think I've been feeling?!"
Tim growled into the open air around him, yelling at nobody in particular.
"When I tried to- wh-, & you never- god! Would you just kiss me already, you-"
"Tim?"
Tim immediately stopped his rant, jumping as he spotted the figure stood in the doorway. He didn't know how long Kon had been there, but judging by his expression, he had definitely just heard Tim's weird, horny soliloquy.
His face blushed bright red. "Uh, hi."
Kon's face was a matching shade. "Hi."
The two simply stared at eachother for a moment, unsure of what to say or do. Tim took the opportunity to look Kon over: he was still half in his costume, the top half tied around his hips with what appeared to be one of Dick's T-shirts on.
He pondered why he'd done that, only to remember an image of a panicked Kon leaning over him, Tim's blood all over his torso.
Yup. That's probably why.
"You're..." Tim started unsurely, "You're here? In the Manor?"
Kon reached to rub at the back of his head. "Yeah. I kinda panicked when you passed out, so Alfred sat me down & insisted on giving me a steady stream of hot drinks until I felt better."
Sounds like Alfred, Tim thought. "And now I'm still just here."
Tim smirked, raising one eyebrow. "Kinda panicked?"
Kon looked at him challengingly. "Yes, 'kinda panicked'. I was still perfectly composed."
"You look like you haven't slept in a week, Kon."
"That's rich coming from you, Captain Caffeine."
"Superdork."
"Boy blunder."
"Can we talk about it?"
This caught Kon off guard. Tim almost surprised himself with his own words, but he knew they couldn't leave it like they did.
Kon looked away, brows frowning. "What is there to talk about?"
"You never finished your sentence. I still want an answer."
Kon bit his lip, eyes glued to the hallway outside, like he was waiting for some kind of hawk to swoop him away from having this conversation.
Tim huffed impatiently.
"You said you want me. And I..." Tim trailed off, taking a deep breath before continuing. "I really, really like you, Kon. So I want to know what's stopping that from being okay with you."
Kon finally looked back over at Tim, eyes full of something undescribable, before letting his eyes fall again.
"Can... can I come sit down?"
Tim nodded, & Kon made his way over. He perched on the side of the bed, Tim scooching over to make room. Kon let one of his legs fall off of the bed, whilst the over lay folded up on the mattress, his body twisted so that he could look at Tim without having to face him entirely.
Kon's eyes study Tim's face for a while before he speaks, & it makes Tim feel oddly vulnerable.
Kon scoffed a bitter laugh. "You know, you look a lot older than when we first met."
Coming from anyone else, that would be a painfully, stupidly obvious comment. But it meant something different coming from Kon.
Tim tried to keep the mood light. "Am I getting too old for you, Peter Pan?" He grinned.
Kon didn't return the smile, which caused Tim's heart to drop. "That's just it, though, Tim," Kon sighed, fingers absentmindedly playing with the bedsheets beneath him. "I'm not... normal. It wasn't so obvious one or two years ago, but... I'm gonna be 16 until I die. Sometimes I'm stronger than I mean to be. Sometimes I do... stupid shit, because I know my body can take it."
Tim let him monologue.
"My DNA is all over the place. I don’t know how long I'm gonna live for. Hell, in our line of work, I could last 200 more years, or 2 more weeks. I'm so scared of the future. I'm scared that losing you would be a thousand times worse than being alone. I'm scared of you mourning me, or me getting you hurt."
Kon's fingers twisting around the bedsheets turned into a fist, clutching the fabric tightly.
"I know I'm probably not making any sense, I just... I'm just scared, Tim. Scared shitless."
Tim looks at him sympathetically, hand reaching out to cover Kon's where it was scrunched up in the bedsheets. This time, Kon didn't tense up or pull away. His hand relaxed, palm flipping upwards so he could intertwine his fingers with Tim's.
"But what about right now?" Tim asked, rubbing his thumb along the length of Kon's index finger. Kon looked up at him inquisitively.
"You're scared of the future, & I get that. I'm terrified, too. God knows what's going to happen tomorrow, or the day after that, or the day after that."
Tim lifted his own weight, shuffling closer to Kon, clenching his jaw at the sudden sharp pain in his side.
Kon reached out, trying to stop him from moving. "Tim-"
Tim grabbed Kon by the shoulders, staring him straight in the eye with unbreakable determination. "Which is exactly why right now is important. You said losing me would be more painful than being alone in the first place, but that's not the point, Kon. You've gotta take the bad shit with the good. The thorn with the rose."
Kon watched Tim in awe, processing each & every word in slow, meticulous detail.
"I know all the ways that this could go wrong, but the way I feel about you overrides that. How happy you make me overrides that. This could all go to hell, but I'd still want to give it a go, because I think you're worth it."
Tim takes a long breath in after his speech, letting his emotions settle. His grip on Kon's shoulders was tight as he lets his head flop forward tiredly.
"But that's just how I feel about you, I guess."
Kon looked at Tim like he had started emitting light: bright & shocking & warm. The insecurity had long retreated from his expression, replaced by admiration & a sense of comfort.
Kon closed his eyes, grinning, chuckling low & breathily. Tim glanced up at him through the curtains of his hair.
"Why do you always have to be so damn right all the time, Rob?" Kon's hands came to sit on Tim's waist, holding him securely. He was careful to place his hand above the stab wound as to not hurt him.
Tim let himself smile gently, lower lip between his teeth as he raised his head to look at Kon directly.
"It's a blessing & a curse." Tim lets his hands slide over Kon's shoulders, interlocking his wrists behind Kon's head. "Hey, maybe I am a superhuman after all."
Kon eased Tim closer, hands still firm on his waist, shifting the both of them back so that he was essentially holding Tim up. "You don't have to be. You're perfect as is, just being yourself." Kon smirked.
Tim dropped his eyelids sarcastically. "Oh, you're so funny."
"I know I am." One of Tim's hands came to rest gently in Kon's hair. "So, are you gonna let me make good on your request from earlier?"
Tim gave him a puzzled look, causing Kon to smirk mischievously. "You remember? Something along the lines of 'god, would you just k-'"
Upon realising where Kon was going with that, Tim blushed furiously, grabbing the back of Kon's head & tugging him into a kiss before he could finish the sentence.
Kon's breath hitched in surprised, but he quickly melted into the kiss, eyes fluttering closed & hands snaking around to clutch at Tim's lower back.
God bless Kon's core strength, as it was the only thing holding the two of them up & stopping Kon from falling onto Tim's injured side.
Tim seemed to notice this, as he pulled away from the kiss for a second, Kon chasing his lips with hooded eyes. Tim snickered at him playfully, before shifting back on the bed, letting his head fall onto the pillow.
He tugged at Kon's hands until Kon was on top of him, one hand propping him up by Tim's head, whilst the other danced up & down the uninjured side of Tim's waist. Tim lets his arms hug fully around the back of Kon's neck, pulling him close.
Tim turned his head, deepening the kiss as his hands ran through Kon's hair. He nudged at Kon's foot with his own, intertwining their legs as they kissed. Kon chuckled against Tim's mouth.
After a while, Kon pulled back breathlessly, both of them smiling giddily.
"We should've done that a lot sooner." Kon remarked, brushing a bit of Tim's hair out of his face.
Tim sneered affectionately, lightly punching Kon's arm. "You think?"
Kon gasped incredulously, before splaying his fingers on Tim's side, causing him to jolt.
"Well, well, if that's how you're gonna be." Kon tickled Tim's side, causing the boy beneath him to squirm & shriek with laughter.
"H-hey! Ha-s-stop- hahaha- o-ouch." A slight grimace comes into Tim's grin, reaching for his injury. Kon shoots his hand away apologetically, before returning it to soothingly rub at Tim's uninjured side.
Tim sighs into the feeling, closing his eyes as Kon plants a few kisses on his cheek.
I guess Cassie was right, he thought, relaxing against Kon's touch.
Wait.
Oh my god.
Tim laughs to himself quietly. "Oh my god, Cassie is going to shit bricks when she finds out her hypothesis was right."
"Hypothesis? That some kinda skin cream?"