Work Text:
Dick
Dick had always had this thing about checking up on his family. He couldn’t help the paranoia that settled within his gut every moment that they remained out of his line of sight for a moment too long. He thinks the habit might have begun when Jason was murdered by the Joker while he was off-world, but Dick wasn’t all too sure.
Regardless, he’s already checked up on Alfred, Bruce, Babs, and everyone else apart from Tim.
He swept through the manor before coming to a stop in front of his second brother’s door. He slowly eased the door open and peered inside. Unsurprisingly, it was empty, but that did very little in regards to Dick’s rising panic.
This was okay, Dick can handle this. Maybe Tim was in the Batcave? He began to speed walk, jumping down from the second floor instead of using the stairs, it was faster this way. He made his way into Bruce’s office, turning the hands of the grandfather clock before sliding down. Dick swept the entire cave, cursing when he couldn’t find a single trace of Tim.
Oh god, what if Tim snuck out? What if he got kidnapped? What if he snuck out and got kidnapped by aliens!?
Dick forced himself to take a deep breath, mentally beating off the outlandish thoughts that weren’t all too far off from how bad Tim’s luck was. Alright, he’ll check the office that Tim liked using next.
He raced upstairs, heart pounding in his chest are scenario after scenario flittered through his brain. God, why did Tim have to be so elusive?
Skidding to a stop directly in front of the office door. Dick took a calming breath, he didn’t know what he’ll do if Tim wasn’t in there, but he was sure it would be something drastic.
Luckily, as the door swings open with an ominous creak, Dick spots Tim sitting on the oversized couch in the middle of the office with his laptop resting on his legs. He could see three bright pink cans of ‘Pipeline Punch ’-flavored Monsters. All of the cans were empty from what Dick can tell, but he was sure that Tim has had much, much more. The room was dark, the only light source being the laptop that Tim was cradling, and the brightness was so high that Dick was sure his little brother was sporting a headache right now.
“Baby bird!” Dick cried out. Tim was in the same clothes from two or three days ago. Dick sighed as Tim didn’t respond.
He crept closer, “Baby bird? Timmy, how long have you been working?”
“Hm?” Tim humed absentmindedly as he turned slowly to blink up at Dick through squinted, blood-shot eyes. A particularly gruesome picture was onscreen.
“Timmy,” Dick tried again, eyeing the utter state of the room, “how long have you been down here?”
Hopefully, he’ll tell the truth and won’t just straight up lie to his face.
“I’ve… been working on it for a couple of hours now,” Tim says, you know, like a lying liar who lies. Normally, Tim’s lies would be more convincing, but Dick was his brother, and Tim was running on a total of 2 hours of sleep for the past few days. Dick hopes it was just a day or two. Dick knows it’s been more.
He sighs, already dreading the answer, “How about you try that again, Tim?”
Tim’s face scrunches up, “... Four…?”
Dick wants to cry.
“Alright, that’s enough casework for tonight!” Dick said, moving to save the work before shutting down the laptop. In his current pathetic state, Tim can do nothing but watch in horror as Dick tried to force decent sleeping habits onto him.
“Wait- Dick nO! NO! PUT ME DOWN, DICK! DICK!!! DICK STOP, STOP I WAS ALMOST DONE- NO- GIVE IT BACK-”
Dick ignored his brother’s protests, thank god for Jason having been the most dramatic younger brother. His eardrums were trained for this. He hoisted Tim into a fireman’s carry. The majority of the Batclan was comprised of light sleepers, but Dick was sure they’d understand. This was Tim going to sleep. It’s a big deal!
“Shhh,” Dick smiled, cheerily shushing Tim. He could practically feel his little brother’s pout. God, Dick’s siblings were all so fucking adorable.
Dick quickly arrived in front of Tim’s bedroom, nudging open the door with his foot before pushing himself inside. Tim made a confused noise as Dick walked them to Tim’s bed, “Tell me if you can’t breathe.”
“Dick? Wha-” Tim yelped as Dick tossed him onto the bed. That yelp quickly became a wail as Dick flopped on top of his little brother, “DICK! GET OFF! GET OFF!! DICK YOU ASSHOLE, WHY ARE YOU SO HEAVY?! WHY ARE YOU SO FAT? GET OFF!!!”
In any other circumstance, Dick would’ve had a much harder time pinning and trapping Tim, but this wasn’t any other circumstance. Tim was currently sleep deprived and halfway to passing out already, so Dick wasn’t all too worried.
Dick continued to ignore Tim’s cries for mercy, instead wiggling around and maneuvering them so that Tim was laying against Dick’s chest. He pressed a firm hand against the space between Tim’s shoulder blades, humming softly as his brother pressed his ear against Dick’s chest, right above where his heart was. After kicking the cover up to cover the both of them, Dick relaxed, allowing Tim to melt against Dick’s chest.
Dick allowed the consistent ba-thump, ba-thump of his heart to fill his little brother’s ears. It was only a matter of time before Tim was out like a light.
Jason.
Jason knew someone was following him, but didn’t know who. Few people either could or had the balls, to sneak up on Red Hood of all people. The few people being the Bats, and Ra’s assassins. Ra’s was so obsessed solely with Tim, so that leaves only the Bats.
If Dickwing wanted something from him, then he would just straight up bother Jason, none of that sneaking around type of bullshit. That left Cassandra, Tim, and Damian. Damian was patrolling with Bruce on the other end of Gotham, Cass was out with the Birds of Prey, and Tim was supposed to be on bed rest.
It was Tim.
Jason rounded a corner before whipping around, snatching Tim up by the back of his shirt before he could run, “Y’know, Alfie would be horribly disappointed in you, Birdie.”
At least he had the decency to appear sheepish, “Yeah… Welp, there’s that! You caught me! Guess I’ll head back home now, wouldn’t want to keep you long, Mr. Red hood sir-”
Huh-uh,” Jason tutted, gently giving Tim a shake before hoisting him higher, “What I want to know is why are you out of bed, little birdie? Hm?”
Tim pouted and looked away, his eerily pale eyes cast downwards. Jason remembers feeling creeped out by them, but those creepy little eyes have genuinely been growing on him. The only reason Tim would ever seek them out was because he had another flashback and needed to remind himself that Red Hood and Jason were two different people.
Jason sighed, the birdie’s silence was extremely telling. He’d practically finished with patrol, so there was no harm in turning in early. Ignoring Tim’s noise of complaint, he tossed the scrawny little kid over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes before taking out his grappling hook. He pointed it towards the rooftops before making his way to the nearest safe house.
If his “nearest safehouse” just happened to be slightly farther than the one on the corner of Eighths and a little better furnished… Well, no one has to know. Jason likes to live luxuriously, that’s all! Sue him! There is absolutely no other reason.
Getting into the apartment through the window with Tim slung over his shoulder was… Difficult. He bumped Tim into the edges of the windows a few times before Jason finally managed to get them both inside. Tim struggled and wiggled slightly on Jason’s shoulder, smacking Jason’s back a few times before settling down.
Jason scoffed and shook his brother gently. It would be better to just… Put Tim down, but Jason does not trust the gremlin to not instantly run off.
“Alright, Timbo,” Jason huffed, plopping Tim down on the ratty couch before yanking his helmet off and tossing it to the side. “Here’s what we’re gonna do, Timmers.”
Tim glared balefully up at him, lips twisting into a pout. If Jason was a weaker man, if he was anything like Bruce or Dick, then he would’ve folded right there and then. Thankfully, Jason wasn’t weak.
“You,” Jason jabbed a finger in Tim’s direction, “are going to stay right here while I go and whip up some hot chocolate.”
Jason glared at Tim, maintaining eye contact while backing into the kitchen. After standing there for a few seconds, feeling like he’d forgotten something, Jason bolted back to tuck a heavy blanket around his brother’s shoulder before returning to the kitchen.
He is starkly aware that by the time he finishes the hot chocolate, Tim will be fast asleep, but that didn’t stop Jason from chattering softly while he prepared the two mugs. They weren’t like Alfred’s hot chocolate, but they were serviceable. He tossed extra marshmallows into Tim’s mug because the gremlin wanted diabetes or something. Jason doesn’t know, he just feeds him.
Tim’s been over enough times to know the drill by now. Jason stepped back into the living room and allowed the soft smile to overtake his features- But if anyone asked, he didn’t. The Red Hood has a reputation to maintain after all.
Jason pulled the blanket tighter around the kid’s shoulder before deciding that it wasn’t enough. He tugged off his leather jacket and laid it on top of the little birdie’s chest. He meandered over to the switch and dimmed the lights before walking back and drinking his mug of hot chocolate. Jason took a sip and sighed. Not as good as Alfred’s, but it was good.
He glanced back at Tim. He was sleeping now, his expression loose and peaceful. Good. The gremlin needed it.
Cass
Cass loves her brother- Really, she does! But, their relationship means nothing when it comes to him sleeping.
She spotted him working on cases even when Bruce and Dick had told him to rest.
He seemed tight, tense, and just tired in general. What was she supposed to do? Not help?
Cass glided across the floor of the Batcave, giving the ceiling bats a quick wave before striding over to the big chair. Her little brother looked so small.
She stood right behind Tim’s shoulder, watching and waiting. Watching and waiting.
Even if she was an ex-assassin, currently Blackbat, Cassandra was allowed to be impatient!
Cass huffed before turning to stand in front of Tim’s line of sight, an amused smile crossing her face as Tim’s expression scrunched up in confusion. He was confused, frustrated, and tired.
Her brother can be so silly sometimes. If he felt tired, then he should sleep. Simple! No worries, she’s here to help him with that.
“Sleep,” Cass ordered, reaching up with slow, telegraphed moves to gently cup Tim’s face with her hands.
His eyebrows furrowed even as he relaxed into her touch, recognition flickering in his eyes, “C-Cass? What are you doing here?”
"You need sleep," Cass stated patiently.
“No, I need to finish these cases, Cass,” Tim grouched, practically whining, yet made no move to remove her hands. She watched as he just barely managed to stifle a yawn.
“Sleep,” Cass insisted, "or else I’ll get Dick."
Tim groaned dramatically, throwing his head back to rub at his eyes. Cass takes this opportunity to save everything on the Batcomputer before shutting the computer down.
Her brother whines some more before Cass drags him out of the Batcave. When he didn’t move fast enough for her liking, Cass resorted to throwing him over her shoulder and calling it a day.
Tim yelped when she hoisted him up and over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes, but she very quickly submitted to his fate. Smart.
“Cass, do we really have to do this?” Tim whined, lazily kicking his feet, “I needed to finish the case!”
“Was not time-sensitive,” Cass said before kicking open the door to Tim’s room.
“But- But it’s the middle of the day!” Tim exclaimed, letting out a soft ‘oomph’ as she tossed him mercilessly onto the mattress. Tim made a last-ditch effort to escape, but Cass effortlessly quashed it.
Tim was stuck sulking as Cass reached up and snapped the heavy black-out curtains shut. She darted over to the bed, smiling down at Tim as she maneuvered his head onto her lap. Even if Tim didn’t bother to help her out, Cass was more than strong enough to manhandle her little brother.
“Ca-”
“Shhh,” she quickly interrupted whatever Tim was about to say, placing a hand over his eyes. All it took was a few seconds of silence before Tim’s breathing evened out and he melted like a popsicle in the sun.
Good. Cass doesn't doubt that he needed this.
Tim.
Tim yawned, stretching until he felt his joints pop. With a satisfied hum, he went about preparing a chamomile tea. It was the same tea that Janet had him make for her all those years ago for those few moments she was home.
He had deliberately avoided caffeine the entire day, and Tim forced back a smile as he recalled his family’s various appalled responses throughout the day.
Dick was there when Duke tried to hand a can of Monster. Tim had wanted it so bad, but he’d ultimately refused. His brothers had just stared as he walked out.
It was amazing.
Tim stifled another yawn as he added a spoonful of honey to his tea before taking a long, drawn-out sip. He could feel his entire body relaxing.
Just a few hours prior, Bruce and Damian had met up with Tim after patrol. Bruce had asked Tim if he’d wanted some coffee because, “You look tired, Chum”, but Tim had sadly, remorsefully, declined.
Damian had drawn a katana in response, stepping forward and demanding, “Where is Drake, imposter?! Drake would never turn down caffeine!”
It could almost be considered touching.
Tim sighed as he finished the rest of his tea. After taking a quick look to make sure that Alfred wasn’t near, Tim washed the teacup before putting it away. He then began to make the trek upstairs.
Behind him, many shapes seemingly materialized out of the shadows.
“Drake has clearly been taken and replaced!” Damian exclaimed, “We must find him and dispose of the imposter at once!”
“Hold on, Little D, let’s not be too hasty,” Dick tried to reason.
Jason smiled and decided to add fuel to the metaphorical fire, “I agree with the demon brat. Replacement would never give up a chance for caffeine, he’s a literal fucking addict .”
Bruce sighed, cutting in before things could truly get out of hand, “Boys. If Tim has been kidnapped and replaced, then Cass would’ve noticed by now.”
Cass nodded. ‘ Speaks like Tim, walks like Tim, and acts like Tim. That is not an imposter, it is Tim’.
“He could’ve been cloned, “ Jason shrugged, “got that little genius brain of his scanned and then uploaded to a body, or something.”
“You know, I can hear you,” Tim sighed, appearing behind and startling his brothers, who all had their backs facing the stairs.
“Imposter!” Damian roared before being restrained by Dick.
“You gonna tell us what’s going on?” Jason asked with a tilt of his head.
Tim rolled his eyes before beginning his trek back upstairs, “If you guys really have to know, I have a date tomorrow.”
…
“Baby Bird!”
“Replacement?!”
“Drake!!”