Chapter Text
Tim’s first week at Wayne Manor is a lot. A lot of emotions, a lot of chaos, a lot of surprises. It switches so fast between eventful and incredibly ordinary that it gives him whiplash. As Bruce told him, one of the first things they do is move most of Tim’s belongings out of his apartment. It’s a little…sad, to be honest. Tim’s happy to be moving into the manor surrounded by all these amazing and loving people. But this is still the place he first felt at home, where he could be as messy and weird as he wanted and not face any consequences other than tripping over his own shit on the floor. So, it feels a little bittersweet as they pack up his clothes, books, photography equipment, and all the random things he’s accumulated over the years.
He’s still keeping the apartment, though, at least for now. So that makes things a little easier. Both emotionally and physically. They leave all the furniture and his bedding and most of his bathroom stuff along with most of his posters and wall decorations, all things they have at the manor or can easily buy more of. Plus, it’s hard to feel too sad when Dick drove all the way from Bludhaven to help pack but is really only here to provide background music and Tim can hear Jason and Damian arguing about the proper way to pack his photo albums and skateboards from the room over while Bruce keeps unsubtly side-eyeing him and giving him random shoulder squeezes and hair ruffles and Cass and Duke facetime Steph and Babs as they transfer boxes out to the car. So really, it’s not all bad.
When they’ve finally relocated all of Tim’s boxes to his new room in the family wing, the same guest room he’s been staying in, Tim has to sit down for a bit. There’s so much to unpack and he has to figure out where he wants to put everything and it feels so similar to the weeks right after his parents died when he was doing all this all by himself, and even though it’s so different in so many ways this time around Tim’s still completely overwhelmed. The Wayne’s all leave his room without having to be asked, throwing an offer of help if he needs it over their shoulders. Tim sits on his new bed just breathing and not thinking about how much his life has changed in such short months.
Eventually, after Tim doesn’t know how long, Jason knocks on his door carrying a plate of Alfred’s cookies and they lay on the floor not currently occupied by boxes watching a bunch of “Batman’s funniest fails” compilation videos until Tim feels more human again. And when they’ve finally finished unpacking all his boxes and putting his things where he wants them, Tim feels the weight on his chest lighten. This whole thing, moving in with the Waynes, it feels…more permanent now. And not in a way that makes his throat tighten and his hands shake but in a way that makes his brain think yeah, this is good. I’m safe now.
Which Tim promptly ignores—lest he dissolves into confused but relieved tears—as he heads down to the dining room and scarves down Alfred’s delicious pasta with the others. Emotions are for later. Now is for eating the best food he’s ever had with the people he feels safest with.
The second week is where everything hits him. And it hits him hard. He’s left sitting curled up on the hardwood floor next to his bed in the early morning light, squeezing his knees so hard his fingernails leave marks as he tries to breathe through the panic.
His mind is an endless loop of I almost died, Black Mask almost slit my throat, my parents are dead, my parents were murdered, they hurt me, they didn’t love me, I loved them, I wanted them, I needed them, they’re not here, they were never here, what am I doing, I can’t do this, everyone leaves, I’m gonna be alone again, they’re all gonna lea—
Alfred’s the one who finds him after Tim apparently misses breakfast. He quietly comes through the door, sees Tim on the ground and then for only a few minutes before coming back with a weighted blanket and hot tea. Alfred sits on the bed above Tim until his breathing has settled into a slightly more even pace before going to open the door. Bruce walks in only milliseconds later, like he was just waiting in the hall or something (he actually might have been, Tim wouldn’t be surprised) and sits down across from Tim on the floor. Which can’t be good for his knees or his back based on the noises his joints make as he sits down, but Tim doesn’t say anything about it in case Bruce decides to leave. Alfred heads out to go make lunch, giving Tim a head pat as he leaves, and then it’s just him and Bruce.
Bruce speaks quietly, reluctant to break the serenity of the room. “Would you like to talk about it? Or would you prefer a distraction? Or we can give you some space.”
Maybe Tim would want to talk about it at some point, but for now, “A distraction.”
Bruce stands up and Tim huffs as he exaggeratingly clutches his back. Bruce helps him up and Tim decides to leave the blanket but take the tea as Bruce leads them to his study. Tim settles in on the couch while Bruce goes to the desk and grabs a stack of case files before joining him.
“So,” Bruce starts, picking up the file on top and handing it to him, “tell me what you think of this one.”
Before Tim even notices, 4 hours have passed, and they’ve solved 2 cases and made major headway on 3 others. Tim’s impressed by how quickly time passed bouncing ideas off each other and even just sitting in silence as he and Bruce each worked on their own thing. It’s not long before Alfred calls them to dinner and they meet the others in the dining room. Between the quiet hours spent with Bruce and the lively banter around the table, Tim feels sufficiently distracted. The anxiety from earlier still lingers and he’s sure it’ll come back with a vengeance when he lets his guard down. For now, though, he feels comfortable and calm, at least compared to earlier, and that’s enough.
It’s not until the beginning of his third week of living at the manor that he actually notices Alfred and himself are the only people home for the day. It makes sense. Damian and Duke have school, Dick’s in Blud, Jason and Steph have their college classes, Bruce has work and appearances to keep up, and Cass…well he doesn’t actually know where Cass is. Probably off doing something badass. Tim wonders if this is actually the first day everyone’s been out of the house at the same time, or if he’s just oblivious. If it’s the former, he’s curious to know if that was done on purpose. It seems likely, seeing as he’s basically had a rotating schedule of Waynes to hang out with every day.
Either way, Alfred’s busy keeping the manor from falling apart so Tim’s on his own. He hasn’t been to work since his attempted murder, doing all his reports, budget checks, and whatnot from his computer. So, now’s probably as good a time as any to go check with his own eyes that his company hasn’t burned down. He gets dressed in respectable clothing, tells Alfred where he’s going, politely declines his offer for a ride, and then walks down to the Bristol bus station he’s so familiar with and heads to DI.
As he makes his trek from the large glass doors to the elevators, he’s politely—and in the case of the younger employees, enthusiastically—greeted by the various people he passes. Alright, so far so good. He makes it up to the management floor and begins the treacherous path to his office. When he gets all the way to his secretary’s desk without being stopped by a single board member or affronted supervisor, he’s suspicious. This is odd.
“Um, Haley?” he tentatively asks, as he reaches his office door.
His secretary/assistant/favorite employee looks up from her monitor and smiles when she sees him. “Mr. Drake! You’re back. What can I do for you?”
“Where exactly is everybody? Usually, I’ve been sucked into 3 different conversations by now.”
“You haven’t heard?” she asks, puzzled. At his blank stare, she raises her eyebrows. “Oh. Well, I guess I should catch you up then. At least 20 employees, including 4 board members, were arrested this weekend. Apparently, they were making deals on behalf of DI with some Gotham criminals. I’m not sure where they got the evidence from, it all came so suddenly, but the police did a whole investigation. I’m surprised no one contacted you about it.”
Huh. Right. That. Tim almost forgot about all of that. He clears his throat. “Right. Thank you, Haley. Have we started looking for new hires?”
“I’ve already got a list worked up and ready to send to you to look over. And I’ve also got a record of everything that happened while you were out, in case you’re curious.”
“Perfect. Thanks, Haley. Send me that list later, would you?” he asks as he pushes through his office door.
Tim gets to work right away, checking on all the different department heads and the progress the R&D department has made. He scans through the list of employees and board members that were arrested, completely unsurprised to see Donald Hannaway that sleaze and some of his pushiest directors on there. Tim goes through the list of new applicants to fill the vacancies, picking out who seems like the best fit and sending it to HR for approval.
Then…well then, he has a bit of a conundrum. He’s missing three board members and the chairman of the board, so DI’s big decisions are at a bit of a stand-still until he can fill those spots. But there’s also an idea forming in the back of his mind, an impulsive one, but an exciting one too. He contemplates the various consequences of going through with it, the best ways to make it work, and who he can trust to carry it out well. Eventually, Tim comes to a decision.
He strides to his office door, peeking his head out to find Haley. “Haley, could you pull up some documents for me?”
She looks up at him, before turning back to her screen. “Sure thing, boss. What am I looking for?”
“Could you send me the files on the supervisor of the low-cost med tech project? Melanie Brooks, right?”
“Yeah. You want her accreditations and resume or her DI portfolio?”
“Both please,” Tim responds. “And can you go ahead and schedule a board meeting for Wednesday? I’ll need their approval before moving forward.”
Haley gives him an unreadable look. “Of course. You gonna tell me what you’re planning?”
“I’ll let you know as soon as I figure it out myself,” Tim says with a smile.
Tim doesn’t make it back to the manor until 7 p.m. He was easily sucked into his work, planning out strategies and preparing everything he needs for the coming weeks. By the time he finally pulls his attention away from his laptop, it’s 6:40 and he has several unread text messages from the Waynes. Two are from Bruce, one asking when he plans to come back to the manor and the other asking if he’d like a ride home. One message is from Alfred, sent only ten minutes ago, telling him there’s food in the fridge whenever he comes back in case he hasn’t eaten yet. The rest of the texts are all from Jason.
Jay (4:07)
timbo you went to work????
is it because half of your employees were arrested??
cause that happens all the time in Gotham
(4:09)
that’s a hyperbole but you get the point
let me know if you need anything
(5:13)
are you coming back soon
timmmmm
(6:17)
you’re gonna miss Alfie’s pot roast
imagine choosing a boring office over Alfred’s delicious food
(6:32)
okay i know you’re probs doing that thing where you’re so focused the
outside world ceases to exist but some proof of life would be nice
(6:37)
timothy i swear if you got kidnapped again
Tim (6:41)
Can’t you track my phone
i don’t hear from you all day and that’s the first thing i get????
...
yes ofc I can track your phone but unlike Bruce i understand privacy and i
wouldn’t resort to tracking you unless i was seriously concerned for your wellbeing
Was that not you being seriously concerned?
no that was me being mildly worried
Right
I’m headed back now btw
fucking finally I need you on my team for monopoly
Monopoly doesn’t have teams
the way we play it does
wait how are you getting back home
Umm the bus?? Obviously
...
you can’t see it but im giving you a disapproving look rn
If you don’t shut up I’m not teaming with you for monopoly
Tim texts both Bruce and Alfred to tell them he’s headed back and makes it out of the building and to the manor without incident (take that Jason). He decides to stop by the kitchen first, where he finds Alfred washing dishes and cleaning the counters.
“Sorry I missed dinner Alfred. I got caught up in my work. Do you need any help with the dishes?” he offers.
“It’s quite alright Master Tim. I made sure to save you a plate,” Alfreds responds kindly. “And I can handle the dishes. I believe the rest of the family is waiting in the game room.”
“Right, right. Where’s the game room again?”
Once Tim heats up his leftovers and finds his way through the maze of hallways to the game room, he does indeed find the rest of the manor’s inhabitants there. They’re all gathered around the coffee table, some on the floor, some sitting in armchairs pulled up to the table. Jason catches sight of Tim in the doorway and waves him over. Tim takes the empty spot next to Jason on the couch and starts digging into his pot roast (truly the best thing he’s ever tasted) as Jason catches him up.
“As you can see, we’ve already dealt out the money and picked out our figurines. Steph and Cass are on a team and so are Duke and Damian. Bruce is on his own and the main goal is just to beat him, got it?”
“Sure,” Tim says, “one thing, though.”
“Yeah?”
“I actually don’t know how to play Monopoly,” Tim confesses casually.
Jason spins around from where he was counting their money, jaw agape. “You’ve never played Monopoly?!”
“Nope.”
“Your parents never played board games with you?” Steph asks.
Tim glances around the table. “Is that a serious question?”
“Okay, moving on,” Jason interjects. “That’s fine, Tim. Monopoly’s simple.”
“Yeah, until you add all your crazy rules,” Duke scoffs.
“They’re not my rules. Take it up with Bruce and Dick, they’re the ones who made it complicated. Anyway,” Jason claps his hands, “Let’s start. Tim can learn as we play.”
And so begins the most confusing, yet incredibly entertaining game of Monopoly Tim’s ever witnessed. Apparently, stealing money from the bank and from other players is allowed, but if you get caught, the person who catches the stealer chases them around for 2 minutes and if the stealer is tagged, they have to pay everyone 100 dollars. There’s also the rule that if you or your team reaches $10,000—“billionaire status”—you have to “redistribute your wealth” by giving every player $50 each time you pass GO until you get down to $8000. It’s all very convoluted and Tim wonders at what age Dick and Bruce came up with all these extra rules because it seems a bit much for a little kid to create.
During the two entire hours it takes to finish the game, Tim learns very quickly that Bruce is a master at Monopoly. And as competitive as the kids are with each other, they’re way more willing to unite in order to defeat Bruce. It takes less than ten minutes for Tim to pick up the rules of the game, and as soon as he does, he’s throwing out strategies on how to take down Bruce. Technically the winner is whoever is the last one standing after every other player has gone bankrupt, but really the goal here is just to make Bruce go bankrupt and then they all win. After several failed strategies, many chases throughout the house, and a lot of arguing, Bruce finally goes bankrupt after landing on Duke and Damian’s property. Immediately, cheers echo around the table as Tim and the others celebrate, high fiving and yelling as Bruce groans in defeat and tries not to smile at their excitement.
“Alright, alright,” Bruce speaks over their chatter. “Nice job, kids. But it’s starting to get late and some of you have an early morning tomorrow. So, let’s pack it up.”
Duke, Jason, and Steph all groan dramatically while Damian sighs and Cass shares a commiserating look with Tim. They all clean up the game and grab their stuff as they head to their respective rooms to get ready for either bed or patrol. Tim veers off to go to the kitchen to rinse off his plate but is then caught by Bruce as he makes his way back to his bedroom.
“Hi, Bruce,” he greets, confused, as he stops short by the grand staircase. “Did you need something?”
“I just wanted to ask how your day was,” Bruce answers kindly. “How was work?”
“Oh, it was good. I got a lot done. I—uh, didn’t mean to skip dinner. I tend to get absorbed in my work. Sorry I missed your texts.”
Bruce gives him a comforting smile. “It’s no problem, Tim. I’ve been guilty of the same more times than I can count. Everything go okay? No problems after the arrests?”
“Oh no it was all good,” Tim reassures. “We’re already working on hiring new people and I’ve got plans to compensate for the loss of revenue now that we’re not dealing with criminals.”
“Well, good. I’m glad DI has you as CEO. You’ve been doing a great job,” Bruce compliments.
Tim tries really hard not to blush but he’s pretty sure he’s only mildly successful. “Thanks Bruce,” he utters softly. He’s about to start wrapping it up so he can head to his room when he remembers. “Oh, um, about that actually…” he starts. Bruce looks at him expectantly as Tim swallows. “I was—uh, thinking about what you said a few weeks ago. About possibly stepping down as CEO. I’ve started looking at possible candidates for a successor, so I can take the chairman of the board position. That way I can still be involved with DI and it’s projects, but I’ll have more time for other things, like maybe going to college. I don’t know…”
“That sounds like a great idea, Tim.” Tim looks up to see Bruce smiling at him. He squeezes Tim’s shoulder as he says, “I think that will be good for you, not having quite so much responsibility right now. And you’ve proven yourself more than capable of running DI, so I know you’ll do a lot of great things by staying on the board.”
Tim clears his throat, trying very hard to maintain eye contact. Man, he really needs to get better at accepting compliments. “I’m glad you approve. I plan to continue as CEO for a few more months while I stabilize the company and sort the whole transfer out. And I still have to apply to schools and figure out where I want to go and all that. Plus, I’m not even sure college will really stick. I was never the biggest fan of school. But I felt like I should at least give it a shot. See where it goes.”
Bruce shocks him by saying, out of nowhere, “I’m very proud of you, Tim.” When Tim glances up at him surprised, Bruce gives him a small smile and continues, “I know this last month hasn’t been easy and you’ve had to go through a lot of difficult changes. But you’ve handled it very well. Do you…” Here he hesitates. Which is just baffling because since when does Batman hesitate about anything? “Do you feel like this has been good for you? Moving in, I mean,” Bruce finishes, a little uncertainly.
“Oh,” Tim pauses, somewhat stunned. Immediately, Tim’s ready to say it’s been great, that Tim’s doing great. But he knows Bruce wants an honest answer and would be able to detect any falsehoods anyway. “Well…yes. I think moving in has been good. I’m still…getting used to it. Gaining my bearings, I guess. I’m not used to being around so many people, especially people who…”
Bruce tilts his head in consideration. “People who care?” he suggests, a bit sad.
Tim huffs a soft, resigned laugh. “Yeah, basically. Anyway, it’s all a little weird for me. But not in a bad way,” he reassures.
Bruce sighs, seemingly relieved. “Well, good. You’ll let me know if things get to be too much? We’re all happy to give you space.”
“Yeah, I will. Thanks, Bruce,” Tim says sincerely.
“Sleep well, kiddo. I’ll see you in the morning,” Bruce utters, laying a hand on his head as he walks past.
Tim makes his slow way back to his room, ready to change into comfortable clothes and crawl into bed but pauses as he reaches his door.
“Ummm what are you doing?” he asks Jason, who’s leaning against his doorway typing on his phone.
“Waiting for you, obviously,” Jason replies, giving him a did you hit your head look as he puts his phone away.
“Okay,” Tim drawls. “Why?”
“You wanna watch a movie?”
“Don’t you have patrol soon?”
“Nah,” Jason replies. “I’ve got an early class tomorrow morning. Cass is covering my route. So anyway, movie?”
Tim sighs. “Fine. But I get to pick.”
Jason lifts his hands, conceding. “So long as you don’t pick one of Dick’s cheesy Hallmark movies, we’re good.”
“Oh don’t even pretend like you hate those,” Tim teases as he passes by Jason to grab his computer from the desk. He slumps on his bed next to Jason saying, “I know what books you read, you sap. You’re totally a romantic.”
Jason kicks him in the leg. “Pull up your movie, you little shit.”
Tim does, and they settle down and get comfortable. About twenty minutes into Back to the Future Jason nudges Tim’s side with his elbow. Tim glances over, finding Jason looking at him expectantly.
“What?” Tim asks cautiously, furrowing his brows.
“Stop looking like you expect me to push you off the bed or something. I just wanted to ask you a question Timbo,” Jason says quietly, as he rolls his eyes.
“Fine,” he huffs, smiling. “What’s your question?”
Jason’s face suddenly looks a lot more serious, even in the dim light. “So…you’ve known about Bruce being Batman since you were nine, right? Meaning you knew I was Robin when we first met and became friends.”
Huh. Not what Tim was expecting Jason to say. “Yeah, that’s right,” he whispers, wondering where this is going.
“Is there a reason…that you never told me about your parents? I mean,” Jason clarifies, “obviously there were a lot of reasons you didn’t say anything. I just mean, was there something I did to make you feel like you couldn’t trust me?”
Tim is genuinely so flabbergasted by even the idea of not trusting Jason with his literal life that it takes him a minute to comprehend what’s happening. Once he registers the slight hurt on Jason’s face that he’s trying to hide, he rushes to explain. “No, what? Of course I trusted you. You never did anything to make me think I couldn’t.”
Jason nods slowly, seemingly accepting this. “Alright. So, you not being honest about what was wrong had nothing to do with trusting me with it? Even knowing I was Robin and could have helped you.”
“No,” Tim shakes his head instantly. “That was never the issue. Honestly, I…there were so many times I almost came out and said it. I was just…scared, I guess. I knew I could tell you, I was just afraid of what would happen when I did. And then later…I’m sorry I told Dick before telling you. That wasn’t intentional. I just—I had a nightmare, and it just came up. I should’ve told you sooner.”
Jason’s already shaking his head before Tim even finishes. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for, Tim,” he says softly. “I get it. Now and back then. You were never obligated to tell me. It just hurt to know you were hurting, and I couldn’t do anything about it. And I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did when it all came out, getting upset like that. You know I was never mad at you, right?”
“Yeah, I know. Are we good?”
Jason flicks him in the forehead. “We’re always good, dumbass. Now be quiet so I can watch the movie.”
“You’re the one who started this con—”
“Hush,” Jason commands as he smacks Tim in the face with a pillow. Tim doesn’t hesitate to hit him right back and soon they’re wrestling and laughing, and trying desperately not to be too loud, but failing miserably when that only makes them laugh harder. Eventually, they settle down and Tim picks up his laptop from where it fell on the floor during their scuffle. They get back to watching the movie and before Tim knows it, he’s struggling to keep his eyes open.
At some point, Jason notices and Tim is vaguely aware of him huffing above his head. “Just go to sleep, baby bird. We’ll still be here when you wake up.”
If Tim wasn’t so tired, he would adamantly protest the nickname. As it is, he just feels warm and lethargic and Jason’s words ring true in his drowsy brain. He feels secure in the knowledge that even if Jason has left by the time Tim wakes up, he’ll only be a phone call away. And besides, there’s an entire family of vigilantes waiting in the wings with love and support for whenever he’s willing to accept it. With that understanding, Tim easily drifts off to sleep, no longer afraid of waking up to face the day alone.