Chapter Text
Dick Grayson found himself at Wayne Manor for Christmas. It was supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year. At least that’s what the songs said.
All he wanted to do was punch something. Yet another Christmas where a member of the family was either missing, dead, or presumed dead.
Why couldn’t this family have one fucking Christmas like a fucking normal family?
Instead, Dick compensated for his foul mood by being excessively chipper. He pranced around the manor helping Alfred decorate, singing Christmas carols at the top of his lungs as he hung massive garlands from the rafters, put ornaments on the tree, and set about the knickknacks that were handed down through generations of the Wayne family. They each had some decorations they brought with them to the family, or had collected since joining their bizarre gigantic family, which were treated with as much care and respect as any other Wayne family heirloom. Dick put his own Christmas elephant on the tree. It was white and sparkled with the lights because of the cheap glitter. It had been a souvenir they sold at Haly’s circus during the holidays. Cheap, but more meaningful to Dick than the expensive, pretty bobbles that they had bought a few years back when the family had hosted a large Christmas party in the ballroom and had a dozen trees lining the room.
Tim’s ornament sat alone in the box when they were done.
Dick couldn’t bare to put it on the tree for Tim, but the thought of leaving it alone was worse.
They enshrined the little nutcracker ornament along with Bruce’s parent’s favourite decorations on the mantle. A place of honour.
Outside of their own special ornaments, the family began avoiding Dick as he decorated like a madman.
He was going to make it a picturesque holiday whether his family liked it or not.
After several threats of bodily harm and a few thrown knives, the presents were wrapped and the family room was decorated like a Hallmark movie. Now to just get rid of the blood spots on the carpet.
It was visually perfect. Their publicist loved the images they shot of a mock Christmas Eve of the family for their official social media and promotion materials for Wayne Fashions.
No matter what he did, something was missing, and there was nothing he could do about it.
He slumped into a chair as soon as the photographers left. Dick scrolled miserably through his social media to Tim’s unofficial page. Nothing new. Not that he expected something. The last posts about Tim at all were conspiracy theories about where Red Robin had gone, and the missing persons posts that had floated around the internet.
Nothing useful had come in through the tip lines either… Just a few calls that Jim Gordon had fielded for them with false leads trying to make a buck. Dick had looked into them personally anyways. Nothing.
Why was there nothing?!
Jason had even ignored Bruce’s orders and gone to Berlin. There was no trail to find. He had just disappeared into the wind.
Like Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing would fix this until Tim came home.
If he ever did.
Was he nothing now too?
Christmas day arrived without Tim.
They all went through the motions. Opening presents, being thankful. Being together.
At lunch, everyone’s phones beeped with an email notification.
The whole family had received an unexpected gift: an email from LBM with finalised sketches and details regarding their gala outfits. They were just as amazing as they had hoped they would be. The details added were perfect for each of their personalities, more than they had supplied in their emails.
What was the most surprising was the suit for Tim. It was just… him. It had words above it, and they certainly fit. Classy, serious, detail-oriented, and sophisticated which were certainly words they had given, but also rebellious and playful. They had not provided those.
The suit embodied those words. Black with crisp lines, gold thread, leather lapels, a red and gold lining with playful swirling lines (and a picture beside it of a cup of coffee with steam swirling above it where the inspiration had certainly come from) and pocket edging, a deep red vest with golden buttons, a black tie with gold striping. A more relaxed fit pant than they had ever seen on him before.
How had LBM managed to take their suggestions and still manage to read Tim better than they had? Nothing about their new suggestions hinted at the rebellious or playful notes they had put.
And yet… It worked. It was more him than they could have ever come up with on their own.
Just who the hell was this designer?
~~~~
Left alone on the couch, with the Christmas lights providing the only light, they settled in to cuddle. Mari rested her head on his chest. His heart was beating so fast, he was sure she could hear it.
“Oh, you could take photos around Paris!” she suggested. “In superhero poses. I have this line of clothes I’ve been dreaming up that are inspired by the miraculous I should show you later. I even made a few things based off of Rico and Multimouse. It’s not done yet, and just a rough sketch… but maybe when it’s done I could show you?”
“I’d love that.”
“Maybe you could even model for me if I take a few of the pictures,” she floated the idea at him. “You’d look amazing.”
That was a no, and he didn’t have the heart to tell her. Not unless he told his family where he was. That’d be a shock. Finding him in Paris working as a model. Hah. What a joke. He was no model. His scars ensured he would never be appropriate for that particular job.
“I’m pretty sure you’re biased on that one, Rin,” he teased instead of breaking her good mood with a flat out no. “What about Adrien?”
“I suppose. I know he would do it. Or maybe Juleka! I know she wants to be a model, and we did some shots before! Maybe Kagami will too.”
Marinette had grand plans. Ones that she was now adjusting to include him. Tim couldn’t help but think that Donna and Kori would help if he asked. Professional models and professional photographers would help elevate her brand more than Tim could as the nobody that Tim Johnson was.
Marinette knew her superhero line would be a big hit in Paris and would be a good starting point for getting interest in her other work. It was smart.
It was a disaster. The more she talked, the more his heart dropped. With the way things were now, he couldn’t be a part of this wonderful future she was envisioning.
Not telling her, and her one day discovering the truth, would destroy them.
Telling her and having her realise now that he had lied to her the entire time she had known him would destroy them.
Either way, one day, he would lose her because of his lies.
“Hey Rin?”
She continued on, lost in the flow and the passion that she had for fashion.
“Marinette?”
“What’s up? You okay? Oh, I’m sorry, I was totally getting ahead of myself. I didn’t even ask what you thought about it all!” Her voice had switched from the manic obsession to panic.
“No, no, that’s all fine,” he reassured her. “It’s a great idea. I just really need to tell you something before you continue.”
He felt sick. He could lose her. She hated liars. More than anything else, she hated liars. Lila had made sure that there was no place for liars in her life.
He had been lying to her since the day they met.
Kwami, he was going to lose her.
She would hate him.
“I haven’t exactly been truthful with you – or anyone – since moving here.”
She sat up and backed away. She was willing to hear him out at least. She hadn’t run from the room.
“My parents, Jack and Janet, were well-off. Like Chloe, Adrien or Kagami well-off. They died when I was younger. I didn’t have any siblings, so it all went to me.” He paused, hesitating to continue on. This was it.
“Oh, Tim…” she reached out a hand to console him. He took it, gladly.
“It’s fine. Well, not fine. I’ve accepted it. But… it wasn’t what I was going to say.” His parents, while something he definitely needed to talk to her about, wasn’t important right now. “I was adopted, which is better than what happens to most kids who lose their parents in Gotham. My adoptive father is the wealthiest in Gotham.”
“But isn’t that…”
“Yeah. Bruce Wayne. Rin…” This was it. “My real name is Tim Drake-Wayne.”
Her eyes went wide with surprise. She must be recalling the long post on Chatter where she discovered he was missing… and talked with his family. This was a nightmare.
Still, she didn’t say anything, and she didn’t run from the room, so he continued to dig his own grave.
“I ran Wayne Enterprises at sixteen when Bruce… wasn’t available.” He stretched the truth a bit. Missing in the time stream wasn’t a conversation for now. “I… just… I couldn’t do it anymore. I was working 24/7. I almost never went home to sleep or eat. I was living off caffeine until my body literally shut down. I was gone for work so much my family stopped noticing when I was home.”
Her surprise shifted to sadness. Her hand that grasped his own gave a small squeeze. He took it as permission to continue.
“It was killing me slowly. I lost myself in the work. I had to leave. I didn’t even know who I was anymore!” He took a deep, shuddering breath, realising he was ranting and getting overly emotional. The last thing they needed was a butterfly. “So I… I ran away. I knew if I left as myself, they would drag me home to start all over again. So I got a fake passport and travelled around Europe for the summer.”
He let out a wet laugh. “I was actually there the day your class had that field trip at Wayne Enterprises. I was supposed to be the one to greet you all before Bruce barged in. I stuck around… I heard some of you talking about travelling and all the amazing things you had seen and I just… realised I was missing out on so much. The class inspired me. So I came here… to join the class that made me realise how badly I needed to leave.”
Marinette leaned in, wiping a tear off his cheek that he hadn’t realised was there. He was crying.
“I’m so sorry. I wasn’t lying to hurt you. I know how much you hate liars. I swear, I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”
She hadn’t rejected him yet, but his mind panicked. This could be it, so he had to tell her now. He had to get it all out. To explain himself.
“I just wanted to get away. I wanted to find out who I am. I’m still me. I’m more me now than I ever was in Gotham, even with the wrong last name. I’ve wanted to tell you for ages, but I was never sure how. I don’t want to lose you.”
She pulled him in for a hug, and he cried as she rubbed his back, despite his attempts to reign in his emotions.
“It’s okay mon oiseau.” Her hand found his ring and rubbed it. “I understand. We all have secrets.” She touched her Multimouse pendant. “I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want to. You’re not going to lose me over something as silly as a name. Do you want to tell me about your family?”
She paused and her face blanched as she pulled out of their hug.
“Oh. Shit. Your family are the Waynes.”