Chapter Text
Tim was not expecting to wake up to five different people staring at him.
He’d gotten blissfully used to waking up alone. Usually fairly cold, but alone.
And to make things worse, he knew exactly who those people were, which meant something had gone… wrong.
Like, for example, killing the Joker and not bothering to make sure he had the presence of mind to have an escape route ready.
Tim sat up and looked squarely at Bruce. “I’m going to leave now.”
That… did not have the intended effect. There were a lot of people yelling. Jason was… threatening to sit on him.
Huh.
“Tim, I thought we said we’d give it a try first?” Bruce said, very calmly.
Tim thought back to that conversation and shrugged. “No, I said I’d tell you if I was leaving. I’m leaving.”
At that, Jason stood up, marched across the space, and honest to god sat on Tim. “Yeah, no. Not gonna work.”
“I-- what? Hey, get off me-- I-- what?” Tim spluttered, finding his face suddenly pressed into Jason’s sweater.
“Not gonna work. You’re staying right here and you’re going to accept that there are people who can care about you. And then you’re going to see that we’re really not that bad.”
“I uh… I don’t need this. I don’t want this.” People to tie him down, people to watch him, people to change himself for.
As if he hadn’t forever changed himself for Jason. For Damian. For Bruce.
There was a polite cough and Jason shifted so Tim could see Damian, stood in front of the couch with his hands on his hips. He looked adorable. “Timothy, I am in no more need of this family than you are, however, as you once rightfully pointed out, here, it is expected that children have adults with them so as to ensure their safety. As it is with me, it is with you.”
Damian was… not quite right. It was different. He did actually need the love and he actually was a child, and Tim looked like a pre-teen, not a young child. And--
Someone walked over to stand next to Damian and Tim tilted his head up and swallowed. “Officer Grayson.” He hadn’t spoken with the man in years, not that he would remember it regardless.
Dick Grayson scoffed. “Nope, nope, none of that. You’re going to call me Dick, end of story. Look, I totally get it if you wanna say see ya later and never speak to us again.” Jason made an offended noise. “But I have also spent the past ten months hearing about you from B, from Jay, from Dami. B and Jay have spent the past ten months desperately trying to find you so they can make sure you’re okay. It would really upset them if you just up and left without giving it a shot. And I know Damian misses you, so lets give it longer than a few seconds before you go demanding to leave, yeah?”
Tim eyed him dubiously. Dick gave him a winning smile.
“I’m… I’m not… good. To be around. Not anymore.”
“Bullshit,” Jason snapped. “I’ve never been good to be around or whatever the fuck it is you think is wrong with you, but that doesn’t stop these jerks from caring about me.”
“Master Jason.”
“These jerks and Alfie.”
Tim leaned forward so he could catch a glimpse of the old man pinching the bridge of his nose.
“I’m not going to change and you’re not going to stop me from-- from doing what I have to do.”
Dick snorted, grinning at him, wide and disarming. “Sounds great, that’s the story of how I became Robin.”
Tim frowned. “I’m-- I’m not like you lot. I-- I crossed the line. Joker isn’t-- wasn’t the first person I killed.”
“We all work with heroes who are willing to cross that line. It doesn’t make you a failure,” Bruce said gently. “With the expectation of Damian, our choice not to kill is a personal one.”
Damian scoffed.
Alfred cleared his throat. “I daresay if Master Bruce had a problem with housing someone willing to end another person’s life, he would be out one butler. It is never a choice to be made lightly, but lightly is not how I would describe your decisions young man.”
Tim swallowed. “I don’t know how to care about people.”
“Tim,” Bruce sounded like he thought Tim was going to shatter into a thousand pieces, “that’s not true. If you didn’t care about people, you wouldn’t have brought my sons back to me.”
Jason nudged him gently and scooted off Tim’s lap. “Yeah, apparently you saved my life. Real apathetic of you.”
Tim glanced around the room, at soft expressions and open faces. He swallowed. “Why aren’t you guys listening to me?”
“We are,” Bruce said plainly. “You were just expecting your arguments to drive us away.”
Tim flinched. “I’m not the kind of person you want around.”
Damian’s face darkened further and Tim had to pick someone new to look at before he started crying again.
“Yeahhhhh,” Jason threw an arm around Tim’s shoulders. “I think I get to be the judge of who I do and don’t want around, don’t you?”
“I…” Tim’s shoulders slumped. “Okay. Fine. Just, don’t get mad when you realize you were wrong about me.”
“Thank you for trusting us, Tim.” Tim couldn’t look at Bruce, not now. Maybe not ever.
His parents, as it turned out, were not as accepting of a legal transfer of custody as they were of Tim just vanishing. Something about the public scandal of it all. So that was fun.
They’d lost the court case regardless, when Tim testified that he’d been gone for ten months and that they hadn’t even noticed.
He still wasn’t entirely sure he shouldn’t have tried to go for emancipation, but apparently ‘thirteen was too young to be emancipated.’ So he was letting Bruce foster him.
Damian had a firm grip on his hand as he led a slightly dazed Tim out of the court house.
“So,” Jason began as they emerged into sunlight. “Batburger?”
Dick shrugged, laying an arm across Tim’s shoulders. “Batburger sounds great. We should go get some.”
Bruce sighed, but smiled at his kids all the same. “Batburger it is.”
Tim didn’t even care when Viki Vale published a picture of him with ketchup all over his face.
He could watch over Jason and Damian, he could eat a warm meal every night and curl up in a warm bed to sleep, and he had people who cared about him. That, most of all, was confusing.
He was… home. It was perfect.