Chapter Text
Chapter Five
Things fell into an ordinary rhythm. Tim was back to normal the next morning, sitting on the aisle, hauling my book bag and fretting over me. It was my busy day, so I stayed focused on class. Tim finally agreed to stop walking me around, and I found that most people left me alone.
Steph was excited to see me during communication class, and we sat side by side. She chattered all about her self-defense course she was taking this semester, and once class was over, she decided to walk me to my next one. We parted ways and after that class I met Tim in the library’s café.
“Let me.” He took my bookbag and handed me a hot paper cup. “And here, for you. Hot cocoa with whip cream.”
“When did I tell you my order?” I raised my brow sipping the drink, it was the perfect temperature.
“Lucky guess.” He smiled. “Do you need a rest before we journey home?”
“No, I’m okay.” My back felt lighter without all my books. I adjusted my new coat and fixed my arms in the sleeve. “But I have a side quest today.”
“Yeah?” He held the door for me as we exited the library and headed to the bus stop.
“I need a job.” I hung my head low. Shame swept over me like a hot blanket. Reaching my age without having worked was a privilege I wasn’t ready to admit.
“Oh, I can help you look. Maybe Dick has something at the police station open?” Tim paid his fare for the bus then I paid mine.
“That’s a good idea. Only, I don’t have a car.” I took my seat by the window. “I was thinking about that corner store close to my house too.”
“Not there.” Tim balked.
“Why?”
“It’s a front for a bigger operation, if you get my drift.” He was quiet, glancing around the bus for anyone who might be listening in.
“Noted.” I let my shoulders sag. “It needs to be walkable. And the pay has to be decent enough.” I frowned and rested my head against the glass of the window.
“We can look around.”
The rest of the bus ride we shot ideas around. Nothing really seemed like it was perfect, but I was willing to try anything safe. After a few hours of walking around and asking businesses we ended up at the Wayne house. Slipping off our shoes, we slugged into the kitchen. Damian was covered in flour holding a cast iron full of lumpy looking biscuits.
“Welcome home, (Y/n).” Damian presented the pan and set it on the table.
“You need a pot holder, Dami.” Tim rushed to pick up the pan with the over mitt on the end. “O, that’s hot.”
“Here.” I grabbed a pan holder from beside their stove and laid on the table. Tim placed the bread and we both eyed the suspicious pan.
“I made it for you.” Damian was a little puffed up, his arms crossed and chin held high.
“Just for me?” I felt my stomach rumble. Dick had sent sandwiches for lunch today, and it didn’t stick with me at all, though I was grateful for the lunch to begin with.
“Yes.” Damian grabbed butter and jelly from the fridge.
“None for me?” Tim prodded, sitting at the table and holding back his smirk.
“If (Y/n) allows it.” Damian sat the fixings down and took a seat beside me. “Please indulge.”
“I will, thank you. And of course Tim can have some if he likes.” I didn’t particularly trust Damian’s cooking, and with the look Tim was giving me, I really shouldn’t. However, if I was going down, so was Tim. I took the smallest section of biscuit and smeared it with butter and grape jelly. Taking a chaste bite, my mouth was filled with a flour pocket.
“How is it?” Damian watched me intently sitting on the edge of his seat. Tim quickly handed me a glass of water and sat at the table.
“Wonderful.” I raised my brows and took another bite; this time the bread was actually cooked and decent enough. “Who taught you to cook?”
“Grandfather Alfred, I was only five when he passed, but I remember his recipe with ease.” Damian puffed up his little chest and sat in the memory for a moment.
“He must have been quite the cook.” I took another piece into my mouth and sipped my water.
“Dick can’t hold a candle to Alfred.” Tim smiled with his mouth but not his eyes.
“My mother, she is, was a great cook too.” I swallowed down more bread. “I learned next to nothing from her.”
“Hey kiddos.” Dick poked his head in the kitchen, his Gotham City Police Uniform hugging his body…he was soaked in something.
“What happened to you?” Damian pinched his nose, the smell finally hitting me.
“You took a dip in the sewer, didn’t you?” Tim stood and ushered Dick towards the bathroom.
“You guessed it. Chasing down evidence has its down sides.” Dick paused and locked his eyes on me. “Good to see you, Little Bird.”
“Good to see you too Dick.” I didn’t know how I felt about the new nickname. They kept using it, and it was becoming normal, but I didn’t know where it was coming from.
“Off to the shower.” Tim pushed Dick on down the hall, the smell lingering.
“He’s going to get an infection.” Damian shook his head. “He’s ruined your appetite too.” Damian grabbed the bread from the table and shoved it in the oven for later. “Jason will have to finish it.”
“Oh, it was delicious.” I blew a puff of air from my mouth and nodded towards the door. “Want to go to the park?”
“Of course.” He put on his coat and followed me to the door. I still had my new coat on, even though it had warmed up some during the day, it was the nicest item I owned at the moment. I needed to look nice for my job side quest. Plus it was getting dark now, and I needed some warmth.
We walked towards the park, and I realized we didn’t tell anyone where we were going. “Oh we need to head back.”
“Why?” Damian paused, we were only a block away from the house.
“We didn’t tell them we were leaving.” I started walking back and Damian followed behind me.
“I rarely do, but they tend to send someone after me when I do.” Damian sighed, walking ahead with ease.
“Right, we need to make sure we don’t scare…” I noticed a nice car slowing down and rolling down their window.
“Hey fatso, what are you doing with the kid?” My blood went cold; the car held two men inside. Their hair was nicely cut, shirts ironed and slacks well fitting. Socs.
They had never bothered me before, which was a lie. They would yell as the car passed by, but never stopped to start a conversation. I didn’t blend in as well as I used to. What should I do? My thumb started to twitch in my pocket and I took a deep breath. “We don’t want any troub-“
“Go pester someone else.” Damian was stalking closer to the car’s window and I grabbed his collar.
“Is that so?” The brunette driving put the car in park. “Twerp.” He slung open the door, and his blonde buddy pushed his door open, but I slammed it back.
“Hey, you can’t talk to us like that.” I squared my shoulders. There were several things going through my mind, but the number one thing was run.
“Bitch.” The blonde one was definitely mad now. He reached into his pocket and I nudged Damian to go, but he stood frozen in place.
“We don’t want trouble, but we don’t need disrespect from you two goons.” I pushed Dami but he still didn’t budge, so I did what I knew to do. I picked him up and slung him over my shoulder. Then the next step, scream. “Dick! Jason! Tim!” I yelled at the top of my lungs in quick succession.
“Get back here.” I didn’t make it six yards before the blonde’s hand gripped my hair and threw us towards the ground. I rolled Damian to the side.
“Run!” Damian spun a few times from the sidewalk to the road. He got up, and reached into his pocket, and pulled out a switch blade. Why wouldn’t he listen to me? “Damian run, please.”
“Cute, kid.” The blonde had me by my hair, moving me at his will. I was on my knees, hands gripping my hair trying to stop the pulling.
When I took note of the situation, I noticed the brunette hadn’t shown up yet. I tried to look back but was roughly pushed further into the concrete. “Now scram while I feel merciful. Listen to your big sister.”
“Unhand her.” Damian wielded his blade. When did he get a blade?
“Go home, Dami.” Tears pricked my eyes. My knees grinding into the hard concrete. “Get Dick.”
“You have three seconds to let her go.” Tim? “One.” The blonde loosened his grip, but didn’t let go in time.
Crack.
“Too slow.”
The blonde fell beside me, eyes rolling back into his skull. I whipped my head back to see Tim, looking scarier than I’ve ever seen him. His lips were thin, one hand in a fist the other gripping a brick, and his eyes were focused on the blonde knocked out cold beside me.
“Damian!” I clambered to my feet. “Get out of the road.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him back to the sidewalk.
“Where is the other guy?” Damian looked me over, putting his blade back in his pocket.
“I took care of him.” Jason emerged from the shadows.
“What just happened?” I shook my head, my heart still racing in my chest. I smoothed my hair, my scalp burning. “Tim, are you comatose again?” Taking the brick from his hand I tossed it to the ground. “Talk to us.”
“How dare they.” Tim bit his tongue looking down at the blonde. “How dare they mess with you and Damian.”
“They are safe now Timmy.” Jason gripped his shoulder, but his eyes were scanning me and Damian up and down.
“We are both fine. Thank you.” I looked at the blonde at my feet. “What do we do about them?”
“They should have learned a valuable lesson.” Jason popped his neck. “Let’s head back to the house and regroup.”
“Yes, let's get home.” Damian was shaking just a little. I didn’t want to patronize him, so I just patted his back. We all were walking away from the scene, Jason was by the side walk and Tim by the alley. Damian walked in front and I led up the tight middle, so I slipped back just a little bit. Which was a mistake.
“Whore.”
The next thing I knew, Jason had my wrist and Tim pushed me into Jason’s side. When I turned back, I barely saw it, Tim taking a brick to the side of his face. The blonde had gotten back up and was aiming for me… the brick I tossed down by his hand.
“No.” I screamed, but Tim didn’t go down. In one swift motion Tim drove his fist into the man’s stomach. Once the blonde doubled over, he butted his head to the man’s. The blonde went down and stayed down this time.
Jason held me close; I was shaking like a leaf. His hands were caging me into his frame, his head resting on my mine in an attempt to swallow me whole. My heart was practically papillating, my hearing going out for just a moment, as if I had been hit instead.
“Tim, are you okay?” Damian spoke first. None of us moved, blood slowly oozing down the side of Tim’s head.
“Is (Y/n) okay?” Tim closed the gap between us, running his hand down the side of my face. Jason backed up, and let me free. It was much colder without his presence.
“I’m fine.” I assured him, laying my hand over his on my face. “Thank you. You didn’t need to take a brick to the head for me.”
“I’d do it again.” He forced a small smile, his long dark hair blowing in the wind. His pupils were blown and a concussion was a very real concern.
“Let’s hope not Lover boy.” Jason pulled a hankie from his pocket and pressed it to Tim’s wound.
“Let us head home.” Damian gritted his teeth.
The walk to the Wayne’s was quiet. Damian held my hand on the way back, insisting that I needed the comfort. He was really the only one to talk. We had just left two men on the ground and their car running…two very well to do men. It would be hopeful to think they learned a lesson about messing with us, or they’d be after revenge. I didn’t want to dwell on it.
Dick was waiting on the porch, his eyes scanning us over. He sighed and opened the door for us. It was about time for Tim to get some sleep before his shift at the lab. Which meant that Jason would disappear into the night, and Dami would roll out to the park. It also was the time I usually bounced.
“Do I want to know?” Dick pulled out a first aid kit off the counter top…did he know to have it prepared?
“Nothing we couldn’t handle.” Jason sat at the table, which was odd. I thought he’d be rolling out as soon as he got us back to the Wayne home. He was definitely worried about Tim.
“Right.” Dick sighed. “Alright, Damian, go do your homework.”
“Is this because the adults are talking?” Damian growled, but followed orders, pausing in the bedroom door to get his answer.
“Partly, now go do your school work.” Dick had Tim on the kitchen counter, wetting a cloth and dapping the blood that dried and still oozed down his face.
“Will he be okay?” I balled my hand up in my shirt, looking at Jason. Jason’s knuckles were split and bruised. I grabbed some ice from the fridge and passed it to Jason. Our fingers brushed, and it sent a shiver down my spine. Maybe it was the ice, or maybe it was the mystery. Who was Jason Wayne? I felt like I was starting to know the other three, but Jason was always in the shadows.
“I’m right here.” Tim pouted, pulling my attention back to him. “I’m fine Little Bird, don’t worry about me.” He offered up a smile, his teeth shining under the stove light.
“It’s good to have people worry about you.” Dick glanced at Tim and Jason. “Makes you remember what’s worth protecting.”
“I worry enough without a fight breaking out.” It was true, I was a worry wart. It was a new trait, but mortality had never felt more real than it had recently.
“Don’t worry too much.” Jason pulled the kitchen chair out beside him and had me sit. I carefully sat and watched as Dick patched up Tim.
“What happened out there?” Dick didn’t spare me a look this time, but I knew he was asking me.
“We had just turned around to let you and Tim know we were headed to the park. We just left without much thought. But when we started walking back, we were only a block away so I didn’t- how could I know?” I clamored for my words. “Well, a car with two socs pulled up and insulted me. Damian got a little fired up and I escalated things by slamming a car door back on the blonde soc. The brown haired soc, I lost track of him shortly after.”
“I was out looking for you.” Tim admitted, his eyes locking with mine. “ After I helped Dick in the shower, I worried about you two being gone. So I went outside, knowing you two love the park. Then I heard you scream and I knew you were close and in trouble.”
“I saw the car, and rushed to you two as fast as I could. I stopped the brunette, but I was too slow for the blonde.” Jason banged his fist against the table. “I was just on patrol.”
“It’s a good thing you were both there.” I breathed a sigh of relief. Even if I couldn’t have screamed in the moment, Jason was already there and Tim was close by. Damian would have been okay. That was a comfort.
“You and Damian both need to be more careful. I’ll have a talk with him in the morning.” Dick helped ease Tim off the counter. “You’re good as new, brother.”
“Thank you, Dick.” Tim tentatively touched his face. “Am I still handsome (Y/n)?” He didn’t smirk like I expected, it was more vulnerable.
“Who said you were ever handsome?” Jason teased him, causing Tim to lowly growl.
“Jason.” Dick sent a warning.
“You took a brick to the face for me.” I stood up, closing the distance between us. This was the first time I realized he was slightly taller. “I’d say you’re more handsome.” I kissed his cheek, resting my hand below his wound and planting my lips on the opposite side.
“Get a room.” Jason walked towards the makeshift gym in their living room, there was a bench press and several weights.
“Don’t be too jealous.” Tim chided, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me into a hug.
“Huh?” It took a moment for me to wrap my arms around him, but he did just take a brick for me. Not that I owed him, it just made sense that he needed some comfort after that scary moment.
Tim got close to my ear and whispered. “I’m just glad you’re okay. You did a good job tonight.”
“Oh.” I swallowed hard and pulled back from him. “I’m sorry you got hurt. But I’m glad I made the best of a bad situation.” I didn’t whisper, but I didn’t care for anyone else to hear.
“It’s getting late. Won’t your cousin wonder where you are?” Dick held up his car keys.
“Yes, I should probably get home.” I grabbed my book bag and waved by to Tim and Jason as I walked outside. “Bye guys. Thank you for looking out for me.”
“It’s their pleasure.” Dick laughed to himself, opening the passenger side for me to hop in.
“Thank you.” I plopped into the low seat; it was an older car with no seat belt.
“I hate to admit it, but I think Damian has a little crush on you.” Dick had an open mouth smile. “If there’s one thing we taught him, it was to run home when someone tries to start drama. Now, where he’s a kid most people ignore him. But the ones who stop are not as kind.” Dick drove past the scene of our fight and the car was gone along with the men. “He knows how to fight, but he’s just ten. I’d rather he head home. However, him trying to defend your honor is cute.”
“We almost got roughed up.” I countered. “It wasn’t cute, it was so dangerous. What we both did was stupid. Also he wouldn’t run when I told him too. It could have been much worse.”
“He wouldn’t leave you. I wouldn’t expect him to. He really took after our grandfather, very proper and… a strong sense of justice like our father.”
“I assume your father isn’t with us? I know your grandfather isn’t.” Maybe Dick did know something about what I was going through.
“They both died in a car crash. I was just twenty when they died. I had moved to Bludhaven, started working towards the Olympics for my gymnastic abilities, and got a girlfriend. I was cool for the first time in my life, finally free of the greaser title. I was somebody.”
“What happened?” I looked at my finger nails, plucking at my cuticles.
“After they died, I had to move back home. We sold our house we couldn’t afford, and I moved us to the side of town we could manage to pay for. Jason was fifteen, Tim was thirteen and Damian was just five. As we aged up, we all started working to raise the one below. I got Jason through trade school and now we are working to help Tim through university.”
“But you gave up your dreams?” I scratched my head. “What about your life in Bludhaven?”
“When your family needs you, you come running.” Dick pulled up to my home, my aunt’s car was in the driveway.
“I have no one left to run too. Not in the same way you would for your brothers.” I opened my door. “Thanks for the ride. Get back home safely.”
“I’ll watch you walk to the door.” Dick assured me, and watched me till I was safely inside.
Once inside I noticed my aunt was passed out asleep in her room, the door open. She was still in her apron. I shut her door, and went to the bathroom door, but it was locked. My cousin was in the shower, so I went on to our room and stretched out on my bed after dropping my bookbag in the corner. I didn’t mean to fall asleep but I couldn’t stop myself. I once again wanted to talk with my mother, but there was no point thinking about it now.