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"Alright, baby bird, let's get you home," Dick said, guiding a giggling, swaying Tim out of the club over to his car. "Had a good time tonight?" Amusement coloured his voice.
"Soooo good," Tim slurred, then giggled, slumping further into Dick who had to readjust to not drop him.
He huffed when a stray limb flung into his chest and nudged Tim to continue stumbling forward.
"S'many hot guys," he sighed.
Dick almost tripped over his own feet and dropped Tim in the process. He took a deep breath and tried to dispel the protective (jealous) thoughts raging around. "Oh?" he asked, voice tight for reasons he didn't care to examine. He forcibly shook off his spiralling thoughts and righted himself, wrapping his arm more securely around Tim to continue walking them through the parking lot.
"Ohhhh yeahhh, nice'ands, nice'asssss-"
Another flying limb from drunken gesturing hit Dick in the chest. He grunted.
"Bu' not 'im. He wasn' there," Tim pouted.
He? He who? Dick carefully did not let his thoughts wander past that. 'That way madness lay' or something. Not that he had thoughts like that-
"He wasn'… wasn' there."
Except-
"Who wasn't there?" Dick heard himself asking as he manoeuvered Tim to lean against his car while he unlocked it and opened the door, then started trying to get all of Tim's flailing limbs inside. (He swore Tim was slippery as an eel sometimes.) Dick could tell himself he was just trying to make sure Tim stayed awake until he was fully secured in the vehicle. The lie was visible from Tamaran.
"He's'such'nice face, too," Tim bemoaned, far, far gone.
Dick fondly wondered just exactly how much he'd had to drink tonight. Tim didn't usually let loose, so Dick was glad he'd finally let himself have a stress-free night of fun. Although, given his drunken ramblings, Dick wasn't sure Tim would feel the same in the morning.
"Soooo preddy. He'za best," Tim sighed.
"Oh, yeah?" Dick was torturing himself.
"Mmhmm."
Tim's eyes slipped closed as Dick finally arranged him in the seat and fastened his seatbelt. He closed the door on him gently, not wanting to wake him up if he'd fallen asleep, and went around to the driver's side to get them back home.
Five minutes into the car ride, Tim started talking again. His eyes stayed closed so Dick genuinely had no clue if he was awake or sleep-talking.
"He's'such nice hands, nice 'ss, 'n smile, such'a preddy smile, 'n he's so nice, a'ways nice 'n helpful 'n kind 'n nice 'smiley 'n 'e's s'wonderful, y'know, so… 'e's so…"
Dick was gripping the steering wheel so hard he wondered distantly if it would snap. He couldn't help himself, he asked, prompting, "So…?"
Tim heard, somehow, or got another burst of sleepy, drunken energy, because he continued, "So beau'ful. 'mazin', perfe', 'ncredible."
Dick cleared his throat. "Have you told him?"
Tim's head flopped to the side so suddenly Dick just about had a heart attack thinking his neck might've snapped, before it rolled to the other side, shaking 'no'. "Nahhhhhhh," he drawled. "'e doesn' see me li' tha'."
"He doesn't?"
"MmmMmm."
"Why not?"
"'zz not 'llowed."
They were almost there. Almost at Dick's apartment where he could get Tim upstairs, into bed (Tim would be sleeping in his bed, his mind traitorously supplied), then Dick could shut the door and go lie on the couch and pretend he wouldn't be listening for any sounds of discomfort throughout the night, just in case Tim got sick.
But they weren't there yet, so Dick let himself have this. Selfishly, irresponsibly, stupidly, he wanted Tim to keep talking. "Why not?" he repeated.
He giggled, though his eyes remained closed. "'nattainable, f'b'dd'n, can' 'ave 'im. 's m'br'ther."
Dick nearly slammed on the brakes. He wondered if he heard that correctly. "What?" If it was Jason-
Tim let out a soft, blissful sigh. "M'br'ther. Dick. S'pretty."
Dick let out a frantic laugh. "What about Dick?"
"I l've 'im," Tim mumbled. "'m'in l've wi'im."
Dick wondered briefly if he'd accidentally driven them into oncoming traffic and this was the afterlife. Heaven or Hell, though, he wasn't sure. That'd probably depend on if he was really dead of not.
He continued, "M'old'r br'ther, Dick, th'preddy one. 'm'in l've w'im. …Bu' you can' tell'nyone that!" he exclaimed, eyes flying open and shooting upright in his seat so fast Dick automatically flung an arm out to the side to stop him from crashing into the dash.
Dick cleared his throat and kept his eyes on the road, gently nudging Tim back against the seatback. "I won't, promise." He swallowed.
"M'kay." With that, Tim slumped back and finally seemed to slip off to sleep, just in time for Dick to pull into his parking lot.
He parked and went around to the passenger side, opening the door slowly, gently so as not to disturb Tim. He undid the seatbelt, then gently manoeuvred him out of the car so Dick could carry him securely, bridal style. He locked the car behind him and carried Tim, passed out and drooling on his shoulder, up to his apartment.
It took some finagling to unlock his door while not letting go of Tim, now snoring softly in his ear, but he managed, and soon enough he was settling him onto Dick's bed.
He pulled the sheets out from under Tim, slow enough to not waken him, then carefully took off his shoes before tucking him in.
Dick stepped back. He watched him a moment, sleeping peacefully in his bed, hair a mess that Dick's fingers longed to brush away from his forehead and looking less tired than he did when awake. He looked… beautiful. Dick could admit that now, to himself, in the privacy of his mind, that he found Tim beautiful. That he wanted to be the man Tim rambled about, rambled to. The one who picked him up, drove him home, the one Tim came home to. He wanted to be Tim's.
And if tonight's drunken ramblings held any indication of Tim's true feelings for him… Tim wanted the same. Never in his wildest dreams had Dick ever imagined that happening. He'd dreamt, of course, had his fantasies in the deepest, hidden corners of his mind. But that was dreaming, he acknowledged that it'd never become a reality. Except, now, here, tonight… it had become possible. When morning came, maybe he'd take that leap and tell Tim.
Tim had asked him to not tell anyone… but did it count if it was Tim he'd be telling?