Chapter Text
It was only a few days after their rooftop escapade when Tim was caught off-guard yet again by something that Hood decided to do. They were having dinner in his apartment like usual and Tim got up from his seat to take the plates over to the sink to wash them. They’d gotten into a routine where Hood would cook and Tim would clean up. Before he could even wrap his fingers around the edge of Hood’s plate, he was pulled into his lap.
“Hood?” Tim asked, wondering whether he should pull free or let himself be held.
“Tim. I want you to take off my domino.”
“What?” he asked, staring at the white slits of the mask.
“Take off my domino.”
Tim tried to pull out of his hold, but was kept in place. If he really wanted to, he could’ve had Hood on the floor so he wasn’t really trying that hard.
“I can’t just take off your domino.”
“Yes, you can. I want you to.”
“No,” he said, trying to pull away again. “This is your secret identity we’re talking about. You can’t just be so casual about it.”
“I’m not being casual about it. I’ve thought about this and I want you to know who I am. I don’t want there to be any secrets between us.”
Tim stopped squirming and stared at him. “You’re really sure about this?”
“Yes. And I want you to be the one who takes it off.”
Tim swallowed, nervous for all kinds of reasons that he couldn’t pinpoint. Well, he could. This whole situation was crazy. They’d only known each other for what, a couple weeks? Somehow a relationship had blossomed out of that and they’d gotten closer. Tim blamed Hood for all of that because he was the one who wouldn’t leave him alone after he found out who he was and then there was the kiss and things got even messier.
He raised his hands, forcing the slight tremble from them even though it was a big fucking deal that Hood was willing to give Tim everything and he didn’t even know about Tim’s other activities. He peeled back the edges of the mask, mindful of the spirit gum, and worked his fingers around the edges until it was barely sticking to Hood’s face.
“You’re sure about this?
“Absolutely, Timbo.”
Tim rolled his eyes at the name, but let out a breath before pulling the mask away. His heart nearly stopped at the piercing blue-green eyes that his gaze met. Hood smile, grin lop-sided and cocky, but Tim was sure that nervous energy was thrumming underneath his skin at this, too.
“Hi Tim, my name’s Jason.”
“Um…uh-um…” Tim stammered, searching for something to say even as Hood-Jason’s-mask hung in the air between them.
“What’s wrong, did I take your breath away?” he asked, voice sly, but Tim could detect the uneasiness that was hidden underneath.
“I-uh-it’s just…”
Jason’s grin slipped off his face. “This didn’t make things weird did it?”
“No!” At least that was one word that he could get out. “Sorry, this is just…new.”
Jason pursed his lips, obviously trying to suppress a smile. “Yeah, that’s the point.”
Tim continued to stare at him and took in his whole appearance. The white streak of hair that hung from the center of his forehead was brushed off to the side, helping to frame his face. For the first time, Tim noticed the stubble that grazed Jason’s cheeks. It had probably been a day or so since he’d last shaved. His jaw was rounded, but not in a way that made him seem baby-faced.
Pushing the fact that Tim now knew his identity aside, he was taken aback by how handsome Jason was. Sure, he’d sort of had his suspicions and Jason was in amazing shape like the rest of the vigilantes of Gotham, but now he got to see what Jason looked like underneath the mask. He blamed it on the eyes. He was a sucker for a beautiful pair of eyes and Jason’s captured his attention, his sharp gaze holding his own whether he wanted to look away or not. And he had no intentions of looking away.
Blindly, Tim reached behind him and set the domino on the table. Jason glanced to the side and watched his hands before his eyes met Tim’s again. Now that his hands were free, he let himself run them up through Jason’s hair, pulling out the tangles that had formed even before he got into the down and dirty of patrol.
Tim let his fingers settle at the back of Jason’s neck and ran his thumbs over his cheekbones, skin catching on stubble and tickling the pads of his fingers, even through the callouses. Jason’s eyelids dropped and his gaze filled with heat, lighting something low in Tim’s belly that he pushed to the side. He swallowed as Jason pulled him closer, pressing their chests together as they balanced on the narrow kitchen chair.
“So I take it you like what you see?” Jason asked, voice low and gravelly.
“Yeah…” Tim breathed. He looped his arms around Jason’s shoulders, closing even more distance between them.
Jason surged upwards and claimed Tim’s lips for his own. He was expecting something filled with heat and desperation, but was met instead with a firm, steady kiss. It loosened the tense places inside of him and Tim felt himself melting against Jason’s body. Jason’s lips were slightly chapped, but they matched his own. Warmth spread through his body and he wasn’t aware of how much he really needed to breathe until Jason pulled away.
He sucked in precious oxygen as Jason pressed their foreheads together, intense gaze boring into his own.
“Kiss me like that again, and I’m hauling your ass back to your bed, patrol be damned,” Jason said with a low chuckle.
The statement made the fire return to Tim’s belly with a vengeance, but he tamped down on it, knowing that would be too much to process on top of everything else. He patted Jason’s shoulder and pulled himself from the chair despite Jason’s reluctant grip that fell from his hips.
“Not today. You have to go patrol and I need to get this cleaned up,” he said, collecting the plates and moving over to the sink. He turned on the water, glad that he didn’t have to stand around and wait for it to heat up so he could start washing.
Seconds later, Jason’s warmth engulfed him as he wrapped his arms around his waist from behind. “This isn’t going to make anything weird, is it?” he asked.
“Of course not,” Tim scoffed, trying to brush aside the guilt that was quickly building until he could get Jason out of his apartment.
“Does this mean that I can see you during daylight hours now?” he asked, dropping a kiss on Tim’s shoulder.
Tim hummed. “Maybe if you get your butt out and go patrol. We can go out and get coffee. It’ll be quite the scandal with the reporters. I can almost see the headlines now.”
Jason chuckled behind him and Tim was relieved when he squeezed his hips and stepped away. “Okay, okay. I’ll go patrol and tomorrow we can grab that coffee?”
Tim scrubbed at a stubborn greasy spot that was hanging onto the plate. “Sure thing.”
He didn’t hear Jason gather his things, but the sudden breeze of cold air signaled his departure. Tim waited a few moments, wanting to keep up his façade that everything was fine until he was sure Jason was gone.
After several minutes had passed he relaxed and finished cleaning the dishes, leaving them to try in the drain board. The guilt returned with a vengeance and he hurried to his bedroom to throw on his Red Robin uniform.
Jason had said that he didn’t want there to be any secrets between them, but Tim was still hiding a huge part of himself that Jason didn’t even know or suspect about. He wasn’t sure how he was going to deal with everything, but getting out to patrol would hopefully clear his mind and help him figure out what to do.
~~
By the next morning, Tim had no clearer solutions as to how he was going to handle hiding that he was a vigilante from Jason, but he was tired enough that falling into bed after patrol and getting a few hours of sleep happened easily.
He’d nearly forgotten about everything when he woke up a few hours later and freshened up in the shower. That is, until his doorbell rang and he found Jason waiting for him on the other side.
“You didn’t forget about our coffee date, did you?” he teased.
“No, of course not!” Tim objected. “I just wasn’t thinking about it and we never set a time so I couldn’t exactly expect you.”
“You look kind of tired, everything good?” he asked, taking Tim’s hand in his own as they hit the sidewalk.
“Just had a late night, that’s all.”
Jason’s lips pursed and Tim fought down a wince because that wasn’t the best way to keep Jason in a good mood.
Before Jason could argue his continual point that Tim should just give up his work, Tim’s stomach growled, saving him from a fight he didn’t need on top of everything else.
“Looks like someone forgot breakfast.”
Tim blushed. “Like I said, late night. Slept in and didn’t have time for much more than a shower before you showed up.”
“Well then I’ll just have to make it up to you and buy you some food to go with your coffee.”
“You don’t need to buy me anything,” Tim spluttered.
Jason rolled his eyes. “I might not have to, but I want to. This is our first daytime date so give me the chance to be a gentleman, okay?” he asked, grinning.
Tim stared at him and opened and closed his mouth a few times. “Uh, yeah. Sure.”
“Perfect,” he said, holding the door for Tim as the sweet scent of ground up beans and warmth wafted out into the Gotham air.
~~
The date was probably the best thing Tim had experienced in a long time. Jason had been nothing short of a gentleman, buying his drink and a muffin and holding doors for him. He even asked, politely, if he could have a kiss after walking him home. Tm was overwhelmed and the internet headlines that were already sprouting did nothing to help mend the gut-wrenching guilt that was still spreading because Jason didn’t know about his vigilante activities.
It was probably one of the reasons why he was so distracted when he went out to patrol that night. He threw himself into every fight that he came across, being more reckless than he usually would, but he felt he needed it. It was what he deserved for lying to Jason about this other part of his life when he’d already been so open and honest with him.
He hissed when a bullet cut through his side from one last goon who was refusing to go down. Tim hit him in the head with his bo and zip-tied him before putting in the call for the GCPD to come do pickup. He stumbled to the roof, hand pressed against his side. His blood was already slicking his glove.
“That’s going to need stitches,” he mumbled to himself as he aimed his grapple to a building across the street. He’d be able to make it home since he was close enough, but it wasn’t going to be pretty.
He crashed onto the roof of his apartment, rolling painfully across the gravel before he struggled to his feet. He made his way down the fire escape and into his apartment, managing to leave a clean trail until he fell through his window and got blood on the floor.
He groaned and staggered to his feet, one bloody hand going to the wound at his side and the other to the wall to steady himself. He breathed through the pain and once he gathered the will to move, he took cautious steps forward, keeping a hand on the wall to stay steady as he moved towards the bathroom. He knew that he was leaving a trail of blood, but he couldn’t really be bothered by that when he was still bleeding.
Tim nearly sobbed when he stumbled through the door of his bathroom and leaned against the wall. He tossed his gloves to the floor and pulled his domino mask off, hissing as the glue pulled at his skin uncomfortably.
He unclasped his cape and let that fall to the floor, adding his utility belt to the pile before he pulled the first aid kit from under the sink and sat down on the toilet seat. He pulled at the clasps of the top of his uniform and worked it open so that he could get to the wound on his side. His hisses and groans nearly caused him to miss the sound of his window opening.
His breath caught and he looked at the pieces of his uniform lying on the floor and the open door.
“Tim?!” Jason called from the living room, panic evident in his voice.
Tim struggled to get to his feet so he could at least shut the door, but Jason was there before he could get to it. His helmet was already gone, but he was still wearing his domino which meant Tim had no idea what he’s feeling. He worked his mask free and Tim watched as his eyes rove over the uniform pieces and finally up to his side where he was still bleeding.
“Sit,” he said and Tim did, relieved to be off his feet. He leaned against the sink and watched as Jason sat down on the side of the toilet, pulling his gloves free before digging around in the first-aid kit.
“Jason-“
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, dabbing at the cut with an antiseptic wipe. “I guess this explains why you’re so good at fighting.”
Tim sighed and closed his eyes. “Yeah. I’m not sure if all of your questions are answered by this or if you just have more questions.”
“Most of them are answered. I get why you kept insisting that you couldn’t stop your work now. But what I don’t get is why you had to go undercover if you’re already a vigilante.”
Tim shrugged and Jason smacked him for moving while he was trying to start the row of stitches. “I wasn’t getting much intel as Red Robin so I thought it would be best to try and put myself in the midst of it all. I was getting good information and had the chance to move in on the operations and that’s when you showed up and sort of turned everything upside down.”
Jason nodded and continued working, drawing a hiss from Tim.
“Sorry,” he murmured.
“I was going to tell you,” Tim blurted. “Or, I think I was.”
Jason quirked an eyebrow, but kept working.
“I felt guilty because you told me your identity, but I was still hiding this whole thing from you and I didn’t like it. I wanted you to know, but I didn’t know how to tell you.”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Jason said, cutting the thread and packing up the first aid kit. “It was a lot and you shouldn’t have felt obligated to tell me anything.”
“I’m sorry,” Tim sighed.
Jason took Tim’s hands in his own. “There’s nothing for you to be sorry for. What’s happened, happened. The real question that I have is, do you still want to date me?”
“I feel like I should be asking you that. I’m the one who was keeping this from you.”
Jason smiled. “Yeah, but it’s not like you were cheating on me.”
Tim returned Jason’s smile and leaned forward, meeting Jason for a kiss.
“Come on,” he said, helping Tim to his feet. “Let’s get you cleaned up and into something more comfortable and then I think the two of use deserve to have a night on the couch watching some stupid movie.”
“Sounds great,” Tim said, wrapping his arms around Jason’s shoulders and pulling him down for one more kiss.