Work Text:
Rooftop Dive
Tim was practically bounding up the stairs to the rooftop. He had finally gotten access to the roof by giving some proof about who his parents were. Now he could get some really great shots.
This was an exciting moment for him because he was fairly certain that Batman would come here on his patrol, but he couldn't be completely sure Batman wouldn't shake up his patrolling pattern. This was the best he could do. He couldn't really read Batman's every move.
Tim opened the roof's entrance slowly and silently slipped out. If Batman were coming this way, which Tim was still fairly sure he would, he would have a few more minutes to spare before then. He cleaned his camera lens and found himself a nice little hiding place with a fairly good view. He doubted he would be caught if he stayed there. It had two walls to the right and left and provided a sheath of darkness. He only hoped that wouldn't ruin the lighting for the pictures. He almost yelped at the sound of a nearly silent thump and a flash of black.
A figure stood on the edge of the roof, black cape flapping about in the wind behind him. Tim's eyes were wide. Even though he had been waiting for Batman to turn up, he was still stunned. It was so exciting to have been standing there watching Batman so close.
Tim frowned as he lifted the camera only to realise that he wasn't going to get any good photos staying in his hidey-hole. He crept out silently as Batman scanned the city below. He was eternally grateful that Batman hadn't just jumped off and moved on. He crept closer to the edge, hoping to get a bit of Batman's face in the picture. He took another sidestep and another. He still struggled to find the perfect angle, so he took one last step, only to feel half his foot on stone. The other half met open air. His weight fell too heavily on that one foot, and he began to tip over the edge. He was falling . His breath caught in his lungs, stopping him from being able to scream.
He felt the rush of air through his hair and felt it blowing against his face. His eyes were screwed tightly shut. He was about to die.
Everything felt frozen and silent as Tim's head swirled horrifying thoughts of death through his mind.
Then the rushing feeling stopped. He was dead. Wasn't it too soon, though? He had only been falling for a moment.
"What the hell are you doing up here?!"
The deep voice startled Tim and he opened his eyes. A large arm was wound around his waist, holding him up. He wasn't dead? He wasn't dead! "I'm not dead!" Tim was about to laugh at how lucky and impossible it felt, but he was cut off by the voice again.
"I asked you what the hell you thought you were doing up here?" Tim paled when he realised the arm around him was Batman's.
"I was up here to-" Tim was completely frozen as he attempted to think. He couldn't exactly tell Batman, "Yeah, I'm up here to stalk you because I kinda know who you are." That would make a lot of problems for the both of them, unless Batman decided it was too risky and just dropped him off the building. Batman wouldn't do that, though, right? "-jump off." It took several long moments for Tim to realise what he had just said. His eyes went wide, because why the heck did he tell Batman that he was going to jump off? Now Batman thought he was suicidal, and he probably wanted to take Tim back to his parents, which was a problem because they weren't at home, and he couldn't let Batman know who he was. He was so screwed.
"Where are your parents?" Just as Tim had expected.
"I can't answer that," Tim replied honestly.
"And why exactly is that?"
What would he say? Batman wanted to know where his parents were, and Tim wasn't entirely certain that he wouldn't get himself in trouble by telling the truth. "Because I forgot where they said they were going this time."
Batman was frowning. "When should they be home?"
"I'm not sure. I have a nanny, but I think you would really freak her out if you came with me, so I'll go home on my own, Mr. Wayne," Tim said, trying to reassure Batman that he was fine on his own even if Batman might have thought that Tim had planned to jump off a building.
"What was that?"
Tim tried to think back to what he might have said. He paled. Did he really just say that? Did he just call him Mr. Wayne? "I don't know anything!!! I swear it!!!" Tim wasn't sure if he should try to run or just accept his fate and hope Batman wasn't willing to kill him to keep his secret as such .
"It's a little too late to say that." Batman lifted Tim and slung him over his shoulder before he had the chance to do anything.
Tim screamed. He was about to be thrown off the roof. He was going to die! He was going to be murdered by Batman! "Wait! Wait! I won't say anything! Please put me down! I'm really good at keeping secrets! My parents don't even know that I'm not actually going to Gotham Academy!" Tim gave Bruce a desperate look, but all he got in return was a frown. If he might have been screwed before, he was definitely screwed now. He was as good as dead.
Bruce was fairly certain that the kid had no idea how secrets were supposed to work. The kid probably would have told him everything to convince him to let him go.
Bruce sighed. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do at this point. Kidnapping a child wouldn't be a brilliant idea, but letting a child who knew his secret go free was an even worse idea. "What's your name?"
"It's Tim." At least Tim was willing to answer some questions for him.
"I'm taking you back with me, Tim." For the briefest moment, Tim looked excited, but then his expression turned to dread.
"Are you going to lock me up and keep me hidden from the world because I know who you are?" Tim actually sounded like he was convinced that he was going to be left to rot in some cell.
"No, but now isn't the time to talk about it." He pulled one of his grappling guns out and aimed it at a rooftop across the street. It latched on to the brick securely, and he leapt, holding the kid safely against his shoulder. As soon as Bruce's feet left the ledge, Tim began screaming bloody murder in his ear. Bruce was used to the weightless feeling of falling, but this kid definitely wasn't. He continued screaming, holding tightly to Bruce's body with an iron grip.
Bruce landed with ease.
Tim still held onto him with all his strength. He screamed for a little longer before his screaming broke off, and he was forced to take in huge breaths of oxygen.
"Why-" he broke off, gasping, "-would you-" another desperate gasp of breath, "-do that?!"
Bruce sighed. "I'll warn you next time, but you can't scream like that again."
"You can't blame me for screaming when you jumped off a building!"
Tim just sat on a squishy bed, pulling a loose thread from the duvet.
Bruce watched him scan the grey room, taking in all the open space, and the matching mahogany desk, wardrobe, bed, and shelves. Bruce was still dressed in the batsuit, but the cowl was off. He would have liked to have gotten dressed into something a little more comfortable, but the kid came first.
Neither of them spoke a word for a long time.
The thread snapped off.
Bruce sighed. "What's your last name, Tim?"
Tim thought for a moment, probably about whether or not he should tell Batman his real name. "Umm- Drake."
It only took Bruce a split second to recognise the name. "Jack and Janet's boy?"
"Yeah..."
Bruce frowned as something he had heard from them at a gala roughly two months ago resurfaced in the back of his head. "Haven't they been in Brazil for a month now?"
Tim winced slightly. "Well, I have a nanny, and I can take care of myself just fine."
Something about the way Tim said that didn't sound right to Bruce. "Does your nanny know that you're out now?"
"Uh- Yeah." Tim wouldn't have even been able to convince himself with that obvious lie, so he most certainly hadn't convinced Bruce.
"Call her, and tell her you are staying with a friend tonight." He waited for the boy's reaction.
There was a long awkward pause. "Well, actually..." Tim sighed and took a deep breath. "I lied. She doesn't exist."
Bruce frowned even though he had already expected it. He lifted his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, not failing to notice how quickly Tim flinched and scooted down the bed a bit.
"Tim, I'm not going to hurt you. Why did you flinch?"
"It's nothing. Really." It was another obvious lie.
Bruce looked down at his hand. "Is someone hitting you?" There didn't appear to be any discoloration on his face, but that didn't prove anything.
"It's nothing. My dad just disciplines me. He doesn't actually slap me that often, though." Slapping a child Tim's age seemed wrong, but he wasn't Tim's father, so he probably shouldn't have immediately felt anger towards Jack for how he disciplined his own son.
"When are your parents supposed to return?"
"I'm not sure. They don't always say."
Bruce made a decision right then and there, and, God, did it sound childish in his head, but he wasn't giving Tim back. "You're staying with me until your parents return home. I can't exactly keep you after that without their consent unless I expose Jack as being abusive."
"Abusive? He's not really exactly abusive. He only hits me sometimes. Mostly, he just throws things around the room. Rarely does he aim at me." Tim was defending him. Of course he was. He was his father. Tim was supposed to desire his father's love. "And Mom isn't as bad. She only hits me if I really annoy her. And she also stops Dad sometimes when he gets really mad."
"I'm not letting you go back there."
"What-" Tim's expression filled with shock.
"End of discussion. You can take this room. Alfred is making Sunday morning crepes tomorrow. Get a good night's sleep, Tim."
Tim just stared in disbelief as Batman stood and left the room. He was staying in Wayne Manor. He was Batman's houseguest.
Not houseguest. He wasn't going back home. He had been kidnapped, but it was a nice kidnapping. One with good intentions. Tim felt like that had to have a name. He couldn't think of what it might have been, though. Then suddenly it dawned on him. Even if he might have had the wrong idea, he understood what Mr. Wayne had done for him. At least, the rough idea.
Bruce ran a hand through his hair. He was seventy-five percent sure he had just adopted a new child. He wasn't planning on giving him back. Was that adoption or kidnapping?
The sound of the door opening caught his attention. "Thank you, Mr. Wayne."
Bruce turned back to see the face of a grateful child and gave him an encouraging smile. "You're very welcome, Tim. Now go to sleep."