Work Text:
Summer went away
Still, the yearning stays
I play it cool with the best of them
I wait patiently
He's gonna notice me
It's okay, we're the best of friends
Anyway
It's a cold night in hell when Red Hood bursts into Titans Tower with the sadistic purpose of hurting the last Robin, his replacement, young millionaire Timothy Jackson Drake. It's one of many plans in Jason Todd's grand scheme to make Bruce Wayne regret his actions: let him die at the hands of the Joker, not avenge his death, replace him with this spoiled rich kid. However, the plans seem to go awry from the start. The boy, Timothy Drake, is half passed out on the couch, the computer open in front of him, hundreds of empty coffee cups around him. Jason clicks his tongue, starting to clear the table before thinking better of it, and the noise is enough to wake the young Robin, who jumps up startled, looking everywhere in blind panic. He should be terrified, if Alfred saw the mess on that table it would kill him... When his blue-gray gaze lands on Jason, his eyes widen like saucers. Jason can smell his fear and smiles under his helmet. Finally, something goes as planned!
"Hi, Timothy, do you like horror movies?" Jason purrs casually, as he pauses Scream IV playing in the background. The distorted voice from the helmet gives it a horror movie feel, and Tim's brow furrows further in response.
"Dick are you messing with the voice modifier on the hood again? B's gonna be pissed..." Tim mumbles then, rubbing his eyes, and Jason has to smack his forehead.
Is this kid really real? Has he even opened his eyes yet? Does he even have a self-preservation instinct in his whole body? Why isn't he scared?
"No, it's Red Hood, you fucking idiot. I'm here to kill you!" Jason growls in annoyance, taking off his helmet and setting it down next to Tim's computer, before walking to the kitchen to make himself a coffee. Talia's not paying him enough for this shit...
Slowly, the green in his vision begins to fade, giving way to mild irritation. Since the whole plan to kill the replacement has failed so miserably, at least he can have a nutritious early breakfast. Alfred will be proud of his life choices, Jason thinks, as he makes pancakes for himself and Tim. Fortunately, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee seems to lift the third Robin as if he were Dick Grayson on Christmas morning. As Jason flips the pancakes, Tim drinks coffee from the Darth Vader mug and begins to slowly come to.
* * *
The first thing Tim notices is the smell of coffee. Like a zombie, he walks to the kitchen and pours himself a cup. He's been awake for days now, no wonder he passed out on the couch like he did. He did, however, have some pretty strange dreams. Did Dick disguise as Ghostface, talking to him in his sleep about horror movies? Or was it Batman? And a red helmet, and a sexy voice... maybe he should buy that red Ducati he'd been pining for and modify it a bit?
Curious, Tim looks at the giant TV screen in the living room. It looks like Scream IV was playing... that means he's had about six and a half hours of sleep, almost seven. The movies play themselves back-to-back as soon as Tim falls asleep and stops typing on his computer. Whoever made the coffee, however, paused the movie. Tim frowns in annoyance.
"Superboy?" Tim asks in confusion when he spots the shapely silhouette of a muscular young man in jeans and a leather jacket with his back to him. However, something is wrong. The jacket is brown and not black, and no one was supposed to return to the tower until noon, right? What time is it? he asks between yawns, hoping that knowing the time will clear up his existential doubts and the mystery of his unknown visitor. Every now and then some titan from previous generations comes to visit the tower, although Tim is sure he recognizes all of them.
"I don't know if I should be offended because you mistook me for your meta boyfriend or not? "the familiar voice replies and when the young man turns around Tim gasps, it seems the only right thing to do when your biggest idol comes back from the dead. Robin...
"Is it really you? I thought you were dead... Your death made me so sad... Oh my God, Jason!" Tim sobbed, "I can't believe you're alive! Please, can I hold you...?" Tim whispers frantically, senselessly and it's only his caffeine addiction that keeps him from throwing his mug on the floor.
Across from him is Jason, aka Red Hood, now that Tim's brain is catching up he notices the red helmet in the living room. The young crime lord gives him a puzzled look, but it doesn't stop Tim from walking over to him and wrapping him in an awkward hug. Tim isn't much of a hugger, he hasn't gotten many hugs in his life, but he's wanted to hug Jason ever since he read what happened to him in that hellish warehouse. Tim is crying inconsolably next, but Jason just strokes his back affectionately and whispers kind words in Arabic. Tim can't understand much of anything, except for "baby bird," "everything will be okay," and "calm down."
Look at that, Dick's delusional theories turned out to be true: Jason is alive after all. Jason, his childhood platonic love, the second Robin, Bruce's son, and Dick's brother, has come back from the dead... He has returned to them... Tim owes the older vigilante an apology for taunting him... He should call the mansion, and tell them what's going on, but he's too shocked to move.
"I almost killed you tonight... Isn't that the worst thing you've ever heard, little birdie?" Jason whispers and Tim flinches at the familiar words. He's read them a thousand times before because they're engraved on his right arm: "I almost killed you tonight....". Tim is still marveling at the coincidence because he has finally found his soul mate. I didn't think something this good could happen to him. At first, his soul mate was dead, but then he came back to life. Jason then pronounces:
"Isn't it funny how the roles change? From enemies to soul mates," Jason retorts amused, and Tim winces in response.
Timothy Drake has been worried all his life, thinking that an enemy will be his potential soul mate. He never thought the right answer to the mystery would be the second Robin, his platonic love as a child, murdered by the Joker, returned from the dead and turned Gotham crime lord. However, Tim isn't scared of heads in a duffel bag, nor does he mind breaking the no-kill rule, as long as Jason keeps hugging and cooing over him like he does now. On his arm, the skin itches, and Tim watches mesmerized as the red words etch themselves into his skin. Intrigued, he looks at Jason's left arm. The latter grimaces, before taking off his jacket, leaving the words "Is it really you?" in full view of them both.
"What romantic words?" Jason scoffs, "What will your meta boyfriend think of that, replacement?"
"Soul mates can be platonic, this means nothing" Tim retorts instead, pragmatic about everything, even if he wants Jason to see him as more than a friend. "And Superboy is not my boyfriend" Tim adds annoyed, as he considers that maybe Jason expected Dick to be his soul mate. The words would fit, and who would want Tim as a soul mate when they could have the boy wonder?
"That's not what N's notes say, birdie..." Jason scoffs in amusement, oblivious to Tim's thought process.
"Superboy and I broke up weeks ago. He's dating Wonder Girl now... They're soul mates. They found out when he came back from the dead..." Tim retorts wearily.
Why couldn't he have a fairy tale too? Why couldn't Jason love him like Conner loves Cassie, with stars in his eyes, as if she were his sun, his moon, and the whole ever-expanding universe?
"Did you date that boy when he was only six years old?" Jason continued to prod him, oblivious to his deep sadness. "A little shady, if you ask me, replacement...".
"You slept with Talia, the mother of Bruce's biological son, the demon's daughter, and your jailer?" Tim retorts annoyed. "Or so N said... That's fucked up too".
"Jealous, little birdie? You shouldn't be... " Jason smiles, "I was half catatonic for half the time I dated her, and the other half it sucked spectacularly. We didn't even get past second base... And I'm gay, in case you missed that note from N".
"No one was sure...although everyone had their suspicions. You were a full-blown theater boy" Tim said amused, before adding. "And I'm bi, by the way".
"Great," Jason smiled. "A very useful tidbit, Robin, considering I would have slit your throat a while ago if it weren't for your lousy sleeping habits and Scream VI..."
"I don't believe you," Tim replied defiantly, "Red Hood doesn't kill innocents or children..."
"Do you really think you're innocent, birdie?" Jason scoffed, "Putting yourself in a dead kid's shoes, taking my place... that's fucked up, replacement".
"You didn't see it, Jason..." Tim whispered sadly, "Batman needed a Robin... He was incredibly violent, he was losing control!"
"Replacement, it seems you need to hear it a thousand times more than I do, so listen to me carefully: children don't save adults, adults save themselves. And if adults don't save you, then you must save yourself, do you understand? Because no one else will come for you, you are on your own. Robin is not untouchable and Batman is not infallible.... Take it from someone who died hoping to be saved from fate..." Jason growled.
"Are you quoting Shakespeare to me right now?" Tim asked with a frown. There was a desperation and a darkness about Jason Todd, and Tim wanted to hug the young man and bring him some warmth in the midst of the darkness, but right now Jason was more likely to cut his arm off than let him touch him again. Whatever they'd had a moment ago, it was gone. For now...
"A little folk wisdom, a little Taylor Swift wisdom," Jason grinned at him gesturing, before breaking the living room window and fleeing far away from there.
* * *
Five minutes later, Batman and Nightwing burst into the tower, a bit confused to see Tim in one piece, staring at the hole in the tower.
"Robin, report," Batman said, even if Tim was barefoot in his Star Trek pajamas, holding an empty coffee cup and staring contemplatively at the window through which Jason Todd aka Red Hood disappeared minutes before.
"I never thought Jason was a swiftie, but it makes perfect sense, doesn't it?" Tim asked the newcomers, "Besides, I think this Robin thing is getting old, B. I should get another identity, rent an apartment, and get away from the toxic shadow of my neglectful parents. Right? I should move out tomorrow or in a few days... I'll look for apartments in Gotham, maybe rent is cheaper in Crime Alley? I'll have to check the police department stats and draw a map to cross-reference data and find the best condo in the area... And what do you think of the name Red Robin, N?".
"Red Robin? Like Little Wing's first costume when he stopped being Robin? A bit obvious, don't you think he'll notice your crush then, Timbo?" Dick smiled at him with mock amusement, concern dancing behind his blue eyes.
Bruce, on the other hand, remained in contemplative silence, staring at the newly created mark on his third Robin's arm. That changed the plans, he and his team would have to modify how they would proceed with Red Hodd from then on. He couldn't send Jason to Arkham if he was Tim's soul mate, the boy would never forgive him or allow it, and one stray bird was too much for him.... If they both turned against him, neither Bruce nor anyone else could stop them.
Tim, indifferent to the concerns of his companions, ran the fingers of his free hand over the relief of the marks of his soul mate's words on his arm. "I almost killed you tonight" weren't the most romantic words in the world, Jason was right about that. And yet Tim was incredibly happy. All his life he had waited for this moment, the moment when he would find his soul mate and stop being alone. And even if he and Jason only loved each other as platonic friends, Tim would be fine with that, as long as he had the young rebel by his side.
He had to plan things well, this warranted a change of plans..... Tim had to consider what was best for Jason, though, what was that Jason had told him earlier? "You must save yourself." Was it advice or a warning? Either way, Tim had never backed down from a threat or a refusal before. He would work his way into Jason Todd's heart even if it took years.
Tim smiled at the San Francisco sunrise as he created contingency plans for his contingency plans. Jason wouldn't know what hit him when they finally met again on the rooftops of Crime Alley in a few weeks.
Read the second part: https://archiveofourown.org/works/55635928
