March 30 , 2017March 30 , 2017Posted in BrothersLeave a comment Even as he typed mindlessly at his laptop , making sure the security around the penthouse was up to date as he wouldn 't have as much free time once school started , Tim couldn 't help but glance out to through the window . He had an amazing view of the city , the New York skyline definitely outdid Gotham 's in almost every way , and he could only imagine what it would be like to swing from building to building . Every now and then he could just barely make out a figure he assumed to be Spider - Man and it only made him more anxious to leap out from his balcony . Tim returned the smile Tom shone his way , but immediately thought back to Tom 's daycare appointment a few hours before . Tom was getting along well with the other kids , starting to socialize as well as he could at his age , but Ms . Garrison did note he was somewhat quieter than the other kids . She 'd stressed that it wasn 't anything to worry about , but her suggestion to talk as much as possible to introduce his little brother to new words was something he took to heart . When the tub was had a few inches of water , Tim let Tom enjoy his duck as he worked some shampoo into his hair and explained , " You 're getting a haircut tomorrow , Tommy . We both are , but I guess it 's more special for you . " He didn 't know how Ra 's kept Tommy 's hair short , he might not have even needed a haircut being fresh out the pit , so Tim decided , " We 'll just call this your first hair cut . It doesn 't hurt at all , your hair is already dead any so you don 't have any pain receptors there , but I know some kids are scared . You should know there 's nothing at all to be scared of and you might even enjoy them later on . . " When Tommy was finally settled into his crib , Tim left him with his bottle and turned his attention to cleaning up . Tomorrow was going to be their last day of summer break and Tim wanted to keep everything in order so he wouldn 't have too much to focus on . The last thing he wanted to do was make more work for himself . The appartment was already set up . Tim had a lot of free time without any work to do , even more once Tommy started daycare , and he was finished a few weeks after they 'd moved in . Now his days mostly consisted of browsing the internet looking for anything interesting . In his more desperate moments he almost considered opening one of the textbooks just to have something to do while he was bored . Deciding to sleep in on his last day of summer break , Tim was able to drown out the world until he heard his phone ring from under his pillow . His mind already hated just who would be ruining his last chance for a day in until he read Alfred 's name . He cautiously pulled it up to his ear as he asked , " Hello ? " Taking a moment to read off the paper , Alfred answered , " They intended to send it to a school in New York . Midtown Manhattan Magnet . " Although he had an answer in mind , Alfred asked sternly , " Do you know anything about this , Master Tim ? " Tim took a moment to come up with a passable lie , but he knew he couldn 't get it past Alfred if his tone meant anything . Instead he explained , " They must have sent it to the wrong address , Alfred . GA probably still has the Manor on my file and I never changed it . " " Hmm , " Alfred said disappointed with the useless answer . " I planned on giving it to you in person , but your apartment was empty . Someone informed me you 'd moved out months ago . " " I 'm assuming you 've moved to New York . If you don 't mind giving me the address I can bring the forms to you later today . I 've been informed classes for your new school start tomorrow and we wouldn 't want you falling behind . " His tone spoke to how little room for argument he was willing to leave , but he knew Tim would try . Tim knew he should have expected as much from Alfred . " It 's the penthouse , Alfred . I 'll have the front desk buzz you up when you get here so you don 't have any trouble . " Ending the call , Tim made sure he didn 't have anything urgent on his schedule . The hair stylist would be here soon and finished before Alfred showed up so there wasn 't much else to do . A trip to a nearby store wouldn 't hurt , Tommy needed new shoes as he was starting to outgrow his current ones , and it wouldn 't hurt to get him a jacket . Tim had been hoping to spend most of the day in the park , they probably wouldn 't see much of it once the school year started , but Alfred might be up for it as well . It was certainly a change of pace from the drug and crime infested parks in Gotham . The only other thing was to make sure M - cubed had his transcript , but that only took an email . Once that was sent , Tim went through his morning routine before going to check in on Tommy . It was a struggle to get Tom to let go of his hair when it was time to eat , he even tried drinking the droplets , but soon enough Tim had him settled into his chair and focused on his food . Tim make extra food for Alfred in case he decided to stay long and focused on cleaning up while he had the time . It wasn 't that the apartment was dirty , but Alfred 's standards were very different from Tim 's . It would be even more important once Alfred learned about Tommy . " We 're going to have some visitors today , Tommy . The first one is going to be a nice lady who 's going to cut your hair . Just so you know , I know it can be a little scary the first time , but it doesn 't hurt , " Tim repeated as he made his way through his cereal . " After that an old friend of mine is coming over . He 's going to drop off some papers and talk over some things . He doesn 't know about you , nobody really does , so you have to make sure just as cute as you always are . " He finished off with a quick kiss to Tom 's hair before leaving to put the dishes away . Tom tried to respond , but he could only make a few short spurts of noise before giving up to play with his shirt . Nevertheless Tim made sure to listen intently and answered , " You 're right . I don 't have any need to worry . You 're going to be fine today with Alfred and you 're going to be fine tomorrow at daycare . " When the dishes were done , Tim left Tommy in his room with his toys to make sure everything was settled for school . He still didn 't have a response to his email , he didn 't expect one so soon , but he focused on making sure he had all of books and supplies . Tim wasn 't usually so worried about school , it came easily to him , but now he had so much free time he couldn 't think of anything other than worrying . It was a special kind of intense . Running her hand softly through Tommy 's hair , Cameron noted , " It is pretty long and thick . He 's going to have a full head of hair when he gets older . " Turning back to Tim , she asked , " Does he pull at it a lot ? I know some kids like to try and pull their out , especially when it 's long and starts to bother them . " " Okay , " Cameron said happy with the answer . " If you can pull out the chairs you 'd like to sit in , we can get started . What kind of style would you like ? " Examining him closely , she stated , " You 'd look good in almost anything . " Tim immediately flashed back to him at 13 and the kind of haircut he 'd expect him to get right now . A mohawk would have been too tame for him . He reminded himself that he was grown now and said , " I guess it should be about medium length , long enough for me to run my fingers through , and messy . I 'd need to do a lot less grooming if it 's supposed to look disheveled . " Tommy was the first one up and visibly grew cautious as he was forced into his chair . He craned his neck as far as he could to see what was happening and visibly hated it . His gaze moved from Cameron to the scissors to Tim silently asking for help . Interpreting the look as duress , Tim sat down beside Tommy and reminded him , " Everything 's going to be fine , Tommy . It doesn 't hurt at all . You pulling at my hair hurts more . " When it didn 't help at all Time pulled out one of his toys to try and distract him while asking , " You want to tell me more about this little guy . You have a lot to say yesterday . " Tom took the figure into his hand before throwing it to the ground and trying to figure out what Cameron was doing behind him . He didn 't like the way she was touching his hair and his instincts told him to be afraid the scissors in her hands . As soon as she got too close for his comfort he shrieked and tried to break out of the chair . Cameron was quick to calm his concerns . " It 's nothing to worry about . A lot of kids are afraid of their first haircuts ; it 's pretty normal . Some still can 't handle them for years . Tom will be fine . " " It looks great ! " Tim said pleased . A quick look to his side showed him Tommy didn 't share that sentiment and Tim sighed , " If only he thought so too . " By the time they were back in the apartment Tim estimated he had fifteen minutes until Alfred would show up . That gave him just enough time to rush Tommy to his room and get him out of his dirt caked clothes . Tom had found a puddle interesting and and his already frail grasp of walking failed him . Once they were both cleaned off , Tim settled Tommy back into his playpen , used the tv as background noise , and scrolled through his email looking for a response . Reading that the issue had already been handled , M - cubed contacting GA directly for a copy of the transcript when they didn 't get a response at first , Tim sighed and put his iPad aside to see what his little brother was trying to make with his blocks . He noted , " You need to build a stronger base if you want to make the tower that high , Tommy . If not it 's going to fall over . " At the silence that followed , he pitched his voice higher and responded to himself . " I love you too , Tim . You 're the best big brother ever . I want to be just like you when I grow up . " " No need to get prissy , Tommy . He 's only going to be here for a couple of hours at most , " Tim said as he rushed to the door . He opened it with a sincere smile and said , " Hello , Alfred . It 's nice to see you . Please come in . " Tim chose to ignore the implication to lead Alfred to the living room . Reaching down from behind the couch to raise Tommy in the air , Tim decided it would be best to rip the bandage and explained , " This is my little brother , Tommy . I 've had him since the last time we saw each other , so about three months . " Alfred was shocked , but after giving himself a minute to grasp the situation he reached out to pat Tommy on the cheek before and took him into his arms . Bouncing him a little and mentally connected the dots , Alfred said , " I 'm assuming he is the reason for your leaving Gotham . " Still , he had to asked , " What exactly happened ? He looks far older than three months . " " He 's just over a year old ; his birthday was August 7th . Dana was pregnant when she was in the hospital , but it wasn 't something a lot of people knew . I thought they 'd both died , but Ra 's brought him to life in the pit . I 'm still a little blurry on the details , but apparently it won 't have an effect on him because he never really died . He was just born in the pit if that makes sense . A few months later Ra 's contacted me , he said he waited so long because wanted to make sure there wouldn 't be any side effects , and I got him the night after we moved all of my stuff out of the Manor . " " It 's Thomas Jonathan Drake . " At the curious glance , Tim explained , " Dana picked it out before she died . She told me about it and I decided not to change it . " Tim knew Alfred would be disappointed in the answer , he seemed to really enjoy spending time with Tommy , but he knew it would be best to be honest . " Yeah . It 's not really something I want to spend a lot of time thinking about . " " He 's been pretty good . He doesn 't cry as much as I thought kids do and he doesn 't throw a lot of tantrums , " Tim said hoping to change the subject . " He mostly goes with everything I say although today was an exception . " At Alfred 's raised eyebrow he explained , " We were getting our hair cut today , but Tommy was afraid . He was upset just at seeing me get my hair cut , but he came around on that pretty quickly . " " I must insist , Master Tim . I 'm aware that my time With Master Tom is going to be limited , but I do intend on making the most out of it as possible . " Glancing away from Tommy as he tried to reach for his glasses , Alfred explained , " I consider him to be a member of my family just as you are , Master Tim . " As soon as he was back in his chair Tommy expected lunch and his disappointment when Tim placed the scissors on the counter was evident . Alfred gave him a stern look before he could think of voicing his concern and instructed him to sit straight . " We wouldn 't want for this to end in disaster , Master Thomas . People aren 't going to be impressed with a boy with messy hair . " Tim knew the final point was directed at him , Alfred 's distaste for his hair was well known to everyone in the Manor , but he chose to ignore as he found one of Tommy 's favorite toys hoping it would distract . When he did look up to see Alfred examining his own hair cut , he offered , " It 's better than what it was before . At least now I don 't need to tie it up . " " I would appreciate it , Maste Tim . " Alfred wasn 't used to someone else offering to cook him a meal and he wasn 't going to let the opportunity pass . At the very least he wanted to see just what Tim was feeding his grandson and if it would require any intervention on his part . " That sounds excellent , Master Tim . " Combing out Tommy 's hair and urging him to keep his attention on the song the dog in his hand was singing , Alfred added , " This shouldn 't take too long . Master Thomas does has impressive hair for his age , but it 's to be expected if we take you into consideration . " Tim was busy setting up the table , but as soon as he was finished he lifted Tommy up and asked , " Now who are you ? You can 't be my little brother because he 's not as cute as you . " Lowering him from his line of vision , Tim pretended to look around wondering out loud , " Where could he have gone ? He was just here a few minutes ago . " He raised and lowered Tommy a few times , pretending to be deep in thought , until Tommy started laughing and Tim gasped , " I 'd know that laugh anywhere . You must be my Tommy . " Holding him closer , Tim asked , " Is that you , Tommy ? I 've been looking everywhere for you . " The noise Tommy gave him in response was more like a cackle , but Tim pretended it was and answer and returned him to his seat with the explanation , " It 's time to eat , Tommy . I know how energy consuming a haircut can be . I 've had 17 years of experience . " At that response Alfred 's head shot up from where he was sweeping the floor . It took him a moment to realize Tim had had a birthday in the months he 'd been away from Gotham and he hated himself all the more for not realizing . The day had gone by without anyone realizing Tim was missing and he wanted to steal Tim back to the Manor and make it up to him , but he knew it wasn 't possible . Seeing Tim eliciting more laughs from his little brother as he started placing his food in front of him was all Alfred needed to know Tim was much better off for not being in their presence . Even though it hurt to admit it , there wasn 't much he could do to change it either . He settled for enjoying his company as much as he would be allowed and knew Bruce and Dick would envy , probably even hate , him when everything came to light because it would . No matter how much Tim might want to avoid it , one stray paparazzi posting a picture of him with Tommy would be enough to reveal his secret and it probably wouldn 't be too far in the future . Alfred quickly swept the hair away into the trash can before cleaning his hands and pulling out a seat beside Tim . He ate silently , more focused on Tom and Tim laughing with one another than his food , before putting his plate away and looking for something to do . Tim seemed to see his confusion and asked , " Can you warm up some milk ? He 's going to need his nap soon . Tommy 's always tired after his lunch . " The trio found themselves on the couch watching television until Alfred started to notice Tom yawning . Watching him struggle to get through the bottle in his hand , keeping it in his mouth but unable to drink and keep himself upright at the same time , Alfred asked , " Should I put him down for his nap ? Master Tom looks like he might collapse at any moment . " As soon as Tom was satisfied with Tim 's position , flat on his back with only his head resting on the arm , Tom crawled up on top of his chest and settled in . He needed Tim 's help to not drop the bottle , but as soon as he had a grip Tom tried to edge himself towards the tv and continue watching . Tim knew it wouldn 't last long and as he 'd expected Tom was passed out in a few minutes as he was struggling to maintain his grip on the bottle now close to running out . While Alfred was fixated on watching Tommy , for Tim it was a regular experience , he simply let his brother doze off on his chest while he scrolled through something on his phone . Alfred wanted to say something , ask to let Tommy sleep beside him , but he couldn 't work up the courage . Instead , it was the weight of his stare that pulled Tim 's attention away from his phone to study the look on his face and it only took him a moment to understand . Dutifully , Tim straightened up slightly before feigning , " I have to go to the restroom , you want to take over for a while ? " Alone with the one year old for the first time , even if Tim was still only a few feet away , Alfred felt an urge to pull out his own phone and take a picture to commemorate the experience . It had been years since he 'd been in the prolonged company of a toddler , especially one he considered to be a part of his family , but it was his respect for Tim 's privacy that kept him from acting . If Tim wanted to raise Tommy without the knowledge or constant criticism from Bruce , far be it for Alfred to complain . He couldn 't promise that the picture wouldn 't be seen by unwelcomed eyes so instead he focused on memorizing as much of the moment as he could . Usually Alfred would go through the expected routine of assuring Tim he would be fine with either choice , but this time he didn 't want to let the opportunity slip . " It would be no problem , Master Tim . Take all the time you need . " Tim quickly left the room to find a jacket and some money before adding , " Tommy will probably be up by the time I get back so you might need to change his diaper . Everything is in his room , you 'll be able to tell which one it is , and then you can decide what you want to do . Like I said , he 'll usually just go with the flow if you want to watch a movie or a game he can play on the iPad . " " I can 't promise that Master Bruce or Master Dick won 't find them , Master Tim . It might blow your secret , " Alfred said in warning . Even if he wanted to , he wouldn 't risk Tim 's privacy . Alfred appreciated the consideration and waved goodbye at Tim as he disappeared behind the door . Once again alone with Tommy , Alfred thought back to Tim 's own collection of pictures and tried to imagine where he could have stored them . Knowing the teenager , Alfred expected him to have the pictures stored anywhere he could and from what he 'd learned about today 's technology that could mean anything short of the microwave . Conscious of not disturbing Thomas as he continued to nap , Alfred leaned forward to the remote from where it rested on the coffee table and tried to navigate to where the photos app . He eventually asked Siri low enough not to bother Tommy and allowed her to lead him there instead . He found a few different albums , most having something to do with what Alfred supposed were jokes from the internet , and ignored them for the one aptly titled , " Tommy . " He didn 't know how long he 'd spent looking through the pictures , Tim certainly had quite a collection for only having his brother for a few months , but soon enough Tom was starting to wake up . The nap was too short for Alfred 's comfort , only an hour long , but well within the limits Tim had set so he didn 't think too much of it . Tom 's bottle was already finished , he dropped it when he couldn 't get anything more from it , but he 'd started drooling on Alfred 's pant leg and yawning as his nap neared it 's end . Alfred watched as he slowly sat up , now fully rested , and looked around for something Alfred didn 't understand . Tommy grew slightly more anxious as he couldn 't find it and much to Alfred 's horror he started shrieking . When nothing worked he worked through the options , changing his diaper and giving him something to eat before realizing he was probably afraid that his older brother wasn 't around . Knowing it would be his best option , Alfred opened a picture of Tim on the television and asked , " Do you see Master Tim ? He 's right there . " Thinking quickly , Alfred lead them both away to the iPad resting on the couch where Tim had last used it . After a few minutes of urging Tommy to put in the passcode , Alfred navigated to the photos app and pulled up the same picture of Tim . He lifted it up to Tommy 's eye level and said , " Here 's Master Tim , again . Do you want to hold him ? " Confused , Tommy looked back between the Tim on the tv and the Tim in front of him before deciding he didn 't care . He took the iPad away from Alfred , rougher than he needed to be , and ran away from the living room still angry . Satisfied not to have him crying , Alfred followed him to the theater room as Tommy whispered to the iPad and lifted himself onto a seat . He looked back at Tim expectantly and Alfred quickly worked out that he wanted to watch a movie . He took a seat beside Tommy , aware of how the one year old gripped the iPad closer to his chest , and started a movie chuckling at how easily Tommy 's spirits were lifted . The one year old looked as happy as he ever had been watching the pictures on the screen and talking to the picture of his older brother . Both of their attentions were focused on the screen so it wasn 't a lot trouble for Tim to sneak up from Tommy 's side and jump up as soon as he was close enough to grab a hold of him . At first Tommy was ready to start screaming again , but as soon as Tim was clear he reached forward wanting to hold him . He much prefered this version of Tim to the one on the iPad who wouldn 't even say anything back to him . Tim wasn 't happy to know that his brother had been hard on Alfred and he wanted to correct things as swiftly as possible . He sat down beside Alfred and sat Tommy down on his lap . Keep him at eye level , Tim sternly asked , " Where you being difficult , Tommy ? You know you 're better than that . " Not used to Tim being angry with him , Tom thought it would be best to ignore it . Instead he leaned into his chest and dug out the iPad to play a game . Now that his brother was here he wasn 't interested in the movie anymore . Upset , Tim snatched the iPad out from his hands and forced Tom to face Alfred . Tom started to struggle , but he settled down when Tim shot him a glare . " Say you 're sorry , Tommy . After you apologize you can get it back . You have to apologize to Alfred first . " At the confused and scared look Tom gave both of them , Alfred sympathized with the toddler . He urged Tim , " You don 't have to do that , Master Tim . He was just upset not to have his older brother around . " " That doesn 't mean he can be rude , especially not to family . Say you 're sorry , Tommy . Say you 're sorry . " He repeated the instruction slowly to make it easier for him to understand . Rubbing his back supportively , Alfred assured him , " That 's okay , Master Tommy . I know you you couldn 't help yourself . " This was the first time Tommy reached out to him , even if it did take some prodding at first , and he wasn 't going to let the opportunity slip past him . Tom decided to he could forgive Alfred for the struggle an hour ago and he much prefered him to Tim right now . After a moment if enjoying Alfred 's support , Tom straightened up and started pulling on his jacket . " Room . Room . " Alfred waited for a cue from Tim and when he had a nod he stood up to follow Tommy 's lead . Tommy gripped tightly to his pant leg and started to pull . Once again , for good measure , he said , " Room , " in case Alfred had forgotten already . When they were finally in his room , Tommy instructed Alfred to sit in the chair while he brought out some of his larger toys that didn 't need to be brought to his pen . His favorite was a xylophone in bright colors that Tim had adjusted to have an even wider range . Laughing as Tommy refused any help even though it took all of his strength to position it in front of him , Alfred remarked , " You remind me so much of your older brother . He makes his own rules too . " " He 's been doing an excellent job of raising you , you know , although I do wish he was raising you in Gotham . " Thinking to himself Alfred realized , " I guess you don 't know a lot about Gotham . Tim probably doesn 't like to think about Gotham or Master Dick , definitely not Master Bruce . " He stopped for a moment to enjoy the song Tommy was working on before adding , " You 're far too young to understand , but if you ever need them , us , you have a family who would love to meet you , Master Tom . " Tom decided he 'd had enough of the xylophone and immediately stuck a flute in his mouth . Alfred had to fix his direction , but it didn 't change much as Tom tried to suck in instead of blowing out . It wouldn 't have made a difference to correct him , so Alfred left Tommy to work on his masterpiece to see what Tim was up to . " It 's not work , Alfie . I 'm just winning an argument . " More to himself than Alfred , he whispered , " Cause that 's what I do . I win . " " Not really . I only had to take a placement exam to make sure I was ready for junior year . It was pretty easy considering how little I spent in class sophomore year . " " You don 't have to worry about us , Alfred . I know better than that . Plus , when was the last time I 've done anything over the weekend . " There was a lull in the conversation as Tim finished up on whatever he was writing . When he finally looked at Alfred , looked at the way he was focusing on not looking at Tim , he realized , " You want to babysit Tommy don 't you ? " " I have no objections either way , Master Tim . I understand why you 'd like to keep him in New York and I won 't fight you on it . I don 't have the right . " " So we can come up with a plan . You can come by once a month for the weekend , make any kind of excuse to Bruce , and in return I 'll call you when I need help . You get a weekend a month and I get a babysitter . " " I 'd love to , Master Tim , but I can 't . I have to get back to Gotham and start on dinner for Master Bruce and Dick . I didn 't leave with a lot of warning . " Tim looked at the clock and realized he 'd been over for much longer than he 'd expected . With the long drive home he 'd have to leave soon . Drawing his attention to the time , Tim asked , " How soon do you have to go ? " " I 'll go get Tommy , " Tim announced . " He 'll be upset if he doesn 't get the chance to say goodbye , " Tim disappearing behind the hallway . Alfred made sure there was nothing he was missing and came back the kitchen just in time to have Tim set Tommy down on the counter . " He does that a lot , " Tim explained . Looking down at Tommy so his focus was on Alfred , Tim instructed , " Say bye - bye , Alfie . He has to leave to go home . " They were out of the apartment quick enough , waving goodbye to the receptionist and walking to the daycare . By now Tom knew to be excited . He was ready to jump out of Tim 's arms by the time they reached the front desk and Tim started sighing in . Tim walked past the front gate , he already knew the layout of the whole campus , and into the main building . The school wasn 't anywhere near as uppity as Gotham Academy , something Tim considered to be a good thing , a very good thing , and most of the other students seemed fine enough . He dropped off some of his books in his locker , he wouldn 't need them until after lunch anyway , and walked to his first class . His class wasn 't hard to find , although he did think he had the wrong room when it was empty , and he took up a seat in the back . Like it or not he was raised a bat and this seat gave him the best view of the whole classroom and the courtyard down below . With nothing else to do , Tim pulled out his phone again and scrolled through social media . His close friends knew he was in New York , he 'd made sure Ives knew any possible way to contact him , but he didn 't have some messages asking about his schedule and where he 'd be spending lunch and he thought it would take too much effort to respond back . Ignoring them was easier . A few other students came in not long after , awkward smiles all around , and soon enough there was noise coming from the courtyard . Tim was able to drown out most of it as students meeting classmates they hadn 't seen since before summer until he heard shouting and an obvious commotion . From what he could tell a couple of football players were ganging up on a nerdy looking kid , but another kid , someone Tim was sure he 'd seen before , came in to stop them . The nerdy kid was being antagonized by a couple of the other students , he probably wasn 't all that popular , but he seemed to handle it like a trooper and walk past them . It must have been a common occurrence as most of the other students seemed interested . They all either watched as bystanders or focused on something else . Before Tim could come up with the costume design for his high school bully fighting super hero , said nerdy kid walked into the classroom and took the seat closest to Tim . He didn 't seem to notice Tim so he assumed the kid just wanted to be out of the other 's eyeline . It didn 't take long for the class to fill up and Tim could make some of the other students from the crowd from the courtyard . A particular blond in a letterman stook out from his seat not to far ahead from him . Every now and then he 'd look back to the back of the classroom , but neither of the two said anything . The teacher came in a few minutes later and and once the bell rang he immediately started hanging out syllabi while explaining , " Everyone should be in here for biology . If you 're not supposed to be with me , Mr . Robertson , I 'm sorry but you 're in the wrong room . " After no one moved he added , " We 'll start with the roll now so everyone has time to see if there 's been a mistake and we can fix during class . If you 'd like to go by something other than the name on my roll feel free to tell me . " " Guilty , " he said with a smile . " Aunt May wanted me to keep you company , but I didn 't think it would be this easy to find you . She said you 're from Gotham and new here . " " Yeah I guess , " Tim said with a laugh . He 'd had to talk about Batman enough in school it stopped being weird a long time ago . " He 's no Iron Man though . Tony Stark really is something else . " This was his own special dig against Bruce and Tim only wished he 'd been able to hear it . " Well I guess New York is lucky enough to have a bunch of heroes . The Avengers are based down here and there 's Daredevil too , but he usually sticks to his own little section of the city . " Shaking his head , Peter forced himself to focus . " I 'm supposed to be telling you about the school , not heroes . Do you have your schedule with you ? We can see if we have any classes together . " Tim didn 't think too much of it and watched the other students from the hallway while he waited . M - cubed seemed like a regular high school , jocks and nerds always at odds with most people focused on socializing , and nothing seemed out of the ordinary . For a school practically next door to a major wing of the superhero community everything looked normal , but this also could just be because it was the first day of the school year . There was still a lot of time for a mess to brew up and Tim had a feeling that was exactly what was going to be happening . . " It really is . They 're partnering with our science programs this year and that means a lot trips to see their research . It used to be Oscorp , but they 've been having some trouble recently . " His voice tapered off at the end of sentence and Tim made a mental note not to talk about Oscorp around Peter . He could save that for when he 's back at home . " The suit is probably something he works on privately , " Peter with a laugh . " There 's nothing a few high school students could do that he couldn 't . We 'll probably see more about energy conservation considering it 's what he 's been focusing on the last couple of months . " " Harry , this is Tim Dick . He just moved here from Gotham . Tim , this is Harry Osborn , a good friend of mine since middle school , " Peter said introducing them to one another . The teacher followed the same routine as the previous one , handing out the syllabus and taking a roll of the students in attendance , but Tim could tell some of the students were talking about him . When he was sitting in the back he wasn 't in the eyeline of most people , but by being in the center of the room he had half the class looking at him . The good thing was that after years of peers knowing some of the most private parts of his life Tim was used to it . " So the rumor going around is that you 're Bruce Wayne 's son , Tim Drake , " Flash said ignoring Harry . " Any chance you moving out here means the Wayne family is moving to New York too ? My father would love to get a chance to talk to yours and I couldn 't let the chance to get to know you slip . " " Well , Pete ? Anything to say ? " Tim asked curious . He knew Peter wouldn 't agree with Flash , but he was curious about how he would respond . " You know you don 't have to walk me home , right ? " Tim asked as Peter followed him off campus . Harry lived in the same direction , but he was stopping by at his father 's company before going home . " It 's really no problem , " Peter assured him . " Aunt May told me where you live and it 's not too far from our own place . Only a few blocks . " " So anything your looking forward to ? " Peter asked hoping to make casual conversation . " New York is pretty awesome if you haven 't figured out yet . " " If it 's any consolation this also means more superheroes , " Peter said cautiously . He didn 't want the conversation to go closer to Spider - Man , but he couldn 't help it . " A new one seems to pop up every few weeks . " " Maybe you have to , but I thought he looked pretty cool last night . He took out five robbers with one clean swipe , " Peter said mimicking the movement . " That has to count for something . " Tim had seen the video on his way to school , but he didn 't think that much of it . Spidey relied too much on his powers and couldn 't win a fight without them . It was a good thing he mostly dealt with petty crime . " It 's pretty obvious no one 's taught him how to fight before , " Tim said hoping it didn 't give too much away about his past . His defense of Spider - Man definitely raised an eyebrow , but Tim was used to people being uber defensive of their heroes . It only made sense that people would be more defensive with more internal competition to go against . Looking around he noted , " The daycare is just up there . It won 't take too long to check him out . " " I don 't really know why Flash has a problem with me , but there 's been a rivalry since elementary school . I think there was something about a birthday , but I 'm not sure . We 've been at odds ever since . " Tommy grumbled a mess of noises into Tim 's shoulder , but was more interested in Peter as he followed them out the office . He held out a finger that Tommy immediately grasped as he introduced himself . " Hi , little guy . I 'm Peter , a friend of your big brother . " February 21 , 2017March 13 , 2017Posted in BrothersLeave a comment Shifting Tommy in his arms as he got into the empty elevator , Tim pressed the button for the top floor and began waiting . The apartment building was one of the best in the city and the two of them would be sharing a beautiful view of Central Park on one side and metropolitan New York City on the other . Tim hoped the movers had been able to get in the apartment and drop their stuff off without any trouble considering the first thing he wanted to do was collapse in bed without any worries . Tom groaned slightly as the elevator began speeding up and Tim had to bounce him on his hip to distract the almost one year old from the ear popping that might come with being that high off the ground . It didn 't work as well as Tim might have liked , but as soon as the door opened Tom was entranced enough with the new environment before him to forget about his previous uncomfortableness . He struggled out of Tim 's arms and began stumbling around the apartment as they stepped out of the elevator and onto the marble floors while Tim hoped the popping would go away soon enough for it not to be a problem . The apartment looked just as it had online , large open windows showing the view of the city and park , an up to date kitchen that would have made Alfred pretty happy , and enough room for Tim and Tommy many times over . The movers had dropped off the furniture and boxes in what was to become the living room and just seeing all the work he would have to do made Tim feel even more tired . It had been a long drive from Gotham , them only stopping a few times to change Tom 's diaper , to get something to eat , and to buy some groceries for their dinner , and right now Tim would settle for crashing on the dirty couch if it meant he could close his eyes . It was what he wanted to do , but he couldn 't just leave Tom to fend for himself in the mess of boxes , furniture , and anything else Tim hadn 't packed away properly enough to keep him from reaching in and finding something dangerous . Once he realized he didn 't have the time to actually set up the apartment before making the trip over , Tim had decided to use every millionaire 's best hand and paid someone else to do it for him . Even then , there was a limit to how much he was willing to reassign to someone else and he left some of the more important tasks for him to do once he made it to the city . First thing was to get all of the food into the kitchen and set up Tom 's nursery . It didn 't really take that long , Tim was pretty sure Tom didn 't care that much about how his room looked when he was still so young , and once he had all of his things moved into his room there wasn 't a lot to do . By the time it reached three o ' clock Tim was pretty much finished with everything he needed to do and began cleaning up the debris from the boxes . On the other side of the room Tom was trying to stick as much of the thrown away tape onto himself before Tim noticed and cleaned him up . In a move that reminded him just how ironic the world really was , as soon as Tim 's head fell on the pillow the buzzer from the front door began ringing throughout the apartment . Not bothering to put on shoes , Tim rushed to the front door wanting to be back in bed as soon as possible . On the other side of the door Tim found a professionally dressed women with a briefcase . Slowly he asked , " Can I help you with something ? " Tim hoped he didn 't coming off rude , but he also wasn 't too concerned with how he looked when he could be sleeping instead . With an outreaching hand the woman greeted , " Hello . My name is Kat Benshaw and I work with the Social Services office . " Reading the name off the label on the file , she asked , " Are you Timothy Drake - Wayne ? " " It 's just Drake now , but you have the right person . " Growing concerned as to why she could possibly be here , she asked , " Is something wrong ? " He had only been in New York for a few hours and there was very little he could imagine he had done wrong . " I 'm afraid so , Mr . Drake . There 's some things that need to be taken care of , " she said solemnly . Tim tried to get a read on what she could have been referring too , but he ended up being to tired . Instead he forced himself to wake up , Tim opened the door and offered , " Please come in . " Maneuvering through the mess he had left , Tim motioned to a side of the kitchen and said , " We just moved in , but the table 's right through here . " Just as polite as ever , Tim asked , " Can I get you something to drink ? Water ? Soda ? Coffee ? " Tim grabbed some water for himself and asked , " What happened ? Did something come up ? " The last time he 'd talked to someone from social services it had to do with him getting emancipated . " You are still a minor , Mr . Drake . Emancipated or not , that is cause for some concern . On top of that you were under the custody of Bruce Wayne for only a few months before your aforementioned emancipation . You have not expressed any intentions to finish high school and your father and stepmother passed away within the past year . You have no family to go to for support and despite how much money you have , there are some people unsure of whether or not you are ready to raise a younger brother . " While Tim might not like to admit it , she did have a point . Not in the mood to debate the issue , Tim asked , " What does this mean ? What should I do ? " Kat hadn 't been expecting the first option to work and she looked through the notes she had compiled beforehand . " An alternative would be for you to return to your schooling . The school year is starting in just over a month and that would leave you enough time to find a high school for yourself and daycare for your brother . " Compared to everything else he 'd done , Tim didn 't think going back to high school would be too bad . He 'd missed a few weeks off the tail end of sophomore year , but he knew he could make it up over the summer . Preferring this to the first option , Tim answered , " Yeah , I can do that . " " What happens if it 's not ? Just out of curiosity , what would happen ? " Tim didn 't think there was too much he could get wrong , Bruce jumping into mind , but he knew to be prepared for anything . There was no where she could say for sure , but Kat assumed , " The first option would be to return you to the care of Mr . Wayne , but if that can 't happen you two will probably go into foster care . I can 't say anything for certain as to what happens after that , but you two could be adopted by the same family , different families , or you age out of the system and try again for the custody of your brother . " The meeting had gone easier than Kat expected , most people she came across were much more confrontational than Tim , but she still wanted to make sure there was no confusion . " I just want to reiterate that you are in a special position Mr . Drake . Your wealth and celebrity status means people are going to be looking for any reason to … " Sitting in a secluded corner of Central Park , Tim watched Tom work with his airplane while he looked at schools online . Tim had always entertained the idea of finishing school , but he never imagined having to chose between so many options . Daycare had been much easier , him only needing to do extensive background checks on the employees and owners before narrowing down the list to a select few . One bright side was the fact that he hadn 't had to deal with the paparazzi since their moves . It might have to do with them not knowing he was in New York , them not knowing who he was , or them not caring , but whatever it was Tim supported it . So far the only attention Tim and Tom had received was from a girl a few years older than him coming over to their blanket and joining Tom in piloting his airplanes . Her babysitter was quick to apologize for impeding on their personal space , but Tim assured her , " It really no problem . I think he enjoys the company to be honest . " " Is he your son ? " May didn 't think Tim looked old enough to be a father , but she wasn 't really sure how kids got along at his age . From everything she could tell her nephew was the exception . Give her a small smile , Tim formally introduced himself . " I 'm Tim by the way and this is Tommy . " Pointing up to his penthouse , he added , " We live right there . " " Do you have any ideas ? My nephew Peter goes to school not too far from here . Midtown Manhattan Magnet and he can walk there everyday . " May was usually good at reading people and from what she could tell Tim would be a good friend for Peter . Tim actually had been looking into MMM and it was near the top of his list of preferred schools . " Thank you I 'll look into it . " Not wanting the conversation to end just yet , Tim asked , " What grade is your nephew in ? " " Me too . I 'm actually moving here from Gotham . " The two didn 't really have anything to do with each other , but he said it nonetheless . Shaking her head , May joked , " It 's too long to go without seeing any sun . " Looking down at her phone , she said , " I should probably get back home . Casey 's parents will be home soon and we shouldn 't miss them . " Without the company , Tom stumbled over to Tims lap and began babbling some things Tim 's didn 't understand . Sighing , Tim decided it was getting late and began packing up their things . It really was a nice apartment , much more than nice , but Tim knew he was biased . He didn 't really want to have to move again anytime soon , mostly because he wanted Tommy to think of this as home , and he could see living here for a while . Being on Park Avenue it meant the two of them would be able to spend their weekends and any extra time in Central Park and enjoy the view . Tim knew it was going to be the little things about New York , the nice old ladies , the sun , and the park , that made him the happiest . The only problem he had was finding something to occupy his time . Usually he would be digging into a case or working on something for Wayne Enterprises , but now he only had Tom to keep him busy . Tim sometimes wondered if Ra 's had anything to do with the way Tom was less inclined to act out compared to other kids Tim had been around or if his own personality had more to do with his father 's side than he originally thought . In any case , he didn 't have much to do outside of watching his little brother . They 'd eat breakfast together , Tim trying to gauge the things Tom liked and wondering just what Ra 's gave him in Nanda Parbat , before going out to the park . Very quickly the apartment began to feel suffocating . Despite being larger than many people 's homes , Tim was used to spending most of his free time jumping through rooftops and chasing criminals . A Park Avenue apartment didn 't have anything nearly as close to give him . Looking down at the city from his balcony , Tim wondered if anyone would notice him leaping up from top of his apartment at night . In the end of his mind he always knew he couldn 't be a hero forever , but he still missed it . There was something to be said about the adrenaline one feels using a grappling hook to flying through a major metropolitan city while chasing villains with a slew of mental illnesses . Somewhere along the way he had fallen in love with the feeling and now couldn 't imagine never feeling it again . Tim felt inexplicably nervous walking into the daycare office . He had to bring Tom in for an interview with an administrator to see if he was well behaved enough for them to take him in . There were dozen of daycares nearby , but this was one of the few close enough to his apartment and school and with a faculty he trusted . Right now they were sitting in the waiting room entertaining themselves with a few of the toys set out while waiting for their appointment . Every now and then Tom would call out something that sounded like a word and sometimes he would even be right , but Tim was still busy with worrying about everything going well . Looking over the paperwork she had been given , she said , " Everything seems to be in order and your brother seems pretty well behaved . " She hadn 't spent a lot of time around him , but she 'd been in the business long enough to just know . " The only thing I 'd like to see is how he gets along with other kids . It says here that you would be scheduled to begin daycare in September , but it would be good to have Tom come in a few days early to make the transition easier for him . " Tim had been hoping that wouldn 't be a problem . There wasn 't really anyone he could count on at this point , definitely not anyone in the city , but he knew there should be someone there just as a safety precaution . There really was only one name that made sense and he motioned for a pen before filling in the contact information for Alfred . Tim really hoped a situation wouldn 't come up where they needed to call him because that would be one of the worst ways for Alfred to learn Tim had a little brother , someone Alfred would probably consider to be a grandson . " Umm … do you take walk - ins ? It really is just the both of us so someone has to look after him while I 'm not able to . " Tim didn 't foresee having to drop him by on a minute 's notice , but that wasn 't any reason to not be prepared . They got home just in time for Tim to see a notification on his computer telling him he had an email . He didn 't really have much to expect , he had a great spam filter and no reason for anyone from Gotham to contact him , so it peaked his curiosity enough for him to forgo putting Tommy in his crib just yet . It was an email from MMM informing him he had gotten in and could start classes in a month with the rest of the junior class . Picking Tommy up before he could fall asleep on his lap , Tim excitedly told him , " Good news , Tommy . We got into the schools we needed to . " The infant didn 't give him any indication he had heard what he 'd said , but lit up once Tim returned back with a bottle in his hand . " Even if you can 't understand me , I know just what you want . " February 21 , 2017March 13 , 2017Posted in BrothersLeave a comment Closing the door behind him , Tim went into his room to find his cell phone somewhere in the mess . The movers were almost done packing everything into their truck , but Tim had them go on a break as he got some of the more personal things from around his apartment . Nonetheless , Tim was ready as he made his way into the now barren bedroom to make a call . Dialing the number he had memorized a thousand times over , Tim dropped onto the only piece of furniture in the room , his bed , and sighed hoping that things went in his way . He stared at the digits and thought over the conversation in his head . This would have been easier if he had any idea who would pick up the phone from the other end , or even if anyone was home to take the call . Tim threw caution to the wind and pushed the green icon and listened as the steady dial tone mimicked the beating of his heart . After a few seconds , Tim heard Alfred 's soft voice break through , " Wayne Manor . This is Alfred speaking . How may I help you ? " On the other side of town Alfred pulled out a seat and sat down , wanting to put his full focus into the conversation . " Master Timothy . It 's been weeks since I 've heard your voice . " Momentary excitement receding , Alfred wondered out loud , " I hope you 're not calling with bad news . " Troubled that someone was his grandson would feel the need to make something as formal as a reservation to see his family . " You don 't have to call beforehand , Master Tim . I 'm sure Master Bruce would be pleased to see you regardless . " " Yeah I know , Alfred . I just wanted to be sure that I didn 't catch you guys at a bad time . " No matter how much it might hurt Alfred , Tim wanted to make absolutely sure that he didn 't do anything that might come off as rude or ill mannered . His parents didn 't raise him much , but they did teach him better than that . Tim got up so he could run a hand through his hair and make sure he worded things perfectly enough so that he didn 't give too much away . " Yeah sort of . There 's just some stuff I need to finish up on . I also need to see Bruce as soon as I can , but it 's not going to take more than a few minutes , half an hour at most depending on the details . All in all , I should be in and out within two hours . " Seeing this as the perfect opportunity to have Tim spend even more time with the others , Alfred tried to sweeten up the deal . " Master Tim , you can come and eat dinner with the family . It 's been ages since I 've seen you 've eaten at the Manor . " " I 'm sorry Alfred , it 's just that I 'm going to be a little busy later today so I can 't stay for dinner . " That wasn 't the whole truth , if he wanted he could push the meeting until tomorrow or next week or next month , but he wanted to be home and alone as soon as possible . Maybe in a few years he 'd tell Alfred about it . No more than an hour later Tim was making his way up the steps to the gothic building and he tried to think about whether or not it would be better for him to knock or walk in unannounced . There were virtues to both , by walking in he would come off as more confident and he could to work faster , maybe even make it through the trip without talking to anyone he didn 't have to , but by knocking he wouldn 't be impeding or come off as rude . The choice was taken out of his hands as the door opened before him and Alfred welcomed him in . Before he could say anything , Alfred threw his arms around him and breathed out , " It 's been far too long , Master Tim . " Sighing , Alfred asked , " Is it really necessary , Master Tim ? Wouldn 't it be easier to move back ? I absolutely don 't have any reservations on the matter . " Taken aback , Alfred tried to argue with Tim but couldn 't come up with anything quick enough . Tim gave him an understanding look before making his way to his old room . Passing through the hall he could hear whispers and laughter coming from Dick 's room , but he decided it would be best if he just went about his business as quickly as possible . In any case , there wasn 't much he had to say to Dick . Not now , maybe a few years ago , maybe a few months ago , but not now . Maybe not ever again . Opening the door , Tim found his room completely unchanged in the months he had been away . He sat on his bed for a moment before thinking about the time he had spent in these walls . He had moved in immediately after his mother 's death and he could remember lying in bed in tears and Dick coming by to visit and comfort him . There had been nights where Bruce would come in to comfort him from a particularly harsh patrol or one of the many times someone close to him died but that was a long time ago and reminiscing on the past wouldn 't do him any good . Glancing at his phone and realizing he had spent half an hour doing nothing , Tim began going through his things . He had taken all of the essentials to his apartment , but there were still some things he wanted to bring back . Digging through his closet he found some of the shirts he wasn 't allowed to wear in public anymore and was pleasantly surprised to find that they still fit him . There was also one sweatshirt that Dick had loaned to him over a year ago , Tim had worn it out in the many times he had needed support and Dick was too far away to help , but Tim left it on his bed in case Dick decided he wanted it back . Two cardboard boxes were all he needed and he dropped them down beside the front door before going into the kitchen to find Alfred preparing dinner . Peeking over his shoulder to see what he was making , Tim informed him , " I got everything I needed from my room . " Alfred gave him a weak nod before offering , " Okay , Master Tim . I trust that you know what 's best for you . While you talk with Master Bruce I will load your things in the car . " Tim made his way to Bruce 's office and knocked on the oak door . When he heard a noise , he walked in and found Bruce signing documents on his desk . He sat down in an empty seat until Bruce was ready to put his attention on him . Bruce gave him a confused look for a moment before turning back at the papers and finding the areas highlighted for him to sign . He pretended he didn 't notice the relieved sigh that Tim let out as soon as his pen touched the paper . Handing the packet back to him , Bruce couldn 't help but feel like he 'd made a massive mistake but didn 't feel it to be his place to question Tim 's decision . If this is what he felt like doing it wasn 't his place to question it . Rushing downstairs , Tim found Alfred looking through some of his childhood mementoes in the foyer . There was a serene smile on his face when he on his face when he found an album with pictures of Tim growing up . Tim didn 't want to ruin the moment by telling him that the pictures had been taken by babysitters and they stopped soon after he began to take care of himself . When he noticed that Tim was waiting for him , Alfred put the album back in its place and helped him load the boxes in the car . When everything was said and done , he took the boys in his arms and said , " You can stop by whenever you want , Master Tim . Please don 't be a stranger . " Tim wondered if Alfred could tell that he was lying , but watching the butler light up at the promise he couldn 't help but feel like Alfred deserved the moment . He deserved to think , if only for a moment , that this wasn 't a big deal . With a quick wave goodbye , Tim drove out of the driveway and back to his apartment where a moving van would be coming in a few hours . He dropped off the paperwork at his lawyer 's office and took a copy home for himself . He debated whether or not to send one to Bruce , but he didn 't seem to care that Tim had just signed over his position in the company with no explanation so he must not need the papers . Looking around his apartment to see his home empty as his room , Tim sighed against his door and thought about what he was doing . This was his last chance to turn everything around , to pretend that nothing had happened , but looking at the picture on his phone Tim knew he had made the right choice . Once the last of the trucks had pulled out , Tim went out to his balcony and waited for his next meeting . He wanted to pull out a drink , but this was going to be the first time Tim was meeting him and he wanted it to be perfect . He had taken out some of his old things , car seats and cloths he hadn 't been able to donate or throw away , and set them out so that he could make things as perfect as possible . It didn 't take long for him to hear feet touch down on his roof and someone drop down beside him . Tim spun around and immediately focused on the bundle in Ra 's arms . He could see that the baby was sleeping soundly even though Ra 's cloak hide most of him away . Although he didn 't like it , Tim flinched at the way he was so comfortable in the arms of someone so horrible as Ra 's but he knew it wouldn 't do him any good to comment on it . Breaking the silence between the , Ra 's greeted him with , " Timothy . " Nodding along , Tim took him into his arms and brought him into the warmth of his apartment . As soon as he touched him he felt afraid of doing something wrong , holding him the wrong way or squeezing him too tightly , but he tried to assure himself he would be fine . Tim pretended to not notice that Ra 's followed him in and sat down on the stairs to take a close look at his little brother . There weren 't any chairs or couches in the apartment anymore , so the stairs were all they had . Ignoring the harsh tone , Ra 's offered his own support . " Is there anything you need , Timothy ? Anything I could help with ? " Although he would never admit it , even under threat of death , Ra 's had grown a small but resilient attachment to the small boy and could already see the many ways he would be growing into a fine young man . For the first time that night , Tim looked up away from him and gave him a soft smile . " No I don 't need your help , Ra 's , but … I really do appreciate what you did . I know you didn 't have to and even though you only did it so that I would owe you , but I can 't really care now that he 's here . " Balancing the baby on his lap and moving the blanket out of his face , Tim ran a soft hand through the soft hair only just beginning to grow . " I always wanted to be . Having someone like Dick in my life , even though it wasn 't for long , having someone to look up to … it just makes the hard parts of life just a little bit easier . " He had . He had thought about it a lot and knew it was an important part of anyone 's life and as such a name should be taken on with much consideration . Even then he couldn 't deny the fact that someone else had strong feelings on the matter and it just so happened that their opinions aligned . " Dana , my stepmother , wanted to name him ' Thomas ' and I think it suits him . " Unsure of whether or not to ask the question aside , Tim felt that the day had gone in his favor so far and that the tide wouldn 't change now . " What did you do to Dana ? After you saved him , what happened to her ? " He had been expecting this for a while and told him as honestly as possible , " I had some people retrieve her body and bring it to the pit . There we removed the child , Thomas , from her womb and revived him in the pit . I opted out of doing the same with her considering the effects it would have on her . " Giving him a soft laugh , Tim responded , " I don 't think I care very much about the biology anymore . He 's my little brother . " Curious , both as to how it related to his brother and in general , Tim looked up at Ra 's and wondered out loud , " Do you know if there 's been anything like this in the past , any other babies brought to life in the pit ? " Not ready to fail now , Ra 's thought back and answered , " There is one story , not a very significant one and the validity of it is questionable , but there is a story about one of my ancestors losing a daughter . She was stillborn , and he revived her in the pit . I can keep you informed if I learn anything new , but I am not aware as to whether or not she experienced any last effects . "