Drabble: Late
Characters: Tim Drake, Bernard Dowd, Dana Winters
He had been late again, a mission running south. By the time the criminals had been apprehended, Bernard had been waiting for an hour.
“Late again, eh?” Bernard teased, a grin that wouldn’t reach his eyes and a light hearted layer above a resigned tone.
“Sorry, I -.” Tim goes quiet at the raised eyebrow that Bernard gave him. The look of annoyance and pain that went through Bernard’s eyes made Tim’s mouth slap shut.
“I would say it’s fine. You know, if this wasn’t like the fourth time that this happened.” Bernard cheerfully points out, his eyes sharp, “But, alas, it is the fourth time. And fourth time too many, Timmy boy.”
Tim winced, “I should have sent a message.”
Bernard scowled, all cheeriness dropped, “Yeah, you should have.”
Silence falls between them. They were at the entrance of amusement park - the different one from their second date. Children and parents laughing around them. Bright lights that provide warmth to the people mulling and cheering about in the rides and stands. But, Tim felt none of that warmth.
Until Bernard grabbed his hand and squeezed.
He looks up at him and sees his big smile - and it felt wrong.
He felt warm but cold.
Because Bernard’s smile was false.
It didn’t reach his eyes, as he squeezed Tim’s hands again as if he can’t believe that Tim was next to him, “It’s okay. At least you are here now, right?”
As he took in Bernard’s false smile, the confession of being a vigilante lies on the tip of his tongue. It is not the first time he has hid a part of himself from a partner. Ariana, Zoanne, and even Steph, at one point of their relationship, could testify to that flaw of his that often lead to most of his romances falling apart.
Tim was bad at being a boyfriend. He wasn’t always here when they needed him. Sometimes he focused too much on himself - a level of selfishness that is a result of being selfless. Sometimes he didn’t focus on himself enough. He made lies and excuses and tried to separate too much of his life from the other person because - they needed to be safe. They need to be safe and he needed balance.
Sometimes, he messed up in figuring how to balance it all out.
Sometimes, he messed up in figuring out how to be happy in where he is.
Sometimes, he messed up in figuring out where he stands in the expanse of the world.
So, when he looked at Bernard’s smile, he realized he is about to mess up again.
He squeezed Bernard’s hand back and brought it to his lips, “I am sorry. If I don’t text you the next time I might be late, you can steal and sell my organs to pirates.”
Bernard’s laugh rang through his ears, “Really? Got your permission for that?”
Tim grinned, lighter, “Yeah.”
Bernard looked at him and gave him a small smile. But this time it reached his eyes.
Tim squeezed his hand, “Let’s go.”
Bernard nodded, before pointing a finger at him. “We do need to talk about the whole being late thing though.”
Tim nodded, “Yeah.”
“But, let’s enjoy our date first, yeah?” Bernard grinned, letting go of Tim’s hand and slinging his arms around his shoulders and bringing him close to Bernard’s chest.
“Yeah.”
-----
Bernard was skating alone in the ice rink.
Bernard told him that it was okay, that family stuff happen.
He said those words cheerfully, lightly, with an understanding, but Tim could hear the disappointment.
Technically, Tim wasn't late this time, but he might as well be instead.
-----
When they went to the diner, Tim was early. Bernard’s smile was bright - his tone teasing as he points that fact out before launching into a theory that he had come up with earlier that day.
As they split a milkshake and Tim listened to Bernard, an idea sprung in Tim’s mind.
-----
He called Dana. They still kept in touch even after... even after what happened to his dad.
“How are you, Tim?”
“I am dating someone. I -. I like them.”
“Yeah?” Dana could hear the silver of regret in his voice, “What happened?”
“I keep being late. I want to tell them I am sorry but -”
“Words aren’t enough?” Dana says and he could hear her smile and he knew that she was remembering something from her own life.
“They make me happy. I want to tell them that. I want to show them that. ” Tim swallowed, “Can you teach me how to bake a cake?”
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Tim/Bernard, sharing trauma?
"I nearly went out of state for college," Bernard says over tapas and Tim nods.
"I was going to go to Ivy University," he offers. "It kinda fell through."
Bernard grimaces and nods. "I actually did go to OSU for a semester and a half. But it was…"
"Was?"
"It was weird. It's so quiet everywhere else. Quiet and reasonable! No one sees morning mist and thinks it's gas, or ducks and covers when a car backfires, or worries when the ground shakes from a passing truck, or—"
"Yeah," Tim says, covering Bernard's hand with his own. "I get you."
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Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Batman: Wayne Family Adventures (Webcomic), Batman - All Media Types
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Bernard Dowd/Tim Drake, Tim Drake & Jason Todd
Characters: Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Duke Thomas, Barbara Gordon, Bernard Dowd, Stephanie Brown, Kate Kane (DCU)
Additional Tags: Cass Dick and Damian show up briefly too, Sibling Rivalry, Fluff, Bisexual Tim Drake
Summary:
Tim hasn’t figured out how to invite Bernard over to Wayne Manor. To distract himself, he tries to figure out who Jason is dating.
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