We Did This by Larissa
Things aren't the way they were before
You wouldn't even recognize me anymore
Not that you knew me back then
The first thing that comes to Tim Drake's mind as he stares at his so called family is "Why the hell do I even bother?", which is not very nice of him, but is true enough, so he doesn't feel all that bad about not being nice anymore.
They are supposed to be discussing a new strategy, something to do with this loony that has appeared in Gothan's streets. He doesn't have a name yet but he has a submissive attitude and a gothic like appearance, seeming to be uncomfortable all the time.
Tim thinks he isn't the real baddy here, he thinks that someone must be controlling that man and forcing him to wear those clothes, but the idea is still in development, because there are no other signs of another person being involved.
If there was, Batman would probably know. Batman always knows.
Still, the little things in that man's body language bother the young hero, making him always go back to the theory that there has to be a dominant. The way Sub-loony (Let's call him that for now, ok?) acts and his speech do not match the level of intelligence that would be needed to pull off some of his most recent tirades, like the Hospital black out and the deaths by the docks.
The boy wishes, for many, many reasons, that Cassandra was here.
It's all very disorganized, as well, and the chaos reminds Tim of green hair, a painted face and a maniacal smile.
He shudders.
What irritates Tim the most, though, is that Bruce and Dick are completely ignoring him. They sat together in two armchairs near the fire and Damian is on the floor by their feet. They look picture perfect – he would know, being the resident photographer slash stalker –, and there is no place for him there.
Damian notices this, Tim realizes, because there is something just a little bit too smug about the smile on the brat's face.
The whole situation makes him want to break something, but he was raised better than that.
Therefore, Tim just blinks so he won't glare and goes back the way he came, making no sound, in that manner he has perfected over years of wanting to be noticed but knowing better.
He will go to Jason's place, as their relationship has gotten a lot less aggressive since Bruce's "revival". It might be because the Red Hood is finally accepting the pains of his past, but it might also be – and let's be serious here, it probably is – because the Red Robin has finally understood how it feels to be on the receiving end of Bruce's disapproval after that… incident, with Captain Boomerang.
Jason is still as extreme as ever, but Tim can curb his anger, and he has already learnt to deal with his insults, going as far as appreciating the man's honesty when it comes to the fact that, yes, Tim is the replacement, the odd one out, in this make-shift family.
The boy sighs as he takes a step away of the shadows and closer to the exit, relieved that he was able to get in and out without alerting Alfred to his presence. The last thing he needs is for the butler – who is really a grandfather to him, but Tim doesn't want to think about that sort of thing right now – to be aware of how pessimistic his thoughts have been getting in the past few weeks, of how much he has started to despise his little encounters with the "Bat Clan".
(Tim wonders if he has been spending way too much time with Jason, because that thought was just a few words away of actually starting to despise Bruce and Dick and… Well, Damian.)
Tim opens the door so that he will be finally free of all these insecurities, but he doesn't step outside.
Stephanie Brown is there, eyes wide and her hand on the doorbell.
"Dick let me in." She says, obviously a little taken back by the dark expression on his usually good-natured complexion.
Steph is still uneasy around him, and Tim takes a strange sort of satisfaction from that.
"I'm letting myself out, don't worry." He answers her unspoken question, scoffing in a way that is neither conceited nor gloom, just amused. The girl smiles back, because it reminds her of that boy she fell in love with so long ago.
Yet, when he brushes past her, muttering something about not telling Alfred he had come to the mansion, Stephanie can't help but to feel extremely sad.
We did this to him.
Yey, new story! Ok, this was just a way of making myself extremely sad, so no flames, please. It came to me because of something I read - once again - on incogneat-oh!'s tumblr, where the batclan was discussing something and Tim tried to talk, but everyone kept interrupting him. And I just thought: Well, how can I make this even worse?