Under A Spell

by Betty More Fishe

When Bruce is out of commison and Dick is away, Tim will have to team up with his old team mate Superboy to protect Gothem's finest.

RtXSb Under A Spell

Batman had gotten seriously injured fighting with two-face, and Alfred wouldn't let him go on patrols until his wounds healed. Bruce had called Dick, hoping that Nightwing and Robin could patrol the cities till Batman was back in commission, but Dick had informed Batman that he was on business in metropolis and couldn't get away, but perhaps Superboy could come and stay since it's his spring break and he's going stir crazy. At first Batman was against it, but Dick managed to convince his mentor. The two boys were closed to the same age and had worked together a couple times before, but had never really met outside of their masks.

Tim was livid with pent up anger as he slammed his fist into the practice bag again and again. It was bad enough that Batman didn't trust him to keep the city safe for a couple weeks on his own, but he had called in Superboy, a kid who he had worked with once or twice before. The kid didn't know anything about Gotham, he had never even been to the city before, so how was he suppose to help, sure he had super strength, but still, he wasn't discreet and as far as Tim knew the kid didn't know how to be serious about anything. With a curse Tim sent the bag flying back on the ropes with spin kick.

Connor had arrived at Wayne Manor at eight in the morning, he had been hoping that he could relax and have fun with an old team mate during spring break, but he should have know that Robin wasn't the type to relax. Still, when he had first seen Robin, Master Tim was what the butler had called him, he had not expected him to take one look at him and curse before leaving the room without another word to him. The butler, who introduced himself as Alfred had taken him to the dining area, where breakfast was laid out, and had apologies for Tim's rudeness.

Connor didn't have Superman's hearing, but he still heard Tim confront Batman in the other room. Apparently Tim hadn't been informed that Connor was coming, and was offended that batman had called in a 'Super' without even informing him. Connor could see why the kid was upset with his mentor, but did that have to stop him from being friendly with him. They had been team mates, they had worked together before, why couldn't he at least try to enjoy Connor's company?

Connor spent half the day, alone in the gothic manor, trying to relax into a coach that cost more than his truck, as he flipped through the channels. When the butler Alfred informed him that Tim had requested lunch in the bat cave he had had enough, Connor wasn't about to let the boy wonder just ignore him all weak. SO, Connor told Alfred that he would be eating lunch with Tim in the bat cave, and the sly butler smiled approvingly.

Tim was so focused on the computers in front of him that he didn't even hear Alfred till he was at the bottom of the stairs. Tim knew that Alfred would want him to come eat immediately, and although Tim was hungry, he was too engrossed in the police reports to actually force himself to eat. His leg was jittering with excitement as he began to form a theory, there had been several break ins over the past few months, not uncommon in Gotham, but after reading through the different police reports he realized that the break-ins were more than just that. All the break-in had been in the homes of pharmacists, pharmacists that ran their own pharmacy, that couldn't just be a coincident.

Tim pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to think past the exhaustion of having only having two hours of sleep in the last forty-eight hours. He had just closed his eyes against the head-ach he got every time he stared at the computer monitor for too long without sleep, when Connor spoke into his ear, "What you looking at?"

Connor couldn't suppress a small chuckle when the boy wonder jumped nearly out of his seat, obviously Tim hadn't heard him approach, and Connor tried not to think about what could make Robin so distracted. Tim looked over his shoulder at Connor and asked is a low voice, "Do you actually want to know or do just like messing with me?"

Connor smiled and said, "Someone's a little grouchy."

Connor was right, he was grouchy, but that didn't excuse him being a jerk to one of the few people who he might have, at some point, considered a friend. Tim sighed and muttered an apology under his breath as he walked over to the tray Alfred had left on the wooden table in the corner. As he grabbed a sandwich and had a seat he notice Connor was staring at him like he had grown a secant head, Tim checked to make sure he hadn't done just that before asking "What?"

Connor walked over and picked up his own sandwich without taking his eyes off of Tim before finally saying, "You apologized."

Tim rolled his eyes, and Connor realized for the first time that his friend had the most captivating blue eyes, he had always wondered how Robin could keep from expressing his emotions, but now he saw that he did that by simply hiding his eyes. Tim ignored his friend's slightly still disbelieving face and practically swallowed his first sandwich in one bight.

Tim stood up, and as he grabbed another sandwich, he said, "Police reports." Connor looked up at him around a bight of sandwich with a look of confusion so he elaborated, "I was looking at Police Reports of Burglaries over the last few months."

Connor swallowed his bight of sandwich and asked, "Why?"

Tim could feel his leg start to jitter with nervousness and he said, "Originally… I was trying to cool off."

Connor raised an eyebrow, trying not to smile from the unease apparent in Tim's eyes as he glanced down at his sandwich. He was so much easier to read without the mask on. After a few minutes of silence Connor asked, "And?"

Tim finished off the secant sandwich and grabbed two sodas from the mini fridge and handed one to Connor. Connor tried not to think too much about wither Tim had remembered this was his favorite type or if he had just given him the first soda he had grabbed. Tim popped open his soda and said, "I noticed a correlation between several of the recent Break-Ins. I haven't figured out if it's actually important or not."

Connor asked, "Do you actually have a life outside of fighting crime?"

Tim looked at Connor like he had just asked the stupidest question and said in a voice laced with anger, "I go to school."

Connor smiled and said, "School so does not count. I mean, when was the last time you went and saw a movie or just spent the day playing video games?" Tim's eyebrows drew together as he tried to remember; finally Connor just laughed and said, "That Long?"

Tim's jaw clenched and he tried to think of a response to that which didn't involve him somehow getting conned into doing some meaningless activity, and he realized he couldn't think of one. Tim mentally cursed, as he gave in to the inevitable.

Two hours in a dark theater next to Connor and Tim could only vaguely remember the plot line or the taste of popcorn and soda. What he really remembered, what was put him in a position of confusion and anger, was the musky masculine scent of Connor and the slight brush of his warmer skin as they shared the popcorn. Tim ignored the flare of emotions and sensations and tried to play like he was enjoying himself.

The sun was setting when they finally got out of the movie theater. Connor had a bright smile plastered on his face as he stretched and they headed to the parking lot where Tim had parked Bruce's older mustang. Connor laughed when Tim asked him to buckle up until he realized the kid wasn't joking, "Seriously, It's not like a car wreck will hurt me."

Tim glared daggers and said, "I don't give a shit whether you are indestructible, the law says the front passenger has to wear a seatbelt."

Connor smiled and said, "If you get pulled over I promise to buckle up before you get caught."

Tim gave him a look that sent his skin crawling and he mumbled "Anal" under his breath as he buckled up. Tim waited till he was sure his friend had buckled up before pulling carefully out of the parking lot. Robin might let those rules slide but Tim couldn't afford to, he wasn't about to risk his license and the freedom it gave him.

Connor couldn't help but admire Robin. He had known that Robin was almost impossibly fit, but he had never understood what that meant. Even with his Super abilities he found all these jumps and movements difficult. Robin made it all look easy, but it was obvious that it wasn't easy, luckily there wasn't much crime. He could tell Robin was trying to hide how tired he was, and was glad when he didn't jerk away from him as he removed the mask.

Connor smiled and said, "I've always wanted to do that."

Tim rolled his eyes, but his heart wasn't in the motion, and Connor saw the faint tinge of a blush as Robin turned away from him and headed to the showers.

When Connor had finally forced himself to get out of bed he had tracked Tim down to the Bat-Cave. If he had to guess he would say his friend had only slept a few hours before getting up, but the smile on his face was genuine as he spun around to face him. Tim smiled and said, "I figured out the connection."

Connor raised an eyebrow and Tim started talking about an underground group that had been working together to steal supplies. Connor let Tim talk for a while and tried not to focus on the man's lips. Eventually he finally cleared his throat and Tim snapped his mouth shut like he hadn't realized he had been talking for the past five minutes. Connor smiled and said, "I'll be sure to find this all fascinating tonight, but right now, I think it's time you get reacquainted with the video game."

Tim had thought he would despise spending the day eating junk food and playing video games, but once he realized that he could get competitive over a video game he became engrossed in dominating the playing field, and forgot that he was Robin for a few hours.

When Tim had changed into his Robin costume he had questioned a few key people and discovered the information he needed. An abandoned warehouse was being used as the base of the under-ground group that had been staging the break-ins. After regrouping with Connor he explained the situation.

As Connor and Tim entered the warehouse, that had been reported empty, Tim quickly noticed the shelves full of materials and cataloged them mentally. Someone hadn't just been stealing from pharmacists, but if Tim had to guess from the looks of it, Super Villains. Tim noticed several of poison Ivy's plants and several canisters of the Scarecrows Fear Gas. Tim took a quick look around before turning to Super-boy and saying, "We need to get out of here, this whole places is filled with hazardous materials."

As both of them turned toward the door, Super-boy herd a sound he recognize as a bombs timer. Connors eyes widened in shock and he launched himself at Tim. He put himself between Tim and the exploding material as he flew them out of the Warehouse at sonic speed.

Tim didn't know what had happened, one secant he was turning toward the doorway, the next a hard object, much like a wall, slammed into his side, nearly knocking the wind out of him. Connors arms wrapped around him and Tim's stomach lurched as he was slammed off his feet and lurched through the air. Tim felt like Super-boy was crushing him to his chest and Tim couldn't see what was happening and was too broadsided and dizzy to actually know what was going on till Connor placed him on his feet, several minutes later.

Tim would have fallen if Connor hadn't kept a firm grip on his shoulders. The kid was fine going a hundred miles per hour in the Bat mobile but a few minutes flying had made him almost green. Tim didn't dare try to open his eyes as he leaned against Connor, trying to get his center of gravity. He vaguely realized that a bomb had just gone off, and that Connor had saved his life, but he was still just to disoriented to really think.

When Tim leaned his head against Connor's arm he nearly lost it. Sometime in the last couple of days he had slowly realized the attraction and emotion he was feeling for his friend and teammate. Normally Tim strategically avoided all physical contact that wasn't in the form of a practice fight, but he wasn't thinking at all at the moment. Tim waited for several minutes, but the dizzy feeling wasn't going away and his knees felt weak.

Tim's forehead, which was up against his arm, was slowly growing warmer, and when the boy moaned and his knees gave out, Connor instantly pulled him full on against his chest. Tim's blue eyes were slightly glazed when he looked up into Connor's eyes. Connor opened his mouth to ask if he was okay, but never got the air to ask because suddenly Tim's mouth was on his. At first Connor instinctively pulled Tim even closer to his chest, the feel of his moist lips was amazing, but then he managed to think long enough to pull away from Tim to asked, "What was that?"

Tim made a moaning noise and Connor decided that although he would love to let Tim keep kissing him and running his hands over his chest, he needed to be sure that this wasn't just a side effect of the explosion. Connor managed to wrestle Tim's hands into submission as he got a hold of his pal's communicator, and he sent through a message to the Bat's. After a few minutes Alfred's voice came through, "Can I be of any assistance?"

Connor frowned and said, "There was an explosion, I got us out okay, but there were a whole bunch of chemicals and Tim's acting weird… I don't know what to do…"

There was a pause and then Alfred asked, "Can you get Tim back to the Bat Cave?"

Connor hooked the communicator to his shirt and tightened his grip on Tim, who was currently doing his best to leave a bruise the shape of his mouth on Connor's neck without success. Connor took off and Tim made a moaning sound before he bit down as hard as he could into the hard flesh. Tim was definitely acting strange, but Connor still wished he would keep doing it, because his teeth digging at his skin, trying to break through his flesh, felt amazing.

When Connor walked into the Bat-Cave a few minutes later he found that the butler was not alone, he had called in Nightwing and his own father figure. Superman looked a little surprised to find his adoptive son in such a precarious position, but Nightwing let a small smile play a crossed his face as he saw his adoptive younger brother plastered across the younger Super, and kissing his chest. He had suspected Tim swayed that way, but it was obvious to everyone that Tim was not exactly in his right mind.

When they attempted to remove Tim from Connor's chest he flipped out, lashing out and actually threw a blade at Dick, while Dick dodged the blade Tim readjusted his hold on Connor's neck. Eventually they decided that any test they did would have to be done while Tim was in Connor's arms. They took some of his blood and quickly discovered the problem; a mixture of inhaled toxins had made it to Tim's bloodstream. They ran some tests and discovered that the effects would eventually dissipate naturally, within the next few days.

Connor woke up when teeth bit into the side of his thigh, he opened his eyes and looked down to find Tim kissing the sensitive flesh he had moments before been biting into. It took a moment for Connor to realize that he wasn't having a wet dream, and another moment to remember the events of last night. Connor really enjoyed Tim's touch, but he didn't want to take advantage of his friend so he grabbed Tim shoulders and jerked him away and said, "Tim."

Tim started shaking and made a sound of pain deep in his throat. His friend hadn't even said an intelligible word since he had first been affected. Connor sighed and pulled Tim up against his chest, and immediately Tim stopped the painful sounds and began nibbling at Connor's neck. Connor had to keep on telling himself not to take advantage of his friend as he slowly managed to get the two of them fully dressed. It was difficult to get Tim away from him long enough to pull a shirt over his head but eventually his efforts were rewarded as he carried Tim downstairs to the breakfast table.

Dick and Clark where already up and eating breakfast. They looked up at their entrance, Dick smiled at the sight of them but Clark was blushing and trying to avoid eye-contact.

It had been the longest day of his life, full of pain and pleasure. Having so much contact with Tim was amazing but not being able to allow the touches to continue was agony.

Tim started shaking with fear, his voice quietly pleading for someone to stop. Connor put his hand on his friends forehead, trying to feel for the fever that was not present, and Tim cried out, jerking away from him in his sleep. It took Connor some time to understand that Tim was having a nightmare, and the more time that pasted the more Tim began to shake and now he was screaming as he jerked awake. Connors heart tore when tears made their way down Tim's face. Tim shuddered, still terrified and there was a moment where his eyes almost seemed clear of the drug as Connor reached out for Tim. Tim let him pull him in and hold him for a moment before drifting back to sleep.

When Tim started shaking and crying out in terror a secant time that night, Connor called Dick. Dick took some samples and then left Connor to handle Tim, who they both thought had to have been infected with a fear toxin.

Several hours later Tim opened his eyes, eyes that were nearly free of the deluded haze. Both boys were surprised that Tim had only been affected by a Lust plant, no trace of fear toxin, but Tim wasn't completely himself yet. It was like he was wakening from a dream and Connor could tell Tim realized how crazy he was acting but couldn't stop himself from clinging to Connor as though he were a life raft in the middle of the ocean.

Tim tried to reason with his body, tried to tell himself to pull it together and to not let the drug control him, but nothing he did could stop his body from wrapping around Connor. Whenever he couldn't feel Connor at several places of contact he panicked, and although he knew how unreasonable it was he couldn't stop the emotions he was feeling. He could feel the drug leaving his system, it seemed to drain him of every sap of energy he had left in his body. Finally, darkness fell and he realized that he had rational control of his brain again. Sure he still felt a little sickly when he lost contact with Connor but still, he needed to be in control.

When Tim finally pulled away from Connor, he felt his heart pang, and could see how hard his friend was fighting the drugs and he could see how bad it was affecting him. He knew that as long as Tim was in control he wouldn't force any contact, so Connor touched his friend. He could instantly see him relax under his hands and he whispered into Tim's ear, "You can pretend like the drug still has complete control, I don't mind."

Tim made a sound somewhere between a groan and a sob and said, "I don't like people touching me. I hate it… but…"

Connor put his hand over Tim's mouth and said, "It's alright, you should be back to hating my touch in the morning, for now I'd rather just keep you close."

Tim leaned his head against Connor's chest and said, "I don't want to fall asleep."

Connor didn't bother trying to respond to that as Tim's eyes were already drifting close.

When Tim jerked awake from his nightmare, he realized a couple things. One, he was not alone, both Dick and Connor where a little ways from him, and Two, the drug was completely out of his system, but he still felt compelled to reach out and touch Connor. Tim ran his hands through his sweat Dampen hair and said, "I think it's mostly out of my system."

Dick raised an eyebrow and said, "It's completely out of your system, had been for a few hours now, so whatever you are feeling is your emotions alone."

Tim couldn't meet either set of eyes as he processed that information. Since when had he felt this attraction for Connor? As he struggled to think that through Connor asked, "What were you dreaming about?"

Tim kept his gaze on the floor and said, "I don't know."

They all herd it for the obvious lie it was, and after a minute Connor said, "You were calling out in your sleep."

Tim looked up in horror, what had he said. Dick cleared his throat and said, "Tim, we are both here to help you. It's obvious that these nightmares have been going on now for some time. We're not going to leave until we get some answers from you."

Tim didn't want to cry, didn't want to feel scared, so he took his third option, Anger. He normally never let any emotions push through; he worked so hard to keep every emotion in check. He hadn't realized just how strong the emotions he kept bottled in were. So with an explosive shout he asked, "What the fuck does it matter whether I have a few nightmares!"

The shocked expressions on the two men's faces only added fuel to the inferno that was his emotions. "You think that just because you're around me a little bit that you know me? You all only care about me when I'm Robin; you don't know shit about me, my life, what I went through before I became Robin!"

The anger was fading fast, being replaced by that deep sadness he got whenever he let himself think about who he was before he became Robin. He forced himself roughly to his feet, and with the Anger fading fast he made a dash for the exit, but strong arms wrapped around him, holding him still. With the last of his anger he shouted, "Let me go!"

Connor didn't let go, he knew Tim better than that. If they let him get away now, when he was finally starting to show some emotions, then they might not ever get this close to him ever again. He might not ever be close enough to help Tim get over the nightmares that plagued him, terrorizing him. Tim jerked in his hold, making feeble attempts to escape before collapsing in his arms. He could feel him start to shake as he said, "Please… Let me go…"

That pain was in his heart again, and he was about to do just as Tim had asked, when Dick said, "Calm down Tim, your safe here. We just can't let things keep going on like this. Being Robin is a hard enough job with a full night's rest, if we don't do something to help you now, we might just find you dead."

Connor stiffened, his hold tightening. He hadn't even thought of it that way, and obviously neither had Tim, because he no longer strained to escape Connor's hold. There was a moment of silence and then Dick asked, "What's so bad that you can't tell us? You're probably just over thinking it this. Maybe we're better friends than you give us credit for."

Connor could feel the soft shudders of Tim's sobs as he said, "I don't… deserve you all being so nice to me… not me… When I'm Robin it doesn't matter if I'm dirty… it doesn't matter what anybody thinks of me… but…" For a minute Tim was silent as he sobbed, and after a few minutes he said, "My Dad… my real dad… wasn't exactly what you would call a clean-cut guy… honestly he was a complete bastard… but I never even realized how fucked up the shit he did to me was till I took that stupid Sex Ed Class."

Both Connor and Dick stiffened, and Tim let out something between a laugh and a sob before saying, "They make you fill out a form at the end of the class, the first question was, Are You Still a Virgin? And I honestly had no idea whether I was or not, I never had sex with a girl… I read through the rest of the questions and quickly realized I had to lie or ells I might get Bruce in trouble… not like I could answer the question, When Was Your First Time, with somewhere around the age of seven but you know I'm a little fuzzy on the exact date. Could you imagine who the school would have called in if I had answered, Who Was Your First Time With…"

As Connor let go of Tim he felt his friend slip to the floor. He wanted so badly to touch him and hold him in his arms, but his words from the night before, 'I hate being touched' rang through his mind like a mantra. Tim let out another one of those laugh sobs and his voice was bitter as he said, "People always say that, 'We're here for you little Timmy,' but I know from experience that people who say those lines are full of crap."

Neither Connor nor Dick moved to stop Tim as he stood and pushed himself out of the room. They were too stunned by what they had just learned to really react to anything. The whole time Tim had never looked into their eyes, but Connor had heard the painful truth of his words. The door slamed shut behind Tim and Connor heard Tim running down the hallway as he turned to Dick with pleading questioning eyes. Dick met his eyes and he bit his lip, Connor knew he was analyzing every conversation he's ever had with Tim, conversations that suddenly had a double meaning.

After a few minutes they both realize just how over their heads they are. Another few minutes before Dick mutters, "We should talk to Alfred, he'll know… I didn't know."

Tim ran to his room and grabbed his emergency bag, the one he has packed for emergency 'vacations,' he opened the almost full duffle and threw in his secret stash of bills as he shimmied into an old pair of jeans a clean T and a leather jacket, then he zipped up the bag and ran down to the bat cave. He grabbed the keys to the mustang, he knows Bruce has a tracker in it, but that won't matter once he trades it for a bike. He forces himself to be angry, angry at himself for spilling his secret and angry at the world.

He doesn't bother buckling up as he peals out of the bat-cave, heading to the worst end of Gotham, when he spots a kid on a bike barely worth the bumper, he offers to make a trade. The kid's obviously street wise but he obviously thinks that Tim stole the car, so he agrees. They trade keys and Tim tightens the strap of the duffle bag so it clings onto his back. He's going sixty on a back road headed out of Gotham when it starts raining. The rain drenches his hair and his bag but it's just fuel for his anger, anger that is the only thing that is keeping him from breaking down.

Dick finally finds Alfred in the kitchen and tells him what happened with Tim. Alfred, who is even better than Bruce at concealing his emotions, lets his face drop as he says, "Tim told you the details? That's not good."

Dick stares at the butler like he just grew a secant head and Connor shouts, "You knew?"

Alfred set down the food he was making and said, "I suspected, but with Master Tim, it's better to wait for him to come out and tell you on his own, not force the information out of him. He's the type of boy that makes a break for it the secant he feels cornered, that would also explain why Master Tim left in such a hurry moments ago with his emergency bag."

Both pairs of eyes widened and Dick cried out, "He left?"

Connor, who was furious at this point asked, "Where is he going? He was a mess and you just let him leave?"

Alfred held up a hand and said, "Both of you need to settle down, Master Tim needs time on his own, if you go after him now you will only worsen the situation. You cannot go out looking for him, give him a few days and he will return on his own, but if you go out and find him in an emotional state he might not ever return."

Connor shook his head and asked, "What are you saying, that he'll just take off and won't ever come back?"

Alfred shook his head and said, "Master Tim just needs some time to gather his wits, in a few days he'll likely return for clothes and I will have words with him then, till then I should like to suggest both of you take time to calm down and think about what Master Tim needs."

Even though they had promised Alfred not to track Tim down and force him to return, that didn't actually stop Dick and Connor from trying to track him. After two nights they realized that if Tim didn't want to be found he wasn't going to be. They were both frantic and upset, but they had no leads, no one had seen or heard from Tim or Robin, and the only tracker that wasn't still at Wayne Manor had been found in a scrap yard. Both Dick and Connor were actually considering giving up their search for their friend after only a week when they got a call.

Alfred had picked up the phone, and when he handed it over to Dick in the bat cave he seemed just as thrown by who was calling, "It's Master Jason, he said it was urgent."

Dick's eyes went wide and Connor looked confused but Dick picked up the phone half expecting Jason to inform him he had placed bombs all over the city, again. The problem was Jason never actually called them, he was more the show up in person to beat the shit out of someone type, not the call on the family line type. A quick, "Hello." Was all it took for Jason to lose it, and Dick had never herd the man so pissed.

"What the hell did you do to baby bird? He shows up on my side of town in Civvies, standing on the corner like a two bit whore, and when I confront him he tells me he can't go back to the cave, not even to get his shit. I took him to my safe house, thinking Bruce would fucking have my head if I left him out there when it was obvious he was to fucked up to even function. The Bastard picked the lock to my cabinet, the fuckers never even had alcohol before but he put down the hard stuff then he tried to get at my suicide bottle so I knocked his drunk ass out. I don't want to know what the fuck is going on, just get your ass down here before I lose it."

Jason's voice jumped up and down in pitch, but the whole thing was a bit rushed out and laced with enough worry to make Dike question whether this was really Jason. Dick waited till Jason had taken several deep breaths before asking, "Where is here?"

Jason growled out, "What? Bruce didn't tell you about this place? Fuck, warehouse district, civic street, there's a big nearly vacant apartment building, the basement. Better fucking get here before the kid wakes up, his eyes scare the shit out of me." There was a click as Jason hung up, and for a moment Dick just stood there with the phone to his ear, staring off into space in shock. He would have to figure out what this all meant about Jason, but after he helped Tim.

By the time Dick turned to Connor he was already in the car, ready to go. Twenty minutes later they were in one of the worst parts of town, using a vacant lot as a parking spot and hiding Dick's Ferrari under bags of trash. Connor looked like Dick felt, all nervous energy and huge black bags under his eyes. There was hardly anyone on the streets and the apartment building, which had a sign on the door reading condemned, had three or four lit windows. The building had several basement windows, that had at one point been blocked off by bars but someone had sawed off the bars. There was a set of stairs toward the front of the building but they had been blocked off by boxes and crates. The back had a set of stairs that led down to a door that was held open by an old shoe.

They paused at the base of the stairs, each meeting the others worried gaze, but then they herd Jason's voice shouting, "Fuck no… don't even think about it you little shit! If you…"

Tim's voice was strained and high as he shouted, "Give me the bottle!"

Jason growled and said, "It's too late, I already got rid of it!"

Dick pulled open the door to the well lit room, which had been much better furnished than the other piece of shit living spaces Jason frequented. With an old leather coach in the middle of the room, and a solid oak table in the corner with a very well maintained kitchen. The couch was facing a wall with several old TV screens set up as monitors stacked up three by three. Tim stood just a few feet from the tiled corner of the kitchen; Jason was on their side of the coach and looked like he was about ready to kill Tim for real. Tim had something in his hands, he was holding a tiny glass angel, the type of trinket a girl would buy. He was holding it on the edge of his fingers and Jason yelled, "Bastard! If you break it I swear I'll kill you!"

Tim looked like he was about to drop it when Dick cleared his throat. Tim's hands tightened around the trinket as he turned his dark eyes on Dick and Connor. For a moment his eyes widened then he laughed and said, "I thought you said you'd rather die than go to Dick for anything?"

Jason glared and said, "I'll take Dickie-bird over your crazy ass any day, now give it back before you break it."

When Jason took a few steps forward Tim loosened his grip on the little angel and said, "Everyone stays where they are or ells I lose my grip."

Dick held still but Connor took a step forward only to have Jason point a gun at his head and said, "one of the bullets is laced with kryptonite, I'll shoot all of you if that breaks."

Tim and Dick's eyes widened and after a moment Connor looked to Tim and said, "Holy shit, he's serious."

Dick gasped and asked, "What the fuck Jason. I've know for a long time that your off your rocker but to kill Super-Boy over a fucking trinket, that's a little extreme."

Jason didn't even flinch he just said, "Tim, I'll make a deal with you. Give it to me before you break it and I promise not to kill you boy toy or Dick, I won't even pick a fucking fight with Dickie-bird, but if you break it, I'll kill them both without even blinking and then I'll leave you alive, because I know from experience that living is worse than dyeing."

Tim snarled, "If you know then give me the drink."

Jason let out a harsh laughed and said, "You have people who actually give a shit about your ass and you're willing to take that route no matter how much it will hurt those people. If I had known you were such a selfish coward I wouldn't have held back the first time, I would have dug my knife a few centimeters deeper, fuck, I thought you were smarter than this."

Tim's hand tightened on the trinket and his control seamed to snap as he yelled with only a mild slurring, "Screw you… you don't know me… you don't know what I've been through!"

Jason let out a maniacal laugh and said, "Oh… I know! You might be the genius when it comes to computers and school, but you're stupid when it comes to emotional shit. Hell, I probably could tell you more about your situation then you even consciously know. Why do you think you started stalking The dynamic duo in the first place. It was your escape, and I knew it the first time I saw you following me and Bruce."

Tim's jaw dropped but luckily his hands did not react to his shock. After a moment of working he asked in a broken voice, "Y…you knew?"

Jason's whole body was tensed like a snake, ready at any moment to strike as he said, "Who do you think convinced Bruce not to beat your ass and talk to your parents. Told him you were just a kid with too much time and that you weren't doing nothing wrong. Didn't ever think he would take that to mean you were fucking Robin material."

Tim's face was crumpling, and Connor tensed, wanting to run to Tim and comfort him as tears spilled onto his face, but the secant he moved a fraction of an Inch Jason's finger tightened a hairs breath, much more and the bullet would be lose. Tim let out a sob and asked, "How? How D..did you know?"

Jason's shoulders tensed but his voice was almost a whisper as he said, "Takes one to know one."

Dick gasped and Tim nodded his head like he had expected as much and said, "Tell me."

Connor could actually hear Jason's jaw grind and he said in anger, "I'm not flaunting my dirty laundry in front of your boy toy and fucking golden boy, I'd rather take a fucking bullet."

Tim's face was streaked with tears but his smile was real, and it sent shivers of fear down Dick's spine for it's likeness to the Joker. Tim held the trinket out away from his body in one hand and said, "Tell me or I drop it."

Jason made a noise like a choked groan and his hand shook ever so slightly on the gun. His eyes were locked on the little trinket in Tim's hand as he spoke in a low pained voice, "People think that if your mom's a whore that you're use to that kind of thing." Jason paused, obviously hoping that was enough, but Tim was engrossed as he nodded for Jason to continue. Jason ground his jaw as he took in a deep rasping breath and said, "My mom tried to keep me safe, but there was more than just one night where a guy would ride her till she passed out, then come to my room."

Tim made a sad noise and then asked in a quite broken voice, "How did you get over it?"

Jason sighed and said, "To start, I still sleep with at least one blade, cause you threaten to cut someone's dick off they tend to not be able to get it up. Other than that, I've been through shit that makes those nights look like peaches and cream. That shit never completely goes away, but if you let it have a little it will take over everything, you got to just quit dwelling on the past and think about the future. You got a lot going for you, if you just take a secant to notice."

Tim let out a little laugh that sounded like an admission of defeat and said, "Jason, put the safety on and throw the gun to the far corner."

Jason growled but when Tim acted like he might drop the trinket Jason complied with lightning quick reflexes. Tim let out another little laugh and said, "Now the other two."

Jason ground his teeth then with slow precision undid his belt enough to take off the holster and toss it and its occupants right next to the first gun. Then he stood on his right foot, rolled up his jeans and pulled his third and final gun from its strap and tossed it next to the other two. Finally he came to a stand and said, "Now hand it over."

Tim let out a loud laugh, the kind that were so big they were painful before saying, "Nope, not yet. I know for a fact you could kill us all without the gun, I want you to toss all of your other weapons over there."

Jason cursed under his breath, but they all watched as he pulled several knives from secreted pockets in his leather jacket. Dick counted six bowie-knives, one hunting knife that was encased in lead to protect it's user from the radiation, a machete that had been pinned to Jason's back. After a few secants Jason gave up trying to pull each weapon from its compartment in his jacket and finally just took off the leather with a grunt and tossed it a little short of the pile of weapons.

Dick took in a breath at the sight of Jason's tattered T-shirt, which only emphasized Jason's bleeding torso. Dick had been so out of it he hadn't even realized Jason was injured, let alone bleeding puddles on the floor. Before he could really think about that Tim said, "Jason, you're going to let Dick fix you up before you pass out from blood loss."

Jason snarled as he turned, he looked as though he was about to launch himself at Tim but then his eyes locked on the trinket and he said, "Your fucking serious."

Tim shrugged and said, "I'm going to ring this for all it's worth. Besides, it's not like you can stitch those lesions on your back. Now your going to sit down on the coach and let Dick patch you up."

Dick bit his lip to keep from laughing as he watched Jason do as he was told. Before Dick could even think about the fact that he didn't have any medical supplies Tim was moving into the kitchen and had opened one of the many cabinets, pulled out a first aid kit and tossed it to Dick. Dick couldn't hide the smile as he opened the kit and sat next to Jason who was as rigid as steel with his hands tightened into fists on top of his knees.

Dick kept his smile under wraps as he said, "You're going to have to take your shirt off so I can get to the wound."

Jason glared daggers at Dick's smug face. The muscles in his jaw twitched and Dick knew that under normal circumstances he would have just gotten a hit to the face. After a moment Tim called out, "Jason, take the damn shirt off before I decide to make this worse for you."

Jason grumbled under his breath, expanding Dick's vocabulary a fraction as he pulled off his shirt, making everyone ells in the room wince. Connor took one look at Jason's battered chest and was glad for his invulnerability, but both Dick and Tim weren't about to let it rest at that. Dick opened and closed his mouth once, as Jason glared at his discarded pile of weapons with a longing in his gaze. Finally Tim asked, "What happened to you?"

Jason ran a hand through his hair, and both Dick and Tim noticed he was using his left hand instead of his dominant right. Jason sighed and said, "Fucking A, you want to pry, fine, but If I go much longer without a fucking cigarette and I'll lose it."

Dick laughed at that and Connor, who was the only one without occupied hands, quickly went to the pile of weapons to retrieve Jason's cigarettes from his jacket pocket. Connor didn't know Jason, but he had heard Tim talk about him with a wide variety of mixed feelings so he handed the cigarettes to Dick. Jason looked like a rabid dog on a tight leash and only his training kept him from getting violent with Dick when he handed over a single cigarette and lighter, keeping the rest for god knew what. Tim only allowed Jason one slow drag of his cigarette before asking again, "What happened to you?"

Jason smiled around the cigarette and said, "You need to be a bit more specific."

Dick barely held back his laugh as he cleaned Jason's back. He tried and failed to count the scares, scares he knew the how and when, but not how much. He could feel every tensed muscle under his hands, and was surprised when Jason winced when he graced the lesion. He knew that Jason would kill to not show any sign of weakness, but not even Jason could hide his pain or his exhaustion as Dick started patching him up.

After Dick had set to work Tim asked, "Alright, how did you get that lesion on your back?"

Jason tensed, so slightly that only Dick, who was touching him, noticed. Jason took another drag of his cigarette and obviously keeping his gaze away from Dick as he worked on his back. Dick was again surprised by how good Jason was being. He had expected a fight, expected him to at least make it difficult but if Dick had to guess, he would say Jason actually was working to give Dick better access to the wound. After Jason exhaled, he said, "Mob boss hired an assassin to take me out, the man liked knives better than I do."

Dick paused with the needle and thread in his hand, he couldn't believe Jason was actually telling the truth, but for once there was no sarcasm or deceit in his voice. Tim must have come to the same conclusion because he asked, "What about the three broken ribs?"

Jason let out a snort of smoke and said, "Didn't expect them to use my own explosives on me, it's just rude."

Tim looked as confused as Dick felt as he asked, "Who?"

Jason pulled his cigarette out of his mouth for a moment and said in exasperation, "I told you, that Mob boss really wants me dead, fucking put a price on my head."

Dick was not completely surprised by that answer, but was surprised when Tim asked, "What did you do to piss the guy off?"

Jason jerked at the question and said, "Fucking pervert disserved what he got, and I was just paying him back for what he did when I was still Robin."

Tim seemed happy with that answer, even though Dick was just more curious. A quick glance told him Tim was taking a closer look at the tiny trinket in his hand, he was just holding it up to the light when Jason said, "I ever tell you how much you freak me out Baby bird."

Tim smiled as Dick got to work stitching. Jason's cigarette was dangling between his fingers as he hunkered down, his back spread out he was pressing his chest to his knees so Dick could get a straighter stitch. His jaw was locked, his eyes were closed and he was breathing roughly through his nose as Dick quickly and efficiently stitched him up. When he was tying off the final stitch Tim asked, "Why is this so important? It's not even real glass."

Jason was still breathing roughly through his nose as his jaw tightened even further. Dick had barely cut the string before Jason was on his feet several steps away from him, and about a foot closer to Tim. Tim shook his head and said, "Nope, you got to let Dick patch you up all the way. Now sit back down and tell me what makes a trinket like this important."

Jason jerked like Tim had punched him in the gut, and Connor thought for a moment Tim had gone too far and that Jason was going to strangle him but instead Jason clenched and unclenched his fists before saying, "A brace for the ribs and that's it, I'm not just going to sit there so Golden Boy can get his kicks from putting band aids on shit that would be better off on its own."

Tim smiled and said, "For all your stubbornness you have to admit that you'd rather have Dick patch you up than me or Alfred, or god Forbid Bruce."

Jason made some growling noise as he walked back over to the coach and sat just a few inches farther away from Dick than before. After a moment Jason put his cigarette, which was still burning, back into his mouth as he leaned back into the cushion. His eyes were far away as he said, "It's all I've got from before."

Dick hated the nonspecific aspect of Jason's comment, but it was obvious by the set of his jaw that that was all they were going to get so Dick dug into the first aid kit till he found what he needed to bind Jason's obviously broken ribs. As he was setting the stuff out Tim asked, "What did you do to get the hit off you?"

Jason grunted and Tim stilled before asking, "You still have a hit on you? Why would you come here if you have a hit on you, there is minimal to no security."

Jason let his head drop back to rest on the coach and said, "Alfred got me this place."

Everyone stilled and stared at Jason with wide eyes, Jason grimaced and said, "I didn't agree to it, he fucking tricked me into taking it, and it's in Hero territory so none of my guys will come here."

Dick couldn't stop himself from laughing and he only quieted his laughter when Tim asked, "How did Alfred trick you?"

Jason took a drag and said, "It's Alfred, how does he do half the shit he does. All I know is that I will never let that guy into my apartment while I'm medicated, it always ends up with me getting screwed over."

Dick began to prod at Jason's ribs as Tim moved around in the kitchen, starting a pot of coffee. Connor came into the kitchen and opened the fridge, and made a low whistle at all the food. Tim smiled as he looked over Connor shoulder, that would explain why Alfred would get Jason a slightly dumpy place. As he was setting up the pot of coffee he asked, "What do you mean medicated?"

Jason said, "Um... not entirely sure… It wasn't mine, but my neighbors stash, I thought it was just Vicadin, but then Vicadin doesn't have hallucinogens… hate hallucinogens."

Dick took note of Jason's tired mumbling, as he tightly wrapped his ribs. Jason winced but didn't open his eyes at the pain. Tim poured himself a cup of coffee as he asked, "Do you commonly take drugs that you don't know the origin of?"

Jason's glared through half lidded eyes for a split secant then let his eyes fall close as he said, "It was a special occasion, my anniversary, and I needed something stronger than Advil to take off the sting of getting pushed out of a fifth story window, I had already maxed out my emergency uppers and was starting to lose it."

As Dick secured the binding he took notice of the fact that Jason's head had tilted to the side and his breathing was evening out, if they could get him to talk a little bit longer they could loll him into sleep, and once Jason got to sleep he was a pretty heavy sleeper. A glance at Tim, who nodded to confirm the plan as he asked, "Do you take uppers often, did you take any today?"

Jason let out a sigh and said in a quite almost whispery voice, "I avoid them; I only use them for times when I'm seriously injured, haven't slept, and need to stay on the go. They rock until they start to wear off, then suddenly you're practically asleep while standing. The more you take them the shorter the time frame before they ware out, but I guess I have been taking them quite a bit lately, probably need to take another once you all get out of here, I got shit that needs done and I can't do stuff if I'm sleeping. I mean who needs sleep?"

There was that deep breathing grumble that always meant Jason was asleep, if they could stay relatively quiet for another five minutes then Jason might actually stay asleep for a few hours. After stubbing out the cigarette in the little ash tray on the floor Dick carefully pulled Jason till he was lying on the side that wasn't battered and then found the folded blanket under the coach and spread it over Jason, who looked almost like a child when he slept. Jason immediately curled into a ball and pulled the blanket tighter around him as he started to faintly snore.

As Dick walked into the kitchen Connor asked, "Did he really just fall asleep?"

Tim laughed and said, "He hasn't slept in a week, with the blood loss I knew I just had to lull him into talking enough for him to fall asleep."

Dick and Connor met gazes as Tim handed out cups of coffee. Before either of them could think to say anything Tim spoke up, "I'm alright, I mean I'm not over it, but seeing Jason like this made me realize that maybe I'm not the only one who's screwed up in this family. I mean at least I sleep when I've gone to long without it, instead of taking an upper, which is really dangerous. By the way I really wasn't suicidal; I was just testing a theory."

Connor was still trying to process all that when Dick asked, "What theory?"

Tim took a sip of his coffee, winced slightly and began to add some cream as he said, "I always thought that maybe Jason's carless bastard act, was a façade to keep us all away. He pretty much confirmed it when he took me in but I had to be sure. I found that suicide whiskey while snooping around, and a plan formed. Jason was out so I took a few swigs of the normal whiskey then dumped it to make it seem like I had drank it all, then I waited till he was coming back into the building to try and open the suicide whisky, he flipped like I thought he would and called you, which means he's not the heartless bastard he pretends to be. Then I found this little trinket stored in his safe under the floor of his gun safe and I used it so he would actually talk. It worked out a lot better than I had planned it."

Connor looked slightly horrified but Dick smiled and said, "I knew we had something in common, what's the next step in your plan?"

Tim sighed around the cup in his hands and said, "He's bleeding internally, a piece from one of his broken ribs broke off. After he's gotten some sleep you're going to help me get him to the cave so Alfred can fix him up."

Dick hummed and asked "why me?"

Tim laughed and said, "Because although Jason's very good at hiding it, the reason he intentionally avoids you is because he's afraid of his own interest in you, if he wants to keep up the bastard façade he has to stay away from people who he's interested in."

Dick's eyes widened and he asked in a high voice, "How long?"

Tim laughed and said, "If I had to guess I'd say he's been crushing on you since he first met you."

Dick's eyes were like saucers as he said, "But I was a complete jerk, I actually lived up to my name."

Tim laughed and said, "Jason knew that it wasn't personal, he knew you just didn't want to be replaced so he repressed his feeling because he knew as long as he was robin you wouldn't want anything to do with him, and then after he died he repressed it because he didn't want to admit he had emotions other than anger, even though he's not so much angry as depressed."

Dick looked into his coffee like maybe it had all the answers in the world. Connor cleared his throat and asked in a broken voice, "So you're not suicidal?"

Tim smiled a sad smiled and said, "I was a little bit before I bumped into Jason, but not since."

Connor let out a sigh of relief and Tim said, "I'm sorry I took off, it's sort of instinct mixed with panic. I hope you guys didn't take it personal."

Dick let loose a strung out laugh and Connor asked, "Was there anything we should have done differently?"

Tim's looked at his hands clasped in his lap as he said, "Only if you wish you didn't know, because that's probably the only situation where I would have told either of you."

Connor followed Tim's gaze and asked, "Why, why wouldn't you tell us?"

Tim smiled sadly and said, "Because I hate pity, and out of everyone I didn't want you to think less of me."

Connor laughed and said, "God, I don't even think that's possible."

Tim's smile turned genuine as he drank some coffee. Connor suddenly stiffened and asked, "How did he get a hold of kryptonite?"

Both Tim and Dick started laughing and Tim elaborated, "He's been carrying the knife around since he met Superman after an incident with Ivy's sex pollen. He also carries around a silver knife and bullet in case of werewolves."

Dick laughed and said, "He still thinks there are werewolves? I thought he would get over that when he…" Dick's smile slipped off and he looked down at his coffee.

Connor glanced at the sleeping Jason and asked, "Are you sure he really died?"

Dick nodded and said, "I was there when they buried him. Three days and not even a hint of a heart beat. No one expected him to come back. Then he did and he wasn't the same. He started killing off the worst of the worst and Bruce couldn't even meet his eyes."

Tim sighed and said, "We finally have a shot at fixing things, but I'm having doubts. Jason hasn't been to the mansion or the bat cave since he died. He's not going to just go there even with the threat of me breaking his trinket."

Dick raised an eyebrow and asked, "What are you thinking baby bird."

Tim smiled an evil grin and said, "Well, since Jason has violent tendencies, we should take some precautions. His mobility's already down so I think a simple set of handcuffs would do, but more than anything I'm a little worried about what's going on in his head. I hate to admit it, but Jason can be quite brilliant when it comes to evading capture, so I think a mild sedative is in order."

Connor's eyes widened and he asked, "Your going to drug him?"

Tim nodded and said, "It's really for his own good."

Dick laughed and said, "You do realize I'm going to use that line against you some time in the near future."

Tim rolled his eyes above his coffee mug and said, "I scoped out this entire place, and Jason's got a stash of tranquilizers and other drugs. I can easily mix a combination to make him fuzzy but still lucid enough to walk, because I think he will kill us if we try to carry him."

Dick bit his hand and glanced over at Jason's exhausted form before giving Tim a faint nod. That was all Tim needed and in minutes he had pulled out several vials of drugs from a bottom cabinet and was carefully mixing them. Dick's gaze was just beginning to wonder when all three of them herd Jason moan. Dick felt like he had taken a hit to the stomach, as he spun to find Jason still fast asleep. Tim sighed and said, "He's just having a nightmare."

Dick swirled around to meet Tim's level green gaze. Connor was the one to ask first, "just a nightmare?"

Tim sighed and said, "You guys act like it is so horrible. Did you know Bruce has nightmares? I also have it on good authority that Clark has had nightmares."

Connor's eyes widened and he asked in a surprised squeak, "Superman has nightmares?"

Tim laughed and said, "Alright, Dick, you're in charge of him, inject this into his arm."

Dick's eyes narrowed as he took the sterilized syringe and asked, "Why am I in charge of him?"

Tim smiled and said, "Because when he fights with you he holds his punches a little longer and never goes for the most painful nerves."

"Did you d...drug me? Fucking Golden B…boy D...drugged me."

Somehow Jason managed to stutter and slur almost simultaneously. Dick Grimaced as his foot pushed the accelerant a little harder. After a few moments of silent Jason started shaking, it was a combination of shivering from the cold and tremors of a full on panic attack as Jason practically shouted, "Pull over." When Dick ignored him he made a moaning sound and said, "Please… please pull over."

Dick felt like he had taken a hit to the stomach, and he quickly pulled to the side of the road. Dick unbuckled and came around to Jason's side of the car, when he opened the passenger side door Jason crumpled out with a moan. Dick eventually pulled Jason to a semi-sitting position, and asked, "Are you alright?"

Jason shook his head, he was panting heavily, one hand clutched at the brace on his ribs the other was sort of twitching as it lay dangling at his side. Jason moaned and asked, "D…did you give me anything from my stash?"

The last part had come out surprisingly strong, obviously a sign of its importance. A nod of Dick's head and Jason moaned, collapsing in on himself as he said, "Un…unless you w…want me to d…d…die…Hospital."

Jason seemed to lose consciousness then as his body was gripped with a seizure. Dick kept him from choking on his own tongue or breaking his own neck but Jason was getting seriously dangerous. When Jason stopped seizing, Dick pulled him back into the car and rushed him to the nearest emergency room. He had barely removed the handcuffs and gotten him into the main room when a female doctor walked in and said, "Jason… Damn it!" She gazed over her spectacles at Dick and said, "Do you know what meds he received?"

Dick stuttered out, "n…no… But I can f…find out."

The doctor nodded for Dick to do that as she pulled Jason onto a stretcher and said, "Don't worry, most likely he just needs a transfusion till the drugs get out of his system, this is the fifth time he's been in here in the past six months, I keep telling him he can't take any medications, even Advil, but does he listen."

Dick found himself falling in step with the doctor just behind the nurses pushing Jason to a private curtained off section of the hospital that seemed to be remarkably quieter than all the places they had passed.

The doctor put a firm hand on his shoulder and led him to a chair a ways away, but he could still keep an eye on Jason. The Doctor smiled and asked, "Your Richard Grayson, he mentioned you a few times while he was under a hallucinogen. Anyway I am under the impression the Jason is estranged from you and the rest of your family. He's been seeing me for some time and although he avoids talking about it, it's obvious he made the choices that lead to your strained relationships. As his doctor I am not allowed to give out his medical information, but because he is currently unfit to decide for himself, I believe its best that I inform you exactly what is wrong with Jason."