A Different Kind of Normal
Disclaimer: DC owns it all.
Another morning and another one looking at a ceiling that wasn't his own. To Tim Drake, also known as Red Robin, this was a routine. Also routine was the person that was sleeping next to him, Helena Bertinelli, also known as Huntress. How did this happen?
It was about a year ago. Gotham was is the grips of a gang war, possibly second only to the No Man's Land incident in how bad it was. Not a good time to be in the city, especially since it took months to deal with. Tim worked with Helena the majority of that time.
The two sparked up an interesting friendship. Tim always had a soft spot for Helena, going as far as to clear her name at one point. He even defended her from Bruce when he was throwing accusations against her. Yes, he knew she had a darker side and yes, her had killed before. But pushing her away wasn't the answer. Tim would be remiss to not mention that he did harbor a crush on the older woman. While he long pushed aside such childish feelings, he would be lying if he didn't say he was still attracted to her.
The time they were working together, they opened up to each other. Helena was shocked that Tim could keep a optimistic view with all the hell to he had been through. Tim in kind had a better understanding of why she was the way she was. The two bonded far better than anyone could have anticipated.
It was a few months before the end of the war, during the worst time of it. Tim and Helena had heard of the weapons stockpile in the west end of Gotham and were planning to blow it to hell. They found the stockpile and much more, namely enough thugs to be considered a small army and they had all the equipment to qualify as one. There was no way to get back-up in time as the gangsters were about to move out. They needed to act.
After fighting past a horde of thugs (there were far too many to even attempt stealth) and planting bombs in as many places they could, they blew it. They likely saved thousands that night.
Afterwards, they went to her apartment, understandably tired. It wasn't just this mission, but the whole war. The stress was getting to both of them. It was then that they first had sex. Any objections they might have had doing this was ignored; they just need to feel something again. They needed something other than the mission.
After the act, Tim thought that this was going to be a one time thing. Yes, he knew Helena's reputation. It was something that people brought up when they were upset with her, though Babs was the one who used it the most. Tim didn't care and given everything that had happened, he doubt anyone else would either. They probably had done the same. It was one night and they both got what they needed.
It turned out that it wasn't just one night. Both were tired constantly and it was a quick way to release the pressure of being out on the streets. Neither had any regrets in the act.
A few months after this relationship started, the gang war finally came to an end. After all that misery, Gotham was in the clear and a sense of normalcy, at least by Gotham City standards, was returning. Of course, Tim thought that the relationship that he had with Helena would be over and they would go back to how things used to be.
He was wrong.
After a couple weeks of clean up, Tim found himself back in Helena's apartment, retrieving some of his equipment he left there. Helena was there as well and had suggested diner. Being that Tim was hungry and hadn't needed to be anywhere, he took her up on her offer. After dinner and a movie and yes it was that corny, one thing led to another as they say and back in bed they were. It was clear that they want to keep up a relationship and to hell with the consequences.
Shortly after, they came out in the open with their relationship. Half of their friends said that it was a bad idea that would lead to bigger problems later, the other half was more supportive but would warn them to be careful and not get hurt and Jason wanted to buy Tim a round of drinks.
And that leads to now. Tim thought it odd in a way. He thought if Helena were to pick any of the other Robins to shack up with it would be Jason. Helena certainly had no problem with violent shades of gray types. While the two admitting finding the other attractive, they found that their personalities clashed far to much. He did end up with Dick's other well known ex in Kory. Helena joked that Dick was a stop gap for women for when they wanted to go on to better Robins, teasing Babs that she was sticking to the chump Robin. She was less than amused.
In turn, Tim thought of all of Dick's ex's he would end up with it would be Babs. Yes, he in general thought of her more as a big sis, he couldn't help be drawn to her beauty and intelligence. Still, things worked out fine in the end so far.
Tim's train of thought was interrupted by Helena waking up, her eyes glazed from sleep "Morning love".
"Morning to you Helena".
Helena rose up, wearing only a black bra and thong and walked towards the kitchen. Tim let a bit of perversion out as he looked at Helena's barely clothed form. He had to admit she had one of the finest bodies he had seen and as a superhero he had seem he fair share.
"I hope you're not thinking of having a tumble. You know I don't do that in the morning until I at least get my coffee."
Tim snapped out of his trance. Helena was ok with it at this point, having caught Tim the act more than once. To be fair, she had done it to him as well.
Helena brewed a full pot of coffee, 90% of which Tim would drink himself. Boy was such an coffee addict, even without his position at Wayne Enterprises. Not that being a teacher didn't need a caffeine boast.
After eating breakfast and drinking coffee, Helena spoke "So Tim, if Bruce or the Titans don't need you or if Babs and Dinah don't need me, why don't we meet up here after patrol and get some take-out"?
"Sure. Pizza sounds good. Though I would point out that you will need to do your dishes at some point".
Helena really didn't like doing dishes, Sure, general upkeep of her apartment was fine, but dishes seemed like a never ending battle she dreaded. Sadly, she could never convince Tim to do it "Yes yes, I will get to it in the fullness to time. Pizza sounds good".
Helena looked at her clock and saw that she needed to get to work, as did Tim. Getting dressed, the two left the apartment, stopping right outside Helena's door. They said they're goodbyes and exchanged an affectionate kiss before Helena left down the stares.
As she left, Tim couldn't help but think a little. He thought how normal this all seemed, despite who he and Helena were. How they came together and how they stayed that way. They would never be normal, no matter how it seemed to outsiders. But that was fine. For them, it was normal enough and thats all that mattered.