Finally, college was out for the summer. Tim had debated on whether or not to take summer classes, but he just decided that he needed a break. Plus, Dick wouldn't leave him alone about taking the summer off. Apparently Tim was "working too hard" or "working too much". Oh well. This break will give him more time to work as Red Robin and more time to work on his cases.
Tim walks through the garage after parking his Bentley and crosses the threshold of Wayne Manor. Alfred stands there to greet him.
"Good evening Master Timothy."
"Hi Al." Tim responded with a heavy sigh. "I hate to pry, but what are we having for dinner?"
"Ironic you should ask. Master Richard insisted we have your favorite meal to 'celebrate the beginning of summer', I believe he told me. However, he and Mistress Barbara will not be joining us as they are on the other side of the Earth."
"Mmmm. Sounds great Alfred. Thank you. I'm going to go take a shower to wash the day away." Tim says as he takes off his shoes.
"Please do Master Timothy. Dinner shall be ready at six o'clock sharp."
"Alright." Tim responds heading up the stairs. 'Alfred looks tired.' Tim thinks to himself as Alfred starts to walk away.
"Oh and Master Timothy?"
"Hmm?" Tim halts his tread up the last half of the stairs and turns toward Alfred.
"Wear something nice for dinner. We have a guest." And that is what Alfred leaves Tim with, questioning whom would come to this house of emotionless statues that fake a smile most of their days because of their secret, horrifying, and death filled pasts.
Tim turns and finishes his climb up the stairs two at a time. 'I wonder if it's Dick and Babs.' Tim wonders when he enters his room from the barren hallway containing the rooms of the houses' occupants. 'They are in Tokyo with Cass though. Maybe they are back early?' Tim shrugs and walks to his on suite bathroom and starts to undress. Taking off his shirt he looks in the mirror noticing the multitudes of scares ranging in size and color depending on their age. For instance, there is a fairly large scar starting from his right hip leading to just before his bellybutton. Because of its age, it has faded. It was from the first time Jason had attacked Tim for being his "replacement" which was a good six years. Wow. Had it really been that long? Jason has been around every once in a while and hasn't tried to kill Tim since their last encounter which was four years ago. This is good. They are on an okay, working level with each other. They have even worked with each other on a couple of cases but not without contradictions. Yes, they fought. I guess you could say they fought like an old married couple. Which means they fought a lot and over the littlest of things.
Tim's eyes focus back on himself in the mirror and he sighs yet another heavy sigh. It had been a long day. He woke up around four o'clock am to go to his early classes he had two times a week. After four hours of school he headed over to Wayne Enterprises for an "important" board meeting (which wasn't important, but Lucius Fox had to say it was important in order to get the teen to attend the meeting), then went back to school at ten o'clock and was at school until four o'clock pm. He hadn't had any time to eat today and he was hungry. With his stomach growling like a starved beast in the last two hours of class, he didn't know if he could get through his classes. People stared. He ignored of course, but man was it loud. Tim focuses again and realizes that at some point in his recollection of the day's events, he had stepped into the shower. 'No point in talking out loud if there is no one to hear me speak.' He thought.
He grabs his loofa and puts soap on it and begins to scrub his body. He thinks of it as a way of scrubbing away his day.
With cleansing himself complete, he turns the cold water off but leaves the hot water on. As the temperature of the water increases, his body starts to sting. Two minutes pass and his body is now red from the scalding water. He turns the water off completely and grabs his towel wrapping is securely around his waist. He grabs his phone off the bathroom counter and checks the time.
5:30 it read.
'Just enough time for my body temp to cool.' He dries his hair and walks back into his room. He looks around and breathes. Walking over to his closet he notices his laptop isn't on his desk. 'I know I brought it back.' Tim just shrugs it off and walks into his closet. He puts on a pair of tight, dark skinny jeans and an Abercrombie & Fitch shirt he had recently bought. Putting black socks on, he sits on his bed. He checks the time again. 5:50. And with that he heads out of his room, down the barren hall he walks up and down every day, and down the seemingly ever-growing stairs.
As he continues to walk down the stairs, he hears Alfred talking to someone. The man isn't quite old enough to have gone crazy and start talking to himself. He walks over to Bruce's study and peeks through the cracked door. Bruce is sitting at his desk with his thumb and index fingers placed on the bridge of his nose like he always does when he's stressed or irritated.
'If Alfred isn't talking to Bruce, then who is he talking to?' Tim pondered this question as he makes his way to the dining hall.
Tim's pocket buzzes and he pulls out his phone in the foyer of the Manor. It was the Teen Titans very own Bart Allen (Impulse).
-Did you analyze the goo we found in The H.I.V.E Academy building yet?
-Not yet Bart. I have a guest to entertain tonight. I'll analyze the "goo" and send the file over to the Tower's main computer tomorrow.
-Yes fearsome leader!
Tim rolls his eyes and spots Damian (which means Alfred isn't talking to Damian) trotting down the stairs, most likely heading for the dining hall.
Damian looks at Tim as he passes by him and nods.
Some time ago, Tim and Damian came to an agreement to stay out of each other's way. However, there are moments when Damian will attempt to tackle Tim and will just swing his head around at the other teen boy crouched on the floor behind him and give him the best "nice try" smile in the world when he fails.
"Where is father?" Damian inclines.
"Bruce is in his study if you are wishing to speak with him."
Damian simply nods at that and turns towards Bruce's study.
Tim yells after Damian, "Tell Bruce that dinner is done and Alfred is waiting for us."
"Tt" is all that comes back, but Tim knows that Damian will tell Bruce.
Tim turns back toward the area of the massive house that hold the dining hall and a variety of ballrooms and continues his everlasting journey to the feast of his lifetime.
He freezes once he enters the door. Occupying one of the various chairs at the excessively large table is someone Tim hasn't spoken to in over three months. Sitting next to the chair Tim usually sits at is none other than Jason Peter Todd-Wayne himself (though he argues the Wayne part of his name doesn't belong because Bruce never officially adopted him).
Jason turns his head toward the new occupant of the room and gives a half smile while pulling out the chair next to him.
Tim, hesitantly, trots over to the chair and takes a seat.
"Hi Jason." As if that couldn't be any more awkward.
"Sup Replacement."
'Damn him and his irritating nickname.' Tim thinks as his jaw visibly twitches.
"Struck a nerve didn't I?"
Tim rolls his eyes at the arrogant (barely) adult. Jason just chuckles as if it were the funniest thing on Earth!
Bruce and Damian walk into the room and all is well minus the death glares Jason was receiving from Damian (they haven't quite worked out all their issued yet)…
"Hello Jason." Bruce says flatly.
"Let's skip the pleasantries and get to dinner shall we?" Jason looks at Tim letting him know that he heard his stomach growl.
Dinner passes EXTREMELY SLOWLY… Goddamn this world making the most awkward moments go by so slow. Tim relishes in the fact that this dinner was for him and that his stomach didn't sound like a ravenous lion about to break out of its' cage at the city zoo and eat the closest source of meat no matter what it was.
Tim finishes helping the old butler with the dishes from dinner and heads to his room. As he rounds the door frame of his door, he notices his laptop on his desk. 'It was missing earlier right? Or was I just out of it?' Again, like earlier, he shrugs it off and heads to his closet. He grabs a pair of baggy sweats and decides to sleep without a shirt tonight.
Lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, Tim thinks about, well about everything. From the "goo" with Bart, to his classes being over, and to Jason. Jason looked as if he was doing fairly well for himself.
'I miss Dick.' Tim declared.
Right before falling asleep he let Dick know that with a text.
-I miss you Dick.
-I miss you too Babybird! Get some sleep. Good night.
-Good night.
Tim set his phone under his pillow, darkness then consumed him.
