This may be a bit of a weird fic idea. I just had this dream that had to do with going up north to a cabin and Ra's and Tim were there for what ever reason. So I took the cabin idea and thought I'd turn it into a fic. It won't be a long one (probably 3 chapters). And for those of you that may have read Prison Sentence, no this isn't exactly a follow up to Prison Break. I kind of have it written where it might feel that way, but it's not. However, if you'd like to include it with Prison Sentence, I'm not going to stop you.
The rustic door of one of Bruce's childhood cabins opened. Tim slowly entered the kitchen, a duffle bag hanging on his shoulder. Once setting the keys on the counter, he decided to tour the house. It was smaller than he had initially thought. There was the realitively basic kitchen, with a stove, fridge, sink and cabinets, which led into a decent sized living room that housed two grey couches and a TV. Parallel to the kitchen entrance was a screen door that lead to a sun room housing a table, several chairs, a bookshelf, and several wide windows exposing the beach a few feet away. On the right side of the living room was a small hallway keeping two bed rooms and a bathroom to itself.
It was a nice place. Clearly used for the Wayne's more relaxing ventures. Tim could imagine all the memories Bruce must have had for such a place. It was a comfortably quaint cabin. Definitely more so than some of Bruce's other vacation houses.
However, Tim was still a little annoyed about his reasons for being there. Bruce wanted him to take a break from Gotham and the taxing job that was Red Robin. Apparently, Bruce thought Tim looked tired and stressed. He thought Tim could use a break from it all. While the offer of a change in scenery with a few days to himself was welcomed, Tim didn't entirely like that he was 'forced' to do it. Well intended or not.
He set the duffle bag in one of the bedrooms before slowly reentering the living room. He briefly observed his surroundings once more. The vibration of a phone caught his attention, causing him to pull it out of his pocket and looked at it. Bruce was calling him.
"Hello." Tim greeted, starting to pace around the room.
"Hey." Bruce replied. "You make it?"
"Just getting settled in now. I got to admit, it's cozier than I expected."
Tim could hear Bruce chuckle in amusement.
"Of course. I may be set financially, but my parents advocated for enjoying the smaller things in life."
"Can't say I knew that." Tim sighed. "I just don't get why you want me to be here."
"You've been overworking yourself Tim. I know you can be, at the very least, a workaholic at times, but even you need a break every now and then. I want you to enjoy yourself. Relax."
Tim groaned, tilting his head to the side.
"Alright. I get it."
"Good. Now enjoy yourself, and make sure you check in."
"Will do dad."
Another chuckle sounded before the line went dead. Tim disconnected his side of the call before slipping his phone back into his pocket. Walking into the sun room, Tim gazed outside. He may not have been in much of a mood to swim, but he did want to at least walk onto the beach.
Water crashing onto shore greeted Tim as his feet sunk into the sand. Tim passed a fire pit on the way, which he could see using once or twice. The weather was pleasant and breezy. Tim approached the shoreline, marveling at the rippling blue tide.
It was peaceful. The motion and sounds of the water definitely eased some of the chaos in his head.
"It's been a while Detective." A voice greeted, distracting Tim.
Tim turned towards the owner of the voice. The realization caused him to jump back startled. A few feet away from him was Ra's. Tim didn't expect to see the man, and didn't feel particularly prepared to fight him.
"I was beginning to wonder when I might see you again." Ra's admitted, approaching Tim.
Tim tried to back away, only for a hand to grip his shirt, stopping him. Cold hands grabbed Tim's face and forced him to look at him. Ra's observed the teen as though checking for an illness.
"You look well." Ra's noted. "In good health, which is always a good thing. Still, you owe me for my services."
"I don't owe you anything," Tim argued, pushing out of Ra's' grip, "and I didn't ask you to contact me."
"Of course you didn't, but contacting you on any given day can be difficult. However, I'm not one for giving up."
Ra's started to fix the gap between them.
"Stay away." Tim ordered, stopping the man. "I don't know who you think you are, but I'm not about to let you pull anything over me."
Ra's smirked, amused by the demand.
"So be it." Ra's accepted. "It was good to see you Timothy. I hope we can talk again soon."
Ra's made his departure, leaving Tim alone. With Ra's' back steadily getting farther away, Tim bolted towards the cabin. He slammed the door behind him and stood with his back to the windows. He was anxious about the encounter.
It was intimidating for Ra's to pop up in front of him. Even more so when they were not too far from what should have been a secluded location. The fact that Ra's had even considered approaching him, demanding for payment, was even more perplexing.
The sound of another round vibration startled him. Reaching for his phone realized he was getting another call. This time from Conner. Tim picked it up, putting the phone next to his ear.
"What's wrong?" Connor anxiously questioned. "Your heart rate just spiked."
Tim wasn't all that alarmed by the observation. It was a perk of Conner's Kryptonian genes after all. However, the fact that Conner had responded so quickly was a little surprising.
"Would it be inconvenient for you to meet me here?" Tim inquired.
"Not at all." Conner denied. "I'm not too far from where you are. I'll be there in a few."
Tim filled him in the moment Conner got there. Conner got defensive, wanting to jump right into action. Tim refused to let him do so. With Ra's gone and Conner the only person knowing about the encounter, Tim didn't want to deal with the repercussions. Tim was shaken by the encounter, there was no getting around that, but he didn't want to cause an uproar. Especially without Bruce knowing.
Conner managed to understand Tim's concern, but wasn't going to leave Tim alone so quickly. He wanted to do something now that he was there for Tim. After some prying, Conner managed to pull Tim out of the house for a little bonfire in the fire pit. Tim was sitting by the fire, staring at it intently.
"I'm sorry that this happened." Conner apologized, taking a seat next to Tim. "What are you going to do?"
"I want to try and enjoy this required vacation." Tim admitted. "But I don't exactly feel safe right now."
"Would you like me to stay?"
Tim sighed. Embarrassment being the only emotion available.
"Just for tonight. I just don't feel comfortable being alone. I'm sorry."
"You don't need to apologize. You're supposed to be out here relaxing and it kind of got disrupted. I wouldn't be too comfortable with it either."
Tim shot Conner a grin.
"But you will call the big bad bat tomorrow."
Poor Timbo ain't getting a break. And I threw in Conner so I could get a little practice with him and so that Tim had somebody to talk to before telling Bruce. Again, feel free to let me know what you think about this fic.