Tim swirled his spoon slowly in his cereal. His too long hair fell in front of his face as bent over the bowl. He had arrived home from the spring semester of boarding school to an empty house. He wasn't surprised, but he was disappointed. Their plane must have been delayed.
Pouring the now soggy cereal down the drain, Tim ran the garbage disposal. The angry whirl of the blades prevented him from hearing the sound of the front door opening. Tim placed the bowl in the empty dishwasher when he was picked up and squeezed tightly.
Disoriented, Tim floundered in the unexpected grip until his brain decoded the strange sensations as his mother's hug. He relaxed into the embrace and squeezed as hard as his nine-year-old arms could.
"Tim! Oh kiddo, we missed you so much," his mother cried, swaying softly as she held him.
His father's hand ruffled Tim's hair affectionately. "This is getting a little long."
"Oh shush, if our kiddo wants to be a hippie, he can," Janet argued.
"Not if he is going to take over the family business someday," his dad replied.
Tim already knew this, but his dad must have forgotten they had talked about it. "I know, Dad. I was hoping you'd take me to your barber."
Jack Drake winked. "Of course, Son."
Tim grinned at his father, and his mom sighed dramatically at the two of them.
"Well, you can't spend all summer at the barber shop," his mother mock whispered. "I have a surprise."
Janet placed him on the ground and turned to her backpack that she had dropped on the floor. Tim wondered what strange new thing his mother would bring this time.
"Close your eyes, kiddo."
Accustomed to his mom's ritual, Tim closed his eyes and held out his hands. A large smooth object was placed in his hands.
"A book?" He guessed. Surely, his mother hadn't gotten him something so common.
"You got it!" His mom beamed.
Tim opened his eyes. In his hands was a book all about aerospace engineering.
"I know it's not what I typically bring back, but I figured while your father goes to his boring meetings, you and I could learn a thing or two. Maybe put together one or two."
"We're going to build a plane?!" Tim yelled, spinning with the book. "This is awesome! I'm going to start reading it right away."
Tim bounded to his study but turned back just as quickly. "Mom, aren't you coming?"
His mother smiled with all of her teeth, and her eyes crinkled at the edges. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."
Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this. Personally, I wanted to explore the relationships between Tim and his parents some more. Yes, his parents are terribly neglectful, but I don't believe that they don't love Tim. In this series, Tim's parents are more distracted than anything else. Not that this is an excuse - but it does set up the tension of the Bats believing Tim is neglected, and Tim disagreeing.
More fluff prompts in the works: Tim and Jason bonding and Young Dick and Bruce bonding soon!