There are certain things that Tim knew not to do. Things that were stupid, illogical, truly and unequivocally dumb. He wished that stopped him from doing it. Like now, Tim knew that it was stupid, but at least his heart was in the right place as he was doing it.
It started when WE held a blood drive outside the building and Tam had been out for the day and the assistant he'd been working with had suggested, "Mr. Drake-Wayne, why don't you give blood? I mean you've been promoting it for weeks and it seems like you'd rather other people do it than are you a "do as I say not as I do" kind of guy?" She was grating and wrong, he had been a leader many times and he had never ordered anyone to do anything he wouldn't do himself.
"I never took you for that kind of guy." She was staring at him like he was dirt. Her green painted nails were tapping across the tablet she was holding in a judgmental way that suggested she was his boss and not the other way around. "Your next appointment is in an hour if you change your mind on giving blood." She walked away in a way that made him think of his mother.
"Thank you, Miss Monahan." He said as he sat down at his office to fill out and read the reports that needed to be looked over. He was halfway down reading the fiscal report of the R&D portion of WE when Molly Calvin from accounting that had helped set up the blood drive breezed in his office.
"Timothy, I thought the blood drive meant something to you, why haven't you donated blood?" As if to add emphasis she lifted her sleeve to show a band aid covering a cotton ball in the crook of her arm.
"I will give blood, just later I didn't want to make a big deal about it. Miss Monahan told you didn't she?" Tim said, exasperated.
"She did send an email or two to me." Molly said in a meeker voice.
"Would it make you happy if I did it now?" Tim asked, he was tired, he hadn't slept much the night before, he had been stabbed a week ago had lost blood had been given a transfusion of two pints of blood. He hadn't planned on giving blood today, but now he just wanted the meddling women to leave him alone so he could get work done. What was a pint when an average human had around six or seven pints? He could do it, it would be fine Alfred had been making him eat iron rich protein foods and drinking lot of water.
Yeah, it was stupid.
Irrational, bossy, and stupid people were the real bane of society.
"Well, it would set an example for the employees of the company." Molly replied.
"Fine, I'll go do it now." Tim got up and regretted the blood drive that had been his idea. He saved what notes he'd been working on and got up. "I will be back soon."
The bloodmobile was empty, but for two of the people operating it. An older woman and a middle aged man thankfully, they didn't recognize him.
"Fill out this paperwork and then we'll get started. Have you donated blood before?" the middle aged man asked.
"No, I just turned seventeen a few months ago." Tim answered simply instead of telling that he had his blood drawn before to give to himself in case the need arose when he ran around at night as a vigilante. Age played in his favor here.
"It won't hurt, it may be uncomfortable for a little bit." The older woman said as he handed in the lengthy paperwork.
He carefully folded up his dress shirt and laid down, trying to think good thought like firing Monahan, she probably wasn't going to give blood at all.
"Little stick." The older woman said. Liar, it hurt and it felt huge.
He watched as the plastic bag filled with his AB negative blood. "You're doing good, you're a good bleeder."
Tim began to feel a lightheaded, but it wasn't a big deal he had eaten breakfast and even lunch so, it was in his mind, right? He felt his eyelids began to slide down and voices start to fade out and get distorted.
"Come on, buddy open those big blue eyes for me. Yeah, that's it open all the way up." The older woman that had stuck him was telling him. "Can you look at me?"
He smelled something awful and his cheek hurt. Tim realized that he probably passed out, that was probably it. He looked up at the woman trying to focus on her eyes.
"I want you to drink this for me, can you do that for me?" she handed him a can of soda. He sipped the Sprite slowly. So she was the the one who had been slapping his cheek, he noticed a small pill like thing that was broken. Smelling salts, great he was a damsel in distress.
"What happened?" Tim asked when he drank some if the soda, the sugar was making him feel more alive.
"You were fine, and all of a sudden your eyes closed and you were passed out. Normally, people pass out afterwards, not during." The man told him as the woman placed a cold paper cloth on his forehead.
"We called your emergency contact he'll be here in a few minutes. We want to make sure that you're okay and then you should probably go home and take the rest of the day easy." The woman instructed.
"I can just go back to work it isn't a big deal." Tim said, he had work and appointments that couldn't be rescheduled just because he didn't stand up to two women in the office that made him feel bad about not giving blood. He was going to see about firing Monahan, that woman needed to be more of an assistant and less of a witch.
"Your boss must be a slave driver. Your brother is on his way here he said he'd take you home. Drink the rest of the soda."
Tim took a few more sips before a knock was heard at the bloodmobiles door. It was open to reveal Dick, who looked peeved at someone.
"Hey, Dick." Tim said as he tried to take of the cold paper towel he didn't want to look like a damsel in distress, as much as he felt like it. He hated feeling and looking weak.
"Are you okay?" Dick asked worried.
Tim was really not in the mood for Dick's mother henning, "I'm fine Dick, you can leave. I have to go back to work anyway."
"I thought you were joking about that." The man said.
"He was. I'll take you home and if you have to, you can work from home. You can rest you know." Dick said exasperated. "Why did you give blood" he whispered.
"It's a long story. I was serious about going back to work, you realize that I had a meeting with our overseas investors today. I can't blow that off it's not like I have Bruce's reputation." Tim said as he finished the Spite with one last chug. He swung his legs over the bed and felt lightheaded Tim blinked away the black spots that danced across him eyes. He tried not to sway, but stubbornness didn't keep him from almost falling, Dick caught him before he fell.
"We are going to the manor. I'll get Bruce to cover for you." Dick told him as he set him back on the bed.
"Wait a second, are you the sons of Bruce Wayne?" the woman asked in shock.
"Yes, I'm Dick Grayson and this is my workaholic little brother Tim Drake-Wayne. He sometimes passes out when he gets a blood drawn, even at physicals." Dick flashed a smile as he patted Tim's shoulder.
If looks could kill Dick would be dead, Tim pale, as a sheet of paper was staring at Dick like he offended him worse than anyone ever had.
"I'm going to call Bruce and let him know about the meeting he has to go to." He stepped outside the bloodmobile to call him.
"I knew I should have listed Jason as my contact person." Tim muttered as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "He would have laughed and not forced me to go to the manor."
The attendants of the bloodmobile looked slightly horrified at him saying that.
"I was joking about that, Jason's a good friend of the family. He is great, but not as good as coffee." Tim realized he was starting to ramble this wasn't his day.
The bloodmobile shifted as Dick stepped back inside he was looking everywhere, but the bag of blood that was rocking back and forth to keep from clotting. "Bruce is reading up on the meeting. He'll be here so you can go home and rest up."
Tim felt terrible and if it wasn't for his overly sensitive sense of duty he would have been happy to go home and just sleep.
"Let's get you home." Dick helped Tim get up and made sure he was steady on his feet. They barely made it to the car that Dick was driving when Tim lost everything that he'd eaten in the bloodmobile. Dick watched as his younger brother as he throw up beside the car, he felt terrible for him.
"When we get home Alfred can make you some tea it will make you feel better. Does giving blood always make you do this?" Dick asked as he gently washed Tim's face off with antibacterial washcloths he carried around like a mom.
"Sometimes." Tim said as he shuttered slightly.
"Why did you donate blood then?" Dick asked as he handed Tim a cup in case he needed to puke again. They buckled up and Dick started to drove slowly to the manor.
"I wanted to be a good leader, and CEO." Tim sighed, "Pretty stupid, right?"
"I don't know what you mean by being a good leader and CEO by giving blood, people donate blood all the time. People sell their blood and that doesn't' make them good people of bad people."
"Tam was out today. I got stuck with this… witch. She would have been burned if we were in the right time in Salem. She said that I was a 'Do as I say and not as I do leader' I haven't ever been accused of that. Not in Young Justice or Teen Titans, I let it get under my skin. It's stupid." Tim explained in a washed out voice.
"You gave blood to encourage other WE employees to donate blood? That isn't stupid, if you hadn't been stabbed a week ago and still had an acceptable amount of blood in your body. I mean you had to have a pint and a half last week. Don't do something like this again, you're so smart and yet you have no self-preservation."
"I'm still here." Tim muttered as he pulled sunglasses on trying to block out the sun, causing him a headache.
"Barely." Dick whispered as he looked at his little brother curled up in the passenger seat. How many close calls and risks had Tim been willingly taking the last few months.
"What was that?" Tim asked in a tired voice as he moved to get more comfortable in the passengers seat.
"Nothing, you try and get some sleep, little brother."
He would try to change that his little brother shouldn't feel like an outsider or like he wasn't family. It was a plan that might take a while for him to enact, but it might bring them all closer. Jason shouldn't be alone either, Cassandra was always so steady and even balanced, on the outside, she needed to be shown that she was loved too, Damian was still arrogant and full of himself, but he was stuck with the most emotionally stunted person he met. Heck, there was so many of them now, they all needed to feel loved.
They were a family it was big and broken, but it was his and it was good. They just needed to be reminded of it, how good their family of bats was. Dick smiled as he thought of bonding activities that Bruce couldn't get out of. Bruce was taking care of business right now, he was probably hating every minute of the meeting he had to take over for Tim. Well, it was his business so he could take care of it. Dick thought as he looked over at Tim who was now asleep. He sometimes envied at how easily his brother could fall asleep if he was still for more than five minutes and no one was talking to him, that was one of his super powers. The trip to the manor went by quickly Dick had turned the radio down so it was gentle back ground music, Tim didn't even move. "When did you even sleep last?" Dick muttered when he tried to wake him up, Tim didn't budge so instead he picked him up and carried him inside the manor. He met Alfred at the door, "Ah Master Dick, do bring in Master Timothy to his bedroom. I'm sure some sleep and he will feel better in a few days. Whatever possessed him to donate blood after being stabbed a week ago?" He said in his steady English tone. "He wanted to be a good leader. He helped organize it and the employees started to bother him about not being a good example of a leader." Dick explained as he marched up the stairs to Tim's room. Alfred entered the kitchen to fix tea for Dick and to have some ready for Tim when he woke up.
"Just once I'd like them to think about themselves." Alfred told himself, as he put together a tray for Tim and left the out the cereal for Dick. He put a blueberry scone and cold Earl Gray tea with just milk because he knew that was how Tim liked it.
Alfred walked up to the to Tim's room with the tray just as Dick was done taking of his shoes and business suit. Tim was only half awake, he placidly let Dick get him in his undershirt and boxers. "Later you can explain how you were going to keep working feeling like this. Really, Tim sleep and eat like a human, and half your problems would disappear."
Alfred gave a small little chuckle as he sat the tray on Tim's desk beside his bed. "You can pick out problems in each other's lives, without even noticing the ones in your own lives, brothers."
Bruce was down in the cave working on current case files when his cell phone started to shake. He answered it, but before he could get a word out, Dick was telling him something "Hey, Bruce you'll have to step in for Tim with the super important meeting for your company. He gave blood and passed out, he looks pretty wiped out I think he would scare the overseas investors right now. He's pretty pale, but he's saying he's fine." Bruce sighed as he heard his eldest speak those words. This wasn't what he was expecting when he answered his phone.
"Is Tim, okay? Why did he give blood he knows better." Bruce asked as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He started walking to his office to pull up everything he needed to know for the meeting.
"He's still in the bloodmobile I think they forced him to drink something I'll make sure he gets something to eat," Dick said, Bruce could image his oldest pacing. He was printing out the last few statements from the company as he read over them. Wayne Enterprises was doing very well under Tim and Lucius's leadership, he noticed as he flipped through them.
"I'll leave right now. Get Tim to come to the manor don't take any excuses. Bye." Bruce hung up the phone and sighed. What would it be like to have children with self-preservation skills?
He briskly walked through the manor, he stopped in the kitchen where Alfred was busy making blueberry scones. Bruce smelled the delectable dough baking as he stopped to inform Alfred of what had happened.
"Oh, dear. Do hurry to the meeting. I'll take care of picking up Master Damian from school." Alfred reassured him.
"Thanks. I'll see you later." Bruce grabbed a set of keys and rushed out the door so he wouldn't be late for the meeting. He thought about each of his children and the things they did. Giving blood like this wasn't the stupidest thing in a while. His children had managed to make him feel old in a way that nothing else could. The drive to Wayne Enterprise was uneventful he watched the surprised faces of his employees as he walked in.
The meeting went... slowly. He felt like he was surrounded by idiots, normally he could stand the dull meetings and shallow people. He just wanted to go home and check on his children. After what seemed like days, but was really hours he was free to go. He did the minimum to greet and talk to others, before he was back in his car and on the road back to the manor.
Bruce found Alfred and Damian were in the kitchen. Damian was eating his usual after-school snack of almonds, a small cup of blueberries, and drinking a glass of almond milk.
"Father, how was the meeting?" Damian asked as he looked up at him.
"It was fine. How is Tim?" Bruce replied.
"Still asleep. I was going to wake him in a few hours to make sure he was fine." Alfred replied.
"How was school today, Damian?" Bruce asked looking at his youngest.
"Same as always. Tt, the teacher assigned me to a group project I objected and then the less idiotic children pared together so now I'm stuck with a moron. I'll end up doing most of the work and he'll get a decent grade out of it. The teacher disregarded my paper I wrote about how group projects do not prepare students for real life." Damian fumed.
Bruce felt a pang of sympathy toward Damian, he hadn't ever enjoyed group projects. "I'm sure it will be fine, Damian."
Tim entered the kitchen then, he was wearing a faded Wonder Woman hoodie and light gray sweatpants. He stumbled into the kitchen, "What time is it?" he asked as he slid into a seat beside Damian. Damian gave him a look that usually reserved for injured kittens or small puppies he patted Tim's shoulder in a way that was meant to be reassuring. Tim responded by almost falling of the seat. Bruce righted him before he could fall to far.
"It's 4:09. Master Timothy, how did you sleep, do you feel any better?" Alfred asked the teenager.
"I feel like I was ran over by a truck. Bruce, I'm sorry I missed the meeting. I didn't think I'd pass out if I donated blood." Tim said apologetically as he looked at his adopted father.
"It's okay Tim. Next time don't give blood when you've been stabbed a week ago. I can handle a few meetings for my company." Bruce said just short of sternly.
Satisfied and tired, Tim replied to Bruce, "Take a note to Lucius to fire Monahan, she's evil." Tim laid his head on the table with his arms folded under him. "I ate most of the scone and all the tea, thank you, Alfred."
Bruce wanted his sons to make better choices. "Do you need anything, Tim?" Bruce asked as he placed his hand on Tim's shoulder and gave it a little squeeze.
"I want coffee. The deathwish stuff I hid in the freezer in between the frozen kale and bean burgers. Alfred just pretends he doesn't know it's there." Tim said compliantly. "I hide a stash so Dick and Damian can't take it."
Damian looked unimpressed as he looked at his father, who looked unsurprised at the lengths Tim would go to to keep his caffeine safe from his brothers.
Bruce looked at Alfred and the elder man replied before Bruce could. "I shall fix you a small cup, but that's all and you must eat super."
"Fine. Anything for coffee." Tim didn't talk anymore as he laid his head back in his folded arms. He didn't even look up when Dick bounded in searching for Tim because he was missing. Dick had peaked into Tim's room to find it empty.
"Where is Tim? He's gone!" Dick exclaimed before he saw his little brother laid out on the table asleep. "He looks so little and pale. Why did he have to give blood?"
"Because he is a fool," Damian replied, over Tim's light snoring.
"A well-meaning fool at least," Dick replied.
"Don't call your brother a fool." Bruce reprimanded them.
"I wouldn't donate my blood at all it's ludicrous to think of as Robin I have to be at my peak and a pint of blood would compromise my performance. I have yet to meet anyone that deserves my liquid connective tissue." Damian announced.
"I haven't donated blood for someone else. Alfred sometimes will take it and keep it in case I need some later on. I thought I saved enough people as Nightwing, I didn't have to save them with my blood." Dick commented before adding, "I don't like needles."
"I never donated blood either," Bruce added thinking back to his career as Batman, it had always demanded he be at his physical peak at all times.
"Drake has done something none of us has?" Damian voiced aloud, Tim stirred a little at Damian's surprised tone.
"Barbara has donated blood before she wears the shirts they give out," Dick said as he sat on the other side of Damian he grabbed a scone and started to break it in pieces and eat it.
"It's still fitting that the fool is the only one to have done it," Damian commented.
"How can someone so smart be so... dumb?" Dick asked as he looked at Tim's sleeping figure on the kitchen counter tops.
"You're not the only one who wonders something of that nature," Alfred muttered savagely.
"What was that Alfred?" Bruce asked in a tone that suggested he heard every word.
"You act as though Master Timothy is the only one who does unintelligent things," Alfred explained, as he proceeded to put the scones in a glass container that would keep them fresh.
"I don't do stupid stuff." Dick protested. Alfred merely glared at Dick. "Yeah, okay you got me."
"Let's make it a rule not to donate blood, like that again.·" Bruce said.
"I think it would be for the best." Alfred agreed.
AN I think I was hungry when I wrote this I mention food so much, and now I want scones.