First of three Dick/Tim stories I'm going to update today. Inspired by the drabbles written by Heartslogos on tumblr. :)
Enjoy! :D
Tim was always cautious, always observant. He always did his research before doing anything. He always made sure he would do whatever project he was doing absolutely perfect. Unless it was done perfectly, then it was a failure. That was just how Tim was.
This way of thinking often left him with crushed self-esteem and an impossibly low confidence level. Seeing his brother being so hard on himself, made Dick want to do whatever he could to make him feel better. A simple unwanted hug, or a playful kiss on the cheek. Those forms of affection often made Tim uncomfortable. However, Dick loved how his little brother would lock up, and how his eyes would widen with a mixture of childish fear and anxiety.
There was one particular week were Dick was not even sure if Tim had slept the entire seven days. The teenager was locked up in his room, on leaving to deal with a bodily habits that could not be ignored. Not sure when he would next step out, Dick decided to sit by Tim's bedroom door until it opened, no matter how long it would it take. And damn, did it take long, but eventually he heard the door knob click and a figure step out.
It was then that Dick pounced on him from the back, with a heavy hug and kiss on the neck he stated, "I hate not seeing you around, you know I love you."
"Dick," even though he could not see his face, Dick knew that behind those words was an eye roll, "Don't lie to me."
"Someday I'll convince you that I'm not lying when I say I love you."
"And someday you'll fall out of love with me. Don't waste your time."
There it was, that lack lethal mixture of a lack of confidence, and life. People fall in love all the time, yeah, Tim knew that. Many, if not all of those people stay in love. What is the point of putting in all that effort if it was never going to last. It was a waste of energy and time.
A few nights later, Dick returned home rather late from a rough patrol. Of course, Tim was the only one that was still awake, working on some last minute notes that would take up the rest of the night. Dick was startling to believe that Tim never really slept. Tim heard the roar of a motorcycle roll into the cave, and he stood up to see who it was.
Dick parked and stumbled off his bike. Seeing how out of it Dick was, Tim immediately rushed to his side to see if he was okay, "I got you." with an arm wrapped around the man's back he guided him toward a gurney. "Stay here, I'll go get some supplies." Tim stated as he noticed the long gash on Dick's right arm.
Dick watched as Tim dashed off and gathered his materials, "Tim, I love you!" he blurted out, sitting up and peeling off his mask.
"I know you do," there was a light giggle on the tip of Tim's voice. It was such a random time for him to say it that it caught him off guard, "You say it all the time." he carried all the materials in his arms and made his way back to Dick. "I need you to take off your uniform, unless you want me to accidentally sew you into it."
Dick flashed him a smile and did what he was told. He stripped down to nothing but his boxers, and tossed his damaged outfit to the ground. As soon as that was gone, Tim began stitching his arm, "Why do you love me, Dick?" Red Robin's voice was quiet, and low.
"Well," Dick began, finally being able to explain himself to Tim made his heart thump, it was something he had been waiting for. He was excited enough that the pricking pain of the needle had dulled out to nothing, and in an even tone he spoke, "How could I not? You're so inspiring and strong, with all the crap that you've been through. But sometimes I feel like you're just to hard on yourself -"
"Dick, stop." Tim sighed, shaking his head, "First off, I'm not good enough for you. Also, relationships never last."
"Don't say that, Timmy!' Dick snapped. "If anything you're the one that is too good for me!"
Tim rolled his eyes, "Just shut up," his voice was light, and there was a tiny smile on his face. "Thank you, though... for saying those things."
"I love you, Tim." Dick said proudly, "And even if you'll never love me back -"
"I do love you," Tim revealed, his eyes momentarily shifting up to meet Dick's gaze then dropped back to his stitching. "Just not in the way you do, or at least not yet."
Those words were all Dick needed to hear.
Not yet.
Not yet.
Not yet.