AHAHAHA IM SO TIRED AND I HAVE SO MUCH WORK
Okay guys I'm sorry but i. have. Been. So. Busy.
Fuck so busy damn. I literally wrote this instead of starting an essay I have due on Monday? Aren't my priorities great? Okay but no really, I needed some detox time from school, this helps.
My birthday was on September 9th, and everything surrounding it was just so stressful… But I did get a new laptop, so hooray! First post from new laptop at 12 am, lol. Enjoy, and tell me what you think. I really appreciate and enjoy reviews! Sorry about any typos, I haven't slept properly in like two weeks :')
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They fall back into each other easily, and for a moment Rowan could imagine it was like they never left.
At least, she could if she ignored the marked differences.
Damian came over less, but he made up for it by calling and texting more. Tim stayed in town for once, but made an effort to spend more time with Damian and come by the shop at least every weekend.
It was less than before in some respects, and more in others, so it all balanced out. It balanced in a way that made her miss Damian's nightly visits, but look forward to seeing Tim seated in the shop with a tablet in his hand and a smile that she liked to think was for her. It balanced in a way that made her miss 2 am texts from Tim about everything and nothing, but adore pictures of Titus in the middle of her day from Damian.
It left her wanting and satisfied all at once, and because she couldn't quite understand how that was even possible, she let it go.
Well, she tried.
It was only about a month after the aggressive game of tag (She wouldn't call it a date because really, it was an aggressive game of tag holy fuck she hadn't remembered Gotham had so many alleys to run down.) that she found herself lying in her bed in the middle of the night and feeling oddly lonely because even though the boys where in Gotham, they still felt too far away because they weren't with her. The thought made her cheeks heat, and she covered her face with one hand.
'I am so stupid.'
Groaning, she turned in her bed and reached for the nearest snack, which ended up being a bag of mini Oreos. She looked at them, thought about it, and then decided that shoving them all in her mouth wasn't how she was going to treat the delightful little cookies. By the time she had one open and the cream part down on her tongue, her phone was going off.
She pulled her previously outstretched tongue back into her mouth and chewed, pulling up her phone. She knew without checking that it would be Damian, or Damian on Tim's phone. Though he tended not to come and stay the night any more, he'd begun to text and FaceTime her more often.
She ignored the way her heart skipped a beat when she answered the video call and Damian's shadowed face appeared.
"Sitting in the dark?" she inquired around the other half of the tiny cookie.
Instead of Damian answering, Tim's irritated one greeted her from off screen.
"Some of us are actually trying to sleep," he grumbled.
Laughing softly, Rowan opened up another cookie and licked the frosting off as she watched a verbal battle evolve into a slight scuffle on the other side of the screen. When the entire picture shook and fell, Rowan had to smother her laughter before her Mama or Gran heard her.
"Everything okay?"
Really, she was trying her hardest not to choke on cookie bits.
There was a grunt that sounded like it came from Damian, before the previously fallen phone was picked up and she was met with Tim's pale face. His blue eyes looked tired, and the light from the phone damn near reflected off of his milky skin.
That just made her laugh harder.
"What?"
Shaking her head, Rowan brushed cookie crumbs off of her chest and sat up, shifting when she felt some fall down her tank top. She usually hated wearing tank tops because food always ended up between her boobs, but it was hot and muggy so she'd opted for cooler sleep wear.
"You're positively glowing," she told him, all the while reaching for another cookie.
Tim's face immediately screwed up into a grimace, and Rowan grinned at him.
The screen moved again, only this time out and Rowan realized Damian had taken back the phone. With the new position, Rowan could see that Damian had all but trapped Tim against his bare chest in a loose sort of head lock, the older boy not even bothering to try and wiggle out.
The sight made her grin harder, and she resisted the urge to coo at them. They'd both probably be annoyed at her.
"Our boyfriend wasn't blessed with appropriate genes, and so he's doomed to roam the world lacking melanin. Don't tease him for his disabilities, Rowan," Damian chided in a condescending tone.
"Like you're much better you hypocritical ass," Tim snapped back.
Damian replied something in another language that Rowan didn't understand, but Tim evidently did if the way his eyes widened and his mouth snapped shut where any indication.
Going in for another Oreo, Rowan raised her eyebrow in question as both boys brought their gazes back to her. She felt mildly uncomfortable when she went to lick the filling out of her cookie, and both boys watched her instead of answering.
Completely bypassing Damian's catty words, Rowan quickly finished her cookie and tried not to laugh at them.
"You know these are just Oreos right?"
Both boys seemed to snap out of whatever trance they'd been in, and Rowan rolled her eyes at them.
"What?" Tim asked quickly.
Holding her bag of Oreos in front of her phone, she spoke in a matter of fact tone, "My cookies? They're just mini Oreos. I'm sure Alfred can make you something better in the morning if you ask. Unless you feel like coming to the bakery, of course."
Really, she knew they'd been eyeing her treat; they didn't have to play dumb.
"That's not-" Damian began, but was quickly cut off by Tim.
"-You're right! We'll probably come by tomorrow, right Damian?"
The blue eyed boy shot Damian a sharp gaze that had Rowan thinking there was something more going on there. Her suspicions rose when Damian tried to say something and Tim cut him off again, snatching the phone and making the entire picture blurry.
"Well, we should probably go to sleep, night Ro."
Then the screen was black, and she was left in the company of her Oreos once more.
'Weird ass boys.'
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Tim didn't actually get a chance to go to the bakery the next day, nor did Damian. When he'd said that, it had been more to distract Rowan from the fact that watching her lick cream out of an Oreo had done some odd things. He'd completely forgotten that he and Damian where supposed to be going in to the office with Bruce.
While Bruce hadn't exactly been drowning in work, he'd still sent them to some of his meetings and various other engagements to save time. He'd justified it, saying 'His sons deserved the experience'.
That was bull and they all knew it because Damian could probably run the company in his sleep, and Tim wasn't half bad at handling finances either.
They'd all split from each other to do various tasks, only stopping to have lunch before heading back. Tim had texted Rowan during their break, but apparently she'd already known they weren't going to come because Damian had been texting her in the hours previous. How Damian had found the time amidst all the board meetings, he'd never know.
He certainly hadn't had the time while negotiating new mergers.
He hadn't felt bad, however because he'd made the effort to visit Rowan as often as possible lately. Granted, he spent most of their time together sitting in the shop eating treats while working off of his tablet while Rowan restocked and tended to customers. Though Damian had his own hand in the company's comings and goings, it was Tim who really had any power on paper. Damian was still technically in school, and so wasn't made an official part of the company yet. Tim, on the other hand, handled much of the day to day happenings.
He'd always had a head for business, and with Dick doing his own thing, it had fallen on him to do his part.
Really, he didn't mind it, and he was glad Rowan didn't seem to either. When he was in the shop, she tended to leave him be for the most part and periodically bring him different bits of food and drinks. She'd stop and lean over his shoulder to see what he was doing, or do homework at the table with him. When she felt like it she'd talk with him, but for the most part it the anything and he could work from his room if he wanted.
Rose had only commented on his presence once, and had given him a sly smile when he'd responded by saying that he enjoyed the ambiance of her shop. From that alone he figured she'd probably gathered what was going on, but hadn't commented on it yet. He was glad because he knew as soon as Rowan's Mom found out about them, he was probably going to die a horrible, horrible death.
By the time the business day was over, it was time to patrol and Tim hardly had time to shower before he was in costume and out in Gotham's gloomy streets. Really, he had no idea why he'd even bothered to shower because he knew he was just going to be disgusting by the end of the night. Maybe it was because the hot water gave him a moment of peace and a chance to think, and think is what he did.
As she seemed to do more and more lately, Rowan drifted into his mind.
She'd seemed happy every time he went to see her, but he couldn't help thinking that she didn't quite understand that he and Damian really were all in.
Then there was Damian, who was a whole other topic. Damian was… Complicated. Which wasn't to say Rowan wasn't, it was just Damian was the one who'd started to crawl into his bed every night with no explanation. Even worse was that he was always gone when Tim inevitably drifted off from exhaustion.
From that behavior alone, Tim could tell that Damian wasn't sleeping. The green eyed boy wasn't like Rowan, he'd never had insomnia, and Tim didn't think he'd developed it either. No, Tim was sure Damian was having nightmares, and he was worried because he had no idea how to help.
Damian wouldn't talk about what had happened, and had hardly even acknowledged anything had occurred at all. Tim knew if he asked, or even approached it that he'd get nothing but a hard kick for his efforts, so he came up with a plan.
He knew Damian had gone to Rowan's after patrol many nights in the past, and he knew that Damian had stopped now to seek comfort in his bed. Though it hurt to think about, Tim knew Damian wasn't finding what he needed with Tim, and he couldn't go on like that. As far as he knew, the last time Damian had gotten a proper rest was the last time Rowan had come over and pulled him out of his self imposed exhile.
Sleep deprivation was not something that was healthy for anyone, especially when it was caused by nightmares and in such a high performing person at that. So, left with no other options, Tim decided that for the first time in a while, they were going to pay Rowan a nightly visit. He also decided that for the first time in his ever, he was going to stay.
He told himself that the reason he didn't tell Damian was because he wanted to see if he'd sleep on his own.
(The truth was that he wanted to see if Damian would look for him, or if he'd go straight to Rowan. He wanted to see if he was needed.)
So, when it was time to head back in, he went to Rowan's. If Damian had been able to go for an unknown number of nights for years, Tim didn't think he'd have too much trouble slipping into Rowan's room.
It wasn't like he'd never come in that way, either. It would just be the first time he'd ever stayed. And sure, maybe that wasn't entirely appropriate but again, Damian had done it for years and it was Rowan. The girl was more likely to try and braid his hair then do anything too inappropriate. (Also he didn't get to spend as much time with Rowan as Damian did, and he kind of missed her.)
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Rowan was used to having colorfully suited dudes come into her room in the middle of the night, so she generally wasn't startled.
At least, she was in the past. After things started going downhill, Damian came less and less, so she gradually got used to being on her own for the night. When he was in SanFrancisco, she knew there was no chance he'd come so she'd even stopped wearing pants again. That hadn't much changed after everything went down, and so she hadn't felt the need to develop that passive allowance of bird themed heroes coming through her window.
So, when she heard the latch pop, and she saw a dark shadow slip in with the night, Rowan did the logical thing and slammed the book in her hands closed, freezing up shortly after.
'Holy fuck, mother of-'
"Hey Rowan," Tim said softly, pulling off his hood and running a gloved hand through unruly locks.
The smooth sound of his voice didn't help her nerves, but it did redirect her train of thought.
'-what the hell is he doing here?'
She wasn't offended by his presence, really. It was just of all the people she expected to make their merry way through her window, Tim was definitely not at the top. It wasn't that she didn't want him there, it was just that his morals where slightly (Read: Entirely) different than Damian's, and he always had seemed to have an issue with staying with her after dark.
She'd overlooked it for the most part because everyone had their way of doing things, but now she couldn't exactly ignore it.
After realizing that she'd been clutching her book to her chest, Rowan snapped out of her stupor and folded her legs under her comforted. It was a damn good thing she was wearing shorts.
Not bothering to say anything, Rowan raised one eyebrow and stared at Tim for an answer.
He didn't disappoint.
"This is an experiment. Damian should be by later."
She snorted because that totally cleared things up.
Rolling her eyes, she went back to her book and adjusted the small light she had attached to the back cover. As long as he didn't make too much noise, Tim could be as cryptic as he wanted.
She scanned a few lines of her book silently, before snapping her gaze right back to Tim as he went to sit down on her bed.
"What?" he asked, catching her hard stare.
Though she didn't mind having him over, there were still some rules she kept. Damian knew them, but Tim didn't usually bother to stay or get comfortable enough when in uniform to learn them.
She took pity on him and told him one of her most important rules.
"Get your butt off of my bed. No hero clothes on the comforter."
He immediately got up, surprise evident on his face, and held his hands up.
"I'm sorry?"
Sighing, she closed her book once again and pointed to a specific drawer she kept for nights like this. She kept it well stocked even though she wasn't sure that Damian would be coming anymore.
Tim walked to where she was pointing, and she watched by the light of the moon as Tim pulled on the draw, and frowned when nothing happened.
'Right,' she thought.
She kept it locked so her Mama or Gran wouldn't stumble across it, and usually Damian just picked the lock whenever he needed something from it.
"Key's in my sharpie cup," she said, referring to the gray ceramic cup on top of her dresser," there are some shorts and stuff in there. I don't like the uniform anywhere near my bed, you guys get into too many things."
Laughing, Tim quickly found the key and rummaged around the drawer. His laughter quickly stopped, and he pulled out something that glinted in the muted light.
"Why do you have a batterang?"
"It's a broken batterang," she corrected, getting up to take it from him and pull out a tshirt and some shorts.
She turned the large tool over in her hand and showed him the busted center.
"It used to be retractable, but the mechanism got busted. Damian had it after patrol one night, and he left it here."
"Why do you have this?" he inquired, picking out another item.
She took that from him too, and put it back in her drawer with the batterang.
"I just throw whatever Damian leaves in there…" she murmmered as she locked the drawer again and flopped back into her bed.
"And he leaves communicators?" Tim inquired, referring to the round item he'd picked up last.
Sighing, Rowan figured she was never going to get to her book and resigned herself to a long night of parental like questions.
"He left an outdated communicator. He had it in a pouch one day and he left it here after he was done tinkering with it. Now put on the comfy stuff so you don't get blood or whatever in my sheets."
"Rowan."
She yawned, and wondered when Tim was going to realize that she'd had a kunai, a smoke bomb, and some other stuff in there that was all perfectly functional. Damian simply left the oddest things.
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As it turned out, Tim wasn't too far off his mark.
Damian did come and find them, but only after calling Tim's communicator multiple times.
He also fell asleep much faster, but Tim was sure that was because he'd draped himself across his chest and buried his head in Rowan's stomach, leaving them all sprawled across her bedroom floor. To his knowledge, Damian hadn't woken up anytime throughout the night either.
He was the one that had to wake up first and clear them out before Rowan's Gran or Mom came in and found them tangled up in each other. He had to admit, though, he hadn't slept that well in ages. He wouldn't mind waking up to Rowan's out of control bed head and Damian's soft, sleepy gaze every morning.
No, he wouldn't mind at all.
