Tim Drake Steals Himself A Family

(rough draft)

A Batman fanfic by Raberba girl

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Summary: Belonged Here All Along from Tim's POV.

Part 1

At first, it was just a daydream.

While Tim was bored out of his mind in class, he pondered how many items could fit into a backpack and exactly which ones would be most convincing in a teenage boy's bedroom. While he showered, he practiced talking like Dick Grayson and Jason Wayne did, calling their father 'Dad' instead of 'Sir' and falling back into their respective native accents and more colloquial speech whenever they were upset or excited. While Tim was camped out on rooftops, waiting for either social media or his police scanner to mention a Bat sighting, he worked through several ideas for how to enter Wayne Manor either undetected or without suspicion.

Then came the phone call.

"You understand, don't you, champ?" his dad said amiably.

Tim tried to swallow past the lump in his throat. He wasn't...surprised. He'd half-expected this; it fit the pattern. But it seemed like every single time, no matter how much he tried to talk himself down and kill all his expectations, it always still hurt to hear the cancellations and excuses. The rejection. "Are you sure?" he couldn't help venturing. "If- If you come maybe a day or two after, that would be fine, too; I just-"

"Oh, Timothy, it's not just a simple delay," his mother said reproachfully. "Trust me, it's very inconvenient for us, too, but the payoff will be worth it. Remember, this is all to your future benefit as well. And I assure you, your gift will arrive on time; that's all that matters to children your age, right?" She laughed like she was teasing him, but he was clenching his teeth against tears.

He didn't care if his parents never gave him a single gift ever again; he just...he just wanted them to be home on his birthday. It didn't even have to be home; he just wanted to be with them on his birthday. It was...it was his birthday. And he knew that it wasn't only in fiction that birthdays, especially kids' birthdays, were such a big deal, either. He'd made a point to research non-fiction, and there were plenty of resources out there for parents who actually wanted to arrange memorable, meaningful birthdays for their children. His parents were just...not the type of people who wanted that for their own kid, apparently.

"I just," he managed, hoping his voice didn't sound as shaky as he thought it did, "I just thought...it would be- nice if-"

"Tell you what, sport," his dad interrupted, "how about when we get back, we'll take you out for a little belated celebration. How's that sound?"

They weren't due to return to Gotham until nearly three months after his birthday, and that was without the inevitable delays and rescheduling. "Okay," Tim whispered.

He went through the rest of the conversation on autopilot. His mind seemed to be a complete blank until after he put the phone down. Then he blinked and the room came back into focus, and with it, a memory crossed his mind.

One of the few Wayne social events had been a party for Jason's thirteenth birthday. Neither the birthday boy nor his father had seemed to enjoy it (enjoy it for real, anyway; if Tim hadn't known that 'Brucie Wayne' was an act, he would have been fooled), but at least Mr. Wayne had been there. He had been in the same city, in the same house as his son on Jason's birthday.

Tim would give...a lot to have that again, like when he'd been very small and his parents had used to have similar lavish parties. He barely remembered the ponies and clowns and whatever else had been provided as entertainment; what stood out the most was little moments like his mother cutting the cake and serving him the first piece, and his father telling another grown-up with such pride in his voice that Tim was going to take over the family business someday.

Tim just...he wanted-

All of a sudden, he was moving. He was turning on the desktop computer in his father's study, digging out the emergency credit card, searching through file cabinets for his birth certificate and other documents in case he needed them.

Tim had already researched online schools, just for fun as part of his theoretical 'joining the Wayne family' project. But apparently it wasn't theoretical anymore, because now he was pretending to be his father and enrolling himself in online school so that if he actually made it into Wayne Manor, he'd have an excuse to avoid Gotham Academy where his cover would likely be blown.

After submitting the application, Tim stared at the screen for a few minutes, his heart pounding. He had actually done that. He was really doing this. He- He was doing this.

The project was no longer just a daydream.

o.o.o

Tim continued preparing for the next several weeks. He imagined every possible scenario he could think of and made plans for how to deal with each one. He considered entering Wayne Manor for a social event and then just neglecting to leave afterward, but there were problems with that plan, the biggest one being that the Waynes so rarely hosted in their own home. Tim didn't want to have to wait months and months; he wanted to get this done before his parents returned or he lost his nerve.

He eventually decided on a plan that would get him right into Batman's lair, which would help with the 'I already know you guys are the Bats, which is totally fine because I'm one of you' aspect of his plan. It would also allow him to carry in luggage. The hard part would be sneaking into the Batmobile undetected during the brief time it was accessible, but if he could accomplish that, he was pretty sure the rest would be comparatively easy.

Tim also worked on his cover story. Of course the Bats would know right away that he didn't belong, so he would have to either pretend he was from an alternate universe where he did belong, or claim to be a time traveler and knew them in the future. He created and memorized detailed backstories for both, figuring that circumstances would dictate which one would be more useful when the time came.

At last, everything was in place. Tim came straight home after school and spent the afternoon packing, making sure he had everything essential for his plan and the few personal items he wanted to keep in case he never returned to Drake Manor again. (Hah. As if. But in the one in a million chance his plan actually worked, he'd be grateful he hadn't left anything important behind.)

When Tim was ready, he checked everything over one last time. Then he took a nap, since it was always important to snatch whatever sleep you could when you were working on the Bats' schedule. Then, when his phone alarm woke him up, he used the bathroom, slung on his backpack, went downstairs, armed the security system, locked the door, wheeled his bike out of the garage, and took a deep breath. Then he set out on his mission to steal a family.

o.o.o

Tim tracked Batman like usual, but instead of stalking the Bats themselves, he staked out the car. As he waited in his hiding place, he staved off boredom by running through his various plans again, and eventually started talking himself down like he usually did when trying to minimize the disappointment from his parents.

'This isn't going to work. It never was; no matter how well you plan, he's Batman, he's going to see right through you immediately. They're going to kick you out. You'll be back home by dawn, and this time, the Bats will know that you exist and be disgusted by how pathetic you are. And they'll probably be mad about your...your audacity. Trying to butt your way into their lives; you're so arrogant and selfish and...and entitled!'

He breathed deeply and clenched his hands together. He had to try, at least, and this negativity wasn't helping. He went back to mentally practicing his contingency plans.

Tim jerked awake, horrified at himself for falling asleep, but- yes, it was okay, he wasn't too late; he was right on time, in fact; that was actually what had woken him, Robin's grumbling voice and Batman's low reply.

Tim hastily pushed a knob on the remote he held, and the toy RC car he'd set up on a nearby roof presumably jerked back, releasing the string it had been holding down. The string, tied to a clump of empty cans, immediately plummeted. The cluster of cans was hidden in shadow, but made plenty of noise as it clattered to the ground.

The Bats went still and alert, gazing in the direction of the sound. Before they could write it off as unimportant, Tim pressed another remote. This activated a different toy deeper in the alley, which made a noise like a woman's scream that Tim had programmed it with. It was clearly a recording, but, as Tim had hoped, it was enough to catch the vigilantes' interest.

"Stay with the car, Robin," Batman ordered, and ventured in the direction of the noise. Although Robin didn't actually follow, he did take a few steps after his father and intently watch after the man even after Batman melted into the shadows.

With their backs to him and their attention elsewhere, Tim snapped off the remote control so he wouldn't accidentally activate it again, then scrambled into the open Batmobile as quietly as he could. He squashed himself into the back footwell and fumbled open the blanket he had ready to cover himself in case the vigilantes looked in his direction. This was so stupid, they were going to notice him, he'd be kicked out before he even managed to set foot on the Wayne estate...

A minute or two later, the scream recording sounded again. Batman must have found its source and pressed the button on the toy itself. There were footsteps as Robin hurried to join his mentor. There was a distant conversation that Tim couldn't hear, and the recording played yet again.

After several long minutes, Batman and Robin finally returned, the latter muttering, "...but all I'm saying is it gives me the creeps."

"We'll analyze it at the Cave, just in case," Batman said. Tim's surprise at the implication that there really was an actual Batcave was interrupted by a thump on the seat beside him, which made his heart leap into his throat.

Batman, however, must not have been paying close attention to whatever he'd tossed on the back seat (the toy?), because now he and Robin were climbing into the front seats as if nothing was wrong. The car started up, and away they went.

As they zoomed along, Tim barely dared to breathe. He couldn't believe that A) he was in the Batmobile, and B) neither Robin nor Batman had noticed that there was a stranger in the Batmobile.

Even as fast as they were going, it was a long drive. Despite himself, Tim got sleepy at one point and had to work hard to keep himself awake without making any noise. He wasn't sure he quite managed it, but in any case, adrenaline made him wide awake again when the Batmobile stopped cruising and slowed down a bit, making its way over rougher terrain.

Not long after, the vehicle finally came to a stop. Batman turned off the car and got out. "Robin, take the toy to the lab."

"The what? Oh, the creepy screaming robot." Tim held his breath and heard something that was probably Jason grabbing the toy off the back seat, but the blanket that covered him remained undisturbed. The Batmobile's doors slammed closed, muffling any sound from outside.

Tim exhaled in a rush, still trying to be quiet about it even though there was probably no way the Bats could hear him. He debated whether to push the blanket off - he was hot and it wasn't easy to breathe - but decided that it was better to be safe than sorry, especially since he'd already come this far. He did, however, shift and wriggle in an only partially successful attempt to get in a more comfortable position.

He waited for what felt like a very, very long time. At first, he could hear activity from Batman and Robin outside, but eventually, the sounds quieted down. Then he started awake, alarmed to find himself in pitch darkness.

TBC