Tim Drake's Conundrum.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Batman characters, AOL Time Warner (of which DC Comics is owned) does. I'm doing this for fun. Sort of. No profit is involved, save that of ridding my head of the story that is written. Batman created by Bob Kane.
-Begin Story-
Tim Drake rolled a pen absentmindedly in his fingers. A slow night of monitoring from the Batcave was not what he needed.
The only excitement this evening was when Two Face hijacked the feed for all of Gotham's television stations for a live broadcast.
"It all comes down to a flip of a coin. Either I commit two $22 million dollar robberies, or I take two 22 day vacations." Harvey smiled as he said this, as if both of the choices were appealing to him.
Robin had already narrowed down the possibilities for the robberies to two major charity events that were taking place in Gotham that evening. He had radioed the information to Batman before the coin flip had taken place.
In one of the more interesting moments in Gotham's live broadcasting history, the coin came up with the unscarred face showing. "Well, by the devil's own hand. It looks like the Bat and I won't be seeing each other face to face tonight after all. I guess I'll be staying in 22 different cites for two nights each for the next several weeks."
With that, the screens returned to their regular programming, and the only interesting moment of the evening was over. Because Harvey's history indicated that he didn't commit crime when taking vacations, Batman and Commissioner Gordon both decided that it might be a good idea to have Harvey out of their hair for 44 days, so they didn't pursue any leads as to where the signal came from.
It was now four hours later, and even the petty thugs seemed to be taking the night off. Tim yawned and stretched as he looked at the clock, hoping that he wouldn't fall asleep on the job. He also was aware that he might be embarrassed if the results of the dreams were the same as they had been the past few evenings.
The sounds of the elevator from the manor above echoed throughout the cave, and Tim managed to smile as he saw Alfred emerge through the doors with a late evening meal. "Good evening Master Timothy" came the formal greeting from Bruce Wayne's trusted servant. "The Batman has called and indicated that you may have the rest of the evening off. I prepared you some dinner before you go. I hope you don't mind."
Master Timothy smiled at the butler's formal tone, as he always did when Alfred and he were alone. "Thank you very kindly, my good man!" Alfred allowed a smile in return at Tim's reply. He found the young gentleman a refreshing change from even when Master Richard filled that chair originally. However, tonight there did seem to be a more serious side to the young crime fighter's countenance than usual.
"If I may be so bold, my young sir, you do seem to be a bit more preoccupied than one would expect on an evening that has proven to be quite quiet by the standards we have faced for the past few weeks." Tim listened and then looked at the gentleman standing before him and was happy that it was not Bruce, for the moment. On slow nights, such as tonight, he and Alfred had often chatted about Tim's life and the young Robin knew that he could trust the confidence of his friend.
"It's my social life. I think it might end up causing some problems with the Bat." Tim scrunched his eyebrows together as he spoke.
"Master Bruce understands that you have a life outside of your current role, Master Timothy. You do understand that he does you to have as normal a life as you can." Alfred looked a bit concerned.
"Well, I'm seeing someone specific...." Tim started and stopped.
"Dating at your age is expected, Tim." Alfred knew when to slip into a more informal and friendly mode. He could see that Tim was trying to work up the nerve for some important announcement.
"I know Alfred. It just that I don't know that Bruce will approve." Tim's eyes darted to the floor and stayed there.
"Now then my young man," Alfred's voice was gentle, but firm, "I've known Maser Bruce since the time he was born. Unless you are dating someone who has a shadier side that Miss Kyle or Madame Talia, I doubt he would disapprove." Alfred brought up the Catwoman and the daughter of the Demon for obvious comparisons.
"You're right to bring them up Alfred, of course. The person I'm seeing isn't anywhere near as shady as they are. But there is one major difference." Tim continued to look down at the floor.
Alfred couldn't help but chuckle, which brought Tim's eyes up to his. With his best Ian McKellen right eyebrow raised look and closed lip smile, Alfred simply said "And his name is?"
Tim looked amazed for only the slightest moment, and then a grin creased his face. He chuckled and said "And they say the Bat's the World's Greatest Detective! His name's David. David Welsh."
"My dear boy, though on long standing hiatus, I do still carry a double 0 with Her Majesty's Secret Service, you know. And Master Bruce had to learn his skills from someone." Alfred, indeed, was the one person on the planet who could evenly match the sleuthing skill of the Dark Knight Detective. "Now, I seem to remember a young Master Welsh attending several of Master Bruce's gatherings. And this seemed to coincide with your increasing attendance at his affairs."
"It's that obvious?" Robin shook his head as he considered the consequences.
"Only if one knows what he is looking at, my lad." Alfred smiled as he remembered a similar conversation with Master Richard, only the person of his affection was an alien female. "You have seemed a bit antsy the past few months, although it has not affected your performance at all. And you did seem to spend a fair amount of time with Master Welsh, from what I have observed. Ah, and you have seemed quite a bit happier during that time, also."
"So it has been obvious, hn?" Tim smiled this time because he realized that he shouldn't have felt so awkward in talking to Alfred.
"And I quite assure you that Master Bruce approves of your friend." Alfred saw the questioning look on Tim's face and nodded. "I took the liberty of broaching the subject with him about a month ago. He had noticed that you seemed a bit happier and asked why. I did hazard a guess that you were seeing someone without mentioning whom. Master Bruce asked if it was a boy or a girl. I answered that it was a boy and he asked if it was young Master Welsh. I told him I thought so. This is what he told me verbatim: 'Should you talk to Tim before I do, tell him that I have known the Welshes for almost 20 years and they are as fine a family as you could ask for. I even went to David's christening. He is a fine young man, as is Tim. If they should end up together for the long haul, I can't imagine being happier for the both of them.'"
"And he meant it?" Tim asked.
"Of course I did," a voice boomed from the stairs.
Tim had ceased to be amazed by the Bat's ability to enter a room silently. After all, I you could sneak up on Superman, Wonder Woman and J'onn J'onnz combined, you could sneak up on anyone.
"Ah, and a good evening to you, Master Bruce." Alfred slipped back into his role as the astute Gentleman's Gentleman.
"Alfred, you did forget to add one thing from my chat with you on the subject." The Batman sounded quite stern for the moment.
"I thought it was something that you should say for yourself, Master Bruce. I think that I shall go up and fix you some dinner." Alfred was still smiling his slightly crooked smile.
"You're right, my friend. We'll be up in a moment." With his employer's OK, Alfred began to leave.
"Alfred," Tim interrupted.
"Yes, Master Timothy?" the older gentleman stopped and turned around.
"Thank you for everything tonight, my friend." Tim's eyes were slightly glazed over.
Alfred bowed and nodded slightly together. "My young master has found a young master and has chosen to show his confidence in me. It is I who should be thanking you, Tim." He smiled gently and went to the elevator.
Once Alfred had left, Tim looked at the now cowless Batman and asked "You and Alfred mentioned something that you wanted to say to me?"
"Hmmm. Yes." Bruce smiled a very rare unforced smile. "You have my blessings, Tim. And I want you to know that as long as you are up to it, I'm proud to have you as my partner, my friend."
A single tear rolled down Tim's face when he heard the words from Bruce. He didn't bother wiping it away as he stood and hugged his mentor. "Well, it's time I be off. School's tomorrow and I can't imagine the evening being any less hectic than tonight."
"Tell me one thing, Tim. Why talk to Alfred first?" Batman managed to have a questioning look on his face, although he was fairly sure what the answer was going to be.
Tim smiled slyly and answered in his best Alfred impersonation. "No offense, my fine sir. But who would you have talked to first?"
Bruce actually grinned and said "Point well taken. Let's go."
There are many ways to bond. And this night, as all three participants would remember to their dying days, proved to be one that was unbreakable.
-Finish Story-
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Batman characters, AOL Time Warner (of which DC Comics is owned) does. I'm doing this for fun. Sort of. No profit is involved, save that of ridding my head of the story that is written. Batman created by Bob Kane.
-Begin Story-
Tim Drake rolled a pen absentmindedly in his fingers. A slow night of monitoring from the Batcave was not what he needed.
The only excitement this evening was when Two Face hijacked the feed for all of Gotham's television stations for a live broadcast.
"It all comes down to a flip of a coin. Either I commit two $22 million dollar robberies, or I take two 22 day vacations." Harvey smiled as he said this, as if both of the choices were appealing to him.
Robin had already narrowed down the possibilities for the robberies to two major charity events that were taking place in Gotham that evening. He had radioed the information to Batman before the coin flip had taken place.
In one of the more interesting moments in Gotham's live broadcasting history, the coin came up with the unscarred face showing. "Well, by the devil's own hand. It looks like the Bat and I won't be seeing each other face to face tonight after all. I guess I'll be staying in 22 different cites for two nights each for the next several weeks."
With that, the screens returned to their regular programming, and the only interesting moment of the evening was over. Because Harvey's history indicated that he didn't commit crime when taking vacations, Batman and Commissioner Gordon both decided that it might be a good idea to have Harvey out of their hair for 44 days, so they didn't pursue any leads as to where the signal came from.
It was now four hours later, and even the petty thugs seemed to be taking the night off. Tim yawned and stretched as he looked at the clock, hoping that he wouldn't fall asleep on the job. He also was aware that he might be embarrassed if the results of the dreams were the same as they had been the past few evenings.
The sounds of the elevator from the manor above echoed throughout the cave, and Tim managed to smile as he saw Alfred emerge through the doors with a late evening meal. "Good evening Master Timothy" came the formal greeting from Bruce Wayne's trusted servant. "The Batman has called and indicated that you may have the rest of the evening off. I prepared you some dinner before you go. I hope you don't mind."
Master Timothy smiled at the butler's formal tone, as he always did when Alfred and he were alone. "Thank you very kindly, my good man!" Alfred allowed a smile in return at Tim's reply. He found the young gentleman a refreshing change from even when Master Richard filled that chair originally. However, tonight there did seem to be a more serious side to the young crime fighter's countenance than usual.
"If I may be so bold, my young sir, you do seem to be a bit more preoccupied than one would expect on an evening that has proven to be quite quiet by the standards we have faced for the past few weeks." Tim listened and then looked at the gentleman standing before him and was happy that it was not Bruce, for the moment. On slow nights, such as tonight, he and Alfred had often chatted about Tim's life and the young Robin knew that he could trust the confidence of his friend.
"It's my social life. I think it might end up causing some problems with the Bat." Tim scrunched his eyebrows together as he spoke.
"Master Bruce understands that you have a life outside of your current role, Master Timothy. You do understand that he does you to have as normal a life as you can." Alfred looked a bit concerned.
"Well, I'm seeing someone specific...." Tim started and stopped.
"Dating at your age is expected, Tim." Alfred knew when to slip into a more informal and friendly mode. He could see that Tim was trying to work up the nerve for some important announcement.
"I know Alfred. It just that I don't know that Bruce will approve." Tim's eyes darted to the floor and stayed there.
"Now then my young man," Alfred's voice was gentle, but firm, "I've known Maser Bruce since the time he was born. Unless you are dating someone who has a shadier side that Miss Kyle or Madame Talia, I doubt he would disapprove." Alfred brought up the Catwoman and the daughter of the Demon for obvious comparisons.
"You're right to bring them up Alfred, of course. The person I'm seeing isn't anywhere near as shady as they are. But there is one major difference." Tim continued to look down at the floor.
Alfred couldn't help but chuckle, which brought Tim's eyes up to his. With his best Ian McKellen right eyebrow raised look and closed lip smile, Alfred simply said "And his name is?"
Tim looked amazed for only the slightest moment, and then a grin creased his face. He chuckled and said "And they say the Bat's the World's Greatest Detective! His name's David. David Welsh."
"My dear boy, though on long standing hiatus, I do still carry a double 0 with Her Majesty's Secret Service, you know. And Master Bruce had to learn his skills from someone." Alfred, indeed, was the one person on the planet who could evenly match the sleuthing skill of the Dark Knight Detective. "Now, I seem to remember a young Master Welsh attending several of Master Bruce's gatherings. And this seemed to coincide with your increasing attendance at his affairs."
"It's that obvious?" Robin shook his head as he considered the consequences.
"Only if one knows what he is looking at, my lad." Alfred smiled as he remembered a similar conversation with Master Richard, only the person of his affection was an alien female. "You have seemed a bit antsy the past few months, although it has not affected your performance at all. And you did seem to spend a fair amount of time with Master Welsh, from what I have observed. Ah, and you have seemed quite a bit happier during that time, also."
"So it has been obvious, hn?" Tim smiled this time because he realized that he shouldn't have felt so awkward in talking to Alfred.
"And I quite assure you that Master Bruce approves of your friend." Alfred saw the questioning look on Tim's face and nodded. "I took the liberty of broaching the subject with him about a month ago. He had noticed that you seemed a bit happier and asked why. I did hazard a guess that you were seeing someone without mentioning whom. Master Bruce asked if it was a boy or a girl. I answered that it was a boy and he asked if it was young Master Welsh. I told him I thought so. This is what he told me verbatim: 'Should you talk to Tim before I do, tell him that I have known the Welshes for almost 20 years and they are as fine a family as you could ask for. I even went to David's christening. He is a fine young man, as is Tim. If they should end up together for the long haul, I can't imagine being happier for the both of them.'"
"And he meant it?" Tim asked.
"Of course I did," a voice boomed from the stairs.
Tim had ceased to be amazed by the Bat's ability to enter a room silently. After all, I you could sneak up on Superman, Wonder Woman and J'onn J'onnz combined, you could sneak up on anyone.
"Ah, and a good evening to you, Master Bruce." Alfred slipped back into his role as the astute Gentleman's Gentleman.
"Alfred, you did forget to add one thing from my chat with you on the subject." The Batman sounded quite stern for the moment.
"I thought it was something that you should say for yourself, Master Bruce. I think that I shall go up and fix you some dinner." Alfred was still smiling his slightly crooked smile.
"You're right, my friend. We'll be up in a moment." With his employer's OK, Alfred began to leave.
"Alfred," Tim interrupted.
"Yes, Master Timothy?" the older gentleman stopped and turned around.
"Thank you for everything tonight, my friend." Tim's eyes were slightly glazed over.
Alfred bowed and nodded slightly together. "My young master has found a young master and has chosen to show his confidence in me. It is I who should be thanking you, Tim." He smiled gently and went to the elevator.
Once Alfred had left, Tim looked at the now cowless Batman and asked "You and Alfred mentioned something that you wanted to say to me?"
"Hmmm. Yes." Bruce smiled a very rare unforced smile. "You have my blessings, Tim. And I want you to know that as long as you are up to it, I'm proud to have you as my partner, my friend."
A single tear rolled down Tim's face when he heard the words from Bruce. He didn't bother wiping it away as he stood and hugged his mentor. "Well, it's time I be off. School's tomorrow and I can't imagine the evening being any less hectic than tonight."
"Tell me one thing, Tim. Why talk to Alfred first?" Batman managed to have a questioning look on his face, although he was fairly sure what the answer was going to be.
Tim smiled slyly and answered in his best Alfred impersonation. "No offense, my fine sir. But who would you have talked to first?"
Bruce actually grinned and said "Point well taken. Let's go."
There are many ways to bond. And this night, as all three participants would remember to their dying days, proved to be one that was unbreakable.
-Finish Story-