Christmas in Blüdhaven: Checking It Once
by Smitty
Tim crouched on the roof, watching the children throw snowballs in the wan lamplight. He hadn't had playmates when he was little. He'd been friendly with some of the kids at school, but they never came over because his parents were never home.
A breath of wind ruffled his cape and a familiar red and blue costume appeared in his peripheral vision.
"So these are the new digs," Superboy said, hands on his hips as he surveyed the street. He nodded to himself. "Look almost like the last set of digs."
Tim watched the boys playing in the street, running for the cover of metal garbage cans. He didn't know who had told Kon he was in Blüdhaven and he didn't care. People knew where to find him now, just as he was slipping away.
"Why are you here?" he asked flatly.
He sensed, rather than saw Kon shrug. "'Chillin' in the 'Haven," he said. "Checking up on my best friend. Who is doing a way scary imitation of the Big Bad Bat."
"Get out," he said. "We don't need you."
Being Robin had brought him all the friends he'd always wanted. But it had stolen his father away forever.
Author's Note: Tim had friends in high school, but when he first appeared in A Lonely Place of Dying he appeared to be a pretty solitary little kid.
Christmas in Blüdhaven is written in the same general style as Jingle Bells, my attempt to write 24 200-word ficlets--one per day until Christmas, sort of like an Advent calendar--with characters from around the DCU. Christmas in Blüdhaven differs, however, by each of the ficlets being loosely linked and progressing toward a greater conclusion. The title was derived from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's "Christmas in Sarajevo" because everything and everyone in Blüdhaven is currently something of a wreck.