So I finally got around to naming each chapter. And as it turns out it has a pattern of C and P titles. I'll probably keep it that way since it was kind of unintentional, but fun.

Another day of school was coming to a close. Conner wanted to pick Tim up and take him out for a bite before they had to report for their next mission. It didn't take him long to get to Gotham Academy. An unseen fly at high speed got him there in no time. As he landed the bell rang, prompting him to enter the courtyard.

Conner scanned the area. Though there were countless numbers of students, he honed his attention on Tim's heartbeat. As he got closer, the sound of crude words began to surface. They were coming from where Tim's heartbeat was. With that came several more heartbeats.

Conner soon realized that Tim was surrounded by three bullies. They were ganging up on Tim, pushing and hitting him. They also spewed harsh words, hateful words about his intelligence and family ties. They called him a charity case, demeaned him for his "lack" of strength, and Tim's quiet nature.

What surprised Conner was that Tim didn't fight back. He let them beat him. Conner knew Tim could fight back, but he didn't. That's what really bothered him. While Conner knew couldn't go all out because of his identity, but that didn't mean that Tim shouldn't defend himself.

Conner stormed towards the trio. He grabbed at one of them and threw them back. It startled everyone huddled around the area and relieved Tim. The second bully, though frazzled, didn't like that his friend was compromised and went to sock Conner. Conner grabbed it with ease and tossed him aside.

That only left one other bully. The head from what Conner could assume. He threw a punch at Conner and hit him like it was nothing. Conner was unfazed and annoyed by the hit, glaring at the bully with disdain. That caused the bully to flinch, but he kept his stance firm.

Conner grabbed the bully's uniform and slammed him against the wall.

"Who do you think you are?" The head bully interrogated, trying to sound intimidating.

"A friend." Conner growled, holding out a fist, ready to use it. "A friend that won't let you ambush someone because they're different."

"Conner!" Tim called.

Tim was watching Conner with mild annoyance. He wanted this to stop. Conner looked back at the bully. The bully was definitely intimated at this point. Conner let him go with an irritated grunt. The bully landed on his butt as Conner grabbed Tim and left.

An ice pack tenderly dabbed Tim's check as Conner held it there. Tim flinched slightly at the touch. There was definitely a bruise, or at the very least a red spot on the bone. Conner wasn't that enthused with the situation and Tim wasn't all that fazed by it.

"Why didn't you stop them?" Conner inquired. "I know you can defend yourself in these kinds of situations."

Tim knew Conner would ask about that. It wasn't exactly something that many people have witnessed. Even less were willing to stop it. Out of the people he knew, none of them were even aware of it.

"What's the point?" Tim replied. "They're only boosting their egos and they don't really do it that often. I'll stop them."

Conner was a little skeptical about Tim's claim. While he knew that Tim could stop them, and probably would, he couldn't help but think that Tim would drag it out as far as he could. He was never one to go through things quickly if it didn't need to. It was a bit of a victim complex that Tim had, and a complicated one at that. Tim never saw himself as a victim necessarily, which was something that was common in people with victim complexes, but Tim did fell like he had to be the victim to protect everyone else.

"You don't have to put every little thing on yourself." Conner stated. "That's not fair."

"Life isn't." Tim grumbled.

"You say that, but I know you don't mean it."

"Gotham does have that effect on people."

"Of course it does. But when you're with me, you don't have to be like that."

Tim tilted his head slightly into the hand with the icepack. It didn't sting anymore and it, coupled with Conner's hand was comforting. It mixed well with Conner's words of comfort. Deep down, Tim knew he had to hear it. He may not have wanted to deal with it this soon, but he was going to have to now.

"Thank you." Tim sighed.

"No problem." Conner replied with a smile.

He removed the icepack to inspect the damage. The swelling and redness had gone down. It wouldn't bruise, or at least not as bad as it could have if it went unintended. Conner left Tim for a moment to put the icepack back.

Tim was still there when Conner got back. Tim was patiently waiting as he lightly kicked his feet back and forth. He gave Conner a soft grin with something clearly on his mind.

"Please don't tell Bruce." Tim requested.

"I won't." Conner agreed. "But who's to say that he doesn't already know?"

"I already know about what?" A voice interrupted.

Conner and Tim's attentions shot towards the door, stunned. Batman was standing in the doorway and he wasn't very amused. They were flabbergasted, not knowing how to respond. They were definitely busted, and there was no way he was going to let Tim get out of a lecture anytime soon.

Conner's last chapter of taking care of Tim will be the next one.