Another embarrassingly short chapter. Ugh.
Disclaimer: I obviously don't own them. Tim wouldn't currently look like the swan queen if I did.
Chapter 5 - Not Like Them
Tim wakes up feeling both better and worse than he has in a while. Physically speaking, he feels like he actually got enough sleep for once. Mentally speaking...He's still trying to figure that one out.
He feels something moving and looks up to see that he had fallen asleep curled up in Jason's lap. The older man, no boy he's not that old, just felt safe to Tim. He knew that he would be safe so long as Jason were there with him.
But Jason can't always be there with him. He's Timothy Jackson Drake, he can take care of himself!...Or at least...that's what his mother always told him before she and his father left to go on whatever business trip they were going on that time.
He looks up at the nineteen year old and thinks. Yes, Jason had told him how old he was, among other things, during one of his earlier attempts to try to get the younger boy to talk. Contrary to what Jason thought, Tim was paying attention to him. He didn't show it, but he was. He was listening and observing like always.
It's not that he couldn't talk, he was just afraid to. Talking and touching are forbidden, Mother said so. If he did either without permission he was to be punished. But Jason...Jason wanted him to talk. Jason was different than his parents had been.
Jason said he would protect him; his parents left him alone for months at a time. Jason stopped his nightmares; his parents yelled at him for being a baby and sent him back to bed. Jason held him when he cried; his parents beat him for being weak. Jason truly hoped that Tim trusted him; his parents didn't care either way what their son thought of them as long as the public thought they were the best thing since sliced bread.
Jason was different. Jason was safe. Jason was like his brother.
He'd always wanted an older brother...
Another short chapter :\ The next one's longer! Promise! :)
Review! :D
