This one is a little short, and I tried to have it be a little more humorous.

Tim quietly snuck into the manor, sliding through the crack in the door that he opened for himself. No one was in main hallway, which was appreciated, as he made his way towards the stairs. School was a bother, but he got through it well enough. If anything, it was boring and exhausting.

"Hey Tim." Jason greeted, catching him at the top of the stairs.

Tim tried to avoid Jason, pretending that he didn't hear him, wanting to get to his room. Jason was fazed by his lack of response and he wasn't about to be ignored. He stood in front of Tim, blocking his path. Tim was annoyed, but refused to look at Jason.

"Hello. Earth to Tim." Jason called, waving a hand in Tim's face.

Tim didn't respond, opting to try and worm around his elder. A little concerned, Jason grabbed Tim's arm. He held Tim in front of him as he tried to squirm away. All the while, Tim kept his face hidden beneath his hair.

"What's going on?" Jason asked.

"Let me go." Tim requested.

"No. Come on Tim, you're acting weird. Just look at me."

Tim followed Jason's request, looking at him to reveal a surprising secret. A black and blue mark grazed the side of his face, right on his cheekbone. A small scrape grazed the other and a cut scathed Tim's lip. They were recent, but there was a faded bruise by Tim's eye that clearly occurred prior to the others.

Jason was alarmed by the albeit small wounds, pulling Tim towards the bathroom. Along the way, Jason closed and locked the door, guaranteeing privacy. He sat Tim on the toilet seat before getting out peroxide and a few cotton swabs, setting them on the counter. Jason quickly glanced over the damage before getting to work.

"What happened?" Jason asked.

Tim didn't answer, as though too embarrassed to say. He only flinched when the peroxide doused swab tapped his cheek.

"Come on Timbo. Talk to me."

"It was just a few kids." Tim finally admitted. "Class bullies if you will. Needed to stroke their egos."

Tim hissed as the object touched his cheek again before Jason put a small bandage on it.

"And you didn't do anything about it why? You're not known for letting your guard down."

Tim scoffed at the observation.

"I don't see a point. They'll get bored with me eventually and in a few years they'll be apologizing. I could fight back, but what would that prove? I don't want that kind of attention."

Jason slowly cleaned Tim's lip. He was irked by Tim's lack of care for the situation. It was clear that he was being bullied, but the fact that Tim was letting it happen made it worse.

"This isn't right Tim. They're bullying you and you're letting them. Why?"

"So that it's not someone else."

That response wasn't much of a surprise given Tim's nature. However, it wasn't a very acceptable one for Jason. A noble gesture, sure, but not a very smart one. He grabbed Tim's shoulders and made him look at him.

"That's not fair to you." Jason groaned in annoyance. "Look I know with the training we've gotten from tall, dark, and brooding doesn't make the whole self-defense easy, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't. I'm going to have to take care of this."

The speculated implications behind Jason's words, though valiant, were. Tim instantly shot him a panicked glare. Jason, on the other hand was smirking mischievously, plans clearly in the works.

"You better not."

"You don't get a say in the matter. I'm involved now."

"Jason, no."

The following day Tim entered the school yard as usual. After arguing with Jason for a while, he finally got Jason to back off of his assistance.

He was expecting another uneventful day. What he didn't expect was for the three bullies to approach him with intimidated grimaces. Something spooked them.

"We're sorry." The head bully apologized. "We didn't know you had ties with the Hood."

"Yeah." The second confirmed. "We would never have messed with you if we knew that."

"Can you forgive us?" The third pleaded.

Tim was flustered by their sudden shift in personalities. Their panic was evident, and he knew he had to do something to ease them.

"I forgive you." Tim admitted to the sound of relieved sighs.

"Thank you." The head bully sighed. "We got to get to class. We'll talk with you later."

The trio left Tim in a wave of confusion. Not sure how to respond, he followed their lead and headed to class. In the hallway Tim was immediately greeted with a clear cause for the sudden change in character.

Spray painted on several lockers were red letters. The lettering was crude and threatening, but it did get its point across. Mess with Tim Drake and you will suffer. Tim pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. He half expected something like this, mentally kicking himself for believing Jason, but he wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. The impending conversation was going to be a long one once Tim got home that was for sure.

"Jason!" Tim shouted.

Jason yes. This one may not be the best chapter so far, but it was still a fun one to write.