A/N) I'm not sure where I want this anymore - man, I have so many things I want to do with this and at the same time I don't know what to do . . .
On the bright note I got this chapter out finally and I think it's pretty cute where Timmy and Jay are concerned.
I hope you guys agree.
Motivation is your Superpower.
Dark sunglasses? Check. Baseball hat? Check. Big hoodie that covers up body type and bunches around the neck? Check. Good. Jason was ready for an undercover op that, with his luck, may end up disastrous.
Tim was settled on the floor, playing with his cookie cereal and munching while humming in a warbled tone something that sounded suspiciously like twinkle little star. Jason couldn't push back the small smirk on his face, who knew Timbo had been into classics. Anyway, he was at a pretty big crossroad right now. He didn't know if he should take Tim with him or leave him distracted.
He was pretty sure the kid wouldn't get into anything drastic while he was gone . . . then he'd think about anything that could go horribly wrong and - Tim was smart, even for a toddler but . . . Jason's over active imagination suddenly saw fires and explosions and the kid somehow managing to flush himself down the toilet . . . that last one shouldn't be possible but - still, one never knows with Timothy Drake.
He ends up bringing the kid along carrying him on his shoulders which delighted the little twerp.
At least the only thing Jay has to worry about now is a mild form of neck cramp later . . .
Next stop, the baby supply stores and or isles.
Whoo boy.
How the hell did people afford a kid? More than one kid at that! Jason could not believe the prices for some of these things, the diapers - god! Praise the Lord that Timmy was potty trained because damn - those things were expensive just to take a crap and then toss out. And the massive amount of different choices of - basically anything and everything? Sheesh - it's worse than having a pet because this particularly small things needed to be raised into adults eventually - although, thinking on it he wasn't the best example of an adult - maybe this was a near impossible thing and business money lovers just threw all this shit at people to make them feel like they had options to get the raising part right.
In reality, Jason was pretty sure nobody got it right.
"Ok Timbo - this shirt oughta fit you - what do you thi- Tim?" Jason blinks and looks down where Tim had been mere moments ago. Gone? Gone! Jason's heart spikes and skips a beat, he panics.
Jump off a building? No problem. Throw himself in front of a moving vehicle? Easy Monday. Dying . . . that didn't even stop him - but this? A little missing kid in a huge mall with so many potential threats - he almost had a heart attack.
"Tim! Timmy, Tim!" Jason drops the shirt and restrains himself into speed walking through the store - Ohmygodohmygodohmygod! I lost Tim! He was dead - he was so dead! When Batman found out about this whole de-aged thing and then finds out he lost said De-aged thing - he was soooo dead! Also - he'd never forgive himself if something happened to small squishy baby Tim.
"Tim!" He slides down an isle, pops around another, nearly scares a lady to death through the next, no Tim. Dammit! Where the hell - how far could his tiny chubby legs have taken him?
Son of a -
"Tim!" Jason's eyes widen a hundred times over as he catches sight of the distress causer. There he was - small and easy to miss climbing up a freakin' stack of canned baby food and - Crap!
The brat teeters, Jason gasps and he's pretty sure he's never run that fast in his life, not even when he's being shot at, and literally jumps over someone else and their cart and flies through the air like freakin' Superman, catching the tiny monster mid fall and somehow manages to twist his body completely so it misses the entire isle of canned carrots and peas and lands with a thud on the hard white tile.
Tim chokes in his tight grasp for a second, Jason doesn't move, eyes squeezed tight, body completely rigid around the kid until he slowly opens them to see if the kid's sill alive.
Timmy's big blue eyes look right at him and Jason almost blows up and screams . . . then the kids lower lip wobbles. It literally quivers, squishy small and pink and - holy - how the hell - all anger vanishes and Jason sits up and hugs the damned brat because - Lip wobble . . .
Then he notices the applause.
"So brave!" A woman coos.
"What a great dad - " Another almost swoons - she's got like three kids with her and raccoon eyes.
"Did you see that? Superman couldn't do that!" A man yells from across the isle.
Jason stands awkwardly and wishes to be anywhere but here.
"Erm - thanks - um, we'll be going now." He waves sheepishly and attempts to leave the store with as much dignity as he could possibly have left. Which was about an ounce give or take.
"You little jerk." He snaps.
Tim just giggles and nuzzles himself into Jason's collar.
Jason wants to punch him - and squeeze him like a teddy bear at the same time.
"Well? It's been, like, almost two days - why hasn't he told us yet?" Steph was getting impatient and that means she was getting bored and that means she was likely to do something - probably not sensible.
Dick frowns and tries to get some reading done.
"Diiiiiiick, why hasn't he - "
"Because he's Jason and he's not exactly known for his sharing Steph - let it go." Dick almost snaps. He's been feeling a bit antsy about this too.
Mostly because Jason has a kid that nobody knew about except for him and Steph and because they don't know where it came from and where the hell was Tim and he can't stop thinking about the mystery of it all and Steph's whining and prodding wasn't helping him forget - oh yah - his ribs hurt too.
He hasn't been able to Nightwing in almost a month already - he hates this.
"But the kid was adorkable - I really, really wanna meet 'im. Don't you?" She flips upside down on the couch, blond hair sweeping the floor.
"Want to meet who? Have you found yourself another idiot to play with Brown?" Damian suddenly walks in hearing the last part of the conversation, an irritable look on his face as he tosses a heavy looking bag on the table.
Stephanie sticks her tongue out at the four foot ninja in the most mature way possible. "Please, at least I am able to meet people and not have them run away screaming, short stack."
"Tt."
Dick sighs loudly. "How was school Dami?"
The boy frowns harder. "Terrible, the moron of a head teacher isn't intelligent enough to pass as a lower level tutor in my mothers complex let alone a fifth level teacher. She's pathetic."
"See. Now I would never say insult a teacher like that." Steph butt in.
Dick straightens with a grimace. "Yah - what happened?" He's gonna try to defuse this. These two never got along - maybe once or twice but - never.
"She insisted Hitler;s deat was by suicide - I informed her the head of the League of Assassins had him beheaded after power got to his head but she didn't - "
Stephanie promptly burst out laughing. "Wow kid - that's - your grandpa killed Hitler? Oh my God!"
Her chortles irritated the boy more - he looks like a kettle on the verge of popping.
Alfred walks in. Thank God! Dick could kiss him. He's pretty sure Alfred wouldn't appreciate that though -
"I don't suppose either of you know where master Timothy has gone?"
Stephanie chokes on spit and still laughs.
"Probably out cold somewhere rotting." Damian snaps, still annoyed with Brown.
"I don't think so Dami."
"One could dream."
"God, you're such a little unfeeling demon." Stephanie says, giggles dying down.
Alfred raises a prim brow, effectively shutting them all up. "You mean to tell me, none of you have heard from him?"
"No."
"Nope."
"Nuh-uh . . .weird." Stephanie sits right side up and really thinks about this now.
The males in the room agree with her.
"What's up Alfie?"
"It's just that - I have at least ten messages from various offices, friends, and colleagues of his and they all seem to be asking where he is or why he didn't appear at a meeting and such. It's as if - "
Dick twists uncomfortably and blinks, worry creeping up his stomach. "Leaving behind all his work and not telling anybody? That doesn't sound like Tim at all."
Damian scoffs. "Irresponsibility seems like something he's good at."
"No, Tim can be a stubborn idiot sometimes - but not irresponsible." Stephanie shakes her head, face oddly serious.
Now they were all worried.
"I do believe last I heard from him he was out with Master Jason - perhaps you should - "
Dick and Steph share a look. Alfred doesn't miss it.
Damian decides this is boring and opts to open his homework.
"We'll - go ask him." Dick says slowly.
"You will do no such thing. Ms. Brown and Master Damian can handle that. You caused much too much stress on your bones yesterday."
Dick shrinks. "How did you - "
"Do you have to ask." Alfred gives him a flat look.
Stephanie snorts at the pale sheepish look Dick sports. Even Damian smirks. "Sorry Alfred."
"We'll go see." Steph stands up and reaches for Damian's jacket. The boy glares and twists away from her grabby fingers making her smirk evilly.
"I can walk myself. And if it ends up the idiot has gotten himself killed, I get first dibs on his weapons."
Stephanie rolls her blues at the younger boy and very nearly smacks him upside the head.
Tim was fine - he had to be - right?
This was so not fine.
Jason just stares, open mouthed and wordless at the huge - colossal - practically impossible mess in his living room.
The shopping had taken ten thousand years to finally get over with and Jason had barely dragged all the things home with him without loosing the tiny terror. He left the brat alone with the bags for like five seconds and - damn - the tyke worked fast.
The bags were everywhere and everything in them was also everywhere, also he somehow got a box of cheerios open and dumped the entire thing on the floor now he was sitting in the middle of the pile, picking the tiny donuts up with his chubby fingers and bringing them up to his slobbery little mouth with small satisfied crunches.
"Tim!"
The kid looks up at him and seems to find what he's done hilarious because he starts to clap and giggle like an air head. "Dayson! Pway now!"
God bless parents.
Especially one's who willingly become parents.
"Tim - you - no, no play now - you - damn kid, why? What do I look like? A nanny?"
Tim laughs again, it was a stupidly infectious bubbly laugh that only a baby could achieve and - damn . . .it was so hard to get mad at those happy big baby eyes and . ..who knew he was such a sucker for baby eyes.
"God kid - " He drags a hand down his exasperated face. "I can't even. Come on, help me out."
Surprisingly the brat stands up, steps all over his cheerios effectively destroying them much to the horror of Jason's OCD and starts picking up clothes. Turns out the kid was smart enough to separate clothes from - everything else. He even put on the small grey shirt with a dripping bat symbol on it.
The place was relatively decent in a while.
Then, Tim plops on the floor and yawns, he starts to whine a bit and rub at his eyes.
Jason sighs and puts the last bag away. "Tired? Why are you tired? I was the one running around all day."
The toddler ignores him and starts moaning in irritation.
"Ok, ok - I get it. Nap time." He swoops down and scoops the little jerk up safe in his arms. Tim giggles as his small hand grips Jason's collar making the older vigilante smile and nuzzle the brats warm hair. "Lil' nightmare." Jason practically whispers against the tiny terrors scalp, his lips pressing gently against it making Timmy giggly sleepily.
"C'mon now, sleepy time." Jeez - he's never been so thankful for living alone, if anyone heard him like this, he'd literally rather die again than have to deal with the jokes and teasing and possible blackmailing, seriously.
Tim pats his cheek lightly, big eyes blinking as he fights against sleep for a few more moments as Jason rocks him while walking across the room.
"Wuv Dayson." He mutters suddenly before nodding off.
Jason freezes - it's like something electrified his blood and made everything freeze over and melt at the same time and it sent needle pricks into his stitched up heart and stare at the kid.
Did he just - did. . .
Jason isn't tearing up - he's not.
He's not dammit! A - a fly got in his eye, yah - that's all . . . If anyone asks, that's what happened . . .
Daaaaw Timmy loves Jay-jay! The only thing that could make that more interesting is if Jason isn't the only one who remembers Tim saying that if they ever fix the tiny guy - although . . .I don't wanna make Timmy grow up!
He's just so happy and small and - he has someone to mess with and to take care of him.
If you look at Tim Drakes background story from before n52, which is what I always base Tim's character off, he wasn't an all too coddled kid. His parents weren't around so much and I think that has to do with why he attached himself to Bruce and Dick and - he was just really deprived of family.