Disclaimer: not mine

Chapter 9

Tim kissed Danny again, hands moving to his back, running over his skin. He had scars but most of them were very old, from his time with the League likely. But he had less than Tim who'd been an active vigilante for years. His scars didn't seem to bother Danny, his hands carefully moving over Tim's body in return, careful to stay above the waist as he caressed bare skin. Tim moaned as warm fingers found a surprisingly sensitive spot that Tim hadn't been aware of. Then again, he'd never been naked with someone like this before.

"Tim," Danny whispered, lips moving to his jaw, kissing and nipping at the skin.

Tim clutched his shoulders, head tipped back as Danny moved down his throat, such a vulnerable spot and yet he felt no nervousness at letting him close. Half formed images flickered in his memory, touches…memories of last night.

"Danny…please," he begged, hesitantly rolling his hips.

Danny rolled them so Tim was flat on his beck, pressing their bodies together. "Sure?"

Tim nodded and Danny rocked against him. It only took a few times for Tim to get the hang of it, moving together. It felt really good, even better as Danny's hands moved over his body, finding every place that felt good… like last night. More vague memories of Danny looking after him, touching him, kissing him.

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Danny looked down at Tim, seeing the flush to his face, blue eyes wide as his breathing became heavier. It was so much better to see him responsive and definitely enjoying himself. He dipped his head to kiss him again, he didn't know if Tim would want this again or if it was a one off. He really liked Tim and hoped he'd want to keep doing this. Tim bit his lip, trying to be quiet, and Danny kissed him again to spare his lip.

He wanted to keep Tim safe, to help him, protect…oh…he lowered his head, nipping a bare shoulder, fighting not to let fangs show. He'd accepted Tim as one of his, he hadn't meant to do that, not like with Jazz and his friends. When the mission was over, they'd go their separate ways and then what? Was he going to end up haunting Gotham part time to try and see him? Stupid ghost instincts.

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"We lost him, again," Owens frowned.

"But we know where he will be," Z answered. "We will intercept him there and fulfil the Master's orders to ensure his mission is a success." Why their mission had changed from killing him to protecting him, was not for them to ask.

From the look on Pru's face though, Timothy Drake might be safer away from her after he'd broken her nose multiple times.

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Tim packed his bag, he felt…relaxed in a way he never had before. Was this why people liked sex? He'd never just spent a whole day in bed before but he had yesterday. They'd ordered room service and just lounged around in between…experiences. It had been very tempting to leave last night but Danny had pointed out that leaving so soon after the break in could be risky. They would be changing id's before catching their flight to Iraq as well as travelling separately to throw off the authorities just to be sure no one would link them to the break in.

He still wasn't sure what he'd been thinking when he'd decided to just throw caution to the wind yesterday but he wasn't sure if he regretted it or not. He knew he'd had no choice but to go through with it the other night, the spell was just too dangerous to leave in his system. And Danny had used protection, just in case the spell had worked on him. But he'd been fully in his right mind yesterday when he kissed Danny. They hadn't gone as far as the magic had forced them to, to free Tim, but it was still more than he'd ever done with anyone. What was it about Danny that made him feel safe in a way few others did, Kon was one, Dick used to be another.

Danny had trusted him with his adopted name, a way to track down his civilian life, to put his new family at risk. Maybe he saw him as more than just a protection job, a work partner. Sex that night was for the job but yesterday was what to Danny? Just a bit of fun? Stress relief?

"Hey, you okay?" Danny asked, bringing him out of his thoughts. A hand rested on his shoulder hesitantly and it hit him, Danny was just as unsure as he was about where they stood.

He turned to face Danny searching his eyes, seeing the insecurity there. He stepped closer and tugged him down to kiss him, Danny freezing for a second before kissing back, pulling him closer, an arm around him, but not restrictively. Danny had been careful the whole time to make sure Tim wouldn't feel trapped.

"What is this?" Tim asked softly. "Between us."

"I don't know," Danny answered. "I really like you Tim," he admitted, and Tim felt something in him relax at that. "I don't want to just leave when this is done. Working with you, travelling together, sightseeing…it's been amazing."

"You could come back to Gotham with me when it's over," Tim offered, surprising himself but…Danny was right, working together was so easy.

To have a partnership like that back home would make life so much better. He would never trust Damian, couldn't trust Dick anymore, had no clue where he stood with Babs or Jason (if he came back to Gotham), Cass had left and who knew how B would react to everything once he was back.

"You don't know how tempting that is," Danny whispered.

"Think about it, please."

"Okay."

Tim forced himself to step back and grab his bag. "We don't want to miss our flight."

"Yeah, ever been to Iraq before?" Danny asked, and he grabbed his own bag.

"No, only ever been to Europe and that was for Robin training."

"I have, it's nothing like the US or Europe. We have to be careful and really watch our steps, especially outside the cities. From landmines to terrorists…it's not safe, especially for Americans. Can you do another accent?"

"French would be the most believable but that's probably no safer than American."

"Probably not," Danny sighed.

"I'm guessing your original accent would fit better? Can you still do it?"

"It's easier when speaking Arabic," Danny admitted. "Do you know it?"

"Nowhere near fluently," Tim grimaced. He knew enough to pick up the occasional phrase that Damian muttered, mostly the death threats.

"Okay, so my cover's easy, I'm your translator. It'd be best if I could grab some more local looking clothes once we're there."

Tim nodded, that made sense. They were flying separately but on the same plane, one in business class and the other in economy. He grabbed his computer and brought up their bookings. "Is Danny an Anglicised version of your name?"

"Yeah, Danyal is the original version," he grimaced slightly.

"Okay so change your id…half Arabic, half…British? Working as a translator for a French American archaeological student out here to join the dig we're looking for," Tim murmured, getting into their ticket info to change things, making sure it couldn't be traced. He then pulled out their passports for the flight and went to work.

They'd be cutting it close getting to the airport but they needed their covers set before getting on the plane.

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Jason stood on the rooftop, looking out over Crime Alley, his Alley. It was good to be back where he belonged. And he had a lot of work to do. First thing first…find the kid and apologise for nearly killing him…again. Hopefully, Timbers would be willing to listen.

He'd gotten new gear while getting his head sorted out, changed for more muted colours and ditched the red hood for black. He'd have to change his name due to that but whatever. He still had his guns and it'd be obvious it was still him.

He was at the edge of his territory, waiting for Tim since he knew the kid had patrolled the area before he returned from the dead so he assumed he would go back to that with Jason out of the city. Eventually, he caught sight of two figures in the distance but…something was off. The taller had to be Dick wearing the cowl but then…the height difference between Dick and Tim was not that big and Robin looked bulkier too.

Jason leapt, taking off after them, curious and though he wouldn't admit it, worried. He kept a distance, not wanting a fight or anything and it didn't take long to realise who was wearing the Robin uniform. Damian Wayne. So, where the hell was Tim? He'd survived his attack; he knew he had. If Tim Drake-Wayne was dead it would have made the news. He pulled up his wrist computer, running a search…frowning as he found Tim was nowhere to be found in Gotham. He'd withdrawn from school and vanished. What the hell? Looked like he was going to have to confront Dickie after all.

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He was so tired. So tired of everything being shades of grey. Of being compromised over and over. Of being lost. But he could change, he could make it go back to how things were in the

beginning. When it was all so clear.

"Welcome to Iraq, Mister Gauthier." The immigration official handed his passport back, and John smiled at him.

"Thank you." He walked away and headed outside to wait for his translator. He was alive. He could get him back. He could… seriously?

"Where to boss?" Owens asked.

How? The last break in…it led here, all they had to do was come and wait, they'd known he was going to come for it. This... was not going to end well. Of course, it didn't start out that great, so he shouldn't really be too surprised. He'd told Ra's al Ghul to call off the trio of assassins he had 'helping' him. Right. Because Ra's al Ghul took orders from him. He didn't see 'talking this out' being an option. And Danny was maybe a minute behind him…would the recognise him? More likely, things were about to be public and loud. He began reaching into his bag for a weapon but then stopped as he spotted soldiers walking by, American soldiers…good thing he'd kept to being half-American but involving them would be risky.

"Monsieur Gauthier?" Danny called; his American accent gone.

He looked back to find he had already grabbed some more local garb.

"Danyal Cooper, your translator," Danny held his hand out, as if they were strangers.

"Thanks, call me John." Why had Danny approached? He knew who they were, he should have just kept walking, blended in with the locals.

"Shall we go? I've arranged a car already and the dig coordinator is expecting us."

"Thank you, Monsieur Cooper."

He could feel the assassins looking between them, now unsure they had the right person. After all, John Gauthier was blond, with green eyes, and darker skin than Tim Drake, that had been a pain. Z was staring at them both shrewdly but with the American soldiers around they wouldn't move.

So, John followed Danyal to the waiting car and got in. He carefully pulled a device from his bag and scanned the car. "Clean," he murmured. "Why didn't you disappear?"

"I'm not letting Ra's get you. If you went with them, getting you out again would have been hard. They'll follow us but won't move so long as you're with the dig personnel. And they'll be wondering if they got your id wrong too."

"You know…the dig coordinator worked with my parents, I could have come as Tim Drake and just asked him."

"So why didn't you?" Danny didn't take his eyes off the dirt road they had turned onto.

"Because travelling with my own id would trip the Bat systems."

"Would it be that bad if they knew where you are? Aren't they your family?"

"B is. But Nightwing…he took Robin, gave it to someone who nearly killed me, who hates me. And when I insisted Batman's alive, he didn't even bother to ask for the evidence, juts decided I'd gone crazy with grief. And yeah, Kon's likely let them all have it for that but…"

"That doesn't stop the hurting," Danny murmured, and he nodded. "Sure, you want to go back to Gotham after this? America's a big place, plenty of cities who could use a good vigilante."

"Gotham's home," Tim answered, resting his head against the window.

"They're not being subtle about following us," Danny said after a while, and Tim didn't bother looking back, he was meant to just be an archaeology student after all.

"Nothing we can do to lose them either."

"We'll be stopping for the night in a town up ahead. They might approach again."

Tim nodded, tired. He hadn't gotten any sleep on the flight, too on edge.

"Hey, you okay?" Danny asked, a hand moving from the wheel to take his.

"Tired," he admitted, squeezing Danny's hand. "I just…want the compromises to stop."

"We could leave right now," Danny offered. "Surely the evidence we have is enough." His thumb stroked the back of Tim's hand and he smiled slightly at the comforting move.

"This is the last piece, that connects it all. They'll need a way to track his path through time, we've got the evidence but not enough data to track."

"Okay, so we have a quick exit planned and new id's ready for once we get what you need from the dig. Think they'll stop once we head back to the States?"

"Ra's stop?"

"Good point," Danny sighed. "Though if all he wants is info on Batman's fate then once you get him back, his focus should shift off of you."

"Maybe," Tim wasn't entirely sure.

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Dick froze for a second as Jason stepped out from cover, taking a second to realise it was him. He'd changed his uniform…not that he'd complain about the lack of bright red helmet and bat on his chest. Though he was sad not to see a bat at all. Then again, with what Jason'd done…he made sure he was between Jason and Damian.

"Hood," he greeted warily.

"BatWing," was the answer, and that made Dick blink but also relax a little.

"Thanks…I think." Of course Jason would try and taunt him by putting the two names together.

"How dare-"

"Robin," he warned tightly, seeing his hand go for his sword. Why did Jason have to approach when he had Damian with him?

"Can't believe you'd choose the psycho brat over the real Robin," Hood shook his head, shocking Dick. Jason saw Tim as the real Robin? That was a big change from before.

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Jason smirked, even if they couldn't see it. Riling the kid up was fun. He didn't see the brat as a threat, he was way too easily angered despite growing up in the League. Jason knew League training, he'd gone through it under Talia, the kid had the raw skill but none of the emotional control. Jason could vaguely remember seeing the kid around one or two of the bases which made sense given Talia would have wanted to keep her son close.

"Robin, head in for the night," Dick ordered.

"And leave you with this trash?" Damian sneered. How had the apple fallen so far from the tree? Neither Bruce nor Talia was anything like their son. Was it Ra's' doing? Or had the way he was born screwed the poor kid up in the head.

"Go Robin, straight back to the bunker, now," Dick snapped.

"Tt," Robin answered, but turned and left.

"Did you have to antagonise him?"

"He needs to learn control, should have learnt it in the League. That kind of behaviour never would have been tolerated, Talia's kid or not. Might be rich coming from me, but your new bird is nowhere near stable."

"Been reading the paper?" Dick sighed, and Jason frowned.

"No, only just got back." But now he was definitely going to be checking out back issues online, something must have happened. "Wanted to talk with the other Robin, figured he'd be looking out for the Alley again…then saw your much shorter sidekick. So where is he?"

"Superboy found him in Paris but that was a few weeks ago. He went completely off grid when he left Gotham, not even Oracle has been able to track him and Superman doesn't know him well enough to find him unless he has a general idea of his location. That's why it took Superboy to do it."

"Didn't Superboy die before B did?" He asked in confusion.

Dick stared at him, judging, and then motioned to the side. Jason followed him into what had to be a camera blind spot because Dick pushed back the cowl. Jason hesitated but then copied him, revealing a black domino beneath, and to be fair he removed it as well. He leant against the wall, arms crossed over his chest and well clear of his guns.

"His body was put in a Kryptonian healing pod thing up at the Fortress and they managed to wake him up in the future, and grab Impulse from where he was trapped. They helped them with a few things and then they were sent back to now." Dick had relaxed a bit as he talked.

So, the kid has his friends back, that was good but then why was he in Europe and alone?

"So why is psycho demon running around in our colours?"

"Don't call him that, he's just a kid."

"A kid who tried to kill Tim how many times? Who treats everyone like dirt." He glanced down as his computer beeped, staring in shock. "And apparently is beating people up on the street, even almost killing them. Wow. Way to protect Daddy's reputation."

"He grew up in the League! I'm working on it, benching him doesn't work, he just sneaks out anyway."

"And Baby Bird?"

"He sounded insane! Going on about B being alive. Little D would have gone back to the League, he was packing, I needed something to keep him here. So, I made him Robin. Baby Bird was ready to move on to his own identity. He was B's Robin; he couldn't be mine," Dick rushed out, and Jason frowned.

"So, did you offer him Nightwing?" That would have been the best thing to do. A step forward but still with support. Tim had always been the most independent of the Robin's, allowed to work solo so much more than he or Dick had been. Nightwing would have shown to him that Dick still wanted him there but as more of an equal.

But from the look on Dick's face…he hadn't even considered it. So, he got to keep his old name while working as the big bad Bat. Leaving Tim with what?

"Spoiler, Wonder Girl, they both tried talking to him but he wouldn't let it go. I tried to stop him leaving, he was in the Red Robin suit, he beat me and left. Oracle lost him then. Superboy came back and he went after him after…after he forwarded a criminal case to Lois Lane."

Something in Dick's voice had him tensing. "He's working solo in Europe?" he couldn't blame the kid for branching out…or even using the Red Robin suit, better him than the guy who'd taken it originally.

Dick stared at him, studying him, and then brought up his own wrist computer, and then Jason's pinged with a file. He brought it up, watching the video, it would be better on a bigger screen but it was pretty obvious what was going on…it was obvious the woman in the video was incapacitated somehow. Was the woman working for Tim or… "Is this?"

"Kon confirmed, it's Baby Bird. He was drugged chemically and magically. Zatanna investigated the man who did it, he's been doing it for years… it's not good. Most of the other victims are dead, either through suicide or complications in childbirth. There's a chance…if he is…with another male that he could, well…"

Jason blanched, feeling really sick now. Timmy had nearly been…even with everything Joker had done to him in that warehouse, that had been one depravity the bastard hadn't put him through thankfully. He'd nearly killed the kid too but he never would have touched him like that, would never touch anyone against their will. He put bullets in those who did.

"The bastard?" he asked tightly.

"Arrested and I didn't ask Zatanna what she did, from the look on her face I don't want to know."

Good, that was good. Hopefully she'd made sure he'd pay for a very long time. "Can she undo whatever was done to the Baby Bird?"

Dick shrugged. "He'd have to let her find him first. Despite Superboy bringing back his evidence and a nice right hook for Superman, the kids still dark. Oracle's picked up chatter about a vigilante in Europe, thinks it might be him. Turns out…he was right, B's alive. That's why Superboy hit Superman, because he listened to me and not Baby Bird. The whole Justice League didn't listen to him."

"Because of you. Wow. You really screwed it up." There wasn't much he could have done to make it worse. "Guess I'm not back, looks like I'm heading to Europe."

"What? Why?" Dick straightened up.

"Someone's gotta have his back. If he'll let me then I'll do it."

"The League's hunting him."

Jason froze and then turned to glare, domino back on. "And you didn't lead with that?" he snarled. "I'm going."

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Kon paused to listen, relieved when he heard Tim give the check in. it was the only reason that he hadn't insisted on staying with Tim and Danny. He'd made sure to memorise Danny's voice as well, so he could yell for help if Tim was incapacitated. So, one of them checked in once a day, if they missed it then Kon was flying over there immediately.

He didn't like that they were in a country like Iraq, it was still mostly a warzone and for two Americans? Well, Danny was likely not American by birth given he was ex-League. He may have even been to Iraq before, in which case he'd feel a little better about it, but considering he'd left when he was under ten…the country had probably changed a bit since then. They'd have excellent covers, but were they good enough to keep the League off their trail?

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Danny opened the door to the small hotel room, checking it quickly for any sign of tampering. Enhanced hearing was good for that among other things. Which was why he'd known to grab clothes before leaving the airport, he'd heard the assassin trio and also felt the extreme death clinging to them.

He dumped their bags on the floor by the bed and turned to Tim, he was worried about him. Tim walked in and stripped out of his jacket, kicking off his shoes. Danny wrapped an arm around his waist, tugging gently, and Tim moved with it, coming to rest against Danny's body. His other hand lifted to run through currently blond hair, and Tim slowly sagged against him.

"What's going on?" he asked softly. "Is it those three showing up so soon?"

Tim shook his head, keeping it against him rather than look up. "Homesick, tired…I just want this over, I want B back. But…it'll never be the same."

"No, it won't, but you can move on Tim. You've got a new id and suit; you can still go back to Gotham and not work with them if you don't want to. You can try to start over with the other bats if you want as well. Or you can go wherever you want. You've got choices Tim."

Tim lifted his head and stared at him. "You're right, I just…" he sighed, and Danny nodded.

"It's been one thing after another for how long now? Even before you left the US. Add the assault and time under the effects of that magic…no wonder you're exhausted Tim." His hand moved from Tim's hand to gently trace his cheek. "We can take a day or two, the dig's long term. Let you get some rest and recharge."

"No…better to get it over with and it'll look suspicious to the trio if we don't leave in the morning."

"Alright, but you're staying here and sleeping. I'll go get something for dinner, you shower and relax. Okay?"

"Okay," Tim agreed.

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Tim ran a towel through his hair and then collapsed on the bed. Danny was right, he had options and time to think. He frowned as blond locks fell forward; he'd actually died it this time rather than wear a wig and he was not a fan of the colour since he'd had to bleach his hair to get the colour to take. After this was over, he'd have to die his hair black until it grew back in to his natural colour. He grimaced as he removed the coloured contacts, eyes feeling a little dry.

He lifted a tanned hand, glad to see the tanning solution had done its job. His skin had never looked so bronzed, probably because he worked so much at night. Plus, Gotham wasn't the sunniest of cities to begin with. He didn't usually go so extreme with disguise but Iraq was not the kind of place he wanted to have the extra worries of keeping his disguise intact in.

He hoped it'd fooled the assassins but his reaction to seeing them may have given it away. They were just as trained as he was in body language after all. If he was lucky, they'd brush it off as a reaction to Pru's bandages and outfit. But when was he ever that lucky.

Tim tensed, hand going to his collapsed bō as the door rattled but then it opened and Danny stepped in with a bag that smelt good along with a tray holding two cups.

"Dinner is served," Danny grinned, and Tim found himself smiling back.

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Lucius sighed and set the report aside. Where the hell was Tim? He was Bruce's contingency and he was needed, before whoever they had playing Bruce ruined the company. Despite being the youngest at the time the clause was written, Timothy had been the obvious choice.

He was the Drake heir, raised to the life, to run a company. Janet Drake had been feared and respected for her business mind and ruthlessness. Jack had married into the Drake family, had taken the name, he'd been new money. There had been whispers when Bruce took him in as his ward and then adopted him, that he'd done it to take over Drake Industries without Janet around to protect the company, but that had never been the plan. It had been the board that had destroyed the company, though Jack hadn't helped much once he'd woken. She had been the brains of the relationship and Timothy was her son, not so much Jack's.

So, Tim vanishing right now, was not a good thing. The fake-Bruce was draining the company of money, far more than was sustainable. He had sent Tam to find the teen but her last call had been a very frustrated one as she couldn't find him anywhere.

If they didn't find Tim soon…the board may have to move against "Bruce" and that would not be good.

TBC…