Chapter Text
On arrival to the backyard, Tim and Jason were greeted with total pandemonium. From what they could gather, everyone, save for Mr. Wayne, Babs, and Alfred, had decided to play a game of capture the flag while they waited for lunch. The teams were split into five players each: Dick, Damian, Cassie, Bart, and Wally against Cass, Steph, Kon, Jon, and Roy. Currently, Steph was in a stalemate with Dick and Bart as she attempted to steal his team’s flag with Jon and Roy cheering her on from the opposing team’s jail area behind Dick. On the other side of the yard was another standoff: Damian and Cassie on the offensive and Kon defending. Off to the side, Cass had Wally in a headlock to prevent him from tagging Steph or tackling Kon. With everyone yelling over each other, the backyard was significantly louder than it had been prior to Jason and Tim’s short tour, so it was safe to assume nobody had heard the bell for lunch. They walked over to the picnic table where Mr. Wayne, Alfred, and Babs were idly snacking on potato chips as they watched the game unfold. Babs greeted Tim with kind eyes and a firm handshake, “I’m Babs. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise! I’m Tim.”
“My money’s on Steph’s team,” Mr. Wayne said casually, seemingly accustomed to the chaos.
“No way! Dick’s team is about to make a comeback, just watch,” Babs countered.
Jason leaned on Babs’s wheelchair and reached for some chips. “Nah they’re totally gassed. Steph’s team has this in the bag.”
“Master Dick’s team does seem to be at a slight disadvantage at the moment, but there is most definitely opportunity for a change in momentum,” Alfred added calmly, referring to the ongoing wrestling match Dick was having with Roy as Jon clung to his back, the two having just been freed from jail by Steph who was now being chased around by Bart. On the other end of the yard, Kon was holding off Damian and Cassie with what seemed like superhuman strength. Meanwhile, Wally had somehow escaped from Cass’s vise grip and was sprinting across the lawn to help Damian and Cassie battle Kon as she hunted him down. With no clear end to the game in sight, Mr. Wayne turned to Jason and Tim and nodded his head toward the house, “You two, a word?”
Jason rolled his eyes but obliged, leading them inside after receiving an empathetic pat on the arm from Babs as he passed. Tim’s heart dropped, suddenly feeling very hot and not nearly as calm as Jason. From his past interactions with Mr. Wayne, he seemed like a fairly even-keeled, friendly person, but maybe that was different when it came to his family. He thought about a million different ways this conversation could go as they arrived at the living room.
Mr. Wayne gestured to the couch as he sat down on the armchair across from them, “Please, have a seat.”
Jason immediately protested, “Are you seriously doing a shovel talk right now?”
“Yes. We need to be clear on expectations. Have a seat,” Mr. Wayne said firmly. Tim sat down promptly, followed by a begrudging Jason. Mr. Wayne let a few minutes pass in silence as he sipped his tea and serenely observed the ongoing game of capture the flag through the window. Jason made himself busy by fiddling with the sleeve of Tim’s sweater and repeatedly tracing the lines on his palm. Tim held his breath in anticipation, steeling himself for what was to come and still mentally calculating the best and worst possible outcomes of this exchange. Finally, Mr. Wayne decided to continue and turned to face Jason. “Now, what are your intentions with my intern, son?” he deadpanned.
Tim released the breath he’d been anxiously holding and felt all his strength leave his body. “Oh dear god,” Jason facepalmed, mortified, as Tim broke out into uncontrollable laughter beside him. “Was this bit necessary? You’re so embarrassing,” he groaned. Mr. Wayne sat relaxed across from them, his lips twitching up at the corners.
“Jason, I’m your father. That’s my job. And contrary to popular belief, I do have a sense of humor,” Mr. Wayne responded matter-of-factly, clearly satisfied with this sound logic. “In all seriousness, I’m very happy for you two, and I am always here if you need anything.” Tim reddened at Mr. Wayne’s assumption about their relationship but nodded appreciatively, neither he nor Jason choosing to correct him. A moment later, a loud cheer erupted from outside, signaling the end of the game. “Now, I believe it’s time to feast on some ‘bussing’ food as the youth say. I think everyone will agree I ‘ate it up’ at the grill and very effectively ‘slayed’ lunch,” Mr. Wayne declared, completely serious, as he stood up, sending Tim into another fit of laughter. He practically had to be carried out of the room by a grumbling Jason. “He’s the furthest thing from funny, I swear.”
“Now I know where you get it from,” Tim wheezed, wiping tears from his eyes as Jason tightened his grip around his waist, supporting half his weight.
Outside, the group of disheveled young adults and teens had gathered around the picnic tables and there were about a hundred different conversations going on at once.
“I totally would’ve had you if Jon hadn’t sent that flying kick to my head,” Dick argued to a smug looking Roy.
“Mhmm, sure, pal. Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Roy said around his burger as he fistbumped a cheerful Jon who was nibbling on a hamburger bun (yes, only the bun for some reason). “Way to go, little guy. Teamwork makes the dream work.”
At the end of one table, Bart was excitedly talking about chess with Babs between bites of the first of six assorted hamburgers and hot dogs on his plate; apparently chess was another elective course he’d taken at some point. Beside them, Steph was enthusiastically telling Alfred about her post-grad plans at the Gotham Times, and at the other table, Wally and Kon were having a heated hot dog eating contest while Cassie, Damian, and Cass cheered them on. Tim took out his phone and snapped a quick photo of the candid moment before joining Jason at the hot dog eating contest table. As they walked up, Dick hooked an arm around Jason’s neck and made an announcement to the table. “Jason’s got next! Who’s he up against?” Roy immediately put his hand up, followed by Damian. “Alri~ght, we’ve got a three-way challenge!” Kon and Wally were laid out on the grass, supine and eyes closed, focusing all their energy on digestion. According to Cass, they had called a truce at nine hot dogs. “Absolutely not,” Jason stated bluntly, lightly shoving Dick off of him as he warily eyed the first two victims on the grass. While he scuffled with Dick, who was attempting to force him into one of the newly designated hot dog eating seats, Tim sat down next to Cass. “Hello,” she quietly greeted.
Tim was delighted to finally meet her. “Hello! I’m Tim.”
“I know,” she said warmly, taking his outstretched hand. “I’m Cass.”
“I know,” he replied with a soft smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You are sweet. I think you are good for Jason,” she abruptly declared as she offered him a hot dog.
Tim flushed, accepting her offering, “Thank you, that’s very kind.”
Seemingly pleased with their short interaction, she gave him a firm nod and began carefully dressing her burger. “She doesn’t talk much, but she means what she says. And for the record, I agree with her,” Dick chimed in from across the table, now humbly in the hot dog eating seat himself, having lost his battle with Jason. “Am I right, little sister?”
Dick chuckled affectionately when Cass simply grunted in response, hyperfocused on her burger. Grumbling, Damian suddenly pushed his way between Cass and Tim, plopping his body down on the bench with a huff, “I have been forcibly removed from the competition by reason of having ‘a small frame’ and ‘still-developing organs’. This is far from fair,” he complained. He began poking Cass for attention and cracked a small, satisfied smile when she patted his head fondly. Across the table, Dick and Roy were gearing up for their wrestling rematch by way of hot dogs and Cassie was assigned the very important role of timekeeper-slash-referee. A moment later, Jason returned to the table with two plates and a cup filled to the brim with dill pickle spears. He sat down next to Tim, sliding one of the plates in front of him. “Got you a little bit of everything,” he said as he passed the dill pickle spears to Damian who received them with a curt nod in thanks. Chuckling as he watched Damian chomp away at his pickles, Tim thanked Jason and began munching on some potato salad and, of course, the hot dog he’d gotten from Cass.
Jon, ever the master of reading social cues, waltzed over to the table and squeezed himself between Tim and Jason, handing Tim a piece of cornbread from the large pile on his plate before launching into a long story about all the fun things he did over winter break with Damian. Already weak to his adorable nature, Tim took the cornbread with a smile and listened to his story attentively, occasionally interjecting with questions. At various points in the story, Damian interrupted from Tim’s other side with corrections and a whole lot of “Um, actually”’s, and Jon’s storytime eventually devolved into a petty slap fight right over Tim’s lap. On Jon’s other side, Jason was grumpily chewing on a chicken wing while Dick gave Cassie a rundown on the game rules. As he attempted to separate the two children fighting in his lap, Tim made brief eye contact with Jason over Jon’s head and suppressed a laugh as Jason twisted his face into an exaggerated frown. Roy, who had been watching the entire scene unfold, chimed in from across the table, “Beefing with a twelve year old, Jay?” he teased.
“Focus on your dogs, Harper. Dickie’s already two ahead,” Jason shot back.
“Ah, shi– oot.” Skillfully avoiding cursing, Roy glanced over to Dick’s plate before taking a deep breath and re-focusing on his own pile of hot dogs.
As Cassie began the countdown from ten seconds, everyone gathered around the table, cheers split evenly between Team Dick and Team Roy. In the end, Dick was crowned the winner by a single hot dog, but regardless, both he and Roy ended up laid out right next to each other on the grass, the two of them replacing Wally and Kon who had semi-recovered by that point. “What are you all up to?” Mr. Wayne asked. He had stepped inside briefly to take a work call so he had missed the competition.
“Hot dog eating contest,” Cass answered plainly.
“Ah yes, the great equalizer,” he said amusedly, glancing down at Dick and Roy rolling around on the grass in pain. “Anyone up for dessert?” He chuckled at the two groans he received from the hot dog victims at the mention of anything food related as the others piped up excitedly:
“Me!”
“I could go for something sweet.”
“Same! What’s the dessert spread like?”
“Some cookies would be satisfactory.”
“Yeah, what Dami said!”
“Anything with chocolate and I’m there.”
The rowdy group migrated to the kitchen to browse the dessert options that Alfred had prepared, leaving Tim and Jason, who had barely gotten the chance to eat their food, behind. Tim took the opportunity to close the gap between him and Jason, scooting over on the bench until their arms were touching as he nibbled a chicken skewer. They ate in a peaceful silence for a few minutes, simply enjoying each other's presence. Just as Jason opened his mouth to finally speak, Wally called out from the fire pit where he was setting up firewood for the bonfire with Kon, the two having recently bonded over their shared hot dog eating contest trauma. “Hey, Jace! Can you give us a hand over here?”
Jason hung his head and huffed a laugh in disbelief, “I can’t win, I swear.”
Tim wasn’t sure where he got the nerve, but without thinking, he leaned over and gave Jason a light peck on the cheek. “It’s okay, I’m not going anywhere,” he said quietly, a soft smile playing on his lips. Jason’s face went a deep crimson and he nodded dumbly, “Okay… I’ll– I’ll be right back then.” He clumsily shoved the last bit of his burger into his mouth and avoided eye contact as he stood up from the table. Tim found it cute to see Jason flustered after seeing him so easygoing and self-assured whenever they talked. As Jason reluctantly made his way over to the fire pit, stepping over the two still-catatonic bodies on the ground, Alfred approached the table and took a seat next to Tim.
“It has been a splendid day has it not, Mr. Drake?”
“Absolutely splendid, Mr. Pennyworth.”
“I really do thank you for attending. I have not seen Master Jason this happy for quite some time.”
Something about his calm demeanor made Tim want to talk, and before he could stop himself, he was rambling. “You know, Mr. Pennyworth, I’m not really sure what to do. I really like him and I know he likes me too, but I don’t want to accidentally make a fool of myself and push him away. I feel like he always knows what to do while I kinda just seem like a bumbling idiot most of the time.”
For the first time since they arrived, Mr. Pennyworth smiled, his eyes wrinkling at the corners. “I believe you may be underestimating Master Jason’s affections for you, Mr. Drake,” he said with a glint in his eye. He didn’t elaborate further and, instead, stood up and beckoned for Tim to join him at the other table. “Would you like to assist me in preparing the trays for s’mores later this evening?”
“I’d love to.” He enjoyed the next half hour comfortably talking with Mr. Pennyworth about whatever came to mind as they methodically opened packages of graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate and neatly laid them out on trays for the bonfire.
After dessert, the group played a few more yard games, and as the sun dipped below the horizon and twilight crept in, everyone gathered around the fire, bundled up in layers as the nighttime chill crept in. Tim sat wrapped in a thick blanket on a swinging bench beside Jason, who was still in a T-shirt, seemingly unaffected by the cold night air. Around the bonfire, the others played games and chatted in their own small groups: Dick and Roy were in a tiebreaker arm wrestling match, Cass and Kon were on s’mores assembly duty, Jon and Damian were leaning on either side of Mr. Wayne, dead asleep, and the rest were taking turns telling ridiculously bad ghost stories via charades. Tim sat looking up at the sky, eyes shining as he studied the stars. He didn’t notice Jason staring at him until he suddenly spoke. “I know a spot with a better view,” he said quietly, gently nudging Tim with his elbow. Tim lowered his gaze to meet Jason’s and nodded with a shy smile. “Okay,” he breathed, voice just above a whisper.
When the coast was clear, they silently snuck away from the bonfire and toward the main house. Jason guided Tim back to the library, opened the large window, and pointed up to a small recess in the wall a few feet from the window. Tim hesitantly stepped forward and poked his head out of the window, lifting his head to look up to where Jason had pointed and back down at the ground thirty feet below. He looked skeptically at Jason, who was wearing an excited grin.
“If I fall, your ass is grass.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll catch you,” Jason replied confidently, echoing their first interaction at WE.
As he crawled out of the window and began the short climb up, Tim wondered whether his pounding heart was a result of Jason’s words or the fear of falling. He cautiously shuffled up the slanted roof toward the alcove. The last step was quite steep, and as he struggled to to pull himself up, he felt warmth rush to his cheeks as Jason wrapped his hands around his waist and gave him a small boost. When he finally pushed himself up and into the nook, he found it was large enough for the two of them to sit in comfortably. Carefully taking a seat down and dangling his legs off the edge, he scooched over to make room for Jason. He turned to see a blanket tossed up on the platform followed by Jason pushing himself up as Tim tried and failed to pull his eyes away from his bulging arm and chest muscles.
After barely managing to tear his eyes away, he stared up at the stars in awe. “Wow… You’re right, the view is beautiful from up here.”
“I used to come up here all the time. It was the perfect hiding spot for a while until those other gremlins found out about it.”
“Come on, your family is great!” Tim laughed at Jason’s incredulous look.
“Don’t let them fool you. Just know, I’m the only sane one. Dick managed to get stuck in the entryway chandelier three separate times in the span of a week during his senior year of high school and Cass once tamed a family of wild raccoons and hid them in her room for three months. And you know how Dami is,” he said, cracking a smile as Tim cackled beside him.
Tim sighed as his laughter subsided, “I can’t believe I was so stressed out about today. It’s been so much fun.”
Jason huffed a laugh at Tim’s sudden honesty. “Me too. I was so anxious I ended up accidentally pulling an all-nighter.”
“Really?” Tim whipped his head to the side to look at Jason head-on, eyes wide in surprise.
“Mhmm,” Jason hummed, nodding his head. He was back to tracing the lines on Tim’s palm, a cute nervous habit of his.
“You just always seem so relaxed and sure of yourself."
“A skill I picked up from firefighting,” he said with a wink. “You make me more nervous than I let on, princess. If I’m being honest, I’m always scrambling for ways to impress you.”
“...Why?”
Jason regarded him for a moment. “Because I like you.”
Tim went beet red. He hugged his legs to his chest and hid his face in his hands, resting his forehead on his knees as Jason laughed, finding his shyness painfully cute. As he tried to stop screaming on the inside, Tim recalled Mr. Pennyworth’s words from earlier and suddenly felt a boost of courage shoot through his veins. He slowly raised his head to face Jason. “I want to kiss you,” he blurted, immediately regretting opening his mouth. He had intended to come off more confident, but ended up sounding like a whiny child. He attempted to fix his blunder when he saw Jason’s eyes nearly double in size. “What I mean is I like you too and I think you’re amazing and I want to keep getting to know you… in different ways. Only if you want to too, I mean, it’s fine if you don’t want to, but I thought since we missed our chance at the aquarium we could–”
His rambling was cut off by Jason's lips locking with his. Tim just about melted into the kiss, head spinning and heart pounding as he reached up to rest a hand on Jason’s nape. He let out a small noise as Jason tightened his grip on his waist and pulled him in deeper. Worried he might overwhelm him, Jason drew back after a few more moments and lifted his hand to caress Tim’s cheek, looking down at him lovingly. “Can I kiss you?” he asked with a goofy grin. Tim giggled, his eyes slightly unfocused as they gazed up at him through long eyelashes, the sweet taste of Jason’s lips lingering on his tongue. “A little late to ask for permission, dummy.” As he shifted his body to more comfortably sit in Jason’s lap, a small firework whizzed up from near the bonfire, followed by a collection of cheers when it exploded in the air. Leaning back against Jason’s warm body, he turned his head toward the backyard and watched in awe as the night sky lit up. Jason watched as Tim’s eyes twinkled with each firework, his cheeks tinted pink and a small smile planted on his rosy lips. He was everything Jason had ever dreamed of. “I could die happy,” he mumbled to himself as he leaned down and kissed Tim on the cheek, burying his face in his neck and hugging him tightly to his chest. They sat in peace for a long time, surrounded by the strangely comforting boom of fireworks as the cool night breeze brushed over their tingling skin.