#jaytimweek2025

A/N:

*shows up six months late with Starbucks* Sup?

So, funnily enough this was the first fic idea I had for JayTim week back in June. But if I remember correctly, that was right as my writers block was starting to take over, so I was never able to finish it. But, recently I decided instead of participating in the ongoing events right now, I would try and finish up some of my WIPs. So here we are!

I hope y'all enjoy!

This was written for JayTim Week 2025 Day Three, which had the prompt Green.

~~~~~

According to the universe, there is one day in everyone's life that fundamentally determines who they will end up being as a person. Any other day is almost irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. It is only after this fundamental day that a person's soulmark appears, that the universe determines who in the world will be a good match for the person someone will become. For soulmates, this usually happens only days apart.

For Tim Drake, it happened when he was nine. It makes sense, really. It was, after all, the day he gained his first hint as to who Batman really is. The day he saw a clip of Robin performing a move that only one person alive can reasonably do. The day his interest became an obsession.

(What Tim doesn't know is that the real reason that day changed his life was because it was the day his parents decided he's old enough to take care of himself without a nanny, old enough to stay at home alone with no one to supervise him.)

For Jason Todd, it happened when he was twelve. It was the day he discovered his mother's corpse on the bathroom floor.

~~~

"Hey kid, little late to be hanging on Gotham rooftops, ain't it?"

Tim freezes, his camera clutched tightly in his hands. He doesn't move, doesn'tturn around to see who it is speaking to him. He has a feeling he knows who it is, the voice awfully familiar after all. But… it can't be Robin. It can't. Because that would means those words, the ones Tim has stared at since he was nine came from his hero's mouth. And that's too good to be true.

"Kid? You okay?" The voice is concerned, and Tim knows he should do something, should respond and prove once and for all if Robin is his soulmate or not. But his mouth is paralyzed. All he can manage to do is turn towards the older boy, proving what he already knows. That this is Robin in front of him. Jason Todd. Jason, who just spoke Tim's words, but hasn't yet heard a response. Who doesn't yet know who he's saddled with by the universe.

Tim is saved by the muffled sound of Batman through Robin's earpiece.

"Shit, be right there." Robin replies to whatever Batman said. He looks back over to Tim, concern in his eyes. "You gonna be okay, kid? Do you need any help before I go?"

Tim merely shakes his head, lips still uncooperative. Robin nods before grappling away. Tim stares after him, even after he's long gone. Stares, and tries to process what just happened.

Tim goes straight home after that, too off kilter to try navigating Gotham's rooftops anymore that night. He barely remembers the trip, brain working on overdrive while his body works on autopilot.

When he's finally inside the empty manor he calls home and his brain finally reboots enough for him to recognize his surroundings, the first thing he does is pull his sleeve up to uncover the words he's known since he was nine. There they are, exactly as Tim remembers them. Except not, because instead of the light gray of unspoken words, they are a bright green. Not the green of the Robin shorts, either. It's a toxic looking green, almost glowing from where it rests on his skin. Tim wonders what the color means, if it's not Robin's colors. What importance do they hold in Jason Todd's life?

He never gets to learn the answer.

Tim feels it when Jason dies. He's not sure what it is at the time, just a hollowness in his chest and a numbness on his arm where his words are. He doesn't worry at first. It's only after a week of no Robin sightings that he does. And then, the news comes out.

JASON TODD-WAYNE killed during volunteer work in Ethiopia

Tim's lucky he's home when he learns it. The article pops up on his browser and his body stops functioning. If he'd been standing , he would have collapsed in grief. His soulmate is dead. His soulmate is dead and he never even knew they were soulmates because Tim was too much of a coward to say anything, too much of a coward to do anything to let him know. Was too silent in the face of so many things to say.

Tim won't allow himself to make the same mistake twice.

Tim's life becomes a whirlwind after that. In his resolve to not make the same mistakes, he goes to Dick Grayson when Batman becomes violent, and when that doesn't work he goes to the man himself. Tim becomes Robin. And in doing so, he makes a vow to become the best goddamn Robin he can be. He owes it to Jason, after all. He'll make Jason proud. Maybe then he won't feel so guilty about keeping silent.

Sometimes, on nights where the Gotham rogues have decided to lay low, Tim will go out onto the rooftop where Jason said his words. He'll sit on the ledge surrounding the edge and just talk. Talk about everything and nothing at the same time. Talk, because the first time he was on this roof he didn't and if cost him so much. Sometimes, he'll pretend Jason is there besides him, and he'll say all the things he wishes he said before and wishes he could say now. For a brief moment, he'll even believe that it's real, that his soulmate really is beside him and listening to his rambles about whatever. But then Tim will turn and realize there's no one next to him, and reality will sink in once more.

~~~

When Red Hood ambushes Titan's tower, Tim knows he's not going to be able to stop himself from speaking his mind, despite knowing he should. But he promised himself a long time ago that he is done being a coward and holding things back, even if they're from a man who's likely there to kill him. It's not a matter of if Tim will blow up on this man, but when. Especially with some of the things Red Hood is saying. Calling Tim Replacement, showing he knows their identities, bad talking Batman and his methods. Every word the man says makes it harder and harder for Tim to say fuck it and yell back.

And then, Red Hood says something that makes Tim snap.

"Cat got your tongue, Replacement? Or does the little birdy know that he's all alone? That it's not worth screaming because no one will come to save him? So different from another little bird, all those years ago. Poor Jason, screaming for someone to help him but no one able to hear."

Tim swears he can see red at the words, his anger hitting a peak at the mention of his soulmate.

"Say whatever you want about me," he growls out, teeth bared at the man as blood drips down his chin from his split lip, "but you leave Jason's name out of your fucking mouth."

Red Hood freezes, his whole body tensing up as he stares at Tim through the helmet on his head. Tim doesn't let his guard down at the unexpected response. He can't use the moment to escape, with Red Hood having backed him into a corner, but maybe he can still find a way to take advantage of whatever's going on with the crime lord.

"How?" Red Hood snarls, his voice coming out robotic from the modulator in his helmet.

Tim doesn't know what the fuck the man is talking about, and he says as much.

Red Hood takes a step forward, and Tim prepares for another attack. Instead, the man speaks again. "How, the fuck, do you know those words?"

Tim narrows his eyes. "Again, I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

"Those words!" Red Hood shouts. "My fucking soulmate words! You knew them, somehow. Because there is no fucking way that you are my soulmate."

A chill runs down Tim's spine. Tim just said Red Hood's words. Somehow, Tim managed to say exactly what Red Hood's soulmate is going to say to him when they meet. Because Red Hood is right. There's no way that they are soulmates.

"You're right," Tim states coldly, "we can't be soulmates. Because my soulmate is dead. As you so kindly just reminded me."

Tim might as well have taken one of Red Hood's guns and shot the man with how much he recoils at the words. Tim's not sure why the man reacts that way, but Tim takes advantage of it to push past him and run. Unfortunately, Red Hood is quick to recover. The man turns and lunges at Tim. Full on lunges. Tim tries to dodge, but isn't able to get out of the man's reach. He is tackled to the ground painfully, a knee pressing in between his shoulder blades to keep him there. Tim squirms, trying to throw the man off of him, but he's too big, too strong, to get shaken.

Before Tim can stop him, Red Hood is grabbing Tim's arm and shoving the sleeve up. It's blank, of course. Tim knows better than to leave something as identifying as soulwords uncovered. Even if he's not currently acting as Robin. Even if he's not in the costume. Even if he is supposed to be alone in the tower. He still has his concealer on. This doesn't deter Red Hood, though, as the man simply reaches into one of his pockets and pulls out some sort of liquid. Tim's not sure what it is, but he can only watch as it somehow dissolves the bat grade concealer covering his mark. It doesn't take long before the toxic green words are visible to both of them.

Hey kid, little late to be hanging on Gotham rooftops, ain't it?

"What the fuck?" Red Hood's voice is practically a whisper. Tim's almost surprised the modulator in the helmet was able to pick it up. But even if Tim hadn't heard him the first time, Red Hood just repeats himself louder. "What the fuck?"

"Don't you know it's rude to force someone to reveal their mark?" Tim snarks, trying to unbalance Red Hood through words like before. He has to push down his own anxiety in order to do so, the vulnerability of having his words unwillingly displayed to someone threatening to overwhelm him.

"When the fuck did you get this?" Red Hood snaps.

"Why the hell would I tell you?"

Tim doesn't get a response. Or at least not a verbal one. Instead, he feels Red Hood shift on top of him, the man dropping his arm as he does so. Tim contemplates using the moment to try and escape once more, but the thought quickly flees his brain as Red Hood places his namesake on the floor beside them. The blank face of the helmet stares at him mockingly as Tim tries to comprehend just what is happening. And Red Hood is still moving, before something else falls next to the helmet. It's a domino mask. Which means that Red Hood, someone Batman has been stressing over the identity of for weeks now, is currently unmasked on top of Tim right now.

An unmasked assailant doesn't bode well for Tim's chance of survival.

Tim struggles harder, trying to shake the man off without looking at his face. It's a useless task, as Red Hood uses Tim's momentum to roll him onto his back. He pins him again, making sure Tim can't get away. But there's no need, because once Tim gets a look at the crime lord's face, he freezes.

Green. It's the first thing Tim notices on the unmasked man. A toxic green that Tim is oh so familiar with. It fills the man's eyes, glowing bright and highlighting his face. And his face. That, too, is oh so familiar. Sure, it's aged, broader and bigger, but it's still the same face Tim remembers. The face he chased every night. The face he watched at galas. The face he saw on that rooftop that fateful night.

"Jason?" Tim breathes out.

"When the fuck did you find out?" Red- no Jason snarls. His grip on Tim is tight, but Tim barely pays the pain any mind in favor of staring.

Tim doesn't hesitate to answer the question this time. "A few weeks before you…" He trails off, not really knowing how to finish the sentence in the wake of the supposed dead boy being alive in front of him.

Jason snarls at the answer either way. "Why the fuck didn't you say anything?"

"I'm sorry," is all Tim can think to say.

Jason lets out a frustrated noise, climbing off of Tim as he does. Tim doesn't even think of getting up at this point. Jason stands up and walks over to the nearest wall. With a yell, he punches hard. Despite the wall being made to withstand superstrength, he somehow manages to leave a tiny dent.

As Jason stands there, panting, Tim decides it's his turn to ask a question. "How are you alive? I felt you die."

Those toxic, furious eyes once more land on Tim. "I got better." He spits out. "Clawed my way out of my grave before getting tossed in the fucking Lazarus Pits."

Tim inhales sharply, finally placing the toxic color of Jason's eyes, of Tim's words, as the same ugly color of the "restorative" waters of the pits.

Jason lets out a sudden humorless laugh. "I wonder, if you had fucking said something, would I have run off to get myself blown up?"

Tim has asked himself that same question, late at night when he couldn't sleep. If he had replied to Jason that fateful day, would Jason have lived past fifteen? Would he have been able to dissuade Jason from running off to Ethiopia. Before, he always thought yes. Yes, he would have found a way to keep Jason alive. Yes, he would have been able to keep the boy company through discovering his birth mom so he didn't have to run off.

Now, though. Now, Tim can only picture those familiarly green pits, and he knows that was never going to happen.

"My words turned green the moment you spoke them." Tim replies, trying to keep his voice calming to not agitate Jason any more. "I knew what shade of green the pits are long before I knew anything about them. Whatever event marked your words, it guaranteed us to meet like this."

Jason growls.

"Fuck" he roars before turning to punch the wall again. Tim slowly sits up while he's turned, deciding this is not a conversation to be having while laying on the floor.

"I'm sorry," Tim whispers again, because what else can he really say right now. Jason doesn't reply, but Tim can see the man taking in deep breaths to try and calm himself down. Without warning, Jason is sliding down the wall to the floor, letting out a sound full of so much emotion Tim can't possibly pick out just one. There's pain and grief and anger and frustration and despair and so many other things ringing through the sound and it hurts Tim to hear his hero, his soulmate, making such a noise.

"Why me? What did I do to deserve to die? How does a twelve year old get condemned to that fate?"

"I don't know," Tim replies softly. He scoots a little closer to Jason, and when the man doesn't lash out at him, he continues, "what I do know is you didn't deserve anyof what you went through."

"It's not fucking fair." Jason sounds close to tears, and Tim doesn't know what to do with that.

"It's not," Tim agrees. He moves a little closer so he's now sitting next to Jason against the wall. Jason is still sitting facing the wall, while Tim has his back to it. It means the arms their words are on are brushing against each other. His arm tingles there they touched. It makes Tim curious.

"Can I…" He hesitates. It might not be the best time to ask for this, but he's already started and he doesn't want to remain quiet. "Can I see yours?"

Jason tenses beside him, turning his head to look at Tim. His eyes are no longer glowing, although they are still greener than Tim remembers them being. The whites around them are red from his frustrated tears. Jason looks down to where their arms brush again.

"I guess it's only fair," his voice is hoarse and hollow. He holds the arm out for Tim to push the sleeve up. Slowly, the words Tim said not that long ago, although it feels like eternity at this point, reveal themselves.

Say whatever you want about me, but you leave Jason's name out of your fucking mouth.

"I never knew how to feel about them," Jason remarks. Tim turns his gaze from the yellow words (a color Tim was not expecting and doesn't really understand, but now's not the time to wonder about that) to meet Jason's gaze. Jason continues, "on one hand, it meant someone was sticking up for me. Something I didn't really have when I got the words. It gave me a sense of hope for the future, something to work for. But on the other hand, my soulmate was saying that to me. Why would I be saying anything bad about them? Why would they have to protect me from me? And how would my soulmate know who I was if we'd never even met before?" He lets out another humorless laugh, "I guess I didn't account for having a stalker for a soulmate. Or that I'd try and hurt them before I ever really talked to them."

Tim can't stop himself from lifting his hand to trace the words lightly. He brings up his own words on his other arm to put it next to Jason's. His arm tingles at the proximity, and from the goosebumps on Jason's arm he's pretty sure he feels it as well.

"For what it's worth," Tim whispers, "I'm glad it's you."

Jason jerks his arm away and stares at Tim with wide eyes. "I hurt you."

Tim shrugs, "you're not the first."

Jason's eyes narrow, "what the fuck does that mean?"

"I'm just saying," Tim replies. When Jason doesn't seem satisfied with his non-response, he continues. "You regret hurting me, right?"

"I…" Jason pauses, looking down at his hands in his lap. He seems to think it over, and Tim can see the glowing of his eyes brighten and dim as he fights with himself. Finally, he looks back up at Tim, his eyes not glowing in the slightest. "Yeah. I do."

Tim gives him a small but reassuring smile, "then I forgive you. And even if you weren't sorry, you were my Robin. Why wouldn't I be glad it's you?"

Jason frowns. "I'm not exactly that little boy anymore. He died and was buried six feet under. He stayed there when I crawled out instead."

"I don't think that's completely true. There's more of him in you than you think." Tim places an arm on Jason's shoulder. "And I'm, for one, excited to get to know the new parts of you."

Jason stares at him, and Tim meets the gaze confidently. Jason gives first, a small chuckle escaping his lips. Soon, it turns into a full blown laugh, and Tim just watches as tears start fully streaming down his face. Tim can't help but admire how beautiful Jason has become, his head thrown back in his laughter and his cheeks glistening with tear tracks. He watches and waits until Jason has run out of laughter. Jason finally looks at Tim, a wobbly smile on his face.

"I'm excited too, Baby Bird."

~~~~~

End Note:

So I had the idea for this fic while driving two hours to my friend's house. I then proceeded to try and explain it to my other friend in the car, who has no knowledge of DC and so I had to keep going back and explaining things for it to make sense.

Anyway, I had been so excited to write this fic back in June, but as I said I was at the beginning of my writers block so I didn't get very far. I'm so glad I was able to finish it now. Of course, it's funny that it's another JayTim Titans Tower/Soulmate AU but hey, I like what I like.

If there's any errors, feel free to say in the comments. Or if you just want to talk. I may not respond, but know I read and appreciate every single one.

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