#so exciting

“This is nice,” said Tim’s dad. He sat next to Dana on the couch while Tim was in the armchair next to them. “It’s been too long since we’ve been able to just relax together as a family like this.”

Tim hummed noncommittally and flicked out the keyboard on his phone before retracting it again. He wanted to open up a game of snake or hangman, but his dad would absolutely notice, and then Dana would be upset he wasn’t paying attention during their assigned family-bonding time.

“It is. I’m glad I succeeded in getting you both into this show!” said Dana. She’d found the buddy-cop drama a few weeks ago and today there happened to be a marathon on, so she’d wrangled them all into watching it together. Tim might have enjoyed it more if he wasn’t a detective himself, but all he could think while watching was that blood tests didn’t work like that. Didn’t help that the characters were all dumb as rocks. Dana continued and said, “Tim, it’s so good to spend an afternoon with you.”

Which reminded Tim why he was pretending. Dana wasn’t a bad person. He shoved his phone into the crack between the cushion and the armrest and smiled at her. “Definitely, Dana. Sorry I’ve been too busy with my clubs to spend much time with you.”

His dad gave him a relieved look, and said, “Well, maybe we can make this a sort of routine. Once a week or so, we spend a few hours together. Either watching something like this or doing something in the city.”

“It’s so much easier to go places now that you live in the city rather than Bristol,” agreed Dana. “I think I saw the art museum had a special exhibit for local artists next weekend, we should check it out!”

Tim wanted nothing more than to run. He’d rather spend the time in San Francisco with Young Justice or in the cave reviewing cases. Maybe at home catching up on homework. Before he could think of a way to politely decline that wouldn’t hurt Dana and piss off his dad, his phone rang.

“Sorry,” Tim mumbled to them as he pulled it out. He didn’t recognize the number, but it had a Gotham area code. “Hello?” he asked.

“Tim?” came through the phone.

Tim recognized that voice: the pitch, the cadence. More familiar to him than his own. “Danny?” His dad made a noise and bolted upright, but Tim barely paid him any attention.

His dad muted the TV. “Everything okay?” he mouthed quietly.

Tim waved him off in favor of Danny who replied, “You picked up! I wasn’t sure you would.”

Tim didn’t have the heart to tell him that he only really picked up the strange number to get out of an awkward conversation with his dad and Dana. “Why aren’t you using your phone? What’s going on?”

Danny’s laugh was somewhat hysterical and Tim jumped to his feet. He waved away his dad’s and Dana’s questions as he rushed to his room. He’d have to pack if he was going to Amity. And look up bus schedules. Tim could hear Danny take a steadying breath. “Um. I have no idea where my phone is right now. But, uh. I’m in Gotham. We got mugged. Could you come get us? We could use some help.”

[Continued on AO3]