ɴᴇʀᴅ sᴋɪʟʟᴢ ғᴏʀ ʟɪғᴇ.

tim returns the smile before casting his eyes over the robot. “that’s really great to hear, ted. you don’t know how happy i was to hear that you were back. we really needed you.” he grew quiet for a moment. “i’ve just been floating about i guess.” he shrugged a little. “i just—i wish things were different.”

“nah i’m good. i’m just observing your work.” tim leaned forward, forearms resting on the tabletop as he yawned. “how have things been so far with you?”

“no ones treating you like a kid. i just have a habit of offering people food.” tim shrugged before returning his focus back on the bbq ribs. “besides they served a lot and i wasn’t gonna finish them all.”

it was very difficult being back in the present when current events were the exact opposite of the results they all hoped they could have achieved. with the skies occasionally rifed with sentinels and the widespread advocacy of anti heroes in the streets tim detested being here. seeing diana and the array of papers on the table prompted him to step inside the room. “morning diana.” he greeted as he drew closer to the table and slipped his hands inside his pockets. “what’s all this?” he leaned forward to take a closer look at one of the documents as he listened to the amazon. “agreed. you’ve probably heard of the theories being thrown here and there about where we went wrong.” he leaned on the table as he studied another paper. with this kind of data they could backtrack and figure out the exact cause instead of just speculating. “we might be able to fix the situation if we could pinpoint the cause that led us here right?”

somehow? tim remained silent as he thought it over. maybe this problem was supposed to take this long to fix. or maybe it wasn’t. who knows anymore. the more he really thought about it the more anxious he became. “my plan?” tim repeated slowly, eyes fixated on the dark skies. “i’m not entirely sure. maybe i’m gonna stay for a bit. i don’t wanna be by myself in my place now that i think about it.” he’d already spent some solitary time—here on the roof and the day he’d arrive from the past. it can’t hurt to stay a while longer. “what about you? are you leaving for bludhaven in a bit?” tim turned towards dick, hoping to hear that he wouldn’t just yet. despite living in the x mansion for two years with one another tim didn’t get to spend that much time with him. it was understandable though as he was with his best friends and tim was with his own. didn’t change the fact that they cared for one another. besides tim’s a pretty low maintenance person so he never takes things like these personally. he had his parents to thank for that, at least there was something good that came out of it. that and finding a new family at this place. “maybe we could make some breakfast together,” he proposed with a hopeful expression. “that way you don’t have to leave with an empty stomach. we could try making fluffy pancakes."

tim chuckled and shook his head. “you know i only did that once.” he lowered his voice. “the rest was just me pretending to be sick. is your mom sleeping?” he craned his neck to take a better look around the corner of the hall and found that she was. “gotta be quiet.” he watched as she disappeared for a moment and then came back with a towel. “thanks.” alfred always took care of him when he was younger, but now that he’s grown and living on his own he became accustomed to taking care of himself. he wasn’t that good at it admittedly but he’d sworn multiple times that he was and wouldn’t accept any help. so having steph around like this was something he truly appreciated. all those times she’s helped him, dealt with him, he was lucky to have her. especially now that they were back in the present where things haven’t changed like they all hoped it would. it was a depressing atmosphere. seeing steph now made it a bit more better though. she was good at soothing him after all . “well maybe i’ll just pay off your tuition.” he smiled broadly and let the towel drape around his neck. “you deserve that much.” hands cradled steph’s face as he leaned forward and pressed a kiss on her forehead. “i’m not kidding about that. you don’t have to worry about scholarship applications and loans and all that stuff. you’ll breeze through all your classes.” he knew she wouldn’t accept it but maybe she could let go of her pride this one time. if he had the means to help her in any way, even financially speaking, he would in a heartbeat. and she knew that. “just think about it yeah.”

tim, looking bart in the eye: die.

the clock read 4 when tim awoke all of a sudden. it wasn’t uncommon for him to suddenly be awake at this hour. it’s been happening so much lately that tim had grown used to it. and there wasn’t much he could do about it either, not until this whole mess gets fixed. after peeling the covers off and grabbing his coat, tim slipped out his room and made his way across the mansion. he wasn’t supposed to fall asleep here but alfred insisted. not wanting to leave just yet he decided to make a brief stop. he pushed opened a window that led to a small roof overlooking the city in the far distance. it was one of the spots he frequented a lot back in the day when he used to be a resident in this mansion. he let out a low sigh as he plopped down and hugged his knees. he was soon drifting into deep thought as he continued to stare into the horizon with glazed over eyes. suddenly he felt a presence. “oh hey, i didn’t know you were still here.” he glanced over at his brother and smiled. “yeah. it’s bittersweet.” he spoke softly. “can’t exactly pretend everything is okay now.”

“not yet i barely just came around.” tim neared the other and began looking over the news headlines. “that bad huh.” he shook his head and sat down opposite of ted. “are you sure you don’t need anything?” he shifted in his seat. “i know max is out there right now and you already have enough worries with being back here as it is. i swear if he comes anywhere near you he’s gonna regret it.” 

tim nodded as he stared at the tablet in ted’s hands. “yeah we’re finally back in present time.” he wasn’t sure how felt about that. part of him was relieved to be back in their original timeline but he was worried, anxious, of how things were out there. did the situation worsen? or did it remain the same. either way both were still bad. tim moved a few paces towards the other as he folded his arms across his chest. “i just wanted to see how you were doing and if you needed anything.”

going through the streets of gotham city as the dark grey clouds loomed overhead brought this sense of comfort to tim. but all that soon went away. the current protests in the gotham city square with anti hero signs were just another reminder. one of the very first things tim did when he arrived here was to delve into the issue. what he found was disappointing but he wasn’t at all surprised. they didn’t do enough back in the seventies after all. or at least that’s how he felt. walking past the protest made him feel worse about the situation. all these people were really brainwashed by trask through the media. it was extremely depressing watching these events unfold right before your eyes. not wanting to hear anymore of the crowd chanting, tim picked up his pace and turned a corner as the rain began to fall gently on the city. by the the time he finally arrived at stephanie's place he was dripping wet. “i know what you’re gonna say. yes i forgot my umbrella.” he raked his fingers through his hair. “it’s just rain though.” he flicked some water droplets on her and smiled. “besides if i get sick i have you to take care of me no?”  ⸢ @sp0ileralcrt ⸥ 

“him.” he pointed at the screen. “he’s a private detective, used to be an ex-con.” tim fell silent again as he stared intently at the next few scenes. “i knew it!” he almost shouted and reclined on the fluffy cushions. “so what were you saying earlier?”

tim rolled his eyes in a playful manner as he chuckled softly. “cavemen but at least we’re well and alive.” he shook his head and heaved a sigh, lowering his gaze to the floor. “i’m not quite sure about that. we did make it here successfully and we’re all trying to make progress. i didn’t expect it to take this long though. i don’t say it much but i really, really miss home. i just try not to think about it much because it's kinda depressing and all.” he shrugged a little as he played with a loose thread from his shirt.