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“Nightwing?” Nightwing are you there?” A familiar voice rang through the comm device sitting on Dick’s counter, but not the voice he expected. Immediately, alarm bells began to ring in his head. He’d just gotten in from an oddly calm patrol, strange for Bludhaven but he wasn’t complaining. He actually was planning on relaxing, spending one of Bludhaven’s few quiet nights in for a change. Of course, the universe had other plans. As he picked up the communicator and put it in his ear, the voice began to speak again. “Nightwing? Is this the right channel?”
“Yep! You’ve got Nightwing on the line!” He responded quickly, in his usual mix of friendly and deadly. “Who exactly am I talking to?”
“Nightwing this is, um, Superboy. We’ve got kinda an issue here - “
“Does the issue have anything to do with the reason you’re calling me on Robin’s private line and not Robin?”
“Um. Kinda. Listen it’s an emergency okay? Robin can’t come to the phone and he asked me to call. Can you come to the tower as soon as possible?”
“I’m on my way. Please don’t do anything until I get there. Alright?”
“Yea, of course, sure.” Kon’s assured distractedly, then he hung up. Dick sighed, knowing the night was about to be long.
...
Dick immediately Zeta’d to the tower, preparing himself for a variety of messes that might present themselves when he arrived. He had a good feeling that whatever the problem was, Tim was in the thick of it. He knew that Tim was highly capable and independent – which meant that while he was great at getting into scrapes he was also pretty adapt at getting out of them as well. Usually in those cases, Dick didn’t even know anything had gone wrong. However, the fact that Kon had called instead of Tim made him feel a little sicker than he’d like to admit. Which again brought him back to being worried. As he entered the tower he was greeted by Bart, a guilty expression written across his face.
“Hey Nightwing! Um, Kon told me to tell you everything’s fine so don’t worry!” Bart stood in front of Dick in a way as to block him from moving any farther into the space. “He said you sounded tense on the phone and that I should tell you not to be too mad or anything! We just thought – well he wouldn’t stop crying so - “
“Bart. Where’s Tim and Kon?” Dick cut off the speedser in an attempt to get around him, but Bart blocked him off again.
“They’re in the living room right now. I’ll take you there if you promise to be cool.” Bart looked up at him, trying to stare him down despite being a good head or so shorter.
“I’ll be cool once I see what it is I need to be cool about.” Dick stared right back and finally Bart faltered.
“Fine. Come with me.” He finally began to lead Dick through the corridors that led to an inner meeting room / living room situation. As he entered the room, he was greeted by the sight of Tim laying in Conner Kent’s lap, looking like he was trying his hardest not to cry despite the fact slow tears were leaking out of his face. Kon was whispering something to Tim in an attempt to be calming, and he was playing with the other boys hair slowly as if he wasn’t sure he was doing it right. It was strangely a soft sight for the two boys and Dick finally felt something in his chest loosen as he saw his brother was okay in some way. He wouldn’t feel great until he got to look at Tim himself though. “Uh, Kon? Dick’s here.” Both boys on the couch immediately turned to look at the newcomer – Kon’s face looked oddly guilty but Tim’s shone with raw relief.
“Dick! You came!” Tim cried, his face breaking out into a wide grin, and he began to fight of Kon’s grip in a mad attempt to get to Dick. Tim’s movements were clunkier than normal and Kon was part Kryptonian, so his efforts weren’t getting very far.
“Woah buddy, calm down okay?” Kon refused to release his grip on Tim and instead beckoned Dick to come to the coach with them. “Why don’t we let Dick come over here? How does that sound?”
“But I miss him!” Tim’s eyes started to get wobbly again.
“Tim, Dick’s right here!” Kon sighed as Dick made his way to switch places with the Kryptonian. “See he and I are gonna switch places – is that okay?”
“But … but then I’ll miss you!”
“Kon’s going to sit on the other end of the couch – right Conner?” Dick interjected, taking over playing with Tim’s hair trying to distract from Kon’s temporary absence.
“Of course I am! I’d never leave you Tim, don’t ever worry about that.” Kon reassured, moving Tim’s feet slightly and settling on the other end of the couch. However Tim was no longer focused on Kon, instead had refocused his energy onto Dick.
“Dick! You came!” He laughed, a wobbly strange sound unlike his normal laugh.
“Yeah kiddo, I’m here. You already said that though.”
“Oh. I’m sorry. I missed you.”
“You already said that too.” Dick tried to smile reassuringly down at his brother, but he could feel the tenseness in his grin. He then looked between the two Teen Titans who were still coherent. “What no one has said, however, is exactly what’s going on here.” Both Kon and Bart refused to make eye contact, and Dick was getting incredibly frustrated. “I can tell he’s been drugged kids. Anyone want to tell me how this happened when none of you were cleared to go out tonight?”
“Well, um, Tim’s not exactly … drugged.” Bart shrugged sheepishly, and it was then that Dick actually took the time to look around the room. There were empty cups everywhere, jugs of a various juices and junk food laying around, and a handful of different alcohol bottles. Dick had to close his eyes and take a deep breath before continuing.
“He’s drunk?” Dick asked and the silence that he was met with confirmed what he’d suspected. “Why is Tim drunk in a league affiliated building with two of the most influential teen heroes of this decade?”
“Well, it’s actually kind of a long story, you see a few weeks ago -”
“We wanted to see if we could get drunk.” Kon cut the speedsters nervous rambling off. “We figured Bart’s metabolism would probably break down the alcohol to fast, and since I’m part Superman we wanted to see if Alcohol effects me.”
“Tim was supposed to be the control group! He was gonna see if we were getting any drunker – which we weren’t by the way. I mean, we think Kon felt something but we’re not sure – it was after a lot of … Kon what was it called?” Kon couldn’t make eye contact with anyone as he answered.
“Uh... Bacardi 151.” Kon must’ve felt Dick tense up on the couch because he immediately began to babble, “Hey we didn’t drink it straight don’t freak out! We mixed it with some coconut and pineapple and … it was called The Superman.”
“Yeah, anyway after we’d run our tests Tim asked for a glass! It was only fair since he paid for it and since it didn’t have any effect on us... we thought it’d be fine.” Bart and Kon both shot the older hero matching sheepish grins. “So … are you gonna be cool about it?”
Dick opened his mouth to continue to chew the other two boys out but before he could he felt a gentle tug on his arm from below. He looked down to see Tim, tears starting to come back to his eyes.
“Dick … are you mad?” He asked with an air of soft fear. Dick attempted to smile for his brother, but Tim was incredibly perceptive even in whatever state he was in. “Dick I’m sorry!” He began to cry again, full bodied in a way Dick had never seen from him. “Dick it was my idea I promise don’t be mad!”
“He’s been like this for two hours now.” Bart confessed sheepishly. “He wouldn’t stop crying for you.”
“Hmm. So you’re a weepy drunk, huh?” Tim looked up at Dick, somehow still managing to produce tears.
“Is that bad?”
“No, it just means we should probably get you home.” He paused, looking around before addressing the rest of the team. “You guys should clean up and go home. I’m taking Tim with me back to Bludhaven. I won’t tell anyone about this as long as you both promise to be more responsible. If anyone asks why you’re back early, tell them I needed Tim for something. You guys can hang out another night – if you promise to never do this again. Got it?” Bart and Kon shared a look with one another before jumping into action, ridding the tower of any evidence that anything illicit had happened all while assuring Dick this was a one-time thing. Satisfied with their response, Dick began to leave all while holding Tim in his arms. “Tim, say goodbye to your friends!”
“Bye Bart! Bye Kon! I miss you guys!” Bart sped over to the teen and gave him a quick wave. Kon was a little slower, but he seemed to not want to get to close with the teen still in Dick’s arms.
“Bye Tim. I’ll miss you too, buddy.” Kon waved, and Dick began to leave.
“Dick. Are we going to the Manor?” Tim peered upwards nervously and Dick found himself taken aback by his baby blues.
“Nope! You’re spending the weekend at my apartment in ‘Haven. I doubt you want Bruce to see you like this, am I right?” Dick got no verbal response, but he felt Tim’s head go up and down against his chest. “That’s what I thought.”
The two Zeta’d back to the secret portal in Bludhaven, which fortunately wasn’t far from Dick’s apartment. They walked back, Tim mumbling into Dick’s shirt every so often and Dick giving words of acknowledgement throughout it all. Hopefully Tim wasn’t telling Dick he had to throw up or anything. Dick trusted that, if that was the case, Tim would be a bit more vocal. They made it back to the apartment without incident, and Dick swiftly deposited Tim onto the couch. Tim began to whine again and Dick sighed, avoiding Tim’s grabby hands.
“Tim. How much water have you had to drink tonight?” Another whine came from Tim. “I’m going to take that to mean none. You know alcohol dehydrates you – plus with that crying we should probably get more liquids in you. I’m going to go get you a cup of water and you just stay here, okay?” Tim was completely dependent on sounds now it seemed, because his question was greeted yet again with another muffled sound from Tim. Dick shook his head and walked to the kitchen, grabbing a cup and trying to fill it up as quick as possible. He had no clue how this had happened, out of all the teen heroes in the Titans he would’ve never pegged Tim as the underage drinker. Sure, Dick had heard stories about Brentwood, but he seriously doubted Tim would indulge in the wilder side of a private education. Not to mention he’d had Alfred breathing down his neck the whole time – having a butler really put a damper on most teenage rebellion. Still, the Tim Dick knew was a straight edge kind of kid – peer pressure didn’t seem something he’d suffered from. Dick was jolted from thought by a soft thump in the living room. He ran to the source of the noise to see Tim faceplanted onto the floor, trying to crawl like a caterpillar.
“Tim, are you okay?” Dick asked softly, trying to help Tim into a sitting position. Tim moaned softly then he gagged. “Great” Dick thought, scrambling for a trash can “We’re vomiting now.” Dick rubbed his back diligently as Tim vomited up what Dick could only assume was everything Tim had ever consumed. This went on for a few minutes before Tim was just dry heaving. Dick set the trash can to the side and helped Tim back onto the couch and tucked him in again. He left to grab the water for a second and by the time he got back again Tim had worked himself up yet again.
“Oh, Timmy. Can I come sit with you? Is that alright?” Tim nodded slowly and Dick folded himself into Tim’s side, then he handed Tim the water gently. Tim took a couple of sips before putting the cup down.
“Dick, do you hate me?” The little voice coming from his brother sounded so sad Dick was taken aback.
“What?”
“I broke the law. Dick we’re literally vigilantes! I broke the law!” Tim was looking up at Dick like he was Judge, Jury, and Executioner. “Are you gonna send me to jail?” Dick sputtered, trying to tamper down a laugh.
“What? No, I’m not sending you to jail.” Tim looked at Dick as if he didn’t believe him. Dick schooled himself into the most serious face he could to reassure his brother. “Tim. I promise you. This’ll be our little secret. You’re my brother, I’m not going to arrest you.” Tim didn’t look convinced but he stopped protesting. “What I am going to do is ask what exactly happened tonight kiddo. Underage drinking isn’t exactly your scene now is it?”
“No, this is the first time I swear! I guess I just wanted to know what it felt like.”
“What, being drunk?”
“Being … rebellious!” Tim flung his arms out dramatically, almost hitting the cup of water and Dick in one swing. “People think I’m a dork. Did you know that?” Dick hummed quietly, but didn’t say much. As much as he loved the kid, dork wouldn’t be an unfair word to use to describe him. “Even Kon and Bart think I’m a dork. They say ‘Tim, you gotta loosen up!’ and ‘Tim, are you Batman’s clone? You’re so serious!” Tim’s hands fell, landing over his face. “Even Steph … she’s so cool and she thinks I’m a loser. I just wanted to rebel. When all the stuff Kon got wasn’t working I thought I could drink it! Prove I can be cool and spontaneous!” Tim lowered his hands to make eye contact with Dick. “They didn’t make me do anything I promise.”
“I believe you, Tim.” Dick assured the boy, and Tim threw his hands over his eyes again. “And teenage rebellion is natural for kid’s your age – if this is how bad it gets you will have gotten off lightly.” Dick leaned back and smiled softly. “The things Roy, Wally, and I did were ... something else.” Tim made a curious noise and Dick laughed. “Bruce taught me how to hotwire a car at 13 – and also how to drive. Would you believe he had a Delorian at one point?” Tim’s eyes were wide as he put the pieces together in his mind.
“You wrecked a Delorian!”
“I didn’t wreck it!” Dick paused to think about what actually happened. “It sunk into a river. There’s a difference.” Tim’s eyes got even wider. “And you know what Bruce said?”
“That you were grounded?”
“Yes. But also he cared more that I was okay. I know Bruce is scary but he’d be more understanding than you’d think. I’m not going to tell him though.” Dick mimicked zipping his lips up tight. “Getting kids out of scrapes like this – it's what brothers are for.” Tim’s eyes were shining once again as he snuggled in closer to Dick on the couch. Dick waited until Tim’s breathing evened out before taking him up to bed. He moved softly, making sure not to wake the sleeping teen and he tucked Tim in. Dick was debating on between crawling in on the other side versus sleeping on the couch when Tim began to stir in the bed.
“Hmm Dick?” Tim murmured softly, and Dick leaned in to whisper back.
“Hey kiddo. You gotta get to bed now. You are going to have quite the hangover come morning.”
“Don’t go.” Tim whined, and Dick signed – his choice of bed for the night being decided by the impossible nature of Tim’s baby blues.
“Once sec – lemme climb in.” Dick climbed over Tim and got settled between the blankets, feeling Tim come closer to him once he got settled. “You’re a clingy drunk too I see.” He laughed as he watched Tim wiggle into place next to him. “You know, you can cuddle sober. I don’t mind.”
“Dick … I love you.” Tim slurred contently, and Dick felt something in his chest squeeze. “I really, really mean it Dick. I love youuu.” Tim began to trail off in sleep, and for once Dick didn’t know what to say. It was rare for that much honesty to come from anyone in Dick’s life, much less Tim. As Tim’s chest began a steady rise and fall once more Dick looked at the kid he'd come to know as a brother over the past few years.
“Love you too kiddo.” Dick whispered, before quickly following Tim to sleep.