Chapter Text
Tim just had a very tiring day, hours spent listening to how finances were doing, who Wayne Enterprise should work with. God, he wished he had more time for himself, more time to spend with Bart or Kon. He sighed, looking out the window of the car still parked in front of the enterprise building. He just turned twenty, yet he was living the life of a forty years old man, without the back problems. Thank god he did not have any, being a vigilante would be way harder with those! He sighed again, what was Dick doing? He said he would just go speak with some employee he apparently knew when he tried going to college. But that was to be expected from Dick, he was very talkative.
Tim closed his eyes, deciding to enjoy some silence before Dick would come back. He loved his brother dearly, but today was pretty overwhelming for Tim. Maybe because it was his first day in Wayne Enterprise as future CEO. He had to navigate people looking at him, talking behind his back, probably talking shit about him. He did not want to know to be honest, he heard enough of profanity said about him his whole life to know he did not want to hear more. That’s what you get for being a public figure AND trans. God, he hated it sometimes, yet he knew he was lucky.
“Hey Timmy! How was your day?”
Dick’s voice brought him back to earth. His eyes went to look at his brother, he was smiling fondly at him, so Tim smiled back at him.
“Fine. Known worse, could’ve been better.”
“Yeah, I get that.” Dick laughed, turning on the car. “Back when it was just me Bruce sometimes had to take me to some meeting, the first time was awfully boring, I couldn’t stay put. I was walking around in the whole room.” Dick laughed.
“Hey, Dick, do you think you could keep those anecdotes for another time? I’m feeling kinda… tired.”
“Sure, kid!”
Tim thanked him before taking out his noise-canceling headphones and putting them on. He closed his eyes again, letting the car’s movement rock him to a peaceful state. He was not really asleep or awake.
Despite resting on the way home, Tim was still exhausted, he did not talk much during dinner, letting Dick update everyone on his life in Blüdhaven. It was not a full house, only Duke, Damian and Tim were there, but his sole presence made it feel like it. Jason and Cass were away, though it was usual for Jason to avoid the manor and Bruce, Cass was on a mission with Steph away. Tim was not always here too, he spent most of his time here but would sometimes stay a few days in the flat his parents had in town.
Tim felt Bruce and Alfred’s eyes on him multiple times during the evening, and thankfully none of them pointed it out in front of the others. Bruce only hugged him sideways while walking out of the room, reassuring him that not every day at W.E. would be like that and that he would give him the time to adapt.
As for Alfred, he went to see him in his room. Tim was surprised to see him, Alfred took care of everyone in the manor – which was a lot of work – but he rarely came empty ended when he wanted to cheer up someone. He invited Tim to ditch his chair to sit with him on the bed. Tim complied, curious about what Alfred wanted to say.
“How was your day, master Tim?”
“Long and exhausting, but I'll get used to it.”
“Good, master Bruce made a good choice when he chose you as the future CEO.” Alfred put a comforting hand on Tim’s shoulder. “You're a fine young man.”
“Oh thank you, Alfred.”
“I came here to say… I know people might be harsh with you, because of who you are. And that it will probably be hard.”
“But I have you.”
“You do have a great family.” Alfred added looking down. “But sometimes family is not what you need. When I was younger, I… it was not easy. I had a place to go. At the time, it was much more secret.”
“You… had a place?” Tim inquired.
“I do not… often speak of myself, but I am a homosexual. That place, we created things together, we had each other's back.”
“Wait!” Tim turned to face Alfred, now sitting cross-legged. “What did you do there? How was it?”
Alfred smiled at him. “We did theatre. I was an actor.”
“That's why you're so good! Hey, what kind of people were there?”
“Oh, everyone was different, there was a lesbian couple, they lived together as roommates. There was a young man like you, he was living with a transgender woman who took care of him after he left his parents’ house. They were the usual, but sometimes there were other gay men, bisexuals and some people who did not fit into any cases.”
“That sounds awesome!”
“It was. You know, master Tim, you could have that too. I think it would do you good.”
Tim looked down, playing with his fingers. He was curious about what having a community like that would feel like and how it would change his life, but he did not know any places like that.
“Do you have something to do tomorrow’s night? Outside your night activity, I mean.”
“Hum, no, I don’t think so?”
“You should take your night off. If you allow me, I would like to show you a place.”
Tim nodded before hugging Alfred. The old man hugged him back and left the room, leaving Tim alone to think about tomorrow. He could not wait to see what Alfred wanted to show him.
The next day, Tim felt unstoppable, his day at W.E. was not as long as the day before, so he still felt energized when he left the tower. This time he went back home alone, Dick was out spending time with Duke and Damian, he was leaving for Blüdhaven tomorrow so he wanted to spend time with the youngest.
Once back to the manor, he decided to help Alfred in the kitchen, he was no cook, but he could still do the most boring part of the recipes. He took advantage of being alone with Alfred to ask him more about what their plan was for tonight. Just like he thought, they would leave after dinner and were going to the Bowery.
“What sort of outfit should I wear? Casual? Should I put on a suit, or would I overdress myself if I did that? Is there a specific dress code?”
“Master Tim, what do you wish you could wear but fear it would not be appropriate for your everyday life so you never wear it?”
“Hum… does it mean I should wear whatever I want?”
“As long as it is not a fancy suit, yes.” Alfred joked.
Tim did a thumbs up and continued peeling the vegetables. An hour later, dinner was ready and everyone was eating. Dick and Duke were talking about their day, with Damian sometimes interrupting them to give more details he deemed important.
At some point during the dinner, Bruce turned to Tim.
“Alfred told me you would be out with him tonight. I trust that you two will be careful.”
“Don't worry, Bruce!”
“I always worry, Tim.”
“That's what he does best.” Dick laughed.
Everyone around the table agreed, and shortly after the conversation was hogged again by Dick.
After the dinner, Tim rushed to his room, he technically had time to get ready since Alfred had a few things to do before leaving, but he really wanted to find the perfect outfit. He went through all his clothes, searching for something that would be appropriate. He mostly found suits and clothes he'd usually wear to not be seen in the city. He let out a cry of frustration before letting himself fall on his bed. A few seconds later, someone knocked on his door.
“Yeah?”
The door opened to reveal Duke.
“I heard you.”
“What?”
“I was walking, and suddenly I heard that ‘aargrh’ you made. Thought a monster was in there.” Duke snickered.
“Yeah, and the monster is fashion.”
Tim pointed at his closet. Duke walked up to it and started inspecting it.
“You mean… the bisexual boy has a problem with his closet?”
“Oh, shut it.” Tim threw one of his cushions at Duke, who caught it easily. “I can't decide what to wear. That's all.” He stood up to go next to his sibling.
“What's the occasion?”
“Well, I'm not sure. Alfred said I could wear whatever as long as it's not a suit.”
“Can't show off your money too much?”
“I think that's actually the spirit. We're going somewhere in the Bowery.”
Duke stopped to think for a bit, analysing the clothes in front of them. A realization suddenly hit him, he excused himself and rushed out of the room. Tim arched his eyebrows and decided to wait for Duke to come back. A few minutes later, he came back, arms full of clothes.
“What’s that?” Tim asked.
“Wait a sec’.” Was all Duke said before putting it all on the bed. He rushed in the closet looking for something, he took out a wide-leg jeans. Its colour was light blue. Looking back at the clothes on the bed, it suddenly made sense for Tim.
“I did not know you owned a jean like that, but when I saw it, I knew what I had to do.” Duke exclaimed with a smile.
“Yeah? I’m not really following you there, Duke.”
“Well, at first I thought I could lend you some clothes, but then I also remembered seeing Dick’s old clothes and I think it’d be perfect, so I took some of mine and his and brought them here.”
“And, I’m gonna try them all?”
“And you’re gonna try them all.” Duke confirmed.
“Well, let’s start, I don’t have all night.”
Tim started trying out all type of shirts, flannels, short sleeve, oversized, Hawaiian shirts even some crop tops, but Tim did not feel confident enough to wear them outside. All of them suited him well, Duke really knew what he was doing and somehow seemed confident in the style Tim had to wear. Duke finally settled on the perfect outfit according to him. To go with the wide-leg jean, he gave Tim a plain white shirt and a pastel red and blue flower pattern shirt. Tim was satisfied with what his sibling came up with.
“There, you’re perfect, dude!”
“Thanks, Duke, I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
“You would have put on a suit and Alfred would have kicked your ass, but hey, you’re welcome.”
“I know how to dress up outside of wearing suits and ties!”
“Sure, sure. I wonder how your boyfriends puts up with your fancy fashion styles.” Duke teased him.
Tim jokingly punched his shoulder with a snort. Maybe Duke made a point, Tim had to learn to be more casual without dressing like he was on a stakeout. Duke patted his back and said goodbye, not without advising him to add some accessories. He decided to listen to him and started looking for some accessories, nothing too fancy. As much as he loved Gotham, going out with an expensive watch was like asking to be robbed. No, he chose something simple, a little silver bracelet and some matching earrings.
A few minutes after, Tim was waiting in the entrance hall for Alfred. He was starting to get nervous, it was probably the first time he would spend time with Alfred outside the manor. Like, sure, Alfred was like a grandfather most of the time, but he rarely talked about himself. Everyone knew the basics, he was British and had been in the army. And now, Tim just learned he was also an actor; something Bruce probably already knew but most of the family ignored. It was a sort of sacred rule to not pry into Alfred’s personal life. Anyway, he was there walking in circles trying to calm down.
“Timothy, there is no need to be stressed.”
He knew this voice, a voice that would never call him that.
“Alfred?” Tim turned his head, surprised.
“Well, you did not think I would call you master Tim tonight. It would have been quite strange, don’t you think?”
“Oh, yes. It just surprised me.”
Tim smiled and Alfred smiled back at him. He was wearing a white collar shirt with a light beige sweater vest and brown silk pants. It clashed with Tim’s style, but it was to be expected. No, what was shocking was seeing Alfred out of his usual butler’s style. Him wearing light coloured clothes was a big part of the surprise. Alfred decided to ignore Tim’s surprise and opened the door. The twenty years old immediately followed him to his car. It was not a fancy car, the butler probably enjoyed being discreet, Tim liked that, he did not want everyone in Gotham knowing Bruce Wayne’s third son was in town tonight.
The way to the Bowery was calm, Alfred did not even need a GPS to find his way, so Tim guessed he was a regular. Which would also explain how he was able to explain every single unspoken rule to Tim so he would not be surprised and spend an awful night. He also gave him some rules : not too much alcohol, tell him immediately if he felt overwhelmed, and to have fun. Tim could stick by these rules.
They were now in front of an old building, and apparently the bar has been there for a long time. Despite the grim looking walls of the building, the door and windows were colourful, it was impossible to see inside, but Tim could see that inside was as colourful as outside. It was a very welcoming place, and it was bigger than he expected. As they walked closer to the door, he noticed the pride flags decorating the façade and a bit more hidden there was something he recognized. He walked closer to it, it was a strange symbol, a circle with “R.E.” written inside. It was slightly damaged, but Tim knew what it was.
“Alfred?” Tim said, taking a step back.
“Yes, Timothy?”
“There’s the Falcone Family’s symbol on the wall.” He grabbed Alfred’s arm. “We should probably leave.”
Alfred put his hand on top of Tim’s to reassure him. “Timothy, this establishment was once protected by the Falcone Family, but I assure you they do not come here anymore.”
“What do you mean it was protected by them?”
“Well, you know, the mob does not really care what type of person come inside a bar or nightclubs as long as they can get some money from it. So they protected some places like this bar. It was on their territory, but it was sometimes safer for the community to be here.”
It… made sense, Tim heard it happened back when the mob was more powerful. And he was not coming here as Red Robin, nor Timothy Drake son of Bruce Wayne, he was just Tim tonight. So he let go of Alfred’s arm and followed him inside.
The door opened, and it was like a whole new world, far from boring and fancy galas held by the upper society of Gotham. No dress code, no fake smile, no old women and men inspecting every one of your moves. No, he instantly felt the difference.
The bar was warm, illuminated by purple and red lights dancing and allowing a sort of anonymity to the clients. The music was on but not blasting too loud, it was just enough to cover most of the discussion.
Tim was used to seeing the old white riches of the city, but here it was different. No one was the same. Youth and elders mixed together, dancing to the same songs. There was black, white, Asian and latine people. Some were more feminine, others masculine or even totally androgynous. He was amazed.
In there no one was the same, there was no mask, no fake smiles.
He felt a hand grab his shoulder, he jumped.
“Let's sit by the bar. We can see the scene well from there, and my old legs need some resting.”
Tim nodded and followed Alfred to the bar, they took a seat. Tim sat the nearest to the scene and except Alfie no one sat beside him. A man, with hair white as snow clashing with his light brown skin, came to them. He smiled fondly when he noticed Alfred.
“Alfie, my old man.” He exclaimed, putting his hand on Alfred’s. “We haven't seen you in a while.”
He had a small French accent which made him sound particularly friendly.
“Oh, you know me, Pauly, I was busy with the grandchildren.”
“Ay, I guess it does take time to raise those little monsters.” He laughed and then pointed at Tim. “He's one of them?”
Alfred smiled. “Yes, this is Timothy.”
“Hum, nice to meet you.”
“Paul. But here everyone calls me Pauly.” He turned to look at Alfred, his hand leaving his. “Since it’s been so long, your first drinks are on the house.”
“Thank you a lot, Pauly. I’ll take the usual.”
“Perfect, a Manhattan, then. What about you, young man?”
“I… erm, am not sure?”
“Well, you’re old enough to drink?”
“Yes.”
“Then, I think you’d like un mimosa. Lots of young drink it, they all love it.” He pointed at it on the menu. “There’s champagne and orange juice in it, it’s fresh and soft.”
Tim was curious, so he agreed to try it out. With nothing to do outside of waiting, Tim took the time to inspect the place a bit more. People were still coming in, the place was starting to feel a bit cramped, but for once Tim did not mind it. There was a scene, just like Alfred said, and many people were standing near it, ready for whatever show was going to happen. Some people who met his eyes waved at him as if they’ve known each other for a while, despite his surprise he waved back at all of them. As for the employees of the bar, there was Pauly, Tim guessed he was the owner, next to him a feminine looking person with a “they/them” pin was making some cocktails, there were also two young men serving the tables.
“Do you like it?” Alfred asked, forcing Tim to focus on him.
“Yeah, it’s cool. There’s a lot of people, but they mostly seem nice.”
“You mean less fake than the one you are used to.” Alfred joked.
The cling of two glasses being put on the bar took all the attention of Alfred and Tim. Paul was there, still smiling. Alfred took his and started sipping it before complimenting Paul for still being able to make cocktails. It sounded like a private joke Tim did not get, but he liked seeing this version of Alfred. He knew the man could be sassy, I mean he never feared to put batman back in his place, but here it was different, he did not raise Paul, no he was just with a friend he felt comfortable with.
“So, young man, is it your first time in a bar?” Paul asked, extending the R at the end or ‘bar’.
“Yes, I’ve been to parties, but never tried a bar.”
“I guess with… who you are, must not be easy to do so.”
Tim tilted his head to look at Alfred, who immediately reassured him with a smile.
“Pauly knows what my work is. He is the only one, and here we know how to keep secrets.”
“That’s a big part of who we are. It was the same in France. Back in Paris, we had to keep quiet real hard. Was not always easy.”
“Is that why you left?”
“God non! No one ever knew there. Well except the people I met at the bars. No I was just curious about how it was here. Ended up here by sheer luck, and I met your grandpa.”
“You met Alfred here?” Suddenly Tim was very invested.
“Yes, he was here with-” The bartender stopped mid-sentence before waving to someone. “Speaking of the devil.”
Alfred was out of his sit in a few seconds, by the time Tim turned his head Alfred was hugging a tall woman. She had short curly salt and pepper hair and was wearing a beautiful casual pink dress. She was approximately Alfred’s age. She came with him to the bar, and she greeted Pauly by kissing his cheek.
“Carol, what a plaisir to see you!” Paul greeted her. “A good old gin & tonic like always?”
“You know me, dear.” She faced Alfred, taking the seat next to him. “Good lord Alfie, we haven’t seen you in quite some time!”
“He has kids to take care of!” Explained Paul, preparing the cocktail.
“I always forget you’re a grandpa. How many of them are there? Last time it was, what, five?”
“Well, you’ll be pleased to know it’s actually six.”
“Six, god damn! Will he ever stop!”
“That’s what I am always wondering, Carol. But each time I see them, I understand him.”
“I’m guessing the young man with you is one of his? He looks just like him, in a way.”
Tim waved at her. “Nice to meet you ma’am, I’m Tim.”
“Please, call me aunty, sweetie. It’s nice to see some new faces here, you’re always welcomed here.”
“Hey, it’s my bar, I’m the one who should say that!”
Carol started laughing, Paul who seemed to have the habits of her antics laughed too before bickering kindly with her. Sometimes Alfred would cut them off. It went on for a quite a while until Tim managed the courage to ask Paul to continue the story of him meeting Alfred.
“Right, well, you see Carol here. He and her were in that theatre band together. They’d often come here for a drink after rehearsal. That’s how I got to know them.” Paul smiled fondly. He then murmured. “When he told me he worked for the Wayne he got me scared, that’s good pay, but you know the white rich, not the safest people.”
“But I told you they were good, and you told me I was naive.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“And I was right.”
“And you were right. God, you know how to be annoying, you know that, vieux bouc?”
Hearing the nickname, Alfred snickered before adding it has been a while since Paul called him that. His friend countered that it simply has been a while since Alfred saw him, so of course he had not been called that. They kept bickering, and it was like they were all younger. Paul had a fun time sharing some stories about Alfred when he came to the bar or when they saw each other outside. Carol preferred to share her adventures with the Gotham queer centre that she helped found, how it was hard to convince people to help fund it, how queer people in Gotham had a really hard time. She explained that it was the reason she and her wife came here in the first place, and that Alfred helped as much as he could with his pay cheque. She also talked about Gotham first pride, it was a bit after the first pride in the country, but it was an important day in Gotham.
They kept talking until Paul stopped them with a such, a few seconds after the light dimmed and everyone stopped talking. Alfred advised Tim to watch the scene closely.
The music stopped, and suddenly the bar was in the dark. People were whispering, the excitation building up in the room.
A pink light turned on, focused on the scene, and ‘Bitch better have my money’ by Rihanna started playing. Everyone screamed and on stage appeared a drag queen. She had rich black skin tone that immediately caught the eyes, considering all the silver jewels on her and the light pink of her dress. The satin pink dress was excentric and adorned by a white corset. As for her hair, it was hot pink and elevated, ensuing in a significant amount of volume that seemed heavy to wear. For the makeup, it was a mix of pink and gold, as extravagant as the rest of her.
Tim was speechless as the queen started lip-syncing, her moves were natural and hypnotizing, she had everyone’s attention and she knew it. The crowd was cheering and singing along to the song, clapping their hands together. The song ended and another started, Tim did not remember the title, but it definitely was sang by Britney Spears. And out of sudden, the pink queen was not alone any more, she was joined by two other queens. One was chubby and slightly smaller than her. She wore loose straight blond hair, going perfectly with her fair skin. She wore a blue and silver one shoulder dress decorated by a light blue feather scarf, her makeup mirrored the one of the first queen on stage with added stars. The second one was way taller than the two other, her tanner skin was decorated with sparkles. Just like the other queens, she had a signature colour and it was turquoise. Her hair were black and turquoise held in two ponytails, looking at it more Tim noticed they were braids. Opposing the other two, she wore uneven pants, the right side being more of a short than pants while the left one had a bell bottom style clearly inspired by the seventies. She wore a sleeveless and sparkling silver crop top.
They danced together to the song and the one after that, Tim recognized as ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ which was a song everyone loved. He even heard Bruce humming it once, and Dick definitely danced to it during his teenage years.
The show continued for a while, it was not only dancing and lip-syncing, the turquoise queen, who introduced herself as Miss Isle, did stand up. At some point, drag queens who were not on stage came with them and did something called “reading” where it was essentially clashing one another for fun. At least that’s what Tim understood.
Following the end of the show, Tim knew their names: Marlene, Maya Mi and Miss Isle. Apparently they were the usual performers and everyone here knew them. People talked with them a lot, but at some point they arrived at the bar. They took the seats next to Tim, too impressed by their aura to say anything. Miss Isle who was right next to him asked Paul for drinks, three sex on the beach. They talked for a bit as he made the drinks. Tim was looking at her, counting the seconds to make sure he did not creep her out.
“And you should've seen the boy, first time here, and you got him speechless!”
Paul’s voice brought Tim back to earth. He realized quickly that now, Miss Isle and Paul were staring at him. Too aware of his own body, he shrank and bit the inside of his mouth. He croaked a small and unsure “hi” to the Queen, who smiled at him.
“Look at you, darling, no need to be so stiff around me!”
“I… yes! Sure, it's just… I mean you're…”
“I'm the prettiest person you ever saw, ain't that right, darling?”
It was sort of true, not that everyone else was ugly or not as beautiful as her. Yes, she was stunning, but it was more than something physical. She was sparkling, she had something in her that Tim hadn't and wished he did.
“How are you like that?”
She laughed at the sudden question. “A good foundation and lots of training.”
“No, I… I mean…. You're shining. I'm not talking about the outfit, it's more something inside you. I feel it.”
This time she was genuinely surprised by what Tim meant, as if it was not something people usually told her. So she took time to think of an answer.
“It's a journey of acceptance. I'm just letting it all out. I make sure I love every part of me, even the things people tried to change.”
“So that's why you're a drag queen?”
She nodded. “Yes, kinda. It's just a way to show how proud I am to be myself.”
Her finger was tapping on the bar, she was waiting for Paul to refill her glass. “Do you like art?”
“What do you mean?”
“Art, any form. Maybe you do art, maybe you just look at it. So, do you like it?”
“I don't really have time…” Tim lowered his head. “Sometimes I take photos, does it count?”
“Of course it does, darling!” Her hand came to rest on his shoulder, making him shiver. “Being a drag queen is an art too. Anyone can do it as long as they wish too.”
Tim was feeling weird, his heart was racing, and he felt the heat on his cheeks. His eyes were darting around the room, looking for other drag Queens. Were they like him? No… no, he was different… he got rid of his feminity years ago because it hurt him. Did their feminity hurt them too?
“Darling, you're adorable, you don't need to overthink anything I said. Here, I'm paying for another drink, relax.”
She massaged his shoulder and Tim felt as if she understood him, so he accepted the offer and asked for another mimosa. Once it was served, Miss Isle stood up, taking her own glass, she gave a peck on Tim’s cheek before leaving. He watched her wander from people to people, she was made for this and she was free.
Tim did not notice Alfred’s worried look, too focused on his own feelings. But maybe Alfred was also too concerned about him to know that Tim may have discovered something that would help him for the rest of his life.