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"Asshole," Tim tells Dick as soon as he's safely back on the ground. Well, not precisely on the ground but close enough. "Pushing off your poor, unsuspecting brother from a bridge. Let's hope nobody recorded this, or you're going to be on the first page of the Gazette tomorrow, being accused of turning to the dark side."
It has happened before. Bruce was not amused when half of Gotham thought Nightwing tried to murder Robin. It was hilarious though. And it's not like Dick and he will stop pushing each other off from all kinds of buildings when they've been doing it for years.
"Payback, brat." Dick ruffles his hair. "Or did you forget pushing me off a roof while I was talking with Oracle?"
"That was situational awareness training," he huffs. "And if you weren't too busy with flirting over the coms, you would've noticed me coming."
Dick has no answer to that but pulls him into a hug instead. Good, Tim's been missing his brother, even if he snuck over to Haven last week, just to steal some of Dick's food. It has been a while since they patrolled together; somehow they never managed to be in the same city at the same time. Oh, the life of a vigilante.
Flying using their grapples feels just like it did when Tim was fresh out of being Robin, and patrolling next to Nightwing felt even cooler than with Batman. Because for all his hero worship for Batman—and now he can admit it, it was strong—his hero has always been Dick Grayson.
Their patrol is pretty uneventful—and Tim is not superstitious, but he will never use the word "quiet" to describe anything related to cape work—but they still take down robbers and small-time criminals. They even meet a couple of teenagers who care more about the fact that they were saved by Nightwing and Red Robin than by the fact that they've been almost mugged.
"They were tourists for sure," Dick mutters after they're back on the roof.
"Do you think they came here for bat catching?"
While bat-catching is not exactly a new thing, in recent years it started to gain more and more popularity, even bringing in tourists who go on special tours just to catch a glimpse of any Gotham vigilante. They're not smart enough to actually figure out any of the patrol routes, but groups of tourists wandering around Gotham's more crime prone neighbourhoods is a recipe for diseaster. Most thugs just see an opportunity to make quick money by robbing them, but sometimes the more trigger-happy gangs mistake them for potential rivals and try to take them out. It's annoying and GPD put out multiple announcements asking them to stop.
"Nah, they're just fans, I think," Dick says. "What do you say about calling this a night? I don't think anything big is going to be going down, and we can crash at your place."
"Okay," he smiles. "I have some things I wanted to show you. I've been working on these marbles that turn into superglue when someone steps on them, but I haven't tested them out yet."
"Oh, so you need a labrat?" Dick clutches at his chest dramatically. "I see how it is; you only want to use me."
Tim shoves him, just to annoy him because a little shove is not enough to ever unbalance Dick.
"Hold off on that though, Boy Wonders," the comm crackles in his ears, Babs' voice filling his head. "Red Hood might have something for Nightwing, but I told him you're patrolling with Red Robin tonight. Should I patch him through?"
Dick looks at him to check if Tim is okay with it. A part of Tim wants to say no, this is supposed to be a joint patrol just between the two of them—and maybe, just a little bit, Tim likes having his brother just for himself, without sharing him—but Jason almost never asks for help. Or offer information when he thinks he can handle it alone. And Tim's and Jason's relationship has been slowly but surely improving.
So Tim nods, and Dick sends him a grateful smile. "Okay, patch him through."
"Did I just interrupt something?" Jason asks, his voice distorted by his voice modulator, but Tim can hear a smirk in his voice. "I have intel on some gang that's been moving guns both in Gotham and Blüdhaven; thought Wing would be interested. Meet me at the docks in thirty." There's a sigh. "You can bring the kid, too."
Well, that was brief, but at least Jason is okay with Tim tagging along.
"Wanna check it out?" Dick asks. He's currently walking on his hands, the showoff.
Tim makes a confused face. "What?"
"Hood's intel could be helpful, but it can wait a night, or I can just ask him to send it over; no need for a meetup. I came over to spend time with you, not to ditch you in the middle of the night." Dick nudges his shoulder.
And… it makes Tim feel good. He's been missing this, just hanging out with Dick and no one else. He loves all of his siblings and just how big his family has gotten, but sometimes, he misses the days when it was just him and Dick.
"We can go; it might be interesting. Race you?" he asks, not even waiting for Dick's answer before firing his grapple.
Racing Dick is always fun. By now, Tim is better at knowing all the shortcuts and routes that were not present when Dick was patrolling Gotham every night, giving him a little bit of an edge over his brother; however, Dick is daring—and skilled—enough to do stunts that Tim would never attempt, except if his life depended on it.
Like now, as he sees Dick go through a broken window of an abandoned building that is just big enough for him to not get caught on the edges. Bruce would so lecture them if he saw it, but thankfully, he's in space right now on some mission with Clark, Jon, and Damian.
He runs through a roof, jumping to the next, before firing his grapple again. He probably won't beat Dick, but they'll arrive before Jason.
He touches the rooftop at the meeting point just seconds after Dick, but he can already see the smug smile forming on his brother's face.
"How does it feel that you can't beat me, even when you cheat?"
Tim just pushes him again and Dick decides to retailate by pulling him under one arm and messing up his hair, again. God, Tim hates having brothers.
They made good time, though, and there are still five minutes at least until Jason shows up, if he's on time. Sometimes he likes to be an asshole and keep them waiting.
Their meeting spot is one of the designated spots whenever they have to meet up during patrol. As always, it's an abandoned building, high and isolated enough that they won't have to worry anyone overhearing them or ambushing them without their knowledge. Also, from this one, the view of the bay is beautiful, all the lights of Gotham reflecting back from the dark water.
Jason lands heavily in front of them, probably to alert them of his presence, not that they can't see him, given he chose the other side of the roof instead of standing beside them. He's in his usual getup but has no helmet on right now.
"Should've known you idiots would get here before me," he says instead of a greeting.
Both Tim and Dick wave at him at the same time. They haven't practiced it, but given the look on Jason's face, they should start doing it more often.
"Whatever" Hood rolls his eyes at them. "My contact is coming-"
"Contact?" Tim interrupts him.
"Yeah. Another vigilante, I teamed up with her while hunting down these assholes bringing automatics into the alley. I've met her out of town, and she's been running her own investigation."
Dick frowns. "Does Batman know you're bringing in someone new?"
It's a valid question. Batman doesn't like other vigilantes in his city; there's too much of a chance that they'll just bring trouble. Same with outside heroes coming in and trying to "help" without understanding how Gotham works. Also, it's just rude to enter a different hero's city without giving them a heads up. Professional courtesy and all that.
"Fuck no, and I don't need his permission. I only told you because it also concerns Blüdhaven; otherwise I would've handled it on my own," Jason scowls, crossing his arms. Great, he's in one of his moods again.
There's a slight rustle coming from the fire escape behind Jason, and it must be his friend.
It's a woman, probably around the age of Dick or older, but Tim can't tell for sure with the mask blocking the upper half of her face. Her suit is somewhere between yellow and orange, and she has guns on her. Her dark hair is in a ponytail, and there's something really familiar about her, but Tim just can't remember what. Maybe he met her before?
Dick, however, freezes next to him, and that's just wrong. Dick is always in motion, fidgeting or doing some kind of gymnastics. Even when they're on stakeouts, Dick is never still.
"This is Tarantula," Jason introduces her and fucks.
Tim's memories concerning the War Games are…not the most reliable. They're fregmented, some parts crystal clear - like his talk with Dad on the roof of Leslie's clinic - while others are a blur - like Darla dying in his arms or Bruce telling him Steph is dead - but he does remember two things.
One, Tarantula is Catalina Flores, and she killed Blockbuster while Dick was standing there. Tim is not supposed to know this, but he is a detective, and it wasn't hard to figure out, even back then, during the citywide gang war.
Two, she hurt Dick. Hurt him so badly that Tim nearly lost his brother. In the fire where Dick froze up, or when he got nicked by the bullet, or the months after that when Dick decided to isolate himself from everyone and everything. And Tim has theories, theories he desperately hopes aren't true, but there are so many signs pointing toward them. Like how Tarantula used to touch his brother while Dick just stood there or even shrugged her off instead of enjoying the physical contact. Babs' report about a previous encounter where Tarantula kissed Dick. The week between Blockbuster's death and Dick coming back to Gotham and the half-filled-out marriage certificate someone mailed to the Manor, Tim burned before anyone saw it.
And… Dick's behavior reminded him so much of how Ariana acted after she was assaulted. Tim did so much research after that, just to understand and to never miss the signs again and he never hated the decision more when he started noticing signs in Dick.
Tim also knows one more thing: Dick is more than capable of protecting himself, especially in a physical fight, and he's much better than Tim. However, he's not good at protecting himself when it comes to emotional stuff. Dick tends to internalize everything and blame himself, even for things that are not his fault. So, it's up to Tim to protect him. Because Dick always wants to work together with Jason, wants to include him, and welcomes him back into the family, he will try to push through his discomfort.
Tim is aware of the uncomfortable silence, Dick still not moving and neither of them reacting. Jason has a look of confusion and being pissed in his face, probably misinterpreting the situation.
Tarantula is the one to break the standstill, taking a step towards Dick, arms slightly raised as if she's going for a hug, and Dick just… takes off. Not good.
Tim wants to go after him, but he also needs to deal with the situation here.
"Tarantula is not welcome in Gotham," he says, crossing his arms.
Jason looks pissed at that, while Tarantula actually looks hurt both by Dick's rejection and Tim's word.
"Why the fuck not? Just because she doesn't care about Batman's precious rule?" Jason asks, scowling at him. Something must show on Tim's face because Jason lets out a short laugh. "Don't act so surprised; she told me all about the Blockbuster business. How she killed that monster, and instead of thanking her, Nightwing just led her on and put her in a cell in the end. Pretty cold, something I expected from the old man and not the golden boy."
The story is not that far off from the truth, and it makes sense that without all the information, Jason would empathize with someone willing to make hard decisions.
"Oh?" Tim raises an eyebrow and turns towards Tarantula. "Is that how you remember it all?" He doesn't let her answer before turning back to Jason. "Get her out of Gotham."
He hears Jason shouting something after him as he grapples off the roof. He needs to find Dick.
Dick doesn't know where he's going; he just knows he needs to get away. He has blood on his face—no, he doesn't. He's in Gotham.
He can barely breathe but needs to focus on grappling. Aim, swing, release. Aim, swing, release. Aim, swing, release. Aim, swing, release. Aim, swing, release…
And breathe. He needs to breathe. He can breathe; he's not on the rooftop—don't think about the rooftop. About the gravel, pushing against his back, his suit sticking onto him from all the rain, about the hands touching him, the pressure and warmth of a body on him, demanding and forcing him, over and over and over, on the rooftop, in the motel and the other motel and—
He misses an aim and there no anchor for his grapple to grab on something and his only saving grace is the rooftop close enough for him to crash.
No Graysons fell tonight.
There is gravel digging into his palms, and someone is coming. And not again, not again, not her, not on a rooftop, and Dick needs to get away. He needs to jump.
He's flying again. He needs to—It was such a good night—why did she have to show up? Tim must be—
Tim's Nest! Tim's Nest is close, and it's new. She won't know about it. Dick needs to get to the Nest. He can get there; he just needs to focus on grappling instead of the water on his clothes—it's not raining.
Aim, swing, release, aim, swing, release, aim, swing, release, aim, swing—
He's at Tim's place. How did he get here? How does he get inside? There…
There's a scanner on the roof. Why is it always a roof?
He needs…
Inside…
Why can't he just stay in the moment? He doesn't feel connected to his body, like he's just seconds away from floating away. He's not in control of his movements, like he's just going through the motions while someone else is in control. What happened?
Meeting Jason. Jason bringing someone with him. A tarantula appears on the roof. Looking the same, looking at Dick the same, like he's something to touch, to claim, a prize for a job well done, not a person, just something to look at. Coming towards Dick, to touch him, to hurt him, to take away his contro—
Something is draped over his shoulders. It's heavy. There is someone in front of Dick. They're not touching him, not pushing him onto his back, not undoing his clothe- They're talking.
"- And we're going to do a Young Just Us get-together. Cissie, Greta, and Anita as well, we're getting the whole gang. I'm not sure where we're going, but I thought about renting out something fancy, with a pool and all of that. Or ask Bruce if we can use the old HQ; that would be fun. And don't tell him, but there will be alcohol; if we're old enough to save the world, then we're old enough to have just a little bit. Kon and Bart can't get drunk anyways, so we don't have to worry about keeping a drunk Bart safe."
"Bruce will know," Dick forces it out. He has to get it together. This night is supposed to be fun.
"He won't. I'll make up a lie so good he'll have to give me my own Batplane if he finds it out."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," Tim nods, smiling at him. Then, his expression turns serious, concerned. About Dick, when this night was supposed to be about just spending a patrol together and catching up. "Are you okay? You taking off like that scared me. I was worried you wouldn't come here and I'd have to search through Gotham for you, while you were—" He stops to search for a word, possibly to describe how idiotic and reckless Dick was, flying around Gotham like that.
"I'm fine now. It was nothing." He offers Tim a smile, but even he can feel it's shaky.
"It didn't seem like nothing. "I was talking to you for at least ten minutes before you answered me." Tim starts to reach out, but he stops, and that just won't do. Dick is not made of glass; he can handle holding his brother's hand. His hands shake. He hasn't noticed it before. "I told Jason that Tarantula is not welcome in Gotham."
Dick feels ashamed that he's relieved by that. Jason teaming up with someone and bringing them to Gotham should be a good thing. But… it's Catalina. And Dick thought he would never have to see her again. Especially not in Gotham. Gotham is supposed to be safe. It's home. Blüdhaven is also his home, but it's tainted by Tarantula. By Blockbuster. Her showing up there would have been a lesser shock. Whenever it's raining, he still expects her to just appear on the rooftops.
"Why?" he asks. Tim has no reason to try to ban her. Her killing alone is not enough of a reason, and nobody knows; nobody can know about the rooftop.
"I… she hurt you. I know she did. Not just by killing Blockbuster and making it feel like it was your fault."
She didn't made him feel like it was his fault. It was his fault. Even years later, he knows this. By stepping away, he could've been the one to pull the trigger; it would've had the same outcome. And maybe karma is real and acts fast. That would explain everything.
Tim doesn't look at him, but he doesn't let go of his hand, holding it like it's a lifeline. With how it's grounding Dick, keeping him in the moment, it might just be.
"Do you remember Ari?" Tim switches the topic.
"Your girlfriend, right? Back when you started out"
"Yeah," Tim nods. "You can stop me whenever you want, but your behavior during and after the gang war reminded me of her. There… there was a period of time where she didn't want anyone to touch her, when she wasn't talking to me or any of our friends, and I just couldn't figure out why. Nothing happened between us, but she started to isolate herself." Dick doesn't like where this is going. Tim can't know about that. Nobody is supposed to know about what happened on the rooftop. How can Dick be Tim's brother, the one who is supposed to protect him if Tim knows just how pathetic, how weak, Dick truly is?
Letting Catalina kill Blockbuster and then not stopping her when she— No. Don't think about that.
"I- When she told me what happened" Tim continues, hesitant and so unlike the usual confident way he talks with Dick. "I did research. Lots of research, about sexual assault, how to recognize the signs and how to approach the victims. Figured it would be helpful on patrol" he looks up at Dick, face so full of concern that it makes Dick want to disappear. He doesn't deserve concern. "Dick, did Tarantula assault you?"
Dick wants to deny it. It wasn't assault; it wasn't rape because Dick is so much stronger than Catalina and could've stopped her anytime. But he barely remembers that week, only flashes, floating in and out of being present in the moment, and he remembers saying no. He remembers telling Catalina not to touch him, that he's poison, and just lying there, not being able to move, the rain and blood mixing on his face. Of being dragged from motel room to motel room. And it's happening over and over.
And Dick can lie about being fine; he's a performer, good enough to fool everyone so they won't look too closely and see all the cracks. But Tim already knows, and he's looking at him so concerned that there's no room for Dick's performance. Tim, the little detective, would take one look at his flimsy excuses and see right through it. His little brother who cares so much and becomes obsessed so fast, so eager to help and to fix things.
He nods, unable to bring himself to say the words. He was okay until seeing Catalina again; it should not be affecting him this much. "It's not what you're thinking," he tries to reassure Tim, knowing just what kind of thoughts he will think of. Of all the crime scenes and victims they've seen and comforted. " It wasn't—"
It wasn't what? Violent? Just because Dick wasn't fighting back doesn't mean it was not the most violating thing he ever experienced. He had blood on his face. Wasn't that violent enough in itself?
"Don't! Tim snaps at him. "Don't try to minise what happened just because you think I can't handle it. Remember what you told me after Paris?" Dick nods. About the catacombs and the Daughter of Acheron. "That it wasn't my fault. And if that wasn't my fault, then this wasn't yours either."
"I deserved it, I should've—"
"What, stopped her?" Tim looks so sad. "You're not responsible for her actions. Not for her killing Blockbuster or her forcing herself on you. I've read the report about Blockbuster's death and all the reports you had on Tarantula. She would've killed him, even if you stood in front of her gun." He sounds so convinced of that. Probably right too, Tim has always been the smartest of them all. "And even if you let Tarantula kill him, you didn't deserve to be assaulted! It doesn't work like that!"
Dick doesn't know what to do. What to think. What happened with Tarantula wasn't okay. But he was over it. He is over it. Just seeing her should not send him into panic. He's… that would mean it affected him. That she still has control over him. Still has a way to take over control.
That's what happened; that Tarantula looked at him at his lowest and decided to take advantage of him instead of helping. Not as some kind of karma from the universe, not as a punishment, but just because she wanted to do so.
The sobs surprise him, but maybe they shouldn't. He's crying, full of grief and anguish for himself and… he hasn't been alright, has he? People who have been alright don't cry like this.
Tim looks at him, so alarmed that it makes Dick almost laugh. The kid probably has no idea what to do with him crying, but he's still holding Dick's hand. And… Dick needs a hug from his brother. He pulls Tim into his hug, who is so surprised by it but hugs him back fast and strong.
They stay like that for a few minutes, Tim patting his back from time to time while Dick cries. And there's no point in trying to put up any kind of facade, and Tim has already seen him at moments. Dick didn't want his little brother to see. Just like how he saw Tim at his worst as well.
"Are you okay?" Tim asks him after a while. They've moved to Tim's couch instead of staying on the floor.
"I'm—" The fine is on the tip of his tongue, like a reflex. He shakes his head. "No. I'm not okay. But I will be."
"Okay," his brother nods. "Do you want something to eat? I cooked before patrol."
"Oh, trying to get rid of me so soon?"
"I know how to cook, jerk!" Tim slaps his arm. "You were the one who taught me how."
The food is good. Dick knows Tim can cook but prefers sticking with quick and easy meals because he finds long prep times and complicated recipes a waste of his time when he has so many other things to do. This particular dish is one of Dick's; his parents learned it when the circus was travelling in Europe, and it was easy enough to make that he could actually help make it when he was younger.
They can't enjoy it for long, though, before someone knocking—well, more like banging—on the door interrupts them. Tim pulls up a camera feed on his gauntlet—they should change out of their suits—showing Jason, still in full Red Hood getup, standing there. He looks angry.
"Do you want to talk to him?" Tim asks between bites.
"Kinda have to, he deserves an explanation. And it's not like he can't break down the door."
Because if he tells Jason nothing, then it will damage their relationship and maybe even undo all their progress.
"He might be able to break down the door, but Babs helped me booby trap the house. Nobody gets through the outer places if I don't want them to." Tim shrugs, and Dick can imagine just what kind of traps he and Babs came up with.
"It's okay. Just, loom in the background or something."
Tim disables the security system, and Jason storms in, thankfully alone. Not that Dick expected Jason to bring someone to a safe house not his, no matter how pissed he was.
"Alright assholes, start talking because I feel like I'm missing some information." He slams his hood on the table. "And why the fuck do you look like that?" he gestures at Dick's everything. And it's a valid question; he must look wrecked.
Dick doesn't know how to start. Jason wasn't in Gotham during that time; he doesn't have any of the information Tim had. And Jason is prone to acting rash when it comes to rapists. Dick needs to tread carefully so he can be in control of the conversation.
Jason looks impatient on the other side of the table, standing there with arms crossed, and Tim is doing his best to glare at him, looming just how Dick asked, mainly as a joke.
"First off, I need you to remember that I can fight my own battles," he starts.
Jason snorts. "Like how you ran off when you saw your ex? Or let the kid try to dictate who has a right to be in Gotham?"
He can feel Tim tense besides him, probably gearing up to a fight with Jason, to defend Dick, but it's something Dick needs to do himself.
"Yeah, no," he holds up his hands. He won't be baited into an argument. "What did Tarantula tell you about what happened in Blüdhaven and with Blockbuster?"
"I know you turned her in for the murder of Blockbuster, even when he deserved to die. She said he tormented you for months and the only way for you to be safe was to kill him, and she did it. Pulled the trigger and put down a fucking monster. And that the both of you spent a week together getting away from Blüdhaven before going back to Gotham to help Batman with the gang war. And after all she helped you, you gave her up for murder." Jason scowls, and with how he tells the story, Dick seems unreasonable. Like he made Catalina help him make the hard choices and then turned on her. Like she was the one who got wronged.
"Her version of the story is certainly different from how I remember it." He lets out a dry chuckle. He needs to say the next part; he needs to tell someone who doesn't know the details, or he'll never be able again. Dick takes a deep breath and he can feel Tim take a step closer. " After she killed Blockbuster, I couldn't breath. I felt his blood on me, and I felt like I was dying. I spent the previous weeks running around, trying to somehow save all the people I put in danger, and after stepping away to let Catalina kill him, I felt like I failed." There, clear and precise, like a mission report. "I couldn't breath and couldn't look at the corpse or her, and I needed air. I went up to the roof; it was raining, and I barely remember anything. I barely remember anything from the time between when she pulled the trigger and when B called me to ask me for help in Gotham. But I remember her following me up and wanting to celebrate, I guess. Of how she dragged me from motel to motel, he can see some kind of understanding on Jason's face, but he needs to say it now. " She raped me, Jason."
"Fuck," Jason mutters, hands in a fist. "I'm going to kill her."
"No," Dick says. He expected this; Jason was never merciful towards rapists or abusers. But he can't let Jason do that, can't let someone else die because of him.
"No? Fuck, what do you mean no?" Jason looks genuinely surprised at Dick's refusal. "She deserves to die! She was the one who insisted on meeting up with you; I wasn't even planning on looping you in."
Good to know Tarantula was still obsessed with him. He'll have to ask Babs to put some kind of surveillance on her, just to never run into her, even by chance.
"I don't want anyone killed because of me. But you can escort her out of Gotham."
"And make sure she knows never to come back again," Tim mutters under his breath, drawing out a laugh from Jason.
"Yeah, I'll do that, and I won't kill her. Promise and everything," Jason adds. "And maybe I could come back after I'm done escorting her out? Now, I do need help with the case."
"We'll be here."