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Tim let out a terribly muffled scream as he was thrown back onto the floor, rattling his broken bones. With tears streaming down his face, Tim tried to crawl away from the Red Hood, his hero, his Robin .
“What’s the matter, Replacement? I thought you wanted to be Robin,” the dead boy snarled, stalking forward with Tim’s bloody staff in hand.
He tensed, bracing for impact, as Hood raised the staff to hit him away when they both froze at a noise. Two soulless black eyes stared at them. “Honk.”
“What the fuck? I know you’re obsessed with birds and shit but seriously? Bat-goose doesn’t even make any sense.”
Tim swallowed the blood in his mouth and dared to ask thickly, “He’s not yours?”
Offended, Hood pointed the end of the staff at Tim’s forehead who flinched and shut his eyes instinctively. “Why in the everlasting hell would I have a goose?”
“Probably because it fits your whole theme of being an asshole,” Tim muttered, stealthily scooting away from his attacker.
With his gaze unreadable, the Red Hood stared at the goose and at Tim. Back at the goose, then Tim again. He dropped the staff with a loud clang that had Tim jolting in surprise and subsequently hissing in pain. “You know what? I think you’ve learnt your lesson for today, Robin . See you later ~”
He casually stepped back and turned away with the grace of a feline predator from the injured boy on the floor who was gasping in pain. Only to be stopped by the goose. Hood stepped to the side and the goose blocked him again.
Whipping out a gun, he held it to the bird’s head. “Move or else ,” Hood growled impatiently.
It stared back without a trace of fear in its eyes. “Honk.”
“I’m not about to shoot some dumb animal who’s got nothing to do with this! I’ve got lines!” And yet, he’d still cross those lines to beat up a child, Tim thought hysterically.
Selfishly, Tim hoped the goose would defeat Hood in an ultimate smackdown while he crawled to the medbay. “Fighting fire with fire,” he mumbled, pausing to cry out in pain when he accidentally put too much pressure on his broken wrist. Trying to catch his breath, Tim took a deep breath and held it before releasing and doing the process all over again.
Behind him, Tim missed watching Hood’s hand tremble and drop the gun. Hood stumbled back, grabbing his head. Tim missed Hood’s face frowning in confusion. The crime lord tried to escape only for the goose to start biting him.
Tim’s blood went to ice when he heard a familiar voice getting louder. “Ow! What the fuck! I’m going, I’m going, jeez!” The former look of confusion was wiped away by green fury at the sight of the R on Tim’s uniform.
A quick glance showed that Hood was holding his arms up to protect himself from the vicious goose who was corralling its victim to Tim. Bright green eyes met terrified blue. “Don’t look so happy to see me, Replacement? Looks like the goose agrees that you need more than just one lesson about what it means to be Robin.”
Tim scrambled to his feet and hobbled away as fast as he could. “No, no, no,” he gritted out, desperately trying to put as much distance between himself and his attacker.
The goose appeared out of nowhere in front of Tim’s path, hissing and puffing its feathers. Surprised, Tim fell back and his vision went white in pain. The bird had found a new target and like the Red Hood, it was going to show no mercy even if the said target was already hurt.
Distantly, Tim knew someone was screaming and another voice was yelling. Eventually the second voice fell silent for an awfully long moment as they watched the goose attack a kid, an injured kid who had done nothing to deserve it. So long that Tim that they’d left but the second voice spoke up again, changing its harsh tone to something more guilty. “Oh shit, what did I do? No no I'm such a fucking hypocrite.. stop attacking him, you goose! Shoo!”
“It’s ok, Timmy. I’m not going to hurt you. I was wrong. I’m not mad at you. You’re okay. It’s okay,” the voice said gently. Tim gasped past the tears and pressed his face against hard body armor. “There we go, deep breaths, Timbit. It’s going to be ok.”
“Why- why are you helping me?” Tim stuttered. He wasn’t sure if he preferred the goose or the Red Hood at the moment. Both were equally terrible in Tim’s honest opinion.
Jason froze before looking down in shame. “I’m.. sorry. I was mad at Bruce and how he replaced me, and I thought that if I attacked you, he’d stop making kids fight crime. But..” he trailed off and moved his gaze to meet the goose’s. “If I did that then I’d be no better than that guy, and you’re just a kid. You literally did nothing and it’s all Bruce’s fault. I was wrong to hurt you and I’m sorry.”
He took a deep breath. “Look, I know this doesn’t mean much, but I really am sorry. So, Imma just. You know.” With that said, Jason moved into action.
Belatedly, Tim realized he was cradled in the arms of someone who had just been torturing him a few minutes ago. The same torturer who was carrying him down the hall to some unknown secondary location. With a shriek, he threw himself out of Hood’s arms and barely rolled to lessen the impact. He whimpered and inched away, ignoring Hood’s calls of concern. “Stop- go away!”
Yellow webbed feet came into his vision. “Honk honk!” was the only warning Tim received before a flurry of beaked and feathered attacks descended onto him.
Sobbing, he curled into the fetal position, trying to shield his face and broken wrist. This was how he was going to die. Not to save the world, or by old age. No, it wasn’t even because of Hood’s brutal beatings. He was going to die via goose attack. His parents would be ashamed; Bruce would be ashamed of him.
“Scat! Stop it, you ass,” Hood snapped, leaning over Tim and waving a hand at the goose. The undead defender hissed when it bit his waving hand before the offending waterfowl backed off with a chorus of sassy honks.
Gentle hands wiped away Tim’s tears. “Hey hey Timjamin, Tim tac, I’m going to take you to the medbay okay?” Tim went lax and waited for the inevitable incoming of more pain. Never mind. Tim was wrong. The cause of his demise was back to death via painful torture. “I really don’t think your ribs would appreciated another fall like that so I need a yes or no on getting your wounds treated.”
Tim waited… and waited… and waited some more. But nothing happened. He dared to open one eye and saw Jason hovering over him. He looked more concerned and less like he was going to hurt Tim. “Jason?” What changed, he wondered, why are you doing this?
“Hey Timberlina, is it ok if I pick you up? I’m not going to hurt you. I was angry and hurt and I wanted- well it doesn’t matter what I wanted, but let me help? I’m not going to hurt you, ” the dead boy pleaded with an emotion akin to guilt flicking in his much bluer eyes.
Tim wrinkled his nose. Was this another ploy or was he actually concerned? There was only one way to find out and it wasn’t like Tim had any other choice. There was nothing to do but go along with the flow. Once Tim nodded, Jason carefully lifted him in his arms, princess carry style. Walking down the hall with the goose close behind in his heels, he added, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure the goose doesn’t hurt you again.”
But what about you? Tim didn’t ask, eyeing the dead Robin warily. Tim stayed limp and docile as Jason worked. Surprisingly, Jason kept the goose at bay and wrapped all his wounds as promised. Despite his misgivings, Tim felt himself tentatively trusting that Jason actually meant his apology.
Once the last broken bone was splinted, Jason sat down heavily on the chair beside the cot Tim laid on. “So here’s the thing, I’m pretty sure that’s the soulmate goose which means I can’t leave your side without it attacking either of us because it’s an asshole.”
At the indignant honk, Jason retorted, “Don’t try denying it, mister!” To which the goose gave him a beast eyed glare.
Soulmates? No no no that means Tim won’t ever be able to get away. He promised Hood to leave and stay away from Gotham where Jason’s home is. A life of eternal torture and broken promises. Of course, that’s what Fate planned for Tim. “Hey no why are you crying? Calm down, Timmers! Shhh talk to me.”
Talk to him, Tim thought, letting out a sound that was a mixture of a sob and a laugh, sure. Let’s tell my torturer and former hero that I don’t want to spend the rest of my life with him.
Fingers combed through his hair as soft reassurances surrounded Tim’s panicked wheezes. “I promise I won’t get mad,” Jason crooned in his Robin voice. The one he used for injured civilians and scared kids. Hah as if Tim qualified as a child in Hood’s book.
But let it be known that Scared Tim and Dumb Tim should never be allied because without thinking it through, Tim blurted out, “I don’t want to get married.”
A loud laugh surprised him. Tim squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the voice to turn cruel and the gentle fingers to claws. “It's not like that, kid. It’s not that kind of soulmate goose. I can recognize this bastard anywhere.”
At Tim’s cautious but questioning look, Jason elaborated, “You know how Dick used to be an actual jerk during his spat with Bruce?”
Tim nodded and he continued, “Yeah so back then, he’d avoid me like I had the plague which excuse you. I may be a street rat but I know what hygiene is. Anyway, this feathered menace to society decided that enough was enough when I got grazed by a stray bullet while Dickwing and Robin 2.0 were on patrol and essentially, it bullied Dick into hanging out with me until my injury healed and by then, we started getting along.”
“So don’t worry about being stuck with me for eternity and we’re definitely not getting married either,” he finished. Tim hummed thoughtfully, processing what Jason said.
They lasted into a comfortable silence under the goose’s supervision. “I’m your platonic soulmate? “
“Apparently. Literally don’t sweat it. I’ll be out of your skin as soon as I can leave.” came the nonchalant answer.
“What about Dick? Am I not...” Tim asked hesitantly, fiddling his fingers. He stopped when pain twinged.
“This guy,” Jason said with a pointed glare. “only bothers to show up when soulmates, especially platonic, don’t get along. “
“Speaking of which, I need to leave before Bruce gets here,” Jason decided, getting to his feet. Tim whined at the loss of contact. The goose leaned forward, hissing. “Oh shush! I’ll be back soon and I’m not attacking the kid anymore, you vile creature. This is just temporary so I don’t get sent to prison or somewhere like that!“
“Wha- you can’t leave!” Tim exclaimed, sitting up. He winced from the pain. Whether Jason wanted to kill Tim or not, the most important thing was getting the better Robin home to his family.
“If you seriously think they won’t send me to Arkham after everything, then you seriously need to get your head checked.” The older said flatly, trying to dodge the goose’s attacks.
Tim snorted and regretted that decision. His cracked ribs were cruel. “As if. Bruce would probably make his “I’m emo” Minecraft villager noise and hover around us like the ghost of Christmas Past. Dick and Alfred would be so happy to see you alive and I would have to go home...”
“What do you mean ‘go home’? Aren’t you adopted? Ow! That hurt!” Jason snapped, slapping the goose’s head. It immediately retaliated.
“Uh no? I’m a placeholder for you. I’m not a replacement. I’m not even adopted or anything.”
Jason stopped trying to leave and gave him a skeptical look. The goose gave him one last smack with its wings before stepping back. “As if Bruce can see black-haired depressed child with blue eyes and not bundle them with a hug and adoption papers.”
“I’ve never been hugged by Bruce so your argument is wrong. I’m not a part of your family. So yeah, you literally beat me up for no reason other than the fact that ya dumb,” Tim retorted. He’d fold his arms smugly, but he knew his limits unlike some people.
Jason looked like he wanted to debunk the insult about his intelligence when he realized what Tim said. “Wait, Bruce has never...”
“Yup,” Tim answered smugly, unaware of what his answer would bring.
Jason growled and wrapped Tim in his arms. “There. A hug.” Tim let out an embarrassing squeak in response. Jason sat down with a disgruntled huff. “And now we wait for Batman to come and I’ll be having some words with him.”
“Sic the goose on him. He’ll learn then,” Tim agreed, relaxing now that Jason was no longer actively escaping or attacking. Clearly, the goose was a very effective instructor. The fact that it got Jason to stop being the big bad Red Hood and give Tim hair pets instead of more broken bones was enough proof.
“Ha good idea, Timantha. Now get some rest while we wait,” Jason chuckled, reaching over to help the injured boy settle down.
Tim lowered himself back carefully, shutting his eyes. “So while we’re waiting, want to tell me why you thought it was a good idea to attack me?”
The fingers froze. “... shouldn’t that have been the first question to ask?”
Snickering, Tim refused to answer. “Timbo, answer the question!”