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Therapy really wasn’t working for Tim, so Black Canary suggested something a little different.
He was, of course, incredibly skeptical that “singing your feelings” or “writing your emotions through music” would be the best choice for him, especially because aside from a few years of forced violin practice he abandoned to try flute he abandoned to try guitar, the one he stuck with two actual years, he didn’t consider himself competent at it; Kon said that was because he was too much of a perfectionist, but Tim’s thoughts were getting off topic and what did Kon know anyway, but aside from those years, he considered himself without musical talent. And, well, maybe Kon had a point about his perfectionist tendencies, because if he was going to do this in lieu of therapy, he was going to do it right, dammit.
His first few “songs” were mediocre at best, cringey at worst, like he was still a middle schooler instead of… a high school dropout, huh, well he was already getting the bad boy aesthetic down.
He snickered.
“No mom, dad,” he murmured, mockingly, “I don’t need school, I just need my band!”
Not that he had one, he mused, but if he did, he could probably fund it all on his own, even if they had no fans. He’d probably go by a dumb pseudonym that barely hid his identity, something edgy, like Dragon maybe as a play off Drake? Wearing green and black, a passable disguise so no one knew that Tim Drake, CEO of Wayne Enterprises, was moonlighting as an edgy rock singer.
Yeah, right.
But, if he was going to do this thought experiment, he’d have to fill the band with people he trusted. He could brush up on his guitar skills, the only instrument he’d actually liked, maybe add some keyboard into his repertoire; could he convince Bruce that learning the piano was just him trying to get a hobby that didn’t involve work or going out into the city like a crazy stalker kid? Not that Bruce knew about the photography hobby he had been neglecting since becoming Robin and then Red Robin, but still. Okay, sure, that was two instruments he had, but he would need drums, bass, and possibly another guitar or keyboard in case he couldn’t, or they needed to switch it up. Or a singer, since Tim didn’t know how good his singing actually was, and there was no way his family would be objective if he asked them.
He immediately pulled up his phone to look up piano lessons online as he wandered into the dining room. He swiped down briefly to check the time and winced.
“Master Tim.”
“Heyyyy, Alfred,” he said, thinking fast, “do we have like… instruments? In the house?”
Alfred hummed. “Indeed. There is a music room in the west wing, on the third floor. One of the solariums was repurposed for that reason. Are you interested in taking up an instrument again?”
Again? No, never mind, Tim knew Alfred knew pretty much everything, this was fact.
He nodded. “Trying out music therapy. Don’t get me wrong, the regular stuff is fine, just… not for me.”
“Of course, Master Tim,” Alfred nodded sagely, “are your friends engaging in this as well?”
Tim blinked.
Huh.
Kon could probably use some therapy.
Bart and Cassie too.
…Wait a minute.
He immediately switched apps and typed out a message in the group chat.
Do any of you play an instrument?
Cassie finished the drum rep and nodded, twirling the sticks. “Good, I like it. Feels powerful.”
Bart nodded rapidly. “And add in Kon and we’re so crash!”
The deep notes of the bass guitar sang out as Kon hummed. “This… is actually kinda nice. I’m still not great, though.”
Tim snorted. “Better than me. Bart humiliated me on guitar and I’m still only on the intermediate training for piano.”
Bart laughed, putting his hands behind his head and tilting his nose into the air. “I’ve been playing guitar for years, Timmy boy! Plus, all this music practice is making me feel like we’re an actual band, instead of a band of heroes. I wonder what our band name would be?”
“No no no,” Tim shook his hands, “we’re not forming a band, we’re just doing therapy. Besides, we’d have to come up with something that didn’t tie back to our identities.”
Cassie eyed him.
He shifted defensively. “What?”
“You already have a name.”
“No I don’t!”
She smirked as Bart immediately latched on. “You do!? Tell me! Tellmetellmetellme-”
“It was, it’s not even a thing,” he groaned, knowing Bart would just get more annoying, “just a stupid thought months ago.”
“One you’re still thinking about,” Cassie pointed out, “meaning you haven’t come up with anything better.”
Kon slowly broke into a grin. “You have thought about a band. Oh Tim, it’s been over a month, and you haven’t told us yet? I thought we were your band members.”
“IF we were in a band,” Tim viciously jabbed a finger in his direction, “it would be our band, not just me and my entourage. Our band, ours.”
“I’m hearing a distinct lack of a name,” Bart said innocently, “and I would hate to have to abandon our band before we even started…”
“Again, there is no band,” Tim insisted, “but if you really want to know my stupid edgy middle schooler-esque name, it was Dragon. Which we can’t use because it’s too close to who I actually am.”
Bart was the first to laugh and Tim felt his face and neck grow hot.
“No,” Cassie hummed, still traces of mirth in her voice, “I like it. Your fans would be called the Hoard.”
Kon snapped his fingers. “I’ve got the band name. The Dragon’s Keeping Us Sane.”
“True,” Bart crowed as Tim buried his face in his hands, “this has actually been really nice, and like you said, it’s therapy!”
“Too on the nose,” Cassie snorted, “maybe just shorten it to the Dragon’s Keep. We know the full name, but that’s more appropriate for a wider audience.”
“Are you guys actually considering this?” Tim was on the verge of despair, but something in him fluttered a little at the thought. “Like, for real, making a band, having a new set of secret identities, the works?”
Kon shrugged. “Why not? It’s a “healthy way to express our emotions and develop a skill” according to Dinah, right?”
“I mean, yes,” he agreed reluctantly, “but this is a commitment. And we’d have to write music. And… well, I could fund us, I could probably hide a tour bus in the batarang budget…” he trailed off, thinking of the numbers, but was jolted back by Kon’s voice.
“But you’ve already written like, three songs.”
His head snapped up. “What?” Damn, his voice hadn’t cracked since he was fifteen.
Kon nodded thoughtfully. “And pretty fast, too. If you keep writing at that same rate, by the time Cassie and I are better at our instruments, we’d have enough for a full album.”
“WHAT?!”
Kon glanced at him and smirked. “You sounded nice, Tim.”
Tim felt like he was actually on fire. Like an actual dragon had breathed on him and he was cooking.
Bart gasped. “I wanna hear! Come on, you can’t let Kon have all the fun! And the band needs a singer, so we have to figure out who the best one is!”
“They’re so bad,” he whined, “I sound like an edgy middle schooler! I sound like Damian!”
Cassie smirked. “We’re not going to stop bugging you until you sing, Dragon. If the fans are going to be the Hoard, consider us your first members.”
Bart gasped. “We can be gemstones! I’ll be Topaz!”
“We can figure out names later,” Kon waved him off, “not that that isn’t a good idea. But first, Tim has to prove himself. If he’s going to be the Dragon, he has to earn it.”
Tim huffed. “Fine. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, though.”
He took a deep breath.
The crowd screamed as Tim heaved for air, backing away from the microphone with a triumphant grin. The lights were hot and his heart was pounding, but it was nice to hear a crowd screaming and have it not be in fear. He raised a fist in the air and the noise got impossibly louder, and he could only chuckle. He glanced back at his friends to see Kon running a hand through his hair and so many people squealed.
“WE LOVE YOU COBALT!!!!”
Kon smirked and blew a kiss, lowering his sunglasses to wink and several people fainted.
Tim rolled his eyes and they swept backstage, pulses high.
“Man, it never gets better than this,” Bart laughed breathlessly, “why didn’t we try this years ago? Awesome music and a literal Hoard of fans!”
Cassie groaned. “That joke wasn’t funny the first seventy times, Paz, it’s not gonna be funny the seventy first.”
“The fans think it’s funny,” he muttered, giving her a mock glare but unable to fight his grin, “and that’s all that matters.”
“I’m glad someone does,” she said sweetly, “because otherwise you’d be a sad little man.”
“Ruby!”
She snickered. “Kidding! But if you were, we’d just have more song ammunition.”
Tim snorted. “You know, Dinah told me she always tries to figure out which song is from which person, but I don’t have the heart to tell her that we haven’t gotten through even half of mine yet.”
Kon chuckled. “We’re going to have to start putting at least one of our songs on each album or we’re never going to get there. We wrote all our gripes for three hours, you wrote for three days.”
“I have a lot of things to work through,” he protested weakly, “how was I supposed to know that?”
“I mean it was pretty obvious.”
“Yeah you’re pretty moded.”
“Which is saying something coming from us.”
Tim laughed nervously. “Psh, I’m fine.”
“‘So good at keeping secrets, so good at telling lies, I know who you are, but you can’t see my disguise,’” Bart pretended to swoon, looking heartbroken as he mockingly sang their most popular song from their first album.
“When not even Grandpa knows my spleen is missing, I’d say I’m pretty damn good at hiding things,” Tim hissed, shoving his laughing friend into their dressing room.
“Are you sure he doesn’t know,” Kon raised an eyebrow, “because I’m pretty sure he knows everything.”
“So was I,” Tim shrugged, “but he hasn’t said anything, and you know he would if it’s about my health. Not that I’m not handling it just fine.”
“No depressing talk,” Cassie shoved them both, “we’re meeting with fans in a few minutes and just successfully debuted our third album. Get into your personas and for god’s sakes, Coby, put on a shirt!”
“I thought you said get into our personas? Cobalt never wears a shirt,” he ran his hands down the cobalt blue skinny pants, “because Cobalt bears himself to the world.”
“You’re just using it to have a better disguise,” she hissed, “because no one bothers looking at your face!”
“Hurtful words,” he crooned, “but if I must put on a shirt,” he slipped on a black button down with the sleeves already up and did only the bottom two buttons, “then I suppose I shall have to grant your wish, Rubes.”
She rolled her eyes and stuffed her hands in her red leather jacket, leaning against a table.
“Guests arriving in two,” their manager poked their head in, “you all ready?”
Tim lounged back like a lord, feeling every inch of the confidence Dragon usually exuded and smirked.
“Of course.”
It wasn’t like he never heard the band’s music outside of practice, because of course he did. They signed a record deal and the radios played their songs as well, and he knew that they obviously had fans. He still got excited over it because Kon might maybe have a tiny point in that Tim always wanted everything to be perfect and that meant he was always pleased when the band was doing well and he had clear evidence of that fact with people listening to their music on repeat.
But hearing it in the manor really wigged him out.
He slowly followed the music to the garage and almost passed out to see Jason of all people bobbing around to it.
“What do you want, Timbers?”
Tim tried not to stutter. “You, uh, like… Dragon’s Keep?”
Jason scoffed. “That’s it? Yeah, obviously. The second album literally has a song about hating clowns. It’s my favorite thing. Why? Not your style, huh?”
Tim swallowed. “Um. No, just… surprised you like them, is all.”
“Are we talking about Dragon’s Keep?!” Steph practically launched herself into the doorway. “I heard the music and I just had to come over! I can’t believe there’s another stan in the manor! Jason! Who’s your bias?! Your ship?!”
Jason furrowed his eyebrows. “Use actual words please.”
Steph rolled her eyes. “I forgot how old you were, jeez. Who’s your favorite and who do you think is in a relationship?”
He scoffed. “Dragon, obviously. And he has to be dating Paz.”
She gasped. “You ship Dragon with Topaz?! No way! Topaz and Ruby for the win! He practically dotes on her!”
Jason rolled his eyes. “They all dote on each other. But have you seen the way Dragon just stares at him during the few rap sections? Makes sense that a Dragon appreciates someone who can spit fire.”
She cringed. “Please never say that again, old man. Tim, do you like them?”
Tim was busy trying to function properly.
Jason scoffed. “Timbelina? Like something so edgy? No way. I’m surprised you like them, but Mr. Boring CEO over here probably listens to classical and that’s it.”
“Aww,” Steph laughed, “I mean he is kinda more of a pop person, it’s true. And I started listening to them because they’re all hot, like woof, Cobalt really leaves nothing to the imagination, huh, but they grew on me for sure. Angsty vibes! Sometimes you just want to rage against the world!”
Tim nodded slowly. “I’m… gonna go. You guys have fun talking about this.”
“Wait,” Steph called, “you should totally listen to them too! You might not vibe with them right away, but it’d be super awesome to have someone else to talk to who doesn’t think Topaz and Dragon are together, seriously Jason, that's so dumb!”
“The sexual tension is there!”
Tim kind of wanted to die.
His phone going off prevented that and he scowled.
Kon should NOT be laughing at him this hard.
“Lucius,” Tim hissed into the lab space, “why doesn’t Bruce know I’m in a band? Hell, why doesn’t anyone in the manor know?!”
The head of business management hummed idly. “Clark doesn’t know either. Diana does because Cassie assumed you all would tell your guardians, but I guess she forgot that you all have a few problems with said guardians.”
Tim ran a hand through his hair. “And everyone else?! Why hasn’t Bruce or anyone noticed the budget changes?!”
He smiled. “I think the few things you don't use your own money for are an excellent use of company funding, and besides, you put the money right back into the company. Also, consider that they have no reason to believe it’s you.”
“It’s literally me in a ripped t-shirt, skinny jeans, and eye liner,” he hissed, “I don’t look that different! Conner’s disguise is sunglasses and no shirt! Cassie just wears a hat! Bart isn’t even hiding it, he’s just dressing nicer and with a lot more gold and brown instead of red and yellow!”
Lucius shrugged. “People see what they want to see. How’s the new sound system working?”
Tim huffed. “Excellent, of course. The cords work better too. Have we fixed the mic issues?”
“Just yesterday,” he confirmed, “ready to be used in comms… or on stage.”
He scrubbed a hand down his face. “Ok. Thanks, I have to get back to work. Fucking board members.”
He stopped on his way out, staring into space.
“I’m not a kid, even if I look young,” he murmured-
“-so don’t patronize me, think I’m under your thumb!”
He hurled the words into the new and improved mic, with expert level sound quality as he pranced around stage. He let himself get lost in the words as he eyed Bart.
Well, might as well give Steph a hard time, he thought with an evil smirk as he leaned in to his guitarist.
“WATCH THE CLIP, STEPH! WATCH THE FUCKING CLIP! I’M RIGHT!”
“LA LA LA, I CAN’T HEAR YOU, RUPAZ FOREVER!”
“I’ve noticed you wrote in your journal about the time an evil version of Batman came from an alternate future…?”
Tim sucked in a breath and let out a shaky laugh. “Bad idea, Dinah. Bad. Idea.”
She cocked her head. “It’s obviously a trauma for you…?”
Tim was already running potential lyrics in his head. “No no,” he insisted, “this is a bad idea. That’s not a song I should… write…”
She chuckled. “You’ve already half written it, haven’t you.”
“This is such a bad idea,” he whispered.
The song started slow and mournful, cautious even. He could feel the crowd hanging on every word.
“I’ve been so good for so long
Made sure we all got along
Made sure I did it all right
Avoided livin’ for the fight
Took care to follow the rules
I didn’t covet the jewels
But something inside knows the truth
How easy it would be to…”
He grinned into the chorus as the vibes immediately changed.
“Ruin everything, just go bad
See the other side, give it all I have
Been so good, left my demons warring
Being an angel just gets so boring!
I’ve seen how new things could be
If I let it get away from me
If being so good only gets me this,
Should I indulge in what I couldn’t miss?”
The crowds said yes, but he knew that the right answer was holy shit no?
Still fun.
“Darkness has never looked sweet
Now it’s good enough to eat
Fighting against it every day
Making sure I don’t give into the sway
It would be so easy to fall
To give into the siren call
But I know that I’d just be fought
It goes against all I’ve been taught.”
He sang the chorus again, really playing it up and pouring his heart and soul into it because dammit, being evil was so fucking easy and he knew for a goddamn fact that if he got too close to the line he’d tip over and never look back. Which. Bad.
Bart and Cassie tore it up in the instrumental part before the music came full circle and softened, the lights dimming to reflect that as the energy slowly quieted.
“I told myself I’d stay strong
To fight against the song
Ignore how easy it’d be
To forget and just be free
My morals hold me back
From going on the attack
They all would fall to me
But that’s not how I want to be…”
The crowd was silent for another moment before it erupted.
Message with Dinah
*YOU* WERE EVIL BATMAN?!
it was a bad idea but it was also very fun and now popular soooooo
TIM WHY DID YOU LET ME TALK YOU INTO THAT
HA, you talked me into nothing, the song practically wrote itself
IVE NEVER BEEN MORE WORRIED IN MY LIFE
>:P
See you tomorrow!
Steph burst into the game room.
“DAMIAN AL GHUL WAYNE!”
The youngest huffed and didn’t look up from the screen. “What is it, Brown? I am defeating the worms in Mario Kart.”
“YOU LISTEN TO DRAGON’S KEEP?!”
Jason started. “Really? Weird, Demon Brat.”
Dick scrunched up his nose. “Their music is so… angry!”
Steph snorted. “Duh, they have a lot to say! Anyway, Dami, answer the question!”
Damian scowled. “I don’t see why this is relevant to Mario Kart. But yes. The song about having to hide emotions for risk of being a disappointment spoke to me. Perhaps Richard is correct and the music is very “angry,” but I find myself to be a generally angry person.”
Jason snorted. “Mood.”
Steph squealed. “Who’s your bias and what’s your ship?”
“…What?”
“You and Jason both! Favorite and relationships you think they’re in.”
“Ah,” he hummed, “yes. Ruby. And… I assumed they were in a polyamorous relationship.”
“Your favorite is Ruby?!” Jason scoffed. “Didn’t think you were into drummers. Or is it because she’s the only girl?”
Damian sniffed. “She has much passion. I would think she would be your favorite as well, Todd, since her leather jacket seems to be your style.”
“Hell no, I’m a basic bitch; Dragon’s the front runner which means he’s the best. Steph, are you okay?”
She was vibrating.
“WHY DIDN’T I CONSIDER A POLYCULE?! OH MY GOD THIS OPEN SO MANY OPTIONS-!”
Jason huffed. “Dragpaz. I stand by it. Jesus, Timmy, is your controller broken? You never fall off the map this much.”
He coughed. “All good.”
“Maybe he’s like me and just doesn’t like the music,” Dick said, jabbing the buttons aggressively, “I dunno.”
“So Dick just has bad taste,” Steph said firmly, “but I didn’t think Tim knew much about them. Maybe he’s just listening too hard and can’t focus on the game. Maybe he took up my offer and listened-!”
“No,” he cut her off, “I mean, I… know their music. Dick, you don’t like them?”
“They…” he grimaced, “remind me of a version of myself I don’t like.”
“Oh,” he tried not to choke on his next inhale, “yeah, that… makes sense.”
“I’ve got Duke hooked,” Steph prattled, “and Babs said it’s not her genre but likes a couple of their songs. I loved that one on the Topaz album about losing everyone, only finding that one person they knew. Chills!”
Jason scowled. “Topaz album?”
“Yeah, the fourth one! That’s the featured gem on the album cover so people are calling it the Topaz album. Cobalt’s the fifth one, Ruby got sixth. Maybe we’ll get a Dragon album for the next one?”
Tim tried not to snort. Technically, they were all Dragon albums. The prominent gems on the album covers had just been for the one song they each got. The song Steph had been referencing was the actual Topaz song, about Bart coming back in time after everyone died and meeting a young Tim. Fun times (not).
“I win yet again,” Damian tossed aside his remote after just coming in first, Dick and Jason right behind, “Brown, perhaps you should play, to give the others a chance. It seems Drake is no longer interested in the game.”
“Ah,” he stood up abruptly, “yeah, just thinking about… a case. And work. I think I’ll call it a night.”
“Boo,” Steph pouted, but still scooped up his abandoned controller and settled into his vacated seat, “listen to them while you work! You’ll like them!”
“I’ll be okay,” he said weakly, “I kind of want to focus.”
On anything but this conversation, oh my god.
She booed him out of the room before devolving into cackles as the four of them started another race.
Jason and Steph had been bad enough (the person who could have been his brother but tried to kill him, and his ex), but now Damian too?! And Dick didn’t like them? That… Hurt more than Tim thought it would.
He sighed.
He really did have work to do, though.
Maybe it would distract him.
“Holy shit, is that unreleased merch?”
Tim jumped and cursed for letting Jason sneak up on him, shoving the shirt back into the box. Is this how it all came out? “It’s not what it looks like.”
Jason scoffed. “Sure it isn’t. Steph was wasting her time trying to get you to listen, wasn’t she?”
Tim swallowed. “Um, well, I didn’t want to say anything-”
“I still can’t believe you used your rich people powers to get advanced merch!”
He squinted. “What.”
Jason snickered. “If you were that much of a fan, Timbers, you could have just confessed. Steph’s just as bad.”
“Ah.”
“But you do have to share your unreleased merch, older brother tax.”
“Right.”
“Not what it looks like, my ass.”
“The merch is produced by Wayne Enterprises,” Tim mumbled, “so.”
Jason hummed. “Yeah, that would do it. What have you got?”
“Pr…ototypes? Mostly small accessories. And a shirt.”
“Alright, pass ‘em over, let’s see what we’ve got. Man, Steph and the Demon are going to be so jealous…”
Tim could not believe the density of his family, he really and truly couldn’t.
Tim sifted through his mail as they all poured over music sheets before clicking his tongue.
“Kon, laser this for me.”
His friend did it without hesitation and Tim brushed the ashes off his hands with contempt.
Cassie raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t even read it. Who’s the sender?”
“Ra’s.”
“He’s still harassing you?” Bart shuddered. “Dude, what did you even do to get his attention?”
“Took out a league base on my own a couple hours after he removed my spleen.”
Bart sputtered with laughter while Kon scowled.
“So what are the letters?”
Tim waved his hand back and forth. “Half recruitment offers, half flirting.”
“Isn’t he like, a million?” Bart looked nauseated.
“Yeah.”
“I would also burn those letters without reading them,” Cassie gagged, “that’s… disgusting.”
Tim smiled with no joy. “I don’t want to say it, but I think if he figured out a way to make a baby with no women involved, the flirting would turn into propositions. Which is worse.”
Bart slammed his hands down on the table and pushed off the sheet music. “Okay, emergency song about stalkers and age differences. The girls will eat it up.”
Tim gave a mirthless chuckle and twirled a pen, pulling out his notebook. “Let’s see… we can play up the dragon aspect…”
“Think that someone’s followed me, watched my every move, stalking my poor shadow like they’ve got something to prove…”
“You don’t get to steal me, I’m not a prize to be collected, if this is how you show affection I’d rather be neglected…”
“I’m not something shiny for you to try and keep, stop tracing all my footsteps and watching while I sleep…”
“Tim, he sent another letter.”
“Goddammit.”
“He said he’s flattered you wrote a song about him.”
“WHY DID YOU READ IT?!”
Tim might have gotten a little careless.
They were approaching their two year anniversary and he was trying to draft up the tour playlist and figure out how the hell he was going to manage to schedule around…everything else he had to do. If all else failed, he could do what he did before, simply say that he and his band team were going on a long term mission and give them wiggle room on one side or the other so that the dates didn’t line up perfectly, because that was asking for trouble, but Arkham had just been broken out of and that meant all hands on deck for up to the next four months depending on how far their rogues got. Which, of course, was about three months too long for this tour that he had been planning for two months already. Everything was almost finalized and tickets were set to go on sale next week. He couldn’t fuck this up.
So he might have been singing to himself while scribbling, walking around the music room that only he went into, and maybe he got a little louder than he thought he would because he wasn’t paying attention, and maybe this was all his fault.
“No.”
His head shot up and he made eye contact with Jason.
“What?”
Jason just stared and didn’t answer. “No.”
Tim tucked the notebook away. “No what? What happened?”
“No fucking way.”
He ran a hand through his hair and breathed out sharply. “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”
“There is no fucking way you’re Dragon.”
Tim stilled and then scoffed. “What are you talking about? The singer?”
“Timothy Dra- holy shit you didn’t even try.”
He felt his face flush a little. He knew that, but shut up. “Try what? You’re not making any sense, Jason.”
“Kon’s disguise is sunglasses?! How the hell does that work?!”
Tim swallowed. “What does Kon have to do with this?” Sure, he was probably busted, but maybe he could convince Jason he had been hearing things.
Jason snarled. “Fuck off, I’m not blind. You, Kon, Cassie, Bart. Your little team. Your band.”
“Wow,” Tim’s voice was probably getting higher pitched and damn did he not want to be cornered in a room with Jason anymore, could someone come pick him up please, “I dunno if we’d call ourselves a band-”
“Jesus Christ Tim, you sound just fucking like him, I thought you were just playing the music, not performing it! You were literally singing ‘Murdered Muse’!”
Tim winced. “Wow, ok, in hindsight that was probably the worst pick for you to listen to-”
“What?” Jason stopped short. “Why?”
Tim’s eyes widened. “No reason! Um, really, not quite sure what you’re talking about?”
Jason pinched the bridge of his nose. “I think we’re a little past that, Dragon.”
“Wow, look at the time, I really should be getting ready for patrol-”
“It’s four in the afternoon.”
“-CEO work to do-”
“You took a half day already.”
“Alfred might want help on dinner?”
Jason snorted. “You know I’m the only one he might even consider letting do that. Jesus, Timmy, I just can’t believe you fucking kept this from us. Who else knows? Did you just sit there listening to us talk about you?”
“Actually it weirded me out,” he scrunched up his nose, “especially when you and Steph started talking about shipping…”
Jason winced. “Yeah, fair. But why the fuck didn’t you tell us? Like, as soon as we started talking about it?”
Tim pushed down the fire. “Maybe I wanted to see how long it would take for you to fucking notice! It’s not like we hid our identities very hard! Kon just took off his shirt! Cassie’s wearing a hat, Bart’s just dressed differently! Oh, suddenly I change my hair and put on some eyeliner and I’m un-fucking-recognizable? If I needed a reason to start this shit again then that would do it!”
“Sorry we assumed that if you did something crazy like this you’d fucking tell us, dipshit!” Jason growled. “Don’t fucking pin this on us, for what, not noticing you? Didn’t think you were getting enough attention at home so you decided to give international fame a try? Jesus fucking Christ!”
“It started as goddamn therapy if you actually care,” Tim threw back, “because apparently repressing your thoughts and feelings has a negative impact on your mental health! And what was I supposed to do, talk to you people?! In this family?!”
Jason stood back a bit, folding his arms and inspecting Tim. He glared right back before throwing up his hands and storming past.
“I’m not having this conversation,” he growled over his shoulder, “what I do with my time is my business. It’s not my fault you’re so good at ignoring everyone else in this family.”
“What the fuck?! When the hell did you get this pissed, Tim?! You’ve always-”
“-Rolled over,” he scoffed, “yeah, I know! I have always, always sacrificed for everyone else! You think I like being the doormat, doing everything without complaint, following all the stupid rules and being perfect all the time?! Damian hurts someone and is let off with a warning that never gets followed up on, I hurt someone and have to sit through the stupid course on acceptable levels of violence! You fucking kill people and Bruce just gets the little dip in his brow and sighs! I don’t think Dick is even capable of doing something wrong in Bruce’s eyes, but me? Oho, nope, I have to be on top of everything, all the time! I have managed a company practically on my own since I was seventeen and does anyone care? No! So yeah, I’m pissed, because I already know that none of you actually give a damn, or think I’m competent-”
“Competent? What the hell,” Jason actually looked confused, which was rich, “why wouldn’t we think you’re competent?”
Tim stopped and stared at him with dead eyes. “I told you Bruce was still alive and you wanted to put me in Arkham. Forgive me if that’s not a ringing endorsement of your apparent opinions of me.”
He spun around again, trying everything to not break into a run. His heart was pounding in his ears and he knew that if Kon wasn’t listening before, he probably was now. Unless he was in the sound muffling room to work on his bass line.
“Tim! Goddammit, Tim, wait!”
“No,” he bit out, “absolutely not.”
“Earlier, what the hell did you mean ‘Murdered Muse’ wasn’t a good pick?”
Tim burst out laughing with no amusement and spun around.
“BECAUSE IT’S ABOUT YOU, JASON! ‘He’s been murdered, my muse is dead, that’s if he wasn’t just in my head!’ Do you know how fucking excited and relieved I was when I figured out you were alive again?! Finally, Robin, my Robin, could come back and take his rightful place again and I wouldn’t have to be the crutch holding Batman up! And then you tried to kill me. ”
He scoffed and ignored Jason’s blank face.
“Never meet your heroes, right?”
“Tim?”
He spun around. Shit, when had they made it to the living room? Why hadn't he noticed that most of the damn family was there?
“How,” Steph’s face was screwed up in confusion, “how is… ‘Murdered Muse’ about… Jason?”
Tim stared at her and breathed out. Whatever at this point, right? “Because I wrote it. ‘Can’t See Me’ is about literally this, how none of you really know what I’m like. Did you know I have a photography hobby I haven’t had time for between vigilante work and the company? Not to mention the band. I still have pictures of the city and her heroes from the days of Dick and Jason. The entire ‘Workforce Heroes’ album is about the company, actually, specifically the board and their garbage. That song from the Topaz album you like? That’s Bart’s song about the time travel. Cassie’s song on the Ruby album is the pressure of being perfect and living up to a legacy.”
“Wait,” Jason said weakly, “what about…”
Tim smiled sweetly. “Dark Indulgence? Your favorite song? Figured you’d like that one, even if you had no idea what it was about.”
Bruce furrowed his brow. “Tim, you… write music? That’s great.”
Tim pinched the bridge of his nose and ignored him. More of the same shit, anyway. “You guys remember when the evil Batman from an alternate timeline showed up? Yeah, I figured I was the only one who noticed, but that just proves me right, again. Because that Batman was me. So yeah, I know exactly what happens if I walk too close to the edge of the cliff.”
“This is ridiculous,” Damian scoffed, “you seem to be implying that you are a member of the Dragon’s Keep. We would notice such a thing, and I doubt you could produce such musicality.”
Tim rolled his eyes. “‘Ruin everything, just go bad, see the other side give it all I have!’ Need the rest of the song? Or maybe the one about dear old Ra’s?”
Damian stiffened. “What about Grandfather?”
Dick raised his hands. “Wait, wait, wait, Tim’s in that band you all like? The… the angry one? How would we have missed this?”
Tim rolled his eyes. “Because I’m the extra. The replacement. I sometimes disappear for days and you don’t notice, I could absolutely hide this from you. I got sloppy and that’s the only reason Jason figured it out. Figured, hey, why not just fucking tell everyone! Why not!”
“What song about Grandfather,” Damian demanded, “what did you mean?”
Tim pinched the bridge of his nose. “‘Not Your Treasure’. Ra’s has been stalking me since I was fifteen and I got tired of his semi-regular letters trying to recruit me. Or propose, I wouldn’t know, I stopped reading them years ago.”
Steph held a hand up. “I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. Why is he stalking you?”
Tim shrugged. “Pop quiz, which organ am I missing? I’ll give you a hint, Ra’s has it!”
Bruce was half standing. “You’re missing an organ?! Tim, do you need to go to the hospital-?”
Tim sighed. “It’s been missing for years, B. If I needed to go to the hospital I would have already. Anyway, no guesses? The correct answer was spleen! For a reason I don’t feel like getting into, Ra's removed it to save my life. As soon as I woke up he told me to join him, so I left and blew up his base on my way out.”
“Tim, you could have killed someone!”
Tim stared at Bruce. “Oh, there’s no ‘could have’ about it. I didn’t exactly stop to count, but the base was full of assassins. ‘Was’ being the key word.”
Damian was busy rebooting, so Tim just turned to Jason and gestured at Bruce, in a ‘do you see this shit’ manner.
Jason nodded slowly. “Ok, so you had a point about that whole violence thing. That one’s on me. But hey, we can bond over about apparent lack of qualms about murder…?”
Tim pinched the bridge of his nose. “I have to get the last tour details sorted. Oh, right, since people are actually aware, I don’t have to use the team mission pretense. Hi, next month I’m leaving! We’ll be gone for a month! Tickets go on sale next week, we have new merch and are debuting the new album, ‘Caustic Secrets’! Bye!”
He stormed out of the room and didn’t look back once. At least they’d have something to talk about at dinner.
He successfully avoided everyone until he could hide on the tour bus. Tickets sold out in most locations within two hours and they were all set.
Kon was getting a song on this new album, ‘I’m Not You’, and they were all excited about it, Bart most of all. As far as Tim could tell, the other four knew what had happened at the manor, but no one was bringing it up, and Tim was ignoring all of their text messages. It was tour time, the only phone he had on him was his band phone, all green and black and nothing like his personal phone.
Bart was painting everyone’s nails in their traditional concert routine, and Cassie’s drying fingernails mimicked her drum lines.
“I’m so glad you know how to write a drum line,” Tim said for probably the four hundredth time, “because I’m good at doing a pattern but…”
She huffed. “I know. Your patterns are good, they just get monotonous after a while. It’s fine. You stitch words together just fine. Let us handle our own parts and you handle yours. Kon can you fix my hair before Bart gets you?”
“Course,” Kon snorted, “but you know he’s fast enough that he’s going to be done in about thirty seconds?”
Cassie shrugged. “Sure. You do the best hair, though.”
“Braid crown?”
“Yeah, no hat this time, so I can. The ruby hair pins are really nice.”
“Red’s a good color on you,” Bart crooned, “we all picked excellent colors! I’m glad we’re playing up the jewelry aspect this tour, we all look so pretty! And of course they’re all real, Tim.”
He shrugged one shoulder so he didn’t disrupt the nail painting. “I’m not going to use fake gems on you guys. Besides, they’re all lab grown anyway.”
“Oh good, we’ll match,” Kon snickered, immediately getting hit from three sides.
The first stop on their tour was bustling with people and teeming with fans, but all of the equipment was set up and the entire thing went off without a hitch. They breezed through their songs and ended with Kon’s, the new one they were using to kick start the hype for the new album. Each location would have one of the new songs, ending in the seventh location, Gotham, and finishing up the album. The rest of the songs they performed would be a mix of the other albums, but that meant that each location had a unique and special concert.
The moment they entered Tim’s home city, his nerves tingled.
He hadn’t meant to switch the playlists up last minute, but this was home. The concert had to be more than the others. Twenty songs, including some important ones.
“Not the Man You’re Looking For” for Dick.
“Murdered Muse” for Jason.
“Middle Schoolers (Don’t Deserve Rights)” for Damian, the little shit.
“Bubbly (Not Meant to Be)” for Steph.
“Can’t See Me” and “Missing Pictures” for himself.
And finally, the last song on their newest album “Hiding in Plain Sight”, for all of them.
He managed to make it through his songs, the entire concert lasting two hours, and then it was over. The month-long tour was finished. All they had to do now was the backstage meet and greet and then Tim would go back to his regular work for the next several months, business as usual.
Cassie smiled around the rose she was holding up to her face and mocking Bart with.
“I’m just a lady killer,” she taunted, “I’ve gotten way more flowers than you.”
Bart scowled. “Coby got way more!”
She waved him off. “Cobalt doesn't count. Flowers Georg.”
Kon looked mildly alarmed. “Am I eating them?”
Tim snickered. “Thirty seconds to get your shit together, guys. Make sure all your accessories are pinned down, we don’t want a repeat of Star City.”
Bart shuddered. “They got way too handsy. I was almost glad they were after the jewels instead of anything else.”
The clamor of their fans approached and they all smiled instinctively, ready to greet people. Everyone had their favorites, so it was mostly evenly divided, people switching between. It was a lot of schmoozing and autograph signing, but they were all well practiced in their personas and interacting with fans.
“Hey.”
He froze.
“I gotta say,” Jason stretched as Steph eagerly handed her CD case over to be signed, practically bouncing, “I think I have to change my, what was it, bias? Yeah, to Ruby.”
Tim snorted. “You just like her mom.”
“Well I’ll never live it down if you’re my bias, so-”
“Give up, Todd,” Damian scoffed, “your favoritism has long since been revealed. Identity should not influence your choice. Even if you are seeing the superior band member at last.”
“Topaz is still my favorite,” Steph waved at the gold clad member in question, who was looking a little bewildered, “but you’re pretty cool too! Is Bubbly mine?!”
Tim laughed quietly. “Figured that out, did you?”
“Do not let her fool you,” Damian rolled his eyes, “she spent the past month obsessively relistening to previous albums trying to determine their inspirations.”
She snickered. “So did you!”
“We all did,” Jason noogied them both to loud protests, “shut up. More of us were going to come,” he looked up at Tim, “but tickets sold fast and we only managed to get three. Duke and Dick said we should be the ones to go, the original fans.”
“You didn’t have to,” he said quietly, “I know we didn’t exactly part on… speaking terms?”
“We were already talking about buying tickets,” Steph pouted, “and besides, that just meant we had to come! The only reason we didn’t show up to every single concert on the tour was because it turns out Gotham was the only one that didn’t sell out in ten minutes and we refused to buy the upcharged, ten thousand dollar tickets that were being resold.”
Kon choked from five feet away from them and Tim blinked. “That is a… substantial increase.”
She shrugged. “They got bought pretty quick too. Stans are insane.”
“Coming from a Rupaz stan,” Bart called over, “that means nothing!”
She groaned. “I didn’t know! I’m sorry! And Jason was worse!”
Jason groaned as all four band members chorused, “We know.”
Damian sniffed. “Congratulations on your two year anniversary, Dra…Dragon.”
Tim smiled. “Thanks. Middle schooler.”
Jason barked out a laugh. “Yeah, that one was my favorite. Gonna have that on repeat.”
Damian furrowed his brow. “I do not understand. I am a middle schooler, it is true, but aside from the song about stripping our human rights, which I agree with for all of my classmates, they are true degenerates-”
Tim sighed, letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, and smiled softly.
Maybe Dinah had a point about this whole music therapy thing.