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‘Dick that’s not gonna work.’
‘It works in the movies, Tim.’
‘This is perfect. Absolutely fucking perfect. I can’t imagine a better way to spend my morning.’
‘I presume you are being facetious but just in case you are not I want you to know that I would rather be skewered, boiled, and eaten alive than be stuck in here with you.’
On the last Friday of every month, Wayne Enterprises abandoned its dull canteen breakfast of toast or fruit - or in Tim’s case, three cups of coffee - in favor of baked delicacies from a little patisserie in central Gotham, courtesy of Bruce Wayne himself.
The frankly mouthwatering assortment of pastries, brioche, and sweet muffins was always more than delicious enough to justify arriving at WE a couple of hours early to wait in the top-floor office and have guaranteed first pick of the goods.
It had become somewhat of a routine for Tim. Arrive early. Attempt some school readings. Eat a heavenly, luscious, too-good-for-this-world blueberry muffin. Before starting the workday.
Which was why he wasn’t surprised when he’d turned up in the early hours of that morning to find the three of them waiting in the elevator of the otherwise desolate building. As he said, it was routine.
Except they typically left after eating their fill and, rather than using the hours of waiting to be productive, he was certain they’d made it their mission to distract him from school work by any means possible.
‘Brothers,’ he’d greeted from behind his coffee cup as he’d entered the elevator and swiped his card on the control panel. They’d responded as normal; Jason with no more than a tired growl, Dick with a too-bright grin, and Damian with a dramatic eye roll.
The elevator had gone up and Tim’s stomach had swooped, his coffee cup jerking with the motion.
He’d tuned out Dick’s idle chatter and Jason’s incessant pleading for the older boy to shut the fuck up. He’d even managed to brush off Damian’s judgemental glare (the brat was dressed in his Gotham Academy uniform and the adorableness of the slightly too-big blazer and long white socks really mellowed out whatever piercing glower he was aiming for).
He’d sipped at the last of his coffee absently and tried to think over his essay plan for Othello. His lips had quirked up, perhaps Jason’s presence would actually be useful this morning-
And then the elevator had come to a screeching, jolting, shuddering stop.
That was about 60 seconds ago.
‘It’s hard to take you seriously, baby bat. Your school uniform is just so adorable. You’re so small. So cute-’
There was a snarl, ‘perhaps it will look cuter drenched in your blood, Todd.’
Tim took a deep breath, ‘look, it’s okay just- Dick,’ he shouted, cutting himself off. The older boy was balanced precariously on a decorative railing, two hands raised above his head as he attempted to push a panel out of the ceiling, ‘get down from there, you’re gonna hurt yourself.’
‘Don’t worry, Timmy. I’m not gonna fall-’
‘At least he’s doing something to get us out,’ Jason defended.
‘Richard, as much as I resent to admit it. I have to agree with Drake. I do not believe the railing will be able to hold your weight for much longer-’
‘We don’t need to do anything to get out, Jason,’ Tim snapped, ‘it’s-’
‘-perhaps you should let me try?’
‘No, Damian,’ Tim said firmly, ‘no one needs to-’
‘Don’t worry, Dami. I’m fine.’
‘Yeah, let Dickie handle it and we’ll be-’
‘No,’ Tim yelled, letting the elevator fall silent before taking a deliberately slow breath and continuing, ‘as I have been trying to say,’ he shot a glare at Jason, ‘we don’t need to do anything. Sometimes it stops for a minute and then it gets going again. It’s been like it for about a week. The engineers are coming on Monday,’ he exhaled.
There was a moment of stillness. Jason sank down to the floor, Damian mumbled something about incompetence under his breath and Dick lowered himself a little (not all the way but enough for Tim to relax slightly).
He felt awkward in the silence. The strain of it made him antsy. The elevator usually started up again after a minute or two. His eyes darted between his brothers’ impatient expressions and tight postures, lingering on Jason’s foot tapping restlessly against the elevator floor.
‘Okay,’ he said slowly, ‘this is taking longer than-’
Jason let out a string of profanities. Dick launched himself back up, slamming at the ceiling. Damian dropped to his knees, pushing the intercom button and yelling into the speaker.
Tim took a deep breath. He examined the control panel. Easy to get into. Shouldn’t be a difficult fix. He moved over to the doors and knocked. Hollow. They’d reached the top floor. He just needed to get the doors open.
‘Dames,’ he said softly, ‘that’s not gonna work. There’s no one in reception.’
Damian tutted, scowled, and continued shouting into the speaker as if Tim had never spoken.
Tim pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes and tried to think. He could mess around with the control panel and get the doors open but only if everyone would shut up for long enough to let him actually try.
Jason was laughing behind him, loud and incredulous. Dick was thumping his hands into the ceiling hard enough to make the elevator shake. Damian was hurling insults at the empty reception.
Tim clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and groaned.
‘Dick, that’s not gonna work,’ he snapped, ‘And Jason, what the fuck is so funny?’ the boy’s laughter was ringing between Tim’s ears and it was too early in the morning for this.
‘Damian,’ he growled all semblance of calm lost, ‘No one can hear you. No one is there.’ There was a loud thump and-
‘Dick, we’ve reached the top floor and if I have to tell you one more time that’s not gonna work then I’ll kill you.’
‘If I can just loosen this a little,’ Dick explained, fingers clawing at the panel, ‘then I’ll be able to-’
‘You’ll be able to what?’ Tim cut him off, folding his arms, ‘Sit in the overhead? We’re at the top floor.’
‘I assure you my father will hear of this incompetence,’ Damian screeched into the speaker at the empty reception.
Tim fought the urge to stamp his feet and scream while Jason-
‘Why are you laughing?’ Tim shrieked, ‘What’s funny about this? Enlighten me. Please. I’m begging.’
‘Seriously?’ Jason raised an eyebrow, lips raised in a cynical grin, ‘we’re stuck in an elevator. Us. We can barely resist killing each other when we’re not trapped in a literal box. Do you want me to list everything that’s funny about that?’
‘Yes,’ Tim deadpanned.
‘Do you have all day?’
‘Well, we need to fill the time somehow-’
Something creaked. There was a gasp. Metal clanging against metal. And then the railing snapped and Dick hit the floor with a dull thud.
‘Dickie!’
‘Richard!’
Tim’s heart leaped into his throat.
The older boy curled into himself, clutching his side with a groan.
‘I’m okay,’ Dick wheezed, pausing to catch his breath, ‘I’m fine-’ he gestured to the panels, ‘s’not gonna work though.’
Tim’s jaw set.
‘I promise I’m fine-
‘I don’t want to say I told you-’
‘-except,’ Dick continued slowly, ‘I’m fine except- ’
‘Except?’ Tim repeated flatly.
Dick’s eyes shifted between his brothers and he grimaced before reluctantly removing his hands from his side-
Tim groaned. Blood. Dick had blood soaking through his light blue t-shirt.
Jason threw his head back against the elevator wall with a moan. Damian jerked forward and examined the wound.
‘It’s fine,’ Dick repeated and Tim had to resist the urge to throttle him, ‘nothing basic first aid won’t fix.’
‘We don’t have basic first aid,’ Tim gritted.
‘Nothing that won’t be fine until basic first aid is available,’ Dick corrected with a petulant glower.
‘See, Timbo,’ Jason scoffed, ‘This is why I was laughing.’
Tim glared at Jason before scrubbing a hand down his face with a sigh.
‘How is it, Damian?’ he asked.
Tim could probably get the doors open in under an hour. Dick wouldn’t have to wait long.
‘Why don’t you look for yourself?’ Damian challenged and Tim was abruptly reminded that the brat was a twelve year old. An annoying, stubborn, unhelpful twelve year old.
‘Do you know how expensive this suit is?’ Tim asked, indignant, ‘I am not getting it covered in Dick’s blood.’
‘Aw. I’m glad that I mean so much to you, Timmy,’ Dick drawled.
‘I told you not to do it,' Tim hissed, ‘I said it wasn’t going to-’
‘Richard is fine,’ Damian sat back on his heels, ‘it’s just a flesh wound he’s being dramatic.’
Dick gaped.
‘Okay,’ Tim breathed, shoulders untensing, ‘that’s good. I think I can get us-’
‘Dramatic?’ Dick sounded bewildered and Tim groaned. He could get them out of here if they’d just let him speak .
‘I said I was fine-’
‘I know this is difficult for you, Dick. But if you could stop being a drama queen for one second I might be able to get us-’
‘What! Drama queen? How-’
Jason snorted, ‘we’ve been stuck in here for five minutes and Dickhead’s already bleeding out.’
‘I’m not bleeding out! How am I being called dramatic when Jason is-’
'Please,’ Tim interrupted, ‘just give me a minute to speak,’ the elevator fell silent and Tim took a deep, relieved breath. ‘We’re not stuck between floors so we just need to get the doors open. I think I can do that if everyone calms down for long enough for me to adjust the control panel. Just to be safe, if anyone has food or water then we should save-’
There was a crinkling sound to his left and Tim paused. He turned slowly, clenching his fists as Dick started shouting something while Damian spouted insults and-
Jason finished the entire bottle of water in four gulps. Plastic crumpling beneath his fingers.
‘Little wing! What the-’
‘Todd, you imbecile-’
‘What?’ he asked, tossing the water bottle aside with a shrug.
Damian’s yelling became shrieking and Dick’s voice lilted in disbelief and-
‘Asshole,’ Tim breathed.
Jason turned to look at him with narrowed eyes.
‘You nearly killed me in Titan’s Tower and drinking that water is still the shittiest thing you've ever done.’
‘Why?’ Jason challenged, ‘I was thirsty. You said you’re getting us out of here. Consider it a display of my faith in you.’
‘You’re trying to cause problems-’
‘I am not. Why should I sacrifice my water? Sacrifice your precious coffee.’
‘It’s empty.’
‘How?’ Jason snorted, ‘it’s been five min-’
‘I didn’t plan to get stuck in an elevator!’
‘Exactly!’ Jason said simply, like that explained everything. Tim clenched and unclenched his fists.
‘Exactly?’ he gritted.
‘You didn’t plan to get stuck in an elevator-’
‘Is there an echo in-’
‘-so what I’m hearing is. This is all your fault.’
‘Because I didn’t plan to get stuck in an elevator?’ Tim clarified flatly.
‘Because you didn’t plan to get stuck in an elevator,’ Jason agreed with a smirk.
Tim’s teeth pressed together and he pursed his lips.
Then he threw the empty travel cup at Jason’s chest.
‘Fuck you, Jason,’ Tim took an angry step forward.
‘Someone’s feeling brave,’ Jason sneered and met him in the middle.
‘Stop it. Stop it. Stop it,’ Dick pleaded from where he was curled up on the floor. Tim ignored him.
‘I’m not scared of you, Jason.’
‘I wonder how long that’ll last-’
‘Stop it. Stop it,’ Dick yelled, ‘Damian, stand between them.’
‘No,’ Damian replied, voice firm and slightly amused.
‘Long enough for you to realize that you don’t have a way out of here without me.’
‘I’m sure I’ll mana-’
‘Stop,’ Dick screeched before pausing to catch his breath. Tim’s scowl deepened and Jason raised an eyebrow in a challenge.
‘Look. Timmy, you said you could get us out of here so do it. Jason, calm down. You can’t kill Tim in the elevator there’s nowhere to run. You’ll be caught. Damian, stop smiling. Your brothers aren’t entertainment.’
There was a moment of silence and then Jason rolled his eyes, shoulders relaxing.
‘You’re too easy to wind up, Timmers,’ Jason laughed. He reached out to ruffle Tim’s hair and the younger boy batted his hand away with a glare.
Tim didn’t grace the older boy with a response. He just turned on his heel and knelt by the control panel. Behind him, he heard Jason slump against the wall and felt a pang of sympathy. Being trapped in a tightly cramped elevator was better than being trapped in a coffin six feet under. But it was still similar enough to make Tim’s stomach flip.
He used his access card to lever up the metal and examined the wires underneath. It wasn’t too hard to understand. He just had to rewire the emergency stop button, adjust a few switches, reroute the system so that the doors opened instead of locked. It wasn’t difficult. Just tedious.
Tim took a moment to flex his fingers before-
‘What’s taking you so long?’ Jason sniped, ‘some of us have things to do today.’
Tim groaned and spun to face Jason.
‘You’re picking fights because you’re scared,’ Tim said, voice firm albeit desperate. He didn’t give Jason a chance to protest before continuing. ‘I promise I’m gonna get us out of here. Please, shut the fuck up for a second, okay?’
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to the other boy.
‘It’s a game,’ he explained when the loading screen started up, ‘you put the colors in order. It calms me down when I’m stressed.’
Jason swallowed before giving Tim a small smile. It was wobbly, the bravado from before lost.
‘You got it, baby bird,’ he said quietly.
Tim nodded his thanks and turned back to the panel.
He got to work quickly, using the access card to remove more of the panel so that he could reach further in. He could hear Dick’s soft murmurs of discomfort and Damian’s deep breathing and the bright music from the game on his phone. Tim smiled slightly. The game was the perfect distraction and Tim would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little pleased-
‘Brat’s quiet,’ Jason mused and Tim glanced over to the youngest boy.
He was sitting in the corner, legs folded, eyes closed. He looked at ease and it made Tim’s stomach squirm uncomfortably.
‘You okay, kiddo?’ Dick asked softly.
Damian tutted.
‘I am fine, Richard. This is not difficult for me. I have trained for worse.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Tim could hear the sharpness in Jason’s voice.
Damian opened his eyes, expression the picture of unimpressed.
‘It means that I can withstand being confined in spaces much smaller than this, for much longer, with much worse company. The League does not tolerate weakness, Todd .’
The elevator fell silent and Tim’s heart tugged. Two of his brothers were far too acquainted with being trapped in small spaces and Tim forced his hands to move faster.
‘Damian,’ Dick said slowly, ‘if you don’t come here and let me hold you right now then I’ll come to you.’
Damian didn’t move and Dick sighed.
‘Fine,’ he warned, ‘this will hurt me.’
The older boy barely stifled a groan as he shifted and Tim rolled his eyes. He’d barely moved an inch before Damian acquiesced.
‘Stay still, Richard. You moron,’ he snapped but the words lacked bite and the younger boy moved to lean against Dick’s bent legs.
‘You’re soft, Dames. He’s manipulating you,’ Jason snorted.
Damian just snarled and Dick grinned and-
It was all really fucking cute actually. A small smile played on Tim’s lips as he turned back to the control panel.
He tuned out the three of them talking behind him. It was a gentler conversation now. Less panic fuelled. It made it easy for Tim to focus on the task at hand.
Adjusting the wires was methodical and repetitive. The action calmed his twitchy nerves. At this rate, he could probably get them out of here within the next half-
‘Give me your phone,’ Jason demanded, interrupting Tim’s thoughts.
‘No way-’
‘Tim’s phone is dead. Please give me yours.’
‘What if we need to call someone?’ Dick challenged, voice stubborn.
‘We have no signal, Dickhead. Now, give me your-’
‘No, Jason. We need at least one-’
‘Dick,’ Tim snapped, annoyed, ‘I’m trying to work. Let the child play games on your phone.’
‘Child?’ Jason scoffed, ‘you’re literally pint-sized, Timmy.’
Tim made a face and stuck out his tongue. Dick handed his phone to Jason stiffly.
‘Thank you,’ Jason drawled. His triumphant grin faltered when he looked down at the screen.
‘How the fuck are you only on 30 percent?’
‘Fuck you,’ Dick complained, ‘you’ve got my phone. What more do you want?’
‘Dude, seriously. Do you not charge your phone overnight?’
‘Why don’t you have your own phone?’ Dick snapped.
‘My phone is being repaired,’ Jason replied slowly, voice lilting with scorn, ‘I smashed it the other day, remember? When I nearly died on patrol. Which would’ve been the second time you’d let me die. Some big brother you are.’
Tim didn’t need to look away from the control panel, he could imagine the pitiful expression on Jason’s face well enough. He rolled his eyes.
‘You don’t need to guilt-trip me,’ Dick managed, exasperated, ‘I already gave you my phone.’
There was a moment of silence and then-
‘Yeah, my bad. Sorry,’ Jason shrugged. Then he groaned, voice morphing into something frustrated, ‘I can’t believe I wasted my daily guilt trip on that. How am I gonna get the last blueberry muffin now?’
‘There might not be any blueberry muffins left by the time we get out of here,’ Tim grumbled under his breath.
‘Do not joke, Drake,’ Damian warned.
‘Seriously. The kid’s right,’ Jason paused, ‘what do you mean by that? Are things going slower than expected? Because that’s gonna be a problem.’
Tim sighed, ‘no. It’s going fine. I’m just struggling to reach- Wait,’ Tim narrowed his eyes skeptically, ‘what do you mean by that?’
Jason mumbled something incoherent under his breath and Tim swiveled around, squinting at him.
‘What was that?’ Tim asked sharply.
Jason’s cheeks turned a dusty pink and he mumbled again, slightly louder but still indecipherable.
‘What?’
‘I can’t hear you,’ Dick sighed, exasperated.
‘Speak up, Todd.’
‘I said I need to take a leak,’ Jason glared down at the phone fixedly.
‘Fuck you-’ Tim managed.
‘You’re an idiot, little wing.’
‘-you understand that this is why I said not to drink the water?’
‘Well, at least we have a bottle-’
‘No,’ Tim said sharply.
‘Don’t you dare-’
‘Do it, Todd. And I’ll personally introduce your eyes to all of your internal organs.’
‘Jesus fucking christ. Fine,’ Jason rolled his eyes but he had the decency to look somewhat apologetic, ‘just get us out of here, Timmy.’
Tim glanced between his brothers. His eyes lingered on the blood pooling beneath Dick and his nose wrinkled in distaste.
‘Dick,’ he said turning back to the control panel, ‘if you get blood on my pants - or anything, actually - I’ll be really annoyed.’
‘What?’ Dick scoffed, ‘you want me to control it?’
Tim hummed, ‘if you don’t mind, thanks.’
‘If you don’t mind, thanks,’ Dick mocked.
Tim ignored him, focussing on trying to reach one of the wires hidden behind the top panel. His forearm disappeared entirely into the mechanism as he scrambled around for it. It was pretty much the last one. Then they’d be out. Ten more minutes, maximum.
Jason groaned from behind him.
‘Great. Dickhead’s phone is dead. Damian-’
There was a snarl. ‘No.’
Tim ignored them. If he could just reach a little further-
‘Shut up, Jay,’ Dick snapped, ‘I could do without hearing your whining-’
‘Seriously, Dickie? I think I have plenty to whine about. I’m stuck in an elevator with the three of you for starters. You’re bleeding-’
‘Ah, awesome. He’s listing things,’ Dick’s cynicism was unmistakable, ‘Could he get any whinier?’
Tim rolled his eyes and reached further. His heart skipped triumphantly when he grasped the wire.
‘-out. Tim is taking forever. I really need to piss-’
‘Shut up, Jason. Oh my god-’
‘-Two out of three phones are dead. Damian’s a stubborn brat-’
‘-You’re killing me. Your voice is actually killing me. Could this get any worse?’
Tim’s eyes fluttered closed and he took a deep, calming breath.
‘I’m stuck,’ he stated simply.
The elevator fell silent.
‘Excuse me?’
‘My arm is stuck behind the panels,’ Tim gave it an experimental tug but his wrist was trapped between two jutting out pieces of metal. His entire forearm disappeared behind the elevator panel.
‘You’re joking,’ Damian said slowly, voice a threat.
Jason rounded on Dick, ‘You had to fucking ask, didn’t you?’
‘Yes, Damian. I’m joking, ’ Tim hissed, ‘I hold my arm like this for fun.’
‘Are you sure it’s stuck?’ Tim didn’t have a chance to reply before Jason continued, ‘let me check.’
‘No,’ he said firmly.
Jason ignored him and shuffled forward.
‘Jason, I said no. It’s definitely stuck. You’ll break my wrist.’
‘I won’t break your wrist,’ Jason rolled his eyes and moved closer.
‘Jason, no-’
‘I’m just going to check-’
‘No. Stop,’ Tim’s ordered sternly, ‘Stop right there-’
Jason’s eyes narrowed and he inched closer.
‘Jason-’
‘What?’
‘Stop right now. Or I’ll bite you.’
Jason wavered but he still leaned forward.
‘I will bite you, Jason,’ Tim promised, ‘come near me and I’ll bite you. I mean it.’
Jason’s face hardened but he stopped. He turned on Damian.
‘Give me your phone.’
‘No.’
Jason’s eyes flashed, ‘give it to me or I’ll panic.’
‘Go ahead,’ Damian hissed, shoulders squaring and chin jutting out in a dare.
‘That wouldn’t end well for you, brat.’
‘You overestimate your abilities, Todd.’
Jason scoffed, ‘wanna bet?’
‘You want to lose money as well as your pride?’ Damian sneered.
‘Stop,’ Dick ordered, voice exasperated. He wasn’t clutching at the wound anymore, leaving it to bleed sluggishly onto the elevator floor. Tim grimaced and shifted his legs to the side, watching the blood trickle towards him with narrowed eyes.
‘No fighting in the elevator,’ Dick’s voice was bored.
‘No need,’ Jason grinned, ‘Tim, give me your tie.’
Damian squinted at the other boy and a surprised smile played on Tim’s lips. He reached up to loosen his tie.
Tim fixed Jason a look.
‘I’m only doing this because I remember when you did it to me and I’m dying to see the demon try,’ he handed over the fabric with a smirk.
‘Not again,’ Dick groaned.
‘Come here. Hold out your hands,’ Jason commanded and Damian did as he was told. He shot Tim a smug glare as Jason tied the fabric tightly around his wrists. Effectively binding them together.
‘What, Drake? You couldn’t escape?’ he scoffed, ‘I am not surprised,’ Jason secured the final knot and Damian returned to his corner.
‘Give me ten minutes,’ he boasted confidently.
Jason hummed under his breath.
‘Sure, baby bat,’ he reached out and slipped Damian’s phone from his pocket with a grin.
Damian’s nose wrinkled.
‘You will give that back when I get out of this.’
Jason chuckled, ‘I’ll give you anything you want if you can get out of that, little one.’
Damian snarled at the nickname but he didn’t say anything else. He focussed intently on loosening the restraints.
Tim’s lips curled into a small smile. There was no way Damian was getting out of that and-
He almost groaned. Tim was going to have to buy a new tie.
‘Damian,’ Jason sounded incredulous, ‘how are there no games on your phone?’
‘I am not a child. I do not need distractions,’ Damian snapped.
Jason scoffed, ‘you try getting buried then we’ll see how you like small spaces.’
‘I told you I have been trained- ’
‘No one is burying anyone,’ Dick interrupted.
‘You’re right. We’ll die in here first.’
Tim rolled his eyes, ‘we’re not gonna die in here, Jason.’
‘How do you know? You were stupid enough to get your arm stuck-’
‘Excuse me? At least I tried-’
‘No one is dying-’
‘You’re the one bleeding out, Dickhead-’
‘Todd, how did you tie these knots? Why am I unable to-’
‘I am not bleeding out-’
Tim tuned out their arguing and turned to Damian.
‘Damian, you’re not gonna get out,’ he said, scornfully.
‘I am better than you, Drake,’ Damian hissed before turning back to the intercom and trying again, ‘if anyone is there then-’
‘There’s no one in reception,’ Tim yelled, ‘it’ll be hours before-’
‘There is no harm in trying-’
Something shifted to his side.
‘Jason,’ Tim shrieked, ‘Did you think I was joking when I said I’d bite you?’
‘I just want to check-’
Something wet touched Tim’s pant leg and-
‘Dick,’ he snapped, ‘could you please keep your blood on your side on the elevator.’
‘I’d like to keep my blood inside my body but-’
‘And who’s fault is- Jason, I will bi-’
‘Let me check!’
The voices merged into incoherent shouts. Beneath it all was a small voice.
‘Hello. If anyone is there I would like to request assistance. We are trapped inside the elevator on the top floor. There are four of us. Please call the emergency services, locate Bruce Wayne, and bring a first aid kit.’
‘What time is it?’
There was a moment of silence and then-
‘I thought we agreed on no talking.’
Jason glared at Dick.
‘I’m bored of no talking,’ he hissed.
Dick rolled his eyes and looked away pointedly.
Jason muttered something and slumped back against the wall. Damian scowled intently at his bound wrists. Tim couldn’t feel his arm. Hadn’t been able to for a while now. It was beyond frustrating.
‘How long have we been here?’ Jason asked and Tim groaned.
‘I don’t know, Jason. We don’t have any phones.’
‘What about-’
‘No one wears a watch,’ he cut Jason off.
Jason glowered, ‘I thought at least you or the brat would-’
‘No one wears a watch,’ he repeated tersely.
Jason opened his mouth and then closed it again, expression drooping. Tim’s heart tugged in sympathy. He sighed softly.
‘Look, Jay. It’s-’ A clanging sound interrupted him. His breath caught and his eyes darted across three equally surprised expressions.
‘I can hear voices,’ Damian gasped and pressed his ear to the doors.
Tim banged against the metal.
‘Hello,’ he yelled, ‘is anyone there? We’re stuck in here.’
There was a moment of silence and something hopeful flickered in Tim’s chest.
‘Hello,’ a voice drifted through the doors, ‘reception called us. We’re working on getting you out now. The doors should be open in a couple of minutes.’
Tim watched everyone melt in relief and allowed himself to slump backward. He untensed for what felt like the first time in hours. Damian’s expression morphed into something smug and Tim rolled his eyes.
‘Yes, Damian. They got your message. Well done.’
‘I did tell you that there was no harm in-’
‘Yes. Well, perhaps if you’d actually left the intercom alone for a second or two they’d have been able to respond-’
‘Don’t be mean!’ Dick cut him off, indignant, ‘Dami got us out of here you should be thanking him.’
‘I literally just said well done.’
‘Sarcastically,’ Jason raised his eyebrows.
‘You haven’t said anything,’ Tim challenged. He moved to fold his arms and then he remembered. He almost groaned.
‘Thanks, baby bat,’ Jason said before fixing Tim a pointed glare, ‘is that what you-’
The doors made a grinding sound and Jason lurched to his feet.
‘Bathroom?’ he asked, bouncing on his toes as he waited for the doors to open.
‘Left. Three offices down. Then a right,’ Tim informed him, heart pattering fast against his ribcage. They were getting out. They were actually getting-
The doors slid open.
The first thing that Bruce noticed when he arrived at WE was the distinct lack of people. He took the stairs to the top floor, peering into empty hallways and offices. Even the canteen was empty. His eyebrows pinched in confusion. It was a Friday. The canteen was never empty on-
Voices drifted from the top floor and he took the stairs two at a time.
There was a small gathering of people in the lobby, muttering and whispering and-
There were two firefighters stood by the elevator. Something that looked like a lever had been strapped to the gate in an effort to manipulate the lock.
Bruce’s eyes narrowed. He wove to the front of the crowd carefully until he was close enough to hear what was going on.
‘Hello,’ one of the firefighters spoke calmly through the gate, ‘reception called us. We’re working on getting you out now. The doors should be open in a couple of minutes.’
His eyebrows shot up in surprise. And then, just as quickly as it had come, it morphed into something cautious. Suspicion settled heavy in his chest and he scrubbed a hand down his face wearily.
It was a Friday.
With every passing second Bruce was becoming increasingly certain that he knew exactly who he was going to see when the doors opened.
He let his eyes flutter closed. Please be safe. Please be unharmed. No, he didn’t even care about unharmed, he’d settle for alive-
The doors shifted and his eyes snapped open. He inhaled slowly. Flexing his fingers. Taking a step forward. The doors opened and-
Jason slammed into him and Bruce stumbled back. The boy didn’t stop, sprinting out of the lobby and down the corridor.
‘Sorry, old man,’ he yelled over his shoulder, ‘but I really gotta go.’
Bruce stared after him bewildered before turning back to the elevator. No one else had exited and his jaw tightened. He pressed a hand, gentle but firm, to one of the firefighter’s shoulders and stepped into the elevator.
His brain faltered.
Fingers came up to pinch the bridge of his nose and he took a deep, whistling breath.
Okay. They were okay. Just-
His mouth parted but no words came out. He just stared at them in shock.
His youngest son was scrunched into the corner, wrists bound tightly together with- was that Tim’s tie? He stared up at Bruce with wide eyes and tugged at the restraints in what might have been embarrassment.
Tim - Bruce inhaled shakily - Tim had his arm lodged awkwardly inside of the elevator panels, his suit pants drenched in something red. The boy gave him a sheepish wave and he returned it numbly before twisting to face-
His eldest was stretched out, a wide grin on his face, blood soaking through his t-shirt, onto the floor, and trickling towards Tim’s-
Blood? He dropped to the floor beside Dick, hands fluttering over the wound.
‘Good morning, B,’ Dick said brightly, ‘are there any blueberry muffins left?’
‘What happened?’ Bruce managed, voice low.
Dick swallowed, mouth sealing shut and Bruce glanced at the other two only to see them staring conveniently at the ground.
He suppressed a sigh. Why had he let himself expect a simple Friday morning? When was anything ever simple?
He gestured at the group of concerned staff waiting to help to come in before fixing each of his sons with a look.
‘We are discussing this later.’
There was a lot of bickering, a couple of meaningful glares, some arguing with first aid professionals that made Bruce raise his eyebrows but it wasn’t too long before he was standing in his office; door locked. Arms folded. Eyes drifting between each of his sons wearily.
Dick was sprawled out on the couch. His torso was wrapped and he typed furiously on his phone, stretching the charging cable taught across the coffee table.
Jason sat on Bruce’s desk. He picked eagerly at a selection of pastries, occasionally offering input on whatever Tim was doing with Bruce’s computer and his bank card. Bruce resisted the urge to sigh.
Tim had changed out of his bloody pants and into some too-big sweats that he’d found in the cabinet but not without grumbling. Something about stupidity and acrobats and living up to a namesake.
Damian was- Well-
‘Damian, do you want me to cut that?’ Bruce sighed tiredly for the third time in the last half an hour. The kid was still working fiercely at his bound wrists. Pausing every few seconds to glower at Jason.
‘No,’ he snarled. Jason snorted and Tim rolled his eyes.
‘I’m adding a new tie to the list of things I’m owed,’ he stated, clicking the computer mouse dramatically.
‘You will get your tie back in one piece, Drake.’
‘Yeah, next decade.’
Damian scowled and Bruce scrubbed a hand down his face.
‘Do you really need a tie?’ Jason raised his eyebrows.
‘A bow tie,’ Dick suggested brightly, ‘mix it up a little.’
‘I am not wearing a-’
Bruce tuned them out and took a deep breath. Gathering his thoughts felt like trying to catch water in a fishing net. He just couldn’t wrap his head around-
‘How,’ he started slowly and the room fell silent, ‘do four vigilantes get into an elevator - unharmed and alone - and manage to leave it completely incapacitated?’
He eyed his sons’ embarrassed faces and an amused smile pulled at his lips.
‘I just want the full story,’ he shrugged, ‘so I can tell Alfred later. He’ll enjoy this.’
A look of betrayal flickered across each of their faces and then the room was filled with shouting, explanations, accusations of blame. Bruce couldn’t entirely suppress his laughter. Everyone turned to him. He grinned at their flushed faces and narrowed eyes. There was a moment of stillness and then-
‘Worth it,’ Jason shrugged with a mouth full of cake.
‘I could put up with worse.’
‘Totally.’
‘Same time next month?’
Bruce buried his face in his hands.