Chapter Text
“What are you doing?”
It showed how wrapped up Tim was in his current activity, that all his years of situational awareness training leapt right out the window along with his heart as he was startled by his brother’s voice suddenly coming from right behind him.
Tim, torn between two instincts (hide the evidence and distract), spun around in his chair quickly, intending to block Dick’s view of his computer screen. “Nothing!” he started to say, but unfortunately in his haste to spin around, he overcompensated, and his chair spun around in a complete circle twice before he lost his balance and toppled over, meaning his word sounded more like “Noth-ahh!”
The icing on the cake was, as Tim fell, his earbuds came with him, and were yanked out of his computer, letting the sound out for Dick to hear clearly.
“The key to keeping solid is to think solid thoughts. Think of the most solid and real things you know.”
“Like rocks and shit?”
“Sure, if you believe them to be solid. Me, I’ve met some flaky rocks in my time. I usually think of student loans, those never fail to bring me back down to Earth…”
“Tim,” Dick said, glancing from where Tim was sprawled out in misery on the floor, to the unobstructed view he had of Tim’s computer. “Why are you spying on Jason and Danny?”
“No reason,” Tim said, trying to gather what little dignity he had left (about a thimble-full) and pick himself up. Dick, the dick, didn’t even attempt to help him, and just continued watching Tim’s computer, where Jason and Danny seemed to be bonding over the poor state of higher education.
Some things didn’t change between universes, it would seem.
“Because I thought we established that Danny was alright,” Dick continued as though Tim hadn’t spoken. “Sure, there was all that drama at the beginning” (if you called thinking that an all-powerful supernatural king from another dimension had killed and/or kidnapped your brother drama. Actually, if you can’t call that drama, then what is?), “But we’ve moved past that now. Danny’s been here a week and he’s been nothing but helpful to Jason and nice to Damian. Not enough people are nice to Damian.”
“That’s on account of all the stabbing,” Tim pointed out, finally back on his feet.
Dick flashed him a look. “Nice try, but we’re not changing the subject. You voted to let him stay too, so what’s with all the Big Brother surveillance?”
“It’s, um, it’s…” Tim stammered out. He sighed, seeing no way out of the conversation. “You’re going to laugh at me.”
“Maybe,” Dick shrugged shamelessly. “I promise I’ll try not to though.”
“Okay, here it goes.” Tim took a deep breath and looked down, finding it easier than looking at Dick. “I like Danny.”
Tim still expected some laughter, no matter what Dick promised. He was surprised then when Dick was silent. Tim risked looking up, and saw Dick staring back at him in confusion.
“You like Danny?” Dick asked.
“Yeah.”
“Like, as a person. Well, ghost-person?”
Tim couldn’t believe Dick was being this dense. “As a person I’d like to, you know…” When it seemed like Dick did not in fact know Tim finished awkwardly, “date.”
“You want to date Danny?” Dick asked, still sounding as confused as before. “You?”
Tim started to get a bad feeling. “Dick, I’m bi. I thought you knew that?” Tim hadn’t exactly been subtle when he had been dating Steph, or Bernard.
Dick seemed to catch on to Tim’s train of thought. “No, no, Tim, that’s not it! I couldn’t care less who you want to date, I’m not exactly a 0 on the Kinsey Scale myself. It’s just… Danny? Really?”
Before Tim could defend his feelings for a person who, until recently, had the form of an eldritch nightmare (he had run through no less than twelve strawman arguments in his head, and had a draft of a PowerPoint ready to go), Dick continued.
“I thought you hated Danny.”
Now it was Tim’s turn to be confused. “Why would you think that?”
“Well let’s see.” Dick started counting on his fingers. “You avoid any room he’s in unless you can’t help it. When you are forced to be near him, you ignore him completely. I think I’ve heard you speak to him maybe three times since he started staying here? And most of that on the first day.”
How could Tim explain? All he wanted at all times was to be near Danny. But when he was, all he wanted to do was look (stare) at him, and so he had to force himself not to. And any planned conversation starters flew out of his brain, leaving nonsense that Tim knew would come out stammering and awkward if he tried to speak, and so he stayed silent. And he knew that his behavior came off as weird, and so he tried to hide it by hiding himself away, staying in his room where he could watch Danny through the surveillance cameras and not have to worry about looking like an idiot.
Pathetic.
“I don’t know Dick,” Tim said helplessly. “I just really like him, and I don’t know what to do.”
Dick stared at him for a moment, and then nodded. He went to sit on Tim’s bed, and patted the spot next to him. When Tim just stood there he patted it again a second time more forcefully, with a pointed look, and Tim went to tentatively sit down.
“I understand now,” Dick said reassuringly. “You’ve got love troubles. And fortunately I, your beloved older brother, have been down this road before. I know exactly what you need to do.”
It showed how desperate Tim was that he didn’t try to roast Dick at all, either for his romantic past or for his self-given ‘beloved’ title. “What is it? What do I need to do?”
So Dick told him.
And Tim, poor desperate Tim, listened.