Home, sweet home.
Tim let himself into the apartment, smothering a yawn with the back of his hand. He was exhausted from the flight and worried about the repercussions of his actions, but... He was really glad to be home. "Cissie?" he called out.
There were noises coming from the other end of the hallway, then Cissie stepped out of the bedroom, in the process of putting on a sweater. She stared at him, bewildered. "...Tim?"
He gave her a little smile. "Hey. I missed you."
She blinked at him, frozen where she stood, before looking him over. "You're back?"
"I'm back," he agreed, taking a few steps toward her.
She let out a deep breath and shut her eyes. When she opened them again, she gave a curt nod. "Good." Then she turned and walked back into the bedroom.
He blinked in surprise. That... wasn't the reaction he'd expected. "Uh... thanks. You okay?"
"Fine," she said shortly from inside the room. "I'm running late."
"...Oh. I... guess I'll talk to you after class?"
She came back into the hallway, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Will you still be here?"
He nodded, frowning. "I'm not planning on going anywhere."
She set her jaw. "Yeah, well. The best-laid plans."
"I'll be here," he said, stepping aside so that she could walk down the hallway.
She hesitated, eyeing him narrowly. "You're not even--" She stopped abruptly, clamping her mouth shut and moving to walk past him.
He watched her pass. "I guess I'll see you when you get back. Love you."
Cissie paused at the door and stood with her hand on the handle. "I'll be back after four," she said shortly, and left.
Tim shook his head. She was obviously mad at him, but he didn't know why. Maybe Kon would have an idea? He pulled his phone out of his pocket and called him.
Kon was fast asleep on the couch when his pocket started making noise. He vaguely thought about that huge fight he'd had the night before with freaking Parasite and decided screw it, he didn't need to wake up. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and chucked it gently across the room.
Tim heard the phone ring and followed the sound out to the living room, where he saw a cell phone fly across the room and skid across the floor. "...Kon?"
"Go 'way, Tim, wanna sleep," he mumbled. Wait. Tim. That was definitely--he shot up and stared at him. "Tim!"
"Hi. You're on my couch."
"I've claimed it. I was comforting your abandoned girlfriend. Where've you been??" Kon flew over the top of the couch and hugged him tightly.
Tim hugged him back. "All over. With the League of Assassins, mainly."
"Really?" Kon grinned at him. "That's great! Why didn't you call?"
"It wasn't safe," he said, grimacing. "I didn't think it was a good idea to let Ra's al Ghul know how to find the people I care about."
Kon frowned. "I have superhearing. You coulda figured something out."
"It wouldn't have been a good idea for you to show up... Though we really could have used you at the end there."
Kon made a frustrated noise. "That's not what I meant. Though if you needed me you should have called even more. It's just--we had no idea where you were, what you were doing... hell, you could have died and we wouldn't have known!"
Tim scrubbed at his face. "Damn it. I'm sorry. You're right. I just--it wasn't safe, and then things got crazy. I was here before I even thought of calling."
"We need to figure out a way to make it safe before you leave again." Kon smiled again, though it wasn't as enthusiastic as it'd been before. "You talk to Cissie yet?"
"I tried. She wasn't... especially talkative."
Kon nodded. "She's probably mad because she hasn't heard from you for three weeks."
"...Yeah."
"I dunno, man. You might have to grovel."
"Might? I'm definitely going to have to grovel."
Kon shrugged. "Well... yeah, you really will. I was trying to be gentle."
"I appreciate that." He gave him a wry smile. "Is she okay?"
Kon nodded. "I've been sleeping here a lot. Not that she needs taking care of or anything, but..." he shrugged. Not like Tim could say anything about overprotectiveness.
"You worried," Tim finished, nodding a little. "Thanks. Ugh. I should have called."
"Really should've," Kon agreed. "But you're home now, and she loves you, and it'll be okay. You hungry?"
"A bit. Mostly tired. but I think that's going to have to wait until I talk to Cissie." He turned toward the kitchen, then paused. "I don't even know what we have."
"I think there's a leftover burger from last night." Kon followed him in.
"Ooh. That sounds pretty good." Tim opened the refrigerator, and--lo. A lone, leftover hamburger sitting in a tupperware container. "Excellent." He took it out of the refrigerator and put it in the microwave for a minute.
"I was saving it for lunch, but I don't mind sharing. I can have school food." He sat on the counter, watching Tim.
Tim paused. "You're sure you don't mind?"
Kon shook his head. "No, it's fine. Tell me what you were doing with Ra's."
He gave Kon a thin little smile. "A lot of damage," he said, his voice satisfied.
Kon held out a hand for a high five. "Yeah?"
Tim hit the high five with a grin. "Yeah. He's got a lot of rebuilding to do."
"Good job, man." He hesitated. "And the Batman thing?"
He frowned a little. "I'm not crazy. I found something--in the desert."
"Never thought you were crazy," Kon said amicably. "Well, any crazier than normal. What'd you find?"
"Cave painting."
"...of?"
Tim grinned and sketched the bat symbol over his chest.
"Seriously?" Kon grinned. "That's great!"
He nodded. "And... damn it. I have to talk to Dick."
"I thought you were mad at him."
"Yeah, I am. But... Ra's is going to go after WE--in retaliation for what I did. I need to warn him."
Kon frowned. "Seriously? Call him!"
Tim made a face at him. "It seemed a little rude when we were talking."
Kon rolled his eyes. "Well, you could have done that first. But I guess you have a little trouble with phones, huh?"
"I would punch you, but I might break my hand."
"And I'm not the one who didn't call, remember."
"Yeah, yeah." Kon grabbed the phone and tossed it at Tim. "Go on. I'll find more food or something." He stifled a yawn.
"Or go back to sleep?" Tim asked, raising an eyebrow. "What happened? You look wiped."
"Hard night. It's why I'm not in class."
"I know that feeling. You're okay, though?"
"Uh huh. Just wiped." He stretched a little. "Parasite. Not fun."
"Ugh." He waved him off. "You go rest. I'll give Dick a call."
Kon nodded and slid off the counter. "Sure thing. Wake me when you're done or something. I want more details."
"I will." Tim watched him god, and heard him drop onto the couch again before he dialed Dick's cellphone number. This time of day--he had no idea where he would be.
As it happened, Dick was in a meeting and bored out of his mind. He idly supposed that was why they were called board meetings. Not that he'd say so out loud. No one here appreciated his joke. It was almost a relief when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out subtly and saw that it was Tim. Tim? Now? Calling him?
"Excuse me," he said, standing up. "Family emergency. I'll be back in a moment." The other members of the board didn't seem at all sorry to see him leave. Dick all but sprinted from the room before picking up the phone. "Tim!"
"Hey," Tim said, smiling a little despite himself.
"Where are you? Are you all right? I've been worried!" Almost without thinking, Dick started for the roof. There was a secret room with his costume and a hang glider there.
"I'm fine. I'm in Metropolis. Um. How are things?"
"All right. Things are kind of different since you've left."
Tim frowned into the phone. "I'm not coming back yet. Not unless you need me... and you might. I... did something."
“Did something? That didn't sound good. "What happened?"
"I blew up the League of Assassins' computer system. Ra's is... pretty angry."
"...wait, what?"
"Which part?"
Dick pinched the bridge of his nose and keyed in the code to open the secret door. "Start with blowing up the League of Assassins' computers. What have you been up to?"
"Um." He shifted uncomfortably. "I've been with the League of Assassins--ostensibly working with them."
"Infiltration?"
"Mm. I put a virus into their system. Completely obliterated it."
Dick whistled. "Nice."
"Thank you. I made an enemy, though. He implied that he might be going after WE."
"Dammit. Do you know when or how?"
Tim shook his head, even though Dick wouldn't see it. "No. He wasn't forthcoming with details."
Dick sighed. "Great. Thanks for the warning."
"I wish I could give you more," he said with a grimace.
"It's okay," Dick said. "Forward me anything you've got. We'll be able to handle this."
"Will do." He paused. "...How are things with the midget?"
Dick laughed. "Okay. He mostly listens to me now. He and Steph seem to be... sort of getting along now."
Tim snorted lightly. "That must have been a minor miracle."
"Something like that." Dick hesitated. "She's Batgirl now, you know."
"...Oh. Where's Cass?"
"...Working on that."
"Right. I'll try to keep an ear out, too."
Dick nodded. "Great, thanks."
"No problem. Oh--when I send you what I have on Ra's, there will be an update in there for my medical file."
"...What happened."
Tim winced slightly. "I had an emergency splenectomy."
"A splenectomy?" Dick grabbed his hair. "Tim, what happened?"
"Relax, Dick. I'm fine." He drummed his fingers against the countertop and looked longingly at his burger. "I got injured."
"How?"
"I'm reasonably sure it was a sword, but it gets a little fuzzy. There was a lot of blood loss." He paused. "I did mention I was fine, right?"
Dick sighed. "Just one spleen short of how I last saw you?"
"...Right."
"Does Cissie know?"
He made a face into the phone. "She's... not exactly speaking to me at the moment."
"...What happened?"
"I came home, and she stormed out. I should have called."
"...Yeah, probably."
"I've got a lot of groveling ahead of me."
Dick nodded. "Good luck."
“Heh. Thanks."
Dick smiled a little. "Come stop by sometime, okay?"
"I will."
Dick grinned more. "Great. Say hi to everyone for me."
"I will. Talk to you later."
"Bye."
“'Bye." Tim hung up the phone and stared at it a moment, frowning. He wished things were easier between them--the way they used to be. He sighed a little and took a bite of the burger that had started to cool.
When he finished, he glanced into the living room to see if Kon was awake--no. He was dead to the world. He debated waking him up to talk about the past three weeks, but... Kon was exhausted, and to be honest--so was Tim. They could talk when they woke up. He turned toward his bedroom. Maybe he could grab a nap before Cissie got back from class.
[Continued here.]
There were noises coming from the other end of the hallway, then Cissie stepped out of the bedroom, in the process of putting on a sweater. She stared at him, bewildered. "...Tim?"
He gave her a little smile. "Hey. I missed you."
She blinked at him, frozen where she stood, before looking him over. "You're back?"
"I'm back," he agreed, taking a few steps toward her.
She let out a deep breath and shut her eyes. When she opened them again, she gave a curt nod. "Good." Then she turned and walked back into the bedroom.
He blinked in surprise. That... wasn't the reaction he'd expected. "Uh... thanks. You okay?"
"Fine," she said shortly from inside the room. "I'm running late."
"...Oh. I... guess I'll talk to you after class?"
She came back into the hallway, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Will you still be here?"
He nodded, frowning. "I'm not planning on going anywhere."
She set her jaw. "Yeah, well. The best-laid plans."
"I'll be here," he said, stepping aside so that she could walk down the hallway.
She hesitated, eyeing him narrowly. "You're not even--" She stopped abruptly, clamping her mouth shut and moving to walk past him.
He watched her pass. "I guess I'll see you when you get back. Love you."
Cissie paused at the door and stood with her hand on the handle. "I'll be back after four," she said shortly, and left.
Tim shook his head. She was obviously mad at him, but he didn't know why. Maybe Kon would have an idea? He pulled his phone out of his pocket and called him.
Kon was fast asleep on the couch when his pocket started making noise. He vaguely thought about that huge fight he'd had the night before with freaking Parasite and decided screw it, he didn't need to wake up. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and chucked it gently across the room.
Tim heard the phone ring and followed the sound out to the living room, where he saw a cell phone fly across the room and skid across the floor. "...Kon?"
"Go 'way, Tim, wanna sleep," he mumbled. Wait. Tim. That was definitely--he shot up and stared at him. "Tim!"
"Hi. You're on my couch."
"I've claimed it. I was comforting your abandoned girlfriend. Where've you been??" Kon flew over the top of the couch and hugged him tightly.
Tim hugged him back. "All over. With the League of Assassins, mainly."
"Really?" Kon grinned at him. "That's great! Why didn't you call?"
"It wasn't safe," he said, grimacing. "I didn't think it was a good idea to let Ra's al Ghul know how to find the people I care about."
Kon frowned. "I have superhearing. You coulda figured something out."
"It wouldn't have been a good idea for you to show up... Though we really could have used you at the end there."
Kon made a frustrated noise. "That's not what I meant. Though if you needed me you should have called even more. It's just--we had no idea where you were, what you were doing... hell, you could have died and we wouldn't have known!"
Tim scrubbed at his face. "Damn it. I'm sorry. You're right. I just--it wasn't safe, and then things got crazy. I was here before I even thought of calling."
"We need to figure out a way to make it safe before you leave again." Kon smiled again, though it wasn't as enthusiastic as it'd been before. "You talk to Cissie yet?"
"I tried. She wasn't... especially talkative."
Kon nodded. "She's probably mad because she hasn't heard from you for three weeks."
"...Yeah."
"I dunno, man. You might have to grovel."
"Might? I'm definitely going to have to grovel."
Kon shrugged. "Well... yeah, you really will. I was trying to be gentle."
"I appreciate that." He gave him a wry smile. "Is she okay?"
Kon nodded. "I've been sleeping here a lot. Not that she needs taking care of or anything, but..." he shrugged. Not like Tim could say anything about overprotectiveness.
"You worried," Tim finished, nodding a little. "Thanks. Ugh. I should have called."
"Really should've," Kon agreed. "But you're home now, and she loves you, and it'll be okay. You hungry?"
"A bit. Mostly tired. but I think that's going to have to wait until I talk to Cissie." He turned toward the kitchen, then paused. "I don't even know what we have."
"I think there's a leftover burger from last night." Kon followed him in.
"Ooh. That sounds pretty good." Tim opened the refrigerator, and--lo. A lone, leftover hamburger sitting in a tupperware container. "Excellent." He took it out of the refrigerator and put it in the microwave for a minute.
"I was saving it for lunch, but I don't mind sharing. I can have school food." He sat on the counter, watching Tim.
Tim paused. "You're sure you don't mind?"
Kon shook his head. "No, it's fine. Tell me what you were doing with Ra's."
He gave Kon a thin little smile. "A lot of damage," he said, his voice satisfied.
Kon held out a hand for a high five. "Yeah?"
Tim hit the high five with a grin. "Yeah. He's got a lot of rebuilding to do."
"Good job, man." He hesitated. "And the Batman thing?"
He frowned a little. "I'm not crazy. I found something--in the desert."
"Never thought you were crazy," Kon said amicably. "Well, any crazier than normal. What'd you find?"
"Cave painting."
"...of?"
Tim grinned and sketched the bat symbol over his chest.
"Seriously?" Kon grinned. "That's great!"
He nodded. "And... damn it. I have to talk to Dick."
"I thought you were mad at him."
"Yeah, I am. But... Ra's is going to go after WE--in retaliation for what I did. I need to warn him."
Kon frowned. "Seriously? Call him!"
Tim made a face at him. "It seemed a little rude when we were talking."
Kon rolled his eyes. "Well, you could have done that first. But I guess you have a little trouble with phones, huh?"
"I would punch you, but I might break my hand."
"And I'm not the one who didn't call, remember."
"Yeah, yeah." Kon grabbed the phone and tossed it at Tim. "Go on. I'll find more food or something." He stifled a yawn.
"Or go back to sleep?" Tim asked, raising an eyebrow. "What happened? You look wiped."
"Hard night. It's why I'm not in class."
"I know that feeling. You're okay, though?"
"Uh huh. Just wiped." He stretched a little. "Parasite. Not fun."
"Ugh." He waved him off. "You go rest. I'll give Dick a call."
Kon nodded and slid off the counter. "Sure thing. Wake me when you're done or something. I want more details."
"I will." Tim watched him god, and heard him drop onto the couch again before he dialed Dick's cellphone number. This time of day--he had no idea where he would be.
As it happened, Dick was in a meeting and bored out of his mind. He idly supposed that was why they were called board meetings. Not that he'd say so out loud. No one here appreciated his joke. It was almost a relief when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out subtly and saw that it was Tim. Tim? Now? Calling him?
"Excuse me," he said, standing up. "Family emergency. I'll be back in a moment." The other members of the board didn't seem at all sorry to see him leave. Dick all but sprinted from the room before picking up the phone. "Tim!"
"Hey," Tim said, smiling a little despite himself.
"Where are you? Are you all right? I've been worried!" Almost without thinking, Dick started for the roof. There was a secret room with his costume and a hang glider there.
"I'm fine. I'm in Metropolis. Um. How are things?"
"All right. Things are kind of different since you've left."
Tim frowned into the phone. "I'm not coming back yet. Not unless you need me... and you might. I... did something."
“Did something? That didn't sound good. "What happened?"
"I blew up the League of Assassins' computer system. Ra's is... pretty angry."
"...wait, what?"
"Which part?"
Dick pinched the bridge of his nose and keyed in the code to open the secret door. "Start with blowing up the League of Assassins' computers. What have you been up to?"
"Um." He shifted uncomfortably. "I've been with the League of Assassins--ostensibly working with them."
"Infiltration?"
"Mm. I put a virus into their system. Completely obliterated it."
Dick whistled. "Nice."
"Thank you. I made an enemy, though. He implied that he might be going after WE."
"Dammit. Do you know when or how?"
Tim shook his head, even though Dick wouldn't see it. "No. He wasn't forthcoming with details."
Dick sighed. "Great. Thanks for the warning."
"I wish I could give you more," he said with a grimace.
"It's okay," Dick said. "Forward me anything you've got. We'll be able to handle this."
"Will do." He paused. "...How are things with the midget?"
Dick laughed. "Okay. He mostly listens to me now. He and Steph seem to be... sort of getting along now."
Tim snorted lightly. "That must have been a minor miracle."
"Something like that." Dick hesitated. "She's Batgirl now, you know."
"...Oh. Where's Cass?"
"...Working on that."
"Right. I'll try to keep an ear out, too."
Dick nodded. "Great, thanks."
"No problem. Oh--when I send you what I have on Ra's, there will be an update in there for my medical file."
"...What happened."
Tim winced slightly. "I had an emergency splenectomy."
"A splenectomy?" Dick grabbed his hair. "Tim, what happened?"
"Relax, Dick. I'm fine." He drummed his fingers against the countertop and looked longingly at his burger. "I got injured."
"How?"
"I'm reasonably sure it was a sword, but it gets a little fuzzy. There was a lot of blood loss." He paused. "I did mention I was fine, right?"
Dick sighed. "Just one spleen short of how I last saw you?"
"...Right."
"Does Cissie know?"
He made a face into the phone. "She's... not exactly speaking to me at the moment."
"...What happened?"
"I came home, and she stormed out. I should have called."
"...Yeah, probably."
"I've got a lot of groveling ahead of me."
Dick nodded. "Good luck."
“Heh. Thanks."
Dick smiled a little. "Come stop by sometime, okay?"
"I will."
Dick grinned more. "Great. Say hi to everyone for me."
"I will. Talk to you later."
"Bye."
“'Bye." Tim hung up the phone and stared at it a moment, frowning. He wished things were easier between them--the way they used to be. He sighed a little and took a bite of the burger that had started to cool.
When he finished, he glanced into the living room to see if Kon was awake--no. He was dead to the world. He debated waking him up to talk about the past three weeks, but... Kon was exhausted, and to be honest--so was Tim. They could talk when they woke up. He turned toward his bedroom. Maybe he could grab a nap before Cissie got back from class.
[Continued here.]