Title: A Death In The Family
Fandom: DCU
Character(s): Tim, Dick
Pairing(s): N/A
Word Count: 724
Genre: Tragedy/Angst
Rating: PG-13/T
Notes: Follows Of Bats And Robins, but two years later. *glances at genre and title* Don't kill me! I think you can tell what happened here. I followed canon...? *winces* Sorry, I can't not let Joker have the day he won. I never understood how writers wrote things out of order, but now I do. There will be more Jason-Tim friend-fic before and after death, promise. Also, obvious blatant name thieving from the trade of the same name for the title.
Link: N/A
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Tim ran to open the door with a grin, hoping to find Jason finally home from his trip to find his biological mother, only to find Dick Grayson. Tim was confused to why Dick was here. They had only met once Tim was younger, though he doubted Dick remembered that, and another handful of times when Tim would hang out with Jason at the Manor. There really could not be a good reason for Dick to be here.
His smile faded. “Something happened to Jason, didn't it?” Tim questioned quietly.
Dick grimaced at Tim's directness. “Can we talk inside?” he asked carefully.
Tim nodded, thankful that his parents were away again. Tim led Dick to the living room, motioning for him to take a seat. Dick did slowly, Tim took the seat across from him. Dick did not seem like he could find the words he needed to explain the situation, so Tim decided to help him out.
“How did it happen? I thought he was just looking for his biological mother,” Tim started, really wondering what happened. Jason had not told him he would be Robin during this, so how could this have happened?
“He was looking for her, and he did find her, in Ethiopia,” Dick answered carefully. “Unfortunately, she wasn't a very nice person.”
Tim frowned, his mind running with those words, trying to figure out if not very nice translated to criminal or just a bad parent. “Don't sugarcoat this. Tell me what happened to Jason,” Tim demanded.
Dick shot him a suspicious look, but he continued. “His mother was working with the Joker. She handed him over to him.” Dick was still holding back information, but Tim knew it was the fact that Jason was handed over because he probably trusted his mother enough to tell her he was Robin.
Tim took in a breath, holding back tears that were threatening to fall. “How did he die?” he asked quietly.
Dick frowned as he stood up to put a hand on Tim's shoulder. “Tim, it's best if you don't know.”
Tim moved away from Dick's touch angrily. “I'm not a kid. Tell me how he died,” Tim demanded, tears running down his face.
“No,” Dick stated, his face hard. “There is no reason for you to know.”
Tim stood up, glaring at Dick. “If you won't tell me, I'll find out myself.”
Dick raised an eyebrow. “How do you think you are going to go about doing that?”
“By the end of the week, I'm sure there'll be information on how Joker finally killed Robin,” Tim bit out, not caring that he had given away the fact he knew Robin's identity.
Tim tried to leave, but Dick grabbed his arm, spinning him around to face him. “He told you?” he growled.
Tim glared at the man he used to admire. “No, I found out for myself, Nightwing.”
That had made Dick loosen his grip on Tim's arm, quieting him for a long moment. “When?”
“Since I was nine, your last year as Robin,” Tim stated, his fists clenched at his side.
Dick was going to ask more, Tim knew it, but he bit his tongue. “This isn't time for an interrogation. It's a time for grieving,” Dick said, running a hand through his hair. “I'm sorry about the way I told you, but I'm sure you would rather me than-”
“-Bruce Wayne, the Batman,” Tim filled in the blank. “Yeah, I don't think Bruce would have been very good at this, either.” He paused. “When is the funeral?”
“Saturday,” Dick answered before glancing around the room. “You want me to stick around? I don't think you should be staying here alone.”
“I want to say no, but I know you're right,” Tim conceded quietly. “I...I thought he'd come home... This wasn't a Robin mission, so I thought...”
Dick pulled Tim into an awkward hug as the tears streamed down Tim's face, soaking Dick's shirt. As he listened to Tim sob into his chest, Dick let the tears he had not yet shed for the second Robin fall. So many thoughts ran though his head, but the one that was the loudest: the fact that Dick had not been a good role model to Jason. At that moment, he decided he would be better for Tim, for Jason's sake.