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Tim has issues. This isn’t news to him.
He’s well aware that he has major mommy and daddy issues from his parents pushing him to always be the best while simultaneously telling him he’s never enough. His authority issues are maxed out to the extreme after only depending on himself for most of his life, neglected as he was.
He’s learned to cope the best he could with what was given to him. Is it totally healthy to self-therapasize and never tell anyone about his feelings or problems? Who’s to say.
But some days, his mental facade loves to disappear and all the anger and resentment he’s been repressing for the past almost two decades loves to roam free like a lioness fiercely defending her cub- except instead it’s a cold and frigid rage that’s been protecting him for crumbling into a million pieces as everyone around him steps on him over and over and over again and oh is that a baseball bat to join the beating? He feels so volatile he knows he should definitely stay inside or go on a trip alone because he’s logically aware that this kind of fire in his blood is the kind that burns bridges- and usually that’s enough but he got a stupid fucking text from stupid fucking Tam about a stupid fucking press conference and-
And Tim is well aware he shouldn’t be going anywhere right now feeling like he does.
But he doesn’t really have a choice. So he takes a breath and texts the group chat that no one should come to the press conference or there will be consequences. Sometimes, one or two of them will show up for morale- to fucking ask him for shit like he doesn’t do enough shit for everybody - and Tim just can’t handle that right now.
So he drives to WE and prepares himself for the press conference about some fuck up that was committed by some fuck up in some random department he doesn’t really care about but has to professionally pretend to care and be sympathetic about and so he gives a polite but stiff nod to Tam who gives him a cautious nod back as he walks past her and towards the platform and it’s all going fine until he sees Dick-
Dick who’s looking at him with a smile for the press but that’s so obviously worried and guilty like he messed up about something to anyone in the Bat circle and a small part of Tim- logical Tim -knows that his older brother Dick must have misinterpreted his text message as sarcastic or depreciative about always having to do these things alone but the biggest part of Tim drowns that out because in his barely concealed, seething fucking rage all he can think about it betrayal, not believing him, taking Robin, threatening Arkam, and not even a single f u c k i n g apology after he was proven right.
And in Tim’s haze of fire, he ends up with a thought that turns everything into ice.
It’s been a year since he came back with Bruce and he never got an apology.
So Tim walks up to his older brother who’s now taken a step backward with slightly widened eyes at the smile- the cold and very wide grin that’s taken place on Tim’s face very quickly, very suddenly -and he walks straight up to the man in front of him, puts his hands on his shoulders, and knees him straight in the dick .
Dick- not expecting such a thing in public, and especially not from his baby brother - does not dodge and falls to the ground in a ball with one of the most betrayed looks on his face he’s ever seen. Not as betrayed as his own about a year ago, but pretty close he thinks with a smug grin.
Casually stepping over his older brother practically crying on the edge of the platform, and ignoring the gobsmacked look shared among Tam, the security guards, and most of the press who caught it all on camera, he walks over to wooden stand with the microphone and begins nonchalantly talking about the unfortunate mistake made by someone he doesn't care about in a division that’s so unimportant he was literally thinking about shutting it down a few weeks ago.
The questions asked by the press weren’t on topic at all.
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Walking back to his care, ignoring the wary looks from Tam and the various questions still being thrown at him, he- unsurprised -reads a text demanding a mandatory family meeting that everyone needs to attend. Cause he knows Bruce loves to demand and he never fucking asks.
But that’s whatever. Tim is totally not still seething with unbridled rage. He doesn’t still want to tear out the intestines of everyone who has ever wronged him-
He takes a deep breath.
Walking through the next steps to himself, I’m going to walk through the door. Maybe go to the sitting room and watch some mindless tv. If I run into anyone I’ll just walk away. It’ll be fine.
Opening the door, he immediately catches a throwing knife that was aimed at his head and would have hit if he didn't catch it. Buzzing immediately fills his head with static drawing out any coarse words that may or may not be in the process of being said.
Tim looks up and blankly watches the young boy who’s supposed to be his little brother mouth words angrily- oh he must be talking -tilts his head and jumps at him like a rabid animal about to tear his neck out.
Looking into wide eyes belonging to a very still child with his own knife to his throat, Tim coldly- professionally -says, “Here’s what’s going to happen, Dami,” he continues ignoring the slightly frightened grimace that spawns from his words and tone that no one’s heard before, “You’re going to say, ‘I’m sorry, Timothy. I won’t do that again.’ Then I’m going to the sitting room to lay down and watch tv. You get to sit with me and choose the channel. If you do not do this I am going to rip out your fucking throat and feed it to your dog do I make myself clear .”
Damian gulps so subtly Tim wouldn’t have been able to tell if he didn’t have a knife to his throat.
“Yes. I’m sorry, Timothy. I won’t do that again.”
With a grin sudden enough to cause whiplash, Tim stands up pulling Damian along with him, and holds his hand to swing back and forth while they walk to his favorite sitting room.
“Awesome! What do you wanna watch?”
Damian, confused, embarrassed, very stiff and uncomfortable, and vaguely scared of the situation he forced himself in, mumbled uneasily, “Animal Planet?” like any wrong answer would make the previous threat come true.
“Oh cool I love the Discovery channel. I was obsessed with the idea of having a bunny for a few years so I religiously watched the show for any mentions of rabbits and related species.”
Damian just looks confused at their swinging hands and asks, “Why didn’t you just get one?”
“Well Dames,” He falls onto the couch and pulls Damian on top of him like a very stiff and bewildered teddy bear, “I am in fact looked over and unloved and since I don’t scream all my wants and/or needs at the top of my lungs due to living alone and neglected for my entire life, I am seen as a mature child who doesn’t need support due to my independence and am therefore looked on as the easy child who doesn’t need things when in actuality I would have definitely been a happier and healthier person by now if anyone in this terrible family ever bothered to give me any sort of consistent support and affection,” he explains like he’s talking about a school report and not his own terrible debilitating mental health as he puts on the right channel and rearranges Damian to be in front of him so he can cuddle him on their sides facing the tv.
Wide-eyed at the mass of information disproving his hypothesis of Tim being the unattainable, perfect son and the very sudden large amounts of touch he hasn’t experienced outside of sudden-all encompassing Grayson hugs that freak him out, Damian just responds, “Huh. You should get a rabbit, then.”
Giving him a little squeeze to pull him closer, “Yeah! You know what I totally shou-”
Tim throws Damian’s knife a quarter of an inch to the left of Alfred’s head and into the wall.
Glaring heatedly with fire in his eyes, “There’s a difference between being neutral and being silent. Being silent often means picking a side and you’ve very clearly chosen yours. You’re not a fool, stop acting like your opinion doesn’t matter. Don’t talk to me .”
Alfred looks at him, looks behind him at the knife in the wall, nods his head a little, and then turns around to walk right back from where he came from.
Tim asks Damian what kind of bunny he should get.
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Dry, blood, alone, alone, a l o n e, desert, dead, why am I here ?
Tim wakes up slowly, hazily and warm . He’s usually so cold so he wraps himself tighter around the heat until he wakes up just enough to hear whispering- and he doesn’t care for that when he’s warm so he mumbles, “Knife, please” and is unsurprised when one gets put in his hand by his little brother. Whether he was yielding it himself or just got one out of one of his hiding spots, Tim is unaware, but regardless he throws it as hard as he can towards the other person in the room and wearily squints his eyes open at the loud yelp and muttered curse.
“What the fuck, replacement, I was just coming to congratulate you for kicking Dickhead in the dick on live tv I wasn’t-” He trails off when he looks up from his cut and sees dark eyes that pierce through him and suddenly he figures maybe he should have been a little nicer to the guy who's clearly not having a good time or else he’ll be the next person getting kicked in the balls.
“Jason.”
“...Yes?”
“If you ever call me Replacement again I’m going to burn down all 34 of your safehouses, and then I’m going to hunt you for sport, break both of your legs, and very brotherly force you to watch House on the Prairie on repeat until you cry.”
He shifts uneasily and they both ignore the mumbled, “I thought he only had 23?”
“Yes. Okay, Tim.”
Smiling, Tim stretches a little and in a way that isn't quite threatening but is also simultaneously very unnerving he encourages Jason to sit on the couch with them.
Jason sits down next to them. Tim rearranges them so their legs are on his legs.
"Oh I love Animal Planet."
Tim smirks as his brothers start talking about tigers.
He goes back to sleep.
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Waking up with a grumble at how stiff Damian's become beneath him, he opens his eyes to see both of his brothers wielding knives at their eldest brother.
"-do anything! Why are you threatening me, too?!"
"You obviously did something Dickhead or else he wouldn't have threatened to break both my legs, burn down everything I own and force me into a state of psychological torture until I break. "
"I agree with Todd. You seemed to have been the start of this-"
"Why are you cuddling with him?! I thought you hated each other-"
Solemnly Damian nods, "It was a matter of life and death and I wanted to live."
They stare at him in silence.
Tim, half asleep still but completely serious, "Don't be absurd.. I would have stopped ripping your neck out before it killed you. Death is too quick."
Damian nods like this is acceptable reasoning while the other two look vaguely horrified.
"And of Titus?"
"I would have cooked the neck properly so he didn't get sick. He has not wronged me."
Horrified silence grows.
"That is amendable. I will rephrase, then. It was a matter of life and permanent disfigurement that could have been avoided and I wanted to avoid it."
Tim acknowledges this with a nod of approval that makes Damian seem to… preen a little. That's adorable.
Tim hugs him a little tighter and kisses the side of his head. Looking up, he ignores the light dusting of pink on his little brother's face to glare at the eldest with a look that would burn hellfire if it came into contact.
"What are you here for?" He makes sure to flicker down at the ice pack currently being held to Dick's dick.
His eldest brother takes a wary step back.
"Dinner's ready but Tim what did I-"
Completely ignoring Dick as he asks and talks about matters Tim does not care to get into when he could be eating the first thing he's had all day, he swings his and Damian's legs off of Jason and pulls all three of them up to standing so he could hold their hands and swing them back and forth as they walk to the kitchen.
"Do you guys hear something?" He ignores the sputtering behind him.
"No."
"Not a word, Babybird."
Tim snorts at the brothers beside him. Letting go of their hands for a second, which Jason takes as a chance to start arguing with Dick, he grabs a sugar packet from his pocket and pours it into a mug of coffee on the counter before casually grabbing Damian's hand again and guiding them towards the table to sit down.
Damian looks curiously at him but otherwise makes no visible notice of having seen the action.
The quite nice atmosphere of sitting and drinking water with his little brother while their older brothers yell at each other behind them, unfortunately, comes to an end when Bruce finally shows up.
And the thing is, Tim honestly feels a lot better after taking a nap with his brothers. Even through his anger, he's honestly very happy with the changes that were made now that he's thinking clearly. And honestly, while he doesn't really feel like fire is burning him inside out to the point he needs to yell and scream and hurt everyone around him- he feels pretty calm and content at the moment -he also feels like he may as well finish what he started.
So when Bruce starts yelling at the older boys to stop fighting and instinctively takes the coffee off the counter to take a gulp, he allows himself to feel a little smug at Damian's eyes slightly widening even as both of them stay completely calm as they scoot three chairs next to each other.
When everyone finally settles down and the food is spread out, his lips twitch upwards at the quick grimace Bruce gives at the placement of everyone at the table.
Bruce sits at the head of course but seeing his eldest on one side with his other three sons close enough to be sitting on each other's laps on the other side is definitely a sight to see.
Beginning to eat calmly, Bruce of course brings up the subject of the dinner.
Sighing exhaustedly- please like he's the one exhausted - "While I'm sure whatever Dick did made your… unexpected actions totally reasonable… somehow… it was totally inappropriate doing so in front of the press. You can't-" and he goes on and on. Damian hesitantly takes his hand while Jason entwines their legs underneath the table in support.
Not that he needs it but it's very nice regardless to finally receive it.
"-re you even listening to me?"
Tim hums as he drinks another sip of water. Looking up he watches Bruce's face contort from frustrated to confused at why he's acting like this.
Happy like he just got a Death Wish Cappuccino at Starbucks, "What's inappropriate is treating your traumatized 17-year-old little brother like a full-grown adult who needs to grow up after dealing with the deaths of his biological parents, all his friends, and then the final loss of the man he supposedly should call a Dad." Everyone flinches away from that.
"What's inappropriate is accusing a traumatized 17-year-old of cracking and threatening them with Arkham after major, obvious, and very untreated issues of abandonment as a result of a decade and a half of neglect." This time everyone's eyes widen except Damian.
"What's inappropriate is not properly disciplining a child who doesn't know any better to not be. Amador piece of shit and only adding onto the abuse already inflicted onto that traumatized 17-year-old," he makes sure to squeeze his little brother's hand to let him know he's not mad at him.
Swishing his glass like he's at a gala tasting the finest of wines, "Truly I think what's really inappropriate is that today marks a year since I came back with you in tow. Today marks a year since I was proven right. That I wasn't crazy and didn't deserve to be isolated and ostracized by everyone in the caped community due to one man's words. Today marks a year and you know what the funny thing is," Snapping his head towards Dick's eyes that are already streaking tears down his face, "The funny thing is that I never even got an apology. Not from your bitch ass and not from everyone else who betrayed me ."
Leaning back casually, he takes a sip of water with a calm face before looking back at Bruce who's obviously thinking of a way to fix this.
"And you know Bruce, you're not absolved of your part in this either. You're the one who ignored the abuse in my home. You're the one who began the hands-off approach for Damian sayings ' he's just a child he doesn't know any better' without you know actually fucking teaching him not to kill me or tear me apart emotionally. And after a year of working with Ras of all fucking people after everyone decided leaving me all alone to fight by myself was the right choice and he was my only Aly almost dying multiple times including losing my fucking spleen," the faces grew more and more terrified the more he spoke, "I saved your ass and not only did not a single person apologize to me. But I never even got a thank you ."
Damian's hand in his is so tight he's surprised they haven't broken each other's bones so he untenses and waits for Damian to untense as well.
Opening his eyes once again, "So here's what is going to happen. I've discussed with Damian that he will no longer be attempting to hurt me. He said he was sorry and that he won't do it again and I believe him." Quick looks were given to the boy in disbelief.
"I've talked to Alfred. We will no longer be talking until my feelings and his actions change." Surprised looks are given since most of them don't hold things against oh so perfect Alfred.
"I honestly didn't have a problem with Jason and I feel like we've already talked out our problems when we met up after a took up Red Robin, but he will no longer be calling me Replacement or other equivalent terms if he wants to keep his knee caps," Jascon grimaces at the reminder but nods nonetheless.
"You two are the hardest." They look at him in remorseful and guilty and frustrated that he won't let them get a word in to fix it, but they can't fix it so easily.
"Bruce. I'll be taking Damian every weekend with me to San Francisco to help him improve his social intelligence and group work. Neither of you are welcome. If you do not improve to my standards of a moderately healthy dad in the next six months I will be stealing him and not giving him back and there will be nothing you can do about it."
Getting slightly angry now, "You can't just take my child from me."
Giving his best Tim Wayne boardroom smile, "Watch me," which sends a shiver down his spine.
"Your first punishment should be kicking in the next few minutes. I spiked your coffee and you'll be passing out for a good 12 hours. It's good to catch up on sleep. Not as grouchy. Better father material. The next punishment won't be as nice, but don't worry I'll send you guidelines that you can read when you wake up."
Brushing him off like he's less than dirt on his shoe he turns his face towards Dick, completely ignoring the sound of a body slumping to the ground and a mild 'huh' coming from the brother to his right trying to look around him and see their father on the ground.
"I-"
"I don't care. I don't accept your apology."
At this point, Dick looks like he's about to cry.
"I don’t accept it because you're only sorry that I'm hurt, not for the actions that hurt me. That means you'd do it again, and I need to make sure that doesn't happen because you will not ruin Damian in the way you ruined Jason and I." Jason startles at being included.
Dick looks at him frustrated and hurt and so overwhelmingly sad that any other person would have cracked... but Tim just doesn't care.
" You will pick Damian up twice a week from school. If you can't make it you will call a day in advance, and then go an extra day the week after that. If he decides to call you for a cancellation, the extra day does not apply unless he says so. You will call Jason every other Tuesday to catch up. It is his choice on whether he will pick up and you are not to guilt him if he doesn't. You may call me every Friday. I will more likely than not ignore you the next few weeks but I'm sure I'll feel up to it sooner rather than later.
Surprise visits are not welcome to Jason and I until you've earned them. Surprise visits for Damian are welcome, but you will respect if he's having a bad day and whether he wants you to participate in helping him on his bad day.
You will talk to a fucking therapist. I don't care where or how often that's up to you, but I'm sick and tired of you pretending you're fine, ruining things for yourself, killing yourself by taking all the blame and guilt and then repeating the cycle without ever actually fixing anything for yourself or others. This is not a choice. If they want to individually make rules for your own relationships, that is between you and them. If you don't go along with this, I will never talk to you again. You will not get another chance cause I've already given you so many over the years."
Everyone's silent.
"Do you agree to the terms?"
"Yes," he whispers.
"Okay. I love you, Dick."
A little brighter, "I love you too, Timmy. I'll figure it out."
Nodding his head resolutely, Tim stands up, still hand in hand with Damian, pulls Jason up on his other side and starts walking towards the door, "We'll be going to my place to research the most humane way to obtain a rabbit. I'd get Bruce off the floor and start rearranging your schedule."
Getting a determined but obviously depressed and guilt-ridden nod back, he guides two of his brothers out the door and towards his car.
"You really gonna steal the kid?"
"Abso-fucking-lutely."
They both pretend not to see the pink dusting thier younger brother's cheeks and grin at each other.