Chapter Text
Tim really needed to find out what being in the universe had it out for him. Another weird situation that left him defenseless - again. He really needed to retire and he meant it. This time, it was a stray ray of magic bouncing through the BatCave and hitting him straight in his back so he couldn't have defended himself if he tried. And he would've. Because fighting intangible beams of magic would have been better than working on a case file and then suddenly finding yourself only a couple inches tall in a dark cave. Sure, there aren't any pests in the cave, but at this size? Everything's a threat. He needed help - and fast. The last thing he needs is to fall two feet to his death, or worse, become a stain on someone else's shoe.
He shuddered at that.
They wouldn't even know he was missing. He didn't tell anyone he was going to the cave, and the only reason he felt ballsy enough to head there was because he knew the systems were down and no one would hound him when he showed up. Patrol was going to start soon, yes, but that just meant everyone's nerves hadn't gone up enough that they would notice him. He'd disappear forever as the uniforms got cleaned, and his recent independence streak would mean they wouldn't expect communication. At some point in the far future, they'd finally take the first step before realizing he was gone.
And then what? Would he be labelled a deserter? Someone who gave up?
A forgotten piece of an endless legacy that didn't need him to live on.
Just what he wanted.
But there was no time to waste on all of that.
He had to get to help. As soon as he could.
And besides, people would notice his uniform on the ground and notice something was off. While he didn't love being naked, it gave people a sign.
He just didn't stick too close in case he was dumped into a washing machine or a glass case, opting to pace himself to conserve energy across the floor, moving towards the BatComputer to try get people's attention.
Was it a good idea to be in one of the areas with the heaviest foot traffic in the Cave?
Probably not.
But life is nothing without its risks.
And besides, no one would be there for at least another hour, so he had the time-
The creak of the grandfather clock echoed through the air.
What?
Alfred was on vacation, which meant it was someone else who wasn't aiming to set up comms.
And given the system was down, it meant someone was trying to do work outside of patrol hours.
Sure, that is what he does, but he has his reasons. Cold cases to solve, crimes to deal with. Someone needs to do it.
The sounds of moving of someone moving down the stairs got louder and louder until finally they entered the light of the Cave, revealing themselves.
Oh No.
It was Damian.
He did a quick survey around the room, spotting Tim's uniform immediately and walking towards it with purpose.
Listen, he was getting along with the brat. Or at least, trying to.
Both of their inferiority complexes got in the way of that pretty explosively, and Tim was tired of dealing with the fallout.
But this was his one shot. Damian was 18 now, and Tim was in his twenties. People change.
As Damian picked up his empty suit, he yelled as loud as he could from where he was off to the side on his path to the BatComputer.
Damian turned in his direction, seeing nothing before looking downwards and noticing Tim's tiny form.
He crouched, moving closer and closer in as if trying to confirm that what he was seeing was real, before looking around at the rest of the cave.
"Hey Damian."
"Drake."
Well. They were off to a great start already.
"Does anyone know you're here?"
"I mean, people would have known I had been here-"
"So that's a no."
Tim hung his head low as an answer.
Damian hummed.
"Good," he said, right before he tossed Tim's uniform down to the depths of the cave.
"Hey!"
Damian turned to look at him. And Tim didn't like that look.
He stood to his full height, and pushed his foot in front of Tim's face.
"Lick."
"What?"
"I said -" Tim was pushed straight against the floor as the foot put an increasing amount of pressure on his entire form, Damian slowly concentrating his weight onto one foot.
What good is pride if you're dead?
"Okay! Okay."
Damian looked at him with a wide smirk, letting his foot off Tim's form.
Tim got off from where he was on the floor, getting on his knees in an attempt to catch his breath.
And when he finally did?
He was in front of Damian's feet as the boy looked down on him.
The threat was real, and he had to respond accordingly.
He moved closer to the right foot, wincing at the slight smell of sweat before forcing himself to get close, tentatively sending a single lick oh his big toe before stopping to look up at Damian's face.
"Did I tell you to stop?"
It was very real.
Slowly, he made his way across the toes, licking them each as much as he thought was necessary. Well, far more than he thought was necessary, because he didn't think this was necessary.
His form was kicked backwards, and he was on his back once again as Damian pressed the sole of his foot on his body. This time, much less force was applied, but still enough that he was reminded that he was at Damian's mercy this entire time.
No one knew he was here. No one would know, unless he played along with Damian's game.
He started licking long strokes across the heavy skin, picking up sweat and dust but having no other choice than to swallow.
After an agonizing thirty minutes of being forced to cater to both feet, Damian finally decided to speak up.
"Your performance was unsatisfactory."
"What did you expect?"
"For you to actually try."
Try genuinely lick his feet? Was it the new, much more massive size difference that gave Damian the confidence to say that kind of shit?
Damian moved to say something, but was interrupted as the screen crackled to life, choosing to engulf Tim in one hand held behind his back as he listened to Oracle's instructions.
Which meant people would be coming down soon.
Which meant he'd be safe and out of Damian's hands.
Damian seemed to realize that too, and in a split second, came to a decision.
He picked up his boots, and tossed Tim straight in, sending him face first into the damp sole.
The smell of sweat was much worse in here. Damian wore long boots, meaning smells easily got trapped at the bottom.
Where he was right now.
Damian let him be for a while, choosing to interact with Oracle and checking on the system like Tim was a non-priority.
Well, that sucks for him.
Tim was resourceful and could get out of tough situations. He quickly ran back, entering the light where the opening was. He looked around, and found slight wrinkles and cracks in the fabric.
Bingo.
He started grabbing onto them like they were rocks on a cliff side. Sure, they gave way much easier than rocks did, but they were his only way out. He just had to not think about the free fall.
He got up higher and higher, taking more and more risks as he tried to get out of there as soon as he could. The long part that lied against Damian's calves provided their own struggle, being less wrinkled since they were mostly stationary, but he grabbed hard enough that the fabric bunched under his hands, allowing him to reach to edge of the shoe.
Where he was shadowed as Damian's frowning face saw his position, before shaking the boot and sending him back down to the bottom. The light from the opening faded away, and smells got stronger, as Damian's foot entered the base of the shoe.
Tim watched in horror as the foot grew closer and closer. He tried backing away, but the form-fitted Kevlar material offered no real space for him to escape as the foot descended straight onto his body, pinning it in place.
"Damian!"
He scrambled and pushed against the pulsing, warm foot as the space grew tighter and tighter.
He's tying the laces.
He'd have taken the ignorant crushing over this - hell, even the quick knowing. But this? Tears ran as the acrid smell filled his lungs, sweat and grime covering him and entering his mouth as he tried to gasp for air under the unrepentant weight.
He could hear muffled voices from outside, asking Damian a question
"Are you ready?"
He could picture Damian's shit-eating grin. "More than ever."
Of course, no one payed much attention to the weird mannerisms he displayed. They called it artifacts from his training, but Tim knew what it was. An excuse ready to be launched any time he was actually up to something - like he was right now.
The weight moved up off him momentarily as Damian took experimental steps, and Tim took the opportunity to drag himself between the boy's toes before being pinned again, this time colliding with the wall of the shoe as he was pushed with more force than you would need unless you were torturing someone in your shoe. Slowly, the toes around him wriggled, distorting his body and drawing screams as
Tim felt his body bend under the weight of the titan above him. The movement stopped, but it offered no reprieve. The toes curved around his form, effectively trapping him.
I just solved his issue for him.
Damian landed on the back of his feet. And Tim still needed to breathe He would have done something - shifted his weight or lost efficiency in fights as he tried to draw out this torture for as long as he could. But now? Tim was cushioned in between the meat of his toes at a point of low force. And he had access to air - while still being under Damian's full control. He still had to deal with the smell, the heat, and the sweat, but he gave Damian the greatest weapon he could use against him.
His own safety.
"Just one more thing."
The shifting and the increased weight on him indicated Damian was kneeling. And then he whispered, low enough that no one else could hear.
"Enjoy the ride."
That was one of the worst nights Tim has ever had in his entire life. The entire night was spent running and jumping, with every flex of Damian's feet pushing his body to its limits.
Damian didn't kick much, but it seemed to be his only fighting method all patrol, which was chosen specifically for the captive prisoner held in his shoes.
That wasn't even taking into account the sweat. And the smell.
And it seemed the universe DID have it out for him.
Another Arkham breakout meant he was out there for hours longer than he should have been, meaning the sweat started to pool.
Their shoes were terrible at letting out sweat, with the only way to get rid of the liquid being an absorbent material Tim patented. They replaced the pads every so often, washing and drying older ones so they could go back to holding liquid.
And it seemed Damian hadn't replaced his in a while.
The sweat from around the foot started pooling around his legs, every kick sending more onto his face, which meant that Damian started to kick even more than he already was during patrol.
When he was finally let out, it was in one of the bathrooms on the ground floor, one private to the suits, unceremoniously tossed out of the shoe into Damian's waiting palm.
"Did you have fun?"
"You. Bitch."
Damian smirked, pinching his form between his two fingers and dangling him in front of his face, choosing to match his cadence.
"You. Piece. Of. Shit."
Every word out of Damian's mouth mocked him, choosing to laugh softly at the look on Tim's face before settling on a wide grin.
"Now, you're all for proving your worth, are you not?"
That sent something through him. Tim really didn't like where this was going.
Damian walked with him in his palm until he was in front of the toilet bowl.
No.
He was dropped, plopping into the water and crashing into the bottom, before forcing himself to swim upwards to the surface of the water.
And when he got there, Damian was standing above him.
"How you leave here is up to you now."
He didn't really mean that-
Was he just going to leave him here?
"We didn't catch Killer Croc today after the breakout. If you see him later, say hi."
Forget Killer Croc - the sewage alone would kill him.
He slowly started to claw up the porcelain, but the steep angle and smooth material meant he slipped back into the water.
"Good luck."
Luck was never on his side.
That was only made more evident by the fact that someone started knocking on the door, clearly intending to use the bathroom behind Damian. He just needed to get their attention.
The door unlocked and someone rushed in, shutting the door fast as they shoved Damian out before rushing to the toilet.
Fuck.
They were far too distracted to actually notice him.
He had to get out.
Now.
He swam back down and left the water with enough force to land him on the porcelain again, but it was too late.
Duke's giant form had already pulled out his cock, and it was aimed right at him.