Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Jason walking down the street after running errands when a kid ran into him.

"Sorry sir."

Before he could respond the kid ran off, it didn't escape him that 50 dollars was now missing from his pocket. But he knew what it could be like and figured that kid needed it more than him. A moment later he found out exactly why the kid had been running. A cop stopped in front of him, "Did you see some punk kid around here? He was loitering around a shop and I suspect he was stealing."

Jason looked the cop up and down, "No. I didn't see anything."

The cop sighed in exasperation and walked away grumbling.

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Tim had run back to Crime Alley and found an alleyway to lay camp in. He looked to see what he got from that guy he ran into. 50 bucks! That would be able to get him food for a whole week! He might even be able to thrift some warmer clothes, it was September so it would be getting cold soon. He got his bag and walked over to the convenience store. He picked out some canned food, and non perishables and headed to the register.

The cashier looked at his items boredly, "That will be 35 dollars. Would you like to round up to 40 and donate 5 dollars to the Wayne Foundation to help homeless youth?"

Tim looked at them like they were stupid, "No."

The cashier sighed, "Here's your change. Thank you for not robbing us today."

Tim put the items in his bag and made his way to the thrift store. He didn't have much in terms of clothes. He had a worn out thin jacket, a raggedy t shirt, jeans that were filled with holes from wear and tear, and shoes that were practically falling apart. If he got lucky he might be able to afford a warmer jacket for winter.

Tim was not lucky. He was only able to afford a pair of fingerless gloves. It would have to do. He could just break into the library during the really cold nights again. He found an alleyway with an empty dumpster and hopped in. When he wasn't staying in the library he slept in empty dumpsters. They provided some amount of protection from the elements and were a good hiding place from other people. Although he once had to fight a pack of rats for territory. He won. He laid down, holding his bag on top of him. He looked at the hazy sky and sighed. He turned curling into his bag and fell into a light sleep.

He woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of talking. He peeked outside and saw Nightwing arguing with someone.

"This is my territory you can't just come around."

Tim's heart dropped, oh no. Which gang had he accidentally intruded on. He had things like this happen before, in trying to find a place to sleep he would accidentally stumble upon gang territory.

"Come on, can't I visit my little brother?"

Little brother? Tim relaxed, this must be Redhoods territory. He didn't hurt kids.

"Besides this case involves Bludhaven too, we have to work together on this one."

Tim's foot slipped hitting the back of the dumpster. Nightwing and Redhood snapped towards him. Tim ducked hiding, hoping he wouldn't be spotted. Tim made eye contact with Redhood and they looked at eachother for a terrifying moment.

"Just a rat. Come on."

They grappled away leaving Tim alone. He felt like he could breath again. Why didn't Redhood say anything? Tim wasn't going to question it, he was just glad he didn't get caught.

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It was November now and the wind was biting. Tim wrapped his flimsy jacket around himself trying to stay warm. He found himself in front of the Gotham Library. He could stay there for the night. He walked in greeting Barbara. She had always been nice to Tim and never said anything about how ragged he looked, or about the fact he didn't leave after closing. And if sometimes, on the extra cold nights she forgot to lock the windows, who was he to complain.

"Hi Barbara."

"Hey Tim, how have you been."

"Eh, well, I'm not dead yet so that's good."

"Yeah, that's always a good thing. Bit of a cold night isn't it."

"Yeah, thought I'd come in to warm up a bit you know."

"Did you get new gloves?"

"Yeah! Couple months back I hit a stroke of luck and was able to afford some gloves!"

"That's great! Well I'll see you around."

"See ya."

Tim walked away heading to the computers. He opened an article about the Drakes. They would be away in Morocco on a dig for the next 8 months. Tim had started to notice a pattern. Last time he looked they would he away for 6 months in Dubai, then again for 9 months in Thailand. The Drakes were never home. Which meant their home was probably empty. The brief times when they did come home, the house was so huge he could probably just hide and lay low for a while. Tim smiled, this could work. He looked up their address and wrote it down on his hand. He started leaving.

"Leaving already?" Barbara questioned.

"Yeah, found somewhere with potential."

He went to the bus stop, pulling out the few dollars he had left for the ticket. It took him to the nicer side of Gotham where he got out. He received some odd looks for it but no one said anything. Rule number one in Gotham: Mind your own buisness.

He walked to the Drake manor, passing by the Wayne estate. He tested the doorknob, expecting it to be locked, but it opened easily. It was like the Drakes wanted him to stay there. Tim walked the pristine halls in awe. He'd never been to a house this large before. Hell, he couldn't even remember a time when he lived in a house at all. He found a spare room and decided he would stay there. He found a bathroom connected to it and marveled at it. He tested the shower, turning it on. His eyes widened, hot water! He didn't even know water could GET hot like that! He stripped his clothes and hopped into the shower. Enjoying the warm water running down his back. He saw dirt and grime that had been layered on him for years wash down the drain. The shower even had shampoo and conditioner for his hair. He washed his hair and body until finally he reluctantly left the shower. He buried his face in a fluffy towel and dried himself off. He found a small robe and wrapped the soft fabric around him. He flopped into the bed and got the best nights sleep he'd ever had.

The next morning he hacked into a laptop to forge some documents. If he were to get caught he needed his bases covered. He did some digging on the Drakes and it turned out they already had records of a child, Timothy Jackson Drake. They were very well hidden and there was never anything in the news about them having a son. So it would be an easy identity to claim in a pinch. He hacked into their bank account and stole enough to help him get by, but not enough that the Drakes would notice. Tims head jolted up when he heard the doorbell. He threw his clothes on and ran downstairs to the door. He looked out the peephole and it was Jason Todd. What was Jason Todd doing at the Drakes residence? He opened the door a crack peeping through. Trying to do his best to mimic the little he'd heard of a Bristol accent he asked, "Can I help you?"

Jason looked surprised, "Oh! Hi there. I was just curious why the lights were on because I thought the Drakes were still on their work trip."

"They are."

"Who are you then?"

"I'm their son."

Jason looked confused, "I didn't know they had a son."

"They kept me out of the public eye."

"Why aren't you with them? They'll be gone for months."

Tim shrugged trying to come up with something, "Too much trouble bringing a kid along for work."

"They just leave you alone?"

"Yes?"

Jason frowned, "I'm going to make a call."

Tim watched Jason walk away for a minute before he returned with a smile.

"Want to join us for dinner tonight?"

Tim's eyes shined, "O- Okay. Sure."

Jason had a hint of relief on his face, "Great! We'll give you a ride. Come on."

Jason was taken off gaurd seeing Tim's clothes but didn't say anything. They arrived at the manor and Tim tried not to look awestruck. When they got there Jason led him to a living room where everyone was gathered. Dick Grayson grinned when he saw him, "Hey Jason, heard you picked up a stray from off the street like dear old dad."

Jason laughed as he defended, "I'll have you know he has a family. Their just out of town so I invited him for dinner."

Tim would have felt bad for lying to the Wayne family, but the Drakes didn't exactly keep their kitchen stocked since they were gone so often, and he wanted to eat tonight.

"Yes. I'm Tim Drake, they kept me secret from the public to give me privacy."

Damian scowled, "I haven't seen you at school before."

"Oh, I'm homeschooled. You know, to keep the public from finding out about me and since their so busy they just don't have the time to bother enrolling me."

Bruce grumbled. Tim was starting to get nervous, they kept asking him questions. Which meant he had to keep lying, and keep up a fake Bristol accent. Not to mention he didn't know how to awnser a lot of their questions. He had never had parents before so he didn't know what it was supposed to look like. Luckily for him Alfred walked into the room and announced dinner.

After Jason got back from driving Tim home he made a beeline for the batcave when he got home. Something was off about that Tim kid. His clothes were ratty to say the least, his shoes were worn to scraps. The kid was smaller than he should be. His clothes hung off him like the fur on a wet cat. Jason also noticed his Bristol accent slip at times. There was just a lot about that kid that didn't add up. Best case scenario was probably severe neglect. Worst case... Jason didn't even know. Bruce greeted him when he arrived, "Jason, just in time. The DNA sample came back positive. He is telling the truth. He is Jack and Janet Drakes son."

Chapter Text

Tim had been staying at the Drake residence for a few months. He had regularly stayed over with the Waynes and had dinner with them. They were very kind to him and after that first night they stopped asking him so many questions. Tim was finally starting to feel happy, and almost safe. Until he heard the door open. And voices. The voices of none other than Janet and Jackson Drake.

"Darling I'm so happy we were able to get home again."

"Yes, I'm sad we had to cut our trip short though. I do love our visits to Asia."

Janet laughed, "Oh Jack, you can't possibly say that. Asia is a whole continent. You mustn't generalize like that."

"Well Jan, when have we ever stayed in one country. Sometimes it's just easier to generalize. Like saying your travelling to Europe."

Their conversation continued and their voices got louder and louder. Tim started panicking. They would know. They were going to find out. They were going to call the cops on him and he would end up in jail. If he had a record he would never make his way out from the bottom. He grabbed his backpack and opened the window he was on the second floor so it was a bit of a drop. They were almost to the room he was using though and he needed to do something. He took a breath and jumped out the window, landing in some bushes below. He heard a snap in his ankle and hissed in pain. He hid in the bushes as he heard them enter the room.

"What was that noise?"

"Probably just some vermin. We did forget to lock the doors this time."

"Oh damn, I knew we were forgetting something. We can't forget to lock the doors next time we leave. We don't want to get robbed do we?"

Tim's eyes widened. He was going to lose the closest thing to a home he'd had in his whole life. He heard them leave the room and started limping away as fast as he could. He hadn't been able to get a good jacket in time for winter and the cold was biting. He struggled to a bus stop and shivered as he waited. He had some money he stole from the Drakes saved up and payed for the bus fare. He got a bus back to Crime Alley. He wouldn't risk going to a shelter. He avoided them as much as possible, let alone going to one in this state. He slowly trudged to the library, it would be closed by now but hopefully a window was left unlocked. He climbed up a fire escape to the window he used to use. He tried opening it but it was locked. He tried banging on the window, anything to get it open to no avail. Tim banged on the window with his fist out of frustration. He took a shuddered breath. He normally relied on being able to stay in the library during the cold winter nights. He climbed back down and found the nearest ally. He found an empty dumpster and climbed in. The metal was freezing and the air was biting. It was the dead of winter now. Tim clutched his bag and curled into himself in a poor attempt at keeping warm. Tim didn't know when he stopped shivering. He started feeling hot so he took off his jacket. He couldn't remember where he was. He started getting sleepy and started to doze off when he faintly heard a faraway voice. It sounded like it was saying something important, but Tim was too tired to pay it any mind. He soon fell asleep, no longer shivering or feeling the cold at all.

Jason was doing a quick patrol of his territory. He had started making it a habit of checking dumpsters after a run in with some poor kid who was sleeping there months before. He looked into one near the library and was horrified at what he found.

"Oh my God."

He turned on his comm, "I need a ride to my coordinates immediatly. Prepare the med bay."

Batman responded, "Redhood are you okay? Do you need backup?"

"Medbays not for me."

He leaned over the dumpster. Tim was barely lucid "Hey Tim, Tim I need you to stay with me okay."

Tim lost consciousness and Jason started to panic. He couldn't let this kid die. He'd taken a liking to him over these past few months. He carefully scooped him up into his arms. Cringing at how cold and limp he was. He tried holding Tim close to warm him with some of his body heat. Finally the Batmobile arrived. Jason wasted no time in climbing in the back seat. "Hypothermia."

Jason covered Tim's body with a blanket and checked his pulse and breathing. He quickly started CPR until they arrived at the cave and they could bring him in. Dr. Thompkins quickly brought Tim in and got an oxygen mask on him while she warmed him up safely. Eventually His pulse registered again and he started shallowly breathing.

Tim woke up cold and confused. He was wrapped in blankets and warm clothes but he still felt cold. He didn't remember how he got there. The last thing he remembered was leaving the library. At the side of his bed was a worried looking Jason.

"Oh thank God. I was scared we were going to lose you. Mind telling me why the hell I found you freezing in a dumpster?"

Tim shook his head. They were going to start asking him questions again and he couldn't afford that now. They would find out he was lying and he would get into trouble. Jason sighed, "Well, we found you with severe hypothermia, and a broken ankle. Doctor Thompkins also said you are malnourished. I'm going to go talk to Bruce, and when I get back I expect some awnsers."

Jason found Bruce upstairs, "Tim is awake and stable. He got pretty spooked when I asked him about what happened. I just don't understand how he ended up there. You'd think he would be home when his parents returned. He had no reason to be out there it just doesn't make sense."

Bruce sighed, "I'll call the Drakes and let them know of the situation, see if they had anything to do with it."

Bruce pulled his phone out and dialed them. He put them on speakerphone so Jason would hear the conversation.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Jackson Drake? This is Bruce Wayne."

"Oh that's fantastic." They heard Jack call out to the other room, "Janet! It's Bruce."

Jack spoke into the phone again, "We were actually just about to call you about something. You see we just realized that some stranger has been living in our home while we were away. As you can imagine this is very disconcerting and we called the police to investigate and arrest the intruder. We were going to call you to see if you knew anything about this since you live nearby."

Jason and Bruce looked at eachother. After a moment Bruce cleared his throat, "I see. You say someone has been living in your house? That is strange. Did your son know about this?"

Jack responded quickly, "Son?"

"Your son, Tim?"

Jack inhaled sharply, "You must be confused. We don't have a son."

"But-"

"Goodbye Mister Wayne."

Jack hung up and Bruce and Jason stood frozen. Neither of them knew what was going on. They had both seen the DNA results, and there were records to back it. But according to Janet and Jack, Tim didn't exist. Nothing was adding up with this kid. Jason ran his hands through his hair, "I'll try and talk to the kid. Maybe we can get some awnsers that actually make sense."

"That's what we thought when we called the Drakes, but all we got was more questions."

"I don't know what's going on, but I do know it's fucked up."

Jason walked back to where Tim was bundled up and saw him struggling to get up. Jason sighed and easily wrestled him back down, "Tim you can't run from this, we want to help you, just please stay. At least until you recover."

Tim didn't respond. They would hate him for lying. They were going to turn him into the cops, or throw him out and leave him to die. Jason left again to talk to Bruce and Tim made his move. He kept the warm coat they gave him, shoved a blanket in his bag and made a run for it. He yet again ignored the pain in his ankle.

Jason left to talk to Bruce for 5 minutes and when he came back Tim was gone, "Shit! We lost him."

Bruce came into the room, "What? How-"

Jason pinched his nose and sighed, "He's lived on the streets for who knows how long. He knows how to make a break for it."

_________________________________________

Tim cringed at the cold Winter air feeling the chill in his bones. Luckily the library was still open so he made his way there. He nodded in acknowledgement towards Barbara as she was on the phone and tucked himself in a warm corner of the library. It was hidden away enough that he wouldn't be found unless someone was looking. He fell asleep enjoying the warmth the library provided.

It was an hour before the library closed when Barbara got a call from Bruce.

"Hey B what do you need?"

"We need you to track down a kid. He lives on the streets and goes by the name of Tim."

Babs watched as the kid who regularly came in during cold months passed by shivering.

"He wouldn't happen to be short, raggedy clothes, shivering like a chihuahua would he?"

"Yes, you were able to track him down?"

"Yeah he's safe for now. He's here at the library. Go ahead and send someone over."

Jason sped over on his motorcycle. He went up to the front desk where Babs was working. She looked up, "Hey, this is one of the only places he can come to and feel safe. Don't scare him off."

"I know how to deal with alley kids, I was one too, remember. Now where is he?"

Babs pointed to a secluded corner of the library. Jason sat near the sleeping kid leaving some distance between them. Tim blinked a few times waking up. He jolted at seeing Jason. Tim's eyes darted around looking for an escape. Jason tried to make himself look non-threatening, "Hey, Hey its okay. It's just me."

Tim's breathing was picking up, "It's okay. Your okay. I'm not going to force you to do anything."

Tim eyed him. Jason continued, "I just wanted to make sure you were safe. Just a few hours ago you were nearly dead."

Tim cast his eyes downward.

"I'm not going to ask you why your ran. I get it, I was a lot like you as a kid too. You don't have to awnser anything until your ready to tell us. Your not in trouble, Bruce just wants to help. We all do. But we can't do that if you run away and don't let us."

Tim stared Jason down before responding quietly, "okay."

He let Jason pick him up curling into his warmth. Jason held him tight as he brought Tim home.