Diabolical | T. Drake ✔

[04] Absurd New Family

Tim had spent the next hour thoroughly searching his room for any potential threats to his life. And when he found nothing there that could hurt him, he checked the bathroom and the balcony as well.

He might have come along with Batman for the time being but that didn't mean he trusted him or the nice old butler who had given him pasta and coffee.

Humans always had ulterior motives behind the things they did, including him. So he felt there must be an ulterior motive behind Bruce letting him stay at his place.

He assumed the man thought it would be better to keep him under watch and the best place to do that would be his own home. Tim knew he was not an average case of an orphan getting adopted by Bruce Wayne; he was officially dead, he could be dangerous and it all made sense to him if he assumed Batman was only keeping him there to make sure he didn't end up doing something terrible.

Tim knew full well that he had great potential for doing terrible things. Perhaps the Dark Knight had sensed that too and felt it would be better to keep him in an environment that would prevent him from spiraling out of control.

By then he had carefully examined every nook and cranny of the room he was given but there was nothing suspicious there at the moment. Convinced at last that it was safe to stay there for the night, he locked the door carefully, put up a chair to block access, and then went to the bathroom to take a shower.

Warm water ran down his back and he rested his head back, letting the water wash through his curly matted hair. Realizing that there were a lot of tangles in his hair, he carefully rinsed them then took the bottle of shampoo, sniffing it before applying it to his hair.

Taking a shower was a luxury he had been living without as there wasn't enough time or resources for him earlier. But at Wayne Manor, everything from the toiletries to the furniture was exquisite.

It would take him a lot of time to get adjusted to such a drastic change. But then he didn't have any plans of staying there for longer than a week. So he thought of leaving the second he would convince Batman that he was not a threat to be kept under strict surveillance and then run off with enough supplies to keep him going for the next month.

As he came out of the shower, he picked out a pair of clothes that were close to his size, hanging already in the walk-in closet. Drying his head with a towel, he saw that his wet brown curls had turned fluffy instead of sticking together in messy ringlets.

He looked into the mirror, feeling quite different than usual. His skin was paler than he remembered, the dark rings under his eyes creating a stark contrast against it and his hair bounced up in a fluffy poof around his gaunt face.

He felt lighter and drowsier after the shower as he yawned, so he finally crept into the bed.

It had been a really long time since he had slept on a bed and he was quite unaccustomed to the soft mattress. Throughout the night, he kept twisting and turning, unable to rest in his new and normal environment.

At last, he gave up, rolling underneath the bed with the blanket, curling into a ball, and then went to sleep. He had sharp senses so he trusted himself to wake up the instant someone tried to push open the door. But after weeks of not going to sleep, when he finally got comfortable under the bed on the hardwood floor, exhaustion struck him hard and he passed out.

The next morning, Alfred came upstairs to wake Tim for breakfast. However, he found the door locked so he tapped on it gently.

"Master Timothy, it's time for breakfast."

There was no reply from inside so he knocked louder. Finally, a thud sound and a timid voice swearing could be heard. Eventually, the door opened, revealing the frail boy, rubbing his head.