Savior | T. Drake ✔

[00]

Wood clanged against wood as the training swords clashed ferociously. In the center of the combating ground both Tim and Jason were training. A blindfold covered Tim's eyes so that he could rely on his senses other than sight to fight back.

He was doing good so far, ears picking up every slight sound of Jason's advances, hands and feet synchronized to keep an effective balance of defense and attack simultaneously.

"Don't hold back," Tim remarked when Jason landed a blow at his feet which he barely manged to dodge, spinning in the air so that Jason's leg passed right underneath.

"You neither."

The sword collided with his thigh but he kept his balance, swiftly turning towards Jason, arm outstretched as the edge of the wooden sword brushed against his throat, marking his victory.

He didn't flinch but waved his fingers in front of Tim's eyes just to check if he was properly blindfolded or not, "getting better, Babybird."

"Shall we go again?"

"If you're not tired, sure."

They took their positions again in the center of the ground. Taking the first blow that once, Jason slammed his sword aggressively at him but he blocked it, closely sensing the sounds made by the air as the wood slashed through.

The trick to fighting blindfolded was having a clear head and sharp ears, something which he had been training himself on for long. Because in battle, there could be no compromise. Anything could be taken away from the fighter, be it his hands, feet or eyes. But no matter what happened or how much was lost, the fighter had to keep fighting and win.

He advanced forward pushing Jason back but he ducked, sliding right under the sword as he switched positions with him. Sensing the movement behind him, Tim spun around his arms slashing the air again but Jason dodged, rolling on his knees as he stood up behind him.

Tim was quick to turn around circling him as he focused on every slight sound that reached his ears, tuning in to the sounds released by his training opponent. Jay's sword landed at his hilt in an attempt to disarm him but he kept his hold, spinning so that they were back to back, his foot colliding right under Jason's knee, making him stumble.

Taking advantage of his slight loss of balance, he went in for a series of attacks that Jason managed to dodge effortlessly; a slash through the air, a high axe kick at which he spun mid air to go for another blow. But Jason was too quick for him as he ended up behind him again, landing the final blow by giving him a sharp smack between the shoulder blades.

"Time's up, you can take off the blindfold."

He removed the fabric revealing his clear blue eyes, as Jason gave him an appreciative fist bump. "Not too bad, right?"

"You've improved," Jay remarked, "much better than the last time."

"Thanks," he nodded, placing the swords back in the respective holders.

"But why are you so obsessed with fighting blindfolded? It's our third training session and you always insist upon covering your eyes."

He sighed at the question, "I don't know. It just... Reminds me of Ren." 

Each time Tim fought blindfolded, he couldn't help but think that was exactly what Irina Luthor had been doing alongside him at each patrol night they met up in Gotham. And every single time he took off his blindfold after the training, he couldn't help but wonder what would happen if she took off the blindfold as well and figured out that Red Robin and Tim Drake were one and the same. 

He did not speak further but Jay had understood the meaning behind his words quite clear. He placed an arm around the boy, pulling him close, "Tim, you're overthinking it all. Again. So what if she doesn't know that you're Red Robin? You don't know who she is either."

"I know," he mumbled, looking up with a slightly guilty expression, "I figured it out months ago."

A mixture of surprise and shock dawned on his features, "and you didn't even tell us? You little bitch..."

Despite himself, a slow smile flickered on his face at the title Jay had serenaded him with, "well I'm still not going to tell you. And just so you don't rush off to ruin your own friendship with her as Red Hood, I'll let you know that she is aware of me knowing her real identity. So say goodbye to your dream of snitching up on me."

"Aw man, that's not fair," Jason remarked, face contorting into a fake scowl which was broken by a laugh as Tim shoved him playfully, "but still, bro, don't you think you are going a little too hard on yourself?"

"I don't know," he admitted honestly, "but what I do know is that I have become a little too adept at keeping such a huge secret from her. It's scary how I have been lying to her for so long and I do not want to keep doing that. Trust me, I don't."

Jason shrugged knowing that his younger brother tended to get slightly more overwhelmed and emotional as compared to himself, "I may not be the best person for relationship advice, Timmy, but I know one thing for a fact. Neither you nor I have a say in that matter. Bruce has forbidden us from letting anyone else other than our family in on our secret. You can't tell your girlfriend and I can't tell mine. So we are stuck keeping up this charade for as long as we possibly can."

He straightened a bit as if he had just noticed something, "you have a girlfriend?"

Jay noticed the slip of tongue as he shrugged, "a girlfriend? No, make it like three or four for this month."

A smile took over Tim's face as he looked at him meaningfully, "you finally asked Helena out, didn't you?"

"What? No..." 

But his face gave away his feeble lie and he burst out laughing as Tim tackled him down to the ground. "My turn to steal your epic line," he got off his back but put emphasis on the last sentence which he had spoken to him moments earlier, "you didn't even tell us, you little bitch!"

"Shut up," Jason clapped his hand on his back a bit roughly making him stumble forward, though a mischievous smile was playing on his lips, "but you guessed right."

"Good guesses are my specialty, you know that," Tim remarked, joining in as he laughed too. For a moment, Jay had yet again succeeded in making him forget about the worries that were clouding his head. And he couldn't be more grateful to him for that.

***