Author Pov
Sleep, a state many are familiar with but yet so many find it to become more and more of a scarcity. This becomes even more so a fact for those who partake in the world of being a vigilante. The darkness of night makes for great cover and gives comfort to those who reside themselves to a life of crime. Which in turn means for one to be a crime fighter usually comes at the sacrifice of having anything remotely similar to a typical sleep schedule.
There are few more versed in this than the Wayne family. Or as more may know the Bat family. To preside over the Gotham streets is a task this family has sworn themselves to but even they aren't exempt from the rules. None find themselves more aware of that fact than a Mr. Tim Drake.
Tim Drake, Red Robin, Sidekick of the great Batman, Kid genius, Tim had done a lot of things in his life but sleep was something he seemingly had always struggled with. No matter what he tried it would always evade him or at the very least leave him desperately trudging through the day one cup of coffee at a time till he eventually crashed hours past when he should have been asleep.
Tim didn't know whether it was natural insomnia, his overactive mind, his line of work, possible past trauma, or his very slight, totally not an addiction, use of caffeine. Hell it could be all of the above and he'd never really know. What he did know was that he had for the most part gotten used to the usual slog of being up for days at a time and then crashing into a deep slumber for up to twenty four hours. It was a routine for him, no matter how horrible it may be.
However recently this routine as Tim called it had changed and he hated it. Tim no longer struggled to sleep because of an overuse of caffeinated beverages or his overactive mind coming up with a new innovative scheme to fight crime, it wasn't even that Gotham had been overrun with another crime spree. In fact it was much worse, to Tim at the very least.
You see Tim had spent the last few days in absolute fervor. He found it impossible to lay down or even stop moving and relax without his chest growing tight. He'd never suffered a pain quite like the heartache but he noticed it would always pop up when he was around or thinking of 'Him'.
Being naturally curious he decided to embarrassingly ask his old brother Dick what to do. And the conversation went about as well as Tim expected any real serious conversation with Dick would. An absolute disaster. After explaining the situation in as much detail as he could manage, Dick simply laughed at his concern before saying the sentence that had been stuck in his head for days
"Looks like Timmy has a crush!" Tim now despised that word as well as his brother for ever saying it. Tim refused to believe he had a crush, he refused that something so childish would be what caused this. Tim did manage to save some of his dignity, making Dick swear to never tell another soul of their conversation, and while Dick was still giggling he agreed. Not before Tim gave him a very serious glare. Dick eventually settled down and agreed, but offered to help him whenever he felt ready.
Ever since then Tim had been working himself ragged. Anything to occupy his mind, whether that be going out on patrol, responding to even the slightest of crimes, running diagnostics on every single computer in the manor, even triple checking his homework. Anything to get his mind off of 'him'.
Who exactly is the 'him' Tim was desperately trying not to think about? Well that would be the one and only (Y/N) (L/N). (Y/N) was and still is one of Tim's best friends and a well trusted partner. The two had met under relatively unique circumstances. (Y/N) was at one point a victim of the ever growing metahuman trafficking rings. However unlike what some may think (Y/N) wasn't a metahuman, and tested negative for any form of super power after being kidnapped for his family. Unfortunately his family wouldn't survive the incident, leaving (Y/N) a powerless, orphaned, kid in the middle of the heart of a world wide metahuman trafficking network.
(Y/N) however was a young fit male with many years ahead of him to grow, and therefore was sold to anyone willing to take him. He would however end up not being completely down on his luck. Instead of being sold out to much worse parts of the world, (Y/N) was bought by the League of Assassins, to be trained as a child soldier. Something not uncommon for the League but still a fate much better than many of the alternatives.
(Y/N) would eventually be found years later during a raid, after being captured and having been identified as a longtime victim of kidnapping. His fate was left to that of the Justice League. (Y/N) was still barely even a teenager at the time and was quickly taken in by two superheroes. The Batman and Green Arrow. This is how the two would meet, Tim first met (Y/N) when he was merely a meek young boy who had been living a nightmare but had watched as (Y/N) grew up into the young man and brave hero he was now. The two became very close over the years. Having been partners more times than they could count and spent many nights fighting crime together. Not to mention they had become close friends outside of their work as well.
Tim genuinely enjoyed being around (Y/N). They practically did everything together nowadays. They trained together, raided arcades together, binged movies together, did homework together, stayed up way later than they should've together. And now Tim had a crush on him, or at least that's what Dick told him.
Tim was now sitting at his desk in his room. Fiddling with a pen in one hand while rubbing his temples with the other. His desk was covered in papers and plans, all scattered about in ever growing piles. With an array of empty energy drinks and coffee mugs that precariously sat atop the piles.
Tim looked back towards his bed, the sheets left askew from where he had thrown them earlier. Bright red numbers shined back from the alarm clock on his nightstand. The numbers appeared to blur and swirl in Tim's vision the longer he stared. Tim sighed as he looked towards the window. It was still dark but he knew it wouldn't be long till the sun would be creeping over the horizon. Turning back to the desk, Tim looked down at his papers but frowned as the once clear letter and numbers began to blur and swirl much like the alarm clock. With another long sigh, Tim let his head rest on the desk.
'This isn't working, how am I supposed to forget about these feelings if I can't even read a paper a foot in front of me? Not to mention this headache is killing me! Feels like someone is knocking right on my skull-'
Before Tim could finish his thought a soft string of knocking came from his door. Tim jumped in his seat looking incredulously at his door.
'Who in the world would be up right now?' Tim asked himself as he stood up and approached the door. He slowly turned the knob before letting the door fall open. His eyes had to adjust to the dimly lit hallway, having to really focus to see the figure standing in front of him. That was until his eyes went wide with recognition.
"Heya Tim-"
"(Y/N)?!" Tim nearly yelled as he saw the male with two mugs in his hands as well as a small plastic bag hanging from his forearm.
"Shhhh- Its like five in the morning Tim!" (Y/N) whisper yelled back as he walked into the room. Tim is still wide eyed at seeing him here seemingly out of the blue.
"How- how did you manage to knock with your hands full?"
"Legs"
"But the knocking came from the top half of the door?"
(Y/N) just gave a smirk as he closed the door behind him with his foot before lifting his leg straight up over his head and gently using it to knock on the door
"I- forget you can do that-"
(Y/N) chuckled as he set down the mugs on the desk and threw the bag on the bed.
"What are you doing here?"
"Oh- Dick texted me, said he saw your light had been on all night and wanted me to check on you, and I figured you were probably having another one of those nights so I came on by"
Tim tried desperately to hide his burning rage with a smile as he thought of every way possible to harm his brother for doing this to him. That was till a warm mug was pushed into his hands.
"Coffee? I figured you'd at least want one more cup before I cut you off. Don't worry I made it just the way you like"
"So just normal black coffee?"
"Yep!"
Tim couldn't help but chuckle at his friend's antics as he gladly took a sip of the coffee savoring the warmth.
"What's in the bag?"
Tim sat beside the bag on the bed as (Y/N) joined him.
"Water, a few sports drinks, and the healthiest snacks I could find at a 24/7 convenience store. I don't care what you say but I can see that desk Tim and those cans don't lie. You know caffeine dehydrates you and I'm gonna make sure that after this last cup you get plenty of water and electrolytes in your system. It isn't good to deny yourself proper nutrition."
"Okay mom-"
"Shut it"
The two laughed together before falling into a peaceful silence simply enjoying their coffee and the early morning atmosphere.
"So wanna talk about why you're staying up so late?" (Y/N) asked, setting down his now empty cup.
"I could ask you the same thing" Tim said in a feinted attempt to steer the conversation anywhere else.
"Well if you must know, I don't really sleep a whole lot, maybe a few hours at most. So being awake before the sun isn't exactly something new"
"And you think that's healthy?!"
"Tim- you have no room to talk, you're the one who stayed up for over thirty six hours once, for no good reason I might add, and that's not to mention all the times you've just ignored the entire concept of a sleep schedule."
"Y-you may have a point"
"Oh and also, it's more a force of habit thing. You know the whole raised by assassin thing. Apparently they aren't too keen on getting a full eight hours of sleep- who would've guessed"
"*sigh* I guess you have a point"
"So?"
Tim gave (Y/N) a look, not one of fear or disappointment but one of embarrassment. Something (Y/N) wasn't exactly used to seeing on Tim. It made (Y/N) a touch more concerned, clearly whatever this was wasn't something Tim was comfortable with. (Y/N) took in a slow breath to calm himself before turning Tim to face him completely.
"Okay- listen Tim, I'm not completely oblivious to this situation. Dick would've never called me here if he didn't think this was a genuine issue he couldn't have solved himself. He told me how you've been working yourself half to death. Not to mention you've been practically avoiding me for almost a week now- I'm worried Tim, for you, I don't know what I did but if it's made you this upset then I want to fix it."
Tim couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. (Y/N) was not only concerned but outright sad at just the thought that he was the cause. The pain in his eyes cleared as day. It shattered Tim's heart to see his friend like this, all because Tim refused to just admit to himself that he had feelings for him.
'He blames himself for this! No! No! No! Damn it Tim, think-!'
"Woah! No! No! No! It's not like that-! Your amazing, and super sweet, and I think you're an incredible guy who I'd love to go out with some day- Mmph!-
Tim slapped his hand over his rambling mouth, a warm tint spreading across his face as he stared at (Y/N) in complete shock. (Y/N) himself was not much better, his mouth ajar and eyes wide, with a similar shade of red spread on his face.
"Did- did you actually mean all that?" (Y/N) asked, still a little shocked from the sudden change in tone.
"I- I don't- uh" Tim was practically short circuiting. His hand folded up around his head as he began curling into a ball on the bed.
'Why!? Why did I say that?! He's gonna think I'm crazy! Even if he was Bi or Gay- what's to say he even thinks of me like that!'
Tim's thoughts were broken up by his hands being grabbed. (Y/N) gently pulled his hands away from his face, holding them in his as he pulled Tim back up so they were sitting across from each other on the bed.
"Tim it's alright- I'm not going to judge you, all I want is an answer, do you truly believe that?"
(Y/N)'s voice was soft and calming. He still held Tim's hands, lightly rubbing circles on his palms as he patiently waited for Tim to answer.
"I- yes I do- I think you're really fun to hang out with, and I love spend time with you- I just didn't know how to approach these feelings- I didn't want to push things too far and tried distracting myself but didn't think it would hurt you and-
"Tim- it's alright, I love you too, genuinely from the bottom of my heart. I'd be more than willing to try this with you. Let's just take this slow and figure this out together, how's that sound?
Tim's worries seemingly washed away after heard that. A smile formed on his face as he interlocked his fingers with (Y/N)'s, giving him a little squeeze and getting one back in return.
"I think I'd like that"
The two lovebirds stayed there for some time. Holding hands as they watched the morning sun rise over the skyline and fill the room with warm rays of light. But sadly the peaceful moment was interrupted by (Y/N)'s phone buzzing.
"*sigh* great- sorry Tim I gotta get going, Apparently Ollie's got a lead on something and needs some backup"
"No worries, I'll walk you out"
The two collected their things and walked through the manner before stopping just short of the large entrance doors
"Hey, maybe I can sneak away from Ollie tonight and we can go hang out, maybe catch a movie or something, if that's alright with you of course-
"Well- I'd have to find someone to cover for my patrol tonight, but I think I can manage- so how about we make it a date?"
(Y/N) chuckled before leaning in close and pressing a kiss to Tim's check.
"Sounds good to me, see ya later honey!"
And like that (Y/N) was out the door and on his way to fight crime. Tim on the other hand was frozen watching (Y/N)'s figure slowly fade into the distance. One hand on the cheek (Y/N) kisses and the other giving a small wave.
"Uh- yeah, be safe"
Tim shut the door and exhaled. He certainly wasn't expecting this.
"So~ you sure you don't want my advice"
And of course standing right by the entrance was Tim's wonderful older brother Dick.
"No actually, I've already got quite the plan for today"
"Oh really?"
"Yeah, first thing first I'm gonna kick your ass! Don't think I forgot about what you did!"
And so the chase began as the two brothers ran around the house waking all their siblings up in the process. It was quite a way to start what was sure to be an eventful day.
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Howdy there- just making my once every six months or so appearance. At this point I may as well own it. But anyways hope you guys enjoy the longer oneshots and they don't feel overly bloated. And for those wondering this is based of the Wayne family adventures webtoon because I fell in love with it and I've always been a Tim Drake fan in the first place. Anyways a few quick notes slash questions. I'm thinking of opening up request again maybe, just to see what you find folks want more specifically and I've kinda been thinking of maybe doing smut again- I've kinda taken a hiatus on it as you all can see from the last eight or so oneshots. I just got tired of writing it because it started feeling bland and weird but at the same time I'm no saint and could definitely write something on the spicy side again if I got tempted on the right night. I guess I just want to hear from y'all before I do anything. Like would you guys actually want either of those options back? Or are you happy with me just actually posting for once? Does anyone actually read these? I don't know- but anyway let me know what you all want to see, in the meantime be safe, drink water, don't be afraid to take a break and maybe go get some fresh air. And I hope to see you all again here soon.