Timothy Jackson Drake’s day didn’t start out wrong.
There was no looming strangeness when he woke up, no comical disasters over breakfast and no animals staring at him with unblinking eyes when he started for the bus stop.
No, there was absolutely nothing strange about it in the beginning.
He made it to the library with no issues, checked out the coding book he wanted and was in and out in less than ten minutes.
No, the day started going wrong once he left the library. The universe had it out for him.
Well, some guy had it out for him.
Some guy with a knife.
It wasn’t personal or anything, probably, Tim should remember that.
It sure felt personal when he had to stumble through getting mugged by an increasingly unhinged man with a knife. Knives were so dangerous! Just because they regularly lost to guns didn’t mean they were suddenly harmless when faced with a squishy child. He liked his blood where it was thanks!
He mourned his stuff privately, he really hoped the library would forgive him for losing their book, and hoped the guy would stop looking through his backpack and run like a sensible mugger when his attention caught on something out of the corner of his eye.
It was a girl, small and not all that much older than him with black hair and big eyes. She was obviously homeless.
He tried to shoo her away.
She just stared, tilting her head to the side, like she could read his thoughts if she looked hard enough.
Tim would feel guilty forever if she got hurt and it wasn’t like Batman was around to save either one of them. He was probably sleeping or in a board meeting or something.
Finally, she ducked a little further behind the dumpster and the idiot mugger gave Tim a mean grin and walked off. He didn’t even run, just sauntered off like Tim wasn’t a threat at all.
He gave his backpack one last mournful look and turned to the girl, maybe helping her out would make him feel better. It would at least distract him from his own problems for a few minutes.
She wasn’t there.
“Um, hello?”
He crept closer to the dumpster and really hoped she wasn’t one of those street kids that lashed out at everything and everyone. Not that Tim would blame her, it sounded hard not having a house.
“FUCK! YOU LITTLE-”
Tim startled so hard he almost slammed his hand into the dumpster. He frantically looked around to see what had happened but whoever was yelling had stopped.
The girl was nowhere to be seen.
He hoped she would be alright.
He hoped he would be alright. He didn’t think he had enough money in his pockets to get all the way back to Bristol.
Tim sighed and walked back towards the library, he could come up with a plan there.
He looked up and did not yelp, he did not.
The girl was standing there, staring at him.
Tim didn’t quite know what to make of it.
“Hello, uh, my name’s Tim.” He held out a hand to shake before realizing it was probably really weird and rude and get it together Timothy it’s not like you were just mugged or anything.
She tilted her head, still silent and handed him something.
Tim took it and gasped.
“My backpack!” He riffled through it and grinned with happiness at finding it intact.
“Thank you!” He smiled and she looked a little confused but smiled back. Tim couldn’t care less about the quality of the smile, his camera was alright and his book wasn’t ruined and he could get home now.
He glanced up and oh! He should thank her properly.
“Thank you so much, I really appreciate it!” She blinked.
Oh, maybe she didn’t understand.
Tim grabbed what he needed from his backpack and shoved it into the water bottle holder before closing and slipping it on. He needed his hands free for his next attempt.
Once, a long time ago, Tim had seen a news clip of Batman and Robin communicating via sign and immediately dedicated almost every free hour he had to learning ASL. Of course, as it had turned out, Batman and Robin had not been communicating in ASL but some sort of sign that Tim couldn’t identify. It was probably some ultra cool secret sign language Tim couldn’t even hope to learn.
His obsession ended with disappointment but he hadn’t completely abandoned his quest and he was getting almost decent at it.
He signed slowly, just in case she needed time or hadn’t been able to keep up on the streets with no one else to talk to.
She blinked, not an ounce of recognition in her eyes.
Okay, so no English and no ASL.
Tim could work with that. His teachers said he was smart sometimes.
There were some things that were universal.
He grabbed the granola bar he’d stashed in his backpack’s water bottle holder and held it out.
She took it without a sound and nibbled without comment.
Alright, well, Tim could probably leave now. He’d thanked her, even if it wasn’t a proper expression of gratitude and it wasn’t like he could bring her home…
That was such a bad idea.
It was so monumentally stupid.
He could only imagine what would happen if his Dad found out. A street kid! In his house! Ridiculous!
His Mom would probably purse her lips in that way that said Tim was a wonderfully kind child but please don’t invite potentially dangerous strangers home, you don’t know what they might do.
She might also start considering year-round boarding school again and Tim didn’t want that at all.
But… Tim was smart and it wasn’t like his parents were home to object. They in Spain for at least another two weeks and summer break was just starting to skip along.
He could hide another kid from a couple staff people for a few weeks.
“Hey, uh…” Right, she didn’t understand him.
Tim held out a hand, hoping she’d get it.
She didn’t take it but she did follow when he started to exit the alley.
“Alright,” he took a deep breath. “Let’s go.”
As it turned out, going was a little more complicated than Tim had hoped.
The guy was back, for one thing. He didn’t have his knife that Tim could see but he definitely didn’t need a knife to hurt them.
Tim tried to step in front of the girl, he didn’t think he could take down a guy that big but he could try.
She frowned, like she wasn’t quite sure what the guy was doing here and Tim had to bite back a warning to stay back.
“You brat! I’m gonna make you-”
Tim flinched, he couldn’t help it, he hadn’t asked to be mugged!
The guy wasn’t talking to Tim, he realized in horror, he was talking to the girl.
She was so little! Sure, older than Tim but still!
It was over almost in the time Tim took to blink.
The girl’s face turned serious and she dashed forward. The man jerked back at the sudden intrusion into his personal space and she knocked him flat on his back.
Well, that was new.
Explained how she got his backpack back at least.
He shuffled in place with nerves for a moment before leaning over the body.
“Huh, I think you broke his nose.”
The girl, Tim still didn’t have a name and didn’t want to be rude by naming her, did not understand Mandarin or Russian or Korean or Spanish or French or Vietnamese or German.
In fact, she didn’t seem to recognize them as words at all.
Tim was quickly running out of foreign language dictionaries to drag back to his claimed corner of the library. It may have been that Tim wasn’t pronouncing the words right but something told him that wasn’t it.
She didn’t seem to understand the significance of his attempts and she never imitated him or corrected him with her own language.
She could definitely hear. One of the patrons walking behind her had dropped a stack of books and she had tensed slightly at the sound.
Tim was putting some things together and he wasn’t sure he liked what he found.
Was it possible for someone to not speak any language? Spoken or signed?
He had never heard of it before but… Gotham was a weird city.
Tim handed her another slice of the orange he’d been sneaking her and opened the Japanese language dictionary.
She didn’t understand Japanese but she did smile at the fruit so he was getting somewhere.
They left the library together, Tim defeated and his companion… content? She seemed happy to follow him around and it was nice, he could admit, to have someone to spend time with.
He wasn’t sure what the answers were to his several questions but it might be nice to have someone close to a friend even if she didn’t talk and could probably kill him in two hits.
Actually, now that he thought about it. This might be something Batman should know about, she was obviously trained and not the kind of trained that came from after school Judo lessons.
There was an effortless control to her movements that indicated years of constant work.
He wondered if she was some sort of runaway ninja assassin or something. That would be cool.
It didn’t seem fair to her though, to just tell Batman.
He didn't know why she'd run away. Batman wouldn't send her back to a bad place but... Tim didn't want to hurt her by going over her head and calling Batman.
He stopped when she did, distracted by something and found her staring through the window of a bakery.
“Oh, do you want one?” Tim had enough extra money for a cupcake and for the bus fare home for both of them.
She didn’t nod or look over at him but he could see the interest in her eyes.
“Come on.” He tried to take her hand again, this time she allowed it although she made sure his grip was loose and easy to break.
It was a bit of a challenge to pick one. Tim wanted to get her whichever cupcake she was most interested in trying. He couldn’t ask and by the looks the cashier was giving them they were not coming off as typical customers.
He asked for the one the girl stared at for slightly longer than the others, a red velvet cupcake with white frosting and handed it over.
Her eyes shone with delight for a moment before she glanced up at him expectantly.
Had he gotten the wrong one? He was so sure that was the one she wanted.
Did she want another one? She hadn’t even tried the first one.
She frowned, ever so slightly and walked over to one of the fancy little tables in the corner.
Tim followed, still trying to figure out what had gone wrong.
The girl set the cupcake down carefully and examined it. Before Tim could even try to ask she took action, tearing the cupcake down the middle.
Oh, she didn’t like it.
That was okay, even if it kind of made Tim sort of want to cry.
“You know you didn’t have to-” He stopped.
She held out half of the cupcake.
Oh.
Tim took a deep breath.
He accepted the half like it was something precious and took a small bite.
It was probably the best cupcake he’d ever had.
Judging by her face, he wasn’t the only one who thought that.
-
Tim learned a few more things over the course of his attempts to steer his new… friend? Could people be friends without talking? He hoped so. Anyways, Tim learned a few things about her in his efforts to steer her to the bus stop.
She didn’t like the guy who sat on the park benches and sneered at everyone. A fair sentiment, he’d thought Tim was taking pictures of him once and chased him halfway down the block hurling threats before giving up.
She did like the probably homeless lady that hung out near the little bridge by the pond and the feeling was mutual. She was nice, she'd asked Tim if he was okay once when he skinned his knee.
She thought pigeons were weird but didn’t seem to mind them.
Chocolate granola bars were better temptations than trail mix. She didn’t like the dust on her fingers.
Tim was tired by the time he’d gotten them both seated on the bus headed for Bristol. It was a good tired and she awkwardly patted his head when he slumped over.
Oh, Tim liked that. He wouldn’t mind her doing that again.
She ran her fingers through his hair, watching his reaction carefully and almost smiled when he relaxed with a quiet sigh.
That was dangerous.
He had to stay awake so they didn’t miss their stop.
He wasn’t sure he’d be able to.
Tim stayed awake through sheer determination and force of will.
There was nothing he wanted more than to shove his new friend into a warm shower and pile all his blankets onto his bed and sleep.
It was not to be.
One thing about taking the bus was that it stopped on the outskirts of Bristol. Apparently no one had seen a need to go further, not when residents could be expected to have fancy cars and maybe even personal drivers of their own.
Getting home always took a long time.
He paused briefly at the gate of Wayne Manor. A wistful feeling brewing. He wished he could buzz the gate and ask for help. Surely, a family of vigilantes would know how to take care of her better than Tim did.
They would probably know what to do. Heck, they’d probably know how to talk to her. Tim hadn’t even figured that much out.
He was tired, so tired. He wanted someone to help him, to tell him they'd take care of everything and not to worry.
His feet hurt and he didn’t want to walk the rest of the way home.
He turned away from the gate with a sigh and offered his companion a tired smile and a gesture to say they should be on their way.
Her eyes darted between Tim and the gate.
He sighed again, he’d been staring for too long.
Her face tightened with determination. Tim didn’t even register her moving before she was halfway up the gate.
“Hey! No, get down from there! Please!” He pleaded.
She didn’t listen, of course, only shimmied her way up and flipped her way over the decorative spikes with a grace that Tim could barely appreciate under his rising panic.
“C’mon, I’ll make cookies when we get home if you come back.” It was no use.
She stared and finally, once he’d realized the futility of promises and stopped talking, copied the gesture he’d made earlier to follow.
“I can’t! We’re not supposed to be here!” He hissed.
She tilted her head.
Tim groaned.
She was a great negotiator.
“Fine! Fine! I’m coming.” His ascent was much more of an embarrassing scramble than the easy climb she’d made. She climbed up and helped him over the decorative spikes once he managed to get that high. She was really strong for all that she didn’t look that much older than him.
Tim knew they’d been caught on some sort of camera or tripped some security measure by this point.
There was no way no one knew they were here.
He swallowed, nerves catching in his throat and walked forward.
It would be more suspicious if they left now.
The girl followed and his mind spun in an attempt to come up with some sort of excuse as they made their way down the drive.
He came up empty.
The chime of the doorbell seemed loud in Tim’s ears and all he wanted was to curl up on the one comfortable couch in the living room and sleep.
He was expecting it when the door swung open, he still jumped. The girl tugged him behind her in an almost protective move and glared up at the person greeting them. It was sweet.
He really hoped she wasn’t about to try to break Dick Grayson’s nose.
Dick wasn’t expecting kids apparently, he didn’t notice them at first glance but when he did he smiled that wonderful smile that Tim secretly adored. Dick Grayson had a few different smiles and so did Robin. This particular smile was one of Tim’s favorites, kind and considerate, even if it was a little impersonal.
“Hi there! What can I do for you?” He asked, a little confusion in his eyes now that he’d had a look at them.
Tim imagined his detective training was working to figure out exactly why there was a well dressed kid standing at his door with a probable street kid.
“Hello.” Tim squeaked. “Um, really sorry to bother you, uh, we were just-.” He fumbled and came up empty. “We’ll be going now.”
“Hey, no,” Dick made a soothing gesture and crouched a little to meet his eyes. “That’s alright, don’t worry. What’s up?”
Tim glanced up at his friend, she’d stopped glaring and her expression was slightly furrowed in thought.
Well, when in doubt, Mom always said to introduce yourself properly.
“I’m Tim Drake, we live next door.” He held out a hand and Dick shook it carefully. It was nothing compared to a hug but it was still nice.
“It’s nice to meet you Tim, I’m Dick Grayson.” He smiled and glanced over to Tim’s silent companion. “Who’s this?”
Alright, moment of truth, Tim could come up with something plausible. He smiled and opened his mouth. “This is my sister.”
What kind of explanation was that!?
Dick glanced between them, no doubt noticing the obvious differences in clothing and cleanliness and… well, the whole issue of the Drakes publicly only having one kid and Tim being white and his “sister” being Asian.
It was fine.
Tim could salvage this.
“Her name’s…” For reasons Tim could not explain, his mind, instead of throwing out the first vaguely feminine sounding name he could think of, instead proceeded to insist on selecting a proper Drake-appropriate name. Something his parents would be proud of. “It’s, um, Cassandra.”
There, that sounded dignified enough, if he ignored the long pause.
“Cassandra Janice Drake.” He slipped his hand into hers and smiled innocently.
“It’s nice to meet you Cassandra.” Dick offered a hand to shake, she stared at it dubiously and made no move to take it. “I think we met at a gala once, Tim.” He moved on gracefully. “I didn’t know you had a sister.”
Tim nodded, mind racing. “Mom and Dad don’t like to talk about her. Something about indiscretions in Hong Kong.” Tim took a deep, tragically sad breath and looked up, voice quiet as if to confide a secret. “They yell about it sometimes.”
Dick’s eyes got big and round at Tim’s explanation and he nodded. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
Tim sniffled, just a little bit, and nodded before carefully tugging the newly named Cassandra away from the door.
“Well, we should probably…”
“Nonsense!” Dick shook himself. “Why don’t you come in for a bit, Alfred made cookies before he left and there’s juice. We can visit!” He grinned and Tim cursed him, just a little, in his mind.
Most people would have been happy to get out of an uncomfortable conversation like that. He should have known a former Robin would push.
“Unless,” Dick sobered a bit. “Would your parents mind? I could give them a call, tell ‘em I saw you walking by?”
“That’s alright, they won’t mind.” Tim accepted his defeat with all the grace he could muster.
“Great!” Dick led them inside with a grin.
Tim couldn’t help relaxing once he’d settled in his chair, it wasn’t even a particularly nice chair or anything. He was just that tired.
Cassandra took the chair next to him, watching Dick with all the suspicion a maybe runaway ninja assassin could muster.
Dick didn’t let his expression change, just tracked down the promised cookies and juice.
Tim tensed once they’d all fully settled but Dick didn’t say anything, just hummed absently as he ate.
“So, Tim, what do you like to do?” He asked once Tim started relaxing again.
“Uh, I like taking pictures, I guess.” Tim shrugged.
“Oh, that sounds fun.” He nodded politely and turned to Cassandra.
“What about you Cassandra?” She didn’t respond. It was clear she knew he was talking to her but she just blinked before turning back to her cookie.
“Sorry about that, she’s, um, shy.” Tim drew Dick’s attention back to himself.
Dick nodded, something like pity in his eyes. Tim kind of hated it, she was too cool for that sad look.
They tiptoed their way around the issue of Cassandra’s silence for the next few awkward topics of conversation. The weather lately (bad, but could be worse), school (fine, break’s nice) and hobbies (just photography really).
Tim was slowly dying by the time they got back to Cassandra’s hobbies. He didn’t want to make up a hobby for her! It would be rude! He’d already named her without her input!
A side door slammed open with a bang and Tim jumped.
Cassandra didn’t, though she did narrow her eyes in the direction of the noise.
“Ah,” Dick smiled uncomfortably, his eyes slightly tense. “That would be the rest of the house.”
“DICK!” Came a shout from the kitchen.
“In here!” Dick didn’t raise his voice much, Tim appreciated it.
“What happened to-” Jason stopped halfway through and stared. “Who’s this?”
Tim gave him a half wave, immensely uncomfortable. “I’m Tim, and this is my sister Cassandra. We live next door.”
Jason didn’t buy that for a second. It was obvious.
Tim smiled, his best polite—why Mrs. Dickerson it really is lovely to see you again. We’ll definitely have to do this again sometime—smile. It was a very detached smile, he’d learned it from his Mom. She really didn't like Mrs. Dickerson.
“Thank you for having us, it was lovely but we should really get going.” He held out a hand for Cassandra and she took it carefully in her own.
Dick looked like he wanted to argue, Jason looked like he was about to and Tim didn’t bother to stick around once he heard the heavy footsteps of what could only be Bruce Wayne coming to see what all the fuss was about.
Tim was terribly happy to see his own front door, huge and impressive as it always looked.
He didn’t notice Cassandra watching something in the distance with a small frown.
Cassandra didn’t seem to like windows very much. Tim had no idea why but people react to new places differently, she probably knew better than him anyways. He wasn’t sure exactly how much older she was but she’s at least knowledgeable enough to break an adult's nose. Tim decided to defer to her judgment on the issue.
He shuffled her to the center of the house away from the windows and considered his next steps.
She was probably alright food-wise. Tim wasn’t hungry and she definitely ate more than him.
What did kids even need?
Tim wanted a nap even though he wasn’t a baby anymore but Cassandra didn’t look very tired. He considered for a few more moments. Oh! A shower! She would probably like that.
It was a good opportunity to try communicating too! Tim was pretty sure showers were fairly self explanatory but he’d heard some of his classmates at school talking about how Tabitha’s shower was weird the morning after a sleepover.
Cassandra seemed smart, Tim was sure of it.
He showed her where all the soaps were and gave her his Mom’s fancy stuff too just in case. She didn’t like the fancy soaps, which was fair. They made Tim’s nose itch.
She nodded when he explained the shower controls and Tim grinned! They were making progress!
He didn’t have any clothes in her size but his Mom wasn’t that much bigger, probably. She didn’t have a lot of casual clothes but Tim managed to find a nice t-shirt and some shorts with a drawstring.
He left them for Cassandra and decided to wait in one of the smaller family rooms away from most of the windows.
He loved the couches Dad had picked for this room, they didn’t fit the look of most of the rest of the house but Tim loved to sink in the cushions with a blanket and relax.
He didn’t remember falling asleep but when he woke up Cassandra was there. Her hair was brushed and clean. The dirt and grime was gone and she looked almost relaxed.
She had a small smile on her face and a hand in his hair, slowly working through the minor tangles he’d developed since that morning.
It felt amazing, like a fuzzy faded memory he couldn’t quite reach.
He never wanted her to stop.
He subconsciously shifted closer, it had been a long time.
She didn’t push him away or stop, instead she pulled him closer and he slowly found himself drifting off again.
She was still there when he woke up the second time, groggy and half plastered to her side.
The sun was low in the sky now and he was incredibly grateful no one was scheduled to come over and check on him today.
Cassandra helped pull him up and he groaned as he stood with a stretch.
“Thanks, Cass.” He mumbled and froze. “Um, is it alright if I call you Cass? I know you probably don’t understand me but, um, I don’t want to be rude and uh-”
She placed a hand gently over his mouth, eyes distinctly amused and smiled.
“Alright, well, if you’re sure…” He started towards the kitchen. “What do you want for dinner? We’ve got frozen lasagna and um, there’s this casserole I don’t know the name of… Oh! And I still have leftover pizza too!”
Cassandra didn’t respond but Tim didn’t really expect her to. He could talk enough for both of them.
Tim learned another thing about his guest while trying to figure out what to eat, she was an amazing climber. Tim didn’t tend to use the big plates when he made dinner because they were so high up but Cass had no problem climbing the countertop to bring him some.
“Wow! Thanks, Cass!” He wondered if he could get her to teach him how to do that. She hadn’t even broken a sweat at climbing the Wayne’s gate earlier, who knew when that might come in handy!
Regardless, he set all the meal options out so she could see what he was talking about.
“This one’s lasagna, that one’s the mystery casserole, I think it’s beef, and pizza!”
She hovered a hand over the lasagna, which was fine except Tim had that last night and he really didn't feel like eating it again. She moved on and Tim tried to keep his face neutral as she examined the casserole. He did not like that thing at all and if he hadn't known he’d get caught right away he would have thrown it out immediately. She glanced at him and chose the pizza.
Tim wasn’t really sure how you went about teaching someone a language, especially if you didn’t know which language they spoke in the first place or if they even knew one at all.
If he could figure it out, they could each learn the other’s language together. It would be fun, maybe. Tim didn’t think most of his classmates would think learning a language was fun but he would love to learn all about where his new, maybe someday real sister was from.
It must be terrible to not understand anything.
He wasn’t sure how to even start but he’d heard listening was important, so you could understand the sounds or something.
He scrambled over to the big TV after they’d finished and cleaned up and dug around until he found it. His compilation of his favorite clips of Batman and Robin from the news, there were even a few of Nightwing now although the stations didn’t pay nearly as much attention to him as they should.
Now, it could be argued that a compilation of news footage was not a particularly useful tool to teach someone English. However, Tim would like it to be known that it was incredibly cool and that made up for any and all potential educational downsides.
Cassandra looked like she agreed. She watched with an intensity that Tim totally understood, her eyes focused on Dick as he flipped through the air like gravity didn’t even matter at all and Bruce as he shifted to punch a man trying to sneak up on him and Jason kicked a man in the stomach.
Tim relaxed and tentatively leaned his head on her shoulder.
He could get used to this, maybe his words about her being his sister didn’t have to stay a lie.
It couldn’t be that hard to fake some government records.
Tim woke up in a tangle of limbs. He couldn’t remember the last time he hadn’t woken up alone.
His foot was trapped between Cassandra’s legs, mostly numb. Her arm was loosely sprawled over his chest in what Tim thought might be a protective gesture.
He wondered if this was what sleepovers were like.
Her mouth was hanging open and she was dead to the world so Tim just… lay there for a little bit, trying to ignore the warmth in his chest.
He hadn’t really had much luck with friends so far, maybe siblings would work out better.
Eventually he couldn’t stand being still for much longer and shuffled as carefully as he could start getting ready for the day.
Cass woke up as soon as he’d started extracting himself, alert and sharp.
She assessed his state and, apparently satisfied, reached out and patted his head once.
“Um, thanks, Cass.” He mumbled, a little mortified at how much he liked the gesture. “Want some breakfast? We’ve got some cereal and toast?”
She didn’t answer but followed him dutifully into the kitchen and studied the options carefully once he presented them to her.
He was halfway to the fridge for some milk when the doorbell rang, loud and ominous.
The Drake household wasn’t expecting anyone at this hour. He double checked the clock and, yup, the gardener wasn’t due for another three hours and she never bothered Tim anyway.
He swallowed and glanced at Cass. She gave him a determined nod and followed him down the hall.
He snuck over to the window that most people wouldn’t think to look in if they were trying to spy and startled at the sight of Dick Grayson fidgeting at his front door.
“What do you think he’s here for?” He whispered.
Cass just frowned.
He watched as Dick fiddled with a fraying thread at the bottom of his bag and hesitated before ringing the doorbell again.
Tim was very aware that his hair was still messy and his clothes were probably wrinkled from sleeping in them but… it was rude to leave guests waiting and… well, it was Dick.
He took a very deep breath and hurried to the door, Cass close behind.
“Hey!” Dick looked relieved to see them, grinning one of his more friendly grins. “Timmy! Cassandra! It’s nice to see you again!”
“Hello.” Tim wasn’t sure why he was here. There was no reason for him to be here.
“I just, I was thinking, you know, it might be nice to get to know the neighbors.” He was trying for light and Tim straightened up and started paying attention. This wasn’t a social call, Dick Grayson had an ulterior motive and Tim needed to figure out what it was.
“You don't live in Bristol. Or Gotham.” Tim allowed some of his Mom’s best social niceties into his voice. Dick’s eyes flashed with something that almost might have been surprise but he just nodded pleasantly.
“Yeah, but, never too late to get to know people, you know? Plus, I've been visiting a lot lately.” That wasn’t true at all, Nightwing was barely in Gotham these days. The fact he’d been around yesterday was a fluke. “Your parents around?”
Oh, that was what this was about. Tim could handle this. He could.
“I think they’re at work.” He shrugged casually.
“You think?” Dick’s expression sharpened.
“Fine, I assume.” Tim almost snapped. “Where else would they be?”
Spain, but Dick didn’t need to know that.
“Babysitter? Nanny?”
He took a deep breath. New Jersey didn’t have a law specifying when it was alright to leave children alone but that didn’t mean people (and social workers) didn’t have opinions. Cass could probably pass for at least twelve, if not thirteen or fourteen, borderline but it would work.
“Cass is watching me.”
“I’m sure she’s doing a great job.” Dick softened for a moment.
“I could tell them you stopped by?” He offered.
“That’s alright.” Dick smiled and reached for his bag. “Have you guys had breakfast yet? I brought muffins.”
It was such an obvious ploy to get in the house. Tim sighed and waved him in. Cass was looking at him curiously, like she could figure him out if she just looked long enough.
Tim suffered through five minutes of awkward small talk and polite attempts to engage Cass before he finally gave up.
“What do you want with my parents?” He asked, careful to keep it from being too obviously suspicious.
Dick blew out a long breath and ran a hand through his hair.
“You know what a birth certificate is?” That was a really weird thing to ask.
Tim nodded, incredulous.
“Right, of course,” Dick let out a small, self-deprecating chuckle. “You know they’re… important.”
Tim nodded again.
“Tim, when’s the last time Cassandra was in school?”
Oh.
Oh crap.
Of course.
“Um, this Spring?” It wasn’t supposed to come out as a question.
“Tim,” Dick sighed and looked to the ceiling like it would help him. “Your sister doesn’t legally exist.”
Shit.
How could he have thought this would work?
Of course he couldn’t get it past the Bats. What if they thought she was dangerous or a criminal or something? What if they gave her back to whoever had her before? They were going to take her away, he’d only had her for a day and they were going to separate them! They weren’t really siblings and he was never going to see her again. Tim wasn’t going to let that happen.
He took a deep breath.
He could fix this.
“If you tell anyone about this I’ll tell everyone you’re Nightwing.” His voice was steady, strong just like his Mom’s.
“What?” Dick sounded confused, not angry yet but that was coming.
“I know you’re Nightwing and Bruce Wayne is Batman and Jason Todd is Robin and if you try to separate us I’ll tell every newspaper in the city.” He was bluffing. Of course he was bluffing, he didn’t have any real proof and he would never risk his heroes and he had no contingency plan in place if Dick just decided to kidnap him and lock him up or erase his memories. It was okay though, he just needed enough time to figure something else out.
“What!?”
Tim wasn’t breathing right, he’d never thought there was a way to breathe wrong but he was learning now.
“Tim…” Someone leaned closer and he flinched without thinking.
He didn’t see Cass move but he heard the chair scrape and the choked noise of surprised pain.
They were never getting out of this.
Nightwing knew and he was going to take Cass away and Dick’s nose was probably broken and they’d only just met and he didn’t want to be alone again and… Tim couldn’t breathe.
He wasn’t sure when he started crying but once he’d started he couldn’t stop.
Tim was warm, somehow, and he didn’t know why. He did his best to follow the voice telling him to breathe but it was so hard and he didn’t mean for everything to go so wrong. He was just trying to help! But maybe he was just being selfish and awful by hiding Cass. She probably didn’t even want to be his fake sister and she’d tell him that just as soon as she knew how.
He didn’t want his favorite hero to hate him but now he was going to. Tim had lied and eaten his food and gotten his nose broken and everything was terrible and he couldn’t even breathe right.
He never should have left the house yesterday.
His breath hitched on a choking sob and he shuddered.
The arms around him squeezed.
Oh.
Oh, that was why he was so warm.
He peeled his eyes open, vision blurry and awful just like everything else. Cass was holding him, shoved back into the corner he’d pressed himself in.
It couldn’t be very comfortable for her, she was supposed to be comfortable. He was ruining everything and she was hugging him.
Something about that made him want to start crying all over again.
“Hey, buddy…” A soft, slightly nasally voice started. “Are you back with us?”
Tim slowly turned his head.
Dick grinned although it was closer to a grimace than anything else. He was sitting on the floor with his back against the kitchen island, holding one of the dish towels to his bleeding nose.
“I’m sorry.” It was all Tim’s fault and now his hero's nose was broken and…
“Hey, no, none of that. I’m sorry.” Dick looked serious. “I didn’t mean to scare you, but I did and I’m sorry.”
“Okay.” Tim had meant to scare him, that was the whole point of blackmail. He sniffled.
“I was worried.” Dick continued, moving the towel and wincing. “Your sister doesn’t exist and that’s not okay. She’s, she deserves to go to school and make friends and get a job when she’s older and move out when she’s ready and you can’t do most of that if you don’t exist. Your parents are wrong to treat her like that and I know you love each other, you’re doing a great job but…”
Tim twisted in Cass’s grip and squeezed her back.
“She’s not really my sister.” He admitted in a mumble. “We met yesterday.”
“Oh,” Dick let out a long breath. “That’s…”
“She doesn’t understand English, or Mandarin, or any of the other languages I tried and a guy tried to steal my stuff and she broke his nose and brought it back and she gave me half the cupcake I bought her and I think she ran away from somewhere awful and she’s amazing and I just-, I do, I love her so much.” He sniffled.
Cass tilted her head so their cheeks were smushed together and held him closer.
Dick looked like he didn’t quite know what to do with that, which was ridiculous because he was Robin.
“Alright, okay, that’s…” Dick hesitated. “So, um, do your parents… know?”
“They’re in Spain.” Tim admitted.
Dick blew out a long breath.
“Cool, Spain’s… cool. Nanny? Babysitter?”
Tim shook his head and buried his face in Cass’s side, she started running a hand through his hair, it was really nice.
“Alright, so, I’m really sorry for scaring you, again.” He nodded to Cass and smiled sheepishly. “You throw a great punch by the way. I do have to ask, Tim, that thing you said… about Nightwing.”
“I won’t tell anyone, I swear. I’m really sorry for threatening you.” Tim apologized.
“You really think I’m Nightwing?” Dick pushed and Tim nodded.
“Robin did a quadruple somersault on TV once. It was really cool and I remembered that only like four people alive can do it and, well, it kind of all made sense from there.”
“Huh.”
“I’ve never told anyone about it. I promise.”
Dick gave him a tired smile and pulled the bloody dish towel away from his nose.
“I believe you, Tim. Listen. You seem like a nice kid and I know you’re trying your best…”
“You want to take her away.” He understood but he couldn’t stop the way his arms squeezed tighter. Lots of adults thought kids weren’t mature enough to take care of themselves and Cass wasn’t actually his sister.
Tim wouldn’t be able to hide her forever. She deserved to grow up without having to worry about legally existing and birth certificates.
“I’m not-, I’m not going to force you to-”
“You’re right though.” He sniffed. “I can’t keep her here forever.”
“No, you can’t.” Dick looked actually sad about it. “But that doesn’t mean you’ll never see each other again. We’ll figure something out, I promise.”
“Alright.” Tim nodded. “I trust you.”
Dick sighed with something that almost sounded like relief and tilted his head back against the kitchen island.
“Okay, we’ll-, when do your parents get home?”
“Two weeks.” Tim didn’t see any point in lying now.
“Two weeks, alright, I think we can figure it out in two weeks.” Dick moved to stand. “Let’s… let’s have some more muffins. Alfred made them so I can say they’re all really good.”
Cass helped tug Tim up and off the floor and they examined the muffins together.
They were good, much better than any of the cereals in the house.
“Is your nose okay?” Tim asked, he didn’t know if speedy treatment was important or not when it came to broken noses. Cass didn’t look worried at all but…
“Oh, it’ll be fine. It’s not even broken.” Dick hummed, half paying attention and surveying the kitchen. “You guys want eggs? I won’t claim to be a great chef but I can make decent eggs and toast.”
Tim glanced over at Cass, he could eat her portion if she didn’t like it.
“Alright.”
“Great!” He started rifling through the shelves for supplies as Tim and Cass watched from the counter.
It was weird, watching someone cook breakfast for him. His parents didn’t cook many meals themselves and they certainly didn’t make breakfast, not for him and not for themselves.
Tim wasn’t sure how he felt about it.
Dick didn’t ask them any questions while they ate, even though Tim knew he must have had more than a couple.
He helped himself to a muffin and seemed content to relax in the relative quiet.
Tim waited until they were both finished before he sat up very straight and professional and looked Dick very seriously in the eye.
“What’s going to happen to us?” He knew it might not be fair to ask so soon but he had to know.
Dick grimaced, which told Tim he didn’t really know yet either.
“Well, I thought we’d start by figuring out who Cassandra is first of all, see if she’s got family looking for her. Bruce is a registered foster parent.” They all ignored the grumbling Dick did under his breath about Bruce also being an overbearing piece of shit. “He can keep her safe if she’s in danger or vet a foster placement for her if she needs one and wants something different.”
He hesitated. “We’ll figure it out. I won’t try and trick either of you into anything.”
“But-, but you can’t ask her what she wants.”
“Well, I think, between you, Bruce, Jason and I we’ll be able to figure something out, Babs might have some ideas too. And if we can’t, I think Cass is perfectly willing to tell us what she thinks in her own way.” He gestured to where her hand was still holding Tim’s and his own nose.
“I guess.”
“Chin up Tim, we’ve got time to get this right and… since you already know about our secret… I could show you the Batcave.”
“Really!?” Tim certainly wasn’t going to object.
“Yeah!” Dick reached out, giving Tim enough time to move away and ruffled his hair. Then he moved over and did the same for Cassandra, careful not to startle her. She didn’t seem bothered or frightened and even leaned into the touch with a small smile.
“Let’s go!”
“Alright, put your dishes away first though.” He chuckled.
-
The Batcave was massive.
Cass paused to stare at the giant dinosaur and Tim wasn’t much far behind.
Why did they even need a dinosaur statue that big?
Tim wanted to explore but he couldn’t forget they were here for a reason.
They were going to help Cass.
He held her hand while Dick settled them both in the medbay and explained how the DNA test worked. He used a lot of gestures and swabbed his own cheek so she would know what was going to happen.
Tim wished they could explain what it was for.
She nodded when he was done and opened her mouth. As soon as he’d finished putting the sample away and started the computer Dick came back and ruffled her hair again.
“Hey, while we wait, you want to learn some tricks?”
Would Tim like to learn tricks from Dick Grayson? The original Robin? Was that even a question?
“Yes, please!”
Dick grinned and guided both of them over to some training mats off to the side.
Cass wasn’t quite as enthusiastic as Tim but she followed them without protest.
Tim already knew how to do a somersault and a cartwheel so they settled on a very simple front flip. Dick was a really good teacher, he made sure to explain everything and told Tim what was going wrong in a way he could understand.
If only all of Tim’s teachers could be this nice!
He tried and tried and Dick never made him feel like a failure for messing it up.
He could feel it the moment he got it right, no wavering or tilting wrong or anything.
He froze on the landing, hardly believing it was real.
“I did it!”
“You sure did.” Dick smiled.
“Cass! I did it!”
She smiled too.
The day hadn’t started well but boy if this didn’t make up for a lot of it.
“You should try it Cass!” He gushed. “It feels like flying!”
She didn’t say anything but he thought she got the gist of what he was saying because she grinned, sharper than before and stepped back.
“Now hold on!” Dick tried to intervene, instead of listening, Cass took a running start.
She was amazing.
Tim had always thought so but watching her flip and rotate and land so gracefully had him thinking it all again.
She jumped like she wasn’t afraid at all and landed without a single sound.
“Wow! Cass! That was so cool!”
“It sure was.” Dick’s smile was more than a little relieved. “Say, Tim, you said she broke someone’s nose?”
“Yeah, it was amazing.”
“Sounds like it.” His expression was growing contemplative.
Whatever he was going to say next was interrupted by the chime of a computer notification. They all walked over to see the results.
“Who’s David Cain?” Tim tilted his head curiously.
Dick was stiff all of a sudden.
That wasn’t a very good sign.
“He’s well… uh, not exactly a great guy.” An understatement by the look of it.
“Like a supervillain?” Tim pushed.
“Of sorts, more like an assassin. He hasn’t been nearly as active as usual the last few years.” Dick turned to examine Cass closer, an assessing gaze. “I guess now we know why.”
He settled a gentle hand on her head and just left it there. Cass didn’t object.
“You think he was training her?” Tim asked.
Dick just nodded, grim.
Tim took her hand and squeezed.
She was never going back, not if Tim had a say and he would. He was learning how to code and he knew how to do a flip now.
David Cain was never getting Tim’s sister.
Not ever.
He would make sure of it.
She squeezed his hand back.
Timothy Jackson Drake officially met Cassandra Wayne for the first time at a charity gala, something vaguely focused on the plight of certain immigrant populations in Gotham.
It was a little gaudy and maybe slightly condescending but Bruce Wayne was making a huge deal about the issue and his newest child was attending and everyone who was anyone just had to be there.
That, of course, included Jack and Janet Drake.
It also included Tim.
He behaved himself properly, just like he was supposed to, and didn’t crane his neck at every opportunity looking for his sister even though he really wanted to.
It was hard.
Tim didn’t come to this gala to listen to adults complain about their staffing problems and gossip about Wayne’s newest charity case.
He came to see his sister.
They’d seen each other recently of course, Cass was very good at climbing the walls between their properties and Tim was decent at it sometimes. They'd taken to racing to see who could make it over the wall first and hanging out in whichever property lost. They both spent a lot of time in the woods behind Drake Manor.
Cass was Tim’s sister.
He was here for her and nothing else.
Well, and Dick said he’d be around for at least part of it. But that was it!
His Mom finally let him wander off once they’d finished the appropriate niceties to the host and a few other important people. It took forever! Like 15 whole minutes!
Cass wasn’t hiding in any of her normal corners so he wandered the outskirts of the huge room instead. He’d just made it to one of the hallways when a hand brushed lightly against his shoulder and he startled.
“Cass!” He turned.
“Hi.” She signed, she was getting really good at it. Talking was still really hard for her but this way most people had no idea what they were talking about! It was like a secret language!
“Hi!” He grinned. “You look nice!”
She had a fancy black dress on that looked like it was fun to spin in and a very sparkly necklace.
“You too.” She returned with a twinkle in her eye. “Very fancy.” She reached out to tap his tie. It was blue to match his eyes and his Mom said he looked very handsome. So did Mrs. Dickerson but she pinched his cheeks when she said it so her opinion didn't really matter very much.
“Thank you, Miss Wayne.” He giggled and executed a dramatic bow he saw once on one of the soap operas his old babysitter used to put on after dinner.
“Just Cass,” She smiled. “Little brothers shouldn’t be too fancy.”
His chest felt all warm and fuzzy, just like it did every time she called him her little brother. He had a big sister! The most amazing big sister ever!
“Fine, I won't be too fancy. How are you?” He asked.
“Happy,” she signed carefully. “Dick took me to visit Barbara earlier and I get to see you. How are you?”
“I’m good.” He shrugged. “I finished my new coding book. I made a website! All by myself!” He puffed up with pride.
Cass hummed, amused.
“Nightwing?”
Tim squawked in quiet outrage.
“Just because he’s my favorite doesn’t mean-”
“Oh, hey! There you are! Hi Tim!” Dick waltzed over with a grin. “How’s it going?”
“Tim made a website.” Cass reported.
“Oh, yeah? That’s cool! What’s it about?”
Tim took it all back. Big sisters weren’t amazing, they were awful.
“Just… stuff, you know.” He mumbled, bright red. “like, um, current events…”
“Huh, well, I’m sure it’s great.” Dick ruffled his hair with a smile. “You’ll have to tell us all about it later.”
“Sure.” He smiled.
“I should get back out there, you two have fun.” Someone waved to Dick and he gave them a friendly wave back as he walked over.
“Cass!” Tim said, outraged. “I can’t show him my website!”
“Why not?” She tilted her head in mock confusion.
“I’m not showing Dick my Nightwing website. I’ll die.” He hissed.
She gently patted his head.
“Don’t worry, already knows he’s your favorite.”
Tim made a humiliating little noise in the back of his throat.
“Flattered, doesn’t know what to do.” She added. “Loves you.”
“Thanks, Cass.”
She grabbed his hand and tugged him into her side.
Tim made a vaguely complaining noise but wrapped his arms around her anyways. They stayed like that for a bit, quiet and content in their own little world.
“I love you.” He muttered into her side.
Her arms were occupied with hugging him so she didn’t respond but she did squeeze his shoulders tight in silent acknowledgement.
“I’m glad you’re my sister.”
She nodded and ran a hand through his hair.
Tim leaned closer and decided he’d spend any amount of time talking to boring adults to see her again.