#[i couldn't read the tone of this question so i apologize if tim is reacting a little harshly!]

[volucerrubidus]

What do you like about Inertia?

Promptless II Inbox: Open

“I hope you’re not asking this as a way to be cruel, anon.” Tim arches an eyebrow. “There’s plenty to like about Thad. Would you have asked me this question if it was Steph or Kon? Bart or Bernard? Why do I have to justify only this relationship?” Of course, he knows why. But his patience with this question is growing thin, considering how many variants of it he’s had to answer before.

And perhaps some of those who asked him really did just have his best interests at heart, and perhaps they only wanted to make sure that he knows what he’s getting into.

But Tim is an adult, and he is a smart one, at that. Overly optimistic at times? Certainly; one rarely becomes a hero without even just a dash of optimism. Ready to give villains endless unearned chances? Of course; it goes with the optimism territory.

Always able to think with his own best interests in mind? Absolutely not; he isn’t sure he’s ever met anyone who is.

Despite these things, he doesn’t need to be coddled, or defended, or warned off of Thad, or whatever else others might do out of the apparently common delusion that he cannot make an informed decision of his own free will. He is an adult, and he is smart. And he can take off the rose-tinted glasses as easily as he can put them on.

“I’m going to answer this honestly.” Tim begins. “And I expect the message to stick this time. Because I will not repeat myself again.”

He lifts his chin determinedly. “Thad is trying. He is trying to leave behind the things he did that I hated him for. Lesser-deserving rogues have been given bigger second chances. And maybe those second chances ended in redemption, or maybe they relapsed. But they received those second chances anyway. And third chances. Fourth, fifth, tenth. They will never stop getting the chance to reform themselves and be better.” He squares his shoulders. “But, y’know what? Even if they don’t reform, they are still deserving of respect—and love.”

He crosses his arms over his chest. “How the hero community feels about me because of this relationship is their problem. But I have not and will never betray them just because I started caring about Inertia. The day I betray my fellow heroes is the day that I am well and truly not myself anymore because it would take nothing short of total brainwashing to make me even consider selling out my peers. My teammates. My friends.” He sets his jaw. “I understand if that’s hard. Complicated is never easy. But simple is never realistic, nor is it often attainable. Just my decision to put an ‘R’ on my chest is complicated. Just the calculations of a grapple trajectory are complicated. And I do both of those every night. I’m not afraid of complicated, and I’m not even afraid of messy. I’m not afraid of difficult.” Tim’s stance remains strong, but his eyes do betray a touch of exhaustion.

“Maybe it is complicated and messy, and maybe lots of people want to make it difficult for us. I don’t really care. Thad Thawne challenges me. He keeps me on my toes. And he also makes me feel safe. I know that I have never slept better than when we’re next to each other, and I know that if I sent him coordinates with nothing but an S.O.S., he’d show, just to make sure I’m okay. I know that he’s not perfect, and I know that he’s hurt people I care about. I know that it’s not my place to forgive him for those things, because the people he hurt are the ones who may or may not choose to forgive. I know that this puts me at odds with people I care about. I also know that my relationship with those people is strong enough to survive something like this, as long as they’re willing to put in the same effort that I am, to communicate, and to find a compromise. I know that if they never forgive me, then I’ll find a way to keep going, but I’ll also never give up on our friendship, and that I’ll always keep trying to stay by their sides until the event where they, on no uncertain terms, ask me to stop.

“I know that I want my friends to be happy. I know that I want Thad to be happy. I know that I want to be happy, and that I am allowed to chase what makes that happen.”

His posture finally relaxes, just a touch. Enough for him to even allow a small smile to flit across his face. “I like all of these things about Thad. I like that he’s not perfect. I like that he makes me feel safe. I like that I can be honest with him. I like that he’s willing to learn about me, and then to put what he learns to use, even if it keeps me accountable to my own well-being, or actively impedes certain plans that I make. I like that I want to learn about him, and I like that I want to make him feel safe, and wanted, and known. I like that he won’t let me give up on us, and I like that I don’t want to give up on us, because I like all these things about him. I like his hair, his laugh, the competitive glint in his eyes. I like his hands, his mind, our shared love of the color green. I like that he helps me when I’m stuck on cases, and I like that he doesn’t mind if I start rambling at him for hours on end. I like that I get to hear him ramble for hours on end. I like that my bookshelf is full of books that I bought for him, and I like that we cook together. I like that I can leave things at his place, knowing that I can get them back next time I visit.

“I dunno what else you want to hear from me, anon, and I dunno what else anyone wants to hear from me, but these are the facts, and this is how I’m casting my dice. I want my family and friends to be in my life, and I want them to accept me, and Thad. I understand that that’s a big ask, and that it might make us angry with each other for a while. I understand if it’ll take time to forgive me, and that it may never happen in the first place.

“All I’m saying, at the end of the day, is that I’m willing to put in the effort. I am willing to put in the effort for Thad, and I am willing to put in the effort for my friends. I will find a way to have both, as long as both are willing to…” he swallows, suddenly feeling a lump in his throat that he hadn’t known had been building. “As long as both are willing to put in the effort to have me, too.”

He shoots the anon a long, tired gaze, that’s just a bit shiny. “Happy now?”