#like yeah im annoyed at my teammate for screwing me but hey look at us!! winning the wcc!!

[skitskatdacat63]

thinking so hard about . when exactly in the martian timeline they hated and loved eachother can u help me .. cause after turkey 2010 they had their love moments as well and even in 2012 they had their buddy buddy moments so idk !!! they’re confusing

OH MY GOD IM SO SORRY I MEANT TO REPLY TO THIS AND THEN I JUST COMPLETELY FORGOT, SO: hello :D

This is something I think about often as well. Teammates are a weird dynamic in F1 because you're forced to compete for the same resources and against each other in the WDC, but at the same time have to still think combined for the team, for the WCC. I think teammate relationships are like being siblings or like being in a marriage(actually I think Mark has said this before haha.) You can never fully hate or separate from each other, even if you go through rough patches, because you're stuck together and have had the same experiences, for good or for worse.

Turkey 2010 is funny because I think that was one of their first bad moments as teammates, right? And I love that RBR made them take that couples therapy, "us in our get-along shirt", picture. That's what I mean by going through the same experiences, like yeah they were probably pissed at each other but were also probably bonding over the hilarity/awkwardness of RBR making them do damage control.

I just think it's probably difficult to stay upset with someone consistently when you're constantly working with them, and you've also experienced the highest highs and lowest lows with each other. I think I referenced this in my Martian champagne pics post but it's kinda funny when you look through all of those shared podiums that Mark always seemed to be way more willing to spray Seb and smile at him when Mark was the one who won(Literally 3/4 of the pics from that post when they were both at RBR were from Mark's wins.) Like it was such a "I can't stay mad at you 🤭" relationship with them. Like with Mark in particular, it feels like whenever he got a better result, he was mostly like "I shall forgive your transgressions." But then 2013 was kind of the last straw for him, with Multi-21, and especially since he really was getting crushed by Seb and not even getting any wins like in the prev years. But then, by removing himself from it all when retiring, he was able to take a step back and see what it was like to not be in constant, direct competition anymore.

Idk if I'm the best person to ask as I don't think I'm in any measures a great Martian scholar. But these are my thoughts :D I just think being teammates in such a competitive environment can result in such love-hate relationships and that Martian is one of the greatest examples of how it fluctuates. I think it'd be really difficult to try and parse when exactly they were on good or bad terms. For me, tbh I think it kinda correlates with Mark's results because I think with just that whole situation, where they were in as teammates directly competing at the very top, it was a lot easier for Mark, rather than Seb, to start feeling resentment as he was generally drawing the shorter straw most of the time.

Basically, teammates(Martian especially) are bonded through triumph and trauma

[butch-blu-scout]

hi!!! if your requests are still open could you write something with scout x reader 🤞 maybe some angst if you're up for it??? (im a sucker for angst) thank u !! 🐌

Hi! Of course they're still open! This is actually the first ask I've gotten in a while lol. Feel free to send in more if you have other ideas ^-^

I've never been very good at angst but here's my best shot. It's very dramatic. My other idea for this was infidelity but I thought that might be too sad (however if anyone wants to see that feel free to send a request).

Thank you to @schlong69420 for helping me brainstorm.

Warnings for: insecurity, angst and feels (to the best of my abilities)

Word Count: 760

Scout often wondered about how people really felt about him. I mean, really felt. Sure, some of his teammates called him annoying, or treated him like a little brother- but he knew that was all in good faith. At least they'd tell him to screw off to his face if he got too annoying.

But it was harder to figure things out when it came to folks outside the team, and by "folks" I mean his partner, and by "his partner" I mean you.

Scout had been particularly energetic today, way more than usual. He had been chatty to everyone, including you. He was all over the field, hardly able to concentrate of the objective. He ran to every explosion, every shout, anything that he heard immediately grabbing his attention. It was frustrating for everyone on the team, even Scout was getting annoyed with his own inability to focus.

It was safe to say that they lost the match.

After the match everyone had glared at him whenever he tried to lighten the mood. Usually it worked, but today not so much. But he kept trying.

"Hey ya know- those guys were prolly cheatin' anyway. So really-" Scout was cut off.

"Son- will you just can it?" Engie snapped, "We lost. Everyone knows it's your fault. Everyone else has accepted it, you need to do the same before you get a black eye."

That shut him up real quick.

That was Scout. He tried all the time to be there for everyone else, to lighten the mood, to make everyone feel a bit better. Even if he was the butt of the joke. It was just who he was. But today... he just felt like he was too much. For anyone. Even you.

You hadn't seen Scout since he'd left the showers. Usually after he hit the showers, you both headed straight to his room to hang out, watch movies, whatever. But when you knocked on the door he wasn't there. You'd even double checked to make sure he wasn't just asleep, but he wasn't there. Which was odd for him.

You went searching, checking the kitchen, and the lounge area, The garage, even the Med-Bay, but he wasn't there. Nobody seemed to know where he went either, that or they were still too pissy to want to find him.

You were almost to Sniper's camper when you finally spotted him. You had turned around to check for critters when you saw the glint of something on the roof of the base. Dogtags. It didn't take much walking to see the small dash of bright red curled up on the roof.

Climbing up the roof was quick work if you knew where the secret ladder was (it was in Sniper's room, which he never used). It wasn't hard to sneak up behind Scout either. He was too lost in his thoughts (usually a bad thing when it came to Scout).

"Hey baby," You sat down next to him. He jumped at your sudden intrusion, he calmed fairly quickly though. Scout was still wrestling with his pent up energy, made obvious by the tapping of his leg and his other little fidgets.

"Hey sweetheart, ya scared me. What uh, what bring ya up here?" He asked.

"Oh, well I was looking for you." You explained, "You disappeared after the match today. I though we were gonna watch a movie tonight?"

"Ah, yeah. Sorry I um.. Just needed to clear my head. Didn't wanna keep botherin' anybody."

"Scout."

"What?"

" What's going on with you hm? You're not usually like this."

"It's- I just- It's nothin' really," He scratched the back of his neck, "I'm just being a lot today, and I know it. And I can't even help myself 'cause I don't realize it until it's too late. And then everyone's pissed off at me. And I already pissed everybody off by losin' the damn match, and I really didn't feel like pissin' you off too. 'Cause I knew you wouldn't tell me if I got too annoyin'- 'cause I know you. And I'm probably pissin- you off right now with alla this and I should just stop fuckin' talkin' but I can't and I-"

You wrapped your arms around him gently.

The two of you sat up there for a while, watching the stars. You let Scout talk about everything and nothing, just to get it out of his system. Because, yeah, he could be annoying, and he could be a lot, but that didn't make you love him any less.

______________________________________________________________

I hope this was good, or at least filled some of your itch for angst ^-^. Sorry that it's kinda short. But I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. Thanks for sending a request :)

[motherjoel]

Leading Lady (Spencer Reid x Reader)

chapter six- whispers of are you sure

wc: 2.1k

summary: you and spencie get closer owo

a/n: im sorry i haven’t posted a chapter in awhile :/

chapter index: chap 1, chap 2, chap 3, chap 4, chap 5

-

You started to stir from your nap when you heard hushed voices a few desks down. Remaining quiet, you kept your head down to listen in on the conversation.

“Listen man, it sounds like you’re crushin hard on this girl,” you recognized Morgan's voice. Reid spoke next in hushed tones.

“It doesn’t matter how I feel about her, it's just unprofessional. And besides, she would probably go for a guy like you anyway,” said Spencer.

You could feel your heart break. It didn’t take a genius to know that they were talking about you, but it saddened you to hear about Spencer’s lack of confidence. In your eyes, he was the ideal man. You wanted to show that to him one day. 

“Now you listen to me. You gotta stop getting in the way of your own happiness. Any girl would be lucky to have you, you just have to see it for yourself,” Morgan told him, warming your heart. This team was like a family, and you had to admit, you were a little jealous about their love for each other, but it was good to know that Spencer had such a great support system. You felt kind of weird listening in, however, so you decided to “wake up.” Slowly lifting your head, you yawned and stretched before looking over at the two men with a sleepy smile, pretending to just realize that they were there.

“Hey sleepy head,” said Morgan before getting up and turning to Spencer. “I gotta help Hotch with something,” he told him, leaning in to say the next part more quietly. “Remember what I told you,” he said before clapping Spencer on his shoulder and ruffling your hair when he walked past you. You smiled at the exchange and turned back to see Spencer nervously picking at his fingernails. 

“So, what'd I miss? You catch the guy yet?” you asked in an attempt to lighten the mood. Spencer just chuckled nervously and shook his head.

“No, not yet,” he paused, thinking of what to say next. “I’m glad you got some sleep in. Studies show that most healthy adults need to get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep each night to function at their best,” he told you, continuing to nervously ramble, citing multiple facts about sleep. You just smiled at him, not fully processing his words. You were just mesmerized by his intelligence and passion for mundane facts. He noticed you staring. “What?” he asked nervously.

“Oh I'm sorry,” you said, flustered. “It's just… you're cute when you ramble,” you blushed and looked down. Spencer had the same reaction.

“Oh. Most people think it's annoying, the team normally cuts me off,” he said, avoiding eye contact. You could almost see the gears turning in his head, almost as if he regretted saying that for fear of judgement. 

“If anything, it's... endearing,” you said, lifting your head back up to meet his gaze. He looked surprised that someone enjoyed his quirks. To you, this is what made him genuine and irresistible, irreplaceable. The two of you stared intensely for a moment before you started to speak at the same time.

“I thin-” you started.

“Do you-” he began.

You both laughed in response to this, the silence continuing for a moment longer.

“Y/N,” he started, with a shakiness in his voice, “I know we’ve only known each other for a few days, but I really care about you. Every time I have a breakthrough on this case, the first person I think of is you,” he started. You got up from your desk to walk closer to him as he went on. “And I don’t know what to call that, but you’re just really pretty and you’re so nice to me and you always are interested in what I have to say and you smell really goo-” you cut him off by softly grabbing the sides of his face. 

“I have never met anyone like you before,” you told him in awe, stars in your eyes. He mimicked your expression, his surprise melting into adoration. Your eyes flicker down to his lips and he wordlessly nods, accepting what you had so badly wanted to do from the minute you met him. Slowly, you leaned in until you were an inch away from his face.

“Are you sure?” you whispered, wanting to confirm your mutual feelings. You weren't imagining this, right? Spencer didn't wait a second to wordlessly accept. With a small but nervous laugh, he closed the distance between his chapped lips and yours, resting his hands on your waist and pulling you closer. It was as if you were in a movie, the magical spark between you two. Your kisses with Logan hadn’t been like this- they didn’t hold this emotion, this longing. Logan's kisses were chores, not luxuries. A few seconds, what could have been hours, had passed before you pulled away and rested your forehead on his, eyes still closed. You wanted to savor this moment of peace, this calm before the inevitable storm. You both jump to the sound of an attention grabbing cough. Turning around you see a sly Prentiss, feigning gravitas.

“Uh, Hotch wants to see you. We’re going over possible unsubs and he thinks it would be good for you guys to be there. But, by all means, finish what you were doing first,” she said with a wink before speed walking into the conference room where the rest of the team was.

“So…” you trailed off.

“Yeah, so…” he replied looking at you with his blush still lingering.

“We should probably go see what's up,” you told him, although you didn’t want your time with him to end.

“Good idea,” he replied, and the two of you began your walk into the conference room, his hand resting on the small of your back as he led you. Once you got inside and settled in a seat next to JJ and Spence, you looked around to see the entire room staring at you with odd smiles. Rossi even shoots you a wink. Huh, word really does get around fast. You didn’t mind them knowing, however- you knew you had their support if Spence was happy. And that's all you could ask for.

“So about those unsubs!” Spencer starts, trying to diffuse the childish energy in the room. 

“Right,” Hotch begins, trying to hide his own sly smirk. “We found out that the time of death of the latest suspect was at around 5:30, just like you thought,” said Hotch in a more serious tone.

“That would give Nichols the perfect amount of time to make the kill and then show up late to rehearsal,” replied Rossi. You were shocked.

“Wait, Nichols? As in Matt Nichols, my Matt Nichols?” you asked, frantically. Reid flinched at your intensity and the use of “my” when referring to Matt, but you didn’t care. Matt might get on your nerves sometimes but you wouldn’t let him take the fall for something like this. You couldn’t have one of your leads getting arrested the week before the show, either. “A guy shows up late to one rehearsal and you assume he's a serial killer? Man, he can’t catch a break,” you huffed with a mirthless smile. 

“Y/N, you have to admit, he fits the profile perfectly,” offered JJ, you just shook your head.

“I see the way he looks at you,” said Spencer, softly. As he continues he attempts to speak with more conviction but to you it sounded like he was trying to prove some far fetched conspiracy. “And that guy is possessive. When we kissed at your rehearsal the guy looked like he wanted to kill me!’ he said, trying to convince you. The mention of the kiss earned a whistle from Garcia on her screen. 

“Not the time, Garcia,” Spencer snapped. You were in shock. The nerve he possessed to be giving an attitude right now surprised you. You could tell he was just on edge because he cared about you, but you didn’t want him snapping on his teammates because of you. 

“I’m sorry you guys, but just because Matt and I used to have a ‘thing,’ doesn’t mean he wants me dead,” you said, standing up and walking out of the room. Your head was spinning and you needed some fresh air. 

You grabbed Spencer’s sweater from where you left it on the chair and tugged it on before making your way outside. Once you were finally in the cold air you felt like you could breathe. How could this happen? Only a few short days ago you were at the top of your game, starring in your dream role and working towards a promotion at work, granted, the amount of times you had to call out for FBI business might affect that. The BAU threw a wrench in your whole life, but for some reason, you couldn’t be mad at them for it. JJ was like the sister you never had- the two of you were immediately connected and you didn’t want to lose her. Garcia was the hilarious and beautiful best friend you had always needed in your life, always ready to lighten the mood. Hotch, stern as he could be, was a compassionate leader and you were so glad the team had him. Morgan was protective and so sweet- even just knowing you for a short period of time, he had nothing to offer but kindness. Prentiss was smart as a whip and loved to tease you and Spence, but you wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Through your savored but limited interactions with Rossi, you could tell he was a father figure for the team. This was a bit of a sore spot with you, but you hoped you could get closer with him over time. And Spencer. He was so frustratingly great. Great at his job, great at making you feel safe, great at… well… everything. You felt so lucky to know all these people and bond with them, you almost forgot your frustrations with them. But, after all, they were the professionals. If it came down to it, you would try to vouch for Matt but if they suspected him, you would trust their instincts.

You removed yourself from your thoughts and were about to make your way back inside when you heard quick footsteps from behind you and a sharp pain on the back of your skull before it all went black.

-

Inside the station, the team continued their conversation about the case. Spencer, however, was pacing around the conference room worried that he just screwed up what you two had going. Rossi excused himself from the team and walked over to Spence to put a calming hand on his shoulder.

“Go. Make sure she’s okay, we can handle this,” he told him, and that’s all it took for Spencer to bolt out of the room and out of the station. Looking around, his heart dropped when he didn’t see you. He tried calling your name a few times but he was received without a response. That's when the panic began to set in. He sprinted back inside the station and ran to the team, face red and panting.

“She’s gone.”

-

You woke up in an empty room, seated in a chair with your arms strapped behind you while your legs were tied together. Looking up you could see a tripod with a camera, filming your every move. Things began to make sense- the unsub had finally tracked your whereabouts and had taken you hostage. You couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh at the circumstances. You had thrown away your life just because you were upset about an assumption a trained team of professionals made. You had thrown away the life that you had worked so hard to want. Your father's passing had left you in a terrible place where your mind wandered to the unthinkable. These thoughts were something you had struggled with your whole life. You never planned on actually taking your life, but some mornings you were disappointed to wake up. It wasn’t until recently that you regained the will to take advantage of what life had to offer. Your passion for theatre was reignited and you met an amazing group of people- a group that you weren’t ready to say goodbye to yet. You were shaken from your thoughts when you noticed a shadowy figure enter the room from the door opposite of you- this figure was familiar, one you recognized. 

“Matt?”

-

taglist: @mcntsee, @diesinspanishbcimhispanic, @chickens-are-life, @rexorangecouny, @ceeellewrites, @aerialdinosaur, @just-damn-bored

[animemangasoul]

You Have A Home With Me

Summery: Tim takes in a meta human kid and tries to keep him a secret from the rest of the batfamily until his team gets back. It doesn't go as well as he'd hoped. And with an entire criminal empire after the kid, it's all Tim can do to keep it all under wraps and away from the media's attention.

Characters: Tim Drake, Batfamily, Young Justice

Chapter: 4/?

Tim doesn’t know when he fell asleep, but he wakes up to a sharp ringtone piercing through the air. He startles. Eyes flying open as he almost stumbles off the sofa, where he’d apparently fallen asleep without knowing. “What the,” he mutters, yawning loudly and sluggishly pulling himself back on his feet. ‘Did I set up an alarm?’ But no, that ringtone.... It was his phone and-- “Shit!” He exclaims, practically throwing himself over the coffee table to snatch up the ringing object. “Hello,” he says, voice catching due to his dry throat. “Who-”

“Tim.”

A single word.  

He blinks, now wide awake. “Bruce?”

“Where are you. The meeting is about to start.”

“What?” Shit shit shit. Stretching out his arm to look at the time, he pales. Fuck.

“T...m... im- Tim...Tim.”

“Yes, yes I’m here Bruce. Sorry.”

“You have less than thirty minutes to get here kid. Be thankful you don’t live far away to make that a problem.”

“I-” Tim gulped, reaching out to hastily scoop up his paperwork and lick his lips. He knew a Bruce scolding tone when he heard it and it wasn’t like he didn’t deserve it. If he hadn’t fallen asleep like an amateur. He wouldn’t have had.... Fuck. “Sorry Bruce,” he said. “I’ll be there in fifteen. I promise. I’ll just take my car and-”

“No need.”

His blood ran cold. Bruce couldn’t... he wouldn’t-- Tim wasn’t even late! Dick had been late plenty of time and sure Tim was the CEO and should be more responsible but he’d been so freaking tired lately and he had a kid now—Well, not a kid kid but a kid he was currently taking care of and he’d over slept butthathardlymeanthewasn’tqualified---

“Tim Tim. Can you hear me? Did you catch what I said?”

Tim couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t breathe and his chest hurt, and it was all kinds of messed up in his head right now, but he forced himself to. Taking a big gulp of air, he tried to steady his beating heart before pressing his phone against his ear again and humming softly. “Yeah, yeah. I hear you Bruce.”

“Good,” his father said, an edge of frustration in his tone. “Dick is coming to get you. He’ll be there in ten. Be ready.”

Dick.... What?

“What? Dick? What do you mean Bruce?”

A heavy sigh. Tim winced. He didn’t want to annoy the man but--

“Dick volunteered to come get you and he’s already on his way. It will cut your time short so hurry up and get dressed.” Bruce doesn’t say anything else, just hangs up and leaves Tim staring befuddled down at his phone.  

He only remains confused for a second though, because the minute Bruce’s words fully dawn on him, pure horror runs down his spine. Because Matt!

“Shit shit shit,” he hisses, finally turning around to look at the sofa. “Matt, kiddo I-”

He isn’t there.  

The kid isn’t there. Tim almost chokes. “Matt! Kid, where are you?” The sofa is empty. His discarded suit jacked the only thing indicating that someone had been sleeping under it. Frantically he paces the length of the room. Looking at every nook and cranny as a mild sense of panic slowly creeps in to squeeze at his heart.

Maybe he’d run away? Maybe he was out there fighting for his life after a bad mugging? Maybe M.E.T had found him or they called him threatening to kill--- Wait wait how would they even know his number, no no, shaking his head, Tim runs a shaking hand through his hair and tries to take a deep breath.  

There must be a logical explanation for this. ‘Stop panicking Tim,’ he silently berates himself. ‘You’re a bat. Act like it.’  

Something had woken the kid up, either somewhere during the night or---

His eyes widen. The phone call! If it had woken him up than surely.... Taking three giant steps forward, he leans down to rest his hand on the empty spot and yes, it’s still warm. Sighing in pure relief Tim fumbles his way around the sofa and rushes to check the kitchen before jogging over to the bathroom. He’s already planning to check the bedrooms, but a soft sniffle from the locked door makes him pause.  

“Matt?”

The noise stops. Tim sighs.  

“Matt, if you’re in there kiddo I need you to open the door and let me see you.”

“No.”

Tim gapes in surprise. “What do you mean no? I need to go soon so if-”

The door suddenly flings open and it’s only thanks to his reflexes that Tim manages to dodge the hurtling wood before it bounces off his forehead.  

“Wow,” he says, arms coming up in a placating manner. “Careful kid.” But Matt is already heaving where he stands. Small hands clutching at his oversized shirt and eyes red-rimmed from what obviously had been crying. “Hey hey hey. It’s ok.” Tim says, falling down to his knees to be closer to his level. “It’s ok. I know the phone call scared you, but it was just Bruce. He’s sort of like my father,” he says, an edge of confusion in his tone even as he explains it to the kid. “It wasn’t them ok?”

“Don’t.... go.”

“What?”

A glare and the kid takes a step back and ok... Tim could fix this.  

“It’s work related,” he says slowly. “I need to go in to present this project I’ve been working on with the tech department and it’s not gonna be for long and I’ll be back before you kno--”

“Don’t go.”

Tim holds back a sad sigh. “I can’t do that kiddo. You know that. Me staying here raises all kinds of red flags and my brother will be here in a few--”

“NO!”

The sudden outburst is so startling it takes Tim a second to even process it in his mind before he can physically snap his mouth shut and stare befuddled at the blonde child in front of him, who is now crossing his arms, lower lip sticking out and glare of utter suspicion swirling in his eyes.  

“I have to.”

“No.”

“Matt-”

“No!”

“Please understand-”

“I won’t let you!”

And... Tim is so fucking tired. So so tired. He’d been up for a week trying to uncover M.E.T’S scheme before he could make the mistake of signing a long term contract with them and he’d been helping both Dick and Jason with their respective cases, coupled with the Wayne Enterprise Project and looking after the workload of his Titans teammates, he was running on empty. Burrowing energy from future weeks in fact and now Dick would be here in less than ten minutes and Matt... Matt just wouldn’t understand! He just-

“Look,” Tim mutters as gently and as softly as he can. “I need to go Matt. I promise to call and--”

“NO!” And this one is a roar. A pure, angry, furious roar and Tim snaps.

“Enough!” He’s standing before he can even think, frustration making his fists curl “Just stop being a brat for one damn second and listen to me for once!” and.... and... it’s only when he sees the wide, frightened rabbit eyes staring up at him from a too pale and bruised face that it all sinks in and his stomach drops. Oh no. “Matt I-”

He doesn’t even get the chance to finish his sentence before something invisible is shoving him away, hard and the door is slamming shut.  

No no no no.

He hears a whimper. A low keening sound that is so terrifyingly pained, his heart stutters to a stop.

“Matt! Matt! Kiddo, please open up. I didn’t mean to yell! Matt!”

Nothing.

He feels bile rise up his throat and dizziness overcome him. He fucked up. He really, truly fucked up and now.... What the hell was he supposed to do now?

Frustration didn’t excuse yelling at a traumatized kid. It didn’t excuse anything. So what if he was tired? Everyone was tired. It didn’t make Tim special, and now he’d probably irrevocable damaged the little trust he’d build up with the kid and oh my God. Tim was the absolute worst. No wonder Bruce didn’t take him seriously. He couldn’t even take care of one ten years old without screwing it up.  

Matt was crying damn it. Matt had been crying, Tim should have focused on that more than his own annoyance. The kid had been crying and what did Tim do? Scream at him.  

“Matt, please?”

Nothing.

He feels a silent itch building up behind his eyes and he can’t cry. Tim hadn’t cried in years. He wouldn’t show that kind of weakness. ‘The strong pray on the weak my love,’ his mom had said; cold fingers brushing away his tears with a softness that she rarely exhibited. ‘Never allow others to see your weakness. They will use it against you. Always.’

Tim swallowed. Gave himself a full thirty seconds to calm down and then stood up. Raising a fist to knock on the bathroom door but hesitating at the last second. “Matt?” Silence. “I’m sorry I yelled at you. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have raised my voice at you, and I promise to do better from here on out.” Silence. His shoulders slump.  

Maybe the kid just needed time. Maybe Tim could call Bruce back and ask him to let Tam take over the presentation for him. She knew the project almost as well as he did and he was sure if he sent her the details she’d somehow manage to pull off a miracle. And....

Tim had hated being left alone. He’d hated it every second of the day and not even following Batman and Robin around had filled the aching hole of abandonment in his chest. So, him more than anyone should have known... He should have known. Matt needed him and he hadn’t even listened.  

Yeah, ‘I think I’ll call Bruce and arrange something else.’ It raised a funny feeling in his stomach when he thought about what Bruce would say when he again managed to let him down, but he would make it up to the man. Take on as many projects as needed to earn back his trust. Yeah, he could do that. For Matt, he could do that.

But then, just as Tim thought he couldn’t feel any worst.

“Babybird! You in here!” He froze. “Babybird! Timbo! We came to pick you up!”

We? Tim shuffled down the hall almost in daze, slowly reconstructing his face into the blank emotionless husk he’d come to assume in front of his family. “Dick,” he acknowledged when he finally stepped into the livingroom, an artificial smile pulling at the corner of his lips. “Demon spawn,” he added, smile dying down a bit. “What’s he doing here?” he asked, turning fully to face his smiling brother. “Bruce said you’ll be the one picking me up?”

“Sorry babybro,” Dick said; happily bouncing up to him but not flinging his arms around him like he used to. Tim didn’t know whether he missed the casual affection or not. But his heart stinging momentarily gave him an answer he still wasn’t ready to accept. “Dami was let out of school early so I thought why not catch two birds with one stone!”

“We would not even be here if your incompetence wasn’t inconveniencing father Drake. Perhaps I ought to take over the company sooner than expected.”

Tim looked down at him, unimpressed. Yeah, no. Tim wouldn’t be calling back Bruce anytime soon. Hell would freeze over before he let the gremlin see him struggling. Matt.... Matt would have to understand, just this once. Plus, cancelling now, while currently being faced with his brother and his demon pseudo-son, they would surely be suspicious. Tim couldn’t afford suspicion. Not when Matt’s life was on the line. He swallowed thickly. Utter guilt churning in his stomach just thinking about leaving the kid alone and distraught. But what else could he do?

“Give me a second,” he said to Dick, all but ignoring Damian. “I need to change clothes and I’ll be with you in a minute.” Dick only smiled and waved him away.  

“Anything I can do for you while we wait?”

A flat out no was on the tip of Tim’s tongue, but he paused. “Tidy up my files for me?” he asked eventually, trying not to react to the softer smile sent his way. “I’ll only be a minute.” He doesn’t listen to the tirade of insults Damian heaps at his supposed incompetence and rushes to quickly get changed before Beelzebub decides to make changes to his speech or something.

Dressed in a new suit, head combed perfectly and red business tie dangling from his neck, Tim hesitates in front of the bathroom door. One hand pressed up against the wood and teeth chewing at his lips. “I’m sorry,” he mutters against the doorframe, afraid his siblings might hear if he speaks any louder. “I’ll leave a phone outside the door and it has my number on it so call me if you need anything ok?” He pauses, hoping to hear anything from the kid, but nothing. He sighs. “Just be safe ok? I’ll try to come back as soon as possible.” Dropping the phone on the ground, he allows himself a tiny bit of hope of receiving a response, but again, silence.

With nothing else left to say, he straightens out, heavy heart lodged between his ribs and casually struts back into the livingroom. “Ready?” he asks, and Dick enthusiastic nod doesn’t do much to lift his mood.

They are out the door, down the elevator and walking to the car when Dick makes a tiny noise of exclamation before he stops and startles looking through the plastic bag he’d somehow been holding this whole time without Tim noticing. “What?” Tim asks, pausing in his hurried steps to look back at his brother and Dick makes a triumphant sound and extends a thermos and a sandwich in his direction. Tim stares at him, making the other shrug. “I thought you might have not eaten so,” he says, shaking the plastic wrapped sandwich in his direction. “I hoped you’d appreciate this. It’s your favorite,” he adds on almost as if unsure and.... sometimes, sometimes when he does stuff like this, it’s when Tim remembers why he loved him so much.  

Tilting his head, Tim smiles; it’s small but sincere this time. “Thanks Dick.” His brother only grins.

But just as Tim is about to take the God sent food out of the elder's hands, he stills.

“What?”

“Drake quit stalling we need to go!”

“Wait here,” he says, and he’s off, even before either of his siblings can talk. Pressing the elevator door impatiently and jumping in as soon as it descends.  

The minute he makes it upstairs he rushes into the kitchen; shoes and all and practically flings open the fridge. Snatching up the milk before scouring the shelfs for a bowl, and at soon as he finds it, he picks up two different cereals. Balancing his loot all the way to the still closed bathroom door, he knocks at the wood gently with his foot. “Matt,” he calls out, slightly out of breath. “I need to go now and I’m sorry about our argument and for shouting, but I’ll just leave cereals out here ok? In case you get hungry and stuff and you decide you don’t wanna leave the bathroom and... Yeah. Just... there is milk and oh shit.”

Getting back on his feet after putting the breakfast food down on the ground, he rushes back to the kitchen and opens the second drawer, riffling through it until he gets his hand on a spoon before jogging to the bathroom again. “I forgot the spoon, but I got it now, so you don’t have to drink the cereal or anything. So here.” he says, placing the spoon in the bowl and taking a step back. “I need to go now.”

No sounds come from the other side and Tim finds himself wishing that he could just stay. “Bye Matt.”  

And with those last words he leaves the silent apartment and heads to work.  

End

@miss-choco-chips , @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen anyone else who want me to tag them please let me know and thanks for reading everyone :)

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God Tim just breaks my heart. He has so many issues that raises red flags and he’s still just a kid himself and I don’t know why I make him suffer so much because of it. And fyi, being tired and exhausted and rundown is an excuse for having outburst sometimes (as long as they are not violent and you know you did wrong and try not to make that sort of behaviour a habit)