So you're a go to source for all things Dick&Tim bros and you tend to write primarily from Dick's POV. So, odd question, but if you were to summarize their relationship from his POV in FIVE panels which panels would you pick? Keeping in mind that one specific aspect of their relationship that you love needs to be clearly represented by each panel (loyalty, trust etc). I hope this is a fun challenge and not an annoying question so if you don't want to answer that's cool! Have a wonderful day!
No more talk. The same thoughts run through two minds... (SotB 29) / You're my equal. My closest ally. (RR 1) / I can't stop thinking how much I rely on him. (GoG 3)
25 Feelings Dick Has About Tim
This was such a kind ask & a cool challenge which I totally failed; here are TWENTY-five panels of Dick's POV on Tim sdfdsfds Look, I got carried away! Marcia and Cindy! The boys!!
OKAY SO BEFORE I GET TO THE PANELS A FEW NOTES:
WARNING THAT THERE ARE SOME NEGATIVE EMOTIONS IN HERE because I love conflict but but but you gotta remember those are not the final word!! They are complicated people and sometimes they get mad at each other BUT ultimately their relationship is so hugely important in both their lives & they love each other and rely on each other so much -!!! <3
Also I have CONCLUDING THOUGHTS at the end about what Dick's POV leaves out (mostly: a lot of Dick defending & protecting & supporting Tim, which Dick does instinctively but isn't very self-aware about most of the time)
I have loosely organized my list into 5^5 format (5 categories with 5 examples each!), so if you want to skip to a relevant one, here are the categories!!
Below the cut:
I hate him and find him infuriating (#1-5)
On second thought, he's endearing & fun (#6-10)
Grief is complicated & he's all tangled up in mine (#11-15)
I love him & think highly of him (#16-20)
I rely on him & though it's hard for me, I trust him (#21-25)
I hate him and find him infuriating (#1 - 5)
1) He thinks he’s so smart and can psychoanalyze me and Bruce, but he doesn’t know me at all, he should get lost (New Titans 61)
2) He thinks he’s so smart and can psychoanalyze Bruce but he doesn’t know Bruce at all, he should get lost (Gotham Knights 26)
3) He is so nosy about stuff that is MY business (Robin 0)
4) He sounds like an insincere suck-up half the time... but okay, fine, if you push him he's got a sense of humor about it (New Titans 65)
5) I'm sure he's a better vigilante than me. It's my fault for being a failure, but I resent him anyway. (Nightwing 9 - Dick's having a nightmare)
On second thought, he's kinda endearing (#6-10)
6) He worries too much and gets anxious so easily, but it makes him fun to tease (Robin 67)
7) I'm not that competitive - okay, so maybe I'm a little competitive, I gotta make sure he doesn't get a swelled head (Prodigal)
8) I'm supposed to be his favorite! It is not cool for him to be fanboying over my not-girlfriend's not-boyfriend!! (Birds of Prey 19)
9) We have fun together. I can kick back and relax when it's just the two of us. Plus I get to boss him around a bit. (Prodigal)
10) He’s always trying to reassure me, and I guess it's a little comforting, but also he doesn’t really get it. Or me. He makes excuses that he shouldn't, because he doesn't understand that I suck. (Nightwing 64)
Grief is complicated and he's all tangled up in mine (#11 - 15)
11) He reminds me of everything I try not to think about. Sometimes the memories are so strong it hurts to look at him. (Batman 441)
12) WHY IS HE BEING IMPOSSIBLE ALL OF A SUDDEN??? THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING (Nightwing 139)
13) We're the same. He says all the things I don't let myself think about. It's like arguing with myself. (Nightwing 139)
14) He thinks he gets to tell me what to do but he doesn’t, fuck him (Battle for the Cowl)
15) Life sucks, so what. I sucked it up so he should too (RR 1)
I love him and think highly of him (#16 - 20)
16) He’s the closest thing to a brother I’ll ever have. If someone hurts him I will hurt them harder. (Nightwing 6)
17) I can't handle the idea of losing him. (Nightwing 97)
17) He’s so good and I’m not. I'm afraid I’m bad for him. (Nightwing 110)
18) He’s better than me, and it’s kind of a relief because I know no matter what he’ll be okay. (Gates of Gotham 3)
19) In my head he’s the responsible one. (Gotham Knights 10)
I rely on him, and though it's hard for me, I trust him (#20-25)
20) I know I have to trust him but I'm afraid he'll make the wrong choices and get hurt (Nightwing 139)
21) I'm sure I know what he should do because I see myself in him - not that I can take my own advice, but he should (Blackest Night 3)
22) I trust him. When I’m losing my grip on things, he pulls me back. (Gotham Knights 10)
23) I want him to trust me (Red Robin 12)
24) He can tell when I'm lying. Sometimes he sees my weaknesses better than I wish he did. (Detective Comics 874)
25) He’s always there when I need him. (Teen Titans / Outsiders Secret Files)
Final rambling thoughts:
TIM: Uhh, okay, so I'm just skimming this list - do you really trust me? you're not just saying that? - but anyway, I'm confused because you left some stuff out? Like some stuff that's kinda important?
DICK: No? I think I got everything?
TIM (starts counting on his fingers): The time I was having a bad day but then I called you. The time I got captured by Two-Face but then you saved me. The time I fell off a train but then you saved me. The time I fell off a building but then you saved me. The time I fell off a different building -
DICK: I feel like you're trying to make some kind of point but I'm not sure what it could be.
SO THE THING IS, I put 25 panels in here and not a single one has Dick catching Tim when he’s falling!!! But I think that's a central motif of their relationship from Tim’s POV, not Dick’s. I love Dick, but in some ways I think he is spectacularly un-self-aware.
And I think he especially has a lot of blind spots about Tim. He kinda intermittently gets that Tim admires him, and he enjoys it in a playful I-get-to-boss-you-around way. But Dick tends to consistently underestimate all of his own good qualities & skills, and he meets Tim at a point in his life when he's especially down on himself & his abilities. And so he's unable to see his own influence on Tim, & therefore unable to fully understand a lot of Tim's priorities and loyalties and motivations, because you can't actually understand Tim without understanding Dick's impact on him. There's a fascinating moment in Bruce Wayne: Murderer when Dick's completely blindsided & upset to discover that Tim doesn't entirely trust Bruce, even though this has been a definitive fact of Tim's whole thing ever since he showed up with his Batman needs Robin theory, and Barbara has to actively remind Dick of the obvious-to-everyone-except-Dick fact that a lot of Tim's loyalty is to Dick, and Tim loves Bruce but feels free to be more wary of him. (And to give Bruce credit: this is not something he ever begrudges.) But anyway Babs points this out, and Dick manages to sorta process it for about five seconds, but he cannot actually accept it into his worldview so instead he discards it at the speed of light and goes off and has an argument with Tim instead sdfsfdsf
All of Dick's virtues - Dick's kindness at the circus and Dick's determination to fight through grief and Dick's rigid sense of morals and Dick's vigilante skills and every time Dick has ever backed Tim up or listened to him or protected him or saved him from something or just been casually kind to a stranger in Tim's presence etc etc etc - all these things loom really large in Tim's mental story of Who Dick Is, and What Dick And Tim's Relationship Is. Tim meets Dick before he meets Bruce, trusts Dick more than Bruce, aspires to be Robin instead of Batman. And so in Tim's default version of the story, Dick is the super-special and admirable hero and Tim is... nobody in particular, a tagalong outsider who's barely managing to be a hero, not part of Dick and Bruce's family and not part of their story, who, if he's VERY LUCKY and tries REALLY HARD, might be able to fight his way to proving himself and offering something to Dick that Dick will value, if Dick doesn't get fed up with him first.
But that's not Dick's version of the story!!!
Dick's version of the story is almost the exact opposite, a story where Dick's an outcast failure black sheep who's screwing up everything he tries, and meanwhile Tim is The Sudden New Perfect Robin Who's Better Than Me And Probably Bruce Loves Him More And Probably They Gossip About What A Loser I Am, mixed with a complicated edge of Tim Thinks He's So Smart But He Doesn't Know Me/Us At All. Dick gets much more attached to Tim over time, and Tim gets unnervingly better at the know-it-all psychoanalysis so then Dick gets to have complicated feelings about him being right instead of just annoyance at him for being wrong, plus Dick's relationship with Bruce improves a lot, so Tim stops feeling so threatening. But Dick never fundamentally changes his basic theory of their relationship in which Tim is highly impressive and capable, and Dick is not so much.
And so asking Dick about Tim is kinda like if you asked George Bailey to tell you about Harry Bailey in It's A Wonderful Life; like, you'll be there for five hours while he tells you how great Harry is, and how accomplished Harry is, and how he doesn't really get how or why Harry does the things he does, and maybe George does feel a little resentful or jealous sometimes, but that pales in comparison to all his admiration and trust for Harry who he loves so much, who's better than him in so many ways, and he's not gonna openly gripe but secretly he can't help but feel sometimes like he's such a failure in comparison to Harry, a perfect person who emerged fully formed from Zeus's head with all the virtues and also all the accomplishments, etc. etc. etc. --
-- and he will not actually remember the part where he changed and saved Harry's whole entire life unless you literally send him to an alternate timeline in order to force him to remember it. <3
441 notes
·
View notes
{ao3}
Tommy wasn’t lying to Hen and Karen when he said they were taking things at Evan’s pace. It’s just that Evan’s preferred pace is far from slow.
It’s like that kiss in the hospital lobby knocked any remaining nerves about Evan’s newfound bisexuality clean out of him. They’d kissed a few times in between their first and that one, but they’d all been quick, chaste things at the ends of dates; closed-mouthed and respectful. Tommy was trying not to push Evan into anything he wasn’t comfortable with. But once Evan threw open those hospital doors, the floodgates on their sex life opened as well.
Evan was all over him every chance he got—lips trailing, tongue tasting, fingers grabbing. He’d given Tommy a blowjob so good it was hard to believe that it was not only his first, but not even something he’d known he wanted a few weeks ago.
Evan was a natural. He was hungry for anything Tommy would give him; no hesitation. He’ll try anything if he thinks it might feel good.
Tommy knows Evan is experienced; far from a blushing virgin, even if he’d never gone to bed with another man before. They’d talked a lot over the last few weeks. Evan had told Tommy about ‘Buck 1.0’ and about some of his more adventurous girlfriends.
So it shouldn’t have been a surprise, really.
Within a week of the wedding, Evan is begging Tommy to fuck him. No exaggeration: begging. Mewls and whines of please Tommy please I wanna feel you I want you inside of me please I know you’ll make it so good in between wet kisses while Tommy covers Evan's body with his own.
And Tommy is only human. He’s trying to go slow, trying to be respectful because he really likes Evan, okay? Not just his body: he likes Evan. But when Evan digs his hands into Tommy's back and pouts his plush pink lips and lets his blue eyes go wide and earnest, Tommy has no choice but to give in to what they clearly both want.
And god, does he want. He wants Evan with a ferocity he hasn’t felt since he first came out, when everything was new and liberating and even the smallest touch was so goddamn good. He wants Evan so bad he can feel it in his teeth.
Jesus, okay. Fine. If Evan doesn’t think it’s too much too soon—if he’s writhing naked under Tommy’s body; spreading his legs wide and pleading for Tommy to give it to him—well, Evan is a grown man. Tommy is gonna take him at his word that he’s ready for this.
Still, he wants to be respectful. He’ll fuck him, but he’s going to be gentle about it. This is Evan’s first time. He wants to make sure Evan knows that Tommy wants him for more than a quick fuck. He wants Evan to feel good. He wants Evan to come back for seconds.
“Yeah, I’ll fuck you,” Tommy says.
Evan moans in delight and surges up for a kiss. Tommy indulges him for a moment, lets Evan kiss him tongue-first and filthy, won’t deny that it gets him so hot he starts to sweat a little, but then he pulls back.
“Settle down, sweet boy,” Tommy hears himself say. “We need to talk a little first.”
He’s never called anyone that before, but it felt so right that he can’t even be embarrassed. Especially when it makes Evan moan and wrap his legs around Tommy’s body to pull their hips flush together.
Their dicks press against each other and Evan starts leaking enough that Tommy thinks maybe Evan would want to just do this; slow down and grind together until they both come. It’s been one of Tommy’s favorite things since he first discovered it a decade ago, the first time he let a man into his bed instead of getting fucked in a bar bathroom or someone’s car.
“Okay,” Evan says into his mouth. “Let’s talk. Whatever you need.”
No, Tommy thinks, whatever you need. This is so you’re comfortable. This is so you’re prepared for what’s about to happen, because it’s very different on the receiving end, and this hole doesn’t work like the one you’re used to.
But what he says is, “Have you ever done anal before?”
Evan smiles, slow and dirty. “Oh yeah. I’ve had a few girlfriends who were into it.”
“Oh,” Tommy says, relieved. He’s not a total novice. He’ll know there needs to be lube involved, lots of stretching. “That’s good. You have some experience at least.”
“Yeah, don’t worry, that was never part of my problem coming to terms with liking guys,” Evan says like he’s the one reassuring Tommy. And then, “The first time a girl brought out a strap-on I wasn’t sure, but I’m so glad I tried it. Maybe that should’ve been a hint that I like guys too? But plenty of straight men like getting fucked by women so maybe it’s unrelated.”
Evan is babbling a little, so Tommy starts licking along his jaw to distract him while he processes what the fuck Evan just said.
Because that is not what Tommy meant when he asked if Evan had done anal before. He’d thought maybe one of Evan’s more adventurous girlfriends had asked him to fuck her ass. Maybe a hookup who knew Evan would be gentle about it. He’d never even considered the possibility that Evan had ever had anything more than a stray finger up his own ass. In Tommy’s experience, most straight guys hadn’t.
Evan has been fucked before. This isn’t new to him. He’d never kissed a guy before Tommy, never been on a date with one, but he’s been fucked. More than once, from the sound of it.
And oh god, that makes Evan's behavior make so much more sense. He's not overeager; diving head-first into something he's never done before. He's experienced. He knows exactly what he's asking for because he's had it before.
Tommy is never underestimating Evan again. He's done making assumptions. Evan is a wonder.
It hits Tommy just how different their journeys with sexuality have been. Tommy would never have been brave enough to ask a woman to fuck him; never would have been secure enough in himself to say yes if she'd offered it. He would have been terrified of what it meant if he'd liked it. He would have known, deep down, exactly why he would have.
But Evan is so open, so willing to try anything he thinks might feel good, no matter what it means about himself. He doesn't deny himself pleasure if no one is getting hurt. It took Tommy so, so long to get anywhere close to that same point. Evan comes by it naturally.
It shouldn’t have been a surprise, really. But it is.
“You liked it?” Tommy asks, just to be absolutely clear.
“Tommy,” Evan says emphatically. “I love getting fucked.”
“God, you’re a fucking dream,” Tommy says, biting a mark into Evan’s neck.
“Are we good?” Evan squirms. “Are we done talking? Can I have your dick now?”
Tommy laughs a little into Evan’s skin. “Yeah, baby, we’re good. You can have anything you want.”
And Tommy finds that he really, really means it.
Within minutes, he’s got Evan gasping and moaning and fucking back onto his fingers like a pro. Because he is. Because he’s done this before and he fucking loves it. He knows what he likes and what he needs. He tells Tommy where to crook his fingers and when he’s ready for another one.
Tommy isn’t going to be able to give this up easily; won’t be able to give Evan up easily. The way Evan’s voice breaks when Tommy brushes his prostate sinks into Tommy’s bones.
The way Evan sighs and smiles, jesus, when Tommy gets his dick inside of him is almost more than Tommy can handle. He has to take a second to pull himself back from the edge just from looking at Evan’s glassy-eyed expression, nevermind the perfect feeling of his hole squeezing around Tommy’s dick like it was made for him.
Tommy groans and buries his face in Evan’s neck. He wasn’t prepared for this tonight. He’s spent weeks telling himself to manage his expectations; that this was all new to Evan so even when they got here—if they got here—it would be slow-going. Maybe he wouldn’t even make it all the way inside the first time, and that would be fine. He’d go as slow as Evan needed him to.
What he wasn’t prepared for was Evan shifting his hips up, adjusting the angle and fucking himself on Tommy’s dick when Tommy didn’t start thrusting quickly enough for his liking. He wasn’t prepared for the full-body shudder that runs through Evan when he manages to find his own prostate with Tommy’s dick.
“Tommy,” Evan moans. His skin is flushed and his lips are kiss-swollen and Tommy wants to devour him. He can’t believe he’s lucky enough to have his name in this beautiful man’s mouth. “You can move, please- please fuck me. Feels so good already.”
Tommy’s barely hanging on, barely keeping up, but he shakes himself off and switches gears. Evan wants to get fucked? Tommy can do that. Tommy will give him anything. As hot as it is to have Evan wriggling against him like he’s a very heavy dildo (and isn’t that something to play with later?), Tommy wants to show Evan a good time.
Tommy pulls his face out of Evan’s neck and sits back on his knees. He’d been planning on staying close to Evan to monitor for any signs of discomfort, to kiss his neck and chest and lips so that Evan felt precious and loved. But that’s not what Evan’s body is asking of him right now.
Hands spread wide from Evan’s hips back to his ass to really get a grip on him, Tommy starts thrusting hard and fast. Evan is smiling again, moaning little fucked out ah ah ahs that threaten to send Tommy into a tailspin. Fuck, this is not what he thought their first time would be like, but it’s so fucking hot.
But even now, even after every revelation he’s had tonight, Evan continues to surprise him.
“Wanna ride you,” Evan says, pushing on Tommy’s hips with his legs until Tommy pulls out and flips them.
Evan settles himself on Tommy’s hips and takes Tommy’s dick in his hand. He sinks back down onto it and fuck, he’s smiling again; eyes closed, lips parted, looking content beyond belief.
He starts really moving on top of Tommy. Evan’s thighs are strong and powerful as he lifts himself up and drops himself down. His whole body is strong; thick muscle fueled by a soft layer of fat that Tommy can’t help but dig his fingers into. This man is huge. He’s dedicated. His hands come down to rest over Tommy’s as if to encourage him to dig in deeper; to leave hand-shaped bruises on his hips. Tommy squeezes and Evan moans.
God, and the noises he makes; deep groans and long, lingering moans that echo through the loft. Tommy manages to get a few whines out of him with some well-placed thrusts. Evan is so open with everything else; it tracks that he’d make it known just how much he’s enjoying himself.
It’s so good. It’s all so good. Evan looks incredible and he knows what he’s doing. He wasn’t lying when he said he loved getting fucked: he looked blissed-out and determined. He looks like once isn’t going to be enough for him tonight, and he looks like he knows exactly what it feels like to get fucked twice in one night. Maybe more.
It’s heady. This is far from Evan's first time, but the thought that Tommy is the first to get a real dick into him is beyond intoxicating. Suddenly he’s close: very close. But he needs to watch Evan fall apart first.
He wraps his hand around Evan’s dick where it’s been bouncing against his stomach—untouched, weeping, dripping between them. Evan moans and his hips stutter, trying to find a new rhythm that allows him to fuck back onto Tommy’s dick and forward into his hand at the same time.
“Gonna come for me, sweet boy?” Tommy asks, voice low and encouraging. “Gonna show me how pretty you look coming on my cock?”
That’s all it takes. Evan throws his head back, his hips locking down as he squeezes around Tommy’s dick and comes hot and wet into his hand. For as vocal as Evan has been this whole time, he's completely silent when he comes: for a few seconds, he doesn't even breathe.
Evan looks perfect as he shudders through it. Perfect. He looks like he was made for this. His mouth is open as he gasps for breath and his muscles are flexing under his skin as he circles his hips a last few times. He’s just about glowing with exertion.
Tommy doesn’t know how he got this lucky, but he’s going to hold onto Evan with both hands for as long as he’ll let him.
It’s not a choice for Tommy to follow. He��s been on the edge since he first got inside of Evan, and the feeling of that perfect hole tightening around him has him groaning and coming harder than he has in decades.
He’s still seeing stars when Evan collapses on top of him. Tommy’s arms come up to hold him close; petting across his skin and accidentally smearing Evan’s own cum across his back.
“Fuck,” Tommy says.
It’s Evan’s turn to hide his face in Tommy’s neck. “Was that okay?” He asks, still panting. His breath is hot on Tommy’s neck.
Tommy wants to laugh. He wants to cry. Was that okay? God, the kid has no idea. No idea how good he is. No idea how earth-shatteringly hot that was. Tommy will have to work on that self-confidence. He’s gonna show Evan exactly how incredible he is. He’s gonna make him believe it.
“That was amazing,” Tommy says. “That was… fuck, it’s been years since I’ve had anything that good.”
Tommy can feel Evan’s smile where his mouth is pressed into Tommy’s neck. “Yeah?” He asks, almost shyly.
He fucked himself beautifully on Tommy’s dick and now he’s shy asking if it was up to Tommy’s standards?
“You were so good, sweet boy,” Tommy purrs.
Evan groans into Tommy’s neck and shifts his hips like he’s gearing up for round two already.
“I really like that,” Evan says.
“Which part?” Tommy asks.
“Both. All of it, fuck,” Evan mouths aimlessly at Tommy's neck. "You. I really like you."
He's slowly humping Tommy’s body, his dick twitching against Tommy’s own, but Tommy isn’t nearly young enough to be ready again yet. Neither is Evan, honestly, which makes this that much more interesting. He’s chasing pleasure that he knows isn’t going to get him anywhere, just to feel it.
If this was their first time—if this is Evan when he’s still a little shy, still in the dark about just how much Tommy wants him—Tommy knows he’s gonna have a hell of a time keeping up with him once they really get going.
Tommy is giddy at the prospect. He can’t fucking wait.
{ao3}
375 notes
·
View notes