Alt prompt: "I didn't mean to wake you up"

It wasn't unusual to see Tim passed out somewhere in a back-breaking position. He was married to his work from the moment he became Robin, and his coffee consumption had long since destroyed his sleep cycle before he was old enough to drive. He could sleep anywhere which was both a good thing and a bad one. The good part was he didn't need to drag himself to bed and spend the last of his energy scaling the stairs. The bad part was he woke up with aches and pains that he never really shook off. It was even worse when he was sick. A cold would last double the regular time because he'd work himself to the point of exhaustion and avoid any cold medicine that had the slightest chance of making him drowsy.

Dick watched him from across the room, angling himself so he could sneak glances over the top of his laptop screen to where Tim was scrunched into an office chair. A tissue box to his right and a bin to his left close to overflowing with used ones. He had three different mugs on the desk. One contained something to help his throat, another was filled with coffee and a third was water with some lemon and ginger inside. Alfred had given him some cold medicine but that had been tossed to the side when one of the effects listed drowsiness. 

Bruce sat further away, both to provide personal space and to avoid being close enough to catch anything. He wasn't a germaphobe. More like a workaholic who didn't want to risk being benched. He also gave his ward some concerned glances that read like they were supposed to accompany gentle pats on the back or a hug. Dick noticed that the pair had caught eyes a few times, having one of those mental conversations everyone in their family learned. He was a little rusty but he caught a few familiar phrases.

"You should go to bed."

"I'm fine."

"You're sick."

"It's just a cold. I'm fine."

Whilst he gave Bruce his dues, acknowledging that his parenting skills had definitely improved, he was still left with something to be desired. If it was Dick's kid, he'd be in bed with a tummy full of soup and medicine by now. It wasn't his place to advise anyone on how to raise a kid being childless himself but he did have the Titans. Sometimes that felt like raising kids. Tim would be banned from a computer after a few days of not getting any better. Still, he didn't say anything. Just watched from the sidelines.

Eventually, Tim began to sag in his seat and his eyes closed once and for all. He needed the sleep but he'd probably wake up feeling just as shitty if he stayed there. Dick's gaze drifted over to Bruce. His previous mentor had noticed Tim slip into sleep but he made no effort to cart him off to bed. He frowned to himself.

"He can't sleep there," Dick said, unable to bite his tongue any longer. 

"He's slept there before. I can keep an eye on him here," Bruce responded. He didn't snap like the acrobat had expected. He almost sounded regretful as though he was only allowing this because it was the lesser of two evils. Progress, he supposed. 

"I could keep an eye on him," he offered. "I can take my laptop anywhere."

"I thought you weren't staying the night."

"Well, you do have better WiFi and I wouldn't really be staying all night. Just till you're finished up down here." 

Bruce now turned to face him with a curious expression. Admittedly, Dick didn't really want to spend the night. He was already pushing against his own boundaries doing work here. Although he and Bruce were in a better place, he didn't want his mentor to get the false impression that everything had been swept under the rug and they were ready to get back to a normal they hadn't had in years. The only reason he was here was Tim. He didn't want to make the same mistakes he made with Jason. If that meant keeping an eye on the kid for a few hours whilst Bruce did his work, then he'd just deal with driving home tired. 

"I can take care of him," Bruce stated. It wasn't defensive, almost like a reassurance. A way to say he didn't need to stay for Tim to be okay. That he didn't need to go out of his comfort zone because the situation was already handled. 

"I know."

"It's only a cold." Another reassurance. This wasn't life or death. This was a kid with a regular old cold that didn't need constant monitoring to keep on top of. 

"You'd feel better if someone was there and he can't sleep like that. It'll fuck up his back."

"You did it all the time."

"Yeah and ask how my back feels now," he joked lightly. "It's no trouble. I've got headphones and stuff. I don't technically need to be in here to get my work done. To be honest, it'd probably be better to work upstairs. You haven't really perfected the central heating down here."

"It's hard to warm a cave," Bruce deadpanned, a ghost of a smile on his face. "If you're okay with it, it's much appreciated. I can have Alfred prepare your room."

"Never said I'd stay."

"Just in case." Dick hummed and packed his laptop back into his backpack before putting it on. He walked over to Tim and carefully picked him up into a protective hold, letting his head rest on the crook of his neck. It felt a little weird having the roles reversed and memories of being half asleep being taken to bed but he pushed those aside and headed upstairs. 

Tim's bedroom was three doors down from Bruce's. 

The first was Dick's room which had been left preserved since he left at sixteen. He never got the opportunity to update it in the last couple years, mostly because he couldn't stand to be in the manor for that long. He hadn't taken much with him when he ran away. A few outfits, his Robin suit and a photo of his parents. The lack of missing possessions kept the room suspended in time. To easier days. He wouldn't be surprised if Alfred still cleaned it regularly. 

The second door led to Jason's room. He hadn't gone inside since Jason died. He assumed it would be in the same state as his own. Preserved as though it were an important ancient artefact. He wondered if there were clothes still laid on the bed, intended for him to wear when he got back home but ultimately being left in their place. The door was closed and presumably locked. 

Then came the third door. Tim's room. He turned the doorknob, careful to avoid jostling the boy in his arms, before using his back to push it open. Tim's room was exactly as he pictured it. Photos of his family, photos of tech developers and posters of their creations. He got a little kick out of seeing the computer-themed bed sheets that he knew Alfred despised but still put on because it made Tim happy. His bedside table had a few half-finished gadgets on it and like every bedroom, there was a chair by the fireplace. Dick never got why there had to be chairs in a bedroom. A bed was basically a chair. It worked out for him now though so he shouldn't complain. 

He doubted that Tim would appreciate being changed into pyjamas even if they would be more comfortable than what he was wearing now. Instead, he pulled back the covers and laid Tim down before tucking him in. Tim didn't stir and only shifted slightly to lay on his side when he recognised he was in his own bed. Dick smirked to himself before suddenly being overcome with deja vu. He'd been here before, watching a new graduate into the hero community sleep off a bad cold. He'd seen a kid who was too young to know where he'd end up sleeping in his clothes in a bed far too big for them. His smirk faded and he glanced to the connecting wall that he knew Jason's bedroom was behind. His throat tightened slightly but he refused to acknowledge the lump there.

"Fuck's sake," he muttered to himself. He sighed and rubbed his eyes then took a seat by the fireplace. He took off the backpack and pulled his laptop out. He put his headphones on but pushed one side off of his ear so he would hear Tim if anything bad happened. If it did then he'd be there this time.

A couple of hours passed and he'd barely done any work. He'd spent half his time staring at the lump on the bed, ready to jump into action but never needing to. It was just a cold, he told himself but it never helped him relax into the cushions of the chair. 

Eventually, Bruce slipped in. Probably done with whatever held him captive in the cave. He walked over to the bed and gently tucked some of Tim's hair behind his ear. Dick wondered if he'd ever been as careful with him or Jason. Definitely with Jason. Jason was his baby as much as they all pretended he wasn't the favourite. Maybe Tim would take that title too.

"He's just been asleep," Dick said, his voice low. Bruce nodded and took the chair opposite him. He tilted his head, wondering what was coming next. He hoped it wasn't going to be an argument. They had plenty of those already. "You okay?"

"Yes," he answered. "Are you?"

"I'm fine." The older nodded. "You just gonna sit there?"

"I wanted to say thank you. I know that you're not comfortable here anymore and I appreciate that I have a part in that." You're the whole reason, Dick thought. He didn't say it though. He'd rather not poke the bear when there was a sick kid trying to sleep in the room. "You're welcome to stay."

"I don't want to."

"Is there anything I can do to change that?" 

"Do you really want to have this conversation right now?" Dick snapped before he could think better of it. 

"We need to have it at some point. It's clear you want to be a part of Tim's life and I don't want to come in the way of that."

"I'm here, aren't I?" He knew he wasn't being as quiet as he should be but Bruce was a master at getting him to raise his voice. What was he thinking trying to bring it up when his sick ward was only a metre away trying to sleep? He wasn't sure of Tim's temperament when he was asleep so he didn't know how loud he could get before causing a disturbance. Knowing Bruce, he was about to find out. 

"I know that I stood in the way of you fostering a relationship with Jason."

"Shut up!" Dick shouted. 

Tim sprang to sit upright, his eyes wide in a panic as he looked around for the source of the noise. When his eyes settled on Dick and Bruce, he settled and rubbed his eyes with a yawn. There was nothing more tempting to the acrobat than running out of there but he stood firm in his position. It would only look worse if he went high-tailing it out of the room. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up," Dick said. 

"'s fine. How did I get here?"

"I carried you to bed," he answered, feeling a little awkward. He hadn't thought too much about it in the moment but now he felt like he'd overstepped an unspoken boundary. Sure he knew Tim more but it still felt a little too intimate. Tim, however, didn't share the same awkwardness. 

"Oh, thanks. Have you two been here the whole time?" 

"No, just me."

"You were watching me sleep?" he asked, a small smile on his face. 

"I was doing work. Sorry if that's creepy."

"Nah, it's kinda sweet," he assured him. 

"Well um, now you're awake and B is done downstairs, I'll be taking my leave." He began packing up his things into his backpack, chucking it in without much thought. He needed to get out of there before Bruce attempted another heart-to-heart. As much as he could appreciate and be grateful for the gesture, he wasn't ready. He wasn't sure he ever would be. 

"What time is it?"

"Just past midnight," Bruce told him. 

"Why don't you just crash here?"

"Uh-"

"I think Dick had some business in Bludhaven to take care of," Bruce stepped in. Thank God for that.

"Maybe next time, lil," he paused, "lil man. When you're not sick, give me a call and we'll work something out."

"Promise?"

"Yeah, I promise." He swung the backpack over his shoulder and began to leave. "I'll see you guys around. Get better, okay?"

"I will," Tim replied. 

There was a beat of silence when the door closed and the teen turned to his mentor. 

"What was that about?" he asked.

"I took your advice on talking to him about Jason. I don't think he was in a place to hear it."

"No duh, why did you have it whilst I was here? Unconscious too!" 

"You said to pick a quiet moment where he was at ease."

"B, we have very different perspectives on what at ease means. He was nowhere near it," Tim scolded lightly. "Maybe next time, hey?" 

Bruce hummed and looked longingly at the door. He didn't know if Dick would ever be in the right place to talk about what happened. There were so many things they left unsaid that digging up one issue would cause a cave-in. They'd be crushed under the weight of history too torn apart to sew back together over one conversation. He could hold onto hope that he hadn't burnt down that bridge slowly over the years.