Janet Drake - Tumblr Posts

Seeing Janet in that alternate universe gave me Thoughts

That Janet is giving me absent minded history professor vibes who sometimes forgets she has a kid depending on her (like she’s loving when he’s there, but if he’s not in her line of sight he easily slips to the back of her mind)

Also Jack wasn’t there so I wish her a very happy divorce

Tim: momma ain’t raise a quitter

Jason: well, actually, momma ain’t raise nobody

Tim: …

It only comes out when damian joins the family because he throws a fit where the others can over here after tim survives fifteen different poisons

Turns out Janet was the one who bought them for him and thats how he survived training with shiva he was immune to the poison upon her blades

That also how everyone finds out his mother is alive and faked her death!

Tim Drake laces his own food with traces of poisons to build immunity.

Hmmmnnnnrgh

Lookity look, I am an avid fan of what some may call “comic books.” I am also a fan of fanfiction.

I like to read the comics that inspire people to write! Comic books inspire writers inspire artists inspire comics inspire writers and on and on! It’s beautiful. The way the world is meant to be.

Anyway, that isn’t important. What is important is the blatant misunderstanding of Tim Drake’s parents.

Now look, I am with you one hundred percent if you want to make a story where Tim’s parent(s) is decent. That’s fun, I love those stories. But, at the same time, you have to understand that those are AU.

I haven’t read every single comic that Tim Drake has ever featured in, nor have I read every single comic either Jack or Janet Drake has featured in. What I have read, is quite a bit, so I will try my best to explain.

There’s a certain page going around from 90’s Young Justice where Tim is talking to his dad while his dad tries to make coffee. The whole scene is played as a joke, but also, it shows an important difference between Tim and the other members of Young Justice.

I don’t know if this will make sense, but we see a lot of parents in Young Justice. Cissie’s mom is trying to be better, while Cissie is making her work for her forgiveness. Cassie’s mom is pretty cool, she’s worried about her daughter but lets Cassie be a superhero because Cassie is brave and it makes her happy (and Cassie would’ve snuck out to do it if she wasn’t given permission).

Bart’s parents are in the future, but we see him hang out with Max a lot, and they have some realy touching moments of old man vs ADHD child. Kon hangs out with Superman, even though Superman is super uncomfortable around Kon, but we see Superman really try to make an effort to spend time with Kon and understand him.

Tim is a more difficult case.

We see Tim’s dad in the aforementioned page. That’s about it. Any other time family is brought up, Nightwing is his go-to for big bro and Batman is his parental figure. We get a reference to Tim’s dad when Bart says something about getting Tim in trouble with his dad and Tim thinks he’s talking about Jack before realizing he meant Batman.

But more than that, Jack doesn’t have any parental scenes with Tim. Bruce gets all of those. Bruce learns to ease up from being an overbearing parent, Bruce tells Tim he’s proud of him, Bruce spends hours at a computer trying to figure out what happened to Tim. Bruce gets the parental moments.

The panels with Jack in them make me uncomfortable, as someone who stays home to care for my mom. The whole scene is sort of like a joke, where Tim acts more like a father and Jack acts more like a son. That’s why you have the narrative positioning of Tim seated at the table, reading the newspaper, rambling about current events, not even having to look up to warn Jack that he’s about to drink rat poison. Jack is supposed to take the role of tired teenager, slow thinking, not really paying attention, wandering the kitchen. It’s a reversal of the typical father-son role you would see in movies or tv.

It’s making fun of Jack for being less grown up than his fifteen-year-old son.

It makes me uncomfortable because Tim acts as the caretaker in that scene. And, it’s hard to be your parent’s caretaker. It’s hard to see your parent act weird or childish. When Cissie’s mom acts self-destructive and childish, Cissie gets taken away by Child Protective Services. When Tim’s dad almost accidentally drinks rat poison, Tim is in charge of making sure he doesn’t. Do you get it? It’s hard to explain, I don’t know how to explain it… it just makes me feel uneasy.

Then, there’s the scene where Jack tears Tim’s tv off the wall and breaks it. That just is abuse. There’s no debate.

But there are subtle things in the comics. Tim becomes Robin and his parents don’t find out until after Janet has been dead for a few years. And it isn’t like Cassie and her mom, where her mom accepted that Cassie was going to fight crime, there isn’t much she can do to stop her, and so she would rather let her daughter go, because then Cassie trusts her enough to talk to her. She deems it more important for Cassie to trust her, and she knows Cassie is a reckless teenager, and she wants to keep that line open. So she lets Cassie go as long as Cassie tells her what’s happening. And we see how it affects Cassie’s mom, how scared she gets, how worried she is, how relieved she is when Cassie comes home because that means she’s safe.

Tim’s dad makes him give up Robin. He doesn’t think about Tim, he thinks about his idea of Tim. The Tim in his mind is a well-mannered young boy who studies and has a handful of friends. It doesn’t jibe with the reality that Tim is a well-mannered young boy who kicks criminals in the face and finds himself falling from tall heights worryingly often. Tim’s dad doesn’t understand why Tim wants to be Robin, and Tim has to push and push and push to be Robin again.

There’s little things. Tim was capable of jumping on the first flight to Hawaii with Alfred in World’s Finest Three, presumably he was gone for at least a day, and nobody was too concerned about it. Tim was turned into an adult in that age swap arc with the Young Justice, but we only ever see how he speaks with Bruce. Everyone else has a scene of them either confronting a loved one in their aged up or down form (Bart, Wally, Cassie) or has Superboy pretend to be him to talk to Lois (Superman). In fact, we see a scene like that where Bruce (Robin) makes Tim (Batman) talk to Commissioner Gordon. But, we never see Tim even think about confronting his dad like that.

Tim apparently has all the free time in the world to fight bad guys and almost die every other day, and people think his parents weren’t neglectful. When Tim’s dad does die, Tim gets adopted by Bruce, and sure, he says it hurt when Jack died, but he even said that he felt kind of empty about it. Then Bruce died, and he felt completely different, despite viewing them both as his fathers.

This is long and rambling, and I’m sorry, but I need you to understand that when people say Tim’s parents are abusive, they aren’t pulling it out of nowhere. Neglect is abuse. A kid having to take care of their parent with no one to take care of them is neglectful. Yelling and screaming and throwing things is abuse. Maybe Tim’s parents don’t leave physical scars, but they don’t treat him well. They aren’t good parents.

Tim: It all began on the day of my actual birth.

Tim: Both of my parents failed to show up.

I wanna talk about Janet Drake

I’m not against exaggeratedly evil versions of Tim’s parents, tbh. It’s fanfiction, if we can depict an Exaggeratedly Good version of Bruce (which we can, and I do, and I love) then we can depict the Drakes as Exaggeratedly Bad. As someone who personally identifies with Tim, and his brand of complicated parental abuse in particular, I find it cathartic to uncomplicate that abuse and rescue him from the Obviously Evil Bad People. 

That said, since much of comics lore is passed down word of mouth, the oral tradition surrounding Tim has developed this idea of Janet as The Worse Parent between her and Jack that was never really present in the comics. We see much LESS of Janet, and we have 20 years worth of comics depicting Jack as a neglectful hotheaded idiot who ultimate does love his son. More importantly, Jack isn’t very much LIKE Tim, so there is a habit to attribute Tim’s traits to his mother… and, as someone who really really identifies with Tim, Tim has… some negative traits. Tim can be a bitch sometimes. He’s fiercely intelligent and sweet and kind, with a strong sense of justice, but he can be cold and judgmental and unthinking - he fights those traits, but he does have them. 

And it is perfectly fine to depict Janet that way. I’ve enjoyed depictions of Cold Calculating Janet Drake, but it’s not the ONLY option, and I want to challenge fans to consider different avenues. Tim could pick up these traits from anywhere: a nanny, Mrs. Mc Ilvaine (”Mrs. Mac”), a teacher, tv, Sherlock Holmes novels, Bruce Wayne himself. Tim is capable of not being like EITHER parent. 

So, what do we KNOW about Janet? (I’ll also touch on Jack, but only in scenes he appears with Janet.) 

When Janet was first introduced she was depicted as a gentle but “modern” woman. This was written in 1989, told by a 13 year old Tim, so this theoretically was meant to take place in 1979. I’m not here to give a lecture on the history of sex discrimination in the united states, but much of the legislation protecting women in the workforce or surrounding women’s bodily autonomy would have been very very new in this initial depiction. 

Here, Janet is shown to be encouraging, emotional, maternal, and projects her own feelings onto Tim. Jack is shown to be slightly sexist, possibly discouraging, but not overbearing. And the artist is shown not to know how to draw children. 

To insert some speculation, I think it’s important to note all the Drakes witnessed a terrible murder/accident that day. I point this out, because this is the last time Jack and Janet are depicted this way. It’s possible they changed as a result of this event specifically. 

However, this is also a story being told by Tim. It’s also possible these events aren’t really “real” at all, and Tim is misremembering what his parents were like as a three-year-old, possibly projecting a more palatable version of his parents into the narrative. This is entirely up to personal interpretation. 

In fact, the Drakes are shown in Legend of the Dark Knight attending Haly’s Circus, and the artist knows what a toddler looks like and they’re depicted as already having a slightly strained relationship. Jack is clearly on the defensive, and Janet seems to be passive-aggressive, though she could just be attempting to explain the situation to her toddler honestly. The intended tone isn’t especially clear. 

I do want to point out, in this depiction, Tim isn’t being carried like he was in the previous one. He’s walking ahead of his parents, which isn’t a terrible horrible crime, but could be dangerous in a crowded place like the circus. Might be a subtle hint to his parents overall neglect. 

Back to A Lonely Place of Dying, in Tim’s memories of the night he discovered Robin and Dick Grayson were the same person at nine-years-old, his parents are home, and watching TV together while Tim played… trucks, idk, in the living room with them. (This is semi-interesting, because you could say “oh, Tim liked vehicle toys as a kid” or you could extrapolate that this is another subtle indication of Jack’s sexism, providing Tim with appropriately “boy toys.” Either interpretation is valid. If Tim was assigned female at birth, would they have been given “girl toys,” or allowed to play with whatever they wanted?) 

This is, to my knowledge, the only panel of the Drakes when Tim is between ages 3 and 13. They’re all together, which might indicate that the Drakes were home more often when Tim was 9, only later going on business trips when Tim was “old enough” but… 

This is Tim’s boarding school when he’s 13. While most boarding schools in the US are for grades 9-12, Tim is clearly not a freshman at age 13; look how much younger the other kids in this panel are. In the US, the youngest you can attend most boarding schools is 7. 

That means Tim could have begun going to boarding school anytime between 7 and 13. He most likely spent all of middle school in boarding school, at least. There are an almost infinite number of possible ways the Drakes handled having a business that required lots of international travel, an archeology hobby, AND a very young child. Janet staying home until Tim was 7, 11, 13, is equally possible as the Drakes having a nanny until 7, 11, 13. Tim just doesn’t talk about that period of his life very much.

(”What about Mrs. Mac?” - it is unclear when Mrs. Mac begins working for the Drakes. We only see her when Jack comes out of his coma. She could either be a long standing staff member, or a recent hire.) 

Note: I’ve seen it said that it’s canon that “According to Tim, when his parents were home, they made a point to try and include him in their activities, bringing him along to events that were normally adults only.” I have never seen this panel, or I don’t remember it, so I cannot confirm, but I also cannot debunk this because… comics. 

By the time Tim is 13, Jack and Janet are away on business trips a lot, with limited communication, and no firm return date. If I’m feeling generous, I’d say it was harder to communicate internationally in 1990 than it is today. If I’m not feeling generous, I’d say the Drakes are extremely wealthy, and international communication was easier than ever before in the 80s and 90s. They’re not even going home to see Tim in a week or two, they’re going home and calling Tim at boarding school in a week or two. 

Even Bruce thinks its weird, though he doesn’t say so to Tim’s face. It’s written almost as if Tim’s parents’ neglect was meant to be a plot point that just got forgotten about. 

Tim’s parents are fighting at this point (their poor assistant), but Janet still goes with Jack on these business trips. And she’s clearly involved in the business, somehow, but the comics never SAY what Janet’s JOB is. We’re told Jack is the exec, but Janet is ONLY ever referred to as Jack’s wife, though they’re later described as the “heads” of the company, plural. 

Just to be clear, this is Jack’s business. There’s a perception that Jack is a bad business man because he and Janet fight over company decisions, and Jack looses the business after Janet dies, but Jack looses the company YEARS after Janet dies, and maintains it for about a year after No Man’s Land at that. We’re not told how Jack looses the business, but he’s got to be doing something right. Janet isn’t necessarily the “real brains” of Drake Industries. 

And I’m not… gonna… touch the… exploitation and racism because… I’m not qualified to do that. But, here’s the panel. The Drakes sure seem exploitative and racist in their business decisions. Someone else can… analyze that with more nuance. 

Regardless how how long they’ve been fighting, when their lives are in danger, the Drakes fall back into a loving husband and wife. Their marriage may be falling apart, but they do care about each other. 

I want to show these panels because it shows that Tim and Jack do have things in common. They’re both level headed in a crisis and can be somewhat cold in their practicality. Janet meanwhile and silent. Jack is later willing rant and rave at their captors, but Janet remains silent. 

That is, until they’re alone, and she finally lets herself fall apart. 

God, Jack can be obnoxious. Janet just looks miserable and resigned. I actually think Tim takes after his parents in this respect in equal measure. Tim can have a temper, but he can also be fairly melancholy and defeatist. 

Jack keeps reminding Janet to be strong and in control, which could be period typical sexism? But Jack seems so practiced and ready with the words of encouragement, and with Tim’s history with depression, I wonder if Janet has an inclination towards it as well. 

As the end approaches, when Jack brings up Tim, Janet seems to have a lot of regret. She talks about “wasting” the good things, and I don’t think it’s too big of a stretch to assume she’s talking about time spent with her only child. 

From this point on, Janet is at times spoken of, but not seen. Like here, when Jack says Janet wouldn’t approve of him and Tim being so “far apart.” He says this after he tells him he takes back his threat to send him back to boarding school, which might imply Janet was against the idea of boarding school? Though she obviously lost that argument when she was alive. 

Jack will of course renege on this later, but that’s Jack Drake for you. 

Or here in Tim’s illness induced dream, where he gets everything he wants. Though, since this is a fantasy of Tim’s, where his father and girlfriend are both more accepting and understanding than they are in real life, I would take this depiction of Janet with a grain of salt. 

After loosing Drake Industries, Jack thinks about Janet (though, they call her Catherine/Cathy for some fucking reason) during his depressive episode. And… uh… 

Hallucinates a Valkyrie???? Is this symbolic of suicidal thoughts, or is she… real? Or is he seriously hallucinating? 

Anyway, we’re not here to discuss Jack’s mental state, the fact that he forgot Tim’s birthday, or that concerning “I was going to knock some sense into you but you’re still bigger than me” statement from Tim, we’re here to talk about Janet. And even though this entire arc is about Jack mourning his first wife, they don’t SAY anything about Janet herself at all. I mean, they don’t even get her name right, so I guess what was I expecting. 

Then there’s Origins and Omens, which also doesn’t say anything about Janet, except that Tim’s memory of her is faulty - Janet was poisoned, her assistant Jeremy’s throat was slit on television, but Tim seems to have conflated the death he did see with the death he didn’t. 

The only piece of canon to suggest that Janet might be cold, is Tim compares her to Thalia. And even then, he’s really just saying Janet was protective of him. It’s kind of a scary look to make at your kid, but Bruce does the same thing, so. 

I do want to say… it’s not 100% clear if Tim is even talking about Janet. He could be talking about Dana. Dana was observably protective of Tim, though I don’t think he’s ever called her mom. He PROBABLY means Janet. 

And finally we have Tim visiting his mother’s grave (in a duel Christian/Jewish cemetery, make of that what you will), where Tim says she was “a little religious.”

And that’s it! That is all we know about Janet Drake in New Earth. Hardly the Mom From Hell, but she isn’t perfect. I’d be interested in seeing some alternate depictions of her within the fandom. 

I’m still gonna eat up Terrible Parents From Hell like a starving puppy dog, though. Just some food for creative thought. 

Look maybe it’s my own complicated relationship with my parents but I don’t think you guys value the gold mine of complex trauma provided by average imperfect parents like the Drakes. Like Tim wasn’t abused however that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t give a therapist a headache when he explains his family. Like I truly believe that Janet was a loving mother but I can tell you that doesn’t mean there isn’t a disconnect when you are raised with a distance between you especially with boarding schools and long vacations. The difficulty of having a father who does not know you but continues to interfere and make assumptions on who you are and who you should be. Tim might of had the most average upbringing, and even then it wasn’t that average, but there is magic in that when it comes to understanding who he is. He’s independent not because of a tough life but because that how his parents believed he should be (I can’t remember we’re but there a panel were it’s like the Drakes don’t really understand what kids should like at that age). I think in a medium with so many extremely tragic beginings there’s something deeply beautiful in your average everyday mess. The Drakes were completely average parents but they do provide the stage for the most relatable parental angst especially when they are never given the chance to resolve it

"Mama! Did you know that Drake means Duck?"

She pauses the brush settling at his nape. Blindsided doesn't begin to cover it glancing down at the book in her precious sons lap.

"It also means Dragon, but hmmm... maybe should I start calling you my little Duckie instead?."

She grabs him dropping kisses everywhere she can reach giggles filled with childish wonder echoing throughout the manor.

"No, No mama! I'm an owl hoot hoot."

-

He glances back at the grave, a red rose placed gently on dirt.

A crackle cuts through followed by a sharp request for backup.

"Not quite an owl anymore, Ma but I think a Robin works to."

He whispers before grappling away.

The way that this could also solve an identity crisis problem. I know a couple of people who want to write out the identity crisis of storylines they want to tell but still have some key moments. [Take with that as you will] You bring the spy thing in. You are in an intriguing plot that could dive into Drske's history. [The rise of Drake's company, their money, the jobs they took.] You can change the writing of the Drake's kidnapping and Janet's death. Remove some of the racists connotations and focus more on political and espionage. You can then focus on Jack staying in the States and what that means for the past.

Honestly, it would be interesting to just flesh out the Drake's more than what they were. [Hustory wise] and connect the political climate of the end of the Cold War to the continual tensions that existed between countries.

I don't know where I'm going with this, but here's a plot bunny.

nobody understands my "given the political climate of the late 80s & early 90s & the whole bruce is off in moscow fighting an apprentice of the kgbeast right as questions are starting to be asked about tim's parents by alfred and bruce with regards to their general shadiness and tim is notoriously unable to answer what exactly they do because his dad is shown to be fairly tightlipped about his job in a story specifically written by wolfman (who helped create tim) i think that the drakes were possibly initially set up for a potential spy storyline" theory like i do.

Janet Drake is so mother energy I love her so much!!!

She hits you with her classic cold glare and gracefully ruins your life with a smile on her face.

I LOVE HERRRRRRR

What if there is a world where Jack and Janet swapped, and who got the coma, etc.?

I mostly thought of this cuz I had an amusing thought at work that goes something like this: Ra's: "Your father must have quite the man, Timothy. With just how perfectly you turned out. " Tim: "No, I got it from my mother. And if you know what's best for you, stay away from her. " ---Time Skip--- Janet walks into Wayne Manor: "Timothy, what have I told you about letting your stuff lie about in its improper place?" Tim: "Not, too, Mother. I'm sorry for being so thoughtless." Janet hands Tim a suspicious jar: "I'll be merciful this time; your surgery is booked for tomorrow, so make sure to get your affairs in order." Janet turns to Damien and hands him a card. "This is out of courtesy, child. Make sure not to repeat the mistake. Either of you." She eyes Jason and Damien. "And Mr. Grayson, your thin ice too, for the attempted hospitalization of my Timomothy." And with that, she walks back out. Bruce hesitantly asks: "Tim... Why did Janet hand Damien a sorry for your loss card?" Tim: "Well, since I now have my spleen in the jar, Bruce, I'm pretty sure Ra's is dead."

Ur so real. I loveee the fics where they explore Janet being a tough love type of parent. Where she might be cold but shows care in her own way and feels pride for Tim.

The fact that Tim canonically looks a lot like Janet will never not fuck me up

Janet and Jack Drake find something at one of their digs that the League of Assassins is really interested in. So, being smart business people they broker an agreement.

The Drakes would cough over this and other artifacts they find that the league is interested so long as they take in Timothy Drake and teach him in their ways.

Which when you think about it sounds insane, but it’s coming from a place of love. Don’t think that this is the Drakes trying to pawn Tim off on someone else. They expect to get their son back and they will raise hell and high heaven in Ra’s so much as tries to keep their son from them.

The next question is why they want their son to become a killer to which Janet answers that “we want our son to know how to kill if he needs to. If I’ve raised him right then he certainly won’t need to dirty his hands to get the results he wants, but I’ll be damned if my son can’t protect himself as heir to the Drake name.”

So for whatever reason this pans out. The Drakes return home, explain what’s going to happen to Tim, and Tim’s all for it. He’s like 9 and wants to be able to stalk the bats better and if he can defend himself then he can probably follow them into more dangerous scenarios and get some really awesome action shots.

So Tim goes to train, and it’s very clear early on that Tim’s speciality lies with his brain. Yes he picks up on martial arts quickly, but he is also a genius, so his studies are adjusted to meet his needs.

Because of this, Ra’s thinks it’s a brilliant idea to have Tim meet his heir (Talia also thinks socialization will be a good thing for both kids since they will both be in positions of leadership and socialization abilities are important).

This was everyone’s first mistake. Tim and Damian are the same type of chaos in different colors. Where Tim had the advantage on planning operations, Damian has the skill to pull them off.

Do they regularly steal desserts from the kitchens? Yes. Can anyone realistically pin it on them? Absolutely not.

One time, while trying to foster both their stealth abilities, they came up with a game of paint tag. They both had a paint marker and they systematically swept through the cradle pinning anyone and everyone.

It was terrifying for all involved because the Demon kids where quick and quiet. They came out of nowhere and marked you.

During Tim’s time in training he would return home or fly to wherever his parents were currently visiting for Holidays. Most of the time he could convince Talia to let Damian join him. Naturally if Damian left there was an unseen escort/body gaurs that trailed them but it was whatever. Tim and Damian made a game out of seeing who could spot their guards the most.

Eventually Tim’s training came to an end. He did need to return to Gotham. After some farewells (and promises to keep in touch. Tim would hack the league if he didn’t hear from Damian enough fuck you Ra’s) Tim was home. He had a house sitter essentially, for when his parents were gone. She stopped in every day, made sure Tim had food and cooked for him if he wanted her to (although his league training had taught him cooking surprisingly), but at night he wouldnt have anyone watching and he was back out stalking the bats.

Tim was their when Garzona’s fell off the roof to his death. He has a perfect series of shot showing Jason diving to try to save him, not pushing him off, and they end up dropped off by a a courier anonymously. With proof, Bruce sits down and talks to Jason. A real heart to heart moment that results in Jason not dying in Ethiopia.

This means that Tim most likely does not become Robin, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t do anything. He eventually establishes himself as an informant, hacking into the bat computer to change the background into photographic evidence Tim gathered they need for a case. he also leaves really large folders in the middle of the screen full of files and also full of the cold cases he solves because he’s bored and already finished high school via online education.

Tim obviously still photographs the bats and with his league training he’s never caught. That is until the newest Robin shows up. It’s a couple of years later. Tim’s thriving, he goes back to the cradle on occasion until he receives a warning from Talia that he can’t return. Says she and Damian are going Dark and that she’ll reach out when she can.

Of course Tim is upset. He’s looking up league business and realizes that theres been an attempt of a coup. A sad attempt but an attempt all the same. He’s just happy that Damian is apparently safe.

So one night he’s out doing his night photography when a new vigilante hits the scene. Phoenix. And yup, that’s definitely the old Robin, Jason Todd, but then where’s the new Robin?

Tim had been following the bats on patrol taking action shots when he was tackled from behind by someone in the all familiar traffic light colors of Robin. As disoriented as he was, tim took the hit, rolling as he cradled his camera to protect it, and used his legs to launch his assailant off of him. He rolled onto his knees ready to fight or flee until his eyes landed on the person across from him.

“You’ve gotten Rusty, Drake.” Damian fucking Al Ghul taunts, that oh so familiar patronizing smirk on his face. Tim gaped because whyyy was his demon twin here? In Gotham? And patrolling as Robin?

Before Tim could gather his Witt’s about him a shadow fell over him and, yup. There was Batman.

He ended up in the cave at the end of the night, thoroughly confused but relieved when Damian took off his mask and throw his arms around Tim in a hug, one the older teen eagerly returned.

“Talia said you were going dark after the coup.”

“Mother believed it best I continue my training with my father.” And wasn’t this just a night full of whiplash huh. Tim leered at Bruce studying his face and yup…he could see it now that he was actually looking for it.

“And I thought my parents were absentee,” he joked, earning a trademarked huff from Damian and a offended/concerned grunt from Bruce.

Damian eventually gets around to explaining Tim, introducing him as his “brother from the league.” Bruce is both confused and concerned about the fact that Tim’s parents just…left him with the league of assassins for over a year. Like what?

Tim kinda just shrugs it off. His families always been a little weird. Oddity is how they show love or something. Either way…Tim pulls a flash drive out of his pocket and placed it by the bat computer. “Since I’m already here I might as well drop off the photos from the Crewel case. I caught them talkng business in the bar off 7th, there’s photos and a document of what I overheard. Figured it might help you connect some dots. Also there’s another batch of solved cold cases for you to look into.”

And now it was Bruces turn to experience relentless whiplash because not only was their mysterious informant like…15 years old, he also lives next door.

Exasperated Father Bruce Wayne invites Tim up to the manor for post patrol snacks so he can digest all of this new information.

Later he calls Jack and Janet and ask them with a long suffering drawn out “whyyy?” Jack dies laughing in the background and Janet humms in amusement.

“I take it you’ve finally discovered his stalking tendencies?”

“And how long has he been doing this?”

“Longer than I care to admit. Listen Brucie, Tim’s a smart kid. A genius really. As much as I wish I could make him stop sometimes, it’s not possible. He’s as stubborn as I am on a bad day, so instead of trying to stop him Jack and I decided that we would do whatever we could make sure he can keep himself safe.”

“Ah…we should start a club,” he decides, remember how Dick had been when Bruce had first adopted him. “I know you’re both In Egypt. Would you be opposed to him staying at the manor. As it turns out my Biological son and Tim know each other from the league.”

“Of course Brucie. Please let us know if we need to wire you any funds for his stay. Tim has access to our accounts of course, but no matter how much we try he’s always so frugal about how he spends it. And if he decides to dress up in spandex and join your little crusade you better at least warn us.”

“Of course Janet. I’ll keep an eye on them.”

“Oh and Bruce? Good luck! From what I heard Tim and Damian were quite the Terrors when they worked together.”

Never Going to Leave You by Eye_Collective

Fandoms:Batman - All Media Types

General Audiences

No Archive Warnings Apply

M/M

Complete Work

02 Oct 2023

Tags

No Archive Warnings Apply Bernard Dowd/Tim Drake/Kon-El | Conner Kent Tim Drake Kon-El | Conner Kent Bernard Dowd Janet Drake(mentioned) Jack Drake(mentioned) Sickfic Tim Drake-centric Hurt/Comfort Emotional Hurt/ComfortDay #02 Bad Parents Jack and Janet Drake Tim Drake Needs a Hug Tim Drake Gets a Hug Tim Drake Has Abandonment Issues Tim Drake has Anxiety Suicidal Thoughts Angst with a Happy Ending Angstober 2023

Summary

Tim gets sick,but Bernard and Kon are stuck going to places. So, Tim stuck with his thoughts.

Day 2: Anxiety