maskormenacelogs | the fuse will have to run out sometime

He's been hiding away too long. If he's being honest with himself, then he's aware of that; he knows it's not healthy (like anything their family does is healthy) to spend all his time in his room when there's people literally right outside his door asking to help.

He showers, gets something to eat from the kitchen, and goes looking for the sister he's been semi-ignoring for about a month. There's plenty of space in the house to go looking, but they tend to have certain rooms they use more than others, and he finds her in one of the living rooms.

He knocks on the door frame on the way in. "Hey, Cass. You busy?"

Oh. Oh. That's a surprise, but not at all an unpleasant one. Cass sits up, putting down her tablet. "Not really? Nothing that can't wait."

She won't start this by prying, even though she's been. Very worried.

"I figured I should probably try... talking. About what happened back home."

He takes a couple steps further in before stopping again. "If that's okay."

"Yeah. Of course." There's no hesitation. Cassandra scoots over, patting the couch seat next to her. "C'mon."

"Thanks."

He's quiet for a moment as he sits down and tries to figure out if there's literally any gentle way to lead into this, or if he's just going to have to blurt it out.

"I think - Ra's wants my genetic material to make a kid."

That's--

Cass is gonna need a second on this. There are a lot of angles this might have and she likes none of them. There's a flare of something bitterly protective that she pushes away with a deep breath, before reaching out to place a hand on his arm. "So, did someone...?"

He doesn't... really want the hand on his arm right now, but he doesn't move away, either, because he's tired of shying back from this topic. "Someone... tried."

It's clear to her that he isn't really on board with the contact, so she pulls back. Still, she clenches her hands, nails digging into her palms.

"That's..." She closes her eyes, tightly, clearly furious on his behalf but trying to keep it together. This isn't the time. "He's... it wouldn't be. The first time the League's... tried that." She usually tries not to think about it, because it makes her so angry at herself, Cain, everything, but she knows that the circumstances of her own birth were... well, less than consensual, to put it very mildly.

"I'm... sorry, do you just... want me to listen, or..." Cass is so out of her depth here. But Tim needs her, that much is clear. She just doesn't know what he needs from her, what the best approach is.

He should have gone to visit Bruce weeks ago, when he first showed up, but he's been wallowing too much to really get out of the house. Now that he is getting out, he makes visiting his Alternate Dad a priority.

And he brings a box of a dozen donuts, because he panics a little bit. There's worse things he could have expressed that panic. And he knocks instead of letting himself in through a window or something because Alfred raised him right.

[ the front attendant lets him know that his son was on his way up to see him, and for a moment he expected to see jason or damian, but is even more surprised to see tim. a pang of guilt washes over him when he sees the boy at the door, realizing that he should have gone to see him sooner himself rather than have tim come to him. ]

Tim. I wasn't expecting you. Come in. [ He moves aside of the threshold. ]

Hey, Bruce.

[He only takes a few steps inside, like he's not quite sure of his welcome yet - which he kind of isn't, honestly. Neither of them really reached out to each other since Bruce showed up, although Tim's been keeping tabs on him to an extent and he assumes Bruce has been doing the same.

He holds out the box towards Bruce.] Can I offer you a donut in these trying times?

[ he offers a small, wry smile before taking the box and walking further into the apartment. ]

Sure. Come on, I'll put on some coffee.

[He follows Bruce, absently making note of the apartment's layout and condition as they go.]

- So, how've you been? [That doesn't sound at all like what you'd ask someone you ran into unexpectedly at the grocery store, good job, Tim.]

Busy catching up.

[ it's an inoffensive enough answer not affording tim many details. he slips a k-cup into the keurig-- or whatever the hell this world's equivalent is-- and let's the water heat up. it's a simple enough process that even he can do it. ]

And you? [ a pause, back turned. ] I'm sorry I haven't stopped by.

It's fine. [Or maybe it isn't, but it's not unexpected.] I haven't been - out much recently. Some things happened at home. [Not that... he's really sure he wants to talk about it with this Bruce, right now, but.]

[ his expression darkens, back still turned. ]

That makes two of us. [ a slight glance over his shoulder. ] Everything alright?

- No.

[It's still really hard to say that, to tell the truth, but he forces it out because he's actively trying again instead of hiding in his room.] But I can't do anything about it here.

[ when he turns around, he sets a cup of black coffee in front of tim. ]

That is the dilemma, isn't it. [ he's in a similar situation, bud. ] You want to talk about it?

Not... really? [Blessed coffee. Tim takes hold of it and mostly just breathes in the steam for now.] Not right now, anyway. It's... complicated.

Hm. Alright, then. [ he opens up the box of donuts. ] Pick your poison, then.

[ bruce picks a plain one with just icing. ]

[You know what. You know what, Tim is taking the powdered jelly donut because someone has to be adventurous here. Jeez, dad.

Then he lifts it in the air like he's toasting with it, to Bruce.]

[Her first conversation with Tim didn't leave her less worried, but she wasn't really sure where to go from there. Finally she decided she was overthinking it and just went to the goddamn Manor and knocked on the door.

She brought coffee, pizza, and two laptops.

There's also a yellow canary on her shoulder. Just chilling.]

[Luckily for her plan, Tim happens to be the Wayne child who is currently home and notices the alert that someone's there and that someone is Babs. There's a short delay while he makes his way through the house, shutting Harvey into a room because it looks like she's brought a bird friend with her, and opens the door.]

Hey. Uh, it's just me right now, so if you came to see Cass, you're gonna have to wait.

[Her lips purse for an instant, not quite long enough to be guilty grimace, and then she holds up one of the laptops.

It's emblazoned with vinyl stickers - stained glass illustrations of birds. The robin, of course, is in the centre.]

I didn't come to see Cass.

[He gets a slightly crooked grin on his face as he takes in the decorated laptop.] A gift? And it's not even my birthday.

[She grins back.] You're about a year ahead of me, so consider it belated.

the fuse will have to run out sometime

for Cass

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for Bruce

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get in the car we're - wait nvm we're staying here and being nerds

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