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It's only been a week since everything Tim knew was torn into shreds and he’s never been happier. After inadvertently causing his mother’s birthday gala to be cancelled (You mean more to me than those strangers ever could, Tim), Tim’s been spending every day so far getting to know his mother and hearing her side of the story.
His mother had spun a tale of a family emergency arising on the night of her birthday and she’s been working from home and spending time with him ever since. Tim, on the other hand, scrapped his plan to send in his 2 weeks’ notice and filed for emergency leave instead, informing Tam and Lucius about the circumstances around it. He’d managed to convince them not to tell Bruce yet, especially since he was still on the fence about what he would do.
Truthfully, he’d expected Bruce to burst in through the front door the minute he didn’t come into work the next day but his mother had worked her magic to keep him away.
“It’s better you don’t know, Kitten so you have plausible deniability when something happens.”
Even though he went full radio silent from the Bats, that didn’t stop his detective skills so when an unexpected Arkham Breakout happened the very next night, Tim was sure his mother had something to do with it. However, he couldn’t deny it was effective in distracting Bruce and the other Bats.
It was honestly really interesting to see it from the other side as the Rogues did everything they could to steal the Bats’ attention. Tim had known that his mother was theoretically part of the Rogues but this, this was something he didn’t even think would ever happen.
The Rogues each had their own area and their own schedule. When one was captured, others would work together to free them even though they didn’t have any comms or anything to keep them in contact. They were an organized chaos who kept changing and evolving. It was weird, technically being on the other side.
Tim had always had preconceived notions about the Rogues from Bruce but he’d later formed his own opinions about them. Some of them were kind of fun to deal with sometimes while some were almost always a pain to contain. The stories that his mother told him made him think otherwise, though.
Tim and his mother had spent the first few nights cooking dinner together and sharing stories. His mother (Tim still couldn’t get over that) had warned him early on during their first dinner that being close to her meant having the Rogues tag-along since they had formed their own weird little family.
“I have to be honest with you, Kitten. I am still a part of the Rogue Gallery even though I was and am involved with your father. They are not the most sane company but they are my little family.”
“I understand. Honestly speaking, the Bats aren’t the most sane either. As long as they don’t try to kill me, I won’t try to hurt them.”
“Oh, Kitten, you don’t have to worry about that. If they try to hurt you, they’ll have me to go through.”
That was the end of that conversation. Every night since was a discussion on their lives and their future plans now that Tim knew. (The mornings and the afternoons had been reserved for all of the things that they hadn't been able to do.) After all, he was now not only the Drake Heir but also the Wayne and the Kyle Heir. His mother had wanted him to finish getting his education, something she hadn’t done so Tim had secretly started setting plans in motion so that he could pursue his degree.
He would need to step back from WE for a bit but now that he knew what he knew, Tim was reasonably sure that he and his mother could convince Bruce to take back the CEO position at least until Tim finished his degree.
Of course, it’s hard to keep a secret from a mother, especially one as overprotective as Selina so she found out and congratulated Tim last night for taking charge of his future. Tim had been named her heir when she started her company and he would soon have 2 multi-million conglomerates to figure out once his parents retired. Thankfully, his mother wasn’t going to leave him high and dry like Bruce did.
There were multiple contingencies lined up and if he didn’t want to take part of it, he could leave it all behind. However, there was a part of him that felt that now, more than ever, he wanted to uphold his parents’ legacy and his family legacy. He had managed to successfully keep WE running, even better than Bruce did and he knew without a doubt, that he would do the same with his mother’s company and it would be so much easier this time around with her support.
Tonight though, Tim wanted to talk about something a little bit more urgent. He had been putting it off in fear of what his mother would say but it was finally time to discuss what they would tell the public. He waited until they had finished their dessert, a delicious apple pie they had baked earlier this afternoon after Tim told her he had never baked with family before.
“Se-Mom, I know that we’ve been kind of skirting around the major issue here but we need to discuss it before we run out of time. What are we going to tell the public?”
“What do you want to tell them? Because I'm telling you right now, Kitten, you don’t have to tell them nothing. You don't owe the public anything. You shouldn’t feel obligated to bare everything to the public just because your father does.”
“It’s not just because of Bruce. I don’t want to add to the work of the people in PR to try and prevent the disaster waiting to happen if it’s accidentally revealed.”
“And?” His mother asked, eyebrow raised.
She had already gotten his tells down pat by now. He may be able to lie to Batman but he can’t lie to Catwoman.
“And I also want the world to know that I’m your son.” Tim said softly.
His mother got out of her chair and pulled him into her arms.
“Oh, Kitten. I want that too. I want that more than anything but I also want this to be your decision and yours alone because it’s not my life that’s going to be largely affected. Yes, my stocks will probably be hit but that’s nothing new. And yes, I know that your parentage will be revealed eventually because nothing is kept secret in Gotham. I understand your reasoning that you want to control your narrative but are you sure that this is what you really want?”
“Yes. I’ve spent most of my life living a lie and now that I know the truth, it feels so good to be free, to know that I belong somewhere.”
“Okay. I respect that. Do you want to just release a statement or have a press conference?”
“I think I want to do a press conference with you and Bruce there.”
“Are you sure? As far as you know, he doesn’t know yet.”
“Then, we’ll just have to tell him. I’ve done the math, mom. This is the best way to let both businesses come out relatively unscathed and possibly even better than they were before. Gotham will eat this up and when it becomes old news, everything will go back to normal.”
“Are you sure about that, Tim? What about your brothers?”
“What about them?”
“Will we tell them too?”
“If you tell Bruce, he’ll tell the others.”
“When did I say that I would be the one telling Bruce that you’re his son?”
“Mom, you haven’t even let me go home to pick up my stuff. You got Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn to break into my house and get my stuff for me. Would you even allow me out of your sight to tell him? Or would you rather he come here instead?”
“Sometimes, I can feel the gears turning in your head and it really makes me see that you do have some part of Bruce in you. Fine. I’ll tell him once I feel comfortable without you in my direct line of sight.”
“Good! At least when Bruce knows I can have Tam set up the press conference so that everything can run smoothly.”
“Tam is your assistant, yes?”
“Yes, mom and only my assistant. We made up the engagement for the public.”
“Fine but keep in mind, mister that now every romantic partner that you get will have to be vetted by me.”
“Mom!”
“Be thankful I didn’t say Bruce and me!”
“That’s even worse! Please no.”
“Okay. Fine. It’s just- you’re so much older and more mature than I expected you would be. I mean, I know what you’ve gone through but I just can’t help but wish I got to spend a little more time to baby you and take care of you.”
A heavy silence blanketed the room.
“I’m not really used to it but I wouldn’t be opposed to you taking care of me.”
“Are you sure about this, Kitten? There’s no going back once I take you under my wing. I’m not Bruce, Tim. I won’t send you away to train and then send you out on the street. You won’t be flying again until I’m sure you’re safe out there.”
“I’m sure. I don’t know how it feels to have someone blatantly care about me but I want to know.”
“Oh Kitten.”
Selina pulled Tim into another hug. Tim froze for a second before melting into his mother’s warm embrace. There really was nothing like a mother’s hug. He finally understood what the others said about it.
As they shifted to be more comfortable while cuddling on the couch, Tim couldn’t help but think about the incredulity of it all. Here he was, cuddling with his mother (his mother!) in her penthouse while his father and his other siblings were patrolling and trying to round up the Rogues that his mother had sent to distract the Bats.
If he didn’t know any better, he’d think this was a hallucination but even his imagination couldn’t create something as fantastical as this. He had living parents. He was wanted. He was cared for. He was loved. Everything else could wait. For now, he would relax into his mother’s protective hold and catch up on the sleep he desperately needed.