Chapter Text
“Hey, Tim, can I talk to you for a second?”
Tim looked up from his work and motioned for Dick to come in. It had taken almost a year, but his workshop, nicknamed Tinkertown by his siblings, was finally coming together. He had several work benches that were covered in blueprints and prototypes lining the walls, a massive PC setup, and every type of tool and machinery he could possibly need. He even had a fully stocked coffee bar with a cappuccino machine and a nitro cold brew keg. It was truly his own personal heaven.
Dick walked over to where Tim was working and leaned over his brother’s shoulder. “What’cha workin’ on?”
“Jason’s gun is jammed again,” Tim huffed. “I keep telling him that it’s made for shooting and not bludgeoning, but of course he never listens.”
“Ah, I see,” Dick hummed. There was clearly something on his brother’s mind, but he wasn’t being very forthright with it.
“Yeah, but it can wait for now,” Tim decided. He spun around in his chair to face his brother. “What’s up with you? You usually don’t get into Gotham until around dinner time.”
“What? I can’t visit my favorite nineteen-year-old?” he grinned, ruffling Tim’s hair.
Tim’s hair had grown a lot in the thirteen months since his cancer treatment had ended. It was curlier than it had been before chemo, which was apparently a common phenomenon. He still didn’t know how to feel about his “chemo curls,” but he was thankful to have hair again, regardless of the texture.
He stood up from his desk. He hadn’t needed his crutches to get up in a few months, but he still felt a swell of relief every time he was able to stand and walk without assistance. “The fact that you showed up to the manor three hours before your normal arrival time without calling ahead paired with the fact that you came here first without stopping to pick up Babs like you always do tells me that I’ll need coffee for this conversation. Cappuccino?”
Dick laughed, though there was a bit of an edge to it. “I see your detective skills are sharp as ever. A cappuccino would be great, thanks. Do you need any help?”
Tim shook his head. “Nah, I got it. So what’s up?”
“Ulterior motive aside, I did also want to see you,” Dick assured. “So first, tell me. How have you been? It’s been a couple weeks since we’ve really gotten to sit down and talk.”
Tim pulled a couple of mugs out of the cabinet. “I’ve been fine. Physical therapy’s only once a month now, and I hardly ever use the crutches anymore. I had my one-year follow-up last week, and Dr. Locken said everything still looked good.”
So far, the long-term effects of Tim’s chemotherapy were minimal. His neuropathy was still present, but it was leagues better than it once was. He got pins and needles in his hands and feet at times, and he was far more susceptible to the cold than he used to be, but the fact that he had regained full use of all of his limbs made it bearable. Alfred just made sure he wore shoes at all times and kept gloves on while working in the Cave.
His lung function was also not back to pre-chemotherapy levels, and it probably never would be. He had gotten pneumonia twice in the past year, but other than the occasional breathlessness and cough, it didn’t affect his daily life very much as long as he took his medications and kept a rescue inhaler on hand. Overall, it could be a lot worse.
Dick smiled. “That’s good. How are your appointments with Dinah going?”
Tim programmed the type of cappuccinos he wanted and pressed the button. “Good. It’s actually been helping a lot. I don’t think I would’ve handled losing Red Robin nearly as well without her.”
Tim’s therapy appointments were less frequent now. He and Dinah only met once or twice a month nowadays compared to twice a week when they had first started. Tim had been hesitant, but he couldn’t help but acknowledge that therapy had really been helping him. Not only with cancer stuff, but also with dealing with his childhood and years of unresolved grief.
“I’m really proud of you for sticking with it, Tim,” Dick praised. “I can really tell a difference.”
The cappuccino machine beeped, and Tim carried the two steaming mugs over to the table. “Thanks, Dick,” he said, handing his brother a mug. “Now, why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”
Dick nodded as he accepted the beverage. “It’s nothing bad. I just… need a favor.”
“Of course, D. Just name it.”
Dick smiled widely and reached into his coat pocket. He pulled a small, velvet box out of his coat pocket and placed it on the table. He opened it slowly, revealing a beautiful engagement ring. It looked old, at least a hundred years, but it had definitely been well cared for. The thick, gold band housed a small diamond with matching sapphires on either side in inlays shaped like stars.
“Oh my god!” Tim gasped. “You’re proposing?”
Dick only nodded, his smile growing impossibly bigger.
Tim jumped out of his chair and tackled his brother in a hug. “That’s amazing! I’m so happy for you. Babs is gonna love it.”
“It was my mom’s,” Dick admitted, returning the hug, “and it belonged to my dad’s mother before that. Their wedding rings were some of the very few possessions Bruce was able to track down for me.”
Tim pulled away to admire the ring more. “It’s perfect.”
“Thanks, Timmy. Now, the reason I came to you is, I want you to be there taking pictures when I do it. I wanna be able to look back at this moment with Babs forever, and you’re the only one I know who’s able to stalk superheroes and take pictures of them without being caught.”
“I personally wouldn’t call it ‘stalking,’ but I get your point. Of course, I’ll do it. What’s your plan?”
Dick was positively gleaming. “Well, as you know, on Fridays, I usually pick Barbara up at the library before heading over here. Only this time, when I pick her up, I’m going to take her back to the Clocktower to ‘grab some stuff.’ You’ll be there waiting but hidden with your camera, and the living room will be decorated with her favorite flowers and those nice smelly candles she likes. I’m going to recruit Steph and Cass to help, too, to make sure everything is perfect. Then, I’ll pop the question. I figured she would want something more private as opposed to some big public spectacle.”
Tim nodded. “That sounds perfect. Have you told anyone else?”
“Alfred and Bruce, of course. Alfred somehow knew exactly what I was gonna say as soon as I walked in the door,” Dick said, shaking his head fondly. “Wally knows because I asked him for advice, seeing as he, too, scored a woman way above his pay-grade. I also told Barbara’s dad. I know the asking the father for permission is old-fashioned, but you know how close Babs is with her dad. Plus, I respect the hell out of Jim, and I knew he wanted a heads up. Other than that, no one else knows yet.”
“This is so exciting,” Tim grinned. “Let me go get my camera bag from upstairs, and then we’ll grab the girls.”
Dick laughed. “So, you think she’ll say ‘yes’?”
“Definitely. We’ve all been waiting for this for years!”
“So, the proposal went well, I take it?” Dinah asked. It had been only forty-eight hours since Dick proposed, but the news of the engagement had spread quickly. It was all anyone was talking about, both in the civilian and superhero communities.
“Oh yeah,” Tim replied. “The girls and I got the place looking beautiful, and Dick totally started crying during his speech. I got some awesome shots out of it. Then, we headed back to the manor and had a big party until it was time for patrol.”
“It sounds like everyone had a great time. You’ll have to pass on my congratulations to the happy couple,” Dinah smiled. “I’m glad you got to be a part of that special moment.”
“Me too,” Tim beamed. “With how hard the past year-and-a-half has been, I think we all needed something like this.”
“Now that you’ve had some more distance, how do you feel you’re coping with everything that happened last year? I know you were really concerned about your relationships suffering being off active duty. Why don’t you tell me how you’re feeling about those relationships now?”
“Honestly, I don’t think they’ve really suffered all that much. Bruce and I go to work at WE everyday, so I’m still spending a lot of time with him. He doesn’t feel like any less of my dad.”
“That’s good. I know for a fact Bruce loves all of you very much. When he stopped by Queen Industries last week, he talked to everyone who would listen about how smart you are and how great you’re doing in the company. Sounds like work is going pretty well, then?”
“It is. I’ve been spearheading a lot of projects for the Neon Knights, and now we’re also developing more products to improve quality of life for cancer patients and survivors.”
Dinah nodded. “Bruce told me a little about that. It seems you’re changing a lot of lives for the better with those products.”
“It’s not just me,” Tim blushed. “I’ve got a really good team under me. I just know I’ve faced a lot of struggles, and my treatment was relatively short. Some people are in and out of chemo for years. I just want to make things easier for them. For all of us.”
“Well, it seems you’re on the right path, then,” Dinah said warmly. “What about your siblings? How have things been with them?”
“They’ve been great,” Tim replied. “Obviously, you know I helped Dick propose to Babs. It meant the world that he came to me for help. Jason’s been hanging out with me a lot, still, which I’m happy about. A part of me was afraid he was only hanging around more because I had cancer and he felt guilty for trying to kill me when he was under the influence of Talia and the Pit. I really think he and Bruce have turned a corner, too. Cass and I have always been close, so I was never really worried about her. And Damian? He still insults me a little sometimes, but he never says things that are actually hurtful. We actually hang out sometimes, too. I’ll take him to the park, and he’ll sketch while I take pictures. We’re worlds better than we used to be.
“Overall, I don’t feel as left out as I thought I would. I’m still on comms during patrol, and I get to help out with a lot of cases. So I still feel like I’m a part of Batman Inc. My role has just changed.”
“That’s great to hear, Tim. And your friends?”
“Steph is basically family at this point, but we’ve been doing great. I’m helping her study for the MCAT. She’s super stressed, but I know she’s gonna kill it. As for Bart, Cassie, and Kon, the four of us get together at least once a month, and we try to video chat at least weekly. I even fly over and hang out at the Tower some weekends, too. Kon’s been my rock through pretty much everything. He practically lived here during this past summer helping me rebuild my strength and endurance. I don’t know where I’d be without him. Without any of them.”
Dinah offered a small smile. “I’m glad you have such a good support system.”
Tim grinned in return. “Me, too. I’m a really lucky guy.”
“Is there anything else bothering you that you’d like to talk about?”
Tim shrugged. “Overall, I think I’m doing okay, but in a way I’m also paranoid because I’ve been doing so well. I sometimes get massive anxiety attacks before a doctor’s appointment. It’s like I’m so terrified that I’m gonna relapse, I can barely handle regular follow-ups with my oncologist or even seeing Leslie.”
Tim had also been having a lot of nightmares recently. Nightmares where his doctors said that his cancer had returned and that it was even worse than before. That this time, it was terminal. He always woke up in a cold sweat, unable to calm down his breathing until he logged into his online medical chart and read through his most recent scans.
Dinah nodded. “That’s perfectly normal, Tim. You’ve been through a traumatic experience, and there are bound to be emotional repercussions from that. I can’t promise that the anxiety will go away completely, but you will continue to adapt as you get farther away from treatment.”
“I just can’t help but be afraid it’s gonna come back. I don’t think I could handle it a second time.”
Dinah smiled reassuringly. “I think you’re capable of a lot more than you think. But even so, your scans and bloodwork have all been clean, right? So logically, there’s no need to worry about it right now.”
He sighed, his leg bouncing nervously in front of him. “I don’t even know how to stop worrying about it. What am I supposed to do when at least once a week I wake up convinced it’s back?”
“I think the best thing for you is to focus on the present. Focus on the fact that you’re in remission and have been for over a year. Don’t lose out on today by worrying about tomorrow. Appreciate the time you have in the here and now. Things are really looking up for you, Tim.”
Tim supposed she was right. He couldn’t control whether or not he would relapse in the future just like he couldn’t have prevented getting cancer in the first place. Worrying wouldn’t help him in any capacity, so he needed to let go as much as he could and enjoy all the cancer-free time he was given. Which, hopefully, would be a long, long time.
Because Tim Drake had a lot to live for.