A Natural Progression | Shazam

Chapter 31

[[ A/N: Fun Fact! this fic doesn't really reflect my writing style anymore; it was completed nearly 2 years ago (in May 2020) -- it's been uploaded in full on Ao3 for a while now, but sometimes I forget to add more chapters to the Wattpad side of things. ]]

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"You have gotta be shitting me."

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Tim sat in the middle of his bedroom, tied to his desk chair and wishing he lived with normal people as the much taller raven he called his brother walked in circles around him. 

Tim rolled his eyes and rested his head on the top of his chair, wishing this idiot would just untie him and let him do his paperwork... Commissioner Gordan was gonna be on his ass if he didn't have it finished by tomorrow morning.

"I really don't want to mess up your cables, but I will if I have to," he said, picking up his head and watching Jason start to pace in front of him with Tim's phone in his hand. Though he'd never show it, he hated that Jason had not only gotten a hold of it when Billy texted him, but managed to text back. 

Now, he was 'holding Tim hostage' until he coughed up the truth.

Suffice it to say, it wasn't going well for elder Wayne.

"Why won't you tell me what he needs an excuse for?" Jason asked, Tim's phone gripped tightly in one hand as the other curled into a fist. "God damnit, why the hell is he- why the hell are you two keeping secrets?" he growled, running a hand through his monochrome hair. Tim stayed quiet as Jason ran a hand over his face, starting to pace again.

The elder of the two glanced at Tim, eyes narrowing in thought before he looked at Tim's desk. "You need those files, right? Need them in the order you got them in?" he asked, raising a brow and glancing at the younger raven. Tim narrowed his own eyes at Jason, lip curling up in a silent snarl.

Jason grinned, tossing the phone onto the desk and picking up the stack of manilla folders Tim had already spent way too much time organizing. Gotham PD really needed to go digital. The taller of the two held them out and away from his body, ready to be dropped onto the floor. Tim sighed, shoulders slumping as he looked Jason in the eyes. "Why does it matter to you, anyway?"

"Because Billy's just a kid. He doesn't need to be running around Gotham at night, regardless of if he can do magic or whatever!" Jason snapped, eyes narrowed at Tim. The younger of the two could see the concern in there, and let out a short breath.

"He can handle himself, trust me."

You don't know that," Jason growled.

"Yes, I do. I know him better than you think I do. Better than you do, probably."

That looked like it ignited a fire in the elder's eyes, and he slammed the folders onto the ground, scattering papers everywhere. Tim groaned, tossing his head back in defeat- that was going to take forever to organize again. Jason was still glaring at him, visibly holding back a mixture of rage and tears. Tim paused- wait, was this really affecting him like this?

The younger Wayne sighed, glancing towards his discarded phone before meeting Jason's troubled eyes. "Look, it's not my place to say. If you want to know what's going on with Billy, ask him yourself. I can't-" he sighed again. "I won't betray his trust, Jason. Surely you can understand that."

Jason ran a pass of his thumb against his nose, sniffling once and rubbing at his eye. "Yeah. I understand..." he muttered angrily. Jason turned on his heel and left the bedroom, leaving Tim alone, still tied to his desk chair.