Shakespearean - JayTim - Camp NaNoWriMo - July 2017

Chapter 5 - Tim

A/N So funny story, back during Camp Nano I was writing, like, a chapter a day, and then I got to chapter 5 and I knew what I wanted to happen but I didn't know how to make it happen, so I switched POVs and then I wrote this chapter, like, super quick, so that's why i switch POVs every fifth chapter in this fic. Because I like patterns and I'm a little OCD.

Enjoy, frands!

Tim was actually kind of happy.

He hadn't been able to say that in a long time, if ever. When his parents were still alive, his dad worked a lot, his mom socialized, and the staff changed every year or two because his mom was picky and easily angered. When they died, he was obviously upset. He mourned and grieved for a long time, which eventually stopped when he became part of Bruce's family. Dick was actually a pretty cool older brother, Alfred was kind of like a grandfather to him, and he had bonded with Bruce as they worked together to find his parents' killer.

Over the years he got more siblings. Steph, Cass, Damian, and even Babs came to be family over the years. Steph was cool, fun to argue with, and always doing crazy things. Cass was dependable, sturdy, and the least judgmental person Tim had ever met. Babs was the most badass surrogate sister anyone could ever have, and she totally understood his love for technology and computers. Even Damian had his upsides, though the little brat didn't show it very often.

As Clark and his son, Connor, became like a second family, Tim's life improved even further. He had had few good friends in his life before Connor. Bart was a good friend, but he lived so far away that it prevented them from really being close, and he was the kind of guy that was fun to hang out with but hard to be serious with. Connor could do whatever was needed of him, and he could do it well.

But he still couldn't really say he was happy. Content, maybe. He didn't really have much to complain about, and even if he did, he wouldn't ever have let himself. There were lots of good things in his life, but there was a certain weight that had hung over him like a cloud, a weight he had never been able to name, and still couldn't.

But something about Jason...

He made Tim smile and laugh. He didn't treat him like a rich kid, didn't treat him like he was fragile because of what happened to his parents. Con didn't do either of those things either, but Con was different anyway, being practically family and having grown up in close proximity to the Waynes and other wealthy families.

Tim could tell Jason had lived a hard life. There was a certain glint in his gray eyes, the glint of steel, that spoke of experience, knowledge, and pain beyond what Tim could imagine. But there was also a certain light, a measure of determination to not let the worst times overcome the good, to not let his past mess up his future, to move forward, move on, and move upward towards a potential that was obvious just by looking at him.

Tim couldn't help but smile as he looked at Jason's contact in his phone. Jason Todd. It was a good name. Tim liked it. Regardless, Tim liked nicknames for contacts even more. He smirked to himself as he changed it from Jason's name to, 'Shakespeare from the Hood'.

He thought about texting him. Jason had offered him his number in the first place, had actually said that Tim could text him, and Tim had a feeling he hadn't meant that Tim could only text him about studying. Still, Tim had just seen him yesterday. He didn't want to give a certain impression (which may or may not be accurate) that he might like Jason beyond the way people like each other in general, beyond a friendly way. Tim didn't even know if Jason liked guys. And Tim was probably overreacting and being dramatic, but he really didn't know for sure if he was. He had exactly zero experiences with this sort of thing.

It would not fall outside Tim's normal experience with luck for Jason to be straight as a steel pole (those weren't exactly bendy). Tim really hoped he wasn't, but his experience also told him hope was a dangerous thing.

He sighed, no less conflicted than he had been before. He decided to screw it and sent off a quick text.

"Hi."

Tim decided holding his breath might not be the wisest choice for his health, so he tried to make himself busy. Unfortunately, the only work he really had to do was reading for his Shakespeare class, which would not help distract him from Jason.

Tim's phone beeped. He picked it up faster than he had thought possible and quickly read the text. "Hey, Timbo. What's up?"

Timbo? Really?

"Trying to avoid my Shakespeare, actually. Wbu?"

It took less time for Jason to respond than Tim had expected. Only a few seconds after he sent the text he got a reply. "I'm about to head to work. Working at a library doesn't involve nearly as much reading as I had foolishly hoped."

Tim snorted. No, it hadn't looked like Jason had gotten any time to read at all yesterday. After he had gotten subtly called back to work (and, sadly, away from Tim), he had seen him many times. Whenever they were in the same area of the library, Jason would shoot him little smiles or random silly faces. Tim could tell that Jason was really just trying to make him laugh loud enough to bother the other patrons (like the utter asshole he was), but Tim couldn't help feeling sort of special every time Jason made a rude gesture in regards to his co-worker and apparent boss.

"No job is as glamorous as it seems. Sucks."

"And what kind of non-glamorous jobs have you worked?"

Tim wasn't sure if Jason was being judgmental or skeptical because Tim was rich or if he was actually just curious if Tim had ever worked. That's why he kind of hated texting. No body language, no tone of voice, no real cues of any kind. He hoped it was the latter possibility, but he wasn't sure he could blame him if it was the first. Still, it's frustrating when everyone applies Hollywood stereotypes to real life people.

"I currently work for the school's IT department, actually. Before that, I did freelance photography, which isn't as great as it sounds. Especially since it involves people. I don't like people."

"Dude, rly? Do you work at all this afternoon? Bc I got a ton of viruses on my laptop and I've been meaning to head down there to get it dealt with."

Tim raised an eyebrow, but he couldn't help but smile. That text implied that Jason wanted to see him. Today, even.

"Yeah, actually, from 3 to 10."

"I get off at 4 2day. I'll be there by 530."

Tim's eyes widened. What? What the actual what? Jason was coming to see him at work? At work?! Tim's work uniform was not attractive. What the hell was he supposed to do? And why was he low-key freaking out about seeing Jason?

"K. I guess I'll see you then." At least he didn't sound like he was freaking out over text. Maybe texting wasn't so bad after all.

"Awesome. I'm at work now, so I gtg. c u later, Timmy." Oh, lovely. Another nickname. He actually kind of liked it. He only disliked those nicknames when Dick or Damian were giving them to him.

"c ya."

Tim sighed and put his phone away, a small smile on his face. As his eyes caught on his Shakespeare homework, he groaned. At least now he had something to look forward to at work.

After wasting a good long forever pretending to read Romeo and Juliet, he got up and headed towards the bathroom with a comb and some gel. There wasn't anything he could do about khakis and a polo, but the least he could do was fix his hair.

A/N Please don't forget to vote! My stories don't do half as well on Wattpad as they do on AO3 and Ff.net, so I'd really appreciate some love. You guys are making me worry that I'm losing my touch!

Love you, guys!