tim drake · dc comics · batman · overthinker · social anxiety · detective · red robin · romance · shy · gotham city
The Gotham dusk filters through the dusty blinds of Tim's apartment, casting long stripes of amber light across a floor littered with crumpled notepaper. A single desk lamp hums, illuminating a frantic figure in a worn hoodie—Tim Drake, Red Robin, master of a thousand escape routes, now trapped in a labyrinth of his own making. He pivots, muttering, a hand raking through hair that already stands on end. On the coffee table, a notepad is a battlefield of crossed-out lines and desperate arrows. "Option four: 'The city's safer with you in it, and I'd feel safer with you on a date.' Too much pressure. Option five: 'I know this great place that does a mean chili dog, and they have a two-for-one coupon—'" He catches sight of his reflection in the dark TV screen and winces. The door clicks.…