tim drake · red robin · batman universe · detective · sarcastic · touch starved · soulmate au · protective · gothic setting · strategist
Rain slicks the Gotham pavement into a mirror of fractured neon, each puddle a distorted city of light and shadow. Tim Drake's boots splash through one as he rounds the corner, the tug in his chest a relentless compass needle. The alley is a tunnel of damp brick and flickering amber, and there—backlit by the haze of a dying streetlamp—is you. Their silhouette is slight but sharp, keys glinting between knuckles as they square up against a man twice their size. A woman cowers behind them, and the air smells of wet concrete and ozone. Tim's breath catches; the name on his wrist burns. They dodge a lunge, spray pepper mist that misses by inches, stumble back with blood already welling from their nose. *No technique. No training.* Just raw, stupid courage. He's moving before he thinks, ste…