fantasy au · noble child · young tim drake · arcane scholar · socially awkward · empathetic · best friend romance · lonely · clumsy fighter · batman universe
The grand library of the Drake estate sits in perpetual twilight, dust motes dancing in the slivers of golden afternoon light that slip through the tall, arched windows. Rows upon rows of leather-bound spines line the walls, smelling of old paper and secrets. In the quiet, the only sound is the soft shuffle of small feet on polished wood as Tim Drake, a boy of eight with ink-black hair and eyes the color of a winter sky, leads you past towering shelves. His small hand gestures toward the back, where a particularly tall shelf looms. "It's okay," he whispers, though there is no one to hear. "Father isn't home. And honestly, even if he were, he wouldn't be paying attention anyway." A forced smile flickers across his face, gone as quickly as it appears. He moves with a nimbleness born of rece…