Diabolical | T. Drake ✔

[10] Joining The Nerd Club

For the past few days, Tim had been in a relatively bad state.

He was constantly having headaches, his eyes watered too often and then he would have to explain that he was not crying, and he was finding it hard to focus on even the smallest of tasks. Working on his experiments was also proving to be difficult as his vision often blacked out. 

One day when Steph stepped into his lab to find him banging his head on the desk repeatedly, she panicked, thinking he was being self-destructive. That was the limit, Bruce had to be informed about Tim's predicament and they had to find a solution for it.

So an emergency meeting was called by Steph consisting of Bruce, Alfred, and a very reluctant Tim.

Steph narrated the case and Tim was then asked to tell what was wrong with him. He sighed wearily as he recounted the problems he had been facing. Bruce listened closely but Alfred seemed to have realized the answer already.

"I believe you are in need of spectacles," Alfred remarked after hearing Tim explain the situation, "your eyesight must be getting weak from all those hours of experimentation that you still prefer to do in dim lighting."

Bruce nodded, "that could be it. Why do you not open the lights in your lab?"

"Because I am not used to the glare when I am working," he mumbled, "I miss my basement."

"No matter how accustomed you are to working in the dark, it is still bad for your eyes," Bruce added in a gentle tone, "and living for so long in that dark basement must have already affected you. Alfred's right. I should take you to an ophthalmologist."

"What the fuck? No! I hate doctors!" His already pale face went even paler and he scurried back as if thinking Bruce was going to take him there right that moment.

"Hey, it's no big deal," Steph tried to reason with him and calm him down too, "they are just going to check how weak your eyesight has gotten then they will prescribe you with a lens number that can correct it. After that, we can go pick the frame for your specs together. It will be fun. Think of it as a shopping trip."

"I am quite sure I would hate shopping," he mumbled, "the only times I went shopping was in dire conditions and never once did I have fun."

"Oh come on, you can never know until you try it out," she remarked, "and think about it this way; what would you do if you lost your eyesight altogether? How will you finish all your experiments? Getting specs is much better than going blind due to intentionally ignoring the situation."

He looked like he would still protest against it but seeing Steph's reassuring smile, he didn't do so. "Fine... I will go get my eyesight checked then we can select frames together."

"That's the spirit!" She exclaimed cheerfully, bumping his fist as she stood up to leave, "problem solved."

She had a few assignments pending so she went back to her room to complete them while Tim awkwardly waited for Bruce to dismiss him.

"So is tomorrow morning okay with you to go?" He asked instead and Tim nodded.

"Yeah, it's fine. Can Steph come along too?"

He paused, knowing Steph had school in the morning, "no but if you want to go with her then Alfred can take you two in the evening. I have a meeting to attend so I will not be here."

Tim considered then agreed, "oh okay, that's better."

He nodded and Tim took that sign to leave the study. After he was gone, Alfred remarked, "he is much more comfortable with Miss Steph as compared to the rest of us."

"I see," he replied, "Stephanie has that effect on people. It's good to see Tim is accepting the rest of us too."

"It's not easy for him," Alfred added with a very knowing look in his eyes as he was well aware of how much Tim struggled to adjust to them, "but he is trying his best. He's a good child although he has been through a lot no child his age should have to go through."

Bruce felt the same. He had been dubious about taking him in at first because his behavior was so unpredictable, but with time he too had seen Tim the way he really was deep inside. Not a terrifying, diabolical little devil but a child who had lived without everything he should have had, mostly love and family.

And as he had become a part of their family, they intended to shower him with as much love and care as they could to make up for all the years he had lived without it.

It didn't matter that he was a little weird, to them he was family.

***

As decided earlier, in the evening when Steph was finally free from her school work, Alfred took her and Tim to an ophthalmologist first and then to buy spectacles. 

It turned out that Alfred was right and Tim did have a severe case of weakening eyesight. Continuously working in the dark and straining his vision had affected him a lot. 

It also didn't help that he was already malnourished so his body ran on very little nutrition. The doctor suggested not only corrective lenses for him but also a healthy and balanced diet so that he wouldn't have to go through other adverse effects.

"Now to the best part," Steph announced as they entered the shop that sold frames, "we get to pick which frame suits you."

Tim looked very bored but didn't say anything as he let Steph drag him around everywhere. He seemed to have figured out that Steph loved shopping so even if he hated it, he dare not say anything to ruin her mood.

Sometimes it was surprising to him too how considerate he was of Steph and her feelings. He wasn't that caring toward the others.

Alfred had a slight smile on his face as he watched Steph pick the frames for him while Tim nonchalantly tried them on one by one.

"Nope, too big for you," she put back the rectangular frames that seemed too large on Tim's thin face, "these will keep slipping from your nose."

He picked out a smaller frame and put it on, looking at the mirror but flinched and immediately put it back.

"What happened?" She asked, noting the quick reaction.

"It just reminded me of Dad's specs," he mumbled, "not gonna wear these. Nope."

"Okay, try these then."

It took them a while to select the right frame and they even asked Alfred for suggestions. In the end, they settled on a medium-sized round frame that didn't look too big on his face and was lightweight too.

"Aw, you look like Harry Potter if we ever got to see a book-accurate version," she remarked.

"So that's another way of saying I have officially joined the nerd club," he remarked and at first Steph didn't get it but as soon as she realized what he meant, she laughed.

"You look adorable though, this frame really suits you," she smiled, and seeing her eyes light up like that made him smile as well, "and it brings out the blue shade of your eyes too. So pretty."

"Thanks," he mumbled, feeling his cheeks tingle at the compliment as he handed the frames back to the salesman, "we'll take this one. Thank you."

***