Caffeine Withdrawal | T. Drake ✔

[08] Level Discowing

Cold gusts of air struck his face like a whip as he sat in silence on the rooftop. And though he was silent apparently, his mind was a hurricane of noise. All he wished at that moment was for his brain to somehow go numb just like his body had done so from the cold.

A thousand thoughts whirred inside his head, there was so much to do and so much to keep track of. At times he almost felt like a robot accepting each responsibility as if refusal was not in his programming and despite the fact that he was already burdened, he couldn't help but accept everything asked from him.

All because he wanted to live up to the expectations people had from him. All because he wanted to prove that he was worthy of being Robin and not just a mere Replacement.

"Tim!"

A hand grabbed his shoulder and he almost stumbled off his perch. Exasperated, he turned around to see Stephanie.

"What the hell are you doing here? I have been looking for you for eternity!"

He was simply staring at her with a blank look on his face, trying to register the words that she had spoken in such a rush.

"Hey are you even listening?" her eyes softened as she resumed in a milder tone, "what happened?"

"Nothing," he replied vaguely, "apart from the fact that I was about to die a few seconds earlier."

A small frown spread on her features, "yeah right. I hadn't known you'd be so deep in thought to not acknowledge that I had called you thrice before shaking you out of your reverie."

"My apologies."

"So what conspiracy theory is it this time?" She perched up on the railings beside him, relishing the feel of cold air against her face, her blonde hair scattering out of the messy bun in thin wisps that framed her face.

His eyes flickered in surprise, "excuse me?"

"I mean what were you thinking? It seemed as if you had finally figured out the date of human extinction."

"Why would I figure that out? I don't mess with matters of the unknown."

She shrugged, "yeah right but you totally feel the need to mess with matters of the known. Like what Penguin has been up to lately."

His tone changed slightly rigid, "that's my case, stay out of it."

She looked at him briefly and sighed as if disappointed in him. "Damn, Timmy, you're so rude that I feel like pushing you off this instant."

A smile threatened to break out on his face, "you're welcome to try it."

"Normal people don't survive falling from such a height," she remarked in a rather matter of fact tone.

"That key word being normal," he interjected, unable to conceal the slow smile that had crept over his features, "I'll slide and land without even breaking a single joint. Wanna bet?"

"No thanks, Bruce would kill me if he found out."

"Funny how you always talk as if you're mighty afraid of Bruce but end up doing every single thing that annoys him. I applaud your obedience and respect towards him, it's lowkey on level Jason."

She shook her head, laughing at his remark, "I haven't reached level Jason yet. I am on a level Discowing."

He chuckled, imagining the scenario in his head, "heaven forbid." 

Her eyes narrowed as if slightly offended, "why are you laughing?"

"I just imagined you in the Discowing costume and trust me, it was hilarious. You would look terrifying in a mullet though, more precisely like a canary who just stepped out of a tornado, so don't ever think of getting one."

A smile crept over her face as well, "of course I'm not ever getting a mullet nor the costume. But other than that it's true, isn't it? I may rebel a lot but I still respect the Big Bat. Just like Dick did when he was in his Discowing phase."

"Now that I think about it, level Discowing is probably the closest fitting explanation for you," he agreed.

"And what do you have to say for your own self?"

His reply was rather immediate such that he didn't even have to think twice before speaking up, "level don't-ever-put-me-in-a-Lazarus-Pit-if-I-die."

She shoved him but then quickly grabbed his arm to steady him or else he would have toppled off. But Tim merely threw his head back and laughed, such accidents felt highly amusing to him.

"Stop laughing you idiot or else you will fall off," she rebuked him, still holding him by the arm as she pulled him to his feet and away from the railings, "and I certainly don't want to be the one to hear your last words."

"My last words would be either Shit, I screwed up or Why the fuck did you screw up? Guaranteed."

"Why the hell do you think about this such a lot?" Steph asked, giving him the look which clearly meant that he had lost his mind, "if anyone else heard you, they would think you're borderline suicidal."

He shook his head, retrieving his arm from her grip as they reached the stairs that led down from the rooftop, "I am not suicidal. These are just what I call shower thoughts. At times I think what could be the least painful way of dying other than passing away in one's sleep. There are multiple options but each one lacks the drama I would prefer."

She stared at him incredulously, "you're weird as hell."

"Appreciate the compliment. By the way, Steph, what time is it?"

She glanced at her wrist watch before answering, "dinner finished half an hour ago."

"What? Then why are you here?"

She stated, "I was assigned patrol with you tonight so I'm not going to the Bat Cave without you."

Tim gave no response, eyes aimlessly focused on the vast empty sky. Rather resigned, Steph stopped as well, following his gaze.

A while passed in silence until Tim spoke up, "don't wait for me, I'll come down myself."

"Alright then newsflash; I'm not going anywhere without you and you are going to accompany me right now whether you like it or not."

He didn't answer but she grabbed his hand in hers and led him down the flights of stairs. Even though Tim's hands were colder than ice, it didn't make her slacken her grip.

"I will give you ten minutes for your shower and will be waiting for you, got it? And don't spend all that time in your so called shower thoughts."

He glanced at the clock, nodding at last, "I'll try my best not to take that long."

"Keep that in mind, Timmy Toes, or else you will be solely responsible for the consequences."

"Oh I feel so threatened right now."

"You better be. You know what to expect otherwise."

***