Replacement

Title: Replacement
Words: 2,325
Category: Hurt/Comfort, Family
Rating: T for Jay's mouth.
Pairing: None.
Summary: Dick chose Damian as his Robin, and Tim feels hurt.  Tim has a run-in with Jason and finally can empathize with why Jason calls him "Replacement."

A/N: My take on Timmy's feelings about Damian and Dick as the Dynamic Duo.  And I added some cute moments between Jay and Tim.  This is before Tim became Red Robin.

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Timothy Drake-Wayne was miserable.  This feeling wasn't uncommon for him, but usually he could keep it at bay.  Now, the emotion hit him full force, overwhelming him.  Never had he felt so unwanted and alone.  Someone else had become Robin.  Batman's partner was no longer Tim Drake.  Perhaps it was because Batman was no longer Bruce Wayne, or perhaps it was because the new Robin was Bruce Wayne's biological son.  No matter what it was, Tim wasn't Robin anymore.  His father had died because he was Robin.  And now…. he wasn't.  Dick chose somebody else.

A loud crash brought the former Robin out of his dark thoughts.  Tim had been sitting on the edge of a rooftop, overlooking an alley.  He looked down to the area shrouded in shadows, where three guys were surrounding one unfortunate girl.  The girl screamed and sobbed as the men slowly advanced on her, wielding knives.  Tim knew he should have done something, but he was in his civvies.  The only reason he'd been sitting on a rooftop was because he climbed up the fire escape.  Sure, he had his utility belt hidden away under his baggy sweatshirt, but he wasn't Robin anymore.  He was just Tim Drake, Bruce Wayne's third son.  He felt miserable and useless and he was beginning to doubt his future as a hero.  Tim was about to get up and walk away, not wanting to witness whatever those scumbags had in store for the woman.

But then, three gunshots rang out.  The men collapse onto the filthy ground, crying out in agony.  Two were hit in the shoulder and one had taken a bullet to his knee.  And standing with the smoking gun still pointed at the attackers, was none other than the Red Hood.  Metallic red helmet glinting in the low light, Tim could almost see the sneer spread across the second Robin's hidden face.

"Hey, scumbags," Jason Todd drawled.  "Corner another lady like that and next time my bullet will affect your ability to reproduce."

The bleeding and frightened thugs dragged themselves into the abandoned building on their left.  The girl was still crying with her head in her hands against the brick wall of the alley, and Jason hesitantly put away his gun.

"Um, lady?" he tried.  "You alright?"

The woman in question looked up at the antihero, her eyes shining with fear.  She gulped audibly before running the opposite direction.  Jason gave a heavy sigh.  He seemed to linger for a moment in the alleyway before pulling out his grapple.  He shot it and rappelled up onto the roof right across from Tim.  The roofs were only about twenty-five feet apart and Tim now had no hope of going unnoticed by his "brother."

The Red Hood pulled himself onto the roof.  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw an ebony-haired boy.  His feet dangled over the edge of the neighboring rooftop.  The teen's body was slumped against the wall on his left.  His brilliantly blue eyes were dull, and they looked almost… lifeless. The boy just exuded misery.  No, it can't be… Jason thought.  But it is.

The ex-Boy Wonder changed direction and shot his grapple at the fire escape below the teen.  He swung over and scampered up several levels of the fire escape before he was standing on the ledge, towering over the boy.

Tim purposefully ignored Jason.  He didn't feel like putting up with the second Robin's crap, not with him feeling so low.  The guy could be a real jerk sometimes.  But, despite that, Tim still had a tiny bit of admiration for him.

"Replacement?" Jason asked.

Suddenly, Tim sat up ramrod straight and his brilliant blue eyes widened with realization.  Dick chose Damian to take over for Tim as Robin, and Tim took over for Jason when he died.  Dick chose Damian to replace Tim as Robin, and Tim replaced Jason when he died.  Dick hadn't given someone new the mantle of Robin, he'd replaced Tim.  And…  Jason.  The realization hit him like a blow to the chest.  Jason must've felt the same way as he did when he found out that Tim had took his place.  He had felt as unwanted and unworthy as Tim did now.  For once, Tim felt a little bit guilty for stealing the name of Robin from Jason.  The third Robin never wanted to hurt anybody, but he was to naïve to realize how terrible it felt to be replaced.  It tore down your self-esteem and undermined all that you thought were basic facts of life.  Like the fact that Tim was Robin.  

Jason waved his hand in front of Tim's face, trying to break the kid out of his trance.  "Everything okay, Drake?"

Perhaps it was a bit odd that the antihero was actually talking to him instead of shooting at him.  But, Jason didn't see the teen that had replaced him at that moment.  At that moment, Jason saw a miserable teenager.

        For the first time, Tim's eyes flicked up to meet the masked eyes behind Red Hood's helmet.  The teen gulped then whispered shakily, "Dick, he-….  He replaced me."  Tim was a little afraid Jason would take advantage of the vulnerability in his voice.  But he was fairly confident Jason would empathize.

Inside the red metal that concealed his face, Jason's features softened.  The kid now knew what Jason felt when he'd found out about the third Robin.  The emotion was impossible to describe – you had to experience it to understand.

Jason decided that for tonight, he'd be a big brother to Tim.  Jason knew the transition from Batman's sidekick to an independent hero was hard.  Dick's transition from Batman's Robin to the Teen Titan's Robin to Nightwing was pretty much smooth sailing.  His transition to the Red Hood, however, had been like sailing during a hurricane.  He'd died, come back, trained with assassins, learned to kill, and had to announce his resurrection to the BatClan to become his own hero.  Jason had a feeling that Tim's transition would be pretty bumpy, too.  So the son that had been estranged from the family finally reached out to the little brother he had never really connected with.

"Wow, kid," Jason replied after a moment of silence.  "Puts things into perspective, doesn't it?"

Tim had regressed back into his shell of misery and leaned his body against the wall on his left again.  "It really does," the teen whispered.

Jason squatted down next to Tim and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.  "You probably shouldn't be up here in civvies.  People would start to wonder why one of the goody two-shoes Wayne kids was climbing up fire escapes."

Tim nodded ever so slightly.

Jason continued, "So where are you staying?"

"The Manor," Tim replied quietly.

Red Hood inhaled sharply.  "Damn.  That's gotta suck."

"It does," came the quiet response.

"Listen," the second Robin started, unsure.  "I know how shitty it feels to be replaced.  And I know that you especially don't like hanging around the one that replaced you.  So…  I guess, if you want, you can crash at my place tonight.  I have to move soon anyway, so it won't matter if you tell Goldie."

Tim didn't speak, or move.

"What were you going to do?"  Jason asked.  "Sleep out here?"

The stiffening of Drake's shoulders told him that yes, that had been the plan.

"C'mon, Babybird," that nickname was new.  Tim kinda liked it.  "My couch is a lot more comfortable than that wall.  Warmer, too.  You know Alf will smother you if you get a cold."

Tim reluctantly stood up, knowing what Jason said was true.  Besides, it would be nice to be able to talk to someone who would understand why he felt so miserable presently.

Jason straightened out his legs.  "You got your grapple?" he asked, hoping they wouldn't have to walk on the streets.

"Yeah," Tim said, fishing it out of his hidden utility belt.

The pair swung from building to building, strides in perfect sync.  For once, Tim felt like Jason was as much of a brother to him as Dick.  It felt a little strange to actually have two big brothers, but Tim was certain he could get used to the feeling.

Jason landed on a ledge, Tim doing the same half a second later.  The Red Hood
opened an unlocked window and slid in feet-first without difficulty.  Following his lead, the third Robin went through the window.

They'd entered some sort of living area, with two couches, a coffee table, and an old TV.  A small kitchenette dominated one corner.  Tim assumed that this was Jason's apartment.  Red Hood took off his helmet and the mask underneath, placing them on a counter.  He scrubbed his midnight hair and Tim couldn't help but stare at the shocking white streak that hung into the older man's eyes.  Jason tried to think of something to say.

"Yeah, I'm not so great at giving advice," Jason admitted, sprawling out on the couch.   He patted the cushion next to him, signaling that Tim should sit next to him.  Tim sat down rigidly, out of his element, but not entirely uncomfortable.  "To be honest," Jason continued, "when I'm feeling down, I go out and shoot some thugs in the face."

Tim smiled slightly, because what he just conceded was such a Jason thing to say.

Jason paused, noting the younger boy's smile.  Jason felt happy that he could make the straight-laced ex-Robin crack a grin.  And that feeling was so foreign to him because he hadn't ever really considered the Babybird a brother.  Jason smiled back at Tim.

"But I know how it feels to be replaced, Babybird.  You of all people should know that.  I've thought about it a lot, and I realized something.  The reason it hurt so much seeing someone else wearing the Robin costume is because we thought we'd be Robin forever.  We go in, knowing there were others before us, but somewhere in the middle that all fades away.  We start to believe that Batman will always need us as his partner, and that it'll always be us behind that domino mask.  But it won't be.  Robin is just a stepping stone.  Robin is destined to grow up and become his own hero.  We just have to find out who we are going to grow up to be."

Tim's wide, frost-colored eyes met Jason's blue-green eyes in shock.  How could someone like Jason come up with something like that?  There was certainly more to the antihero than meets the eye.

Jason chuckled slightly at Tim's shock.  But the teen recovered and realized that everything the second Robin had said was true.

Jason added, "My transition to my own hero was rough.  But yours doesn't have to.  Just figure out who you really want to be."

Tim smiled brightly at the older man.  "Thank you, Jason.  I really needed that.  I just never expected it to come from you."

Jason laughed.  "It's fun to surprise people sometimes."

Tim tried to muffle his yawn, but it's hard to hide things from people trained by the Batman.

"Alright, kid," Jason said.  "Let's hit the hay."

Jason got up from the couch and into a short hallway nearby.  He opened a cabinet and pulled out a spare blanket and pillow.  He walked back into the living room and tossed them to Tim.  Look at me, being domestic with Drake, Jason mused.

Tim caught the blanket and pillow with ease.  Jason turned on his heel to go to his bedroom, Tim assumed.  "Night, Babybird," the Red Hood called.

"Goodnight, big brother," Tim said quietly.

Jason froze mid-step.  Tim had actually called him brother.  Jason's face broke into an uncontrollable smile as he went into his room to get some sleep himself.

Tim shed his jacket and shoes.  He curled up on the couch, underneath the blanket.  He was happy he had this time with Jason.  He knew that they'd go back to being enemies in the morning, but for tonight, they were just brothers.  Tim wouldn't tell Dick of the night he spent with Jason, and Tim was positive Jason wouldn't tell a soul.  It would be their secret.

Tim stared at the ceiling, waiting for sleep to come.  His mind wandered back to
what Jason said about becoming his own hero.  If Tim was going to assume a new hero identity, he'd need a name.  Something that would help him remember his roots.  Maybe something that would subtly thank Jason for the advice…

Sleep consumed Tim, and that night he dreamed of red robins.

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Tim woke up to sunlight streaming through a window nearby, hitting his face.  That had to have been the best sleep Tim had gotten in months, despite the fact it was on a couch.  Tim felt ready to take on the world – his faith in being a hero had been restored.  He was ready to become his own person, and he had Jason to thank.

Tim knew without a shadow of a doubt that Jason had left the apartment already, and he was alone.  The teen pulled his clothes back on and folded up his blanket.  He wandered over to the counter, where a slip of paper caught his eye.

He read the messy handwriting:

See you around, little brother.
-J.T.

Tim smiled at the insignificant slip of paper.  Tim picked up a red pen laying on the countertop.  He pocketed the note, wanting to keep it.  The teen grabbed another scrap of paper.  Tim tapped the pen to his chin, trying to decide what to write.  It suddenly came to him, and he grinned as he scrawled it on the paper.

Tim put the pen back where it belonged.  He left through the window, heading straight for Wayne Manor.  He needed to talk to Dick about his new superhero identity.

Thanks for everything, Jay.
-Red Robin

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