His eyes always followed you around—never unbearably. Instead, one could imagine that it felt like a safety net.
Or at least today, it's more like his eyes have morphed into hearts.
"Jay? You need something?" you ask, as you fold your laundry.
Nights like these are rare, when Jason doesn't leave the moment dusk bleeds across the sky. His vigilante gear is shoved into the closet, and the tension in his body finally melts as he sinks into the sheets.
"Just you." He turns his head to get a better look at you. His eyes trail over your features before they settle on your lips for the briefest moment. "C'mere."
You assume he wants to kiss you, so you do what any sane person dating Jason Todd would do.
You abandon the jeans you'd been folding and sit on the edge of the bed. Before you can even process what it is that he wants, you're being tugged into the middle. One arm loops around your waist, keeping you tucked against his side like a stuffed animal he can't sleep without.
"What're you—
He hands you a book. The same one he read to you a few days ago.
"Your turn," he says as if that explains everything.
You blink. "You want me to read to you?"
Jason shrugs and leans down to kiss the side of your head. "m'not doing the voices tonight," he mutters, breath fanning your ear.
"I'm not doing the voices," you complain. But you're already opening the book to where he left off.
A sleepy huff escapes him. "Read the book, sweetheart."
"Okay, but without the voices," you say again. And to make your point, you elbow him in the ribs.
he side-eyes you. "Doesn't matter."
"What doesn't?" you ask.
“the voices.” He tucks his face against your shoulder. "just wanna listen to yours.”
One look at your face when you walked through the front door would be enough for Ryland to tell something was wrong. He’d immediately forget whatever he’d been doing to meet you halfway, automatically opening his arms to pull you into the gentlest embrace. “Hey… hey, what’s wrong, dove?” he’d ask quietly. “What happened?”
He wouldn’t rush you to answer, instead he’d simply hold you, rubbing slow circles on your back while pressing soft kisses into your hair and temple. The silence didn’t feel like pressure, it was comforting, and despite how socially clumsy Ryland could be, he knew your tells well enough by now.
“C’mon,” he’d murmur after a while. “Let’s sit down.”
He would gently guide you to sit on the couch, still with an arm around your shoulders, and he’d patiently wait until you could gather your words and talk to him if you wanted to. While you talked, he’d listen without interrupting, just trailing his hands lightly over your arms, tracing comforting patterns absentmindedly over your skin. “It’s okay, dove… I’m here.”
He wouldn’t let you apologize for crying, looking almost offended if you did. He’d remain right beside you if you needed anything, giving your hands soft pecks or reassuring squeezes, until the weight eased off your body.
At night, Ryland would slip into bed behind you, wrapping an arm securely around your waist and pulling you close until there was no space between your back and his chest. He’d press one last sleepy kiss to your shoulder before letting out a content sigh.
You’d fall asleep peacefully feeling his warmth around you, and his fingers loosely threaded with yours. He was the only person that could ever make you feel smaller and at the same time the safest.
a/n: hii! I don't know if this is a bit weirdly written honestly, let me know. also I love him so much I needed this for myself
a/n: just a short fluff drabble. first time I post anything here, english is not my first language and I have lost a lot of practice, but I love Tim and wanted to add to the comic's fandom :)
word count: 849
At that hour the only sources of light in the Batcave were a couple of dim lamps sitting near ground level, and the soft blueish glow of the monitors of the main computer. The work for tonight was done, mostly. Tim and Bruce had spent the night tailing a low-level Penguin informant through the freezing docks, hoping to catch a lead on a weapon-smuggling ring before it went cold. It had ended up devolving into hours of silent stakeouts in the pouring rain, while you sat at the computer in the cave overviewing their activity and looking into any possible clues.
You were leaning back in your chair, eyes inevitably starting to shut as any remnant of adrenaline wore off. Luckily, it had gotten so late that even Bruce had agreed that the debrief could wait until they got some rest for the night.
With your eyes closed, you heard the door open, followed by the approach of two sets of footsteps you had begun to recognize by now. Both men were silent as they made their way inside, their tiredness evident in the heaviness of their eyes.
Your attention was inevitably drawn to Tim. His shoulders were slightly hunched, his stride tired but still tense. It seemed like he was still a bit on edge from the whole night. He had taken his mask off already, and his hair was a sopped mess, along with the water droplets all over his suit from the rain that had been falling outside.
When your eyes raised to his, they were already on yours. His expression softened the tiniest bit, with that annoying lift of his brow and the faint twitch in the corner of his lip.
"Tired?" You asked directly to both, turning the chair to face them.
Bruce just hummed under his breath, amused as if an answer was both obvious and unnecessary. Tim, for his part, gave you a small look like he was holding back a sarcastic answer, but said nothing. You three discussed briefly the operation—routine, you knew you wouldn't be able to escape the proper debrief the following day—before Bruce finally left first for the changing room.
Your eyes had been on the main screen when you felt it. His hands on your shoulders, gentle. Tim was standing behind the chair. You didn't turn, and didn't speak, just let the soft silence created fill the space. You felt his thumb brush your skin, a soft caressing movement from your neck to the line of your jaw. A quiet exhale was all that left him, a sign of how tired he actually was. He then leaned down, and rested his cheek on the crown of your head as he circled your shoulders with his arms.
You leaned your head back into his shoulders, just as Tim started to brush his mouth over your hair, and down to your temple, pressing his lips softly against your skin as he went. He was always more quiet when he was tired, determined not to let it show. But you knew better now.
"Tim..." You started, but just as you turned in the chair enough to look at him properly, he caught your mouth with his. Tim's lips moved lightly over yours, slowly. This was the type of kiss that always made you melt against him. When he was tired and soft and touch starved... How could anyone resist?
He replied with a murmur, inches away from your lips. "Wait.. just let me.." He turned your chair to face him, keeping one hand on your cheek, the other keeping balance on the arm of the chair. You reached for him, grasping at the rough fabric of his suit, lifting your other hand to his jaw, before tangling your fingers in the hair of his nape, still damp from the rain outside.
Tim let out a hum against your lips, and when he parted—
"Tim?" Bruce's deep voice called, just from outside the entry of the Cave. "Are you coming up?"
He immediatly snapped back into a straight, tense position. It caused you to tense as well, both of you turning your eyes towards the doorway. It would have been almost funny had it not ruined the moment. You could practically hear him cursing the older man out in his head.
“Just wrapping up the log, Bruce,” he answered. The tone of his voice, remarkably steady, marking the stark divide in his mind between Robin and just your Tim.
Once Bruce’s footsteps faded back toward the elevator, Tim turned his focus entirely back to you. The tightness in his eyes softened again into something more vulnerable. You couldn’t help but let out a quiet hum of amusement. “Right, the log.”
He reached out, gently pulling the tie of his cape loose and dropping it onto the desk next to your chair. “He's going to check the cave cameras if I don't go," Tim admitted with a faint, tired smirk, then leaned down to press one last, lingering kiss to the corner of your mouth. "Give me ten minutes to clear out."