Tim Drake Week 2017: Day 6, Crossover/AU Firefly
@satire-please and @the-all-seer wanted to do things for Tim Drake week! So, Companion!Dick Grayson and Doctor!Tim from the series. Ah, I have other snippets written but those aren’t really Tim centric. Hope you like it tho.
**
The door to the shuttle opens, and the scent of jasmine wafts out, hitting Doctor Drake in the face, almost making him sneeze.
Cass is with Babs, playing childrens’ game so Tim can answer Richard’s summons.
It isn’t the first time he’s been in the Companion’s shuttle, and each time the calmness, the tranquility of it is a jarring difference from the rest of the ragtag ship.
When he’d been in medical school on one of Core planets, studying under the Alliance in blissful ignorance about the real agenda under the power structure and Cass had still been at home, living safe and sound, surrounded by the stimulation she needed, he’d requested the time of a Companion for a few days in-between the grueling classes and long hours in the lab. His schedule gave him little time for the niceties of companionship, and he craved human contact outside of that life. He needed someone to talk to, someone with a mind and interests apart from his own, someone to seduce him, someone to make him finally relax and let go.
Richard is able to do so without even trying.
The last time he’d answered the Companion’s summons, he’d spent who knew how long sitting with his back against the small, overstuffed couch while Richard merely brushed his too-long hair, and spoke in a low, soothing tone about everything and anything, drawing Tim in with the rhythm of his words, the motion of his hands, the grip of those thighs at his sides.
He’d woken up in the Companion’s bed, feeling like he’d slept more in that one night than he had in years, held loosely against Richard’s chest like something unequivocally valuable.
Of course, it was utterly embarrassing because while he was still mostly clothed, Richard was...naked, and in bed with him (beautiful, flawless, his hands ached to touch). He’d left without waking the Companion, red-faced with embarrassment and still wondering what would have happened if he stayed.
(But Dick had opened his eyes before the doctor was even out the door)
Would they have…?
Could he even…?
He wasn’t a...a client or anything. He wasn’t even in any kind of state to have anything to offer a Companion like Richard, someone so poised and in control.
And anything more was doubtful since everyone on board knew about the obvious tension between Richard and Jason, the arguments and insults a cover for their attraction. He’d found himself in on the betting pool with the rest of the crew.
“There you are, Doctor,” the Companion is absolutely stunning as always, completely at ease with his surrounding, welcoming and warm. The ornate clothing sets off his eyes and the few tasteful pieces of jewelry, the shimmering cloth of the pants accentuate his grace, the fluid movements in every step and gesture, the dark blue setting off his eyes and the highlights of his dark hair. The tunic is sleeveless, his sleek and powerful muscles on display, highlighted with jeweled bands around his biceps.
“Y-Yes,” Tim stutters, still outside the threshold of the shuttle, “you called for me. Is something the matter?”
Richard’s smile is easy, his hand extends out, and a well-shaped brow rises in question.
With his cheeks getting warm, realizing he probably looks utterly ridiculous standing there, Tim bruskly walks in, and the door slides close with a soft sigh.
And as usual, since Richard is a well-versed Companion, he already knows what Tim needs but can’t ever say. Without words, he folds the younger man in his arms, pulling him in, grounding the brilliant surgeon turned fugitive with strength and warmth. His emergency satchel is taken from a limp hand without Richard ever really letting him go,
“The crew would be in dire straights without you, Doctor. You should take better care of yourself.” Is an easy observation, said with the right inflection to be a suggestion rather than an admonishment. “I’m--” but fine dies in his mouth because Richard looks down at him with that easy smile.
“Come. Sit. I made you tea,” one long arm frees itself to gesture at the ornate pot and cups already waiting for them.
It’s so hard to fight when the Companion maneuvers him like a dance, before he can get his wits together enough to say thank-you but no. Being in this place, being oddly cared for and entertained, is a step back into the life he chose to leave behind the moment he violated the law to set in motion all the events the would get his little sister the hell out of that lab.
From there, they couldn’t stop running, trying to stay one step ahead of Cass’s “two by two, hands of blue,” and the rest of the scientists that worked hard to make his sweet, innocent Cass into a programmable killer.
His only real moments of calm are here on Serenity. It’s more home than anywhere has been in the last few years--something not made of lies and clever deceptions.
He’s sipping on the tea, reclining back on the comfortable couch, his eyes already half-mast. Richard facing him on the other side is drinking as well, occasionally serving him more while they talk about easy things, good stories and terrible physicians, commonly known people in the circles of the Alliance.
He can talk about the dredges of that old life without feeling ashamed (and thinks perhaps Richard finds these conversations comforting, like putting on a favored pair of boots).
They move to their usual positions without it being rushed or obvious how the night would end--and Tim is sitting on the floor, between Richard’s knees while the ornate porcelain comb gently works the snarls.
But the Doctor is brilliant. Doesn’t take anyone of the Alliance’s ilk to recognize it. So he does notice the trembling that goes through Richard’s legs, the slight redness at his wrists and elbows, all the signs the doctor needed to know.
And perhaps now, he understands why the Companion is here on Serenity. Why he calls Tim to his shuttle, why he sits and eats with them, why he soothes Babs and plays with Cass, why he argues with Jason and sympathizes with Roy.
In the morning he may wake up on one of these comfortable couches, or he may yet again wake in Richard’s bed with the Companion only in his skin.
Tim isn’t sure if he’s going to be relieved...or terrified.