Clear Insecurity (Time Drake)
I forgot I had this one saved honestly! I written it so long ago and never posted it, but now I'm gonna so you can read I :) I hope you all enjoy :)
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Tim’s shaky hands frantically dove into the medicine cabinet in his bathroom, shoving the half empty bottles of vitamins and aspirin aside to look for the tiny box that held his contacts. His blue eyes were narrowed to the size of slits while he leaned over the sink to get a closer look into the back of the cabinet; although his glasses sat on desk in his bedroom, he refused to put them on to even find his other option that would temporary fix his vision. If he didn’t find that case soon, he would never descend the stairs and choose to be a recluse just for the night.
While his hope for finding his contact case was dwindling, it was restored when he felt the crumpled paper box come into contact with his calloused fingertips. With a grip of a lion, he quickly pulled the box out of the cabinet and set it on the edge of the sink and opened it up to find that there was none left.
“This can’t be happening, not now…” Tim muttered to himself as he looked back in the box to double check before sticking his hand back in the cabinet to see if he there was a possibility of there being another box, but there wasn’t.
Tim let out a disgruntled sigh as he shoved the box into the trash and placed both of his hands on the sink and bowed his head down in defeat. He was already on edge about Bruce hosting one of his charity balls at the manor at the moment but now that he didn’t have have any contacts to wear, that ruined the rest of his night before it even began. He was dressed in a very sleek navy blue suit with a powder red tie and all he needed was those stupid contacts, but he ran out.
While Tim leaned over his porcelain sink deep in thought on how to go about his sudden obstacle, you were climbing the stairs and slowly making your way to his room. With one hand gripping the railing of the stairs and the pulling up the the skirt of your red evening gown, you still found it hard to climb the stairs in your white heels. Your silky soft (H/C) locks were done in cascading curls down your back but they were curly swept to one side of your face so you could see were you were steping.
Slowly approaching Tim’s bedroom door, you could hear the low pitch of his voice; he was mumbling to himself about something and usually when he did this, you knew there was something wrong. Standing in front of his door, with your hands still curled into your chest, you wondered if you should interrupt him on whatever he was doing. You didn’t want to upset him since you and Tim hadn’t been in the best of places of your year long relationship.
Letting your worry overpower your shyness, you pulled one of your hands away from your chest and lightly knocked on his door, calling his name softly to see if he would respond right away. You stood there for a good minute before trying again with the same response. You knew he would have answered at least on the second call, so you decided to take the initiative and enter at your own risk.
You slowly pushed the door open and poked your head inside to see that his bedroom was vacant; the lights were dim, but you could tell by the strewn about clothes and the closet light still on that he was in the general area. Your gentle (E/C) gaze spotted that the bathroom door was cracked and that the soft white light crept out of it. Coming all the way into the room, you pulled the rest of your dress in with you and shut the door softly.
“Tim? Are you in there?” You called out to him, coming to stand at the foot of his bed staring at the bathroom door, “Tim?” You spoke his name with more urgency and concern as he didn’t answer you.
Instead of a verbal response, he quickly yanked the door open and stuck his head out to see you flinch at the sudden action and retreat your hands to your chest to soothe your spooked heart. His blues eyes were wide with surprise at seeing you, well rather the blur of your figure, in his room. He opened the bathroom door all the way and slowly crept out wearing that gentle smile that you’ve always loved.
“Hey, I’m sorry,” He spoke softly, looking at you up and down as he approached you, “I didn’t hear you come in. Is there something wrong?” He asked you while he took a hold of your hands and gave the a light squeeze.
“Nothing’s a matter with me, is there something wrong with you?” You let him know that you noted the messy room that you two were standing in, “Bruce sent me up here to check on you cause you never came down.”
Tim let out a tired sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck to relieve the imaginary weight that rested there. Your gaze was growing more tense as you looked at him, waiting for him to tell you what was wrong. His gaze came to meet yours and in soft breaths he was mumbling about his situation. You told him to speak up while you inspected the mess of his room.
“I was just getting ready for Bruce’s charity event downstairs, it took me longer than expected to get ready, but I’m not sure if I want to go down there and make my presence known tonight.” His voice wavered throughout his whole time talking and it already set off your excuses alarm.
You walked around his room carefully, trying to not trip on any of the clothes that were laying all over the floor; his hamper was overflowing, but it looked like there was no effort to clean it. You lingered by his desk to see that he had open files on his computer that were being worked on recently. A open bottle of aspirin sat behind the monitor as if he was trying to hide it from prying eyes, or more specifically, your eyes. You continued to walk around his room, seeing the mess and coming to the conclusion that he was letting himself go again.
“Tim...your room...it’s a pigsty,” You gestured to the mess and looked at him in disbelief, “It wasn’t like this a couple days ago when I helped you clean it. What happened?”
Tim looked away and went to shut off the lights in the bathroom and closet, taking some time to think about his answer. “I know, I just… I got caught up with my patrol duties and school and with other things…”
“Well, you gotta take care of this soon, like tomorrow. If you want, I can see if I can stay in the guest room tonight and I’ll help you straighten it up tomorrow.” You suggested as you kicked some the the clothes to the side to form a path to walk in.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind the help...thanks.”
“Alright, now let's go join the party, I wanna get a dance in with you before they stop for the bidding.”
“Uh, yeah, I can’t go down there.”
“Why not?” You questioned him, placing your hands on your hips, “You look super handsome and I will have to say that I might be a little jealous if I have to share your presence with those other young girls down there.” You chuckled as you shoved his shoulder playfully.
“Thanks, I, uh, can say the say to you too, you do look stunning,” Tim struggled to take in your appearance, not admitting to you that he really couldn’t see you, “Red really is more your color than mine.”
Tim got silent for a few moments before answered your silent question of why he couldn’t go downstairs, “I ran out of contacts, okay? I don’t have any more, I threw out the ones I wore yesterday and I don’t have any in now.”
“So?” You shrugged your shoulders, “Just wear your glasses, it’ll be alright.”
“I—I can’t. Those are only for in the house purposes.” Tim threw his hands outwards in front of him, letting his anxiety slowly climb up the scale in his chest. “Plus, I don’t feel like bringing any attention to me for being different from the rest of my brothers.”
You sighed with a heavy heart in your chest as you remembered that Tim was always self-conscious of his glasses, so much that he rarely wore them, even inside the house. You let your eyes wander to his desk once again as you saw them just sitting there next to the keyboard with a slight layer of dust on them. You went to retrieve them and cleaned them as you talked with him.
“Oh, Tim, wearing glasses is nothing to be ashamed of. Almost everyone wears them,” You sent him a small and warm smile, “If you’re worried that they’ll bring attention to you, you’re wrong. Sure, some people might approach you to ask about when and how you got them, but they won’t stay long, they’re rich people they talk money, not personal matters.”
“I get that, but I just can’t wear them down there, especially in front of my family.” Tim walked around the room with his hands out in front of him, “You know that they like to make fun of me because I’m the only one that wears them. Jason is the worse out of all of them; always calling me a true geek and a nerd....”
Tim was working himself up and you knew that you needed to stop him before you lose all hope of bringing him downstairs. The moment he passed you, you quickly latched onto his arm and walked him over to his bed and ordered him to sit down. Sitting beside him, you fiddled with his glasses while you both let the silence of the room cool things down.
“Look, don’t pay them no mind when they make those comments. They make them out of pure fun and don’t mean to hurt your feelings; they told me themselves. They appreciate your role during the patrols and investigations and they love you and are glad you’re a part of the family. Jason pokes fun at you the most just because he really respects you; sure there might still be some tense moments after his resurrection, but he’s there for you no matter what.”
Tim just sat next to you in silence, taking in your every word. He fiddled with his calloused fingers while you had placed a gentle hand on his upper back, comforting him. He knew that you were only doing your very best to cheer him up and make him feel better about himself, and he deeply appreciated that. That was what he loved most about you; you were always making an effort to cheer someone up and give them confidence. Your kind words were no doubt sincere and he was being to not feel the anxiety of being different for just one night.
“Thanks for those words, really,” Tim turned to you and gave you a deep and meaningful look, “you really know how to cheer people up, don’t you?” Tim reached for your free hand and gave it a firm squeeze before looking down at his black frames sitting in your lap.
You followed his wear gaze and gave him a kind smile, “It’s only for one night, that’s all,” with slight hesitation, thinking about if he was actually ready to put on his glasses, you unfolded them and slowly brought them to his face and slid them on, pushing them all the way up to the bridge of his nose, “After the ball, you can come right back up here and choose to roam around blind for the rest of the night for all I care, as long as you’re happy.”
Tim chuckled at the last bit as he blinked with wide eyes as his vision became more clearer. He stared at your face and was taken back a bit by how beautiful you truly looked and felt a tiny bit guilty for guessing on how you looked earlier; he didn’t feel that bad though, because he already knew you would look beautiful cause in his eyes, you always were. His ocean blue eyes looked all around his messy room and agreed that it definitely needed to be cleaned.
“You really do look stunning, by the way, like more than usual,” Tim stood seated while you rose from the bed and turned around to look at him as he smiled at you, “If anyone is to be jealous tonight, I think it’ll be me. I’m sorry that I left you alone for so long down there by yourself.”
You threw your head back in laughter as you face tinted a light shade of red. Tim laughed with you as you took his hands in yours and swung them lightly in the space between you two, “You can make up the lost time by coming back down there with me and giving me that dance that you had promised me a while back.”
Tim slowly nodded his head as he rose from the plush mattress and stood by your side giving in to your desires. “Alright, alright. Let’s go down there.”
“Tim, thank you for coming to your senses,” ou spoke honest words as you moved in closer to him, looking up at him with your doe eyes, “I’m glad that you overcame your silly glasses fear. To be completely honest with you, I prefer you with your glasses rather than without them, I find you more handsome.”
Tim chuckled before bending down to place his lips on yours. You two stood there for a few moments, kissing while listening to the muffled classical music creep in through the thin walls. It was magical and you couldn’t ask it to be any more perfect. When you two split apart, you patted his chest before interlacing your and with his and leading him out of his room and down to the ball below where everyone watched you descend the stairs with grace and beauty.
When the ball had ended, you both took no time making it back to his room to get out of your formal attire and retiring into the cool sheets after a night filled with dancing. The rest of your night was filled with cuddling and watching t.v. with Tim; after your comment of calling him handsome with the glasses, he kept them on the whole night, not once taking them off. You were glad that you two had found your footing once again and that was all you could ever ask for.
