Entry tags:

dc: tim drake (comics), dead boy detectives: monty

Physical activity was never Monty’s forte. Sure, as a crow, he was lithe and able to fly for long distances without getting tired, but things as a human were different. For one, Monty didn’t always have a good control over his arms when a ball of some sort was beamed in his general direction. It didn’t hurt him, but he never quite knew how to catch it. That wasn’t something crows did. Crows just flew away when something was about to hit them.

He was a fairly decent runner, as he was light on his feet, but when combined with something like basketball or dodgeball, well, that didn’t always work out too well.

Standing awkwardly in the middle of the court in his PE uniform of a t-shirt and shorts, Monty kept looking up at the clock of the gym and praying for this period to be over. He wanted nothing more than to change back into his far more fashionable clothes and wrap his favorite scarf around his neck for comfort. It was like a safety blanket of sorts, and he had it with him wherever he went.

Except during gym class, of course.

Just then, a ball came hurling straight at him. He saw it and held his hands up as if hoping to stop it, though he tried looking around to see if he could hide behind someone. There was no such luck though, as everyone had been quick enough to move away in time. Knowing he was going to get hit, Monty shut his eyes and looked away, bracing for the pain that was sure to come.

---

Tim didn't tend to extend himself at PE. He had always thought the concept as a whole was dumb, but especially so now. How was this even neccesary? It didn't even teach anything. Most of the time he did just enough for the Coach to mark him as participating. He had been hanging in the back of the auditorium, barely paying attention and easily dodging the balls that came his way.

Instead, he'd let his eyes drift over to Monty. He had to say that Monty was one of the more tolerable parts of PE, but he didn't want to seem over eager to hang out with the other boy, and didn't know how to be normal, he was used to holding walls between himself and others especially people he was fond of.

He frowned as he saw the wind up from the other kid, and had just enough time to cross the distance to throw his hand out in front of Monty to catch the ball. It wasn't as smooth as he would have liked, but it made enough of a point he though. "Gotta watch out," He told Monty with a little wink, before throwing the ball aimlessly back across the court.

---

The pain never came. There was no tingly sensation in his hands from a rubber ball coming into contact with him. But he heard the distinct thwack sound of a ball being caught right in front of him, and a rush of air from the momentum of it all. Slowly, he opened one eye, then another and finally blinked a few times to find Tim there in front of him. He looked so athletic and so cute with his hair all tussled from the exertion.

Realization hit Monty all at once. Tim had saved him from the ball. He would have gotten hit and tagged out otherwise, and he let out a breath of relief he didn't even know he was holding in. "Th-Thanks," Monty struggled to get out. His heart was hammering in his chest from the whole ordeal.

Just then, a whistle blew from the Coach signaling that class was over and it was time to go and change out of their PE clothes. Relief made Monty's whole body go a bit limp. At last this was over, and he could go back to being wrapped up in his favorite scarf. "You were amazing," he added, once he got more of his voice back. "I would have been bird food otherwise."

He leaned in a little closer to him with a smile and said the rest in a whisper, "My hero."

---

A couple of other students shot Tim a strange look. He was normally disinterested in showing off the athletics that he did posses, and it may have looked out of place that Tim could cross the gym easily if he wanted to. He gave Monty a soft smile, the boy looked more like an owl come to life than a crow. "Don't worry about it, we're on the same team." He told him with a slight chuckle.

He couldn't help the pinkness in his cheeks when Monty leaned in closer. That was a normal reaction when a cute person called you their hero though, right? Tim just shook his head and smiled, "It was just a ball, I'm sure you would have lived." He said lightly.

When the whistle blew and the other students began to file in, Tim suddenly didn't know how to act. Should he hold Monty's hand? Would that matter? Tim shifted his weight back and forth awkwardly for a moment before nodding his head in the direction of the locker rooms. "Ready to go?"

---

Monty didn't realize the looks of the other students. He only had eyes for Tim. That smile would have made anyone swoon the way Monty wanted to, but he was avidly trying not to. Monty wasn't self-conscious at all. He was only a little uncoordinated for some sports, and sports in general didn't appeal to him. But otherwise, he didn't care about how people saw him. Tim, on the other hand, well, he wanted Tim to like him, but he also didn't want to put Tim in an awkward position either.


Tucking a strand of hair behind his ear, Monty pursed his lips and glanced down at the ground. "I know," he replied with a shrug. "It was still nice of you. I'm not that good at all this sports stuff." He waved his hand to motion the gym and everything in their area. He was out of his element here, but he did his best to make it work. At least he didn't run away from the ball like how he used to in the beginning.


It was clear to Monty that Tim was feeling a little awkward, and he by no means wanted to add to that. Even if Tim looked really cute right now. So, he came up with a plan. "Mhm!" He nodded quickly. "Let's go!" With a mischievous look in his eyes, he snatched the ball out of Tim's hands and darted for the door. "Last one there's a rotten egg!" This was a perfectly adequate flirting technique, wasn't it?

---

Whatever Tim was going to say to Monty died on his tongue when Monty challenged him to a race. He chuckled, and watched the other boy run with the ball. “Didn’t you just say that you weren’t into the sports stuff?” Tim called after him teasing.

He let Monty go a few steps before Tim easily caught up with him. He waited until Monty was almost at the door before throwing his arms around his middle and pulling him against him. He did a half turn and deposited Monty behind him before placing the flat of his hand on the door.

“I won,” He winked, “What do I get?” He raised his eyebrows playfully.

---

It was true. Monty hated sports. But this? This was fun. This was flirting, and it was so worth the small distance he had to run before Tim inevitably caught up to him. And of course he would. Tim was a superhero, a vigilante. He was strong and lithe. Monty... was a crow. But that didn't mean he couldn't take one for the team, so to speak. In other words, he knew he was going to lose. That was the point. Getting Tim to open up was exactly what Monty wanted, and this was the only way to get it.

What Monty wasn't expecting was the exact way in which he was going to lose. He did not expect to feel Tim's arms come around him and lift him easily off the ground. For a second there, it was almost as if he was flying again, with the wind in his face and the feeling of soaring through the air. It took Monty's breath away, and he gasped when he landed back on his feet just inches away from the door.

He could feel his heart beating in his throat as he turned back to Tim and laughed. Monty couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this happy, and it was all just a silly race. Oh, but it was more than that. So much more. Tim was pretty bold for asking that question, and Monty's mischievous wheels were turning in his head. "What do you win?" Monty smirked. "A kiss?"

Before Tim could react and before Monty could lose his nerve, he leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Okay, so he could have been a little bolder, but he didn't want their first real kiss to happen in the middle of a gross gym while they were both sweaty from PE. So not romantic.

Monty winked back at Tim before brushing past him to head back into the changing rooms, but not before glancing back at him with a grin.

---

It wasn’t that Tim had never flirted or had never kissed. He’d kissed Stephanie. But that was different, because he’d kissed Stephanie on a roof top while they were patrolling, or in the little out of the way places in the Manor. Not in the hallway of a public high school, right outside of the locker room.

But, then, Monty was pecking his cheek and pushing his way through the door. Not exactly what Tim had thought was going to happen, but he was blushing and flashing an uncharacteristically goofy grin on his face. It was nice just being Tim and not Tim the third son of Bruce or Tim the Red Robin.

He followed Monty, and then realized he wasn’t sure how acceptable that was given that they were both about to change.”I uh…” He realized he didn’t even really have anything more to say. Nothing that would make sense anyway. “You know… the bird thing is funny,” He said, “because we were all called Robin at one point— like the bird?”

That sounded dumb, even to him. And it wasn’t like he’d actually been a robin like Monty had been a crow, but it was something.

---

Monty didn't have the same kind of personal space issues that most other people did. He didn't mind standing close to others in a group, and showing physical attraction to another wasn't uncommon either. He'd kissed Edwin in a similar way, but that was different and also felt like a lifetime ago. The last thing on his mind was Edwin right now, because Tim was right here in front of him being super cute. And maybe Monty was blushing a bit too.

It made him smile when Tim followed him in and kept talking to him. At least he hadn't totally ruined things, he figured. And yeah, maybe it did sound a bit goofy, but Monty didn't mind. He liked hearing Tim talk. Heck, he could have talked about birds until the crows came home, and Monty would hang onto his every word like his life depended on it. "That is funny," Monty agreed. "I didn't know that. I like hearing things about you. Why were you called Robin? And..."

Monty sort of looked him up and down before asking, "Did you wear tights?" He smirked. He was trying so hard not to imagine Tim in tights right now. It was so difficult. Especially since they were about to go change, and maybe this wasn't appropriate at all. But Monty didn't really care at the moment.

---

“I was called Robin because my brother picked the name.” He smirked slightly, as he dug his things out of his locker. “Dick picked it because of Robin hood and well,” He rolled his shoulders in a half shrug, “Bruce was already batman, so, I guess Dick thought that his partner should also be something that could fly.” He chuckled a little.

“Jason was called Robin… because he had picked up Dick’s mantle, and… when the time came, I became a Robin too… Though I am still Red Robin. And our youngest brother is Robin now.” He tried not to read too much into Monty’s look when he looked at him. Tim knew that his face was probably betraying him in the moment, and he tried to distract himself by pulling off his shirt and trying to quickly change.

“But, uh, yeah, Tights were a thing.” Not that he’d picked the outfit entirely. They just sort of made sense at the time. “Tell me about you.”

---

Monty slipped out of his sneakers and picked them up to place them into his locker for a moment as he changed. He still listened attentively to Tim, smiling at him whenever he looked at him and perhaps blushing whenever their eyes made contact. Tim wasn't just easy on the eyes. He was interesting as well, with an incredible family history to boot. Monty felt himself entranced by him the more he spoke as if a spell had been cast on him.

"There's so many of you," he said, and politely turned to look back into his locker when Tim pulled off his shirt. Not that he could help the way he peeked over to see him out of the corner of his eye every so often. As expected, Tim was pretty fit. No surprise there considering he was a vigilante. Monty wasn't quite so fit, but he was still skinny at least. He tugged off his own shirt and folded it up neatly before slipping into the button down shirt he'd come to school in.

"Oh me?" Monty shrugged, reaching for his lip moisturizer and lining his lips with it before continuing to change. "Well, I was a crow, which you already know." He made a whimsical face at him because he hadn't meant for that to rhyme at all. "And one day, I met Esther. She was a witch, and she took me in to be her familiar. Then, when the Dead Boys and Crystal tried to save this little girl from Esther, she turned me into a human."

He took a breath, putting away his lip moisturizer and pulling on the rest of his clothing. This next part wasn't easy. "She tasked me with getting close to Edwin, to seduce him in a way so that she could hurt him, but I couldn't go through with it." He shrugged, wrapping the scarf around his neck before dropping his sneakers back down to the floor to slip back into them. "I had developed feelings for Edwin, and I didn't want to hurt him. By then, he had figured I had deceived him, but I still tried to help him and his friends to defeat Esther for good in the end."

---

“We’re adopted.” Tim said, “well, Except Damian. Jason and Dick because of their skills and me…” He sort of shrugged a little bit, “Mostly because I begged him to join the team… and then my parents were killed.” It wasn’t necessarily because Tim was Robin that his mom got killed— that had just been a weird coincidence while he had been training, but he still carried guilt about his father dying. “Biologically, I’m an only child.”

Tim nodded along as he changed his clothing, stealing respectful glances as Monty to let him know that he was paying attention. “That must have been hard for you. To have someone use you like that.” Tim frowned. “But it seems like you made the right choice in the end, If Esther was trying to hurt them.”

“Do you…” He didn’t know how to word it, and so the best way was to be blunt. “Do you still have feelings for Edwin?” Cause why wouldn’t a crow and a ghost be in love.

---

Monty's eyes went wide when Tim mentioned his mother dying. "Oh no..." He bit down on his lower lip. He couldn't say much about his family as he really couldn't remember them. It was only until Esther made him a human that he gained a complex consciousness and memory and emotions--basically everything that comes with being a human. So while he couldn't relate on a personal basis to losing a mother, he understood the feeling of loss as a human would because of Niko. And it tugged at his heart. "I'm sorry about that."

It spoke to Tim's character that he was still so motivated and mature despite all that had happened to him in his life. Monty couldn't imagine the life of a vigilante was anything but difficult, and he felt so much respect for him in that moment. He nodded a bit at Tim. "At first, I just wanted to be loyal to Esther. I didn't know any better until I started to feel human emotions. The worst of it is the conflict that comes with wanting to prove yourself to the person who basically gave you a human life, but also staying true to what you feel is right." In truth, Monty hadn't thought much of it in that way, but he knew in his heart that this was how he really felt.

At Tim's question, Monty paused for a moment before his lips fell into an easy smile. He closed his locker and shrugged his backpack onto one shoulder, closing the space between him and Tim. "Edwin and I are friends." He reached out and gently brushed back a strand of Tim's hair. "Nothing else. I don't feel the same way I used to for him." His hand rested comfortably on Tim's shoulder. "There's someone else I really like. And he's handsome and smart... and he likes to save me from rogue dodgeballs."

---

Tim gave a half shrug at Monty’s apology. There was nothing they could do about it here, and while Tim wasn’t ever thrilled to talk about it, he had done his best to put it behind him. Losing Bruce had only reopened those wounds that Tim had tried so hard to compartmentalize. It had changed him, but instead of leaning into his anger, Tim grasped at his sense of justice. His determination to make sure that these people would be held accountable for their wrongs, to keep others from sharing the same fate, and it was in that that he would avenge his family.

“Emotions can be very complex and conflicting at times,” and Tim knew what that was like… when he saw Jason around and his stomach fell when he remembered Jay’s face when he left Tim to die, but Jason hadn’t done anything here. They had even been civil. Even if Jason seemed to know and remember what he’d done. It was confusing at times, to remember they were the same person. “I admire anyone who does whats right, especially when its confusing.” He said.

He couldn’t help the slight blush that burned across his cheeks when Monty brushed Tim’s hair out of his face. He had been thinking about cutting it back, but then how could he consider that when Monty’s fingers were ghosting over it. He smiled. “Yeah?” Tim said softly. “Think he might like you too. I think he might want to walk you to your next class? If that’s okay?” He asked him, his eyes searching Monty’s face before he reached up and took his hand.

---

There was clearly a lot of history and emotional trauma there behind those gorgeous eyes of Tim's. Monty hoped that with time he would get to hear about it and maybe help Tim move past it in some way. Monty had no superpowers to speak of, he wasn't a trained fighter nor did he feel he had some big destiny to fulfill. He was just Monty, and he had to be okay with that. If there were little things he could do here and there to help people and to do what he felt was right, then he would jump at that opportunity. Or fly to it on dark wings.

"I'm still trying to get used to it all," Monty admitted when Tim spoke of emotions. "But I think the best thing for me is to just come out and say it when I feel something. To be honest, you know?" He knew that sometimes being honest could come with its fair share of pain. It had been nerve wracking admitting to Tim that he was a crow, and the butterflies that took flight in his stomach every time Tim looked his way didn't help matters much either. "All we can do is try, right?"

Monty smiled when he caught sight of that blush. It made Tim look even cuter than he already did, which was an incredible feat to be sure. "Yeah?" Monty replied, echoing his own reply in a flirty way. "I think I would really like that." He laced his fingers with Tim's hand and let their arms drop between them. There was sure to be a long road ahead of them as they figured out how to navigate the emotions that swirled around them, but Monty was ready to take that leap. "Let's go, cutie," he said to him with a wink.