Who:Peter-mcu and Tim What:Tim confesses something.. When:Backdated to boomerang arrival. Where:Outside of medical after seeing Dick at Medical Status:complete via log
Tim wasn’t sure what to think of being “boomeranged” as people were calling it. He had gotten pretty content with the idea that he’d been able to find Bruce, and his life was starting to get back together. But, there was one person who stood out that he had missed above most. Peter. His passwords had reflected it. Most of them were Spiderman related. He wasn’t sure if that was cute, or creepy. Maybe he’d let Peter be the judge of that if he decided to breathe a word of it to anyone ever.
His arm was in a sling now, he was waiting around for the other teen to show up. He had really done a number on it. Well, a group of assassins had if he wanted to be a bit more correct on that statement. But at least it wasn’t dislocated anymore. Tim had a few bruises near his eye that were starting to show themselves, but other than that he was in decent shape. He just could use some better fitting clothes. He was a couple years older now, and the shirt sixteen year old him wore left very little to the imagination when it came to showing off muscle. He was slender and muscled now, obviously some things had happened between now and when he was last around. He wasn’t as much of a twig as he was. He waited in the main lobby, not really feeling like waiting anywhere else. His hair was dark and short, still in a similar style. Only new difference was there was a pair of abandoned arm crutches nearby him. He wasn’t sure what to do with them just yet.
-
Peter had been near panicked when he realized that Tim was gone gone, not just off taking time to adjust. He knew that his friend needed alone time to recoup, to deal with some of the crap that this place threw at them. But when Tim was gone, Peter was worried. Really, really worried. And then when Tim showed back up on the network, it felt like a heavy weight was lifted from Peter’s shoulders. The breath he hadn’t known that he was holding was released. He and Tim made plans to see each other again, and Peter couldn’t get to the facility fast enough.
Peter’s shoes weren’t even tied as he swung down to the front entrance, and headed into the lobby. He glanced around and his eyes fell on Tim. Whoa. Things were definitely different, but Peter could tell that this was the same person--his friend. “Hey, Tim!” He called out, then practically jogged across the room to give his friend a hug. A tight one.
- Different was the easy term. Tim was certainly not the scrawny kid he was just a few days ago. Which was probably odd. But for him it had been a couple years. The dullness to his eyes seemed a little brighter at the appearance of his friend which he’d heard from miles away. Spider people weren’t known for silent entrances, but Tim kind of loved that. It made him smile. It wasn’t like they were clumsy, they just weren’t trained to be quiet assassins.
“Hey.” He stood, giving a wince at the hug with his arm all slinged up. He didn’t make any kind of move to reject it though, instead he used his good arm to hug him back. Probably for a little longer than necessary. “You okay?”
-
Longer than necessary was a-okay in Peter’s book. It’d taken an extended leave for Peter to realize how much spending time with Tim meant to him. He was a little confused by it, actually, and how much he’d missed Tim when he couldn’t find him. It hurt his head and heart a bit, so he was choosing not to think about it.
Thankfully, Peter didn’t notice the wince. He would have felt guilty, and he really didn’t want to feel guilty for hugging his friend. His good friend. His … best friend? He pulled back after what felt like a slightly longer-than-normal hug, and nodded, his ears pink.
“Yeah. Definitely okay. Better. How about you? What happened here? How’s it feel to be back? I was worried, man.” Peter was talking a mile a minute now, out of relief and… nerves? “I thought maybe you were just taking some time, but then you didn’t answer any of my texts and Dick said your phone was still here and there was no PONG alert, but I didn’t know what was going on.”
- Not thinking was generally fine with Tim, it was how he dealt with most emotional things. “Sorry. I didn’t have my phone there. I mean not this one anyway.” He’d left it back at Dick’s for a while..but had only intended on that being a day or so. Tim just watched him for a minute before reluctantly letting him go.
“I guess it was sort of similar to how Dick was when he left..but I got to remember everyone..and even back there. I didn’t forget. I couldn’t forget you.” He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand that wasn’t bound by a sling.
“I’m sorry I worried you. I didn’t mean to. Tried to get back at first..but there was no portal on my end to go back through. I was kind of a miserable pain in everyone’s ass about it.” He wanted to be back with Peter.
- “You don’t have to be sorry,” Peter said, shaking his head. “Really. It wasn’t your fault. Sometimes I hate the portal for doing these things to us, but… well you’re back now, right?” Peter was just glad to have his friend back. He gave Tim a soft smile, just looking at him.
“You remembered?” Peter hadn’t heard of boomeranged people remembering everything while they were gone. Then again, he hadn’t really talked to a lot of boomeranged people. Tim might have been the first. “...couldn’t forget… me?” Peter asked. His heart was thundering now.
- “I know I haven’t been the most…stable ever. Heh, I was dealing with a lot. I worried people.” Babs had worried, so had Dick so had everyone apparently. Tim hadn’t intended to do that, he was just trying to cope with everything that had fallen into his lap and it was a lot. He had to rebuild his life twice, and that alone was hard. There were some awful times ahead of his younger self, but things were starting to get back to a little bit of whatever they considered normal.
“I did. How could I?”...He wanted to reach up and touch him but he hadn’t even told him yet. “..There’s something I never told you before, hell the only one who knew was Dick. I’m pretty sure I was the only one who didn’t know but..I like men, I mean…I’m more interested in men than women. I’m bi I think but..maybe leaning more gay.” He had never really said the words out loud so it was hard to do the first time over.
- “You did,” Peter admitted. “You worried me, too.” He’d sat up on the rooftop with Tim enough times that he knew there was a darkness in his friend. And it scared him a little. It also made him feel protective and… attached. It was endearing somehow.
“Oh,” Peter said. Things were pretty liberal in New York. He hadn’t known that’s the way Tim swung, but it didn’t bother him at all. Actually, for some weird reason, it made his own heart start to beat a little faster. “I didn’t know.”
- Tim had seen a lot of dark things in his short lifetime. Things he still to the day was made to go to therapy for, at least therapy in this world would be a bit easier. Sam understood hero things. Gotham was not a place where people could freely be themselves without often dismal consequences. “I didn’t either. “ He responded with a tiny smile as he pulled Peter down to have him sit beside him on that bench where he’d initially been waiting.
“Thing is..not just any guys typically.” First it’d been Conner specific, and then having been away so long he realized it wasn’t Conner. “You.” This was more complicated because he knew Peter had someone else, so he didn’t expect an answer right away. “I know you’re with someone though…and it probably isn’t fair of me to say anything all..but…I’m tired of not telling people things. You don’t have to respond right away or..even reciprocate.. It’s fine. Either way.” Whatever his response would be, Tim could probably handle it.
- Peter was more than willing to be pulled onto the bench with Tim. He was concerned, but relieved. He wanted to hear everything--what life had been like for his friend over the last… however long. Years? It was years, right?
“Me?” Peter’s heart was thundering in his throat, and he suddenly found it difficult to swallow. “Wait, are you… you’ve got feelings for me?” He asked, trying to wrap his mind around it. It was surprising. Peter wasn’t the kind of guy who had a lot of people attracted to him. It always came as a shock when someone wanted to hang out with him.
And then there was Sabrina. Peter had weird feelings where Tim was concerned, but he also had Sabrina. And he loved her. This was all so confusing.
“I… I don’t want to hurt you, Tim. I care about you a lot, and I… I would totally… I mean, I like you. A lot. But… Sabrina. I love her.”
-
Tim was weirdly good at not letting emotion show on his face these days. “..Yeah, it’s fine. I mean..I figured.” This was his life, he either lost people or the way. “Look uh. Don’t worry about it.” He ran a hand through his hair awkwardly with his undamaged hand and shrugged. “It’s fine.” If he said it enough he’d believe it.
He stood. Not really sure what else to do. “I shouldn’t have said anything.” He was able to disconnect emotionally these days so thank god for that. Or he might have just gone to hide under a rock somewhere probably forever.
- Crap shit fuck. Peter felt terrible. The truth was, he had feelings for Tim. Strong ones. Ones that were confusing, but good--the good kind of feelings. And now that Tim had explained what was going on within him, Peter realized what those feelings were. A fondness. Affection. Attraction. It was weird, but good. Peter had never been attracted to another guy before, but with Tim it felt… comfortable.
“Hey, no.” Peter reached for Tim’s arm. “I’m really glad you told me. I just… I’m sorry. I don’t want to lose you. Your friendship. It means so much to me.” Seriously. So much.
- “You won’t. I’m just..dumb. Sometimes.” He shrugged as he did let Peter reach for the arm that wasn’t in the sling. “I knew you were taken, I just..it’s fine. Saying it out loud is a first for me too.” He didn’t leave, he was just incredibly awkward. “I think I did back then too..when I left I tried to get back but couldn’t obviously.” No super powers, no ability to make a portal like the one that was in this world. Tim had been stuck.
-
“I’m really, really glad you told me,” Peter repeated, bringing a hand over to rest against Tim’s bicep. It was very well defined. Ridiculously so. He went a little pink, finding he liked touching Tim’s arm more than he probably should. He left his hand there.
“I missed you. It wasn’t like you were gone that long, but I missed you all the same.” Peter knew he shouldn’t… he didn’t want to lead Tim on, but he couldn’t help himself. He liked him. And maybe it was time to talk to Sabrina about all of this. - Tim had obviously gone through some physical and mental changes, but the most obvious was the new found muscle. Hell, he’d taken out an entire prestigious assassin group and came out with very little injury save for a busted arm. Which was the other one in the sling. “Are you? You don’t hate me for it?” He looked over at him, Peter still hadn’t let him go. Tim wasn’t exactly fighting him on it.
“I missed you too.” He’d spent so much time pining over Conner, he wasn’t sure what being lead on felt like so Peter was in the clear there. All he knew was he liked the feeling of Peter touching him like that after so long of wanting to go back through that portal and do exactly that. “To me it was years, but I never forgot you.” In fact Peter had left his mark on their world as well. In their computers. It was a password likely no one would guess. -
Yeah, Peter’s hand was still there, resting against Tim’s arm. “What? No, of course not.” He said, shaking his head. “Why would I hate you for it?” He was incredibly fond of Tim. To the point where it was actually a little confusing for him. He couldn’t put words to it, but it was there.
“What?” Peter asked, surprised. “You… you didn’t? I thought… I thought when people left, they didn’t remember this place.” Not that he minded being remembered. Peter liked to think if he left, he’d remember the people here. - Now what?..Peter was touching him. But Peter was taken. Tim was a little confused. More than a little really. Entirely fucking confused. Still though it was better than nothing. He wanted to feel something for once and Peter’s touch was providing that tingle of life he’d been missing for a while. “People seem to have that reaction when you tell them things like this.” He admitted, obviously having experienced it before. The last thing he wanted was for Peter to.
Turning reluctantly toward him again and looking down at him now he could only give him a small smile. “I could never forget you.” Dark eyes seemed to stare right into him, making Peter the only focus of his world. “Apparently it’s case by case.” His hand reached for the one that had briefly held his arm only to take it into his own. Taking a chance there. -
“I’m definitely not going to react that way. You’re my friend, I wouldn’t… I couldn’t…” Peter shook his head a little. “Just because you feel something? Because I feel something.” God, he hated that it was so confusing. He was going to have to talk to Sabrina about this. At the same time, he thought he knew how she was going to react.
“Well, I like it.” Peter slipped his hand into Tim’s. What was he doing? What were they doing?? He didn’t know. But they should… put the brakes on. Right? Shouldn’t they? Peter was confused, but he knew that Tim was… comfortable. Made him feel good in a way that not many other people did. “If I was ever to leave, I’d want to remember you, too.” - “You do?” He raised an eyebrow. He was pretty sure Peter had been straight, but all the same he had no idea what the hell was happening with anyone anymore. So he was going to live in this strange and messy situation for a while and just not question it. “I mean you don’t owe me anything.” He told him as he looked down at their hands. As much as it would suck for peter to pull away, he would also not want him to think he was obligated to return any feelings.
“Me too.” If Peter ever left, he would also hope that. But he really didn’t want to think about him leaving and he gripped his hand a little more than he should. Not enough to hurt, just enough to let him know he wasn’t allowed to leave. -
“Yeah, I do.” Peter knew that now. At least, he’d figured it out. There was a lot of confusion and a lot of… fear? But now he understood. He had feelings, and he could point to them and admit them. He didn’t know what they meant, but he knew they were there. That was the first step, right? “I’m not saying it because I feel like I owe you anything,” he insisted. “I’m saying it because it’s true.”
Peter squeezed Tim’s hand once. He knew he should get back to the Mortuary, back to Sabrina. He wanted to talk to her about all of this. He didn’t know what to say or how to say it, but that wouldn’t stop him from trying.
“I… I really should go,” Peter said, apologetically. “But can we hang out soon? We can go do something fun, just the two of us.”
- Just because he’d admitted something to Peter it wasn’t like he expected it back, so the fact that he kind of did was promising but also confusing. What about Sabrina and his mostly straight feelings? He gave a faint smile at that squeeze and nodded.
“Yeah. I’ll..be around. You know how to find me.” Tim wasn’t the most social creature, but he had typical spots he liked to go. Plus he had a phone. He wanted to tell him there wasn’t any real pressure, but hopefully Peter just knew that. Tim wasn’t about to force himself on the other boy he just had to say something. If being away taught him anything it was to speak up or hold more regrets, and Tim already had enough of those. With that, he reluctantly let go of Peter’s hand.