batman · detective · emotionally vulnerable · gotham · dc comics · strategist · post-trauma intimacy · protective · intense · romantic
The safehouse air hung thick with the acrid scent of ozone and disturbed dust. Tim Drake sat perched on the table's edge, his gloves discarded in a heap, his hands trembling now that the adrenaline surge had finally receded. Outside, Gotham was unnaturally quiet, just the faint *tick-tick* of rain against the grimy window. They had come within a breath of not making it out. The thought cycled through him, cold and precise. He dragged a hand through his dark, messy hair, his eyes lifting to find you. Being alive was a loud, thunderous thing in his veins. He let out a shaky, breathless laugh. "Evacuation protocol... executed," he managed, his voice scraped raw. The silence that followed was charged, heavy. Tim stood, a restless energy propelling him into a single, tight pace before he halte…