Roy would have gone off and gotten high. Only, Tim didn't get high. Drugs didn't interest Tim outside of what they meant for organized and disorganized crime in the world. There was no allure for him.
When Tim Drake was upset, he worked.
He didn't just work, either. He overworked.
He overworked and under ate and pushed himself much harder than he strictly should and in their line of work that was just as dangerous as a pissed off dealer or a dirty needle in the arm.
It scared the hell out of Roy. Tim would go off and do god knew what to god knew who and Roy could only sit at home and wait for him to come back and worry that he wouldn't.
Not just because Tim couldn't come back, either, but because he didn't want to anymore.
It was hard, so hard, to keep a relationship going. It was hard at the best of times under the best of circumstances with the best of people. It was between two people of the same age with no kids or capes or crazy parents involved. He and Tim didn't have any of those things going for them.
Roy had to admit that the odds were stacked against them.
Roy knew how easy it was to stop trying to be with people. He knew how much it hurt to be with someone who let you down or hurt you time and time again and he knew how simple it was to just pretend that person wasn't a part of your life anymore because it was too hard to try to keep them in it. It scared Roy because he knew that once Tim closed that door it wasn't very likely that he would ever open it again and Roy would lose him for good.
Tim wasn't the type to let himself get burned twice. He had learned that lesson the hard way.
He had to let Tim go on those nights because he knew that if he kept Tim there, if he shouted and begged and prodded until Tim communicated with him that Tim would certainly leave, and for good. If he pushed too hard it might break the tenuous thing the had together and that small tenuous thing was one of the best things in Roy's life right now and he couldn't risk losing it.
But last night Roy couldn't help himself.
The more often Tim did this, the more often he left, the more and more sure Roy became that one day Tim would just walk out that door and never come back.
Roy's throat tightened at the thought and he felt his arm reflexively come around Tim, pulling him close. Tim made a soft humming noise in the back of his throat and snuggled in closer, pressing his face to the side of Roy's neck. He sighed softly in his sleep and the air gusted along Roy's throat in a comforting way.
Roy felt Tim coming awake in his arms and he stilled. He shut his eyes and tried to relax his muscles and even out his breathing as he feigned sleep. He lay there waiting for Tim to come fully awake and remember what had happened between the two of them the night before.
It didn't take long.
A few seconds after Tim blinked open his eyes, his lashes brushing lightly against Roy's jaw, he went rigid in Roy's arms. Roy felt Tim's head tilt back as he looked up at Roy's ostensibly sleeping face. Then Tim sighed, long and deep before slipping out of bed and pulling on his clothes.
He didn't say a word or even try to wake Roy. He just dressed and grabbed his things from the night stand. Tim walked out of their bedroom and down the hall. Roy heard the front door shut, dimly from the other side of the house. Roy just lay there in his empty bed and let Tim leave.
Re: Comment Fic: Morning After; Roy/Tim; PG-13; Part 2/2
Roy would have gone off and gotten high. Only, Tim didn't get high. Drugs didn't interest Tim outside of what they meant for organized and disorganized crime in the world. There was no allure for him.
When Tim Drake was upset, he worked.
He didn't just work, either. He overworked.
He overworked and under ate and pushed himself much harder than he strictly should and in their line of work that was just as dangerous as a pissed off dealer or a dirty needle in the arm.
It scared the hell out of Roy. Tim would go off and do god knew what to god knew who and Roy could only sit at home and wait for him to come back and worry that he wouldn't.
Not just because Tim couldn't come back, either, but because he didn't want to anymore.
It was hard, so hard, to keep a relationship going. It was hard at the best of times under the best of circumstances with the best of people. It was between two people of the same age with no kids or capes or crazy parents involved. He and Tim didn't have any of those things going for them.
Roy had to admit that the odds were stacked against them.
Roy knew how easy it was to stop trying to be with people. He knew how much it hurt to be with someone who let you down or hurt you time and time again and he knew how simple it was to just pretend that person wasn't a part of your life anymore because it was too hard to try to keep them in it. It scared Roy because he knew that once Tim closed that door it wasn't very likely that he would ever open it again and Roy would lose him for good.
Tim wasn't the type to let himself get burned twice. He had learned that lesson the hard way.
He had to let Tim go on those nights because he knew that if he kept Tim there, if he shouted and begged and prodded until Tim communicated with him that Tim would certainly leave, and for good. If he pushed too hard it might break the tenuous thing the had together and that small tenuous thing was one of the best things in Roy's life right now and he couldn't risk losing it.
But last night Roy couldn't help himself.
The more often Tim did this, the more often he left, the more and more sure Roy became that one day Tim would just walk out that door and never come back.
Roy's throat tightened at the thought and he felt his arm reflexively come around Tim, pulling him close. Tim made a soft humming noise in the back of his throat and snuggled in closer, pressing his face to the side of Roy's neck. He sighed softly in his sleep and the air gusted along Roy's throat in a comforting way.
Roy felt Tim coming awake in his arms and he stilled. He shut his eyes and tried to relax his muscles and even out his breathing as he feigned sleep. He lay there waiting for Tim to come fully awake and remember what had happened between the two of them the night before.
It didn't take long.
A few seconds after Tim blinked open his eyes, his lashes brushing lightly against Roy's jaw, he went rigid in Roy's arms. Roy felt Tim's head tilt back as he looked up at Roy's ostensibly sleeping face. Then Tim sighed, long and deep before slipping out of bed and pulling on his clothes.
He didn't say a word or even try to wake Roy. He just dressed and grabbed his things from the night stand. Tim walked out of their bedroom and down the hall. Roy heard the front door shut, dimly from the other side of the house. Roy just lay there in his empty bed and let Tim leave.
What else could he do?