Hell of an I.O.U. Tim finds himself both surprised and not. The result is a characteristic aborted sort of laugh, a hot huff of air that's forced and needed to restart his lungs. There's an electric buzz in the air; his skin itching with history, Tim shifts the box in his hands and looks ahead. He's got no illusions of finding Gotham on the faraway skies.
"Who is Bruce Wayne. That is a, uh. There isn't a way for me to convey just how weird that question is," the boy admits, sounding unbearably young but not to his own ears. Maybe Neal, who made a life of hunting big pockets, can understand some of that not-there reverence.
Bruce Wayne can be, for all intents and purposes, a Savior.
Tim's running his mouth the next second.
"He's kind of a big deal. Other than being my adoptive father, he--"
But he isn't. Anymore.
Times changed. Tim changed. He bites his tongue. Really does bite his tongue, a flinch crossing Tim's expression before he shakes it off and sucks in a breath again. Carefully, with a wary sideways glance to Neal, he continues. "I mean, I already told Malcolm. I had emancipated as a minor before coming here. So technically, it's not like I'm his problem anymore."
It never hurts any less to, y'know, say out loud. With the new tidal wave of self-awareness comes crashing the desperate word vomit Tim had assaulted Neal with not an hour before. He sags his shoulders, bordering on defeated.
(Holy mood swing, Batman.)
If he could, Tim would be holding up a hand to sign Stop. "I know I said some weird things but I'm clarifying now that it was all said out of context and that Bruce took me in when my dad couldn't, and then adopted me when my father died. He's done a lot for me and I'm not always fair. to him."
The phrase kind of a big deal makes Neal bite the very corner of his lip, on the side of his mouth that Tim can't see, so he won't smile. He does get it, though. Or at least he can extrapolate. Tim was rich, very rich, and very rich people tend to be--for one reason or another--kind of a big deal. That Bruce Wayne was at the top of that kind of rich-infamy pyramid isn't hard to glean.
Neal glances sideways at him, heart aching a little. "I don't think I've ever told you about my dad. Either of my dads, though the latter was less official and more honorary."
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But he stops himself. God, he’s so much more patient than he used to be.
“I’ve been meaning to ask—who’s Bruce? You’ve mentioned the name a few times now.”
And it’s not one he heard Tim bring up before his disappearance, at least not aloud.
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"Who is Bruce Wayne. That is a, uh. There isn't a way for me to convey just how weird that question is," the boy admits, sounding unbearably young but not to his own ears. Maybe Neal, who made a life of hunting big pockets, can understand some of that not-there reverence.
Bruce Wayne can be, for all intents and purposes, a Savior.
Tim's running his mouth the next second.
"He's kind of a big deal. Other than being my adoptive father, he--"
But he isn't. Anymore.
Times changed. Tim changed. He bites his tongue. Really does bite his tongue, a flinch crossing Tim's expression before he shakes it off and sucks in a breath again. Carefully, with a wary sideways glance to Neal, he continues. "I mean, I already told Malcolm. I had emancipated as a minor before coming here. So technically, it's not like I'm his problem anymore."
It never hurts any less to, y'know, say out loud. With the new tidal wave of self-awareness comes crashing the desperate word vomit Tim had assaulted Neal with not an hour before. He sags his shoulders, bordering on defeated.
(Holy mood swing, Batman.)
If he could, Tim would be holding up a hand to sign Stop. "I know I said some weird things but I'm clarifying now that it was all said out of context and that Bruce took me in when my dad couldn't, and then adopted me when my father died. He's done a lot for me and I'm not always fair. to him."
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Neal glances sideways at him, heart aching a little. "I don't think I've ever told you about my dad. Either of my dads, though the latter was less official and more honorary."