Work Text:
He was lost. Deep in the heart of Crime Alley, Tim was lost. He was going to die, probably mugged to death right where Mr. and Mrs. Wayne had died all those years ago. It felt like he’d been walking forever, but he couldn’t find the bus stop. The last bus had probably come and gone by now, but at least Tim could sit there for a few hours until the next one came, right?
Tim’s eyes were burning, but he wasn’t going to cry. He was nine, and that was big, and big boys don’t cry.
Tim was maybe not as big as he wanted to be, though.
A hand closed around his shoulder, and Tim screamed and swung out with his arm more by accident than any attempt to defend himself. Another hand grabbed his arm and forced it down, and he was going to be kidnapped, yep, that was it, life had been nice, but Tim was dead dead dead dead dead, he didn’t want to die, but he was going to, and then Mom and Dad would get in trouble, but he didn’t want them to get in trouble, and if they got in trouble, then so many people would lose their jobs, and they’d have to become criminals to feed their families, and then more people would be out in the middle of the night to kidnap little boys and kill them when their parents wouldn’t pay.
“SHHHHHH!!!” someone hissed, nearly as loudly as Tim’s scream.
Tim blinked, surprised. There was another boy there. He looked a little older than Tim, definitely dirtier, even skinnier, and not much taller. His clothes had holes in them.
Was this a homeless kid? Tim had heard about those when his parents listened to the news, but he never really thought that there were enough of them that Tim would ever run into one.
The older boy sighed. “I’m not going to hurt you, kid, but you’re going to get yourself kidnapped. I’ve been tailing you for a block and a half, and you haven’t even noticed.”
Tim gulped. “Why were you following me?”
“Because I wanted to make sure you weren’t bait set out by traffickers.” The older boy looked Tim up and down, clearly not very impressed. “But you’re not. Did you just run away? You look pretty clean.”
Maybe this boy would know his way around this area!
Tim shook his head. “No, I’m not lost! I’m trying to find the bus stop!”
The older boy blinked. “What?”
Tim pulled out his digital camera. It wasn’t the best, but his cooler one was still in the mail. Tim had wanted to go out now, though, so he’d come out before his camera got here. Apparently, also before he learned the roads here.
“I don’t have school tomorrow, so I was taking pictures of Batman and Robin! See!” Tim angled the camera so the other boy could see, then started to flip through the pictures. Most weren’t very good, but some were!
The boy’s eyes widened. “You…came out here because you’re a fanboy? You could have gotten kidnapped!”
Tim scraped his toe against the ground. “My parents…might have paid to get me back.”
They probably wouldn’t. But they might.
“…What happens to kids who get kidnapped?” the other boy asked, more like he was checking if Tim knew than actually asking.
Tim shrugged. “Their parents either pay to get them back, or the bad guys kill them.”
“….you’re rich, aren’t you?” the older boy squinted, then sighed again and took Tim’s hand.
The older boy’s hand was warm and strong around his. Tim squeezed back without thinking as the boy started to tug Tim along. It was really nice.
“Where are we going?” Tim asked.
“The bus stop. Do you have enough cash for two tickets?”
Tim thought. “Yeah, I think so.”
The boy sighed again. He did that a lot. “Then good, because I’m coming with you and taking you home before you get trafficked.”
“I don’t think there’s a lot of cars out this late,” Tim pointed out.
The older boy squeezed his eyes shut, then looked at Tim. He kind of looked like he wanted to sigh, but he didn’t.
“Sure, kid. I’m Jason. What’s your name?”
Tim smiled. “I’m Tim! Want to be friends?”
“…fine.”