In the neighborhood...

[notafraidofyou]

Okay, well, maybe Tim hadn't exactly been in the neighborhood.  It's possible that he took two trains and four buses to get into the neighborhood.  And maybe skipped some school.

Okay, he skipped the whole day.

But he's here!  He shifts the weight of his backpack on his shoulders and knocks at the door to Dick's apartment.

Comments

[notafraidofyou]

Tim throws himself onto the couch next to him and swings around, kicking up his feet to rest on the armrest as he leans back against Dick. "Rode inside the cars on the trains--too long a ride to hang out on the roof. I rode inside the last bus, too, because I thought it might look weird if I showed up in your neighborhood on top of a bus, you know. So what?"

[things_change]

Dick snorts and tousles Tim's hair. "So, most people ride inside the bus. Especially during the day."

[notafraidofyou]

Tim wrinkles his nose, tipping his head back to look up at Dick. "Yeah, but they're all boring."

[things_change]

Dick smirked, shaking his head. "They're also all unnoticeable, which is kind of the point. A kid sitting on the roof of a moving bus during the day is going to attract some attention, short stuff."

[notafraidofyou]

Tim rolls his eyes. "Like anyone cares! Anyone who saw me probably thought I was just trying to skip out on the fare, or something." Which... is not entirely untrue. As much as he likes the rush of riding on top of buses and trains, he also wants to hang onto his allowance. Spending it on bus and train rides feels stupid.

[things_change]

Dick grins down at him. "Which is of course totally not true."

[notafraidofyou]

"No way! I do it for fun." He grins back. "Come on. If you had to take public transportation instead of that sweet bike, you'd do the same thing."

[things_change]

Dick leans back and crosses his arms behind his head, grinning. "Fortunately for me, I have a license and said sweet bike, so it's not an issue, is it?"

[notafraidofyou]

"Not until you critique my method of transit," Tim says, elbowing him in the side.

[things_change]

"Critique your method of transit?" Dick repeats, batting Tim's elbow away and poking him in the ribs in retaliation. "How much time are you spending with Alfred these days, anyway?"

[notafraidofyou]

Tim rolls his eyes. "I do actually know some big words, birdbrain," he says, squirming away from Dick's poking fingers. "Plus, he's been looking over my homework and editing my papers. He's tough."