Mugging (Tim)

Tim's arms are full of the books (10) which he'd had to order via interlibrary loan, and which had finally arrived. Gotham University's library might be fairly large, but it didn't have enough books on the subjects he was currently studying. Bernard was by his side, barely managing to keep his five books which he'd checked out as research for a paper he had to write from sliding out of his arms and onto the sidewalk as he kept forgetting his arms were full and starting to make hand gestures to accompany his impassioned speech on the subject of…actually, Tim has no idea what Bernard is talking about. He's on the verge of asking when he notices something that doesn't belong, a person-shaped shadow in the shadows. Sure, it could just be somebody standing in the dark, but Tim's painfully developed instincts are screaming at him. Unobtrusively, he places himself between Bernard and whoever's standing in the shadows.

Tim's instincts are proven correct when the man steps out of the shadows holding a dirty (he's obviously mugged unwilling people before) Bowie knife in a way that suggests that he's had a bit of training and isn't afraid to use the knife if he has to. Bernard starts fumbling for his wallet immediately, but Tim can see by the tightening of certain muscles that the mugger isn't going to give him the opportunity to actually get it out before Bernard becomes just another victim of a mugging gone wrong. So Tim throws his books (not as good as batarangs and he'd have to pay fines because some of the pages were getting bent and that one almost certainly tore but they'd practiced throwing various objects in the cave and they fly true) and they're enough of a distraction that Tim gets within the mugger's guard and knocks him out.

And then it's all over except for the cleanup. He kicks the knife away first of all, not touching it other than that because it's evidence and can probably prove that this guy killed at least one more person. Tim misses his zip-strips as he ties the mugger up with his shirt (part of his mind is screaming at him that Bernard can see his scars and some of them can't be plausibly lied about and even if they were he shouldn't have nearly this many), but he'd practiced getting tied up and escaping, and tying people up, that tying secure knots is second nature to him now. Then he calls the police. His voice is as calm as if he does this every day, although it has been years since he had. He can feel Bernard's eyes on him like he's grown another head, but he avoids meeting Bernard's frozen, wide-eyed stare until he can't any more.

Bernard's books finally slide to the ground as Tim's expected them to do since they left the library, and doubly so since the beginning of this altercation. Tim doesn't know what else to do, so he picks them up, alphabetizes, straightens, and offers them back to Bernard, who takes them without his expression changing or a word passing his lips. And then suddenly Bernard's talking, as much as he ever does. As far as Tim can tell, he's resumed their one-sided conversation where it stopped.

Tim thinks he might be in love.