Chapter Text
The first time it really started to sink in that young justice was over was when Tim got an alert that his name had been mentioned on a news network. It had been six days since they’d decided on this plan as an option, three since they settled on it as their most likely bug out plan, and twenty hours since the three remaining members of young justice were publicly unmasked. The news report in question was Bruce’s statement about the situation.
And he knew it had been planned, but seeing Brucie’s sincere expression as he begged Tim to turn himself in was… well it was rough. Felt far too close to when B had been lost in time and Tim had to work alone to get him back since anyone who could have helped him through him in need of a padded cell.
He wasn't alone this time, though, the sound of a car door closing outside proved that well enough. Kon came in, a swaying stack of pizzas in his arms as he kicked the door closed behind him.
Tim sent Bart a quick text before tucking away his phone, putting his mentor’s disappointed face out of his mind as he went to open the package of paper plates tossed haphazardly on the dusty counter. They were seriously gonna need to clean to get this place in any semblance of livable, since it had been empty for two years since Ma and Pa Kent had retired to the city.
Speaking of, Bart entered the room with a good amount of wind and a panting Krypto, though he patiently, for a speedster, waited until Kon had set down the pizzas before tearing into a box. Tim and Kon shared an amused look as they got their own slices from their respective pizzas and sat down on the couch covered in a big old sheet as they awaited Bart to finish enough to be able to talk.
“Okay!” the speedster said, flopping onto the couch across their legs, his head on the arm of the couch, “the perimeter fence needs some repairs, saw like three spots where it was totally down and one where a tree fell on it. The house has a broken window on the second floor but doesn't seem super damaged otherwise. The chicken coop needs to be rebuilt– another tree, the barn has a bunch of bees in the top part and I think there's a cat living in there somewhere, but I didn't see it. The pond is so pretty actually but the tire swing is just a rope now so we might need to pull a tire out of there at some point”
Tim had gotten through half a slice in the time it took Bart to eat and finish his report and distractedly ran his fingers through Bart’s windswept hair, using Bart's belly as a table for his pizza plate, “so the broken window is our first priority, and probably cleaning this place out. I don't know about you but I haven't stopped itching since we came in,” his nose was just about raw from as much as he had been rubbing it, it felt like the last dredges of contact with bat-strength itching powder.
“Cleaning this place isn't gonna be too bad” Kon said, muffled by his mouth full of pizza, “Ma and Pa Kent covered all the furniture and turned off the power and water when they left so we shouldn't have to worry about too much damage inside.”
Tim hummed in thought, “I checked the place for bugs and it's clean– well. There's no electronic bugs at least,'' he said, face screwed up a little as he remembered the frankly terrifying spider… thing hanging out under the stairs. He wasn't entirely sure how something got to that size outside of the toxic waters of gotham.
Bart slowly grinned, a sparkle in his eye, “least they're not mind controlled cyborg praying mantises,” he said, making Kon and Tim groan. They could never tell if he was making up the bugs he claimed were everywhere in the future, and he always had a plausible answer when questioned about it.
“Anyways” Kon said loudly, cutting off any potential continuation of that line of conversation, “we’re gonna need to turn on the power and water tomorrow, gonna have to go into town. Thank fuck Ma sent me the deed before we had to leave. We should probably get some food from the grocery store then too, and some stuff for Krypto,” The dog in question perked up at his name, picking his blocky head up from his paws and tentatively wagging his tail until Kon clicked his settle cue and he set his head back down, letting out a little doggy sigh.
Tim rolled his eyes at the obvious change in topic, tugging his phone back out and ignoring Bart’s whine as he stopped playing with his hair, “well it's solidly night now, so we should probably just throw a tarp over the window and focus on cleaning until we can get into town for--”
“Oooor,” Bart said, cutting off Tim, “we could go to bed and get the sweet sweet Zs we haven't gotten in the last week” he contorted a bit, jostling Tim's pizza plate as he tried to look up at Tim with puppy dog eyes. Tim, having learned the hard way that meeting those eyes would land him in trouble, promptly focused on the fascinating fireplace ahead of them, really admiring the mantle piece.
“That's a good idea,” Kon, the traitor, said, reaching over to ruffle Tim’s hair, much to his displeasure, “you've been having palpitations since yesterday noon and they came back like twenty minutes after you woke up from your nap earlier.”
Tim scowled and ducked his head away from Kon’s offending hand only to realize that action had brought his gaze to meet Bart’s. Fuck, he was pulling the lip wobble now. It was with a heavy heart (one that was absolutely not palpitating no matter what Kon said), that Tim realized he was going to be going to bed within the next hour. Assholes.