DCU FIC: Irresistible (4/?), with glymr
And it's not even pornday.
Title: Irresistible
Fandom: DCU
Characters: Tim, Dick, Bart, Cassie, Kon
Pairings: Tim/Dick, Tim/Bart, Tim/Kon/Cassie
Rated: Smut
Authors: glymr and iesika
Summary: Tim never realized how much losing his virginity would change things.
[Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3]
When Tim wakes up, his cheek is pillowed against Cassie's breast in a puddle of warm sunlight. It feels so nice that he decides not to move, even though his arm is asleep.
The second time he wakes up, someone is petting his ass. That's nice, too, so he snuggles down against his breast pillow.
"-kinda can't believe this actually happened," Kon is murmuring. His hand strokes up from Tim's ass, along his spine, and back again. "I never would have thought either of you would go for this. Never thought he could be like that, so open and...just...god."
"Are you complaining?" Cassie's voice is rough and low from sex and sleep, and it's that as much as Kon's fingertips on his thigh that makes him groan and start to wake up properly.
Kon's hand disappears as soon as he opens his eyes. "Mm," Tim grumbles as he kisses Cassie's right nipple good morning. "I want waffles."
"Unf," Cassie grunts. "Gods, yes. I'm starving." She yawns and stretches, squeaking slightly in the back of her throat. The motion makes her breasts shift enticingly and Tim forgets about waffles to shove his face between them.
Cassie laughs, making her sternum flutter under his lips. Her fingernails scratch lightly over his scalp, and then she pushes at him. "Food first, and I need a shower." She stretches again and Tim raises his head to watch her. "And a back rub or something." She smiles up at him. "Bring me breakfast in bed and I'll let you pour syrup anywhere you want."
Tim sits up and starts looking for his pants.
“Is this... going to be a thing?" Kon asks, sounding strangely tentative. He sits up, too, and the sheet falls away to puddle on his thighs. "Like, all three of us?"
Tim tears his eyes back up to Kon's face. "God, I hope so." He licks his lips. "Can I blow you again while the waffles are cooking?"
Kon's eyes widen, but he gets up. Once he's reasonably dressed, he bends to kiss Cassie. She's fallen back to sleep, though, so he ends up just brushing his lips over her cheek.
The tenderness of the scene makes Tim's stomach tighten. "Or I could blow you first and then we could make waffles."
"Guh," Kon says, straightening up to stare at Tim with eyes glazed faintly pink. "I. Jesus. Don't think I'm saying no, here, but we need to talk before we do anything else."
Trying not to roll his eyes, Tim turns and heads for the door. "About what? This doesn't have to be awkward unless we make it awkward."
"Yeah, but is this like... you moving into our room, or us just doing this all together sometimes, or is it okay to do it with just you while Cassie's sleeping, or what?" Kon follows him out into the hall, keeping his voice hushed. "Are we going to tell people?"
"This can be whatever you want, Kon. I love you." Kon sucks in a breath, and Tim turns to smile at him. "You're my best friend. And I love Cassie, too. But I know you're happy together, and if you don't think this should happen again, I won't push-"
"I didn't say that," Kon mumbles. He steps closer and reaches out slowly, fingertips brushing Tim's cheek. His hand is warm, hot even, and Tim turns to push his face into the touch like a cat as he narrows the gap between their bodies. "God, now that I know what you're like- fuck, Tim, I wanna do you all the time. That's kind of the..." Kon stops mid-sentence and closes his eyes, swaying slightly in place.
"As long as Cassie's okay with it, I don't see a problem here, Kon," Tim says, smiling. He steps back, starting to walk backward toward the kitchen and hoping Kon will follow. It will just be more efficient to fuck in the kitchen while the food is cooking, so they can get back to Cassie faster and get a head start on thoroughly ruining the sheets. If he asks nicely, maybe Kon will fuck him while Cassie rides his face-
Kon takes a step toward him, and then stumbles.
Tim freezes. "Are you okay?"
"I dunno," Kon mumbles. "I feel weird. Last night got me all...off balance, I guess."
Kon really looks distressingly wobbly. Tim watches as Kon puts a hand to his head, still swaying in place. "Are you sick?"
"Can't be. I don't get, like, Earth diseases." Kon waves the idea away with the hand not pressed to his temple. "I'm just tired or something. Heh. You guys wore me out, I guess."
"Tim!" There's a rush of air, a blur of motion, and Tim is being pressed against the wall with Bart's tongue in his mouth. "Mmph, I waited forever for you to wake up. Completely patient. I need a reward."
Before Tim can answer he's being kissed breathless again.
"...dude!"
Tim shivers under the onslaught of Bart's lips and tongue and wandering hands, grasping at Bart's ass for something to hold onto and trying to get a little oxygen as Bart starts to hump his thigh. "Oh," Bart says suddenly, which gives Tim the chance to suck in a breath. "Thank you for the cookies." He presses his mouth to Tim's and buzzes all over, making Tim's teeth rattle and his cock spring to full attention. After a second or two of that, Bart gasps and shudders to a stop, leaving a hot, wet spot on the hip of Tim's pajama pants.
Tim can kiss him better now, with the first rush of urgency past. He cups his hand to Bart's neck to hold him there so that Tim can suck his tongue.
And then Bart is abruptly gone.
"What. The fuck. Is going on?"
Tim opens his eyes to see Kon holding Bart several feet off the floor. He's staring at Tim, though, with his "shit-has-hit-the-fan" superhero game-face on.
"Way to be a giant cock-block," Bart grumbles, struggling against his hold, his pants around his ankles.
Later, Tim will be ashamed that this was what it took for him to realize something strange was going on.
*
This has to be the most awkward meeting that has ever taken place in Titan's Tower. More awkward than "I knocked up a supervillain." More awkward than "On Earth, we tend to cover certain parts of our bodies in public." Probably more awkward than, "Batman fired me," but Tim's not entirely sure about that one.
"It could be like Poison Ivy," Kon is saying. "Maybe we were exposed to something yesterday?"
"I don't think I was exposed." Vic is leaning against the far wall - the furthest place he could possibly be leaning, actually, without leaving the room. He's got his hand on Gar's shoulder, as if he doesn't trust him not to get close enough to be contaminated.
"Do you still have all the parts, though?" Bart asks. "Or is that one of the bionic pieces?" He looks...entirely too intrigued by the idea.
Tim reaches out and gets his hand around Bart's wrist just as Bart starts thrumming, forestalling closer investigation. It might not have been so bad if Tim could stop where his own imagination was trying to take him after that question. "If you haven't already been exposed, I think the two of you should leave the room. We can have this conversation via the video communication system."
"About that," Gar says, and coughs. He looks at Vic's hand. And then he looks at Bart.
"Oh for crying out loud!" Kon shouts, throwing up his hands. Vic jumps away from Gar at the same time, looking down at his robotic arm and flexing his fingers.
"Tim was asleep!" Bart protests.
"I'm going to go disinfect," Vic mutters.
"And I was really curious!"
Gar is rubbing the back of his neck. He's flushing darkly, and it looks...really nice on his green skin. "He was definitely 'really curious.'"
Tim has to shake himself, then, for more than the flush disappearing down Gar's throat. 'Curious' could imply...so many things here.
"I can't believe you had sex with Bart," Kon mutters from his chair in the corner. "Either of you! That's just-"
Tim loses his grip on Bart's wrist as he zips over to stand in front of Kon, hands on his hips. "Finish that sentence."
Kon blinks and swallows and seems unable to say anything, his eyes fixed on Bart as he stands over him.
"For the record," Gar says as Vic slips out of the room, "...he can vibrate. All over."
Kon continues to look a bit like he's staring at an oncoming train. "Um."
"Blame and recriminations later," Tim interrupts, because he's pretty sure if he doesn't get things under control this is going to end in some kind of orgy. "So does everyone agree that the symptoms started after the battle yesterday?"
There's a chorus of agreement from the guys. Cassie shakes her head, though. "It started Friday, when we got here."
Tim turns to look at her. She's been much quieter than the boys, sitting near Kon with her fingertips against her lips and listening while the rest of them talked. "Do you think the tower itself is contaminated somehow?"
She shakes her head and bites her lip. Tim really, really wants to go over there and bite it for her. That would probably be counterproductive, though. "No. I think. I think it started when you got here, Tim."
The words hit him like a blow. He's not sure it's intended as an accusation, but that's how it feels. Everyone has turned to stare at him.
"Did you do anything weird this week?" Gar asks. "Out of the ordinary weird, I mean. Fight any magic villains, or I don't know, Superboy could have been right about Poison Ivy."
"No," Kon says, "This isn't like Ivy. It's more like... I don't know, Knockout. Or-"
"Nightwing," Tim says, feeling something tighten in his chest. "I had sex with Nightwing. Monday, after patrol."
It's quiet for what feels like a full minute, and then Bart clears his throat. "So, is that a normal thing for you, or..."
"No," Tim interrupts. "No, it. That was the first time I ever...did that. With anyone." He thinks back to his perfect whirlwind week, all the wonderful sex, all the time he's gotten to spend with Dick, who's usually so very busy. "That's when I... I mean, I thought it was...normal. To want it so much. After that."
"Tim..." Cassie says, sounding tentative. "Were the two of you exposed to something that would, ah, cause you to act irrationally, or..."
"I don't know," Tim says, and he hates how his voice sounds. Was everything that happened between them, everything Dick said over the last week, a symptom of some kind of poisoning or curse? Is the only reason Dick ever touched him because he was drugged?
"I don't blame you, man. I'd do Nightwing," Bart says. From his tone of voice, Tim can tell that he's trying to be helpful. "He's fucking hot."
Gar...coughs again. "Flexible, too."
Tim sits down and puts his head in his hands.
*
“H’lo?”
“Dick, it’s. It’s Tim.”
“Hey. Having fun?” The words are innocuous enough, but the warm, intimate note that creeps into his voice makes them something else. Something private.
Tim swallows. “Dick, we need to...I need to talk to you.”
“What’s wrong?”
God, Tim doesn’t even know what to say. “I-” He swallows again, takes another breath. “When you...when we...”
Dick waits patiently for him to go on before finally saying, his tone gentle, “When we what?”
Tim squeezes his eyes shut, glad he told the others that he wanted to talk to Nightwing alone. “When we had sex last week - when you kissed me after patrol that night - did you, were you feeling...weird? Had you been, um. Exposed to something, maybe?”
“Exposed?” Dick’s tone is confused. Tim can hear him frowning. “Exposed to what?”
“Um. Ivy? Or...or someone like that?”
There’s a long pause. “Not as far as I know,” Dick says eventually. “Why do you ask?”
“Because I-” I just had sex with most of the Tower. “Why did you kiss me?” he blurts out.
“I...I just wanted to.” Dick sounds almost lost. “You looked amazing, and it felt right...Tim, what’s wrong?” There's a pause, and when Dick speaks again, his voice is very quiet. "You wanted it, too, didn't you? I didn't... I never wanted to push you into anything you-"
“No," Tim says quickly, "That's not it. I-” How can he even tell Dick? “I had sex with Bart and Kon and Cassie. Yesterday.”
There’s another long pause. “...So?”
“Don’t you think that’s just a bit...” Tim doesn’t even know how to finish that sentence.
“Are you feeling guilty? I *told* you, I wanted you to go have fun with your friends-”
“Dick-”
“It’s okay, Tim! When I was at the old Tower with my Titans, I used to-”
“Dick! That’s not what I’m talking about!”
“Then...what are you talking about?”
Tim blows out a breath and opens his eyes. Maybe he should have had this conversation in person after all, but he can't risk breaking quarantine. He gazes out the Tower window, staring at the city beyond the water. “Look,” he says. “I’m not...I’m not acting like myself. It’s not just the sex-” Well, okay, it’s mostly the sex. “I’m not...noticing things I should. And it started.” Tim makes himself say it. “It started after we had sex that first night.”
"I knocked you off your game?" Dick's tone is obviously joking, but under it, Tim thinks he sounds worried. “It's only been a week, though. Maybe you're just tired? Or maybe you're coming down with something? I don’t know what to tell you, Tim. I feel normal. I feel fine.”
“Have you been...” Tim hesitates. He's not sure if he's got the right to ask.
“What?”
“Have you been having sex with anyone else?”
“Just Kory. Oh, and Roy, we just-”
”Dick!”Tim interrupts. If Dick gets going about threesomes and redheads, Tim will get distracted by phone sex and never figure out what the hell is wrong with him.
“Are you jealous?” Dick’s tone is mildly surprised.
“No!”
Well, maybe a little. Despite the fact that it makes him the most awful hypocrite on the planet. “I just. When we. When we...” Tim sinks down, leaning back against his bed. “I-”
"Tim...seriously, are you okay? You can tell me anything."
Can he, really? What if he fixes whatever happened to him and Dick doesn't want him anymore? But it would be wrong to keep putting others at risk because of something so selfish...
"Something's wrong," Tim blurts. "I'm turned on all the time, now, and I thought it was just because I've been around you all week, but it...it isn't just you, anymore. And whatever's wrong with me, I think I passed it to Bart, and Kon, and maybe Cassie. And Gar, I guess- I mean, I didn't - Bart slept with Gar. I didn't."
"Nothing wrong with it if you did. There aren't a lot of ways to experiment with consensual bestiality-"
"Dick!"
"I'm listening, I promise. You really think you're being affected by something?"
“I. I think I must be. I’m not acting like myself. I’m acting like...” you. He stops short, then says quickly, “It’s not that I think there’s anything wrong with being...being...”
“Horny?” supplies Dick, amusement creeping into his tone again.
“Promiscuous,” Tim snaps back, then adds more quietly, “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it, Dick. But something’s wrong with me. And. And the others think so, too.”
The frown is definitely back in Dick’s voice. “Really? This isn’t just...” He trails off.
“It’s not morning-after regrets,” says Tim. "And I think it's communicable. You should isolate yourself and send me blood and semen samples. Warn Starfire and Arsenal as well."
"Jeeze. Are you sure-" Dick sounds worried. Maybe Tim's seriousness, his worry, is finally getting through.
"Wouldn't you rather take the precaution? If you can get samples from them, too, that would help. I can run ours against the blood samples on file to see if anything's changed. If there is, it gives me something to look for with the others, to see who's infected."
There's silence on the other end for a long moment, and then Dick sighs. "Yeah. Okay. I'll go tell Kory and Roy we need to lock ourselves up and masturbate for science. Keep me posted?"
"Of course," Tim says, because even if Dick isn't an epidemiologist, he's got a good scientific background, and he's not an idiot. He might have insight that could be useful. "Oh, and Dick - "
"Yeah?"
Tim swallows. "I think I am going to need a list of your sexual partners. Just. You know. In case." Not that he's looking forward to seeing all the names laid out like that, with his tacked on to the end like an afterthought.
*
Monthly well-check blood tests, tests after significant blood exposures, after knife wounds, after they get vomited on, after chemical and biological weapons exposure, after every trip to space and fight with aliens - when Alfred lands the jet on the roof and drops off the little vials and slides Bruce has been keeping in the cave's cold storage rooms, he leaves behind several stacks of insulated crates. Tim waves at him through the window before he takes off again.
Tim has Kon help him get the crates down to the lab, but he has to throw him out again when they end up dry humping each other against the workbench. Alfred sent along a consolatory tupperware of cookies with the biological specimens, so he at least has something to give Kon in exchange for the help and the fresh stain on the front of his blue jeans.
Time to start gathering data.
Tim starts with a drop of his own blood under a light microscope, because you should always start with the obvious. He's hoping for something visible - an amoeba, a bacterium, even ruptured cell fragments or deformed cells that might indicate a viral infection. Nothing shows.
There's an immune response of some kind going on, though. Kon and Gar have significantly elevated levels of interleukins 2, 3, and 12, indicating that they're responding to some kind of infection. Tim's own blood is showing just enough interleukin 12 to make him consider the connection, even though it’s still within normal levels. Bart, Cassie and Vic come up clean. Interesting. So Kon and Gar are showing an immune response - and maybe Tim was, but he fought off the pathogen? If that's the case, Bart could have completely cleared the infection by now, with his accelerated metabolism. Was Cassie never infected? Tim did have pretty close contact with her. On the other hand, she’s technically a demigod, and Tim’s not sure exactly how that affects someone’s immune response.
One of the nice things about being a superhero with virtually unlimited financial backing and access to both alien tech and some of the best computer programmers on the planet - there's basically no end to what one can do through sheer brute force computing. He'll run whole-genome sequences of the samples - all the samples, including the ones from Bruce's storage. It will take time, but he's borrowing computer power from several satellite batcaves, Barbara's back-up systems, and a bit of what the Watchtower can spare. Once he's got actual data to work with, he'll be able to run comparisons. Six billion letters of code to work through for each sample, and hundreds of samples, but he has time and processing power. He'll be able to find the pattern. He can figure this thing out. He can-
Bart's arms are wrapped around his waist. Tim straightens up from the stance he'd adopted at the amplifier and feels the grip tighten. There's an erection pressed against Tim's ass. "I thought I locked the door."
"Gar-threw-me-out," Bart says, as if that's an explanation, the words coming out as one continuous whine. "And Kon got-tired and held-me-down-and-fell-asleep and then-Cassie-tied-me-up-but-I-got-away."
Tim presses his palm against his face. This is his fault. His carelessness. His inability keep his goddamned pants on in the face of Bart's warm skin and deft fingers, which are currently working their way under his lab coat.
"Stop brooding," Bart growls against his ear. "You can brood after you fuck me, and then I'll help you with the science until Kon wakes up."
Well. Tim should be taking periodic breaks anyway, shouldn't he? To prevent eye strain.
Or something.
Title: Irresistible
Fandom: DCU
Characters: Tim, Dick, Bart, Cassie, Kon
Pairings: Tim/Dick, Tim/Bart, Tim/Kon/Cassie
Rated: Smut
Authors: glymr and iesika
Summary: Tim never realized how much losing his virginity would change things.
[Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3]
When Tim wakes up, his cheek is pillowed against Cassie's breast in a puddle of warm sunlight. It feels so nice that he decides not to move, even though his arm is asleep.
The second time he wakes up, someone is petting his ass. That's nice, too, so he snuggles down against his breast pillow.
"-kinda can't believe this actually happened," Kon is murmuring. His hand strokes up from Tim's ass, along his spine, and back again. "I never would have thought either of you would go for this. Never thought he could be like that, so open and...just...god."
"Are you complaining?" Cassie's voice is rough and low from sex and sleep, and it's that as much as Kon's fingertips on his thigh that makes him groan and start to wake up properly.
Kon's hand disappears as soon as he opens his eyes. "Mm," Tim grumbles as he kisses Cassie's right nipple good morning. "I want waffles."
"Unf," Cassie grunts. "Gods, yes. I'm starving." She yawns and stretches, squeaking slightly in the back of her throat. The motion makes her breasts shift enticingly and Tim forgets about waffles to shove his face between them.
Cassie laughs, making her sternum flutter under his lips. Her fingernails scratch lightly over his scalp, and then she pushes at him. "Food first, and I need a shower." She stretches again and Tim raises his head to watch her. "And a back rub or something." She smiles up at him. "Bring me breakfast in bed and I'll let you pour syrup anywhere you want."
Tim sits up and starts looking for his pants.
“Is this... going to be a thing?" Kon asks, sounding strangely tentative. He sits up, too, and the sheet falls away to puddle on his thighs. "Like, all three of us?"
Tim tears his eyes back up to Kon's face. "God, I hope so." He licks his lips. "Can I blow you again while the waffles are cooking?"
Kon's eyes widen, but he gets up. Once he's reasonably dressed, he bends to kiss Cassie. She's fallen back to sleep, though, so he ends up just brushing his lips over her cheek.
The tenderness of the scene makes Tim's stomach tighten. "Or I could blow you first and then we could make waffles."
"Guh," Kon says, straightening up to stare at Tim with eyes glazed faintly pink. "I. Jesus. Don't think I'm saying no, here, but we need to talk before we do anything else."
Trying not to roll his eyes, Tim turns and heads for the door. "About what? This doesn't have to be awkward unless we make it awkward."
"Yeah, but is this like... you moving into our room, or us just doing this all together sometimes, or is it okay to do it with just you while Cassie's sleeping, or what?" Kon follows him out into the hall, keeping his voice hushed. "Are we going to tell people?"
"This can be whatever you want, Kon. I love you." Kon sucks in a breath, and Tim turns to smile at him. "You're my best friend. And I love Cassie, too. But I know you're happy together, and if you don't think this should happen again, I won't push-"
"I didn't say that," Kon mumbles. He steps closer and reaches out slowly, fingertips brushing Tim's cheek. His hand is warm, hot even, and Tim turns to push his face into the touch like a cat as he narrows the gap between their bodies. "God, now that I know what you're like- fuck, Tim, I wanna do you all the time. That's kind of the..." Kon stops mid-sentence and closes his eyes, swaying slightly in place.
"As long as Cassie's okay with it, I don't see a problem here, Kon," Tim says, smiling. He steps back, starting to walk backward toward the kitchen and hoping Kon will follow. It will just be more efficient to fuck in the kitchen while the food is cooking, so they can get back to Cassie faster and get a head start on thoroughly ruining the sheets. If he asks nicely, maybe Kon will fuck him while Cassie rides his face-
Kon takes a step toward him, and then stumbles.
Tim freezes. "Are you okay?"
"I dunno," Kon mumbles. "I feel weird. Last night got me all...off balance, I guess."
Kon really looks distressingly wobbly. Tim watches as Kon puts a hand to his head, still swaying in place. "Are you sick?"
"Can't be. I don't get, like, Earth diseases." Kon waves the idea away with the hand not pressed to his temple. "I'm just tired or something. Heh. You guys wore me out, I guess."
"Tim!" There's a rush of air, a blur of motion, and Tim is being pressed against the wall with Bart's tongue in his mouth. "Mmph, I waited forever for you to wake up. Completely patient. I need a reward."
Before Tim can answer he's being kissed breathless again.
"...dude!"
Tim shivers under the onslaught of Bart's lips and tongue and wandering hands, grasping at Bart's ass for something to hold onto and trying to get a little oxygen as Bart starts to hump his thigh. "Oh," Bart says suddenly, which gives Tim the chance to suck in a breath. "Thank you for the cookies." He presses his mouth to Tim's and buzzes all over, making Tim's teeth rattle and his cock spring to full attention. After a second or two of that, Bart gasps and shudders to a stop, leaving a hot, wet spot on the hip of Tim's pajama pants.
Tim can kiss him better now, with the first rush of urgency past. He cups his hand to Bart's neck to hold him there so that Tim can suck his tongue.
And then Bart is abruptly gone.
"What. The fuck. Is going on?"
Tim opens his eyes to see Kon holding Bart several feet off the floor. He's staring at Tim, though, with his "shit-has-hit-the-fan" superhero game-face on.
"Way to be a giant cock-block," Bart grumbles, struggling against his hold, his pants around his ankles.
Later, Tim will be ashamed that this was what it took for him to realize something strange was going on.
*
This has to be the most awkward meeting that has ever taken place in Titan's Tower. More awkward than "I knocked up a supervillain." More awkward than "On Earth, we tend to cover certain parts of our bodies in public." Probably more awkward than, "Batman fired me," but Tim's not entirely sure about that one.
"It could be like Poison Ivy," Kon is saying. "Maybe we were exposed to something yesterday?"
"I don't think I was exposed." Vic is leaning against the far wall - the furthest place he could possibly be leaning, actually, without leaving the room. He's got his hand on Gar's shoulder, as if he doesn't trust him not to get close enough to be contaminated.
"Do you still have all the parts, though?" Bart asks. "Or is that one of the bionic pieces?" He looks...entirely too intrigued by the idea.
Tim reaches out and gets his hand around Bart's wrist just as Bart starts thrumming, forestalling closer investigation. It might not have been so bad if Tim could stop where his own imagination was trying to take him after that question. "If you haven't already been exposed, I think the two of you should leave the room. We can have this conversation via the video communication system."
"About that," Gar says, and coughs. He looks at Vic's hand. And then he looks at Bart.
"Oh for crying out loud!" Kon shouts, throwing up his hands. Vic jumps away from Gar at the same time, looking down at his robotic arm and flexing his fingers.
"Tim was asleep!" Bart protests.
"I'm going to go disinfect," Vic mutters.
"And I was really curious!"
Gar is rubbing the back of his neck. He's flushing darkly, and it looks...really nice on his green skin. "He was definitely 'really curious.'"
Tim has to shake himself, then, for more than the flush disappearing down Gar's throat. 'Curious' could imply...so many things here.
"I can't believe you had sex with Bart," Kon mutters from his chair in the corner. "Either of you! That's just-"
Tim loses his grip on Bart's wrist as he zips over to stand in front of Kon, hands on his hips. "Finish that sentence."
Kon blinks and swallows and seems unable to say anything, his eyes fixed on Bart as he stands over him.
"For the record," Gar says as Vic slips out of the room, "...he can vibrate. All over."
Kon continues to look a bit like he's staring at an oncoming train. "Um."
"Blame and recriminations later," Tim interrupts, because he's pretty sure if he doesn't get things under control this is going to end in some kind of orgy. "So does everyone agree that the symptoms started after the battle yesterday?"
There's a chorus of agreement from the guys. Cassie shakes her head, though. "It started Friday, when we got here."
Tim turns to look at her. She's been much quieter than the boys, sitting near Kon with her fingertips against her lips and listening while the rest of them talked. "Do you think the tower itself is contaminated somehow?"
She shakes her head and bites her lip. Tim really, really wants to go over there and bite it for her. That would probably be counterproductive, though. "No. I think. I think it started when you got here, Tim."
The words hit him like a blow. He's not sure it's intended as an accusation, but that's how it feels. Everyone has turned to stare at him.
"Did you do anything weird this week?" Gar asks. "Out of the ordinary weird, I mean. Fight any magic villains, or I don't know, Superboy could have been right about Poison Ivy."
"No," Kon says, "This isn't like Ivy. It's more like... I don't know, Knockout. Or-"
"Nightwing," Tim says, feeling something tighten in his chest. "I had sex with Nightwing. Monday, after patrol."
It's quiet for what feels like a full minute, and then Bart clears his throat. "So, is that a normal thing for you, or..."
"No," Tim interrupts. "No, it. That was the first time I ever...did that. With anyone." He thinks back to his perfect whirlwind week, all the wonderful sex, all the time he's gotten to spend with Dick, who's usually so very busy. "That's when I... I mean, I thought it was...normal. To want it so much. After that."
"Tim..." Cassie says, sounding tentative. "Were the two of you exposed to something that would, ah, cause you to act irrationally, or..."
"I don't know," Tim says, and he hates how his voice sounds. Was everything that happened between them, everything Dick said over the last week, a symptom of some kind of poisoning or curse? Is the only reason Dick ever touched him because he was drugged?
"I don't blame you, man. I'd do Nightwing," Bart says. From his tone of voice, Tim can tell that he's trying to be helpful. "He's fucking hot."
Gar...coughs again. "Flexible, too."
Tim sits down and puts his head in his hands.
*
“H’lo?”
“Dick, it’s. It’s Tim.”
“Hey. Having fun?” The words are innocuous enough, but the warm, intimate note that creeps into his voice makes them something else. Something private.
Tim swallows. “Dick, we need to...I need to talk to you.”
“What’s wrong?”
God, Tim doesn’t even know what to say. “I-” He swallows again, takes another breath. “When you...when we...”
Dick waits patiently for him to go on before finally saying, his tone gentle, “When we what?”
Tim squeezes his eyes shut, glad he told the others that he wanted to talk to Nightwing alone. “When we had sex last week - when you kissed me after patrol that night - did you, were you feeling...weird? Had you been, um. Exposed to something, maybe?”
“Exposed?” Dick’s tone is confused. Tim can hear him frowning. “Exposed to what?”
“Um. Ivy? Or...or someone like that?”
There’s a long pause. “Not as far as I know,” Dick says eventually. “Why do you ask?”
“Because I-” I just had sex with most of the Tower. “Why did you kiss me?” he blurts out.
“I...I just wanted to.” Dick sounds almost lost. “You looked amazing, and it felt right...Tim, what’s wrong?” There's a pause, and when Dick speaks again, his voice is very quiet. "You wanted it, too, didn't you? I didn't... I never wanted to push you into anything you-"
“No," Tim says quickly, "That's not it. I-” How can he even tell Dick? “I had sex with Bart and Kon and Cassie. Yesterday.”
There’s another long pause. “...So?”
“Don’t you think that’s just a bit...” Tim doesn’t even know how to finish that sentence.
“Are you feeling guilty? I *told* you, I wanted you to go have fun with your friends-”
“Dick-”
“It’s okay, Tim! When I was at the old Tower with my Titans, I used to-”
“Dick! That’s not what I’m talking about!”
“Then...what are you talking about?”
Tim blows out a breath and opens his eyes. Maybe he should have had this conversation in person after all, but he can't risk breaking quarantine. He gazes out the Tower window, staring at the city beyond the water. “Look,” he says. “I’m not...I’m not acting like myself. It’s not just the sex-” Well, okay, it’s mostly the sex. “I’m not...noticing things I should. And it started.” Tim makes himself say it. “It started after we had sex that first night.”
"I knocked you off your game?" Dick's tone is obviously joking, but under it, Tim thinks he sounds worried. “It's only been a week, though. Maybe you're just tired? Or maybe you're coming down with something? I don’t know what to tell you, Tim. I feel normal. I feel fine.”
“Have you been...” Tim hesitates. He's not sure if he's got the right to ask.
“What?”
“Have you been having sex with anyone else?”
“Just Kory. Oh, and Roy, we just-”
”Dick!”Tim interrupts. If Dick gets going about threesomes and redheads, Tim will get distracted by phone sex and never figure out what the hell is wrong with him.
“Are you jealous?” Dick’s tone is mildly surprised.
“No!”
Well, maybe a little. Despite the fact that it makes him the most awful hypocrite on the planet. “I just. When we. When we...” Tim sinks down, leaning back against his bed. “I-”
"Tim...seriously, are you okay? You can tell me anything."
Can he, really? What if he fixes whatever happened to him and Dick doesn't want him anymore? But it would be wrong to keep putting others at risk because of something so selfish...
"Something's wrong," Tim blurts. "I'm turned on all the time, now, and I thought it was just because I've been around you all week, but it...it isn't just you, anymore. And whatever's wrong with me, I think I passed it to Bart, and Kon, and maybe Cassie. And Gar, I guess- I mean, I didn't - Bart slept with Gar. I didn't."
"Nothing wrong with it if you did. There aren't a lot of ways to experiment with consensual bestiality-"
"Dick!"
"I'm listening, I promise. You really think you're being affected by something?"
“I. I think I must be. I’m not acting like myself. I’m acting like...” you. He stops short, then says quickly, “It’s not that I think there’s anything wrong with being...being...”
“Horny?” supplies Dick, amusement creeping into his tone again.
“Promiscuous,” Tim snaps back, then adds more quietly, “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it, Dick. But something’s wrong with me. And. And the others think so, too.”
The frown is definitely back in Dick’s voice. “Really? This isn’t just...” He trails off.
“It’s not morning-after regrets,” says Tim. "And I think it's communicable. You should isolate yourself and send me blood and semen samples. Warn Starfire and Arsenal as well."
"Jeeze. Are you sure-" Dick sounds worried. Maybe Tim's seriousness, his worry, is finally getting through.
"Wouldn't you rather take the precaution? If you can get samples from them, too, that would help. I can run ours against the blood samples on file to see if anything's changed. If there is, it gives me something to look for with the others, to see who's infected."
There's silence on the other end for a long moment, and then Dick sighs. "Yeah. Okay. I'll go tell Kory and Roy we need to lock ourselves up and masturbate for science. Keep me posted?"
"Of course," Tim says, because even if Dick isn't an epidemiologist, he's got a good scientific background, and he's not an idiot. He might have insight that could be useful. "Oh, and Dick - "
"Yeah?"
Tim swallows. "I think I am going to need a list of your sexual partners. Just. You know. In case." Not that he's looking forward to seeing all the names laid out like that, with his tacked on to the end like an afterthought.
*
Monthly well-check blood tests, tests after significant blood exposures, after knife wounds, after they get vomited on, after chemical and biological weapons exposure, after every trip to space and fight with aliens - when Alfred lands the jet on the roof and drops off the little vials and slides Bruce has been keeping in the cave's cold storage rooms, he leaves behind several stacks of insulated crates. Tim waves at him through the window before he takes off again.
Tim has Kon help him get the crates down to the lab, but he has to throw him out again when they end up dry humping each other against the workbench. Alfred sent along a consolatory tupperware of cookies with the biological specimens, so he at least has something to give Kon in exchange for the help and the fresh stain on the front of his blue jeans.
Time to start gathering data.
Tim starts with a drop of his own blood under a light microscope, because you should always start with the obvious. He's hoping for something visible - an amoeba, a bacterium, even ruptured cell fragments or deformed cells that might indicate a viral infection. Nothing shows.
There's an immune response of some kind going on, though. Kon and Gar have significantly elevated levels of interleukins 2, 3, and 12, indicating that they're responding to some kind of infection. Tim's own blood is showing just enough interleukin 12 to make him consider the connection, even though it’s still within normal levels. Bart, Cassie and Vic come up clean. Interesting. So Kon and Gar are showing an immune response - and maybe Tim was, but he fought off the pathogen? If that's the case, Bart could have completely cleared the infection by now, with his accelerated metabolism. Was Cassie never infected? Tim did have pretty close contact with her. On the other hand, she’s technically a demigod, and Tim’s not sure exactly how that affects someone’s immune response.
One of the nice things about being a superhero with virtually unlimited financial backing and access to both alien tech and some of the best computer programmers on the planet - there's basically no end to what one can do through sheer brute force computing. He'll run whole-genome sequences of the samples - all the samples, including the ones from Bruce's storage. It will take time, but he's borrowing computer power from several satellite batcaves, Barbara's back-up systems, and a bit of what the Watchtower can spare. Once he's got actual data to work with, he'll be able to run comparisons. Six billion letters of code to work through for each sample, and hundreds of samples, but he has time and processing power. He'll be able to find the pattern. He can figure this thing out. He can-
Bart's arms are wrapped around his waist. Tim straightens up from the stance he'd adopted at the amplifier and feels the grip tighten. There's an erection pressed against Tim's ass. "I thought I locked the door."
"Gar-threw-me-out," Bart says, as if that's an explanation, the words coming out as one continuous whine. "And Kon got-tired and held-me-down-and-fell-asleep and then-Cassie-tied-me-up-but-I-got-away."
Tim presses his palm against his face. This is his fault. His carelessness. His inability keep his goddamned pants on in the face of Bart's warm skin and deft fingers, which are currently working their way under his lab coat.
"Stop brooding," Bart growls against his ear. "You can brood after you fuck me, and then I'll help you with the science until Kon wakes up."
Well. Tim should be taking periodic breaks anyway, shouldn't he? To prevent eye strain.
Or something.