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Tim felt tense as he reached consciousness. The last thing he remembered was an explosion in his hotel room. Tim jumped through a window, and then… nothing. He could hear the steady beeping of a heart monitor. His body was sore all over, but nothing felt broken.
“I know you’re awake.”
“Bruce!” Tim jolted up at his father's voice. He searched wildly for the man before finally finding him sitting in the chair on his left. That’s also when the pain reminded him of its presence. Tim groaned while clutching his stomach.
“Easy, Tim.” Bruce stood to lie Tim’s body back down.
“How are you -” Tim began after he settled a bit, but Bruce interrupted him.
“This isn’t your world.” The older man announced grimly, “This world’s Tim never chose this life.”
Tim looked away from the man. He seemingly didn’t have the words to explain his disbelief. How the fuck did he end up in another dimension? Why does life keep messing with him? Why does he deserve to suffer so much? Why couldn’t he do anything right? Tim clenched his eyes closed to stop the onslaught of tears from falling. He failed as he started bawling his eyes out while clutching his knees, ignoring the soaring pain.
How was he expected to keep going- to keep fighting when everything keeps going to shit?! Everyone keeps leaving, some permanently, but not Bruce. Bruce was alive, and he knew it! He knew it! But he was expected to take the journey to find him alone. No one believed him, and now he was stuck in some alternate universe. It hurt that he was stuck beside a Bruce who didn’t know him.
“Tim, we’ll find you a way home, chum.” Bruce gently rubbed circles onto his back. His voice was warm and low, comforting Tim with the familiarity.
“What’s the point anymore?” The teen cried out. Bruce's hand became firmer, grounding, on Tim’s back at the words. “I keep failing, Bruce.” Tim’s eyes met with the said man’s. This Bruce seemed to be younger than his own. Bruce’s face was clean of all facial hair besides eyebrows and eyelashes. His jet-black hair was longer than his father's and instead resided just below his ears like Tim’s. One of the most striking differences was how this version of Bruce didn’t look tired. No dark circles or signs of stress were on the man’s face. Tim could tell that this version of Bruce loved to smile.
Bruce briefly hesitated before responding, “I’ve failed many times since I started being Batman. Each failure felt heavier than the last, and I lost myself. The difference there was that I was 26 when I started this life. How old are you Tim?”
“Sixteen.”
Bruce let out a huff that Tim couldn’t decipher, “Ten years younger than when I started. You look like you’ve been doing this for years too.” Tim nodded in confirmation, “I can’t imagine how heavy this feels for someone so young and new to life.”
“It was fine.” Tim instantly lied.
“It wasn’t.” Tim frowned as Bruce reached over with his free hand and grabbed a mirror from a nearby shelf. He handed it to Tim before continuing, “You look like you’ve been holding the world's weight.”
Bruce wasn’t exactly wrong; Tim’s eyes were darker than he’d ever seen them. The bags under his eyes perfectly represented the exhaustion he felt. It was the type of exhaustion that weighed heavy enough that he could feel it in his bones. His cheeks were a bit more sunken than the last time he took a good look in the mirror.
“What if I am?” Tim wondered, eyes never straying from his reflection.
“Maybe I can help?” Bruce offered.
Tim let out a full-hearted laugh at that, “As if you would even believe me. No one does.”
“Try me.” Bruce’s lips slightly tilted into a familiar smirk that instantly put Tim at ease. So that’s exactly what Tim did; he told Bruce everything . Tim spared no details as he reported his findings and the various responses he got from them to Bruce. The words escaped him easily as if he were giving his mentor a mission report.
Tim needed this.
“I see,” Bruce answered as Tim finished. Tim put the mirror in his lap and began to fidget with the threading in the blanket as Bruce gathered his thoughts. This wasn’t even his mentor; this other Bruce’s opinion shouldn’t even matter. But it did.
Tim craved Bruce’s approval, he needed it. He needed to know he was doing a good job despite the odds. It was something he never got before the older man entered his life. Bruce had become his dad, whether Bruce had known or not. It was just a fact to Tim at this point.
“I don’t think you’re crazy.” Other Bruce finally answered, “You remind me a lot of myself.” Bruce’s hand moved from Tim’s back to card fingers through his hair instead. Tim found himself leaning against the man as the tension left his body. “I believe you, chum.” Tim froze at those words, “We’ll find him.”
Tim found himself bawling into Bruce’s chest. The man accepted Tim into his embrace readily. Someone believed him! Bruce believed him! Tim didn’t care if this wasn’t his Bruce or his world. At this moment, Bruce was listening to him, comforting him; Bruce was here . Tim had his dad back for these brief moments, and he believed him.
“Just like that?”
“Just like that.” Bruce agreed. Tim didn’t know he managed to cry even harder. It was getting a little embarrassing.
Tim moved his head from Bruce’s chest and sniffled, “Sorry.” Bruce handed him some tissues. “You don’t even know me…” Tim muttered after wiping his face as clean as possible.
“I don’t have to Chum. I didn’t know Dick when I took him in or Jason. But I could see their pain, their suffering, and their pure hearts just like I can see yours. You’re an intelligent person Tim, but you’re also going through more than what most adults do at such a young age. Please don’t destroy yourself for this, for me. ” Tim opened his mouth to argue, but Bruce cut him off, “I’m sure your Bruce would agree. It might seem like it, but you don’t have to do this alone.”
“How am I supposed to find help when everyone thinks I’m crazy?” Tim tilted his head to the side, skepticism etched all over his face.
“I don’t think you’re crazy.” Bruce pointed out.
Tim groaned, “But everyone in my world thinks I am.”
“Are you sure?” That gave Tim pause. The first person that came to mind was Cass. She would always at least listen to him first. Actually, listen to understand instead of arguing. Cass wasn’t the type to jump to conclusions without a solid reason. She went to Hong Kong after finding out about Bruce’s death, but she would return as long as Tim was sure that this was worth pursuing. She was amazing that way.
“What-what if I’m wrong?” Tim pondered, “I don’t want to drag anyone off on a pointless mission.”
“Do you believe it’s pointless?” Bruce countered.
“No, but-”
“Then you should pursue it. Don’t sell yourself short, Tim; your findings are worth at least an investigation. You have me curious about the portrait we have here.” The older man admitted with a smile that Tim couldn’t help but reflect.
“Can we check it out right now?” Tim was excited about potentially getting a solid lead from this dimension.
“We’ll look at it after you get some sleep and some food in you.” Tim groaned at the response but smiled regardless. He missed this. He missed Bruce, his dad.