Chapter Text
Anon Ask on Tumblr: i don’t know what you’re going to do with tim in the next chapter but i can imagine tim figuring out that bruce is batman and dick/jason are like “pfttt no tim, bruce is dating batman” so tim second guesses himself and eventually becomes genuinely convinced that bruce and batman are two separate people despite the evidence otherwise
Jason and Dick’s expressions were frozen in the perfect representation of incredibility.
“You think Bruce is Batman?” Jason asked, and his tone was so full of disbelief that Tim felt like he should apologize for having come to such a conclusion.
But then again, he had evidence, didn’t he?
“Every time Batman does more public stuff, Bruce Wayne is out of Gotham,” Tim carefully started to explain. “And Mr. Wayne has a lot of scars and you’ve said yourself that he can just put on the cowl and everything fits. You can’t tell him and Batman apart.”
Dick shrugged. “Dad’s got a lot of work. He doesn’t advertise it, but I’ve seen the paperwork. And yeah, he and the Bat are quite similar at first glance, but they have their differences.”
“Unlike Bat-Dad, Bruce actually talks to people for once, instead of just ‘hnrgh’-ing his way through life,” Jason added.
He got off from Tim’s bed and snatched one of the three blankets Dick had wrapped him in. Then Jason pulled the blanket around his shoulders.
“I’m Batman!” He growled. “Look at me! I only talk in grunts and I managed to find the One Dude in the whole world who’s down to punch criminals in the name of justice, letting me live in a Cave beneath his house and raise kids together!”
Jason struck a pose, and he looked so freaking ridiculous, Tim couldn’t help but giggle. But that was alright since Dick joined him with a genuine laugh.
“And I’m such a sucker for rules even though I do illegal shit all day-“
“Language, Jason.”
Jason jumped, immediately switching into a defensive position before he realized it was just Bruce.
Just Bruce Wayne, whose legs and arms were full of old scars. Just a man dressed in what looked like the softest (and funniest looking) bathrobe Tim had ever seen. It didn’t really fit into the harsh look of the Bat-Cave.
“If you boys are done fooling around, I’ve made some hot chocolate for us.”
Dick and Jason cheered and immediately rushed up the stairs.
“Alfred’s still recovering! Don’t wake him up!” Bruce shouted after them, though whether they had heard him was up in the air.
Maybe Tim had been wrong after all. Dick and Jason had been here for years, surely they’d have known if their adoptive parents were just one person.
Dick and Jason were lucky to have them, strange as the arrangement may be. The thought of having to go back to his house, cold and empty and lonely, while his parents were halfway across the world and utterly unaware that he’d been kidnapped was… disappointing.
“Can you walk?” Mr. Wayne asked. “Or do you want me to carry you upstairs? My hot chocolate might not be as good as Alfred’s, but I promise you, you’ll get a proper one for breakfast.”
For breakfast? Tim didn’t have to go home right away?
“I’d like that.”