encrypted batfam text

[overlyprecocious]

Dick and I are joining the Alliance. if anyone needs to know.

Comments

[mostdangerousbird]

[ Tim’s face is flat. His hands are curled into fists on his thighs: this is hard for him. To be blatant and honest with opinions that Jason could use to sneer. How dare Tim have sympathy for him. Think he can empathize with him. The tilt of his face is reluctant, eyes and chin pointing a 45 degree and to the floor. His eyes are closed. Tim doesn’t want to see Jason either. ]

You were his child being thrown into shit you never should’ve had to deal with. He was the one who should have gotten you help. Should’ve gotten me help. I’m not going to lie: I could’ve used your support. I would’ve given anything for someone to understand when I wanted revenge. He teaches us all this - praises us when we’re clever and violent and deceptive - and then when we can’t shut down every emotion permanently, we have to claw our way back into his good graces.

And I have to do it, every time. I hurt you, too. I didn’t reach out, and I knew you wouldn’t kill me. You could’ve killed me in the Tower, but you didn’t. I knew it wasn’t about me, and I knew that you were troubled. I knew where you were, and I was increasingly familiar with the gray area that you had to carve out for yourself between his morality and reality. Sure, I was under orders to not engage. I disobey orders all the time, but not for you for too long. We both needed support.

[ Tim sighs heavily. ]

You can’t have missed that we get along when he’s not here. You are a better person than him. You apologized.

[reneger]

I was fucked up long before B got his hands on me.

( not like it's a secret. and it's not as if tim wasn't, either. hell, they've all got that in common, don't they? all aside from dick. they were all fuckups, broken in their own way before they'd put on the R and started following around batman. bruce should have been more supportive. his support should have been more than just "firing" his kids when their shit got to be too much to handle. or outright telling them they're broken. who the hell even does that without doing it to intentionally fuck people over? bruce wayne, apparently.

but that's not on them, and not anything they really need to dig into either. tim knows, jason knows, they don't need to rehash their issues with bruce. )

It shouldn't've been on you to be better than me. It should've been on me to realize what an idiot I was being. I'm sorry I wasn't there to support you, to tell you I get it when shit got rough. When B was being an asshole, when Dick was too caught up in his own bullshit. To tell you it's okay to feel shit, an' to tell everyone to lay off when you were uncomfortable.

( he raises his head, but still isn't looking towards tim. focuses on the doorway instead, like he's - considering running out of it. )

I wasn't there for you then, but I'm gonna be now.