When you're from Gotham, you stick out when you travel.
If you have been trained by Batman, you stick out even more in a less conspicuous way. You learn to blend in crowds, never draw unnecessary attention. Even as a Wayne, Tim could avoid being spotted. He had practice in disappearing and not being seen since the time he was a toddler. A skill that his parents had appreciated.
Keeping your head on a swivel isn't what most travelers do. In Gotham people do it all the time, if you're a former Robin, you do it even more. Habits you can't forget. Sure, crowded streets have pick pockets and even dark alleyways in California have gangbangers. California to Gotham's crime is a huge gap.
Tim learned that when he traveled to California. He was the whitest person in the state, Gotham is not sunny. In fact even if it was, Tim probably wouldn't get a tan. Always busy being Red Robin and taking care of Wayne Enterprises, he was glad to take a break and go somewhere sunny. When Tim was young he didn't think the sun was supposed to shine. Now he just wanted to spend some time somewhere that wouldn't remind him of Gotham.
California was sunny, happy, and the opposite of Gotham. When Tim was out late, without Kevlar on he didn't worry about getting shot. (He still watched his back. He never forgot his Robin survival training.) The beach was warm and sunshine was plenty. California's docks had yachts and sail boats, the beaches had families having a great time. Gotham's docks where dismal on the best of days.
No Damian, was awesome. Tim wondered why he hadn't taken a vacation by himself before. If he wanted to just lay on the beach and read books, nobody drug him into the ocean. (Namely Dick.) Nobody wrote anything on his back in sunscreen. (Jason) Nobody told him he was taking too long in an electronic store. (Well, Damian did all of that, plus threatening to kill him.)
Tim got sunburned, he slept in everyday, and he went to coffee shops three or more times a day. His brothers weren't there to tell him he'd die of a heart attack. It was the best vacation ever. It didn't take much to beat the others, like the time Dick decided they should go to Dollywood. Don't go on the worlds fastest roller coaster if you've had a concussion recently. Damian in large crowds was something he had recurring nightmares about. Dick was embarrassing he made sure they went when Dolly was going to be there and he swore she winked at him. Or when Damian wanted to go to Africa. That was a train wreck, the lion he caught almost was loaded on the plane. Tim had to deal with all the paperwork that almost stealing a lion brought. Jason's idea of fun was murder, Tim went on a trip with him once, the League of Assassins weren't impressed. Jason has strange ideas about relaxing. Tim decided he and Jason would never go on another trip ever again.
The thing is when you travel alone you are alone. No one but yourself to rely on. As much as a loner as Tim is, he needed someone to understand. He felt vulnerable and exposed without his suit, which Alfred wouldn't let him bring with him.
Even though it wasn't like when Bruce was missing. Tim was lonely, he didn't have anybody who understood. He didn't even have half mad assassins to talk to or watch his back because he's with half mad assassins. When a car back fires, instinct kicks in and he ducks. A bat knows why and understands. On a vacation by yourself if you wake up from a nightmare you can't talk to anyone. Not sleeping well, because hotels, even ones on a Wayne budget had security that was easily infiltrated. By yourself meant sleeping more than you would at home, but at odd hours a schedule not to be deciphered by any unfriendly who might be watching.
It means that if you speak to someone you look for for hidden weapons and a motive. Tim talked to a friendly girl from Colorado, but he never let his guard down. Her bathing suit proved she didn't have a knife or gun hidden, her wrists were too small to be familiar with martial arts. The guy he bought lemonade from on the board walk he talked to him and looked for anything that might be suspect. He didn't drink the lemonade; he didn't trust him. Always looking at people sizing them up if they had training or if they had any hidden weapons estimating how long a fight with them would last.
Tim left early, vacationing by yourself isn't that fun. A week of sun and surf was all he could take.
He left a week early, back to the gloom, fog, pollution, and pain in the neck brothers. Gotham is home and home is where Arkham is a rotating door, the Joker seems to always win, and were Bats and Robin's kept the streets safe most of the time.
Damian insulted him as soon as he entered the cave. Dick gave him a hug, a bone crushing hug that Dick hadn't gave him in a while. Jason rolled his eyes at him. Bruce nodded at him, they had always been able to communicate wordlessly. Alfred heard he was coming and made his favorites for dinner.
Gotham was his kind of crazy. He loved that city, he remembered what he once said, "A city without Batman will always have me." Yeah, he'll always come home.
Vacations are overrated.
AN
Review what you think!
I wrote this in mind of what someone with PTSD would think on a vacation.