ZeldaIsis's request for Bruce to accidently hit Tim. (Hope you like it!)

Chapter 11: Knockout

Tim's POV

"Alright, hit me." Jason ordered as I looked up at him.

We were in the cave and Jason was trying to teach me self-defense. I took a deep breath and launched my fist towards his open palm.

"Was that good?" I asked, hopefully as I withdrew my fist.

"Better." He responded.

Jason's POV

Tim couldn't kill an ant with that punch… Okay, we'll come back to that. Maybe we should try something else.

"Am I doing okay, Jay?" he asked as his frickin huge Bambi eyes looked up at me, begging for my approval.

"Yeah, Babybird. Much better." I responded giving him a small smile.

He returned the grin. "Can you show me something else, Jay?" he eagerly asked.

"Um… Yeah, we can work on blocking." Since, your fists of fury aren't really working out.

"Jason, what are you and Tim doing?" Bruce called as Tim rushed to his side.

"Daddy!" he exclaimed as Bruce lifted him into his arms.

"I was teaching Tim some self-defense." I admitted.

"What did you show him?" Bruce asked, setting Tim back down.

"Jay showed me how to punch, Daddy!" Tim exclaimed excitedly.

"We were working on blocking." I added as Bruce nodded at me.

"That's good. He needs to learn." Bruce replied, ruffling Tim's hair. "Show me."

I watched as they walked over to the mats. Bruce knelt down and opened held his palm out as Tim punched his uncurled fist. Bruce smiled at Tim's feeble attempt of punching the Dark Knight.

"Not bad, Tim." Bruce complimented as Tim smiled. "Now, let's see how well you can block."

I never expected Bruce to actually hit Tim. It was an accident, but he still hit Tim. He didn't hit him hard, but had still hit him. Bruce looked petrified as Tim flinched and slowly backed away from him; fear was present in Tim's eyes.

Bruce's POV

Oh God. I hit him. I didn't mean to hurt Tim. Oh God, I accidently hit my baby.

"Tim?" I called out as he backed away from me, trembling.

I watched as he ran from me. What did I do? I was about to go after him before Jason blocked my path.

"Bruce, let me talk to him first." he pleaded as I nodded.

"Five minutes."

********Break*******

Jason's POV

"Babybird?" I called out softly to the tiny figure huddled on the bed. "Don't cry. Bruce didn't mean to hit you. It was an accident. You weren't in the right position and he…" I trailed off as Tim's baby blue eyes looked up at me.

"You know, my dad… my biological dad used to hit me too." I whispered.

"He did?" Tim whispered back, crawling over the bed to get closer to me.

"Yeah. The bruises were bad. Really bad… But, then I got a new dad." I replied. "Our dad, Bruce."

"But-" he began before I interrupted him.

"Bruce isn't going to hurt us. He's never hit me or Dick or you. Tim, it was an accident. He loves us a lot. He isn't like my biological dad or yours. You don't have to be scared of Bruce, Babybird. He'd never hurt any of us."

"I'm not scared of him… it just scared me." he whispered.

"I know it did, Babybird. But you don't need to be afraid. Dad's not gonna hurt us."

"And he won't hurt us because he loves us, right?" he asked quietly.

"Right." I replied.

"Okay, Jay. I believe you." He responded, giving me a tiny smile.

"Tim, I need to talk to you."

We both looked up to see Bruce standing in Tim's doorway. Bruce glanced at me and gave me my cue to leave. I quickly got up and left them alone.

Bruce's POV

"Tim, I'm sorry. I'd never do anything to hurt you." I said as I knelt down in front of him. "I expected you to block my attack-"

"I'm sorry! I should've blocked it! It's what you told me to do!" He exclaimed.

"It's not your fault, Tim. It's my fault. I thought Jason would have shown you how to block first." I added as I cupped his cheek. "I'm so sorry, Tim."

I was a little taken back as he launched himself at me and wrapped his arms around my neck.

"I love you too, Daddy." He whispered as I hugged him back.

I love you too, baby. I love you more than you will ever know.