Wow another chapter so soon? Ikr I'm as baffled as you are, but uhhhh I sorta wrote fanfic for a fanfic. Which means this chapter contains spoilers for said fanfic.

Said fanfic is called Liminal Space by Calamityjim and it's sooooo good! It's part of a series and rn CJ is writing a multichapter sequel to it called Compression. I'm letting you know now that Compression is rated M while Liminal Space does not have a rating.

Anyway, personally I would suggest reading Liminal Space first and then Compression (which is up to chapter 5 when this oneshot was created and posted) before reading this, because like I said, spoilers. But yeah. I hope you enjoy my fanfic of a fanfic.

First thing Tim notices is that his side hurts. Second thing Tim notices is how sluggish he feels. Third thing he notices is that someone was running their fingers through Tim's hair.

Ever so slowly did he open an eye. The fingers stilled.

Looking around, he saw what the hand was attached to. Dick. It was Dick. Dick was here. He was saved.

"I'm so glad you came for me." Tim rasps out after a moment.

"Of course I did." Dick's voice murmured before continuing to run his fingers through Tim's hair.

It felt so nice. Almost like a luxury.

His molasses filled mind finally notices that they're all alone.

"Where's…?" He began to ask.

"Bruce's at work." Dick began to say. "Alfred is doing some cleaning, Damian's at school… and Jason… Jason's hanging out with some friends right now."

Tim hummed. He belatedly thinks that he's on a lot of drugs. So much so that he missed the rest of what Dick said.

Tim hummed again. "You always keep your promises."

"…of course I do." He could hear the confusion in Dick's voice.

The sleepy teen let himself relax further into his brother's touch.

"Mhmmm. And that's so nice. That's one of the things I like about you, and everyone. You keep your promises. I know I don't say it much, but I… I really appreciate you. How much hugs you give, the care you give…" Tim idly thinks he's too tired to find better words. "How you came to save me. You don't get mad at me. I love you."

A moment passed. A kiss was put onto his forehead. "I love you too."

Tim smiled. "I'm really happy with you all. I really truly am." He then frowned. "I just wish you trust me more."

He heard the confusion in Dick's voice when he said, "what do you mean?"

Tim… Tim might as well tell him. If he doesn't then they might never stop. "You treat me like I'm something fragile. 'M not. And you, Bruce, Jay, Dami, and even Alfred coddle me."

He then went down to a whisper. "I'm… I'm not used to that. I'm not used to being loved like that. I'm not used to being loved. I'm learning though. I'm so sorry that I ruined Dami's first Halloween. I'm sorry for not staying sane enough not to turn into Future Evil Tim."

Tears started to fall from his face. He didn't know he was crying. Must be the pain meds running through his veins. He thinks they might be pain meds.

"But you came for me." His voice cracked. "You came for me and you still love me. Thank you. Thank you so much for saving me from my original universe. I don't want to live there anymore. I don't want to deal with being unloved anymore. I… I don't want to be thrown away again like a toy that became imperfect."

At that point Tim started to sob.

"Dick, Dick just being back there… made me realize how much I hate it. Just getting the smallest of scraps of-of affection from Grayson would make me be over the moon. Back when I was, when I was Robin he would actually treat me like a brother. Like I was someone-someone worthy to be, to be loved. He hadn't hugged me in so long. I hadn't been hugged in so long until you hugged me in the cave. The last time I got hugged was when Other Bruce came back from the timestream. It was so short, that hug."

A lake must have been forming with how much he was crying. His lungs hurt from the heaving and the hiccups. He wanted comfort.

"It's funny. The first time I was ever, that I was ever hugged was when Grayson hugged me at the circus. The day that… that your parents… his parents? Fell. I-I… Dick I remembered what I said after he left. I s-said 'boy wonder, wonderful.' Because he was so-so wonderful. He gave me my first hug. My parents never gave me any growing up. And-and then me? When we first met? You gave me my first hug there. My first hug in ages. It felt so wonderful."

A huge sob wracked him. He hated how much he was crying.

"God. A Bruce that actually cares about m-my- my interests? Who remembers the-the little things? Dick, he bought me a new camera. A new camera. With all the fancy things. He likes my-my pictures, my pictures not because of it being useful for a crime scene, but because I took-took them. He remembered where I said Ra's kept my spleen. He remembered and he found, and he found me. Because he cares about me. And-and Jay and Dami. They both don't want me dead. They don't want to kill me." Hysterical laughter bubbled up when he said that last part. Which in turn turned back into sobs.

"Please, please, don't tell Jay and Dami that. They don't need to know that… that Jason and Damian tried to kill me multiple times. That they, that they think we'd all be better off without-without me. That… that when Jason pointed his gun at me, when evil Zee brought me back to my old universe, I wanted to die. Because… because I thought you wouldn't come find me. That you let me stay there. Dick, I don't want to live there. I-I would rather die than live there."

Finally did his slow brain caught up to the fact that Dick's hand was no longer on his head. A whine escaped his throat without his permission. But he couldn't help it. He wanted that hand back. He wanted Dick back.

Reaching out, Tim's voice wobbled for his older brother. He could not see through all the tears. "Dick, Dick please don't leave me. I'm s-sorry, I'm so sorry, I don't want to die. I don't want to die anymore please don't-don't leave me. Dick please."

A larger hand grabbed his, and squeezed gently. He squeezed back. It felt so secure. Tim was secured.

"I'm… I'm here." Dick's voice reached Tim's ears. So much hurt was packed into that short sentence, but Dick was still there. Dick was still there with Tim.

"I love you all so much." Tim continued to say. "I love how Jay tells me all the, all the good parts of the new book he's reading or-or when he rants on how s-s-stupid the author was. I love how he would just sit silently with me and we-we-we just-just… coexist. How he's able to calm me down after I have a, I have a panic attack. That he trusts me. I love how Dami-Dami has a nurturing personality. How maybe one day he could grow up to be a doctor or hell, a vet. He might as well be a-a pediatrician with how many books he's read to keep me-me alive, healthy a-a-and happy. I still don't know wh-wha-what the fuck Bruce said to him that made him feel like I-I'm his responsibility to take care of."

Another heart wrenching sob rattled his rib cage. It hurt so much.

"Tim…" Dick said, voice rough. Was he crying too?

"I love you all so, so, so much. Please, please don't leave me. I don't, I don't want to be alone again. I don't want to worry that if I do something wrong or-or something fucked up you all will hate me. That you would put me into a cell and I would never see the light of day again. I hate feeling like this. I hate remembering how horrible I felt over there. I hate fearing you would all be like them once you realize how pathetic I really am. I hate f-fea-fear-fearing that you all would h-h-ha-hate me."

And a hand came to wipe away his tears. After all the rambling, the tears, the confessions. It finally came to give comfort and relief.

"… that won't happen." Dick finally said. "I promise you that won't happen. We'll always be together, and you must understand that I love you so much Tim. You're my baby brother and I will never do that to you." Dick sounded so sincere and so convinced and so sure that Tim couldn't help but lean further into his older brother's hands.

Everything was okay now that Dick was here. That Dick had saved him. The hurt will slowly begin to fade, and scars will be left. But one day those scars, too, will fade.

Dick pulled him into a hug, and Tim returned it.

"My Baby Bird, I love you and I will never let them have you again."

And with Tim's muddled mind, it didn't immediately hit that that sentence sounded off. Not until his vision was going dark and more drugs were being pumped into his bloodstream.

But when it did, he suddenly grew very, very afraid.

And then he knew no more.