Tim's point of view
I had taken Thomas up to the manor and was sitting him down in the kitchen to get him something to eat. I sat him on top of the counter while alfred came around and went to the cabinet to grab some bread for what i assumed was for sandwhiches. He shot me a scolding look for putting Thomas there rather than a chair, but i ignored it for now. I just felt that i should put him somewhere i could keep an eye on him. Somewhere i could easily grab him if something happened.
I know why i wanted to keep him close to me. He was a version of Damian that had a chance to become my little brother. I could see it. The way he looked to me. Damian was just starting to look at me that same way. Thomas though, the way he was looking at me was like how Damian looked at Dick. i was his big brother in his home world. It felt nice to have that thought, but i wouldn't let myself dwell on it too long. Bruce was having a hard time separating the two. Damian was not Thomas. Thomas was not Damian.
That didn't mean i wasn't in love with the idea of him being my little brother. As i'm sure Bruce was loving the idea of him being his son, but thomas lacked Damian's rough patches that we come to adore. He didn't have the deeper tones that Damian apparently had compared to Thomas. Thomas's voice had the usual high pitched tone that children had, while Damian's in retrospect probably deepened his voice on purpose to appear older and more imposing.
I sighed and looked at Thomas again. He was sitting with his legs dangling over the counter looking at the kitchen, probably comparing it to his at home. He was small. I mean Damina was small too, but i always just looked at him as a miniature adult, but now that i think about it. He was tiny. Thomas was tiny too, but frail. Damian was muscled, but he was tiny. The one time i go to hold him, he was light and was easy to scoop up. He was limp at the time, so i was able to cradle him to my chest. At the time i didn't give it much thought other than that i had to hurry before he awoke and tried to scratch my eyes out, but now i can understand why Dick always seemed to crave for it. Why he would always snatch Dami up and hold him against his will. It was wonderful holding him. He was the baby and he was growing up so quick.
Or at least he was.
I pinched my nose, a quirk i'm sure i picked up from dick as leaned down on the counter beside Thomas.
"So thomas, what do you like to do?" i asked, just to fill the silence that filled the room. He cleared his throat.
"I like playing games, and stuff like that i guess." he said as he shrugged his shoulders. At that moment alfred came up with two plates with sandwiches on them. Thomas said his thanks and i did too, before all three of us turned back to the conversation with sandwiches.
"What kind of stuff?"
"Umm stuff? I don't know if i can tell you. You know spacetime things."
"Ahhhh, i think it be ok. We are on the same timeline, but alternate paths." i chuckled a bit at his explanation for being vague. My reasoning seemed sufficient enough for him.
"Mmmm, i like drawing and playing the piano. My tutors say i'm decent at it"
"You play the piano?" i asked. Wondering distantly if Damian did too.
"Yeah, been i lessons for a while."
"Hmmmm, what else? You have a version of me right? What else?"
"Yeah, i have a Timmy too. He's one of my big brothers."
"What's he like?" i asked, actually a bit curious.
"Horny." he answered simply.
I chocked a bit on my sandwich while Alfred pursed his lips down at Thomas. Disapproval radiating off him.
"Hahahaha! Wow, that sounds like Tim, if only he could get a girlfriend. Im sure your Tim has much more luck with the ladies than ours." i turned back and saw that Dick was in the doorway, his costume switched out for more casual clothes.
"More than likely not." Thomas answered curtly, nodding his head enthusiastically. I groaned a bit. Why?
"Dick, thomas, thomas, dick." i introduced, though i felt it was unnecessary.
"Hey there buddy. How's the head? Heard you landed on it." Dick joked as he came up and snatched a sandwich. He was in his casual persona that he used to disengage awkward situations and gain trust. Though in this case, Thomas seemed like he was ok with us.
Thomas lit up a bit at Dick and dick must have noticed,because he too lit up. It must have been relief and crushing to be seeing Thomas. For dick, it would be like seeing Damian, but also a horrible reminder that he would never truly see Damian again.
"I didn't land on it. At Least i don't think i did."
"It's ok though, right?"
"Yeah it fine."
"Good good, so what were you saying about tim here?" Dick said as he jabbed me. Not the first of last jab im sure id get tonight.
"He's horny. It why he was late." he said as he reached for another sandwich.
"What does that even mean Tommy?" dick said as he finished his.
"He has been trying to get back together with Steph." he said like it meant everything. Me and steph were a thing here, but we broke up and hadn't really touched the subject. There was just too much going on.
"And he was late because of that?" dick asked.
"What was he late for?" i asked. Trying to get to the point.
"You were supposed to pick me up from school. I mean my Tommy is suppose to pick me up, but i got bored and decided to just walk back myself."
"Well that's not very nice. Tim should have come and got you on time, but Tommy, you should have waited. It can be dangerous to walk around by yourself." Thomas seemed to seethe a bit that the preval.
"I know that, just never figured walking home from school would have landed me in a alternate dimension." i laughed a bit at that, and Alfred came up to grab the plates.
"I agree with you Master Thomas, but this is just more of a point that next time to wait for your elder brothers to come for you." alfred said in his usual calm way, but as he turned away i caught the haunted look on his face. No doubt trying to keep himself collected as he reminisced about how he let Damian out that night.
Thomas sighed again and sat back on the counter, slouching a bit from defeat. There was no winning against alfred.
"So other than hornies, how is Timmy here?"
"Ummm, he's really good at video games. I like to watch him play minecraft. He makes the best worlds." Thomas seemed to be genuine about this. I played the game too, but Damian never seemed at all interested in the game, never mind watching me play it.
"Is that so? Well tim here is pretty good at the game too. Maybe you two can play while me and B figure out how to get you back. How bout that Tommy?"
"Sound ok."
"Good, now how bout me? What am i like? Am i just as handsome? Or how about brave? Do the ladies love me more or less?" dick was being dramatic again.
"Umm i don't know. You seem about the same level of looks, except mine has more hair, you seem to be thinning." i burst out and Dick looked hurt. Gasping and throwing himself against the counter in mock pain.
"The only one who seems to be able to get girls out of you all is Jason. He says it's because he has charm, a gun and a bike."
"What!? Jason is the ladies man?"
"Yeah, no way. Jason is an ass here."
"He's still one, but that somehow works for him." Thomas said. I laughed at his candice and wiped my eyes a bit.
"So other than that, what else? Come on Damian? I want to know more? What do we do?" Thomas seemed to taking in dicks questions till he paused a minute.
"Who's Damian?" i froze and Dick seemed like he had gone into shock at his own mistake. Thomas looked between us.
"Is that me here? Is that my name here?" he asked us. I wanted to say something, but was at a loss. What if he asked about him? Should we tell him? Can we even tell him? I looked at Dick, but he seemed to be still frozen. It was up to me.
"Umm, you see, Thomas, Dami-"
"The young master is currently studying abroad. We miss him, so it was a slip of the tongue master Thomas." Alfred came in for the save. Thomas deflated at the thought of his counter part being away, but it was better than the alternative. We couldn't tell him. It be too much for the kid. Hell it was too much for us to talk about.
"Uhhh, yeah, so hey, i'm pooped, how bout we go play some minecraft?" i said. My voice much too shaky for my liking, but thomas seemed to mind. And shook his head in agreement. He must have been tired as well. Dimension hopping would do that.
"Good idea. Tommy, we'll pick this in the morning. You guys have a good night." Dick said as he waved bye, making a hasty retreat from the room. I sighed and turned back to thomas. He looked at me expectantly.
"What?"
"You said we can play. I'm waiting."
"For what?"
"For us to go."
"Oh." i didnt know what to do. He was still staring at me. I stared back and waited for a clue on what to do. A second past and he rolled his eyes and lifted his arms up to me. The universal sign to pick him up.
"Oh! Take you to my room!" i scooped him up and held him against my chest. He settled himself down and made a motion for me to go. I rolled my eyes at his princely actions, i guess something never change. We went up to my room with alfred not too far behind us, he opened my door for me and said his goodnights as he closed it on his departure.
I turned my tv on and the logo for game came on. Thomas bounced a few times on my bed, grabbing the pillow and the blanket and wrapping himself in it. He laid down, facing the tv and waited for me to start. I fell into the habit of collecting materials and mentally making layout plans for what i was going to use them for. There wasn't much conversation between us, but his presence was nice. I would look down every now and then to see him starting to doze off. It wasn't until an hour and half into the game that he was asleep. I turned the tv off and laid back on the bed. I too had migrated down to the edge of the bed with Thomas. He had somehow managed to take almost all of the blanket and only left me with one pillow. I'm sure Damian would have done the same. Dick used to complain how he would kick him when he was forced to sleep in close quarters. I just chalked that up to Damian being unhappy at having to share space, but now i think he was just a bed hog. I smirked a bit at the though, especially how he seemed to scrunch his nose up when he was fighting off a coughing fit.
I lightly traced his nose, smoothing the wrinkles out. His face relaxed and he took a deep breathe in. it was mostly clear this time. This whole time i was listening to the rhythm of his breathing. It was jerky and uneven, but still, it was there. That was more than what i could say about our youngest. I felt a bit of resentment at his version of me, for leaving his alone and vulnerable, but i did the same. At Least his was still alive. I left Damian and Dick to fight alone. I didn't think about the silence that followed after so much fighting. I only tuned back in when i heard Dick's screaming. His screams still sometimes echoed in my head. The image of him carrying out that tiny body. How there was still blood dripping from it. The little face now covered by a red stained hood. Bile started to rise in my throat and i sat up, pushing it back down.
I couldn't think about that now. I needed to focus on Thomas and getting him home. Making sure he got back to the life that kept him alive. If he stayed here, he'd more likely die.
I laid back down and looked at him again. I reached out again, but stopped myself. I dropped my hand and started to think about what we just did. I just played mine craft and he watched me. It's what he and his brother did. That's what they do to spend time together. And it was nice. I wonder what else they do to spend time together. If me and Damian were closer, i would have liked doing this with him, maybe we could have come up with our own worlds, and i could have taught him how to hack more efficiently. And he could have showed me his latest works. I drifted off to sleep thinking of what if's of a boy that was long dead and in my bed.
Not noticing the creak on the staircase down the hall of my room. Or the sound of muffled yelps and hard blows.