Author's Note: This is inspired by the song "Dear Mr. Jesus" by PowerSource. I hope the hurt and the comfort are enjoyable!
Following Batman is the best idea Tim's ever had.
Tim's had plenty of good ideas, of course. He's ten, after all, so he's had plenty of time to come up with good ideas. The idea where he started to learn how to skateboard was a good idea, and the idea where he figured out how to add a pack of Zesti to the recurring deliveries of groceries was a good idea, and the idea where he tried microwaving a meal with a fork still on the plate so the fork would warm up too…
Well, maybe that one wasn't a great idea. The microwave did explode, after all. But Tim's next idea was to get it all cleaned up and have a new microwave ordered and put the new microwave in place a good three days before his parents got home, which was an excellent idea, because his parents didn't even notice and that meant he didn't get hit for breaking the microwave! Granted, he did get hit some that day for letting the cleaning crew break an artifact, but Tim knows he can't win them all.
So yes, Tim has had plenty of good ideas, but following Batman is definitely Tim's best idea ever. Tim gets to see so many cool things! And he gets to hear so many cool things! And he gets to find out the coolest things of all, like the identities of Batman and his sidekicks!
That one's a secret. To be fair, most of his ideas have to be secrets. Mom and Dad don't like it when Tim has ideas. The ideas tend to get him in trouble, even if they're really, really good ideas that could actually, totally help. That's usually because Tim is just a stupid kid and shouldn't poke his nose into grown-ups' business.
Even though Tim doesn't think he's stupid. He gets good grades even if they're not always as high as Mom and Dad want, and most of the time he remembers to take care of the chores he's supposed to take care of, and also he figured out Batman's identity from a flip Robin did! Just from that! So Tim thinks he's smart. He just can't tell Mom and Dad that, because he knows better by now than to be bad.
Well. Most of the time he knows better than to be bad. Last week…
Last week was a different story. Tim had known that a B wasn't a good enough grade, but he didn't get it up in time for report cards to be sent out, and he didn't take the report card out of the mail in time to edit and reprint, and so Mom and Dad saw it, and so Tim got slapped and put in time-out.
Tim pouts as he thinks about it now. Time-out is even worse than getting slapped in his opinion. Getting slapped at least is over pretty quick. Mom and Dad forgive and forget, and they all move on within a few minutes, even if Tim usually aches for a little bit afterward. Time-out, though? Time-out usually means an hour or more of fidgeting in the dark, waiting to be let out.
He doesn't even get to hear Mom and Dad talk during time-out anymore! Not since he offhandedly mentioned he could do that from his own closet, so now he gets put in the hall linen closet downstairs, far away from the vents that let him hear Mom and Dad whether they're in their bedroom or in the main office.
And yeah, okay, Tim gets it. He's not supposed to be enjoying time-out. Time-out is a natural consequence for his actions. So it makes sense he should be put in the darkness and the silence, and not get to hold onto the nice sounds of chatter and laughter.
It's just…
Tim only gets every other weekend with Mom and Dad. At least, that's what it's supposed to be. It's more like every third or fourth weekend, or less if he's not lucky, and Tim's rarely lucky. And Tim wants to be with them all the time when they're there, or at least be able to hear them talk and know he's not alone again.
Right now, Tim's not alone, either, Tim reminds himself, shaking off the thoughts as he shakes a bit of snow off of his shoulders and leans in closer to the edge of the rooftop. Well, he's not exactly alone, at least.
Right now, Tim's watching from between a roof air conditioning unit and the lipped edge of the roof, looking down in fascination as Batman sneaks down a fire escape toward a man standing in the alleyway.
The man is shouting at a girl, who's sitting on the curb and shivering. The man is wearing a coat and what looks like thick pants and also a hat. The girl isn't wearing a hat. She isn't wearing a coat, either, just normal long sleeves. She's got a skirt on instead of pants, and she's tucked her hands and feet under her, like she's trying to keep as warm as possible.
Tim would wonder why she doesn't just go inside if she wants to be warm, but Tim's been watching for a few moments, and the man has been yelling at the girl for the whole time. Tim knows better than to walk away when he's being yelled at, and he assumes the girl knows that too. It just makes adults more angry. And this man sounds really angry.
"-Absolutely no more backtalk, and you look at me when I'm talking to you," the man snarls, crouching down and grabbing the girl by the chin. He yanks her chin up so she has to look up at him.
The girl whimpers.
The whimper doesn't quite cover the sound of Batman jumping down off of the fire escape. Tim hears the crunch of the snow.
The girl hears it too, or maybe she just sees Batman over the man's shoulder, because her eyes go wide and her jaw drops.
"Don't make that stupid face at your father!" The man says, and he rears back and punches the girl in the face.
The girl's jaw slams shut as she reels back.
A moment later, Batman slams into the man, who reels back in turn.
The man doesn't even get a chance, Tim notes. Batman is efficient in taking the man down, but interestingly, not as brutal as he often is. Maybe whatever crime Batman has tracked this man down for isn't too bad?
Once the man is handcuffed to a streetlamp, Batman turns and kneels. He offers a gauntleted hand palm-up to the girl, who's curled on the ground and is staring at him.
The girl whimpers again.
"I'm sorry you saw that," Batman says, his hand still outstretched. "I'm sorry this happened. The police are on their way, and they'll try to make sure this won't happen again. I'm sorry you've been hurt."
The girl slowly uncurls. She reaches out a trembling hand.
Batman lets her connect with his own hand.
They sit there for a moment, then Batman asks, "Do you have another parent or guardian?"
"My grandma," the girl says quietly. "She couldn't get custody before, though. She doesn't have enough money."
"There are some resources for that," Batman says. He pulls what looks like a business card from his utility belt and holds it up.
The girl takes it and tucks it into her skirt pocket. She sniffles once.
"How's your eye?" Batman asks. "Do you need an ice pack?"
"It's kinda cold enough as it is," the girl says, shivering a little.
Batman wraps the girl close in his cape, and they talk quietly until the police arrive. Batman has the police take the girl and the man away in two separate cars, informing the police that the man is "guilty of child abuse." Then Batman stands and pulls out his grappling gun.
Tim is so stunned he barely even makes sure Batman isn't aiming the grappling gun right where Tim's standing. Did… Did Batman really get that man arrested for giving his daughter consequences?
Tim rewinds the conversation in his head as he carefully turns and starts to head away in the opposite direction from Batman. He knows the next stops on this patrol route really well; he'll find Batman again later, or maybe he'll check on Nightwing and Robin later.
At the moment, he's just confused. It really sounded like Batman just got a guy arrested for hitting his kid when she was bad. But that can't be right, can it? That's not what abuse means, not at all.
That's not-
Tim is thinking too hard.
Tim isn't watching where he's going.
Tim is slipping on the icy roof!
With a yelp, Tim tries to catch himself on the lipped edge of the rooftop. Instead, he smacks into the edge and falls over hard onto his back on the roof.
He stares up at the stars, groaning for what feels like forever.
But it can't be forever, Tim reassures himself faintly. If he was groaning at the stars forever, somebody would've noticed that.
Somebody like Batman, who is now kneeling over Tim with a frown.
Uh-oh.