Bruce is getting old.
He notices it but refuses it at first, trying to push further. Running, Jumping, swinging around the it starts to get serious. All these years, injuries, trainings, stress, gasses take their toll on him.
He dyes his hair constantly to hide the pure whites, a ton of concealer to hide his eye bags, but it's no use, his baby blue eyes don't have the same shine they did when he was in his Prime.
The eyeshadow and eyepencil start to irritate his eyes, he can no longer use those.
He notices his elbows cracking whenever he's trying dye his hair, he has to rest his arms in betweens. His eyes move slower, injuries take longer to heal
His chest is heavy, his ribcage feels smaller, he can hear his fingers cracking as he grabs the dye, his breaths are deeper, slower.
His kids notice it later... Though that's probably not true, they did notice things but it was never that serious before, they shrugged it off, never acknowledging that Bruce may be actually getting old
Sure Bruce is old, Ancient even to them, but to them the almighty Batman could never lose his touch.
Damian notices it when his father's breaths are deeper and more painful.
He notices when his father's steps are slower, his reaction time starts to get worse
Dick hears the deep coughs from the phone, how he takes his time talking like every word is burning his throat
Dick sees how Bruce can no longer compete with his flexibility and acrobatics
Jason notices when Bruce has trouble picking him up until he doesn't anymore, Jason is towering over Bruce now... Has Bruce gotten shorter?
Cass hears Bruce's shoulder crack as he raises his grappling hook
Tim starts to catch things faster than Bruce, Bruce starts to not miss clues he would never before.
Oracle notices the reports are getting less and less detailed. Like Bruce is tired and wants to get over with it, it doesn't compete with his hundreds of pages long reports before, when every little detail counted.
Family dinner, Bruce is letting his tea go cold, he knows his elbows will crack, he is silent, a different silent than before, he's not analysing, he's not plotting. He's simply just silent, staring into his tea, to the fireplace.
His chest is getting heavier maybe his time is up
