I’m hung up on another thought again.
Imagine a fic of moments in Bruce’s childhood and youth where he suffered and then similar moments in which he either a) did better with his kids or b) helped his kids through moments he had to handle alone.
For example (and an already wildly popular idea I believe) drawing the parallel between Bruce and Dick after just having lost their parents.
Bruce holding onto his parents dead bodies. They have gone cold an hour ago, but he can’t leave them. He mustn’t. He will never get the picture out of his eyes. Watching and hanging on to his parents in a sort of haze. Not able to look away. Not able to call for help. Just clinging to them.
Ending up falling asleep on his father’s non breathing chest and waking up to reporters taking pictures of him. Immediately having to give a statement to the police about what happened.
The parallel with Dick holding onto the broken bodies of his parents. Chaos all around him but not paying him any attention. Everyone seemingly having forgotten the child who just watched his parents die. Their screams of horror forever scorched into his mind.
And Bruce - just for a moment - is back in that alley. He decides he can’t let this go on.
So while Bruce cried on top his parents for hours Dick was grounded and comforted by a stranger with knowing eyes within minutes.
Bruce thinks he was still too late. He should have protected the boy from seeing it. He should have held his hands over the kids ears to stop him from hearing their screams. He failed that, but he can protect him from the cameras when they inevitably come.
Putting his thick coat onto the sobbing child. Shielding him from the cameras with his body.
Not even a single photo was taken of Dick that night. And the police only got a statement hours later and only with a social worker present.
—…—…—…—…—…—…—
So a fic just made up from moments like this with all of his children.
Or of situations where he was just a better parent to his children in a situation than Alfred or Lesley to him when he was in a similar one.
Like Lesley not going to any of his piano recitals and Bruce showing up to every single one of Jason’s theater performances and even some practices.
Or Alfred scolding and punishing Bruce for not eating a particular type of food, for example beans, by not making any food without beans for a month straight vs Bruce having a giant excel spreadsheet for all of his children’s dietary preferences and updating it regularly
Maybe training his kids vs his training during his travels from his mentors.
Like him getting a beating for making a mistake during training vs him calmly explaining any of his kids their mistakes and offering insight in how not to make the same mistake again(or a similar one)
Just intentionally or unintentionally Bruce giving his children a better childhood/youth than he had.
And maybe ending on a chapter of the kids finding all of this out. Or maybe not ever finding out until Bruce is in the time stream and sorting through his old diaries and stuff.