When Timothy was little he heard stories of how Gotham was cursed due to being built on top of an old deity’s stomping grounds. The story sounded absurd to Jack and Janet Drake but it sounded enticing to Timothy.
When Timothy was little he fell down a hole and died. Well that’s not true. Or atleast it’s not the full story.
Timothy Diana James Drake died in that hole and Tim Drake-Wayne was born.
I just wanted to write about Tim dying and the batboys grieving about it in their own ways (or what I like to imagine is their way of grieving) so Tim gets shot as a civi and everyone sees it and the next chapters focus on a batboy.
Bruce - Bruce, for losing the boy who didn't have to find and save him, for losing the boy who he knows without a doubt would never leave him, the boy who was his son before he was officially his. He contemplates all his sons relationship here and starts drinking again, thinking about how disappointed Tim would be because *Really Bruce? You're doing this again?* But Bruce can't find his strength to let go of the intoxicating liquid, can't find the will to not let himself drink his lucidity away because the person who stopped it in the first place is gone. He keeps one thing, though. One thing Tim did his best to change. Bruce still keeps his punches soft as batman, and it hurts that Jason tells him that he never cared about Tim, he never loved him enough to lose his will to batman again. Truth be told, Jason, that all Bruce wants to do is let go of batman now, but batman is what Tim would've never let go of, so he doesn't stop even if he spends sunsets to mid-morning to stop fighting, even if his punches are so weak it doesn't do anything to criminals, and if once upon a time it was the criminals nearly being beaten to death, now is their payback and Bruce wishes he could find it in him to be strong again.
Dick - He’s holding on to hope. Death wasn’t a forever concept in Gotham. Proof? Bruce, Jason, Joker, Damian, so why would Tim be the exception? And Dick feels off about everything and he’s tired and stressed and then someone just touches him and all of a sudden he’s clinging to Tim’s coffin, crying about how that’s his little brother in there, telling people to give him back. Dick, the oldest brother, who once again lost another brother. He thinks about maybe Tim would come back to life- "and that's another person in the dead robin's club. Letting robin pass on was a fucking mistake" and basically starts overworking himself and ignoring people again, until he breaks because he has to physically lock the gun man up and he beats the gun man an inch or less to death and he feels guilty and he should be arrested but the police (his workmates) are like "it's ok. We got you. He was scum." Trying to hide it and Dick's even more disgusted at the fact that he's not punished for his mistake.
Jason - Jason thinks he's glad. Jason thinks he's glad that Tim's dead. Except he's not. Jason wanted to kill him, yes, but why now? *Why now?* when things were going fine, and everything is alright, and there was *hope* that everything would become better and shit won't hit the fan and- he thinks it's a punishment for being happy, he thinks it's the universe telling him that he should've never become happy with someone he tried to kill. Another robin dead in the club, and he lashes out in anger and people *try* to accept that it's not the truth but it's hard right now and everything *sucks* and it sucks even more because he's the only one who's stable enough to properly prepare a funeral with Alfred, and what absolutely guts him like a fish is how Alfred tenderly holds a picture of ‘Robin!Jason’ and tells him that it was Tim's prized possession, that he, Jason's Robin, was Tim's reason to be in this lifestyle. Through the miracle of the butterfly effect, Tim is now dead. Jason hates butterflies.
Damian - Damian. Damian's glad, so glad that he's dead. Drake has never been worthy of the mantle, or the company. Drake was never needed, because if Father waited a while longer he would have a more worthy robin by his side, also saving him from himself. The sting of a slap doesn't surprise him, no, it's the fact that it's from his own father that it does. "After he got shot for you, Damian?" And Bruce leaves with a stumble, Alfred not even sparing him a glance. It seems like the world's against Damian after the one thing he wished for finally came true. Drake was dead, and for the better. Damian was superior in every way. Except. Except Damian feels a strange longing. He finds himself looking for new photos to appear magically in the manor as always, except Pennyworth never hangs them up anymore, cradling the few left and cleaning them with such tender loving care. He finds listening carefully for the hum of punk music playing loudly in headphones, or the meticulous clicking of objects that Drake fancied, like a camera, or his laptop. He finds himself sniffing the air for the usual smell of coffee, only to be met with nothing. He finds himself...missing drake.
