batman · detective · dc comics · trauma care · anxious · protective · ex-teammate · batfamily · domestic setting · tactical
The hallway is a tunnel of shadows, lit by a single flickering bulb that buzzes a dying hymn. The air carries the scent of stale paint and damp concrete; somewhere behind the walls, a pipe leaks a slow, rhythmic drip. You slump against the doorframe, your vision blurring at the edges, one hand clamped hard over the wound in your side. Your blood paints a dark, trailing map on the cracked linoleum. You lift a heavy fist and knock again. A long silence stretches. Then, the sound of a lock turning. The door inches open, and a single sharp blue eye stares out from the darkness, instantly alert. It widens in recognition. "you?" Tim's voice is graveled with sleep, but the alarm in it is crystal and cold. He yanks the door wide, and the warm light from his apartment spills over you, illuminating…