You work alone. Always have
At nights you ran around Gotham, doing what you do best - protect.
And you saw an older man getting mugged - you immediately fought off the thugs and made sure the man was ok before disappearing once more
Little did you know, that man was Alfred, the beloved butler of the Wayne manor, and more importantly, the favorite person of the BatFamily, a family of vigilantes.
Alfred had been out on what was supposed to be a simple errand, when he was mugged by some thugs, and when he mentioned to the family that another vigilante had saved him, all were immediately wanting to know who was the person to save Alfred
Tim was the first to find out your identity, but instead of leaking that to the world, he kept the locations you usually hung out around in the Batcomputer, just in case
They kept tabs on you, making sure you were safe, even when you had no idea they were keeping an eye on you
One night, the man you saved, Alfred, was sitting on the roof where you usually sat to patrol. A few feet away from him sat a thermos and a wrapped pastry, for you?
You normally would have ran , but his presence was calming.
The two of you quietly talked - he didn't ask for your name or anything, just quiet talks as you hesitantly drank the tea he made for you from the thermos, and ate the pastry - never taking your mask off, and he never asked you to
After the first meeting, you kept meeting him there often - sometimes Nightwing or even Bat//Man shows up trying to “casually” join. You freeze, hand on your weapon.
Alfred just says, “Gentlemen, you’re scaring the poor thing. Off you go.”
Eventually, you start trusting Alfred enough to let him fix your injuries — but never at the manor, always neutral ground, like that rooftop
Alfred was the only person you thought to go to when you got a pretty bad head injury
You breached the gates of the Wayne Manor undetected, now perched up in the window of alfred’s study - seeing him inside, reading a book, so you quietly knock on the glass
The second he saw you, barely upright with a dent in your mask and rain soaking your clothes, he was immediately up and rushed to open the window, helping you in
”I didn’t know where else to go…” You mumbled, then collapsed.
The silent window alarm clicks automatically, alerting Bruce, Jason, Tim, Dick, and Damian with a notification that read
ALLERT : STUDY WINDOW BREACH
Everyone grabbed a weapon and bolted for the study, thinking Alfred was in danger, when, Alfred was in fact taking care of the person who saved his life that night
Now, with Alfred kneeling with you sat against him on the rug, his hands steady, even as your mask slips off.
You start panicking the second you hear footsteps running toward the room, ”No, No, they can’t-” You tried, not wanting them to see your face
”Shhh, I’ve got you. No one will see” Alfred assures as he gently tucked your head against his chest in a very fatherly way, making sure your face was hidden
The door then slammed open, Bruce, Dick, Jason, Tim, and Damian all pile in, ready to fight the expected attacker, but all froze when they saw Alfred sitting on the floor with his back against the couch, one hand in your hair for comfort and to hide your face better in his vest, blood on the carpet
Everyone slowly lowers their weapons. They all expected you to be some adult vigilante who had been working for years. Not a kid.
”Stand down,” Alfred orders, keeping his voice quiet ”They’re hurt.”