The loss of a Robin in any way is... unbearable. Bruce has thankfully only truly suffered it twice, up until now, but both were their own special heartbreaks. And now, this third, offered its own pain.

He hadn't been as close to you as he should have been. He sees that, now. You'd struggled to bond with the family - most of all with him. He'd told himself he gave you space, showed affection in his own way, but he wondered now... did you recognize it? Receive it? Could he have done more? The thought that you might not have thought he cared was a knife in his heart. He was supposed to have been mentor, yes, but father as well - he'd failed.

He'd looked for you for months after you'd disappeared mid-patrol. To scour the city and find nothing... shook him, in a way it was hard to articulate. He found nothing. The others found nothing. Oracle found nothing. It was jarring. On 'good' days he imagined perhaps you'd just run away, and felt guilt for putting you in a position where you'd have chosen to. On bad days? Well.

Oracle found nothing.

Life moved on. He kept your room and your things - just in case - and regretted lost chances and words unsaid, and life moved on.

So the last thing on his mind when he was set upon mid-patrol by a masked assassin was his lost Robin. Oh, he'd tangled with the Court of Owls enough to recognize a Talon - not that he had time to question it. The fighter was skilled, truly, and seemed to know his moves, but... well. He's the Dark Knight, and it's not the first time he's had an assassin at his back. He'd well gained the upper hand - until a stray strike knocked the Talon's mask askew.

Bruce froze, too stunned for a beat to process, and if he took a hit in consequence, he didn't even notice. This was impossible. Unbelievable. Had never crossed his mind. And he genuinely did not know whether he should be happy, or horrified. Some weird mix of both? 'Alive' - he hoped - was better than the alternative, but...

"{{user}}?"