The sound of crutches echoed throughout the Mountain. A soft click clack. Nobody was around right now, they were all out on some mission. Tim knew he was useless to the team right now, he wasn't even sure why he visited the Mountain. He was getting better at walking around on them, but not really good enough to be making these kinds of visits. If he'd told Bruce where he was going instead of leaving a note, he would've gotten murdered just for suggesting it.
But that didn't matter. He felt like he needed to be at the Mountain today. Like -even in his current state- the others would need him. It was probably nothing, but he wasn't going to ignore this gut feeling. Not while he was trying to build trust in himself.
Bruce was really helping Tim out. Reminding him that he wasn't useless. That everything wasn't his fault. That he didn't deserve all the bad things that happened to him. Bruce was encouraging Tim.
And Tim was finally starting to remember what happiness is.
He gently lowered himself onto the green lounge and turned the TV on. It immediately went to static. Connor must've been the last person watching. Tim sort of missed Connor. Him and the clone boy weren't really that close due to Connor's antisocial demeanor and Tim's social awkwardness, but Tim knew that they could make pretty good friends. That they would one day.
Tim flicked over to normal TV and it immediately landed on the news. He smiled a little when he saw the team. The fact that the world now knew about the team was a good and a bad thing. For the most part bad, but at least it allowed sidekicks to get the recognition they deserved.
The team was fighting a small group of villains. Klarion, Teekl and Deathstroke. A little bit of a mismatched group, but they were working rather well all the same. Well, except that Slade kept yelling at Klarion for being too childish.
Tim's team -his friends- were doing well. The fight was just about over. They had some injuries, like small cuts, but nothing major.
Does Mathias heal from cuts? Or does he only heal when he's dead? How exactly does that work?
Tim's eyes went wide. When was the last time he talked to Mathias? Dear god, what kind of friend was Tim? Well, apart from a terrible one. Nobody could rely on him. He'd just mes-
No. No. He'll go visit Mathias tomorrow. Explain to him that Tim's been having trouble walking and communication with others hasn't been his number one priority.
Because it hadn't. He couldn't even remember the last text he sent.
It was probably to Bruce.
Bart and Jaime had given up sending Tim texts about a week and a half ago.
It was a little disheartening, but Tim could live with it. Tim figured he could live with just about anything these days. Pain was irrelevant. Temporary.
Ephemeral.
Everything was ephemeral now. It couldn't last anywhere near as long as it did in Tim's memory. Things seemed to come and go easier. And they didn't seem to stay for as long either.
Tim could remember when he was child. He could remember how his smiles seemed to last a little longer. How his laughs seemed to be a little louder. How happiness and joy weren't pushed aside to make room for loneliness and sadness.
Tim could still hear this near-dead child sometimes. Knocking in time with the thumping of his pulse. Pounding on the door of Tim's heart, begging to be let out so he could play. This child refused to be forgotten, but he was slowly fading away all the same. Slowly drowning in the blood that was filling Tim's heart. Soon, this child would be nothing but hidden remnants of a long-gone past. Nothing but the strange feeling that fills your chest when you can hear your heartbeat.
