Just Robin Oneshots Part 2

8th Day of Christmas

Short and sweet angst

EDIT: TW MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH

Edited 06/02/2024: format changes, no real additions

A mission was where it all started. Things lead to another as they always do. Now Batman was holding onto his protege's hand as he faced a sheer drop to certain death. He couldn't move. He couldn't call out for help. All he could do was hold onto the small hand gripping his knowing he didn't have the strength nor the leverage to pull him back up. 

"Don't let me go!" Robin cried. His body was shaking. He looked so terrified and Batman couldn't do a thing about it. This was the only time he couldn't do anything to ease the boy. He was supposed to be the person to calm him down. That was his job and he was failing so miserably. 

"I-I won't," he replied. Robin whimpered at his stutter but he couldn't hide his fear. He'd lost so much in his life; he couldn't lose his son as well. The thought of it made his heart jump up to his throat.

When he thought it couldn't get any worse, Robin's grip began to slacken. He was losing the strength to keep his hold. 

"Bruce," he said quietly. Batman could see Robin's face pale significantly. His eyes desperately tried to distance themselves from the drop yet they always returned to the same spot. He knew Robin was going to fall. He knew it. 

"Dick, everything's going to be okay," he lied. Just because he knew the inevitable didn't mean Robin had to. Then again, would that just make his guilt worse? Would that make the fall all the more terrifying? He dreaded the grieving process; a process he still didn't know how to do healthily. They'd have to travel down the mountain to retrieve the body. His hologram would go up as a constant reminder. The funeral would be worse. He'd have to tell everyone about how good Robin was, how he could've been anything he wanted. All the should have and could have haunted him at that moment. He should've said I love you more. He should've gone to every single school event. He could've talked more about the little things. He could've persuaded Dick to never become Robin.

Robin's grip slipped further. He was seconds away from falling to his death. 

"I love you, Dick," Batman said. He'd never been more confident about anything in his life. The love he has for this child was overwhelming. Never had he thought that he, of all people, would love being a father this much. 

"I love you too Dad," Robin replied. Even now, he tried to smile. Why did the good go so young?

Then Robin's grip slipped entirely. 

Within seconds, he was swallowed up by the darkness laying at the bottom of the drop. Batman couldn't help but feel grateful for not being able to see the body of his ward twisted and mangled on the rocks. He heard Robin scream until....silence. At that moment, Batman didn't know what to do. He couldn't do anything. What he wanted to do was rewind to the start of the day and sack the mission. Say it wasn't worth it because it wasn't. No mission, no villain, no hero was worth the cost of Dick's life. Batman screamed, not knowing how else to release all the feelings inside. Any, if not all, negative emotion was collected in that scream.