#batstuff

Step by step

The first few days, Roy thinks it's a nightmare. He goes to sleep every night and dreams of waking up in his nice, lived-in house, Lian climbing into his bed asking for pancakes for breakfast.

Every morning he wakes up in a small apartment that smells too much like cigarettes, too many empty bottles piled up on the floor by his bed.

The one thing keeping him sane is that he remembers. He remembers the mission and he remembers coming home. Soon enough, Cheshire should be dropping Lian off at his doorstep, and he wishes for it to be sooner rather than later because he just really wants his family back.

He entertains the idea of telling Oliver about the time travel, but just the thought of trying to explain himself to anyone, of convincing them that he's in his right mind, is exhausting. He ditches the idea altogether once he remembers that there's no one waiting for him back in his time.

Just when the days start to blur together and he begins questioning whether he did time travel or if his mind was playing tricks on him, Dick comes knocking on his door.

It's odd. He doesn't remember that happening before. But it's comforting as well, because it means he can still remember, and because it's Dick.

It’s even more odd when he brings up Jason, because he doesn't tell him that he's dead, no. Instead, he's talking about Jason acting weird, and he’s using the present tense, and Roy keeps the conversation going absent-mindedly as he runs the dates through his mind and realizes that Jason should already be dead, but he isn’t. Jason is alive. Jason is here.

Jason is here.

Clearly, Dick doesn't know, and it's automatic when Roy covers for him, for his partner, who is here, too. He's not alone. There may be nothing left for him, neither in the past nor in the future, but who cares? At least he has Jason, and soon enough, he'll have Lian again.

Dick is suspicious, that much is clear. He keeps shooting Roy those intense looks, as if he were trying to figure him out. Still, when Roy asks for help with getting clean, the furrow in his eyebrow softens. He looks concerned, but not doubtful. Never doubtful.

Roy hugs him tight before he leaves. Dick pats his back and promises to come back soon, this time with Jason. Roy earnestly tells him he can't wait.

He knows he's worrying Dick. An addict shouldn't just quit cold-turkey like that, and Roy Harper, age 20, shouldn't be so excited to hang out with his friend's little brother whom he has never met before, but he can't help the excitement building up inside of him. He's getting Jason back. Hopefully soon he'll have Lian too. In time, he can start working his way up to Oliver and everyone else.