Bern comes out of the shower, and wearing only his pajama pants and drying his hair with a towel, he opens the bathroom door.
He hears a sudden hit at the other side of his bedroom's door, followed by a muffled curse and heavy steps.
Bernard moves fast, taking his phone from the bed in a fast sweep, then crouching down among his clothes and closing the closet's door in absolute silence.
He touches his phone, making the call in two clicks. As soon as it connects, he speaks:
"Tim. Listen."
"Why are you whispering?"
"Someone broke in."
Tim is running towards his bike before he can even think about it. Damn Gotham.
"Where are you?"
"Closet."
The Redbird is already speeding twice the city limit, Tim's heart beating faster than the bike's engine.
"Stay hidden. Don't do anything."
He could be there in... seven minutes. Maybe faster.
"Please no please no..." His mind is picturing all the worst scenarios, his chest hurting, and he finds it hard to breath.
He hears a noise at the other side of the phone.
"What are you doing?" He whispers. "I told you not to move!"
There is a terrifying moment of silence.
Bernard, who has crawled to his bedroom's door and is peeking out.
"Tim. I think the Red Hood is in my living-room."
It takes a second for the words to get to Tim's brain. Relief takes a while to settle. Murdering wishes are much faster.
Six minutes and twenty seconds later Robin storms into his boyfriend's apartment, not even caring that he's in full costume and has used his key to get in.
"You asshole! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
Bernard opens the door of the bedroom. That was not Tim's voice. That was Robin. Same thing but not the same thing.
Red Hood has jumped from the couch at the first sound and is now standing, hands raised as if to stop the wave of fury emanating from Tim.
"Robin, he's armed!"
Bern's worried tone, his eyes fixed on the intruder's guns, does not register in Tim's mind. He's busy launching himself at Hood, with such might that when he hits his chest with both hands and all his strength, Red Hood trips backwards and falls down the open window behind him.
Bernard screams.
"Oh my god! You killed him!"
Tim's stormy expression turns into his evil smile below the mask.
"Not yet."
And he jumps out the window.
Bern looks around, bewildered.
"What did just happen?"
