Bruce is insecure about his position in his family.
The seed was planted from the beginning, when he first met Dick and was turned down as a father.
At that time, he himself didn't think it was a big deal. Dick is a traumatized kid who has yet to know him. But as the time passed, it became something Bruce would lie awake thinking about. Should he ask again? Would Dick be mad if he did?
That cements it in Bruce's heart. He isn't Dick's father, and his relationship with Dick is dependent on they being Batman and Robin.
Because he was not a good enough Batman, he lost Robin, and with Robin, Dick too is gone.
Next, Jason. Bruce has a new son, one that is legally his. This time I will do everything right, he swore. Then Jason is gone.
When Jason returns, he refuses to return to Bruce because he was such a failure as Batman.
Tim came to Bruce because of Batman. Tim wants Batman and never Bruce.
Even when Tim's parents are being awful. Even when Tim needs a parent, Bruce will never be a choice Tim considers. That much was clear.
Tim admired Batman but never wanted anything to do with Bruce.
Cassandra is his daughter. She even seems to like being his daughter. But with how low the bar for her father's position is, he can't help thinking about how she would want to leave him too when she knows better.
At least there is no way she can find a better Batman, even if she finds a better father.
Damian is his biological son. Damian is proud of that fact. He feels like he should be more secure in his position as Damian's father, but he just can't. Dick is a better father to Damian than he is. He can see it. Everyone can see it. Day after day, he feels like he's losing Damain's respect little by little, each time he can't understand him or be at ease with him like Dick. To make it worse, Damian's Batman is Dick before Bruce. Damian sees Batman as something great, and Bruce is Batman, but he is still not Damian's Batman.
He doesn't know what he would do if one day Damian looked at his version of Batman and found it lacking.
Batman needed to be perfect or he would lose his family.
(If he ever told his children about this, they would scream for hours about how false it was. For years, they have seen Bruce as their father. For years, they desperately wanted Bruce to be a father before Batman. But Bruce doesn't know.)
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