"Thank you, B!"

No one was expecting to come home early that night. When the call came through that Batman wanted them home at a fairly normal hour, well normal for them, they thought something was wrong with Dick or he'd returned to how he once was so they didn't need to keep searching for clues. They found neither of these things to be true when they came to the Batcave. Batman was working hard at the computer whilst Robin burned through the last of his energy reserves at his mentor's request by doing pushups and cartwheels. It was the only way he'd sleep tonight. "Erm, what's happening?" Red Robin inquired. Why were they home if nothing was up? Surely they needed to keep looking. Did they just decide this was how it was going to be now? 

"I asked for you guys to come home early so we can put our evidence together," Robin explained.

"There's been talk of some big boss wanting a weapon that would de-age someone. Couldn't get a name so it must've been anonymous," Red Hood offered.

"Fits with what I got. A tech company who developed a device capable of reversing the ageing process were stolen from. Everything to do with the device and the device itself was taken. The culprit was never found," Red Robin pitched in.

"When did that happen?" Batman inquired. If they could get a timeline going, they may be able to figure out who the anonymous robber was. 

"A few months back." The older furrowed his eyebrows. 

"How come I didn't hear about it?"

"They're a less than legal company, to say the least. They never reported the crime in fear of bringing everything out of the woodwork."

"I asked around about the description. Grayson's recount was vague but I managed to gain a few leads." Batman hummed. They had enough evidence to come up with a theory but they had no prime suspects or hard facts to go off. It would have to do for now. 

"So no clue on who did this?" Robin asked. They shook their heads, causing him to frown. He knew it was asking a little too much to have a prime suspect already but he was kind of hoping they would pull it out of the bag before he went to bed. Red Robin decided to be the person to comfort the younger. This was probably the only time he'd actually be able to help him without a whole song and dance about not needing help. 

"It'll be your bedtime soon, how 'bout we go find some pyjamas for you?" he offered. Robin nodded.

"Alright. Will you come read me a story B?" he asked. Bruce shook his head, not looking away from the computer. Cold, he knew that, but he had to continue with the work he was supposed to do but didn't due to this fiasco. "Oh, okay. Cool."

"I'll read to you instead," Red Robin suggested.

"Nothing scary," Bruce reminded the teen. There was enough potential for a night terror with the stress of today, he didn't need anything to add to it.

After digging through his things, Tim found some clothes that wouldn't be too baggy and Dick was finally able to change out of his suit. In all honesty, it smelt of damp and bin juice with the hint of tossed cigarette butts so he was glad to be out of it. He'd been able to block it out considering he'd be running around in just his boxers if he didn't deal with the smell but when he smelt the new clothes, he couldn't block it out any further. He tossed the suit in his washing basket and pulled on the oversized band shirt and shorts that were way too long to maintain the name of shorts. As he got changed in his room, he picked out all the things that had changed. He thanked the older version of him for keeping a lot of it the same. The only difference was the addition of photos of people he was yet to know and the boys he'd just met. He picked up one and studied it. He was in his twenties in the picture and had his arms draped over the shoulders of two girls. Both ginger. One had odd eyes but he shrugged the look off. He didn't like to judge personal style choices. He studied himself further. There were bags under his eyes. As much as there appeared to be an attempt to cover them up, they still shone through. They were much too dark for makeup to hide. How much did he work to get those? Dick didn't envy his older self if those bags were anything to go off. That and the way his mentor treated him. Was he just pushed around by everyone when he was older? Bruce mentioned making mistakes but what were those mistakes? He replaced the picture to its place on the cabinet. The bed wasn't any bigger but that was because it was so big. The unfilled space sometimes made him feel lonely. He was so small that when he flopped down he was like a raindrop causing a ripple in the ocean. Dick sat down on it and opened the first drawer in the bedside cabinet. Inside were a few books, none of them children's books, but they would do for now. In the second drawer, he found another book. However, this one was a journal. He daren't look through it in fear of finding something awful. No doubt there would be something in there that would make him dread the future. He shut the drawer.

Someone wanted him to be a kid again but for what purpose? Who in the world would think ah yes, let's turn this person back into a child then let him run off? Unless the person who carried it out didn't know what would happen and was in too much shock to snatch him up. Remembering the expression of the man, this may just be the case. Still, it only left questions unanswered. There was a knock at the door interrupted his train of thought. "Come in," he called. He hoped it would be Bruce, deciding that he should come and read to him even if it was just for a little bit. Those hopes were dashed when he saw Tim instead. He didn't let his welcoming smile fade though. That would be rude and it might hurt his feelings. If Dick was staying like this, the last thing he needed was to get on the wrong foot with these people. 

"I looked online for children's books," Tim began. "I don't really know your reading level but I picked out a few age-appropriate ones."

"You don't have to read to me. You probably have work to do and everything," Dick responded. He didn't really want a story now but he didn't want to sound ungrateful. It just felt weird to have someone else read to him that wasn't either Bruce or Alfred. Given Alfred's age now, he must've gone to bed earlier so he couldn't be called upon as a replacement. He appreciated what Tim was trying to do and part of him wanted to accept the offer. If he didn't then he'd be on his own till morning. Then again, being on his own might be for the best. It might keep his head clear enough to figure out who would want to do this. He couldn't even be sure it was a villain he knew of. There had to be new ones on the block. Tim cocked his head and sat beside the younger version of his brother. 

"I know you don't know me very well but I know you and something tells me you're not telling the full story here," the teen said. 

"Do I trust you?"

"You trust all of us, believe it or not. So you can tell me what's going on," he assured the younger. Dick looked to him, finding genuine concern in the other's eyes. He may be telling the truth about their relationship but it didn't make it any easier to speak his mind. 

"I just feel so out of place. Probably because I am," he replied, fiddling with the hem of his oversized shirt. "Things must've changed so much and if I don't go back to normal, I'll have to learn it all. It'll take so long."

"I can't imagine it helps that Bruce has changed," Tim commented. He shook his head and brought his knees to his chest. He put his forehead on them and huffed. This was going to be so hard if this wasn't reversible. 

"Don't tell him this but he's not that nice anymore. Not that I don't appreciate what he's already done! It's just, he used to make that extra effort for me." What happened between the time he knew and the time he'd suddenly been thrust into? 

"Give him some time to get back into the rhythm of things. He was really busy tonight and-"

"-and I wasted his time. It was probably my fault I'm like this. I stuff things up all the time." Tim put a hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

"That's enough of that. All I'm saying is he's busy and didn't expect this happening. I don't think even you expected this and you normally expect the weirdest from villains." Dick laughed to himself and brought his head up from his knees. He guessed he was right considering he knew the new Bruce. "You just need to take your mind off things. Getting a good night's sleep might help." The comment got a cackle but Tim didn't really know why. There wasn't much that was funny about what he said. 

"I've not had a good night's sleep in ages. Guess older me has this on lock."

"For the most part," Tim responded. He looked at the book sitting on top of the table side cabinet. It'd been picked out before but forgotten about upon finding out Bruce wasn't coming up from dwelling in the Batcave all night. He picked it up and skimmed over the blurb. "How about I read this?" he suggested. The acrobat shrugged. 

"I don't really want to sleep," he replied.

"At least try. You never know, this might be the night you sleep fine." That was highly unlikely but Dick liked his optimistic attitude so he thought he may as well give it a shot. He was used to waking up in a cold sweat and his stomach twisting from the disgust of seeing the mangled bodies; if he saw it one more time it wouldn't be that surprising. Still, he was all for trying. 

"Alright."

Tim barely got two chapters into the book before Dick was fast asleep. He looked as cute as a button all curled up and bundled under the sheets that kept out Gotham's cold. Soft snores littered the air and Tim hoped the dreams he had were good ones. That probably wouldn't happen but that didn't stop him from hoping for it. He got up carefully and snuck out of the room, pulling the door to. "He better not come to my room if he has nightmares," Damian stated passingly as he walked down the hall. Tim rolled his eyes at the younger. 

"It wouldn't hurt to have some sympathy," he scolded. The other tutted, not putting any value on his words. "It's not like he'd come to you anyway. You're hardly his favourite."

"I'm the Grayson who matters favourite. This is just temporary," he argued back.

"Who says this is temporary? If this tech is from who we suspect then why would they want to reverse the de-ageing process?" Tim pointed out. Judging by the silence he got, he guessed he won the argument. "I suggest you stop being a self-centred asshole because the Dick that put up with your bullshit might not come back and that Dick in there won't see whatever the older one sees in you." He walked away to his own room to complete some work. Damian remained in the hall for a moment and looked to Dick's room. He peeked inside silently and saw the peaceful expression on the boy's face. Was this the person he had to get to know now? Dick always had his back but Tim was right. His younger version may not see the good in him. He closed the door and walked to his own room. He could look after himself and fend off criticism but he'd be lying if he said Dick always having his back didn't make it much easier. Maybe he should form some sort of alliance with the younger. He'd keep that in mind.