The Man and the Bat
Batman knew that he was more than one person from a young age. He had eavesdropped on Alfred’s conversation with the family psychiatrist a month after Bruce’s (his? He still isn’t sure if he’s allowed to claim them) parents died. It was incredibly easy for him, because eavesdropping was not something polite young Bruce would do. But soon enough after the diagnosis- something called Dissociative Identity Disorder- Alfred caught on to his tricks too. “Master Bat,” as Alfred called him back then, before he grew into a man and changed his name to reflect that, “You know better than to fight the children at school.” “I won’t let them call Bruce an orphan or beat him up,” he always retorted. That was his job, to protect Bruce. Not even Alfred could stop him from that. So, instead, Alfred taught him how to protect better. How to come home with less bruises and black eyes.
In school, Bat made a friend in Harvey Dent. Or rather, the “other” Harvey, or “Two,” as he liked to be called, another protector just like him. Bat passed his knowledge to Two, and they were inseparable at school when they were “out.” This bled over to Bruce and Harvey as well, bonding over their gaps in memory and being bullied by the other students. Alfred became familiar with the other boy, both sides of him, being brought over by Bruce or Bat.
Over the years, Bruce and Bat both grew up and became more and more individuals. Bruce enjoyed spending his time watching The Gray Ghost, hanging out with his friends from college, and going to parties and flirting with anyone who looked at him. Bat preferred to stay in, reading police reports and training various fighting methods with Alfred.
Bruce never remembered what Bat did, or even knew he existed. He and Alfred kept it that way, the two figuring that it would keep him safe to not know he was not alone in his mind. But over the years, it became harder and harder to hide. Then Bat decided to travel. He wanted to train under anyone who would take him, he wanted to protect not just Bruce anymore, but all of Gotham. And to do that, he needed to learn from the best. He was able to fully take over the body and front for a majority of the trips, learning everything he could from anyone who would teach him, using Bruce’s name and money. When they finally returned home, Bat became Batman, and Bruce returned. Bruce wasn’t stupid, he went to med school. He talked psychiatry with Harley and Jonathan to help them study. He was missing multiple years from his memory. He woke up every night with bruises, fractures, stab wounds- All he needed to do was watch the news.
When he confronted Alfred, they all knew the secret was out. Luckily, After a few months of adjustment, it seemed to be a positive thing overall. They came up with the system of leaving notes for each other. Bruce’s notes were always left in messages on the Batcomputer where he knew Batman would see them. They would say things like “Remember to read that guide on stitching I left in the cave,” or “Keep the face clear, I have meetings this week.” Batman would leave his notes on sticky notes on the bedroom mirror or fridge, where Bruce would see them while getting ready for meetings or press conferences. His messages mostly said things like “Fractured wrist, wear longer suit jackets to hide the brace,” or “Got stabbed, cancel your plans.” They both agreed that Bruce would not get any details of what happened on patrol, since the whole reason Batman even existed was to shield Bruce from the various horrors around him.
Then they decided to go to the circus, and everything got complicated. Lovable, fun, and caring, but complicated.