metalogs | ( open ) and what's the worst you take

Entry tags:

( open ) and what's the worst you take

Who: Bruce Wayne/Batman

batsymbol
What: July Catch-all, Bruce assimilating to things, Batman being Batman
When: Throughout July, some August things too
Where: Primarily Central City, will mention otherwise
Content Warnings: TBD but let's just say Bruce being Bruce and Batman being Batman.

BRUCE or BATMAN

open to both [brackets] and prose, i'll follow your lead if you have a preference. if you want something else with bruce or bats, shoot me a PM or PP at

telekinetics to discuss. otherwise things we've planned/discussed can be dropped in here as well. starters in comments.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

( that's a little more thorough of a thought than he's had about it. granted, superpowered villains and individuals aren't exactly a thing in his gotham at the moment. that's not to say they won't be at some point. but for the moment, that's another adjustment he's had to make and navigate here... having abilities of his own suddenly. )

You know why I was here.

( at the store, he means, a gentle nod towards it. it's obvious he needs things to set up shop, starting from scratch and all again. )

You know what I do.

You know you can say that you were shopping.

[ Young Bruce was always on wasn’t he. He has to be exhausted. ]

I won’t be disappointed that you weren’t looking for me.

( he's very tired. paranoid. stressed. angry. he's a lot of things all at once. )

Well when two of you have tried to stab me, one actually succeeding, I'm a little more cautious about who I approach here.

[ What the hell. Of course they did. Tim doesn’t need to ask who. There’s only two lunkheads that would immediately get into a fight with Bruce, even if they hadn’t already told him about the fight.

Jay left out the stabbing. He only said he patched Bruce up because he was injured. ]

Are you still hurt?

[ Tim’s hand twitches towards Bruce. He could heal him. Should. ]

The Confluence gave me the power to heal.

( hm. healing. that's handy to have. especially given what they do. still, he gives the slightest shake of his head at the offer. )

I've had worse.

( and he has the scars to prove it.

slight turn towards the crosswalk, he looks back to tim, reaching for the inside pocket of his jacket as he turns completely. )

Walk with me to the next street.

[ It’s certainly useful. Tim’s not sure it’s a gift.

But he doesn’t like this response. It’s self-punishing. ]

That doesn’t mean you can’t be better.

[ Because he is still hurt. Tim will walk with him to get an opportunity to heal him anyway. He falls into step beside him. ]

What’s on the next street?

Coffee.

( which he desperately needs at the moment.

as he walks, he pulls out a pad of paper from his inside jacket pocket, as well as a pen, scribbling as he goes. when he's finished, he hands the paper, slightly folded, over to tim. )

Do you know these names? They've been brought up to me.

( the names written on that piece of paper being: superman, aquaman, wonder woman, the flash, martian manhunter, green lantern, plastic man. )

[ That's the best thing Bruce has said all day, and Tim brightens at the opportunity. ]

I'm buying.

[ The spycraft is great. There's no one within 30 feet of them, and they're both staying soft-spoken. He doesn't need to fold the sheet just to hand Tim the names of the Justice League. The half-smile on his face doesn't fade as he tucks the paper into yet another pocket. If Bruce keeps handing him samples (fingerprints, handwriting), Tim's going to run out of pockets. ]

I know all of them and more from home. Some of them of them are here, so you can't assume that knowing 1 of the names means a person's from our corner of the multiverse. Who brought them up?

( if tim wants to buy, he's not about to stop him. stuffing the pen and pad of paper back into his inside pocket, he sniffles a bit, brushing his nose with the back of a finger as they cross the street for the diner he'd spotted. )

The sixth one on that list.

( green lantern. )

I ran into him here.

[ Kyle Rayner. Green Lantern Corps. Justice League member. Former Titan. Key known associates: Flash (III), Green Arrow (II), Donna Troy, Red Hood. Tim Drake's personal favorite Green Lantern.

Yes, he knows him.

He said hi enthusiastically, possibly with an element of the fantastic, and now you want me to tell you about him. Did you ask him who he was?

He told me who he was.

( that he was green lantern, that is, and that they knew each other... are coworkers at times, as he put it. )

I don't know any of these names on here. If you do, I'd appreciate it. I don't like being blindsided.

( a disadvantage he's at with others knowing [of] him, but him not knowing them. )

[ Tim shakes his head at the open-ended request. ]

I told you I know them. I could write an entire dissertation, and you still wouldn't be satisfied that you knew enough. Knowing who they and what they can do is nothing without knowing them.

[ There's a difference between explaining small details and handing Bruce the burden of knowing that there are people who are essentially gods who consider him friends. That's not going to make him feel less blindsided. ]

I'll figure it out myself then.

( because of course he will. just as he does with everything else. an obsession with knowing as much as he can about everything that he can. two years into this now and he can't find himself stopping.

at that, he holds his hand out, palm up. expecting the paper back as they arrive at the diner there. )

I'm not telling you to figure it out for yourself. That's the point. If I tell you they're people you can trust - do trust, you're not going to believe me. If I tell you everything, it's information overload. Ask for specifics.

[ Tim takes the paper out of his pocket. Oh well, it's not like he needed it, and this provides an opening for Tim to press something into Bruce's outstretched hand - and not let go right away. It doesn't take long - a few seconds and Tim looks tired, like he's just gotten over a week long flu. If Bruce doesn't come in for coffee, fine, at least he won't be in danger of popping stitches. Again. There is probably an again in that sentence.

He lets go abruptly and reaches for the door handle to steady himself. ]

If you're staying for coffee, call me TJ. The waitstaff know me.

[ This is the diner he took Tim too. They're dangerously close to Tim's place. ]

( can you tell he isn't exactly used to working with others or have much patience for it? gordon is... different, as if alfred. but even then, sometimes bruce snaps at alfred. mostly because he's trying to get him to stop working... to be bruce wayne once in awhile.

he's about to call it quits with this when he finds tim holding to his hand and... a sensation. it startles bruce, but it lasts for only a few seconds and then tim is letting go... looking tired all of a sudden and he stares to the other as he goes and gets the door for them.

paper crumpled up within his hand, he reaches out almost instantly and holds the door open with the heel of his palm, letting tim go in first as he eyes him. tj. sure. )

[ Tim is shocked. Quelle surprise. However did it come to this? He well aware how cantankerous Bruce can be, so there will be no more subterfuge.

(Well. No more planned subterfuge.)

(He can't ever promise no subterfuge.)

The sign says Please Be Seated, and TJ, nee Tim, heads to the booth in the far corner. It's the only place to sit in the diner where one side has eyes on the front door, the other side has eyes on the parking lot entrance, and both can see the emergency exit and the bathroom.

Tim takes the side with eyes on the parking lot and leans his temple on his palm. ]

I brought Tim here for burgers when he got in from Jersey.

[ When he arrived and stalked down TJ - and also suddenly, the voice he'd been using is gone. Richer in tone and class, but still with that Jersey slush coloring it.
Got in wouldn't have flown at Brentwood Academy. He doesn't sound like he came up on the streets like Jason, but he's undeniably a Gothamite.]

( he makes his own surveillance of the place — of exists and possibilities to be seen or worse. when tim slides into the booth, he joins him, bag and backpack set beside him there on his seat. must be a sight to see bruce wayne in such clothes and not something a little nicer — something that would make alfred smile.

removing his cap, he sets it atop his backpack and pinches the bridge of his nose with his fingers. coffee is a very good idea right now.

he eyes tim as he speaks, mostly looking to see how he is before he takes another slow glance around the place, hands slowly rubbing together before his attention is back on the other. )

You ok?

[ Tim nods tiredly at the question and pulls a menu over to have something to do with his hands. ]

I’m fine. It’s been a long day.

[ It’s not a commentary on Bruce - not this Bruce. Tim keeps reminding himself that they don’t owe each other anything. ]

Maybe you need the coffee more than me.

( it's said a little dryly, just how bruce can come off with his humor. plucking a menu for himself to look at, he scans the various things they have here before looking back to tim. )

What you did when you grabbed my hand... that was your healing, wasn't it.

Allegations about my caffeine addiction are severely inflated.

[ Says the guy who, when the waitstaff approaches, will immediately order two cups of coffee and expressly say they’re for him, and yes, he wants two mugs to save her the trouble. Also some eggs, please. Thank you so much.

When she’s gone… ]

You should be able to take out the stitches later.

( for himself, bruce asks for a cup of coffee and some toast, a half-smile just barely there on his lips when he does before he looks away and back to tim. )

I didn't ask you to do that.

( it's not a scolding. it's not even disappointment. it's more a sort of guilt that he feels with it clearly having affected tim in some manner, given how tired he suddenly seems to be. )

[ This is a minefield, chock full of hair trigger inferences. Tim is judging Bruce by the Bruce he knows. That alone would irritate Bruce.

But he has to explain how this is going to work, if Bruce decides to work with them. It simplifies future arguments. ]

No, you wouldn’t. You don’t trust unvetted metahuman abilities and you don’t know me.

[ And even if he did, asking for help is a huge ask. ]

I’m used to working with you.

( that's just the thing: he's not. alfred is there to provide insight at times, sure. gordon, the intel. but other than that, it's just been him out there on the streets of gotham. to suddenly have others around who claim they work with him in the form of partners... that's new to him. a lot of this here is new to him.

hands slowly continue to rub against each other, eyes fixed on tim there across from him. )

A version of me.

( he corrects. )

A version of you.

[ He waves his hand to concede the point, and coffee mercifully arrives.

When the waitress is out of earshot, Tim will continue. ]

I haven’t forgotten the distinction; I’m just using a simplified language. I made the decision when I got here to treat Jason like I’d treat Jay, without anticipating a similar relationship. It’s worked so far. Choosing different nicknames helps.

I don’t expect you to do the same. I’m no one to you.

Least you have.

( because some others either don't care to or are unable to. is he referring to the jasons? he might be.

hands wrap around the mug he's given, letting them warm him even if it's not entirely needed, and he watches the way the steam slowly drifts from the top of his drink, letting tim's words gently sink in for a moment. when he speaks, it's softly and with his gaze lifted to meet tim's. )

Is that what you want to be?

( no one to him? )

( open ) and what's the worst you take

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