( open ) and what's the worst you take

[batsymbol]

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.

Comments

[batsymbol]

( 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?

[mostdangerousbird]

[ 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. ]

[batsymbol]

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.

[mostdangerousbird]

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.

[batsymbol]

( 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. )

[mostdangerousbird]

[ 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.

[batsymbol]

( 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. )

[mostdangerousbird]

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.

[batsymbol]

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? )

[mostdangerousbird]

[ What does Tim want? To know that Bruce isn’t alone, because working alone makes him more obsessive, violent, and reckless. He needs someone around whose life and wellbeing matter.

Doesn’t have to be Tim (it would be exhausting if it were). It will probably be one of the younger ones.

(Not a Jason.) ]

What I want is less than half of the equation. I’m not going to march into the Manor and announce I know everything again.

With the others I made it clear that I’d treat them as normal and then respected whatever boundaries they set. You can have the same.

[batsymbol]

( he stares as tim mulls it over, though lets his gaze drop after a moment, wondering if it might feel too judgmental of him or too pressuring. tim and the others have an advantage in the sense of having known some version of him while he? he doesn't know any version of any of them and thus doesn't have much in the way of previous experience to go off of in terms of interacting with them. granted, he's typically quick at picking up on things — noticing little quirks or habits. but there's still no history there between them, if even different.

any history to come with any of them is going to be while he's here. at least for now.

when tim speaks, he looks up. )

Sounds fair. ( slowly, he takes a sip. ) Though I get the feeling telling you I don't want to be followed around or tracked doesn't fall into those boundaries, does it?

[mostdangerousbird]

[ A soft heh that’s almost a laugh. While there are concessions that Tim’s willing to make, some that he’s willing to entirely forego, Bruce is part of this hodgepodge family, and it’s hard to not have any concern for what happens to him. ]

We all stalk each other, and we actually talk to each other.

[ He is absolutely going to follow Bruce, occasionally, regardless of whether they’re in regular contact or no contact. ]

Aren’t you going to do the same until you’re sure I’m what I say I am?

[batsymbol]

( he's already found one of their trackers and tossed it back at the jason that had put it on him. honestly, he doesn't expect them to stop even if he politely [or not-so-politely] asks them to. seems to be a sort of family thing from what he can gather. though he supposes he should find it smart for them to have picked up on that. because...

of course, he's already intending to keep an eye on the younger ones — dick and tim — so this tim's words get a sort of hm out of him because, well. he's not wrong.

lifting his cup to take a sip, he pauses. )

I'm older.

( dry humor. bruce humor. )

[mostdangerousbird]

I have seniority.

[ He’s clearly ribbing Bruce back, with that faint smirk. Tim leans back in the booth more comfortably.

This is going well. Bruce hasn’t bailed or sabotaged the conversation by ordering Tim around. It’s nice, Tim thinks as he sips his coffee, to be able to manage his relationships with ‘family’ so easily.

(He kinda wishes Bruce was this accepting more often.) ]

[batsymbol]

( the slightly raised brow and just barely there huff of laughter on his lips is all he gives before a shrug comes on, going back to sipping his coffee then. )

Mm.

( alright, so he gives some form of a reply to that.

setting his mug down, hand cupping his mouth to conceal the yawn threatening to spill from him, he gives a look around the diner again before his sights are back on tim there. )

Guilds and Fantastic aside, there anything else I should know?

[mostdangerousbird]

... probably.

[ Tim looks distinctly uncomfortable at the question. Is there anything else Bruce should know? There is so, so much. So many tiny details that give away huge chunks of himself, Dick, Jason. Some aren't his to share, even if he wants to warn Bruce of what might set off the others. ]

But I'm not answering open-ended questions like that.

[batsymbol]

( dropping his hand down to cup the mug again, he looks across the table to tim. tired, but. in typical bruce fashion, ignoring it for the moment. too much to do, too much on his mind. he'll crash later for a couple hours. )

What do you think I should know?

( is that better? )