metalogs | ( closed ) twisted steel beneath my knees

( he'd done the best that he could while nursing his own head injury. thankfully, jason had been well-equipped for this little adventure of his in this shadow realm of sorts, and bruce had had the things he needed to, more or less, tend to his fallen son. it had been a little touch and go in the sense of bruce knowing the possibility of jason needing extensive medical treatment, but. from the sudden upright jolt, seems like the stitches might be enough after all.

bruce is seconds away from passing out — he's been keeping watch the entire time jason's been out and, ordinarily, he can manage fine on little sleep, but. he's been put through the ringer a bit and he can feel his body burning out on him. it's why he fingers one of the adrenaline shots there at his side. resisting the urge to shove it into the hidden opening there in his suit on his leg. he needs to save them. in case anything like that happens again. but he's tired and they give him the energy and strength that he needs.

it's because of jason's abrupt waking that he's able to take his mind off the shot and look over to the other there in the darkness, save for the light that he leaves going between them. )

You should drink something. ( he nods towards the water bottles nearby, bruce having taken one for himself and rationing it the best he can. ) You've been out for a few hours.

'm good.

( from what he's seen of the rest of this place, jason doesn't know what the hell their water supply is going to be after what he brought runs out. the zipper goes down, and he's reaching inside for the first aid kit. pulls out a bottle of tylenol and palms a few tablets after struggling to get the lid off - and presses his hand to his mouth to swallow them down dry. they might have to ration those, too, later. but that's a later problem.

a now problem is squinting across the distance between himself and bruce. notes the cowl not being on, how worn down bruce looks. jason's been out a few hours, apparently, but bruce has been up since who the fuck knows when.

jason still feels off balance, but he's got four limbs and a wall close by he can half-crawl towards and lean his back up against. )

Mild concussion. Might've ruptured an eardrum, might've not. ( just, you know, taking inventory. but he's waving it off a moment after. ) I'll take point, you get a nap in.

I'm fine.

( he's not, but. that's how this family is. always pretending they are. always pushing themselves until they physically can't anymore.

slowly, a leg stretches out in front of him and he's careful in the way he slips the shot back into its holster, bruce letting his head lean back against the wall of the cave he's been at now for those few hours jason's been out. his hair's a bit of a mess, the dark circles under his eyes even darker than they usually are with the greasepaint a smeared mess across his face, and still he keeps his eyes open. if even just barely. staring across into the darkness. quiet. )

It's nearly been twelve hours. ( he murmurs. ) I've been keeping track.

Shit.

( so not just a short nap, but a long nap. long enough to be concerned about potential brain damage, especially given the hit jason took. twelve hours after his arrival would be roughly eleven and a half after jason's, and their squabble didn't last that long. twelve hours since he last slept wouldn't cause the dark circles under his eyes. probably. he is still just a baby bat after all.

his hand raises again, feeling along the side of his skull. winces when it hurts, but it doesn't feel too swollen. doesn't feel like anything too concerning. jason's cracked open his head a few times, he knows how hard someone has to swing something into it to break it. hopefully it's - fine. they don't have much here, and jason doesn't have room to worry about it. his balance is off, but he's not particularly fuzzy around the edges. it's something he'll need to keep an eye out for, but. . not now, that's a later problem. )

I'm not gonna be able to go anywhere anytime soon. Sleep for a bit. I've got -- ( right, an internal clock. the implant on his goddamn brain, which doesn't match up with the timetable bruce is going off of. not quite. lips twist into a scowl. )

've got a neural implant. Long story. ( eyes closing again. bruce's are open, jason can save his from having to deal with the light a bit longer. ) But 's got a clock. Timer's off.

How long was I gone before you followed me in here?

( because he feels that might be something important to know. what with his keeping track of time ticking by and all. )

Thirty minutes or so. Had Rayner run me a bag.

( and let the crew know what was going on and where he was going before he fucked off after him. waited, to see if bruce would come out on his own. if anyone had seen him and he was just avoiding jason. he figured - the longer he waited, the worse it might turn out. jumping in after him was the only option he was left with. )

( the sound that leaves bruce is a huff of disbelief. )

It'd been almost three hours when you finally showed up.

So if that's consistent, it's gonna be a good - ( math was never his strongsuit, but he can figure it out. even if he skips right over remembering he has a goddamn built in calculator. ) what, six and a half weeks 'fore anyone starts getting concerned. Damn.

( no quick save from their pals back home then. good to know. not that he's expecting they'll need it, they'll find a way out. hopefully a lot sooner than that. if they're lucky, they'll manage it before kyle flies away from where jason went in. )

They might just assume we left.

( like people apparently do from here.

slowly, bruce reaches forward for the water bottle he'd taken for himself and, hunched over some, arm draped across his one bent knee, he stares to the bottle. quiet. )

They won't.

( his thumb curls in, fabric-covered fingers feeling along the inside of the green ring on his finger. the one that'd saved his ass when he was reaching for - something. hadn't done jack shit when jason's head wasn't in it. makes sense, given it's will-powered. )

Bucky's got an implant, too. My messages aren't going through, but it's still showing he's here. If I'm out too long, he'll get his ass in gear. If not him, Rayner's got his own tracker on me. Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure a real ring wouldn't let me put it on, an' anything he makes isn't gonna keep unless he wants it to. He'll feel it.

( softly, a huff. )

Least that means I didn't miss an engagement party.

( he lifts his gaze from the bottle he still holds, smile so very faint there on his lips, before he licks it over, swallows it down, and gestures to jason with his chin. )

I should take a look at it. Now that you're moving around.

( see how well the stitches are holding up and if it looks any worse. )

Edited 2024-01-30 23:24 (UTC)

It's not like that.

( brows furrow, and he almost launches into a tirade about how not like that it is, except he realizes it's a waste of breath and the more he argues now not like that it is, the more bruce is going to think it is, in fact, like that.

so he raises his hand instead. waves it. )

Middle finger.

( wrong finger for engagement rings. see. )

Look at it, then take a goddamn nap.

( sounds like when jason accused him of dating diana.

either way, with a hand braced against the wall he's leaning on, it takes him a couple seconds to find the strength within him to push himself up and then he's slowly making his way over to jason, boots scuffing against the ground as he goes. flashlight slowly pulled from his belt, he clicks it on and gestures for jason to tilt his head some. )

We need to make sure you're about as ok as you can be here.

My ear's ringing.

( but he tilts his head, even if the movement does knock him off balance enough he's quickly moving a hand out to catch himself. it shouldn't, wouldn't usually, but. )

Give me a couple hours, an' I'll be good to go.

( he can tell jason's balance is off. he'd honestly be surprised if it wasn't considering the hit to the head he took. still, slowly dropping to a knee there beside him, he's careful in the way gloved fingers touch at his head — slowly turn it to get a better look more up close. )

It doesn't seem to be getting worse and far as I can tell, isn't infected.

( that had been one of his concerns when dragging him here. )

I can see in the dark fine enough. From a distance though... you need to be the eyes for that.

( to see things coming — see where they can and can't go.

dropping his hand away from jason's head, he reaches for the other water bottle. takes a moment to uncap it before he's holding it out for jason to take. )

Give me an hour. I don't need more than that.

( he does, but. he'll make do with an hour for a nap. )

We've got mupirocin and ciprofloxacin.

( if they need it. his wound at this point doesn't seem to be that bad though. he's hardheaded; give him a few hours, he'll figure it out. he'd bitch to bruce about how he doesn't need water right now, but - jason already tried that before, and clearly it didn't work. so he takes the bottle. doesn't bring it up to his mouth yet, but he'll get there. )

I'll keep an eye on the time. If anything pops up, 'll shove you over.

( he'll make sure bruce gets more than an hour. closer to three or four, as long as jason's head doesn't get any worse while he's out. it takes him a minute to get the water bottle up enough to take a drink out of it, and he's careful not to drink too much of it. they'll need to figure out next steps once bruce has had enough rest. figure out where the hell they are, and how they're going to get out. )

Good to know.

( about the medication and that he'll wake him if need be.

gentle as it is, he lets his gloved hand give a slow couple pats to the top of jason's head — away from the wound, obviously, before he's letting himself drop down near jason. his back hits the wall first, knees coming to bend, and he slowly descends down to the ground, a heaviness leaving him in a breath as he does. he's tired. anyone can see that even here in the dark like this. he looks down to his belt, fingers a pouch, and gently thumbs at a timer he has — one hour — before he's putting it back in.

hand rubbing down his face, he lazily peeks through his fingers before his eyes are falling shut and he's letting his head tilt back against the wall. drifting. so much easier and quicker than he thought he would. until he's finally out. somewhat against his will. giving in to the exhaustion he's been fighting off for hours now. )

( bruce does something to something in his pocket and jason doesn't need to guess what it is. he knows, because he knows bruce wayne. and thinks it's hilarious that bruce assumes hiding something in his pocket while he sleeps is enough to keep jason from getting his fingers on it and fucking it over. when jason's been picking pockets since before he knew how to pronounce pockets correctly. he waits a good thirty minutes - when he's fairly certain that bruce is properly out, before jason's gently digging into bruce's pocket to pull out the timer and - turns it off.

drops it down when he's done with it and leans back against the wall right next to bruce, his shoulder resting against the other's own. there's nothing to keep him busy, so he finds things to pass the time. counts idly in his head to one hundred, then counts back down. idly goes through the contents in his fridge to build a grocery list he's not going to be able to get to for a while but it's something to keep his mind busy.

and waits.

lets bruce sleep as long as he needs because nothing's coming at them currently, jason's not in a good state to move much anyway, and bruce needs it regardless.

it's not until he hears a loud croak several hours later that he reaches out for bruce, side of his fist pounding gently at the bat on his chest. jason's pulling himself up using the wall before even verifying bruce is awake, eyeing the opening of the cave. )

( bruce often deals with nightmares when he falls asleep. seems that no matter how well he is at mastering his fear in the waking world, within the world of dreams, it's still touch and go at times. fortunately, while he "naps" there in the cave, the nightmares are more flickers than vivid and given the fact that the shadow joker clubbing jason upside the head seems to be one of the more prominent flickers, he'll take it over how they usually are.

it's not the ringing from his timer, nor the cruel sights within his dream that wakes him, but the tapping at his symbol there in the center of his chest. it's with a bit of a start — bruce taking a second to assess where he is and he looks over to jason. )

What is it?

( bruce opens his mouth and jason raises a hand to his mouth, presses his index finger against his mouth. he leans away from the wall, using a palm against the floor to keep himself from - falling over. his balance is still off, but he's managing to compensate for it. once he's gotten the mask off the floor where bruce had left it earlier, he presses fabric to his face, and waits for it to bond properly. tips his head out towards the cave entrance, to where whatever it is lets out a growl.

does a one-handed sign for big, before his lips purse, trying to think of the right way to. . . word it. signs no heat: there's no heat signature coming off of it. jason reaches for his bag, drags it over so he can throw it over a shoulder. starts towards the cave's opening but stops before he gets too close to the entrance. keeps himself turned towards the entrance, but signs behind him, letter for letter, w o l f. )

( a little more awake now, he reads the words jason signs to him and his jaw tightens. movements are slow — careful — in the way he makes his way over to the other side of the cave away from the entrance. back pressed against it, he reaches around his back and slowly removes the concealed baton from his suit. it's been his go-to in here and he hasn't really used it as much as he has in the past since coming here, but. seems like it was a good idea to equip it to the suit to begin with. there's only so many sticky bombs and reloads on his wrist gauntlet that he can afford when being stuck in a place like this. not to mention losing his batarang isn't anything he wants to deal with, so. baton it is.

letting his vision adjust to the darkness again, he eyes the cave entrance — flicks a gaze over to jason and controls his breathing and heart rate to a point of making it come across as being invisible. or, you know, dead. )

( eyes don't leave the cave wall, where jason's doing his best to watch for movements just beyond it. his lenses are advanced but the mask was also done when stark was running on a budget, so they're not - his best work. still good enough for this though. his breathing slows down, gets quieter to avoid gaining the attention of the massive beast of a wolf outside.

stays quiet for several minutes longer while it sniffs around, growling and making low sounds in the back of its throat. it looks like it's more shadow than wolf, the edges of it bleeding into the ground beneath it as if it might sink into it. jason's not sure if it's looking for them specifically or just looking around because it can, and he doesn't want to find out.

luckily, he doesn't have to. the wolf starts moving away from the cave, and jason gives it another few minutes before he lets out a sigh and sinks back onto the ground.

keeps eyes out for it just in case, but he does start talking to bruce out loud while he does, )

You were down for about five hours. Feeling any better?

( The Look bruce shoots him when he reveals the actual length of time he'd been out. )

I told you an hour.

( it's said with annoyance, bruce moving away from the cave wall for his cape left on the floor which he picks up. shakes it a few times to rid it of the dust. baton secured to the back of his suit, he begins to fasten his cape to the suit. )

An' I've got a head injury.

( hand moving up to press against it idly for a moment. )

One of us needs to be close to one hundred percent, and it's not going to be me.

( he's - mostly fine. but from the way jason's carefully pulling himself up to his feet, hand braced against the wall with his mouth twisting into an unpleasant scowl, it's clear he's not entirely better just yet.

and that's not even touching on how getting his skull bashed in again by the joker is weighing on him. )

( cape fastened, he looks over to jason. he's not wrong. one of them needs to be about as close to one hundred percent as they can be here, but. he still doesn't like it. doesn't like the thought of having left jason on his own to keep watch when he's not doing well. even if he needed the rest. )

You froze.

( it's not accusatory. it's more... fact. a soft and somber fact. )

( closed ) twisted steel beneath my knees

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