( closed ) twisted steel beneath my knees

[reneger]

Who: bruce wayne batsymbol & jason todd reneger
What: a fun family trip
When: late january into early february
Where: excelsior, the shadow realm
Content Warnings: shadowbugs, joker, head trauma, discussion of child trafficking and sexual assault, comic book violence

Comments

[batsymbol]

( 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. )

[reneger]

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. )

[batsymbol]

( 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. )

[reneger]

Don't.

( he doesn't want to hear it.

doesn't want to hear how stupid he was to freeze on the spot. doesn't want to go over exactly what jason did wrong, what he could have done to prevent it. doesn't want to hear pity either, because he's fine, thanks. he fucked up. he could have prevented this, but he didn't and that's on him. it's his mistake he'll live with. )

[batsymbol]

( he knows. but he still feels like he needs to say something. )

I froze, too. ( a beat. ) When I saw my parents those few months ago.

( the twisted versions of them that had tried to kill him. jason was there. jason saw him freeze — saw him become the ten year old scared little boy in crime alley rather than the feared and intimidating dark knight he's becoming now. if jason hadn't been there, he would have been torn to shreds by them. he knows it. he's just lucky that he was here to prevent jason from being killed... again... by that joker. )

[reneger]

You're still new. ( to facing what goes bump in the night. to being batman, to having his every fear thrown back in his face. jason? jason's been at this for years. and even before - he'd spent his entire goddamn childhood fighting. they're different. he should be better.

he's up. reaches out a hand for bruce, so he can shove his palm down against his shoulder. use him for balance. )

[batsymbol]

( hand there at his shoulder, he brings his own up. lets fingers wrap around jason's wrist. )

I'm human and so are you.

( even if they sometimes forget they are with this gig. )

[reneger]

( this would be where jason argues. where he says he isn't human, he's the monster who climbed out of some stupid kid's grave. realizes as soon as he opens his mouth to snarl it out that he's going to open his mouth and give bruce something to latch onto and jason doesn't have an out here. and he'd - talked to tim about this. he's trying.

so he keeps his mouth shut, even as he's pulling roughly at his hand to get bruce's own off of him. even if throws his balance off. )

I can't open a door 'less I can see where I'm going. ( changing the topic feels safer. ) Got here by not focusing on a place to get out at. Don't know if it'd work both ways.

[batsymbol]

( jason doesn't want to talk about it and bruce isn't about to force him to, but they will discuss it at some point. especially when they'd been doing that exposure therapy at his request.

for the moment, he scoops his cowl up off the ground — dusts it off and looks over to jason there when he tosses him that idea. )

It's a theory. I wasn't exactly looking to come here.

[reneger]

Figured, when you disappeared.

( if bruce wanted to make a dramatic exit, he would have done it in a way that wouldn't leave jason standing around wondering if he was still alive or not. )

We've got time to figure it out. Rations should last a weekish between the two of us, longer if we're careful.

[batsymbol]

( a week. they'll need to find some other means of nourishment in this place... if that's even possible, never mind the fact that neither of them have any idea what could be considered edible or even safe to eat here to begin with. seems there might be some trial and error involved here. maybe. )

I'd rather it not be longer. The sooner we get out of here, the better.