theknightshift | inbox (etraya)

( he’ll tend to his own wounds when he’s back at wayne tower. when he’s within wayne terminal beneath the penthouse and everything else. it’s not a cave by any means, but it does what it needs for him. what it needs for batman. for now, gloved fingers gently pluck the batarang from the table the moment it slides over to him and he gently sheathes it beneath the cape laying against him.

a thoughtful pause, he just barely glances over to the other man. )

For us or for them?

[ Unbidden he thinks about lifting Jason's limp body out of the rubble of that warehouse. He thinks about KGBeast's bullet striking Dick in the head. He thinks about Tim and all of the time Bruce spent thinking he was dead. And the dead weight of his son in his arms because his mother couldn't accept him for who he was becoming.

He thinks about all of this and it squeezes his heart so hard it feels like it's going to stop beating. ]

All of us.

( one big happy family? doesn't really seem possible for people like them. moments, sure. but he doesn't really think anything concerning a happy ending is in the cards for either of them. for their children... maybe. he hopes so, if even selfishly. but given their stubbornness and refusal to listen to them and their wants for them half the time, he's not so sure they might find it for themselves either. bringing them into this sort of life they've carved for themselves... was it right of them to do? or selfish in the long run? maybe that answer depends on the day.

he's standing then — bit of wince ignored as he feels where one of his injuries lay beneath the suit. nothing fatal. he doubts either of them would go for that with the other... unless they absolutely had to. that's the thing about them, isn't it? they'll do whatever it takes to survive. to come out on top. to protect those they care for. even if means getting their hands dirty somehow. )

I don't know if Jason will reach out to you. ( he says then, going back to his whole reason for coming here. ) I don't know how much help I can be to him.

[ It wasn't possible. Gotham would always come first. The Mission would always be the priority and Bruce would always sacrifice himself night after night to defend it. And ultimately it didn't really matter what it did to his relationships. As long as they were safe, Bruce could live with his children hating him. He didn't want them to, but he could accept it.

He leans back against the work bench, watching his counterpart get to his feet and there's a sense of understanding there. Even when he's injured, he'll always get back up. As long as he's still breathing, there's a chance. He's sure his counterpart knows that feeling as well as he did. ]

I will help him if he does. If he hasn't been dipped in the Lazarus Pit yet, then there's a chance. If he has, prepare for it. I mean it.

( something for him to look forward to then. wonderful.

rather than say anything about it — he recalls damian mentioning it and had seen it during that strange fever dream they'd shared when he first arrived here in etraya, he choses to slowly make his way from the workbench, figuring there's little else to say between them.

of course, he stops after a few slow steps — just barely turns back, not looking over his shoulder as he does. )

I don't know your relationship with Damian and he's not the same as when I knew him here before. But I've held him when he's been broken — risked everything to keep him safe and get him back to you. There's nothing more he wants than your approval of him. Not just as Robin. But as Damian Wayne.

( because they're always so difficult when it comes to conveying their emotions when they should. when it's maybe so desperately needed for someone else. )

Maybe just remind him of that every now and then. I know it would mean a lot to him.

[ It was going to hurt. No matter what they did, no matter how many years existed between the incident and this moment right here, losing Jason was always going to hurt. He would come back and they would fight because Bruce could not bring himself to kill the Joker. It feels inevitable. And the best thing this Bruce could do for himself is prepare. Prepare for the anger and rage and the fighting that seems endless.

Bruce could only hope his younger counterpart didn’t make his mistakes. Maybe that’s where the difference would be. Maybe he’d be better.

He glances at the other man for all the time it takes for him to breathe in and out again. What could he do for Damian that he isn’t already doing? Not like it mattered. They weren’t speaking.

He stoops and scoops up the bloody tool and sets it back on the workbench. ]

Get ready for the mission. It’s starting soon.

( that's about what he expected in terms of a reply. he can't even really blame him — knows he would say something more or less the same were their roles reversed or someone else were to be the one talking about this with him. his own relationship with damian since he'd come back smaller is... non-existent, really. a personal choice he'd made, no matter how much it hurt to, knowing the boy should be around his actual father — the very one he'd heard about from before and had told damian he would get him back to. it's selfish to miss him — to long for a child that was never really his but he... does. from time to time. only having ever really told clark about that heartache and how he hopes the other man never has to feel what he does with his own son here.

he envies this man. his legacy, his family, his love, his dedication. he's not there — has none of that for himself within his own gotham. just him and alfred... alfred who he's been away from for almost two years now. alfred who, this version of himself, no longer has. perhaps the only thing he has a leg up on him. everything else... he pales in comparison.

he doesn't voice any of this. never will, to anyone. that's just how they are. maybe on some level there's some sort of understanding between them there — knowing how they might feel in the other's position, but. as always, saying nothing. because it's better for the both of them that way. to power through whatever it is they have to. even if it breaks part of them — part of their heart — in the process.

so rather than say anything, he simply stares to the space around him one last time, then takes his leave. disappearing into the shadows. just like batman. )

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