There's some relief for Steve in that, though he mostly shows that by looking up between bites of food and a slight nod of acknowledgement.
"I'd be more surprised if things weren't still happening. On person, no matter how powerful, is ever the whole of the problem. How they got where they were and where they found supporters, and the opportunities they saw are always there whether they are or not."
That may not be the most coherent statement ever, and it's certainly too blunt, lacking... eloquence, but he does see bigger pictures just fine. Not with the kind of intelligence Bruce has, but his own.
"I don't think a single person on my side of things knows I even know who Bruce Wayne is, including headlines about him, but if we've got information by then or not I'm going to get out of your hair and away from you within a couple of days. Is Tim still here?"
Steve is right. It's a power vacuum waiting to be filled and Bruce could not take his eye off it. Not even for a single night. He would not be caught off guard by it. He finishes off his protein, spins the plate to take a bite or two of the carbs, but he rarely eats carbs. Not in the bulk Alfred liked to pile on the plate. The rest, he'd save for another time. Maybe.
"The people on your side don't give you enough credit," Bruce says, leaning back into his chair. He studies Steve for a moment, imagines him brought into the fold. He already knew the secret. It was all a matter of training then. But Bruce also couldn't see Steve walking away from the Avengers. Not to come here and take orders from Bruce. He's a leader himself. There'd be a clash eventually.
"But you don't have to be in a hurry, Steve. Stay as long as you need."
The question about Tim goes unanswered for a moment. "For the most part. I've got him working on something else so he's been away."
Edited (I straight up forgot to answer the question about Tim lol) 2024-11-19 16:48 (UTC)
They would clash eventually. Steve doesn't have a secret identity or any anonymity. He probably couldn't maintain one much longer than he could manage following orders instead of calling the shots himself.
That doesn't mean he couldn't work with or for Bruce in a given scenario, the same way it doesn't mean he's... using Bruce and Bruce's resources to try to get a handle on the absolute shit show his life has turned into.
And God he has got to find a way to get past how hurt and pissed off he is at Tony.
"Sometimes. Most of them don't quite get the serum. I'm okay with it." Most of the time. Sometimes, not. Even when not, not enough to bother to fight the assumptions.
He continues to eat and clears his plate while he waits on the answer about Tim, puts his fork and knife down then and looks back to study Bruce. "I was prepared for shit to get bad. I wasn't ready for them to sweep up a guy with kids and a military vet who are in no way enhanced. I don't know how the hell I'm going to manage this long term, but I've got to get it figured out. I'll stay until I do or I get so much as a hint I'm about to bring trouble down on you or Tim."
Bruce listens to Steve with a detached sort of awareness. As he'd said before, he didn't disagree with the premise of the Accords. Ordinary people needed a contingency, an assurance that people who were out saving the day weren't going to one day turn on them with impunity. Bruce had contingencies for every enhanced human he's ever come across - including Steve. He just thought the government didn't have enough insight to understand. To them it was about control, not safety and that is where the disconnect is for Bruce. (nevermind the hypocrisy there).
"You'll get them out." Distantly, a clock chimes and Bruce gets up. It's time to go to work. "And if you can't, I'll help you." Whether as Batman or Bruce Wayne, either way the hand would be extended.
He nods for Steve to follow. If he's never seen the Cave, now was the time. He opens an entrance and steps into the elevator that appears. "As far as I can tell, it isn't on the mainland. And if the Accords aren't just targeting your friends, then they're going to need a facility that can hold Superman. There's not a prison within a thousand miles that can do that." Which is the biggest clue. "So I've got Oracle tracking a few leads. If anyone can find your friends, it's her."
Steve gets up and follows without hesitation, though his breathing in the elevator is so precisely even it has got to be controlled.
Whether that's discomfort at the confinement and bad associations, or the result of trying to work with Bruce and not start a (stupid, unnecessary) fight just because he want to lash out at someone is a mystery, even to Steve.
Especially unnecessary and stupid since Bruce is helping him, Steve doesn't even wholly disagree with Bruce - just going with a bigger picture and broader scope, but also more trust in individuals.
Triply more stupid because this, at it's heart, is that Tony fucking hurt him, and Steve is not handling it well but that has nothing to do with Bruce.
"I know. I trust you and your judgement on approach."
At least once out of the elevator his breathing stops being... mathematical and deliberately slow. "Though if they think they can contain Superman, they've moved straight past stupid and into delusional." He knows Superman can be contained or killed. That doesn't mean he believes the UN has the ability. And not because of kryptonite or lack of. More... allies.
Ultimately, trust is hard to come by and Bruce didn't really trust anyone. There were degrees to it, of course, people he allows into his life and into the family. But his trust is never particularly deep. It's not that he expects or even desires betrayal. He's just...aware of the possibility and plans accordingly. To a point, he didn't even trust himself fully. It's part of the reason for the limits he puts on himself. He knows once a line is crossed, he'd never go back to this and he could become something someone like Steve would need to stop one day. He didn't want it to come to that.
The Cave comes to life when Bruce steps foot inside. He strides over to the computer to check info, see if Tim or Barbara has reached out. Tim's messages only indicate no change in his current project, while Barbara's sent a few possibilities for the whereabouts of Steve's friends. Bruce doesn't mention it just yet.
"Earlier you asked my thoughts on Stark. I assume he's got his hands in this. What's his play?"
It would be smarter of Steve to be less trusting. He won't be. He won't be, and his reasons aren't all that far of Bruce's reasons. Awareness of what kind of danger he could become, and a refusal to cross those lines. He made a promise to stay the person he was and part of that is not just trusting, but having faith in, individuals.
He finds a spot along a work bench or counter to lean, out of the way and in no danger of knocking anything over. Close enough to Bruce for easy conversation and to watch Bruce do whatever he's down here to do.
"Peggy's funeral was the same day the Accords were signed. Tony knows that, and has just enough respect for me that he'll leave me alone until I move or whatever he decides is an appropriate amount of time has passed. A couple of weeks is a safe bet, a month would be pushing it. Once either of those happen he will come after me with everything he's got. That means Nat, Rhodey, Vision and anybody else who signed and picked up." And, you know, Stark Money, Stark Tech, and government backing.
It makes sense in a morbid kind of way. It gave Steve the chance to grieve, not only Peggy, but whatever comradery he had with Tony and the people who sided with him. Then it would be over. It's ruthless in a way that Bruce understands. He'd have probably done something similar if he were honest with himself about it.
But Bruce exists in a weird sort of limbo. Involved but not really, because no one who might have tried to take him into custody knew he was Batman. He'd convinced everyone that he was a ditz with too much money and time on his hands.
"With his money and the government backing him too." Bruce nods resolutely. "If you need it, I can provide funding and information." Tony wasn't the only one who had nigh unlimited resources. What Bruce lacked in government contacts, he more than made up for in being a one man army all his own. And if he felt like it was necessary, he'd give Steve an idea of how to actually bring him down.
"But first, your friends. Oracle has sent a few possibilities. I'm not convinced, but maybe there's something you see that could help narrow the search parameters."
"Tony's also dependent on a suit he can't even move without a power source, a team that's mostly comprised of people who don't dislike me. He hates me but even he doesn't want me dead, at least not yet, and too much ego to go with anything ranged." That's all just him thinking aloud and somewhat distant sounding.
He goes silent, staring into space for another moment or two as he continues to think, then blinks hard and shakes his head slightly to refocus. His tactical brain is working, but not exactly at peak capacity. Hazards of being relatively safe and knowing it letting shit catch up with him.
"You're writing a lot of blank checks to help me evade a thing you didn't think was a bad idea." Which is observation and mild confusion but nothing too much heavier than that. "And let me see what she's got for locations." Narrow down search parameters he can do.
Bruce glances at Steve, then taps a few keys to bring up the locations Oracle has sent. One tucked away in New York. The other in the middle of no where. Both meant to be top secret, but not secret enough apparently.
"And because I trust you enough to believe the Accords shouldn't be used against you like this."
It's a truthful statement, one that Bruce is confident in. He didn't know all of the intricacies of Steve's falling out with Tony. He didn't need them right away. He'd get them in time. "But you should know this: people only betray me once."
It says something about Steve, either good or bad (or both), that his response to being told people only betrayed Bruce once was to... make a noise in the back of his throat that is derisive.
Or, as it turns out, self-depreciating.
"One of us is a genius and the other one is me." He dismisses the New York location, and pays more attention to the more isolated one, then just... "Can we check ground and air traffic around this location?" He doesn't want to even try to use Bruce's computer, out of fear it will bite him or mace him something.
That out of the way he carries on with the other thread of their conversation. "Short of some HYDRA level shit, someone can betray me a dozen times, and I will go back for 13 if I think they might be trying to do better."
Basically if that was a warning, Steve... missed it entirely as anything relevant to him. Mostly because of his reply but also because 'betray someone' isn't something he's done in his life.
The nature of Bruce's life meant people couldn't get too close. There were risks to it, hazards. Not worth the trouble for a lot of people and that suited Bruce fine. If it meant they were safe. But, if they managed to slip through, manage to reach arm's length, Bruce had to know that they wouldn't abuse his trust.
Steve is at that point. That's why he's here at all. That's why Bruce felt confident in at least getting him set on the right track.
But if Bruce doubted him, even for a moment, he did not want to think about what it could mean for them. He never wanted his relationships to end poorly. But if it were necessary, he wasn't afraid to burn bridges.
Bruce notes Steve's interest in the isolated location and makes sure Oracle notes it too. She confirms and promises a report back later.
There's no denial there, nor is there any hesitation before he replies. "As long as I trust individuals, and I don't extend trust on behalf of another person," and those are the lines around it - individuals and only with himself and his own crap, "the danger is to me."
He straightens up from the terminal, stretches his back out while he does. "The fall out of me not trusting? Not too far off you, if you cross your lines. I have to be able to keep doing that, or I'm... a Hydra."
As long as he knew, Bruce could accept that answer. Steve is more than capable of protecting himself. "And nobody wants that." The last thing he needed was something else to add to the list of things to keep an eye on.
Bruce gets up from the terminal, checks the time, then leans back against the workbench. A while yet before midnight.
"So what's after this?" He gestures vaguely, toward the terminal where the information about the isolated facility still sits open. "You save your friends, possibly clash with Tony. Then what?" He can't imagine it would be going back to normal. Not for any of them.
That he doesn't know is not the answer he wants to be giving there, but that it comes out flat and with 'fucking' used as an adjective is pretty indicative of that. He rakes a hand through his hair and then makes a kind of frustrated, almost disgusted (at himself) noise.
"I can't... think around this many unknowns and scope of threat. All I've got is a lose list of goals and the vague hope that I keep more people alive than I lose, that this isn't a permanent situation and that I'm alive to see the other side of it. If I come up with enough of a plan to call it one, you'll be the first person I tell. What time are you going out?"
A loose list of goals was a start - nebulous and unclear as it was. But it was the foundation. Now it would take a matter of charting out the journey. "Don't stress about it," Bruce says, which is...frustratingly easy for him to say. He knows that. He isn't in Steve's position, but he's well aware what it's like to have people you care about taken, and the terrible limbo that can come with it.
For a minute, when he blinks, he sees Jason's face.
"This isn't going to be solved in one night. We'll look at it with fresh eyes tomorrow."
When he's asked what time he's going out, he straightens up and turns to start the check on his equipment. "Usual time. Midnight. " He glances back at Steve, "I should be back in time for breakfast."
The amount of relief Steve experiences at Bruce effectively giving him permission to stop trying to find a way to fix all of this immediately, or even lay out what he's got, is intense enough that Steve's shoulders drop an inch.
And he doesn't have any kind of poker face, either. That relief is clearly visible in his expression before he just redirects to Bruce.
"You want me down here or upstairs at the table when you get in?"
Sometimes it's what you need to hear - permission to decompress. Some problems could wait until you've got a clear mind. Some problems benefit from time. Rushing headlong could be dangerous.
"I want you to sleep."
The house was on a strict schedule, but Steve has the luxury of existing outside of it. He is a guest and Bruce certainly didn't expect him to keep up with his regimen.
"I will sleep," because he needs it. He's pretty much at the end of his physical rope, and if he wants his brain to work it's going to be as necessary as food. "I won't wake up early for your sake. I will be awake. I don't need all that much sleep, so don't get strange about it if I'm already up when you get in."
Every word there is the truth, from the fact that he'll sleep to him likely being up and why. That doesn't mean he won't worry. Stupid as it is. It's not like this is some unusual activity for Bruce, or that Bruce hasn't survive it this far. Somehow.
At least Steve's aware enough not to express that or hover.
Don't be strange about it Steve says as if Bruce isn't already strange about a lot of things. It earns him a wry smile in return. At least he wouldn't be alone. Bruce is going on patrol alone tonight. Tim and Alfred both would be here to keep him company if Bruce missed breakfast.
"I'm sure Alfred will appreciate it then."
Someone to eat his food and not leave it to sit and grow cold. "If you're interested, you can stay down here with Alfred. He'll be watching my back tonight. It wouldn't hurt to have an extra pair of eyes." Maybe that would help put Steve at ease about everything.
Batman's reputation for fear and intimidation, and 'Brucie's' for being a spoiled, self-centered idiot are carefully crafted, and Steve knows it.
But Bruce Wayne is still, and will likely always be, one of the most empathic, compassionate, thoughtful, and kind people Steve has ever met - to everyone but himself.
He studies Bruce in silence for a moment, realizing all of that, just because Bruce is offering him something here that isn't practical and that is more... meaningful than all the offers to use his resources and money could be.
Just in letting him stay and keep an eye on things with Alfred.
A moment or two of silence, and he just says, "Sounds good. I'll sleep better once I'm sure you made it in." Not about to call out Bruce out on being a good person. That wouldn't end well. "Alfred and I can bond." That is a joke. Alfred scares him a little.
Bruce Wayne had always felt like a performance. Even in secret, where no one but the people who mattered knew the truth surrounded him. He never thinks of himself as Bruce. He is Batman and Batman is none of those very kind things Steve thought about him. That isn't to say he didn't care, because he did, but distantly. In a nebulous kind of way.
Batman is singular and focused - a vehicle for vengeance and fear, an obstacle standing between an atrocity and the innocent lives it would impact. Maybe, distantly, those acts could be called compassionate. But Bruce would only ever see them as necessary.
But, he doesn't have to perform for Steve, so it makes his display of compassion feel a little less automatic and a little more authentic, from a place of concern he pretends doesn't exist.
"You'll get bored in this big house very quickly. I thought it might be good for you." To see Bruce in his element and for once see him without a mask on, ironically enough.
"What, I'd get bored slower in a small house?" There's some humor in there, albeit somewhat dry in tone. Mostly it's just real warmth and something a little automatic in what amounts to the banter. It's... a lot of house, with not a lot of people in it.
He will feel better in the cave with Alfred, both because company and because it'll be easier not to worry -- and because there's a real desire and interest in seeing Bruce in action.
"It will be good for me, and I'm looking forward to the insight. heck, i'm looking forward to spending some time being a little afraid of Alfred." He'll gain some insight there too, he thinks. Into Alfred, mostly, but that's a good thing.
Bruce appreciates the humor. If asked, any of his kids would tell Steve Bruce didn't have a sense of humor himself. And to some degree, he agrees. But he isn't completely devoid of humor. It's just easier to smile when the company is good.
"Alfred isn't that bad. Just overprotective."
Not that Bruce could fault him. There'd been a lot of tragedy to touch their family and Alfred only wanted to keep it together as much as he could. Jason's loss still casts an impossibly long shadow over them. And no amount of sunlight could cast it out. Bruce would never want it to.
"He likes you. So I don't think you'll have that much to worry about."
"Over protective would imply it was an unreasonable degree of protective. I am probably on Alfred's side on that one." He is starting to feel less like an imposition in being here. He has shit he needs to get done, yeah, but... maybe he can circle back to this. Not like he's got any other place to be. And a lot of his 'to do list' involves trying to move those people in jail away from him and to more stable positions.
Not out of some savior complex, but because he's starting to feel, to his own surprise, like Bruce wants him here and maybe even benefits from his company. Not in some huge way, but just overall.
Everyone's had a rough time lately. Some less complicated company might do all parties some good. Including Steve. "I'm glad he likes me. Being here would get awkward if he didn't."
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"I'd be more surprised if things weren't still happening. On person, no matter how powerful, is ever the whole of the problem. How they got where they were and where they found supporters, and the opportunities they saw are always there whether they are or not."
That may not be the most coherent statement ever, and it's certainly too blunt, lacking... eloquence, but he does see bigger pictures just fine. Not with the kind of intelligence Bruce has, but his own.
"I don't think a single person on my side of things knows I even know who Bruce Wayne is, including headlines about him, but if we've got information by then or not I'm going to get out of your hair and away from you within a couple of days. Is Tim still here?"
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"The people on your side don't give you enough credit," Bruce says, leaning back into his chair. He studies Steve for a moment, imagines him brought into the fold. He already knew the secret. It was all a matter of training then. But Bruce also couldn't see Steve walking away from the Avengers. Not to come here and take orders from Bruce. He's a leader himself. There'd be a clash eventually.
"But you don't have to be in a hurry, Steve. Stay as long as you need."
The question about Tim goes unanswered for a moment. "For the most part. I've got him working on something else so he's been away."
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That doesn't mean he couldn't work with or for Bruce in a given scenario, the same way it doesn't mean he's... using Bruce and Bruce's resources to try to get a handle on the absolute shit show his life has turned into.
And God he has got to find a way to get past how hurt and pissed off he is at Tony.
"Sometimes. Most of them don't quite get the serum. I'm okay with it." Most of the time. Sometimes, not. Even when not, not enough to bother to fight the assumptions.
He continues to eat and clears his plate while he waits on the answer about Tim, puts his fork and knife down then and looks back to study Bruce. "I was prepared for shit to get bad. I wasn't ready for them to sweep up a guy with kids and a military vet who are in no way enhanced. I don't know how the hell I'm going to manage this long term, but I've got to get it figured out. I'll stay until I do or I get so much as a hint I'm about to bring trouble down on you or Tim."
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"You'll get them out." Distantly, a clock chimes and Bruce gets up. It's time to go to work. "And if you can't, I'll help you." Whether as Batman or Bruce Wayne, either way the hand would be extended.
He nods for Steve to follow. If he's never seen the Cave, now was the time. He opens an entrance and steps into the elevator that appears. "As far as I can tell, it isn't on the mainland. And if the Accords aren't just targeting your friends, then they're going to need a facility that can hold Superman. There's not a prison within a thousand miles that can do that." Which is the biggest clue. "So I've got Oracle tracking a few leads. If anyone can find your friends, it's her."
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Whether that's discomfort at the confinement and bad associations, or the result of trying to work with Bruce and not start a (stupid, unnecessary) fight just because he want to lash out at someone is a mystery, even to Steve.
Especially unnecessary and stupid since Bruce is helping him, Steve doesn't even wholly disagree with Bruce - just going with a bigger picture and broader scope, but also more trust in individuals.
Triply more stupid because this, at it's heart, is that Tony fucking hurt him, and Steve is not handling it well but that has nothing to do with Bruce.
"I know. I trust you and your judgement on approach."
At least once out of the elevator his breathing stops being... mathematical and deliberately slow. "Though if they think they can contain Superman, they've moved straight past stupid and into delusional." He knows Superman can be contained or killed. That doesn't mean he believes the UN has the ability. And not because of kryptonite or lack of. More... allies.
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The Cave comes to life when Bruce steps foot inside. He strides over to the computer to check info, see if Tim or Barbara has reached out. Tim's messages only indicate no change in his current project, while Barbara's sent a few possibilities for the whereabouts of Steve's friends. Bruce doesn't mention it just yet.
"Earlier you asked my thoughts on Stark. I assume he's got his hands in this. What's his play?"
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He finds a spot along a work bench or counter to lean, out of the way and in no danger of knocking anything over. Close enough to Bruce for easy conversation and to watch Bruce do whatever he's down here to do.
"Peggy's funeral was the same day the Accords were signed. Tony knows that, and has just enough respect for me that he'll leave me alone until I move or whatever he decides is an appropriate amount of time has passed. A couple of weeks is a safe bet, a month would be pushing it. Once either of those happen he will come after me with everything he's got. That means Nat, Rhodey, Vision and anybody else who signed and picked up." And, you know, Stark Money, Stark Tech, and government backing.
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But Bruce exists in a weird sort of limbo. Involved but not really, because no one who might have tried to take him into custody knew he was Batman. He'd convinced everyone that he was a ditz with too much money and time on his hands.
"With his money and the government backing him too." Bruce nods resolutely. "If you need it, I can provide funding and information." Tony wasn't the only one who had nigh unlimited resources. What Bruce lacked in government contacts, he more than made up for in being a one man army all his own. And if he felt like it was necessary, he'd give Steve an idea of how to actually bring him down.
"But first, your friends. Oracle has sent a few possibilities. I'm not convinced, but maybe there's something you see that could help narrow the search parameters."
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He goes silent, staring into space for another moment or two as he continues to think, then blinks hard and shakes his head slightly to refocus. His tactical brain is working, but not exactly at peak capacity. Hazards of being relatively safe and knowing it letting shit catch up with him.
"You're writing a lot of blank checks to help me evade a thing you didn't think was a bad idea." Which is observation and mild confusion but nothing too much heavier than that. "And let me see what she's got for locations." Narrow down search parameters he can do.
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Bruce glances at Steve, then taps a few keys to bring up the locations Oracle has sent. One tucked away in New York. The other in the middle of no where. Both meant to be top secret, but not secret enough apparently.
"And because I trust you enough to believe the Accords shouldn't be used against you like this."
It's a truthful statement, one that Bruce is confident in. He didn't know all of the intricacies of Steve's falling out with Tony. He didn't need them right away. He'd get them in time. "But you should know this: people only betray me once."
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Or, as it turns out, self-depreciating.
"One of us is a genius and the other one is me." He dismisses the New York location, and pays more attention to the more isolated one, then just... "Can we check ground and air traffic around this location?" He doesn't want to even try to use Bruce's computer, out of fear it will bite him or mace him something.
That out of the way he carries on with the other thread of their conversation. "Short of some HYDRA level shit, someone can betray me a dozen times, and I will go back for 13 if I think they might be trying to do better."
Basically if that was a warning, Steve... missed it entirely as anything relevant to him. Mostly because of his reply but also because 'betray someone' isn't something he's done in his life.
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Steve is at that point. That's why he's here at all. That's why Bruce felt confident in at least getting him set on the right track.
But if Bruce doubted him, even for a moment, he did not want to think about what it could mean for them. He never wanted his relationships to end poorly. But if it were necessary, he wasn't afraid to burn bridges.
Bruce notes Steve's interest in the isolated location and makes sure Oracle notes it too. She confirms and promises a report back later.
"That's dangerous."
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There's no denial there, nor is there any hesitation before he replies. "As long as I trust individuals, and I don't extend trust on behalf of another person," and those are the lines around it - individuals and only with himself and his own crap, "the danger is to me."
He straightens up from the terminal, stretches his back out while he does. "The fall out of me not trusting? Not too far off you, if you cross your lines. I have to be able to keep doing that, or I'm... a Hydra."
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Bruce gets up from the terminal, checks the time, then leans back against the workbench. A while yet before midnight.
"So what's after this?" He gestures vaguely, toward the terminal where the information about the isolated facility still sits open. "You save your friends, possibly clash with Tony. Then what?" He can't imagine it would be going back to normal. Not for any of them.
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That he doesn't know is not the answer he wants to be giving there, but that it comes out flat and with 'fucking' used as an adjective is pretty indicative of that. He rakes a hand through his hair and then makes a kind of frustrated, almost disgusted (at himself) noise.
"I can't... think around this many unknowns and scope of threat. All I've got is a lose list of goals and the vague hope that I keep more people alive than I lose, that this isn't a permanent situation and that I'm alive to see the other side of it. If I come up with enough of a plan to call it one, you'll be the first person I tell. What time are you going out?"
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For a minute, when he blinks, he sees Jason's face.
"This isn't going to be solved in one night. We'll look at it with fresh eyes tomorrow."
When he's asked what time he's going out, he straightens up and turns to start the check on his equipment. "Usual time. Midnight. " He glances back at Steve, "I should be back in time for breakfast."
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And he doesn't have any kind of poker face, either. That relief is clearly visible in his expression before he just redirects to Bruce.
"You want me down here or upstairs at the table when you get in?"
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"I want you to sleep."
The house was on a strict schedule, but Steve has the luxury of existing outside of it. He is a guest and Bruce certainly didn't expect him to keep up with his regimen.
"Don't get up early for my sake."
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Every word there is the truth, from the fact that he'll sleep to him likely being up and why. That doesn't mean he won't worry. Stupid as it is. It's not like this is some unusual activity for Bruce, or that Bruce hasn't survive it this far. Somehow.
At least Steve's aware enough not to express that or hover.
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"I'm sure Alfred will appreciate it then."
Someone to eat his food and not leave it to sit and grow cold. "If you're interested, you can stay down here with Alfred. He'll be watching my back tonight. It wouldn't hurt to have an extra pair of eyes." Maybe that would help put Steve at ease about everything.
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But Bruce Wayne is still, and will likely always be, one of the most empathic, compassionate, thoughtful, and kind people Steve has ever met - to everyone but himself.
He studies Bruce in silence for a moment, realizing all of that, just because Bruce is offering him something here that isn't practical and that is more... meaningful than all the offers to use his resources and money could be.
Just in letting him stay and keep an eye on things with Alfred.
A moment or two of silence, and he just says, "Sounds good. I'll sleep better once I'm sure you made it in." Not about to call out Bruce out on being a good person. That wouldn't end well. "Alfred and I can bond." That is a joke. Alfred scares him a little.
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Batman is singular and focused - a vehicle for vengeance and fear, an obstacle standing between an atrocity and the innocent lives it would impact. Maybe, distantly, those acts could be called compassionate. But Bruce would only ever see them as necessary.
But, he doesn't have to perform for Steve, so it makes his display of compassion feel a little less automatic and a little more authentic, from a place of concern he pretends doesn't exist.
"You'll get bored in this big house very quickly. I thought it might be good for you." To see Bruce in his element and for once see him without a mask on, ironically enough.
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He will feel better in the cave with Alfred, both because company and because it'll be easier not to worry -- and because there's a real desire and interest in seeing Bruce in action.
"It will be good for me, and I'm looking forward to the insight. heck, i'm looking forward to spending some time being a little afraid of Alfred." He'll gain some insight there too, he thinks. Into Alfred, mostly, but that's a good thing.
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"Alfred isn't that bad. Just overprotective."
Not that Bruce could fault him. There'd been a lot of tragedy to touch their family and Alfred only wanted to keep it together as much as he could. Jason's loss still casts an impossibly long shadow over them. And no amount of sunlight could cast it out. Bruce would never want it to.
"He likes you. So I don't think you'll have that much to worry about."
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Not out of some savior complex, but because he's starting to feel, to his own surprise, like Bruce wants him here and maybe even benefits from his company. Not in some huge way, but just overall.
Everyone's had a rough time lately. Some less complicated company might do all parties some good. Including Steve. "I'm glad he likes me. Being here would get awkward if he didn't."
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