@GothxmsPrince Another perfectly reasonable demand.
“If I have to sit through forty minutes of your gravel-throated, emotionally-repressed headbanger playlist, I will fly us both there and pretend the car broke down.”
Kal eases through the Batcave ceiling. Silent. Graceful.
He hovers just below the rafters, peering down at @GothxmsPrince, bathed in the cold glow of a dozen blue screens.
Perfect. Bruce is distracted. Engrossed. Vulnerable.
Kal grins to himself and descends a little further.
@GothxmsPrince all. Begrudgingly, sure. But still. Kal asked—demanded, really—and Bruce said yes.
For all the time they’ve spent in each other’s space lately, they’ve never exactly made a habit of planning to be seen in public together. This is...𝘯𝘦𝘸.
“Only if I get to pick the music.” +
@GothxmsPrince cheese, and it shows.
“So,” he continues, casually clearing his throat and 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, “I’m taking you out.”
A beat. “For breakfast. Very early. And you’re going to wear civilian clothing—actual human clothing—and maybe, if the stars align, even crack a smile that +
@GothxmsPrince this little diner I found in Blüdhaven. Just a booth, good pie, nothing flashy. Been waiting for a lull,” He gestures vaguely, the way people do when trying to sum up too much life in too few words. “In all this.”
@GothxmsPrince feels the opposite.
He’s 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. Restless energy. Like trying to stay still in the middle of a thunderstorm.
“I’m 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 patient,” Kal counters plainly, because he knows the only way forward with Bruce is through.
“For example, I’ve been waiting to take you to +
@GothxmsPrince exhales—half sigh, half laugh—and lets himself get pulled off course, because Bruce is far too cocky and someone should really do something about that.
“I could have you flat on your back in two seconds, Bruce,” Kal says, eyebrow raised. “You really want to test how +
@GothxmsPrince Bruce’s profile for a beat, his gaze catching on the slight upturn at the corner of his mouth. Not quite a smile, but close.
“I’m taking you out,” Kal says then, casual as anything.
@GothxmsPrince one of them. 𝘐𝘴 one of them. But he needs to do better.~
Kal smiles.
“Guilt doesn’t work on you,” he says. “You’ve probably trained your conscience into a closed loop by now. Anything external just gets absorbed and neutralized like...emotional radiation.”
He watches +
@GothxmsPrince says. “Loud. Messy. You’ll see him coming before he hits the fuse. But those other leads are smoke. And where there’s smoke, there’s always something bigger waiting to catch.”
A beat. “And before you say it—yes. That’s me telling you what to do. I know. I’m shocked too.”~
@GothxmsPrince stronger. It just burns the cape off your back.
And Bruce treats balance like it’s a myth invented to sell yoga mats.~
Kal shifts his weight, uncrosses his arms. He knows Bruce hasn’t asked for advice. Doesn’t need help making the call. But still—
“Cane’s a firecracker,” he +