[ She uncrosses her arms, curls her hands at the edge of the island instead. When the overhead light flickers again, her tiara catches the glow and glints. ]
Well. So far, I have you for company. A fine start, I think.
[ It's more, in some ways, than she has back in her own place and time, at the moment. Although β well. There's Tom, she supposes. But Tom is a question she finds she's relieved not to have to answer, just yet. ]
( he meant more in regards to where she had planned to stay while here since the diadem hotel wasn't permanent by any means and not the sort of place he'd personally trust staying at. so when she mentions him for company, the look in those blue eyes of his softens some in a way that's... he's not even sure how to feel about that. but it has his gaze lift over to her after a moment, a long stare β unsure with what to say to that because he knows he's not the best for company by a longshot...
...and in his being unsure with what to say to that, the knife slips through the wet mango and catches his other thumb, drawing blood. a slight hiss through his teeth, he watches as the red mixes in with the bright yellow and sighs a bit because. well. so much for this being simple. )
[ She moves quickly β not at super speed, but rapidly enough β to search out a napkin, a cloth, anything nearby she can find to staunch the bleeding. It's times like these, she muses, when she might consider carrying some extra cloth around.
Some swift rummaging in a drawer yields a clean tea towel. She dampens a corner of it at the sink, then comes over to take the mango gently out of Bruce's hand, setting it side. She curls her fingers beneath his for support, then dabs at the cut with the damp towel to clean it out, her touch firm but gentle. ]
( the way she cradles his hand in hers β the gentle care she takes in pressing the wet tea towel to his little slip-up... it's done in such a way he's not used to β hasn't felt since his mother died. alfred took care with him when he'd injure himself at a younger age, of course. but he tends to himself now, especially during the last two years since donning the cape and cowl. there isn't anyone to kiss it betterβ not that he'sβ not important.
hum on his lips, he flicks a few strands of hair out of his face as he looks over to where the mango has been placed. the way the red blends into the yellow. )
An important life skill to have, evidently.
( though it's said dryly, of course.
and after a moment of silence and diana taking care with his hand, he looks to her then β watches her face before he lets his gaze drop down to the so-very-minor injury. )
And yet you still wished to add another scar to your collection, I see.
[ Teasing him as she turns the towel in her hand to set a dry section of it to the cut. She presses it down with her own thumb, then gives him an amused glance. ]
Although I suppose this one wasn't precisely earned in battle.
( he wills himself not to look up to her β simultaneously fighting the slight curl of his lips he can feel trying to give way to an ever-so-faint grin. moments like these are... few. the slowness of them where he isn't lost within his thoughts or fixated on whatever footage he'd collected from the night before, forcing himself to remember it all. he's been so used to it just being him... to being... alone. the absence of alfred here is painstakingly obvious, though he's done his best to ignore it β to replace it with nightly stalking throughout the streets and taking that pain out on those who could be seen as deserving of it. it works. for the most part. until he's back here. alone again. )
Don't think you want to eat that mango.
( he lifts his gaze to look back to the mango then, after a moment, allows it to fall onto her face instead. )
[ She hums at his first comment, amused. Focused as she is on caring for his cut, it's startling to glance up and meet his eyes, to realize he'd been watching her. From these few inches away, she can see the keen clarity of his eyes, despite the weariness he wears wrapped around him like his cloak. ]
Bury it.
[ Half disbelieving, half laughter. ]
I can see it now: slinking into the deepness of the night with a shovel to hide our shame. Or, we could simply throw it away.
[ Or wash it off. It's still a perfectly good mango. And she is... lingering. Diana casts her gaze back down to their hands, lifts the towel and waits to see if blood will bead back up. ]
( have bandages, that is, yet he doesn't seem to make any movement to retrieve them. he does, after a moment, force himself to look away from her and their hands and clears his throat, glancing around to see where the pup has gone and spots him laying down there in the kitchen. )
Bathroom has a first-aid kit. Should be stocked.
( otherwise there's the more heavily stocked things he has in his temporary batcave, but. this isn't exactly anything that requires the heavy duty stuff. )
[ She presses the towel back to the cut, her fingers curling around his hand for a moment before she finally releases him, holding her hand out for the knife. ]
Go find one, then. I'll see if I can salvage the mango. At least if I slip, I'm more likely to damage the knife than the other way around.
( dryly said, as expected from bruce, he drops the knife to her hand, tips of his fingers brushing along her plam as he lets it go and turns to head for the first-aid kit. the pup, perking up, follows after him, trotting away happily as bruce makes his way into the bathroom.
in there, he takes a moment, pad of his thumb rubbing slow circles over the injured one as he stands there, staring down to the sink. lost in a thought that threatens to be held hostage to endless overthinking. it's only with the soft bark from the pup that he pulls himself out of that thought and looks down to him there, watching the way he looks up with those dark eyes of his. )
Don't you start worrying, too.
( getting a bandage and a bottle of antibiotic ointment for just in case, he comes back into the kitchen with a band-aid held between his lips, fingers busy with applying the ointment to the cut as he does, pup trailing in ahead of him to go over and see what diana is doing... and if she possibly has food for him, of course. )
[ Left to her own devices, she studies both knife and mango, then takes both to the sink to rinse them off, carefully paring away the bloodstained fruit as she does, her thoughts running with the soothing sound and feel of the water.
This younger, earlier Bruce is a... surprise. A welcome one, she decides. Although he is not the friend she knows, the things she admires about the Bruce of her own world are clearly stamped on him as well. Confusing as it is, it's a comfort to have him here.
And complicated. She pushes aside thoughts of Maxwell Lord, of Kal and Bruce and their cold disapproval, and searches out a plate for the slices of fruit she's carefully removing. By the time claws tick on the floor, she has a small pile of mango pieces, one of which she picks up. Kneeling, she offers it on her palm to the puppy, smiling. ]
( brow only ever so slightly raised, he caps the antibiotic ointment and sets the tube down on the kitchen island, band-aid plucked from between his lips. )
Not sure how he'll like mango.
( peeling open the band-aid, he barely glances up from wrapping it around his finger, but catches the way the pup happily takes it from diana's hand regardless, pink little tongue licking at her palm as he does. softly, there's a breath of amusement there on bruce's lips as he gives a slow shake of his head. )
[ Once her fingers are licked clean, she runs them over the puppy's soft ears and stands. Another bandage for Bruce, but at least this one isn't from the blade or fist of some ne'er-do-well opting to do battle with the Batman. ]
I should let you prepare for the trip.
[ Stocking up, as he'd suggested. Speaking to the others. Spending time with the puppy, who will no doubt miss him. ]
( whatever she needs... to bring or to do. maybe talk to kyle a bit? though he's not entirely sure how the other will take it. someone should stay behind with the others though. in case things go south here. never mind the fact that kyle seems to have some sort of trauma with having done time travel things before. )
We'll meet up to go through the portal. Hopefully end up in the same place.
looking over to the pup who slowly makes his way over, bruce makes a mental note of having to pack up a small bag for him as well. to drop off to jason. toys, food, dog things. that's when he looks back to her. quiet. unsure... with what else to say. )
[ He waits, silent, but the air feels charged, as though there's more to say. Is there? She's still finding her footing again with the Bruce of her own world, in ways like and unlike meeting him here, now, again and for the first time, both.
In the end, she speaks the truth; as she always does and always will. ]
I'm glad to have found you here, Bruce. And I'm glad I'll have you by my side when we go through the portal.
( he doesn't entirely know how to respond to that β never mind what to think of it and it shows some in the way he lets his gaze linger on her before it inevitably drops away. he continuously feels at a disadvantage here with there being a number of others who all know [some version of] him while they remain strangers and don't yet exist for him back in his gotham. expectations he wonders he can live up to and diana here, despite how much softer she feels compared to the kids, is yet someone else who quite possibly has some sort of expectations regarding him. ones he doesn't even know he can live up to.
those expectations β history he can't claim to have, could be considered the reason for his keeping to himself a lot of the time, but. it's more than that. it's always more than that with bruce. )
You could still back out.
( he says then, soft, just barely lifting his gaze up to meet hers. )
[ There's no aggression in her tone, only thoughtfulness. It won't be a problem, because she won't back out, but this Bruce β his intensity, his obsession barely under control, if at all β yes, she very much thinks he would. ]
But I won't. I do have some small experience with gods lost in their pettiness and anger, after all.
[ Still, if this time she could avoid being blinded, she'd be grateful. ]
( whether or not he would is... not anything he's about to argue. instead, he lets out a short breath for a sigh before he gives a momentary raise of his brows. )
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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( he finds himself asking then before even really realizing it. )
Not that I guess it matters since... who knows if we'll be coming back or not.
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[ She uncrosses her arms, curls her hands at the edge of the island instead. When the overhead light flickers again, her tiara catches the glow and glints. ]
Well. So far, I have you for company. A fine start, I think.
[ It's more, in some ways, than she has back in her own place and time, at the moment. Although β well. There's Tom, she supposes. But Tom is a question she finds she's relieved not to have to answer, just yet. ]
cw: blood and injury ig
...and in his being unsure with what to say to that, the knife slips through the wet mango and catches his other thumb, drawing blood. a slight hiss through his teeth, he watches as the red mixes in with the bright yellow and sighs a bit because. well. so much for this being simple. )
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[ She moves quickly β not at super speed, but rapidly enough β to search out a napkin, a cloth, anything nearby she can find to staunch the bleeding. It's times like these, she muses, when she might consider carrying some extra cloth around.
Some swift rummaging in a drawer yields a clean tea towel. She dampens a corner of it at the sink, then comes over to take the mango gently out of Bruce's hand, setting it side. She curls her fingers beneath his for support, then dabs at the cut with the damp towel to clean it out, her touch firm but gentle. ]
Well, perhaps we can practice peeling fruit.
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hum on his lips, he flicks a few strands of hair out of his face as he looks over to where the mango has been placed. the way the red blends into the yellow. )
An important life skill to have, evidently.
( though it's said dryly, of course.
and after a moment of silence and diana taking care with his hand, he looks to her then β watches her face before he lets his gaze drop down to the so-very-minor injury. )
I've had worse.
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[ Teasing him as she turns the towel in her hand to set a dry section of it to the cut. She presses it down with her own thumb, then gives him an amused glance. ]
Although I suppose this one wasn't precisely earned in battle.
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Don't think you want to eat that mango.
( he lifts his gaze to look back to the mango then, after a moment, allows it to fall onto her face instead. )
Probably best to... bury it. Or something.
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Bury it.
[ Half disbelieving, half laughter. ]
I can see it now: slinking into the deepness of the night with a shovel to hide our shame. Or, we could simply throw it away.
[ Or wash it off. It's still a perfectly good mango. And she is... lingering. Diana casts her gaze back down to their hands, lifts the towel and waits to see if blood will bead back up. ]
You must have bandages, somewhere.
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( have bandages, that is, yet he doesn't seem to make any movement to retrieve them. he does, after a moment, force himself to look away from her and their hands and clears his throat, glancing around to see where the pup has gone and spots him laying down there in the kitchen. )
Bathroom has a first-aid kit. Should be stocked.
( otherwise there's the more heavily stocked things he has in his temporary batcave, but. this isn't exactly anything that requires the heavy duty stuff. )
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[ She presses the towel back to the cut, her fingers curling around his hand for a moment before she finally releases him, holding her hand out for the knife. ]
Go find one, then. I'll see if I can salvage the mango. At least if I slip, I'm more likely to damage the knife than the other way around.
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( dryly said, as expected from bruce, he drops the knife to her hand, tips of his fingers brushing along her plam as he lets it go and turns to head for the first-aid kit. the pup, perking up, follows after him, trotting away happily as bruce makes his way into the bathroom.
in there, he takes a moment, pad of his thumb rubbing slow circles over the injured one as he stands there, staring down to the sink. lost in a thought that threatens to be held hostage to endless overthinking. it's only with the soft bark from the pup that he pulls himself out of that thought and looks down to him there, watching the way he looks up with those dark eyes of his. )
Don't you start worrying, too.
( getting a bandage and a bottle of antibiotic ointment for just in case, he comes back into the kitchen with a band-aid held between his lips, fingers busy with applying the ointment to the cut as he does, pup trailing in ahead of him to go over and see what diana is doing... and if she possibly has food for him, of course. )
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This younger, earlier Bruce is a... surprise. A welcome one, she decides. Although he is not the friend she knows, the things she admires about the Bruce of her own world are clearly stamped on him as well. Confusing as it is, it's a comfort to have him here.
And complicated. She pushes aside thoughts of Maxwell Lord, of Kal and Bruce and their cold disapproval, and searches out a plate for the slices of fruit she's carefully removing. By the time claws tick on the floor, she has a small pile of mango pieces, one of which she picks up. Kneeling, she offers it on her palm to the puppy, smiling. ]
Here you are, little one. Eat. Grow strong.
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Not sure how he'll like mango.
( peeling open the band-aid, he barely glances up from wrapping it around his finger, but catches the way the pup happily takes it from diana's hand regardless, pink little tongue licking at her palm as he does. softly, there's a breath of amusement there on bruce's lips as he gives a slow shake of his head. )
Must be weak to pretty girls.
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[ Once her fingers are licked clean, she runs them over the puppy's soft ears and stands. Another bandage for Bruce, but at least this one isn't from the blade or fist of some ne'er-do-well opting to do battle with the Batman. ]
I should let you prepare for the trip.
[ Stocking up, as he'd suggested. Speaking to the others. Spending time with the puppy, who will no doubt miss him. ]
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( whatever she needs... to bring or to do. maybe talk to kyle a bit? though he's not entirely sure how the other will take it. someone should stay behind with the others though. in case things go south here. never mind the fact that kyle seems to have some sort of trauma with having done time travel things before. )
We'll meet up to go through the portal. Hopefully end up in the same place.
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[ She crouches to pet the puppy one last time, then faces Bruce. ]
I will see you then. If you need me beforehand, call, and I'll come.
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( if she needs him for... whatever.
a glance over to the bag again, he licks over his lips β looks back to her. )
Thanks. For the stuff.
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[ Her glance falls to his newly bandaged finger, then back up again, amused. ]
I would hate to have inadvertently been Batman's downfall by way of groceries.
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That would be the way I go down.
( it's strange to feel a little... lighter like this. what would alfred think to see him in a rare moment like this? )
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[ For example... a god. ]
Still, best to keep those bandages close at hand.
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( a batbag of things for just in case.
looking over to the pup who slowly makes his way over, bruce makes a mental note of having to pack up a small bag for him as well. to drop off to jason. toys, food, dog things. that's when he looks back to her. quiet. unsure... with what else to say. )
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[ He waits, silent, but the air feels charged, as though there's more to say. Is there? She's still finding her footing again with the Bruce of her own world, in ways like and unlike meeting him here, now, again and for the first time, both.
In the end, she speaks the truth; as she always does and always will. ]
I'm glad to have found you here, Bruce. And I'm glad I'll have you by my side when we go through the portal.
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those expectations β history he can't claim to have, could be considered the reason for his keeping to himself a lot of the time, but. it's more than that. it's always more than that with bruce. )
You could still back out.
( he says then, soft, just barely lifting his gaze up to meet hers. )
Wouldn't hold it against you.
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[ There's no aggression in her tone, only thoughtfulness. It won't be a problem, because she won't back out, but this Bruce β his intensity, his obsession barely under control, if at all β yes, she very much thinks he would. ]
But I won't. I do have some small experience with gods lost in their pettiness and anger, after all.
[ Still, if this time she could avoid being blinded, she'd be grateful. ]
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Then I guess you better not be late.
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