Ficlet: (Un)Resolved | DCU | Bruce/Jason | R | 1/1
Title: (Un)Resolved
Fandom: DCU
Pairing: Bruce/Jason
Rating: R
Word Count: 531
Prompt: For comment_fic: Bruce/Jason, nightmares; For hc_bingo: Nightmares; For kissbingo: Body: Neck; For 50_darkfics: Midnight
Summary: The mission shouldn't have ended the way it did.
Disclaimer: DC and WB own everything. The schmucks.
Author's Notes: Tenth in the (Un)Familiar-verse. Follows (Un)Afraid. My plan to comment_fic binge backfired right off the bat, but hey, I can cross some things off my prompt list! XD
(Un)Resolved
They may be okay now, recovered from their injuries three nights later, but the mission still shouldn't have ended the way it did.
Bruce knows this, knows the mission should've gone differently, better, but he can't help blaming himself; Ivy's arsenal was more than he was prepared for, and it was his failing, his failure to gather enough intel, that got them all into the mess they'd woken up in, that pollen messing with their heads and their bodies and Ivy shredded along with her plants. None of them were ready for what was in that warehouse, least of all Tim.
Not that any of that knowledge helps in the wake of the nightmares that sear themselves into his mind's eye, horrific images of slaughter and sex and asphyxiation lingering long after he's shot up in the bed, the sheets pooling at his waist and cold sweat chilling him.
A glance at the clock as he swipes a hand over his face, scrubbing away the terror, and of course, it's only been three hours since they came up to bed. This is their midnight, five a.m. adjusted to the middle of their night. Jason won't be waking until ten, at least, Bruce not far behind, and Tim will likely sleep nearly until the sun sets again, the boy's rest cycle another eight hours off from theirs.
If Bruce can't get back to sleep, though, he knows he'll probably sleep right on through as-
The whimper from the other side of the bed draws his attention then, and it's suddenly clear that he's not the only one having issues thanks to his own gross negligence.
“Jason,” he whispers hoarsely, his throat sleep-roughened. “Jay!”
Another whimper, and his Wolf thrashes in his sleep, deep in the throes of a nightmare, probably worse even than Bruce's.
Gripping Jason's shoulder tightly to try to shake him awake, ready to fend off an attack if his boy comes up fighting, he tries again, “Jason! Wake up.”
“Sssstop!!” Jay hisses, throwing an arm out and smacking Bruce across the chest. A sudden gasp, and his eyes snap open in the semi-darkness.
But Bruce isn't prepared for the tears and the wrenching sob that escape his Wolf, nor the sudden armful of Jason as his partner lunges at him, face buried in his neck. He stiffens for a fraction of a second, caught off-guard by Jay's vulnerability after the nightmares, then relaxes into the embrace, holds his Wolf tight as Jason shudders, whimpering again.
“It's okay,” he murmurs, knowing he's no good at this, but trying anyway. “You're safe now.”
“The kid....” Jay murmurs with a wet sob.
Of course. When Bruce came around after the vines squeezing him had withered, he found Tim and Jason clinging to each other, filthy and broken from what the pollen had done to them, Isley torn to pieces at Tim's hands and teeth.
With a heavy sigh, he pulls his Wolf in tighter, nuzzles into his neck and kisses him there, slowly, gently, breathes in Jay's dark scent. “It's okay,” he murmurs again. “It's not... anyone's fault. We're all okay now.”
If only he could believe that lie. They aren't okay, any of them, and there's no telling how long it will be until they are.
~*~*~*~
Fandom: DCU
Pairing: Bruce/Jason
Rating: R
Word Count: 531
Prompt: For comment_fic: Bruce/Jason, nightmares; For hc_bingo: Nightmares; For kissbingo: Body: Neck; For 50_darkfics: Midnight
Summary: The mission shouldn't have ended the way it did.
Disclaimer: DC and WB own everything. The schmucks.
Author's Notes: Tenth in the (Un)Familiar-verse. Follows (Un)Afraid. My plan to comment_fic binge backfired right off the bat, but hey, I can cross some things off my prompt list! XD
(Un)Resolved
They may be okay now, recovered from their injuries three nights later, but the mission still shouldn't have ended the way it did.
Bruce knows this, knows the mission should've gone differently, better, but he can't help blaming himself; Ivy's arsenal was more than he was prepared for, and it was his failing, his failure to gather enough intel, that got them all into the mess they'd woken up in, that pollen messing with their heads and their bodies and Ivy shredded along with her plants. None of them were ready for what was in that warehouse, least of all Tim.
Not that any of that knowledge helps in the wake of the nightmares that sear themselves into his mind's eye, horrific images of slaughter and sex and asphyxiation lingering long after he's shot up in the bed, the sheets pooling at his waist and cold sweat chilling him.
A glance at the clock as he swipes a hand over his face, scrubbing away the terror, and of course, it's only been three hours since they came up to bed. This is their midnight, five a.m. adjusted to the middle of their night. Jason won't be waking until ten, at least, Bruce not far behind, and Tim will likely sleep nearly until the sun sets again, the boy's rest cycle another eight hours off from theirs.
If Bruce can't get back to sleep, though, he knows he'll probably sleep right on through as-
The whimper from the other side of the bed draws his attention then, and it's suddenly clear that he's not the only one having issues thanks to his own gross negligence.
“Jason,” he whispers hoarsely, his throat sleep-roughened. “Jay!”
Another whimper, and his Wolf thrashes in his sleep, deep in the throes of a nightmare, probably worse even than Bruce's.
Gripping Jason's shoulder tightly to try to shake him awake, ready to fend off an attack if his boy comes up fighting, he tries again, “Jason! Wake up.”
“Sssstop!!” Jay hisses, throwing an arm out and smacking Bruce across the chest. A sudden gasp, and his eyes snap open in the semi-darkness.
But Bruce isn't prepared for the tears and the wrenching sob that escape his Wolf, nor the sudden armful of Jason as his partner lunges at him, face buried in his neck. He stiffens for a fraction of a second, caught off-guard by Jay's vulnerability after the nightmares, then relaxes into the embrace, holds his Wolf tight as Jason shudders, whimpering again.
“It's okay,” he murmurs, knowing he's no good at this, but trying anyway. “You're safe now.”
“The kid....” Jay murmurs with a wet sob.
Of course. When Bruce came around after the vines squeezing him had withered, he found Tim and Jason clinging to each other, filthy and broken from what the pollen had done to them, Isley torn to pieces at Tim's hands and teeth.
With a heavy sigh, he pulls his Wolf in tighter, nuzzles into his neck and kisses him there, slowly, gently, breathes in Jay's dark scent. “It's okay,” he murmurs again. “It's not... anyone's fault. We're all okay now.”
If only he could believe that lie. They aren't okay, any of them, and there's no telling how long it will be until they are.
~*~*~*~