FIC: Two Forms, One Soul (Epilogue)
Title: Two Forms, One Soul (Epilogue)
Pairing/Characters: Bruce/Clark, Alfred Pennyworth, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, J'onn J'onzz, Wonder Woman
Continuity: Animated series, a few years after B:TAS.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Bruce asks his family to come home, informs the JLA of two changes in his status...and practices flying with his lover.
Word Count: 1800
Warnings: None needed
Notes: Written for the 20_inkspots challenge with rai_daydreamer. Prompt #18: "Under the glass moon." (see the full table here).
Dick Grayson was curled up on his bed, reading, when he heard the Manor's dinner bell chime. He put down the book and stretched, hearing the familiar sounds of the Manor around him, the small noises of daily life: Tim rummaging in his closet, Bruce's footsteps down the stairs.
It was good to be home.
At the dinner table, Clark Kent sat next to Bruce. He'd been a very frequent dinner guest in the week since Dick, Tim, and Alfred had come home. "Thank you, Alfred," he said as the butler put a plate of salad in front of him.
"And for you, Master Bruce," Alfred said, putting a much sparser dish in front of the other man. Everyone in the room knew that Bruce would merely pick at it a little, just enough to be polite; just as they knew the heavy velvet drapes of the dining room would stay tightly closed against the rays of the setting sun.
Bruce hadn't said anything, had merely called each of them and apologized--briefly--for his behavior, asked them to come back. Clark had gone to each of them individually and explained how much Bruce missed them and how deep his regret was, but in truth none of them had needed the longer explanation.
They knew Bruce.
Dick didn't need explanations. He wasn't the World's Greatest Detective, but he was probably in the top ten, and he was capable of putting facts together: the drapes, the silverware replaced with stainless steel, his mentor's lack of appetite. He didn't ask questions; if it weren't safe Bruce would never have asked them back, and Clark would never have allowed it.
Tim was probably in the top five, so he certainly didn't need an explanation.
And Alfred was...Alfred.
Besides, you didn't need to be in the top one hundred detectives in the world to see the light in Bruce's eyes when he looked at Clark, or the way the Kryptonian stayed almost close enough to touch Bruce at all times. It didn't take detective skills of any sort to see how happy they both were.
"Pass the salt, Dick," Tim said, and Dick lobbed it across the table in a high arc, prompting an annoyed tsking sound from Alfred and a grin from Tim after he snagged it out of the air. "Hope you can stay a while before you go back to New York."
"I think I can spend the weekend," Dick said. "If Bruce doesn't mind."
"Hm?" Bruce looked up from his rapt contemplation of Clark to raise an eyebrow. "Only if you help out on patrol. No slackers allowed in the Manor."
"Yes sir," Dick said, trying to hide his smile.
"Chicken piccata, awesome," Tim said with relish as Alfred put a plate in front of him. "I had to do all the cooking when I was at the Tower, and I think I was dreaming of your meals by the end, Alfred."
"Why'd you have to do all the cooking?" Dick asked.
"Are you kidding me?" Tim said around a mouthful of chicken. "Cassie and Eddie? The kitchen wouldn't be standing at the end of it. Though Jaime's not bad, I have to admit. Anyway, none of it held a candle to this."
Bruce had mostly just moved his small serving around. "It's delicious," he said. "I guess I'm just not that hungry." He lifted his wine glass and sipped at it very lightly. "But I'll confess to being a bit thirsty," he added, eyes locked on Clark.
Clark almost dropped his fork. "That's--uh--I mean--"
"Ah, get a room," Tim said cheerfully, and Dick almost burst out laughing. There weren't many families where the addition of a vampire and his lover would be able to go without much comment.
But then, they were an unusual family.
: : :
"...we'll add the information to your dossier, then. Thank you for informing us."
"Thank him for--for--" Diana stared at J'onn J'onnz, then across the table at Superman and Batman. "He's just informed you he's a vampire, and your response is to modify the information in his file?"
J'onn looked entirely unperturbed. "If he had malicious intent, Diana, I hardly think he'd be informing us of his...change in status."
Batman's shoulders were tense, but otherwise didn't show any reaction. "The files should reflect my change in powers so the rest of my teammates will know what they can expect from me. Of course, if that information remains top-security and unknown to the public it should give us some advantages."
"Indeed." J'onn looked thoughtful. "So which of the traditional vampiric powers have you acquired?"
"Enhanced strength and resiliency, some level of mind influence, flight."
"You can turn into mist too, right?" Superman added.
Batman looked slightly uncomfortable. "Yes. Of course, I have some of the traditional weaknesses as well--holy symbols and sunlight cause me pain, I don't show up in mirrors--"
"That could be an advantage when dealing with the Mirror Master," J'onn noted, entering data into the computer pad he was holding.
"And what about the most key disadvantage?" Diana felt compelled to ask. "The whole 'thirst for human blood' drawback?"
"That's under control," Superman said firmly. Diana stared at him, but he didn't explain further. "Will you find it impossible to work with Batman now, Diana?"
Diana grimaced, looking at Batman. "Amazons have had dealings with the Children of Lamia, the Succubi, and our memories are long. But if anyone in this universe were strong enough to keep control..." She inclined her head to Bruce briefly. "I'm willing to try, with you vouching for him. But I'll warn both of you, not everyone on the League will take it as well."
"If peoples' reactions are a severe problem, I'll simply step down," Batman said levelly. "Go back to being a more auxiliary member, or be entirely unconnected. But you will not have to worry about my thirst. I promise."
"I'll confess this is not what I thought you were going to announce," J'onn said mildly, and Clark and Bruce exchanged glances.
"That obvious, huh?" said Superman, and the Martian Manhunter lifted one shoulder in a small shrug. Superman leaned forward, looking more nervous than when Bruce had started talking about his affliction. "Bruce and I...well...we'd like it entered in the League records that we're...involved."
Diana struggled to keep her fresh shock from showing as J'onn said, "You know we don't require records on liaisons and relationships--"
"--Call it a marriage, then," Bruce said in a tone that brooked no contradiction. This time all three stared at him. "It's quite serious," he went on, "And absolutely permanent. And I would like to have it recorded as such."
J'onn tapped at the pad a moment more as Diana watched Clark turn various shades of pink. "You are officially entered in the records of the League as a married couple now," he said after a moment.
"Thank you," said Bruce, rising. "I appreciate you both taking the time to talk with me. I'm going to review the tapes of that battle against the Parademon incursion last week," he added, turning to Superman. "I was hoping you could give me some insight into that new armor design they were wearing. Was it reinforced somehow?"
The two of them left the room as Superman started to describe the enhanced armor. Diana looked after them as they went. They hadn't touched each other once in the whole time they'd been here, but she could see it now, the way every movement seemed to curve toward each other, the energy humming between them.
"I'm glad Kal will not be alone," J'onn said beside her, his voice low.
"I'm glad Bruce won't be," said Diana, and realized she meant it.
: : :
Clark snatched Bruce out of the sky, black wings flailing as Bruce struggled to get an advantage. "You don't have to deal with these," Bruce declared irritably as Clark held him. "They're unwieldy."
"You'll get used to them," Clark said. "Besides, I like them." He ran one hand down a shining black wing, wandering across the spaces between the delicate ribbing, and Bruce shuddered.
"I can feel that," Bruce said rather faintly. "It's...uh."
"Have I found a new erogenous zone?" Clark said, stretching to kiss the graceful curve of the top of a wing, and Bruce made a sound that was incoherent but largely affirmative. "Mm, I want to make love to you with these all around us, touching me, you on your back like a pinioned bird, fluttering--"
With a muffled moan, Bruce broke away from his grasp and soared upward until he was well above Clark in the sky. He paused, hovering, then stooped like a bird of prey, crashing into Clark hard enough to leave them both breathless and send them careening. "Don't forget," Bruce breathed as the world righted around them again, "Who is the predator and who is the prey in this relationship." He bent to nip at Clark's neck lightly, not breaking the skin, and the world swam around Clark at the sensation, the promise of ecstasy.
"My hawk," he agreed, his head flung back. "My falcon. Hunter of my soul."
Bruce murmured against his skin, half-laughing, and for a time they simply hung in the air, enjoying the embrace.
"You surprised me," Clark said, looking up at the sky.
"With the marriage thing?"
"Yes."
"It seemed the easiest way to propose to you. A fait accompli. Less chance you'd say no."
"As if I ever would," Clark said, a laugh catching in his throat.
"If you wanted a more...real marriage, I could do that," Bruce said, his voice oddly apologetic. "I will stand in front of a cross, in the sunlight, and pledge myself to you. As long as you were by my side, I think I could."
"No," Clark said. "I don't need that. This is real." He touched his lips to glossy black hair. "Thank you."
"For binding you to me in an unholy covenant of blood?" Bruce's voice was light, but Clark heard pain under it. He shifted to meet Bruce's eyes.
"A marriage of souls, Bruce. My soul is yours and yours mine, and I don't know where one ends and the other begins. I don't care. Two forms, two faces, one soul. Forever."
"Forever," Bruce echoed, his eyes alight, almost glowing. Predatory. Clark felt shivers start somewhere within him, heady with anticipation, a sweet and feverish tremor. "Yes."
Dark wings snapped shut, furling around him like a wave of silk. Folded in shadows, wrapped in delight, Clark felt cool ivory touch his throat.
"Forever," Bruce whispered against his skin.
Pairing/Characters: Bruce/Clark, Alfred Pennyworth, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, J'onn J'onzz, Wonder Woman
Continuity: Animated series, a few years after B:TAS.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Bruce asks his family to come home, informs the JLA of two changes in his status...and practices flying with his lover.
Word Count: 1800
Warnings: None needed
Notes: Written for the 20_inkspots challenge with rai_daydreamer. Prompt #18: "Under the glass moon." (see the full table here).
Dick Grayson was curled up on his bed, reading, when he heard the Manor's dinner bell chime. He put down the book and stretched, hearing the familiar sounds of the Manor around him, the small noises of daily life: Tim rummaging in his closet, Bruce's footsteps down the stairs.
It was good to be home.
At the dinner table, Clark Kent sat next to Bruce. He'd been a very frequent dinner guest in the week since Dick, Tim, and Alfred had come home. "Thank you, Alfred," he said as the butler put a plate of salad in front of him.
"And for you, Master Bruce," Alfred said, putting a much sparser dish in front of the other man. Everyone in the room knew that Bruce would merely pick at it a little, just enough to be polite; just as they knew the heavy velvet drapes of the dining room would stay tightly closed against the rays of the setting sun.
Bruce hadn't said anything, had merely called each of them and apologized--briefly--for his behavior, asked them to come back. Clark had gone to each of them individually and explained how much Bruce missed them and how deep his regret was, but in truth none of them had needed the longer explanation.
They knew Bruce.
Dick didn't need explanations. He wasn't the World's Greatest Detective, but he was probably in the top ten, and he was capable of putting facts together: the drapes, the silverware replaced with stainless steel, his mentor's lack of appetite. He didn't ask questions; if it weren't safe Bruce would never have asked them back, and Clark would never have allowed it.
Tim was probably in the top five, so he certainly didn't need an explanation.
And Alfred was...Alfred.
Besides, you didn't need to be in the top one hundred detectives in the world to see the light in Bruce's eyes when he looked at Clark, or the way the Kryptonian stayed almost close enough to touch Bruce at all times. It didn't take detective skills of any sort to see how happy they both were.
"Pass the salt, Dick," Tim said, and Dick lobbed it across the table in a high arc, prompting an annoyed tsking sound from Alfred and a grin from Tim after he snagged it out of the air. "Hope you can stay a while before you go back to New York."
"I think I can spend the weekend," Dick said. "If Bruce doesn't mind."
"Hm?" Bruce looked up from his rapt contemplation of Clark to raise an eyebrow. "Only if you help out on patrol. No slackers allowed in the Manor."
"Yes sir," Dick said, trying to hide his smile.
"Chicken piccata, awesome," Tim said with relish as Alfred put a plate in front of him. "I had to do all the cooking when I was at the Tower, and I think I was dreaming of your meals by the end, Alfred."
"Why'd you have to do all the cooking?" Dick asked.
"Are you kidding me?" Tim said around a mouthful of chicken. "Cassie and Eddie? The kitchen wouldn't be standing at the end of it. Though Jaime's not bad, I have to admit. Anyway, none of it held a candle to this."
Bruce had mostly just moved his small serving around. "It's delicious," he said. "I guess I'm just not that hungry." He lifted his wine glass and sipped at it very lightly. "But I'll confess to being a bit thirsty," he added, eyes locked on Clark.
Clark almost dropped his fork. "That's--uh--I mean--"
"Ah, get a room," Tim said cheerfully, and Dick almost burst out laughing. There weren't many families where the addition of a vampire and his lover would be able to go without much comment.
But then, they were an unusual family.
: : :
"...we'll add the information to your dossier, then. Thank you for informing us."
"Thank him for--for--" Diana stared at J'onn J'onnz, then across the table at Superman and Batman. "He's just informed you he's a vampire, and your response is to modify the information in his file?"
J'onn looked entirely unperturbed. "If he had malicious intent, Diana, I hardly think he'd be informing us of his...change in status."
Batman's shoulders were tense, but otherwise didn't show any reaction. "The files should reflect my change in powers so the rest of my teammates will know what they can expect from me. Of course, if that information remains top-security and unknown to the public it should give us some advantages."
"Indeed." J'onn looked thoughtful. "So which of the traditional vampiric powers have you acquired?"
"Enhanced strength and resiliency, some level of mind influence, flight."
"You can turn into mist too, right?" Superman added.
Batman looked slightly uncomfortable. "Yes. Of course, I have some of the traditional weaknesses as well--holy symbols and sunlight cause me pain, I don't show up in mirrors--"
"That could be an advantage when dealing with the Mirror Master," J'onn noted, entering data into the computer pad he was holding.
"And what about the most key disadvantage?" Diana felt compelled to ask. "The whole 'thirst for human blood' drawback?"
"That's under control," Superman said firmly. Diana stared at him, but he didn't explain further. "Will you find it impossible to work with Batman now, Diana?"
Diana grimaced, looking at Batman. "Amazons have had dealings with the Children of Lamia, the Succubi, and our memories are long. But if anyone in this universe were strong enough to keep control..." She inclined her head to Bruce briefly. "I'm willing to try, with you vouching for him. But I'll warn both of you, not everyone on the League will take it as well."
"If peoples' reactions are a severe problem, I'll simply step down," Batman said levelly. "Go back to being a more auxiliary member, or be entirely unconnected. But you will not have to worry about my thirst. I promise."
"I'll confess this is not what I thought you were going to announce," J'onn said mildly, and Clark and Bruce exchanged glances.
"That obvious, huh?" said Superman, and the Martian Manhunter lifted one shoulder in a small shrug. Superman leaned forward, looking more nervous than when Bruce had started talking about his affliction. "Bruce and I...well...we'd like it entered in the League records that we're...involved."
Diana struggled to keep her fresh shock from showing as J'onn said, "You know we don't require records on liaisons and relationships--"
"--Call it a marriage, then," Bruce said in a tone that brooked no contradiction. This time all three stared at him. "It's quite serious," he went on, "And absolutely permanent. And I would like to have it recorded as such."
J'onn tapped at the pad a moment more as Diana watched Clark turn various shades of pink. "You are officially entered in the records of the League as a married couple now," he said after a moment.
"Thank you," said Bruce, rising. "I appreciate you both taking the time to talk with me. I'm going to review the tapes of that battle against the Parademon incursion last week," he added, turning to Superman. "I was hoping you could give me some insight into that new armor design they were wearing. Was it reinforced somehow?"
The two of them left the room as Superman started to describe the enhanced armor. Diana looked after them as they went. They hadn't touched each other once in the whole time they'd been here, but she could see it now, the way every movement seemed to curve toward each other, the energy humming between them.
"I'm glad Kal will not be alone," J'onn said beside her, his voice low.
"I'm glad Bruce won't be," said Diana, and realized she meant it.
: : :
Clark snatched Bruce out of the sky, black wings flailing as Bruce struggled to get an advantage. "You don't have to deal with these," Bruce declared irritably as Clark held him. "They're unwieldy."
"You'll get used to them," Clark said. "Besides, I like them." He ran one hand down a shining black wing, wandering across the spaces between the delicate ribbing, and Bruce shuddered.
"I can feel that," Bruce said rather faintly. "It's...uh."
"Have I found a new erogenous zone?" Clark said, stretching to kiss the graceful curve of the top of a wing, and Bruce made a sound that was incoherent but largely affirmative. "Mm, I want to make love to you with these all around us, touching me, you on your back like a pinioned bird, fluttering--"
With a muffled moan, Bruce broke away from his grasp and soared upward until he was well above Clark in the sky. He paused, hovering, then stooped like a bird of prey, crashing into Clark hard enough to leave them both breathless and send them careening. "Don't forget," Bruce breathed as the world righted around them again, "Who is the predator and who is the prey in this relationship." He bent to nip at Clark's neck lightly, not breaking the skin, and the world swam around Clark at the sensation, the promise of ecstasy.
"My hawk," he agreed, his head flung back. "My falcon. Hunter of my soul."
Bruce murmured against his skin, half-laughing, and for a time they simply hung in the air, enjoying the embrace.
"You surprised me," Clark said, looking up at the sky.
"With the marriage thing?"
"Yes."
"It seemed the easiest way to propose to you. A fait accompli. Less chance you'd say no."
"As if I ever would," Clark said, a laugh catching in his throat.
"If you wanted a more...real marriage, I could do that," Bruce said, his voice oddly apologetic. "I will stand in front of a cross, in the sunlight, and pledge myself to you. As long as you were by my side, I think I could."
"No," Clark said. "I don't need that. This is real." He touched his lips to glossy black hair. "Thank you."
"For binding you to me in an unholy covenant of blood?" Bruce's voice was light, but Clark heard pain under it. He shifted to meet Bruce's eyes.
"A marriage of souls, Bruce. My soul is yours and yours mine, and I don't know where one ends and the other begins. I don't care. Two forms, two faces, one soul. Forever."
"Forever," Bruce echoed, his eyes alight, almost glowing. Predatory. Clark felt shivers start somewhere within him, heady with anticipation, a sweet and feverish tremor. "Yes."
Dark wings snapped shut, furling around him like a wave of silk. Folded in shadows, wrapped in delight, Clark felt cool ivory touch his throat.
"Forever," Bruce whispered against his skin.