FIC: Contemplating Shadows, 1/1, NOLANVERSE BATMAN, PG
First, an annoucement: While I hate deadlines, having some kind of "post by" goal could be helpful in getting things done. Thus, starting today, I designate this Fanfic Fridays, and plan to post at least one standalone fic every week. The middle of the week shall henceforth be known as Works-in-Progress Wednesday, and will kick off next week with what will either be the penultimate or final chapter of "Disclosures," depending how much gets done.
Second, to kick this off, here's another one for a comicdrabbles challenge. I hope to post something Clark/Bruce later tonight but we'll see what happens.
Title: Contemplating Shadows
Fandom: Nolanverse Batman
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Jim Gordon/Bruce Wayne
Rating: PG
Word count: 426
Warnings: Existential angst?
Challenge: For comicdrabbles #050 - "infidelity"
Nothing’s happened, probably it never will. That gray area, devoid of certainty, concerns him.
This is just another part of his workday. Jim reminds himself of that as he checks his watch and juggles scenarios to explain why Batman’s late. Most of them involve Batman bleeding out his life in some dark alley because Jim wasn’t there to help him. He wishes that was overwrought drama but this is Gotham and sooner or later that will be the next day’s headline for one or both of them.
He touches the thermos he’s brought out to the deck along with two mugs. It’s still warm. He hasn’t been out here waiting that long really.
It’s a quiet night, barely a breeze strong enough to stir the leaves. Way off in the distance there’s a dog barking and, really, if he can hear that he ought to be able to pick up on the sound of a footfall as it hits his deck. Like every time before, though, his only warning is a subtle change in the atmosphere and that uncanny sense of being watched-and he turns to find Batman has arrived for this rendezvous (and that’s the wrong word because it makes him think of trysts, and this isn’t that, although it’s secret enough, and private)---
They greet each other with a nod and Jim pours out the coffee. Steam curls up from his Gotham Knights mug and fogs his glasses. As the lenses clear, he glances over in time to glimpse the Dark’s Knight brief quirk of a smile as he regards the Batman mug Jim’s just handed him.
Neither of them say much because it has been a quiet night. There’s no unsolved string of brutal murders to consult over, no criminal with a flair for performance art has recently made their debut; there’s a check-kiting gang that’s extra shady but not really in need of their special attention. As they drink their coffee, and don’t talk, Jim feels less alone, though. He doesn’t ask if it’s the same for Batman. That he’s there, for no other reason, is all Jim really needs to know.
Later, when they’ve finished their coffee and Batman’s gone again, Jim takes the thermos and mugs back inside. He thinks about washing them out…covering up the evidence? He tells himself there is no evidence. Nothing’s going on. There are only gray, nebulous shadows of things that might be.
He leaves the thermos and mugs on the counter and lays awake beside his wife for a long time, contemplating shadows.
Second, to kick this off, here's another one for a comicdrabbles challenge. I hope to post something Clark/Bruce later tonight but we'll see what happens.
Title: Contemplating Shadows
Fandom: Nolanverse Batman
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Jim Gordon/Bruce Wayne
Rating: PG
Word count: 426
Warnings: Existential angst?
Challenge: For comicdrabbles #050 - "infidelity"
Nothing’s happened, probably it never will. That gray area, devoid of certainty, concerns him.
This is just another part of his workday. Jim reminds himself of that as he checks his watch and juggles scenarios to explain why Batman’s late. Most of them involve Batman bleeding out his life in some dark alley because Jim wasn’t there to help him. He wishes that was overwrought drama but this is Gotham and sooner or later that will be the next day’s headline for one or both of them.
He touches the thermos he’s brought out to the deck along with two mugs. It’s still warm. He hasn’t been out here waiting that long really.
It’s a quiet night, barely a breeze strong enough to stir the leaves. Way off in the distance there’s a dog barking and, really, if he can hear that he ought to be able to pick up on the sound of a footfall as it hits his deck. Like every time before, though, his only warning is a subtle change in the atmosphere and that uncanny sense of being watched-and he turns to find Batman has arrived for this rendezvous (and that’s the wrong word because it makes him think of trysts, and this isn’t that, although it’s secret enough, and private)---
They greet each other with a nod and Jim pours out the coffee. Steam curls up from his Gotham Knights mug and fogs his glasses. As the lenses clear, he glances over in time to glimpse the Dark’s Knight brief quirk of a smile as he regards the Batman mug Jim’s just handed him.
Neither of them say much because it has been a quiet night. There’s no unsolved string of brutal murders to consult over, no criminal with a flair for performance art has recently made their debut; there’s a check-kiting gang that’s extra shady but not really in need of their special attention. As they drink their coffee, and don’t talk, Jim feels less alone, though. He doesn’t ask if it’s the same for Batman. That he’s there, for no other reason, is all Jim really needs to know.
Later, when they’ve finished their coffee and Batman’s gone again, Jim takes the thermos and mugs back inside. He thinks about washing them out…covering up the evidence? He tells himself there is no evidence. Nothing’s going on. There are only gray, nebulous shadows of things that might be.
He leaves the thermos and mugs on the counter and lays awake beside his wife for a long time, contemplating shadows.