Nightminds - Chapter 6
Title: Nightminds
Chapter: Chapter 6 of ?
Author: spygirl690
Disclaimer: If these characters were mine I would broadcast their sex acts daily. No daily video so hence - they are not mine. *pouts*
Rating: R to NC17
Pairing: Batman/Joker
Warning: drug use, graphic violence in later chapters
Summary: This story examines the months Bruce spent at Princeton before returning to start his journey in Batman Begins. The title was inspired by the Missy Higgins song Nightminds.
Thanks to beta toriolees and my moose. **bonus points for those who can name that Disney movie I snagged a line from**
Find all previous chapters of Nightminds here.
Chapter Six
Jack entered the Japanese restaurant looking as nonchalant as possible. He had followed Bruce there after his late afternoon British Literature seminar. However, he wanted to seem like he had just been struck by a craving for raw shellfish, instead of something much more… primitive.
He entered and walked directly past the greeter. He stood on the balls of his feet, craning his neck to scan the restaurant. Success! Bruce was in a booth tucked in the corner of the minuscule restaurant. Jack tucked his hands in the pockets of his corduroy blazer and sauntered up to the sushi bar at the back of the restaurant.
“God, I'd love a plate of something that was just wiggling a few seconds ago, can you do that for me?” Jack said with sarcasm loud enough for Bruce to hear.
The man behind the counter looked confused as Jack's eyes roamed over the fish-filled case. The ruse had run its course: he turned to meet Bruce’s eyes. Bruce wore a half-smile as he tapped his chopsticks on the book in front of him.
“Bruce. Wow, funny to meet you here,” Jack slid into the booth across from him, not waiting for an invitation. Smile Jack, Jack's mother's voice rang in his head and he gave Bruce a toothy grin from across the table.
“I was trying to study,” Bruce dog-eared his book and put it aside. He plucked another slice of something Jack couldn't recognize off of his plate and popped it into his mouth.
“Ahh, you have the rest of your life to study,” said Jack, eying the multicolored slabs on Bruce's plate,
“Let's eat some uncooked fish.”
Jack snatched a slice off the plate before Bruce could protest. He put it in his mouth and tilted his head to the side while he enjoyed the texture. Slimy yet satisfying.
“We can see who gets food poisoning first. It will be like Russian roulette, only with fish.”
Jack wasn't quite sure if he was pissing Bruce off or not. Bruce hadn't said anything since he putting the book aside. He was a hard man to read, but that was why Jack had followed Bruce here. To continue his exploration of the mind of one surprisingly complicated boy-billionaire.
“Well, I guess we should get more sushi,” Bruce motioned to the waiter. As Bruce rattled off an order filled with items Jack couldn't recognize, Jack did a little victory dance inside his head. Now he could finally get the question answered that had been pinging off the corners of his brain since Saturday.
The waiter left and Jack folded his hands on the table, giving Bruce his best Cheshire Cat grin.
“So, tell me about Japan.”
Bruce sipped out of the water glass next to him, chuckling under his breath.
“I had a funny feeling that little conversation would be coming back to haunt me.”
“Boo!” Jack flung out his hands for dramatic effect. A few patrons in the restaurant were startled and looked in Jack’s direction.
Jack leaned forward and lowered his voice, “So... you were in Japan, you and some of your rich friends got bored and decided to buy cars... then what?”
Bruce laughed, “Not exactly.”
Jack listened intently as Bruce told him about his escape after boarding school. One person in his class was from a wealthy family in Japan. They went to his house on their tour around the world and away from reality. The Japanese kid had some cars. Nice cars from what Bruce was saying. They took them up to a famous mountain road so he could teach Bruce how to drive. A little too fast down a mountain pass, almost wrecking a cop car. It was really exciting stuff. Far better than what Jack could have ever imagined.
“I was lucky Gin was a good driver, those cops chased us for a long time,” Bruce moved his hands out of the way as the waiter put two plates of those slabs of fish and the seaweed rolls in front of them.
Jack opened up the packet of chopsticks and eyed the pictorial instructions on the back.
“Have you ever used chopsticks before?”
“No, but I doubt it can be that hard,” Jack held his hand just like the picture showed. His attempt to pick up one of the rolls from the plate only resulted in the two sticks twisting in different directions, sending the sushi flying across the table.
Bruce laughed, as he put a piece in his mouth.
“Hey, that one was still alive,” Jack put the chopsticks down and grabbed a roll with his fingers,
“Woah. Now I know why everyone in Asia is so skinny. Those things are a faulty product.”
“Yes, thousands of years of use just nullified by your flying California roll,” Bruce laughed as he snatch of another roll from the plate with precision.
A few minutes of silence passed as Jack ate an assortment of fish from the plate. Not bad for something freshly dead. Perhaps fish was like meat, better raw.
“Now, it's your turn.”
Jack looked up to see Bruce with his chin perched above folded hands, eyes intently focused on him.
“Hn?”
“I told you about my run in with the law, now you tell me. Quid pro quo.”
Jack chewed his last bite as he ran through several stories in his head. He had never been arrested but there had been many close calls, especially in the beginning. His parent's really hadn't taught him that much about selling. They were into more of a “throw you in the water and see if you could swim” teaching style.
“Well right when I first started dealing at sixteen I came the closest to getting arrested I ever have in my life.”
Jack paused recalling that night.
“The first thing you need to understand is that, the competition for customers can become pretty ruthless. What they say is true; there is no honor among thieves.”
He leaned back in the red pleated booth, loosely draping his left leg over his right knee before continuing.
“I had gotten some customers at one end of town. I was a ‘natural’ my parents said. Mom said it was my smile. ‘A genuine smile will let people know there is nothing to be afraid of,’ she use to say. Anyways this little parasite was mad because I had gotten his customers. It was his fault really, you can't think you'll keep customers if you're giving out poor quality product. One of the first things my dad taught me, if you're going to cut it, keep it safe for the user. Dead people are bad for business.”
Bruce stopped eating and focused on him. Jack had to admit he appreciated that he didn't see pity behind Bruce's eyes when he told Bruce about his parents. He had chosen this life. What he hated was someone's sympathy for a choice that was, quite frankly, the best one available to him.
“See, back then I would hang out of a local 24 hour mini-mart with a backpack, looking like a kid who was waiting for his parents to pick him up. So what does that little nark do? Calls the cops on me. The quickest way to get me off of his beat.”
Jack laughed, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table.
“Pretty juvenile for someone twice my age at the time, don't you think? Anyways, I see the cop pull up and I play it cool. He starts asking me what I'm doing there and my heart starts to pound. He's a seasoned cop, I'm an amateur dealer - I know he could see it. Then he asks to see my bag. I was stupid. You never put your stuff on your person unless you're making a quick deal. But, as I said, I was green. I try to tell him the things my parents told me; that he had no right to search me without reason...that usual civil liberties bullshit.”
Bruce was riveted, Jack could see it in the way he leaned towards him, like he wanted to extract the rest of the story from him.
“He reached for my bag and I ran. He chased me...god...for at least two miles. He almost caught me a handful of times. I've never ran so hard and so fast in my entire life. I hid in a dumpster behind some business for three hours. I was too scared to leave. My entire body felt paralyzed, like the will to survive just held my entire being captive. I didn't get home until midnight.”
“Did they ever find out who you were?” Bruce spoke and it sounded as if he hadn’t taken a breath for the entire conversation.
“No... I really don't know why not. I'd been working the front of that store for weeks. I learned a lot from that night. Never went back to that store...”
Jack drifted off remembering when he got home that night. His parents had been furious. If he got caught the cops would surely trace it back to them. The Napiers depended on a squeaky clean outward appearance to keep the suspicions at bay. Jack moved his hand to absently rub his side, the sting of the iron on his skin coming through his memory.
“Jack?”
Bruce was looking at him across the table with genuine concern in his eyes. Jack hated that. He didn't need concern. Plus he hated the ache he just felt when he identified the feeling behind Bruce's eyes. He smiled again, brushing the seriousness of the moment away with the wave of his hand.
“Just drifting down memory lane.”
Bruce looked at the empty plates in front of them and Jack knew he was going to leave.
“Well I've got to go do some actual studying,” Bruce said, leaving a wad of twenties on the table.
Jack did the math in his head and reached into his pocket, “I can cover some of that.”
Bruce smiled at him as he slid on a black leather jacket and picked his books up from the table, “you can catch the bill next time.”
Next time? Jack smiled at the thought, following Bruce to the exit, “Alright. But next time I choose where we eat.”
“Deal.”
The chimes on the door signaled the greeter to shout a farewell to them Jack didn't care about. He and Bruce stood under a streetlight in front of the restaurant. The light created a yellow circle around them, separating them from the darkness. They stood close, Jack noted, both needing to stand in the circle of light to see or both wanting to be close.... he had to wonder if it was the latter.
There was a pause, it was simple and small. Just enough for Jack to hear the rustling of leaves being blown across the sidewalk and the distant rumble of a car engine. A pause aching to be filled with action. A moment both of the men were familiar with
“Wednesday, same time?” Bruce's voice sounded soft in the night air.
“Meet you in front of your apartment,” Jack smiled, his hands in his pockets. He intentionally tipped forward slightly, before rocking back on his heels and turning from Bruce. He started to walk in the opposite direction, sending a backward wave in Bruce's direction.
“Later Bruce.”
“See you, Jack.”
Chapter: Chapter 6 of ?
Author: spygirl690
Disclaimer: If these characters were mine I would broadcast their sex acts daily. No daily video so hence - they are not mine. *pouts*
Rating: R to NC17
Pairing: Batman/Joker
Warning: drug use, graphic violence in later chapters
Summary: This story examines the months Bruce spent at Princeton before returning to start his journey in Batman Begins. The title was inspired by the Missy Higgins song Nightminds.
Thanks to beta toriolees and my moose. **bonus points for those who can name that Disney movie I snagged a line from**
Find all previous chapters of Nightminds here.
Chapter Six
Jack entered the Japanese restaurant looking as nonchalant as possible. He had followed Bruce there after his late afternoon British Literature seminar. However, he wanted to seem like he had just been struck by a craving for raw shellfish, instead of something much more… primitive.
He entered and walked directly past the greeter. He stood on the balls of his feet, craning his neck to scan the restaurant. Success! Bruce was in a booth tucked in the corner of the minuscule restaurant. Jack tucked his hands in the pockets of his corduroy blazer and sauntered up to the sushi bar at the back of the restaurant.
“God, I'd love a plate of something that was just wiggling a few seconds ago, can you do that for me?” Jack said with sarcasm loud enough for Bruce to hear.
The man behind the counter looked confused as Jack's eyes roamed over the fish-filled case. The ruse had run its course: he turned to meet Bruce’s eyes. Bruce wore a half-smile as he tapped his chopsticks on the book in front of him.
“Bruce. Wow, funny to meet you here,” Jack slid into the booth across from him, not waiting for an invitation. Smile Jack, Jack's mother's voice rang in his head and he gave Bruce a toothy grin from across the table.
“I was trying to study,” Bruce dog-eared his book and put it aside. He plucked another slice of something Jack couldn't recognize off of his plate and popped it into his mouth.
“Ahh, you have the rest of your life to study,” said Jack, eying the multicolored slabs on Bruce's plate,
“Let's eat some uncooked fish.”
Jack snatched a slice off the plate before Bruce could protest. He put it in his mouth and tilted his head to the side while he enjoyed the texture. Slimy yet satisfying.
“We can see who gets food poisoning first. It will be like Russian roulette, only with fish.”
Jack wasn't quite sure if he was pissing Bruce off or not. Bruce hadn't said anything since he putting the book aside. He was a hard man to read, but that was why Jack had followed Bruce here. To continue his exploration of the mind of one surprisingly complicated boy-billionaire.
“Well, I guess we should get more sushi,” Bruce motioned to the waiter. As Bruce rattled off an order filled with items Jack couldn't recognize, Jack did a little victory dance inside his head. Now he could finally get the question answered that had been pinging off the corners of his brain since Saturday.
The waiter left and Jack folded his hands on the table, giving Bruce his best Cheshire Cat grin.
“So, tell me about Japan.”
Bruce sipped out of the water glass next to him, chuckling under his breath.
“I had a funny feeling that little conversation would be coming back to haunt me.”
“Boo!” Jack flung out his hands for dramatic effect. A few patrons in the restaurant were startled and looked in Jack’s direction.
Jack leaned forward and lowered his voice, “So... you were in Japan, you and some of your rich friends got bored and decided to buy cars... then what?”
Bruce laughed, “Not exactly.”
Jack listened intently as Bruce told him about his escape after boarding school. One person in his class was from a wealthy family in Japan. They went to his house on their tour around the world and away from reality. The Japanese kid had some cars. Nice cars from what Bruce was saying. They took them up to a famous mountain road so he could teach Bruce how to drive. A little too fast down a mountain pass, almost wrecking a cop car. It was really exciting stuff. Far better than what Jack could have ever imagined.
“I was lucky Gin was a good driver, those cops chased us for a long time,” Bruce moved his hands out of the way as the waiter put two plates of those slabs of fish and the seaweed rolls in front of them.
Jack opened up the packet of chopsticks and eyed the pictorial instructions on the back.
“Have you ever used chopsticks before?”
“No, but I doubt it can be that hard,” Jack held his hand just like the picture showed. His attempt to pick up one of the rolls from the plate only resulted in the two sticks twisting in different directions, sending the sushi flying across the table.
Bruce laughed, as he put a piece in his mouth.
“Hey, that one was still alive,” Jack put the chopsticks down and grabbed a roll with his fingers,
“Woah. Now I know why everyone in Asia is so skinny. Those things are a faulty product.”
“Yes, thousands of years of use just nullified by your flying California roll,” Bruce laughed as he snatch of another roll from the plate with precision.
A few minutes of silence passed as Jack ate an assortment of fish from the plate. Not bad for something freshly dead. Perhaps fish was like meat, better raw.
“Now, it's your turn.”
Jack looked up to see Bruce with his chin perched above folded hands, eyes intently focused on him.
“Hn?”
“I told you about my run in with the law, now you tell me. Quid pro quo.”
Jack chewed his last bite as he ran through several stories in his head. He had never been arrested but there had been many close calls, especially in the beginning. His parent's really hadn't taught him that much about selling. They were into more of a “throw you in the water and see if you could swim” teaching style.
“Well right when I first started dealing at sixteen I came the closest to getting arrested I ever have in my life.”
Jack paused recalling that night.
“The first thing you need to understand is that, the competition for customers can become pretty ruthless. What they say is true; there is no honor among thieves.”
He leaned back in the red pleated booth, loosely draping his left leg over his right knee before continuing.
“I had gotten some customers at one end of town. I was a ‘natural’ my parents said. Mom said it was my smile. ‘A genuine smile will let people know there is nothing to be afraid of,’ she use to say. Anyways this little parasite was mad because I had gotten his customers. It was his fault really, you can't think you'll keep customers if you're giving out poor quality product. One of the first things my dad taught me, if you're going to cut it, keep it safe for the user. Dead people are bad for business.”
Bruce stopped eating and focused on him. Jack had to admit he appreciated that he didn't see pity behind Bruce's eyes when he told Bruce about his parents. He had chosen this life. What he hated was someone's sympathy for a choice that was, quite frankly, the best one available to him.
“See, back then I would hang out of a local 24 hour mini-mart with a backpack, looking like a kid who was waiting for his parents to pick him up. So what does that little nark do? Calls the cops on me. The quickest way to get me off of his beat.”
Jack laughed, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table.
“Pretty juvenile for someone twice my age at the time, don't you think? Anyways, I see the cop pull up and I play it cool. He starts asking me what I'm doing there and my heart starts to pound. He's a seasoned cop, I'm an amateur dealer - I know he could see it. Then he asks to see my bag. I was stupid. You never put your stuff on your person unless you're making a quick deal. But, as I said, I was green. I try to tell him the things my parents told me; that he had no right to search me without reason...that usual civil liberties bullshit.”
Bruce was riveted, Jack could see it in the way he leaned towards him, like he wanted to extract the rest of the story from him.
“He reached for my bag and I ran. He chased me...god...for at least two miles. He almost caught me a handful of times. I've never ran so hard and so fast in my entire life. I hid in a dumpster behind some business for three hours. I was too scared to leave. My entire body felt paralyzed, like the will to survive just held my entire being captive. I didn't get home until midnight.”
“Did they ever find out who you were?” Bruce spoke and it sounded as if he hadn’t taken a breath for the entire conversation.
“No... I really don't know why not. I'd been working the front of that store for weeks. I learned a lot from that night. Never went back to that store...”
Jack drifted off remembering when he got home that night. His parents had been furious. If he got caught the cops would surely trace it back to them. The Napiers depended on a squeaky clean outward appearance to keep the suspicions at bay. Jack moved his hand to absently rub his side, the sting of the iron on his skin coming through his memory.
“Jack?”
Bruce was looking at him across the table with genuine concern in his eyes. Jack hated that. He didn't need concern. Plus he hated the ache he just felt when he identified the feeling behind Bruce's eyes. He smiled again, brushing the seriousness of the moment away with the wave of his hand.
“Just drifting down memory lane.”
Bruce looked at the empty plates in front of them and Jack knew he was going to leave.
“Well I've got to go do some actual studying,” Bruce said, leaving a wad of twenties on the table.
Jack did the math in his head and reached into his pocket, “I can cover some of that.”
Bruce smiled at him as he slid on a black leather jacket and picked his books up from the table, “you can catch the bill next time.”
Next time? Jack smiled at the thought, following Bruce to the exit, “Alright. But next time I choose where we eat.”
“Deal.”
The chimes on the door signaled the greeter to shout a farewell to them Jack didn't care about. He and Bruce stood under a streetlight in front of the restaurant. The light created a yellow circle around them, separating them from the darkness. They stood close, Jack noted, both needing to stand in the circle of light to see or both wanting to be close.... he had to wonder if it was the latter.
There was a pause, it was simple and small. Just enough for Jack to hear the rustling of leaves being blown across the sidewalk and the distant rumble of a car engine. A pause aching to be filled with action. A moment both of the men were familiar with
“Wednesday, same time?” Bruce's voice sounded soft in the night air.
“Meet you in front of your apartment,” Jack smiled, his hands in his pockets. He intentionally tipped forward slightly, before rocking back on his heels and turning from Bruce. He started to walk in the opposite direction, sending a backward wave in Bruce's direction.
“Later Bruce.”
“See you, Jack.”