Grunting in acknowledgement, Bruce shifts his arm slightly to let John lay against him on the bed, but doesn’t move or speak otherwise, nearly drifting off again until there’s an elbow jabbed into his side as John settles. He squint one eye open, but quickly closes it, his head pounding and easily letting him decide it doesn’t matter. All his muscles are loose and sore, and John’s shoulder was pressing into a bruise, but he’d rather him near than not.
“I put away all our stuff, but it’s not cleaned. So, be prepared to scrub off dried blood tomorrow. Or, I will. If you’re still not better.” When Bruce says nothing, still half dozing, John puts a hand to Bruce’s cheek and stares at him a moment, thumb brushing over his black eye, before murmuring with a sense of near fascination. “You know… You’re weirdly cute like this.”
Bruce struggles to look at him again, finally responding to clarify. “...Concussed?”
Shameless, John snuggles against him. “Yeah. But don’t let it happen too often. You’re cute now, but you’re even more attractive when you can kick someone’s butt. And you can’t do that like this. What if you get in some sort of danger, and you’ve got a head injury?”
Bruce turns to wrap an arm around John's middle, tugging him closer and sliding to lay his head on John’s chest, curled around him. The other man’s heart rate is fast, but steady, always seeming to be a bit high, and Bruce sighs in tired contentment at the familiar rhythm, relaxing.
He slips into sleep as as the words fall out of his mouth, though he’d probably miss the look on John’s face even if he were awake, overwhelmed and fond.
John was aware that Bruce would probably never say how he felt so simply if he hadn’t been hit in the head with a metal pipe. But knowing that he felt John was capable of keeping him safe, that it wasn’t just empty assurance in the field, was enough to make him feel ready to burst.
If John doesn’t sleep himself for the rest of the night, too full of warmth and gooeyness and weird static in his gut, it’s fine. Bruce needs someone to keep watch over him anyway.
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