#brurobin

Hal Jordan has faced many kinds of adversaries and challanges in his time; planet invaders, alien monsters, space politics, etc.

Yet the Green Lantern could do nothing but wince as the robots tended to his wounded hand, teeth marks a little too sharp you'd think it was some kinda monster.

Well, depending on your definition, the criminal in question might be.And while the medbots focus on tending to him, his mind drifts back to the events prior.

__________

The man had just got back from a mission, one that took far longer than expected. With a groan, he landed in the tower, letting the scanners do their thing and basically going on auto-pilot.

After he was deemed clear, the man trudged forward, already mentally exhausted but knew that he had to at least report back before a certain bat got his panties in a twist.

The thought brought a wry smirk to the hero's face as he reached one of the rooms. Entering his pass code, his gaze zeroes in on the Bat himself, in his usual place leafing through documents.

"Lantern," the other muttered, severe but not cold. Which alone showed how much progress the two had made from grudgingly tolerating each other to mutual respect. "You are back."

"Hey honey, I'm home," the brunette singsongs, striding over. From the way Batman merely narrowed his gaze, Hal thought he may not have sounded as chirper as he intended.

Still, he basically threw himself in one of the chairs, scooting it closer to Batman. The taller man gave him another look, silent yet an undeniable question.

"Work was rough," the other lamented, leaning back in his chair. Soon he began ranting; about how the mission really was a simple diplomatic one, turned bad when one of the supposed diplomats was assassinated then his ship was blown up, causing a whole investigation to start, leading to a whole other problem...

The man stops suddenly, realising that he and Bruce were basically leaning into each other, his own voice getting softer as he vented out his frustrations.

"Ahh," Hal, usually so cocky and sure of himself with his flirts, averted his gaze, a nervous smile on face. "Sorry Spooky. Musta' be the earth air y'know? Makes me all... weird."

Never has Hal wanted to ground to eat him up more.

Yet the other merely nodded, like that was a completely normal and reasonable explanation. "I see."

"I..." a pause, then Bruce shot him a smile, small and barely there, but oh so soft and sincere. "...am glad you're back, that you're safe, Hal."

Green tinted eyes widen before he could stop them, watching Bruce's face closely, obsessively, reverently.

Slowly, Hal raised his hand, intending to cup the other's face. The usual hard feautures turning so soft with care basically a magnet the brunette has no intention of resisting.

Neither realised the door opening and a figure rushing in, but they quickly made themselves known as they loudly and rather harshly chomped on the Green Lantern's hand.

"Fu-hey!"

"Robin!"

Said sidekick was latching onto the older hero's hand with a vengence, eyes glaring venomously as he dug his teeth in. Batman gently but firmly pulled the boy in while Hal nursed his hand, hissing softly.

"Medbay, go now," the Gotham Knight ordered. The Lantern rolled his eyes but nodded, getting up and heading out. He stopped when he heard the soft apology (and pointedly ignored the growling).

"See ya later, Spooky," he shot the other a salute and wink then left.

__________

And now, he's here, recovering. The man makes a mental note to ask about the kid—at the very least, if he was in any danger of rabies.

__________

"Robin."

The boy ignores the call, instead focused on burrowing himself deeper into the covers.

The two Gothamites had returned home shortly after, with the younger running to his room while Bruce followed after. Only to find his boy curled up and wrapped like a burrito in bed, stubbornly mute.

"Jason."

Again, no response.

"Sweetheart," he tried, the same tone his father had used on him, accent and drawl and all.

Finally the boy peeks over at him.

"Why'd you bite him?"

The mere mention of the man brings a scowl to the child's face, as if the Lantern had personally offended him somehow (he did).

After a moment, the boy finally mutters, "...hungry."

Bruce blinks, "you were hungry—so you decided to bite Jordan?"

A huff is all the man gets.

Batman knows there is more to it then that; the cafeteria was always stocked with plenty of options—having a speedster that burned so many calories in mere minutes meant it was absolutely necessary—so there was no question of food, really.

Bruce shakes his head, not quite managing to hide his smile. He leans forward, reaching out to his boy. Jason immediately notices the action and springs out of his cocoon, nuzzing into the warm hand. A soft chuckle leaves the billionaire as he continues to pet and gently scratch the kid's scalp.

'Like a cat...' the man muses. And that's when the realisation hits.

A stray cat in an unfamiliar home, clinging to the one person it knows is safe—and being possessive and frighten of that safety being taken away.

(Not exactly, but good try Bruce)

"Oh sweetie," the man tenderly pulls the child in his arms, letting the boy hear his heartbeat, calm and steady. Something he remembered his mother did with him when she was here.

"You have nothing to be afraid of," Bruce places a soft kiss on Jason's head, "I'll always be here for you."

"Promise?"

The Boy Wonder's signature smile turns sharp while his eye twitches as he watches Bruce from a distance, a gaggle of fawning ladies and some men practically hanging off of him.

It's certainly not the first time those snooty nobles acted like the man was just some fancy accessory to be had or prize to win and sadly won't be the last. As much as people like to whisper how Brucie was a 'shameless flirty playboy', the crowd wasn't exactly prim and proper either.

He almost misses when his teammates land near him, both curious and confused.

"Robin," Starfire calls out, floating to his side, "what is the matter?" She tries to look for something suspicious, but he doubts she'd find Brucie being surrounded by admirers suspicious.

"Woah, isn't that Bruce Wayne?" Beast Boy exclaims, perching on the ledge near them. "Awesome!"

"How many times do you have to say it?" Raven sighs, steps slow before stopping beside her friends. Though there was a small glint of interest in her usually apathetic eyes.

It was true, Beast Boy—really the team in general—had been ecstatic once they had been told that the Prince of Gotham himself had invited them. Turns out, it was more of a 'help guard the place' invite rather than an invite to the actual party.

"Man, I wish we could join."

"But we do not have the invite."

"Awh but this is so boooring!"

"Right, that's a valid reason. I'm sure Bruce Wayne will understand perfectly."

"Well..."

"Oh wait, Rob!" BB nearly jabs the Boy Wonder in the face, "you must know him right? I heard Bruce is always getting kidnapped and stuff. So you and Batman always gotta save him—that's gotta mean something yeah?"

'I better hope so...'

The teen glances back at the party, only to see one of the ladies brazenly press a kiss on Brucie's face. Only a short teasing peck at the corner of his lips, but Dick would lying if he said that didn't make his simmering anger boil over.

Taking a minute to make sure his voice is steady, he turns to his friends and smirks, "looks likes we have a party to crash."

___________

Sneakily—or as sneakily as a group of brightly coloured vigilantes can be—the Titans drop into the ballroom. Either by miracle or simply too caught up in their respective business, the group goes unnoticed.

"Woooah, this place looks so fancy!" Beast Boy exclaims, causing a few looks but again they continue on their own business.

"Are you trying to get us kicked out?" Raven mutters, shaking her head. The boy pouts, opening his mouth to retort.

"C'mon," Robin interrupts quickly, "let's split up, cover more ground."

A few more hushed whispers and the team is dispersed. While Beast Boy and Raven used their abilities to conceal themselves, the other three dressed in more formal wear and blends in with the staff.

Robin shares a conspirative wink with a familiar butler before striding confidently towards a particular group.

In the centre, Brucie chats brightly with his 'friends'. The boy grits his teeth when he notices the woman from before still practically draped over him. The man is smiling, but he knows him too well; the slight twitch of his left eye, the rigid posture whenever her hand strays, the strain in his smile does not escape the young vigilante.

As he approaches closer, the man glances his way, surprise flashing in his face for a fraction of a second before quickly smoothing out. None of the other even spare him a glance. Good.

The boy dressed as a butler approaches the group with a little haste, then pretends to skid on the floor, pretty much launching his tray to the group.

Ever the gentleman, Brucie Wayne immediately pushes the woman aside, letting the pale wine soak into his suit. The nobles gasp in indignation, glaring at the one responsible.

"Oh, I'm so sorry sir," the dark-haired boy bows.

The surroundings rich men and women simmer, anger apparently but decorom won't let them showcase said anger so openly.

"It's no trouble lad," Brucie Wayne laughs, managing to settle the tension, "I suppose I got my wish to get drown in wine." The groups let's out exaggerated laughs, some using the opportunity to feel him over.

Oh, if looks could kill...

"Excuse me," the man gives them all a quick nod and walks over to the nearest bathroom. No one notices the servant following after.

_________________

"Sorry about the suit," Dick mumbles as the other dabs his white suit. The pale liquid wasn't quite visible to begin with.

"No," Brucie smiles, perfect and charming, "you granted my wish afterall."

The boy thins his lips, hands clenching. He glances at the stalls, empty then the door outside. The party was in full swing despite the host being gone. They must have assumed the playboy went off to have some 'fun'.

The thought makes the boy's lips curl.

Hearing the water stop, he glances back at the man. He doesn't make eye contact, staring at his jacket with a rueful smile. The teen takes a step towards him.

"I don't think it can be washed out."

Another step.

"Such a shame."

And another.

"I liked that suit."

Finally, they stood merely inches away. Dick looks over the other' face closely, trying to get the man to open up. Bruce meets his eye.

'Not here, not now—not yet'

Without another word, the teen nods. They both still have roles to play. Dick and Bruce can have their moment later.

Batman and Robin still had work to do.

Even so, just as the boy was about to leave, he hears it; whisper soft, like a secret just between them.:

"Thank you."

Dick turns around and see the other, his glacier eyes tender. The younger flashes Bruce a small grin and nods.