[ Dick's gaze lifts apologetically to Terry's face before he lowers the tweezers to the tiny cut. he kept it tight, just a few small millimeters wide, little more than absolutely necessary to get the rice grain of a tracker out. ]
You know the answer to that. People behave differently when they know they're being watched, and you don't wear the suit all the time, are you? When you're at school, when you're at home. Out with friends, if you still have any of those--
[ the bouncing leg, the tension quivering through Terry's words. Dick lifts the tweezers again, takes a nice deep breath he hopes calms Terry as much as it helps him. ]
Stop that. Stay still.
[ he doesn't like this conversation, either, but they need to have it. this is something he's been through before. first, with himself. then, with Jason. Barbara, who was always smarter and had more of Bruce figured out much before he did. of course, the paralysis helped that along.
Dick quiets as he picks up some gauze to swipe away the maroon pooling at the cut. Steadily, he pushes the tweezers into Terry's skin, eyes laser-focused as blood oozes along the metal. ]
A tracker in you, where even you don't know, is the most secure way to find you if someone were to get their hands on you.
[ he finds the device and pulls it out, drops it onto the tray with a metallic little chink. ]
[ It wasn't enough because Bruce decided it wasn't enough. He was in control while Terry had the suit on. The minute it was off? Terry could be his own person again with friends and family and a whole life to live. Something outside of the cowl and the Mission. And apparently Bruce couldn't have that.
That'd been one of their fights once. When Terry wanted to go on a date instead of on patrol and he yelled that he didn't want to end up bitter and alone like Bruce. In the end, Bruce got his way though. And now with the benefit of hindsight, Terry hated himself for it.
When Dick tells him to be stop, Terry tries. His leg obeys, but his insides still feel like they're twisting themselves into knots. He doesn't even notice the tweezers pulling the device out. The metallic clank startles him back to reality.
He has to stare at it for a minute, really let it sink in how little the old man trusted him. How unwilling Bruce had really been to just let go. ]
The Joker almost killed me. Almost killed him and he still wouldn't tell me what happened. I had to hear it from Barbara.
[ He looks up from the tiny device and meets Dick's gaze. ]
[ there's a litany of reasons for why a tracker in the suit just isn't enough, but the hurt in Terry's eyes has Dick hemming it away for now. it's not the right time to make it worse, and Terry has already resolved to take the tracker out. that's good enough for now. they can deal with the rest of the fallout later. ]
You mean Tim. [ he's done enough digging in this universe to learn about the torture and the microchip, a twisted version of what happened to Jason in his universe. he hadn't found out that the Joker killed Jason until he saw it on the news, after all. missed the funeral Bruce hadn't bothered to tell him about. the memory laces pain in his gaze when he lifts it after pressing a square of gauze to the cut to stop the bleeding.
a heavy sigh sifts from his nose, and he slowly shakes his head. ]
I'm not surprised that he hid it from you. He's hid plenty from me, too. He always will. You can't change that. The sooner you accept it, the sooner you can adjust for it moving forward but... it's never going to stop hurting.
[ When he saw the HA HA HA painted across the cave, Terry felt his stomach sink. It made him think he'd lost someone he cared for deeply to the same senseless kind of violence that claimed his father. He thought he'd have to mourn all over again when he saw the rictus grin pulling Bruce's lips tight across his face. ]
While he was still controlling Tim, the Joker broke into the cave and gassed Bruce. I found him and got him the antidote.
[ And none of that mattered because Bruce did this anyway. He takes what Dick says and mulls it over. If he wanted to keep being Batman, to keep feeling worthwhile, Terry had to adjust. Learn a new way to navigate this relationship. ]
I'm sorry, Dick. I'm sorry I doubted you. [ He just didn't want any of this to be true. ]
[ the story has him frowning, a deeply disturbed feeling pulling through his insides with the thought of the Joker getting into the cave and gassing Bruce, on top of controlling Tim. he shakes his head, moving the gauze away to check the tiny cut and sees that it's stopped bleeding. he tapes a small square of bandage to it next, smoothing gently across the cut, satisfied with his handiwork. ]
You saved him. You know, Bruce likes to act like he doesn't need anyone ever, but part of why he's like this is because he does. He really does.
[ family. found family, chosen family.
at the apology, genuine surprise lifts Dick's brows. ]
You're good. [ he shrugs it off with a single shoulder. ] And honestly? Part of me wanted you to be right. If there was a world where Bruce wasn't a total paranoid asshole... [ a wry laugh breathes out instead of the words at the tip of his tongue: I'd wanna stay there. ] Guess it was just wishful thinking. Listen. Now that you know, you're better for it. Alright?
[ It made sense. He was alone for a very long time before Terry ever swiped the suit. He had pushed away everyone who had ever cared about him. Some of them to the point that they never visited. Terry had been foolish to think maybe things would be different for him and Bruce. But they never were, were they? ]
He's got a lot to answer for, but I'm not going to turn my back on him.
[ It wasn't all bad. Before this, they got along well enough for someone as grumpy and often downright hostile like Bruce. Enough that Terry considered them friends. Maybe with some time, he could forgive this. He didn't want to be someone else who walked away. ]
Thanks. If I'm gonna hold hands with someone after getting blown up, I'm glad it was you.
[ Dick nods once, a small, heartened smile softening the tense line of his mouth. ]
Good. It'll just take a little bit of time, but--he deserves it. And so do you.
[ Terry's a good kid, Dick decides, laughing again at the quip, though much more genuinely this time than wryly. ]
Thanks, Terry. I'm glad it was you, too. [ he reaches out to land a friendly pat on Terry's shoulder. ] Come on. Let's clean this up and get moving. We've got a lotta ground to cover before the old man shows up.
Sounds good. If you ever want to thread again I'm down.
[ There was still work to do and he would see it through. Pushing back from the table, Terry gets up to get his backpack and the suit. When he returns, he takes the tracker and puts it away in one of the pockets. Didn't want Bruce getting too suspicious. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
You know the answer to that. People behave differently when they know they're being watched, and you don't wear the suit all the time, are you? When you're at school, when you're at home. Out with friends, if you still have any of those--
[ the bouncing leg, the tension quivering through Terry's words. Dick lifts the tweezers again, takes a nice deep breath he hopes calms Terry as much as it helps him. ]
Stop that. Stay still.
[ he doesn't like this conversation, either, but they need to have it. this is something he's been through before. first, with himself. then, with Jason. Barbara, who was always smarter and had more of Bruce figured out much before he did. of course, the paralysis helped that along.
Dick quiets as he picks up some gauze to swipe away the maroon pooling at the cut. Steadily, he pushes the tweezers into Terry's skin, eyes laser-focused as blood oozes along the metal. ]
A tracker in you, where even you don't know, is the most secure way to find you if someone were to get their hands on you.
[ he finds the device and pulls it out, drops it onto the tray with a metallic little chink. ]
That's probably what he would say, anyway.
no subject
[ It wasn't enough because Bruce decided it wasn't enough. He was in control while Terry had the suit on. The minute it was off? Terry could be his own person again with friends and family and a whole life to live. Something outside of the cowl and the Mission. And apparently Bruce couldn't have that.
That'd been one of their fights once. When Terry wanted to go on a date instead of on patrol and he yelled that he didn't want to end up bitter and alone like Bruce. In the end, Bruce got his way though. And now with the benefit of hindsight, Terry hated himself for it.
When Dick tells him to be stop, Terry tries. His leg obeys, but his insides still feel like they're twisting themselves into knots. He doesn't even notice the tweezers pulling the device out. The metallic clank startles him back to reality.
He has to stare at it for a minute, really let it sink in how little the old man trusted him. How unwilling Bruce had really been to just let go. ]
The Joker almost killed me. Almost killed him and he still wouldn't tell me what happened. I had to hear it from Barbara.
[ He looks up from the tiny device and meets Dick's gaze. ]
It's always going to be like this, isn't it?
no subject
You mean Tim. [ he's done enough digging in this universe to learn about the torture and the microchip, a twisted version of what happened to Jason in his universe. he hadn't found out that the Joker killed Jason until he saw it on the news, after all. missed the funeral Bruce hadn't bothered to tell him about. the memory laces pain in his gaze when he lifts it after pressing a square of gauze to the cut to stop the bleeding.
a heavy sigh sifts from his nose, and he slowly shakes his head. ]
I'm not surprised that he hid it from you. He's hid plenty from me, too. He always will. You can't change that. The sooner you accept it, the sooner you can adjust for it moving forward but... it's never going to stop hurting.
no subject
[ When he saw the HA HA HA painted across the cave, Terry felt his stomach sink. It made him think he'd lost someone he cared for deeply to the same senseless kind of violence that claimed his father. He thought he'd have to mourn all over again when he saw the rictus grin pulling Bruce's lips tight across his face. ]
While he was still controlling Tim, the Joker broke into the cave and gassed Bruce. I found him and got him the antidote.
[ And none of that mattered because Bruce did this anyway. He takes what Dick says and mulls it over. If he wanted to keep being Batman, to keep feeling worthwhile, Terry had to adjust. Learn a new way to navigate this relationship. ]
I'm sorry, Dick. I'm sorry I doubted you. [ He just didn't want any of this to be true. ]
no subject
You saved him. You know, Bruce likes to act like he doesn't need anyone ever, but part of why he's like this is because he does. He really does.
[ family. found family, chosen family.
at the apology, genuine surprise lifts Dick's brows. ]
You're good. [ he shrugs it off with a single shoulder. ] And honestly? Part of me wanted you to be right. If there was a world where Bruce wasn't a total paranoid asshole... [ a wry laugh breathes out instead of the words at the tip of his tongue: I'd wanna stay there. ] Guess it was just wishful thinking. Listen. Now that you know, you're better for it. Alright?
no subject
He's got a lot to answer for, but I'm not going to turn my back on him.
[ It wasn't all bad. Before this, they got along well enough for someone as grumpy and often downright hostile like Bruce. Enough that Terry considered them friends. Maybe with some time, he could forgive this. He didn't want to be someone else who walked away. ]
Thanks. If I'm gonna hold hands with someone after getting blown up, I'm glad it was you.
shall we put a wrap to this one?
Good. It'll just take a little bit of time, but--he deserves it. And so do you.
[ Terry's a good kid, Dick decides, laughing again at the quip, though much more genuinely this time than wryly. ]
Thanks, Terry. I'm glad it was you, too. [ he reaches out to land a friendly pat on Terry's shoulder. ] Come on. Let's clean this up and get moving. We've got a lotta ground to cover before the old man shows up.
Sounds good. If you ever want to thread again I'm down.
[ There was still work to do and he would see it through. Pushing back from the table, Terry gets up to get his backpack and the suit. When he returns, he takes the tracker and puts it away in one of the pockets. Didn't want Bruce getting too suspicious. ]
Ready. Let's finish this.