tommy hadn’t comforted bruce when his parents died. not at first. he couldn’t understand why bruce was so devastated. he could understand that his parents loved him and he loved them, and he could understand that bruce was now free to do whatever he wanted, and he didn’t see how the loss outweighed the gain. he tried to play chess. he tried to play-fight. he tried to joke. none of it worked. that was when he realized bruce wanted comforting. it was after the funeral. people were all over the manor, leaving flowers, leaving food, paying their respects. bruce stole away to a corner and alfred had tactfully re-arranged some flowers and a table to keep him mostly shielded from view. of course, wherever bruce went, tommy would find him. he didn’t have any words. he didn’t know what he was supposed to be feeling. he asked bruce, and bruce didn’t know, either. so a little while passed in silence. and then:
there wasn’t eye contact, but there was tommy’s little hand over bruce’s little hand, and bruce said yes, and laid his head on tommy’s shoulder, and tommy laid his head on top of bruce’s, and they just sat there for a long time.
they are not little boys anymore.
he’s been settling the arrangements for his mother’s funeral. peyton has been helping. he probably couldn’t do this without her, actually. not because he needs peyton, but because he would just as soon leave his mother’s body to rot in her bed rather than spend one more second pretending he cared about the old witch. but peyton has gone home now, and tommy needs a drink, and bruce thinks he understands, and as much as tommy hates him, he jumps at the opportunity to spend time together.
it’s a private booth. they’re going to fight over the bill later. bruce will want to support his friend in this time of need, and tommy is going to want to prove to himself that all his mother’s money is now his to do with as he pleases, except he can’t say that to bruce, and bruce won’t understand like he used to, so they are going to fight over the bill. but right now, they are drinking, and talking, and picking away at some expensive pastry sampler platter. and bruce asks how are you feeling, really. and tommy can’t say because he isn’t feeling anything, really. and tommy shrugs because and says i don’t know, which isn’t technically a lie, and bruce nods, like he has any fucking clue what’s really going on, and tommy is just about to say he should get home because peyton is waiting and she worries about him, and then there’s warmth and weight on tommy’s hand and everything is still.
tommy remembers the waynes’ funeral.
“i should go. i told peyton i’d be back before midnight.”
