#tommybruce

[tayler20dukes-blog]

Harry with his band and Tommy In Sydney Australia! #onedirection #harrystyles #niallhoran #liampayne #louistomlinson #tommybruce

[plaht]

[offbrandbatman-blog]

No Bold Villain

Fanfic under the cut

Rating: PG-13 Pairing: Light TommyBruce Word Count: 2,740 Notes: Somewhat inspired by No Bold Villain by Timber Timbre. It's very much just comfort and angst. Nothing nsfw. It's self-indulgent because I'm literally always mad about how Bruce treats Tommy. 8(( I couldn't sleep because I got to thinking about it.

            He was laughing. In the distance, clouds and smoke and fire painted the sky. Thomas felt like he had created a real life Van Gogh piece as the black fog curled into the air, blocking out the star speckled sky. Nothing was more beautiful than watching Bruce Wayne’s newest advancements in business crumble to pieces of ash. Valuable technology that had years of investments fell to the ground, and Tommy just knew those stocks were dropping – this would hurt Bruce’s finances, and that would hurt Batman’s ability to fight crime.

            Tommy only kicked where it hurt.

            He had to sit down while tears flooded his eyes. It was too rich! Too rich for words, and it was just the first well-executed part of his next set of attacks on Bruce. He didn’t bother to face the gust of fabric or footsteps nearing him. He knew who they belonged to, and Hush only found himself in another fit of hysterics when Batman dragged him to his feet by the collar of his coat.

            “Tommy – you could have killed innocent people with this stunt!” the Bat snarled at him.

            Elliot only smiled back, so happy to see his old chum’s face. The anger. That worry – that feigned concern to keep Batman feeling righteous as ever. “If anyone was killed, you would be throwing me off this building by now,” he chortled.

            The way Thomas grinned at him was sickening. How the man could find some sick satisfaction from this – “You hurt some bystanders including citizens around the area and the few staff in the building. I’m taking you in.”

            “I rigged those explosives to detonate in a specific order. Very meticulous. You should know better than to accuse me of not knowing exactly what would happen,” he snapped back indignantly. It was an insult. In his plans, he was God. Every variable came under his scrutiny. If he had wanted them dead, they would be dead. “I wanted the message to be clear. This was an attack on Wayne Enterprises, not the people.”

            “Funny considering you have caused damage that will only hurt nearby businesses, and – ”

            A cry of laughter erupted from Tommy. “Oh, that’s rich! As if you would allow anyone but yourself to take care of the subsequent damage when you know it’s all your fault for it happening. All because of who you are to me, Bruce.” He smirked, nostrils flaring and teeth glinting orange from the flames in the distance.

            The fist on Elliot’s coat tightened its grip. Tommy always knew how to press Bruce’s buttons, and he savored every twitch on the little he could see of his adversary’s face. Beautiful. There was nothing he desired to see more than Wayne in pain or otherwise bested.

            “Why – ”

            “Must you ask?” Hush cut in. “To watch you writhe in agony, as always. I wonder who the public will blame most when all this is said and done. Will they blame Batman for not stopping the disasters? Or will they blame Bruce Wayne for, oh, whatever wrong he has done to cause Gotham to topple over. For causing my anger. For once, I’m going to make you care that you crossed me, Bruce. You will be rife with regrets. I’m going to ensure it, and that’s all the hints you need for what’s to come.” Thomas stopped there, deciding to take in Bruce’s expression. Nothing could be more satisfying.

            Batman tossed Hush aside roughly, and stepped over to him. One boot hovers over Elliot’s chest for just a moment before pushing down enough to cause Thomas to cough, wind knocked out of him. The smug look on his face never dropped though. Bruce only wished he could dispose of that.

            “Thomas, what else do you have planned? Tell me now. End this.”

            Arms crossed under his head, Tommy looked up at his friend like he was only relaxing. “You are the detective; you tell me.” There’s a thoughtful pause, and the pinned down man dropped his smile. “You could have ended this before it began if you had done something all those years ago, Bruce. When my drunken, abusive father was around. When my mother had me under her thumb, and made me miss the physical abuse because then at least there was evidence and less invalidation. When your conniving family tormented me for fun with the hope of getting away at summer camp, only for it to abruptly end. Sending me to the psych ward by exploiting my emotional state as a boy. You only care about ending it when it has consequences for you, Bruce. Now there are tons of it, and I’ll have my damn retribution.”

            He was insane. Delusional, maybe schizophrenic on top of his sociopathy. Bruce pressed his boot in harder, growing tired of listening to the same old ranting that spilled from his once best friend. He had been betrayed by Tommy, and it hurt him. He couldn’t stand seeing that distorted version of his own face under those bandages. The possibility that he had failed one of the people most important to him cut him with grief, but he refused to allow that to show. He couldn’t let this thing that had taken his friend’s body get the satisfaction of making him feel that way. “Thomas, you need to be sent to Arkham – ”

            Elliot grabbed his foot, squeezing tightly and growling. “Admit it, Wayne! Just admit it! It’s your fault I am this way. You could have been there when I was kind, but now I’m a monster, and that’s on you. But I’m not insane. I’m just angry with a rage you could never understand, one fueled by revenge.” Bruce couldn’t understand his desire for vengeance? How laughable. He wanted to spit on Tommy for how pretentious and selfish he was. He ignored Bruce’s feelings because only his own mattered. “You own Arkham, so you pull the strings! I know you have your hands dipped in everything, Bruce. You are corrupt.” It was true that he had eyes on everything, ability to get whatever information he needed, ability to pull strings. However, he only used it for good. Bruce wasn’t corrupt, and he hated how Tommy twisted it that way. Tommy only saw what he wanted to see.

            “Stop it, Thomas. You are delusional.”

            “No, I know better than that. I know you better than anyone. I’ll say it again, Bruce: two souls, one body. That’s what best friends are,” he said. He pointed at the black figure holding him down. “I know you best, and there is no way you will ever trick me into falling for that ruse. I’ll give you points for sticking with it so long, but I know better. It’s time to pick a new way to try and manipulate me, soulmate.”

            There is a silent moment. The cowl hid some of his expression, but it was possibly more stone-cold and disapproving than with the cowl on. “You have to have a soul to have a soulmate, Tommy.” It didn’t stop Elliot from continuing.

            “To top it off, if I humored you even for a moment – ” no, Tommy wasn’t showing a sliver of doubt, he was certain of his sanity, he was certain “ – for even a moment, I would know you were wrong. Because if I was as insane as you pretend I am, if you weren’t gas lighting me into thinking I was in the wrong, you would care. You would care, Bruce, and that’s how I know you are wrong.”

            This actually causes Bruce some confusion. “What do you mean?” he asks just above a whisper.

            Hush laughed as if that solidified the truth in the matter. “If I was insane, you would have helped me! You would care! We wouldn’t be here, Bruce. How sad that you can’t even act the part of the friend you insist you were to me,” Tommy explained. He laced his fingers together, smiling at Bruce. He was finally able to catch Bruce in his lie with something so simple, and it delighted him. To see the Bat stumped. “If we were friends, you would have done anything you could have to get me help. You wouldn’t act as if you were the wronged party – you don’t act that way with the other rogues. Mental illness doesn’t work that way anyways if I’ve learned anything from staying in Arkham. You would not blame me as much as you do, but you can’t help but let your anger slip in, hrm?”

            While Tommy shared his triumph, Bruce could feel his blood running cold. He only stared down at Thomas in silence. He felt nauseous – was it really his fault that he and Tommy were facing each other as Batman and Hush, enemies, rather than the friends they used to be?

            “You look baffled. Are you just going to admit it now? Finally?” Tommy questioned. A pause. “Should I go on until you realize it just isn’t working? If everything was false about how you tormented me, you would just be upset, Bruce. You wouldn’t be like this. Because when people are sick, you have to realize it isn’t their fault. You wouldn’t blame me for feeling betrayed because even as a delusion, that doesn’t make the feeling invalid or any less real. See? You can’t possibly feel that angry about it. Not when the victim truly believes they are in the right. Do you see now?” Bruce quickly stepped back, and turned away. Thomas sat up with a chuckle, though it quickly dissolved. There was something unsettling about the way Batman pulled back. It wasn’t natural.

            Elliot climbed to his feet. “I’m sorry, Thomas. I’m truly sorry,” Bruce stated. His fists were at his sides, clenched. He was looking down.

            Tommy narrowed his eyes, and his nose wrinkled in distaste. He didn’t like that tone – it… Seemed strange on Bruce. “You can’t just try to incorporate this into your plans. Just take the loss,” he growled. It unnerved him how incessantly Bruce kept with this act. It – it frightened him. Especially when Bruce turned to him, and Thomas could tell… He could just tell that Bruce was upset.

            Genuinely upset.

            “Tommy, it’s not easy getting over the loss of a friend this way…” It hit a nerve, and Hush stepped forward aggressively. He wasn’t about to take this.

            But Bruce held up a hand. “Listen to me, Tommy. I mean it. You don’t have to believe me, but I really mean it. I never wanted anything like this between us. You were my best friend, and I neglected you over the years. I’ve neglected a lot of people when I shouldn’t have, but – ”

            “What, so this is an apology?” he hissed, hands shaking. He was trembling. Not that he believed a damn word. Not that he believed it at all. “And it took me saying this for you to realize that you – that you were wrong all these damn years? That you were going about it wrong, that maybe we wouldn’t be here if you had just – you expect me to believe that? You are disgusting, Bruce, I – I only fucking wish you could have cared even a bit. I held out for years, hoping I was wrong about everything you did to me, and I would have welcomed you at any time because I loved you more than just as a friend, and you felt like home, and – the last good day I ever had was with you, but I didn’t want it to be the last good day we ever had, Bruce. Because I fucking cared, Bruce, I still care or I would never have given a damn about revenge.” Were his eyes watering? He didn’t remember the last time that had happened. He forgot he could feel things other than anger so often. It felt wrong. “I could never let you go, damnit, and you want to tell me – what, did you think I didn’t care? I hate you so much only because I loved you so much, still love you.”

            Bruce just remained silent, and Tommy couldn’t stand it. So he continued to fill the gap of silence. “You were always perfect, you had everything – you had freedom, looks, the personality, real emotions, relationships, you even had my mother’s praise – she would have done anything to have you as her son, Bruce. She never hesitated to remind me. I just – I look at you, and despite how much contempt I feel for you, I can never completely hate you because you are everything I wish I could be. It makes me itch to think of how wrong my body is because it’s too vile compared to you. Do you know how that feels? You couldn’t because you have it all. I love every little thing about you, and it sickens me to know that no matter how hard I try to be even remotely close to what you are, I can’t because I’ll always be me with – with my filthy body, my mind, my thoughts…”

            He had to stop, unable to continue. Panic. He couldn’t breathe properly after confessing that, all those feelings he had harbored for years, and it was made maddeningly worse with how Bruce just sat there staring at him without comment.

            The world became fuzzy, his vision now blurring. Maybe it was tears, maybe it was the lack of air, but he nearly fell. Something, however, steadied him. He realized Bruce was holding him. No, not just holding, but hugging him. He didn’t understand.

            “Tommy, I want to help. I want to make this up to you. Will you let me?” Bruce asked. But he earned no reply other than a sudden spike in sobs that Tommy never knew he had inside him. Bruce was finally realizing that this never was anyone but that friend he felt he had lost so long ago. The one he loved dearly was still here, just buried deep inside a protective shell, and he would do anything to piece him back together. “Tommy, I never hated you. I was just trying to protect myself by shoving away the boy I knew because it hurt too much. It hurts seeing what has happened to you Tommy, and I can’t stand to think that it might be my fault that I never saw the signs. I should have saved you though. I shouldn’t have allowed how personal this was to affect how I – I just love you so much, Tommy. I’m not good at knowing when to comfort others. Please…”

            Tommy just shook his head, still in disbelief. He gathered himself up enough to speak, and he brought his gaze up to meet Bruce’s. Searching for a hint this was a lie.

            He realized it didn’t matter. If this were something fake, he would rather believe in it than anything else if it meant having Bruce in his life again. It was pathetic, but he always knew it would come down to this. All of his life he had chosen to make Bruce the center of it. He nodded slowly. It was only natural he would take this offer. Tommy was weak.

            “I fucking hate how easy it is to say yes to you,” he confessed. “After all of this time. I should kill you. I should – I should get what I’ve wanted after all these years.”

            “Revenge,” Bruce finished the thought.

            There was silence while Thomas looked at him deeply like he was realizing something. “Yes. I thought so. I really thought that was all I wanted – needed.” The lack of comment from Bruce meant he was waiting for elaboration. “But I’d rather have this. Have you. It’s weak of me.”

            “It’s strong,” Bruce contested. “To want to get better, that takes courage. To stop hiding in the anger.” It didn’t take a genius to tell that Thomas looked uncertain. As if he didn’t believe a bit of that.

            Fingers tugged at the bandages wrapping Tommy’s face, and Bruce pulled away each strip until they had all fallen to their feet. A glimmer of insecurity painted his friend’s face, and Bruce reached a hand up to rest against his cheek. It was a reassurance. There would no longer be any judgment about this. He sealed the gesture by leaning in for a kiss.

            Maybe they could do better this time.