Title: The Bat And The Angel (1/1)
Rating: G
Author: BradyGirl_12
Pairings/Characters: Bruce/Dick
Genres: Angst, AU, Challenge, Drama, Fairytale, Romance
Summary: The Dark Bat is visited one snowy night by the Angel Of Sunshine.
Date Of Completion: October 22, 2012
Date Of Posting: December 5, 2012
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: I don’t own ‘em, DC does, more’s the pity.
Word Count: 1513
Feedback welcome and appreciated.
Author’s Notes: Written for the
2012 Bruce/Dick Fest. Prompt: Wings. Also written for my
2012 DCU Fic/Art Angels Challenge. Prompt: Traditional Angels and "Whenever a bell rings, an Angel gets his wings". Also written for my
2012 DCU Fic/Art Silver Bells Winter Holidays Challenge. Prompt: Church Bells. Lastly, written for
2012 DCU Free_For_All Winter Holidays Challenge. Prompt No. 14: Snow/Ice/Frost. Prompt No. 24: Winter Solstice and Prompt No. 25: Wings.
Starry, starry night,
Brooding-bright,
All is right.
Snowy, snowy night,
Sparkling light,
Evil smite.
Delicate flakes,
Jewels so tiny,
Snowy flakes,
Smile so shiny.
Glittering wings,
Sunshine swings
Down from Heaven.
Angel
From the sky.
Adelaide Simmons
"Sunshine Angel"
1861 C.E.
Once upon a time, on the eventide of Yule, snow fell like glittering diamonds, covering Gotham’s sins. The gargoyles were covered in powdered dustings as pristine snow covered filth and grime on the streets below. The old nineteenth-century buildings were solid and brooding, much like the city’s protector.
A black cape billowed out in the wind, snowflakes starring its silkiness. The great figure brooded as he surveyed his city, his heart empty. He could not remember happiness or joy or lightness of heart. He vaguely remembered rage and despair, blood and pearls mixing on hard, unyielding stone. The city howled and the city cried as he watched.
The snowy flakes reminded him of ash. The charred flakes had fluttered on the wind after the fire in the circus tent ten years past. He remembered the searing heat, the panicked screams and the choking smoke of a nightmare from hell. Many of the audience and the circus folk performing their acts at the time the fire had broken out had perished in the flames.
The Bat sighed. Was this all there was? Pain and suffering and endless emptiness? If he still had a heart, it would have ached.
The snow was cold and pristine as the emptiness yawned like the abyss in the Bat. The snow glittered and coalesced into an ethereal figure that smiled at him.
The Bat shaded his eyes at the brilliance of this apparition. The apparition’s tunic was made of shining rubies. The sleeves, gloves, pixie boots and spangled panties consisted of sparkling emeralds. His cape was made of sunshine, but the most astonishing feature were pure white wings, spread out in astonishing beauty and grandeur.
“Who are you?” asked the Bat.
“Your Sunshine.”
The Bat’s expression was pure skepticism. “You are bright.”
The Angel laughed, his sapphire-blue eyes sparkling. His raven-dark hair was glossy and framed a perfect face. He was starred with snowflakes and was the most beautiful thing that the Bat had ever seen.
“I certainly am, my somber friend.” His wings rippled in the slight breeze.
“Why are you here?”
“I am here to protect.”
“I protect the city.”
“Yes, I know.”
Bells rang in the St. Mary’s Church as the snow muffled their sound.
“Ah, do you hear that?” asked the Angel.
“Hear what?”
“Those bells. An Angel is getting his wings.” He laughed merrily.
The Bat lifted an eyebrow. “I do not need help protecting my city.”
The Angel’s smile was enigmatic. “Your heart is empty.”
The Bat’s jaw clenched. “That is no concern of yours.”
“Oh, but it is.”
The Bat frowned as the Angel came closer. He could see that this was no fragile creature. The Angel was muscular and looked as if he could play the Archangel Michael as a stalwart warrior.
“Leave me to my work.” The last thing he needed was to be distracted by some sparkling Angel.
“Come with me.” The Angel held out his hand.
“I have work to do.”
“It will still be here when we return.”
The Bat considered the offer and grudgingly took the Angel’s hand. He was lifted high into the sky and his body felt as light as air. They Angel’s hand felt warm and solid. The great wings flapped softly as they roared high above the dark city.
“To fly is to know joy,” said the Angel cheerfully.
The Bat knew great heights but none like this. He felt the cold but it was not uncomfortable as they flew through wispy clouds and snow. The Bat appreciated the beauty all around him.
And he appreciated the beauty of the Angel beside him. He might be empty inside but he could see pleasing aesthetics. He allowed himself the indulgence.
They flew over the city and alighted on a large, fluffy cloud. The snow fell beneath them as the stars glittered high above their heads.
“I should go back now.”
The Angel’s smile dimmed a little. “All right.”
They flew back to the building and the Angel gently deposited the Bat on the rooftop.
“Be well,” he said with a smile and slowly flew up and away.
So ended the first night.
& & & & & &
The Bat’s cape fluttered majestically in the breeze. He gazed down upon the city as it snowed with that delightful lightness of flakes that made the world look like a snowglobe.
One cluster high overhead swirled and coalesced into the Angel. He slowly drifted down, his magnificent wings spread out and his smile was as bright as the sun.
“Come with me, dear Bat.”
“I have work to do.”
“You have heights to soar.” The Angel held out his hand.
The Bat hesitated. He had a city to take care of, not go flitting about with a beautiful Angel. He looked at the firm, young body (though it might be centuries old), and took the Angel’s hand.
They flew high into the sky, the snowflakes large and delicate. The Bat noticed the starry snowflakes on long, curving lashes and felt himself drawn to eyes as blue as sapphires.
The Angel drew them up and they twirled slowly as the great wings spread out in shining magnificence.
The Bat drew back and the Angel sparkled, turning around. The Bat swallowed as he saw the swelling curves of the most incredible buttocks in the universe. He sternly told himself to focus.
The Angel turned back to face him. If the Bat had a heart, it would break at the beauty of this creature.
The Angel drew close, lush lips close to the Bat’s mouth as snowy diamonds glittered in his glossy hair. He was truly a soul made for Heaven.
The Angel came even closer, resting a hand on the Bat’s chest. One strong, muscular leg wrapped around his companion and he leaned forward, whispering, “Give me your heart.”
Something stirred deep within the Bat: feelings long-buried, elusive as quicksilver and just as disturbing to a man accustomed to barrenness. He could feel life pulsing in the beautiful Angel as the sparkles seemed to cover the two of them. A sense of peace began to settle over him as he breathed in the essence of sweet peace.
But the bitterness of injustice was too hard to shake. He pulled away and rasped, “I have no heart.”
The Angel looked sad. “So you say.”
“So I do.” The Bat’s midnight-blue eyes glared. “Bring me back.”
The sparkles around the Angel dimmed as his wings drooped. “All right.”
The Angel flew the Bat back to his rooftop and gently caressed the Bat’s cheek. “Be well.” He flew off into the height of the storm as the snowflakes grew thicker and came down faster.
So ended the second night.
& & & & & &
The Bat brooded with terrible majesty. He was a thundercloud as he crouched on the rooftop like a gargoyle as the snow drifted down, blotting out the sky. The wind swirled as snow caked the sides of crumbling buildings and piled up relentlessly on the potholed streets and cracked sidewalks. The Bat felt the cold in his bones.
Like an Archangel from Heaven came the Angel Of Sunshine, his great wings spread and becoming one with the purity of the snow.
“You are persistent,” growled the Bat as he pulled his cape tighter around his body.
The Angel smiled. He could not help himself. “You are worth my persistence.”
The Angel’s raiments sparkled and shone in a sea of white as the Bat blinked. “Those colors,” he murmured. “The old stories…are you the Pixie?”
The Angel smiled even brighter, if that was possible. “I am.”
“The legends tell of a young boy’s spirit helping the citizens of Gotham.”
“I was.”
The Bat studied the glowing raiments intently. “I was there that night,” he said softly. “When you and your parents flew.”
The Angel nodded. “And then Hell burst upon us, yet we were raised to Heaven like the other suffering souls.”
“I thank you for helping me protect my city.”
The Angel bowed. “My pleasure.” As he straightened up he pleaded softly, ““When you said that you protect your city, I wish to protect you. Let me help you. I know great loss and what it means to see your world crash down around you.”
The Bat felt the stirring again. A great yearning opened up within him as he beheld the beautiful creature floating before him. The yearning consumed him as it pierced him with bittersweet pain.
The Angel’s smile was sweet. “I can fill you and soothe you and give you your heart back.”
The Bat cupped the Angel’s face and kissed warm lips as his heart flared to life again after the years of bitter loneliness. The Angel folded his wings around their bodies as he lifted them up into the pure white sky.
So ended the third night and began the new day.
& & & & & &
The City of Sin-By-The-Sea was protected by the Dark Bat and his Shining Angel from that day forward.
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