Ficlet: (Un)Quenched | DCU | Bruce/Jason, Tim | PG-13 | 1/1
Title: (Un)Quenched
Fandom: DCU
Pairing: Bruce/Jason, Tim, Alfred
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 975
Prompt: For au_bingo: Fantasy & Supernatural: Vampires; For hc_bingo: Hunger/Starvation
Summary: There's something in the shadows of the alley that shouldn't be there.
Disclaimer: DC and WB own everything. I own nothing. Darnit!
Author's Notes: Follow-up to (Un)Leashed, second in what is now the (Un)Familiar 'verse. And yes, there will be more in this 'verse, thanks to all the fantasy & supernatural squares on my au_bingo card! \O/
(Un)Quenched
There's something in the shadows of the alley that shouldn't be there.
Bruce has been doing this long enough to know there's more evil lurking in the night than can possibly be explained by metas and weres, so when Jason shifts, falls on all fours and bares his teeth at the darkness with a growl, he knows things are about to get interesting. It's not the first time, by a long shot.
Flipping down the lenses in his cowl, he scans the area, only detecting a faint heat signature on infrared. Bigger than a rat or a dog, but not quite human sized. A fresh kill, perhaps? He switches the settings to night-vision, and-
“Wolf, no!” he shouts, grabbing Jay by the collar to hold him back from the boy huddling against the brick wall, wide eyes staring back at them with an inhuman shine beneath limp hair. The collar almost snaps in his grip as his partner tries to pull away, jaws snapping. “Stop!”
Growling low in his throat, Jason turns to look up at Bruce, eyes shining, too.
“Leave him,” he orders, resorting to the dog commands he hates to use; Jay isn't usually this worked up about their prey, human or otherwise.
But Wolf obeys at last, snaps his jaws one last time and hunkers down, focusing on the boy in the shadows, and Bruce gives him the hand signal for 'stay', releases his collar, and steps forward.
“We won't hurt you,” he says quietly, hand just barely stretched out. The boy tries to curl in on himself even more, and Bruce can see how hard he's shivering beneath torn clothes, his skin deathly pale even in the washed-out green of the night-vision field. “It's all right.”
Another step, and the boy finally speaks. “Please don't!” he warns, voice pitched high. “I can't-so thirsty-”
And Bruce sees the glint of light against extra-long teeth at the corners of the boy's small mouth. He should've known.
Vampire.
Jason growls behind him again, sitting forward and ready to strike, but Bruce knows they have nothing to worry about; the boy is too small and weak to hurt either of them.
“We'll take care of you,” he says, almost against his better judgment, holding out his hand further. “Let me help you.”
The boy looks at his hand, eyes flashing with hunger and desperation, and an equal measure of fear. “Can't.”
“What's your name?”
Those shining eyes flit up to meet his through the lenses. “Tim.”
“Tim,” he repeats, keeping his voice even. “How old are you, Tim?”
“Fifteen.”
Bruce would've sworn the boy was eleven or twelve, he's so small, and the realization is jarring; what must this boy have been through to look so young, and be out here like this? “Please let me help you,” he repeats. “It'll be okay, I promise.”
Hesitantly, Tim takes Bruce's hand.
~*~*~*~
Tim is halfway through his second bag of O-negative-fresh enough, if cold, since they restocked two days ago-and wrapped in warm blankets in the med bay of the Cave when Alfred appears at Bruce's side. “Will he be staying, sir?”
Bruce almost doesn't want to admit it, but he nods anyway, ducking his head.
“I'll make up a room with blackout curtains, then, and arrange for a regular delivery for his meals.”
“Thank you, Alfred,” he says, grateful, and then the older man is gone.
He's not sure when this became a halfway home for teenage creatures of the night, but this makes the third time. And again, he should've seen it coming; he's known he and Jay were being watched for weeks now, but hadn't thought it would come down to this.
In a way, he feels responsible for the boy's current predicament. If Tim hadn't been following them, he might not have been bitten-and this was most certainly a recent transformation, considering the heat signature Bruce had glimpsed previously to tonight was human. If anything, that makes it even more his responsibility to care for the boy, as vampires are considered dead and lost to their families under the law.
“All right, enough,” he says when the second bag is emptied, Tim sucking it dry. Prying it away from him gently, he smooths down the young vampire's dark hair. “Let's finish getting you cleaned up, and then up to bed.”
Tim looks up at him with wide blue eyes-enough like Jason's that they can pass him off as a younger brother-and shivers, already looking stronger, his thirst quenched for now, as he swipes the back of a hand across his mouth to clean off the remnants of his dinner. “Thank you,” he says in a small voice.
From the opposite side of the med bay where he's been watching Tim warily, his arms crossed defensively, Jason grinds out, “You're lucky he has a soft spot for charity cases.”
“Jason,” Bruce warns firmly, whirling on him. “We'll talk upstairs.”
A dark look-one that the Bat can read all too easily since their bonding-and Jay snaps his teeth at Tim as he straightens and turns to head up to the Manor. Bruce knows that convincing him against the things he's assuming about him and Tim will be difficult at first, despite there not being so much as a twitch of inclination that way; Jason will believe what he wants until sufficient time and evidence change his mind.
Further, he knows it'll be an uphill battle to get Jason accustomed to their new charge and vice versa, considering their natures, but looking back at the frail form still wrapped up in blankets on the exam table, he knows it'll be worth the work. Tim will be a good addition to their team, to their family, and he deserves the chance that was afforded to Jason, when the world was set against him.
And so what if harboring vampires is just as condemned as keeping werewolves? He's glad he found the boy lurking in the shadows of the alley.
~*~*~*~
Fandom: DCU
Pairing: Bruce/Jason, Tim, Alfred
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 975
Prompt: For au_bingo: Fantasy & Supernatural: Vampires; For hc_bingo: Hunger/Starvation
Summary: There's something in the shadows of the alley that shouldn't be there.
Disclaimer: DC and WB own everything. I own nothing. Darnit!
Author's Notes: Follow-up to (Un)Leashed, second in what is now the (Un)Familiar 'verse. And yes, there will be more in this 'verse, thanks to all the fantasy & supernatural squares on my au_bingo card! \O/
(Un)Quenched
There's something in the shadows of the alley that shouldn't be there.
Bruce has been doing this long enough to know there's more evil lurking in the night than can possibly be explained by metas and weres, so when Jason shifts, falls on all fours and bares his teeth at the darkness with a growl, he knows things are about to get interesting. It's not the first time, by a long shot.
Flipping down the lenses in his cowl, he scans the area, only detecting a faint heat signature on infrared. Bigger than a rat or a dog, but not quite human sized. A fresh kill, perhaps? He switches the settings to night-vision, and-
“Wolf, no!” he shouts, grabbing Jay by the collar to hold him back from the boy huddling against the brick wall, wide eyes staring back at them with an inhuman shine beneath limp hair. The collar almost snaps in his grip as his partner tries to pull away, jaws snapping. “Stop!”
Growling low in his throat, Jason turns to look up at Bruce, eyes shining, too.
“Leave him,” he orders, resorting to the dog commands he hates to use; Jay isn't usually this worked up about their prey, human or otherwise.
But Wolf obeys at last, snaps his jaws one last time and hunkers down, focusing on the boy in the shadows, and Bruce gives him the hand signal for 'stay', releases his collar, and steps forward.
“We won't hurt you,” he says quietly, hand just barely stretched out. The boy tries to curl in on himself even more, and Bruce can see how hard he's shivering beneath torn clothes, his skin deathly pale even in the washed-out green of the night-vision field. “It's all right.”
Another step, and the boy finally speaks. “Please don't!” he warns, voice pitched high. “I can't-so thirsty-”
And Bruce sees the glint of light against extra-long teeth at the corners of the boy's small mouth. He should've known.
Vampire.
Jason growls behind him again, sitting forward and ready to strike, but Bruce knows they have nothing to worry about; the boy is too small and weak to hurt either of them.
“We'll take care of you,” he says, almost against his better judgment, holding out his hand further. “Let me help you.”
The boy looks at his hand, eyes flashing with hunger and desperation, and an equal measure of fear. “Can't.”
“What's your name?”
Those shining eyes flit up to meet his through the lenses. “Tim.”
“Tim,” he repeats, keeping his voice even. “How old are you, Tim?”
“Fifteen.”
Bruce would've sworn the boy was eleven or twelve, he's so small, and the realization is jarring; what must this boy have been through to look so young, and be out here like this? “Please let me help you,” he repeats. “It'll be okay, I promise.”
Hesitantly, Tim takes Bruce's hand.
~*~*~*~
Tim is halfway through his second bag of O-negative-fresh enough, if cold, since they restocked two days ago-and wrapped in warm blankets in the med bay of the Cave when Alfred appears at Bruce's side. “Will he be staying, sir?”
Bruce almost doesn't want to admit it, but he nods anyway, ducking his head.
“I'll make up a room with blackout curtains, then, and arrange for a regular delivery for his meals.”
“Thank you, Alfred,” he says, grateful, and then the older man is gone.
He's not sure when this became a halfway home for teenage creatures of the night, but this makes the third time. And again, he should've seen it coming; he's known he and Jay were being watched for weeks now, but hadn't thought it would come down to this.
In a way, he feels responsible for the boy's current predicament. If Tim hadn't been following them, he might not have been bitten-and this was most certainly a recent transformation, considering the heat signature Bruce had glimpsed previously to tonight was human. If anything, that makes it even more his responsibility to care for the boy, as vampires are considered dead and lost to their families under the law.
“All right, enough,” he says when the second bag is emptied, Tim sucking it dry. Prying it away from him gently, he smooths down the young vampire's dark hair. “Let's finish getting you cleaned up, and then up to bed.”
Tim looks up at him with wide blue eyes-enough like Jason's that they can pass him off as a younger brother-and shivers, already looking stronger, his thirst quenched for now, as he swipes the back of a hand across his mouth to clean off the remnants of his dinner. “Thank you,” he says in a small voice.
From the opposite side of the med bay where he's been watching Tim warily, his arms crossed defensively, Jason grinds out, “You're lucky he has a soft spot for charity cases.”
“Jason,” Bruce warns firmly, whirling on him. “We'll talk upstairs.”
A dark look-one that the Bat can read all too easily since their bonding-and Jay snaps his teeth at Tim as he straightens and turns to head up to the Manor. Bruce knows that convincing him against the things he's assuming about him and Tim will be difficult at first, despite there not being so much as a twitch of inclination that way; Jason will believe what he wants until sufficient time and evidence change his mind.
Further, he knows it'll be an uphill battle to get Jason accustomed to their new charge and vice versa, considering their natures, but looking back at the frail form still wrapped up in blankets on the exam table, he knows it'll be worth the work. Tim will be a good addition to their team, to their family, and he deserves the chance that was afforded to Jason, when the world was set against him.
And so what if harboring vampires is just as condemned as keeping werewolves? He's glad he found the boy lurking in the shadows of the alley.
~*~*~*~