Work Text:
Sono Collegati 9: Covering
By Prodigette
Terry groaned. The left side of his face felt almost numb from the cold. An hour earlier, Terry was in a fight with a few Jokerz. There wasn't any wounds for Bruce to clean, but the suit needed to be fixed. Terry removed the ice pack from his cheek.
"So how does it look?"
Bruce kept his face impassive as he spoke. "It looks fine." He might have not been telling the truth, but he wasn't exactly lying, either. Even Ace seemed to looking up at Terry with pity.
Terry's eyes widened, and he looked around the Batcave for a mirror. "It's *that* bad? So much for my modeling career." Terry said sarcastically. Running over to one of the glass cases, Terry saw his reflection. A purple fist-sized mark was on his left cheek. Terry groaned.
"It's impossible to explain that bruise." Bruce said. His head was tilted slightly. The former Batman have had worser bruises, but his protege had to deal with an even bigger force in his life: Mary McGinnis. No matter what Terry had said or done, she still couldn't believe that her son had turned his life around.
Terry turned around and shrugged. "Nah. Maybe we shouldn't worry. It's nothing makeup couldn't cover." Hearing that, Bruce closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Terry," Bruce said, choosing his words carefully, "I know that we're...us. But if you're having gender issues..."
Terry shook his head and waved around his hands in his defense. The last thing he needed was an after-school special lecture from the man he was sleeping with. "No! It's not like that. I'm a guy and I *like* being a guy," Terry replied, "But I keep some makeup around to cover bruises. You know, so folks wouldn't get suspcious."
Bruce raised a dark eyebrow. "And wearing makeup will have them *not* be suspicious?"
Terry shrugged again. "Hey, it's better than them knowing that I'm, *you know*. Not the whole gay thing... but Batman. Besides, some guys at school wear makeup these days. It's no big deal."
Bruce could see his protege stripping off the Batsuit and putting back on his clothing. It was very distracting, but Bruce somehow managed to speak without a single stutter. "McGinnis, if all of your classmates jumped off a bridge, would you do the same?"
Terry snorted and rolled his eyes. That was probably one of the oldest questions in the world. If you were ever a teenager, you were going to hear it at least a hundred times.
"If adults keep asking me that, yeah. You sound like my mom, Wayne. It's getting *really* creepy."
Bruce paused for a moment and narrowed his eyes in thought. "Hm. I see your point." Terry gave him a quick kiss and smile against his lips.
"It's four in the morning. I gotta go. See you later on?" Bruce gave a short nod. Terry would have to sneak through his bedroom window to avoid his mother. Fire escapes and all. It wasn't anything that he hadn't done before, so Bruce wasn't worried about the teen.
"Ace, take care of him while I'm gone."
The great dane barked, and Terry smirked.
"Good bad dog."
Terry put the Batsuit in his backpack, more than ready for the weekend. He waved goodnight to both his mentor and their dog, and ran up the cave's steps.
END