Work Text:
Resolution
by Prodigette
Terry looked down at the sheet of paper in his hands. Resolutions. Most of them being what he wouldn't possibly ever do this year. But, it was a fresh start. He looked towards the clock on his nightstand. 11:35 PM.
Terry had this feeling in his stomach. It was the one where you knew that you should be doing something, but you weren't exactly sure what it was.
He looked down at the first sentence on the paper.
1. Seize the day.
Terry had heard the phrase in his language arts class during one of those rare times were he was awake in school. But, he never gave it much thought until now. Terry had become less impulsive in one year, but it wasn't easy at all.
The only thing that he had now was flight, and even that wasn't even his own.
He didn't get any call about any crimes going on in Gotham, but Terry wasn't worried. Bruce was home alone. Inside, Terry knew that his mentor was okay.
But something was still missing.
-----
Laying at his master's feet, Ace raised his head and the dog began to bark.
Over the sounds of the vid screen, Bruce heard the front door close with a loud thud. Hearing footsteps get closer and closer, he knew who it was without even looking behind him.
"You should be home."
Terry sighed softly. "I... I just thought I'd come over. You know, to check up on you." It wasn't the full truth, but it wasn't a total lie, either.
Bruce gave his protege a quick glance over his shoulder and continued sipping his glass of wine. Terry narrowed his eyes at the glass in Bruce's hands and slightly tilted his head.
"It's not even 12 yet and you're already raiding the liquor cabinet? Wayne, I know that only you and Ace live here, but geez..."
"One glass of wine each year." He said, not turning around to look at the person he was talking to.
Terry blinked in confusion. "What?"
"I've had twenty glasses of wine in twenty years. This being one of them." Bruce gestured. He turned around some in his chair to look at the teen, and then turned his attention back to the screen.
With the video screen still on, the crowd in Times Square began to countdown as the ball dropped.
"10..." "9...." "8...." "7...."
Bruce continued to sit in the den chair, looking at the large screen. Terry just wanted to know what was going throughout the man's mind.
"6...." 5...." "4..." "3...."
Maybe it wasn't too late. Maybe, just maybe, Terry could start the year off with a clean slate."
"2...." "1..." "Happy New Year!!!"
Without warning, Terry leaned in and kissed his mentor lightly on the lips. Terry let go and opened his eyes with a careful look on his face. At first, it didn't look like Bruce registered anything that just happened. Terry began to wonder if he should have ran screaming instead of just standing there.
Terry took a deep breath and decided to speak up. "It's 2040. Happy New Year, old man. You made it." Even though there was a trademark smirk on his face, Terry said that as if nothing had happened. Terry shrugged nonchalantly and continued to look down at the man sitting in the chair.
Bruce was a good four inches taller than him and the broad shoulders only made him look bigger. It should have been intimidating since Bruce Wayne had a way of making you feel like a small child. But when Bruce was sitting down, Terry wasn't in the least bit nervous.
"This minute is the first minute of the rest of your life. Do you want me to get the oxygen tank?"
A slow, but small smile spread across Bruce's face. The older man tilted his head slightly and narrowed his eyes. Both men have obviously paid a little too much attention to each other over the course of one year.
"It's just another year, McGinnis." Bruce said, standing up. He looked at his protege with an unreadable look. He walked off, leaving Ace and Terry alone in the room.
After the sounds footsteps disappeared, all that the teen could hear was other people's happiness. But inside, there was no sign of his own.
end