[Riku screams, a horrible, animalistic sound of distilled rage. Grief. Bruce recognizes it immediately because he's made this cry himself, felt it close up his throat and seal his lungs, like they'd been cauterized around the agony. It's the reason he holds onto his breath even as he prepares for the pain that's coming- the moment that Riku throws all of his body weight into a frantic jolt, as if he'd been shot through with electricity. Bruce feels it the moment he loses the advantage and saves his strength, lets his body roll. His lantern gouges over the ridge of his hip and into the small of his back, cutting through cloth and skin indiscriminately. The pain is white hot. In the scuffle his mask shifts and the bottom of it begins to lift, baring his chin and a few inches of his throat. There's no barrier then, to keep Riku's tears from reaching him. They're small brands that sear into him. Bruce loops the wire around the meat of both palms, almost invisible around the thrashing, for the way it could be seen as his attempt to dislodge Riku's grip on him.
Wait it out. Alfred tells him. Wait him out.
But the world streaks by him and his breath is hard to hold onto. The smoke distorts everything around them, an element of unreality in an already unreal place. He anchors himself with Riku, even as the other boy spirals out of control. His fingers catch in Bruce's shirt and he's slammed backwards, back into the ground. His vision blacks out, a concussion, the lantern bites into him again. The pain he can take, but his lantern will only endure so much.
Riku's voice is a furious, tortured whisper. Bruce jerks just enough that Riku will be encouraged to do it again- to draw him up and slam him back down, to try and stun him, make him stop fighting. But when he's pulled up once more, instead of pushing out at all, Bruce's arms go up, straight up over his head, then around Riku's body in one solid motion. It looks like it could be a hug. But the wire extends as he pulls down on it, pulls it tight around Riku's back and around to the front of him, where he clips it into itself- tying Riku's upper arms against his chest. Instead of waiting, Bruce slams his head forward, cracking his forehead into the bridge of Riku's nose, the space between his brows while he slams his hands forward, shoving hard at the boy's chest to widen the gap between them, to serve as momentum for the reflexive recoil.]
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Wait it out. Alfred tells him. Wait him out.
But the world streaks by him and his breath is hard to hold onto. The smoke distorts everything around them, an element of unreality in an already unreal place. He anchors himself with Riku, even as the other boy spirals out of control. His fingers catch in Bruce's shirt and he's slammed backwards, back into the ground. His vision blacks out, a concussion, the lantern bites into him again. The pain he can take, but his lantern will only endure so much.
Riku's voice is a furious, tortured whisper. Bruce jerks just enough that Riku will be encouraged to do it again- to draw him up and slam him back down, to try and stun him, make him stop fighting. But when he's pulled up once more, instead of pushing out at all, Bruce's arms go up, straight up over his head, then around Riku's body in one solid motion. It looks like it could be a hug. But the wire extends as he pulls down on it, pulls it tight around Riku's back and around to the front of him, where he clips it into itself- tying Riku's upper arms against his chest. Instead of waiting, Bruce slams his head forward, cracking his forehead into the bridge of Riku's nose, the space between his brows while he slams his hands forward, shoving hard at the boy's chest to widen the gap between them, to serve as momentum for the reflexive recoil.]