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It dances and skips, it's read in the eyes but it cheats with the hips. If it meets its match it's easily caught, but it's worth nothing if it is bought. What is it?
---
He wasn’t even in there full a full day and already the Batman was here.
“Nashton! Someone’s here to see you.” His eyes perk up, and it seems the guard is feeling especially cruel. “No, it ain’t conjugal. Like hell you’re gettin’ laid.”
The insult doesn’t discourage him a bit, though he is confused when they pass the interrogation room. “Mr. Vengeance wanted to see you in-person. No cameras.” The guard opens the door, and whispers, “Final words?”
He just smiles, and sits down, letting them thread his cuff chain to the tabletop. He looks Batman in the eyes, almost trying to signal him. The bomb was the last clue, he had to know for sure, and now he did. But he waited until the guard was out of earshot. Bruce’s secret should be safe.
“You told me you’d see me in hell.” Making the first move was unusual for him, but that just added to his delectable unpredictability.
“I want us to stay here, at least long enough so we’ll be safe.” Ed tries to put genuine concern in his voice, he knows how easily his tone can be misinterpreted.
“I know. But this isn’t safe.”
“What? This may as well be a prison, but for us, this is far away from what’s coming.”
“It’s not far enough. They’ll know it was you. They’re going to try to kill you. I can only fight so many.”
“Are you saving me?”
“Why wouldn’t I? You’re my friend.”
That’s the final straw. Ed breaks down, sobbing into his crossed arms. He feels Kevlar-covered arms wrap around him softly. “It’s okay, I know. I know you. We’ll be okay.”
He tries to wipe his eyes, but only cries harder. He’s startled by the sound of broken metal, and suddenly his wrists are free.
“Come on.”
Ed takes his hand, and then they’re nearly flying through the halls, taking guys down left and right. Bruce barrels his way through, while Ed guides him, his memorized map clear as day. The cool of the night sky on his skin, he buckles up in the passenger seat as they drive away.
Bruce steers with ease, his other hand in Ed’s. It’s an unfamiliar feeling for the man, being looked at like he was the whole world. He hopes he will never get used to it.
“So, when did you figure it out?”
“About an hour ago. It’s clever, giving away the ending right at the start.”
“Thank you. I try.”
“You do. You really do. And look what you can do. With this brain,” he playfully pokes Ed’s forehead, “I bet you could change the world.”
Ed sniffles, trying not to cry again. He takes his hand. “ We can change the world.”
Bruce chuckles. “Come on, I’m just your muscle.”
“No, no, Bruce…” Ed turns to fully face him. “You’re my fire. You made me who I am. Before you I was nobody, I had nothing. And then I saw you outside my apartment window, gazing out into the city. I knew what I had to become.”
Bruce smiles at that, but then looks at him strangely. “What is it? You’ve got that look.”
Ed chuckles. “It makes the world go ‘round. What is it?”
“You know, a lesser man would say ‘money.’ But I know you.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. It’s love. Love makes our world go ‘round.”
“ ‘Our?’ ”
“Yes. I love you, Eddie.”
Maybe Ed just cries very easily.
“I love you too, Brucey.”
---
A heart.