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Part 15 of Zia's Fictober 2023 , Part 11 of Soulmate Fics
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Zia's Prompt Event Works
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2023-10-16
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The Power of a Glance

Summary:

Jim Gordon is at another Joker attack scene when the teacher of the kidnapped kids shows up.

Fictober Day Fifteen: "Fine, explain it to me."

Notes:

Title is from this quote from Les Mis: The power of a glance has been so much abused in love stories, that it has come to be disbelieved in. Few people dare now to say that two beings have fallen in love because they have looked at each other. Yet it is in this way that love begins, and in this way only.

No I have never read it. This will make sense later

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Jim wanted a drink. Scratch that, Jim wanted a half a bottle of scotch after the past forty-eight hours. But first he had to deal with the mess of a crime scene in front of him.

It had started mildly enough. Just a missing teen from an out of town field trip group. They had found the teen and gotten him back to the group. Nothing major.

But then stories of the pair of teens that got into a scrap with Red Robin and Spoiler had started circulating. Not only because they had the guts to challenge them, no they had also managed to win the fight. And according to the witnesses it was not on purpose.

Then came the story of the boy who bit the Red Hood. Mostly unprovoked. Though the teen claimed that Red Hood tried to kidnap him for being “Wayne Bait”.

Black Bat had a run in with a trio of girls that had somehow managed to get away with multiple of her weapons. Even as they threw insults and jibes at each other.

Not even Barbara was spared. In the ten minutes he had managed to spare for her to have lunch, she muttered about some new hacker three times. Which was an accomplishment with his daughter's skills. She was known as the best in the world for a reason (not that she knew he knew that fact).

He was half convinced there was a new team of rogue teens trying to take over Gotham.

And then the scene Jim was overseeing happened. Seven kids had been taken by the Joker. Not just any kids but out of town kids. From the same group as the missing kid the first time. Which was a death sentence. The Joker did not mess around. And Jim was in no state to deal with so many dead kids.

But they didn’t die. Somehow the seven of them not only managed to escape their bonds. But somehow the seven of them had beaten off all of the Joker’s goons and were so awful to the Joker himself that he ran rather than continue to deal with them. Looking at the feral look in the kids’ eyes he did not blame any of them for running away. He almost wanted to himself.

“Who is in charge around here,” a man’s voice said somewhere to Jim’s left.

Jim turned to look at the angry man. He was about the same age as Jim and was bald with a black goatee. And very bright green eyes. Almost glowing in the dark. He was exactly the kind of man Jim would flirt with in a bar on his rare days off.

And wow he was sleep deprived to be thinking that at a crime scene.

Someone pointed in Jim’s direction and the man stormed over to where Jim stood.

"Les Misérables! Why am I not being allowed to at least see my kids,” he nearly yelled as he got to Jim.

Jim’s mind blanked. His words. His soulmate words were just said by this man. The man who was glaring at him so much.

“I’m sorry sir, but that’s not possible right now,” he said.

And kicked himself. That was a horrible set of words to give his soulmate. At least his were distinctive. Even if they had been the cause of many sleepless nights. He has spent so many years wondering why he couldn’t let his soulmate see their children. Were they under arrest or dead or possibly even both. His soulmate had a generic set of words. He probably heard them hundreds of times over the course of his life. But they were unlikely to give him nightmares of losing their other half the day they met because of the trauma of losing a child.

“Why not,” his yet to be named soulmate nearly spat at him.

Leave it to Jim to piss off his soulmate upon meeting him.

“That’s complicated.”

Jim wanted to escape this conversation as fast as possible. He could approach the man about them being soulmate’s later. But he didn’t want to have to explain now.

"Fine, explain it to me,” the man said, continuing to glare.

Jim sighed. It made sense that he had a very stubborn soulmate. He was too stubborn himself not to. And dealing with Batman for all the years he had only made him more resistant to stubbornness.

“They were victims of a hostage situation,” he said. “They have to be cleared by the medical team before they are interviewed. And then you will be able to.”

“No, you have to let me see them first,” his soulmate said. “You don’t know what you are dealing with. These children will not listen to your people for very long. They do not like the government.”

Well that was a new one even for Jim. He had heard a lot of things over the years but out of town teens that would revolt against his people after taking out the Joker was beyond what he ever would have imagined.

“If you are that worried I suppose I can escort you to them. But only to make sure that they will behave.”

“Deal.”

Jim gestured in the direction they needed to go and started walking. As they went he kept sneaking glances at his soulmate. He was captivated by the shape of his face and how well his eyes stood out in the dimming evening light. He was incredibly handsome.

“What is your name?” he asked.

“August Lancer,” his soulmate replied. “I’m the student’s English teacher and head chaperone for this trip to Gotham. If you need the paperwork supporting that I can get it to you.”

“That won’t be necessary right now, Mr. Lancer,” Jim replied. “But we will need it before releasing them to your custody.”

“I will make sure you have it. Who are you anyway? I know you’re in charge but that’s it.”

There was a concerned look on Lancer’s face. And Jim wanted to somehow take it off. But he had no idea how.

He also wanted to answer his question by telling him what they were to each other. But he knew he shouldn’t. Not yet. He was still too worried about his students. And wasn’t that a shock. The kids in his soulmark were students not children. Jim has always assumed that he would be getting step-children. It was why he never worried about getting married and having Barbara. They would both be coming in with children. But nope they were students.

“I’m Jim Gordon,” he said. “The police commissioner.”

They got to where the kids were getting checked over by the medical team. And Batman for some reason. He wasn’t even told about this one but that had never stopped him before. He looked mildly annoyed for him. Like when one of his own children was misbehaving.

“Daniel, don’t even think about it,” Lancer said as soon as they arrived. “You already bit one vigilante on this trip.”

Jim glanced sideways at Lancer again, surprised. This was the teen that bit Red Hood? Were all the issues from the past days this man’s wards? What did his soulmate deal with on a regular basis? If that was something he knew his kids were willing to do.

“And Dash, Kwan, if there is even a hint of you starting another fight with the local vigilantes I will make sure your coach knows about it.”

Yep, all the problems were these children. He could see the three girls matching the descriptions of the ones that had bothered Black Bat. And the fourth boy could possibly be the one bothering Barbara.

And his soulmate was keeping all of them under control with a few comments and a looke. He could see the fight leaving all of them the longer Lancer looked at them.

“And you,” Lancer said, turning to Batman, “leave my kids alone before they do something you will regret.”

“Not that they will regret?” Batman asked.

“They will regret nothing,” Lancer said. “They never do. Now leave.”

Batman listened and walked away. Which let the paramedics get back to their jobs.

He was in love with his soulmate already.

“You seven will do exactly as you are asked,” Lancer told the teens. “The faster you do the faster we will all get to go back to the rest of the group.”

“Yes, Mr. Lancer,” the kids chorused.

Jim’s sleep deprived brain was to blame for what he said next.

“Marry me.”

Lancer turned back to him and raised an eyebrow.

“A little forward there, aren’t you?” he said. “And I’m afraid I am waiting for my soulmate.”

“That’s me,” Jim said. “You said my words. And let me tell you I have read and watched every version of Les Mis I could for you. Even the terrible ones.”

“Oh really? Pardon me if I am going to need a little more convincing about that one,” Lancer said. “You are going to have to show me your mark.”

Jim would have blushed if he was twenty years younger. But he wasn’t a teen anymore.

“Now that’s a little forward,” Jim said. “You're going to need to take me on a date before I show you that much.”

“I can do that,” Lancer said.

He reached out for Jim’s hand and kissed the back of it.

And all the kids gagged in the background.

Notes:

Hi my name is Zia and I like crack ships and rare pairs. This is the third ship tag I have made today.

Thanks for reading! I can also be found on tumblr at theredshirtsarecoming.