The People Who Care

Summary: When Jim Gordon summons Batman after the events of the movie, it’s for a vastly different reason than the Caped Crusader expects
Warning(s): Spanking; spoilers for the movie; references to violence
Author’s Note: Yeah. I jump onto new fandoms very quickly

###

There was no point in wondering what might have been. That was the thought that went through Bruce’s mind, as he parked his bike and made his way up to the top of the building, where the bat signal was coming from.

Jim Gordon stood there. He didn’t carry any visible signs of injuries, although the way he moved indicated he had been hurt during the rescue mission. Bruce quickly looked over the officer’s body, making sure that he hadn’t been hurt worse since the last time they saw each other.

Jim cleared his throat and nodded. “Wasn’t too sure you’d come.”

“Where would I go?” Bruce asked, hiding his confusion at this unfamiliar start to their conversation. “Gotham City is my home. It needs me.” Perhaps the need was different than what he’d assumed when he first started out, but if there was one thing he was clear on, it was that he was needed.

“I thought you’d be leaving with your new partner.”

Bruce shook his head. “We have different priorities.” He allowed himself to think, for a brief moment, about what might have happened had he left Gotham with Selina. But a moment was all he let himself have. She’d made her decision and he’d made his.

“I think we need to talk,” Jim said.

Bruce allowed himself to frown, slightly, as he looked at the police officer. “Do you need my help?”

“Not this time.” Jim undid his weapons belt and placed his holster, with the gun still inside, on the ground. He doubled the belt in his hand, locked eyes with Bruce, and said, “If we’re going to move forward with this partnership, we need to discuss some things first.”

“Discuss,” Bruce repeated.

“I know some things about you,” Jim said. “I know that you’re well-trained. I know that you care about Gotham and its people. That you would do anything to save it.” He paused for a moment before continuing, “Including endangering your own life. My heart nearly stopped when you leaped on that cable and cut it loose.”

Bruce glanced at the belt held in Jim’s hand. He wasn’t stupid. He could see how the other man intended for this conversation to go. What he wasn’t sure about was why Jim expected Bruce to agree. To go along with this plan. If Jim intended to fight him, he was going to need a hell of a lot more firepower. “Why?” he asked directly. “Even if I had died, surely it would have made your life a whole lot easier.”

“Gotham needs you.” Jim stared unflinchingly into Bruce’s eyes. “You can do the things the police can’t. You can go places I can’t.” He paused before saying, “But that doesn’t mean endangering yourself is acceptable.”

The laugh that escaped Bruce was a harsh, bitter sound. “I’ve been taking those kinds of chances since I began.” He paused, realising that if he was arguing against the plan that Jim had, he’d picked the worst possible thing to say. In fact, if he was truly against what Jim was planning to do, he needed to turn around and walk away.

But he didn’t. And he wasn’t sure what that said about him. He didn’t need a father. He’d had one that had been ripped from his life. And Alfred was the closest thing he had to a father now. Certainly, he’d protected and trained Bruce from a very early age…even if he hadn’t anticipated the path Bruce had ultimately taken.

Bruce was certain that Jim wasn’t looking to parent him, though. The other man had no idea who lay beneath the mask of the Batman. To Bruce, it felt like Jim was offering to hold him accountable. To stop him from doing something dangerous that would take him away from the people of Gotham. The people who needed him.

“It needs to stop.” Jim’s words broke into Bruce’s thoughts.

Bruce nodded slowly. He couldn’t argue. Not really. He’d seen the path he was on. That he might become the very thing he sought to destroy. And while he’d turned back, he wasn’t foolish enough to believe things would all be sunshine and roses from now on. That had never been his life before and things certainly wouldn’t be like that now. The path he’d turned onto now wasn’t going to be easy, even if it was the better one in the long run.

“This won’t be a one-time thing. Will it?” Bruce looked directly at Jim. Waiting, needing, to hear the response.

Jim took a few moments to reply. To respond. When he finally did, it was to say, “No. If you agree to this arrangement, it won’t be a one-time thing. If you put yourself in danger again after this, then there’ll be a repeat of what I’m about to do.”

There was no doubt in either of their minds that this was going to happen. Bruce knew that he would submit. That part of him needed to submit. But there was something else he needed to ask before he took that final step. Before he agreed to be held accountable. Before he gave Jim Gordon that power over him. “What about if I come too close to that line? If I come too close to becoming something we’d have to destroy?”

“If you get too close to that line,” Jim paused, as if he was thinking…or at least gathering what he wanted to say, “if you do come too close to that line, but don’t cross it, then yeah. We’ll be doing this again.”

Bruce nodded. That was what he needed to know, at least for the moment. Maybe they’d need to have a deeper conversation about this later. Maybe they’d need to discuss exactly where the line was. But for now, for right now, what they’d discussed was enough. He was ready to submit to this and he moved his hands towards his pants. He undid them and pushed them down to just below his knees. Then, he moved forward and carefully lowered himself over the searchlight. It wasn’t the most comfortable position to be in, but there wasn’t really anywhere else he could position himself.

After a few moments, his cape was lifted and held out of the way of his backside. Bruce held himself still and tense as the leather belt was placed across the centre of his backside, as if Jim was taking aim, before it was drawn back and landed across the seat of his briefs with a dull crack.

Bruce held back the groan that wanted to escape. With the second stroke landing just below the first, his hands curled into fists. And the third stroke drew a hitched gasp from his lips.

The strapping continued, each strike met with a quiet gasp or groan from Bruce’s lips. He stayed in position, only twitching a little when the belt hit a spot that was particularly sensitive. He didn’t keep track of the individual strokes and it wasn’t long before his entire bottom, from the crest to mid-thigh, felt like an inferno.

When Jim paused, Bruce was breathing heavily and his eyes were damp. His hands itched to reach back and rub out the fire that had been ignited. But he held back when he felt Jim’s fingers in the waistband of his briefs. He forced himself to stay in position as his briefs were lowered, leaving his backside entirely bare and vulnerable.

When the first strike of leather to bare skin landed, Bruce sucked in a breath. The ‘warmup’ over his briefs hadn’t done a lot to prepare him for the full on burn on bare skin. It was hard to stay still and accept the belting, especially as Bruce knew he could easily put a stop to this if he chose to. But he needed this. He needed to be held accountable by someone who was able and willing to do so. He’d been hurt before, both physically and emotionally. He’d been through worse pain than this.

But the emotional aspect was what hit him the hardest. Having someone care enough to do this. The tears that ran silently down his cheeks were more to do with letting go of his inner pain and turmoil than about the pain from the strapping.

By the time the belt stopped falling, Bruce’s tears were hard enough to almost blind him. He felt Jim step away, but he remained bent over until his tears died down. Then, slowly, he stood up, pulling his briefs and pants back over his aching ass before slowly turning round to face the other man.

“Here.” Jim was holding out a damp cloth to him.

“Thanks.” Bruce didn’t bother to ask where Jim had got the cloth from. He just used it to wipe his eyes and the remnants of tears from his mask, then took a deep breath and focused on Jim Gordon once more. “Thank you,” he reiterated, no longer talking about the cloth.

Jim nodded. “You know, it goes both ways.” He motioned towards the searchlight. “If you need me, any time at all.”

“I know.” Bruce took a deep breath. “I appreciate it.”

For the moment, for now, there was peace.

The End