#furiously rubbing my hands together in an attempt to manifest a second season

[shantechni]

They're so dumb, I love them

[fleur-de-leap]

A Hero with Homework

Summary: More interactions between Gloria and a Main Character, this time it’s Batman. Both of them need naps, honestly. 

Sometimes Gloria feels like she’s on top of the world. Especially ever since she became a hero. There’s so much she can do now! Sometimes she feels unstoppable, learning what all she’s capable of. It’s an amazing feeling! 

But this is not one of those times. No, right now she was exhausted, forcing herself to sit in uncomfortable positions to not accidentally doze off. It was probably around 3am, she hasn’t checked the time in a while. The Watchtower’s cafeteria was pretty quiet, so she was sitting at a table by herself with her laptop open and backpack next to her, just in a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt covered by a grey oversized hoodie. Her hair was still pulled back but it was a mess, half of it in her face at this point from running her fingers through it and pulling at it. 

Homework. Homework. Homework. So much homework. She can’t remember anything but homework, bits and pieces of her job, and her work here at the Justice League. She hasn’t slept in who knows how long, and the only thing keeping her functioning was the absurd amount of caffeine she had flowing through her blood right now and the snacks that her friends had been wonderful enough to make sure she had at hand. They were getting near exam season so the professors were trying to cram in as much homework as they could. 

However for right now, she was taking a much needed mental break. Her books set aside and laptop pulled closer, she was watching animal videos online, rubbing at her eyes furiously to get some semblance of focus back. 

Because she had her headphone’s volume up to block out any noise that might distract her, she didn’t hear Batman coming up behind her to check on her. He’s one of the few people who can function at this hour, and as such tended to take the night watch when he’d be up here instead of in Gotham. So when he tapped on her shoulder to get her attention, she jumped so strongly that she slammed her knee on the bottom of the table and whipped around, not even managing to manifest anything with her ring. Its glow just flickered before dying. 

Taking a moment to just stare at each other, Gloria blinked before snorting, putting her head in one hand as she carefully turned to face Batman better, pausing the video and taking her headphones off. The other hand was rubbing her damaged knee. That’s definitely going to bruise… 

“I came to see how you’re doing…” Batman finally explained, taking a seat beside her so they were a little closer to the same level. She sat up straighter and stretched out, groaning as a series of pops went down her spine. 

“I’m making progress, but still not fully caught up, let alone ahead like I wanted to be.” She grumbled, turning back to her laptop and checking the list she had made for herself to track how much work she had left to go. While a good portion had been checked off, there was still a lot left. It was easy to see how defeated she felt, with how her shoulders sagged with a sigh.

However that didn’t last long, as she pulled herself back together quickly and turned her focus back to Batman, giving him a tired smile. “But yeah. It’s going ok, I’m taking a bit of a mental break because I was reading the same sentence five times and not processing it. These cat videos are all I’ve got going for me right now. That and the caffeine.” 

Another quirked eyebrow from Batman “Are you alright?” Clearly she wasn’t, he wasn’t stupid. He could see the bags forming under her eyes that her mask barely hid. He could see how much she hunched over, how she seemed to struggle with focusing. As further evidence to that, she could hardly use her ring. She was typically very cautious about hiding her identity while up here, but she literally couldn’t right now. 

“Yeah, I’m doing ok. A little tired, but nothing I can’t handle.”

He didn’t believe it for a second. Normally she’s a pretty good liar, but her appearance gave her away. So he just stared down at her, as he typically did when he knew people were lying to him. They always cracked eventually. 

Thankfully it didn’t take her too long, turning her gaze away from him and sighing, running her fingers through her hair for the millionth time that morning, dislodging more hair that was pulled from her ponytail. “Ok, in all honesty? I’m exhausted. I don’t think I’ve slept in like, two days, and if I did it wasn’t on purpose. I’ve only remembered to eat because of you guys up here and a few of my friends at school making sure I have snacks. I know Flash has been sneaking granola bars in my bag and I’ve been trying to figure out how best to thank him for looking out for me. And I’ve got two practice exams today that I’m still studying for on top of getting my other homework done. I’m just so… tired. But I can’t stop yet because I can’t afford a bad grade in any of these classes.” 

She rambled more than she meant to, her eyes even starting to water from the stress, gesticulating despite her attempts to keep quiet and small for the time being. Once she was done, she didn’t realize she was shaking until Batman awkwardly tried to offer her some semblance of comfort by placing a hand on his shoulder. He’s not used to this and despite Dick and Alfred’s best attempts, he still wasn’t used to dealing with emotional vulnerability or having to comfort people. 

It was still something though, and it was enough to cause her to curl up in her seat, leaning into his touch. She pulled her hood up, essentially trying to close in on herself, which he understood all too well. She must really need this though, to start crying. Especially in front of him, of all people. Clark or J’onn would be better for comfort than him… but he stayed there as she cried. It’s the least he could do. Plus, he didn’t want her to think he was abandoning her if he went in search of someone better qualified to help. 

So he sat there beside her, rubbing her back after a minute as she got the emotions out through tears. She didn’t cry for too long, down to hiccups and shallow, unsteady breaths within a few minutes. But those few minutes sapped what remained of her energy, making her lean into Batman with her eyes barely open, letting out a big yawn. “I’m so tired…” she mumbled, eyes drooping shut. She seemed to realize what she was doing though, and in a moment of near panic she sat back up on her own quickly, shaking her head and even patting her own cheeks as if it would help. “But I still can’t stop. I’ve got to finish my notes…” 

Even as she said that, she was starting to doze off before she could even close the tab with the animal videos. Batman decided that that was enough, and stood up, picking her up bridal style. She let out an undignified squeak that was honestly amusing, but he started to carry her out of the room despite her protests.

“Batman? What are you-? I need-”

“You need to get some rest. You’re too tired to retain anything you’re studying right now. So for right now, you are going to get some rest. I’ll see what I can do about your notes, and we’ll put your training on pause until after exams are over. As far as missions, you’ll only be called if absolutely necessary for a while, to give you a chance to recover from this. Understand?”

“But…”

Batman looked down at her as he carried her to the room she stayed in when she was up in the Watchtower for any length of time. She gave up her protests and nodded slowly, eyes already drooping again as she yawned. She knew there was no point in arguing against Batman, of all people. He’s as stubborn as they come. 

“Yezzir, Batman…”

He finally laid her down on her bed gently, letting her get comfortable and set the alarm on her phone before leaving her room. “Sleep well, Gloria.” He said softly, shutting the lights off behind him. He got a hum in response before he left to gather her materials and see what he could put together to help her. She could teach him a thing or two about working himself to the bone.