A Common Need: The Masked Vigilante
A.K.A.
"THE EPIC HALLOWEEN SPECIAL"
By J. "Mysterious Wind" Ruisu
"Speak slow,
Tell me love,
Where do we go,
Ah, ah!"
-'Speak Slow' by Teagan & Sara
Bruce
I finished pulling on my outfit, adjusting the plates and everything until it sat just perfectly on my body. I glanced at myself in the mirror, head tilted to one side, and smiled. Perfect.
I grabbed the helmet off of the counter and waltzed out into the kitchen, calling to Alfred. "Hey, Alphie!" I chimed in a feminine voice. The man-servant waddled into the room, eyebrows raised.
"Yes, Master?"
"Is everything ready?"
The man rolled his eyes. "Yes, master. I don't know why you don't just double check everything yourself."
"Because I want to be just as shocked as my guests, Alfred! You're no fun." I grinned, and walked past him, more than comfortable in my outfit.
"Shall I send out the limousines, then?"
"Sounds wonderful!" Who didn't throw a party without fashionable limousines that went out to pick up the guests? Oh, right; everyone. It would be a hit, and it would make sure that everyone arrived on time.
Until then, I had a few errands to run. I was sure I felt Alfred's eyes on my back as I pulled my helmet on and waltzed to the door.
Harvey
I groaned, pulling on my tie. "It won't work," I complained. Rachel rolled her eyes as she walked over to me.
"Calm down, Harvey. Why're you so worked up about this party, anyways?" she questioned as she fiddled with the silk fabric.
I bit my lip. "Do you remember what happened the last time the three of us were together?"
"Of course I do. But you promised you weren't going to be a dick, and Bruce will have too many guests to be pre-occupied with." Rachel smiled encouragingly as she finished off my tie, and then wrapped her arms around my shoulders.
"Hey, by the way; why didn't I get to dress up as something cooler?" I murmured, resting my nose on hers.
"Because you're the District Attorney, and it's theme is 'The Streets of Gotham'. What did you think you were going to be?"
"I wanted to be a mobster."
"Good luck with that," Rachel laughed.
She gave me a quick peck on the lips and walked away, going back to the bathroom to finish painting her face. This was going to be a long night.
Bruce
It just so happened that I arrived after all of my guests had, in perfect time for a grand entrance. How strangely timed!
Smiling, I opened the door a crack. Good, no one in my way. I threw the door open all the way and let her rip, the bike rocketing beneath me, aiming through a casual way that people had created unknowingly which led to a taped off area at the centre of the room that was supposed to be the down-town square. I destroyed all of the miniature trees in my way, and finally smoked to a halt. A hush fell over the room, until a vicious grin whipped across my face, and raucous applause filled the air. Take that Alfred; no one believed I was actually Batman.
I pulled off the helmet and jumped off of the bike, thanking everyone as they continued to applaud my entrance. People were just so easily pleased. There was only one face – okay, maybe two – that I wanted to see in the entire crowd, but I put up a good display, thanking everyone and shaking a few dozen hands.
"Thank you, thank you! Please, continue enjoying yourselves. Happy Halloween!" I crowed, and everyone mumbled various responses before turning back to their fun. The costumes were outrageous and wonderful, and as I began to scan the room for the only faces I wanted to see, I almost had to laugh. Impressive, what people would do just to have an original costume.
A mother passed in front of me, obviously posing as a upper-class woman (exactly what she was; what a clever costume!) with a pre-teen clutched at her side. He was squirming and frowning, and he wore an outfit that didn't quite place.
"Excuse me... what, exactly, are you supposed to be?" I asked politely, speaking first to the mother and then looking to the child. The mother began to chatter in explanation, but I tuned her out so that I could hear her raven-haired son.
"I'm Robin, Batman's side-kick!" the kid exclaimed in a proud voice. He wore an outfit of yellows, greens, and reds, and the strangest mask.
"Who ever said Batman needed a side-kick?"
"Everyone needs a side-kick every now and then. Besides, I could fit in smaller places and stuff."
I gave a wizened grin. "Well, I'll tell Batman to keep it in mind."
The kid rolled his eyes. "You don't know the real Batman." he snorted, and he walked away with his shaken mother.
I was chuckling under my breath when I looked up again. And there they were, surrounded by a bunch of stuffy adults, a few dressed up as cops, others as criminals. I even saw Gordon in there; had I invited him? Either way, I entered the group with as much confidence as possible.
"Good evening, friends!" I called, smiling brightly. Gordon nodded curtly and walked away, and I smirked, turning towards Rachel and Harvey.
Harvey looked flustered, and Rachel had an indignant look on her face. "Hello, Bruce." they said in timing; this caused us all to smile innocently.
"Evening! I'm glad you two could make it."
"Of course. We wouldn't miss it. Very well put together."
I looked about; the walls and floor were all decorated, the roof painted to look like the night sky, the faux sky-scrapers lit up with L.E.D.'s – Alfred had gone all out. "I agree."
"That was quite the entrance," Harvey murmured knowingly, and I snickered. That could be taken so badly. Behave, Bruce!
"Thanks. I rehearsed it." Harvey and I shared a knowing smirk, and Rachel rolled her eyes.
"I'm going to go get something to drink; you boys need anything?" she asked, eyes distant.
"No, thank you." Harvey and I spoke in unison, and again we shared a secretive smile. The woman shrugged and pranced away.
"Over here," I whispered, pulling Harvey by the cuff of his sleeve. As I had scouted for them, previously, I'd found the perfect hiding place. I slid in, first, and then Harvey nonchalantly followed. It was a cramped slit between a sky-scraper and the real wall, and it was just wide enough to fit us both, shoulder-width.
I attacked, grabbing his face and pulling him forwards, hungrily smothering his lips with my own, forgetting about the helmet and letting it drop to the ground with a soft thud. It took Harvey a moment to realize what was happening before he embraced me, too, inhaling violently and sending his hands roam over my armour .
"I can't undress you in this shit," he mumbled as I dove for his neck. I chuckled quietly.
"You wanna stay over after this?"
"Won't Alfred notice..?"
"I discharged him for the night."
"And Rachel?"
"You'll be drunk and she'll go home before you," I ordered into his ear, and he shivered.
"You're a dick," Harvey murmured, nibbling on my own ear, and I smiled.
"Alright. You stay back here for a bit, so that no one notices."
"Shit, I want you now."
"Screw off, horn-dog." I winked, hitting him gently with my gloved hands, and disappeared.
Harvey
Flustered, I waited behind the sky-scraper for a good ten minutes. When music began to pour from a speaker over my head, along with recorded siren noises, I jumped and flew out from behind the 'building'. No one noticed, as far as I could tell. Casually, I tried to fix my hair and prayed that my cheeks weren't too red, my eyes too wild.
Rachel found me with surprising speed. "Where'd you go?" she asked, handing me a drink, even though I'd said I was fine. Then again, probably best to wash away the taste of Bruce, in case she kissed me.
"Oh, just went to the bathroom." I shrugged, throwing down some of the spiked punch much too quickly and sneezing.
Rachel laughed, a tinkle like a bell, and despite everything, I felt my stomach flip at that noise. I was so freaking screwed.
"You want to go dance?" she questioned, and I nodded. Anything to get my mind off of the sky-scraper interaction.
Bruce
"You want to go dance, sweetheart?" I asked to a small, impish woman with wild red hair and powerful emerald eyes. She nodded furiously, grinning, and we went over to the dance floor, modelled as a parking lot.
"You're a wonderful dancer," the woman complimented as I spun her about.
"Thank you, Ren." I grinned, and she laughed. Despite everything, the little thing was pretty adorable – and that bubbly attitude seemed rather infectious. Perhaps I was biased, though. I had just had an intense make-out session with my secretive lover, after all.
I saw Rachel and Harvey, dancing closely in the corner, and casually directed my partner over to them, hoping that no one would protest. They didn't. After all, with my helmet on, I looked like the real deal.
"Bruce," Harvey nodded curtly as I began to copy his dance; slow, careful, well-thought-out, precious. I smiled, and found myself longing to dance with him. Later, I reminded myself, and focused on the little woman. She wasn't over 5'6, her head leaning against my chest innocently, a smile on her precious features. She was dressed up as a jewel thief, a black jumpsuit decked out with rhine-stones of various sizes and colour, adding to her cartoon-like appearance.
"I love your costume," I spoke gently to her, and she looked away.
"Thanks," she replied, grinning.
That was when Harvey interrupted. "May I have this..." he spoke, looking straight into my eyes ,and I felt my heart begin to pound faster.. "dance?" he looked to the small woman, and she grinned.
"I'll be back, Bruce."
"I've no doubt." I smiled to the young woman, and glanced about. Rachel was standing, staring at me with an expectant expression, and I loosened my collar before approaching.
"Having fun?" I questioned as I began to conduct her on the floor.
"Why'd you invite us?" she questioned. Though her words were blunt, her tone was gentle, and she seemed more curious than anything.
"My strange way of apologizing." I tried, dipping her.
"Ah," she murmured, swinging back up into my arms.
"And why did I find your handkerchief in Harvey's pocket?"
I laughed aloud, and quickly recovered. "Oh, that. We went out for drinks while you were gone, and I gave it to him to wipe something off of his face with, and it seems he pocketed it."
Rachel made a face. "I don't believe you," she murmured.
"You don't have to." I winked.
"God, I have more important things to be doing than dancing..." Rachel looked away, her face bitter.
"Then by all means, leave." I slipped up, letting the longing in my voice be just the tiniest bit too obvious, and her eyebrows rose.
"What's that I see in those eyes?" she murmured, spinning about, her dress tossing about her elegantly.
"Bruce Wayne being sick of your 'tude." I responded, letting a small smile etch my face.
"Pretty brave of you to dress up like that, isn't it?" Rachel changed the subject easily, moving away and then towards me again, and I felt my breath catch for a moment at her scent. I shook my head, and was about to speak – however, she took the head shake as an answer.
"It isn't brave? No, you're probably right. It's more.. idiotic."
That was something I couldn't disagree with. Nodding, I swallowed, and glanced about – where was the nearest bar? There.
"I need a drink." I grunted, and released Rachel. She frowned, shrugged, and waited patiently for Harvey to finish his next dance.
Slipping over to the bar, I quickly ordered a hard martini, and threw it back as quickly as possible, thoughts racing. Perhaps this hadn't been such a good idea.
Harvey
I finished the dance like a gentleman, grinning and thanking 'Ren' for exhibiting her wonderful grace, and slipped away. What I wanted was a large beer, a bathroom break, and Bruce. However, what I needed to do was find Rachel, and reassure her of my loyalty. The more sucking up I did before ditching, the less she'd suspect.
She was standing nearby, arms crossed, leaning against a plastic cast of a tree, looking impatient and bored. She smelled delightful, a mix of cherries and the spices that made up Bruce's distinctive scent. Before any of this had happened, I probably would have swept her away because of that pouty face, those fluttering lashes, that perfect dress, and oh that cherry scent. Now, though, the spices held a mysterious, disconcerting eastern promise, and the cherry smell just confused me.
"How long are you honestly going to keep us here?" she murmured bitterly, shrugging my hand off of her shoulder. I winced.
"I'm having fun..."
Rachel threw daggers at me with her eyes alone.
"Want something to drink? I think you do."
Sweating, I rushed away, considering the strongest drink I could buy. Waltzing up to the counter, I looked at the bartender pleadingly. "What's the strongest you've got?" I questioned.
"Well, I have Everclear, but I wouldn't recommend it straight..." the bartender looked at me suspiciously.
"Two, please."
"Whoa, boy!" a familiar voice chimed beside me, and I jumped, turning to Bruce and swallowing.
"Slow 'er down! You don't actually have to be drunk." Bruce was sipping some sort of martini that looked absurdly feminine in his hands. I straightened my back.
"No, but it will help me out."
"And ruin your reputation." Bruce shook his head at the bartender, who froze, unsure of what to do.
"Give me my drinks." I barked.
"I'm your boss. You give him that crap, and you're fired."
The bartender's face contorted in practical agony. "Sir, I can't disobey an order from either of you!"
I frowned, and ran a hair through my gelled hair. "Then give me some punch with Everclear in it."
The bartender looked to Bruce, who frowned, glanced at me, and then shrugged. "By all means," he cleared his throat.
"Thanks, Mom." I pouted, and waited for the drinks, a silent anguish building inside of me. Standing this close to him, not being able to do anything – it was painful. "How much longer?" I questioned, not bothering to enlighten anyone but Bruce.
"An hour or two. Everyone was told it'd be short, so that they could attend other parties." Bruce shrugged.
I took a deep breath, grabbed the drinks, and was off.
Bruce
Rachel was completely loaded; that much was obvious. Harvey stood there, a dumbfounded grin on his face, eyes trained onto hers.
"I don't feel so good," she hiccuped, wrapping her arms around herself. This was turning out better than I'd thought it would. Smiling, I waved over a doorman.
"Would you please accompany Miss Dawes to a limo? Make sure she gets home safely?" I ordered the man in the form of a question. Nodding dutifully, the man took Rachel's arm, and they were off.
Harvey looked to me with pleading eyes, and I smiled. Twenty minutes until a hired line of 'cops' ran everyone outta here.
Harvey
I crept up behind Bruce, standing just behind him, a magnetic pulse shifting between us as the last of the party-goers disappeared out the double doors. I let my breath run over the skin on his neck, for he'd taken off his helmet, and grinned to myself.
He turned, his eyes intense, hair mussed from the helmet, colour in his cheeks. "You do this to Rachel all the time? Get her all we---"
I made an intense gagging noise, and pushed Bruce backwards; he stumbled from the unexpected move, and then gave me a rather appalled look.
"What? You want me to listen to you talk dirty about our common poison? Nu uh." I shook my head, making a childish face.
"I have a confession," Bruce uttered, expression crestfallen, shoulders drooping as he closed the space between us until I could hear his quiet breath as clearly as a train horn.
"What's that?" I murmured, looking away as the heat flaring from his nostrils assaulted my face.
"You're my new addiction." the man violently pulled me against him, and I had the air knocked out of me as I collided with the alloy of his suit. Feeling the muscles in my upper body struggle to push out air, Bruce pulled back and looked at me with a curious expression.
"Oh, shit!" he exclaimed upon realizing what he'd done. I shook my head and raised my hand to consol him, but he stepped away any ways, hands up in the air, shocked and pained expression mutating his gorgeous face.
The air crept back into my lungs at a painfully slow pace, and when I could finally gasp, it almost felt better than Bruce's skin against mind. The man slowly grinned, and then scratched his head with his gloved hands.
"Sorry about that..." he murmured.
I grinned bashfully. "My fault," I brushed it off, and he frowned.
"We really should do something about these clothes..." he dove forwards once more, and my jacket was gone in an instant. Before long, I was down nothing but my dress pants, goosebumps covering my upper body.
"No fair! How am I supposed to get that shit off of you?" I asked, pointing dejectedly to his armour.
Bruce
"Here, I'll show you."
Snickering, I pulled Harvey's hands up, and guided them to the first set of buckles. He awkwardly cracked them open, easing the breastplate off; I took a deep breath, enjoying his face when he saw my abdomen through the thin shirt I had on beneath plating.
That was when the doors flew open behind us. I grabbed at Harvey and pulled him behind the nearest 'sky-scraper', my hands covering his mouth, my own breath halted for an instant. Fresh air rushed about the room, and some of the faux plastic leaves on the trees rustled, ruining the previously charged atmosphere.
"Master Wayne?" Alfred's voice called out, and Harvey froze. Our heads both snapped to one side where his jacket, vest, shirt, and tie had been strewn on the ground. They were slightly hidden by a trash can, but...
"Hm. I could have sworn I heard voices..." Alfred muttered, took a deep breath, and then closed the door behind him.
Neither of us spoke for another ten minutes. Then, slowly, Harvey sat up, and turned to look at me. I was pressed up against the faux building, my eyes wide.. and it took seconds for us to burst into laughter.
Cackling, Harvey leaned into my chest, our laughter synchronizing.
"Oh, God, I love you!" he called through his fit.
My chest tightened, and my throat numbed. And that, in that instant, was the happiest moment of the last three years of my life.
Author's Note: Obviously late, but the original novel kind of takes precedence. Right now I am really focusing on that, but believe me, you guys will hear when the graphic novel begins to be available for this... Also, thank you to all the watchers and readers of ACN! Look forwards to another Christmas special, tentatively titled "O Holy Knights"!
P.S. - None of you know it, but "Ren" is actually a character from my novel that I thought should make a cameo, because she's sexy and doesn't get enough air-time, anymore. Haha! Her real name in the book is Atreninal - uh-tren-in-uhl. SO THERE!