Heaven Scent
Part - the first: Sight
by Kysra
He saves her in the night, in the dark, when all he can see is the black nothing and hear the empty sound of his fists and feet striking skin and bone. She is frighteningly young, then - a faceless no one under a flickering street light with bright, scared eyes and a baby in the belly. He remembers her trembling because it was the one time he knew a victim did not fear him in the midst of her panic. And he saves her in the night, in the dark, when all he can see is the black nothing and hear himself tell her to be careful in Bruce's voice.
- HS -
The first time he sees her is in a rumpled photo that is yellowed with nicotine and folded over so hard and frequently that her face is obscured; but he knows that her eyes are a warm honey and her hair gleams blue-black. It is not for himself that he looks for her, but for his son and the desperation Robin's mask could not hide. And when he finds her image, stained and damaged as it is, he cannot help but notice the resemblance between this teenaged girl and another whose pale gray skin and odd colored hair does nothing to discourage the association.
- HS -
He is outside Wayne Tower, dodging questions and issuing "No comment"s and trying to at once shield himself against and look presentable for the shutterbugs when some undefinable urge strikes and his gaze shifts directly across rush hour traffic to find her. She stands there, staring just as intently at him, mouth agape and stance uncertain. Her dress is a fresh powder blue, the tags still attached and fluttering in the wind, tangling into the fine strands of her hair.
Without a word, he meets her there upon the curb she seems frozen upon, not minding the confused quiet mumbling that seems to follow him; and he knows that - should the press come to their senses - this surreal moment will make headline news tomorrow. When he is upon her, he notes the youth in her face, the unblemished glow of her skin. Her eyes are a luminous golden brown that seem to take everything in and give everything back. There is a palpable strength in her carriage and a discernible wit in the tilt of her mouth. She says that wonders never cease and that Batman's mask only hides his face; and he is amazed to find that he agrees.
- HS -
They are dancing together in a room full of Gotham's finest when he realizes with a shock that she is not beautiful. He is still trying to wrap his mind around the reality that she is dead, only animated by the spirit trapped in her reconstructed body through her demon husband's power; but even he cannot deny that such a circumstance should not phase him. It is because the circumstances are particularly hers that makes it difficult to accept for he has been searching for her longer than he cares to admit, even before the Titans became interested enough to contact him, even before a little girl from another world was condemned with the label 'evil' and shunned by the so-called Justice League.
She is airily light in his arms, pliant and fluid in her movements against him; and he muses again on whether it was a mistake to take her into his home. There is something so achingly vulnerable about her despite the steel lying behind her lovely, honest eyes; and he suddenly knows she trusts no one but him. It is in the way her gaze catches and strays from one person to the next, the way her hands hold steady and tight upon his when another man presses too close, and the way her body becomes taut and trembling when a stranger attempts to break into their dance.
Her mouth dips and slants into that understanding smile that is so infuriating and adorable at once; and he finds himself smiling and genuine for she is not beautiful like all the other women he has worn upon his arm. Instead, she is delicate and pretty and appears as rosebuds in winter.
Author's Note: This contains spoilers for both Dove Gray and Walk on Water and it would probably be best if you read those two fics before reading this as each part of Heaven Scent is either an indirect or direct retelling of events that happen in Walk on Water from Bruce's POV.
Also, I realize that this is not an accurate retelling of how Arella and Bruce met up in the first Interlude of Walk on Water; however, I wrote THIS a year and a half before I wrote the interlude and I didn't want to ruin the lyrical rhythm of the content just to be accurate Consider it an alternate storyline.