A/N: I do not own Batman or anything you recongize (unfortunately...I'll gladly take Christian Bale off of anyone's hands, though).
For an introduction chapter, I made this extremely long. That wasn't my intent, but I couldn't find a better place to stop.
WARNING: This story is rated (at the moment) for language because I can't help but curse like a sailor.
The seemingly happy couple stood near one of the walls in a large room of Bruce Wayne's temporary multi-story penthouse. They were surrounded by Wayne Enterprises' employees and clients and occasionally they spoke to others who approached them.
The man, one of Wayne Enterprises' lawyers, stood around six foot, three inches. He was dressed in the finest tuxedo he owned: black jacket and slacks with gold-colored vest and matching tie. His dress shirt was crisp and white. His shoes were black and shined to the point where one would be able to see themself if they looked close enough. He stood ramrod straight with a smug, lopsided smirk on his lips. His slightly shaggy, blonde hair was gelled back and his light green eyes sparkled, knowing he had a 'beautiful' woman on his arm.
The woman on his left, with her hand looped through his elbow, matched the man in garment colors. Her gold gown barely touched the floor; it was a halter-style gown with a deep neckline, reaching down to the middle of her breasts. The back of the dress was open, revealing her bare back of 'flawless' pale skin; material was covering her from her lower back down. She also wore matching high-heeled gold shoes. She came up to the bridge of the man's nose with her shoes on. Without the shoes, the top of her head would reach his chin. Her brown hair was pulled up into a loose bun. From the look on her face, anyone would think that she was happy or even excited to be there...this was far from the truth, however.
The man held a flute of champagne, while the woman clutched a highball glass of water; both occasionally took sips. When no one was around them, the man took a longer swig from the flute than necessary.
It was getting late in the evening when the host of the party decided to make his entrance. Bruce Wayne, a beautiful woman on each arm, walked up the stairs from the floor below, mostly ready to take on the sycophantic leeches. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, the room broke out into applause. The women with him made an immediate beeline over to the bar while Bruce walked to the center of the room (accepting a crystal goblet from Alfred as he walked up to Bruce) and calming the crowd as he did so.
"Ladies and gentlemen. I thank you for coming. Please, enjoy yourselves." He announced with a fake grin plastered on his face, and saluting them with his goblet.
He then turned and headed over to the edge of the room, where he stood next to Alfred to chat.
"What time is it?" He asked his butler, looking over the crowd.
"Not time for you to run away from this just yet, Master Wayne." Alfred replied in his English accent.
Bruce grimaced then took a drink of the sparkling grape juice in his hand.
Across the room, an older couple approached the man and woman.
"Mr. Nathan Hinckley, it's good to see you again. I wasn't expecting you to be here, actually." The older gentleman said to the younger one.
"Mr. Charles Newbury, how could I miss an opportunity like this? It's not every day that one gets invited to one of Wayne's parties." Nathan answered.
Charles nodded. "Indeed." He then held his arm out to the woman at his side. "This is my wife, Sandra."
Nathan nodded his head at the woman as she said a 'how do you do'.
"And who is your companion, Nathan?" Charles asked.
Nathan scowled briefly, before turning his head to look down at the woman on his arm. The look in his eyes told her that if she spoke without directly being spoken to, there would be consequences. Looking back at Charles, Nathan grinned proudly, even though it was all for show.
"This is my fiancée Milana Dolak." He said.
"Ah, Doctor Dolak. It is a pleasure to meet you. You're a neurologist, correct?" Charles asked.
Milana opened her mouth to speak.
"Yes, Milana is the head of neurology for Gotham General, but currently stationed at St. Luke's Hospital until they rebuild the fallen hospital." Nathan answered for her.
Milana shut her mouth and sighed through her nose gently, rolling her eyes subtly. She looked around the room to see what else was going on, since she was obviously not allowed to be involved in this conversation. A waiter passed by and she placed her empty glass on the tray, when she caught sight of the man of the night across the room. She drank him in, letting her eyes wander over his body. She turned her head away and back to the conversation, when Nathan placed his hand over hers on his arm and squeezed.
"It was nice chatting with you Charles, but we have yet to eat tonight." Nathan said as an excuse to get out of the boring conversation.
"Oh, of course. I'll see you at the office tomorrow, then." Charles replied, then put his arm lovingly around his wife's waist and the two walked off to chat with someone else.
"You're actually going to let me eat something?" Milana asked Nathan softly after the elder couple walked away.
"No. I just wanted the old bat to stop talking." Nathan growled, stepping in front of and facing her to block out the crowd from seeing their conversation. "And what did I tell you?"
"I didn't say a damn word, Nathan. You did all the talking, just like you said you would. I haven't been drinking. I haven't eaten. I have done nothing other than being your arm candy." Milana replied with a slight frown.
Nathan grinned suddenly, then reached up and ran his thumb between her eyebrows. "Don't frown, darling, you'll get wrinkles and I don't want you to have wrinkles." He said lowering his hand, then leaned down to kiss her.
She hated when he called her 'darling'...it was a term of endearment that did not constitute as part of their relationship.
Milana turned her head at the last moment to avoid his kiss, which made him kiss the corner of her mouth. Nathan didn't appreciate that, so his hand snapped up and he took her chin in between his thumb and index finger. Staring directly into her dark brown eyes, he glared at her with his light green eyes darkening and growled: "Never do that again. Do you understand? Especially not in public."
Eyes wide, Milana nodded. When Nathan lowered his hand, she looked down. "I'm sorry." She mumbled, knowing it is what he wanted to hear, but not meaning it.
Nathan smirked, then leaned in again to kiss her. This time, Milana did not pull away, knowing that it would mean worse than a scolding. When Nathan pulled back, he turned to stand next to Milana again, not looking at her, and pretending that nothing happened. He glanced around the room and saw that one of Wayne's other lawyers was walking towards him, his 'whore-of-the-month' on his arm. Nathan's own woman was more beautiful and ladylike than that woman.
Milana glanced away from her fiancée, swallowing the lump that formed in her throat. She didn't want to be engaged to this man, but it was not her decision. Taking a deep breath, she slowly scanned the room. Her eyes fell on Bruce Wayne again, then kept going, but when she saw that he was looking back at her, her eyes went back to him. After making eye contact, she quickly looked away, turning her attention back to the man and woman approaching her and Nathan, knowing that if Nathan saw, there would be even more hell to pay when they got home. Milana didn't pay attention to the new conversation that was being struck up. She no longer cared; she just wanted to leave this place and go back home to her bed.
Placing her hand on Nathan's upper arm, she looked up at him, then the two in front of them.
"Excuse me. I think I'm going to step outside for a little air." She said.
"Are you alright?" Nathan asked, pretending that he cared.
"Oh, yes. It's just a little stuffy. I'll be back in a few moments."
Milana then released Nathan's arm with both of her hands, turned, and casually walked around the edge of the room to where she saw the balcony earlier. The glass door to the balcony was propped open, allowing guests to come and go as they pleased. Milana walked over to the edge and rested her hands on the railing, ignoring the other couple sucking face at the dark other end. She let her head drop down to her chest. After taking an extremely deep breath to the point of almost passing out, she released it, raising her head and looking out towards the Gotham skyline. Standing up on her toes, she leaned over the railing and looked straight down, before leaning back. Because of her engagement, she was no longer able to experience thrills as she used to. She was trapped now. Lost in her own thoughts, Milana did not notice anyone else come out onto the balcony.
Bruce watched the woman in the tacky gold gown walk out onto the balcony. She looked sick or upset, so he followed her. She intrigued him; no woman has intrigued him like that since Rachel died over a year ago. Maybe it was because of the gold dress, he mused.
Standing at the door to the balcony, he kept an eye on her as he tried to attempt to not speak to anyone. One of his lawyers walked up to him (who it was, he didn't care, nor could he even remember the man's name) to introduce his wife to Bruce. He leaned against the doorway so he could face the older couple and keep an eye on the woman by turning his head. Bruce's concentration was only half, if that much, on the introduction his lawyer was making. The other part was on the woman. He saw her head drop, then when she leaned over the railing, his heart jumped into his throat. The last thing he needed was someone committing suicide from his penthouse. When she straightened again, he relaxed once more. Excusing himself from the couple, he walked out onto the balcony and leaned against the railing next to the woman...she didn't notice his presence.
"I thought you were going to jump for a second there."
Milana gasped and jumped to the side. Turning her head to look at the man who dared to talk to her, her eyes widened as she realized it was her host, Bruce Wayne.
"Oh, Mr. Wayne." She said quietly, bringing a hand up to her heart. "You startled me."
"I apologize." He replied, bowing his head towards her. "Was there a reason you were contemplating jumping from my roof?" He asked with a smirk, attempting to make light of the situation.
"I wasn't contemplating." She mumbled with a frown, looking back out over the skyline. "Just getting a thrill." She grinned tightly, glancing at Wayne briefly before looking back out.
"Thrill?" He questioned.
Milana turned her body to face him, leaning her hip against the railing, locking her fingers together over her stomach and resting her right elbow on top of the railing. She looked at Wayne with a straight face, but there was something downtrodden in her eyes and posture.
"I don't have the chance to get out as much as I used to." She said, glancing towards Nathan, making sure he didn't see her communicating with another man.
Bruce followed her line of vision to one of his lawyers that seemed to think he was better than all of the others. Hinkle? Pimply? Whatever the hell the prick's name was...he wasn't a favorite.
"A friend of yours?" He asked as the woman turned her head back to him.
Milana visibly winced before replying. "Unfortunately." She muttered, then rose her voice to normal levels. "He's my...fiancée." She was very reluctant to admit her relationship to the lawyer.
"You're not happy about it, I take it." Wayne stated, not asked.
"No, but I had no choice in the matter. Arranged marriage. Both of our parents decided it while we were still young." She explained with a sour expression. "Never knew he could be such a dick in adulthood." She mumbled, glancing back to the man of conversation.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Wayne responded. "At least you have someone."
She scoffed. "Yeah..."
Both saw that Nathan noticed where his fiancée was and had started making his way towards her. Milana turned back to Wayne with a helpless, almost desperate, look on her face.
"I didn't get your name. It only makes sense since you obviously know mine." Bruce grinned.
"Oh, of course. I'm Milana Dolak, head neurologist at Gotham General." She explained, extending her hand, throwing caution to the wind with what Nathan would do to her later.
"Ah, Doctor Dolak. It was a pleasure to finally meet you in person. I've heard many good things about you." Bruce said, taking her hand and kissing her knuckles.
"Really?" Milana seemed surprised at his praise.
"Oh, yes."
"Well, thank you...I guess." She bobbed her head shyly and took her hand back, not used to compliments.
Milana took another look into the room to check on Nathan's position. She saw that he was almost at the glass door, but was stopped momentarily by another older gentleman.
"You're name, Doctor, it's Czech, is it not?" Wayne asked her, trying to take her attention off of her fiancée. The man looked like he would strangle her once they were alone.
"Um, yes. Both my first and last name are of Czech origin." She replied, looking back to him. "And please, call me Milana."
"Milana." Wayne whispered, trying the name out on his tongue for the first time. "Then I must insist that you call me Bruce."
Milana felt a shiver run down her spine when he said her name. "Alright, then." She muttered, glancing around again.
Nathan was at the doorway. He managed to get away from the co-worker by giving the excuse that he needed to get some air by joining his fiancée on the balcony. He saw that Milana was conversing with Wayne, the Playboy. He didn't want his woman anywhere near that man, fearful that he would take her away from him. If she ever left him, though, he would track her down and bring her back...the consequences would be lethal, too.
Walking onto the balcony, his eyes trained on Milana, he stepped right up to her side. "Milana, darling, I think we should be heading home. You have that consultation early in the morning." He said, wrapping his arm tightly around her waist, squeezing her hip.
Bruce saw Milana's eyes widen as her fiancée walked up to her, wrapping his arm round her. He then saw her wince ever so slightly as the lawyer noticeably squeezed her.
"I'm sorry to have kept you." Bruce said, nodding politely, but falsely, to the lawyer as he looked at Milana.
"Yes, well, we'll be leaving, now. Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Wayne. We had a lovely time." Nathan lied.
"Pleasure's all mine." Bruce also lied.
The two men stared at each other for a few moments. Milana noticed the killer look in Nathan's eyes, so she acted to get out of the situation. She placed her right hand on Nathan's chest.
"Let's just go home, Nathan." She said softly, then when he nodded and looked down to her, she looked back at Bruce as Nathan started to pull her along with him. "It was a nice evening, Mr. Way...Bruce." She grinned shortly before Nathan pulled her far enough away.
"That is a lovely gown, Milana." Bruce called, trying to get one last jib in.
Milana looked at him with a straight face. "I hate this gown." She said flatly before turning to look back at her fiancée.
Bruce watched them walk away, his eyes straying down Milana's back to where skin met cloth. Shaking his head, he looked back up to see the look on both of their faces. The Nathan fellow (Hinckley. That was man's last name) looked like he was going to beat Milana senseless, while Milana looked as if she'd just seen a ghost. Bruce stealthily followed the couple through the room and down the stairs.
As Nathan pulled Milana away, she knew something was going to happen, whether it was at home or before...or both, she didn't know.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Nathan growled as they walked off the balcony.
"He came up to me, Nathan, I didn't want to talk to him, but he kept asking me questions." She lied. It was good to actually talk to someone other than her colleagues, Nathan, and her parents, however rare that even was.
"You could have ignored him." He continued to growl lowly, pushing their way through the crowd. They were at the top of the stairs.
"I tried, god damnit!" She snapped softly.
At the bottom of the stairs, Nathan stopped, gripped tightly to Milana's upper arm, and spun her to face him. If looks could kill, Milana would be six feet under and decomposing.
"Don't you EVER snap at me again." Nathan snarled, raising his hand to backhand her.
Milana stood still, closing her eyes, and waiting for the sting of pain that normally followed one (or more) or Nathan's slaps.
"Mr. Hinckley!"
Milana's eyes snapped open and looked to the top of the stairs, where she saw Bruce Wayne.
This is bad. She thought, fear clearly written across her face. Very bad. Not your fight, Bruce.
Nathan quickly lowered his hand and turned to face Wayne as he descended the stairs swiftly towards the couple.
"Mr. Wayne." Nathan said, keeping civility in his voice.
"Mr. Hinckley, I must insist on a meeting with you tomorrow afternoon. There is something I wish to discuss with you. It is of the utmost importance." Bruce said, trying to keep the anger out of his voice and off of his face. No woman ever needs to be slapped.
"Of course, Mr. Wayne. I will be there around two o'clock. Is that alright?" Nathan sneered.
"That is fine." Bruce answered, lowly.
"Very well, then. Good night, once again, Mr. Wayne." Nathan said, looking down his nose at the other man before turning himself and Milana to walk towards the exit.
As she walked away, Milana quickly looked over her shoulder to Bruce. In that swift look, she was able to send Bruce a strong message: she did not want to be alone with this man. The look on her face was one of fear.
As Nathan dragged Milana out of the loft to the elevator, his grip on her arm tightened dramatically. She wanted to throw his hand away from her, but knew that it would only end in a bruise on her body somewhere...or multiple bruises. She kept her tears in check, but could feel the burning in the back of her throat. She knew her tears would only make Nathan more arrogant than he already was. He saw it as a sign of weakness and he fed off of it.
Once in the elevator, Nathan still refused to let go of her arm, but he turned her to face him. He quickly brought his free hand, his right and dominant hand, up and punched Milana right below her left eye. She balled her hands into fists to keep from covering her face. This was also seen as weakness in Nathan's eyes.
"Be careful of the company you keep, Milana. I don't EVER want to see you in the presence of that man again. Am I understood?" He snarled.
"Of course, Nathan." She said through gritted teeth, blinking rapidly to keep her eyes from watering.
"Good." He then pulled her to him and roughly kissed her until the elevator slowed and reached the bottom floor.
Nathan refused to let go of her arm until they were back in their apartment, on the outskirts of Gotham's center city. Even getting in and out of their chauffeured car, he did not let go, pulling her along behind him.
A/N: (FYI: Milana is pronounced 'Mee-la-nah' and Dolak is pronounced 'Dole-ack'.)
I was really nervous about posting this.
I've been working on this since spring and I keep changing things, so I decided to post it before I fucked it up too bad. Please let me know what you think...but be gentle; flames just make me angry and I won't want to post anymore.