Disclaimer: The characters used in this fic are property of DC Comics and are based on the characters from The Dark Knight. I own nothing but my plot and my characters.

No Limits

Chapter 1: Marriage

A/N:The idea for this fic just popped into my head the other day, so I figured I'd post it.

IMPORTANT: And for the readers of Into The Abyss and Falling Into Madness: I have not abandoned either of those fics. They will be updated as soon as I finish the next few chapters. I'm putting my all into making them fantastic for you, so please have patience.

Music: Wasted Time by Fuel


She stood there at the door, regret in her eyes as she handed him a small white envelope. There was nothing written on the front, and it wasn't sealed, either. She simply stood there, waiting until he finally opened it before breaking eye contact with him. She grew tired of his hesitation, and she opened the card for him, pressing it into his hand.

He scanned the lettering, memorizing the text before he could blink. So this was what she wanted to tell him? He didn't understand. Or rather, He didn't want to understand.

"What's this about, Rachel?" he demanded, taking another look at the card.

She was fidgeting with a small stack of identical envelopes. Her voice was hesitant, even frightened as she said, "Bruce... We can't be together."

He made eye contact with her again, gripping her shoulders as gently as he could in his rattled state. This couldn't be happening.

Not now.

"What are you saying?" His voice was cold and infuriated, as were his ice blue eyes.

Rachel sighed and pulled away from Bruce's grasp. "Bruce... I'm going to marry Harvey Dent." She took the card from his hand and pointed to the text inside the card on the left side:

Marriage of Harvey Dent and Rachel Dawes.

"But, Rachel," he said, but she was already walking back to her car. Dropping the invitation, Bruce followed her to the car, swiping the keys from her before they reached the locked door.

"Bruce, give me the keys," she ordered, holding out her hand to receive them.

He tucked them in his pants' pocket, staring her down furiously. "Not until you explain this," he said. The sudden news had come as quite a shock to Bruce. Since the day that Rachel had told him they would be together when Batman was no longer needed, he had clung hopefully to those words, using them as his inspiration.

But now, in a matter of seconds, those feelings of hope and inspiration had been torn violently away from him. What did he have to hope for now?

"Give them to me, Bruce," Rachel repeated, taking a step towards him. She locked eyes with him, trying to intimidate him somehow. But her attempt failed miserably, and she was forced to admit defeat.

Rachel finally broke the silence between them. "Bruce, I know I told you that we'd be together, but... I don't think we can."

Bruce scowled. "Why?"

She sighed. Bruce Wayne, she thought, you are acting like a spoiled brat.

"Don't get an attitude with me, Bruce. I won't tolerate it. If you don't want to come to the wedding, then just say so. Don't make me explain my reasons for marriage to you. I don't have to! Do you understand? Now give me my keys!"

With a growl, Bruce held the keys out to Rachel, who snatched them furiously from his grasp. "I don't know why I even tried to break the news to you like this! I should have just mailed the stupid invitation and gone on with my life! But did I? No. I wanted to deliver it personally, hoping that you'd understand."

Rachel climbed into her car and started the engine, rolling down the window before she pulled away from the newly rebuilt Wayne Manor. "I guess I was wrong about you, Bruce. Goodbye."

--

"If I may ask, sir," Alfred said closing the door behind a troubled Bruce, "what was that about?"

Bruce trudged to his study—followed worriedly by Alfred—and leaned back into his chair, covering his face with his hands. The younger man's silent behavior was a clear indication to Alfred that things had not ended on a good note with Rachel.

"I've pushed her away, Alfred.... again," Bruce muttered, pulling his hands from his face and staring at the ceiling.

"Sir?"

A sigh. "She's... marrying Harvey Dent. The last thing I wanted to do was upset her, but... it just happened." His gaze met Alfred's. "I'm glad she's happy, but I just can't stand the thought of losing her to someone like Dent."

"With all due respect, Master Wayne, I didn't think Mr. Dent was all that bad," the butler replied.

"It's not that he's a bad person, Alfred... it's just that..."

"You're not in his place?" Alfred said, finishing Bruce's sentence.

He nodded. "Yeah. I... I guess that's why. She said she'd wait for me, Alfred. But now... now I've lost her."

The butler placed a hand on Bruce's shoulder. "Well... I did bloody tell you."

--

Rachel was furious. What in God's name made Bruce even think that he could decide what she did and didn't do? Maybe she'd waited too long to tell him that she couldn't love him the way he loved her. Yes. That had to be it.

It's too late anyway, Rachel thought as she turned into the parking lot of the apartment complex. In one swift motion, Rachel removed the keys from the ignition, grabbed her purse, and stepped out of the car, slamming the door angrily behind her. Walking through the revolving doors, Rachel found herself musing about Bruce's insensitive, childish, and reckless behavior as she reached the elevator.

Who does he think he is? Bruce Almighty?!

Rachel suppressed a laugh. How pitifully ironic for her to think such a thing. But it certainly seemed, at times, that Bruce Wayne actually believed himself to be God. He expected her to drop what she was doing—her marriage to Harvey, in this instance—and do what he wanted her to do—marry him.

"Damn him," Rachel muttered, leaning against the elevator doors. "Bruce Wayne, you are the most self-centered, inconsiderate, pompous prick I've ever known! Ugh!! You make me so... mad!!"

The elevator doors suddenly opened, and Rachel fell forward into open arms. "What did I do now?"

Rachel looked up into Harvey's face, surprised—and amazed—to see him back from the office so early. "H- Harvey," she stammered, standing up. "It's only five o'clock! What are you doing back so soon? I thought you had a mountain of work to do."

Harvey grinned. "I did, but I decided it could wait." Taking her hand, Harvey led Rachel down the hall to the open door of their apartment. "I figured you'd much rather shoot your wedding plans at me than hover about waiting for me to finish paperwork."

"That I would," Rachel replied, closing the door behind them. She found her eyes suddenly covered as she was directed through the front room.

"Turn right."

"Harvey, I don't have time for this," Rachel pouted. But the hand remained over her eyes as she felt herself being seated on the couch. "I really don't have time for this, Harvey. I have an appointment with Commissioner Gordon at five-thirty!"

A laugh. "Actually," Harvey said, "I called and cancelled said appointment for you."

Rachel gasped. "Harvey! You didn't! That was a very important--"

"Don't worry. He was more than happy to reschedule," Harvey said, defending himself. After all, there were more important things to do than fret over a silly meeting. Meetings, after all, could be rescheduled. On the other hand, it was far more difficult to reschedule a wedding.

"You're sure? And you're not lying?" Suspicion began to creep into Rachel's mind.

Harvey removed his hand from her eyes and sat beside her. "I swear. Besides, this next week will be one of the highlights of our lives, Rachel. We can't have anything interrupting it, can we?"

Damn, Rachel thought. He's won.

"I guess you're right," she consented, leaning on his shoulder.

"So tell me," he said. "Who were you ranting about as you came out of the elevator?" His tone was light, as if he were enjoying a good comedy. "It wasn't me, was it?" he asked, feigning concern.

Rachel laughed. "No, it wasn't you. It was... Bruce Wayne."

His face hardened. "Wayne? Rachel, I thought you were going to tell him about us."

"I did. I simply went to the Manor to deliver the invitation."

"And did you?"

Rachel sighed. "Yes. But it didn't turn out as well as I had hoped. Bruce didn't seem to understand why I was giving him the invitation. I don't even think he knew it was an invitation until I opened it for him."

"That's where you made the mistake, Rachel," Harvey pointed out. "You should have just left it with him and come home."

"Yes, I know that now," she snapped, sending a death glare his way. "He read it, and started demanding why I was getting married. I told him, and he brought up the whole 'you said we'd be together' bit. That's when I got fed up with his childish behavior and tried to leave."

"You 'tried' to leave?"

A nod. "Yeah. He took my keys when I got out to the car. I told him I'd never speak to him again if he didn't give them back. And that's it. Nothing else happened. I gave him the invitation, told him off, and left."

Harvey grinned. "Good. I know he's your friend, Rachel, but Wayne really needs to learn when to back the hell off. He doesn't have the right to be so selfish just because he's a multi-billionaire. The guy doesn't have any excuse for behaving that way."

"I know. Now, let's get started planning the rest of this thing. For you... it's going to be nothing shy of perfect."


Whee! I just got the random idea to write this, so I did. Hope you enjoyed it.