Part I: Hearing.
Although Bruce was Batman, and considered an extremely brave hero by the majority of Gotham's population, he was more afraid to face reality than the inner demons he battled on a nightly basis. For years, he hated waking up and forcing himself to get dressed in a façade of perfectly tailored suits, parties, and all of the jazz ...that came with the life of playboy billionaire Bruce Wayne. He was absolutely delirious during those hours which he could not live in the peccant delusion which he'd created, fantasizing about blood, bones breaking beneath his fists, and the hollering of the criminals as he beat them senseless.
But, there were some things which both Gotham's underbelly and most elite never saw of Wayne or Batman. The false smugness that permeated off the playboy and the feigned intimidation that emitted from the city's dark knight were all a too-convincing façade for things he hated and yearned to be. Normalcy was definitely not akin to the man who came home at ungodly hours of the morning, when the pale lavender color of the dawn would seep through his blinds, battered and skin kissed with blood. He did not wear these wounds and scars as an honor, but as a shame. However, this was at first. He had grown accustomed to the scars, both emotional and physical, and they came as something he had devoted himself to become. His perdition was self-imposed, and ultimately, his downward spiral was caused by him.
Still, this did not comfort him as he attempted to coax himself into slumber. Sleeping was not a difficult thing, for after a long night of chasing his inner-demons and relishing their screams and cries of pure terror oddly relaxed the man, but it was what he knew was to come; inner demons in his dreams and nightmares. He could not battle his subconscious, although he was extremely mentally and physically trained for combat. So he was the same little boy he was all those years ago on that fateful night when his parents died: scared, vulnerable, and alone. Just as he was beneath the monster that lurked inside of him.
The demons took advantage of him when he was in this state, of course. They attacked him like white blood cells attacking a cancerous cell, and he couldn't fight them up. So he'd linger, helpless, as they lured him into deep unconsciousness, wait until his mental barriers were down, and then attack him, all at once. It was overwhelming and he'd wake up from these filthy pits of despair and decay, a sticky sheet of cold sweat covering his skin, and absolutely trembling.
People may have thought Bruce Wayne would dream of both men and women (whom he could easily have at his feet), money, and buying things that weren't for sale, and that his nights were filled with thrilling escapades and adventures.
However, he battled inner demons dressed as a monster in his nights, and dreamed of Rachel's screams, pearls scattered randomly among cold gravel, gunshots, fear toxin, and a horrible, diseased cackle that pierced his eardrums in his waking hours. The sound of his greatest enemy and demon, that resided in his subconscious, conscience, and in the darkest of Gotham's alleys, waiting to attack.
And Bruce was more than ready to attack, but in his waking hours. However, in his dreams he was a victim to that horrible cackle, the cackle that had taken his only hope for normalcy away. The constant reminder of something he'd never be.
And, sometimes, in his darkest hour, he'd wonder if The Joker heard him in his nightmares.
An idea I thought of to get my ass in gear to write more for Bruce, as I have been lagging horribly with role-playing lately due to a case of creative constipation and writer's block. And because I need more of this pairing in my life!
This is the first part out of what I intend to be a five-chaptered fanfic, seeing as how there are five senses (HURRRRR, I'm so smart!). And trust me, the slushiness is coming in the following chapters, this was just to get the creative juices flowing. xD
Reviews are my friend. Just a hint, although I won't ransom the chapters with demanding reviews.
-Alyssa