Say Yes to the Dress

Akane was laying on her bed, reading instructions on the proper way to use a batarang. So far, she had no problem using the grappling gun or most of the other items in her utility belt; although the sheer number of tools at her disposal and where to locate them would take some getting used to. But with the batarang, she was having such a hard time catching it. She could throw it fine, could even find her mark most of the time. Catching it was more difficult than she thought – especially with how easy Ranma and Bruce made it look – and she had the welt on her head to prove it.

She touched her head gingerly, wincing more at the memory of the pain than anything else. With a huff and small pout she picked the book up and turned it at an angle to see if that would give her a better idea of how to catch the batarang. She looked up at the knock on the door.

"Come in," she said and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, placing the manual to the side.

Alfred came in a moment later.

"Miss Akane, I hope I'm not disturbing you."

"Of course not, Alfred. Is there something you needed?"

"Master Bruce would like to see you in the family parlor if you have a moment."

"Of course. Is there anything wrong?"

"Not at all."

Despite his reassurances Akane still felt a little bit of trepidation. She didn't mention it to Ranma but she was a bit – okay, more than a bit – intimidated by Bruce. Bruce Wayne. The billionaire. CEO of Wayne Enterprises. The playboy who dated movie stars, models, and socialites from around the world. There had even been a rumor he dated a princess! She had heard about him for years. Even in Tokyo he was famous for his charm and good looks.

If that weren't intimidating enough, he was Batman. THE Batman. The Dark Knight. He was reputed to be merciless to criminals but had never needed to kill a single villain. The crime fighter, who despite not having special powers, was part of the Justice League.

She didn't know which persona she found more intimidating. And she was living in his house. She was being trained by him.

It was surreal.

The crime-fighter-in-training left her room with Alfred following shortly behind her and headed towards the stairs.

"Miss Akane, did you need something downstairs?"

She paused and the turned around. "No. I'm headed to the parlor."

"I see the confusion. The main parlor, where we greet guests, is on the main level. However, the family parlor is on the second floor. If you would head this way," he gestured to the left, "it's down the hall and to the right."

"Thank you, Alfred."

Akane gave him a little bow as she changed direction, a little embarrassed. Wayne Manor was so large that she was still getting lost. At least she could consistently find her way to the entrance of the Batcave, the kitchen, the dining room, and Ranma's room. She blushed a little as she thought of her fiance.

She tried to school her face into an impassive mask before reaching the parlor using part of her superhero training. She was surprised that her training included controlling her emotions, which included her facial expressions. Batman (she thought of him as that during training) had said it was important not to give away your inner thoughts when interacting with criminals. Plus, he added with an amused smile, the masks combined with the straight face usually made the bad guys wet their pants.

Reaching the parlor, Akane froze in at the sight that greeted her. Racks upon racks of clothing filled the room. They were full of every kind of dress you could imagine: short, long, elegant, princessy, shiny, sleek, and everything in between. They were ruthlessly organized by color and length, making the room look like a fabric rainbow, except for a couple of racks in the corner that seemed to be full of casual clothes.

Mouth agape, she walked towards Bruce, who was standing there speaking casually to two people. Seeing her out of the corner of his eye, he turned to greet her.

"Akane, I hope I didn't interrupt anything."

"No, I was just doing some reading."

"Good, this is Amanda and Michael, who will be assisting us today."

"Hello," she said in greeting, beginning to bow before she remembered she needed to shake their hands. Afterwards she turned her attention to Bruce. "What exactly will they be helping us with?"

"Finding you a dress for the charity ball that we are hosting soon. Amanda is a stylist and Michael is a tailor who can pin and alter anything you like."

"Oh," she said as scanned the room again. That explained the dresses. "Umm…you really didn't have to go to all that trouble."

"It was no trouble at all. Ranma and I already have tuxes but Alfred mentioned you didn't bring any gowns with you."

Because I don't have any at all, she thought.

"Well, thank you," she said sincerely.

"I wasn't sure what you would like, so I had Amanda pull all the dresses she had available in your size."

"Wow," was the only thing that she could think of saying.

"You should pick out several dresses, one for the upcoming party, but also a selection for future events."

She had never seen these many dresses in one place, not even in the large department stores Tokyo had to offer. She felt a little overwhelmed and out of her depth.

"I was just planning to go to the mall to pick something up," she added with nervous laugh.

Bruce frowned as a thought came to him. Girls liked shopping, didn't they? They made plans together as a way to hang out with their girlfriends. Especially, teenage girls like Akane. And he knew she needed some fun in her life with all the stress she had been under with the move and all the training she was beginning. Why hadn't he thought about that sooner? He thought he was simplifying things by arranging this fitting but was he actually taking away her fun?

"Oh. Well if you prefer to go shopping with…Donna," he said, assuming she would want to spend time with the Teen Titan that she got along so well with, "of course you can do that instead."

"No, it's okay. I'll just pick something out here. I'm sure I'll find something as they all look beautiful." She really didn't want to seem ungrateful for everything he had done.

"In case you change your mind, you will need this."

Bruce reached into his pocket and pulled out a credit card, handing it to her.

"I can't take your credit card," she said frantically, waving her hands in front of her.

"It's not my credit card, it's yours."

"I don't understand," she said, her eyes furrowed. She took the card and her eyes widened when she saw it had her name printed on the front under the Bank of Gotham logo. "I…I can't take this." Eyes wide she tried to hand the card back to the billionaire.

He smiled at her before turning to the two people who had been watching the scene with rapt attention while trying to keep detached, professional expressions on their faces.

"If you'd excuse us."

It was a clear dismissal and the two moved to the far side of the room.

"Akane, while you live under my roof, I am responsible for you. That includes paying for your school, food, and clothing."

"But…" she sputtered trying to think of a reasonable objection. It just didn't feel right to her.

Bruce smiled to himself. He had been wary about the entire situation involving that bastard Genma and Ranma's forced engagement to one of the Tendo girls. He had been hesitant when Ranma came up with the plan to train Akane in Gotham but respected, even admired his decision to help her. But, not having gotten to spend much time with the blue-haired girl, he didn't know what to think of her. It was obvious that his charge was smitten with the girl, so Ranma's good opinion seemed biased. Alfred had spent more time with her and had only positive things to say, which made Bruce optimistic about the whole situation. But being who he was, he remained skeptical.

Now, seeing Akane flustered and so uncomfortable with the idea of using any of the Wayne billions made the remaining doubt he had disappear. He fully relaxed for the first time around her, enjoying her discomfort. He could see now why Ranma was so enamored with her.

"Do you plan on paying for your own crime fighting uniform?"

Akane blinked, surprised at the question.

"Uh…I…"

"Because I have to tell you that kevlar is very expensive. As are the weapons, Batcycles, and computer equipment. All of this," he said gesturing to the house in general, "the money, the cover, gives us the opportunity to do what we do.

"The covers, the lives we live in public, are necessary to keep suspicion away from us. Maintaining those identities take a lot of work, and yes, a lot of money. There will be countless functions that you will have to attend as my ward. Think about these dresses as another crime fighting costume, because believe me, attending some of those event will feel like going into battle."

Akane smiled a little at his joke. He had made some really good points. She had never really thought about the importance of their secret identities but realized how vital they were. Before she met him, she would never have guessed the carefree playboy Bruce pretended to be could actually have been the intimidating Batman. Nor has she thought of the dress she had to wear as a crime fighting costume. From that perspective, having him pay for her clothing didn't feel so weird.

She tucked the card into her pocket. "Thank you," she said and hoped he understood she was talking about more than just the money.

"You're welcome. Go crazy. Buy some shoes, maybe a handbag. Just try to keep it under a million."

She would have spluttered at the amount but he said it so easily and with such a grin that was so much like Ranma's that she knew he was teasing her.

"It'll be hard but I think I can manage," she said with a roll of her eyes. "I do have one question though, I understand all the dresses, but what about the two racks of clothing to the side?"

His lips twitched and his eyes twinkled. "Oh, a little birdy told me that you had some trouble with the washer last week and I thought you could use some new things."

Her face turned red in embarrassment before she narrowed her eyes at his choice of words. A little birdy? Ranma was so gonna get it.

A/N: When reading The Talk I noticed that Bruce and Akane were very comfortable with each other and it made me wonder how that happened. This is the result. I hope you all enjoyed it.

Big thanks to Marie Allen for being an awesome beta, she's got some great suggestions. Also thanks again to Jeremy Harper who inspired this little plot bunny.