Thanks again for all the reviews, favorites and follows! I understand some of you are frustrated that I'm starting a new story without completing my other ones, but please bear with me. Once I finish this one (which I promise I will), I 'll go back to a few of my older stories and finish them. Until then, enjoy!
"Let us, then, be up and doing, with a heart for any fate; still achieving, still pursuing, learn to labor and to wait."
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Bruce walked from his car, up the marble stairs to the entrance of Wayne Manor. As soon as he was a few feet away from the door, the large door slid open and exposed the interior of the grand structure. Standing by the entrance was his lifelong friend and surrogate father, Alfred.
"Good Evening Master Wayne, shall I escort your vehicle?" Alfred extended an open hand offering to take the car keys from Bruce,
"Don't have too much fun with it," Bruce smirked as he dropped the key into the older man's hand and walked into his home.
"Fear not Master Wayne," Bruce swore he saw the butler flash a cheeky grin before he strode out the door to the car. He heard the engine roar as his butler started up the car, and cringed slightly when he heard the tires squeal as Alfred clearly had too much fun with it.
Bruce made his way through the elaborate manor, it was aged and the floors creaked in a nostalgic way. There were so many memories floating between the walls, the happier ones of which were with his parents. This quest for redemption had only grown more passionate since he first took it upon himself to protect others like his parents. It's been over 20 years and yet he still has trouble breathing when he thinks about the cold blooded murder of his beloved parents. There was no justification, no reason for his parents to have died that night. More than the feeling of loneliness, more than his own selfish desires to have grown with the love of his parents…he wished that his parents were alive because they cherished Gotham and the people in it. They would've done so much more and greater than he was ever able to do for the city. The legacy they left behind was tarnished by his inability to relate and connect to his surroundings due to his own trauma. As he opened the door to his study he found Dick sitting in one of the chairs reading a book from his library.
"Howdy," Dick greeted as he placed the book down on the side desk. He ran his hand through his dark chin length hair and got up to greet his former mentor, "How'd the meeting go?"
"Good," Bruce made his way to his desk and shuffled through the mail that Alfred had left on his desk, "How was patrol last night?"
"Nothing crazy," Dick responded as he walked over towards Bruce, "It's been pretty quiet actually, you still think there's something brewing?"
"Yes, why else would it be this quiet?" Bruce picked up his silver letter opener and slid it through an envelope to open it. Dick carefully watched his mentor as he tried to think up of ideas and responses to Bruce. He couldn't think of any, other than that crime was really going downhill. But Bruce refused to believe it, he kept saying that there was something more going on. Dick refuses to admit it out of pride and ego, but Bruce was right most of the time. However, this time he really felt that his mentor was wrong; he truly believed that Gotham was getting better.
"Have you given our last talk some thought?" Dick sat down in the chair opposite of Bruce, he leaned back into the seat and made himself comfortable.
"No, it's not an option," Bruce put the mail aside and opened the drawer of his mahogany stained desk and pulled out paperwork.
"Bruce, Tim and I can handle Gotham now…It's really not that bad anymore," Dick waved his hands around as he tried to explain to his adoptive father his reasoning for him to consider retirement, "You're going to have your hands full with this campaign and everything going on,"
Dick held his breathe as Bruce stopped going through his papers and looked him straight in the eye right before he said, "As long as I am capable, I will stay committed to Gotham,"
The younger man let out a loud and long sigh, he had known from the start that this would be a tough argument to make. But he truly felt that Bruce was better off leaving Gotham and it's demons to him and Tim. He could see that all those years of fighting and working had put a large toll on him. The man didn't know a life beyond the cowl, he had trouble finding himself as Bruce Wayne, Entrepreneur and civilian.
"Look Bruce, I'm going to be blunt with you…" Dick moved to the end of the seat so he was closer to Bruce, "You need a life. You were one of the only mortal humans on the league and yet you've led the least humanly life…even after the league disbanded,"
Bruce narrowed his eyes as he listened intently to what Dick had to say, he rarely received criticism of this sort and he found it rather interesting to listen to. Even if he wasn't planning on taking the advice and running with it. He could tell that Dick was feeling nervous about being so candid with him, he kept moving his hands as he spoke and licked his lips often.
"Even Superman got married, don't forget Dinah and Oliver, Shayera and John, and well you know the rest…" Dick felt himself start to stumble with his words, he rarely spoke so openly to Bruce but he felt as though this was his last chance to get to him, "And I know you had some unresolved things with Diana, but even she got over it,"
"What do you mean?" Bruce focused to make sure his eyes didn't give away the surprise he felt inside. What did he mean, 'she got over it', does that mean…
"Well you know… she got over you, she's engaged to someone now…right?" One by one, as the words left Dick's mouth he slowly began to realize that he had just told Bruce something he never knew about, "Oh…"
Dick saw Bruce's jaw tick as he clenched it, he just made a colossal mistake. He thought Bruce was one of the first to know about it. The only reason Dick found out was because he was still friends with Donna. She had told him and Barbara about it when they went on their double date with her and Jason. He wanted to blame it all on an honest mistake, but he still felt so guilty. Bruce would never say it, but he was still very much in love with Diana. He wasn't over her, but she was most definitely over him now. He knew this because Selina's been asking for Bruce, says she hasn't seem in over a year. He even asked Alfred if he's seen anyone else around the manor, but he hasn't-not for over two years. The old bat was too stubborn to admit it, but he was heartbroken and nothing would be able to mend him other than an Amazon Princess. He couldn't help but pity his mentor as he watched him sit there, alone, imagining the love of his life with somebody else.
"Did you want to talk?" Dick tried to reach out to him with his voice and companionship, one way or another Bruce was bound to find out. He just hates that he was the one to break it to him.
"There's nothing to discuss," Bruce said in the quietest voice he had ever heard.
-2 Hours Later: Lower East Side, Manhattan-
Diana placed her hands on both sides of Tom's broad shoulders and leaned into his back as she inhaled deeply and moaned lightly.
"Mm…Smells so good," she smiled from ear to ear as the aroma of spaghetti pasta carbonara filled her senses, "Can't wait to eat,"
"Gotta let it sit for a few minutes before we can chow down on it," Tom smirked as he spun around from the kitchen counter to face her, "Shall we pick out some wine?"
He kissed her on the lips as he gently pushed her hips towards the wine cabin. They made their way over to the extensive wine collection.
"White?" Diana pointed at a bottle of Pinot Grigio,
"Let's try the Gavi di Gavi, we haven't opened it since we bought it on our second date," Tom reached out to grab the bottle as soon as he received Diana's nod of approval. Diana proceeded to take two wine glasses from the top of the cabin. The two made their way back to the island where their dinner waited for them.
Tom took out a corkscrew from one of the drawers and started to turn the tip into the cork of the wine bottle.
"Ow!" Tom flinched, almost dropping the glass bottle. He pushed the pad of his thumb to his lips as he tried to stop the bleeding.
"What happened, are you okay?!" Surprised, Diana made her way over to him to check his wounded finger.
"Yeah I just nicked it," He muttered as he pulled his finger away from his mouth to examine the damage, "should heal in no time,"
"You have to be careful with your hands," Diana went over to the other counter to grab a napkin. She pulled his hand towards her and wrapped his bloodied thumb with it.
"I know, they're my best feature," He grinned as he gently shoved Diana with his arm in a joking manner, "I'll be fine babe, don't worry,"
"Let me get you a bandage," She took his other hand and placed it where her hand was just moments ago, signaling for him to hold the napkin secure.
"It's okay, it'll stop in a bit," Tom beckoned for her not to go on her quest for a bandage. He much rather her not have to worry about it. Diana sighed as she decided to listen to him and stay put. The blood should clot soon, the cut wasn't big at all. She was just worried that it would get infected or something. Standing a foot apart, she was able to take a good look at him and admire his traits. He had mostly blonde hair, but there were specs and streaks of red hair. He always joked around saying he was one of the only Irish guys who couldn't outdrink his girlfriend. He had a sharp jaw with a constant five o'clock shadow, without it he felt as though people wouldn't take him seriously. She wasn't the biggest fan of how prickly it was, but she did admire how it looked on him. He was tall-had to be if he was going to stand side by side her 5'11" figure. But more than that, he had a great smile-one that would make her day feel that much brighter. She tried to think of other people who had such nice smiles that would be able to turn her day into such a positive one. Bruce. She mentally rolled her eyes and swatted away the image of Bruce smiling. This was not the time for that nonsense. She was happy with Tom, he reciprocated her love and so much more. Her mind wandered some more before she realized that she should talk to Tom as soon as possible about her project with Bruce. It was strictly business, nothing more.
"Hey, I have something to talk to you about," She waited patiently for him to look up at her, searching for his dark blue spheres. He turned his attention from his injured thumb to his fiancée, he noticed that her expression had turned more serious.
"Did something happen at work today?" He asked curiously, usually Diana didn't let things affect her but it seemed as though something was on her mind.
"Kind of, it was a pretty lengthy conversation but basically the firm is being taken over by Wayne Enterprises," She started to feel a bit uneasy as she saw his expression shift to a worried one.
"Are you going with them?"
"I plan to," She felt that suddenly there was a slight tension between them, "Bruce Wayne personally asked me to,"
"Bruce Wayne did?" He raised an eyebrow, "Why would that haut come down from his high and mighty throne to personally ask you?"
He instantly regretted his words as he saw Diana's eye twitch at his unnecessary comments. He also knew he had offended her and made her sound unworthy of Bruce's attention.
"Sorry…" He quickly apologized and raised his good hand in an attempt to calm her down.
"That was uncalled for," She felt as though she had to defend not only herself but also her friend, who was actually the complete opposite of what Tom had made him sound to me. It also perplexed her as to why he had gotten so fired up about it. It was unlike him to jump to conclusions like that.
"Look Diana, I'm all for you trying out new things and joining huge companies," He started, "But I feel uneasy about you working with the playboy of the century. Not that I doubt your ability to brush him off, but he's just notorious for being…well…a douche,"
"I understand your concerns, but like you said, as long as you don't doubt me, there's nothing to worry about," She tried her best not to come off as defensive, but the more they talked about it, the more she felt like he didn't trust her,
"And I get that…," He sighed, "I don't really want to argue about that guy, can we just drop it?"
"So your primary concern is him? Not why I'm joining the company or any of that?" Diana could barely contain herself, she had hoped by this time and age it wasn't always an assumption that all women cared about was who the better man was. She was more focused and concerned with her career, but Tom didn't see it that way.
"Babe, that's not what I implied…You can do whatever you want, but I wish you'd consider my feelings about this too," He practically begged her to understand his side,
"I'm sure you've had many discussions like this with your patients, but sometimes we just have to decide for ourselves what's best," She felt herself start to cool down, "Bruce wants to help, and I share his vision. I understand he's not the most upstanding citizen but he has the means and the way, so I'm going to help him as much as I can,"
Tom groaned in defeat, he knew he couldn't win against this stubborn woman. But regardless, he loved her dearly. He pulled her towards him and hugged her tightly. She hugged him back and rested her chin on his shoulder.
"No late nights at the office though," he grumbled, still having a hard time accepting it all.
"Promise," she smiled as she reached around him to grab a string of spaghetti and snuck it into her mouth, "Let's eat, I'm starved,"
-Later That Night: Gotham-
Dick spun through the air as he ran across the rooftops of Gotham. He had always enjoyed how cold it got during the nights, it was a heavy, dense and chilling sensation. But it felt so invigorating, the bitter air cut deep into his lungs as he sliced through the night with his aerobics. The streets were empty of crime nowadays, there were some robberies here and there but nothing the cops couldn't handle. He did notice however the growing population of the homeless, he would find them in alleyways that used to be vacant a few weeks ago. Every time he walked by one of them, he would see the hopelessness in their eyes. They weren't scared of him or batman, they were scared of starving to death. Some of them used to be minor culprits and villains, but they didn't flinch one bit when in the presence of the bat clan. They weren't their primary concern anymore.
He jumped off the roof and skillfully landed on the ledge of another. His communication device rang in his ear.
"Nightwing here," he picked up,
"Hey, you staying out late tonight?" Barbara asked. She was visiting her dad for the night, he wanted her help in solving a case involving an armed robbery the other night.
"Not too late, there's nothing happening," He looked up into the grey skies expecting it to rain any second, the air felt moist and dense all of a sudden.
"Okay, just wanted to check up on you," He could hear Commissioner Gordon in the back yelling excitedly for her to come to his board,
"Sounds like you've got your hands full,"
"Yeah, Dad says he found something," she sighed, "I should go,"
"Don't let me hold you up, Love you" He grinned as he hung up the call. He was happy that she was able to spend more time with her dad. Half of it had to do with street crime declining and the commissioner having more free time, the other half of it was because Bruce felt that half the bat clan was no longer needed on a daily basis. He made sure to tell them to be on standby though, just in case his prediction was correct and things got out of hand one day.
Nightwing turned his gaze from the sky to the ground as he returned to patrolling. As he scanned the streets around him, his eyes caught something peculiar. In one of the buildings adjacent to the one he was standing on, he saw a familiar face walk into a dimly lit room. His face was easily recognizable, the burn marks forever marring his skin and revealing the flesh below. Harvey Dent had walked into what appears to be a random room in a random building in the middle of the night. Dick was curious as to what he was up to. He knew Bruce trusted him and turned him into an advisor of some sort, however he also knew that Two Face used to be one of the most hardened criminals he had ever faced. The man either showed unmeasurable mercy or became a cold blooded murder.
Dick watched carefully as he saw Harvey's lips moving, he was talking to somebody. Trying to get a better vantage point, he moved one rooftop over to get a look at who it might be Harvey was talking to. He kneeled down on one of the stone gargoyle's trying to prevent himself from being seen. Harvey was still talking to somebody, and if the aggravated arm motions were any indication it seemed as though the conversation was getting heated. Dick saw a shadow slowly approach the retired lawyer, but before he could get a good look at who it was, Harvey quickly reached out and closed the curtains.
Dick cursed under his breathe, he decided it would be best to report it to Bruce before he tried taking matters into his own hands. Regardless of whether or not Bruce trusted him now, Two Face gave him a bad vibe, and something in him felt that he was up to no good.
