After a few weeks, I started to get into the swing of things and I had to admit, I loved that whenever I caught wind of trouble in Metropolis, Bruce would never bat an eyelash when I'd suddenly super speed away. Well, honestly, even the fact I could super speed in front of him period out of costume was exhilarating. Likewise, whenever he had 'Bat Duties' to attend to, I could tell that me already knowing his alter ego gave him a sense of calm that I am sure he never realized would be so comforting.
It was just another Tuesday morning as I walked off the elevators at Wayne Enterprises, a coffee caddy clutched in my palm. I gave a broad smile to Ruby as I approached her desk, adjusting the glasses on my face before setting a coffee cup in front of her. She grasped it with both hands and gave it a good whiff.
"Chai tea, oh Ms. Danvers, you just spoil me," she said to me with an appreciative smile as I put a hand on my hip, waving a finger at her.
"How many times do I have to ask you to call me Linda, Ruby, and it's really no trouble at all," I said as I walked past her to Bruce's office and opened the door, keeping it propped open with my hip as I carried my purse and coffee caddy in with me.
Bruce had his face buried in a mountain of paperwork, per usual; I swear that man had to sign 200 papers every single day, easily, I thought. I approached his desk and set the coffee cup down in front of him, demanding his attention. His eyes scanned over the coffee as he removed the lid to explore its contents.
"What? No sugar?" he said, looking up at me with a smirk. I grabbed the cup from his massive paws and pushed my lips to the side of it, leaving a well-placed lipstick smudge in the shape of my kiss before I put it back down in front of him. He stared at it for a moment and then shook his head before he took a sip from the piping hot contents.
"You know, Ruby is going to start getting the wrong impression," he said as he raised an eyebrow at me. I could only roll my eyes as I removed my own coffee, tossing the empty caddy into the trashcan.
"Oh please, she had the wrong impression the first day I walked into Wayne Enterprises. Besides, I'm sure I'm not the first skinny blonde to waltz my way in here," I said, taking a sip from my coffee before frowning as I realized my coffee had somehow gotten cold.
"Mm, I usually prefer brunettes," he remarked as I removed the lid from my coffee, took off my glasses and proceeded to use my heat vision to bring the steam back. I also used this as a detraction from the major eye roll I wanted to give at his comment.
"So what is the agenda today, Boss?" I said as I plopped myself down in the chair across from his desk. He grabbed a notepad and started scribbling on it before speaking to me.
"Actually, I wanted you to buy a gift for someone for me and have it delivered to that address. She likes…gold jewelry or cashmere sweaters. Something like that. I trust your judgment," he said as he removed the sheet of paper from the notepad and set it in front of me.
"One: I think that is the first time you used the word 'trust' in any form of communication directed at me and two: just who is the lucky victim-, I mean girl?" I said trying to hide the tinge of jealousy I felt creeping its way up my spine.
"Why, Ms. Danvers, is that jealousy I detect?" he said, completely disregarding my victim quip and going straight for the jugular. See, I told you…absolute viper. I immediately laughed as I made a gesture in the air with my hand as if waving off his accusation.
"Oh please Bruce, my jealous rages usually involve something catching fire or becoming frozen," I said as I blew a small puff of artic chill from my cheeks with a grin. Bruce shook his head, returning his gaze back down to that damn paperwork.
"Agatha MacDonald," he said. My eyes widened as I put a hand on either armrest of my chair before launching myself forward at him.
"Agatha MacDonald, the super-rich heiress?! She's, like, 90 years old!" I said, both shocked and completely grossed out.
"What can I say? I tend to attract the occasional cougar," he said rather matter of factly as I discovered I simply could not contain my eye rolls at that point. I slunk back in my chair with huff.
"Yeah I guess you always were more of a cat person," I muttered under my breath. Bruce's eyes immediately darted to my face with a grimace as he slammed his pen down on the desk, catching me off guard.
"You're a little spit fire this morning, what's got your skirt in a bunch?" he said haughtily. My eyes narrowed at him with bewilderment, having not realized I was so on edge until he brought it up.
"I guess I am a little on edge…haven't seen a lot of action lately," I said, my eyes turning to look at the window longingly. Bruce stared at me for a moment before waving his hands at the desk as if presenting it to me in an infomercial.
"There is always my desk." I looked at him, perplexed for a moment, before it suddenly dawned on me that he was referring to an earlier quip of his about how much weight his desk could handle and my eyes grew wide.
"No, no, no…no...not that kind of action-, I mean there's been no action there either lately-, but I-,oh my God, I meant fighting, fighting…action." I put my head in my hands, admitting defeat for a moment as I successfully embarrassed myself to the point of feeling faint. I peeked through my fingers to find him staring at me with a smug grin, looking damn right proud of himself for making me squirm.
"I've actually been meaning to talk to you about that…the fighting that is." He gave me a wink as he stood from his desk. He moved to the corner and leaned against it, folding his arms across his chest. I could make out the curves of his muscles through his white shirt as he did so.
"Obviously, you are incredibly powerful given your abilities, but I've noticed your technique is somewhat lacking. It's all well and good when you're fighting us mere humans, but this could potentially get you severely hurt or worse when fighting anything else. Your superpowers will only get you so far," he said, unflinching as he awaited my response. Oh wow, he was actually serious.
"Are you being serious right now? The only time I ever got hurt was with Darkseid…," I said as I remembered that horrible time when I was brainwashed by said villain; A time that had nearly killed both Kal and me. It was then that I also remembered that Bruce straight out dodged Darkseid's omega beam. I still think Bruce is descendant of some…god or something; how else could you possibly explain his 'human superpowers'?
"Did I have powers when I fought Darkseid? I was able to help you because of intuition, foresight and experience. All three of you which you are severely lacking," he said, once again with that intense seriousness splashed all over his face.
"Man, tell me how you really feel," I muttered as I sulked in my chair. I watched as Bruce stood up straight and started to roll up his shirtsleeves to his elbows. He moved to the center of the room and lifted a hand to motion me towards him. After I took a moment to stare at his now bared muscular forearms, I stood from my chair before cautiously walking towards him.
"What are we…doing?" I said slowly and hesitantly as he took a wider stance.
"I want you to hit me," he said sternly and I could do nothing but laugh.
"Oh come on, Bruce, I don't want to hurt you," I said as a wicked grin spread across his face.
"You won't," he said confidently as I moved in closer to him and rolled my own shirtsleeves up. I threw the most halfhearted, girly slap towards him that I've ever thrown in my life. Bruce rolled his eyes and stood up straight, holding a hand out to either side of him.
"Are you kidding me right now? I said hit me!" he bellowed with determination in his eyes that lit a fire in my chest. My face grew serious as I threw a punch at him, which was quickly deflected. Well wow, okay, maybe a little faster, a little harder, I thought. I swung another punch and not only was it deflected again, but he also lightly slapped me in the face, which caused my fake glasses to tumble to the ground. I ran a hand through my tussled locks as I traced fingertips over the area of my face that he touched with annoyance. It was on now, I thought as an all-out spar ensued. Every punch, every move that I attempted, I found Bruce could dodge or deflect. I even used my super speed occasionally and he was one step ahead of me every time. It was remarkable.
My enthusiasm got the better of me and for one mere moment, I forgot to reign in my strength. I decided to use my super hearing on Bruce's joints and muscles to hear which side shifted. I was able to detect he was about to throw a punch from his right side and I ducked. When I rose, my fist came up with me and slammed right into Bruce's chin, sending him flying into a nearby wall with a stagger. My hands immediately came to my mouth in a gasp. I started to move towards him before Bruce's form sprang to his feet and his hands ripped the top portion of his shirt open to send buttons flying everywhere. My eyebrows furrowed as he barreled towards me. What the hell? Suddenly, his mouth engulfed mine and his hand tugged at my hair, just in time for Ruby to fling open the door to his office.
"Mr. Wayne, I know you said to not disturb you, but I just wanted to make sure you were…..okay," Ruby said as she burst into the office only to see Bruce and myself kissing. Bruce pulled away from the kiss and let go of my hair as he turned to look at Ruby, her eyes immediately dropping to his torn shirt with a rise of her eyebrow. Bruce didn't say a word as Ruby held her hands up in mock defense.
"I am so very, very ,sorry, Mr. Wayne…um…carry on!" she said as she quickly backed out of the office, shutting the door behind her. Bruce raised the back of his hand to run across his mouth before he looked back to me. I could still feel his lips on my mine and at the moment, I was completely confused by the way I was feeling.
"Sorry, I had to cover for you throwing me into a wall. That would've been a bit harder to explain," he said as he looked down at his torn shirt, which also had a couple specks of blood from my fists of fury.
"Um, yeah, no…its fine; your solution was a lot more believable-, um, totally." I cleared my throat as I ran my hands through my hair and moved to pick up my glasses from the floor. Bruce walked to the closet at the back corner of the office. He removed his tattered shirt, my eyes tracing over the muscular arms now on display as they sprouted from the tank top he wore under the shirt. He grabbed a fresh shirt and slipped it over himself before turning to look at me again.
"What you did there was exactly what I was talking about, you used your instincts to predict what I was going to do and took advantage of it," he said as he buttoned up the shirt and tucked it into his pants.
"I'd only ask if you not make it a habit of throwing me into walls in the future. One: it wreaks havoc on my ego and two: I can only fake kissing you so many times before you fall head over heels in love with me," he said with a wink and a chuckle. He slipped his hands into his pockets and peered on at me as I guffawed and crossed my arms over my chest.
"What would you say if I offered to train you? I have a gym at the mansion," he said.
"Well, it'd definitely be better than sparring with you in my heels and destroying your office," I said with a smile.
"That…is very true. We'll start tomorrow then and of course, it's probably for the best to not tell Clark," he said and I laughed. There wasn't a whole lot I was telling Clark at all lately. Maybe if he wasn't such a tight wad about absolutely everything. He still acted like I was fifteen or something.
"Absolutely. I'll, uh…go and get that gift you need, for Agatha, is it?" I said as I moved to grab my purse and sling it over my shoulder.
"Mrs. MacDonald yes-, she made a generous contribution to one of the top charities I sponsor. Figured it'd be best to show my appreciation," he admitted to me. I smiled to myself, letting it disappear before I looked at him.
"Agreed. I'll see you in a little while," I said as I walked out the door without another glance. So many thoughts plagued my brain waves. I side glanced at Ruby as I passed her, seeing the smile on her face was so wide I thought it was going to slide right off. I gave an awkward wave as I rushed to the elevator. Once inside, I drug my fingertips across my lips, remembering the way that kiss had felt. My eyes closed as I let out a sigh. Seriously, what was I really getting myself into?
