How do I do it? At first, I didn't have enough material, now I have too much... Again. Ugh!

Responses at the end, as usual.

The smell of herbal tea preceded Victoria stepping into Bane's peripheral. Of course, he heard her coming down the hall. He easily picked in the carefully measured steps, on the care she put into bringing him his tea without spilling, while all the time trying to be as swift as possible.

It amused him to note he was hyper-aware of her this morning.

The mug clicked softly when she set it on the side table by the loveseat.

"Thank you," Bane said pleasantly, but without looking up. When Vic didn't move from her spot, he added. "You need something?"

"I want to make a truce."

That got his attention. The book closed with a muffled huff.

"Elaborate."

"We didn't start on the right foot…"

"And whose fault was that?"

"And I want to make amends. Selina looks like she's getting down with something, and even if she wasn't I'd like to clean the air between us. You know, to work better together, since we're both deadweights anyway."

He seemed to carefully consider her words.

"What's in it for me?"

Contrary to what the sentence conveyed, Bane's tone wasn't mocking. There was genuine interest in his eyes, a flash of calculation too shrewd and fast to be a mere gamble. He knew what he was doing, it was evident in the effortless way he simultaneously expressed attention and composure.

Victoria sipped her tea and measured him carefully. She had the advantage of light filtering from behind her, shadowing her expression.

"I can be fun to be around," she said at length.

The scoff Bane let out showed just how enticing that prospect was to him.

"Okay, I promise to be nice to you," she tried again.

"I don't need niceties."

"What do you need then?"

There was a silky tone in her voice, one Bane didn't expect.

"I don't think you have anything I'd like to get."

Her lips pursed, but no other indication of disappointment showed on Victoria's face.

"My offer's on the table. Think about it," she said before leaving.

oOo

Pancakes were cooking four at a time, so the whole family unanimously decided to eat breakfast in the kitchen. It was crowded since there weren't enough chairs for everyone to sit down, but no one really seemed to mind.

As usual, Bane sat on the stool closest to the kitchen door, Cassie beside him, and on her other side Tim and Vic. Selina was cooking, so she occupied the small workspace, and Bruce perched on the counter with his plate, talking animatedly through careless bites of food. Ace stayed in the corridor, laying on the precipice of the kitchen, keeping a fond eye on all of them.

Before everyone sat down, Cassie tapped on Banes' leg and pointed at his bowl of porridge.

"You'd like some, Litte One?"

She nodded, biting nervously on her thumb.

Bane smiled warmly and took a clean spoon offered to him by Selina.

"See if you like the taste first."

The porridge was predictably greyish and chunky, but there were dark spots of spices and vibrantly green herbs on top.

The girl crossed her eyes looking at the food at first. She then sniffed it carefully and proceeded to taste it, at first only with the tip of her tongue. The flavour must have been to her liking because soon she practically licked the spoon clean and grinned up at Bane.

"I take it you'd like some more?"

Cassie nodded with enthusiasm, her untied hair spilling even more with each abrupt movement of her head.

She got her food and munched on it in silence.

Bane finished his portion while reading another set of his documents.

"What the hell is a 'parure'?" he muttered under his breath, squinting at the printout he held in his left hand.

"A suit of matching jewellery, meant to be worn together as a set," Vic replied absentmindedly before biting into her pancake.

Everyone looked at her with surprise.

"What? I did learn something back at the uni, you know." She smacked her lips and leaned towards Bane a bit. "Not that smart after all, huh?"

He didn't dignify the quip with an answer and buried his nose back into the printout. But the corner of his lips has raised a tad more than usual.

"I saw a book in the living room, one that would help you systematize your knowledge in this subject better than some random printouts."

"I have a reading list."

"I don't doubt that you have a checklist, seeing how…"

"Which book did you have in mind?" Bruce interjected.

Did he cut in on purpose? Vic wondered.

"There's 'A history of Jewellery' by Joan Evans. Good, classical read, very concise."

"Concise?" Bane asked, incredulous. "It's fatter than Santa's belly."

Tim giggled, and even Cassie smiled into her bowl of porridge.

"Seeing how it covers almost eight hundred years, I don't see how it could be any shorter."

"Slimmer." Bane's correction was overly smug, and he obviously relished the chance to have the upper hand.

Bruce snorted into his coffee. That was all Vic needed. Her eyes narrowed, and if she had claws, they would be firmly set into the countertop.

"Like you're the one to talk," she growled.

Bane's back stiffened. Then he slowly straightened, put the printout down and turned fully towards her. His expressive eyes conveyed a clear message.

"Ekhm," Selina cleared her throat noisily, breaking the tension of the moment. "I think it's time to get going. Be nice, all of you."

"Yes, mom," Tim said in a sing-song voice.

Vic apparently didn't hear her or chose not to listen.

"Well, if your list doesn't have Joan, you should write her in. And get Bennett's and Mascetti's 'Understanding Jewellery' right after that, so that you'll have the remaining time covered," she continued her advice as if nothing happened.

"Thank you," Bane said politely.

Selina and Bruce exchanged surprised looks.

The sudden lack of animosity between the two of them was vexing.

"Give me a hand with the car?" Bruce asked Bane when he went past him on his way to the door. He didn't have wait long for his guest to exit after him.

"It's a strange coincidence, don't you think?" Bane said, folding his printouts and tucking them into a big pocket on his thigh.

"What?"

"The fact that Victoria is an art historian," Bane explained. He entered the garage after Bruce. "Not very surprising, seeing what your wife was primarily interested in when you met her."

"Well, both of their names are clear… In our books at least." Wane grunted, half hidden behind a tall metal rack full of ropes and belts.

"What about their conscience?" Bane pressed.

Bruce emerged back with a handful of colorful straps bunched in his arms.

He transferred them to Bane and led the way back to the yard.

"You think that Vic is more than just an appraiser?"

"I know only the basics. What did the Cat say about her?"

"Not much. They grew up mostly together, because both their mothers juggled their kids around relatives. Sel said they both had an eye for 'pretty things', but Vic was always the more scholarly type."

"We'll see about that. I have someone mingling with the industry types back in Europe, so I'll tell him to inquire about her."

"Discreetly," Bruce warned opening the trunk of his car.

"Of course!"

Sxevlbtch - 18 is shaping up nicely, I have to say! :)

Taxaceae - I have so much planned out! It's the same as last year - I want to post all I've got and then write more. ;) There are many surprises I have in store and I'm dying to show all of you.

Oh, and Vic's mask is that kind of peel off gel mask one gets to look pretty. It's ugly now, but it will be better once she sheds it fully... I hope.