Okay I'm the worst person in the world. I'm so sorry for not updating this in months, but I'm sitting here watching the new bluray trilogy and was inspired. I want to say thank you to everyone who has favorited or alerted. But anyway...here we go with the last installment of In A Gotham Minute.
Paige sat at her desk, editing last minute papers as she watched her best friend finish off a bottle of wine. She's noticed the drinking began when Bruce disappeared and the company was left in Olivia's hands, but she thought it would get better with him home. The television was on low, every news channel covering the events taking place in the narrows and the raging fire consuming Wayne Manor. Olivia watched transfixed to the screen, tossing back the bottle every few seconds.
"Slow down there champ, you puke on my couch you owe me a new one. Preferably leather," Paige warned, glaring over her reading glasses.
"I'm going to sleep," Olivia announced, switching off the television and wobbling to Paige's back bedroom. "Let me know if the bat dies."
"Don't puke on my bed either," Paige called after her, wincing as she heard a loud thud.
Olivia held on to Bruce, pulling him from behind her. It was her turn to pick the date activities and she wanted nothing more than to spend a quiet night alone. Every few seconds she would make sure that his eyes were still covered.
"Liv, tell me where we're going." He asked with a little more annoyance this time. She was beginning to find out that he was easily frustrated if he wasn't part of the planning.
"Almost there, I promise." She said smiling as she saw the park bench.
She sat him down first, letting him know it was okay to uncover his eyes. He looked at her skeptically before glancing around the spot. Her eyes were fixed in the distance, as if waiting for something else to happen at any moment.
"This is my favorite spot. I needed a place to relax and this is what I found." She glanced at him quickly before returning her gaze to the shore in the distance. "No one's ever come here with me before."
"It's amazing, Olivia." He smiled, wrapping his arm around her.
"Pretty cheap date, huh?" She asked with a small laugh, moving closer into his arms.
"I love you, Liv." He whispered against her hair. She didn't move or reciprocate the sentiment, even though she was sure the feeling in her stomach was exactly that. She couldn't have thought of a better place to hear those words from him.
Olivia slept through the night easily. She woke up in an oversized shirt, tangled in Paige's sheets. It took awhile for her to remember everything that had taken place the night before. Catching a glimpse of the wine bottle on the edge of the night stand she sighed. She slowly made her way down the hall, after changing into pair of jeans and button up shirt.
"She lives," Paige announced loudly from the kitchen. "Have some coffee."
"Aspirin too, please," She said grabbing the glass of steaming coffee.
"After all the hangovers, you should know what your limit is." Paige said, dropping three tiny pills in her hand.
"Hangovers I can handle, and this one isn't that bad. This is more of a swelling jaw kind of pain." Paige moved closer and gently moved away her messy curls to see the bruising cheek.
"Why are you letting him get away with this, Olivia?"
"Who said he was getting away with it?"
"You didn't seem too upset last night. Would you have really stayed with him?" The two women stood across from each other in the kitchen, staring the other down for the truth.
"I love him. I spent seven years waiting for him to come back, had to pronounce him dead, and he just shows up one morning like nothing happened. I'm pissed the fuck off at him." Olivia said through gritted teeth. For the first time since his return, she was able to let everything she'd been feeling come gushing out. "I can't just walk away from that kind of devotion, Paige. I don't know where he went, or what he did, but he's still adjusting. We just need some time to get back to where we were before."
"You realize that you spent those seven years pining for him, devoted to a lover that ran away from you. Liv, you can't force those feelings to come back. They might not be there anymore. Maybe you should move in with me for awhile. Give him some distance to figure things out."
"Do you really think he'd hurt me?"
"Hasn't he already?" Paige tried not to reach out and touch the tender bruise forming on her friends face, but Olivia's hand beat her to it. "Last night might have been a fluke, but the best friend I know wouldn't let a man push her around, especially Bruce."
"He was drunk, and before you start accusing me of making excuses for him, know that you're my best friend and I really need you on my side right now."
"If it were me, I'd make him work for every moment he has with you."
"That's the difference between you and me, I take every moment together as a blessing, because you never know when it could be the last." Olivia finished her warm cup of coffee, not meeting her friend's gaze. "I wish you knew how much he cares, not just about me, but the city. I have to go, thanks for letting me stay here."
"Liv, I'm always here for you." Paige said, giving her a big hug before letting her walk out of the apartment.
She took a taxi to Wayne Enterprises, already feeling like crawling back into a comfortable bed. Her gut tightened knowing that there was not only no bed to return to, but no home. The rubble was probably still smouldering, she envisioned as she entered the elevator. She heard the whispers through the halls as she made her way to her office. Playing her part like always, Olivia kept her head held high.
"Ms. Scott," the voice stopped her only feet away from her destination.
"Good morning Mr. Fox. I didn't expect to see you here today."
"Mr. Wayne asked that I come in for the meeting this morning, and insisted that I ask you to take the week off." He watched her carefully, not too subtly inspecting the side of her face. "I'd settle on a day if you feel like protesting."
"And what would Mr. Earle do without me here?"
"Oh I don't think you have to worry about him anymore."
"What did he do, Lucius?" She let her façade fall, too tired from the previous days.
"I believe he has decided to take back his company." The smile on the older man's face was contagious.
"Then I guess I have a much needed vacation to take. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call."
"The same goes for you, Ms. Scott." She gave the man a tight hug before quickly exiting the building.
The drive from the city to the Manor took longer than usual, due to the destruction. The taxi driver chatted non-stop about how Batman saved the city from tearing itself apart. Olivia's eyes scanned the broken streets and buildings, all the people that were hurt in the process. It was painful to see, knowing that she was lucky enough to be asleep through most of hit. But her heart didn't truly break until she saw the rubble of her home.
Absently, she gave the cab driver a generous amount before stepping out of the car. Her eyes fell on Alfred, who pointed her in the direction of the man she was really looking for. She was about to step into the garden when she heard a familiar voice, Rachel. From her spot behind an overgrown ivy, Olivia watched as the two friends spoke. If she thought her heart broke at the sight of her home, it all but stopped as she saw her fiancé and close friend lock lips like long-lost lovers.
She knew. Rachel knew his secret. But she didn't want him.
Olivia wasn't sure how she felt as she watched. Rachel was the one that Bruce had fallen in love with as a child, still pined for on occasion, but would he throw the future Olivia had planned away to be with the girl of his dreams. It took her a moment to stop her mind from running away with all the what if and what could bes. Today wasn't the day to worry about those things. Today, Olivia just wanted to spend her time with the man she loved and be thankful that they had another day together.
"Rachel," Olivia's voice caught the woman off guard.
"Thank God, you're alright." She sighed as the women embraced. Olivia tried not to let her feelings for Bruce come between the friendship that she had developed with Rachel over the years, but she felt a small stabbing pain in her back as images of just a few moments ago flooded her mind.
"Is he over there?" Olivia gestured to where Rachel has come from.
"Yeah," the smile that graced her face was yet another painful sight. "He's a good man, Liv. You're lucky to have him."
Olivia nodded as she watched her friend walk away. One day they would have time to talk everything out, figure out where each of them stood when it came to the man they both loved, but that would have to wait. Olivia needed to figure out what she wanted and what Bruce wanted before bringing any third-party into the mix. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself to before facing him.
"Bruce," he stopped and turned to the sound of her voice. She threw her arms around him, holding him as tightly as she could against her.
"I'm fine, Olivia." He said, kissing her head.
"Look at this place," she pulled out of his arms, wiping at her eyes to stop the tears.
He reached out and ran his thumb over the bruise he'd caused the night before. "I'm so sorry. You were right, about the monster in me."
"No, I was wrong about a lot of things. You're father would be proud of you, and I'm sorry about your home. I can replace everything, but you can't get those memories back. Batman is so far beyond me that I forget it's not my place to control him. That monster saved Gotham."
"It also hurt you last night." She moved in and kissed him lightly on the lips, pulling away to place one on his cheek.
"I'm just glad you're alive. But there are things we need to talk about before I can feel safe around him. Maybe we need to take a step back and slow things down. We're different from the kids that fell in love all those years ago." She held out her hand, waiting for him to take it before walking out of the garden.
They walked through the rubble, both their eyes scanning for anything that could be salvageable. Olivia's mind ran through all the memories she'd had in the glamorous manor, and felt her chest constrict as she thought of all the memories that would never happen. She'd fallen asleep thinking she'd never see Bruce again, and she was still nursing the hangover to prove it. The dark sunglasses shielded her eyes from the harsh light, and the tears that were threatening to spill from her lashes.
"What are you going to do?" She asked redirecting her focus to the man kneeling near a scorched box.
"Rebuild it just the way it was, brick for brick." He stood back up as Alfred walked over to join the couple.
"Just the way it was, sir?"
"Yeah, why?" Bruce asked, taking Olivia's hand again and walking with the older man.
"I thought this would be a good time to make some improvements on the foundations."
"In the southeast corner," Olivia smiled. "I don't even want to think about getting all that stuff out of the cave."
"Let's worry about finding another place to sleep first." He told her, pulling her into his side.
"That would mean you would have to sleep sometime," she teased.