Moonstruck: Chapter 13
"City of Wonder"

Hey guys. Updated again, seeing as being given class time has actually improved my writer's block. This was the last missing chapter that had to be written, all others are already finished and ready to be published. Hope I didn't lose too many of you from my absences! I apologize again...

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing.

And here...

we..

Go!

"I'm sorry, Jack." Bruce looked over to the blond man, sighing in disappointment. "It's closed for the winter."

He stared through the cast iron bars at the deserted park, looking over the old food stands, empty benches, and abandoned rides. He then twisted on his heels, pacing forward with his eyes to the wall surrounding the park.

Bruce stammered to catch up to his pace, "Jack? What are you doing?"

He was ignored, as the other man was too busy scouting the area like a hound for something, anything. He then came to a dead tree between the wall and sidewalk. "Jack, answer me." He demanded as soon as Jack grabbed onto one of the branches.

Pushing off of the ground, he hoisted himself into the tree, on one of the larger branches.

Jack carefully walked his way across the branch, nearing the edge of the wall and as soon as he got enough distance, he jumped.

"Jack!"

Bruce's heart leapt within his chest as the blond disappeared over the barricade between him and the park. He ran back to the gate, meeting Jack between the bars. "What do you think you're doing? This isn't legal!"

Jack sighed, "Come on, it's only trespassing..." He teased, showing off a childish grin.

The brunet growled, "This is exactly why we couldn't-"

"Couldn't let me out? You've had me in a cage for so long, of course I'm going to be fresh when I finally get the chance to do this kind of shit." He pressed his face against the bars, holding out a hand as his voice softened. "Come on, Bruce. When was the last time you had a little fun?"

He stopped, staring the man in the eyes, knowing that the words were genuine. He took a deep breath, not even remembering the last time he had a day off just to be a regular man, not the billionaire Bruce Wayne. He hesitated, then laid his hand in the other man's.

Jack smiled, "Okay, then."

After helping the older man over the barricade, they stared at the playground before them. With nothing but the pale moonlight to light their way, the ventured off into the amusement park together. As they ran though the registration gates, dodging the lights, they pretended they were on the run together, escaping the feds without wearing a mask.

A smile spread upon Bruce Wayne's features as he realized he was having fun, acting like he was a child again. He gripped Jack's hand tight, afraid if he let go the boy would run off and never be seen again. No—that's not why Bruce locked his fingers around the blond's palm.

He saw the wide smile spread across Jack's face as he explored his new world, he was never going to leave.

Bruce heaved. God, he's fast.

He took a deep breath and caught up quickly, eyes searching wildly around the circus and park. At one point the park held thousands of people and their children, spending every last dollar and cent they had on cotton candy, pony rides, and fun houses. Fliers blew in the wind, littering the browning grass.

The steel roller coaster rusted under the cool November air, and the Ferris wheel had been clearly abandoned for the year.

It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Jack glanced back at Bruce, "Hold on." He let go, running off into the night.

"Wha? Jack!"

He chased after the spontaneous man who led them deep into the park, finding himself surrounded by rides, stands, and finding the large circus tent over one hundred yards away. He caught his breath as he stumbled upon the control room. Jack stopped at the door, taking a peek back at the billionaire.

"Wh…. What are you doing, Jack?"

He smiled back, "You'll see…" He kicked the door open.

Oh, no…

"Jack, no! It's too much, they'll know we're here."

The blonde ignored him as he entered the room, searching for a button, a switch, a key. "Come on…" He narrowed his eyes at the control panel, finding a hand lever with a green sticker labeled: 'Main Power'

He turned to give Bruce the benefit of the doubt, "Bruce… we're already here. And if you think a little darkness is gonna stop me, you're wrong." He pulled back the handle; machines groaning to life at the first surge of power.

The billionaire twisted around to look for any oncoming security or GCPD to be hot on their trail. God, if Gordon or Alfred learn about this, I'll never hear the end of it…

Jack stepped out of the booth, taking a look around the park as everything ignited in the night; a string of Christmas lights marked their path. Rides burst into life, everything igniting in neon lights. Bruce stared in amazement, as the park opened just for the two of them.

The younger man smacked his palm on the billionaire's shoulder, "Do you see it now…?"

He almost laughed, "Yeah… it's incredible!"

Jack smiled, "Come on…"

Bruce shook his head, reaching out towards the young man, wrapping his fingers around Jack's hand. He smiled-no, laughed out loud at the excitement of trespassing in his human life. Freedom was always something he found as a child and as the man aged and took over the Wayne Empire, the opportunities for fun, not including the caped crusader, were terminated. The cool, night air invited him into the deserted playground, every lonely seat on the carousel coming alive and galloping in an endless circle.

The Ferris wheel turned in the night, illuminating the park. Bruce gripped his hand tighter around the long fingers as the blond led them into the fun-house.

After bounding up the steps, Jack released his own hand and dashed off into the labyrinth.

Like a parent chasing a child in a playground, Bruce chuckled and followed him into the maze of tubes and towers. He called out, "Jaaaack!" his voice distorted off of the reverberators. He could hear Jack laugh ahead of him.

"Come on, Bruce!" He called out, voice becoming distant...

The billionaire made his way through the forest of strange objects. The younger man was nowhere to be seen. Following his guides on the floor, he came around a corner with a thin platform laying straight through a revolving tunnel. Hmm...weird. He thought and stepped into it, immediately becoming dizzy and disoriented. He grabbed onto the railings, attempting to focus and save his life from falling off of the edge...

He exhaled a sigh of relief once steadying himself on one of the guardrails.

"Having trouble there?"

He looked to the end of the tunnel where Jack stood with his arms crossed across his chest.

"How did you..?" Bruce wondered, still dizzy from the tunnel spinning around him.

"Come on, Bruce..."

He held out his arm and open hand, only four feet away. The billionaire stared at him and reluctantly moved his feet forward, letting go of the railing. Focusing on his feet, he stood straight and edged himself toward the man waiting for him at the end. The inviting fingertips twitched towards him, and he wanted nothing more than to grab the fingers in his.

He reached out...

And Jack was gone again.

Dammit! He took a deep breath and ran towards the end of the tunnel, nearly collapsing at it's end. He turned back around to stare at the strange machine. How is that even possible? Taking one last look at it, he walked off to explore more of the weird fun-house. he could hear comical laughing clowns. Huh. Figures. As the laughing grew louder, he found hanging clocks swirling all over the walls and a vortexof white and red attempting to suck him into his negative dimension.

He shook his head to ignore the optical illusion and followed the glow in the dark arrows on the floor.

Suddenly, he found himself staring at...himself?

Oh, a mirror.

He reached out and traced the surface to find the edge and moved himself around the obstacle, coming into mirrors-everywhere. Stretching his hands out, he led himself through the mirrors by touch, coming to another turn in the maze. The mirror warped and deformed Bruce's body into that of an obese man's. He tilted his head, suddenly confused again.

He could hear Jack burst out laughing from somewhere ahead. Giving his fat self one last glance, he sauntered on. Turning around at the end of each hall became surprisingly easy once he learned the trick. He could see the end of the fun-house ahead of him, leading out into the night.

There was one last mirror, long and only a few feet tall. It extended to the exit of the contraption, over twelve feet long. Through the glass, he could see the light change from blue to yellow, to red, gently touching the silver glass and dragging his fingertips across the surface.

Looking carefully, beyond his fingertips were the touch of anothers, following him slowly. He laid his palm flat against the surface, feeling the slight heat from another being on the other side. Reaching the edge of the mirror, his hand met with a warm, tattooed hand on the other side. The pads of their fingers touching, he took a small breath and laid his palm on the other.

Jack smiled at him through the one-way mirror and rested his head against it, sighing in satisfaction. Feeling a slight tingle in the pit of his stomach, Bruce swallowed it down and moved around the mirror, still hand in hand with the young blond. He came upon the dark, still slightly hidden, man in the darkness. He could feel his cheeks flush as he laid eyes upon the boy.

The distressed oxford lay open at his chest, baring the tan, smooth skin and exposing his scarred collar. And the way his jeans hung at his waist...

A siren broke his concentration, both men whipping their heads towards the exit of the fun-house, attempting to find the source...

Locating the blue flashing lights on the side of the park, they were caught by the GCPD.

"Is that the cops?" Jack peeked out to see a few, maybe three cruisers pull up and around the entrance to the park. Bruce rubbed his eyes and leaned over Jack to have a good look.

"Yeah, but it's just the county police; Gordon and his team wouldn't bother with this kind of stuff."

Jack mockingly smiled, "Oh, good. What do we do?"

Shaking his head, Bruce almost laughed in disbelief at the thought of himself being caught with the Joker, trespassing into a park at 9pm. "Uh... we escape." He burst out laughing, unable to keep himself under control anymore. Jack smirked to him, and took a tight hold of his hand.

"Stay close."

Taking a peek one more time, he gripped Bruce's hand and dashed into the night, keeping a pace he knew Bruce could keep up with. Flashlights shone straight into their eyes, momentarily blinding the two men.

"There!" They heard a muffled shout across the park and dodged the beam of light, taking shelter behind a small snack stand.

Jack grabbed the lapels of Bruce's jacket, pushing him against the back of the small hiding spot. They shared a few deep breaths-adrenaline now running through their veins. The billionaire focused on the younger man's face illuminated in the night lights: Panicked and stressed. He couldn't help it.

He fell into another fit of laughter. He, Bruce Wayne, not Batman was on the run from the cops. No Kevlar, escape car, cape, cowl, or even a pair of good shoes. He somewhat regretted wearing a suit and loafers, but made him laugh even more... Jack stared at him.

"You uh..." he wiped his face, "You think I should bribe them?"

Jack shook his head, "No way. These guys don't need any more funding for ricing out their damn cars."

Bruce nodded and while attempting to catch his breath, he noticed, "There's a broken fence back there... coupla hundred yards away. Think we can make it in time?"

The blond feigned a frown, "We only have 20 seconds to exit the building. 19..."

Bruce rolled his . Oh, jeez...

"18... 17..." he faked counting down, looking back and forth between the rotted fence and the officers, coming in fast...

"Ready..." The pounding in his chest became almost unbearable...

"GO!"

"Freeze, or we'll shoot!" They could hear over the adrenaline pumping through their veins. The escape was so close. Ignoring the command, they came up to the broken hole in the wire fence. Jack arrived first, ducking under and ushering Bruce out of the park first.

"Will they really shoot?"

Bruce grabbed his arm to pull Jack through, "Nah, they're just blanks. We didn't commit a major crime."

A few loud shots in the night proved him wrong.

"...As far as I know..." He ducked under the fencing, crawling to safety on the other side. Jack glanced over his shoulder; a flash of light caught the center of his eye. The sound of helicopter blades invaded his hearing, heart momentarily stopping.

Shaking the thought away, he ducked through the fencing and out of the park, sprinting towards the streets with the billionaire. Self-consciously, he looked to the skies. Nothing. Nothing but the moon and stars on that clear night.

They ran until they reached the perimeter of the park, a number of blocks away. Finally breaking into a slower pace, they stopped, hunching over to catch their breath. Jack leaned over, sucking in air deeply and resting himself on his knees. The billionaire's legs felt like jello as the adrenaline worse off and he became light on his feet. Not having been in shape for months, Bruce panted, looking down at Jack.

Jack panted, wiping his mouth. "I need to quit smoking..." he sighed.

They stared in silence at each other before cracking up, nearly falling over in laughter.

The blonde pointed towards Bruce, "Look at your hair!" He giggled out. Bruce turned to look in the glass of a building. The neat comb over was twisted and frizzy, most hairs plucked out of place and hanging at either side of his head. He groaned jokingly before laughing at himself and attempting to fix the mess of hair. The wealthy billionaire heir faded from his appearance, giving true to a normal human being.

Jack stood up straight, "So... was that just about the most illegal thing you've done?"

He shook his head. "Nuh-uh. I've had a couple of rough deals with the cops before." Smiling at the memories of being a rogue, Bruce stared off into the night. "A long, long time ago..."

The blond nodded, accepting the answer. "Where's the car?"

Bruce sighed. "You don't mind taking a long walk, do you?"

"So...how did you go from being a normal human kid to the wealthy, prosperous man you are today?" Jack asked, finishing off his mint chocolate chip ice cream cone as they slowly sauntered around the city, avoiding any confrontations with the local pigs. Bruce inhaled the fresh air in the night, letting his shoulders drop.

"Well, I was the heir to the company; my parents were the presidents of the corporation and I took it up when I got older. I really didn't want the responsibility at first." He crunched into the strawberry ice cream cone. "Mmmf turn." Pondering to himself for a moment, he tried to think of something else to ask Jack in their new game of twenty questions. "Hmm... who was your first girlfriend?"

Jack nearly choked on his treat, clearing his throat.

"Emily Whittle. Fourth grade." He licked his dry lips, quickly plucking at the silicone that began to peel from his face. "She had a crush on me and I never really cared, so we went out for a few days. Don't think I really even knew what a relationship was, y'know? Never interested in that sorta thing."

Taking in the information, Bruce made an odd face, strangely finding it funny that Jack would be so... nonchalant about love. Well, you certainly do a great job putting up the womanizer front.

He shrugged, looking for approval from the billionaire and continued. "So, what happened to your parents?"

Bruce almost froze, but reluctantly continued on.

Come on, Bruce. It was gonna come up eventually...

"They uh..." He could feel his throat tightening. "They died when I was young."

The blond became silent and looked away, suddenly feeling ashamed. "I'm sor-"

He stopped quickly, interrupting Jack. "No, don't say it. It's okay."

There was a reassuring tone in Bruce's voice. "Well, can I ask what happened?"

The older man looked to him, dumbfounded; he actually asked instead of pretending to ignore the awkward situation or change the subject. Everyone else either walked away or became silent-nobody dared to question Bruce Wayne about the death of his parents, the infamous Thomas and Martha Wayne. It was slightly...comforting. "We went to the theater one night. My mother, father and I..."

The bats fluttering in the back of his subconscious reminded him to disguise his alter ego.

"I felt sick about halfway through the show, and I asked to go home-at least get some fresh air. We left through the back entrance and a man tried to rob us. He was waving a gun around and shot my father when he was confronted. He killed my mother too out of fear." The sounds of the gunshots were so close...

"I-I thought he was going to kill me, but he escaped before anyone could even react. My parents died before help arrived."

Jack stared into him, attempting to get Bruce to look at him. He could hear the struggle and pain in the billionaire's voice.

"...And as soon as I was old enough, I left Alfred's care and went off on my own. I couldn't deal with being around the memories that still hadn't gone away and the thoughts of blaming myself for their deaths. I thought everyone else did, after all. Turns out..." He let out a soft, feign chuckle. "I was the only one who couldn't let go of that night."

His legs nearly buckled when he felt a warm pair of arms wrap around his shoulders, bringing him into a gentle embrace.

"You don't have to try so hard..." Jack whispered softly, leaning into the crook of the brunet's neck. He could feel his heart pounding in his breast, thumping in his eardrums. He tensed under the warm touch, telling himself to push the boy away in the case of a concealed weapon. The warmth was comforting and caused his face to turn a beet red. Before he was able to snatch up the hands or push them away, Jack released from him and casually wondered away as if nothing had happened.

Bruce swallowed hard, attempting to regain his composure. He trotted back up to Jack's side, who leaned over with a smile.

"Your turn."

Nonchalant. Guess I gotta get used to this...

"Uh... are you religious?" What the fuck, Bruce.

Jack continued to bound ahead, unsure as to which direction they were headed. "Nope. I was raised under a Catholic background but it never interested me."

"Well, do you believe in god?"

He shook his head, still a little confused as to why his smile would not fade. "Nah. The way I figure it, if there was a god so great as the one they call in the Bible, he would have proved it to me instead of deserting me. I don't need any crutch to lean on in my weak moments." He waved his finger around as if giving a lecture. "Someone once told me a metaphor that made a lot of sense to me. Say you're in the supermarket with someone and you two split up, and meet back at the register."

Bruce narrowed his gaze, "What's your point?"

"My point is that you shouldn't excuse this so called god and then start to worship only at the check out. So if I'm on the brink of death, what would I do? Pray to god in the hopes that he would forgive me for all my sins? No, no."

The older man shrugged, not sure as to what he believed in either. "What would you think of in those last moments?"

Jack twisted towards him, awestruck by the words. He raised up his pointer fingers as if to speak, beginning to chew on his lower lip. He frowned. "That was three questions."

Bruce rolled his eyes.

"...I don't know. I'd think of a good memory to leave with. I'd be..." He let out a small chuckle, "I think I'd be pretty content with letting today be my last happy memory."

He bowed his head in response, "I'd be okay with that too."

Thank you, Jack...

For everything that you've done for me.

Today, the days before, and when I first met you, you began to test my mind.

I gotta give it to ya, if that was your plan... you succeeded.

"So, Bruce Wayne."

"Hmm?"

"I got one more question..." He trailed off, slurring the last syllable. "Why did you let me stay with you, even if you did know who I was?"

This question again?

"I dont know what I was thinking then. I knew who you were at the time and knew I should be cautious just like everyone else. But I wasn't afraid of you and I knew exactly what you wanted. None of us would like to be in the situation and you can't condemn a man with a supposed case of amnesia to a mental institute or prison." He exhaled deeply, "I was planning to keep an eye on you because Gordon and I used to be close. And now, I'm not sure if I can follow his word, even if they are genuine."

Jack glanced at him for a short moment before making a high pitched noise in approval. "Well, thank you for that."

They walked in silence the rest of the way back to the car, clouds gathering in the midnight air. The breeze around their feet picked up slightly, blowing litter around the streets. The brunet looked to his cell phone- no missed calls, messages, or warnings from the old butler.

"Ah! There it is..." Bruce announced, seeing his black car in the distance.

"Um... Bruce..." Jack said softly, pleading lie a child. The gentle voice caught Bruce off guard completely; his name dripping off of the blond's lips halted his thoughts entirely. He spun on his heels, beginning to walk towards the stopped ma.

Jack began again. "I..."

The thunder cracked overhead in the dark heavens, opening up its swollen clouds and unleashing its rain straight down onto the both of them. Jack ducked under his raised arm attempting to shield the freezing rain.

Bruce wiped the heavy rain from his face, instantly becoming drenched. "Come on, let's get to the car!"

Shivering into the passenger's seat, Jack crawled in impatiently and bundled himself up on the leather seat in the Lincoln. He anxiously awaited Bruce to turn to heat on in the sudden cold and downpour the night had to bring. Bruce tucked himself into the driver's side, slamming the door shut and cranking up the car.

"You ready to go home?"

Jack nodded in between shivers.

He pulled onto the empty streets, thinking to himself.

What were you going to say?