Evil Shadow


28.


Millie (a few months later)

Millie was walking down the large stairs and into the entrance hall of Wayne Manor. She felt ready for some supper which she knew would be ready soon as Alfred was always punctual, when she heard Dick's voice from down the hall where the telephone was located. Normally, Millie would not have thought twice about it, if there had not been something in Dick's voice that had made her stop in her tracks. A certain sort of pleading and sadness that made her heart twinge.

Without making much noise, she made her way to the corner, pushing up against it so she could listen without him seeing her. The telephone was located on a small table stood underneath a large painting of unknown origin – an expensive painting. Next to the phone there was a notepad and a pen used only by Alfred if someone called for Bruce when he was out. A small lamp was situated there too. Though she could not see either of those things. All she could see were the large stairs she was facing. Her ears, however, picked up Dick's words.

"Barb… Please, this is insane. I don't even know what you're talking about! But that's not true, I would never – No! – We're friends, that's all. – She's like a sister to me. – What do you mean by that? – so? – No, that's insane – We are friends! – Will you stop accusing me of things th- Barb, please – fine! If that's what you want, then, fine!"

A clink was heard, telling Millie that Dick had hung up the phone. She stayed as quiet as she could, barely daring to breathe. What she had overheard was obviously private – who knew how Dick would react to his privacy being intruded like that.

"I know you're there, you know."

Millie's eyes widened and she waited for a second, hoping that Dick had been talking to someone else but her. However, he did not continue talking to someone else and so, she revealed herself, turning the corner with her eyes cast down to the shiny marble floor in shame.

"Sorry I listened in…" she mumbled, looking up at Dick with large, pleading eyes. Though Dick did not look mad at all. Instead, he simply sighed.

"It wasn't as though I was trying to keep things quiet. I could've gone up to talk in my room if I hadn't wanted people to overhear at all," he said, shrugging.

"No, it was rude. I shouldn't have listened in… should've just kept walking," said Millie, raising her hands. Dick remained silent, watching her with eyes she could not read. The last thing she wanted now, now that things were finally (yes, a month later) starting to calm down after the latest scandal with her sister, was to have a fallout with Dick.

So, in fear that Dick would be mad at her, she began to ramble, "I… I heard despair in your voice and got worried so I thought I should check up on you and then I saw that you were talking on the phone and I was already here so I might as well stay and… it was a bad decision… and I'm sorry… but, I just didn't want to hear you being sad…" her rambling faded out, her eyes wide.

"Oh…" he said, his eyes staying glued on her. Under his stare, she suddenly felt rather uncomfortable, and began to shuffle about a bit on her feet. "We – We should go eat. Alfred should be done with dinner soon."

Millie coughed awkwardly, not quite sure where the tension was coming from though not really enjoying it.

"But first," she began, hindering Dick from walking past her. They locked eyes again and her stomach did a summersault, "Did Barbara think there was something going on between… us?"

Oh how she wanted this… So badly. But other than holding hands and some meaningful glances, there had been no more advances. Millie knew it was because Dick had feelings for Barbara as well, which she respected… but if Barbara had broken up with him… could she finally have a chance?

"She's been hinting at it for some time now… The papers aren't helping either," said Dick as he scratched the back of his head, causing confusion to raise in her eyes. "You haven't seen it? The headlines of last night were… well, they were about us. Apparently, some pictures were uncovered from the time you had your press conference, and we were holding hands."

"So?"

"Exactly!" exclaimed Dick with a relieved sigh. "We're family, we should be allowed to hold hands."

"Yeah," agreed Millie with a slightly pained heart, "I mean if I do this, there shouldn't be anything weird about it."

Without hesitating, she grabbed his hand and shifted so she was standing next to him. Richard suddenly stiffened, standing completely still and barely even grabbing her hand back. She looked up at his face with questioning eyes, wondering what was wrong. Yes, her heart was fluttering like mad and she got warm and cozy and – but they were nothing more but friends, family… family that loved each other, a lot. Millie felt more, but knew it would never happen…

"Right? Nothing weird about it at all…" she said, squeezing his hand though not getting a response back.

Slowly, he turned his head to look at her, his blue eyes piercing hers. The tension between them rose all the way up to the ceiling and soon, the longer they were staring into each other's eyes, Millie could feel as though she might fly up to the ceiling too. His eyes were so beautiful, so intense. And the contrast between his eyes and his raven black hair along with the kindness and the completely sexy personality that she knew Dick had simply made him even more attractive. At one point, she could see him leaning towards her, though she might have been imagining things. He would never… He didn't…

"Right?" she asked, her voice barely working anymore as her heart beat so fast, her breathing escalating. Her hand was sweaty by now, though he did not notice as he had removed his hand from hers.

The moment was ruined.

He finally looked away, "Maybe not…" he whispered, mostly to himself, before walking away from her towards the kitchen.

Millie stood there, alone and wondering what had just happened. What had he meant by what he said, and why was he suddenly acting strange? Was he simply confused and alone after Barbara? Did they even break up to begin with?

One thing she did know, and that was that staying focused on building up a life as a Wayne and nothing else, would be ten times more difficult if it turned out that Dick actually liked her back.

Besides… how could she keep her secret detective work a secret from him if he did like her back? If she was allowed that sweet relationship, then she would never be able to keep her mouth shut about anything.

Elaine

"I should not be the one saying this seeing as I am the least patient one around here, but patience does give result."

Elaine turned her gaze away from the large aquarium in front of her, looking to her right to see the Penguin standing there, his umbrella in his hand and a fancy suit on. Stage two was taking a long time to start. Their secret helper was taking forever seeing as he wanted to make a nice scene and mock the Batman for as long as he could.

"You going somewhere?" she asked with a monotonous voice.

The Penguin always dressed fancy, but he was wearing the suit he always wore when going out, which was what made Elaine realize he was leaving the club.

"Gotta keep the boys happy. Pay-day," he explained before narrowing his eyes. "You'll be alright."

"If you say so," she replied back simply, before turning back to the aquarium, continuing to watch Tiny swim around.

"Your mother joined me to get a taste of freedom."

The words shocked her so much, that she was torn away from her depressed and angered state, and she once again turned her head to look at the Penguin. His eyes had shifted to look at Tiny as well, and behind him she could see Mark and his men standing, waiting for him to finish talking to her so they could move on. As Mark saw her gaze on him, he straightened up slightly, his eyes glistening.

Her heart skipped a beat.

"She… used me," spat the Penguin before calming down again, "used me because she was done with her fake life. Freedom to her was this; this life of doing whatever you want without paying taxes or caring about the government. Politics are not important, only the rules you have to break without anyone noticing are. She felt free with me… do you?"

Elaine stared at him, unsure of what was going on. He had never, ever, showed this side to her except for one time when he told her the truth about her mother. She wondered briefly if this was the real Penguin; the real Oswald Cobblepot.

"I do," she replied quietly.

A moment's silence passed.

"My mother would have loved you…" he said, his eyes filled with emotions as he looked over at her, "truly, she would have."

Elaine felt a bit discouraged by his sudden lack of walls keeping him from saying things that, perhaps, normal people would. He was never this open to her about anything… he had never mentioned his own mother to her either.

Besides… what had his mother got to do with her?

"Did you love my mother?"

The question shocked Oswald and for a brief moment, she could see that his initial reaction to her question had been to yell at her as though she was one of his men asking stupid questions. Though his face softened as his eyes landed on her. Perhaps it was the fact that she was Anna's daughter that made him treat her differently than others… Though she did not know. The man that was buried inside of those walls that had been put up, inside all of that anger and fear, came pouring out once more. She wondered if Mark and his men knew this man as well, or if this was just as shocking to them as it was to Elaine each time she saw it.

"No." His blunt answer did not faze Elaine. In fact, it was the only answer she had expected. They had been business partners after all, nothing more. And this was the Penguin. "Love is weakness. Love is not a part of our lives. But… she made me into who I am. When I was broken down after my mother was murdered in front of my eyes by an evil man, Ed- Nygma and Anna built me up again. I cared for her… She stayed by my side, no matter what choices, bad and wrong, I made," he glanced at her and she could see him realizing something. In an instance, the walls were up again. "Love does not exist. All you can hope for is for someone who is loyal that makes you into who you are and keeps you there. Keeps you in the real world and not the dream-world everyone else is living in."

"That's what she was? Your right-hand?" asked Elaine.

"Mark was our right-hand. She… She was my partner," he said quietly before furrowing his brow in annoyance.

"Then did you know my father?"

"Why are you askin' so many questions?"

"I want to know who they were…" she replied. "So I can be like my mother and find my strength to kill the person in my life that ruins everything."

Oswald looked away from Elaine, something showing in his eyes which she could not decipher. Though a smirk appeared on his lips shortly after.

"I'll be in Bludhaven for a day. Can you keep things in order here?"

"Bludhaven?"

"Like I said, it's pay-day," explained the Penguin with a roll of his eyes. "Mark'll stay here and-"

"Wait, you have men in Bludhaven?"

"Will you stop asking so many bloody questions!?" roared the Penguin, causing Elaine to look down at her feet.

"Sorry, sir. Yes, I'll keep things safe here while you're gone," said Elaine, earning nothing but a scoff from the Penguin before he wobbled away, Mark's men following him out of the club.

Elaine turned back to Tiny again, walking over to the glass. Freedom… Elaine remembered vaguely what life in the orphanage had been like; horrible. She remembered she did not feel free in the orphanage and that she wanted out. So, in a way, Oswald had given her freedom as well by taking her in. Just like he had given Anna her freedom.

"He's got some plans to expand into Bludhaven, what with the Batman always interfering with our business here in Gotham."

Mark's reflection appeared next to her on the glass of Tiny's aquarium, notifying her that it was indeed Mark who had been talking.

"He doesn't tell me much, does he? I keep thinking we're working together… But I don't think he trusts me that much."

"He trusts you, but he also thinks you're weak," said Mark, causing her to glare over at him. "Hey, that's his words, not mine."

"Why?"

"Because you keep asking questions."

"What has that got to do with it?"

"In our line of work, you don't ask people questions. You make them tell you without having to ask the questions. That's what the Penguin does. That's what he wants you to do too," explained Mark. "Take. Don't ask."

"Do you know that you made me into what I am today?"

Mark glanced at her while Elaine kept staring ahead. The light from the aquarium was illuminating both of their faces.

"I'm sure your time with Two-Face helped as well. It was supposed to at least," replied Mark.

"No, you taught me everything. Yes, Pete helped with the fighting, but apart from that, you taught me everything. And you're still helping me be the one that I am supposed to be…" She glanced at him, seeing him already staring at her. She stepped closer to him which caused him to sigh.

"Did you know Anna?"

"She took me in. Made me into who I am today. She and the Penguin trusted me with things they wouldn't trust anyone else with… He still does. As far as I know at least."

"Tell me what happened… he won't tell me…"

"She was murdered. That's all you gotta know. That's all we know too, as a matter of fact. It was strange. One day she got a death threat, the next she was dead. And that was it! Normally when one went after either of them, they wanted them both dead, but this seemed to be purely about Anna… It broke the Penguin."

"So me and my sister ended up in an orphanage after that?" asked Elaine.

"There wasn't really anyone else who, uh, could take care of you. It was for the best…"

"And my dad?"

Mark bit down on his lips, "You gotta stop asking questions. You gotta make them tell you."

Elaine furrowed her brow before carefully moving closer to Mark. She placed a hand on his shoulder, gently caressing his muscles. When he did not move away from her but simply stared at her, Elaine moved in closer, this time pressing her chest up against his arm, her hand moving to his chest…

"I am forty years old… You're eighteen. I promised your mother to keep you safe-"

"Did you – You loved her."

Mark quietened down, looking at Elaine with big eyes.

"You promised you would keep me and Millie safe. Well, you're keeping at least one part of that promise. Which is not something people like us do. And unlike Oswald, I believe in love. And I know love is the main reason behind why people keep promises."

"You shouldn't believe in love," he replied quietly. "It makes one weak."

"But you loved her…"

Mark flared his nostrils, looking away from her as she continued her caressing.

"She never loved me back. Either way, it doesn't matter now," sighed Mark before looking down into her eyes. "What I felt for her…"

"Fuck me."

Mark stared her deep in the eyes, searching for something, anything, that would give him a reason to say no. Carefully, he placed his hands on either side of her face.

"I am too old for you."

"I don't care. We don't ask questions in our line of work. We take what we want…" she said, grabbing his hands and placing them against her chest. "Fuck me."

As if he had been waiting his entire life for it, he leaned down and captured her lips in a hungry kiss. Immediately his hands went down to her ass, grabbing her tightly and lifting her up so she was straddling him. Elaine melted into the kiss, clinging onto him for dear life. He had been the one there for her when she grew up and although it was so wrong, seeing as Mark was basically like a father figure to her, it felt so right to just let him do what he wanted to her right then and there in front of the aquarium.

It was not love, not in that sense. Though it was a feeling of mutual loyalty, and a feeling that the two made the other what they were. Mark could fulfill his promise when being with her, and Elaine could remain strong with him guiding her.

It was the closest thing to love she would probably ever get, and it felt amazing.