ANOTHA CHAPTA. Enjoy my loves ;) she's a long one
THIS CHAPTER WAS UPDATED AND PROOFREAD FOR TYPOS, GRAMMAR, AND PLOT/TIMELINE ISSUES AS OF 7/17/2020
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"Really Bruce? The one time you know something for Anslee is coming up, you take the entire ballet on a yacht getaway for the weekend." Rachel scolded the brunette man standing across from her, leaning in the doorway of his penthouse nonchalantly.
"I know and I'm sorry, but Rachel I couldn't let Laue get away and you know that, I got him back in America just for you to interrogate and prosecute." Bruce shot back, standing up straight.
"That doesn't matter Bruce!" Rachel snapped at the man, raising her voice a bit, "Laue is the least of my worry. I care about my daughter! OUR daughter! And you set everything you guys built up that weekend aside for your own selfish needs of becoming the authority in this city, that's what the police and the DA are for!"
Bruce clenched his fists, "Can't you see it's all for her? Everything I'm doing to clean up this city isn't for me or for anyone else. It's all Anslee and I don't understand why you can't see that. I love her just as much as you do, Rachel, and I want to do everything to keep her safe because I don't have much time left with her. I'm trying my best here to be there for her, I really am," The man took a deep breath, scowling at Rachel.
The woman took a deep breath, regaining herself before glancing at the ground and back up again, "I think we both know it's more than that."
The two sat in silence for a few agonizing seconds before Bruce looked Rachel in her eyes, "I love you Rachel, I always have and I never stopped," he muttered, his heart yearning for Rachel more than ever.
"I know, Bruce," Rachel muttered as well, looking at the floor, "But you know why this can't work, us, I told you, give it up and we could talk, but it's too late for that now."
Bruce nodded, knowing the answer, "I know...I know," he mumbled out.
"I've got to get to the precinct, I'll be back to pick up Anslee on Sunday, fix this with her, or at least try." Rachel looked back up at him.
"I'll see you Sunday, call me if you need anything." Bruce nodded, watching as Rachel turned to leave, finally shutting the door to the penthouse when she was out of sight.
He turned back to see the view of Gotham City from the suite. How he loathed being here when he had Anslee. He knew she hated it more than him and it made him feel terrible she'd be confined here for the weekend, though he was going to try to get her out of the suite and take her to do something, but staying in the manor was too risky when it came down to if something were to happen concerning The Joker or Laue. He needed to be able to be there as soon as possible But, as much as he wanted to avoid it, he had to be the bigger one and confront the conflict between them at hand.
Bruce slowly made his way from the front door towards Anslee's room of the penthouse, one with the best view of the city in his opinion. He was only a few feet away and he could already hear the rapid clicking of keys on a keyboard signaling she was on her laptop ready to ignore him. He stood outside her door for a few seconds before knocking on her cracked door with his knuckles. As expected, he got no response from the seventeen year old.
"Ans?" Bruce nudged the door open a bit, but still, the teen ignored him, "Anslee Grace," he spoke in a bit more of a stern voice.
The girl stopped typing and glanced up at her father, "Yes?" she asked, the previous disdain in her voice prominent.
"I was hoping we could talk," Bruce answered, strolling into her room with his hands in the pockets of his Dickies dress pants.
Anslee stayed silent like Rachel had done earlier, sighing before finally speaking, "You know how much I was looking forward to seeing that performance and you knew how important that was to me. I just wish I knew why." she looked up at him with anger and hurt in her eyes.
"Anslee I-" but Bruce stopped himself, trying to think of what to say, the right thing to say, "Anslee I had to take care of some business and I needed a cover of some sort to keep the public eye off of me specifically, I know it sounds confusing, and I wish i could go into detail and explain everything, but I can't. I promise you'll know soon and it'll all make sense."
Anslee could tell that Bruce was rambling and he really couldn't come up with a halfway decent excuse, and it annoyed her more than anything, "First the ballet and then you bring up that. Soon I'll know everything, I just won't understand. I feel like that's all I've been hearing and it bothers the hell out of me. When is soon? When will I be ready to understand in your and mom's eyes. I can't stand being out of the loop like this and I'm so done being told I won't understand. I'm nearly eighteen years old and I can't even be in the loop when it comes to things with my own life."
Bruce looked down at the floor, carefully taking a seat on Anslee's bed, "I know, Anslee, and I'm so incredibly sorry. It really slipped my mind and I spaced that you were attending it, had I remembered I swear I wouldn't have touched it. Like your mom said, it was selfish of me to do that to you, and I genuinely am sorry. I know it's frustrating and I know how much you want to be in the loop but there are things you really aren't ready to know yet, and believe me, I'm fighting to put you in the loop, but your mom doesn't want you to know. That isn't me putting the blame on her, I just respect her wishes and I don't want to see you hold that against her." he spoke in a soft voice.
Just like Bruce and Rachel had earlier, the two sat in a silence that just seemed to drag on and on. Bruce wasn't expecting her to accept his apology at all, and he didn't blame her at all, he screwed up big time, just like he'd done in the past, and she was always one to hold those faults against him. But what could he say? He never could hold her trust for long. "Okay." the girl spoke, pursing her lips as she stared at the comforter, looking as if the gears in her mind were working and she was contemplating something.
"Your stitches are healing well, bruise is basically gone," The man spoke, wanting to know how she was doing physically since her accident.
"The doctor cleared me to drive but I'm still out of practice for another week," The girl spoke, "Bruises on my side and my shoulder are nearly gone too."
Bruce smiled a bit hearing she was doing well and she was finally starting to get back to her normal self, "I'm glad to hear that, your mom mentioned an end of the year showcase for the dance team, were you going to tell me about that?"
Anslee still didn't meet his gaze as she spoke, "No use, you're not going to be able to come just like everything else."
"Because I was always told at the last minute," Bruce defended himself quickly.
"And whose fault is that?" Anslee finally looked up at him, her lips still pursed in a way that made her look like Rachel.
Bruce stayed silent, she asked a great question. Whose fault was it? He waited a second before answering, "I think there's more than one guilty party here, Ans."
The man got up from her bed and walked towards the door before turning back to look at her, her eyes were glued to him as if she watched him like a hawk as he left, "You've got picks for what's for dinner."
"You mean you're actually going to be home for dinner?" the brunette cocked a brow.
Bruce smirked back at her, "You dismiss me so easily. I cleared my weekend for you, Anslee. I'm not leaving unless there's a real emergency that needs my attention."
Anslee was obviously caught off guard by Bruce's actions. He made time...for her?
"So we're going to sit in this penthouse all weekend being miserable together? Wow, that takes some real dedication, Mr. Wayne, I'm honestly impressed." a sarcastic smile crossed her face, the tension in the air rising as the girl tested her boundaries and purposely pushed her father's buttons, almost as if she were challenging him.
"No actually," Bruce looked down at the ground and then back up at Anslee, "I was thinking we could get outside of the penthouse, do something just you and I."
"Daddy-Daughter dates were cool when I was nine," she automatically retorted back to him, wanting to add that Bruce wouldn't know that because he wasn't around when she was nine, but figured perhaps that would be a little too cruel, and she wasn't that type of person. Little did she know it was already crossing Bruce's mind, and he told himself that he couldn't even be hurt by it because it was true.
"Well I guess they're making a comeback," Bruce shot back with a sarcastic smile like Ans had earlier, he could already see the annoyed expression on her face beginning to form, "You can pout all you want, Anslee, but we're still going, and you will not spend your weekend cooped up here, no matter how stubborn you are."
The two stood in a stare off until Anslee finally caved, "Alright, fine," she spoke in a small tone.
"Maybe since I'm trying to make an effort, you should too, yeah?" Bruce gave her a knowing look before turning to leave once again, "And by the way, I need to know dinner ideas in an hour."
Anslee groaned in response to the way Bruce was being. It annoyed her to an extent she couldn't even begin to explain. But, as long as she was given the freedom to make some sort of decision this weekend, she wasn't going to pass up the opportunity, plus she'd barely eaten lunch at school that day.
"Can we get takeout?" the teen called back to him.
"Write your order down!" Bruce called back to the girl.
Anslee smirked to herself, "Remember what mom said, Ans, make an effort with him, give him a chance."
XXX
An hour and a half later, Anslee and Bruce sat at the dinner table, their multiple boxes of takeout spread across the table. Ans had her laptop sitting in front of her on the table with a website pulled up with prom dresses. The hunt was one for the prom dress of her dreams.
Bruce sat at the other side of the table watching as the girl scrolled through her laptop, he was glad he could get her out of her room to join him for dinner, but having her distracted on her laptop was not the goal.
"Anslee," Bruce spoke, trying to get her attention.
The brunette looked away from her laptop screen as she used her chopsticks to take another bite of her rice, once she'd chewed and swallowed, she replied, "Yes?"
"I'm flattered you joined me for dinner, but I'd be even more flattered if you would not spend that time on your laptop." Bruce crossed his arms over his chest.
"I'm prom dress shopping, I really don't have time to waste because I got asked so late," she replied, setting down her box of rice so she could type in the URL to a new website.
Bruce raised an eyebrow, "You still haven't found anything? Your mom hasn't taken you to look?"
Anslee sighed, "She did, a few times, but I haven't found anything that I like," she spoke in a defeated tone, "I feel like I'm going to be in everyone's last pick as a prom dress."
Bruce watched at how her demeanor had gone from an attitude ridden one to one that seemed almost upset in a way. Bruce hated seeing her that way period. "Well," he began as he tried to think of something to say, it wasn't until after a few seconds, it finally came to him, "Anslee what if I took you prom dress shopping tomorrow?"
Anslee looked up at her father, a look of confusion on her face, "You want to take me to go prom dress shopping tomorrow? Where? Mom and I have already been everywhere we could think of."
"Well," Bruce said again, sitting back in his chair in a relaxing way, "You haven't been to my side of town when it comes to shopping, Anslee Grace."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Anslee frowned.
"You'll see tomorrow," Bruce shrugged with a smirk.
XXX
The next morning rolled around quickly, both Bruce and Anslee had gone to bed in relatively good moods considering they'd avoided any sort of bickering that night. Bruce was able to get a little work done with his current preoccupation as Batman. This Joker character was quite the elusive being, and deciphering his purpose was difficult for the detective.
Bruce walked down the stairs adjusting the cuff of his dress shirt that was neatly tucked into his dress pants, Alfred was up and going as normal, looking over a few papers that had to with the fundraiser Bruce was throwing for Harvey, and Anslee sat in one of the loveseats in the living room with a cup of coffee in one hand and the Gotham Gazette in the other, the morning news hummed lightly in the background. Bruce couldn't help but notice how much she looked like a young Rachel lounging in her pajamas on the couch. It brought back pleasant memories from his and Rachel's teen years.
"I think your fundraiser will be a great success, sir," Alfred spoke up, seeing Bruce come down the stairs, which made Anslee glance in his direction.
"And why do you think I want to hold a part for Harvey Dent?" Bruce smirked back at the older gentlemen.
"Well, I assumed it was your usual reason for socializing beyond myself and the scum of Gotham's underbelly: to try and impress Miss Dawes," Alfred gave Bruce a knowing look.
"That ship has sailed," Anslee added in, taking a sip of her coffee before returning to the paper.
"Very droll, but very wrong, both of you," Bruce glanced between his daughter and his butler, "actually, it's Dent." Bruce went to continue, but was interrupted when the volume on the TV grew louder, and the voice of the newscaster rang out.
"Police released video footage concealed on the body," The woman spoke while footage of a man dressed like the Batman was lowered by a noose from one of the tallest buildings in Gotham, the caption of the report labeled 'Batman Dead?'. Anslee's heart leaped and she felt like the air had been knocked out of her watching this take place, "Sensitive viewers, be aware, this footage is disturbing."
The footage jumped from the scene in Gotham to what looked to be a home video, a man sat in a chair, more so strapped to the chair, a black cowl like the Batman's dawned his face. "Tell them your name," an eerie and high pitched voice hung in the air from behind the camera as the man in the chair trembled.
"Brian...Douglas," he stuttered out, and almost immediately an equally high pitched giggle rang out sending a chill through Anslee's bones. No one in the room moved as they watched the footage.
"Are you the real Batman?" the high pitched voice asked the man.
"No." Brian answered bluntly.
"No?" the person behind the camera sounded hurt before letting out a throaty laugh, "Then why do you dress like him?" The person behind the camera reached forward to yank the cowl off the man's head, the voice of the unseen person turning to a more growled and darker tone. A series of maniacal giggles followed the taunting as the person waved the cowl in front of the screen, letting out hollers of enjoyment.
"Because he's a symbol that we don't have to be afraid of scum like you." Brian sputtered out once more, not backing down from his cause.
"Yeah, you do, Brian. You really do. Huh? Yeah." the man behind the camera spoke in a coaxing tone as he reached out to stroke the man's face roughly, making him whimper in retaliation, which made the mystery man shush him., "So you think, Batman has made Gotham a better place, hm?"
As there came no response and Brian was trying to avoid the man's gaze, the unseen man quickly became annoyed, "Look at me," he coaxed, still getting no response, "LOOK AT ME!" he spoke in a sinister tone making Anslee jump. But finally, Brian met his gaze. The two stayed in silence before the camera fidgeted and turned to reveal the man behind the camera.
A pale white face with black painted eyes and a red painted Glasgow smile over mutilated cheeks looked into the camera. The greasy green hair and yellow stained teeth were only accents to the horribleness of his face. This was, The Joker.
"You see, this is how crazy Batman's made Gotham," he spoke to the camera. By now, Anslee had already gotten out of her seat and moved away from the TV. This was something out of a nightmare, "you want order in Gotham," he breathed out, "Batman must take off his mask and turn himself in. Oh, and everyday he doesn't, people will die. Starting soon. I'm a man of my word." he ended before letting out a hyena-like laugh and moving the camera away from his face. Brian began to scream for his life before the screen went blank and it went back to the newscaster again.
Bruce walked forward to turn the TV off so they wouldn't have to see any more of what was taking place. He turned to glance at Alfred, who looked back at him worriedly. Bruce then looked to Anslee, who had her arms crossed across her stomach and a blank stare focused on the TV screen. She looked as if she'd seen a ghost. Bruce just wanted to go up and embrace her, tell her it was going to be okay and that as long as he was there he wasn't going to let anything happen to her. But he didn't even have the courage to try and do that with how rocky things were getting between them.
The father opened his mouth to speak, but Anslee had beaten him to it, "Wherever the Batman is, I hope he finds that Joker...and kicks his ass." she spoke before turning to head upstairs to her room.
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QUESTION: Does anyone want to read about Bruce taking her prom dress shopping? Because I already had an idea of how to skip to Sunday and Rachel picking her up and kind of allude to the fact Bruce bought her a prom dress she picked, but if you guys want to see it, i can write it, I just thought it was going to be too sappy since we're hopping back into the angst and the darkness since it's getting back on track with the movie, and as far as I know, it should be regularly staying on track with it from now on. I do have one chapter that's sappy planned for the future, and it should be coming up here soon which is why I wanted to skip the whole prom dress shopping scene, but if you guys want to see it, I'll muster up the muse to write it.