"I love the circus." Carly's blonde ponytail swung back and forth as she bounced excitedly on her feet. She was dressed casually, wearing jeans and a sweatshirt Bruce had bought for her the last time they'd come to the circus together; almost two years ago. It was slightly faded because she wore it often, but that just meant it was well broken in. Bruce was walking hand-in-hand next to her, also wearing jeans. He had on a Gotham Guardians windbreaker zipped up over his black t-shirt. They looked like a perfectly normal couple. No one would suspect they'd had a morning meeting with two aliens, a speedster, an Amazonian, an Atlantean, and Hal Jordan.
"I know." Bruce smirked. The Circus had come to Gotham nearly every year for as long as he could remember. His mother had taken him a few times, he was fairly certain. But he most vividly remembered the first-time Alfred had taken he and Carly together. They hadn't been friends for very long when she'd told him she was about to have her first birthday without her own parents. Knowing the young master would want to do something special, the butler suggested the circus.
Carly and Bruce had both enjoyed it so much, they begged Alfred to make a tradition of it. Haly's Circus always pulled into town the same month every year. So when the season came around again, the two friends would wait with giddy anticipation for the circus to announce its return. Even well into their adulthood Carly and Bruce would mark the dates on their calendars. They had gone almost seventeen consecutive years seeing at least one show.
Then the Batman had come along. She'd been willing to forgive him the first time he'd missed it. Alfred had offered to come along instead, but the sentiment wasn't the same. Then there'd been the forlorn Christmas the Billionair had also neglected her. Needless to say he'd had a lot to make up for. Until she'd found out he was the city's caped crusader. How could she possibly hold such a petty grudge against a man trying to save her home?
Bruce was watching her carefully. The spring in her step had faltered for a moment. He felt a guilty knot rising at the thought of all the promises and commitments to her he had broken the past two years. She puffed a tuft of her bangs out of her eyes before glancing over at him with a smile. He could tell that in that moment, she couldn't have been happier anywhere else with anyone else. He only hoped that someday he actually deserved that loving look in her eyes.
"It's a shame Alfred couldn't've joined us." She said, handing her ticket to the collection man. He smiled politely before tearing their tickets in half and handing them back to her and Bruce respectively.
"Enjoy your show Mr. Wayne, Ms Rogers. Your seats are up the stairs to the left." They walked in the direction he indicated, all the while studying the Big Top with wonder. While Gotham City could be considered a fanciful circus in its own right, it hardly compared to the glitz and glamour of the true performers. Men and women in sequenced costumes that shimmered under the lights, exotic animals from all around the world, and a ringmaster to keep the whole thing running together smoothly.
"So," She heard a swooshing sound when she laid her head against his windbreaker covered shoulder. "This is kind of like our first official date."
"This?" Bruce shook his head. "No, no! This can't be our first date. We've been doing this since we were kids. Our first date should be something special like…"
"Dinner? A concert? A trip to Paris? Those are things we already do!" She laughed. "We've been Carly and Bruce longer than either of us can remember being Bruce or Carly. I know everything about you…I do know everything, right?"
"Of course. I've got no other secrets."
"Okay good. You know my favorite color is peach but my favorite fruit is an orange. You know the names of all five of my brothers and why three of them have completely different last names. I know you wait until a movie is available for home release before you see it because you're still terrified of movie theaters. I know you think Alfred is the only person in the world who knows how to make coffee the right way, that's why you take a thermos to work every day. We've been dating for years, Bruce. We just waited a really long time before we had our first kiss."
"Well, it's hard to argue when you put it that way. Hey!" He complained suddenly. "Did you just lawyer me?"
"What? That's not a thing." She laughed again.
"I think it is! I think you just…"
"Ladies and Gentlemen! Boys and Girls!" The booming voice of the Ringmaster was blasting through the Big Top's speakers.
"Shhh it's starting!" Carly hissed. Bruce put his arm around her waist and they settled in to watch the show.
The circus opened as it always did, with a parade of performers. Graceful actresses rode in astride a pair of enormous elephants. Dancers tumbled from the ceiling on gigantic strips of ribbon. A stunt team zipped around the area on half a dozen motorcycles. Bright colorful teams of clowns were running the floor and cartwheeling in-between the other performers. The last act to enter the tent were the crown jewel of Haly's Circus, and Carl's personal favorite act, The Flying Graysons. The Flying Graysons were a family of acrobats who'd been performing in the circus the last ten years. Carly squeezed Bruce's hand excitedly as the family came swinging in above the rest of the circus.
"When Alfred purchased the tickets online, the website mentioned this would be the Grayson boy's first performance." Bruce whispered.
"I hope it goes well for him." She smiled thinking back on some of the other times she'd seen the Grayson's perform. They never used a safety net which only made each performance all the more incredible.
"I'm looking forward to the stunt show myself." He confessed, flipping through the program in her hand.
"Don't go getting any crazy ideas." She warned him quietly. "The last think I need is you jumping through fiery hoops for thrills!"
