Part 3
by Darklady
Location: DC Universe... 'Bird' AU.
Rated: PG ( also B for Brooding )
PS: Standard Disclaimer. I don't own any of these characters. DC Comics does. [And Wayne Industries probably owns DC, but you'd have to ask LF about the details.]
(Bruce's POV)
^^V^^ ^BC^ ^^V^^ ^BC^ ^^V^^ ^BC^
Nice. Very nice.
Standing in front of the the Ritz-Gotham, I watch Black Canary rise from the back of the car. She has the perfect movements of the true jujitsu. The perfect legs of a gymnast. And the perfect lack of dress to showcase it all.
If I was...uncertain..when Barbara suggested Black Canary as a solution for Julie Madison's sudden desertion, I was now convinced. Escorting a *known* super heroine would do wonders for Bruce Wayne's somewhat tattered image. Not that Hugo Strange had harmed me *that* badly, but any association with inflatable 'love dolls' was already too much.
"So sorry for the rabble, Dinah." I turn her towards the paperazzi as I adjust her coat. A few good photos would put an end to those rumors.
She takes my arm and all but floats up the red carpet. Not a flyer, but graceful. Very graceful.
I was telling the truth when I said I had never dated a meta before. I think. Selena is genetically human - probably - and Talia?; I may have *married* her, but we never *dated*. Other then those? There aren't that many women in our game, and not that much spare time.Besides, I have always considered it something of a security risk. Perhaps I should rethink that policy.
A few more flashes from the 'authorized' press when we reach the foyer. I wave off their questions. Fox can issue a press release in the morning. It takes them a few seconds to identify Canary, and by the time they are certain we are past the gauntlet and into the ballroom. Which is perhaps a harsher gauntlet.
I hand Canary's coat, then my own, to the attendant at the door.
Unfortunately, the delay makes us vulnerable. Gotham Gertie drops both her current victim and her champagne the minute we clear the door, and is on us before we can get moving.
"Bruce, darling! So good to see you....healthy...again. After that terrible kidnapping."
I sacrifice my cheek to her kiss. From the smell of peppermints, she has been at the scotch again. Bad news.
"And who *is* your little friend? I though dear Julie was still with you?"
I ease between Gertie and the Canary. "Miss Madison was called to Los Angeles." Which is quite enough said. Gertie will not doubt extract a great deal more in the course of the evening - and will unquestionably make up the rest - but for now?
I smile at Canary. "Would you care to dance?"
"Delighted."
A few waves and handshakes see us through the crowd. Here and there I see people I should talk to, but....later. We have reached the dance floor. I place my hand on Dinah's waist, and she glides in close.
The Canary moves as well there as she does in the practice room. Oiled steel. I had always questioned her habit of training in heels, but if it leads to such grace? A wise policy.
The usual slow pop classics. Rathaway would groan, but the band suffices for needs of Gotham's overfed and underexercised 'civic leaders'. These movements are nothing, but the light pressure of her body makes me wonder what she might be like on the workout mat, or somewhere we could *really* dance, or even.... I put the thought from my mind. Very unlikely on a first date. It was sadly more unlikely there would ever be a second. But even so...? I run my palm down her spine and urge her a bit closer. There is no reason I should not enjoy what was here now.
Her head rests on my shoulder and her hair smells of the wind. For a moment, as we glide, I indulge the fantasy of following her on a jumpline over Gotham. Of gliding beside her on the bright thermals over the power plant.
I must have missed a movement, because she looks up.
I smile, and lean back into her warmth.
No. She is to bright for Gotham, and despite her ties to Oracle by tomorrow she will be gone.