A/N: This chapter's a bit short. Sorry about that! And that's about all I have to say for now…ta ta!
No Escape: Perchance to Sleep:
He thoughtfully tapped his chin, formulating and deducing. "An nine letter synonym for stupid…hmm…" He muttered.
So, there our hero sat directly in front of a cereal box, examining the contents on its backside. The house had long been filled with Sleep and Dreams, both of which entertained the other two occupants but seemed to have a grudge against Bruce Wayne. He had arrived back at a reasonable hour from his crime-battling occupation and retired to his bed but, like stated before, Sleep and Dreams seemed to dislike the multi-millionaire tonight. And so, Bruce found himself in the darkened kitchen, slowly eating a bowl of Cocoa-Cocoa puffs, entertaining himself with puzzles and riddles.
"Ah!" He snapped his fingers, "Ignoramus!" The playboy followed down to the next riddle but, after a time, they became mundane resulting in him entertaining himself by stirring and staring at the hearty breakfast meal. That was, until Alfred entered and upon realizing he was not alone, greeted his surrogate son, "Good morning sir…back already?"
Broken from his trance with a floating chocolate puff, Bruce turned and smiled at the butler, "Good morning Alfred."
"You could not sleep Master Bruce, could you?" Although the Butler's years were catching up with him, he still retained his sharp intuition and, was likely never to lose it.
The Alter ego of the Dark Knight ruffled his unkempt hair and sighed, obviously agreeing with Alfred's statement.
A knowing smile wormed itself onto Alfred's face. Even though Bruce had never spoken to the Butler directly, Alfred had decoded his employer's signs revealing the cause of his gloomy aura and obliviousness to the world: Loneliness. Yes, Alfred knew. However, he also knew how to completely rid Bruce of the disease and was determined on executing his cure right at that very moment. Alfred drew a piece of paper from his robe pocket, placing it in front of Bruce, "This message came for you today, Master Bruce."
Once Bruce laid eyes on that fragment, excitement coursed through his veins as surprise blanketed over him.
It was her…oh God, how long had it been?
Alfred, witnessing the first stages of his own administered cure, slipped stealthy to the sink, retrieved himself a glass of water and slinked back to his bedroom. Bruce, dazily regained his composure from his reminiscing, finishing off the remains of his meal, brown milk and all, and made his way over to the sink. Placing his bowl down, he sighed, "No wonder why Tim likes these…now I'll never be able to get to sleep." Yet, with that statement came no despair or dread instead, only a feeling a peace and excitement could be found. Somehow, Bruce knew that no matter what he was experiencing beforehand, that was all about to change and, for the better.
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