Author's Notes: Umm....I got nothin, what about you?
Disclaimer: I do not own SM/DC/any other copyrighted materials.
Chapter Five: Fake, Pasted Smiles
BAM!
"SORRY!" Usagi yelled in her accented English as she ran over another shopper in her haste to claim the CUTEST dress she had ever seen.
Tim groaned as he shifted Usagi's many bags and headed over to where Usagi was fawning over another article of clothing. How had he gotten suckered into this? Wasn't this supposed to be Bruce's punishment?
Tim looked behind him to see Vicki, Bruce's latest "girlfriend", trying to force Bruce into the ugliest sport coat he had ever seen.
"But Brucie, it's FASIONABLE! You'll look simply FABULOUS in this, I swear!!!" She screeched.
"Now, now Victoria," Bruce said as he forced a laugh while trying to detach himself from her grip, "this is Usagi's time to be shopping, not mine."
Victoria crossed her arms and pouted.
"Oh honestly Bruce, don't you have anything better to do than adopt street urchins?" She said.
Bruce's left eye almost twitched. ALMOST. However, Tim's eye was twitching. He was also clenching his fists.
'Lady, if you only knew...' Tim thought to himself as he turned around and sighed. 'I guess putting up with Vicki is worse than having to carry Usagi's bags.'
He let a smirk adorn his features.
'Although these bags are going to put quite a dent in Bruce's wallet, no matter how rich he is.' Tim thought as he looked at all the brand names he was currently carrying.
"BRUCIE!!! LOOK AT THIS MAGNIFICENT SCARF!!!"
"Now Vicki..."
Tim ran into the crowd to look for Usagi and he hoped it was FAR away from Vicki. Suddenly, he noticed a pile of clothes that was moving at him at a very fast speed. He instantly dropped his shopping bags and caught the piles of clothes.
"Oof!"
"Hold that for me Tim-chan! Thanks!" He heard Usagi call out.
He took another glance at Bruce's torture.
"Damn, stuck between a rock and a hard place." He muttered.
Tim had finally been allowed to deposit Usagi's bags in the car. The group was currently walking down the streets of Gotham, looking for a suitable place to have lunch. Actually, Tim was walking next to a bouncing/skipping Usagi who kept humming from time to time and pointing at fat pigeons. Bruce and Vicki were lagging, seeing as how Vicki was trying to sucker Bruce into buying her things.
"Bruce, look at that FABULOUS sapphire necklace. Don't you think it would look simply MARVELOUS on me?" Vicki squealed as she dragged Bruce to a boutique window.
"You would look great in it." Bruce said with a smile.
For a few minutes, the two stood looking at each other. Vicki, expecting Bruce to offer to buy her the necklace, and Bruce, absently wondering if all women were as manipulative as the woman he was currently standing in front of.
"Would you buy it for me?" Vicki asked, finally outright asking for the necklace instead of using her "feminine wiles".
'For the owner of the largest corporation in the world, he really is clueless to my hints.' She thought to herself, never considering that maybe Bruce didn't want to buy her unnecessarily expensive gifts.
Bruce was about to give into the blonde when the voice of another blonde, an actual natural blonde, broke in.
"But Vicki-san, Bru-chan should spend money to help people." Usagi said in her broken, but improving, English.
"Oh, but-" She started to say before Bruce seized his chance.
"That's right! Aren't you always promoting your charity for the poor children in Africa? Tell you what Vicki, I'll write a check to your charity for the same amount as that necklace." Bruce said as he took out his checkbook.
"That'll be eighty-three thousand four hundred and sixty five dollars to the Vicki Charity Fund." Bruce said as he wrote his check, blatantly ignoring a sputtering Vicki.
As he handed her the check, he flashed her a smile, a smile that Usagi noticed was not as fake as all the others he had pasted on his face throughout the day.
"Doesn't it feel good to make a difference in the world?" Bruce said to a pouting Vicki.
Usagi, Tim and Bruce were sitting at a table in a diner. Usagi was scarfing down her third bacon cheeseburger and fifth strawberry-chocolate milkshake, Tim was on his fourth rocket burger and third chocolate milkshake, and Bruce...Well Bruce had just had two cheeseburgers, a pizzaburger, and five cokes. Tim was waiting for him to go to the bathroom any minute now.
Truth be told, Tim was really enjoying Bruce's company. After Vicki ditched the group as she adamantly refused to eat "greasy food" in a "dirty rat hole" like Usagi wanted to, Bruce sort of...let go. He didn't have his fake, Bruce Wayne smile pasted on his face, but he wasn't forcing his broody, Batman look either. Nevertheless, Bruce seemed relaxed. It was a good change for the uptight man.
As soon as Tim saw the bathroom door close behind Bruce, he dropped his burger and looked expectantly at Usagi. She felt his stare on her and lowered her food as well.
"Why did you want to come here? You could've picked some swanky, expensive restaurant and Vicki would've stayed, but you insisted on this one. How come?" Tim asked.
"Well, I just didn't like seeing Bruce with that smile again, and I don't think he likes it either so I decided we'd have to get rid of Vicki. Besides, this place reminds me of a place back home. All it needs is a tall, blonde bishounen (hot guy) behind the counter." Usagi said.
Tim smiled.
"Do you miss Motoki as much as you miss your friends?" He asked
"Well sure, I've only seen him on every weekday after school since I was twelve!" Usagi said as she picked up her burger.
"Usagi, can I ask you something?" Tim said, stopping her before she could take a bite.
"Hmm?"
"How do you do it.?" He asked.
"Do what?" She asked.
"Make Bruce smile...make everybody smile?" He asked.
Suddenly, they heard the opening of a door and saw Bruce coming out of the bathroom. He plopped down into his seat next to Usagi and picked up his second pizza-burger. Usagi turned back to Tim, gave him a wink and resumed the consumption of her own burger.
Usagi walked around her room, sorting through her new purchases. Alfred told her not to worry about it, that he would put everything away, but Usagi felt bad. She knew he was former British secret-service and all, but he was still old!
Halfway through her escapade, she became thoughtful and sat on her bed.
Tim told her that he'd be leaving to go live with the Teen Titans again tomorrow. He'd only come home because all the members decided to take a break and go visit their families. He'd asked if she'd wanted to come with him and spend time with them but Usagi wasn't sure. She'd love to meet his friends, but she still wanted to work on Bruce. Unfortunately, Bruce wasn't around a lot. He was on business trips and meetings for Wayne Corps. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to go with Tim for a while.
All of a sudden, she heard Bruce yell.
"USAGI, WHAT DID YOU BUY TODAY?!?!?"
'That settles it.' Usagi thought to herself as she began to throw clothes into a suitcase. 'Guess I'm going to go see the Teen Titans.'
JoWashington: Hey, thanks for the info. Hehe. I thought they were all created by the same company, but were in different dimensions. After all, it's kind of weird that when there's an enemy attacking the earth, that ALL of them don't come but oh well. Creative license and all that. However, I think I'm going to have to place X-men in a different dimension (even though they met spiderman) just because the issue of mutants aren't discussed in the other comics.
AND thanks to everyone else who reviewed!!! I love you all! (I really want to be one of those people who reply to all reviews but I'm too damn lazy. However, if you have questions or suggestions, I'll try my best to answer them for you! Just know that your comments are very much appreciated!!!!)
Disclaimer: I do not own SM/DC/any other copyrighted materials.
Chapter Five: Fake, Pasted Smiles
BAM!
"SORRY!" Usagi yelled in her accented English as she ran over another shopper in her haste to claim the CUTEST dress she had ever seen.
Tim groaned as he shifted Usagi's many bags and headed over to where Usagi was fawning over another article of clothing. How had he gotten suckered into this? Wasn't this supposed to be Bruce's punishment?
Tim looked behind him to see Vicki, Bruce's latest "girlfriend", trying to force Bruce into the ugliest sport coat he had ever seen.
"But Brucie, it's FASIONABLE! You'll look simply FABULOUS in this, I swear!!!" She screeched.
"Now, now Victoria," Bruce said as he forced a laugh while trying to detach himself from her grip, "this is Usagi's time to be shopping, not mine."
Victoria crossed her arms and pouted.
"Oh honestly Bruce, don't you have anything better to do than adopt street urchins?" She said.
Bruce's left eye almost twitched. ALMOST. However, Tim's eye was twitching. He was also clenching his fists.
'Lady, if you only knew...' Tim thought to himself as he turned around and sighed. 'I guess putting up with Vicki is worse than having to carry Usagi's bags.'
He let a smirk adorn his features.
'Although these bags are going to put quite a dent in Bruce's wallet, no matter how rich he is.' Tim thought as he looked at all the brand names he was currently carrying.
"BRUCIE!!! LOOK AT THIS MAGNIFICENT SCARF!!!"
"Now Vicki..."
Tim ran into the crowd to look for Usagi and he hoped it was FAR away from Vicki. Suddenly, he noticed a pile of clothes that was moving at him at a very fast speed. He instantly dropped his shopping bags and caught the piles of clothes.
"Oof!"
"Hold that for me Tim-chan! Thanks!" He heard Usagi call out.
He took another glance at Bruce's torture.
"Damn, stuck between a rock and a hard place." He muttered.
Tim had finally been allowed to deposit Usagi's bags in the car. The group was currently walking down the streets of Gotham, looking for a suitable place to have lunch. Actually, Tim was walking next to a bouncing/skipping Usagi who kept humming from time to time and pointing at fat pigeons. Bruce and Vicki were lagging, seeing as how Vicki was trying to sucker Bruce into buying her things.
"Bruce, look at that FABULOUS sapphire necklace. Don't you think it would look simply MARVELOUS on me?" Vicki squealed as she dragged Bruce to a boutique window.
"You would look great in it." Bruce said with a smile.
For a few minutes, the two stood looking at each other. Vicki, expecting Bruce to offer to buy her the necklace, and Bruce, absently wondering if all women were as manipulative as the woman he was currently standing in front of.
"Would you buy it for me?" Vicki asked, finally outright asking for the necklace instead of using her "feminine wiles".
'For the owner of the largest corporation in the world, he really is clueless to my hints.' She thought to herself, never considering that maybe Bruce didn't want to buy her unnecessarily expensive gifts.
Bruce was about to give into the blonde when the voice of another blonde, an actual natural blonde, broke in.
"But Vicki-san, Bru-chan should spend money to help people." Usagi said in her broken, but improving, English.
"Oh, but-" She started to say before Bruce seized his chance.
"That's right! Aren't you always promoting your charity for the poor children in Africa? Tell you what Vicki, I'll write a check to your charity for the same amount as that necklace." Bruce said as he took out his checkbook.
"That'll be eighty-three thousand four hundred and sixty five dollars to the Vicki Charity Fund." Bruce said as he wrote his check, blatantly ignoring a sputtering Vicki.
As he handed her the check, he flashed her a smile, a smile that Usagi noticed was not as fake as all the others he had pasted on his face throughout the day.
"Doesn't it feel good to make a difference in the world?" Bruce said to a pouting Vicki.
Usagi, Tim and Bruce were sitting at a table in a diner. Usagi was scarfing down her third bacon cheeseburger and fifth strawberry-chocolate milkshake, Tim was on his fourth rocket burger and third chocolate milkshake, and Bruce...Well Bruce had just had two cheeseburgers, a pizzaburger, and five cokes. Tim was waiting for him to go to the bathroom any minute now.
Truth be told, Tim was really enjoying Bruce's company. After Vicki ditched the group as she adamantly refused to eat "greasy food" in a "dirty rat hole" like Usagi wanted to, Bruce sort of...let go. He didn't have his fake, Bruce Wayne smile pasted on his face, but he wasn't forcing his broody, Batman look either. Nevertheless, Bruce seemed relaxed. It was a good change for the uptight man.
As soon as Tim saw the bathroom door close behind Bruce, he dropped his burger and looked expectantly at Usagi. She felt his stare on her and lowered her food as well.
"Why did you want to come here? You could've picked some swanky, expensive restaurant and Vicki would've stayed, but you insisted on this one. How come?" Tim asked.
"Well, I just didn't like seeing Bruce with that smile again, and I don't think he likes it either so I decided we'd have to get rid of Vicki. Besides, this place reminds me of a place back home. All it needs is a tall, blonde bishounen (hot guy) behind the counter." Usagi said.
Tim smiled.
"Do you miss Motoki as much as you miss your friends?" He asked
"Well sure, I've only seen him on every weekday after school since I was twelve!" Usagi said as she picked up her burger.
"Usagi, can I ask you something?" Tim said, stopping her before she could take a bite.
"Hmm?"
"How do you do it.?" He asked.
"Do what?" She asked.
"Make Bruce smile...make everybody smile?" He asked.
Suddenly, they heard the opening of a door and saw Bruce coming out of the bathroom. He plopped down into his seat next to Usagi and picked up his second pizza-burger. Usagi turned back to Tim, gave him a wink and resumed the consumption of her own burger.
Usagi walked around her room, sorting through her new purchases. Alfred told her not to worry about it, that he would put everything away, but Usagi felt bad. She knew he was former British secret-service and all, but he was still old!
Halfway through her escapade, she became thoughtful and sat on her bed.
Tim told her that he'd be leaving to go live with the Teen Titans again tomorrow. He'd only come home because all the members decided to take a break and go visit their families. He'd asked if she'd wanted to come with him and spend time with them but Usagi wasn't sure. She'd love to meet his friends, but she still wanted to work on Bruce. Unfortunately, Bruce wasn't around a lot. He was on business trips and meetings for Wayne Corps. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to go with Tim for a while.
All of a sudden, she heard Bruce yell.
"USAGI, WHAT DID YOU BUY TODAY?!?!?"
'That settles it.' Usagi thought to herself as she began to throw clothes into a suitcase. 'Guess I'm going to go see the Teen Titans.'
JoWashington: Hey, thanks for the info. Hehe. I thought they were all created by the same company, but were in different dimensions. After all, it's kind of weird that when there's an enemy attacking the earth, that ALL of them don't come but oh well. Creative license and all that. However, I think I'm going to have to place X-men in a different dimension (even though they met spiderman) just because the issue of mutants aren't discussed in the other comics.
AND thanks to everyone else who reviewed!!! I love you all! (I really want to be one of those people who reply to all reviews but I'm too damn lazy. However, if you have questions or suggestions, I'll try my best to answer them for you! Just know that your comments are very much appreciated!!!!)