Months later, Faye sat in the lavish living room of Wayne Mansion. It was a very big house and everything was richly decorated and looked expensive. She didn't have very much to do, since she didn't have anyone to play with. But that was okay. She was used to that. She smiled when she thought of Isis, the cat that Selina had given to her before she left. It was a little fuzzy black kitten with white mittens and a white muzzle and stomach. The tip of her tail was also white. Isis was loving at kind and gentle. She was a perfect little lady – until the night Batman found the little black cat curled up on his pillow.
Faye had been getting ready for bed and was looking around for Isis, hoping that she hadn't wandered off too far. She was looking under her bed when she heard the door open. She turned around to see Bruce in his pajamas, holding out a black fuzzy kitten by the scruff of her neck. She was meowing happily, though Faye thought it looked like an uncomfortable position. She laughed nervously and apologized, rushing up to get the cat from him. She rattled on, saying she didn't know how she got up there, or why she went to his room until Batman told her to go to sleep and left. Face blushing, Faye complied.
Faye flopped back on the couch and looked up at the chandelier above her. Bruce said that he was going to be gone for awhile. Faye pursed her lips and sat up, deciding she would walk around to find Alfred. Maybe she could help him. Faye hopped up and began to walk around the mansion, looking through the rooms trying to find Alfred. She was walking around when she realized she had no idea where she was. The place was just too big for a four year old girl to successfully memorize. Faye opted for pushing open random doors and looking for something familiar inside. Somehow, Faye ended up outside. Looking around in confusion, she decided to walk around the house to find the front door.
On her way around, Faye saw Alfred tending to some flowers. Excited to have finally found the old butler, Faye ran up to him. Alfred had bought many clothes for Faye, most of them little dresses that he deemed acceptable for a four year old girl. Each morning, Alfred would wake up Faye and set out her clothes. She would dress and then Alfred would put a clip in her hair to keep the right side of her short hair pushed back. He had dressed Faye in a light blue dress with purple butterflies going around the bottom. "Freddie!"
Alfred looked up from flowers to see the little girl running towards him. He smiled at her. "Good morning, Mistress Faye. Is there something I can help you with?"
"Alfred, can you play with me?" Faye looked up at the old butler, hands behind her back and endearing smile on her cherubic face.
"I'm sorry to say that I don't have time to play right now," said the butler. Faye's face fell in disappointment. "Oh, okay."
"Would you like to help with the roses?" Alfred asked, knowing of her love of the garden. The little girl's face immediately brightened and she nodded enthusiastically. She looked at the roses. "Freddie, why are these roses blue?"
"I made them," his voice professional as he looked at them proudly. "I call them the Pennyworth Blue."
"They're so pretty," Faye said in an awed voice, tracing the vibrant blue roses with her fingers. "Like little blue stars!"
"Would you like one, Mistress Faye?" Alfred asked, seeing how the little girl's eyes sparkled when she looked at them.
Faye shook her head. "No, thank you, Freddie. If I take one, then it won't stay this way long. I'll just look at them." She smiled up at Alfred.
Faye helped Alfred pull the weeds from the bushes for the afternoon. She rattled on about anything that crossed her mind as children often do. She wasn't as shy as she usually was when she was with Alfred. On the mansion estate, he was really her one friend, someone to talk. Faye smiled when she heard a car pull into the gates of Wayne Manor. "He's back!" she cheered, standing from the dirt and running towards the front gates. When the gates came into view, Faye saw Bruce getting out of his car. "Bruce!"
He turned to see Faye running towards him, eyes sparkling. Her knees were dirty, as were her hands. He smiled down at the little girl. "Hello, Faye."
"You were gone a long time," Faye said, her face shining with happiness.
"I was only gone for an hour," Bruce said, looking down at the beaming child, unsure how to speak to her. He saw Alfred walking towards him, taking off some gardening gloves. "Did you help Alfred in the gardens? Is that how your hands got so dirty?"
"Yep! He showed me his pretty roses and I helped him pull the weeds out of the ground," Faye seemed so proud of herself that Bruce couldn't help but smile. "Alfred, would you mind making some lunch?"
"Of course, Master Bruce," said Alfred, bowing to Bruce before walking towards the mansion. Bruce looked down at Faye, wondering what to do now.
"Bruce?" Faye said, looking up at him with a slight frown. "Do you like me?"
The man blinked as he looked into the little's girl sincere and confused eyes. In the months she had been with him, Bruce felt himself lightening up. He felt happier. Faye was always happy and a little bundle of joy. She seemed to calm him when he was upset and make him happier when he was stressed. She never asked much of him. She would ask him if he would play with her sometimes, little games of hide and seek that he would let her win. He felt his heart soften to the little girl, but at the same time, he didn't know if it was safe to become so close to her.
Her innocence made him feel lighter. She had watched her parents get shot when she was only four years old. Maybe her innocence of everything at her age made it easier for her. Or maybe she just didn't let anyone see it.
"Of course I like you, Faye," Bruce said, smiling down at her as they walked towards the mansion. "Why do you ask?"
"I don't know," she shrugged. "It's just nice to know."
That night, Alfred went into Faye's room to read her a bedtime story. Faye's room was a vibrant splash of blues, purples, and greens. The room seemed to reflect her happy yet calming personality. He pushed open the door to see the little girl in her white nightgown, laying on her floor and coloring something on a piece of paper. She looked up when she heard the door open and smiled in excitement when she saw it was Alfred. "Freddie! Look!" She stood and picked up the paper, dropping a blue crayon to the floor. "Freddie, it's your flower!"
Alfred looked down at the drawing. It was fairly good for a four year old. Faye was smiling proudly up at him. "That's very good, Mistress Faye. But I'm afraid it's time for bed. Shall I put this with the others?"
"Yes, please." Faye handed him the paper and crawled up onto her bed. Alfred walked over to a large billboard on a wall covered in pictures drawn by Faye. He tacked it up beside a picture of another flower and walked back over to the bed. "What story shall it be tonight, Mistress Faye?"
Faye looked down at her fingers as she sat in the bed, looking so small. "Freddie? Would you be upset if someone else reads me a story?"
"Of course not," Alfred said, knowing immediately who she was talking about. "But who, may I ask, do you want to read to you?"
"Can. . . Can Bruce read to me?" Faye looked up at Alfred, worried she was hurting his feelings.
"I'm sure that he can," Alfred said with a nod. "I will be back in a moment."
Alfred couldn't help the smirk on his lips as he walked into the kitchen where Bruce sat with a cup of hot chocolate. He was in a pair of comfortable looking pair of black slacks and a wife beater. "Good evening, Master Bruce," said the butler. "Not going out on patrol tonight, sir?"
"I'm going in about an hour," Bruce said, lifting his mug of hot chocolate to his mouth.
"Very good, sir, then you'll have to time read to Mistress Faye."
Surprised, Bruce swallowed too much of the steaming liquid, scalding his throat as he coughed, setting the cup down so hard the hot chocolate sloshes out and scalded his hand. Growling and cursing to himself, Bruce went over to the sink and rinsed his hand in cold water. "Did you hear me, sir?"
"Yes, I heard you, Alfred." Bruce picked up a towel and dried his hands. "I thought you read to Faye?"
"Well, I usually do, sir, but tonight she asked specifically for you." Alfred looked at Bruce, remembering when he had once been a small child. "She wants to make a connection with you, Master Bruce. Do not push her away."
Bruce looked at Alfred, his face hesitant. "Alfred, I don't –"
"Master Bruce. She's waiting."
Bruce looked at Alfred then sighed, picking up his mug of hot chocolate on his way out of the kitchen. For some reason, Bruce felt nervous as he walked towards Faye's room. When he saw the door cracked and a dim light inside, he felt unsure of himself for the first time in years. Nevertheless, Bruce pushed open the door and walked in.
Faye was under the blankets, her eyes closed and face peaceful. She must have thought he wasn't coming so she'd gone to bed. Bruce walked up to her bed, feeling guilty. He shouldn't have been so worried. It wouldn't have been that hard – just read her a story so she could fall asleep. What was so bad about that? He sat down on her bed and brushed her hair from her face, lifting a corner of his mouth in a smile. He stopped at the door when he heard a small voice coming from behind him.
"I didn't think you were coming."
He turned to see Faye, her eyes half open and clouded with sleep. He walked back towards her, sitting back down on the bed beside her as rolled over onto her back to look at him. "I just took a little too long, huh?" He sat his hot chocolate on her nightstand. "But I'm here now."
Faye smiled. "Yeah. Thanks." She blinked up at him. "What are you going to read to me?"
Bruce blinked and looked on the floor. The corner of a book was peaking out from under her bed and he picked it up. Looking at the title, he read, East of the Sun. He shrugged. He opened the book and began to read.
The story told of a beautiful girl who was taken away from her family to live with a bear. She didn't want to go, but the bear promised riches and food for her starving family. So she went with him. He took her to live in his home, a beautiful gold and silver castle. The bear came to talk to her every night until one night she found that where she was expecting a paw, she felt a human hand instead. So she lit a candle and found that instead of a bear, she saw a handsome prince. He awoke when hot candle wax dripped onto his fur coat. He told her that he was under a curse, and that if a girl were to fall in love with him he would be free. His curse turned him into a bear, and since the girl had seen him as a man, he would be forced to marry the ugly troll's daughter, who was just as cruel, mean, and unattractive. The girl cried until her tears dried. When she had finally scrubbed her eyes, she found herself alone, no prince and no castle.
And so she traveled East of the Sun and Weest of the moon. She encountered many trials but finally found her way. After striking a bargain with the troll princess, the girl was able to meet with her prince. On his wedding day, the prince brought out the fur coat and said he would marry any girl who could scrub it clean. The troll princess tried, but only made it worse until the once white fur was black. However, when the girl scrubbed at the fur, the black was washed free and the fur was white again. And so the girl married her prince and they lived together forever.
By the time he had finished the story, Faye's eyes were closed, her breathing steady and even. He smiled and shut the book, putting it back under her bed. He brushed her hair out of her face again and pulled the covers up higher around her. As he stood up, he heard Faye mumble, "I love you, daddy."
Bruce froze, looking down at her. But she was asleep again. He just smiled and shook his head, bending down to kiss her temple. For some reason, it felt natural. Right. He left, pondering this feeling.
It was Faye's first day of first grade. The girl fidgeted nervously at the breakfast table as Alfred tried to encourage her to eat. "You have a big day, Mistress Faye."
"Alfred, where is Bruce?" She asked, ignoring his comment about how important the day was.
"He had to leave early for work."
The knot in her stomach seemed to tighten even more. Ten minutes later, when Faye only taken a few bites from her breakfast, Alfred finally said, "Hurry or you'll make Master Bruce wait."
He's coming back, Faye thought happily, scarfing down her breakfast just as a car pulled up in front of the mansion. "Goodbye, Alfred!" Faye called as she ran out the door. She got into the car with Bruce, buckling her seatbelt as she said, "You didn't have to come, you know." They both knew she had hoped he would, though. And they also both knew how relieved she felt when he pulled up the drive.
"Doesn't matter," Bruce said as he pulled out of the driveway. "I wanted to."
Even with Bruce with her, Faye felt nervous. Would she find any friends? Would the kids at school like her? Would she be smart enough? Bruce could see her face in the mirror. He just kept driving, and when he pulled up to the school, he said, "Come on, Faye, you'll be fine."
Faye looked up at him with her dark blue eyes. "Can't I just go home? Alfred can teach me things. I don't wanna go, daddy!"
She lunged at him, wrapping her arms as far around his broad chest as she could. He sighed and closed his arms around her small form. "We all have to go to school, Faye. I did. It wasn't so bad. I know that you've seen scarier things in your dreams than what's through those doors."
"But that's just it," Faye shook her head. "I know that in the dreams you'll always be able to protect me. But you won't be here with me when I go in there!"
Bruce stroked her hair. "Come on, Faye. I'll be back to pick you up after school. I promise." He thought for a moment. "And, if you go to school, we'll go out for ice cream."
Faye perked up at this. "Really? You promise?" She wiped her eyes as she sat back.
"Pinkie swear," He said, holding out his pinkie as she twined hers with his.
"Love you, Bruce!" She said, kissing his cheek before getting out of the car and walking through the doors.
As Bruce drove away, he wondered why he had missed her calling him her dad.
Faye carefully opened one eye, listening. She couldn't hear anyone moving downstairs and she knew Alfred would be in bed. She glanced at the little clock on her nightstand. It read a few minutes past midnight. Carefully, Faye crept towards the door, softly opening it and looking around in the hallway. She didn't see anyone. Bruce's door was shut tight, so Faye carefully moved down the hall, avoiding the creaky floor boards. She began to go down the steps, slipping down the banister when too many creaky stairs came one after another. Once down, she went into the dark kitchen and opened the freezer, pulling out the treasure – triple chocolate fudge ice cream. She stood on one of the stools by the bar so she could sit on the bar, carefully opening the silverware drawer to get out a spoon.
She winced when she heard the silverware shift around in a noisy fashion that almost felt painful to her ears. She stopped and listened. Nothing. Relieved, she dug her spoon into the chocolate goodness and put it in her mouth.
The light flicked on and she froze, spoon still in her mouth. She looked up to see Bruce standing in the doorway, arms crossed and smiling. "Good job. I wouldn't have heard you if you hadn't gotten into the silverware drawer." He walked towards her, and Faye began to wonder if she would be in trouble. She pulled the spoon out of her mouth, nervous as she gazed up at him. "Next time, bring your own tools." He pulled out a spoon as well and scooped up some of the ice cream, taking a bite. Smiling happily, Faye dug in.
Faye stood with Bruce in the pouring rain under his big black umbrella. Her black coat felt constricting as she looked at the eight year old boy standing in front of two graves. She looked up at Bruce, who was looking at the boy with sadness in his eyes. Faye felt like she should do something, and standing there wasn't going to get her anywhere. So she let go of Bruce's hand and walked towards the boy, not really caring too much that she was as wet as a drowned cat. She stood beside the boy, Richard, and reached for his hand. It was cold and wet and numb feeling. Richard gave a start when he felt Faye's warm hand on his and looked at her. She gave him a small smile that said, I understand what you're going through. And he squeezed her hand and looked back down at the graves.
Richard Grayson, or as he was preferably called, Dick, had been living in Wayne Manor for months as Batman's adopted son. Dick seemed happier than he had when he first came to Wayne Manor and Faye was glad for it. More so, she was glad that she finally had a friend to play with. Dick told her that people in the circus used to call him Robin, so she adopted the nickname for him, making him feel more at home in the manor. But in return, Dick had to give her a nickname. After a while, he came up with Faerie in honor of her name. Though Faye thought it too girly, she let him have his fun because he was obviously not going to stop.
"Come on, Dick, hurry up!" Laughed an eight year old Faye as she ran across the balance beam, jumping off the other end to roll into a standing position. "You're falling behind!"
They had set up an obstacle course in the gym and were currently running through it. Faye was excited to learn that since Dick grew up in the circus, he loved gymnastics just as much as she did. They practiced together after school and on the weekends, always excited to see who would do better than the other.
Bruce watched the two run around the gym, preforming acrobatic moves that normal eight year old couldn't dream of doing without causing physical injury to themselves.
"Hey, Dick?"
The two kids were laying out in the grass on the lawn of the manor. "What?" Dick asked thickly, as though he were falling asleep.
"Where do you think Bruce goes to at night?" As Faye grew up, she began to forget about Bruce being Batman. After all, she had only seen him once and she had been four at the time. Now, at ten years old, the whole thing seemed like a fuzzy dream. "Dunno," he grumbled as he shifted in the grass. "Can we go back to sleep now?"
"I'm going to find out," Faye informed him as she cushioned her head on his stomach. He grunted when she pressed into his stomach as she situated herself.
"Fine, fine," he sighed, and Faye twisted her head up to look at him. His eyes were closed as he tried to sleep. Faye closed her eyes and fell asleep as well, the warm summer sun melting into her skin like a warm blanket.
At ten, both Dick and Faye had taken martial arts lessons and had the top grades in the class at school. Batman had let them come out with him on patrols as Panthra and Robin on the promise that they be careful and keep their grades up. Not like it mattered. If Bruce had had his way, they wouldn't have been going with him at all. But it was either let them go with him and he could keep an eye on them or let them sneak out and be on their own in Gotham. Dick took on the name Robin and Faye took on Panthra. Almost three times a week Bruce would let them come out with him and they loved it. They didn't have any powers to help them out and they managed just fine. They loved swooping across tall buildings and busting a crime.
As they grew up, they started to become more and more involved with Batman's work, even finding out more about the Justice League, a group of adult heroes dedicated to doing good for Earth. Faye began to dream of becoming a member, doing good for people who needed it. So she began to train harder, not wanting anything to get in the way of her dream. Bruce, Faye, and Dick all had this mental connection that let them just anticipate the others next move because they had worked together for so long. It helped a lot with catching thugs in Gotham.
However, when Faye turned twelve she was wounded bad enough for Alfred to keep her in bed for a few days, Bruce began to doubt whether or not he should let her continue with Panthra. Angered, Faye told him that if he took Panthra from her, her whole purpose would be gone. Still, Bruce gave her no answer, saying she might not be strong enough. He got up to leave. Faye, feeling ticked off and defiant, stood from the bed, her legs shaking as they begged to collapse beneath her. She painfully moved towards him, gritting her teeth with the effort. Finally, when she reached him, her hand clawing the sleeve of his shirt. "I might not be as strong as you," she growled out. "But I'm just as stubborn." Giving in to her, he allowed her to continue being Panthra.
"Selina!"
Faye threw herself at her mother, wrapping her arms around her tight. "Oh, I've missed you so much!"
"I've missed you, too! Now, where's Bruce? I have to make sure he knows that you're leaving." Selina looked over her shoulder and Faye knew that she was looking for Bruce.
"He's in the gym with Dick," Faye said, gesturing to her gymanstics attire and her hair in a ponytail. "We were training."
"Ah, I see," Selina said with a dazzling smile. "Well, we'll just pop in quick so we don't disturb the lesson for too long."
As they walked through the mansion, Faye chattered on about what all she had been up to and how school was going and how she made a new friend named Barbara Gordon. Selina laughed and smile in all the right places, realizing how much she missed the girl after only a few months of not seeing her. Finally, Faye pushed open the doors to the gym and walked inside, calling, "Bruce! Selina's here!"
Bruce was sparring with Dick in the middle of the room. He turned to look at them and Faye realized he had removed his shirt. He looked really stinky to Faye, but when she looked up at Selina, it was like in her eyes he was the God Apollo in all his radiant glory.
Bruce walked up to them, wiping his face with a towel. "So you'll be going now?"
Faye nodded. "Yeah. Selina said that I'd be back in a few days." Faye smiled up at him.
Bruce smiled back at her, ruffling her hair. "Stay as long as you need to, kid." He knelt down and hugged her. "Have fun." He looked up at Selina. "Not too much fun, Selina."
Silna's lips curled. "Of course not, Bruce."
This did little to calm Bruce, though, and lifted his hand to wave goodbye to Faye as she grinned at him through the window of Selina's car.