The next morning
Bruce sat pulling on the needle and tugging the thread tighter to make another stitch on the dog bite on his left bicep. He'd gotten in so late – or early, depending on how you looked at it – last night he hadn't bothered going back to his penthouse.
Instead, he remained in the new 'Batcave', which was more of a hidden bunker that housed the Batmobile and all the other Batman related things, as he worked on patching himself up after his fights last night. He hadn't even bothered changing out of the black T-shirt and cargo pants he wore under the Batman suit, too focused on planning what he needed to do the upcoming night.
Bruce had just made his second stitch when he heard the lift into the Batcave coming down behind him.
"It'll be nice when Wayne Manor is rebuilt."
Alfred's familiar British accent called out as the butler walked almost soundlessly across the large, mostly empty space towards Bruce, where he sat at his work desk.
"You can swap not sleeping in a penthouse," the elderly gentleman continued pointedly, "for not sleeping in a mansion."
Bruce didn't turn around as he focused on piercing the needle through his skin again, while Alfred added as he walked up behind him, "Whenever you stitch yourself up, you do make a bloody mess."
"Yeah." Bruce muttered, focused on his task as he pulled the needle through again. "It makes me learn from my mistakes."
"You're probably a master by now then."
Bruce's head shot up and he looked over as Rebecca stood behind Alfred, her brows raised as she examined Bruce's handiwork on his injury.
"You tattled on me?" Bruce asked, aghast, as he turned to look at Alfred.
But the old butler remained unapologetic as he answered, "Of course not, Master Wayne. Miss Dawes called the penthouse this morning and I simply saw no reason to lie, is all."
Bruce groaned while Rebecca placed her hands on his shoulders and Alfred took the needle from his young master after putting his spectacles on.
"Why didn't you just call my cell?" Bruce asked Rebecca, leaning back to look up at her as she stood behind him, and she answered pointedly, "Because you would lie and say you're fine. I know Alfred will tell me the truth."
Bruce made a face that had nothing to do with Alfred stitching his arm.
"So, what happened?" Rebecca asked, nodding to Bruce's arm, and he explained with a sigh, "My armour – I'm carrying too much weight."
His face became more thoughtful as he added almost as though to himself, "I need to be faster."
Rebecca ran her hands gingerly across Bruce's shoulders, testing him while Alfred commented, "I'm sure Mr. Fox can oblige."
Seeing Bruce remain unflinching, Rebecca started to massage his uninjured shoulders and Bruce sighed in contentment as he leant back further into her touch. Alfred meanwhile frowned as he finished up on Bruce's wound.
"Did you get mauled by a tiger?" Alfred asked as he looked up at his charge, and Bruce muttered as he leant his head back onto Rebecca's stomach, "It was a dog."
"Huh?" Alfred asked at the same time Rebecca asked, "What?"
"It was a big dog." Bruce defended, and Rebecca chuckled – clearly, his pride had been wounded.
She wrapped her arms around him, hugging his head as Alfred snipped the thread on the stitches. Bruce reached up with his right arm to return her embrace, and Rebecca cocked her head.
"What's wrong?" She asked Bruce, feeling his tension – and worry.
"There were more copycats last night." Bruce admitted. "With guns."
Rebecca winced, while Alfred answered lightly, "Why don't you hire them and take the weekend off."
Both Rebecca and Bruce snorted at that, Rebecca grinning at Alfred as the old butler winked at her. Bruce tried to remain serious, though he was smiling from Alfred's light joke, as he continued his earlier thought, "That wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I said I wanted to inspire people."
Rebecca smiled, kissing the top of Bruce's head as she answered, "We know. But don't be so hard on yourself. There have been a lot of good changes, too."
He gave her a small smile, while Alfred added encouragingly, "Less crime, more everyday heroes - look at the new District Attorney."
"I am." Bruce replied as he shifted in Rebecca's arms to click on one of his multiple computer screens, pulling up his files on the new DA, Harvey Dent. "Closely."
"You work fast." Rebecca noted as various footages – both public and some private – of Dent appeared on the screens.
"I've been watching him for a while now." Bruce explained. "Your and Gordon's words last night just made him higher priority. We need to be sure he can be trusted, especially if he's going to be included in the banks deal."
"I agree. And I think we can pretty much consider him included – he called Gordon to come down to his office later this afternoon. I have a feeling he's tired of being left out of the loop with the MCU and Batman." Rebecca said, before she frowned slightly as another thought occurred to her.
"Why were you already watching Harvey Dent, anyway?"
"He's the new DA – of course I'm watching him." Bruce shrugged, and Rebecca shrugged as she conceded, "True-"
She broke off as she saw something on the far right screen, and she raised a brow.
"Or, you were watching me." She said flatly, and Bruce glanced at the screen before he winced.
It was footage from a security camera in a hotel lobby, showing Rachel Dawes with Harvey Dent as the tall blond man shook hands with Rebecca.
Rebecca recognized it as the night Rachel had first introduced Harvey to her as her boyfriend, when they'd gotten a surprisingly friendly dinner together. Surprising, because Rebecca had heard a few stories about Harvey at the police station, particularly amongst the MCU (or Major Crimes Unit – i.e. her unit). Apparently, neither side liked the other very much and the feud even resulted in a rather unflattering nickname for the man who was now the new Gotham DA although Rebecca herself had never met Harvey before.
So she had been a little apprehensive, despite Rachel's reassurances, about meeting the man for dinner. However, Harvey had proven to be a decent guy (off the clock, at least) and Rebecca liked him for her sister.
She did not, however, like the fact that Bruce was spying on her.
"You happened to be there." Bruce tried, and Rebecca warned, "Don't you dare lie to me, Bruce Wayne."
Bruce sighed, and Rebecca demanded incredulously, "Are you actually spying on me?"
"Only to make sure you're safe when I can't see you." Bruce said defensively. "Besides, I miss seeing you."
"That's sweet, Bruce, but you could just call." Rebecca pointed out, annoyed, while Alfred wisely kept out of the quarrel.
He'd told Bruce several times that Rebecca probably wouldn't appreciate his 'monitoring', but Bruce hadn't listened… or he hadn't been able to help himself from doing it. Either option was equally likely with the billionaire.
Oh well, Alfred thought; he had tried to warn the younger man.
"I do call, but it's not the same as seeing you." Bruce argued, and Rebecca said in annoyance, "Then stop by the station or come see me between jobs – this is stalking, Bruce."
Bruce grumbled, but Rebecca tugged slightly on his hair, forcing him to meet her unimpressed gaze.
"I mean it, Bruce – don't do it anymore." She warned, and Bruce pouted.
"Fine." He sighed, and she pressed, just like she had when they were children, "Pinky promise?"
Bruce made a face, but he agreed reluctantly, "Pinky promise."
"Good." Rebecca answered, and Bruce grumbled, "What are we, six years old?"
"You certainly sometimes act like it." Rebecca countered, though she leant down to press a kiss on him fondly.
Bruce answered immediately, kissing her back softly before she pulled back.
"You know I'm proud of you, right?" Rebecca checked. "Stalking aside," Bruce pulled a face again, "you've started an incredible change. And I'm so proud of you for what you've done; even if you drive me up the wall sometimes."
"It's only fair – I'm already crazy for you." Bruce tossed back cheekily, and Rebecca smacked his shoulder lightly in retaliation though her lips twitched.
He caught her hand, and gazed at her.
"You know I'm proud of you too, right?" Bruce asked. "You're more the hero than I am; I hide behind a mask at night but you're out there facing criminals with the police force. It's people like you and Dent who will make the difference in the long run. Not Batman."
Rebecca beamed and Bruce was rewarded with another sweet kiss. He smiled back at her as he reached up to brush her red curls back from her face fondly as he gazed back up at her from his chair; before he asked, "Hey, do you still have that file on the Joker from last night?"
"Yeah, why?" Rebecca asked, frowning, and Bruce explained, "I want to run a facial recognition scan on him."
"You know I'm not supposed to give civilians evidence." She joked, and he smirked back, "What about masked vigilantes?"
"Even worse – I could lose my badge." She teased as she kissed him one more time before she let go of him.
"I'll be right back." She called as she walked off back towards the lift up onto the surface where she and Alfred had parked their cars, hidden amongst the Wayne Enterprises container boxes near the docks where the Batcave was located.
Alfred meanwhile watched Bruce with raised brows as the brunette man waited until Rebecca was gone before he moved to the side to get changed.
"I trust you don't have me followed on my day off, sir." Alfred commented lightly, and Bruce scoffed, "If you ever took one, I might."
"I doubt it, sir, since you don't try to hide or lie to me." Alfred remarked bluntly as Bruce removed his shirt, revealing the various bruises and cuts along his back and chest that he had sustained the previous night to add to his already numerous collection from the nights before that.
There were two particularly nasty looking bruises on his chest and below his left shoulder – below the area where Rebecca had been massaging him - and Alfred frowned at the injuries while Bruce sighed, "Don't start – and please don't tell Becky about this. She worries enough as it is."
"And she's right to." Alfred replied gravely as he watched his young master with troubled eyes. "Know your limits, Master Wayne."
"Batman has no limits." Bruce countered just as firmly.
"Well you do, sir." Alfred persisted, peering at Bruce sternly over the tops of his spectacles, but Bruce just shrugged as he pulled on a white button-up
"Well, can't afford to know them." Bruce answered, and Alfred asked in a low voice, "And what's going to happen on the day that you find out?"
Bruce just shrugged again, and he answered, only half joking as he buttoned his shirt up quickly, "Well, we all know how you really like to say, 'I told you so'."
But Alfred remained serious as he answered, "On that day, Master Wayne, even I won't want to – probably."
He smiled slightly, trying to alleviate the mood as well now that his lecture was over, and Bruce grinned back; only to grimace as Rebecca asked as she arrived on the lift, "Won't want to what?"
"Tell me, 'I told you so'." Bruce answered, swiftly finishing buttoning his shirt as he turned to face his girlfriend while she walked up with the file in hand. "He's still lecturing me about monitoring you secretly."
"Is that right?" Rebecca asked with a sweet smile, and Bruce nodded.
She appeared not to question his excuse as she handed him the file, and Bruce took it with secret relief; when Rebecca observed casually, "So you weren't discussing the lovely bruise on your chest that you seem desperate to hide from me?"
Alfred grimaced while Bruce winced as he glanced down to see he hadn't buttoned up enough to hide the edges of the large purple bruise sitting just below his right collarbone.
"Bruce." Rebecca said severely, exasperated, and he said defensively, "I just don't want you to worry."
"Or you're afraid I'll break up with you if I keep seeing how battered you get every night?" Rebecca challenged, her blue eyes flashing angrily at him – again.
Bruce looked away sheepishly, and Rebecca snapped sharply, "I thought the reason I agreed to date you in the first place was so I wouldn't be kept in the dark!"
"I thought it was because you loved me." Bruce quipped, and Rebecca's eyes narrowed.
"Bruce, this isn't funny." She said quietly, and both Bruce and Alfred knew from her tone that he was in serious trouble now.
Rebecca was upset – and hurt – and Bruce winced again while Alfred quietly slipped away as she continued in a low voice, "I thought we agreed you won't hide things from me. That we would trust each other."
"I do trust you." Bruce murmured, mentally kicking himself, and Rebecca snapped as her hurt showed itself in anger once more, "You sure have a funny way of showing it. First you spy on me, and then you lie to me. It's not even the first time! You've not once been honest with me about your work or even your injuries in the nine months that we've been together!"
"Becky, I just…" Bruce sighed, running a hand through his hair.
Yes, he probably should have learnt his lesson by now – Rebecca was right, and this hadn't even been their first fight on the matter either. Yet, every time, he continued to shield her from what he did outside of police knowledge, and from knowing the full extent of his injuries despite having been caught at least once a week – for all of the last nine months.
"I just don't want to lose you because of this." Bruce said softly, and Rebecca exhaled sharply.
"You won't." She answered shortly, having gotten her temper back under control. "Now, let me see, instead of you trying to hide it until you get back to the penthouse."
Bruce nodded mutely as he removed his shirt again, watching as Rebecca sighed when she took in all his injuries.
"It's a miracle you haven't gotten that many scars yet." Rebecca muttered as she moved to grab the medical kit.
"Well, most of the injuries tend to be bruises." Bruce muttered. "The Kevlar suit does a good job of keeping most everything else away from my body."
"Besides dogs apparently." Rebecca answered rather flatly as she began dabbing medicine on the various bruises all over his back.
Bruce just sat still as she worked, watching her as she moved slowly around his body towards his chest.
"You're taking this better than I thought you would." Bruce admitted, gesturing at his various wounds. "I thought you'd be more… upset about it."
"I am upset you're hurt." Rebecca muttered as she moved across his left side, which looked distinctly worse than his right. "I'm just angrier you lied."
"I was worried you'd tell me to stop." Bruce confessed.
Rebecca glanced up at him at that as she pointed out, "Well, it would be really hypocritical of me to tell you not to go around kicking bad guys's asses when I go around doing that as part of my job. Don't you think?"
"… Touché." Bruce murmured.
He'd thought about something similar before: asking Rebecca to give up her dangerous work as a Sergeant Detective. But he would always come to the same conclusion Rebecca apparently had: it was too hypocritical, no matter how he angled it. Bruce just hadn't really thought about it from her perspective, and that she might think the same way he did.
"You could try actually trusting me, Bruce." Rebecca commented dryly as she moved to dab more ointment on a scratch on his right chest, right near the shoulder. "And I mean that as more than with your secret – I mean trusting me not to hurt you."
Bruce caught her hand, bringing it to the centre of his chest. Rebecca looked up, meeting his intense brown eyes as Bruce said softly, "I do trust you; and I will do better to show it, Becky - I promise. I gave you my heart, and I trust you with it."
"Good." Rebecca murmured as he drew her closer. "Because I gave you my heart as well, Bruce – so please stop trying to keep me out."
"I'm learning how to." Bruce answered quietly. "And I'll get better."
"We both will." Rebecca corrected quietly, smiling slightly with a hint of apology in her eyes for losing her temper with him.
Bruce nodded as he brought her into his arms as he pressed his lips onto hers, and Rebecca ran her hand softly over his scarred and bruised body as she kissed him back, each of them showing the other exactly how much they loved each other.