Chapter 8

Dangerous Water

And that was one hard chapter to write! Hope you'll enjoy it, don't worry, that story is far from over.

A gun was pointed at them!

"Ecco! Stop it, it's Alfred!"

The blond woman holding the gun seemed surprised and Alfred was completely stunned. Jeremiah! What the hell?! Selina was gaping, confused and baffled. She had never met him before, and it was weird to see someone looking so much like Jerome while being so different. That face was exactly the same, but the vibe was at the opposite of his twin!

"Jeremiah? What are you doing?" Asked Alfred as the redhead came at his level.

"The same thing as you, I guess. I'm trying to help Bruce, Jerome told me about the names."

He was about to ask how the hell Jerome could know about those, but his eyes went on the tied woman again. She was on the operation chair, restrained with tape around her wrists and feet. "What did you do to her?"

"We didn't hurt her, not yet. She tried to escape when we started to ask questions," Ecco simply answered. "I made sure she wouldn't run anymore, and now we're going to make sure she is going to talk."

Usually, Alfred wouldn't be one to approve torture, but if Bruce's safety was at stake, he would definitely make an exception. That woman was one of the people who plotted to have Gordon killed and send Bruce in Arkham! He approached her threateningly. Next to her was her usual material, a lot of shiny and sharp things. A big lamp was also next to the chair.

"Do you know who I am?"

She shook her head in fear. He turned the lamp to the light right into her eyes. She squirmed in pain and closed her eyes. "It doesn't really matter anyway, you won't talk about what will happen here if you have a brain. I see you have a lot of interesting instruments. I'm not a doctor myself, so you'll have to excuse my clumsiness when I'll use those to make you talk."

"Oh, I could teach you a few things," Ecco murmured as Maria reopened her eyes in fear in spite of the blinding light. " And he is a perfect opportunity for us to practice together."

"That's very delicate of you. But maybe the lady here would like to have a chat with us first."

He took off the gag and Ecco put a scalpel under her eye after warning her not to scream. The woman just breathed raggedly, terrified by what was happening. "First question: Where is Peter Tobias?"

"Listen, they will kill me if I talk!"

"And what do you think we are gonna do if you don't? Speak now, and you'll have a chance to run," Ecco stated.

"Where is Tobias? Or do you want this charming lady to give me my first lesson about removing layers of skin?"

"No, please! I'll tell you everything I know! I don't know where he lives but there was a tall black woman, she paid me cash for every operation, it wasn't made in one go."

Tabitha Galavan…Jeremiah approached as well. "I guess you have a file about him."

"Yes! It's hidden under the last drawer of my desk." Before Jeremiah could go, Selina already started to search for it. Alfred went on: "Don't tell me you never heard any detail about his place."

"Hum…I remembered once, he said he was tired to stay all day in a tiny and dark flat. The woman had told him to shut up. He sounded like a street kid."

"Hey, here! I found it!" Selina exclaimed. Jeremiah and she started to read it. There were pictures of peter Tobias and of Bruce, of course a lot of medical information, but no address or number. But at least, they had a picture. "We can still find him with that," Jeremiah murmured. "Do you know who could help us?"

"I have some contacts," Selina replied, "I don't guarantee anything, though."

They continued to interrogate Maria, but soon understood she didn't know much indeed. Jeremiah eventually injected her with something to make her sleep. Alfred was a bit disappointed, a picture wasn't much. "We have to call Bullock."

"Are you kidding? We need to find Tobias before giving her to the cops! She will deny everything and we'll get arrested for assault! Even that file wouldn't be enough of a proof," Jeremiah reminded him.

"What are we gonna do about her in the meantime?"

"I'll call someone I know. They'll keep an eye on her, don't worry," Ecco suggested.

"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Asked the redhead, pulling his worried scientist act. She just nodded and they left the place while Ecco called for her 'friend'. They would keep Maria alive indeed, after all, she could have some use in the future. As they got out, Alfred immediately asked the question which burned his lips.

"Jeremiah, how did you get those names? Bruce gave you those too?"

"Nah, Jerome did."

Alfred got a cold shiver once he heard this. If Jerome knew, it could be bad! "How does Jerome knows about all this?"

"From what he told me, Bruce had let this little list fall from his pocket."

This reanimated the anger Alfred felt toward Jerome, knowing that this maniac was tormenting his boy. And that anger was also directed toward Jeremiah, because he was listening to his twin without questioning him. "I doubt he obtained it like that. Do you know that your brother is currently harassing Bruce? I don't know what he wants with him but if I learn that…"

"Do you seriously think I can control my brother? He loves me, but he will never allow me to control his life. But let me tell you that if I didn't ask him to spare Bruce, things would be way worse. If Jerome contains whatever urges he has toward Bruce, it's out of love for me. But don't expect him to be nice." And it was actually true. Alfred didn't reply immediately, and it was obvious that he was regretting his words.

"Alright…I'm sorry, I should have remembered that you also endured a lot."

Selina put herself before the two of them. "Hey, that's all good, but can we start searching, now?" She didn't want to say it aloud but hearing what Alfred just said about Bruce being harassed by Jerome was like a punch in the guts. Of course she knew that Bruce was certainly not having it easy in Arkham (even though she knew he could defend himself), but imagining that psycho preying on him was really alarming! The boy had toughened up when he had lived with her in the streets, but a guy like Jerome Valeska was still dangerous, he was a feared name even among the mob.

"I have a few contacts, maybe they'll be able to help," Ecco replied. "I guess you have some too?"

She only nodded, worried and frustrated. If things continued like this, she would have to make Bruce escape herself! But that wouldn't innocent him. They spent the next hours reaching different people, but they didn't obtain much, until one man told them he had seen that guy working at a little store once. He wasn't an employee here anymore, but his previous boss gave them an address. They would walk there, it was close by.

On their way, Selina looked at the strange blond woman with Jeremiah. She and Alfred had been chilling with Maria, but at least she knew Alfred a bit (although she realized she had some false ideas about him). That woman was unknown to her and she wanted to fix that. She started to walk at her side.

"Is your name really Ecco?"

"Does that really matter?" She replied without looking back at Selina.

"I like to know who I work with."

"A woman who won't hesitate to kill. That's much more important than my name," she replied on a cold, but non-threatening tone.

"I guess," Selina gave in, a bit uneasy at her cold behavior. "Is that a threat?"

"No. Merely a statement, I don't threaten people around for no reason. I use violence when it's a necessity."

"And you're doing this because…"

"I'm Jeremiah's friend and business partner."

"Have you grown up in the streets?"

"As a homeless girl, you mean?" Selina nodded. "No, on contrary, I grew in a wealthy but…Strict family, to say the least."

"The mob?"

Ecco's collected face showed a hint of a surprise. "Good guess."

"How did you meet Jeremiah?"

"In school, when we were kids. Why all those questions?" Asked she on that same cold tone which had no hostility, though.

"As I said, we might have to work together, if you and Jeremiah also want to help Bruce. So I'd rather know a bit more about you. You don't seem to be really curious to know who we are, though."

"I know who you are. Alfred here is Bruce's guardian, and you're Selina, the girl he had a flirt with. You know, even if I'm not very close to Bruce, I already met him. And I heard some conversation he had with Jeremiah, sometimes he would speak of you."

This was enough to shock Selina a bit. She didn't like the idea of a stranger knowing much about her! Bruce, what the hell did he do?! "What did he say about me?"

Ecco gave her a tiny grin: "Chill out. He said you were a street girl who witnessed the murder of his parents, you became friends afterward. Now, I can't say for sure whether you're acting out of friendship or romantic feelings, but you're here because of the bonds between the two of you. For now, I know enough. I'll learn the rest otherwise."

"How?"

Ecco stopped walking and looked at her. Weirdly, that poker face was maybe more scary than an angry one. She was used to people being threatening and angry, but this unreadable face, that was unusual. The young woman replied: "You know what? As a sign of good intention, I'll tell you: observation, simply. That's what I do. People's actions and little facial expression reveal much more about them than their words. People can lie after all. I'll simply observe you."

"I admit that's a good way to know more about someone. But I do know when people lie."

"Really? Then when did I lie?"

Selina frowned in confusion and Ecco grinned again. "I lied twice, and I omitted something. When did I do that?"

Completely taken aback, Selina realized what kind of game Ecco was playing. And she ran right into it! Angry at Ecco and also at herself, she gritted her teeth: "Well, my questions allowed me to know that you're a manipulator."

"I never denied such a thing. Go ahead, tell me when I lied and when I omitted something."

"You could be lying about lying."

"That's true. So?"

She started walking again as she saw Alfred and Jeremiah were starting to take distance. Although she was still angry, Selina was also deadly curious.

"I'd say you lied when you said you grew up in the mob, and when you said you met Jeremiah in school when you were kids. I think you did grew up in the streets. And you omitted some things about what Bruce told Jeremiah about me."

Ecco chuckled: "Sorry, girl. You didn't exactly get it, you're only right about the mob. But then, maybe I'm lying right now. You should do as I say and observe me. I'm gonna observe you, so you shouldn't deprive yourself of doing the same with me."

She didn't really like it, she didn't like the way that girl could make her doubt and feel uncertain. Yet she had to admit there was something about her, she wasn't a green girl, and she would couldn't help but be intrigued. She would know more about her. They reached the building, but they found Tobias's place empty, no one lived here anymore. Either the guy was dead, or he was good at hiding.

O o O

That night, Jerome woke up after a nightmare. He dreamed he was a child again, and that his mother and Zack had killed Jeremiah, put his head in the soup and wanted him to drink it. He hated whenever he would dream about them. He released a growl as he woke up and started realize it was just a nightmare. Then, a soft sound beside him made him open his eyes and he smirked.

Bruce's face was really alluring like that. He was gorgeous, his expression peaceful but still serious, almost solemn…And he was so close! They were sleeping in each other's arms, and it was good to have the embrace returned. Was it because Bruce was feeling sorry for him? Maybe. Or maybe it was because he was cold. Yeah, there was high probability for that. He was breathing peacefully, Jerome could have just strangled the brat, broke his neck, or hit him with the closest object…It was thrilling to think that he had the kid's life in his hand. It was that thrill he felt when he murdered someone, but this time, he didn't want to kill, not for now, at least. Yet he had some satisfaction imagining how he could kill him.

He wished it lasted for long, but it didn't. Bruce woke up early, acted cold (little bastard was still too proud to admit he liked being in his arms), and went away to visit his stupid friend, Jonathan. It really annoyed Jerome to know they were together in a confined cell. He was sure that stupid Crane twink would do everything to make Bruce soften and the brat would probably fall for it! If anything as such happened, he would definitely make Jonathan pay, and Bruce too! Except for Jeremiah, he wouldn't allow someone else to have him.

Bruce would have been horrified if he had known what Jerome was thinking about, but for now, all he had in mind was his new plan, which consisted in establishing whether or not Strange was working with Galavan. Yesterday, Alfred phoned him and told him they found Maria but not Peter Tobias, and they didn't have enough proof for now. He had a session this morning with Hugo, he wanted to talk to him about Jonathan. The boy wasn't feeling well at all in confinement, he was even more scared than in the Common Room.

"I know you and Mr Valeska are in some sort of relationship?"

That was an embarrassing question, but Bruce wanted to get on Strange's good side for Jonathan's sake. Anyway, he still had to give him the bone to chew. "…um, yeah. Although I don't know if you can really call it like that."

"Yet, I know there is bad blood between the two of you. How is that?"

"Well…I can't really explain myself. I don't know, there is something with him that makes me feel better."

"Does it help you to mourn to be around him?"

"I don't know…" Bruce frowned. "Wait, you believe I'm innocent?"

"It would be hard, Bruce. But the fact you killed Jim Gordon doesn't mean you can't grieve."

Of course…Strange titled his head: "Bruce, can we talk about that? About what you did to Jim Gordon."

"I don't want to talk about Jim yet. I didn't kill him, that's all."

Strange seemed surprised and noted something. Bruce wondered what it was. Really, he had to know what Strange's thoughts and plans about him were.

"I'd rather talk about Jerome for now. I know what he expect from me…I just don't really know what I want from him," he said.

"Well, did you ever question your sexuality? Society tends to make us think we're all made for heterosexuality, but it's not necessarily the case. You had girlfriends?"

"Yes. I like girls, but I'm intrigued at the idea of something happening between me and Jerome…We already kissed, and I was fine with it. But the worse is, we have a past, I should be repulsed. Why am I not?"

Did he say too much? He didn't want to be too personal with Strange but it was the truth.

"Well, sometimes we are attracted to what is the most destructive and dangerous for us. It's the old attraction/repulsion."

That session with Strange was short, but it left Bruce full of questions about Jerome and the doctor. At least, he convinced Strange to let Jonathan out, promising he would keep an eye on him. He would have to talk to Lee as soon as possible, she would probably be able to help him with his plan. He was in the Common Room but isolated himself as much as possible. He didn't want to talk, he needed to think. He was given meds, just like everyone, but discretely hid those like he did every day. He didn't want those things in him.

"You know it's forbidden. What a waste to throw away meds!"

"You do that too, Jerome."

The redhead laughed and sat with him, only to have the teen look away. He didn't like that, he wanted Bruce to look at him. Maybe he was playing hard to get. Slowly, Jerome ran his fingers up his arm and toward his neck, intending to grab his chin. Bruce swatted his fingers away before he could do that.

"What's wrong? You and Jonathan had such good time you're grumpy to be away from him?"

"You're stupid."

"Come on Bruce," he murmured on soft and threatening tone. "You should be nicer with me, you know that."

"Keep your threats for you! I want to be alone."

"We're never alone, here!" He exclaimed while theatrically extending his arms with a huge smile which would have crept anyone out. But Bruce just sighed in annoyance, unfazed. Jerome let his arms drop, and slightly shook his head, disappointed but also charmed somehow. Once again, he just enjoyed the challenge Bruce Wayne was.

"You really can't be tamed, can you?"

"You're seriously trying to tame me?"

"Nah, I'm wilder than anyone here, so I appreciate another one like me. I would rather try to bargain with you." He passed his arms around him, hugging him from behind and put his mouth near Bruce ear before whispering: "Are you like this because you're preparing something?"

"…What if I was?"

"Well, it could be entertaining. Go ahead, tell me, after all, I won't denounce you, it's not in my interest to see you in solitary confinement. However if you don't tell me…"

Bruce huffed. "You can't tame me, so instead you try to blackmail me?"

"Well, blackmail is efficient. But with you, I'd rather not do this. Don't make me go to that length, Bruce."

"Once again: keep your threats for you."

"Hum…Fine. Let's try something else: whatever you're preparing, doing it alone could be difficult. You might need help, a lot of it."

"Even if it was something like getting in Strange's office?"

Jerome smiled widely again. That was a challenge! "I know how to get in here. Of course, you would need to convince me."

"How?"

"Use your imagination…"

Bruce huffed and got out of his hold. "Do you seriously think I would accept that?"

The redhead laughed loudly. "Nah, it was just a little joke to make you shiver…" He continued on a lower voice. "No, but I want us to do that together and work as a real team…What you want to look at in here, I want to look at it as well…"

"No."

"Too bad for you."

With a little smirk, Jerome started walking away. Bruce tightened his lips, he knew he couldn't let Jerome read his file, and yet, there was probably something he could do. He had managed to get Jerome to 'like' him, but he hadn't been really able to use it yet. He spent some times away from him, preparing, looking around and planning. When the evening approached, he went after Jerome and took his arm once he caught up with him. The redhead turned to him and gave him a smug grin.

"Did you change your mind?"

"No. I have something else to suggest you. Can we talk alone?"

"Hum…Why not?"

He followed Bruce to his room and it was only when they were together that Bruce started to explain: "I want to suggest you a bet. Let's say, if I can enter Strange's office without your help, you'll do something for me. However, if I can't I will do something for you."

"Like what?"

Bruce shrugged. "That's up to you to figure out. But let me warn you, not anything like killing or hurting someone!"

"Oh, you take the fun out of it. Well…In our situation, Bruce, that doesn't leave much…"

With that, he put a finger on his chest and let it ran up to his neck. The teen didn't answer anything at all. If Jerome asked for that, what would he do? He tried to imagine what it would be like. He was as scared as he was fascinated by the idea. With no warning, Jerome kissed him and Bruce gave in, allowing his hands to stroke Jerome's back and neck. They got on the bed, the teen was trembling slightly as Jerome laid him down, still kissing him. Jerome was amazed Bruce allowed that, he was perfectly aware the kid could break his bone or broke skin if he wanted to. Instead, Bruce responded, kissing him in that gentle way which was strangely enjoyable. They kissed like that several times, hardly parting more than a few seconds before going on.

As they took their breath back, Bruce turned his head and Jerome was surprised to feel the teen's lips on his neck. He tensed slightly and a huff of astonishment passed through his lips. Bruce was doing that! He embraced him more tightly, and enjoyed the shivers it brought in him. He was a good kisser, he didn't think it be possible to be gentle and fiery at the same time, but Bruce proved him the contrary. It was something weird and new, different from the usual touch he experienced; usually there was excitement and pleasure, but it was…Almost clinical in some way. He would have what he wanted, do his business and no more. Here…There was something new, something he couldn't touch, but it wasn't just physical. It was quite incredible that an inexperienced kid could make him feel that way.

Jerome started to slightly buck his hips and this made Bruce moan both in surprise and pleasure. What the hell?! The redhead over him did it again and again, and the boy's blush intensified. Yet when Jerome kissed him again, he responded with equal intensity. The redhead laughed in his mouth before parting.

"Don't be so shy, Bruce. You want it too."

He couldn't answer, but he wouldn't have known what to say. He found the strength to shake his head: "I'm not ready for that."

Jerome's lips tightened and then descended on Bruce's neck, kissing and nipping. Bruce jerked up a bit but his hold tightened soon and he bucked his hips along. Those lips could almost make him forget where he was. Jerome's hands went to his pants but Bruce stopped him immediately. Growling, the redhead's mouth went at his ear: "Give me your hand, then."

Seizing the boy's right hand before he could answer, Jerome made it slid in his own pants. Bruce blushed again when he realized what he was touching. He didn't protest though, because even though he was shy, there was something quite fascinating about it. He couldn't help but listen to Jerome's moan and sighs, almost entranced. He was the one who drove someone in such a state, and someone like Jerome…Someone who tried to kill him. He felt weird, as if his mind was opening his eyes on something, just like the time the redhead had violently bit his neck. It had been like seeing a part of Jerome's mind, but this time, it wasn't painful.

That night, he had a hard time sleeping. It hadn't been further than Jerome using his hand, and yet he felt really weird. A part of him felt dirty, but he didn't really regret that. He didn't know why, but there had been something enjoyable seeing that boy who was such a manipulator loosing himself because of him, like anyone human. To know he could do that to him…

The next morning, Jerome tried to make him do that again, but Bruce pushed him away, he wasn't in the mood anymore. He went in the Common Room instead and joined Marina and was pleased to see Jonathan with her. The teen looked anxious but relaxed a bit when he saw Bruce.

"Hey!"

"Hey. You're better?"

"Yeah, I'm better off with the two of you, I don't like being in confinement. I saw the scarecrow many times, you don't even imagine!"

He knew that, his friend told him. They spoke a bit, and when he felt no one would hear them, Bruce decided himself: "Guys, I need you with something."

He had understood quickly what the biggest obstacle to his plan would be. It wasn't entering Strange's office, but the camera recording the activity in Arkham. He would have to make sure no one would be able to record him. He had been able to walk around a bit, and had seen some failure in the electric system and in the surveillance too. There were several blind spots he would ba able to use. If he could make sure there would be an electric cut for at least some minutes…His friends accepted to help him, he remained vague about what he wanted to do, the less they knew, the better for all of them.

Bruce had noticed one blind spot near one electrical panel in the wind where Strange s office was situated. They would be able to use that. Marina would distract the potential security guards around while Jonathan and he would go to that blind spot and cut out the electricity. Bruce gave him some instructions on how to proceed. Then, he would be able to enter Strange's office while he was in the lab. He would then get in. But for that, he still needed one thing. He made sure he ran into Strange as he was going toward the lab.

"Sir, I wanted to thank you."

The man seemed agreeably surprised as he heard those words. "For what, Bruce?"

"For Jonathan. He is really happy to be back with us, and I'm happy to see him as well."

He gave the teen one of those smiles which was impossible to tell whether or not those were genuine. "Well, my patients' well-being is definitely a priority."

Bruce definitely didn't believe that, but it didn't matter. The most important was that he had managed to slide his hand in Strange's pocket and stole his office's key. He smirked as the electricity went off a few minutes later. Arkham being what it was, it didn't astonish anyone much here, it wasn't the first kind it happened. Some patients panicked or got excited at this. He was pretty sure he heard some of them howl. Bruce sneaked away quickly, checking no one was around. He closed the door behind him and found his file easily. His gut tightened at this: what was written in this?

He read it and saw that Strange considered him as depressive and delusional, unable to face his guilt so much that he had transformed reality. He had noted Bruce's defiance and wondered if he wasn't suffering from some form of paranoia. Seemed like Strange truly considered him as crazy. But what if he was? What if he really did kill Jim Gordon and was indeed in denial…No, it made no sense, he had no reason to kill Gordon, he was innocent, he knew it! Then, he held his breath as he read a name: Galavan. What?! What the hell was he doing in his file?

Mister Galavan wants an evaluation on Bruce Wayne's psyche, to know whether or not the boy is in the right state of mind to sell his company, and he also seem to think he is faking mental illness. While it could be possible, it seems unlikely to me. I will still keep that possibility in mind, though I'm pretty sure Mister Wayne is indeed deluded.

Of course, Galavan still wanted his company, but he couldn't buy it from a lunatic, people running Wayne Enterprises while I was in here would contest it easily. But wait, why send him in Arkham in the first place, then? He quickly put his file back in the last drawer where he had found it. He saw Jerome's file as well and was tempted to read it, but restrained himself: it was big and he didn't have time. Yet he looked out for another name, he had an intuition and thought about it a lot: who would accept to have his face completely changed and murder a man in spite of all the risks it included…Either someone who had been forced, or someone who had lost sense of reality.

His heart almost stopped when he saw the name: Peter Tobias. He used to be a patient here! He quickly read the file, and saw something interesting: That wasn't his birth name, he had changed it. His real name was Adrian Bates, and it seemed like this guy had changed his name only recently. Okay...If his friends tried to search for him, they would probably have more results looking for someone named Adrian, not Peter. Hell, in fact, he could try to get some info about him, maybe some people remembered him!

He read his address and memorized it. He wouldn't be able to read everything; apparently, the guy was schizophrenic and easy to manipulate, a submissive personality. He looked at his picture before quickly putting the file back. They didn't really look like each other much, but they had the same kind of traits. They probably looked for someone with the same bone structure and weak enough to be manipulated.

He stepped out of Strange's office, checking out that no one was watching and closed the door. He let the key fell down and left as Lee entered the corridor. She went and picked up the keys. Now, she would go to Strange and tell him she had found his keys on the ground, so he wouldn't suspect anything. Meanwhile, Bruce would go to the Common Room and hope that Jonathan and Marina would be okay.

He thought of what he had read. Galavan had contacted Strange…Why did he send him here? He could have simply sent him in prison and find someone to manipulate him here. Or maybe he wanted Jerome to do it specifically? Or maybe that wasn't part of his plan? After all, Galavan didn't have control over everything! Maybe he had planned for Bruce to go to jail but then, the boy had been sent to Arkham, and now he had to act according to it. After all, even the best plan could meet some unwanted changes.

He started to understand what Galavan had planned now: Jerome would manipulate him into selling the company and confess that he did simulate insanity, and then Strange would be able to testify that he had faked being mentally ill, to avoid legal issues. But why not asking Strange to manipulate him as well? Maybe Theo feared that Strange would blackmail him later. Asking Strange a certificate to testify whether or not Bruce was mentally ill so he could sell his company wasn't illegal. At least, it seemed that Strange didn't know about that plot.

And that guy, renamed Peter Tobias…Why didn't Silver give him his real name? But maybe she didn't know his real name. After all, Silver had been most likely a pawn into her uncle's game. Her knowledge about this was surely limited.

He saw Marina and Jonathan were doing fine and he was relieved. He felt guilty for getting them into this, but if he had calculated everything correctly, they shouldn't be discovered.

"It all went well," Jonathan told him. You got what you wanted?"

"What is it you were doing?" Marina wondered

"It's really better if you stay out of it. Anyway it should be the last time I ask that out of you." He looked at Jonathan. "No one bothered you?"

"No, the usual bullies stayed back, it seems like you scare them." He smiled a bit "It was quite exciting to do that, you know, breaking some rules and all!"

They continued to speak a bit and Bruce eventually went to the nursery where Lee was working. They spoke in a low voice, careful not to be heard by anyone.

"Strange didn't seem to suspect anything, at least it seems so. So, you got what you needed?" Asked she

"I did." He summed it up to her in a low voice what he found. While he didn't want Marina and Jonathan to know too much, he could talk to Lee.

"You know, maybe Galavan did want you to get here, after all, if Jerome was to talk about his arrangement with Galavan, who would believe him? He is a psycho."

He nodded, it was indeed a possibility, but in any case, he knew what Galavan wanted to do.

"You know, Bruce, there might be a possibility that this Adrian Bates is dead. After all, it would be the best for Galavan to kill."

Hell, that was indeed possible! If all he could find was a corpse…Well at least he would be able to give the police his 'twin' but maybe he wouldn't be able to find that corpse… "I have to tell Alfred about all that."

"I can do it for you, I'll go and see him that evening once I'm done working…And what do you intend to do about Jerome?"

"I can handle him. Could you keep an eye on Strange, though?"

"I'm already doing that. For now, it doesn't seem like he has plans for you, but he is watching you and Jerome a lot."

"I know, apparently, we're intriguing to him."

"Not only to him, I hear a lot of people talking about it. Bruce, you must be very careful with Jerome. Remember that he is a good manipulator, he doesn't want to help you, he will just use you one way or another."

"I know…But I can't avoid him anyway, so I'd rather control the situation as well as I can. Could you just…Not tell Alfred about it? I don't want him to worry more than that."

Even to her, he wouldn't tell everything, especially what happened last night. She accepted, she was pretty sure it was just also usual teenage behavior; it was pretty usual at this age to have some secrets from parental figures. But anyway it was maybe better not to tell Alfred too much about it.

As he went back to his cell, Lee's words were still on his mind, and he decided it would be better not to talk about Peter Tobias/ Adrian Bates to Jerome, at least not right away. Maybe a little test could be good, but how could he test Jerome Valeska? Maybe Jeremiah could help? He found him again in his room, Jerome was already waiting for him in here. He was lying on the bed, with his arms under his head. He smiled to Bruce.

"Ha, Darling!"

"The guards must really like you," Bruce observed. "I need an authorization to visit someone in confinement when you can go into other people's room as you wish!"

"I have good friends. I must congratulate you for winning your bet."

What the hell?! "How do you know?"

"I have my ways."

Angry again, Bruce rushed to him, straddled him and pinned his arms down, holding those tight. Jerome huffed in surprise and was even stunned as he realized it wouldn't be easy to free himself from his grasp. But it wasn't as if he was eager to get away from the teen.

"Answer! Or I swear you'll get out of here bleeding!"

"…If you jump on me each time I have a secret for you, it will just give me a good reason to hide a lot from you!"

"You want a broken nose?!"

"Okay, Tiger, chill out! One of my friends was hiding in the toilets near Strange's office, you probably didn't notice that the door was barely open, but that was enough for her to see you. She saw you getting in here. That was enough."

"I told you to stop spying on me!"

"You seriously thought I would listen?"

Bruce rolled his eyes and got off of him, much to Jerome's disappointment. But he would come back, anyway. Patience wasn't Jerome's biggest quality, but he knew he would need some with Bruce. He observed the boy as he drank from the little sink. Practicing martial arts had given him a nice form…

"Some more muscles would be good on you, though I appreciate a lean stance."

"How do you know about my muscles? You never saw me shirtless."

"I wouldn't mind! And may I remind you I hugged you a lot, it's pretty efficient to know someone's body. But now, let's get to the most important: you won your bet. What is it you want? My body, maybe?"

The boy gave him an unfazed expression: "If I wanted it, I have a feeling I wouldn't need to bargain. I will use that favor later, if you don't mind."

"Well, I guess you will have time to think about it, and don't worry, I won't forget, I'm not that kind of guy. By the way, I will hold on to my promise as well."

"What promise?"

He smirked and took him by the wrist gently to pull him closer. He wasn't brutal, but there was something possessive in that gesture.

"You remember when I was mad at you because you thought I accepted to kill you for some guy? Well, I told you I would find this guy and give you his head on a plate. Well, I still intend to do it."

In case you're wondering, Bruce and Jerome didn't have sex yet, it was just some touching. That was definitely not easy to write, but I really liked it, especially the part between Ecco and Selina. Don't hesitate to review!