Friday, February 11, 2000; 10:11pm – The Palms Cliff House Inn; Honomu, Hawaii
Ana's old truck lumbered to a stop in front of the inn. She turned the keys in the ignition to 'off' and leaned back in her seat. Bruce glanced over to her curious as to why she shut off the engine, but he had a pretty good guess that it was because the old truck had worked so hard today. It did hum a different tune and have a little more rattle to it now that it did that afternoon.
"Thank you, Ana, for taking me up there," Bruce muttered, uncomfortable. It was the first time he'd thanked her since he met her—hell, it was the first time he thanked anyone in a long time. And he meant genuinely thanked. Those little 'thank yous' in passing, or even the ones he shelled out to the important figures of Gotham, never counted
"No problem. Didn't want you to leave with the impression that Hilo's just a rainy, boring little town."
Bruce smiled, a chuckle in his throat.
Had things been different, he might've leaned over and kissed her then. She was giving him the opportunity. Had he been different, not so calculating, so careful, he might've gone through with it. Or maybe if it was a more familiar face with dark chocolate eyes and matching hair that cascaded around her face.
But Rachel's face refused to take over Ana's appearance, as if Ana was more than what Rachel could be.
His dark eyes darted from her bright eyes to her full lips. The opportunity was there, and if things were different…
He finally opened the door and stepped out into the cool night air. The clouds were mostly gone, reminding Bruce that this was a place that he could actually see the stars. The cluster of small dots that made up the Milky Way were clearly visible across the sky, and each of the familiar constellations seemed to jump out at Bruce.
"I bet you don't get to see that many stars in Gotham. Or anywhere on the east coast, for that matter," Ana added from inside the truck.
He shook his head. She had that part dead on.
After a moment, she sighed, shifting her weight. "Well, if our paths never cross again, it was good to meet you, Bruce."
Bruce glanced down through the rolled down window to her before leaning forward and propping his arms on the door. "With our track history, I'm sure it's bound to happen again."
She nodded absently.
But yet, if Ana hadn't been daring enough to come get him today, would they have seen each other again?
"Good night, Bruce," she said, waking him from his thoughts.
"Good night," he nodded, allowing her to start up the old engine and lumber off down the driveway. He watched the old truck go, thinking, and didn't turn to head up to his room until the roar of that engine was long gone. She was special. And she affected something in him. But the last thing he wanted to do was drag her into his wreck of a life. He didn't want to do it to Rachel, and he especially didn't want to do it to Ana. She was perfectly happy without a broody Bruce Wayne in her life.
Alfred, however, seemed to think otherwise.
The old butler was waiting for him on the sofa, a book in hand, and this time he was wide-awake when Bruce came through the door. "Good to see you back, Master Wayne. I trust you had a pleasant day?"
Bruce struggled to get that indifferent expression back in place, but it was too late. Alfred had already seen the evidence that his employer could be happy without the assistance of Rachel.
Giving up, Bruce carefully shut the door behind him as he answered, "Actually, I did, Alfred."
When he looked back, Alfred was beaming, his bright blue eyes behind his spectacles twinkling. "And pray tell, what exactly did Miss Williams do to you to get you into such a pleasant mood?"
Bruce shook his head, his good mood quickly evaporating as he thought about what he had to do, "She made me realize that it's time to leave."
This startled Alfred, causing him to sit up fully, "Leave, sir?"
"Alfred, you've met the girl. I'm no good for her."
Alfred scoffed. "Master Wayne, you set your standards too low. First with Miss Dawes and now with Miss Williams. You are just as good of a person as both of those inspiring women—"
"Is the jet fixed yet?" Bruce interrupted, heading for the other room.
The butler sighed, "Actually, I just received the phone call today that it has been fully repaired."
"Then we're leaving tomorrow."
Frowning, Alfred watched Bruce disappear into the other room. It was damn near impossible to get the young billionaire into a good mood and like hell if Alfred was going to let Bruce push something so good for him away. Removing his spectacles and closing his book, he prepared himself for a lot of work in the next couple of hours.