The Trial and Error of Compromise
Of course, Alfred and Selina had already made their way back to the manor before Bruce got there, making the job of smuggling in Jeremiah even more difficult. Having to deal with the idea of him and Jerome being in the same place was stressful enough, he hadn't even counted in the factor of his guardian's and friend's involvements. He pulled into the garage and motioned for Jeremiah to stay there. He'd come back for him once he knew the coast was clear and a he had a room set up for the boy.
Bruce wasn't surprised to see Selina sitting at the kitchen counter when he walked through the room, since she seemed to like it there. "So are you just living in here now?" he teased as he sat down next to her.
"This is where all of the food is. Best spot in the entire house. Oh, we picked something up for you while we were out. Two things, really." She rifled through one of the paper bags next to her and pulled out two boxes.
"You guys didn't have to get me anything."
"C'mon, you haven't even opened them yet. Find out what you're passing on before you give 'em up. And besides, it's all your money anyways."
He smiled and took her advice, opening the first box. Inside, was a sleek black collared jacket. It was made from a thin but insulated material. The pockets were subtle, marked only by small silver zippers. It was different from what he usually wore, but he loved it. The jacket was a perfect mix between suave and badass.
"Wow Selina, this is great! Thank you!" He hugged her, still clinging to the coat.
"You should check the inside, dork."
Doing as she said, he found the inside of the jacket was lined with holders for something. He looked at her questioningly. Selina just shrugged and gestured to the second box.
Bruce opened the package excitedly. Inside was...another box. This one was smaller and matte black. He slid the lid off to reveal an elaborate set of throwing knives. The inserts in the jacket made sense now. The gleaming silver blades were an array of different sizes, ranging from the size of his pinky to about five inches. A quick test told him that they were incredibly sharp.
"Well don't prick your finger on them. Alfred said he'd offer to train you. He thought it might be a good weapon to assist in your..nightly excursions."
He was turning one of the blades over in his fingers. "They're beautiful," he murmured.
"Jeez, do you need some alone time with it?"
Bruce laughed and place the knife back in the box. "Nah, I think I'll pass this time. I'm just not ready to progress to that stage in our relationship."
She laughed along with him until she had to stop for air. Finally, she asked "So, how did your meeting with Jim go?"
He sighed. "It was interesting to say the least. Apparently, he arrested Jeremiah last night."
"Oh shit, was he there while you were?"
Bruce wasn't sure how much he could tell her. In all honesty, he wished he could tell her everything. Actually, maybe there wouldn't be any harm in her knowing what was going on. He was just afraid of Alfred finding out that he was harboring both Valeska brothers in the manor without telling him. But if James Gordon knew, then there was a chance he would tell Alfred. Bruce could explain Jeremiah's staying here. He had no excuse for Jerome, however. Maybe that's where he should start, then.
"Yes, he was. In fact, he requested to speak to me."
"And did you? What did he want?"
"He...opened up to me a lot about what he's going through. Psychologically, I mean. Something Jerome did seemed to mess with his mind. He was a pretty great person up until Friday." He paused and then added hesitantly, "He also asked for me to see if I could get him discharged from police custody."
Selina didn't look surprised. "Well, obviously he would ask you that."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, he knows the sympathy card works with you."
"What sympathy card?" he asked defensively.
"Your whole hero-complex. He knew you couldn't turn him down if you were aware that he had nowhere else to go. But it looks like you had the common sense to say no for once."
"No, apparently I didn't have the 'common sense'. And he didn't try to trick me into helping him, Selina."
"Wait, you got him released?"
"On a set of conditions. I'm not an idiot."
"Are you sure? Because it's starting to sound more and more like it."
"Yes, I'm sure! Okay? Could you please trust me?" He was getting frustrated now. Bruce had been hoping he could rely on Selina for some support with this.
She seemed to see the anger in his expression and backed down. "Okay, I'm sorry. I just...I guess I don't get it. And I don't need to. What do you need from me?"
He took a few deep breaths and answered in a low whisper, "I need you to find a way to distract Alfred so I can get him in the house."
"You're bringing him here?" she asked quietly, but her disbelieving tone didn't go unnoticed.
"Yes. It was one of the terms that Jim gave me. He can't leave."
"And you're not going to tell Alfred?" She looked at him like he was crazy.
"Not yet. I'm already sort of keeping Jerome here in secret so I don't want to push him by telling him they're both here."
"Jerome Valeska is here?" she exclaimed.
He clapped a hand over her mouth to remind her to be quiet, removed it, and let her calm down. She repeated her question in a whisper.
"Yes, he showed up last night after we went to bed. And I didn't want to kick him out this morning."
"Damn, he'll be pissed to found out his brother is here too then, since you told me they didn't get along."
Bruce rubbed his forehead. He was starting to get a headache from all of this. "They don't get along. Which is why I'm keeping Jeremiah in a locked room in the east wing."
"Where's Jerome staying then?"
He blushed. "Well, he stayed in my room last night. So I guess that's where he'll stay again. He already broke my desk lamp, which I'm pretty sure is his way of establishing himself."
"Dude, I'm going to tell you now. I won't talk you out of this, I just think you're getting yourself into something you can't handle. And when it blows up in your face, I'll be here to help you clean up the mess. Okay?"
She didn't think he could handle this, but Bruce knew she was wrong. So he just nodded and replied, "Okay. Will you distract Alfred now?"
"Fine. But I want to meet one or both of them later."
"Selina, they're not celebrities."
"Well, Jerome is kind of cool and I want to punch Jeremiah in the face. That basically makes them celebrities, at least in Gotham. Plus, Jerome knew Bridgit."
He sighed again but reluctantly agreed. She darted off in the direction of where Alfred presumably was. He could hear her ask him to help fold and hang up her new clothes, which he seemed to consent to. After he saw them disappear upstairs, he ran back to the garage.
Unsurprisingly, Jeremiah hadn't moved. He was staring indifferently out the window, but appeared to notice Bruce coming. He motioned for Jeremiah to leave the car and follow him, which he did.
To his credit, he remained silent as they navigated the house. He didn't ask a single question and just did exactly as Bruce did. He knew that if a certain other Valeska were in his brother's position, he wouldn't shut up the entire way. They eventually made it to the deserted east wing, where Bruce led Jeremiah into one of the guest rooms he knew was always made up.
"Okay. I'm going to speak very quickly so I need you to pay attention," he whispered urgently as Jeremiah settled with perfect posture in the arm chair. They boy nodded to indicate he heard him. "You're going to stay here. Don't leave this side of the house for any reason unless I tell you it's okay. I'll bring you food at regular times and start working with you on some exercises. When you're not doing things to improve your mental health, you're going to be creating the design for Gotham's new bridges. You have exactly one week to find somewhere new. Do you understand?"
Jeremiah looked as though he was calculating something in his head. Finally, he asked, "You want me to construct the design for the bridges to replace the ones I destroyed, correct?"
"Yes."
"But that defeats the purpose of my demolition of them."
"No, it helps to lessen the damage you did on the city."
"But I don't want to lessen the damage. I still have more work to do."
"This is exactly why you're here instead of in prison. I want to help you, Jeremiah. You're sick. There is no more work to do except for the tasks I give you right now, okay?"
He looked confused. Bruce could see where his cherry-red lips were chapped from being bitten often. His light eyes darted around the room as he thought, but eventually he nodded once more.
"Okay. I'll be back up here in a bit. I have to-" he almost said he had to go check on his other refugee but caught himself just in time. "-see if Alfred needs any help downstairs. I probably won't come back until after sunset, but I'll bring up leftovers from dinner when I do. Please make yourself comfortable, but inconspicuous as well." He turned to leave, but his hand was caught by a pale cold one.
"Again, I can't thank you enough Bruce, for everything you've already done for me. And are willing to do. You truly are the most selfless person I've met. If I can ever return each favor to you, I will."
"I wouldn't say things like that, Jeremiah. I might ask you to someday." Bruce left the room, locking the door behind him.
He dashed over to his own bedroom, unlocking it with his key. Inside, he saw Jerome leaning back upside down over the edge of his bed, reading the newspaper and occasionally drawing over things in red marker. A bag of pretzels and a nice china cup were sitting on his desk. The boy looked over as he entered the room.
"Oh, you're back. Fantastic. I was just reading about how much of a pussy the mayor is being about the entire evacuation situation. They might as well just appoint Jimbo as frickin' president at this point."
"Jerome, you know that's not a nice word."
"Sorry, I forgot I was talking to the nun from the Sound of Music here. What shall I substitute it with? Pineapple? Pancake? Printer?"
"Okay, now you're just listing words that start with 'p'." He went to sit on the bed by him and peered at what he was scribbling on the paper, occasionally toying with a strand of his red hair.
"Are you seriously just replacing the pronoun 'Mr.' with 'dick'? That's very mature."
"It's because every guy they talk about in the news is bound to be one." Jerome said this as if it should be obvious.
Bruce hit him on the shoulder. "Hey, I'm in the news sometimes."
"Exactly. Case settled. And besides, I'm also replacing all of the boring phrases like 'We asked Mr. Jones…' with 'We beat the shit out of Mr. Jones to get some answers…'. It makes the Gotham Tribune a bit more honest, which certainly couldn't hurt." Bruce had to agree that he was probably right there.
"So this is what you've been doing all afternoon?"
"I perused your selection of exotic teas." He indicated the cup on the table with his marker. "I also admired your pointless statue collection and my rating is nine yawns out of ten."
"Dang, why'd we lose the one yawn?"
"Because of the mildly interesting one that seemed to have some sort of Thai ancestry. Maybe dating back nine hundred years."
He was surprised to hear Jerome talk so seriously about things like statues and tea. He just figured they weren't really..well...his cup of tea.
"Great, we can get you a job as a museum curator."
Jerome flipped his head up to face him. "You're forgetting one very important thing, Bruce." His tone was suddenly very solemn.
"What would that be?"
"That I break everything I touch." Bruce laughed which caused Jerome to break out into a large grin. "They'd never let me into a museum, are you kidding? And if they did, oh boy, what a mistake on their part."
"Oh, speaking of mistakes, Selina wants to meet you."
Jerome raised an eyebrow. "That's not a very nice train of thought, Bruce. You'd better not repeat that to her."
"No! No! I meant, her meeting you is probably a mistake...wow no, that doesn't sound good either. I take it back. Let me restart."
"It's too late, I've already heard it. As the ancient proverb goes, 'no backsies'. But yes, I'll meet Selina. Although, I didn't think you were telling anyone that I was staying here."
Bruce shrugged. "She doesn't really count; I know she'll stay quiet about it."
"Alright, I'll do my best not to terrify her."
He laughed again. "Don't worry, she's not easily intimidated."
Jerome was sitting up fully now. "Is that a challenge, Bruce Wayne?"
He immediately regretted defending Selina's tolerance levels."No, absolutely not. You're not allowed to scare her, because I know you're most likely capable."
He seemed to ponder this for a moment. "Hmm, no. 'Most likely' isn't good enough. I need to prove that it's a definitely, and your little girlfriend is the perfect trial."
"I think that I've already proven she's not my girlfriend."
A knock at the door startled them both and cut off any further discussion of the matter. Jerome rolled cleanly off and under the bed. Alfred's voice called through the door, "Would you mind opening up, sir?"
"Sure, Alfred. One second. I just spilled a cup of tea." Bruce shooed Jerome out from under the bed and into the closet, shutting the door quietly. Then, he went and opened his bedroom door.
His butler was carrying a stack of clean clothes, which he set on his bed. "Dinner in ten minutes, Master B. I expect you'll be joining us?"
"Yes, of course. I'll see you down there. Thank you for bringing up my laundry."
"Are you talking to yourself in here or something? I heard voices as I came up the stairs."
"Incidentally, yes, I was. Spilling that cup of tea was a frustrating experience." Alfred said nothing but his eyes glinted with humour. He patted his shoulder lightly and left the room. Bruce opened the closet and let Jerome lay back down on his bed. He noticed the boxes from downstairs had wound up on top of his clothes pile. Jerome must have had some kind of dangerous weapons radar because he tore into the smaller box immediately. Bruce rushed over to him.
"Nope, definitely not. Put them down."
Jerome was caressing the knives lovingly, already testing their sharpness on his fingers. Bruce snatched the box away, which caused him to make both the most adorable and infuriating puppy eyes.
"You're cute but that doesn't mean I trust you with knives. Not after the history you and I have with them."
"At least you think I'm cute. And c'mon, those are all great memories! What part of me trying to slit your throat doesn't make you look back on our relationship fondly?"
"The part where the fear that you might actually succeed resides." Bruce hadn't realized he'd spoken so honestly until the words had left his mouth. Jerome heard the tone of his voice and sat up.
"Bruce, you never have to worry about that. Hell, even before I decided you were my favorite person in the world, I liked ya enough to not actually want to kill ya. Really, I didn't even want to scare you. I wanted to scare Gotham. And in my eyes, you represent this city, so you were my natural target. However, I think I've done enough of scaring Gotham for awhile. Maybe we'll do it again next year, but I'll set my sights on someone different. Do you know any other stick-up-the-ass public figures besides yourself and Jimbo that could use with a good demonstration?"
He thought for a moment. "Have you tried Oswald Cobblepot?"
Jerome clapped his hands excitedly. "Oh, good idea! He did betray me, after all, with the whole stealing-my-blimp-fulla-crazy-gas thing. Maybe we'll give him a trial run before the new year rolls around."
"Great. How about until then, you take a break from terrorizing the public and I go down to dinner?"
"Sounds good. Bring something up for me, would ya?"
"Of course."
As he turned his head, he received a small kiss on the cheek. "Thanks," Jerome said, walking back to his newspaper as if he'd done nothing.
Blushing, he quickly left the room. He carefully locked it once more before taking the stairs two at a time to the dining room, enjoying the smell of freshly prepared prime rib coming from the kitchen as he went.
Author's Note:
Once more, I truly hope that you're enjoying this, and placing bets on what happens next. You might be surprised...On another note, I want to thank those who've decided to follow and support this story. I appreciate you all so much. Have you picked a side yet? Should there even be sides? Who knows? I guess we'll find out where Bruce stands soon. Thank you!
~Evelyn