-12-

"I don't understand why you're so upset!" Maegen yelled for the third time.

"You didn't tell me!" I shouted back. "You purposely went out of your way to NOT tell me!"

"I was going to tell you!"

"You drank!" I exclaimed for the first time, my anger growing at her unwillingness to just accept that I was upset with her and from my perspective, that I had every right to be. "You came here and drank, fully aware of what it could do to you and your baby!"

"It wasn't much—"

"You had half a bottle of vodka!" I paused, taking in her expression. "It was a liter bottle!"

She didn't immediately shout back and she didn't begin to argue or defend herself, and I took the moment to observe her. In the past five minutes, she'd gone from being that funny, collected self to the raving woman before me, no longer situated or comfortable. But this wouldn't last much longer.

"You put the both of you at risk in my presence without my consent," I continued, my voice leveling as more words spilled out. "You just-You just took advantage of the situation! And I don't understand why you didn't just tell me. I wasn't going to be upset with you or j-judge you!"

"I don't-I don't know what I was thinking," she finally admitted. I could see her chewing on her tongue and she kept her gaze low. "I think I was just—afraid, I guess."

"Why would you be afraid?" I goaded, though I wasn't letting it be driven with anger.

"I don't think I'm ready to be a parent," she blurted, eyes focusing on me—and I saw how scared she was, but I couldn't find it in me to react. "And—I felt like I was leaving you behind."

That bothered me.

"And how exactly are you leaving me behind?"

"I'm always traveling, I'm married, and a baby would just be another thing that set us apart." She paused and I found myself troubled by her statement. "You're my best friend and I don't want to lose you."

"How is any of that losing me? It's not your fault that I don't have those things. Has it occurred to you that I like my life? That I'm okay with having a job and that I'm not ready for marriage? Did it occur to you, that maybe I don't want your life?! You know what, I can't look at you. I need you to leave." I closed my eyes and turned away from her, fully aware that I was acting like some sort of teenager but really, I can't look at her. I can't handle Maegen right now and I shouldn't have to.

"Chase—"

"No," I cut in sharply, keeping my eyes shut, trying to find my calm. "Leave."

It took all of two minutes for her to realize that I wasn't joking and another three for me to finally open my eyes and survey my empty apartment. The silence of it quickly began to irritate me and without much more thought, I decided to go for a nice, long run.

Unfortunately, by the time I was reading to go running, it had begun to rain so I ended up using the apartment's gym, which was surprisingly nice, fairly empty too. I took to the treadmill, starting at a simple pace before building up, music blaring from my headphones.

After the first mile run, I lowered the speed and began for a mile of walking. It was about that time that a man entered the gym. He was tall, with light hair and when he smiled at me, I smiled back. He got on the machine right next to mine and I continued my pace, moderately aware of him starting his machine. It took a moment to realize he was talking to me.

"Oh!" I exclaimed as I realized that I was accidently ignoring his efforts to speak with me. I yanked a headphone out of my ear and turned to look at him, still focusing on moving forward. "Sorry," I immediately apologized.

"Hi," he greeted, still smiling. "I didn't mean to interrupt you but I've never seen you here before. It's usually pretty empty."

"It's my first time using the gym," I admitted, moving my hand to slow the pace of my machine more. There's no way I can focus on moving and talking. "I'm Chase."

"Bryan. Are you new to the building?" he asked. His eyes were green and as he continued to smile, I took note of his dimples.

"Yeah," I replied, smiling. "Have you lived here long?"

He nodded. "Three years. Not many people use the gym to I'm pretty familiar with the ones that do."

"Gotcha." I didn't know what else to say so I didn't say anything. I was almost done with my relaxed mile when Bryan began talking to me again.

"How long have you lived in Gotham?"

"Not very long, just a few months," I replied honestly.

"Where are you from originally then?"

"Texas, but I've bounced from state to state for a while. How about you?"

"Lived in Gotham my whole life."

For whatever reason, I found that to be interesting. "Really? Have you ever travelled?"

"Of course!" He was smiling again, obviously amused. "I just always come back. Don't really know why, to be honest. The crime rate here has been ridiculous—well, not recently I suppose."

"Not since Batman?" I guessed.

"I don't know about that. Before Batman it was basic crime. Yeah, problems with the mob, but at least their crimes made sense." He began to frown. "When he showed up, all the freaks came out. The Narrows were shut down after some massive panic inducing gas was released there, Joker came and blew up Gotham General, and they say Batman killed Harvey Dent."

"You don't believe Batman killed him?" I asked, wary of how much truth I actually knew. Who knew working at an insane asylum can do that?

"The police have been saying a lot of things lately. It's hard to tell what's the truth and what isn't these days."

I didn't know what to say with that. It was the truth, mostly. The gas attack had occurred because of Scarecrow, but were citizens aware of how many people he individually tortured with fear? The blowing up of the hospital was the Joker but that was only one of several crimes he had committed. Batman hadn't killed Harvey but somehow Harvey became Two-Face, which he blames on Batman. And for reasons that still escape me, society can't know about Harvey's survival.

"It seems over now though," he continued after a moment. "The crime rate is at an all time low it seems."

"I guess I got here at a good time then," I tried to joke.

He smiled at that.

In spite of the fact that I got to the gym first, Bryan left at the same time I did. While he hit the third floor button, I hit the button for the floor below my own, for safety purposes. Sure, Brian is a nice guy but I don't like the idea of anyone knowing where I live without my explicit permission.

"Would it be too soon if I were to ask for your number?"

I looked at Brian with wide eyes, surprised by the question and the abruptness of the situation. His smile was gone, his expression one of focus and while I couldn't stop myself from thinking he was so pretty, I wouldn't let that change my answer.

"Um, I'm actually kind of seeing someone right now."

It wasn't a lie. I mean, I am seeing Bruce. I mean, we're dating. Yeah, I can and have dated multiple men at once but I don't have the desire to do that, at least not right now.

"I'm sorry," I quickly added, unsure of what else to say.

"It's alright," he soothed, smiling again. "Just thought it was worth a try."

The silence wasn't endured long as the elevator gave a ding, signaling we had reached his floor.

"It was a pleasure meeting you," he said, beginning to step out, "and I hope to see you again soon."

I could only nod as the he left and the doors shut, feeling weird.

By the time I made it to my room, the weird feeling had grown. It was intensifying and for more than one reason, I found myself reaching for my cell and dialing the number for Bruce Wayne.

Anxiously, I shifted around my apartment as I waited to see if he could pick up. I know he's busy and that I will leave a voicemail and that he'll just call me back, but wow, what if I'm being clingy and this is a mistake—

"Hello?"

"Bruce, hey," I began, my heartbeat gaining speed. "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting you or if you're busy—"

"Not at all," I could hear his smile. "What's on your mind?"

Before I could really stop myself I blurted, "What do you think of lunch on Friday? I know it's kind of short notice but I feel like I haven't seen you in a while and…"

"How about one o'clock?"

I'm sure Bruce would have laughed at my expression if he could see it. "Yeah," I sputtered, "I could bring lunch if you don't have time to step out."

He chuckled, "That'd be nice. You can meet me in my office on the 74th floor, my secretary's desk is right by the elevators. Just ask for me and she'll send you in."

"Secretary, huh? You must be pretty important to the company," I teased.

"Not very," he replied, making me smile.

"Good to know I won't be too much of a disturbance then. Well, I'll leave you to your business and I'll see you on Friday."

"Can't wait."

With my mind more at ease, I began working on looking up further notes on my main case. Naturally it was fruitless, which only made me pissed off. According to the police files, they ran the Joker's fingerprints through CODIS and alike systems but weren't able to find out who he was, which makes sense. With the Joker's sociopathic tendencies, his charming nature and intricate connections would have most likely gotten him out of most childhood and beyond troubles, or was able to erase them from any system. Or every system it seems, as they haven't been able to identify him at all.

"Why does he have to be this frustrating?!" I bark at the file, glaring wide-eyed at the small print. Even in his mug shot, he was laughing at me.

Sighing, I packed the files away, disgusted that his file was smaller than ALL of my other files by at least half. I don't know how much I'm expected to find out without hardly any information, especially when the man is a vault wrapped in an enigma and stuffed in a cryptex. Breaking the code to the outer layer incorrectly could ruin the whole puzzle.

The next day at work was boring. Like, really boring. All I did was sort out more files and move appointments around, adjusting levels of medication. I made a note to self to steal some hand sanitizer from one of the supply closets for Beverly, but I didn't do much else. It was just a quiet day that I filled with music.

I got home at a decent time and hit the gym, glad that it was empty, something I was oddly grateful for. Bryan was a nice guy but incredibly too distracting. I instead focused on Bruce and our upcoming date, a lunch date, yeah, but it was a date and it was exciting.

After my shower and eating some pasta, I started to put together an outfit. I was only five minutes in when I remembered that I was awful at this. Jeans seemed too casual, slacks too professional—what was the weather supposed to be like? Sunny, according to the news, so perhaps a sundress? Eh, probably best to go with skirt. Still professional but not so safe. Wearing a skirt meant I had to wear a nicer shirt, probably a blouse but the color would have to depend on the color of the skirt—SO MANY OPTIONS.

AND WHAT AM I GOING TO PACK FOR LUNCH?

"Fuck," I cursed, throwing myself onto the bed. I stared dazedly at the ceiling, amazed by the arrangement on my ceiling. I eventually rolled onto my stomach, pressing my face into my pillow and falling into sleep.

My alarm went off at nine and I mechanically silenced it, refusing to get up just yet. My apartment was cool and my legs were bare, making me huddle into the sheets more. Slowly, I rose into consciousness and with a weird sense of contentment, hopped into the shower and began getting ready for day, taking the time to shave my legs. A light breakfast of a bagel and some coffee, off-handedly deciding to make pasta for lunch. It didn't take long for it to finish and I did my best to neatly pack it away. Then it was time for my makeup and hair.

When I reached my closet for an outfit, I found all of my anxiety gone and it became clear that a light gray pencil-skirt and one of my white blouses would work, the one with short sleeves and ruffles, and five buttons that allowed me to control the amount of cleavage I wished to show. I decided on three for modesty's sake. It was kind of a classic look, to be honest. No jewelry, but the heels I had chosen were nice enough to make up for that.

It was a quarter past noon when I was finally ready to go, and I felt so overwhelmed with happiness.

I was tempted to walk to Wayne Tower but I didn't want to risk injuring myself in the heels, and even though the weather was as predicted, I didn't want to risk the wind ruining my hair. Everything just felt to perfect; I wanted to be perfect, for Bruce.

The cab ride to Wayne Tower was uneventful but nice, the sights still amazing for my eyes. I should walk around the city more.

With Wayne Tower in front of me, I squared my shoulders and entered the building.

Security, to my astonishment, was simple enough to get through. I had to show my I.D. and sign in before I was escorted to the elevator, which was huge. When I was younger, I found every excuse to ride the elevator and having so many buttons in front of me triggered a desire to hit them all. I resisted but mostly because one o'clock was approaching and stopping at seventy floors would be incredibly time consuming. I was amused by the elevator music though.

The women whom I greeted on the floor instructed was older and pretty, with smooth dark skin and a nice smile.

"Dr. Stark?" she questioned with a smile. I could only nod with a smile. She stood, standing just around my height, and ushered me down a short and wide hallway to a closed door. I stood just a bit back as she knocked and opened it, leaning in.

Seeing Bruce sent a wave of butterflies echoing in my chest and I wasted no time in smiling back. To my surprise, he approached me and took the lunches from my hands.

"Hold all calls until we're finished," he told his secretary, who nodded and smiled in response. She shut the door and Bruce turned to put the lunches on his desk.

"Excuse the mess," he said, beginning to move files and trinkets aside. There wasn't much a mess but just a collection of things. It somehow made me feel guilty, as though I were interrupting some sort of work. "How have you been?"

We talked and ate, going over our days and any other fairly safe topics. I tried to keep the time in mind, cautious of how much I was taking up, but at the same time, I was selfishly happy that it was time with Bruce. Even though I liked the guy, our conversations gave me more of a reason to like him as a person.

"This pasta is delicious, where'd you get it?" Bruce asked as he scraped of the last bit of pasta onto his fork. He had a large appetite, something I was grateful for. My sudden nervousness had caused mine to shrink and at the stupidly late realization that I was wearing white, my desire to eat had fallen quite short.

"I made it," I replied, licking at my lips.

"Really?" He was smiling. "I wish I knew how to cook."

"Have you ever tried?"

"A few times. Most of it ends up crunchy though."

That made me laugh. He opened his mouth to say something else but stopped short at a phone going off—

"Can't read my, can't read my, no he can't read ah-my poker face—"

"I'm so sorry!" I scrambled to put my phone out of my purse, my fingers fumbling at being so embarrassed. I finally found it and my embarrassment slipped away to be replaced by annoyance.

It was Maegen. Seeing her smiling face on my phone only made me frown and I quickly hit the ignore option on my screen. I then very decidedly put my phone on silent and tucked it away in my purse.

Bruce looked confused but it was a soft expression, one that seemed to fit him.

"Are you okay?"

His concern seemed genuine but I hid my discomfort by playing dumb.

"Yeah," I replied, smiling. "Are you?"

Conversation continued to flow again and we joked and smiled, and it wasn't until I had taken a glance at the clock on the wall that I realized how much time had passed.

"It's almost 3:30," I felt myself laugh, amazed at how the time flew by. "I'm so sorry," I began to apologize, "I didn't mean to keep you so long—"

"Chase," he interrupted, taking a step toward me. I don't remember standing. "It's fine. I don't do much here, and you're no bother. I wanted to see you today."

I could feel my face heating at his words and I looked away, hoping to hide my blush, if only just a bit. I finally choked out, "I should get going though. I don't want to take up your whole day."

Before anything else could be said, I began to pack up the tupperware and silverware, amazed at how clean they were. Out of habit I began to clear the top of the desk where we had eaten as well, using a spare napkin to clean up the mess that wasn't really there. More than anything, I just didn't want to face him.

"You don't have to do that," Bruce said from my left, causing me to pause.

I shrugged. "It's fine. I don't like leaving messes." That wasn't completely true but Bruce didn't need to know that.

A hand was suddenly on mine. I looked over to Bruce to find that he was close, very close. He had taken to leaning on his desk and his eyes were on me. I immediately straightened, letting the napkins that were in my hands fall to the desk, and wondered what the fuck I was doing.

Bruce was here and I was here, and he was paying attention to me and we were good—AND I'M CLEANING.

"Screw it," I sighed, letting go of my inhibitions.

Before I could stop myself, I leaned forward and pressed my lips against Bruce's.

I don't know what I was expecting, but I must not have been expecting him to kiss back so readily because as he did, I gasped and fell further against him. His tongue ran against mine and I moaned into his mouth, surprised at how easy this was. One hand was at my hip and another was at my back and my hands were—my hands were on his thighs, balancing my weight against him. His thighs were muscular and I smiled at the thought.

As time passed, our kisses lost their hurriedness. Our pace slowed and relaxed, but I couldn't stop kissing him. The hand at my back had sneaked upward and was holding at my neck while I used one of my hands to touch his hair, running my fingers through its thick strands.

Very, very slowly, I began to pull away. If I didn't stop now, I was going to want to push it further.

Bruce seemed to understand as he let me, but I stayed close, leaning against him a bit more than I probably should. It took effort but I finally opened my eyes, only to see that Bruce still had his closed.

He really was beautiful.

When he opened his eyes, they were immediately on me, but I didn't know what to say, so I didn't say anything. After a few moments, Bruce cleared his throat.

"Do you have any plans for Halloween?"

I thought the question was strange but I shook my head, knowing that I didn't have plans. I never had plans, not recently atleast. Not unless they were with Bruce.

"I'm going to attend a benefit dinner that night, if you'd care to join me."

I didn't even think about it.

Nodding, I breathed out, "Yes."

So I know it's been a long time (like, a long time) but I'm still here and I'm still trying. I haven't abandoned INFEST, obviously, and I do have it all vaguely planned out in my head. Any critiques or comments or anything, just leave it in a review-

And thank you for reading~