The restaurant wasn't hard to find, in fact, it was one of his favorites. The food was good and the lights were kept low enough that he didn't worry about being spotted. A young waiter led him to a secluded table in the corner.
Jonathan was waiting for him, his pale eyes sparkled in the dim light. "Word on the street is that you have a stalker." He teased with a smirk.
Bruce joined him in the booth, "And he looks an awful like you, Jonathan."
Crane glanced up from his drink and set it down. "You knew what I was the moment you laid eyes on me, and yet you still came. Why?"
I wanted to see you again. Bruce stifled that train of train of thought, there were more important questions to answer. "I wanted to know why the best doctor in Gotham changed careers."
Scarecrow was oddly amused by the lack of insults or accusations. "One day I met someone who offered me the strength to defeat my enemies. I didn't refuse."
Bruce didn't know what to say. He knew he was talking about Ras, and Crane's reasons for fighting were frighteningly similar.
"That's not the answer you wanted, is it?" Crane mused, taking a sip of his wine.
An idea struck Bruce like a bolt of lightning. "What would it take to make you an honest man again? Tell me, I'll do it!"
Jonathan's eyes widened in stunned silence and his companion kept talking. "You can finish your sentence and start over. Just because you've been hurt, doesn't mean you have to-"
Scarecrow threw the glass and it shattered an inch from Bruce's face. The doctor's face was red up to his ears in fury. "You don't know anything about me. You can't possibly fathom what I've been through, you-" He seethed. "You think you can't just walk in here and tell me how to live?"
He was standing with his hands clenched at his sides. If his scythe was within reach, the billionaire would be a dead man. Bruce tried to put a comforting hand on Jonathan's shoulder. "I sorry, I didn't mean to-" I don't want you to be angry anymore, please don't go.
Not when I think I love you.
The hand was slapped away. "I don't have to take this from anyone, let alone you!" Crane stormed out, brutally knocking over a display that was obstructing his path.
…
"I take it you two had a lovers' quarrel, sire. Or was it more of a spat?" Alfred asked as he gave his charge a cup of chamomile tea.
Bruce groaned, this had to have been the stupidest thing he had ever done. Right next to being fear-gassed by paper.
As soon as he went home his butler found his charge lying face down on his bed in depression. "At least take your muddy shoes off before you throw a tantrum, who do you think scrubs these floors?"
The depressed billionaire sat up and removed his footwear, as not to ruin the sheets. "I asked what it would take for him to give up crime. He…didn't take it well." He confessed.
The butler cringed in sympathy "Is this the end of your star-crossed romance?"
"I'm not giving up, not when I'm so close." He had an unwavering sense of resolve. "I need to talk to Gordon before I can find Jon. He knows more than he's letting on, and he's too good a cop to spill his guts to a civilian."
It didn't take long to suit up and catch the commissioner alone in his office. "I wondered when you'd get here. I hope you're having better luck with Scarecrow." Jim poured himself a cup of coffee and offered one to his friend. He refused.
"I had been keeping an eye on him since his escape, but I lost him after the Wayne boy got involved." He lied, but it was better than admitting the truth. "Yesterday Bruce Wayne received flowers from an unknown sender. After you spoke to him, the same person arranged to meet him in person."
The older man instantly blanched, fearing a murder or a hostage situation. "Scarecrow…"
"Eager to please a fan, he went through with it. When Wayne began asking too many questions, Crane became volatile and vanished."
Gordon slammed his fist on his desk. "Damn that idiot! How are we going to catch him now?"
He silently agreed with the insult. "I have a few leads, but I need to know what you found at Arkham."
Jim glanced over a messy desk stacked high with papers and grabbed a folder off the top. He flipped it open "The only thing that stands out is a statement from one of his former patients. The problem is talks like a fairytale, and Crane is the only one who fully understands it."
He skimmed the transcribed interview and handed the folder to Batman "He said that Crane escaped to find something that was stolen, but was too proud to admit it. He wouldn't tell us who, or what was stolen, just to 'Ask the lion, not me.' Jarvis also wanted us to pass on a warning; if Scarecrow finds what he's looking for 'his noble straw will turn to iron.'"
"Ask the lion, straw turns to iron…We're baffled, maybe you'll have better luck." Gordon poured himself another cup and realized his friend was long gone, along with the file.
…
Bruce flipped open his cell phone and called Alfred "Cancel my appointments for tomorrow, I'm going on a trip for a little while."
The butler was unfazed "Where to sir?"
"Georgia, I have I feeling Jonathan went back to his home town. At least I can find some information there." On Crane's papers he listed a 'Stephen Leone' as an emergency contact and next of kin. Leone was a French name meaning 'Lion,' while Stephen meant 'Crowned'. It was a stretch, but he was running out of time.
…
The small rural town was a jarring change from big-city Gotham. Crumbling factories and empty stores were ghosts left behind from an economy that died with the rust belt.
He tracked down the Leone residence which was an old farmhouse with cracked yellow paint. A middle-aged man answered the door and screamed obscenities in shock. "Who-what the fuck are you?"
Batman grabbed him before he could run, "Where is Stephen Leone?" he demanded.
"Stephen? There's no…You don't mean Steve, do you? He's nothing but a god-damn scarecrow out back!" The dark knight dropped him and made way for the nearby cornfields. "Jesus Christ, you're with that Crane kid…I knew he was a freak!"
He resisted the urge to go back and punch him in the face for insulting Jonathan. Off in the distance, an old scarecrow stood watch over the multi-acre field and one frightened child.
Crane sat under the comforting presence of his sole childhood friend and tall weeds that hid him from the world. His face was buried into his knees and he didn't bother looking up.
"Bruce asked me to find you." He offered and there was no reply "He really cares about you."
The doctor made a noise halfway between a yelp of pain and a sob. He lifted his head and Batman saw that he'd been crying. "No, he doesn't…" Jonathan spoke with a bitter laugh. "I laced my cologne with oxytocin, I thought it would be funny to make him my lapdog."
It was at the gala, no wonder he's so addictive. The desire to devour him was all-consuming, I wanted to grab him by the hair and-
"I wanted a pet, not this." Crane spat the last word like the idea of someone caring about him was ridiculous and repulsive. "I had my laugh and now I'm done. I want to go back to Arkham and pretend the whole thing never happened."
Batman tore off his mask, revealing his true face. Jonathan's eyes widened in surprise, he shouted "What are you doing?" The dark knight crossed the gap in an instant and grabbed him by the shoulders, using the scarecrow's post to hold him in place. "Tell me the truth. We both know that if all you wanted was a sex toy you wouldn't be here crying."
Crane struggled in vain to get away "Why can't you leave me alone?" Bruce gripped his chin to see into pale blue eyes, filled to the brim with confusion and fear. "Because I care about you, whether you want me to or not."
"I was obsessed with you, afraid of you. I figured out who you were and I thought that if I broke your other half, I'd be free. I wanted to see how filthy you are on the inside but…but…" Jonathan let out a scream of frustration and slumped into the stronger man's arms, defeated.
Bruce said nothing and was Crane grateful for it, he doubted his pride would survive another blow.
The doctor felt small and frail in Bruce's arms, but he didn't want to leave them just yet. "I wish I hated you." Jonathan murmured as he wrapped his arms around an armored chest. "If only because I understand it."
…
Suddenly he realized that Leone was the wrong lion.
If Scarecrow regained his stolen courage, he would lose his heart and become the Tin Man.