Author's note: Okay, this chapter is like a 'filler' chapter. I mean they've just broken out of Arkham and people will no doubt be on the lookout for them so they need to lay low for a bit. I'm trying to keep the sappy fluff stuff to a minimum but…well… no promises ;D. Enjoy!

The Fear Consumes, But The Flower Blooms – Chapter 3

Iris's point of view

Waking up, it takes me a few seconds to remember the events of yesterday. But it quickly comes back, lots of acting, breaking out of Arkham, showing some skin when making new outfits, making out with the man I'm falling head over heels for, sleeping in Jonathan's hideout.

I sigh, my voice a little croaky, "Yep, just a normal morning" I mumble.

Rolling out of the, actually quite comfy queen sized bed, I put my makeshift mini skirt back on, along with the slip on shoes from my original Arkham outfit. Yawing, I run my fingers through my hair a few times, trying to remove most of the tangles as I make my way back out to main area.

I take a deep breath as say, "If that is coffee then you Jonathan Crane are a god amongst mortals" I declare.

He turns to me, a few chuckles escaping, "I'm not sure about that" he tells me. "How do you take it?"

Licking my dry lips, I shake my head to remove the first image I thought of as I reply, "White with none."

A small smirk is on his lips and his eyes twinkle knowingly but he doesn't say anything. I sit at the counter, on one of the stools and watch him make me a coffee. I notice that he's changed clothes but I'm too tired to really care, placing my head on the counter and settling for listening him walk around the kitchen.

He hums, placing a cup near my head, "Are we not a morning person?" he asks cheekily.

Raising my head, I stare at him blankly before dragging the coffee cup towards me and taking a sip, "Depends on the day" I tell him. When he doesn't say anything, I look back at him, "And don't even think of scaring me in order to wake me. I'd rather do that by drinking coffee."

In a move that genuinely shocks me, he clicks his fingers and says comically, "Damn and I had such a good plan." As sleepy as I am, I laugh, it was so unexpected that I can't seem to help it. He shakes his head at me but continues normally, "I've got a set of clothes here for you, they may bit a little big but feel free to alter them" he tells me, gesturing to the pile on the table behind me, next to a small sewing kit.

I smile, "Thanks, I'll have a look after my coffee" I say, bring the cup closer to me as if it was my first born child.

He rolls his eyes, "Note to self, never run out of coffee."

I stick my tongue out at him, "And how were you before you drank your coffee?"

He goes silent before, "Fair point."

I grin, and we sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes before I ask, "So what's the plan for today?"

He brings breakfast over to the table and gestures for me to join him, "We need to lay low, just in case. So preferably, we won't leave the building."

I nod and sit down beside him at the table, "When did you make this?" I ask, referring to the stack of toast and various spreading choices.

"I popped out while you were still sleeping to get most of what you see and made it while you were napping on the counter" he replies easily.

I poke his shoulder gently, "So much for not leaving the building" I muse.

He chuckles lowly and we eat in silence. I finish first, I was hungrier than I thought and I bring the set of clothes that he laid out into my lap. The shirt is fine, I don't care about baggy shirts, there're comfy. But the sweatpants, I'll have to change. I stand and hold them up to me, rolling the top down a few times before it looks like it'll fit me and then sew in some little stitches on the hips. I nod to myself once I'm done, that'll do.

"Back in a sec" I say distractedly, moving to my room to change into the clothes, much better. I come back out and sit next to Jonathan again, "So once we've kept a low profile for a bit, then what?"

I see a flash in his eyes at seeing me in his clothes but he composes himself, "We need to make a list of supplies and a laptop is a must."

I nod, stealing a bit of his toast, "We stealing or buying?" I ask, munching on my prize.

He pursues his lip and flicks my shoulder in revenge, "Most likely stealing, it's more fun that way."

I roll my eyes at him, "Fair enough" I say, getting a pen and some paper, "So what do I write."

He hums, "Laptop, clothes, food, maybe some sort of disguise like wigs and coloured contacts" he says and I write them all down. "Leave it at that for now, just until we figure out if anything here needs to be replaced."

I nod at each of them, finishing the list and thinking hard, "Where's the best place to go? Is there and underground mall for Arkham inmates? We can't exactly go out in public, even though you seem to be able to."

He smirks, "There's a place in the narrows we can go tomorrow, no one there will turn us in, bad for business" he adds on the end. I roll my eyes again and let my head fall back letting myself absorb the fact that we really are out.

O~O~O

I'm not sure how long I stay there but the next thing I know, Jonathan is saying, "You'll damage your neck if you stay there like that." I wince as I straighten my head, hearing it crack. He frowns, "Come here" he says softly.

I drag my chair closer to him so that I'm sitting in front of him. His hands go to my neck, massaging out the kinks and removing any tension with his skilled fingers. Before those same fingers dance, with an almost non-existent touch, over my bottom lip.

He hums thoughtfully, "The cut is healing well, we'll get a Chap Stick or some sort of cream to prevent it cracking too much" he tells me.

I giggle despite myself, "I knew you wore Chap Stick" I tease and he rolls his eyes. But I shrug, "Hey I didn't say that was a bad thing. Cracked lips on a guy are so un-attractive."

He sniggers, "I'll make sure to tell Nygma" he tells me with a slight tease in his voice and a chuckle.

I scoff, moving to get more coffee, "Yeah sure, go for it" I drawl, not seeing the funny side of this.

I shake my head as I pour some more coffee and adding the milk. He appears next to me once I've placed the milk back in the fridge, "You can't blame me too much Iris, you and Nygma do seem to get along quite well."

I lean against the counter, "Friends, yes but that's it."

He tilts his head, "You sure?" he asks, analysing my face.

I raise an eyebrow, "Jonathan Crane" I begin in a no-nonsense tone. "Ivy is more likely to get together with Edward than I am." I watch him as I sip on my second cup of coffee, his expression a tad pleased and I hide my smile behind my cup, maybe Ivy really was right.

I see him think as he continues his little quiz fest, "But surely" he probes. "You have a similar sense of humour, both enjoy riddles and share a sense for computer hacking" he lists casually.

I chew on the inside of my cheek and sigh, shaking my head, "Nope." At the curiosity in his eyes I continue slowly, "If you ever repeat what I'm about to tell you, I'll tell Ivy" I warn.

He becomes serious and nods, "Alright, then I promise to never repeat it."

I slowly let out a breath, "Please don't take offence, but Edward scares me" I confess.

He frowns deeply, "Has he threatened you?" he queries.

"No!" I exclaim, "No he hasn't, it's just that, well with the whole riddle thing, he always gives me kinda-easy ones and Ivy is always there. But…" I pause for a second, feeling incredibly embarrassed. "I'm just scared that one day he'll ask me a riddle that I can't figure out and, well…" I trail off.

Jonathan finishes the thought, "He'll try and kill you for your stupidity."

I drop my head and mumble, "Yeah."

He takes the cup from my hand and raises my chin with his hand, "He wouldn't try and kill you Iris, he knows that Pamela would have his head if he did. And that's not even counting what I'd do either."

I can't help but smile at that, "To be fair, you're very scary too."

He raises an eyebrow and gives me a half-smile, "You're not scared of me" he states.

"Only because I trust you and trust that you wouldn't hurt me" I say softly. "But I can see that others are terrified of you, like last night. You hardly did anything and I'm pretty sure that kid ended up wetting himself."

He laughs a little at the memory, "Maybe we'll have to take Pamela's advice and watch a scary movie together, see what happens."

I grin and suggest hopefully, "Are there any here?"

He smirks, moving past me to an old cardboard box. He open it to reveal a decent selection of movies and gestures for me to choose. I walk towards him and peer at all the selections, pursuing my lips as try and decide.

Eventually I shrug and grab one at random, handing it to him so that he can set up the TV and place it in the DVD player, this should be fun.

O~O~O

Bright and early the next morning, we head out to get the supplies we need, not ending up stealing anything, just using the credit that Jonathan has set up already. Jonathan wears his burlap mask and I wear an old work-out hoddie of his, sticking to his side like glue. I keep my head down and say nothing, just as planned.

We quickly get a laptop and while Jonathan picks out clothes for me, finding me a disguise that's believable, while I set up the system. I swiftly write my own code, thanking my lucky stars that such a thing has always come easy to me. I make an elaborate system, based on the original one I used as a kid but revamped from all that I learnt from Edward, plus a few things that I've picked up over the years in case I were even in a position like the one I'm in now.

I let everything settle and do its own thing as Jonathan comes back, and he's alone. I look up at him, "Where are we on the clothes?"

He hands me a bundle, "See if this fits and if you like it. If it does and you do, I'll get you multiples" he pauses for a moment, his head tilting slightly, "I shall leave it up to you to decide if you want to create an alter ego for yourself."

I nod, accepting the clothes, "I know you're the more experienced in this world, but don't touch the laptop" I tell him and he gives me a slight nod.

I dash to the nearest change room and look at what he's picked. On top of the pile is a pair of sturdy, feminine combat boots in a dark blue, next up is what looks like a pair of leggings but with a material similar to yoga pants, that'll sit high on my waist and are in a dark grey. So clearly, the colours so far are to help me blend into the shadows, okay, I can do that. I move to the shirt, a long sleeved, high-necked, form fitting shirt made from a very tough material. I wouldn't be surprised if it was bullet resistant. It's not quite the dark blue of my shoes but it's not the same colour as my pants either, more like a mix of both. The last thing in the bundle is a mask, and a clean set of simple but comfy-looking underwear. Looking inside the mask, I see that it has a similar device as Jonathan's but it doesn't look like a scarecrow…it's more…earthy I guess you could say. The inner lining is smooth and the outer fabric is burlap but the design is more…well earthy, like I said. I realise that it's a way of showing that my allegiance is with both Jonathan and Ivy, should I decide to wear it of course. Oh who am I kidding, of course I'm going to wear this, it's awesome.

I change quickly, smiling at how everything fits and quickly plait my hair, securing it with my hair tie. Looking in the mirror I nearly giggle at how I look, I feel like I look a little like Lara Croft or Katniss Everdeen or something.

Shaking my head, I gather the clothes I was wearing before and place them in the bag that my new clothes just vacated. I keep the mask out and just think for a bit.

Do I want a different name? I'm pretty sure that all the crime bosses know me anyway, well the ones who're deemed 'crazy'. But the local dealers, mob or otherwise…I don't think they do. They know my face, but not my name…what would my alter ego be? Not Siren, although it's tempting. I don't want to be too obvious…I smirk, I know, I'll call myself Renenet.

O~O~O

I walk out, the mask I one hand and the old clothes in the other. I come to stand before Jonathan and I click the device in the mask on before slipping it over my head.

I look at him from under my eyelashes and speak, noting how my voice is changed by the device. It sounds more like a little girl and it's a tad creepy, "I am Renenet."

I hear him chuckle, "And how did you decide on that?"

I step closer to him, "She was the Egyptian Goddess of the Harvest at one point in history. I thought it was fitting" I explain calmly. "To choose a name that pays homage to both you and Ivy. After all, I've heard that it was the Egyptians who first used scarecrows in their fields."

He chuckles again and I see his eyes twinkle through his mask. I pick up the laptop and he takes the bag of clothes, adding them to a larger carpet-looking bag which is no-doubt filled with even more clothes.

We head off, with me by Jonathan's side this time, my head held high. We stop by another place to get groceries and we share the load of carrying them back. We get a few looks, well, I get a few looks, people wondering who I am and what I'm capable of, the whispers follow us until we're out of site and we manage to get back to the hideout safely.

O~O~O

Once the door is locked behind us, we both remove our masks and turn off the devices. I grin at him, "That was fun" I tell him, feeling a bit exhilarated.

He gives me a half-smile and shakes his head, "I didn't think you'd go for the burlap."

I playfully shove him, moving to put away the food, "Why wouldn't I? Everything you chose suits me and my personality. I like being in the shadows, being an observer to everything around me, gives me the advantage sometimes."

He chuckles lightly, helping me with the food, we've already agreed to share the workload and chores. "I'm not going to let you become a maid" is what he had told me.

The food doesn't take too long and once it's all put away, I show him the laptop and what I've done, "I'll have moments where I'll act like a bit of a loon and just go nuts with the code, just to make sure that it stays as good as it is" I say, light-heartedly scowling when he sniggers at my choice of words. "With everything I've done, as well as the continual updates that I will do…I'm quietly confident that not even Edward would be able to hack into it."

He beams, a dangerous glint in his eyes, "Perfect" he says simply and internally I beam at the praise. Then I send him a smirk and his eyes narrow, "What?" he asks cautiously.

I turn the laptop back to me and type in a few commands before turning the screen back so he can see, "Do these notes look familiar to you?" I ask with false innocence.

He breathes in deep through his nose, a slow grin growing on his face, "You found a copy of my notes."

I nod happily, "I wasn't going to for a while but it turns out that Arkham's computer security isn't very good."

He hums darkly, "Just like the regular security" he murmurs before looking to me. He gets the 'both Scarecrow and Jonathan are here' look on his face, "Thank you Iris."

The sincerity and warmth in his voice causes a light blush to spread over my cheeks and I mutter a soft, "Your welcome."

O~O~O

Over the next few days, we gradually build up our food supply and increase our amount of clothes, throwing in a few fancy outfits too, should Jonathan ever need to conduct business in a place where he shouldn't wear his mask. I even got some nice dresses, so I won't be left out, even splurging so far as to get makeup, as well as a good about of Chap Stick, boring ones for him and flavoured ones for me. We also decided that I should have a wig and coloured contact lenses, just in case I ever need to disappear for a while, eventually deciding on a curly red wig and blue coloured contacts. I can't really see a time when I will wear them but I know it's better to have them just in case. Looks like I'm well on the road to becoming a part of Gotham's underbelly…and I honestly can't wait.

Author's note: I know that this is short, but I just wanted to update it. Anyway, I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up as I want to make sure that I keep my timeline going at a steady pace, but I hope to have a bit more intrigue in the next chapter. Ivy will be back soon but maybe not for another couple of chapters, and I think we all know that when she does come back, there may be a bit more matchmaking on her part but who isn't expecting that? ;) Feel free to leave me a review, Until next time, Bye!