A/N: Hey guys! So.. Funny story.. Heh.. The last chapter was actually supposed to be a one-shot and was mislabeled as "In-Progress".. But, since a lot of you liked it, I think it's worth giving it a shot! We'll see where this wild ride take us! Feel free to review, follow, favorite, or PM us! So, without further ado, here's Chapter 2 of Agony.
We do not own the characters in this story unless specifically states otherwise. All credit goes to the Gotham writers, directors, and cast.
Warning: There are mentions of self-harm in this story. If you do not do well with it, or have struggled with it and/or are struggling, feel free to turn away from this story. Being one who has struggled, I understand not being able to handle it at the point you are at in your life; I'm sorry, but I feel it adds to the story. ~G
"You did what?" Harvey Bullock shouted at Detective James Gordon from two desks down. Jim rolled his eyes.
"Gee, thanks Harvey. Really wasn't hoping for your support."
"It's not that I don't support this decision but.." Harvey sighed, "are you cut out for this?"
James Gordon looked him straight in the eyes, his intense gaze never faltering. "No. I'm not. But I'll do my damnedest. That boy deserves at least that."
.
.
.
"Bruce, I'm home!" Jim shouted as he closed the door to his apartment. "I've got Chinese!" He said, setting the cartons on the kitchen table.
Still, there was no response from the boy.
"Bruce?"
He took a few steps into the dark apartment and listened closely. A faint whimper could be heard from the bedroom, and Jim sprinted in the direction.
"Bruce!" Jim was yelling over and over as he threw the door open. He found the boy laying on the floor, his back to him, staring out the window.
Jim ran to his side and turned him towards him, relieved to see that he was only asleep. The boy began to stir and Jim froze. He did not want to wake Bruce up if he was asleep; he barely got any rest nowadays.
Come to think of it, Jim could never think of a time he saw the boy sleeping. Peacefully, that is.
He's seen the boy in his nightmarish state too many times. Tossing and turning, groaning and screaming, terrified of the memories and faces that continually haunted him, never ceasing to release him from his endless torment. It broke Jim's heart. No child should ever have to experience that kind of pain.
But this, this was different. Jim Gordon had never seen such a serene sight. Nothing is as heavenly as a child, and nothing is as purely innocent as the face of one asleep. He let out a long sigh, and sat with the boy's head in his lap, wondering how he ended up in his situation.
He wasn't cut out for this. He could barely take care of himself; how did he expect to take care of another human being? But, he made a promise to the crotchety old butler with the gaze of ice and the heart of fire. He had never felt such a pull towards something in his life. He knew he had to do this, for Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth.
He'd always heard about it, the tug. The thing that pulls two human beings together, no matter the kind of relationship. He has never experienced it until he looked into Alfred Pennyworth's eyes and saw how much the butler and the boy were connected by a deep tug.
So, Jim Gordon left the Chinese food on the kitchen table, and held the boy tight as he sleep the whole night through. He had to do this. It was his duty. It was the tug.
.
.
.
"I don't want to do this," Bruce growled as Jim guided him through a door that smelled of a sterile hospital.
"I know, but you are anyway," Jim replied as they walked into the therapist's office. "It will help."
"No it won't."
"Bruce," Jim sighed. "Please just try it? You only have to do it once if it turns out to be a bad idea."
"Fine," Bruce huffed. "It'll be fun anyways," he smiled devilishly.
Jim groaned.
.
.
.
Five minutes into his "therapeutic visit" and Bruce Wayne already had whoever this woman was, he forgot her name, crying.
"And.. And he just left us, my dad. He never even looked back," the woman cried.
"I know, I know. I understand," Bruce patted her back with "sympathy". These whack-jobs normally had some sort of emotional issue deeply troubling them from their past. That's why they became therapists and psychologists. So they could "help people" with the "same problems" they had.
Well, Bruce had decided. This woman did not know absolute shit about what he was experiencing, and no one would.
About five minutes of continual blubbering about some man named Robert later, Bruce Wayne stood up.
"I think I'll take this as my cue to leave. I'm deeply sorry about Jeff-"
"Robert."
"Robert," Bruce sighed, "but we'll be in touch. Please do contact my personal assistant if you would like future appointments," he said as he handed the woman "James Gordon, GCPD"'s card, and walked back into the waiting room.
"Jim, I'm ready to go now."
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.
.
"What did you do?" Jim raised his eyebrow at the boy.
"I helped her through some issues. All in a day's work," the boy continued walking towards the car. Jim stopped him.
"Do you think this is some sort of joke, Bruce? Because it's not."
"What ever do you mean?" The boy questioned, a dangerous look in his eye. Jim fell for it.
"This! All of this! Your life! My life! Which is now a part of your life! All of it!"
"Hmm."
"Your parents," him seethed, "are dead."
The boy froze.
"Alfred. Is dead. In case you haven't noticed, I'm all you have left. And you aren't doing very well, to be honest."
The boy turned around and his eyes darkened.
"You think I don't know this?" The boy growled. "It's the reason I don't sleep. The reason I don't eat. The reason I don't want to be on this fucking planet anymore," Bruce screamed in the middle of a crowd of people.
"I'm stuck! It never ends!" Bruce was lost, his eyes glazed over. He couldn't stop. "It never ends! I live in a haze of depression medication and artificial happiness that the doctors prescribe, but do you honestly think that works?" He looked toward the busy street. Jim realized the boy's thoughts immediately.
"No. No, Bruce don't."
"Why?" The boy's voice cracked. "No one would care. Except Selina, but she's probably half-way across the country now. I wouldn't blame her."
"No Bruce. That's not true."
"Then who. Who would miss me?" He softly spoke, taking a step backwards.
Jim leapt forward, grabbing the boy and wrapping him up in a tight embrace.
"I-I would. I would miss you. You're all I have left, too, you know," the detective let out a breath, and the boy broke.
"It.. It never ends. Why doesn't it just-" he choked on a sob, "end."
"That would be too easy," Jim smiled crestfallenly.
.
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Bruce woke up to a tap on the window.
Tap. Tap. Tap. It sounded like scratching. He got up and checked the window, and has to recoil to pick himself up off the ground. He opened the window.
"S-Selina? What are you doing here?" Bruce stuttered. "It's like. Two in the morning."
"Yeah?" She asked, nonchalantly.
"And. I-I thought you left town," he looked down.
She looked to the side. "I decided to wait. I have business to attend to here, first." He decided it was best not to ask. "Throw some clothes on kid."
"Where are we going?"
"You'll find out."
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.
.
After about an hour of chasing Selina over various roofs and chimneys, Bruce finally caught the cat-like girl when she stopped at an building fifty-two stories up, with a panoramic view of the whole city.
Bruce sighed and looked at the beauty of the city of lights - of the empire. It was not his yet, the city nor the empire, but it would be his problem. Someday.
"It's weird to think," the girl murmured, distracted by the lights, "that a place so full of terrible things and people, could be so beautiful." Bruce nodded.
She sat down and he sat down next to her, and they scooted close to each other, feet dangling over the edge.
He looked out over the edge. "Have you.. Have you ever just wanted to fall? Over the edge?" Bruce asked. Selina looked at him cross and put her arm across his chest as if to keep him from going anywhere.
"Oh no you don't."
"No!" He sighed, frustrated, and moved her arm. "I'm not gonna!" He huffed. "I was just.. Wondering."
She shifted uncomfortably. "Well.. Yes. I'm sure everyone does at one point in time. You can only take so much."
He raised an eyebrow at her and she sighed.
"When my mom left, I was alone on the streets. I cared so much about her. I knew she'd come back for me. She always did. But this time.. She never did."
She chuckled to herself. "You know, it's sad. The slow descending of everyone around you into madness," she sighed.
He gave her an inquisitive glance, and she went on.
"People can only care so much, until finally, they get burnt out. And then.. They just don't care anymore. It's how the world works.. It's sad, really. Seeing everyone around you descend into darkness. Eventually, you go down with them. That was my cliff. But, I'm lucky, you know. Cats always land on their feet." He smiled at that.
The sun began to rise as Selina finished her story.
"Thank you," he said to her. She looked at him questioningly.
"Why?"
"I.. I needed this." She just smiled.
"I know. See you around."
And with that she was gone, leaving Bruce sitting, staring over the edge. He couldn't help but wonder who she really was. If people were water, he was a mountain brook, and she was an ocean, torrential and pulling every different, confusing direction.
A/N: There you go! Feel free to review, follow, favorite, or PM us! Thank you for reading, and go check out our other stories! ~G