12: Bruce Freaking Wayne
11:32 October 8th
Skye had felt sick to her stomach in the beginning, but now it was beginning to go away. Cassie and Tim were cute - black and white but perfect together. Cassie had hugged her and Skye had felt bad for stiffening, but the girl didn't seem to notice. Kaldur was a gentleman, and Artemis was silent. She wondered what that was about - Dick said he would tell her later. The man named Clark Kent had made her feel even more comfortable - she was familiar with the reporter's name. As soon as he mentioned Bruce and Diana, though, Skye swallowed hard.
Skye stood next to Dick as he caught the attention of the three.
"Where is Megan and Connor? This is their party," Dick said with laughter. John grinned.
"My niece had to run off to get more lemonade. She'll be excited to see you. And meet you, Skye," he added, turning his eyes to her. A normal looking man in his 30s, John Jones was one of those that could blend into a crowd. His smile was nice, friendly.
"I'm excited to meet her as well," Skye replied politely. She felt Bruce's eyes on hers, and turned toward him.
"Skye, how are you settling into this big crowd?" Diana swooped in, sending a glare toward Bruce telling him to stop intimidating the poor girl. Skye saw Bruce's face soften a bit, and she let out a breath.
"Better than I thought," she answered honestly as she shook the princess's hand. "It's an honor to meet you." Skye wanted to ramble on how much she looked up to Diana Prince as a woman role model, but stopped herself by biting her lip. Diana laughed lightly, a completely honest laugh.
"I'm glad you're settling in like you are. Dick, long time no see."
"I wouldn't miss this," he said. "We haven't been all together in over three years."
"I'm sorry, I should introduce myself before someone else gets your attention," Bruce finally said, a small smile on his face. It seemed honest, but still a little mysterious. Bruce freaking Wayne, she thought.
"Bruce Wayne, hi," Skye said, shaking his hand. The way he stared at her made her swallow.
"Bruce, knock it off, she's my date, I like her, be nice." Dick rolled his eyes and let go of Skye's hand. Almost panicking, Skye looked at Dick, who put an arm around her waist.
"He's not used to relaxing," John commented evenly, flipping a burger. "But he is pleased to meet you."
"Are you sure?" she asked lightly, smiling at Bruce.
"Yeah, just taking it all in. Dick hasn't brought a girl home. Ever." Bruce's voice went from even to friendly, letting out a light chuckle as Dick stared at him boredly.
"Oh, he never told me that." Skye looked at Dick, who seemed a bit flustered. She was more relaxed now that Bruce was cracking a joke.
"it's true, many women, none of them brought home." Bart came out of nowhere and then left in a flash. Skye stiffened - that wasn't something a new girlfriend liked to hear.
"Dick, take her away before both of you end up smothered with too honest comments," Diana said with a wink. Just then, Megan and Conner came out, each holding two pitchers of lemonade. Megan caught a glimpse of Dick and Skye, and gasped in delight.
"Dick!" Megan cried, putting the pitchers on the table hurriedly while Connor struggled to keep all four from falling. The girl ran over and hugged Dick tightly. "Oh, you're here! I didn't know if you'd come."
"I am so here," he replied, letting her go. He pulled Skye to his side. "This is Skye Lovett."
"What a fantastic name!" I'm Megan, nice to meet you." Skye let Megan hug her, and even squeezed a bit back. The welcoming vibe from everyone was nice. "Connor?"
"I'm here, sorry, the lemonade decided to take a dive." All four of them looked at the table with drinks and saw a puddle on the ground. Megan flushed.
"Congratulations on the engagement," Skye told them politely.
Megan and Connor looked barely eighteen, young to be getting married. But, Skye thought, when you knew, you knew. Reddish hair and freckles, Megan was grinning ear to ear. Connor had a shy smile and dark hair, seemingly much more quiet than Megan.
They looked happy and flushed at the mention of their engagement.
"Oh, thank you, Skye. It's been… a long time coming." She glanced at Connor, sharing a blissful look. Megan looked over their shoulders. "Oh, Barbara's boyfriend is here. He's hilarious."
Megan took off and the three left turned their heads to see rush to Barbara and a tall, lanky young man with glasses and a grin. The two were holding hands.
"She's very… hyper?" Skye said, looking back to Connor and Dick. "Cassie and her are friends, aren't they." A statement. Dick and Connor chuckled together.
"Best friends," Connor murmured, shaking his head. "Nice to meet you Skye, thanks for coming. I better mingle a bit …" Connor nodded and left.
Skye stood next to Dick, holding his hand, for a moment before speaking.
"Wow. That's a lot of energy." Skye watched as everyone laughed and talked, even Artemis - though she was reserved. "What happened?" She looked at Dick.
"Well…" Dick stopped, trying to figure out a way to explain it. "Her boyfriend, a friend of all of us, sacrificed himself to save people three years ago." It had been why he had left the group for a good two years before getting back into crime fighting on his own.
"Oh... no wonder she seems so … reserved."
"It's been hard on all of us, but the hardest on Artemis. She's doing better, though." Dick added with a small smile as he watched his friend conversed with Kaldur and Connor. Skye squeezed his hand.
"So, what Bart said…" Skye grinned up at Dick, leaning into him. "Is it true?"
"Oh, come on," Dick grumbled, looking away with a flustered look. Skye laughed and shook her head. "Fine. Yes, it's true. Nothing … stuck." Skye saw him glanced at Barbara and Zatanna.
"Wait, you dated them?"
"It was a long time ago," he answered nervously. Skye nodded, accepting the new information.
"At least you have some good taste in women. Those two are awesome. And me, of course."
A few hours passed, and Skye met more people: Raquel, Jaime, Karen, Mal, Ray, Arthur, Barry, Alfred, Iris, Jay, Joan, Mara, Marvin, Wendy, Adam, Dinah, Oliver, Jonathan, and Martha.
Skye's head swam with names and faces, and she knew she would never remember them the first time she met. Instead, she just stayed polite and said a few words to everyone. They were all welcoming. It turns out, Jonathan and Martha were the parents of Clark and Connor, Connor being adopted. There was a few more family connections, but Skye had forgotten already. A lot of people had complimented her hair, which made her beam with pride. Personally, blue felt more natural than her dull dirty blonde hair.
He food was delicious - the usual BBQ food. Burgers, hot dogs, potato salad, garden salad, baked beans, apple pie, and a large marble cake for the couple. Dick stayed at Skye's side, thankfully, the whole time. They sat at a picnic table as they ate with Tim on Dick's right side. Across from Tim was Cassie, and then Kaldur and Raquel.
There was a large diamond ring on Raquel's finger, plus a wedding ring.
"Are you married?" Skye asked as she finished swallowing a bite of burger.
"Yes, for a year," Raquel grinned. "David couldn't make it - he's a cop." Dick perked up at that, and Skye glanced at him. "You never met him," Raquel told Dick.
"I should have been there," Dick said with a wounded look.
"Courthouse wedding, promise it wasn't exciting. We both had a job the next few hours." She chewed some potato salad. Skye was about to ask what kind of job, but a voice from the 'head table', where Megan and Connor were, rang out.
Dick was proud of Skye - she fit right in and was comfortable conversing with Raquel as they at. Skye caught his hand under the table and squeezed - it seemed to be her way of calming herself. Dick didn't mind at all. He enjoyed the touch of her hand. Megan stood, catching everyone's attention. The redhead had a large smile on her face.
"Thank you for coming here to celebrate with me and Connor. Most of you have been there for us for a long time. We've been through a lot together, even though most of you have gone out on your own, it's nice to see you all again."
Loud applause came from all around, and Dick whistled with his fingers, followed by a few more around the backyard. Skye looked amused by the happiness she heard, some shouts of celebration and a few teasing remarks.
"Have some cake, I made it myself." Dick grinned at that and joined into the loud cheer that followed that comment. Megan laughed loudly and was followed by Connor to cut pieces of the large cake to share with everyone.
"She must be one hell of a baker," Skye commented as people crowded around Connor and Megan. Some stayed back - Bruce, Diana, Dinah, John, and a few others.
"She's fantastic. She used to cook for us when we lived to-" Dick stopped and cleared his throat. He hadn't meant to explain that much. Skye raised an eyebrow, and Dick knew he had to continue or she would keep asking. "I was having a bit of a… rebellious streak as a teenager, and stayed with her and John for a while."
It was as close as he could get, but it wasn't exact.
"Ah," Skye said, nodding in understanding. "Damn teenagers." They both chuckled and moved into the mob to get their own pieces.
Skye began to talk with Barbara. Dick stepped close to listen to the conversation between his new girlfriend and his ex-girlfriend slash partner. Instead, Bruce caught his eye and gestured him over. Dick looked back over at the two woman, then decided he had to deal with it.
"What's up?" he asked Bruce as they stood alone near the back porch. Everyone else was sitting at a table or standing around in the grass. Dick sipped at a glass of lemonade he had picked up on the way over.
"You really do like her," Bruce commented with a slight smile.
"Yeah, I do. I wouldn't have brought her otherwise." Dick eyed Bruce with suspicion. "Where is this going?"
"If you get serious, you'll have to tell her." Dick choked on the lemonade he tried to swallow.
"What?" He couldn't believe what he heard. What had happened to the Bruce he knew, and who was this stranger? He would have never suggested this before. "You can't be serious."
"I am serious." Bruce looked at him over a bottle of beer he sipped. "You know her past - dishonesty is probably a deal breaker. She seems enamored with Nightwing anyway."
"How do you know that?"
"I have connections, remember?" Bruce shook his head, amused. "I don't like the idea, but I don't want you to get your heart broken. Or hers, either. She's a sweet girl."
"This caring side of you is really creepy, you know that?"
"Dick? Sorry, I didn't realize you were talking to your dad…" Skye touched his arm. He turned and smiled at her. Did she hear their conversation? From the way she was smiling shyly at Bruce, he doubt it.
"It's fine, just making sure he's being a gentleman." Bruce grinned at Skye and winked. Diana joined them at that moment.
"Of course he's being a gentleman, he was raised by you." Diana seemed amused by the statement she just said. Dick laughed as he took a sip of his drink, knowing that Skye knew about Bruce's 'womanizing'.
"I am a gentleman," Bruce said defensively. Skye giggled as she held onto Dick's arm.
"That's what I said, Mr Wayne," Diana shook her head with an easy smile. "What do you do, Skye?" Diana turned her focus onto Skye. Dick watched Skye blink before she spoke.
"Ah, I'm a bartender at a club on the other side of the city."
"Didn't you tell me there was some… trouble there a few weeks ago?" Diana looked concerned at Bruce, then Dick and Skye. "I heard about the hostage situation. How is the woman doing?"
"Laura, she is doing much better. She is still working at the club, we're under new management." Skye couldn't keep the disdain for her new manager out of her voice enough for the three listeners to notice.
"That's good to hear," Diana said, glancing at Bruce. "You know, if you're looking for something new to do, I am looking for a personal assistant. I'd be happy to look over your resume."
"Oh, that's… I'm honored," Skye replied, looking over at Dick. He raised an eyebrow, wondering what she truly thought. Would she leave Chicago for this amazing opportunity? It really was a good job, Dick thought.
"I wasn't giving you a just, just the opportunity to apply," Diana chuckled. "You seem like the type who likes to earn your position. I hope I didn't offend you."
"No! I really do appreciate it. Maybe… maybe I will. If you give me a few weeks to think about it."
"Really?" Dick asked Skye, surprised. "You'd leave Chicago to move to Washington D.C.?"
The thought of her not there in the same city as him was more depressing than he thought it would be. Dick could move with her, of course, which his fake job being freelance work. It was a little too early to be thinking about moving in together. Hell, they had been dating for only what, three weeks?
Skye shrugged.
"I've always wanted to see D.C. Chicago was never my stopping point, I guess. I never really thought about staying or going. What do you think, Dick?" She looked at him patiently. He looked at Diana and Bruce for help in this answer, but they just gave tiny shrugs, leaving it to him.
"Obviously, it's up to you." That was a good answer.
"Right. But I like your opinion. I haven't known you for long, but it's important to me."
Bruce and Diana patiently sipped their drinks as they watched them talk. They were curious about the answer, Dick knew.
"Uh." Damn, what should he say? Honesty. "I think it's a great job. Diana is great to work with, and you'll be doing important things with her. It'll be better, and probably safer, than working at the club."
"Yeah…" Skye thought for a moment then put on a polite smile again. "I'll think it over for a week or so and then contact you, is that alright?"
"Of course!" Diana looked excited at the prospect. "Here is my office number…"
Dick and Skye left soon after that. Everyone came over to say goodbye, and Skye felt overwhelmed by the group once more. Once they were in the Dick's car and back on the road to her apartment, she blew out a breath.
"It's mid-afternoon and I'm exhausted," Skye groaned.
"I know what you mean," Dick agreed. After a moment of silence, he moved to another topic. "What's holding you back from accepting Diana's offer?"
Skye was quiet. The answer was simple, but it was much more complicated at the moment. She couldn't admit that it was him. She really liked him, their time together, and how comfortable she was with him. Skye enjoyed how patient he was with her, and how funny he was. Dick waited patiently for her answer, and she felt she had to give him one.
"It's complicated."
Dick nodded, not replying with anything.
Skye knew it wasn't just that. A new place wasn't an easy thing for her to enter. When she had gone to college, the new experience had been amazing, then… everything fell apart. She had a fear of the new, and Skye hated it. Diana Prince was an amazing woman who Skye would love to get to know better and work under. Would the stress and fear be worth the transition? Plus, she'd have to leave Dick. Neither reasons felt like good reasons not to take it, but they were stuck in her head.
They arrived at her apartment, and Dick opened her door to walk her to her apartment. She took his hand and squeezed. He squeezed back. As they reached her door, he finally spoke.
"I get it, it's a new city, new job, new everything. It's terrifying to some people. I guess you have to decided if it's worth it to face that fear."
Skye stood in front of him at her door, holding his hand tightly, then letting go. He seemed to understand more than she thought he would. It was nice, though.
"You're right." Skye smiled and nodded, then kissed him softly on the lips. "And.. well, this just started and I don't…" she trailed off, finding the words hard to say.
"My dad is rich, I can go anywhere," he laughed. It made Skye grin and she hugged him around his neck. Dick returned it, kissing her temple, then pulling away.
"I have to work - "
"Please take a few more days off."
"I hate taking your money."
"It's a loan," he reminded her. "If you take the job Diana offers, you'll be able to pay me back fast as you can blink."
"Yeah, if." Dick waited for her answer, not moving. Skye sighed heavily. "Alright. Two more days. I want to research what Diana does and what I would do as her assistant, anyway."
"Thank you," Dick said, sounding overly grateful. He bowed and left. Skye closed her apartment door behind her and couldn't stop smiling.