"You two look so cute together!" Historia gushed, as she raised the camera. Eren and Mikasa stood side by side. Eren looked rather stoic, but Mikasa looked rather happier than Historia had ever seen her.

The two were already dressed in their party things. Eren, a dark black tuxedo that they had custom made, and Mikasa… a stunning black 'chinese' dress, that emphasized her powerful legs.

Historia had never used a camera before, but had found herself taking random shots of the room they were in, determined to catalog every aspect of their trip. Eventually she had thought that Mikasa might appreciate a memento as well, and suggested that they take a picture together.

"Say…" Historia struggled to recall the expression. "Cheese!"

They gushed over the photos until it was time to take the car to Wayne Manor. Historia, Mikasa, Eren, and Armin all found themselves surprised at how large and spacious the back of the car was. They spoke at length about the cars they had observed in the city, and how this compared, before they arrived at the Manor.

Bruce Wayne was waiting for them at the entrance to the Manor, his arms held wide. On either side of him were two boys, perhaps their own age, who looked rather sullen.

"Historia!" Bruce exclaimed, as Historia stepped out of the car. "Wonderful to see you again, wonderful…"

"It is a pleasure, Bruce." Historia said. "And I'm pleased to have the opportunity to introduce my husband… Eren Jaeger."

Bruce raised his hand to shake. Eren stared at him coolly, and then raised his arm and grasped it.

"These are my wards." Bruce said, waving his hand behind him. "Dick Grayson and Jason Todd. They were orphans that I've taken in."

Eren's eyes glinted. Historia knew that he was impressed. Still smiling, Bruce wrapped his arm around his shoulder.

"I'd like to have the chance to speak to you, Eren." Bruce said, his voice warm and affectionate. "I've heard so much about you from your wife."

"Nothing scandalous, I hope?"

Historia gave him a shocked, incredulous look, but Bruce laughed.

"No, nothing but good things." He said. "Dick, perhaps you could entertain Historia and her friends?"

The black haired boy had already opened his mouth to answer, but the red haired one interrupted.

"I'd be delighted." He said immediately. To Historia's shock, and a little outrage, he stepped forward and wrapped his arm around Mikasa's.

"We have a dance floor." He said, his voice low and suave. "I'll show you the way."

Mikasa shot a look at Eren, as if expecting him to be upset by this, but he was already deep in conversation with Bruce Wayne. She stiffened her lip and reluctantly allowed herself to be led inside.

"It might be good for her to loosen up a little." Armin said, as the other boy, the black haired one, approached them.

"I'm Dick Grayson." He said. "A pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty… And you must be Armin Arlert."

"You know who I am?" Armin asked, a little taken aback. Historia had to stop herself from rolling her eyes.

"Of course." Dick said. "You're the chief tactician and leader of the Survey Corps of the Paradise Army… isn't that right?"

"First time leader." Armin said, a little embarrassed. "I have some rather big shoes to fill."

"Don't we all?"

Dick tilted his head towards Bruce Wayne. Armin found himself smiling.

Dick led both of them into the Manor. The entire place was lively and energetic. Well dressed, elegant people stood speaking amongst themselves, but stopped and looked their way as Dick led them inside.

They found a nice, large, spacious couch and sat down, Dick Grayson sat across from them in an armchair. People were still staring, but no one seemed to dare to approach.

"I know how hard fitting into these places can be." Grayson explained, still smiling. "Just sit tight until you find someone you can talk to."

"I think we've found him already." Historia said. Grayson looked surprised at this, but pleased.

"You are as kind as they say." He said. "But I'm not sure what we would talk about…"

"Bruce said you are his ward." Armin said. "What does that mean?"

'Essentially it just means he adopted me." Dick said. The smile seemed to somewhat fade from his face. "Uh, it was set up in a way that I couldn't inherit anything if he suddenly died, but I was allowed to live here, and he's paid for my education and lifestyle since I moved out…"

"He seems very fond of you."

"Yes, well." Dick said. "I'd rather have my parents back to tell the truth."

Historia felt her heart melt.

"Bruce paid for everything?" Armin asked. "You didn't come from the upper class?"

"No, my parents were Acrobats." Grayson said. "When they died, Bruce took me in." He had answered the question, but it seemed that he felt a little uneasy talking about his dead parents. Eren was much the same way.

"That was very kind of him." Armin said. "And unusual…"

"Armin." Historia said, a little sharply. "My government takes care of its orphans."

Armin fell silent, looking somewhat embarrassed. Dick was staring at them. Historia turned back to face him.

"Truth be told." She admitted. "We are all orphans. All four of us who came to the party tonight have no parents to speak of."

"What?"

He stared at her, as if he couldn't believe his ears. She smiled and nodded.

"So we see." She said. "We have more in common than you might think."

Bruce found himself pleased at how quickly he was able to isolate and corner Eren Jaeger. It gave him the chance to profile him in a way that he had not been able to through photos or descriptions.

His first impression was that Jaeger looked exhausted. Unlike his energetic and friendly wife, he seemed sallow and somewhat cross. He rarely smiled, and even more infrequently spoke. Historia had described him as a military leader through and through, and Bruce could certainly see it in him. Countless battles had weighed him down, and yet… it seemed that he had managed to adequately handle the burden.

Bruce suggested that they find a place to converse in quiet, and he was pleased that Eren agreed. He escorted him to a secluded part of the manor, and paged Alfred asking him for drinks. They sat across from each other, sizing each other up. Unlike his wife, Eren was not an active conversationalist. Bruce found himself having to lead the conversation more often than not.

"How are you enjoying Gotham?"

"It is no paradise." Eren rasped. He shook his head. "But your hospitality has been welcome… very much so."

Bruce surmised that Eren was still unaccustomed to the culture shock. It had been observed already that the government on Paradise was structured very differently than the outside world, with limited technology. It was also possible that Eren, who seemed to rule with absolute authority, was uncomfortable not being in complete control. Historia had mentioned during their conversation that they had eliminated all of the other potential political powers on the island. From that, it was safe to assume that Eren was concerned about his power being thwarted, and his country descending into chaos. Being in a foreign place, and reliant on foreign governments, likely had made him uneasy.

Still, though, it seemed that he trusted Bruce well enough, otherwise he would never have come into this room alone with him.

"I'm glad to hear that." Bruce said. "Gotham is my home, and I've been working very hard to make it one of the best cities in the country."

"Historia told me about you." Eren said. "How your business has built all of this wonderful technology…"

"Certainly, not all of it." Bruce said, a little surprised. "But we try and do what we can…" Paradise was such a small island that most innovations and scientific know how came from one or two sectors. Eren seemed unable to grasp that the outside world had hundreds of companies building up all manner of goods, all over the world. It was one of those things that made Bruce feel as if Eren truly had come from another world.

"Nevertheless, you are one of the most powerful people in Gotham… isn't that right?"

"Certainly not the most powerful." Bruce said. "I don't make laws or run the city itself…"

"But your company is involved in developing it." Eren said. "Your company is at the forefront of scientific development, and advances in technology."

"Well, we try to be." Bruce said.

Eren leaned forward.

"I want." He said. "Paradise to become a developed country in less than five years."

Bruce stared. Eren leaned back in his chair and looked at him, seemingly deep in contemplation about where to take the conversation next.

"I am sure." He said. "That you are well aware that we are a simple people. There are those within the Walls who still naively believe that they we will be able to protect them from an onslaught from the outside world. They are not able to comprehend the threat that the outside world poises to them. Their primary concerns are surviving and feeding their families. We have been doing our best to educate the population and lift the poor out of poverty, but it has proven very difficult. The previous rulers of Humanity-"

He stopped, shook his head, and corrected himself.

"The previous rulers of the Eldian people did everything in their power to subjugate and control the population." He said. "Technology was not allowed to develop past a certain point, in the hopes of preventing an uprising. In the short while that Historia was crowned, we have gone to great steps to develop railways and new goods… but unfortunately I feel as if it is still very far from what your world enjoys."

This was the most Eren had talked since they had met. Bruce sat in silence, hands folded in front of him.

"It is imperative." Eren said. "That we keep moving forward."

He was a true revolutionary. Bruce thought to himself, as he considered Eren's words. He had overthrown the previous government, installed Historia on the throne, married her, and then committed himself to enact positive change. Or, at the very least, that was the image he was trying to present himself here, in this foreign country.

"It sounds like you are about to make a proposal of some sort." Bruce said.

"I do." Eren said. "I want my greatest and brightest young minds to learn from yours. I want my engineers to have full understanding of your technology, and replicate it for the good of the Eldian people. I want to develop my cities so that poverty and crime are virtually nonexistent…"

Bruce raised his hand. Eren fell silent.

"Even here, I can tell you that poverty and crime is still very much prevalent." Bruce said, a little sadly. "If you hope to eliminate it entirely… I can tell you that despite all of our best efforts, it has never been done."

"Then I will be the one to take that next step." Eren said coolly.

"One step at a time, as they say." Bruce said. "Focusing on building up your industrial development is a great plan. It will create a lot of new jobs for those people who are looking for work. And when you do that…"

He rose to his feet and held out his hand.

"We can snuff out crime together, okay?"

Eren stared at him for a moment, before grasping it.

A/N

I must say I am positively shocked at the positive response this story has gotten. I was expecting this to be one of my more overlooked stories, but it is already well on its way to becoming one of my most popular. I thank all of you for your support. Every review that I get makes me very encouraged to keep writing.