Preordained Chapter 4

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Preordained

by DebC and Christina A

Summary: Bruce & Grace reunite after a painful 4-month separation and everyone’s lives are affected.

Chapter Four

Saturday, January 15, 2005

Bruce slipped into the underground headquarters just as the sky began to lighten from pitch black to the inky shades of impending morning. Sunrise was in two hours, and he was exhausted. Not too mention sore. He’d tangled with something other than muggers tonight –two bank robbers hoping to crack the safe in Gotham National Bank. He’d taken a metal pole to the back of the head for his efforts, but he’d managed to apprehend them and leave them where the cops could find them.

Thankfully, his father had been right all those years ago when he’d attempted to assuage his mother’s fears about letting him slide down the banister of the main staircase. ‘The boy won’t get hurt, Martha,’ Thomas Wayne had insisted. ‘He’s got a hard head.’ Bruce rubbed his head absently, knowing there would be a bump by later that day, and scowled. Hard or not, he still had a pounding headache now.

Stripping from the suit, he was dressing when Alfred entered. “Busy night, Master Bruce?” he inquired. Bruce gave him an abbreviated version of what happened and Alfred disappeared, returning with a steamed towel, some antiseptic for the minor cuts and scratches and aspirin for his headache. Bruce gritted his teeth and said nothing. When Alfred was sure he wasn’t bleeding too badly or in need of further medical attention, he added, tirelessly, “You should know that Miss Grace is awake, sir. She’s waiting for you in the downstairs foyer.”

Bruce nodded and accepted the overcoat Alfred had also, conveniently, brought with him. Back out into the night he went, this time to let himself in by the front door.

*-*-*

She spun at the sound of the door opening. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to have been feeling at seeing him come in. The myriad of questions flowed from her mind all at once and pretty much came out of her mouth that way. “Where have you been? I’ve been worried absolutely out of my mind. I woke up; you were gone. I mean, maybe…” She sighed, trying to find her center. “I thought maybe something happened to Courtney, so I called them. You weren’t there. I would have called the hospitals… the police… the morgue… but Alfred finally woke up and heard me rustling around. He told me to be patient, so I was. But then you still didn’t come home…”

Maybe she didn’t have a right to be like this. It was all coming from being afraid, worried, and panicked. She’d been back in his life not even 24 hours and she was nagging at him. It wasn’t her place, she knew it, but still… she had been scared and more than a little worried.

Then she stopped and looked at him. Really looked at him. “You’re hurt?” She moved quickly to him. “Bruce,” her voice more concern now than fear or anger. “Bruce, what’s going on?”

With his headache still pounding worse than 10 am at a construction site, Bruce thought it best not to say anything and let Grace have her say. He’d garnered all he’d needed to know from Alfred’s pitying expression and the wild spark in her eyes when she got somewhere around ‘so I called Courtney’ and figured she had every right to be feeling what she was feeling.

So he listened patiently, his body swaying from exhaustion. It was the slight side-to-side motion that made her stop and look at him. Really look at him. The anger –fear?– in her eyes melted away into a look of open concern when she realized he was hurt, and for the first time, she asked the question he’d been hoping to avoid –what’s going on?

“It’s nothing; I’m fine,” he began and she opened her mouth to protest.

“You’re not fine! Look at yo–”

Listing a little as he leaned closer, he placed a gloved finger to her lips, shushing her. “Listen to me, Grace. I’m. Fine.” The words were chopped for emphasize, but not in anger. He couldn’t be mad that she was worried; it meant she loved him. Where there was love, there was hope. “I know you have questions, and believe me when I tell you this is killing me to say, but I can’t tell you. You’re just going to have to trust me.”

It was, perhaps, the most important thing he’d ever say to her after ‘I love you.’ If Grace could not accept this one thing on faith, then their relationship could not continue. He was not lying when he told her it hurt him to be so divided.

She said nothing for several moments. She heard his words, but most importantly she heard the ‘words’ behind them. He was serious. She knew he wasn’t necessarily fine as it was all he could do to stand, but the other part… the not being able to tell her… the asking her to go on blind faith. He couldn’t tell her… she had to trust him. She couldn’t ask questions. Then, it dawned on her like the sun burning off the early morning fog. *THIS* is why he’d asked her to leave all those months ago. This was why. Whatever it was, it was enough that he felt it best to put distance between them.

She reached out to help him steady himself. It wasn’t a hard decision for her. She knew the alternative… had lived the alternative for the past four months. She wasn’t going back to that again. She’d rather live here with him and be in his life… accepting that there were things he couldn’t share… than to live without him and be miserable. If that’s how it had to be, that’s the way it would be.

She still said nothing, merely moved more into his space and wrapped her arms around his waist. Her head rested on his shoulder and she let her sturdiness hold him up. “I love you. If you say you can’t tell me, I can live with that. I trust you, Bruce, with everything I am. But if I may, is this something you have to do often? Just so I know and will understand waking up and finding you gone.”

“It will be a very common occurrence,” he admitted after watching the thought process play out across her lovely features. Though she did not say so, he knew in his heart that she understood now why they had been separated for so long. “You mustn’t worry, though, Grace. I will always come back to you,” restating what he’d told her when she woke up earlier that day. “Nothing this side of death could keep me from your love.”

*-*-*

Grace was sitting in the high-backed leather chair in Bruce’s bedroom. He was still sleeping. Whatever the events from last night, they had left him physically exhausted. Alfred had come in and inquired about lunch.

Her reply had been to let him sleep, and if he weren’t awake by late afternoon, she’d wake him.

She, however, ate lunch. But she ate in the room. She seemed unwilling to stray too far from him. It was as if by watching him sleep, hearing him breathing, and knowing she was close to him, it was enough for her. She had found a peace and contentment that she hadn’t known in months.

Around one, Alfred came in again, but this time it wasn’t to inquire about Bruce’s lunch. “Master Seth and Mistress Courtney are downstairs and wish to see you,” he announced.

‘Oh shit,’ she thought, offering him a smile and getting up from the chair. Moving over to Bruce’s sleeping form, she lightly touched his hair and placed a soft kiss on his forehead. It was sweet as he smiled in his sleep, but didn’t stir otherwise.

*-*-*

“Can you just be civil about this, Seth? That’s all I ask.”

They were waiting in the living room that was just off the library. Alfred must have led them in there because he knew it was one of Grace’s favorite rooms.

“I am always civil, love.” It was those words Grace heard from Seth as she entered the room.

“Hey,” she said, not exactly sure what else she could say to them. They were just the first two of many she was going to have to face. Everyone was going to want explanations. A part of her wanted to tell them all to back off, it was her own life and she could do with it what she wished. But these people… they’d all been there for her during the darkest times, and they deserved much better than that.

Seth didn’t miss the fact that there was a flush of color in her cheeks. He didn’t miss that there was a sparkle in her eyes. He didn’t understand what it was about Bruce Wayne that drew these two women in like it did. But Grace definitely seemed 100% better.

“We brought you some clothes,” Courtney offered as Seth continued to look at her. “We also fed Dizzy and made sure he had his medication. Actually, we took him over to Naomi. She says to call her, by the way.” Courtney nodded toward the two oversized suitcases. “We weren’t sure how long you’d be staying.”

“Are you sure about all this, Grace?” Seth bit his tongue, trying his best not to sound as frustrated as he felt. “I just need to know what’s going on here… as your agent if not as your friend. There are a lot of prospects for you at the agency right now. Alex will need to know where to get a hold of you.”

Grace took the vacant seat beside Courtney, figuring the female Meyers would be much more sympathetic. “I’m not sure, no. I get the feeling that I’m staying indefinitely. But there’s so much…” She paused and sighed. “We’re working on things,” was all she said upon finishing.

“Where is he, by the way?” Courtney asked, looking around as if he should be here.

“He’s sleeping.” When her friend stood as if to go get him, Grace reached out and grabbed her arm. “Let him sleep. He didn’t get in until dawn, and he has a headache.”

Seth let the appointment book he was holding in his hands fall loudly onto the table. “And that doesn’t strike you as odd? That doesn’t strike you as something that’s atypical? Gracie, I know you’ve done nothing these past four months but want to be back in his life, but think about it. Did he even offer an explanation?”

Oh, he wasn’t going to take this well. Seth didn’t deal in secrets, especially in relationships. He believed the best kind of relationships were those that held no secrets at all. He wasn’t going to understand her answer. “I asked. He said he couldn’t tell me. I just have to trust him.”

“Trust him?! Trust him?!” He stood and paced around the room. Courtney and Grace shared a look, and both knew what was coming next. “Why? Why should you trust him? What in your immediate past says you should take anything on blind faith from him?” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. When he gave himself a minute to get himself in order, he moved back to his chair and sat down. “I’m sorry. It’s none of my business what goes on between the two of you. But, damnit, I don’t want to see you hurt again. That’s not overstepping any boundaries, Grace.”

She looked at him for several long moments and smiled softly. “No, it isn’t overstepping. But Seth, I’ve figured out a lot of things these past couple days. And they all lead me to believe that things are different now. I’ll be careful. But really, I can’t live without him… and I do trust him… I belong with him. And maybe our road isn’t paved smoothly. But all the bumps and ruts… they’re worth it. If in the end, we’ve learned and we can have a happy life together, it’s worth it.” She paused for a moment and got a hardy ‘Here, here’ from Courtney. Smiling, she nodded at the appointment book. “Now, you brought that along for a reason. I take it there are appointments I’m going to have to keep. What’s on the slate, boss?”

He smiled. He wouldn’t lecture her anymore about the choices she was making. But he wasn’t done with Bruce Wayne. Oh no! When he got up, and if they were still here, he and the younger man were going to have a talk… just to clear some things up. But to Grace, he smiled. “Yes, you have appointments. But, fortunately, only one is out of town. Feel like taking a trip to Manhattan?”

New York City. She had actually gone back a few times since Bruce came into her life. It wasn’t as intimidating as it had once been. So her answer was more natural now than what it would have been a couple years ago. “You bet. If I got Prada, that is.”

He winked at her. “You got Prada. Spring line, sweetie.”

Courtney shook her head. “One of the most expensive clothing manufacturers in the entire world… and you’re getting paid to wear their stuff. I bought a suit from their store… sucker cost over $2000.”

Grace nodded vigorously. “I know!! Isn’t it great? What’s the offer?” The last question was aimed at Seth.

“$200,000 for the initial photo shoot. A complete line of spring and summer apparel. $180,000 each for ads run in Cosmo, Glamour, and Elle, with the option for three other magazines as yet to be named. $375,000 for billboards in New York, Los Angeles, and Atlanta, with the option for two more major cities. And if you do a runway at the fashion show in Manhattan, they’ll give you an additional $250,000. Think you can live with that?”

She did a quick tally in her head. “That’s… what… over $2 million not counting the clothing.”

“Yep.” He replied, knowing she realized that this made her the highest paid model that Prada was signing.

“What about signs in the stores?”

He scanned over the contract. “You will get an addition $15,000 per store advertisement. So about an additional $225,000. Oh yeah… and Alex negotiated that Prada will pay the agency’s percentage.” He smiled. “So basically, darling, we’re not taking our percentage out of what Prada is paying you.”

Courtney sighed audibly. “They want you.”

Grace nodded. “By the time they’re done, they’ll end up paying me well over 2 million dollars, Courtney. All I have to do is pose for some pictures and walk down a runway.” She looked back at Seth. “What else?”

He smiled. “L’Oreal wants another sitting. They’re willing to do the shots here in Gotham. They had a photographer come and look at those trails that Courtney loves so much. They want outdoor shots this time. Apparently they have a new face powder that is resistant to cold or something. We’ve got an aggressive campaign we’re going to start and we need new photos. The deal is the same as before… only they’re willing to up the photo shoot fee to $75,000, since it’s over and above the original contract. And if you sign for an addition campaign, they’ll double the signing bonus. What was it last time?”

“$30,000,” she offered.

Courtney interrupted once again. “Hold on. You mean to tell me they paid you THAT much money just to sign your name on a piece of paper?” This was the first time she’d actually heard the details of the work Grace did and what she got paid for it.

Her friend shook her head. “No, they pay me that to make sure I sign the paper for them and NOT for someone else. I sign for them I can’t sign for Cover Girl or Revlon or any competitor. I sign for Prada who gives a signing bonus of about $75,000 then I can’t sign with Ralph
Lauren… You see how this works. I can still work for Old Navy because the markets are completely different. Most people who shop Old Navy can’t afford Prada. Most people who shop Prada don’t give a fig about Old Navy.”

Seth cleared his throat. “Um… Grace… Prada’s signing bonus isn’t 75… it’s an additional $250,000.”

Grace laughed. “I take that back, Court. They’re going to end up paying me over 2.5 million dollars. Not bad, huh?”

Courtney shook her head. “Unbelievable.”

“See why I say it’s a good gig?”

She looked back at Seth. “What size do they want me?” Most wanted their models to be a certain size, so it wasn’t an unusual question.

“Can you get up to a size six in a month?”

She did a quick calculation. “That’s about fourteen pounds.” She thought of Alfred and smiled. “I have a feeling I’ll be able to do that easily. A certain someone I know will have no problem with making sure I put on the weight. What’s the bottom line, Seth?”

He ran some numbers on his calculator. “2.8 million between the two offers. Alex is going to negotiate that L’Oreal pay the agency your percentage as well.”

“2.8 million,” Courtney repeated. She seemed to be in awe. “2.8 million to let some guy take pictures of you. And that’s just two accounts. How many do you have?”

Grace shrugged. “About six I think. And yeah, hon, that’s a lot of money. But it’s just money.” She looked up toward the ceiling for a moment. “Money doesn’t really matter, you know.”

Courtney’s mouth was still agape. She had no idea Grace earned that much. She wondered if anyone did… except Alex and Seth. What did she do with it all? She didn’t travel; she didn’t buy things. She lived in that small apartment that she leased for next to nothing. The
Hummer was paid off a year ago. What did she do with all of it?

Seth looked back at the door, looking down at his watch.

“2.8 million for two jobs,” Courtney repeated. “Incredible.”

“And the only thing she has to do is be her usual beautiful self,” a voice said from entryway that adjoined the living room to the library. Their heads turned as Bruce came in, silent in sock feet. He was dressed similarly to yesterday, in jeans and another sweatshirt. He went straight to Grace, bending down to give her a polite kiss on the lips. “‘Mornin’,” he mumbled against her lips as the brief kiss ended.

“Good afternoon,” she corrected softly. “I thought you were sleeping.”

“So did I, but apparently Lee had other ideas.” He turned smiles to the Meyers’: a polite smile to Seth and a wide grin directed at Courtney.

“Lee’s your new personal secretary, right?” Courtney asked, more to clarify for Grace’s sake. She’d already been privileged to hear her father’s complaints about the man whenever he couldn’t get so much as a simple lunch date with Bruce.

Bruce nodded, but with a good-natured scowl. “He came highly recommended, but has utterly no respect for my personal time.” He sat down in the only available chair in the circle –the one between Grace and Seth– and took Grace’s hand in his instinctively.

Or perhaps not so much out of instinct than out of some need to be territorial. Seth was watching him like he expected Bruce to do something to hurt Grace right there in front of them. Bruce merely smiled back as if he had no clue what that look meant. Seth had every reason to mistrust him when it came to Grace, but that didn’t mean
Bruce had to give him the satisfaction.

“Maybe…” Courtney suggested to Grace, as if sensing some kind of male dominance thing happening, “you and I should take your suitcases upstairs?”

Bruce ended the staring contest to look at Grace. “You have suitcases?” He couldn’t keep the overjoyed smile off his face. Suitcases meant she wasn’t going to change her mind and leave. After this morning, he’d considered that a possibility.

She nodded. “I do. Two of them, though God only knows what Courtney put in them. I’m half afraid to look.” She laid a hand softly on Bruce’s cheek before moving to her suitcase and picking one up. Damn, it was heavy.

Courtney laughed. “I let Seth decide what came out of the closet.
He’s a much better dresser than I am.” The laugh, of course, was a nervous one. The redhead picked up the suitcase Grace hadn’t and followed her friend out the door. Unlike Grace, she looked back five or six times, nearly running into the door in her worry over what was going to happen when they exited the room. Still, she let the door close behind her and looked at her friend. “This could have been a good idea or a bad idea. I don’t like the thought of those two at each other.”

“Seth can handle his own, Court, even against someone like Bruce.”

Courtney shook her head. “Honey, I wasn’t necessarily worried about
Seth.” She passed Grace on the stairwell. “When we were in New York,
I learned a lot about that man. I learned a lot about his contacts. I learned a lot about how he got them. And though he may ‘just run’ an advertising agency, he has a reputation. And it isn’t one that’s been garnered from a name.” She paused and turned around. “Remember that guy… what was his name… the one who got fired and tried to pull that ‘office tragedy’ thing. What was his name?”

“Nelson,” Grace offered softly. She did remember that. “Seth fired him the week before Christmas because he lost that account and then turned around and threatened the CEO’s wife. Yeah, I remember.”

“Remember how Seth handled it when that guy came back?” She paused.
“I think Seth has ideas… you know… ideas about how a woman should be treated. His dad is horrible to his mother, and Seth hates it. So, he really hates it when he sees other women being mistreated. And agree or not, in Seth’s mind, Bruce mistreated you.” She sighed. “And since we’re being honest, it wasn’t me who picked up most of your pieces. It was Seth. He’s mentally invested in this now.”

For the first time since she walked out of the living room, Grace looked back. “Let’s unpack quickly… ok?”

*-*-*

Seth waited a heartbeat after the girls left before picking up his appointment book. He made a point of closing it and then taking his briefcase from beside the chair. The briefcase replaced the appointment book on the table, and Seth slid the book inside the larger object, putting it precisely in its place. He hadn’t missed the little ‘display’ Bruce had put on when he came in. Seth also knew it was done for his benefit. “Look,” he broached, more in ‘business’ mode than he’d ever been around Bruce. “I can appreciate that there’s a ‘second chance’ happening here. I don’t begrudge it.” He set the briefcase aside and turned to face him. “But you weren’t there to pick up the pieces. Courtney wasn’t there to pick up the pieces as she was here with you. I was there, and I do *not* want to see it again.”

Truth was, he’d seen it far too many times. To be fair, Bruce and his father had nothing in common. His father hurt his mother on purpose.
He had intentionally said and done things to hurt her. But the reactions had been the same. The way his mother cried… that was how
Grace had cried. It rubbed him. He inhaled deeply. “I just hope that this time you’re sure. Don’t hurt her again.”

He surprised himself. It wasn’t said in a nasty or threatening tone.
That wouldn’t have done either of them any good. It was just a fact.
“I’m not sure she’d recover.”

When Seth had had his say, Bruce just nodded his head in silent agreement. He rose from his chair and crossed the room to stand in front of the stone fireplace, putting both hands on the mantel.

He wasn’t surprised by this reaction from Seth. The older man had always held Bruce to a higher level of expectations than everyone else –as if the mere fact that Courtney and Grace loved him meant he needed to be better than he was. More perfect and less fallible. Less prone to human error and stupidity. Some might consider that too high an expectation, but if anything, Bruce understood Seth’s reasons. Like himself, Seth valued their two women above all else.

“You’re right,” Bruce said at last. “I wasn’t there. I messed up. I was wrong, and I hurt Grace terribly.” Guilt tinged his words. “I won’t even pretend to assume I deserve the second chance Fate has seen fit to grant me. The suffering I caused her–” A lump formed in his throat, choking him. “I can’t even begin to express how horrible I feel.”

He waited through an incredibly awkward silence for Seth to respond, but the only reaction was the narrowing of Seth’s eyes. He pushed forward. “I can’t even ask for her forgiveness, because, in truth, I know I don’t deserve it. The best I can do –the *only* thing I can do– is attempt to make her happy again.” He couldn’t erase what he’d done, but her happiness was important to him. This had been why he’d done what he’d done –to ensure her safety and happiness. Except it hadn’t gone as he’d thought. Not that he could actually explain any of that to Seth. “If you want to know the truth, I’m still waiting for Grace to tell me to go to Hell and leave. That she hasn’t… amazes me.”

He turned back to face Seth, his voice truly sincere as he said, “Thank you for being there for her… for taking care of her.” Thank you for doing what I could not, he added mentally.

*-*-*

Grace took the underwear out of her suitcase and put them in the drawer. She was a bit nervous about actually unpacking clothing. What if Bruce didn’t want her to stay? Mentally, she told herself she was doing this so she’d have it when she stayed the night. Thing was, she wanted to stay every night… even after the conversation she and Bruce had last night.

Courtney was hanging up Grace’s sweaters. She had been wondering about this since last night and it finally got the better of her. “I know Bruce said you can’t ask about where he went last night, but doesn’t it bug you?” She reached for another hanger. “If it were me, I’d have a thousand and one questions.”

Grace shrugged. “You didn’t just get back together with someone you’ve been separated from for months either Courtney. And I got the distinct impression that if I couldn’t go on blind faith with this, what relationship we are rebuilding would have been in jeopardy. I don’t know what’s going on, and I don’t necessarily like that I’m not going to know, but I’m going to accept it. I love him, and I trust him.”

Courtney nodded. “Yeah. You know it’s not anything illegal and there’s definitely not another woman.”

“Those are the two things I don’t have to worry about. But I have to worry about him going out and getting hurt doing whatever it is he’s doing. Courtney, he could barely stand when he got home this morning. I’m chewing him out for making me worry, and he can barely stand.” She sat on the chair next to her chest of drawers and sighed. She still felt hugely guilty about that. “I was so focused on what he had put me through that I didn’t even notice something was wrong.”

Courtney walked over and took the underwear from Grace’s arms. “Go over there and hang up the pants. I’m not sure if you drape them over the hanger or use the clamps.” She put the underwear in the drawer and continued talking, “First off, don’t you dare feel fucking guilty about worrying about him. I’m sure that’s how he took it. And if he didn’t, I’ll make sure he does. Secondly, it’s okay to worry about him. It’s okay to be afraid when you wake up in the middle of the night to find him gone. And it’s okay for a number of reasons. Shall I go into them?”

Grace shook her head. “No, Mom,” she teased. “I get it. I’m just not sure about my footing here. And I don’t know that I can say that to Seth.”

“You can say anything to Seth.”

“And him not go all ‘protective’ on me?”

Courtney laughed. “Well, I make no promises in that area. He was protective of you before, but he is much more so now. And that isn’t going to change just because you’re back together with Bruce. If this talk they’re having doesn’t go to Seth’s liking, he’s going to be extremely protective. You know how he was with me… when I was at the clinic. He wouldn’t let Bruce talk to me.”

Grace nodded, remembering what that had done to Bruce. Though he’d said he understood, it had still hurt. “It tore Bruce up, but he understood. Though he talked to your dad every day. Miles never held anything against Bruce over that.”

“Bruce is the son Dad never had. Seth is his son-in-law, and he loves Seth very much. But Seth seems closer to Mom. They get along so well, but you know that. Dad just seems to gravitate more toward Bruce. It’s like each one has a ‘son’.” She smiled as she put the last of Grace’s bras in the drawer. “So,” she turned an evil look to her best girlfriend. “Had make-up sex yet?”

“COURTNEY!!!” Grace’s face flushed immediately. Though she’d never had a problem discussing sex before, she was completely shocked by the woman’s question.

“I’ll take that as a no,” she said, shaking her head. “Still in the hugging and cuddling stage, huh? Sometimes, I think it would be nice if Seth pissed me off once in a while so we could have make-up sex.” She winked. “Cause can you imagine…”

Grace laughed. Leave it to Courtney. She just always seemed to know what to do or say. She was perceptive enough to know how to get the reaction that was needed. “I can imagine. And don’t think I haven’t thought about it. But Courtney, I just can’t get beyond the fact that he’s back in my life… that I’m back with him.”

The unpacking finished, Courtney went to her friend and put her arm around her shoulders. “Then get beyond it already and get busy. One of us needs to have make-up sex.”

That said, both women laughed all the way down the hall.

*-*-*

Seth stood, instinctively unbuttoning his suit coat as he walked over to the younger man. Bruce was a few inches taller than he, but it didn’t seem so at the moment. He slid his hands into his pockets, though he stood close enough to offer physical support with the touch of one of those hands. Maybe that was why he did it. Bruce didn’t feel he needed support. And though Seth understood things a bit more clearly, he merely used verbal support for the moment.

“It’s nothing you wouldn’t have done had situations been reversed.” His voice was soft, understanding as he spoke. “We all make mistakes, Bruce. We all do things that we wish with all our heart and soul we could take back, and can’t. And it hurts like hell. It eats at you.
I know.” He sighed. “No one is expected to be perfect here. And you and I have one blaring thing in common. We love both of those women… though in very different ways.”

He turned and leaned with his back against the mantel. He’d had a talk with one of his brothers like this once. The younger Meyers boy had broken a girl’s heart and wanted her back, he hadn’t been able to ask for forgiveness either. So, the words he’d said then pretty much held true. “And it’s not about asking for forgiveness. Bruce, she forgave you the second you said the words to her. They’re both like that,” he said, referring to the girls. “When they love, it’s unconditional. It’s something I’ve never understood. How people can love like that? But the girls, they do.” He looked down at his feet, checking out the obviously genuine Persian rug.

When he looked up again, his features were a bit softer. It seemed they understood one another a bit better now. “We just have to learn from our mistakes. And if we’re lucky enough, and we are, we get a chance to do things again and do them right this time.”

Bruce couldn’t believe what Seth had said. Grace had forgiven him…. months ago. How could she do something like that, when he’d hurt her so badly? He didn’t think he could allow himself the same luxury. He’d nearly destroyed her life, and if she’d let him, he’d spend forever making it up to her.

“They are amazing women,” he agreed with Seth. Their girls were special beyond words. “And I do love them both more than anything.” He turned his head to meet Seth’s eyes. “I didn’t mean to hurt her… and I don’t intend to do it again.”

Seth reached out and touched Bruce’s arm. It seemed he wasn’t going to deny the bit of physical comfort either. It was a brief touch, but he hoped Bruce would understand what it meant. “I believe that.”

He dropped his hand and was moving away from the fireplace when the girls returned. Both were somewhat flushed, as if they’d been laughing or crying. From the looks on their faces, it was the former.

Courtney didn’t even try to hide the fact that she was checking out both men, taking in the looks on their faces and deciding from there how it went. She’d talked to Grace alone, and now that Seth had had his moments with Bruce, she wanted her own as well. Just as Seth must have wanted to talk to Grace. She grinned at the two of them. “No rumpled clothing, no destroyed furniture, no detectible cuts,” she smiled at Grace, “See! We CAN leave them alone for five minutes together.”

Seth closed his eyes and shook his head. “That’s what I love about you. You come in, open your mouth, and the first thing that pops in your head comes out of it.” He couldn’t help but tease her.

She nodded. “Why would anyone want to do anything different?”

Grace just shook her head as she walked past the married couple to go stand next to Bruce. Courtney’s words still echoed in her ears and she was more aware of Bruce physically than she had been the past day or so. Her hand slid into his and she said, “Everything’s unpacked, though I’m going to need more workout clothes. I have an entire gym at my disposal, and fourteen pounds to gain, I need to take advantage of it.” She was a bit unsure as to exactly how long Bruce intended her to stay. Like she’d told Courtney earlier, she’d move back in and sublet her apartment in a heartbeat if Bruce asked her to. She wanted to be here… 24/7. But she couldn’t assume so until he asked her.

The thought of Grace wanting more of her things here at the manor made Bruce very happy indeed. She wanted to stay for more than a few days; he wanted her to stay forever. “We can go over to the apartment and pick up anything you want; just say the word.” He’d call the movers, if that was what she wanted.

“Perhaps Master Dizzy, as well,” Alfred suggested, having entered the room while they were talking. Bruce could have kissed Alfred then, if such an occurrence wouldn’t scandalize the butler. He always knew just how to say something without saying it directly. If Grace brought
Dizzy, it meant she considered this more than a brief visit. She might actually stay.

“Dizzy, too.” Bruce smiled and squeezed Grace’s hand, though his gaze was now turned inquisitively to Alfred. He knew well that he should be training, though he was still sore from last night. “Was there anything you needed, Alfred?” he asked.

The butler inclined his head in a slight nod. “I had thought to remind you of your afternoon commitments, Master Bruce, and to inquire if we were to be having the pleasure of Master Seth and Mistress Courtney’s company for dinner later.”

Bruce nodded at the mention of his ‘commitments’. He wasn’t likely to forget how important they were for his survival, now more than ever, as he now had a reason to return home every night in one piece. “How ’bout it?” he asked, looking from Courtney to Seth. “You guys want to stay for dinner?” If they stayed, he wouldn’t feel so badly about excusing himself later to train, as he wouldn’t be leaving Grace alone.

Seth had moved to sit in the chair when the girls entered. Courtney was now sitting on the arm of the chair. Instinctively his hand was placed at the small of her back, massaging it gently. “Being the boss of my own company, I think if I want to take the rest of the day off, I can do so. I just had a discussion with the person responsible for most of my business,” here he paused and smiled at Grace, giving her a wink, “so yeah, I’m declaring the rest of my business day null and void. Let me just call Alex.”

Grace returned Seth’s smile. She had no idea what had passed between the two men, but Seth’s kindness and obvious caring for her never waned, no matter the mood he was in. Her gaze then turned to Alfred who was about to walk out of the room. “Um… Alfred. Dizzy is staying with my friends Allen and Naomi Stewart. Their number is in the book. If you wouldn’t mind, please call them and tell them I’ll be picking him up and bringing him back here with me.” She felt Bruce’s hand hold hers a bit more tightly at that request. She wasn’t sure how he’d react, but he did say ‘Dizzy too’. Bruce never said things he didn’t mean.

Alfred gave a short nod, though he couldn’t completely hide the smile on his face. He knew as well as everyone else in the manor… with Dizzy here, Grace wasn’t going anywhere. “As you wish Miss Grace.”

Courtney clapped her hands and while Seth was on the phone with Alex, she grabbed her cell. “I’m calling the Habbibi’s. Alfred, don’t worry about fixing dinner. Grace has the Prada account. We’re going out. We have a bunch of things to celebrate. A bunch.”

With that, Alfred nodded and exited the room, but not before casting another look at Bruce. It spoke of ‘commitments’ and the sooner he saw to them, the sooner he could be with his friends.

“Alex,” Seth’s voice carried once everyone else stopped talking, “the only reason you still have a job with me is because I’ve known you since I was eight and you saved my life when I tried to kill myself falling out of that tree…”

Grace rolled her eyes and laughed. “Ah oh! Not the ‘you have a job because you saved my life’ speech again.” She looked at Bruce. “We all get a kick out of Alex, but sometimes he frustrates Seth because he doesn’t take things as seriously as he should.” She leaned up and kissed him softly. Her free hand went up to his cheek and she touched it tenderly. “Go see to your ‘commitments’. Just try to be back for dinner by…”

“Seven,” Courtney supplied. “We have reservations for one of the private rooms at seven.”

“Seven then.” She looked up at the clock. That gave him a few hours for his ‘commitments’.

“Seven,” Bruce echoed, leaning in to kiss Grace gently. He pulled away a little, nuzzling his nose to hers. There had been a time in his life when such a public display of affection, even among close friends, would not have been an option. Over a year with Grace had changed his mind a bit. Now, however, he had other reasons. He missed her, body and soul. Touching her… kissing her, made being back with her seem more real. Those little displays might let her know how much he felt for her, or so he hoped. “Wild horses couldn’t keep me away.” He kissed the tip of her nose and then excused himself with a promise to take no longer than necessary.

*-*-*

Taking his leave of them, he made his way first to his bedroom, where he changed clothes and then used the passage to get to the training facility. He did several minutes of warm-up exercises and then started laps around the underground gym. He ran at a steady pace. Soon, he would be increasing both his speed and the distance he ran. He needed to know his body’s limits and if he could push them. Or rather, how much he could push them.

After his jog, he spent an hour in the weight room. He was there when Alfred came to check on his progress.

“The designs for the simulation room are almost complete, Master Bruce,” he said without preamble. Bruce nodded and added another ten pounds to the dumbbell he was lifting.

“How long before we can begin?” he asked and lifted the weight unsteadily.

“Soon, I would imagine.” Alfred watched Bruce carefully for several minutes, concern appearing on his age-worn face. “Perhaps you should tone down your regiment for today, Master Bruce. Last night took quite a toll on you.”

Bruce shook his head as if to say this wasn’t an option and lowered the bar to his chest, raising it this time with more ease. “I shall be fine, Alfred. After all, that which does not kill us makes us stronger.”

Alfred stayed for several more repetitions, and they discussed arrangements for Dizzy, the simulator, and last night’s patrol. It hadn’t been the same as the previous nights. The bank robbers had been both more determined and more resourceful. It had been his toughest challenge to date, and though he’d succeeded in foiling them, he had done so at greater risk. Hindsight pointed out his many sloppy mistakes and the bump on his head throbbed as proof of his need to improve.

This simulation room would help with that, he felt certain. He’d specified a complete virtual reality combat simulator using state of the art graphic technology to recreate every street and rooftop of Gotham. Though, it wouldn’t be the same as a regular virtual reality game. There would be no headgear or gloves with wires attached to computers. The room was the computer, or would be, once the work was completed.

After they’d discussed the preparations in more depth, Alfred left and Bruce abandoned the weights for meditation.

*-*-*

Once Bruce left the room, Seth finally hung up the phone and placed it on the table. “There anything to drink in here? Alex is in complete asshole mode.”

Grace nodded and walked to the small bar. She poured him a scotch and carried it over to him. She moved the phone aside and sat on the table. “You didn’t kill him, I take it?”

Seth sipped at the liquor and shrugged. “Alex? Why would I? He pisses me off, but the models all seem to love him and so do the clients.”

She reached out and took his hand. “I wasn’t talking about Alex and you know it.”

Courtney’s phone rang and the other two turned as she let out a string of curses. She took the phone from her ear and said, “Listen guys, I’m going to go into the library and use the computer in there. The damn caterer I hired for the Urban’s wedding is trying to double his price on the salmon.” She didn’t wait for them to reply, merely left the room and headed for the library.

“I feel sorry for that man,” Seth said. “He’s about to have his reputation ruined.” Courtney now ran the highest demanded party planning company in Gotham. She had a fairly large staff and organized parties, weddings, social functions, charity dinners, and company picnics. “He ticks her off too much and she’ll never use him again.”

Grace was still looking at him. Courtney’s rushed exit didn’t have a whole lot of affect on her. The redhead often became quickly enraged, but got over it just as quickly. “I meant what I said, Seth.”

Reaching out, he took her hand in his. “I know. We have an… understanding…”

“You put the law down?” she asked as a tease though it was really her way of trying to pry into what was said between them.

“I said my piece. He listened. Then we discussed. Like I said, we have an understanding. And I think we have a new appreciation for one another.” He shook his head, as she was about to probe for more information. “The specifics, my dear, are between Bruce and I.” He smiled to let her know he wasn’t speaking harshly. “Bottom line is I’m still concerned about you, but not nearly as much as I was when I first arrived here.”

He slid over in the chair and Grace easily slid into the space beside him. There was really no way to explain how close they had become in the past several months. It equaled the closeness Bruce and Courtney shared. During Courtney’s battle with cancer, Seth had confided in her in a way he had confided in no one else. They’d shared long phone calls and emails while she was in Italy with Bruce. When they returned, she’d gone to New York and spent time, not with just Courtney, but with him as well. When Bruce and she split, he’d been the first one there for her and had stayed by her side for the worst of it. So the fact that there was a deep bond between them shouldn’t have surprised anyone.

Her head rested naturally on his shoulder. “I’d move back in here right now if he asked me to. It might not be the smartest thing in the world, but I really don’t care what my head is saying. My heart wants him. I feel like… for the first time since we split up… I feel whole again. I feel complete.”

He nodded and put an arm around her shoulders. “I know you do. And there’s nothing wrong with following your heart, Gracie. But you need to listen to your head too. Move back in if he asks… it’s what you want and you won’t be happy any other way. But just be careful.”

“Too late,” she laughed lightly.

He shook his head. Grace and Courtney were two very special women.
Seth knew how lucky and blessed he was to have them in his life. Grace was the younger sister he’d been denied. She filled that spot left vacant by the loss of his siblings. Alex had always been like his brother… and God help him, but Bruce was starting to fill a hole.
The young man reminded him so much of Jack, his brother. “Then I guess it’s up to me to be the sensible one.” He sighed. “Such is the responsibility of my life.”

“You are such a drama queen,” Courtney replied, returning and looking much more calm than she was when she left.

“I am not,” Seth protested.

Grace didn’t move, didn’t speak. She loved listening to the two of them banter.

“Oh woe is the responsibility of being Seth Alan Meyers,” she mocked his voice.

Grace couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Laugh it up, you two. I’m glad I’m amusing.”

“You are,” Courtney sat again on the arm of the chair. Leaning over, she kissed him soundly. “And you’re a martyr too. Qualities I love and admire.”

“Get off the chair,” he pushed on her thigh in a mock attempt to dislodge her. “You drive me as insane as Alex does.”

*-*-*

Hanging up the phone after talking to Seth, Alex looked up from his desk as his secretary entered. There was a slight smile on her face. Given Alex’s personality, he needed a secretary who was just as vivacious as he was. He had it in Molly Levowitz. “You look almost chipper today, Mols. What’s up?”

“See the paper today? You’re front page on the society section.
Honestly, Mr. Norton, I had no idea. And I thought it was the Grace part of the Bruce and Grace that you were interested in.” She dropped the paper and exited the office. Oh, he’d pay her back for that quip.
More than likely there’d be a plastic bug or snake put in one of her drawers or her sack lunch. He may exchange her salt and sugar containers… something would happen and she’d get paid back. But for this moment, she was one up on him.

Alex opened the paper to the society section and there in bold type was the headline “Wayne Has New Consort?”. Below the title was a picture of Bruce already out of the limo and Alex stepping out. It was a clear photo too. His first reaction was shock. “Fucking consort?” Then he looked again at the picture. Using the intercom, he said to Molly.
“Nice picture of me, isn’t it? I rather like that they got my good side.” He waited to hear her laughter before closing the link.

He set the paper down and laughed. Oh this was good. Everyone knew that Bruce had no real preference about the sex of his partners.
Everyone knew Alex did. He quickly read the article laughing harder and harder at the reporters attempt to stir up scandal. “Oh this is first class. I needed a good laugh.”

Seth had told him that Bruce and Grace were working toward reconciliation. He was truly happy for them. He couldn’t help but remember when he’d met her a couple years ago. He and Seth had both heard of Grace O’Neil. Seth had actually met her once, though it didn’t seem that she remembered. Alex remembered meeting her though. He’d nearly fallen in the pool; he’d been more mesmerized by her beauty than he had been in watching where he was going. Seth and Courtney had hit it off immediately. He and Grace didn’t have that chemistry. It was as if she were waiting for that one special person to come along. Alex had hoped at one time that he would be that person, but it was so easy to see that the person for her was Bruce.

Alex had let go of his romantic attraction to Grace shortly after he moved to Gotham and happily settled for friendship. Not even when Bruce had broken up with her had he thought of her as anything other than a friend. And now, he was ecstatic that his two friends were finding their way back to one another. He glanced down at the newspaper article that tried to proclaim that Alex was the new love in Bruce’s heart. He had to laugh again. Any stupid idiot knew Bruce’s heart belonged to one person and only one person. It may have been shared with another in the past, but that wasn’t the case anymore. It never would be again. Bruce knew where he belonged; Grace knew where she belonged.

It was Saturday night, and Alex needed a date. Folding up the paper, he chuckled again as he set it aside. Grace’s modeling friend AnnaBeth had recently joined the agency. He and the gorgeous brunette had already been to lunch several times. Now, it was time to test the waters and see what dinner would lead to. Thumbing through his Rolodex, he found her number, gave her a call, and a few short minutes later he had a date for dinner and dancing.

*-*-*

Bruce twisted his wrist in an attempt to loosen the manacle, the restraint biting into his flesh. The little nip of pain didn’t hurt by now, not after two hours in the chair. He simply ignored it and moved his wrist some more. He wasn’t sure if he was imagining it or not, but he thought he had accomplished the small task of giving his wrist more room to play.

It was a start. After two months of trying with no visible results, it was a triumphant start.

Alfred –when he arrived to remind Bruce of his guests and plans for the night– merely gave a small, distanced smile. “Well done, sir,” he said as he unlocked the manacles and set about to look at Bruce’s wrist. It hadn’t bled much, and Alfred swabbed it with antiseptic, covering it with a bandage the color of Bruce’s skin.

“You really should be more careful, Master Bruce,” he admonished for the first time since Bruce had begun to train in earnest. It wasn’t that Alfred hadn’t worried before now. He had –a great deal, in fact. However, it wasn’t until Gracie left the Manor that Bruce’s attitude towards his training changed drastically. The young master was more reckless with his health and safety –punishing his body daily in training and nightly on patrol. Alfred had been unable to caution him, however, and had given up trying in favor of finding ways to ease the pain and help Bruce mask his hobby from others. Still, he worried and hoped that with Grace’s return, his long-time ward would curb his more destructive activities.

*-*-*

They were all sitting in the library now, sharing the newspaper. Seth was reading the sports section, Grace had the business section as she was checking on how her stocks were doing, and Courtney chose the society section. “Holy shit, guys.” She almost burst out laughing. “Look at this.” She turned the paper around so they could see the picture and the headline.

Grace shook her head. “Alex told me he was going to the party as Bruce’s date. I had no idea it was a serious relationship.”

Seth sighed. “I would have never pictured Alex as Bruce’s type.”

“I hear Bruce prefers blondes,” Courtney quipped. “Think Bruce will flip?”

Grace shrugged. “I would hope not. Not like any of us put any stock in what those clowns think. And we all know Alex is going to have a ball with this, so Bruce better see the humor in it.”

“Bruce and Alex,” Seth teasing tested. He smiled. “Nah. I like Bruce and Grace better.”

Both women gazed at him with pleasingly shocked looks on their faces.
“So do I,” Courtney said.

“Me too,” Grace affirmed. “Me too.”

“I think it’s unanimous, then,” Bruce chimed in from the doorway. He was freshly showered and looked very casual in navy blue sweats. A towel was draped over his shoulder. “Besides,” he gave a quirky grin. “Alex is a good friend, but he isn’t my type.”

“You know about the article?” Courtney asked.

Bruce shrugged and made his way across the room to join them. “I haven’t read it, but when Lee called this afternoon, it was to ask me if I wanted to make a formal statement or demand a retraction.” He took the newspaper when Courtney held it out to him, skimming it until he came to something that made him frown. Quoting aloud, he said, “One cannot help notice the similarity between Alexander Michael Norton and Bruce’s last companion, Alexander Joseph Luthor. The question is, is it the name itself that is the attraction or is Gotham’s favorite son still pining for the Metropolis playboy?”

His eyes darkened, frown deepening. He hadn’t discussed his split with Lex with anyone since the night it had happened and he let Grace hold him until the empty feeling had vanished. No matter what had happened to cause their schism, he had still loved Lex, and a part of him always would. That, however, did not mean he was pining over him anymore.

“I think retraction,” he said stiffly, folding the paper and handing it back to Courtney.

Grace leaned forward in an attempt to look at the paper herself. “You have got to be joking?”

Courtney, who hadn’t finished reading the article when she handed it to Bruce, merely set the paper down. “Why give them the satisfaction? You go in there brazenly demanding a retraction and you give them what they want… more fuel for the fire. It’s like when we were going out and then stopped. They said all kinds of things, we ignored them, and they found something else. You show up in public tonight with Grace and I guarantee you that Alex will be forgotten.”

She handed the paper to Seth who didn’t give it much notice. He knew it was bullshit, but whatever Bruce chose to do was his choice. Courtney was never one to withhold her opinion though.

“It’s up to you, Bruce. But if you… well whether or not you want my two cents worth… that’s it.”

*-*-*

Not too long after their discussion in the library, Grace excused herself to go get ready for dinner. Shortly, thereafter, Bruce went to his room to change his clothes. Courtney had teased that navy sweats weren’t acceptable for Habbibi’s, so Bruce had gone to change.

When Bruce reentered the library after changing his clothes, he found it empty save for Courtney. Grace was still in the shower. He’d been tempted to join her, except that would leave Courtney and Seth alone, which although Courtney always had had carte blanche around the Manor, would make him a bad host. Besides, Nee’d been shooting him looks all day that clearly said ‘we need to have a chat, mister.’

“Seth isn’t lost, is he?” he joked as he joined Courtney on the leather couch.

She shook her head. “Nope. But I sent him out of the room. He and Alex are being punchy today. Brotherly love arguments.” She waved her hand as if it was something that happened often, which it did. “So, I had myself a nice long talk with Grace this afternoon. A long discussion while unpacking underwear, nightgowns…” She looked at him to see his reaction. Deciding it was the one she wanted, she continued, “First off… I think there’s a reason why you ended up with her and not me. This accepting things on blind faith… not asking questions… That’s not me. No matter how much I love someone… I worry, I ask questions. She called us in a near panic, Bruce. She waited up all night, and then berated herself because in her ‘tirade’ she missed that you somehow had gotten hurt.” Oh she knew he wasn’t going to answer her… or what she would get was evasive.

Shaking her head, she lifted a hand. “Let me just tell you this one thing… anything happens to you and it will destroy Grace. Anything happens to you, and I doubt that I’ll fair well either.” She sighed. “Keep your secrets if you must, but please, keep that in mind.”

The ‘lecture’ bit of her mentally prepared conversation over, she dove headfirst into her other bit. The smile on her face turned a bit devilish. “Secondly… Grace is upstairs showering. Bare skin, hot water, soap, and shampoo. Why are you sitting down here with me?”

If the first part of Courtney’s speech had been what Bruce had expected to hear, the second part was not. “NEE!” he exclaimed, laughing until his face turned an unflattering shade of red. Shaking his head, and with one last chuckle, he slipped an arm around her in a friendly hug. “Thanks, I needed that,” he said, meaning the laugh. Then he turned serious, slightly. “I need a reason to spend time with my best friend? Especially when it doesn’t involve lots of tears and consolations?” He shrugged. “I don’t want to push it… push Grace…” he admitted. “And… maybe I want the first time we… you know, to be special.” Special… romantic, memorable… and he wasn’t sure if she was ready for that yet. Sure, Grace was looking better today than yesterday, but she seemed fragile to him. Physically, and he knew emotionally. He’d seen the panic that rose in her eyes every so often, as if she feared he would walk out of the room and never come back.

As for the rest of Courtney’s concerns… he sighed a little in frustration. “I was more tired last night than hurt,” he said. It wasn’t a lie, not technically anyway. “Just a bump on the head and a headache to show for it.” He waved it off. “Besides, Grace had a right to be worried. She woke up and I was gone. Although, to be fair, I’d intended to be back before she woke up.” He had, but last night nothing much had gone according to plan. “And I know you worry, too. I won’t ask you not to, but you don’t have to. I’ll be okay.” He gave a smile meant to reassure. Whether it did or not, remained to be seen. Things in his life had changed drastically in the last four months, and he couldn’t tell Courtney any more than he could Grace.

She sighed, stood, and led him over to the same oversized chair that Seth and Grace had shared earlier. Together, they sat down and she let herself collect her thoughts before speaking. Seth was right, most times she just opened her mouth and the first thing that came into her head popped out of it. But there were times when she thought things through more thoroughly. This was one of those times. “The day I stop worrying, Bruce Wayne, is the day I stop caring about you… loving you. And I’m sorry, but that just isn’t going to happen. Unlike Grace, it’s harder for me to just accept because that’s what’s expected of me. Something’s going on here, and you’re being far more secretive than you ever have.” She sighed again and this time her head went onto his shoulder. “And I could sit here and pry all day and all night for years and not get a word out of you. Because as much as I ask questions, you avoid answering them.”

It that respect, they had been that way since they first met. How long had it taken him to open up to her about anything… his parents… his past… Lex. Oh, she wanted to go there too. She wanted so badly to ask him if the newspaper article had any truth to it. But was that any of her business? Did that ever stop her? She looked up at him, noticing that though there were lines of concern etched on his forehead, he was happier than he’d been in months. Happier than he’d been since he’d asked Grace to leave. The split with Lex had hurt, and anyone who he knew him could tell. But tearing Grace from his life had devastated him. Was he pining for Lex? Courtney highly doubted it.
There would always be emotions there. Once Bruce committed his heart, it never fully stopped caring.

But Lex was his past, and though it hurt, it didn’t seem to her that it hurt nearly as much as losing Grace. So, for the first time in her life, she tabled a discussion. Later, she would sing her own accolades to Seth. Something that would start with ‘Ha!’. But that was for later. Now, there was something else she needed to say. “And you know, I can understand wanting the first time to be special. When I was sick,” she felt him tense, but still she pressed on, “Seth and I chose to abstain, but later, it was more because *he* was worried about me. Worried that I couldn’t handle it physically. But you know, there were times when it would have helped beyond words or holding or cuddling. And he figured it out.” She sighed. “We all have noticed the change in her. But she’s still healthy. She only looks like she isn’t because she was carrying so much more muscle than she is now.”
She shrugged. “As for special, it will be no matter what because it’s you.”

She looked up at him and smiled. “A couple years ago, I mentioned a topic somewhat similar to this while we were sitting in your kitchen. I thought you were going to die of embarrassment. How you holding up now?” She’d actually gotten across what she wanted to say, so if he chose not to continue this conversation and talk about something else, then she’d happily do so.

The memory, however bittersweet, actually made Bruce smile. He’d been worried about taking Lex on a real date. The kind people went on when they were in love. Courtney had pointed out then that no matter what Bruce planned, Lex would love it because they were doing it together. He’d settled on taking Lex flying to New York, dinner in an out of the way restaurant, and then they spent the rest of the weekend at the Plaza, wrapped in each other’s arms.

And, as Courtney ironically pointed out, he’d been embarrassed to death by talking to her about it. He shook his head with a mirthful laugh. “Doing a lot better than that first time,” he told her. “You know, you were right about that, too,” he added in a thoughtful tone that meant he planned on keeping her wisdom in mind.

Getting serious for a moment, he reached out to touch first her cheek and then her short red hair. “I’m glad I have you to worry about me, Nee,” he admitted thoughtfully. “And I’m sorry for the secrets. Someday… maybe… ” But they both knew that day would be a long time in coming, if it ever did, which Bruce doubted even as he spoke the words.

She shook her head lightly, a smile covering her face. There was a time that having her hair short had been horrific for her. Getting it cut was a tragedy. She soon came to realize that what was so horrible about it was knowing that it was all going to be gone soon. And it was. She lost all the hair on her entire body. Seth, in his ever-vigilant attempt to keep her smiling throughout the ordeal, went out and purchased wigs for her. He bought seven… one for each day of the week. She had red hair, brown hair, blonde hair, purple hair, orange hair, a Mohawk, and one that highly resembled the big hair bands of the ’80?s. It had worked. They’d spent hours standing in front of the mirror trying on the wigs and laughing at themselves. Seth had particularly liked wearing the Mohawk wig. She’d enjoyed having purple hair. They even ventured out in public like that once. She’d been confined to a wheelchair then because the therapies left her too weak to walk. It did her good to know people were staring at them, not because of the chair, but because of the wigs.

That was why she loved Seth so much.

The man who was now touching her short hair, she loved very much, and for very different reasons. One of the biggest reasons was this one. She knew darn good and well he wasn’t going to ever tell her these secrets. He coveted them enough to push Grace away. Grace fully believed that was the reasoning behind the breakup, and the more Courtney thought about it, the more she agreed. If these secrets were enough to push Grace away, he wasn’t ever going to disclose them to her. But his heart was in the right place when he said it. Bruce always led with his heart. And *that* was what she loved most about him. Sure, he made mistakes. Who among them didn’t? She made them on a daily basis, so she wasn’t one to hold anyone’s against them… especially Bruce.

Finally, she gave him a smile. “You probably won’t tell me anything. Doesn’t mean I won’t continue asking questions. Doesn’t mean I won’t worry when Grace says you’ve come home injured.” She paused. “I’ll always be here to worry about you. I think we’ve proven that nothing’s going to keep me away. In some ways, I’m even more stubborn than you are. Not many, but there are a few,” she teased.

Bruce chuckled ruefully. She knew him too well. “One of the things I love about you, Nee.” And it was, really. In all the years he’d known her, there’d never been a time when she hadn’t pushed, poked or prodded her way into his life… and he’d loved every minute of it, even when they had stopped dating. She urged him to do things he might not normally do. Teased mercilessly at times. But would he have changed that if he could? Asked for peace and quiet? If it meant life without Courtney? Not a chance.

She smiled. “You love that I’m one of the few whose stubbornness matches yours.” She placed her finger on his chest and poked teasingly. “I find stubbornness endearing.” She looked back up at him and studied him for several long moments. “You know, speaking of stubborn, it’s safe to talk to me… about the newspaper article and the implications of it.” She shrugged. “You never did come out and say why it ended. Not that it’s any of my business. But if you ever want to talk about it…” She didn’t finish with ‘I’m here’ because he already knew it. Of course, Grace would probably be the one he turned to, but then again, with things on edge right now, he may not. And keeping things bottled in were never good. So she offered. It was up to him whether or not he accepted.

Bruce had wondered how long it would take for her to ask. At first, she’d probably assumed he’d say something when he was ready, as he usually did. But then he’d sent Grace back to her apartment and Lex was seemingly forgotten. Well, not really forgotten. Just set aside for later examination. Her daily spiel of ‘if you miss Grace so much, why not call her?’ had taken precedence.

“The article was wrong, Nee. I’m not pining for Lex. Sure, I miss him, but I was missing Lex –the Lex I knew– long before we broke up. The accident changed him, Nee, and it wasn’t a change for the good.” Lex’s memory had come back while Bruce was in Europe fighting to keep his company’s foothold in the new economy. Something of the man Lex had been had not survived. He’d been more suspicious, doubting and manipulative. More like Lionel. And possessive. At one point, he demanded that Bruce dump Grace outright, to be only his. Bruce refused, and Lex had outwardly shrugged it off. But later, he started hounding Bruce about things he’d rather not discuss, and growing more and more angry and distrusting when Bruce denied him the answers he sought.

The night they called it quits, Bruce had gone home to Grace and cried as if the world had ended. She held him and never asked why. More importantly, she helped him move past the hurt. Lex left that night for Metropolis and Bruce had been hearing disturbing things ever since… about his life and his business practices. “I think he hates me, now.” It wasn’t a huge jump in rationale. Luthor’s hated very easily, and the Lex who emerged from his amnesia was all Luthor.

She sighed, wishing she could deny that. But she’d heard stories about Lex Luthor… about things he was doing… decisions he had been making. She had never quite been able to decide where she stood where he was concerned. She mostly accepted him because Bruce loved him. Still loved him… or at least the man he had been. It was on the tip of her tongue to say something, and she fought against it. But in the end, she just couldn’t help herself. “I know you love him. And I know you… you’ll always love the man he was. But if he’s changed… completely changed… then it’s probably best that you let him go.”

She looked up at him again and offered him a smile. “And whether you think you deserve it or not, unconditional love is upstairs showering. She’s getting ready to go out on a date with the one person she loves more than life itself.” She winked, hoping he wouldn’t bog down in the past. “And if you don’t mind my saying, I well and truly hope that the current arrangement, meaning Grace being here, is a permanent one. If two hearts and souls were ever created for each other…” She winked. “Besides Seth and I, of course.” She turned a bit more serious though as she said, “You two need each other. And there’s nothing I would love more than to see the two of you happy again.”

Bruce smiled a little, taking the unspoken hint and dropping the subject of Lex. They’d said all that was necessary: Lex had changed, and though Bruce would always love the man he’d fallen in love with, that person was lost to him. No sense in dwelling on it.

“I want Grace to stay.” It was the first Bruce had said the words outside his own brain, though it was likely an obvious statement. “But only if she wants to.” His words were not so confident, as if he feared that what he told Seth –that she’d tell him where to go and then leave him– would still come true.

Courtney’s eyes slid closed and a smile spread across her face. “If you only take my advice one more time in your life, take it now. Tell her that! Please!!!!!” The smile on her face grew even wider. She sat up and turned to face him. “Tell her that.”

Seth popped into the room, sliding his cell phone into his pocket. He noticed Bruce and his wife sitting in the same chair he and Grace had occupied earlier and merely smiled. It was good that they were able to have close relationships outside of their marriage, and hopefully, Bruce would not be doomed to repeat certain mistakes of his past. “Ok, Alex says he’ll be ready by seven but insists that he gets to ride in the limo.”

Grace followed Seth into the room, she was dressed in a purple dress that hit her mid-thigh. It was sleeveless but had a matching jacket. It wasn’t leather, but crushed velvet, so she’d be thankful later that she could take the jacket off. Her curls bounced lightly as her high heels clicked on the floor. “Alex is coming along too?” she asked, smiling warmly at Bruce and Courtney.

Courtney stood, smoothing her dress, watching Bruce as he watched Grace. She really hoped he took her advice. “Alex found a date then?”

Seth nodded. “AnnaBeth.”

Grace smiled broadly. “Bethie’s coming? Oh that’s fantastic.” She slipped her hand into Bruce’s when he joined her at her side. “AnnaBeth is a friend of mine from my modeling days in New York City. We worked with the same agency. She left them after her contract ended and now she works with us.”

“Second highest paid model around,” Seth added, winking at Grace.

Courtney looked down at her watch. “Well, if we’re picking them up, we best get going, guys. Reservations are at seven.”

As Seth and Courtney made their way out, Grace lingered for just a moment. She couldn’t take her eyes off of her date and had to say what she was thinking before the moment was lost. “Bruce, this might be the last moment we have alone for a while.” Her hand squeezed his. “Just found myself craving it… a moment alone.” How could she tell him she’d dreamt of being back at his side more times than she could count? But she had to. “I mean, I’ve dreamt of this… going out with our friends so many times… life feels right again. But I needed just a moment before…” She smiled brightly at him.

“I’ve dreamt of it, too,” he said softly, squeezing her hand. “Though, mostly, I dreamt of being anywhere… where you were with me.”

Taking advantage of their moment alone, he drew her to him, bringing their bodies close together as he bent his head to kiss her. His lips caressed hers gently, but insistently, and he pulled away only when they were both quite breathless. Grace’s perfect, smooth skin was flushed and her lips trembled from the sudden kiss. He pressed his lips to hers once again, briefly, to steady them. “I love you,” he breathed, pulling away from the second kiss. “With all I am, I love you.”

The words caressed her and like a balm they soothed her soul. She softly mouthed the words ‘love you’ back to him. And as he led her out of the library and toward the limo, she knew he wasn’t going to ask her to go anywhere. He wasn’t going to ask her to go back to her apartment. The shaky ground just got a bit steadier, and she was happier than she’d been in months.

*-*-*

Bruce had loved Habbibi’s ever since the first time he’d gone with Grace. The owners, an Indian family whose every member spoke varying degrees of English loved Grace and had come to adore him, as well. The feeling was mutual, as Bruce always felt at home among them.

Tonight, however, he found himself being set upon by the usually happy-to-see-him Mrs. Habbibi, who immediately began to chirp at him in her native tongue, every once in a while gesturing to Grace before launching into another tirade. Her son, Ahmed, shot him a sympathetic look when he passed by their group.

Several times, Bruce attempted to interrupt her. At this, the motherly woman would stand on tiptoe to shake her finger in his face, shushing him before gesturing to Grace and going off on him again. It must have been an amusing spectacle, as Alex was laughing. Or had been until a glare from Seth stopped him.

Finally, Bruce grabbed the accusing finger, calming the woman by taking her hands between his as he spoke back to her in the same language as her tirade. Her mouth dropped open and she repeated his words. “You mean it?” she asked in English. Bruce nodded, and the woman beamed, standing on tiptoe again, this time to pat his cheek affectionately. “Still a good boy,” she told Grace before calling to her son to show them to a table.

“What was that all about?” Alex asked as they were being led away.

Bruce considered how to condense the lecture into as few words as possible. “Essentially… it all boils down to ‘how could you hurt our Gracie like that?’.”

“Yeah,” Alex pushed. “But what’d you say to change her tune?”

Bruce shook his head, slipping off his shoes as they entered the dining area. “I told her she was right and that I’d never do it again.” He slipped an arm around Grace’s waist, guiding her descent to the pillows at their table. Then he took his place next to her –a place he knew he’d been blessed to regain.

Courtney gave him a mock-glare. “Mrs. Habbibi would have to stand in line.” She smiled and winked. “But that’s not going to happen so we don’t have to worry about it.”

Seth nodded in agreement and picked up his menu. He hadn’t eaten here as often as the others. Although he enjoyed spicy food, most times he found Indian food to be too bitter to his liking. He perused the menu, scrutinizing his choices.

AnnaBeth, who wasn’t too sure about her opinion of Bruce, as this was the first time she met him, pushed her menu away. The beautiful brunette flashed Grace a wide smile. “It is number six, right?”

Grace lowered her head and laughed hard, her shoulders shaking as if she were crying. Her hand rested on Bruce’s leg. When she calmed, she said, “Number eight. You do that every time. Number six has peas in it.”

AnnaBeth shivered in disgust. “Right. Peas are the one proof that there is a devil.”

Everyone but Grace looked up at her in surprise. No one really knew her but the other supermodel. So, it was Grace, who smiling widely, explained, “Some jerk wrote an article about Bethie once that said she was afraid of eating. He said, like most supermodels, she wouldn’t eat a pea if it were put in front of her.”

“You’re right,” Courtney interjected, “he is a jerk.”

“Well, the thing is,” AnnaBeth added, her Greek accent coloring her English, “I really dislike peas. And somehow it got around to the fact that I wouldn’t even eat a pea. Someone asked me about it… I said peas were disgusting…”

“And the next thing you know it’s the vegetarian’s version of Oprah and beef,” Alex added with a laugh. “I remember hearing about that.”

Seth nodded, setting down his menu. “The pea growers contacted our office and wanted to do some kind of spin-control advertising. If you can believe it? They envisioned models sitting at tables eating bowls of peas.” He rolled his eyes as if remembering how ridiculous the whole thing had gotten. “I spent four hours in a meeting with them and finally convinced them that they didn’t need television ads.”

Alex snapped his fingers. “That’s where the ‘Eat A Pea’ campaign came from!”

Courtney looked at Seth. “You did the ‘Eat A Pea’ campaign. Holy shit!”

Alex, who loved telling the story, decided to tell it just in case anyone in the room didn’t already know. “He did! He had photographers go all over New York City taking pictures of people eating one pea. Construction workers, store clerks, business men and women, Donald Trump, some of the New York Yankees…”

“But not the Mets,” Seth smiled. “Back then, New York hated the Mets.”

“So anyway,” Alex went on, more enthusiastic than he was before, “He had all these pictures done up and plastered all over New York City. The article was local so he focused on just a local boost. Before we knew what was what, everyone was walking around saying ‘Eat a pea’. I think that got Seth his first promotion.”

He nodded in response.

Grace moved a bit closer Bruce, wanting to be in his space. From the smile on his face, she was fairly certain he had no idea about the joke that ‘Eat A Pea’ had become. So she was thankful that Alex had explained in his enthusiasm.

While the “Eat a Pea” thing was utterly lost on Bruce, the smile on Grace’s face was not. It had been a rare sight the last two days and seeing it now made him feel giddy. He smiled wider when she moved in closer to him and slipped his free arm around her waist. He hadn’t lied to her when he’d said he’d dreamt of them being together like this… happy again. Maybe it would be awkward for a few days –especially when mutual friends, like Mrs. Habbibi jumped to reprimand him or newcomers, like Alex’s date, eyed him uncertainly– but that would change. It would get better. Never back to normal, but better. Of this he was certain.

“So, recommending the Alu Mutter Sabji would be very faux paux,” he commented, grinning, as he studied his menu. It was his favorite dish, and had been since the first time he and Grace had eaten there: their first date. He wondered if Grace remembered. He’d been so nervous, and the press had almost ruined the night, but the dinner had been magical in its simplicity: two people learning about each other for the first time. Learning to love one another.

Gira, who almost always waited on them when they came in, appeared by his elbow, and one by one, they all ordered. Bruce, nostalgic feelings aside, ordered Alu Bangan Sabji –eggplant curry with potatoes– rice, and ginger tea.

Grace ordered her usual by simply nodding her head. Gira gave her a smile, wrote and moved on to Courtney. After Courtney’s order came
Seth… he ordered his entire dinner a la carte and then went into great detail about how he wanted the meat prepared. It was as Gira was looking especially confused that Alex chimed in, “No curry powder, darling,” he said to her. “The man doesn’t like curry.”

Grace put her napkin up to her face, trying to use it as a shield for her smile. Courtney, however, didn’t even bother. “He’s right. You don’t like curry.”

Seth shrugged. “So sue me. We go Mexican next time and I’ll eat you all under the table with the habanera sauce.”

Alex shuddered before giving his order to Gira… AnnaBeth easily followed. “He’s right about that.” To Bruce he said, “Seth makes this chili… I swear, they call it three alarm chili but the stuff he puts in it… what’s it called?”

“Dave’s Insanity Sauce,” Grace supplied.

Alex snapped his fingers at her. “That’s it! Read the label on that stuff. It removes oil stains from your driveway. He puts that in his food, but won’t eat curry.”

“It’s bitter,” Seth shrugged. “It’s a completely different type of spicy. I took Grace a bowl of it after our party on Superbowl Sunday.
It didn’t even faze her. Alex bawled his eyes out. Courtney can’t have it for obvious reasons.”

“I loved it,” AnnaBeth supplied. But she looked at Alex and whispered,
“Oil stains off driveways?”

He laughed and wrapped his arm lightly around her shoulders. “I’ll show you the label.” To Grace, he asked, “You ate that stuff?”

Grace gave Bruce’s leg a small squeeze. She wasn’t sure how talking about things while they were apart was going to affect them, but there was no way she couldn’t answer the question, it was directed solely at her. “I did. I think I followed it with about five beers though before realizing that in all reality I had no taste buds left and switched to eating soda crackers. My tongue felt raw for three days after that. But it was good.” She enjoyed the feel of Bruce’s hand at her waist and while the others continued talking about Seth’s tastes in cuisine, she situated her pillows so that she could relax a bit more comfortably and have as little room as possible between them.

At one particular point, Alex and Seth turned the conversation over to basketball and Courtney, who was sitting between AnnaBeth and Seth, turned to the other model and asked her about how she was settling into
Gotham. It was then that Grace could fully turn her attention to
Bruce. “Our first time here,” she smiled up at him, “that first date… You sat across the table from me.” She sighed happily. “It’s so fitting, our first date back together would be the place where we had our first date ever.” She leaned in impulsively and kissed his cheek lightly. “I’m glad though, that this time, you’re sitting beside me.”

She also realized that no matter how happy she was to have her friends with her… and everyone in this room was a dear friend to her… she was starting to crave more and more time with just Bruce. Whether it was getting her footing back underneath her, or merely craving the desire to be able to kiss or cuddle however she wanted whenever she wanted, she wasn’t sure which. She sighed happily, her head again on his shoulder. “This is why I like you sitting beside me,” she said softly.

Bruce smiled and turned his body a little so Grace fit snuggly against him while still being able to look her in the eye. She must have been reading his mind, for that night had been fresh in his, as well. So much so that his next words weren’t so much a response to her comments, but an echo of things past. His voice was soft and meant for just her. The words were Italian, taking the form of poetic stanzas –the poem he’d recited to her that night nearly two years ago. She didn’t understand the language any more now than she did then, but Bruce knew from the expression on her face that she understood the meaning with which he spoke them. He could see the same feelings reflected back at him in her eyes, and as their eyes locked for the moment, he was overcome by the urge to kiss her.

God above how she had missed hearing his voice speak to her of poems and love! It had filled her dreams at night. It had been what made her hold on to hope for as long as she did. And here they were… here he was… reciting to her again. She knew that look in his eyes and knew it was reflected in hers.

“Hey! How come you never recited poetry like that to me?” Courtney’s laughing protest broke into the little tableau they’d created.

Bruce chuckled and threw the redhead an impish grin. “You don’t speak Italian, Nee,” he pointed out.

“Neither does Grace,” she shot back, undaunted in her teasing.

He responded by whipping off another verse, this time to the tune of a limerick. The mischievous twinkle in his eye told them clearly that the translation wouldn’t be fit for “proper” society.

“Oh, you!” She glared at him, but laughed. “Tell me again why I dated you in the first place?”

“You two dated?” AnnaBeth asked, stopping Bruce’s next reply. She looked confusedly from Grace to Courtney to Bruce, as if the concept of him having dated both of them and yet them all still being friends was amazing to her.

Bruce nodded, grinning. “A loooonnnng time ago.” He stretched out the word, making it sound like ancient history. “It was… what, Nee? We met at that soup kitchen of your mother’s, right?” Constance Blaire had helped spur an S.O.S. campaign to save the Gotham Soup Kitchen, and a part of that meant a grand re-opening with local celebrities serving hot soup and homemade sandwiches to Gotham’s homeless.

Courtney nodded. “You were standing next to me in the serving line. Frowning, as I recall.” She recalled correctly. Courtney had taken it upon herself to torture the frown off his face, though it had been a fun kind of torture.

“You should have been frowning, too! That soup reeked!” Bruce laughed as Courtney shook her head at him.

“It did not! I helped cook it myself!” she protested.

“Well, in that case,” Bruce teased back, “it’s a wonder those poor people didn’t keel over after the first bite.”

Courtney threw her napkin at him from across the table. Bruce stuck his tongue out at her. Alex howled with laughter, simply because it was rare to see Bruce in such a mood.

“So you met at the soup kitchen and…?” Grace urged gently. Even she hadn’t heard this story, and if Bruce was going to share she wanted to hear every word.

Bruce shrugged good-naturedly. “Really, I’m still not sure. I think Nee decided my frown had to go and then chased it away. Next day I was meeting with Councilman Blaire to discuss funding to some scholarships that had been set up in my parents’ name…” he trailed off a little, as he always did when faced with the memory of his parents’ death. Grace’s hand found his under the table and squeezed. Bruce squeezed back, and then let their fingers twine together as the comfort of her touch brought him back to the story at hand. “We ran into each other in the lobby of his office–”

“Literally,” Courtney supplied. “I was carrying this stack of books Dad was donating to the library and couldn’t see where I was going. Next thing I know, I’m walking into something solid and the books and I wind up on the floor on top of poor Bruce.”

“By the time we picked ourselves up and then the books, I realized it was the lunatic from the soup kitchen I was helping and decided that if Fate was going to keep throwing us at each other, I might as well ask her out.” Bruce winked at her, smiling at both the memory and because now something she’d said earlier suddenly made sense. He’d long considered their friendship to have been an obstacle keeping Courtney from finding someone to love her as much as he thought she deserved. Now, he thought she was right. There’d been a good reason they hadn’t wound up together, but had still remained friends. Had it not been for their strong friendship, neither one of them would have found the people they were with tonight. The people neither of them could live without.

“Why–?” AnnaBeth and Alex both spoke at the same time, which made Alex laugh some more when he realized what they’d done.

“Why’d we break up?” Bruce asked, knowing somehow this would be the right question. Alex nodded, still snickering over the over-lapping question.

Bruce looked over at Courtney and her husband, happy that Seth was there to love her. “Nee and I had a lot of fun together. We still do, and goodness knows I love her dearly, but it wasn’t meant to be more than friendship.” From across the table, Courtney nodded in a silent agreement. They’d both known that the first time Bruce had tried to kiss her, it had felt like they were each kissing someone to whom they were related. Closely enough to make kissing feel wrong. They’d decided that first reaction must have been a fluke and tried it again one other time. When the fluke recreated itself, they settled, mutually, for friendship. “Besides,” Bruce grinned in Seth’s direction, “it takes a better man than I could ever be to have Constance as mother-in-law.” But he winked, knowing that Seth got along all too well with Courtney’s mother.

Seth nodded. If the mood had been any different, he would have taken offense to that comment, as he knew Bruce and Constance did not get along well at all. But tonight, he easily understood that good moods were prevailing, so why not join in? His hand going to the small of his wife’s back, he looked at her and smiled. “I love my mother-in-law.” At Alex’s snort, Seth very uncharacteristically flipped his friend off, but laughed just the same. “I do though.” Again, he looked at Courtney. “Constance Blaire had a lot to do with how her daughter turned out. She’s got a good heart, and if you cut through the pushiness…”

“There’s a lot of that to cut through, Seth,” Alex teased.

Seth laughed. “True. But I seem to like my women lively, spirited, pushy…”

Courtney shot him a teasing look. “Pushy? First Bruce calls me a lunatic, now my husband calls me pushy.” She pointed directly at
Bruce. “You Mister, I can’t do anything about.” Back to Seth, she admonished, “But you can sleep in the guest bedroom.”

Placing a soft kiss on her ear, he teased, “I highly doubt that will happen tonight.” He waggled his brows.

AnnaBeth, who honestly only knew the ‘business’ side of Seth Meyers was shocked almost beyond words at seeing this side of him. So, the confused yet joking glint in her eyes was to be expected. “Who are you and where did you put Terminator Meyers?”

Grace couldn’t help it. She’d tried so desperately to keep from laughing while Courtney loving berated first Bruce and then Seth. But when AnnaBeth commented, calling Seth the Terminator, she couldn’t stop it anymore. She laughed and laughed hard.

Alex joined her.

Seth and Courtney merely watched, both glad to see her laugh like that. It was something she hadn’t done in a very long time. Courtney’s look turned up to Bruce, knowing full well that he was the one responsible for this.

Bruce rubbed his hand along her back, softly reminding her to breathe.
His smile touched his eyes, again, something that hadn’t happened for him in a long time.

Waving her hand in front of her face, Grace breathed in deeply to calm herself. “Sorry. I just got this mental picture. Seth in the lobby of the office saying ‘I’ll be back’.” She laughed again as the others joined her.

“I’m not that bad,” Seth happily defended himself.

Alex shook his head. “Oh no!” His eyes were wide as he over-exaggerated shaking his head.

AnnaBeth quickly jumped in. “It’s just you’re so serious. I like seeing you loosen up a bit.” She turned her powers of flirtation on to
Alex, brushing her long dark hair over her shoulder, letting it flow down her back. “I enjoy a man with a good sense of humor.”

Grace watched the display, knowing AnnaBeth was doing the moves instinctively. She also knew what they were doing to Alex.

The dark-haired model watched Alex for several more seconds before leveling her gaze on Bruce. Deciding she liked him if for no other reason than Grace loved him, she said, “You know, my Gracie,” here her Mediterranean accent flowed a bit thicker, “My beautiful Gracie has not smiled or laughed like this ever. I’ve never known her to.” She winked at her friend before turning back to Bruce. “I like you.”

*-*-*

Alex and AnnaBeth had already disappeared into the throng of dancers, and Seth was escorting Courtney away from their booth as well. Bruce wanted to dance with Grace, but for a moment, all he could do was stare at her, and think how beautiful she was and how stupid he’d been to want to throw what they had away. The sentiment must have shown in his eyes, because Grace squeezed his hand.

“You okay?” she asked, looking worried, and Bruce knew by the look in her eyes that a glimmer of panic had beset her. Did she think perhaps he was having second thoughts?

He shook his head, hoping to dispel the thought that he was anything other than fine. “Just waxing nostalgic.” He reached out, touching her cheek in a gentle caress. “I was thinking about the night we met, and how beautiful you were and how much I just wanted to…” Rather than say what he’d wanted to do, he leaned in, kissing her suddenly and soundly. “I like doing that,” he whispered against her lips before kissing her again, more deeply this time.

He wasn’t sure when she moved, but suddenly she was sitting in his lap, arms winding around his neck to keep the kiss going. Not that he had immediate intensions of stopping. Their booth was happily secluded and the waitress wouldn’t be back to bother them for a while yet. So, the kiss continued until Bruce needed to breathe and he finally pulled his mouth from hers.

The sight before his eyes made him forget why he even needed to breathe in the first place. Grace’s skin was flushed from the heat between them, her lips slightly swollen and redder than usual from his kisses. It was a vision he could look upon for hours, worshipping.

It took her a few moments to get her breathing under control. It wasn’t so much the time she had spent out of his arms, more the fact that she was back where she thought she’d never be, that made her react so physically. She’d taken off the matching jacket when they’d entered the club, and for that she was grateful. Sitting on his lap, like she was made to be there, she was suddenly VERY warm.

She let her thumb trail along his bottom lip, his lips both full from the initiative she had taken. She was a sensualist, after all. It was as his name passed softly across her own lips that she gave in to temptation and pressed hers to his again. Though this kiss was more gentle and slow, more caressing and savoring, it was no less meaningful.

When she finally pulled away, she kept her forehead to his. Emotions were coursing through her veins. Everything from the ends of her hair to the tips of her toes was crying out its love for him. The need to be close, to cuddle, to hold, to kiss, it was all from a desire to not only reacquaint, but to express love… happiness.

Still, she said nothing. Her hands ran through his silky soft hair, seemingly unable to get enough of the feel of him. The moments slipped away where more meaning passed between them than words could express. How long had they sat there looking at one another and feeling no discomfort from it? She didn’t know. But when Faith Hill’s voice came over the speakers… It was the words from ‘Breathe’ that finally moved her to words.

She had listened to this song repeatedly when they first split. It had always reminded her of their relationship. Of all the songs she loved, this was the one that she’d needed the most to grieve with. Now, all she wanted to do was to have him hold her and dance with her while it played. Funny how a song could help so much to heal. “Dance with me?” she asked softly.

How could he refuse her anything when she was looking at him like that?

Taking her hand and watching as their fingers twined together, he nodded and let her lead him slowly to dance floor. The song, he knew, had been one of Grace’s favorites. He’d honestly missed hearing the twang of country music –something he only used to like on occasion, depending on the song and artist in each occasion– around the manor. Mostly, though, he’d missed the woman who’d brought meaning to that genre for him. Made it special by virtue of her enjoyment of it, and the things she associated with each syllable.

But there was something to this one song with all its talk of being swept away, lost in the feeling of being in love with someone. Bruce remembered being on this dance floor once before, wrapped up in her arms and similarly swept away by the rush of emotion her mere touch had created in him. He was feeling it now, too.

“Cause I can feel you breathe
It’s washing over me
Suddenly I’m melting into you
There’s nothing left to prove
Baby all we need is just to be
Caught up in the touch
The slow and steady rush
Baby, isn’t that the way that love’s supposed to be”

Even the words were jumbled, tumbling headlong over top one another in an accurate imitation of how he felt at this very moment. Caught up in love.

His arms tightened around her waist, pulling her body closer, and his forehead dropped to touch hers. “Grace…” he whispered softly, unsure if he’d actually meant to say anything or had said her name just to hear it on his lips.

“In a way I know my heart is waking up
As all the walls come tumbling down
I’m closer than I’ve ever felt before
And I know
And you know
There’s no need for words right now”

She was fairly certain he didn’t even know he’d said her name. Their foreheads were touching, eyes open so they could look into one another’s souls. It was always a thing with Grace… looking directly into someone’s eyes. Some people, it unnerved, but Bruce had never balked from it. He seemed to know that she derived comfort from it.
And if it had bothered him at first, it definitely didn’t now.

“’Cause I can feel you breathe
It’s washing over me
Suddenly I’m melting into you
There’s nothing left to prove
Baby all we need is just to be
Caught up in the touch
The slow and steady rush
Baby, isn’t that the way that love’s supposed to be
I can feel you breathe
Just breathe”

It was, after all, the chorus of this song that had always struck her most. The mere act of being able to simply *be*. No pretenses, no walls. They both were continually judged by the outside world. Bruce because of his money and background… Grace because of her looks and model status. But with one another, there was nothing. Both were figuratively stripped bare and all they were was each other.

She no longer distrusted that any of this was real. She knew it was.
He was with her, holding her, literally all around her. Every sense was filled with him. Somewhere along the line, it had become necessary to her. She felt his muscles move under his clothing, his breath warm on her skin. The scent of his shampoo and soap filled her nostrils, and the sight of him… the sight of his eyes holding hers and telling her just how much he loved her… needed her. His eyes… They told her all the things she knew he couldn’t say for so many reasons.

Mostly, they told her just how loved she was, how missed she was, and how glad he was to have her back in his arms. No, there was no need for words. No need to say the things that most people would expect. She didn’t need an ‘I’m sorry’ or ‘Forgive me’ or ‘I want you back’.
She knew he had no way of asking for the first two. There was no need for any of them. The first two had happened long ago, and the third was understood.

She moved forward. It was a miniscule movement, just enough to touch her nose to his, let her eyes slowly drift closed, and reach out with her lips to brush them lightly against his. She pulled away just a bit after that and sang the last two lines of the song to him… “I can feel the magic floating in the air. Being with you gets me… that way.”

When she was finished singing, she pulled away just a bit more. It was enough this time to not only see his eyes, but his entire face. A face she’d held close to her heart for so long. “I got my forever back,” she said softly, no doubt in her mind that he would understand.

Her forever? No, their forever.

Bruce knew his life would never be the traditional family life everyone expected from him. A huge, fancy wedding to someone with the same social standing as his, the birth of little Wayne heirs to keep the family line thriving… taking up where his parents had left off so abruptly. This was expected of him, but it wasn’t what would ever be. And yet, he also knew that if anything in his life came close to that kind of commitment… that kind of forever… it was his love for Grace. He’d known that from the moment their relationship out-lasted any other relationship he’d ever had. Each day beyond the deadline he’d come to accept as fated was one to cherish.

She was different than the rest; he needed her in his life.

That had been emphasized by the growing ache he’d endured each day they were apart. It was the pain of his soul dying piece by piece every day that she wasn’t with him.

In the dark of night, he’d started watching her apartment, hoping for a glimpse of her, needing one like a drug addict needed a fix. The nightly vigils, however, had always been doubled edged. One side soothed the ache for her; the other cut deep because he couldn’t reach out to her. But he’d continued them because, like the drug addict, he needed her.

And now, he had her back. They had each other.

“Now, forever… always,” he whispered, closing the space between them to kiss her. The next song was something a bit more upbeat, but they barely seemed to notice as their eyes met. “For as long as you want it.”

She continued to look at him, her hands running through his hair of their own accord. She honestly hadn’t realized she was doing it. His last comment struck her though… as long as she wanted it. She had wanted it all along. She’d never wanted it to end. As their bodies swayed slowly to the beating of their hearts, and not the music at the club, she wondered if he honestly knew just what she really did want.
A slow smile spread across her face.

Knowing Bruce, probably not. Knowing Bruce, he was still waiting for the axe to fall. He was still waiting for her to figuratively spit in his eye and tell him to drop dead. He tended to look at things that way. But the ironic thing was she was waiting for it too, only she was waiting for it from him not to do it to him.

One hand moved to his cheek, her finger lightly tracing his jaw line.
Given how well she knew him, and given that her own sense of security was shaky, she opened her mouth and said exactly what she was thinking. “I’ll take forever, thank you very much. I’ll take falling asleep beside you every night and waking up in your arms every morning. I’ll give up showering by myself. I never want to do that again. I’ll take the job of being the one to make sure you eat three meals a day no matter how much you complain about not being hungry.” She smiled brightly. “Oh yeah, and I’ll take all the little quirks and nuances that makes being with you the best thing that has ever happened to me in my entire life… every moment… every heartbeat.”

In the past, she may have wondered if she’d gone too far… crossed an unseen boundary that Bruce set up for his personal comfort. But for some reason, she honestly didn’t believe there were any right now. Well, there was the one, but she wasn’t even tempted to cross that. He’d asked her not to ask about it, and she wouldn’t. But the others, the ones that had been there before, she believed them gone; and she didn’t want to leave any room for doubt. She wanted her life back the way it was… or as close as she could get it. He’d said for as long as she wanted… she wanted forever. So she put it out there in the open. Best to deal with it all now. Cause in all honesty, she’d take all he was willing to give. The only thing that scared her anymore was that she’d lose him again. And though she believed in her heart that wasn’t possible, her head still wanted proof. “I want all the little things I’ve come to treasure. Mostly, I want to be with you.” She smiled. Her eyes locked onto his and held, letting him know just how deeply she was feeling things at this moment.

Her words sent the already frantic beat of his heart into overdrive, though for a moment, he’d believed it had stopped altogether when he heard her say she’d take forever. There had been a time in the beginning of their relationship when something like this would have scared him so as to send him running. It still scared him, but he wasn’t running this time. Not ever again, not from Grace. It wasn’t the depth of feeling that scared him; it was the fact that he’d been holding his breath after he’d told her he was there as long as she wanted, afraid she wouldn’t want him. Even after all that had happened today, he had still been unsure of his place in her life.

“I want that, too,” he said at last. In his mind, Courtney’s words echoed, urging him to tell her the only thing he hadn’t yet said in plain words. “I want you to stay, Grace. At the Manor, with me. I won’t ever ask you to leave again.” He pressed his forehead to hers, bringing their faces close together. “I love you, and I can’t live like that again… can’t live without you to light the darkness… without you to make me whole.”

“I love you too,” she said softly, “so much…” There was no music; there were no other people on the dance floor. Hell, there were no other people who existed in the universe right now than the two of them. He had just offered her the brass ring that she had so desperately wanted… needed. She’d been holding her breath for two days, waiting for the inevitable moment when it would come up about her going back to her apartment. That place wasn’t home to her. It hadn’t been since she first moved into the Manor. Home, to Grace, was wherever Bruce was.

She inhaled deeply, knowing that he had difficulty sometimes discerning tears of happiness from tears of sadness. So she inhaled to get that under control and then smiled widely at him. Had she ever been this happy? The answer was yes. If asked last week if she’d ever be happy again? The answer would have been no. But one little incident and her entire life was back on track. Their life was back on track.

“There is absolutely no place in Heaven or on Earth that I would rather be than where you are. At the Manor… in a hut in the Artic…” She laughed lightly more out of euphoria than anything. “Though the Manor is warmer.” She sighed. “There’s no place I’d rather be.” She wasn’t going to be asked about when she was going back to her apartment. Suddenly, just the thought of that place caused loathing inside of her. “When do we call the movers?” ‘For the last time,’ she added in her own mind. The happiness inside caused her to impulsively hug him, and hug him tightly. Giddy was an understatement for how she felt!

He laughed, the sound bubbling up and pushing away the last of the insane fear he’d carried about losing her still. Calling the movers had been the only thing he’d wanted for two days now. Hell, he’d have packed all her belongings himself even if it might take him the rest of his life, if that’s what it took to get her back where she belonged. “You mean, we haven’t done that yet?” he joked before planting hundreds of kisses on her upturned face. He didn’t think about patrolling tonight. He wouldn’t. He’d stay with Grace tonight and in the morning they’ll call the movers.

His lips found hers in a soft kiss and her mouth parted, letting the kiss deepen. If it bothered him that they were in the middle of a crowded nightclub or that the music had again changed tempo, it didn’t show. Likewise, when a camera flashed from somewhere in that crowd, it didn’t even register in Bruce’s mind. They were alone, just themselves, in a world outside the rest of the creation. Bruce… and Grace… and nothing else but how it felt to hold her in his arms once again.

*-*-*

Seth had handed his wife over to Alex and was dancing with AnnaBeth.
The ‘terminator’ comment from earlier had stuck in his head and he seemed determined to prove to her that he was more than the reputation he’d earned at the office. Of course, the beautiful Greek woman already knew he was more than his office persona, but still, he felt the need.

When the first flash went off, he didn’t even think about it. It was subconsciously dismissed as a strobe light or some other dance floor effect. The second didn’t even truly faze him. The third, however, caught his attention. Keeping a hold of AnnaBeth’s hand, Seth scoped out the room. First he saw Bruce and Grace, happily oblivious to anyone and everything. From the looks of it, whatever mending they’d needed to do, they were definitely coming to terms with it. The very public display of affection was more than an indicator.

“AnnaBeth,” he said softly. “Help me look… someone’s taking…”

Another flash went off and she finished for him, “Pictures. So?
Someone’s having a party or something. Nothing wrong with pictures.”
Given her profession, she saw absolutely nothing wrong with it.

Seth shook his head, turning his full attention to her for a moment.
“The paper this morning had a full scale article about Bruce… Bruce and Alex going to the anniversary dinner together. Now, tonight, Bruce is out in public with the woman he’d split from four months ago.”
Gently, he touched her chin and guided her gaze toward the kissing couple. “And there is little doubt as to their status.”

She nodded. “Journalistic bastards.” She muttered something in Greek and continued, “I will help you find him.” They split and went their separate ways in search of the photographer. Of course, it didn’t take
AnnaBeth long. She was drawn to the flash like a moth to a flame. She placed her body in front of the camera and smiled widely at the man.
Reaching out, she traced her finger along his lower arm. “You like to take pictures?” she asked sweetly.

His eyes went wide. She was gorgeous. And he knew her… Then it dawned on him. “You’re… you’re…”

She nodded. “You can say my name. AnnaBeth. I am AnnaBeth.” She’d work her magic. He had plenty of pictures for his article. Now was about putting an end to the photography… at least of Bruce and Grace. “I couldn’t help but notice you. You like taking pictures?”

He was torn between his assignment and the woman who was obviously flirting with him. Wait… this was no mere woman. This was one of the highest paid supermodels in the world and one of the most breathtakingly beautiful women ever. She was sexy as hell. And she was talking with him!!

AnnaBeth laughed. Typical male. He forgot everything when given the option of a beautiful face and the prospect of sex.

Seth noticed the absence of flashing and looking around, found AnnaBeth flirting with the photographer. Alex and Courtney had stopped dancing and both were laughing as the man crumbled easily under the model’s attentions. Hating to do it, but knowing he had to, he approached the former object of the photographer’s attention. Lightly, he tapped Bruce on the back.

“Sorry, guys,” he apologized as they both jumped. They seemed to have completely forgotten where they were. He pointed over toward AnnaBeth and the photographer, the man getting more smitten by the minute. “It seems the Alex rumors are going to be quickly dispelled.” He offered
Bruce a supportive look, knowing the newspapers bothered him more than they did Grace. “Looks like you won’t need to demand a retraction after all.”

*-*-*

Bruce held Grace’s hand tightly as he watched Seth and Courtney climb into Seth’s Jeep, which had sat waiting for them all night with Bruce’s fleet of cars, and pull out of the garage. He was smiling again, despite having been very unhappy about the incident with the photographer. Nothing, however, seemed able to dampen his spirits for long, not when there was no longer any doubt that Grace was his. He squeezed her hand, and led her into the house only when their friends were almost to the end of the driveway and very out of sight.

They held hands all the way through the main hall and up the stairs, neither of them really saying anything, as it all had been said earlier.

In the hallway outside their two bedrooms, they paused to kiss and Bruce pulled her tightly into his arms. All the kissing and touching tonight had served to fuel his desire for her. Tonight, he thought, deepening the kiss, they would do more than just sleep in his big, comfortable bed. The way she was kissing him back, he thought maybe she might be of the same mind.

When the kiss ended, Grace extracted herself from his arms. Placing her hand on his chest lightly, she excused herself, saying, “I’ll just go get a nightgown and be right back.”

“Don’t get lost,” he told her. He waited until the door closed behind her to go into his own room. He sat down on the bed, and began to take off his shoes, when knock on the door and a polite clearing of a man’s throat announced Alfred’s arrival.

“Come in, Alfred,” he said, motioning for the older man to shut the door behind him.

“Pleasant evening, Master Bruce?” Alfred inquired, having seen Bruce’s generally happy demeanor when they’d first arrived back at the Manor.

“Yes, it was. Grace is going to be staying with us, Alfred,” he informed, turning around to face the butler as he began to unbutton his shirt.

The older man couldn’t help but be pleased at the news, and he smiled warmly. “Excellent, sir,” was all he said, however. “Did you happen to see the afternoon newspaper?”

“The Alex thing?”

“No, sir. Not the ‘Alex thing.’” Alfred handed him a section of the newspaper, folded over to a specific page. It was the front section, and the article spoke of a quandary the police had gotten themselves into. Two days prior, the police had acted on an anonymous tip and arrested a man who had reportedly made an attack on famous supermodel Grace O’Neil. The man, however, had sustained injuries during a ‘citizen’s arrest’ and was being treated at Gotham General Hospital. The police had him under surveillance. The man, however, refused to admit to any guilt and Ms O’Neil had been strangely unavailable for comment. Bruce sighed. He’d been hoping to stay with Grace tonight.

“They can’t hold him if he doesn’t confess.” It wasn’t a question; Bruce knew his plans for the evening had just been changed.

*-*-*

Grace stood staring at the selection of nightgowns Courtney and Seth had packed for her. She was thankful to her two friends. Although the shirt she slept in the night before was comfortable, it hadn’t fit correctly. Reaching out, she pulled out her lilac silk nightgown. It was sleeveless with only small spaghetti straps to hold it on. There was a matching robe that hung on the hanger as well.

Walking out of the closet, she laid the garments on the bed… and paused.

That’s when it hit her. It well and truly hit her. She wasn’t spending a few days here; she was spending the rest of her days here. She walked over to the mahogany dresser and ran her hand along the top. When she lived here before, Alfred had always made sure there were fresh flowers on it for her. He knew she loved the smell of fresh cut flowers and although she spent more time in Bruce’s room than her own, it didn’t deter him from making sure there were fresh flowers all over the room.

She inhaled. Her eyes drifted closed and she turned around. When she opened them again, it was to see that the room was once again filled with fresh flowers. Her smile widened. Alfred knew. Somehow, and she never questioned how, he knew that she was going to be staying. She hadn’t noticed them when she first came in because she’d been so focused on getting her nightgown and getting back to Bruce.

Bruce…

Another happy sigh escaped her lips and she crossed the room back to the bed. Taking off her dress, she left it on the bed, knowing that the maid would see that it was properly cleaned and pressed. At first, she’d had a hard time adjusting to that… having people take care of her. But as her hand ran along the crushed velvet, she was glad she wouldn’t have to think about it.

All of her focus was on the man in the other room. The man who was waiting for her. Her bra and panties found their way into the hamper and the silkiness of the nightgown caressed her skin as she slipped it on.

Purple was her signature color.

She placed the robe on next and moved to the big mirror just inside her bathroom door. She checked her hair… cleared her face of any make-up that would smear during the night… then checked herself in the mirror again. The bruise on her forehead was barely visible, and for that she was thankful. The thinner form that appeared in the mirror… well that wouldn’t change overnight.

“Stop worrying so much, Grace,” she admonished herself. That said, she purposely headed out of the bathroom, crossed the room to the door, and exited out into the hallway. Only one door now stood between her and the one person she loved with everything she was. Making her way across the hall, she wasn’t going to let it stand in the way any longer.

*-*-*

Bruce held Grace in his arms as he had the night before, waiting until her breathing deepened with sleep and he knew he couldn’t wake her with his departure. He slipped from the bed and changed his clothes, then made his way down the passage to the basement.

The suit he and Alfred had spent over a year designing and testing hung waiting for him in an alcove just behind a secret panel that looked like bare wall. The wall slid open at the press of a button, and he reached for the suit, changing silently while Alfred entered from a second passage. Their eyes met just before the cowl went over Bruce’s face, and he became the man whom a few of the news reporters were now calling ‘the Batman.’

He wondered what Grace would say if she ever found out. What she would think. How she would react. Would she still be willing to accept it?
Or would she be afraid of what he had become in his search for justice?
“I won’t be long,” he told Alfred, and thought his voice sounded darker, not his own. If this surprised the butler, he didn’t show it and merely nodded. It was left unsaid between them that if Grace awoke, she would be Alfred’s only priority.

*-*-*

While Grace –like most of Gotham slept– the Gotham General Hospital was suddenly thrown into dishevel when then power in an entire wing went out. They were even more baffled when, less than ten minutes later, the power returned.

No harm came to any patients in the wing itself, though the distraction was enough to lure the police away for the door they guarded. No one saw the silent figure clothed in darkness as it slipped from the shadows outside the room into those just inside the door.

“So, you’re going to get away with it,” the newcomer said a gravelly voice. The patient in the bed started at the intrusion and his eyes widened like saucers when the shadow moved forward, cloak swirling around the silhouette of a man’s body.

“Do you think that you’ll be exempt from retribution just because the police can’t hold you?”

The dark figure stepped forward, revealing a masked face with dark, hard eyes. The man on the bed shook his head repeatedly, unable to speak. His predator gave a curt nod, as if accepting this as an answer.

“W-w-who are you?” the man stammered.

His visitor ignored the question and leaned in, placing a hand on either side of the hospital bed. “That’s not important,” he spat out. His eyes drilled into the other man, making him squirm. “What is important is that you’re going to confess. Tonight.”

“What if I don’t?”

The question, and the tone in which it was said, unleashed the masked man’s fury. He reached out, grabbing the man’s hospital gown with lightening speed, then clamping a gloved hand down on his mouth when he made as if to scream. “If you don’t, I’ll know.” The words were softly spoken, but the menace behind them rolled off the easily stronger man in waves.

Then, as instantly as he came, he vanished. Minutes later, the light returned to the wing. The police guards came running in soon after, to check on their ward, and found him shaken, but in a much more cooperative mood than he had been before.

*-*-*

Grace was still sleeping when Bruce slipped back into the room. Watching her, he felt a strange sense of pride in what he’d accomplished that night. Unknown to either the police or the man he’d visited, he’d left a microscopic listening device in the room before he’d left. It transmitted directly to the basement headquarters, and by the time he’d returned, there was a recorded confession waiting for him.

The bug he’d planted? So small that the next time the hospital room was cleaned and sterilized, the water and chemicals would render it inoperable. Likely it would be disposed of, as well. In the trash or flushed into the Gotham sewer system. What became of it, though, was less important to him as the knowledge that he’d done what he’d set out to do. Grace’s attacker had confessed.

Pushing all thoughts of the night’s business from his mind, he quickly shed his otherwise unused street clothes and reached for his sleep clothes. Then he discarded them at the foot of the bed, his eyes on her the entire time.

There was one more thing he needed to do to get his night back on its original track.

Easing into the bed beside her, he pressed his lips to the back of her neck in a whisper of a kiss. Grace’s response was to roll over in her sleep, softly murmuring his name. It must have been a nice dream she was having, as her lips had barely formed a sleepy smile when he claimed them in another soft kiss. The dreamy sigh that followed allowed him to deepen his kisses, drawing them out as he coaxed her body into awareness.

Her first thought was that the dream was perhaps the most vivid she’d ever had. She felt the pressure on her lips and responded to it. The ‘dream’ Bruce tilted his head and turned the kiss into a more deep and sensual expression. When the smooth tongue brushed across her teeth, her subconscious began to give way to consciousness and she realized this was no dream. The ‘real’ Bruce was kissing her.

What a delicious way to come out of a dream. Though still somewhere between sleeping and waking, her arms ran around his bare back and up into his hair. She hummed lightly into the kiss as her body began to react and ‘wake up’ as well.

Feeling her awaken beneath his kisses was a dream made real for Bruce. Too often he’d dreamt of her in his arms only to wake to find himself holding a pillow instead. The pillow didn’t kiss back, though. Her every little wakening response was like dousing the flame of his desire with gasoline. His lips moved slowly off hers, trailing moist kisses across her smooth cheek. He paused, nuzzling the spot just below her earlobe, the one that always made her squirm in his arms. He’d missed that spot so much.

Her eyes slowly fluttered open as his mouth left hers to place kisses along her cheek, but it was when he found *that* spot that her eyes came open and she squirmed in delight. “Oh Bruce…” she sighed, finally coming fully awake. She moved slowly loving the feel of the silk rubbing between their bodies, using it to stimulate other sensitive areas. She’d actually stopped sleeping in her bed after dreaming about being in just this position with him. But the dream was a reality. He was here, loving her, and it was real.

She also knew that this wasn’t simply kissing and cuddling. She could feel his state of undress. Oh… she had dreamed about this so many times. Her arms wrapped around his neck and held him firmly to her. It was all she’d ever wanted… all she’d ever want to do for the rest of her life… love him.

Bruce squirmed a little on his own, moving his body so that he rested between her legs, the silk between them heightening very sensation to the point of sweet insanity. He’d intended to be gentle, and so far he had been, but he was starting to doubt that he could continue.

“Grace…” he echoed her sigh, breathing the word against her skin as he continued to nuzzle her neck. One hand moved to her breast, cupping it through the silk and thumbing the nipple into a taut bud. At the same time, his teeth scrapped against her skin, just enough to make her already flushed skin pinker.

She could feel what this was doing to him, and knew what it was doing to her. The silk barrier between them… the one that just two seconds ago she was loving… was now a brick wall between her and the one thing that her body was crying for. As his teeth scraped her skin, she gave out a soft cry and pressed into him even more closely.

She’d thought about sweet and romantic… slow and easy… warm and loving. But this was four months of denial… four months of not having him. “Bruce,” her voice was needy, telling him with her tone what she could not form into words. Maybe round two could be nice and slow and warm. Right now, waking up to this, there was just need.

The urgency in her voice hit him like a fist. To Hell with gentle, it said, echoing the most irrational thoughts that were still clinging to his brain. He needed her; she needed him. Right now, the need was consuming him every bit as much as he knew it was her. Silk brushed against his skin –taunting– and he tugged impatiently at the nightgown, pushing it up around her waist… leaving nothing between the relevant places but their need.

Her hands moved down to help push up the nightgown… to get it out of the way. She was literally shaking now with need. Her entire body was craving this… and when the barrier was down, her legs wrapped around his waist and locked. Hands ran up his back, her nails scraping along the skin… the soft, smooth skin of his back. They didn’t stop though until they were in his hair and she was bringing his mouth to hers in a kiss that was much more demanding and intense than any they’d shared these past couple days. When he finally penetrated her, when he finally crashed the last barrier between them, she wanted his mouth on hers. She wanted all of him.

Prompted by the fact that their mouths were suddenly crushed together, he kissed her as their bodies moved together in a frantic pace. The kisses were just as frenzied –greedy with the hunger they’d both been denying.

This was all he knew –the hungry, chaotic need that raged around them like a storm. His instinct was to ride the storm.

It was like they’d never been apart… except there was much more intensity than was the norm for them. She could feel the changes in him though, he was stronger… his movements more fluid. It could have been the months where she’d wanted nothing more than to feel him inside of her. Months of wanting. She matched him easily though, keeping pace with the heat building within her.

The kiss finally broke when they needed air, but she held him to her, their foreheads almost touching as they continued to move at the fevered pace. There was no way she was going to last much longer, and she didn’t want her eyes closed when it happened. Suddenly, seeing him… and what was going on in his eyes… was very important.

Their eyes locked, and it was as if Bruce had found the only solid, stabile foundation in the storm that tossed him. He held her gaze, grounding himself in what he saw in her eyes. Base need might feed the flames of this coupling, but love gave it meaning. A love neither of them could deny.

Love…

Love had made their hearts yearn for each other. Love had led them back to where they belonged. Love made their bodies come together like there hadn’t been four months keeping them apart.

Love filled his voice as he cried out when their simultaneous climaxes began as a shudder through her body.

His name passed through her lips, and she had no idea if she’d cried out or whispered. All she knew was that her entire body seemed to explode. Her insides set completely aflame by not only the physical release but also the emotional outpouring. She literally felt as if she was being remade. And when she thought it was over, when she believed the height of the storm was over…

It hit her again.

She lost all thought as the tidal wave finally began to ebb. Her arms wrapped around him and she held him to her. There was no way she could avoid the tear that slipped down her cheek. It was simply too emotional of a moment to hold anything back. “I love you,” she whispered into his ear when she was finally able to breathe with some modicum of control. “I love you so much.”

“Love you…” he whispered back when the last tremor receded, leaving his body physically spent yet deeply sated. Kissing the tear from her cheek, he gathered her in his arms, gentle once again. “My sweet, amazing Grace… with everything I am, I love you.”

*-*-*

Continue in Chapter Five