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Falling Apart	By : AsylumWritings Category: DC Verse Comics > Batman Views: 347 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Batman/DC Comics, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Home
- 2-Reconnection
- 3-Lost
- 4-Memories
- 5-Romanced
- 6-Encounters
- 7-Mine
- 8-Changes
- 9-Meeting
- 10-Hike
- 11-Danger
- 12-Tension
- 13-Scared
- 14-Forgiveness
- 15-End
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I became good at pretending. I became so good that after a while the lines blurred between my truth and fiction. And sometimes, when I did a really good job of pretending, I even fooled myself. Ruta Sepetys, Salt to the Sea
I walked into the building, still nervous but feeling a little more confident. The atmosphere inside immediately calmed me down, as I felt the familiar sense of society around me.
There were a lot of people I recognised, but none that I wanted to approach yet. Instead I walked to the bar to get a drink first. As I waited for the bartender to pour, I noticed a couple walking over to me. They were older, maybe mid to late 50s, but very familiar. Mr and Mrs Hill. I remembered that they were good friends with my parents. Only, it was Mayor Hill now. I’d seen the news on my flight over.
“Miss Huntington, welcome back to Gotham.” Mayor Hill said, as the stopped in front of me. “You’ve been gone a long time.”
“It’s good to see you again. I hear congratulations are in order, Mayor.” I held out my hand to him.
He took it, pressing a kiss to the back of my fingers. I held back a eye roll as he lingered a little too long. He’d always given me a creep vibe, and I honestly wondered how he’d managed to get voted in.
Pulling my hand away, I turned to his wife, Sarah. “You look as beautiful as ever.”
“You flatter me, dear.” She leaned in, kissing my cheek. “I’m pleased to have you here at our party. As soon as I heard you were coming back, I insisted we send you an invite.”
“Thank you for thinking of me.” I smiled at her.
She softly squeezed my hand. “We have more people to talk to, but I want to hear about your time in England later.”
I nodded, turning to pick up my drink as they left. Scanning the room, I wondered who I should talk to next. Then I saw him. He stood out in his perfectly tailored suit, slightly taller than the women around him. He’d bulked out a bit, but he still looked like the Bruce I knew.
He must have felt my eyes on him, because he looked over. I quickly looked away, blushing and hoping he hadn’t caught me looking. I wasn’t ready to approach him yet.
Something was holding me back, but I didn’t know what. After a few moments, I thought I was safe, but then I heard a voice.
“Eve?”
I looked up to find Bruce standing there in front of me, his icy blue eyes on mine. He really hadn’t changed much at all, but his eyes showed something more.
“Bruce… It’s good to see you.” I spoke quietly, putting my glass down on the bar.
“Were you avoiding me?” He asked.
I hesitated, unsure how to answer. “It’s been ten years, I guess I wasn’t sure if you would even want to see me.”
“I know it’s been a long time. But I did miss you.” He touched my arm. “Do you still remember how to dance?”
“If I recall correctly, I was a better dancer than you.” I smiled at him, as we walked onto the dance floor. “Or have you improved since our last dance?”
He swept me into a waltz, and I was surprised at how quickly it came back to me. I took hold of his hand, easily slipping into the rhythm with him.
“I wanted to call, but you disappeared not long after I left.” I bit my lip. “You were legally dead, Bruce. Where did you go?”
He sighed, avoiding my gaze. “After the court case… I couldn’t… face Gotham. So I travelled, just trying to avoid everything.”
I didn’t reply, just watching his face. There was a darkness in his eyes. Something had happened when he was gone, and though it hadn’t changed him physically, it had changed him deep inside.
It wasn’t easy to hold back, when I wanted so much to ask more. It was too soon to push him. I didn’t want him to close up and refuse to talk to me.
“There’s a lot I want to say…” He trailed off for a moment. “Can I take you out for a drink after?”
I nodded. “That would be great.”
“You always made these parties look so easy.” He twirled me around, pulling me back against his chest. “I could never understand how you were so comfortable in the crowds of people.”
“Because I’m sociable.” I felt my breath catch in my throat as his arm slid around me. “I love the attention, and I don’t try too hard to make people like me.” Pulling away, I turned to face him. “You’ve always been so quiet, and introspective. This is not your element. Even before your parents… They raised you for more than just this. Although my parents raised me to take over the business eventually, they assumed I would get married. So they taught me how to shine in social situations, to attract men.”
He drew me back in, his hands on my back. “You never said…”
“Of course I didn’t. I never wanted to be a trophy handed off to a man who happened to show interest in me.” I sighed. “The point is, this is only easy for me because I’ve been trained for it from the moment I could walk and talk.”
The song came to an end, and we pulled apart. The rest of the night was fairly uneventful, just talking to people I recognised, reintroducing myself to old friends of my parents. Finally, the night wound down, and Bruce escorted me out.
“Where are we going?” I asked, as I got into Bruce’s car.
“Somewhere a little less… crowded.” He made sure the edge of my dress wouldn’t get caught, then gently shut the door. Once he was in the driver’s seat, he looked over at me. “It’s hard to talk at these parties and I thought we could use some time to actually catch up.”
I nodded. “It would be nice to actually talk.”
We drove in relative silence, but it felt comfortable, just like it used to. After a short drive, we came to a small, nondescript building. I was confused, because it really didn’t look like the sort of place I would go to. Especially since there didn’t seem to be any sort of bar or club around.
“Bruce… Where are we?” I climbed out, looking around.
He walked over, holding out his hand to me. “Trust me.”
I took it, letting him lead me to a door. He knocked on it, and we waited a moment. It opened, revealing a large bouncer, who took one look at Bruce and let us through.
As we made our way down some stairs, I realised we were walking into a small speakeasy. It was softly lit, the red leather booths bathed in golden light. A young woman stood on a stage, singing a sweet jazz song.
“Here.” Bruce lead me to a small booth at the very back of the room.
I sat down, letting the music wash over me as he went and got drinks. It was calming, after a night of stiff socialising, to just sit and listen. After a few moments, he returned, sitting beside me.
“I’m sorry.” I said quietly, taking my drink from him. “I should have been there for the court case. I know it must have been hard for you.”
He shook his head. “It wouldn’t have made a difference. I was out of control, I don’t think I would have even listened to you.”
“I still should have been there to try.”
“Eve, you’d buried your parents less than a month before.” He touched my hand. “You were a mess too, and you’d just run off to England.”
I didn’t reply, playing with the straw in my drink. Dealing with the guilt was hard, and I just felt like a bad friend.
“What did you do all that time in London?” He asked, sipping his drink.
“For the first couple of years, I basically partied a lot and acted very stupid.” I bit my lip, shaking my head at the memory. “After that, I figured I should get my life back on track. I didn’t want to continue being a disappointment to my parents, so I went back to college and got my degree.” Leaning my elbows on the table, I turned my head to look at him. “But what about you? While you were off gallivanting around the world, where did you end up?”
He gently wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me slightly closer. “A lot of places. I travelled across Europe and into Asia. Spent some time with some monks in Nepal and Bhutan.”
I hesitated, feeling a little like I was prying. “You didn’t even contact Alfred. So you didn’t want to be found. Were you running from something?”
“I guess you could say I was running from myself.” He reached out, pushing one of my stray hairs behind my ear. “I was trying to find a purpose.”
“And did you?”
He nodded, dropping his hand from my cheek. “I did. I’ll probably tell you some day.”
“But not today?”
“Not today.” He ran his fingers up and down my arm, holding me tightly. “Today, I want to hear more about what you’ve been doing, and why you came back.”
I blushed, feeling my skin heat up where he touched me. “I dated, made friends, had a life. Once I finished my degree, I went to work for a few years. Then I realised I needed to stop avoiding everything here. So I came back.”
“That’s a vague answer.” He quietly finished his drink.
“So was yours.” I replied. “If there’s something specific you want to know, just ask it, Bruce.”
He looked over at the singer in silence, and I could tell that he was thinking it over. I didn’t know exactly where this was going, but I had some of an idea.
“Why did you leave?” He finally asked, still not looking at me.
I felt the tears well up in my eyes almost immediately, but I blinked them away. “Because I couldn’t take being here. Everything reminded me of them, and I was so broken.”
“I would have helped you through it.” He sounded frustrated.
“You couldn’t have. When Chill was arrested, you were just as much of a mess as me.” I laughed a little. “I don’t think either of us was in a position to help the other.”
He sighed, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “You’re probably right. I’m sorry.”
I finished my drink, just as the song came to a close. I could feel his eyes on me, and I knew he wanted to ask something more. He’d been dancing around whatever he really wanted to know for the whole night, even back at the party.
“We haven’t seen each other for a decade, Bruce, but you haven’t changed that much. So whatever it is that you’re holding back, ask it.”
He pressed his finger underneath my chin, tilting my head up. “I asked you out the week before your parents died. Why didn’t you give me an answer?”
I didn’t really have an answer, but I was struggling under the weight of his gaze. But I couldn’t keep him waiting much longer, so I tore my eyes from his, looking down at the table.
“Because I didn’t have one.” I whispered. “I didn’t know what I wanted back then. We were barely adults, and I wasn’t ready for anything serious yet.”
“I would have waited for you.”
I nodded, looking up at him again. “I know. And maybe I wanted you to. But that wasn’t fair of me, and I should have given you an answer. I’m sorry.”
He leaned over, his nose softly brushing mine as he kissed me. I hesitated, pulling back.
“Bruce, I…” I took a breath.
“You don’t want this.” He looked away, upset. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have…”
I shushed him, pressing my fingers to his lips. “No, I do! It’s just that… I just got back to Gotham, and there’s so much going on. We’ve changed a lot, and I would rather take this slow.”
“I’ll take you home. We can talk more soon.” He gently squeezed my hand.
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Falling Apart