Warnings: mentions of blood and beatings/ this is a long chapter.
āThe Secrets of Gotham-Unmaskedā
Ā Y/n held Bruce tightly as he sob into her chest, she had never seen him so vulnerable and broken before, but he began to spill everything he was feeling,
Ā Ā Ā āIām so sorry for not letting you rescue your brother, I held you so you wouldnāt go back in because I was selfish, I was scared to lose you-ā
Ā Ā Bruce then raised his voice a little bit out of frustration,
Ā Ā āNo let me finish! please..ā
Ā Ā Y/n bit back her words and Bruce immediately felt more guilty for yelling,
Ā Ā āno no.. itās ok.. go on..ā Bruce held here hand tightly in his as he added between sobs,
Ā Ā āLook Iām so sorry, I know things would have maybe been worse or better, whether you were able to run back in or not, but I need you to know that Iām sorry Y/n, but I was scared, I didnāt want to lose you, the thought of losing Y/b/n scared me enough to hold you back. Iām sorry for your loss Y/n, I really am. And if I could do anything to bring him back I would. I really would.ā
Ā Ā Ā Y/n saw the pain that was in his eyes, she never for one second blamed Bruce for holding her back. But he carried that guilt, the guilt of stopping her from running in. Y/n pressed a kiss to his trembling lips as she confessed,
Ā Ā Ā āNever in my life did I ever think to blame you for stopping me from running in, you saved my life that day Bruce, I couldāve died.. you acted upon what you could control.. and that was saving me. Donāt be sorry baby.. itās ok.ā
āI just miss him, and I canāt imagine how you feel, maybe worse, you didnāt even say goodbye.ā
āNeither of us did baby, and I know weāll all miss him forever, they still havenāt even found his body, but weāll be ok.. I promise.ā
She kissed his wet head and kissed his soft lips, she then said,
āWas there something else? You know you can talk to me, Iām right here...ā
Ā Ā He shook his head softly as he held his hand in hers. He looked like he was going to say something else so she stayed quiet and let him talk,
Ā Ā āso about tonight.. well.. I think we have a new vigilante here in the city.. but heās crazy... blood hungry.. somewhat evil too. He helped me stop several crimes in the city, which by all means was good. But he left them unrecognizable.. he beat them to the pulp without second thought. Like if heās taking his anger or whatever heās going through on these guys.. I even had to check if they were still breathing, thatās how bad he left them. And the sight of so much blood left me kinda sick to the stomach overall.ā
Ā Ā Ā Y/n sat on the edge of the tub and asked with concern in her tone,
Ā Ā Ā āDid you get a good look at him? Is he after something specific?ā
Ā Ā āWhatever my eyes couldnāt really catch the lensā will. And I wouldnāt be too sure, this is the first tome I see him, but when I get out Iāll look at them.ā
Ā Ā Ā Bruce unplugged the drain and began to step out, leaving his sculpted body on full display for her to see. Though it was covered in bruises it was all very glorious to her, from his broad shoulders to his muscled chest, the v-line going down from his abdomen, to his long thick thighed legs. Her eyes then trailed from the bottom to the top, until she met his eyes and his now bright red cheeks. Bruce began to tease,
Ā Ā Ā āDo you like what you see?ā
Ā Ā Ā She hid her face into her hand as she stood up,Ā
Ā Ā Ā āSorry.. youāre just really beautiful.ā
Ā Ā She then looked at him and apologized,
Ā Ā āSorry I didnāt mean beautiful, well you know-ā
Ā Ā Ā āIām beautiful to you Y/n? Iāve never had someone call me beautiful... I like it.ā
Ā Ā She stopped her rambling when he said that, making her say,
Ā Ā āoh.. ok.. then beautiful... how about you get some hours of sleep, then you and I can check on the footage yes? Itās almost 5 in the morning and I go to work at 9.ā
Ā Ā Bruce slumped his shoulders a little, he was desperate to se the footage, but he knew Y/n was right, he needed sleep, so that he could be wide awake and more alert about what he was seeing, in a calm tone he agreed,
Ā Ā āAlright, letās go.ā
Ā Ā He pulled on his clean boxers and grabbed Y/n from the back of her thighs picking her up, and bringing her to the bed. Y/n slipped off her bra and left on Bruceās large shirt and her panties only.Ā Ā
Ā Ā After a few minutes of Y/n and Bruce picking at each otherās sides bringing out their giggles and teasing their different sounds of giggles and laughs, it all died down when Y/n saw Bruce yawn and rub his eyes like a tired baby, then they settled under the covers.Ā
Ā Ā Bruce moved her to where she was facing him. He placed her head against his chest as placed his chin right above her head, but not before placing a sweet kiss to her plush lips. They entangled their legs together and wrapped their arms around each other, just as Bruce began to doze off he heard Y/n coo,
Ā Ā Ā āGoodnight my beautiful baby.. I love you.ā
Ā Ā Bruce smiled at her words,
Ā Ā āGoodnight my love.. I love you more..ā
Ā Before they both knew it they had passed out into the night.. or should we say morning by now?Ā
Ā Ā Y/n was awoken by the alarm on her watch that went off, she immediately turned it off so Bruce wouldnāt wake up, he was still very sound asleep. She checked the time and it read ā8:40ā.Ā
Ā Ā Ā āSHIT I GO TO WORK AT 9!! Ok ok.. calm down.. I canāt wake up baby.. he needs sleep.ā
Ā Ā She slowly slipped out of his arms and tucked them under the covers as she placed a big warm smooch to his cheek and forehead, she then scribbled a simple note and left it on her side of the bed on the pillow. She grabbed her backpack from her room and got dressed into some warm clothes and ran towards the kitchen where she saw Alfred serving coffee, she greeted him,
Ā Ā Ā āGood morning Alfred! Sorry for the rush I have work at 9. But please make sure Bruce gets sleep at least until 10-11. He went to bed at 5.ā
Ā Ā Ā Alfred handed her a warm cup of fresh brewed coffee as he said,Ā
Ā Ā āyou donāt worry at all. I have it under control. Now be safe, they said we might hit a blizzard tonight. So make it here early.ā
Ā Ā Ā āOf course Alfred. Thank you!ā
Ā Ā She kissed him on the cheek and rushed out the doors, she started the car before taking off into the city. Y/n made it just in time for work when she walked passed the doors exactly at 9. Gordon welcomes her inside sense Caroline wasnāt there today.
Ā Ā Ā āMorning kid, listen. Caroline wonāt be here for the holidays,Ā Ā but she left us some goodies.. now letās feast on those and get to work.ā
Ā Ā Ā āOh how perfect! Letās dig in.ā
Ā Ā They both got comfortable at their desks and began to work on the remaining paperwork they had, while munching on the sweet breads Caroline had left them.
Ā Alfred began to do his regular routine around the house, he finished around ā10:15ā, Dory wasnāt there as she had gone to be with with family for the holidays as well. Alfred went to his office and began to look through the system Y/n had cracked that showed more information about Greg Saunders. He began to read about his history; Saunders was born in Gotham City, he was raised there until he turned 19 and had to move to D.C. with his father who was military. Saunders went to college and then graduated from the academy at 24, became FBI at 26, worked for the FBI with Y/f/n as a partner for 15 years, Y/f/n was 41 when he was killed.Ā
Ā Ā Saunders was a year older than Y/f/n, when they became partners they had become inseparable, they took down many cases together and had the best reports in the files. Y/f/n was 36 and Saunders was 37 when they both went undercover to catch Mackenzie. The operation started after Saunders went back to Gotham for the holidays and was kidnapped and almost killed, to which he found out Mackenzie was behind it. During the time Mackenzie was running out of money and needed the smallest amount of cash to get by to pay Maroni a debt. And that night as Saunders was out and about checking out his old home that was in the outskirts of Gotham, he was jumped by several men, he was beat terribly and even had several broken bones. And when he can to his two senses he saw Mackenzie over him trying to pull his wallet out of his jacket, that made Saunders grow furious and he tried to reach out and grab Mackenzie by the neck. But was put to an abrupt stop when Mackenzie pulled a gun on him and threatened to kill him if he made another move or said a word. After Mackenzie left with the money Saunders made his way back to D.C., he didnāt even make a report to GCPD. When he told Y/f/n what had happened and who it was, Y/f/n began to dig deep into Mackenzieās history and got enough evidence and reason to chase him down on an undercover case to catch him. FBI approved and gave them the case to handle on their own. And that when it began. It took them 5 years to get as close as they were, but their boss inquired that they wait for backup. So Saunders and Y/f/n came back home to D.C. to put the plan together and come back to Gotham to take them all down. But the night before they left thatās was when Y/f/n and his lovely wife was burned alive in their home. When that occurred Saunders went to the FBI and fought with them to continue the case, but it all came down when they told him there was nothing to pursue. That it was over. Saunders was left shattered, broken, and furious. He tried to go with the case on his own, but all his files went missing. From beginning to end. Everything was gone. Saunders knew someone in the FBI had gotten paid extra bucks to erase everything that involved Mackenzie. He didnāt know who it could of possibly been, but that angered him enough to resign from the FBI, and he left for Gotham and never returned. And up until this day no one had heard of him again. Alfred then thought to himself,
Ā Ā Ā āSaunders lives in Gotham.. heās here.. but where?ā
Ā Ā Ā Alfred then looked deeper into Saundersā fathers history and found the address to his old house,
Ā Ā Ā āPerfect... Y/n is going to be happy about this..ā
Ā Ā He typed out the address to the old house, according to the website this house had lost possession and was abandoned. But he knew that there could be a possibility to trace Saunders down either way. He made it out of his office and went toward the kitchen to prepare some tea for Bruce, it would help him wake up easier and help with the sores when he finally gets up.
Ā Ā Bruce woke up with a lazy stretch then grunted in pain as he remembered that his side hurt pretty badly. He stretched his arm out to Y/nās side and felt her side empty, when he opened his eyes to look he saw her little note there on the pillow. He took it in his hand and it read,
Ā Ā āHi baby, Iām at work right now, Iāll be back at 5. Maybe you and Alfred can go through the footage from last night, then Iāll catch up later tonight? Eat something pls, and put some cream on your bruises. I love you more than you know, be safe. xxxx :)ā
Ā Ā Bruce put the letter down and got dressed into some simple sweats and a t-shirt. He folded the letter neatly and left it in his pocket, he looked on his nightstand and saw how Y/n had left a light grey scrunchie this time. Without a second thought he slipped it on his right wrist. He walked out of his room and went downstairs following the scent of something fresh,Ā
Ā Ā Ā āSmells like.. cut up fruit? Tea?.. still smells nice.ā
Ā Ā Ā He was greeted with Alfred walking out of the kitchen with a small bowl of blueberries, Bruceās personal favorite fruit.
Ā Ā āGood morning Bruce, here, have something to eat.. I also have some tea up for you in my office, I have some things to show you.ā
Ā Ā Ā āMorning Alfred, and thank you.ā
Ā Ā Ā Bruce took the bowl slowly and as he looked up his eyes squinted from the bright light that shined from the main window, Alfred snorted slightly at the sight of this man-child, and he said,
Ā Ā āI have your shades over here Bruce, come on... canāt believe you can take a whole beating and not be shaken by it, one speck of light and your dying.. unbelievable Bruce.ā
Ā Ā Bruce pouted his lips like a little kid and defended himself,
Ā Ā Ā āItās different Alfred, but um.. but changing the subject a little. We have something to show you.ā
Ā Ā Alfred nodded his head and smirked at the sight of a new scrunchie resting on Bruceās wrist,
Ā Ā Ā āAlright then son, proceed.ā
Ā Ā āLetās go down to the cave for this one, letās bring all this down too.ā
Ā Ā āVery well, put on a sweater though itās freezing down there.ā
Ā Ā Bruce huffed and shrugged on a hoodie that was folded on Alfreds desk.Ā
Ā Ā They both made it into the cave after Alfred insisted that Bruce put on decent shoes because the floor was too cold and to also take his blueberries with him because he hadnāt eaten. After a few minutes of bickering Bruce finally complied but wore a disappointed pouted look. As Alfred read through the files Gordon had given Bruce, Bruce looked up the footage from the night before and fast-forwarded it to the point where he saw the new vigilante. He pointed at the screen as he said,
Ā Ā Ā āLook, thatās the new guy I was going to tell you about.ā
Ā Ā Alfred adjusted his glasses and took a closer look, he turned to Bruce with confusion written on his face,
Ā Ā Ā āAnd where in the world did he come from?ā
Ā Ā āGod knows who.. but heās crazy.ā
Ā Ā āWhat do you mean?ā
Ā Bruce loaded the video to the part where he was looking down at the bodies the vigilante had left for dead, they were beaten brutally and were covered in blood. Alfred took in a deep breath,
Ā Ā āThis is outrageous Bruce.. you sure heās a good guy? Maybe heās just going overboard?ā
Ā Ā Ā āI donāt know.. I mean, he did stop them from selling drops in alleys, as well as a couple of robberies. But that doesnāt explain the aggression. Itās too much for my liking.ā
Ā Ā Ā āDoes Y/n know?ā
Ā Ā āI told her about it.. even she was confused, but if this made it to GCPD, she might find out something.ā
Ā Ā Alfred shook his head approvingly and added,
Ā Ā Ā āSpeaking of Y/n, I have some good news about your research on Saunders, he lives in here in Gotham.ā
Ā Ā Bruce almost choked on his blueberry and the news,
Ā Ā āh-he what? I thought he disappeared for forever?ā
Ā Ā āNot necessarily, some unexplainable vendetta went down in D.C. that left him deciding to resign from the FBI and returning home, which is Gotham City, andĀ Ā after going over his fathers history I found where Greg used to live before the government took it away, but if you start at where he was, you might find where he could be.ā
Ā Ā Ā Alfred handed him a copy of the address ,
Ā Ā āThanks Alfred, this should get us somewhere.. oh, and I need your opinion on something.ā
Ā Ā Ā āAnd what would that be son?ā
Ā Ā Bruce bit his tongue before he spoke, he was nervous about it all, but if there was someone he could trust and was wise about everything, it would always be Alfred, the one and only man that raised him. Bruce couldnāt even look at him as he said in a low voice,
Ā Ā Ā āGordon wants Y/n to go undercover at the Iceberg Lounge and see if she can also make it at The 44 Below.. to catch Mackenzie.ā
Ā Ā Alfred almost slammed his cup of tea on his desks when he asked in a serious tone,
Ā Ā āYouāre serious right?ā
Ā Ā Alfred sighed loudly as he sat down on a spare chair and looked at Bruce directly,
Ā Ā āIf weāre going to do this, she better have something on her that guarantees her protection. Because I know her, her head is already ten steps ahead of us with plans that we are barely discussing about... so at the mention of what you just told me, she she has already say yes.ā
Ā Ā Bruce then pulled out a box from under his desk, he opened it and began to take out some items,
Ā Ā Ā āI made these for Y/n, sense the first day I met her... I made a second pair of coms for her, as well as a tracker.. a bullet proof vest. An emergency button, along with other gadgets. Gordon and I are planning on telling her about it on the weekend. So I plan on being ready for this. I as Bruce doesnāt want her in there, but Batman needs her.. and so does Gordon. And sheās the only one for the job. She has to go in.ā
Ā Ā Alfred was surprised to see what Bruce had made and done for Y/n, he could tell Bruce really cared about her safety. It made him happy to know how prepared Bruce was as well, and how much he loved her, Alfred knew it scared him, but he was comforted to see Bruce finally coming out of his shell. At the end of the day, if there were two people that could work together and stop Mackenzie and put Maroni away forever, it would be Y/n and Bruce... Batman and what Alfred could only call Y/n as Batmanās Shadow.
Ā Ā Alfred then remembered Y/nās request, and brought it up to Bruce,
Ā Ā āSo Bruce, I have a serious question for you.ā
Ā Ā Bruce perked up an eyebrow and took a deep breath,
Ā Ā Ā āWhat the hell did I do now?ā
Ā Ā But he voiced out loud,
Ā Ā Alfred saw Bruce grow tense so he noted,
Ā Ā āItās nothing bad Bruce, just a question, so.. I was wondering if for.. if for Christmas we can put up a tree?ā
Ā Ā That made Bruce sit up and look at Alfred for a moment,
Ā Ā āA Christmas tree? Weāve never had a tree.. whatās brought this up?ā
Ā Ā Alfred then explained hoping Bruce wouldnāt say no, because he knew that any other reason wouldnāt buy the word āyesā from him,
Ā Ā Ā āWell, Itās mostly for Y/n, Bruce. She wants a tree, because.. well because it- it reminds her of her brother, Y/b/n. His birthday lands on Christmas. Which is in a couple of weeks... and she says that Christmas trees were always his favorite, itās ok if you say ānoā we understand-ā
Ā Ā āWe can get her a tree, Iāll buy her one.ā
Ā Ā Alfred stood there for a couple of seconds with shock, he literally thought he would say ānoā, because the last time he celebrated was when his parents were still alive. Other than that, he never celebrated again. Not any holiday. But he saw that Bruce was being honest with his answer, he would buy Y/n a tree.
Ā Ā āwe can find her the best one, then we can find those thingys-ā
Ā Ā āOrnaments Bruce, theyāre called ornaments and lights.ā
Ā Ā āyes that, those.. hmm hmm.. weāll place the tree right in front of the big window thatās by the living room... I think thatāll be fine.ā
Ā Ā Ā āAre you sure son, because I know you never like-ā
Ā Ā āno.. itās ok. Itās about time for a change, and we can start there.. do you think you can pick a good tree for me? I wouldnāt know where to look.ā
Ā Ā Ā āOf course Bruce, Iāll go later in the afternoon, you can keep Y/n busy so that she doesnāt insist on tagging along. What here favorite color? Because I remember that Y/b/nās is red.ā
Ā Ā Ā Bruce thought for a minute then replied,
Ā Ā āIāve never asked, but sheās always wearing blue and a lavender purple.. and has a few accessories in those colors as well, I think blue and purple are her favorite colors.ā
Ā Ā Ā āPerfect, Iāll look for those then.ā
Ā Ā Just as Alfred was about to leave the room Bruce spoke up,
Ā Ā ācan you get a few black ornaments, I like the color black... then you should pick a color as well.ā
Ā Ā Alfreds eyes teared up a little, hearing Bruce ask for ornaments and making sure to tell him his favorite color was something totally new to hear coming out of his mouth, but he didnāt let Bruce see his watery eyes,
Ā Ā āI will.. now get some rest, Iām going to prepare some fruit for Y/nās arrival.ā
Ā Ā āOk.. Iāll finish up here, thanks..Ā dad.ā
Ā Bruce whispered the last part but Alfred clearly heard, it only made him smile warmly,
Ā Ā Ā āYour welcome son..ā
Ā Ā He turned to see him one last time and saw how Bruce read through the files with a small but true smile on his face.
Ā Ā Alfred witnessed Bruceās heart melt and open for something new, a part of him that had grown cold and small for those celebrations, yet here he was, beginning to change, all for one person he had fallen for, the one person he now cared for even more than himself. And he loved her because she accepted him as he was, even though he always dressed like a stray kid with oversized clothes and wearing thick black shades indoors, dresses like a bat to fight crimes in a city that calls him a Prince but uses him for the cash and power he has, very strong willed, quiet, listens to Nirvana and drinks orange juice instead of alcohol to ease the pain, and casually eats blueberries when he refuses to eat anything else, loves cuddles and being the little spoon, and loves stealing Y/nās scrunchies. Y/n was changing him and he didnāt even know it, but it was good. It was beautiful, and it truly only made him stronger.
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