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"Why do we have to dress up, Bruce?"
"To scare off evil."
"What's evil?"
"People who murder and torture."
"People who murder and torture are sick."
"Yes."
"Are you scared?"
He remains silent.
"Did you ever feel like Bruce is getting shortchanged when it comes to Batman?"
He stops and looks at me.
We continue walking.
"Why do you like bats?"
"I chose them as a symbol for intimidation."
"Have you ever noticed that even when you're not Batman, you can be intimidating at times?"
He turns to me.
"I'm sorry."
"When was the last time you actually smiled?"
He looks at me, looking sad.
"There hasn't been much to smile about lately."
We continue walking silently side by side.
"Tell me, what is your taste in clothing, or does Alfred pick it out for you?"
He looks at me puzzled.
"I... yes, actually, I've always had someone pick out my clothes. I mean, you know, I'm a wealthy industrialist, as they say. And I've always had this wealth from my parents. So everything has always been taken care of. Plus, I think I wear what's expected of me. I mean, I can't exactly wear jeans to a Wayne Enterprises board meeting."
"Don't you mind doing only what's expected of you? I mean, in almost every relationship... even as Batman. Were you raised that way?"
He takes it as a rhetorical question.
"How did you come up with the idea of wearing a costume and hunting down criminals? I mean, how does one come up with something like that?"
He doesn't answer, as we reach a large double door which he now opens. Behind it is a very large room, with a fire burning in the fireplace and a king-sized bed draped in red silk in front of its large window.
"This is your room," he says simply.
I look at him incredulously.
He wants to close the door again.
"Can the windows be closed somehow?"
He looks at me inquiringly.
"Well, I mean, curtains, or something."
"Of course," he says, pressing a button next to the door that I hadn't noticed. And black curtains quickly lower from above to cover the windows.
I look at the fireplace to make sure that there is nothing nearby that could catch fire, but everything is fine. Not even a carpet is near it. I look at the bed, which is undoubtedly comfortable, but it is damn big. I would say, about the size of a double bed and a little bigger.
I look around for him, afraid he might have silently disappeared, as he sometimes does, but he is still there.
"Is something wrong?" he asks, noticing my gaze.
"How am I supposed to sleep alone in such a big bed?"
"Do you want another room?" he asks, puzzled.
"No, I just don't want to sleep alone. Please, Bruce... stay with me."
I look at him imploringly. And suddenly I see something soft, tender enter the otherwise unapproachable steel-blue eyes.
"All right."
I close my eyes briefly in relief, as I was really afraid he would say no.
"You can change your clothes while I take care of something else," he says, leaving me alone.
I make my way to the bed, where I find a blue pajama with the initials B. W. Oh, I will sleep in one of his pajamas. But what else would I expect? I can't expect him to have a separate collection for guests, even though he's rich.
I brush my teeth in the equally huge bathroom next door and then crawl under the covers.
When he doesn't come after a while, I turn off the light, but I can't sleep.
After a while, I hear the door opening and in the half-darkness I see someone coming towards the bed wearing a morning robe. Bruce takes it off without turning on the light and hangs it over a chair. I see that he is only wearing pajama pants. He opens the bed cover on the right side and gets into bed. Then he crosses his arms behind his head and closes his eyes. Slowly, I crawl towards him and I see him open his eyes in surprise as I cuddle up to his left side. I close my eyes and after a while, I feel him putting his right arm around my shoulder. And that's how I fell asleep...