Chapter Text
“You owe me, James.”
“Yes, I know Taylor. I greatly appreciate it. After what happened with Barbara, I just feel too guilty in asking her to come to these things anymore.”
“You need to stop feeling guilty. Barbara would be hurt to hear you say that.”
“I know. That’s what I have you for, though. You wouldn’t tell her even if your life depended on it.”
There was a pause.
“You’re lucky I like you as a boss.” Another pause. “Tell me what we’re doing here again. This guy who’s throwing this shindig; Brune?”
The man laughed at his companion. “Bruce, Taylor. Bruce Wayne. How can you not know about him? What do you do all day?”
“I eat, sleep, and watch horror movies.” Came the answer in a flat voice.
“Well, don’t you work?”
“Where do you think I sleep?”
Jim Gordon gave a small laugh as he parked the car. Hurrying over to the passenger side, he held his hand out to help the woman out of his car. There was valet, of course, but he didn’t like the thought of anyone driving his car but himself.
Taylor Carmicheal was in her thirties with long locks of golden brown hair and a set of gray eyes. Normally dressed in her black and white detective uniform, Gordon was willing to admit that he was very pleased with what she had decided to wear to the party tonight.
It was an emerald green one strap flowing gown by Jovani. She wore a golden choker with an emerald jewel with a matching bracelet on her bare arm, earrings, and a ring on her right hand. Her hair was smoothed back on the left side before curling around to hang over her right shoulder.
“I do have to say that I am very impressed, Taylor.” Gordon told her as they got onto the elevator of the Wayne Enterprises.
“With the dress?” the woman asked with a grin. “I don’t normally wear things like this. Ever. You should feel special.”
“You should.” He smiled. “And I do.”
She gave him a look before looking at the floor number. 22 out of 156. “How many damn floors does this jerk own?”
Gordon gave her a look. “I expect that you’re going to be polite when we reach the floor, aren’t you?”
Taylor gave him a grin. “Of course! You can trust me, boss.”
Gordon smiled as the elevator finally came to a stop. “He has industries like this all over the world.” Her mouth fell open and snapped shut quickly as the doors opened.
The party was huge. On the large floor there was an orchestra towards the back as men and women packed the area either dancing or talking. Food was spread out on large tables near the balcony and drinks were being served left and right.
A large frown came across Taylor’s face. “I am not dancing with you, James.”
Gordon gave her a smile. “It’s all right. I don’t like dancing too much.”
“That’s a relief,” Taylor grabbed Gordon’s arm again and pulled him towards the drinks. “Now, let’s get drunk!”
Gordon laughed at his detective. Unlike the others that they worked with in the GCPD, Taylor was always able to turn anything into a joke, clearing the air of tension or anything negative. She was smart, too, moving up ranks faster than others, and held the record of being someone that many criminals of Gotham hated, next to Batman, of course.
Oswald Cobblepot could attest to that.
The night actually went on good. Gordon ran into some of his friends and Taylor had ventured outside onto the balcony about two hours after arriving for a breath of fresh air. This was normally not what she did for entertainment or her nights out. It was normally just her and her brother for dinner at McDonalds or something like that. She didn’t really…have friends to go out with. She never needed them. Not until…
“What are you doing out here by yourself?”
Taylor turned to see a handsome man standing behind her. He looked about her age, if not a bit older, with short, smoothed back black hair and blue eyes. He was in a black suit and a small smile on his face. Clearly a man of class. She felt...fake here, at this party and this man joining her was not helping the subject.
Taylor turned back to the city beneath them. “I’m just…I needed some air,” She told him. “It’s a bit too crowded in there for my taste.”
The man smiled and nodded as he leaned against the railing beside her. “I agree. Sometimes fresh air is what everyone needs. It clears your mind; lets you think.”
“Exactly,” She nodded, pleased that he understood. “And if I have to listen to another woman bragging about the new jewels their sugar daddy bought them then champagne will ruin a few dresses.”
The man’s laughter was deep, his voice pleasing to her ears. At least someone here had a sense of humor. She was always a Wallflower at parties so this was a nice change of pace.
“I suppose it’s a good thing you were able to escape then. I’ve seen some women go crazy over shoes, I don’t want to know what happens when it comes to their dresses.”
“It’ll be like Hell opened up.”
He laughed at her again before glancing back inside the doors behind them, searching. “May I ask who it is you came with?”
She was silent for a moment, deciding whether or not to tell the truth. The last time she did so, she lost count of how many hands she had to shake; and how much hand sanitizer she had to go through.
“I had the honor of coming with Commissioner Gordon. Couldn’t let my Boss come to such a rich party on his own, you know? He’d get lost.”
The man looked surprised, his blue eyes glancing her up and down. “You’re a cop?”
“Detective,” She corrected him. “Taylor Carmichael.”
A grin spread across his face. He definitely recognized her name. “So you’re Dylan’s little sister.”
Or her brother’s name, at least. “How do you know my brother?”
“From Arkham Asylum.”
She tilted her head, growing a tad more interested now. “What are you, a doctor there?”
The man looked at her in surprise for a moment before he gave a small laugh. “Forgive me. It’s not very often that I have to introduce myself.” He held his hand out to her. “Bruce Wayne.”
Taylor struggled to keep her face from reacting. This was always her luck. The man of the party just HAD to come out on the balcony to talk to her. Sometimes she swore that god hated her.
She didn’t even seem to notice his hand as her mouth began to move. “You. You’re Brune Wayne.”
She internally cursed herself. She hadn’t meant to call him that to his face. It was just a joke between her and her brother
His hand fell back to his side as he stared at her in a small shock himself. “Bruce, and yes I am.” He told her, still a bit surprised. It wasn’t often that he came across someone who couldn’t recognize him off of the news or something like that; especially a woman.
Taylor waited for him to say something else before giving a cough. “So…what’s up?”
The man stared at her as if he had never seen someone quite like her before, and then gave another of his laughs. “You are the strangest woman I’ve ever met.”
“If you’ve come to that conclusion only after barely five minutes then I feel sorry for you. So many stiffs walking through your doors must be beyond tiring.”
“So many people in general and it can be tiring,” the Millionaire replied. “But every now and then I’ll find a gem hidden in there somewhere.”
Unable to look at that grin on his face anymore, Taylor turned back to the city, hoping that he would walk away and go back to his guests. That was not the case.
She found herself praying that reporters weren’t snapping pictures to post in the papers the next morning. She’d never hear the end of it at work.
From here she could see the police station and on top of that was the Batlight. She gave another frown, cursing on how many times Gordon and sent her up there to light the Signal for their ‘savior’. She’d never met the Caped Crusader personally, having refused to, but she had seen him close enough due to events around the city.
“Are you all right?” Bruce asked her, leaning on the railing again.
She decided to move the conversation away from her.
“What do you think of Batman?”
He raised a brow. “What do you mean?”
“What do you think of him? What’s your opinion of the Caped Crusader?” She asked him.
He thought for a moment. “Well, what do you think of him?”
Taylor was silent for a moment, just staring at the signal. “I hate him.” Bruce looked surprised again. “No, I take that back. I don’t hate him. I just…I became a cop so that I could be one of the ones that protected the city, not rely on some man in tights to do it for me. If I ever find out who he is, I’m gonna beat the hell out of him,” She grinned. “I’m sure that it’s one of the men at the station, though. And Robin is his son or something.”
“The station?” Bruce asked her. “The Police station?”
“Yep. Who else would go around and have the strength to fight thugs like Bane and Killer Croc? And to take on the Joker as many times as he has he must be close to going crazy by now, don’t you think?”
Bruce gave a laugh at what seemed to be an inside joke. “Yeah, I agree with that.”
Taylor pushed herself straight again and scratched the side of her head. “Eh, I just needed to complain about the big bad bat, I guess.” She gave him a smile. “Just ignore all of that.”
“You know, you’re the first person I have met that has had a bad comment about Batman.” Bruce told her. “Outside of tabloids and the like.”
“Yeah, I’m sure. He’s all that’s talked about in Gotham City. Either him or the creepy bad guys he fights.” She gave another smile. “But I suppose without him we might be in trouble. Bane could snap a man like a twig. I do not look forward to having to face that bastard personally, and I pray it never happens." She glanced at the sky for a moment. "I suppose that makes me a coward though, doesn't it?"
Bruce was quiet for a moment, studying her. She was about to tell him to knock it off when his voice sounded again.
“Would you like to dance?”
That had not been the question she was expecting.
“Please don’t be offended when I say no.”
“Can I ask why?”
“Honestly? I don’t know how to dance.” She glanced away, scratching the side of her nose. “This is my first time at a party like this and I never even went to dances while in school so I never learned. Never needed to.”
The man’s smile could have blinded her. “Let’s fix that then, shall we?”
Taylor found herself voiceless as Bruce grabbed her hand and led her through the crowd and towards the dancers. How do you say no to a dance with Brune-er, Bruce, Wayne?
“No, really,” She pulled her hand back. “I must insist. At least…not in front of a bunch of people I can embarrass myself in front of.”
He just continued to smile at her, as if understanding. “Then I must insist on you joining me for dinner one night to where I can teach you.”
Taylor gave him a look. “Really? Is this how you normally pick your lady friends up, playboy? You got it all wrong if you think you can-”
“Taylor! There you are! I was wondering where you go off to,” Gordon’s arrival saved her from embarrassing herself for shouting at Bruce Wayne at his own party. “Ah, I see you met Mr. Wayne.”
“Yep,” Taylor crossed her arms, moving away from the other man and standing beside Gordon. “Real charmer, Gordon.”
Gordon gave a worried laugh, scratching the back of his head as Wayne shook his other hand. “How are you tonight, Bruce?”
“Wonderfully entertained,” The Millionaire smiled. “And I have your companion to thank for that. She’s like a breath of fresh air that I didn’t know I needed.”
Gordon laughed as Taylor felt her cheeks heat up. “One of Gotham’s finest.”
She rolled her eyes. “You say that about all of us.”
“I like spreading the truth; we need more of it in this city.”
Taylor snorted as her phone went off. Leaving the two men to talk on their own, she moved back out to the balcony, the song playing until she answered it.
I’ve been fading away
I’ve been waiting on the call to reach my veins
Ready or not
No attention to waste
Every sorrow of the soul will read my name
When I cease to exist
“Off work all ready?”
“Yep. Cash came in early and gave me the rest of the night off since I gotta get right back up and come back in at nine tomorrow morning.” Her brother’s voice reached her. “Look, I’m not going to sit down here in the car, waiting all night for you.”
She gave a snort. Her brother was to pick her up from the party when his shift ended at midnight, but it seemed he was a tad bit early. Thank God. She wanted out of this place fast now that she had embarrassed herself in front of the Host.
“Hush Dylan. And it’s not your car, it’s mine so you will wait until I get down there.” She told him. She always had to be the adult between the two of them. “Give me a few moments to tell Gordon I’ll see him at work Wednesday.”
“Hurry it up, will ya?”
Taylor gave a sigh and gripped the phone in her hand as she made her way back to her Boss. “That was Dylan. He got off early since he goes in tomorrow morning and he’s waiting for me downstairs.”
Gordon gave her a smile. “Thanks again for coming with me, Taylor. I appreciate it.”
“It really wasn’t a big deal. It was…entertaining.” She grinned back before turning to Bruce. “It was nice to meet you Mr. Brune.” Taylor held her hand out this time, ignoring as Gordon coughed ‘Bruce’. “My apologies on having to leave before it was over.”
“It’s not a problem,” Bruce assured her, taking her hand. It was warm and firm; pleasing. “And it was my pleasure. I look forward to talking with you again in the future.”
“You just might, if you keep sending Gordon invitations.” She gave a bow of her head. “See you on Wednesday, boss.” Taylor smiled at Gordon again.
“Same to you; and happy birthday.”
“Thanks.”
It took all her restraint not to run for the elevators. Thanking the heavens that she was the only one riding it down, she gripped her hair and cursed herself out the entire way down. She’d never be able to show her face in front of Wayne again without feeling embarrassed
She was glad to see the blue and white mustang in front of the building, almost out of place among the sleek black cars in the lot, with a young man jamming to a CD in the driver's seat.
Dylan Carmicheal was the taller, yet younger, of the twins with short golden brown hair and gray eyes. He was dressed in the black uniform of the Arkham Asylum guards as a silver Knight Chess piece hung from his left ear.
As his sister slipped into the car he turned the music down. He took a glance at the dress before giving a soft smile.
“You should wear more of mom’s stuff. Better than what you normally wear.”
Taylor rolled her eyes as he pulled away from the building. “Hello to you too. My day at work was fine. How about yours?”
“What do you expect when you work hoarding the Arkham Asylum? The freaks in there annoy the hell out of me.” Dylan told her, tapping on the wheel.
Taylor giggled. “Well, you wanted a high paying job. You can’t get no higher than that in Gotham City.”
“Yeah, don’t remind me.” He scoffed. He was normally like this when he was tired. “You still picking me up at work tomorrow?” Dylan asked her as he took off towards their apartment.
“9, right?”
“We still going out?”
“It’s our birthday, isn’t it? I’m not going out for dinner on my own for our birthday, got it?”
Dylan laughed at his sister. “Of course not. Why would I think that you would do that?”
Tomorrow was going to be a great day.