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Before Edward, Bruce's heart never beat so fast, his head never felt so light, butterflies never went crazy in his stomach.
He read about romance when it popped up in the adventure books he affectionates. He remembers his beloved Alfred answering his question of "how will I know I found my princess?" after the butler narrated a fairytale to him and kiddo Bruce felt suspicious regarding how the prince and the princess immediately fell in love. He inquired how two people who just met knew via a single glance they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together.
Alfred had laughed and ruffled his hair, then told him love is a science one cannot theorize. Sometimes, you just 'know' you found the right person, and sometimes, yes, you can fall in love at first sight. Obviously it doesn't mean you will ask the person to marry you within the minute, but... you can feel a strong attraction towards someone from the very first time you spoke to them; that's why you ask to see them again, and again, and again... Until you build something real with them.
Bruce asked if fairytales were real.
Alfred answered they are real in their own world, and that's why we love them.
Did he know? Thinking about it, young adult Bruce is convinced the man who raised him until he was... gruesomely murdered in an alley when they walked out of the opera, the hardest day of Bruce's life, was aware. He loved fairytales, he read him children-adapted versions but always let him foresee that 'mature' stories exist. After his death, Bruce explored the original versions stored in ancient-looking books at Wayne Manor's library.
Fairytales were not all glittery, filled with warm feelings and cute damsels in distress saved by heroic princes.
Fairytales were cruel, sometimes unfair; their world was not bright and nothing near perfect. Just like in life, bad guys could win and 'good guys' sometimes did horrible things to achieve their goal. Bruce enjoyed this nuanced storytelling far more than the black-and-white vision taught to children.
Travelling around the world with his parents allowed him to discover different interpretations of 'fairies', myths and legends related to this extraordinary, scary but fascinating universe that funded various cultures. They don't wear the same names, don't pursue the same objectives, don't look alike depending on the country, but they always exist.
Everywhere across the world, History believed in Fairies.
And yet... people forgot, or consider they only exist in the 'fairytale world'.
(())
Bruce met Edward a couple months ago, in the huge forest surrounding Wayne Property.
Over an especially warm August day, he hiked across the woods he knows by heart to reach his favorite spot: the lake. His parents don't appreciate trips into nature, even in private spaces, Bruce didn't propose them to join him.
He brought a sandwich and a bottle of water plus his notebook to draw. The peaceful area of the lake, the birds' singing and the calm, quiet landscape always inspired him.
Before he expressed his creativity, the weather being so hot, he dived in the greenish water. At some point he reached the minuscule island at the center of the almost round lake, climbed on the rocks and made a victorious dance, alone in the middle of the woods... when suddenly, he saw a movement on the shore, where he left his stuff, and caught the flash of a... ginger child running into the forest with his notebook?!
"Hey! Leave this alone!"
Bruce dipped back into the water and swam vigorously toward his camp.
"Where are you?!"
Back on the bank, he called what should be a roughly ten-year-old kid... and noticed the little troublemaker ate his sandwich on top of stealing his notebook!
Damn it, Bruce thought, ready to teach that child a double lesson: one, this is private property, he has nothing to do there. Two: his parents never taught him that stealing is bad?!
He was about to call again, when a snarky voice spoke from above:
"These are pretty!"
Bruce gazed at the nearest ash tree... and saw the child hanging by his knees and the lower part of his legs, his whole body upside down, holding his notebook in front of his freckled face.
His anger vanished, replaced by apprehension.
"Careful!" He raised a hand as to appease him. "You need to go down... If you fall from there, you risk to hurt yourself..."
The boy looked down to him and arched an eyebrow.
"Fall? I can't fall."
Then he... spun into the air, frightening Bruce who feared he might snap his neck in half. Like a cat making a perfect landing, the child fell back on his feet close to him, on the pebbled shore.
"These are very pretty," he repeated, holding his drawing notebook, a large grin plastered on his face. "I love them!"
Bruce... blinked rapidly, at a loss.
The... man? boy? had the proportions to be a child alright and his purple and brown attire might be odd, it was not the weirdest Bruce saw in Gotham. Nonetheless... his face looked like a young adult's, his teeth and ears were pointy and his eyes were... impossible. Phosphorescent green iris inside which golden stars shone vividly, making his eyes resemble gemstones.
"W... what?"
"The drawings!" The... creature insisted, smiling widely, what discovered his sharp white teeth. "They're nice. You're talented."
"Hu... thank you. Did you... eat my sandwich?"
"Yes. It smelled good but it wasn't even that tasty. What was that in it?"
"... Chicken. Salad. Tomatoes. Eggs. And... mustard."
"If you say so. What's your name?"
Bruce responded, after what the not-child introduced himself under an appellation far too long and too complicated for him to remember, so he demanded the shortened form. The creature tilted its head to the side, perplexed, so Bruce explained that practically every name, especially long ones, have a short version. Since the being seemed unfamiliar with the concept, Bruce selected himself a segment of his name that sounded like 'Eddie' and asked if that was okay to call him that.
"It's the short version of Edward," he specified.
"It sounds great," the fae nodded. "What does 'Edward' mean in your language?"
Bruce didn't know, but he promised he'll look for it as soon as he returns home.
They spent the entire afternoon on this shore, talking about his drawings, playing in the water (Bruce noticed that the creature can decide of its corporal density without changing its physique; hence, it could both swim and walk on the lake, sliding above it as if the water was frozen).
They parted at noon, Bruce promised to come back tomorrow.
The tomorrow day, he informed him of his researches:
"Edward means 'fortune', as in 'wealthness' and 'richness'. It can also correspond to 'the protector', the one who 'guards' something. Either a land, a secret or loved ones. It's a powerful name!"
"I like it!" The fae agreed, a smug smile printed on his lips.
"What is your name's significance, otherwise?" Bruce queried, even though he won't try to pronounce it.
"... It means mystery. 'Riddle' if you squint. But... it's not an original name at all. It's like... the first-given one in my tribe, I grew up with so many kids my age wearing the same, it got tiring. I want something unique instead, and... the idea to take a human name is perfect."
Bruce asked him about his 'tribe', Edward stayed relatively secretive until, a few encounters later, he confessed he was an unwanted outcast who ran away and no one will be looking for him. He travelled to this State, reached Gotham because of, apparently, its 'energy'. Bruce learned that fairies' powers are linked to the land they live in: some places are more willing than others to increase their magical abilities.
He found a suiting energy in Gotham, but he couldn't go into the town itself, too noisy and too scary for him, so he walked in the woods close to the city... until he found the forest around Wayne Property.
Bruce promised he was welcomed, both here and in his house if he wanted, but Eddie declined the invitation. He wouldn't be comfortable inside a human's place, he preferred staying in his environment. Maybe later.
And so on and so forth.
They've seen each other nearly every day since then, either at the lake or at a spot closer to the Manor the days it was raining or especially cold. Eddie ventured into his home twice, even if he liked their meetings outside better.
Bruce noted, among others, that his little friend is not affected by temperature variations, he wears the same kind of clothes regardless of the weather.
Like today, this 5th of January, when he was dressed in a simple green and purple outfit that matched a clement spring weather more than a frigid winter.
"At last, you're back!"
Bruce looked up when he caught the small, thin silhouette crouched on an oak's massive branch above him.
"I told you, we spent the Christmas holidays in Switzerland. Mom and dad have friends there, they couldn't refuse the invitation."
"Boring," the redhead yawned in an exaggerated manner, before... jumping from his branch and landing on the floor without digging into the snow, more nimble and impressive than a ballet dancer. "I missed you."
Bruce smiled.
"I missed you too, Edward."
"Obviously."
The human's smile increased.
"You're cold," the fae analyzed... mostly due to the thick black and grey coat with its yellow symbols printed on the upper arms' level.
"It's because of the snow," Bruce kneeled and picked the immaculate white powder in his gloved hand.
Eddie imitated his stance, he touched the white blanket covering the glade's herbaceous ground... then he removed his purple glove (he wears these for the aesthetic, not by necessity...) for his fingers, terminated by retractile claws akin to a cat's, to touch his cheek. Ed's palm was pleasantly warm. It isn't natural, as Bruce discovered over the months, it's something he decides: just like the variable body density, he controls his internal temperature.
The idea of Edward warming just for him possessed a... truly lovely, endearing aspect. Bruce felt himself melting at the thought.
"I've got something for you," he whispered, his metallic blue eyes filled with such mushy feelings he feared they might cry rainbows and honey. "It's... a human habit, to offer presents to people you love during that time of the year."
He extracted a box from his backpack.
Eddie observed the green wrapping paper and the eggplant bow neatly tied above it.
"Go ahead, open it!" Bruce encouraged, already excited.
Ed put his purple glove back on and removed the paper... then smiled, amazed by the notebook inside, with its authentic emerald embedded into the leather cover. A handmade fairytale, drawn like a comic book, featuring him and Bruce as a... modern version of a fairy and his prince, with them kissing at the end.
"This is beautiful..."
Edward purred loudly.
"Bruce? Do humans... offer presents they believe will be appreciated?"
"That's the idea! I mean, you can't always find or craft something perfect, but when you make a gift, you try to think of something the other will be glad to receive. Either because it's useful, gorgeous or a reference to something they love."
"I see..."
Eddie pondered over it, then grabbed the purple bow and put it on his orange hair.
"There. I can't think of anything you love more than me, as you should. Are you happy with your present?"
Bruce bursted out laughing, grabbed his fae boyfriend (who yelped in protest but soon melted into the loving embrace), and held him above him, looking up to him with wonder.
"I cannot think of a more perfect gift."
Eddie put both hands on his shoulders whilst Bruce secured his back to hold him close. Like in the last drawing of Bruce's fairytale, their lips met and they stayed there, entangled in an intimate kiss for long minutes.
"I love you, Bruce."
"I love you too. Happy New Year, my sweet little fairy."