Chapter Text
The most annoying sound on earth breaks him out of his slumber — the relentless chirping of his alarm clock. Cocooned in the warmth of his bed, the plush black blanket wraps snugly around him, covering him up to his chin, feeling too cosy wrapped like this to wake up. Minutes pass, and the constant beeping and vibrating of his phone is too annoying to ignore; Bruce has no other choice than to say goodbye to his bed and start the day. He sluggishly opens his eyes, and the lids feel heavy as he rubs the sleep away with the back of his pale hands. The bedroom is dark like it always is however, it's a bit too dark for a February morning. In his half-awake state, he reaches for his phone, which was left on the dark wooden bedside table, but he finds it on the floor; he somehow must've knocked it off in his sleep. It's not something new because he sometimes moves around while sleeping. Fortunately, he didn't wake up on the floor this time. Bruce picks it up from the ground; the bright screen welcomes him and blinds him for a second in the unlit room as he squints against the harsh light. His eyes slowly adjust, and after blinking a few times he can see the time displayed on his phone clearly:
6:15 am
He must've set his alarm wrong, that's why it was so dark. He was meant to get up at 9 am to get ready and meet up with Selina. She planned some things for them to do since today was Bruce's birthday. He usually doesn't do much for the "special day"; however, Selina had firmly decided that they would celebrate it in some fashion. Sharing a cake with her and Alfred would have been enough for him but the girl knows how to push his buttons and get what she wants. Bruce still can't believe that he agreed to it and he doesn't even know what he agreed to! Selina said it would be a surprise; in a way, it's annoying. Surprises were not his favourite, and the idea alone sent a jolt of anxiety through him. He should probably take his medication; he forgot to do that for a few days; probably that's why he's been feeling so odd and anxious this morning, or maybe it's just because of Selina and her plans.
He feels so childlike, although he legally is an adult. For the past few months, the thoughts of his future plagued his brain more often than usual; Bruce doesn't know what he should do, which brings him even more stress. Sometimes, he doesn't know why he's so worried about his career or future life; he will probably become the boss of the Wayne Enterprise, although he doesn't relish it. Don't get him wrong; it's easy (probably), and he won't have to work tirelessly. It seems too predictable, a life he feels ill-prepared for. Nonetheless, he wishes for something more fulfilling; he just lacks clarity on what that something should be.
Bruce groans; that's enough thinking for one morning, it's already giving him a headache. Thirty minutes have passed since he woke up. Getting lost in thought was so easy for him sometimes.
He pushes himself up on his bed, moves his blanket off of himself and feels the chill air hit him. A shiver runs down his spine as his feet meet the cold, unforgiving hardwood floor. He stretches his arms upwards and hears some faint popping sounds of his joints; he instantly feels so much better. He exhales the air he's been holding in his lungs and finally stands up on his feet; he immediately regrets it when his vision goes black. Leaning against the wall next to his bed, he takes a moment to steady himself, allowing the dizziness to pass and his vision to come back.
He walks over to his walk-in wardrobe and almost trips over all the clothes and shoes on the ground. The inside is a mess. Since he insisted he could clean his room by himself and didn't need a maid to do it, it's been like this. He'll eventually do it; he's been telling himself that for a few months already, but he'll get to it.
He picks out a simple black long-sleeved shirt and a comfortable pair of sweatpants. He quickly puts them on and looks at himself in the mirror. He squints, unsure if the dark circles beneath his eyes have deepened or if he simply skipped a thorough face wash last night. He's not sure. His hair is also a mess, dark and short but a bit too long for his liking. He should ask Selina to cut it soon.
He yawns and slowly moves to his bathroom. Bruce quickly takes care of his morning routine. He brushes his teeth, and while washing his face, he reveals that it was eyeshadow on his face after all, and his eyebags are the same as always.
One look at his phone shows that it's now 7:00 am. Bruce groans unlocking the device. He sees a new message from Selina. Smiling to himself lightly he opens it. Selina's one of his not many friends, his best friend even, although he's not sure if she'd consider him her best friend. They met two or three years ago at the old skatepark on the outskirts of Gotham. The old park was and still is basically unusable — with breaking and rotting worn wooden ramps and cracks in the concrete everywhere. It is a haven for teenagers looking to drink cheap beer or leave their mark with graffiti. It was a complete accident they met, Bruce was there to do some graffiti; he wanted to paint somewhere else than on paper in his house. He bought some spray paint and went to the old skatepark on some summer night. He arrived there swiftly he was lucky no one was there. He put his backpack on the ground, opened it, and reached for the sprays. He decided to paint what he paints best — bats. Excitedly he got to work; Bruce brought his sketchbook with him with some doodles inside so he could have an idea of what to draw and go blind into it. His hands worked smoothly making only a little of the spray paint drip down the slope of the ramp. After some time, a suspicious person showed up and just kinda watched him; they were wearing a black hoodie with the hood covering their head, some black pants and combat boots. He could feel his heart beating harder in his chest and the lines of paint started to become wobbly. The presence of the person feels uneasy; they were in a dark skatepark at around one in the morning. He heard some stories about teens getting jumped there which made him feel even worse. Anyone would be scared, right? So he did the only reasonable thing at that moment — run for his life. He sprinted far enough so the person who was observing him wouldn't see Bruce going into the underground station.
He didn't finish his graffiti; the thought was bothering him the entire next day, so he decided to go back against his better judgment. When he showed up there around the same time he did the previous day, he saw something that surprised him; next to his bat drawing was a note written with a marker on the concrete floor: "I scared you, sorry! Cool bats. You should add me..." and Selina's social media handle. That was unexpected; at this time, Bruce didn't have any friends, and Alfred practically begged him to befriend some people his age, so he messaged the account, and now they're here. They're great friends and they even meet up on most days of the week.
He opened the message and saw some birthday wishes, how sweet of her to remember. She'll probably come over later today to celebrate; Brucee can't wait; he's happy even though you can't see it on his face.
He puts his fluffy grey slipper on his feet that Alfred insists he wears since the hardwood floor is quite a col. It never bothered Bruce before,e but he'll be compliant with the request.
He walks downstairs to the spacious kitchen and dining area. A large sproose table with many chairs stands in the left half of the spacious room. Dark cabinets with marble countertops standing heavily against the walls, a white floor stretched across the entire room, and in the middle of all of them, Alfred was standing, sipping black tea out of his simple, white mug.
— Good morning — Bruce murmurs, making the older man look at him; a small smile showing on his face.
— Good morning, Master Bruce — Alfred says as he puts the mug down on the countertop — Happy Birthday, how are you feeling on this day?
The butler reaches for the door to the cabinet; he pulls out one of Bruce's favourite mugs — a grey and blue one with a bat pattern in it. He puts it next to the one he'd just been sipping from and pours tea into the empty one.
— eh... as usual — Bruce walks up to Alfred and grabs his mug, the warmth of it making his cold hands feeling so much better. He takes a few sips of the sweet liquid as the older man hands him two pills. His usual medication he takes every morning. Alfred noticed that Bruce started to forget to take them, and he didn't want to make a fuss about it and have to have a talk with the teen again, so he opted to just give it to him himself.
— Is Selina coming over today? — Alfred states — That's why you're up so early, Master Bruce?
— No — The teen says after swallowing both of the white pills and taking a few sips of the tea — I set the alarm wrong; I was meant to wake up at nine.
— That's unfortunate, Master Bruce— The man answers and moves a few steps closer to the two-door fridge standing in the corner — Shall I make you something to eat?
— Mhm.. — Bruce answered. He finishes his tea and puts the mug in the sink. It's one of those cups you can't wash in the dishwasher because the print will be destroyed. It's one of his favourites — a gift from Alfred for his sixteenth birthday — so he prefers for it to be safe.
Bruce moves to the dining table and sits in a chair. He pulls his phone out of the pocket of his sweatpants and reads Selina's message again. He answers with a short "Thanks" Bruce appreciates it really, but he just doesn't know how to fully express it over text. He'll hug Selina for it when she gets here.
After a few minutes of Bruce mindlessly checking his social media feed, he hears Alfred's footsteps and sees the man coming into the dining room.
— Here you go — The butler says as he puts a plate in front of the teen. On it, there lay two pieces of bread toasted to a brown colour with some strawberry jelly spread generously on both of them. This is his usual breakfast since Bruce prefers not to eat too much in the morning, he just doesn't feel that hungry and doesn't feel like eating a lot after he wakes up.
— I'm going to run some errands today — Alfred states as he watches Bruce take a bite of his toast — So I trust you and Miss Kyle behave, okay?
The look in Alfred's eyes is a bit odd; he often has that look when he speaks about Selina staying over in the Wayne Tower. Bruce can't get the idea of them dating out of Alfred's mind. So he usually just ignores it, the old man just refuses to understand that he and Selina are just friends.
— You're gross — he says not looking at the butler.
— Whatever you say, Master Bruce.
With that, Alfred leaves the kitchen dining room area. The teen slowly crunched on his toast while scrolling through some social media apps for the next few minutes.
It's almost nine now, he's been scrolling for that long? That's not really important he has to pass the time somehow. He has a good few hours until Selina comes, so he decides to spend the time left in the home gym.
He quickly walks down the long corridor and opens one of the heavy doors revealing the room. It's about the same size as his bedroom, with big windows on one side and mirrors stretching from the ceiling to the floor on the other. Multiple different workout machines and equipment stand around the room — from weights to a treadmill. He decides it will be best to take off his sweatshirt, he doesn't want to cook himself alive in the warm material. He looks in the large mirror and admires the hard work he put into the way he looks; hard abs and visible muscles adore his pale body.
Bruce spent about half an hour working out; he ran a bit, lifted some weights and so on. Selina will be coming soon, he needs to shower. He grabbed his shirt and put it on his shoulder; he walked back upstairs to his private bathroom.
He flings the door open and puts the shirt down. He quickly takes off his sweatpants and puts them next to the shirt. Bruce jumps in the shower and washes all the sweat off of himself. He scrubbed his body thoroughly and got out of the shower. By the time he dressed back up, he heard his phone go off a few times, and when he unlocked it, he saw a message from Selina announcing she was almost at his house.
He walks back downstairs and waits for a few more minutes until he hears the doorbell. He unlocks and opens the door and waits for Selina to go up the elevator.
— Hey, Birthday Boy! — the girl immediately says after seeing him, and Bruce can't help but smile. Selina wraps her arms around him and squeezes him tightly; he can feel the air leaving his lungs — Happy birthday, man!
— Thank you — he answers and hugs her back.
— So! I've got this for you! — she says and hands Bruce a box. The thing is light and it's wrapped in a pink wrapping paper with cats on it. — I hope you like it.
Bruce can't help but smile; he loves getting gifts from the girl. She always surprises him and makes something meaningful — DIY gifts are her speciality, after all.
They decide to sit on the couch in the big living room of the Wayne Tower. The dark leather couch makes a squeaky noise as they practically throw themselves on it. With the box on his lap and Selina's big cat-like eyes on him, he rips open the wrapping paper. The first thing he sees inside is a bunch of sweets — his favourite gummies, which Selina always gets him. The next thing he picks up is a smaller and flatter box which is also wrapped; he takes the paper off just to reveal it to be a CD mixtape made especially for him by the girl; it's adorned with a custom booklet and album art that Selina drew. His eyes rapidly move to look at the girl who now has a big grin plastered on her face. This warms his heart abundantly; she made all this for him, she doesn't even realise how much he's going to cherish this and how happy he is to have her. She's the best friend he could've ever asked.
— Oh wow, man — Selina laughs lightly — you must really like it — He snaps out of his thoughts and realises his eyes have become quite glossy; he blinks a few times to clear his vision again.
— I do — he answers — I love it.
— yeah? Well, keep opening it. There is one more thing inside — Bruce looks down and realises there is, in fact, one more thing at the bottom of the box. He gently pulls it out and his eyes widen — it's a black t-shirt with his favourite band logo on it. He immediately rips the shirt he was wearing off which prompts Selina to cover her eyes with her hands and puts the new one on.
— Thank you.
— Of course! I wanted to give you something special, I'm glad you like it. — she answers and ruffles his black hair a little — let's get ready to go, I have a fun thing planned for us!
She quickly jumps up to her feet, grabs Bruce's arm and pulls him up with her. She walks to the elevator while he stops in the hallway and puts his shoes on. She clicks the arrow shaped button, and the shiny silver door opens smoothly. He grabs his coat, and they walk inside together.
They leave the Wayne Tower and Selina guides them to the parking lot where her bike stands. It's a black sports motorcycle which the girl bought last year for her birthday, it's old and used, but it does its job.
— Catch — Selina says as she throws a grey helmet at Bruce's head; he thankfully catches it before it can strike him and break his nose. Selina puts on her own helmet and sits on the motorcycle; she inserts the key in the ignition and moves it so the engine stars. Bruce sits behind her and wraps his arms around her smaller waist. He gives her a quick assurance that he is ready to go and they drive to the city
They drive through the crowded streets of Gotham for a few minutes — Selina did run some red lights and overtook some cars; if only Alfred knew how she drove he would've lectured the girl for hours. Bruce always enjoyed riding with Selina; the feeling of cold wind on his body, the air pressing firmly against his limbs and torso, the constant noise of the machine making his brain quiet — he always tend to relax in these moments.
Before he realises it they are in front of a building he doesn't recognise. Selina must've found somewhere new for them to visit. Looking up at the big neon sign hanging above the door, he figures it's an arcade. It dimly glows red in the daylight and has a blue and red cartoon dragon above it; he figures it must be this place's mascot. Both of them love games —they've visited all of the arcades and similar places in the entire Gotham so this has to be a new one! Selina knows him so well.
— no way ....
As they push through the entrance, a wave of energetic music washes over them, and the bright colours of basically everything inside blinds them. Every object in the place is colourful from the game machines to the walls and carpet — everything's rainbow. The smell of plastic, cheap prizes, and overheating machines linger in the air, but that's the charm of the arcades. There aren't a lot of people inside since it's not even twelve in the morning, so they have some time before annoying kids come or some birthday party for said kids stars.
For the next four hours, they play several games, from racing to sports and adventure; they even play a few claw machines — Selina managed to win a medium-sized blue and red dragon plushie for Bruce. Overall, they won quite a few tickets, so much so that when carrying it, Bruce's vision was obstructed. Selina lead them to the prize booth where they spent all the tickets on some cheap plastic toys and plushies; nothing special, sure, but it's the time spent together that matters after all.
— Hungry? — Selina asks. Bruce can feel his stomach growling; he never even realised that he has been hungry this entire time. I guess you don't notice stuff like that when you have fun — what do you think about pizza?
— Pizza's always good — he answers as Selina grabs him by the arm and pulls him towards the back of the arcade. There, Bruce sees a smaller room, a little bit quieter and less harsh on the eyes with the colours. The room has a menu board above the long red counter and many tables and chairs standing around it. — This place has a restaurant ?!
— yea! It's awesome
— everything I need is here, I could live here — he jokes and Selina laughs.
— Well maybe we could spend a night here sometime — she answers and winks. It wouldn't be the first time they'd spent a night in some building however, usually, it's an abandoned place and not a running arcade.
They walk up to the counter; Selina leans on it with a smile and a certain look in her eyes, meaning she's planning something for sure.
— Hey, it's my friend's birthday. Can we get a free pizza? — she asks the woman behind the counter, whose brows furrow in confusion. She seems uncertain, caught off guard by the request, she probably doesn't know if they can do that for the teens — after all, this place just opened. The woman goes to the back to talk with someone higher up who will be able to answer Selina's question.
In the end, they both got a free slice. Bruce even got a muffin, and the worker wished him a happy birthday. It’s a sweet gesture, even if the pizza is rather mediocre; the dough feels a bit sluggish and the cheese is almost tasteless. He guesses arcade food is just like that everywhere or maybe he's too refined for 2 dollar pizza.
When they're done with the meal, they get up swiftly and leave the arcade while talking and laughing; they should come back there someday. They take the same route back through the city to the tower, they ride the elevator up to the apartment and walk to Bruce's room.
For the next several hours they hang out together as always. They play some video games, talk, listen to some new songs Bruce have found and insisted on showing Selina. When the sun goes down they decided to watch something, a small movie marathon of their favourite horror films. They go to the kitchen and get some snacks, they sit together on Bruce's bed and cover themselves with his black blankets. The first movie isn't the scariest however it entertains them for a while, the ending sucks though. As always they have to discuss the movie, mostly Bruce giving his opinion on it and how he'd change it, he's more passionate when it comes to cinema. The topic quickly changes and they go back to talking about random stuff so nothing in particular.
— So since you're eighteen now... have you thought about making a dating app profile? — she asked casually. Bruce stopped in his tracks; he'd never thought about dating apps, and a romantic relationship never interested him all that much. Sure he'd like to date someone and marry them one day but, it seems silly to think about it right now — we should make you one
— what..! why?
— I don't know, for fun, maybe! — she says and picks up his phone — okay mr boring what's your password
— pfft, I'm not giving it to you — Bruce grabs the phone back and unlocks it for the girl. Selina locates the app store quickly and downloads the most popular dating app for him.
Together, they open the app and read all the introductions there is. They make an account and start to customize it. First thing: name. He thinks for a second and puts "D" as his display name. When he plays video games, his username is often some kind of variation of "Dark Knight", so "D" is his first thought. Selina groans, clearly annoyed at his incompetence, what is he supposed to do? It's his first time making a dating site profile.
— Ugh, no, you can't just put D. They'll gonna think it stands for dick! — She says and rolls her eyes at Bruce. He looks back at the screen of his phone, so if "D" is not good, he'll put "DK", that should be fine. It stands for his usual username. He does just that he adds one letter to his name. Selina bursts out laughing
— Great... — she covers her face for a second and takes a breath. He supposed it's that time of the night when everything is funny to the girl, Selina wouldn't laugh so hard at this usually. — now you're Donkey Kong.
He laughs at her comment, it's so stupid. He can't help himself.
— What do you want me to do then? — he asks with a smile. Selina takes his phone from his hands and types a single letter "B". He didn't think to use the first letter of his name, he was meant to be anonymous! — Isn't it too obvious?
— Bruce many people have a name starting with "B" — she says. He guesses she's right. — But we can put "Bat" if that'll be better.
— yeah, that works — he agrees.
They scan Bruce's phone gallery for any good photos of him and they don't find a lot. So they have to take some...
Selina takes a picture of his eyes only; you can only see above his nose, his eyes, eyebrows and a bit of hair. A picture in the bathroom mirror where he covers his face with his hand.A picture of just his torso in the mirror, to show his outfit and a picture of his sketchbook, with his hand in view. Selina assures she knows what people like but Bruce isn't so sure.
And so they scroll for a second; they see some people that are kind of average looking, some bot accounts with funny names — even one of a clearly fake woman with a display name just reading "trustworthy" and finally, black and faceless profiles. They swipe right for some of them, but for now,, no one likes Bruce back.
— You usually have to wait — she explains — The good people come after a bit, trust me.
They decide that's enough for one evening, they put the phone down and play some video games for the rest of the night.