Chapter Text
Matt’s opinions on the rain were… mixed, to say the least.
Some days, it gave his world on fire a sharpening sense of clarity. Thousands upon thousands of tiny little droplets hitting different surfaces, each impact, each ripple of water filling gaps of information in his mind.
Other days, it was just noise. Plain, relentless noise. Assaulting his ears and making his itchy clothes cling damply to his skin. During these times, there was no escape. No comfort.
Specifically, today was one of the bad days.
Matt grumbled to himself as he used his cane to periodically hit a small rock, keeping it in front of him.
If he had known the weather would sour so quickly, he probably wouldn’t have snuck out of bed in the first place. Not like it mattered now, though.
He continued on his route back to the orphanage. He wasn’t sure what was worse, stalling and spending more time in the rain or rushing to get back, only to get scolded and punished by Sister Maggie. He decided that the former was definitely worse, punishment was an inevitability and an expected one whenever he decided on sneaking out at night. Plus, the rain was really annoying.
It was during this debate in his head that a cry tore through the air three blocks away. Matt’s head shot up, tilting to listen in better.
Matt’s expression tightened with the grip on his cane. If he came home with bruises, the severity of his punishment would be increased tenfold, but he also just didn’t care.
He turned on his foot and broke out into the fastest run he could muster in the moment. Screaming got louder as he approached the scene.
He stopped at the mouth of an alleyway, the one where the distressed cry was coming from.
A young woman was desperately gripping her purse as two older men tried grabbing it off her. She had managed to get a good few hits in, if the faint smell of blood in the air was to be believed, but it was clear that she would lose this fight.
Matt adjusted the grip on his cane, it was surprising how easily such an unassuming item could be turned into a weapon in the right hands.
He took a moment to evaluate the situation, the two men were obviously larger and stronger than him…
“The mind controls the body...” Stick’s teachings remained engrained in his brain.
…He didn’t need strength.
He charged at the two men, sweeping their legs out from under them, causing them to let go of the bag and crash onto the hard concrete.
“…the body controls the enemy…”
The woman made a run for it, seizing her opportunity and not making an effort to help the younger boy.
One of the men scrambled to his feet and tried to land a punch on the random child that had attacked him.
Matt sent the butt of his cane into the man’s chest, causing him to let out a huff and fall back down while gasping for air.
Idiot number two screamed at him, something about Matt paying for that, he didn’t mind it all that much as he provided a swift kick to the face of the man before he too, could get up.
“…And the enemy…”
Matt hit the second idiot with his cane, revelling in the sound of a cracking bone.
“…controls jack shit.”
Matt smiles at the voice of stick in his head. He may have been an asshole, but he was right about that.
He forced himself to stop, taking a few deep breaths before he goes too far.
As the haze of violence cleared from his mind, he noticed an imposing figure watching him intently.
He must’ve been over six feet, Matt couldn’t tell exactly though. His heart beat quickly, but he stood steady and strong. Meaning the rapid heart was most likely shock or surprise, rather than fear.
Matt quickly dropped the cane and started putting on the usual act. His voice trembled as he called out, “Is anyone there…?”
The mystery man seemed to hesitate before taking a step closer, “Don’t worry, I’m not here to hurt you.” His voice was reassuring but sounded just slightly unsure of itself.
Matt chose to stay silent.
“Where are your parents? Did those men cause you any harm?” The man took another step forward, sounding more genuinely concerned now.
Matt made a show of adjusting his glasses and fiddling with his cane, just to emphasise the ‘poor blind kid’ case even more. “I-I heard trouble and I wanted to help. I managed to get some lucky hits in with my cane.”
The man’s heartbeat increased, “Are you hurt?”
“No.” Matt mumbled, he had hoped this guy would’ve left by now…
He could run, but he didn’t want this random man to chase after him or worse, call the police. If he did that, Sister Maggie would be truly unstoppable in her anger.
“Where are your parents?” The man repeated his question from before, “It’s not safe out here at night, you shouldn’t be out…”
Matt scoffed, Stick would be disappointed by how fast his act was slipping, “I was just heading home, I’m fine.”
“I can’t just let you wander off alone again after you were attacked.” The heartbeat indicated that his words rang true, “It is an adult’s duty to make sure a child is safe.“
How come, whenever he needed an adult in his life, they left. But when he needed one to leave, they didn’t move an inch.
When Matt didn’t say anything, the mystery man continued to speak, “I can help you get home, guide you back to your place. I just can’t leave you alone right now.”
Matt considered this.
He wasn’t in a position to run, not now anyways, he had to run past the man in order to get out of the alleyway, he’d be caught in an instant.
But… if he went with him, maybe he’d get a chance to lose the man later.
“I suppose I can handle that.” Matt said through gritted teeth. All attempts to be pleasant were down the drain by now.
…
Ok, so maybe he wasn’t able to shake this guy.
But it wasn’t his fault this dude had a grip of steel! He wouldn’t be surprised if his fist was made out of iron or something…
He sighed deeply as the familiar noises and smells of the church entered the edge of his senses.
God have mercy on his soul.
“Are you sure you gave me the right address?” The man asked, his voice gaining a tiny bit of suspicion, “This is a church, not a house.”
Matt bit his cheek, “Not the church, I’m from St. Agnes, the place next door.” He admitted.
Mystery man paused for a brief second, his heartbeat raising again. “The orphanage?” He double checked.
Wow this dude was annoying.
“Yes, the orphanage.” Matt nodded.
The man nearly said something, but swallowed it down and they continued walking silently. Matt preferred it to listening to this guy talk.
“Well, thank you for guiding me here. I should really get inside now, goodbye.” Matt said sweetly, his voice dripping with fake sincerity.
He tried to escape from the man’s hand, but there was no use. Seriously, how strong was he?
“I’ll walk you to the door.”
Matt had to bite down a curse word as he nodded gratefully.
So now, Matt would receive the ‘stranger danger’ lecture on top of the ‘sneaking out’ and ‘catching a cold’ lecture.
Oh, and since this guy was 100% going to tell Sister Maggie about the men he attacked, he was also going to get the ‘injury’, ‘dangerous gang members’ and ‘kidnapping’ lecture.
Joy.
As knuckled rapped on the old wooden door of the orphanage, Matt tracked the rushed footsteps that came closer and closer.
The door swung open in an instant and Sister Maggie’s eyes immediately latched onto Matt, her heart was beating a mile a minute.
“Matthew! Where have you be-“ Her concern was cut off as she looked up at the large man and let out a small gasp.
Matt raised an eyebrow slightly at this reaction. He had expected her to be mad… not whatever this was.
“You’re- you’re Bruce Wayne-“ She stuttered out.
“Yes, ma’am.” The mystery man, Bruce, confirmed.
The name felt familiar but he wasn’t sure where exactly he had heard it from. He heard hundreds of names being spoken every day, so it’s likely that he’s come up before. But the sister obviously knew of him, and judging by her heartbeat, he was a big deal.
A high figure in the church perhaps?
No the guy wasn’t even carrying a rosary as most of the others did. He wasn’t dressed for the role either.
He could tell from here that the man’s suit was more expensive than anything he’d ever owned, ever. The pretentious cologne just confirmed that.
Perhaps another Stark-like figure? That seemed more likely.
He was obviously from out of town, he didn’t smell like the kitchen. Or even New York for that matter. Something darker clung to him like a second skin, something that the expensive cologne was unable to fully mask.
Sister Maggie interrupted his thoughts, “Matthew, Go for a quick shower to wash that filth off and then go to bed. We will talk about this in the morning.”
Matt gave a small nod and left, his mind racing as he came to the fact that she had… let him off with it?
Sure, they’d talk about it tomorrow but that’d be the same as letting him off, just who was this guy? It wasn’t easy to distract Sister Maggie when she was mad.
…
Matt sat in his uncomfortable bed in the cramped room with all the other kids his age. Everyone else was asleep, but Matt chose to stay up and listen to the strange conversation happening just down the hallway.
“Thank you so much for helping our Matthew get home safe.” Sister Maggie seemed genuinely grateful.
“It’s not a problem, ma’am.” Bruce responded formally.
“Oh please, call me Maggie.” She said softly, reaching for the teabags. “Tea, Mister Wayne?”
He chuckles, “I’d love that, and please, just Bruce is fine.”
“Of course. You’ve helped a lot tonight, we were beginning to get worried about the boy. Troubled, that one-“ Maggie began.
Matt scowled to himself. Normally Maggie was one of the better sisters, she didn’t treat him like he was broken or sensitive. But right now, she was just like the others.
“-but he’s got such a heart of gold.” Maggie finished with a sigh.
Matt paused, his eyes widening slightly.
Bruce was quiet for a long moment, “In my opinion, there are no troubled children. Just misunderstood ones.”
Maggie considered this for a moment. “You’d make a good nun.” She replied sarcastically.
“Perhaps I chose the wrong career path.” He didn’t need to be in the room to know that Bruce was grinning when he said that.
Maggie handed Bruce a cup of the fancy tea that the nuns kept for visitors, Matt liked the rich smell of it, “Sometimes it can be hard to understand them, the children. With so many of them and so little staff, we spread ourselves thin in order to keep them healthy. Matthew in particular has had a hard time… adjusting here.”
Bruce took a sip of his tea, “Tonight’s not the first time he’s snuck out, I take it?”
There was an unusual pause, presumably Maggie had shaken her head, it was hard to tell through the walls, “It’s a bad habit of his, got all the sisters worrying about him.”
“And the fighting?”
Maggie let out a bitter laugh, “An even worse habit. At least he’s got a good motive for that one, even if it’s still a sin.”Her voice turned nostalgic, “Just like his father, that one. Shame what happened.” Her breath caught just slightly.
“How long has he been here?” Bruce hummed slightly.
“Around two or three years now.” Maggie sighed.
Bruce’s phone started ringing, Matt heard him fumbling with the thing before studying it closely, “I’m afraid I’ll have to take my leave for now, it was a pleasure meeting you, Maggie.”
“You too, Bruce, It’s been an honour.” Maggie smiled.
Bruce seemed to quickly search about for something before dropping multiple wads of cash into the donation box. Something he just had on him apparently? Weird.
Definitely a Stark-like figure then.
The man then rushed out the door to take the call, Matt stopped listening after that.
He wasn’t a big fan of other people talking about him when they thought he wasn’t listening. At least the guy was gone now.
The church bells from next door began their hourly ritual. Matt took note of how many times he heard a toll of the large bells.
It was currently four in the morning.
Sister Maggie would be changing over with Sister Maria soon, so it was time to go to sleep.
Sister Maria was absolutely lovely and all that, but she was far too energetic and cheerful than any nun should be. She also liked to hum a certain 1965 musical soundtrack and Matt wanted to be asleep before she could torture him with that.
He tucked himself into the itchy cotton bed and began to doze off, finding himself way more tired than he expected.