Family Line // B. Wayne

two

 Newspaper. Stack of files. Cup of coffee. Bagel from the accounting floor break room.

Lily arranged the items perfectly in a line before heading back to her desk to log in and check Lucius' agenda for the day.

"Good morning, Miss Amapola." She nearly jumped out of her seat at the sound of the smooth voice in front of her desk. Did the door even buzz? Bruce Wayne held up a badge with a polite smile and she nodded in understanding.

"Mr. Fox isn't in yet, but he should be here in the next few minutes. Can I get you anything? A coffee?"

"That would be great, thanks." He leaned against her desk and crossed his arms over his chest. Lily pointedly ignored how his suit jacket sat across his incredibly broad shoulders. She poured the ochre sludge into one of the few extra mugs they had lying around and turned back to look at him.

"How do you take your coffee?"

"Black is fine."

Her lip curled up into a smile as she passed him the mug and watched him take a sip out of the corner of her eye. He grimaced at the taste of the bitter brew and Lily wouldn't lie that she felt a little pleased.

"Do you need anything else or just waiting for Mr. Fox?"

"Just waiting. Have you worked here long?"

Lily started to stack up the research reports she needed to read for the day and shrugged. "Two years. Mr. Fox hired me during my last year of college."

Mr. Wayne ran a hand through his hair and shot her a charming grin. She ignored his clearly flirtatious action and instead focused on lining up her highlighters. Three minutes until Fox would walk in. She could handle three minutes.

"Gotham University?"

"Mhm."

"Let me guess...fashion design major? President of your sorority? Did a few clubs?"

She let out a high pitched, fake giggle. "Something like that."

Lily checked the time again just as the door swung open. Mr. Fox glanced between the two younger folks and smiled. "Good morning."

"Good morning, sir. You have no meetings today but you have a dentist appointment at three," Lily reported. She took his coat and hung it on the hooks she had installed on the wall next to her desk.

"Miss Amapola was just telling me about how you found her," Mr. Wayne explained. "It appears that Wayne Enterprises is fortunate that you hired such an outstanding applicant."

"Oh, I practically begged her to work for me. Lily here has the most impressive resume I've ever seen."

Mr. Wayne looked at her in surprise. "Really?"

"Bachelors in biomedical engineering and chemistry. Masters in engineering. Summa cum laude...what am I forgetting, Lily?"

The dark haired woman brushed a stray curl out of her face and then held up her hand to count off her fingers. "President of Omega Phi Beta, creator of Gotham's Latinas in STEM, president of the first generation graduates program, Society of Hispanic Engineers, and...club soccer. Yeah, something like that. Now, if you gentlemen excuse me, I have to go do some work in the lab."

Lily grabbed one of the files on her desk, smiled tightly at Mr. Wayne, and headed into the cavernous basement. Bruce watched her go, an amused smile tugging at his lips.

"He sounds like a royal ass," Nadia announced. Lily snorted out a laugh at her little sister's declaration and took a sip of her wine before she placed the glass on the counter and turned back to the simmering pot on the stove.

"I've dealt with worse," Lily reminded her. Her voice slipped into something more relaxed compared to her usual perky assistant voice. She was a born and raised Gothamite, of course. "A whole lot worse."

The younger Amapola raised her glass in acknowledgement and then took a long drink. "You shouldn't have to do that. You've proven yourself time and time again and yet no one gives you a chance."

"Preaching to the damn choir," she muttered. "Can you grab plates?"

Nadia rose from her seat at the sagging folding table that took up a good portion of the kitchen room and passed behind her sister. She continued speaking as she laid two plates on the counter.

"What am I gonna do without your cooking?"

"You're only going to be an hour away," Lily chastised. "Besides, it's time you start learning to cook for yourself."

"You're breaking my heart here."

Lily rolled her eyes but tugged her sister into a side hug. "I'm gonna miss you, kid. Even if you do eat me out of house and home. But you're going to kick absolute ass."

Nadia squeezed her tightly before nudging Lily out of the way so she could dish up their dinner. Lily acquiesced and moved to the table. Her apartment was small and shabby, barely housing three people comfortably. Paint peeled and chipped all along the walls, leaving ugly holes that exposed the slapdash plaster job underneath. The wooden floors creaked and groaned with every step and water stains marred certain blocks. Rats and cockroaches scurried across the floor more than Lily would like, but it beat living on the streets.

Lily's roommates, Miles and Geena, were school teachers currently both at their night time jobs as a drag queen and bartender. The three had met thanks to a Craigslist ad and they were pleasantly surprised to find out that the others weren't ax murderers.

"Lils...I just want to say thanks," Nadia said as she sat the plate down in front of her sister and took a seat next to her. "I know it wasn't easy for you to get us here and I'm so thankful for the sacrifices you made."

Lily swallowed hard past the lump in her throat and fixed her gaze on the dirty windows across the room. Her lips pursed and she shrugged. "I did what we had to do to survive. You're the one who got into medical school. You did that all on your own."

"You and I both know that's a lie. I wouldn't have done it without you pushing me."

"You go and see her?" Lily asked quietly. Nadia shook her head, scraping her fork against her plate instead of looking at her sister. Lily nodded and let out a huff of air.

"I'm proud of you, Nadia. Really. Even if you didn't get this opportunity, I would be proud of you."

Her little sister, her best friend, was leaving for Metropolis in the morning to start medical school. All the nights curled up under cardboard on the streets and huddled together on cots in homeless shelters and days when Lily would give her the little remains of food that she had as she slept on an empty stomach...it was all worth it.

Nadia clasped her hand over Lily's and squeezed it before focusing on her dinner once more. Lily turned her attention to the TV with the news that droned on and on. The most recent story caught her attention and she stood to get closer to the screen.

"-eaking news. Police officials finally released a report regarding a vigilante dressed as a bat has been seen targeting certain members of the public. The Batman, as he is now being called, is listed as highly dangerous and unpredictable, capable of taking on an entire SWAT team. However, some cite the Batman as a helpful entity. His actions are credited with uncovering corruption in the GCPD and the subsequent resignation of Gillian Loeb. Commissioner Gordon states that there is no reason to be afraid of the Batman, unless, that is, you are planning on committing a crime."

"Woah...a vigilante. That's fucking sick," Nadia commented. "You think he's actually going to make a difference?"

Lily shrugged, her dark eyes still locked firmly on the TV screen. "First time for everything."