𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆, 𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒂 | 𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐧𝐞 (𝙜𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙢)

𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟱

"Good morning. How'd you sleep?"

"Your house makes noise." Silena replied.

Eularia laughed, the sound resonating throughout the room, creating a beautiful melody. "'Lina, when do you not have something to complain about? Bruce, don't listen to her, she's just a whiner."

"I am not!" Silena argued, but there was a smile on her face, too.

"I'll keep that in mind." Bruce grinned. "You didn't come here with much. If you want, Alfred can buy you some clothes." He said.

"Oh, no!" Eularia rejected the idea immediately. "We couldn't possibly trouble him over something so minuscule like that! I'm sure he already despises us enough." She waved her hands around, too nervous to control them properly.

"Contrary to your belief, he actually really likes you." Bruce told her. "How could he not?"

Selina narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. "Kid, you better not start crushing on my frie–"
"I'm not!" He practically squeaked out, panic filling his voice. "I mean, I don't! Not like she's not pretty– I mean, she is– I–" Eularia tilted her head, confused and a bit worried.

"Bruce? Are you alright? What did 'Lina mean?" Eularia leaned forward on the table, placing a cold hand against his forehead. "You're not sick... Do you want some water?"

That only increased his stuttering. "Yes, I'm not sick! Wait, no, I mean no, I'm yes sick! What I meant to say is–"

Silena rolled her eyes, shoving a baguette in his mouth to shut him up. "I was teasing, dummy."

"Detective Gordon told me you live on the streets." Bruce said after he finished chewing and swallowing it.

"Yeah, so?" It was kind of a sensitive topic with Selina with rich people who thought they were better. They knew absolutely nothing of the horrors of the real world– that, or they were the cause of it.

"What's it like there?" He asked curiously. This time, it was Eularia who answered.

"Nowhere near as nice as here. Everywhere is dirty and used, and if you're unlucky, infested with insects and rats. We get splashed every time a car comes by during rainy days. It becomes so wet... and muddy... and so freezing..." She shivered, as if she could actually feel it. Bruce felt his heart shudder. He hated seeing her like that.

"You'll never have to go back there again, not on my watch." He promised. "Both of you." He added, glancing at Selina. "So," Bruce cleared his throat. "Do you live alone?"

"Obviously not, smarty." Selina scoffed, though even she seemed a bit emotional. "I live with my girl Lara, and a couple of others. Or at least, I did..." She snapped out of it. "You gonna ask me questions all morning? Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

"I'm developing my own curriculum." Bruce's answer was neat and sophisticated, but without an ounce of your typical bratty-rich-kid tone. "It lets me move at my own speed and focus on areas that interest me."

"Why? You're a billionaire. What's to learn?" Selina was genuinely curious. In schools, the parents of rich children often bribed teachers to give them good grades and easy degrees without the need to actually study.

"That's a strange attitude." Bruce said. "So where are your parents? They alive?"

"Um..." Selina pulled Eularia into her arms. The poor girl was frozen, unable to speak. Bruce regretted his question immediately. "Sure. They're around."

"Where?"
"What's that to–"

"I think they died." Eularia whispered in a meek voice, making the two whip around to stare at her. "I hope they did. Those bastards." She hugged herself. "Even their deaths won't make me happy."

"What's that to you?" Selina continued, letting Eularia bury herself under her leather jacket.

"Nothing. I just thought–"

"Well you thought wrong." Selina snapped, anger creeping in her voice. No one messed with Eularia. She'd taken the girl under her wing since they were five and three respectively.

"I'm not an orphan. I got family all over."

There was an unanswered question ringing in his head.

Then why are you still here?

"'Lina, I don't want to leave." Eularia said in a hushed whisper. "I like it here. We have a place to stay, and the people are nice. What more could we ask for?"

"If you want to go somewhere, we can call you a taxi." Eularia literally jumped, holding a hand to her chest, breathing heavily.

"Gosh, don't sneak up on me like that!" She groaned breathily. "You're about to give me a heart attack!"
"Sorry."
"You move quiet." Selina stepped in front of Eularia. She hadn't forgotten that Bruce had almost made her cry not long before.

"So do you." Bruce said. "Are you leaving?" What was that feeling? His chest felt tight, his eyes stinging.

"Thinking about it. But Lara here's not letting me go." Eularia refused to meet Bruce's gaze, instead choosing to shuffle her feet.

"I'm sorry if talking about your family upset you." He told them both sincerely. "I'm really sorry."

"I wasn't upset." As always, Selina never let anyone but Eularia get close to her heart. Terrible things happened when she trusted those she shouldn't have.

"You seemed kind of upset." Bruce stated the obvious.

"It's okay to admit it, 'Lina. I was slightly upset." Eularia smiled. "But that's okay. I'm over it. Luckily for you, Mr. Wayne," She took on a playful tone. "I get over things fast."

"That's your mom, huh?" Selina picked up a framed portrait on the table. "She looks nice."

"She was." Bruce nodded. "You saw her. The night she was killed." It wasn't a question.

"Uh-huh." Selina hummed.

"And you saw me? What I did. What I didn't do." Bruce was shaking.

"What are you talking about? What could you have done?" She asked rhetorically, not really expecting a reply.

"I don't know. Something." He sounded so crushed, so broken, it made Eularia's heart ache for him. She approached him, wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him into an embrace, just like the night it happened. He tentatively put arms around her waist, melting into her warmth.

"It was a gun, Bruce." Eularia said quietly. "If anything, I should be the one apologizing. I watched as it happened. If I helped them, they could still be alive."
"But then you might be dead." Bruce sniffled.

"So?" He backed away from the hug, shocked at her response. "That doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what happens to me. I'm just another 'street rat' that was abandoned. It would be a light price to pay for the lives of the most influential people in Gotham."

He grabbed Eularia's shoulders, shaking her. "Don't you ever talk like that! My parents told me that everyone is equal. Everything that lives and breathes is worth the same. Especially you. So don't think so lowly of yourself." He rested his forehead against hers. "Okay?"

She smiled sadly. "I think my parents are famous people of some sort. I... was an accident. They wanted to get rid of me as quickly as possible, without alerting the press about my existence. They were ashamed of me. When the opportunity came, they left me in that dark alley... the same one your parents were killed in. 'Lena was also left there a few months before I came, and she helped me survive. We ate food people threw out and dug through dumpsters for a meal. That's the life I lived. Nothing nearly as grand and fortunate as yours."

"Time for your studies, Master Bruce." Alfred entered the room, pausing at the close position Eularia and Bruce were in. But he was confident that they wouldn't have done anything with Selina watching. Besides, they weren't even teenagers yet. "You're more than welcome to join, Ms. Nephus and Ms. Kyle."

"I would love to, Mr. Pennyworth, but I'm afraid I won't be able to catch up to the level Bruce is at." Eularia admitted shyly. "I haven't had any proper education for my whole life, after all." She waved at Bruce, walking away. "We'll see you later."