𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆, 𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒂 | 𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐧𝐞 (𝙜𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙢)

𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟴

"Lara! My babe." Eularia's face twisted in disgust. This was what happened to the less fortunate of children.

"Hey, Clyde." She choked back those vile words that she was so tempted to spew out at him, but someone did it for her.

"She's not yours." Bruce glared, stepping in front of Eularia. "And definitely not your babe."

"It's okay, Bruce." Eularia whispered, offering him a soft smile. "He won't really do anything." Clyde looked at Bruce from head to toe, examining him carefully.

"Well, what have you and Cat got for me?" Eularia dumped a bag onto the table in front of him.

"Hey–" Bruce recognized most of those– his watch, his pen, among them.

"Shh." Eularia put a finger up to his lips, making him blush all the way down his neck, becoming as red as a tomato.

"Wow." Clyde said in awe. "Not your usual junk."

"We were bound to start moving up, weren't we?" Eularia grinned. "You did always say that I had much potential."
"That I did." Clyde agreed. "And I was right, wasn't I? Were'd you get this?"

"You want the story or the swag?" Selina stepped up. Bargaining wasn't Eularia's strong suit. She didn't like arguing with others, especially over something as unimportant (well, it was pretty important, but not in her books) as the price. Haggling just wasn't her thing.

"How much?"

"A thousand bucks." Selina said immediately. Clyde started laughing, although it sounded like more of a cackle.

"Give me a break."

"That's rock bottom. You know it is."

"Fifty bucks." Clyde said with a tone of finality.

"Fifty?" Bruce chimed in. "This pen is real gold. That's an antique jade netsuke. It's worth $2000 on its own." Eularia pulled Bruce back.

"Never mind who he is. Look, 500 is rock bottom. Why are you wasting my time?" Selina snapped. Wrong move.

"Relax. I'm sure we can make a deal." Clyde was suspiciously calm for being rejected so harshly. Something was definitely up.

"No, thanks. We'll go elsewhere." Selina turned to leave. A gasp slipped past Eularia's pale lips as she was grabbed from behind without warning.

"Cool down, Cat." His voice was dangerous. "Or we'll poke your little Lara's eyes out. We wouldn't want that now, would we?" Bruce clenched his teeth at that. "That's it... relax. I've got some friends coming over who would just love to meet you."

"Find me something heavy." Selina ordered. They pushed together carts and crates, stacking them up together. Bruce tossed something small to her. Loud footsteps were approaching the door. As the man came through, Selina managed to quickly and quietly knock him out. The three went down the stairs. Eularia's ears picked up on the loud gunshots outside. Someone was here... to rescue them, hopefully. They hid behind under a table partially covered. She saw the woman– the same one that had infiltrated the Wayne manor. Bruce glanced at the green window panes. He ran for them. Eularia groaned, rolling her eyes. Why was this billionaire kid suicidal? And what else could she do? She followed him.

"Follow!" The woman ordered.

She and Bruce sprinted towards the stairs. He picked up some tools, chucking them at the woman under the staircase. He missed all of them, and was soon out of projectiles.

"Go. Go!" Eularia shoved Bruce in front of her. He did as told. Eularia went to do the same, but a hand caught onto her leg. She let out a yelp, tripping and falling over on the stairs.

"Where's the girl?" Her hand tightened around her ankle, making Eularia cry out. Bruce turned around, panic filling him.

"I– I don't know!" She lied. She'd never been a good liar, that much was obvious. "I really don't know!"

"It's best to tell me." The woman whispered in her ear. Eularia shivered in fright. "You're going to die anyways. Why not bring her down with you?"

"Back away from her!" Bruce raised a fist, but he didn't get far. The woman caught his hand, throwing him down next to Eularia.

"Protecting your girlfriend?" The woman smirked. "I don't suppose you know where the other girl is, do you?" Bruce rapidly shook his head. "Pity. I'll just have to kill this one first." She raised her gun, pointing it at Eularia's head. "Any last–" A gunshot rang throughout the room, but it wasn't from her. "I'll be back for you later." And she was gone.

"Alfred!" Bruce shouted, a smile reaching his face. He suddenly remembered, kneeling back next to Eularia. Her eyes were wide open in shock.

She'd just nearly died...

"Lara. Lara, please, talk to me." Bruce's hand found his way to hers. "Are you okay? She's gone now." Alfred rushed up the stairs.

"Is that Eularia?" He asked, concerned. "There's no shame in being scared. Anyone would have been bloody traumatized by that." He said when Eularia hid her face in her hands. "What about you, Master Bruce? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. How are you?" Bruce wrapped an arm around Eularia, letting her bury her nose into the crook of his neck.

"You really scared me, Master Bruce." Alfred admitted. "If you die... who even employs butlers anymore?" Bullock and Gordon appeared.

"Oh, thank god." They could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Your security still sucks." Selina said, sliding into the room from the window. Bruce and Eularia, who were snuggling by the lit fireplace, shot up immediately, jolting apart form each other.

"Cute," She commented. "Really cute. No, no," Selina said when they got up to see her better. "Don't let me interrupt your cuddle fest." She sprawled herself across the familiar sofa. "I never got to say goodbye. Did you really think I would leave my baby sister alone with you, Bruce? Nah, I don't think so. Just wanted to return something." He threw a small bag at him. Eularia poured out the content on Bruce's hands.

"Thank you, but you could keep this. You need it more than I do." Eularia smiled at him proudly. It wasn't the ideal amount, but he'd become better at analyzing the situation.

"No. Let's keep things honest between us. I'm keeping this anyway." Selina held something in her hand. Bruce stared at it for a moment. Alfred knocked on the door. With a single smile towards Eularia, she went back out the window, as if she'd never been there in the first place.

"Having a little chat, Master Bruce?"

"Eularia's telling stories." Bruce lied half-heartedly.

"Right. Right. Of course you were." Alfred eyed the watch and pen, and other junk in his hand that had mysteriously appeared knowingly. "Shall I take that for you?" Bruce handed it over. "I'm glad you're still here, Eularia."

"Me too." She beamed. "Me too."