a cure i know, the batman fanfiction.

intrigue and curiosity

Liliana sat on the chair, her short legs unable to reach the ground as they softly swung back and forth. She had the widest, toothiest smile Bruce had ever seen on a child and it intimidated him to the core. He never really thought the day a kid claiming to be his child would come, but he dreaded the idea of telling her the truth.

"How...?" he started to ask; she smiled, appreciatively, willing to say it one more time, but as soon as she opened her mouth, he interrupted her "What gave you this idea?"

His voice didn't sound as his own and his hands were trembling; he gave Alfred a look filled with panic. The man couldn't share it because he chose to answer with a shrug. "My mom"

It was starting to give him a headache, he didn't even know what to say next, he just hoped she would realize the truth on her own. It was quite evident. On the other side, the butler was strong enough to break the silence.

"Your mom..." he carefully pronounced "Told you that Bruce Wayne... Is your father?"

"Yup" Liliana was starting to lose her patience, her fingers picking under her nails.

Fearing for the answer, Alfred inquired next, "And where is she now?"

The girl looked away. She breathed in, breathed out and her eyes welled up with tears, "I don't know..."

Bruce shuddered in place, his face undecipherable as he tried his best to keep his composure. The butler's chest tightened, memories invading him, fear making his voice change. 

"What happened, child?"

"She left me, about a month ago," she explained, shrugging childishly "And she hasn't come back."

"Wh... What happened to you after that?" Bruce inquired, making them both stare "Who took care of you?"

"I took care of myself" Liliana stated, almost too quickly. "Been trying to find her... Haven't had much luck with that, to be honest" She shrugged, again, "And like... Two days ago, a woman came to my house and took me away. So I tried to find you."

"And you want me to take care of you" he nodded, understanding.

Liliana frowned, shaking her head, "I want you to help me find my mom."

He didn't give her an answer right away, no. He asked Alfred to prepare some warm milk for her, or whatever the kid wanted, and sent her to sleep. He wasn't used to having guests over, and most of the rooms were either occupied with his late night projects, or simply too cold to sleep in, so Bruce sacrificed his own bed. It wasn't like he was planning to have any sleep that day.

"So..." Alfred hummed, knowingly, "Is she...?"

"Clearly not."

"Then why do you think her mother told her that?"

Bruce sighed, "All I know is that she's not my daughter, Alfred."

But his hands shook and his chest tightened, and the fear in her eyes that same night was engraved onto his mind. He must have checked on her around six or seven times, just to find her sleeping soundly between a fort of pillows that he never used to sleep with.

By morning, he already made up his mind.