Chivalry of a Dark Knight [Batman x Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry]

CH14: Accept Fate (prt 4)

"It's nice to meet a new friend. Do you have any other friends?" the doll asked.

His mind went to Jim, then Harvey and even Barbara. Then, more recently, Kurono, Ikki and Stella. But were they even friends? Or more like allies? He cared about them, trusted them...but not with his secrets. What kind of friend would do that?

Then there was Selina. He wasn't sure what they were, it started out more as a want, a need, a fatal attraction. But eventually, he knew it became something more and under a different circumstance, he would've seen a future with the two of them together. But that ship had long sailed.

In the end, Alfred was the only one he had been truly been open with.

"Friends are good aren't they?" he heard the doll suddenly speak. "I get scared at the thought of being alone. Tell me, what are you afraid of?"

The people he cared about slaughtered, the innocents dead, his city burning in chaos, his failure to keep his promise.

He internally shuddered that it wasn't too hard to imagine.

"Is there anything that makes you really angry?"

The vile scum that took pleasure in the suffering of the innocent, that had no regard for life, that lived in opulence at the cost of others. Them, who freely violate justice and think they can get away with it.

Again, wasn't too hard to imagine.

"What is your happiest moment?"

Bruce's eyes popped open and for the first time in his adult life, he froze like he was at a total loss for words.

He snuck a glance towards Stella and noticed that she was staring at him curiously. Then he looked back towards the doll, contemplating his answer before closing his eyes and concentrating.

His happiest moment? The only thing he could think of was...

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Underneath the Deco-style theater marquee which glowed against the bold black lettering alongside the neon lights, a family of three stepped out into the cold winter night on the side of the road.

The matriarch of the three, Martha, was initially worried that her son wouldn't have a good time. After all, it was a PG-13 movie with sword fights and a bit of sensuality, surely they could've taken their eight year old boy to something more kid-friendly. But her husband, Thomas, didn't think it was a big deal; he was from a generation whose parents paid no mind to what kids brought home from the video store.

To her relief, he was right. Bruce appeared to be having the time of his life. The young boy was already skipping ahead of them, mimicking fencing motions while quoting scenes from the movie.

Thomas slipped his arm around Martha's shoulders and the two parents smiled in happiness as they watched their son laugh with excitement, they could see that he was finally behaving like a kid.

They knew that despite everything they had given him, Bruce had a reputation of being a sad and lonely boy who was never good at making friends. The other children in his school were either envious or schemed to take advantage of him, creating an environment that caused him to become distrustful of others. As pathetic as it sounded, his parents were the only true friends he knew.

It was a deep regret that Thomas and Martha shared, that they were too blinded by their own responsibilities to notice his plight, that they couldn't be the parents he needed.