"Love"

(11)

Bruce woke up to the sound of his alarm going off. It was 6 in the morning, meaning he had gotten no more than 5 hours of sleep. He tried turning around to lie down on his stomach and hit the snooze button in the process, but a weight on his body detained him from doing so. The tired man opened his eyes and was surprised when they landed on Y/N who had her head resting on his chest, still sound asleep. Given the fact that Bruce was a light sleeper, his alarm was never set at a high volume. He managed to silence the sound without moving his body much and closed his eyes for another couple of minutes.

Bruce thought about how Y/N must have snuggled into Bruce's body sometime during the night, probably subconsciously drawn to the heat that was radiating off him. He realized that he had his right arm around her shoulders and figured he had held on to her instinctively in his sleep.

When it was time to get up, Bruce carefully pushed Y/N's body away from his and she huddled against his pillow instead. Standing on his feet, Bruce stretched and let out a silent yawn. He walked into his ensuite bathroom and got ready for work. It was Sunday but due to the trade show he had some people to meet and some deals to close.

Y/N was rousing from sleep little by little. She did not open her eyes until she heard a door open and sat up in bed.

"You're up," Bruce who had emerged in the bedroom stopped in his tracks and cleared his throat. He had nothing on but a towel wrapped around his waist and Y/N immediately averted her eyes from his body and looked out the window front. She then noticed that Bruce's house had to be located way out of town. They were surrounded by water, a lake, Y/N guessed, and woods could be seen in the background as the sun was slowly rising.

She heard Bruce rummaging around his wardrobe and figured he was getting dressed.

"I'm going to the office," he said and Y/N turned to look at him. "You can't just leave me here!" She protested, threw the blanket off her body and got out of bed. Bruce just eyed her with an amused expression. "You're not going anywhere,love," he told her. "But I have a job, I have a life, I need to-" she tried to reason with him, but he didn't let her finish. "You'll stay here with Alfred, end of discussion." Y/N stared at him in perplexity.

"Wait!" she called when he was halfway out the door. "Who's Alfred?" she asked. "My butler. He's the one who came in here last night to tell me that-" he stopped himself, not wanting to mention Clark's name. "You saw him," he simply said and made his way downstairs where Alfred was waiting for him with a coffee in his hand.

"Good morning, Master Wayne," the old man said while handing Bruce the to-go cup. He thanked him before taking a sip of his hot beverage.

"How was your night?" Bruce sent him a glare. "Short," he answered, but didn't elaborate. "She's already up. Don't let her out of your sight. If she gives you trouble, tie her up." Alfred frowned. "I don't think that will be necessary."

"Just do as I say."

"Of course, Master Wayne," the butler said while helping Bruce into his jacket. "Good," said the younger man. "I'll be back at around 2," he said and walked outside.

Bruce left and Alfred closed the front door. He turned on the security system that would go off if someone tried to leave the house.

He stood in front of Bruce's ajar bedroom door and knocked. "Miss?" He didn't get an answer. Y/N was lying on the bad again, face buried in the pillows. "Miss?" He tried again and she turned her head to face him. She was crying and the butler tried to send her a comforting smile. "I'm Alfred," he introduced himself politely. "Would you like to come to the kitchen with me?" Y/N shook her head. "Please, Miss. I'm not supposed to leave your side and you really need to eat something." He was right. She hadn't eaten since the last morning. "Please let me go," she said while more tears ran down her cheeks. She had eavesdropped on the men's conversation and knew what Alfred had to do if she tried anything but that knowledge didn't stop her from begging. "Trust me. If it were up to me you wouldn't be here. Unfortunately, it isn't. I'm sorry, Miss." The soft tone in Alfred's voice and the sad look on his face made her belief his words and she got the feeling that the old man wouldn't do anything to hurt her. That's why Y/N got up off the bed and let Alfred lead her into the kitchen.