MELLIFLUOUS ➪ Bruce Wayne {Gotham}

VI

The smell of perfectly seasoned meat and pan-seared vegetables filled the teens' noses, luring them out of the room just as Alfred called for them.

Bruce, leading Faye into the old fashioned yet high-end style kitchen, happily pulled out a seat for her once the reached the table. They awkwardly smiled at each other as Bruce walked around the grab his seat.

Alfred strolls over with two plates filled with colorful foods.

"Thank you, Alfred," Bruce acknowledges his butler before digging in. Faye sat still as she watched the boy cut his lamb chop and blow on his vegetables. Not having eaten a real meal in over 5 days, she longed for the food sitting right in front of her; at the same time she was disgusted by it. She seemingly had no appetite whatsoever, no matter how good the food smelled. "Faye," Bruce began asking innocently. "Aren't you going to eat your lamb?" She didn't know what to say. She replied to the boy with a shrug. Bruce's curiosity caused Alfred to become involved.

"Miss Fayette, I encourage you to eat this. Unless...you would prefer something else?" Alfred asks, wiping his hands on a dishcloth. Faye shakes her head side to side.

"No. No thank you. I'm just...I'm not quite hungry." She replied respectfully, no matter how much anger she had built up for the British butler. Although there was  tension left in the lingering conversation, as well as more questions Alfred wished to ask, he simply nodded is head lightly and continued to wash the dishes he had put in the sink. As Faye turned her head, she met eyes with the young Wayne again, catching his raised eyebrow in a a pause.

"It's quite good," he jokingly bragged. The girl shot a weak smile and a faint laugh as she spectated his nearly empty plate. Bruce wipes his mouth with a soft cloth napkin and stands up. "I'll be in the library if you care to join," he offered to Faye. She thought for a quick second, simply standing up and pushing her chair in. She takes her plate and brings it up to Alfred's space to save him the trip, making awkward eye contact with the suspicious butler. She clears her throat and breaks the prolonged staring, continuing to follow Bruce's footsteps out the door.

Faye enters the library a couple seconds after Bruce has already plopped onto the couch. She catches him staring at into the flame of one of the candles on the coffee table. Raising her eyebrow, she keeps silent as he hasn't noticed her presence. As he intently examines the fire, his hand almost seems to reach for it. Before his fingertips can even feel the heat, Faye breaks the silence:

"Why do you like the fire so much?" Bruce is startled by her comment, causing him to flinch back into the pillows and catch his breath.

"I- uh," he stuttered. Faye, at this point wanting to drop the conversation, runs her hands across the bindings of the books in the shelves.

"Can I borrow a few books?" She turns her body to catch the boys attention once again.

"What?- Oh yes, of course. Help yourself." Bruce said, waving her off. Faye smiled lightly and proceeded to grab any random book she sought. Grabbing one's she knew about regarding wars, some classic novels, and even some about roman and greek empires. Whatever she thought might help her keep busy, she grabbed. Bruce was too busy to even notice how many books the girl had snatched, as he was flipping through multiple television stations and getting comfortable. Faye slipped out unnoticed and proceeded to her room to finally settle into the house she shares with others, yet feels completely alone in.

I took a small hiatus, I apologize. This story is also hard to write when I have no new motivation since I have to wait until fall for Season 4 :( Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Please like ⭐️ and comment 💬!