Intoxicated - Bruce Wayne

Chapter Thirty Six

A safer place for Veronica to stay was the Wayne Manor. She took the guest room beside Eva's room- it was bigger than their rooms combined back in their apartment.

Eva though, instead of sleeping, was sat downstairs on the rug, watching as the fireplace glowed a bright orange. The wood would crack often and those were the only sounds that brought Eva's mind back to reality.

"Hey, I checked your room but you weren't there." Veronica's sudden voice jolted Eva out of her trance.

Veronica joined Eva, watching the fire as she tucked her knees under her chin.

After a moment of silence, Veronica wanted her curiosity to be fed, "I thought...I thought you and Frank were friends."

Eva knew what she was talking about, what Frank wrote on the wall of the two of them kissing sparked Veronica's curiosity and she felt guilty of not letting her into it, "Frank and I were friends. W-we just messed around for awhile."

"When?"

"2 years before I met Bruce." Eva said, not meeting Veronica's eyes.

"How come you didn't tell me?" Veronica felt hurt as she believed that the two close friends would tell each other everything the could.

"I thought you two were supposed to be asleep." Veronica jolted at the sudden voice, Bruce made no noise whatsoever and Eva was already used to it, unlike her friend.

"And what about you?" Eva turned back to Bruce, "aren't you supposed to be asleep too?"

"Couldn't sleep."

"Well, same for us then." Veronica said, clutching at her chest as if it'll slow her heart from beating so fast.

Bruce sat on the creme colored sofa as the two women sat on the rug, close by the fireplace for its warmth.

"You know...thinking about this all, why didn't he kill you first, or you?" Eva eyed Bruce and pointed at Veronica.

"Excuse me?" Veronica scoffed, offended.

"No offense, it's just that his objective was to kill the people closest to me. Frank knows I'm getting wild in the sheets with Bruce. He knows I'm closer to you than anyone else in the group. So, why didn't he start with the either of you?"

Bruce picked up on Eva's trail of thought, the woman was making sense and it was rather another clue that'll hopefully lead them to Frank.

"Maybe he wants you to suffer more. You know, anticipation and all that too, honey." Veronica said, she also seemed to question too.

"Or to watch." Bruce finally uttered.

"Wait, wait, hold up just a second," Veronica stood up from her spot and pointed an accusing finger at Bruce, "how the hell does he know all about this?"

Bruce's dark orbs diverted to Eva, waiting for the woman to respond as he lifted his eyebrows waiting for her to say something.

"I just told him...everything." Eva shrugged her shoulders, irritating Veronica by her slight and careless gesture.

"What you mean I just told him everything?! Did you tell him about how you've been hopping from building to building with the bat!?" Veronica's eyes almost popped out of her head as she tried to hint towards Eva if Bruce knew about them robbing banks.

"Listen, will you calm down, V? I just told him about my part and about the batman, alright?"

"Actually, the batman...he's a powerful friend of mine." Bruce said with a nod and a tight smile.

"You don't say.." Veronica said dumbfounded.

"As I was saying," Bruce this time stood beside Veronica, the two of them looking down at Eva as she crossed her legs on the floor and waited intently for Bruce to speak.

"Maybe Frank's objective is to let us watch. Why else would he leave the two of us roaming around. Unharmed?"

"Well, you do know the I'll save the closest to you last so you can suffer more kinda thing right?" Eva reached out her hand for Bruce to pull her up as she felt her butt viscously turn numb, "isn't that everyone's lil' motive?"

As the three kept coming up with more of possible motives of Frank's, Veronica's mind started to turn repeatedly, making her dizzy. And every time she closed her eyes, flashes of Ashley and Margo's body flashed in her mind.

"You know what guys- I think I'm just gonna...I'm gonna call it a night." Veronica excused herself upstairs before wishing the couple goodnight.

With Veronica's absence, Bruce and Eva sat in silence. Bruce watched Eva intently, her face was pale, her eyes would shut for awhile slowly and her lips were chapped.

"Are you alright?" Bruce asked as he placed his bigger and warmer hand on hers.

"Yeah, I think I just need to go to bed too." Eva said with a smile that barely stayed upwards for a second.

"C'mon, let's go upstairs alright?" Eva didn't put up a fight with Bruce as she allowed the man to escort her to his room and tuck her in his bed.

As he wrapped his arms around her protectively, he felt Eva shake under his arm and he instantly perked up to face the woman, "Ev?"

"They're gone, Bruce. Because of me." Eva's thick tears rolled down her cheeks as Bruce wiped them with his thumb and embraced her and so did she.

There was no comforting words that Bruce could whisper to Eva in the dark, so instead, the two of them just wrapped their arms around each other.

--

AN: for those who are wondering, here are the casts for our three lil' favorites!

Dick Grayson: Ben Barnes
Jason Todd: Jensen Ackles
Tim Drake: Jake Gyllenhaal