Two sides of the same coin

Chapter 13 - Good Night

Two weeks passed and Bruce was mostly kept at Wayne Manor, the fact that he couldn't go to Gotham left him with nothing much to do. Ecco was almost never there and Jeremiah occasionally visited to check up on Bruce. Other than that it was rather quiet around the manor, which gave Bruce time to think. To most, this would be a good thing, but to Bruce not so much. At times he would fill himself filled with so much paranoia that he'd jump at every sound that met his presence. Other times he would be filled with anger towards multiple different people, mostly towards Jim Gordon. Sometimes he'd even hallucinate things, which didn't ease his paranoia at all.

After only one week he had read all the books he could find throughout the house as a distraction but, afterwards there wasn't much else to do. He welcomed each and every visit Jeremiah had given him, it lessened Bruce's paranoia. But once he left Bruce was left alone yet again in the quiet manor. He could go out but decided not to in case someone recognized him which would lead to people finding out that he wasn't in Gotham.

Currently it was ten in the afternoon, Bruce often spent this time sitting on the sofa next to the living room's large fireplace. Yes, the fire breathed warmth into him but not what was usually associated with warmth, Comfort. Bruce tried his best to relax but couldn't bring himself to do it. He felt alone but at the same time like there were eyes in the walls, watching every movement he made.

Bruce almost jumped out of his skin when he heard footsteps carefully walking through the halls and eventually towards the living room. Once they entered the living room, their footsteps slowed down stopping at the side of the couch Bruce sat on. Bruce already knew who it was, the only other person who would be here would be Jeremiah. As usual, Bruce wasn't sure what to say to him which left him an awkward silence.

Jeremiah swiftly walked to the opposite side of the couch and plopped down on the couch letting out a tired sigh as he relaxed on it. The crackling of the fireplace was the only sign of time continuing, the light of the fire chased of any shadows that couldn't find safety leaving the shadows that remained long and slender. Eventually the warmth consumed Jeremiah, almost releasing him into a comforting nap. What constantly disturbed his relaxation was the obvious fact that Bruce was uncomfortable. After a moment, Jeremiah let out another sigh and slowly opened his eyes immediately making eye contact with Bruce.

To Bruce, Jeremiah's stare was menacing with a dash of exhaustion, leaving a jaded look upon his heavy eyes. The fact that Jeremiah's eyes were a ghostly green only increased the feeling of someone piercing into his mind. This put him more on edge until Jeremiah sleepily reverted his gaze to the fireplace and slightly moving into a more formal position.

"Tired?"

"Yes, setting up the necessary pieces for future plans is proving difficult to acquire but, that is to be expected."

Bruce nodded, he couldn't say much about his day since he had been doing nothing all day. Jeremiah, took this time to vent continued talking.

"Making connections with the people in power are challenging, not to mention anonymously. Oswald Cobblepot was easy to persuade, along with the Soothsayers, Strange, and Undead. Luckily Ecco has been in similar situations so It's not as challenging as it could be."

Bruce, wonce again, said nothing he didn't feel like he was welcome into the conversation. After a moment of silence he realized that he should've said something because Jeremiah was looking at him right in the eye again but this time with disappointment but also with sadness. The same half closed eyes finished off the expression. He quickly realized that Jeremiah was looking for some sort of appraisal from him but, didn't receive any at all. He let out another sigh and changed the topic of conversation.

"I assume you had more hallucinations today?"

Bruce nodded, now alert for any signs of what he should and shouldn't do from Jeremiah.

"Yeah, not any visual ones this time just auditory ones."

"Hopefully you don't have anymore visual hallucinations that would prove to be a problem considering that you will be returning to Gotham."

Bruce's eyes quickly met Jeremiah's tired form while confusion conquered his expression.

"I'm going back to Gotham?"

Jeremiah's gaze also returned to Bruce as a small smile graced the corners of his lips.

"Well of course, I have a task for you. Unfortunately now is not the time to go into too much detail but what I can say is that you will be returning to Gotham tomorrow morning."

Bruce was filled with excitement like a little kid getting to go to the zoo. Jeremiah noticed Bruce's change in mood and his small smile quickly grew but didn't last long as he held back a chuckle then it reverted to the small smile he wore before. He looked towards Bruce with a gentle kindness unlike before.

"I'd be sure to get plenty of sleep tonight if I were you."

Bruce immediately noticed that this was his que to go to sleep or at least leave the room. He nodded then stood up, heading for the cracking old wooden stairs that would lead to the second floor his comfortable lavish bedroom took hosted in.

"Oh and Bruce!"

He turned around, slightly confused as he did so.

"Yeah?"

"Goodnight."

Jeremiah offered a little wave goodbye along with a bright smile. It took a moment for Bruce to reply, it was odd for Jeremiah to be in such a good mood. Eventually he realized he was staring and snapped out of his thoughts.

"Oh, uh yeah. Goodnight."

'He must really be sleep deprived to be that friendly.'

Bruce thought to himself as he continued to walk away.
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Words: 1,005
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A/N: four weeks for the next episode is way too long-
Also side note, sorry for posting a little later than usual!