A Cold Midnight: A Bruce Wayne/Batman x Reader

Chapter 7

   Y/N'S POV

  As Batman waited for me to fill him in on what he missed, I felt... guilty. I actually thought about not telling him anything at all for a couple of seconds.
  Batman had given up so much of his own precious time to train me. And then, he even stayed back to take care of Hero, so I owed him big time.

  After I filled Batman in on what he missed, he began to pace back and forth before I said to him,"We're still a team, right? Care to tell me what you're thinking about right now?"

  Batman stared at me for a few moments before he said,"It doesn't make any sense. Why would Joker come after you? Why where you live and not out in the open in front of an audience? In front of me?"

  Every single time that I thought of a reply to Batman's question, I realized that I didn't have a real answer. I didn't know what Joker really wanted from me.
  He said that I had something of his, but I couldn't remember what I could've possibly stolen from him recently or a long time ago. 

  I screamed, practically snapping at Batman,"I don't know! I don't know anything!"

  Batman didn't flinch or even yell at me, but I could tell that he was shocked to witness my first embarrassing outburst ever.

  "I-I'm sorry, Batman. I don't know where that came from. I guess that I just realized what happened to me and Hero. Joker paid me a visit... and I couldn't stop him from getting to Hero. Hero got hurt because of me. I could've lost him."

  Batman said,"It's all right. I understand, Y/N, but Joker came to you for a reason. We have to figure out what you took from him."

  Batman rested his hand on my shoulder as he said,"Once you return what you took from him, he'll stay out of your way. But Y/N, you won't lose Hero. He's a very loyal dog but a strong one, too. You just have to make sure that you don't let every single defeat stop you from moving forward."

  I looked at Batman, but then I smiled before I said,"You're good at the whole speech thing. Maybe we should get back to Leslie and Hero now?"

  Batman nodded before he walked with me back to the room.

  Hero sat down in between my legs, and Leslie said to me,"You're free to take him with you. He'll be all right. Just make sure that you keep an eye on him, Y/N."

  I nodded, but I rubbed Hero's head as I said,"For this one, always."

  I looked back at Leslie before I said,"Thank you, Leslie. Here's all that I have on me at the moment, but I'll give you the rest tomorrow. Please take it, Leslie. I'm trying to do the right thing."

  Leslie looked a little stunned but took the money from me a little too quickly.

  Batman said,"It looks like you're learning, Y/N."

  I smiled at Batman and said goodbye to Leslie before Batman took me home.
  To be honest, I felt very uneasy being here again.

  Hero wouldn't even go inside, so it wasn't just me.

  Before Batman could leave me, I grabbed his cape before I asked him,"Do you know any pet-friendly places in Gotham where Hero and I would be able to sleep for the night?"

  However, I covered Hero's ears as I said to Batman,"I know that Hero's here with me, but I don't exactly feel comfortable staying here overnight. If you don't know a place, then Hero and I will make it work here."

  Hero barked up at me. So, I uncovered his ears before he sat down next to Batman.

  Batman asked me,"Do you know Bruce Wayne?"

  I inhaled then exhaled before I said,"Nope. No way. That's fine, Batman. Have a nice night. Hero and I will be just fine."

  Batman was really confused, but he didn't question me about it.

  Instead, he just said to me,"If you're sure, then I'll go. I'll see you tomorrow for training... and we'll figure out what Joker was looking for."

  I nodded, and Batman was gone just like that. Instantly, I regretted not taking Batman up on his offer. There was a perfectly good reason why I refused his offer, but that was a story for another day.
  Trying to remain strong in front of Hero, I walked into the house and headed up to my bedroom. It looked like everything was all right, but it didn't make the uneasiness go away.

  After I got ready for bed, I climbed into my bed, settling underneath the covers. Hero got in beside me before he curled up into a ball beside my stomach.

  I closed my eyes, but it took me and Hero hours to fall asleep that night. Don't ask me how I knew that. I just knew.