Dating The Dark Knight

Chapter 22

THE LAST OF DAY 3 OF 4

APHRODITE'S VIEW.

I laid there on the bed, staring at the ceiling and whistling softly and thinking. About my parents, Jason, my brother, my co-workers, and everything else in between. Dinner was wonderful last night and I had recieved too many compliments....even Bruce was present. I purposely made his pork spicy and watched with silent satisfaction as he downed an entire jug of water. However, after watching him calm his burning tongue, I retrieved the "normal" pork from the oven and served it to him. I remembered the hard glares he threw in my direction as sweat dripped down his face. Se'ir, Richard and Alfred watched him with curious looks on their faces then turned to me for an explanation.

"He couldn't take the heat." I replied and we all laughed, Alfred included, much to Bruce's annoyance. I found myself smiling...then randomly remembering a part of a conversation about 3 days ago...

"Hey..." Richard greeted warmly, the morning after he woke from his healing session.

"Hi...How're you feeling?" I asked.

"Great...all because of you. Thanks." He said.

"That's good to hear. And you're welcome."

"What? I had to get your ass outta there first." Se'ir said.

"So what do you want? My blessings?" Richard laughed.

"I hope you choke on that bacon." Se'ir said and narrowed his eyes. We chuckled at his comment, Richard especially careful to chew his food and swallow carefully. I served myself some eggs. I lifted my fork to my mouth slowly, my mind drifting to the people who wouldn't have anything to eat today as a result of Xenos' actions, and immediately, food became difficult to chew. I remembered the fork clattering against the plate and I realized I had dropped it while in thoughts. 2 pair of eyes watched me carefully, knowning fully well what was going on.

I snapped out of the brief memory and tried to get some sleep.....I had plans for tommorrow. But of course, sleep evaded me again.

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BRUCE'S VIEW

I had gone to work after Aphrodite's unnecessary action at dinner, monitoring the pattern. I hadn't slept in a while and I didn't last long before exhaustion invaded me in the cave and I was quickly thrown into a dream.

I was suddenly in my bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed, thinking about our current situation. It was quiet till a loud noise erupted. The sound was different. It sounded like a child...a toddler. The door opened and I was immediately alert only to find a toddler, about 2 years old, walking clumsily into the room, laughing, with a locket around his neck. I was stunned when the child look up to face me with piercing green eyes. The toddler sat in the middle of the room, still facing me and laughing. He played with his dark hair and smiled at me. I rose immediately, the child mimicking my movements sloppily. I knelt infront of the child, still shocked at the vibrant color of his eyes, reminding me all too much of her.

"Where's your mother?" I asked gently.

"Mommy!" The child cried out, laughing again and suddenly clinging to my arms. His small hands clutched at my clothes and instintively, I found my arms holding him gently. Footsteps came running in my direction and she stepped in with a warm smile on her face.

"What is it, sweetie?" She asked the child and pointed to me but Aphrodite looked puzzled. "Honey, there's no one there." She said gently. I rose and moved to her, the child pointing at me and begging Aphrodite to look. I touched her, only to find my fingers passing through her. I was alarmed...but it was already established, she couldn't see me.