Arranged Marriage - Distance (A Nightwing/Dick Grayson Fanfiction)

Eleven: Not That Girl

I don't know what makes me ask him, or what makes him accept, but after an awkward and silent car ride through the city I invite Richard Grayson up to my penthouse.

So that is how I end up with my hot fiancé in my home on a Friday night, petting my cat on the sofa whilst I make coffee.

What am I doing?

"What are their names?" He suddenly asks. He's facing away from me, which is the first good thing. The second is that because of the size of my apartment he's miles away.

Which means I can sigh as many times as I want, because honestly, what am I doing? 

"The light coloured one is Cookie and the grey one is Luscious," I answer, tapping the chocolate powder over the milk froth. 

The cats were emotional support. Mom had hopes I would enter them in shows, because Cookie is a Scottish Fold and Luscious is a Burly British Shorthair. 

I'd rather neck myself though.

"Interesting names," he comments as I lift both mugs up.

"They're from a show I watch, called Empire," I tell him, taking a deep breath before I walk over to the open living room. I place the mugs on the coffee table in front of him.

"Oh yeah, what's that about?"

Awkwardly I sit on the opposite end of the sofa. I'm so busy continuously questioning myself that I hardly hear what he asks.

I'm me. I'm Cleopatra Perich. Who am I named after? Where have I been in the past few years? Who have I defeated? What have I lost?

This is nothing. This is easy. 

I slip into a more confident mood after that, leaning forward to grasp onto the handle of my mug. As I sit back, I flash my fiancé a small smile.

"Actually, it's about running a company that's entangled in crime. Empire, a media company primarily in music. It was started by one of the main characters, Luscious Lyon. He was a rapper from Philadelphia and with his wife, Cookie, built Empire. They did it illegally and Cookie took the fall and ended up in jail for seventeen years. It's about her re-entering the world, reconnecting with her three sons and fighting Luscious for the company," I explain, honestly the bare minimum of the show.

Up until now all that Nightwing without a mask must have seen of me is bitchiness and fakery. I suppose letting him know that I'm not all entirely-robot might make the next few months easier.

"Would you say you're learning from it?" He jokes, because we both know that in leading a company lessons come from anywhere.

But the question seems misplaced. He's looking at me with amused suspicion and I realise it's both a joke and a question.

"And why would I need to know how to fight someone for a company?"

From those words the atmosphere seems to sink, becoming heavy. The brief elevation that existed has faded now with the reminder that we're both part of a scam.

"I don't know, why would you?" He asks with a charming grin that really is the money maker. It doesn't do much to diffuse anything like he might hope.

Despite that I keep up the amused and interested glint I must have in my eye. I am amused and I am interested, but only because of what he is implying.

"What did you think of me exactly?" I ask, glancing away just to place my coffee down. "That I was the type of girl to trick my father by convincing him to marry me into one of the richest companies in the world? Because I have literally no interest in Perich Inc., or Wayne Enterprises for that matter."