Divination (Joker x Batman x OC)

Chapter 175

"How was your dinner?" Bruce asked Adriana when she returned home.

Adriana gave him a weak smile as she kicked off her shoes by the bed.

"We missed you," Adriana told him.

Bruce stood up from the small table in the bedroom and sat down his glass of scotch. He walked over to Adriana and wrapped his arms around her waist and looked into her eyes quietly.

"Do you think you will forgive him soon?" Adriana asked about Lucius.

"I honestly don't have an answer to that question yet," Bruce told her.

"Okay," Adriana said, accepting his words. 

She thought of the conversation that she had with Lucius earlier that evening. He told her that it would likely be the most peaceful and easy way to put the revelation behind them. Bruce knew about Arsenio, the Joker, and refused to believe anything other than Adriana had been assaulted. Trying to convince him otherwise would likely do more harm than good..at least in the short run. She still had no idea how Bruce has found out. But she hoped that eventually he would see the truth.

Bruce knew he could never tell her his truth. That she had died, and he ran into Damien Ricard after a business dinner in the city. Damien happened to mention how decent Bruce was for taking on the child of a monster. Damien would have no recollection of the interaction because Bruce had gone back in a time machine in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean to save her. The story was even sounding absurd to Bruce. He would have believed he had hallucinated the entire thing if it wasn't for Madame Twyla demanding money from him. He had paid over two billion dollars to the woman and still owed her more. Adriana had no idea the financial state that Bruce had put them in, but Bruce planned to earn back every penny and more. He was still wealthy, and Wayne Enterprises had not been touched. Yet.

"I think we should talk about this," Bruce said softly and touched her blue-black hair. She had straightened it before she went to dinner and it was silky and smooth. He felt the new style was growing on him.

Adriana swallowed.

"How long have you known?" she asked him.

"About a month," Bruce said.

"That's..." Adriana nodded. "That's what I thought."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"That's how long you've been acting differently."

"Have I?" he asked her. "How so?"

"You basically always wait for me to initiate sex," she said. "You would intiate it all the time before."

"That's not true," Bruce spoke before considering her words. As he retorted, he realized that she was right. 

"It is.." she said. "Maybe you don't want me the same way you did...before you knew."

"Adriana," Bruce said seriously. "Me finding out what that...monster did to you...it changes nothing. I suppose...I just want you to feel safe with me. "

"I already do," Adriana said. "It's seems like you're the one who doesn't feel safe anymore. It's like you're afraid to just...take me. You do see me differently. You see me as a victim."

Bruce was silent.

"Anyway," Adriana said, shrugging it off. "I'm going to go wash off this makeup."

Adriana left him and went into the bathroom and pulled out a few makeup wipes to clean her skin. When she was done, she took off her earrings and necklace and then cleaned her face with soap and water. She put moisturizer on her face and neck and was wiping the excess off her hands onto a towel when Bruce came into the bathroom.