Giving into you (Bruce Wayne/Batman - Robert Pattinson)

Chapter Twenty-Two

It had been a week since I had told myself that I would ask Bruce on a date. I knew we needed to have a chat about our future and where we stood right now, but lately it had been so difficult to get a conversation out of him. He had found a new lead with the Mr Nashton situation and was constantly working.

Currently I sat in the gardens with a cup of coffee and was just casually staring out into the open. The fresh air relaxed me and allowed me to think clearly. Is this really what I wanted? Do I want to do this again? Could I risk it? There were so many questions. Honestly, I thought Bruce was worth the fight, but I needed to make clear boundaries with him. We couldn't build a life together if he was working all of the time, and he needed to help with the business because it was unfair to Alfred to pick all of the pieces up. I was debating what I could do with Bruce for a date and how I'd even ask him. It's not something I had ever done before and the thought made me nervous.

Our favourite Italian restaurant wasn't far and we used to visit regularly, so I was hoping he'd be up for that. We had a lot of good memories there so I knew it would bring up a lot of conversation, and it was somewhere we could have privacy because the owners respected us and always ensured we were sat somewhere private. The last thing we wanted was to be hounded by the paparazzi. They'd only want to get a headline from it. It was settled. I would ask him to go for dinner there.

It started to rain, but luckily I was under shelter. I quite enjoyed watching the raindrops fall and so I continued to sit. As I did, I noticed Dory walking by. She was holding an umbrella and appeared to be leaving. I had never even seen her come in.

"Dory," I called pushing myself up from the chair and heading over to her. Her smile widened when she saw me.

"Isabella, it's so lovely to see you," she said giving me a gentle embrace. I didn't see Dory very often and that's because she wasn't around as much. Occasionally she would pop by, but that was mostly to see Alfred as the two were great friends. Dory had always been good to the family and worked as a housekeeper for the Wayne's for a long time, however Bruce let her go, ensuring that she had enough money to live off. He insisted she enjoyed her life and that she deserved the break because of everything she had done, and I respected that massively. It didn't stop her, however, from coming around and getting jobs done when she could to help.

"It's lovely to see you too. I hope you've not come by to do housework."

"No dear, I just stopped by to have some tea with Alfred. I'm happy to see that you're back here," she placed her hand softly on my arm. "It's exactly where you belong. Bruce was a mess when you weren't here, but I'm so glad you're back and together again."

"Oh, well we're not exactly together again," I said despite how strange it felt coming out of my mouth. Her smile faded and she suddenly seemed concerned.

"Why not?"

"We're just taking things steady at the moment."

"I understand you were hurt and of course I was on your side. Bruce was in the wrong, but you know he loves you. You're his entire world." It was always nice to hear such comments, and I knew it was all true, but I still had to be careful. I didn't want to be hurt again even if Bruce was my entire world too.

"I'm going to try and make things work," I confirmed. "I hope we can."

"I know you can. You are made for each other."

Around Dory I had this incredible warmth which was similar to the one I felt around Alfred. It was comforting and peaceful. You never had to have your guard up. We spoke for a little while longer until she finally had to go, but she said I'd see her again soon and I really hoped that she meant it. Dory might not have known everything between us and she might not know me on a deep personal level but there was definitely a love between us and I did treat her like family. It's not like my family was the best.

When it started to get cold I went back inside and decided to look for Bruce. I needed to ask him on a date and I needed to do it now before I lost the confidence to do so. I guessed exactly where he'd be and I guessed right. As I walked into the bat cave a lot of memories were coming back to me and I took deep breaths trying to hold myself together.

"Bruce?" I called, and when I reached the bottom of the steps, he suddenly appeared in front of me with a small smile on his face.

"Isabella, what's wrong? Are you okay?" He asked quickly placing a comforting hand onto my arm.

"Yes Bruce, don't worry. Everything is fine. I just wanted to see you."

He seemed shocked and he dropped his hand stepping back a little. "Oh, well I'm just working on something. Do you want to see what I've found?"

As much as I loved to show interest I tried to stay clear of his Bat work as much as possible. It was best me not knowing most of the time. "It's probably best I don't."

"That's okay. What have you been up to today?" He asked and I was surprised by how much conversation he was making despite me interrupting his work.

"Nothing much. Just been sat around really." There was silence for a minute, until I finally got the courage to try and take the next step. "I missed you."

It was as if the words had hit him like a tonne of bricks. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He started to stutter and it sounded like he was trying to apologise, but that's not what I wanted. I laughed a little, stepping towards him and I placed my hands into his. "Do you want to go out tomorrow night?"

"Out? Like a date?" He mumbled.

"Well it doesn't have to be a date if you don't want it to be."

He immediately started shaking his head. "No. I want it to be. I'd really like that."

"Well, we can go out for dinner. I can be ready for seven."

"Perfect."

We both had huge smiles on our faces and before anything else could happen, I pulled away from him and made my way back towards the stairs up to the manor telling him I'd leave him to get on with his work.

"Isabella," he called just as I went to take the first step away. I froze and looked back at him. "Can I ask why you decided to ask?"

I didn't mind his question because he was absolutely right to ask. He knew me and he knew I never asked things like that. I was always too shy and previously it had just always been a given we'd go out together.

"Honestly, I just really want to get back to where we were."

That is what I really wanted. I wanted him and all the love he had to give. I'd be fooling myself if I said otherwise.

"Me too," he agreed and we held our intimate stare for what felt like forever before I finally dropped my gaze and made me way back into the manor.

With every step I took I was praying that tomorrow night went perfectly.

To be continued...
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Hey all, I'm so sorry it's took me this long to update. I've had such a nightmare at work with so much on and I've barely had any free time to myself.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Some big chapters coming up and I'm writing those at the moment so hopefully shouldn't be long before next update. Does anyone have any thoughts? Is it going to turn out well?

Much love to all! Thanks for being so kind and patient! :)