"You cannot hinder someone's free will, that's the first law of the Universe, no matter what the decision."- E.A. Bucchianeri, Brushstrokes of a Gadfly
•••
Pulling in a deep breath, Bird reached out and pressed the doorbell button.
Leaning forward she listened for the chime; but there was silence.
"Damn thing." She muttered under her breath.
Even after all the money they'd spent to have the old brownstone restored and brought up to code; there were still things that didn't work properly in the old house.
The doorbell just happened to be one of those.
With another breath of the crisp morning air pulled in between her teeth, Bird raised her hand and knocked loudly on the door.
"Starling?" Harvey had an unsure expression on his face when he saw who was knocking at his door so early in the morning.
"Doorbell went out again, huh?" She questioned.
With a slow nod he answered, "It works half the time."
"What are you doing here?" He questioned.
"May I come in?"
Stepping to the side, he motioned for her to come in from the cold weather. Once she was inside the house, he asked, "Come to threaten me again?"
"Really?" Her eyebrows raised, "I wasn't threatening you, Harvey. Plus, you started it. You threatened to tell GCPD about my involvement in Fat Lenny's crew being wiped out. I simply pointed out that it wouldn't be the smart choice to make considering the repercussions would affect you as well."
"How mafia-esque you are in your reasoning." Harvey cocked his head to the side before questioning, "Or are you still pretending that's not a part of your life anymore?"
Bird let out a small laugh.
Quiet; but unhinged enough to make his posture stiffen.
He never knew what to expect with her; it used to be something that drew him to her.
Not it just made it feel like the floor he was standing on was rigged with a trap door.
"I'm not here to fight with you." Bird insisted, "I just came by to pick up a few of my things I left here."
"This early in the morning?" He asked. Still seeming suspicious of her motives.
"I have a day job too now, remember?" She pointed out, "Plus, I'm meeting a friend for breakfast."
"Let me guess..." He pretended to really give it some thought before asking, "Our esteemed new Mayor?"
"Is my stuff still here or not?"
"Third floor." He called over his shoulder as he headed for the kitchen to start a pot of coffee.
Bird lingered in the entryway a little longer. Peeking into the living room to see how different the interior of the house looked before making her way up the stairs.
To her surprise the house didn't look all that different from how she remembered it. It even smelled the same.
She wasn't sure what she expected; nothing too drastic, but she'd still expected it to look different.
She stopped off at the second floor, looking through the open doors of the room as she crossed through the hallway.
That was something they'd never agreed on. She wanted to keep door shut and he preferred them open.
She saw he'd turned one of the spare rooms into a home office in her absence.
In fact, it was the very room the real estate agent had pointed out with a bright smile would make a great nursery.
YOU ARE READING
Devil's Playground • Gotham Fanfiction •
Fanfiction"Sometimes you have to just sit back and watch people destroy themselves." Bird's own words after watching her biological mother die. Little did she know that apparently it was something she'd inherited. Maybe that's just part of the madness of life...
