Gods & Monsters | Bruce Wayne

FIFTY FIVE - A DIFFERENT ANSWER

"Look what you've done to my dress! You've got your oily hand prints all over me, do you know how difficult this will be to get out? I can't believe you."

"Hey! You asked me to help, this is your fault!"

Carla pushed open the gate leading into the garden of her home without looking at her surroundings, walking backwards to keep a watchful eye on Cisco as he followed her with hands covered in grease and oil from the engine of her car, prints from his fingers staining the shoulder and waist of her linen dress.

"It is not my fault. Stay away from me before I kill you."

Cisco grinned and raised his hands, strands of black hair falling across his forehead from sweat and heat of the day, tanned arms exposed as he strolled after her in a black sleeveless t-shirt and denim shorts, eyes narrowed in the glare of the sun hanging by the mountains.

"A hug, farfalla, that's all I want. Come on."

"Stay away."

"Don't be like that. You know you- oh."

He stopped walking and lowered his hands to his side when two sets of footsteps emerged from the house onto the patio, Carla frowning at Cisco's attention falling away from her.

She furrowed her brows and sank her shoulders, wondering what could've possibly captured Francisco's eye. The breath in her lungs was snatched away from her in the short time it took for her question to be answered; a quick turn on her heels and a shiver running down her spine silencing the inside of her mind and the world around her in an instant.

Giulia wandered out into the golden sunshine with her hands clasped around Bruce's forearm, smiling brightly with sun kissed cheeks and a mischievous glint in her eye. Bruce on the other hand looked stricken with pale nerves, a whiteness washing over his face and a tension tightening his jaw, eyes set on Carla standing as close as she'd been to him in what had felt like forever.

"What's he doing here?" Cisco edged closer to Carla and lowered his voice, lips a short distance from her ear as he whispered to her.

Carla just swallowed, inhaling deeply with a slight shake of her head, "I have no idea."

Cisco glanced across the garden at Bruce and then back at his friend, noticing the stiffness in her posture and how still she'd gone all of a sudden. She appeared poised and confident but he knew her better than that, understanding that her shaky exhale meant her blue steel was nothing more than a convincing facade.

"I'll come back and fix the car tomorrow," he cleared his throat and raised a hand to wave at Giulia, smiling brightly before looking back down at Carla, "You alright?"

She didn't take her eyes away from Bruce, captivated by his face and the fact that after she'd dreamt of him every night since leaving Gotham, the man that had lived inside of her head was right in front of her.

"Fine," she mumbled, "Don't worry."

Cisco just nodded and slipped back out of the gate, locking it behind him. Carla didn't move, the gentle breeze pushing her dark hair back behind her narrow shoulders as she batted her lashes once, lips pulled into a straight line and head tilted up high, expression hiding any glimmer of real emotion.

Giulia mumbled something to Bruce, patting him on the shoulder before turning around and heading back inside. His lips curved into a gentle smile as he looked down at her, saying something in response that Carla couldn't hear before his legs strode forward and suddenly the gap between them was no longer an ocean or even a garden path, but a mere three feet.

"I'm sorry to just show up like this."

"Why are you here?"

Carla's lips moved faster than her mind could keep up with and she found herself spewing the words with haste that she never usually did. Far from the calm and collected nature that preserved her cool soul, her face felt hot and her heart raced, a sickness rising inside of her chest like a consuming feeling of something close to drowning.