Gods & Monsters | Bruce Wayne

FIFTY EIGHT - THIRD TIME LUCKY

"I've been calling you for an hour Rachel, why haven't you- what the fuck?"

Harvey stormed out of the elevator straight into Bruce's apartment after not hearing from his girlfriend all night. She'd told him she had to abandon their dinner plans to tend to her friend last minute but after hearing nothing from her for the remainder of the evening, Harvey had started to panic.

And so while his stomach was turning with apprehensive and uncomfortable thoughts, walking in and finding Rachel stitching up a cut on Bruce's forearm while a black suit that looked remarkably like the Batman's was tossed on the floor was the last thing Harvey thought he'd find.

Bruce and Rachel both froze when their privacy was gatecrashed, neither of them knowing what to say now that Harvey had uncovered a secret they couldn't possibly recover. Bruce had fresh blood staining his skin and a split lip, his white t-shirt covered in dark red though heavy bruises could be seen through the thin cotton. His hair was damp and slicked back with sweat and rain and his knuckles were busted and bloody, tiredness haunting his dark eyes and dragging grey circles down his face.

"Harvey, don't freak out but-"

"It was you?" He interrupted Rachel's feeble attempt at handling the situation, frozen to the spot with his eyes wide and lips parted in shock, staring right at Bruce.

Rachel pulled the last stitch tight and closed the seeping wound shut on Bruce's forearm, tossing the needle and bloody gauze into the trash before washing her hands. Bruce stayed stood idly in the kitchen beneath a bright light, exhausted from a night of chasing after Bane and getting no closer than he'd done before.

Bruce said nothing, nodding once without finding the strength to say anything in response. Harvey's reaction was identical to Carla's and despite Bruce doing everything he could to not spend all of his time thinking about her, somehow, every little thing ended up reminding him of the woman he loved.

"And you," Harvey turned his gaze to Rachel with betrayal in his eyes, "You knew this whole time?"

Rachel inhaled calmly and kept herself poised, walking back over to Bruce's side, "It wasn't my secret to tell."

Harvey scoffed and shook his head, exhaling heavily and resting his hands on his hips as he collected his spiralling thoughts and tried to make sense of the truth he'd just stumbled upon.

He'd never once thought that Bruce Wayne could have been the Dark Knight and while that revelation would puzzle him till the end of time, what irritated him more was the fact that his own girlfriend had kept him in the dark about it.

"A-and Carla? Does Carla know?"

Rachel kept quiet, looking solemnly down at her feet while Bruce hauled a painful breath into his lungs, nodding once again.

"Yeah, I had to tell her."

Harvey choked out a scornful laugh and his eyes melted with anger, "So it was just me walking around like some clueless fool, huh?"

"It's not like that, Harvey."

"It's not?" He snapped at Rachel, "Then what is it like? How could you lie to my face this whole time? Him," Harvey pointed at Bruce, "Him I can understand being a coward and a liar but you? How could you, Rachel?"

"Don't talk to her like that," Bruce stepped in, walking a few paces forward ahead of his friend, "This isn't Rachel's fault, I asked her to keep my secret. Don't blame her."

"Oh I'm not blaming her," Harvey glared at Bruce and felt his blood start to boil beneath his skin, "I'm blaming you. I never really liked you all that much but now...now I know that this is what you broke Carla's heart over, I was right to never like you."