(no subject)
Title: Betty and the Bat (Ficlet #6)
Fandom: Batman Begins/Ugly Betty
Characters/Pairing: Betty Suarez, Bruce Wayne, Hilda Suarez, and, Alfred Pennyworth
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,372
Summary: Two separate conversations.
Notes: This is the fourth part in a rather unusual crossover which takes place after Season one of Ugly Betty and the end of Batman Begins; it's AU from there.
So I'm hoping to have the next part of this up mid-week. The next part is the Big Reveal and this one is a bit shorter, because the Reveal is a tad longer than usual. It's written and everything, but I have to finish up the next part before I can post it ;-)
• Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.
"You complain too much, Betty," Hilda said, waving her hand in the air and wrinkling her nose at her sister. Both actions caused the two spa workers surrounding her to jump back and then glare at her for interrupting their work. The paint on her nails smudged, rendering at least twenty minutes of work completely useless.
"I wasn't complaining," Betty protested. She winced. "Ow!"
"There you go again. Calm down, you're just getting your eyebrows done."
"Yeah, well, it hurts. And it wasn't a complaint. It was an exclamation of pain." And she wasn't complaining now either. Just pouting slightly, and screwing up her face in a way that made the green paste spread above her lower lip and her entire face hit the tip of her nose. She couldn't help when the ticking of the feeling made her sneeze and once again duck her head away from the woman attempting to pluck her eyebrows. The people in this place were never going to let them in again.
Betty reached around blindly for a tissue. They'd made her remove her glasses nearly thirty minutes ago, yet her eyes hadn't entirely adjusted. "And I wasn't complaining before, either. Just stating a fact."
"'My job's not exciting enough'," Hilda mocked in a high pitched voice which sounded nothing like hers, Betty thought.
"That is not what I said," Betty defended herself. "I said it's just… not as busy."
--
"Tell me, sir, does the clown have the same affinity for boxing gloves that your Arrow friend does?" Alfred asked in his usual subdued tone as he examined a newly formed bruise on his employer's face.
"I wouldn't call him a friend," Bruce muttered, neatly sidestepping Alfred's bandage and gauze toting fingers and walking towards the Cave's main computer. "They weren't boxing gloves. Harley Quinn's taken a liking to giant mallets."
--
"You complained about Daniel, you complain about Bruce." Hilda rolled her eyes as she shook her head. "You're the only person I know who could be working for Bruce Wayne and have something to complain about."
"I wasn't complaining," Betty said again. "I never complained about Daniel either… well, not much. Not after the first month. It was more about Wilhelmina. And… and Amanda. And Marc. And… okay, everyone else besides Daniel and Christina, but that's not the point. I wasn't complaining this time. I was just saying that compared to Mode, Wayne Tech just isn't as fast paced. There's a lot of downtime while Bruce is in meetings and stuff, because… I don't know, he's pretty capable of taking care of himself. Which is a good thing, and that's why I'm not complaining. He's thirty-five, he shouldn't need me to clean up after him. Not that Daniel needed me to clean up after him…"
Hilda gave her a look that clearly showed a level or two of disbelief. "Uh huh," she said with small smirk. "You miss Mode."
"Of course I miss Mode. It was my first real job and it did end kind of… suddenly. Daniel was the one who gave Bruce my resume; I was going to stay until he got better." Betty looked down at the new red nail polish on her fingers. It looked horribly uncharacteristic, but then, things normally did when she humoured her sister like this.
"You miss Daniel," Hilda teased softly.
"Not like that," Betty shot back immediately, her face turning bright red underneath the mask. "I don't miss running around after him at least. That's what I meant… it's not as busy, but it's a good change. I'd rather do Bruce's makeup than buy underwear for Daniel's model girlfriends, as much as I love him."
--
"Giant mallets indeed, sir," Alfred said dryly, handing Bruce a cold compress and pushing him down onto the medical table with a firm hand. An even firmer look was needed to keep him seated there as Alfred stepped back a moment to retrieve other supplies from the cave's ample medical supply. "I would advise you try avoiding those in the future."
Bruce raised his eyebrow as much as he could with the side of his face being as swollen as it was. "I didn't walk into it." Alfred muttered something underneath his breath, though Bruce chose not to try and decipher it, figuring they would both be better off if he didn't.
"How do you plan on explaining this one away?" Handing the younger man a bandage for his shoulder, Alfred very nearly clucked his tongue. "From what you've said the girl is rather observant. If you don't mind me saying, sir, I do believe when you hired her, the point was to eventually divulge your, ahem, nightly activities."
"Soon, Alfred."
"Of course, sir."
--
"'Least you're getting paid." Hilda reached over and patted the top of her sister's hand in a mock sympathetic manner. "Don't complain while he's handing you a check. It's a good rule to live by. And don't complain while you're getting paid to do nothing."
"It's not nothing."
"Make up your mind?" She took her hand from Betty's, giving it back to the slightly annoyed looking nail technician. She gave Betty a questioning look. "You like the job, right?"
Betty grinned. "I like my desk. And my new pen cup. Oh, and the coffee maker with the espresso thingie on it. And my office. And the post-it notes." She really did like the post-it notes.
--
"You have breakfast with the trustees in the morning," Alfred reminded him as he helped wrap the newly dislocated shoulder. He clipped the bandage into place before placing ice atop it. "It was just added to the schedule."
"When?" Bruce jumped down from the bed; all the old butler could do was wince and shake his head. He held the ice to his shoulder as he made his way over to the large computer in the center of the Cave.
"Miss. Suarez," Alfred said, pulling a thin day planner from almost out of nowhere and opening it in his hands. It bloomed in colour in a flurry of pink, blue, and lime green post-it notes sticking out from various dates and pages. Bruce could vaguely make out Betty's loopy handwriting on several of them. "Left these for you. They're the appointments she made after you left early this afternoon."
Frowning slightly, Bruce turned back towards the computer. "I didn't leave that early."
"Regardless, a number of appointments were added to the schedule after you left the office." Alfred walked over to the computer, laying the folder down next to Bruce. He adjusted the icepack on his shoulder. "Appointments which I am sure would not have been made for such an early hour if she'd known that you would be out all night receiving a… mallet to the face. I do think, sir, informing Miss. Suarez would be prudent."
--
"Maybe it's like one of those pyramid things." Hilda made a triangular shape with her hands. "More you do, the more things you'll get to do. The less boring it'll get."
"My job is not a pyramid scheme." Betty rolled her eyes. "But you're right. I've only been there a few months. Maybe I'm being impatient."
"You're good at what you do, Betty. I really don't think you have anything to worry about." This time Hilda actually did sound sincere and completely serious in her words. She smiled at Betty before actually sitting still and letting the people around her get on with their work.
--
"Maybe it's… noticeable," Bruce admitted. The light in the manor proper was better than the light down in the cave and the giant bruise around his eye was certainly apparent. The swelling would have gone down slightly by morning and perhaps it could be covered, but he suspected that Betty would still catch glimpse. He, personally, wanted to avoid another cosmetic session taking place in his office.
"Indeed, sir," the slightly sarcastic tone touched Alfred's voice again. "Shall I make arrangements for a dinner for you and Miss Suarez here at the manor? Perhaps something casual in order to break the news?"
Turning from the mirror Bruce nodded towards Alfred before making his way to the stairs. "That would probably be best."
Fandom: Batman Begins/Ugly Betty
Characters/Pairing: Betty Suarez, Bruce Wayne, Hilda Suarez, and, Alfred Pennyworth
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,372
Summary: Two separate conversations.
Notes: This is the fourth part in a rather unusual crossover which takes place after Season one of Ugly Betty and the end of Batman Begins; it's AU from there.
So I'm hoping to have the next part of this up mid-week. The next part is the Big Reveal and this one is a bit shorter, because the Reveal is a tad longer than usual. It's written and everything, but I have to finish up the next part before I can post it ;-)
• Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.
"You complain too much, Betty," Hilda said, waving her hand in the air and wrinkling her nose at her sister. Both actions caused the two spa workers surrounding her to jump back and then glare at her for interrupting their work. The paint on her nails smudged, rendering at least twenty minutes of work completely useless.
"I wasn't complaining," Betty protested. She winced. "Ow!"
"There you go again. Calm down, you're just getting your eyebrows done."
"Yeah, well, it hurts. And it wasn't a complaint. It was an exclamation of pain." And she wasn't complaining now either. Just pouting slightly, and screwing up her face in a way that made the green paste spread above her lower lip and her entire face hit the tip of her nose. She couldn't help when the ticking of the feeling made her sneeze and once again duck her head away from the woman attempting to pluck her eyebrows. The people in this place were never going to let them in again.
Betty reached around blindly for a tissue. They'd made her remove her glasses nearly thirty minutes ago, yet her eyes hadn't entirely adjusted. "And I wasn't complaining before, either. Just stating a fact."
"'My job's not exciting enough'," Hilda mocked in a high pitched voice which sounded nothing like hers, Betty thought.
"That is not what I said," Betty defended herself. "I said it's just… not as busy."
--
"Tell me, sir, does the clown have the same affinity for boxing gloves that your Arrow friend does?" Alfred asked in his usual subdued tone as he examined a newly formed bruise on his employer's face.
"I wouldn't call him a friend," Bruce muttered, neatly sidestepping Alfred's bandage and gauze toting fingers and walking towards the Cave's main computer. "They weren't boxing gloves. Harley Quinn's taken a liking to giant mallets."
--
"You complained about Daniel, you complain about Bruce." Hilda rolled her eyes as she shook her head. "You're the only person I know who could be working for Bruce Wayne and have something to complain about."
"I wasn't complaining," Betty said again. "I never complained about Daniel either… well, not much. Not after the first month. It was more about Wilhelmina. And… and Amanda. And Marc. And… okay, everyone else besides Daniel and Christina, but that's not the point. I wasn't complaining this time. I was just saying that compared to Mode, Wayne Tech just isn't as fast paced. There's a lot of downtime while Bruce is in meetings and stuff, because… I don't know, he's pretty capable of taking care of himself. Which is a good thing, and that's why I'm not complaining. He's thirty-five, he shouldn't need me to clean up after him. Not that Daniel needed me to clean up after him…"
Hilda gave her a look that clearly showed a level or two of disbelief. "Uh huh," she said with small smirk. "You miss Mode."
"Of course I miss Mode. It was my first real job and it did end kind of… suddenly. Daniel was the one who gave Bruce my resume; I was going to stay until he got better." Betty looked down at the new red nail polish on her fingers. It looked horribly uncharacteristic, but then, things normally did when she humoured her sister like this.
"You miss Daniel," Hilda teased softly.
"Not like that," Betty shot back immediately, her face turning bright red underneath the mask. "I don't miss running around after him at least. That's what I meant… it's not as busy, but it's a good change. I'd rather do Bruce's makeup than buy underwear for Daniel's model girlfriends, as much as I love him."
--
"Giant mallets indeed, sir," Alfred said dryly, handing Bruce a cold compress and pushing him down onto the medical table with a firm hand. An even firmer look was needed to keep him seated there as Alfred stepped back a moment to retrieve other supplies from the cave's ample medical supply. "I would advise you try avoiding those in the future."
Bruce raised his eyebrow as much as he could with the side of his face being as swollen as it was. "I didn't walk into it." Alfred muttered something underneath his breath, though Bruce chose not to try and decipher it, figuring they would both be better off if he didn't.
"How do you plan on explaining this one away?" Handing the younger man a bandage for his shoulder, Alfred very nearly clucked his tongue. "From what you've said the girl is rather observant. If you don't mind me saying, sir, I do believe when you hired her, the point was to eventually divulge your, ahem, nightly activities."
"Soon, Alfred."
"Of course, sir."
--
"'Least you're getting paid." Hilda reached over and patted the top of her sister's hand in a mock sympathetic manner. "Don't complain while he's handing you a check. It's a good rule to live by. And don't complain while you're getting paid to do nothing."
"It's not nothing."
"Make up your mind?" She took her hand from Betty's, giving it back to the slightly annoyed looking nail technician. She gave Betty a questioning look. "You like the job, right?"
Betty grinned. "I like my desk. And my new pen cup. Oh, and the coffee maker with the espresso thingie on it. And my office. And the post-it notes." She really did like the post-it notes.
--
"You have breakfast with the trustees in the morning," Alfred reminded him as he helped wrap the newly dislocated shoulder. He clipped the bandage into place before placing ice atop it. "It was just added to the schedule."
"When?" Bruce jumped down from the bed; all the old butler could do was wince and shake his head. He held the ice to his shoulder as he made his way over to the large computer in the center of the Cave.
"Miss. Suarez," Alfred said, pulling a thin day planner from almost out of nowhere and opening it in his hands. It bloomed in colour in a flurry of pink, blue, and lime green post-it notes sticking out from various dates and pages. Bruce could vaguely make out Betty's loopy handwriting on several of them. "Left these for you. They're the appointments she made after you left early this afternoon."
Frowning slightly, Bruce turned back towards the computer. "I didn't leave that early."
"Regardless, a number of appointments were added to the schedule after you left the office." Alfred walked over to the computer, laying the folder down next to Bruce. He adjusted the icepack on his shoulder. "Appointments which I am sure would not have been made for such an early hour if she'd known that you would be out all night receiving a… mallet to the face. I do think, sir, informing Miss. Suarez would be prudent."
--
"Maybe it's like one of those pyramid things." Hilda made a triangular shape with her hands. "More you do, the more things you'll get to do. The less boring it'll get."
"My job is not a pyramid scheme." Betty rolled her eyes. "But you're right. I've only been there a few months. Maybe I'm being impatient."
"You're good at what you do, Betty. I really don't think you have anything to worry about." This time Hilda actually did sound sincere and completely serious in her words. She smiled at Betty before actually sitting still and letting the people around her get on with their work.
--
"Maybe it's… noticeable," Bruce admitted. The light in the manor proper was better than the light down in the cave and the giant bruise around his eye was certainly apparent. The swelling would have gone down slightly by morning and perhaps it could be covered, but he suspected that Betty would still catch glimpse. He, personally, wanted to avoid another cosmetic session taking place in his office.
"Indeed, sir," the slightly sarcastic tone touched Alfred's voice again. "Shall I make arrangements for a dinner for you and Miss Suarez here at the manor? Perhaps something casual in order to break the news?"
Turning from the mirror Bruce nodded towards Alfred before making his way to the stairs. "That would probably be best."