Guardian Angel - NC17 - Chloe/Bruce - Chapter Six
Title: Guardian Angel
Category: Smallville/Batman Crossover
Rating: NC17
Genre: Romance/Humor/Drama
Pairing: Chloe/Bruce Wayne
Word Count: 2,726
Summary: Her guardian angel was a dark man with a fetish for rodents. Figures.
Previous: Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four, Chapter Five,
dhfreak
VI.
"Oh. My. God!"
"What?" Chloe asked, brows furrowing.
"I just brought his picture up on my computer," Lois said before whistling. "You danced with him?"
Chloe rolled her eyes, grinning. "Yes and it was nothing, really. Just a... sandwich deal."
"Yeah, right." She scoffed. "If I knew a man like him lived there, I would've moved over too!"
"Lois!" She chuckled, shaking her head.
"Don't tell me you don't find him attractive? He's a Greek God, Chloe. I mean seriously, he's- Okay, Smallville, why are you staring over my shoulder like that? Personal space, much?"
"Is that Chloe?" he asked, ignoring her protesting.
"Yes," she muttered.
"Who's Bruce Wayne?" he wondered.
"Her newest hottie, now go away. Don't you have something better to do?"
He sighed. "Let me talk to her."
"No! This is cousin time! You can talk to her later!"
"Uh, Lois?" Chloe asked.
"Hey! Hands off the goods, Smallville. You have your own phone!"
"Yeah and Chloe's not on it. Come on, Lois. I just want to say hi."
"Say it from there, she's got ears!"
"Loooooiiiiiissss!" Chloe called, rolling her eyes.
"Why do have to be so stubborn?" Clark sighed.
"Why do you think you should get dibs on her? She called me, so it's my time!"
"Fine. Just tell her to call me when you're done ogling porn at work."
"Porn? This is not porn, Smallville! Once again, you prove your lack of sex life!"
"Oh my... LOIS!" she shouted.
"Oh, sorry, what?"
"I have to go."
"What? But we've barely talked..." she whined.
"I know, but I have to get to work and I'm already late. I'll call you tonight. Tell Clark the same."
"Fine. Later, cuz."
"Bye."
She pocketed her cell and hurried her footsteps as she approached the Gotham Gazette building. She really hoped her editor hadn't noticed. After retrieving a cup of coffee and starting up her laptop, she heard the loud shout reverberate through the floor. Had he never heard of a phone?
"SULLIVAN!"
Rolling her eyes, she rose from her desk and crossed the hall to his office. He waved his hand for her to close the door and take a seat. Crossing her legs as she uncomfortably wiggled to and fro in the chair adjacent to him, she waited patiently.
"You got my fluff piece?"
"Typed and ready."
"Good," he said, nodding as he sat back. "Now I know it's not your usual..."
She snorted. "Really, I'd rather never do it again."
He grinned. "That's why I like you, Sullivan. You want the real story."
She smiled.
"Which, unfortunately, isn't going to just slide across your desk with a type me post it. So, for now, I'm gonna have to put you on less exciting detail."
"Sir?" She lifted a brow.
"I got an interesting call this morning," he told her. "Someone requesting an interview from my newest reporter."
Her shoulders slumped. No. Way.
"Bruce Wayne wants you to be the one to write an exclusive on him. Nobody else. This is good, Sullivan. It might not be Pulitzer good, but get your name out there, at least."
She sighed. "I really don't think-"
He held up a large hand to stop her. "Now wait, I know what you're gonna say. You don't do puff pieces. I get it. But this guy is incredibly hard to pin down for an interview and now he's offering himself up on a silver platter." He lifted a bushy eyebrow at her for emphasis. "So I dunno what you did or said, but you gotta do this. It'll get our sales sky rocketing. You want a new chair for you office? This is how you get it."
She sighed. "I want a new chair for your office too," she muttered, shifting her back around.
"Yeah, yeah," he grunted. "Will you do it or do I gotta convince this guy Julie can do it?"
She chewed her lip, rolling her eyes upward. "Fine. But this is the only time I do anything like this again."
He grinned. "You're a godsend Sullivan. Now get outta here and back to work. You gotta be at Wayne Manor tomorrow morning, bright and early. Try to keep the mouthy girl I know on a leash too, huh?"
She smirked, turning and leaving the office.
"Where's the goddamn copy boy at?" she heard him bark behind her.
Rolling her eyes, Chloe returned to her office, taking a seat and hoping to get a little more research done. But her mind kept wandering to a certain handsome billionaire... What was he up to?
Ooo
Standing in front of Wayne Manor the next morning made her slightly intimidated. The newly rebuilt house was incredible; the architecture acutely fit the dark nature of Gotham itself, standing in all its gothic glory. It was stunning and for a moment, she wanted nothing more than to sit there and just take it all in. She'd rather write about the house than Bruce Wayne, but, she sighed, her job was not taking in the sights, beautiful as they may be. She lifted a hand and knocked on the giant door in front of her. How anybody would hear someone knocking at the front door, she didn't know. The loud echo, most likely.
The door opened suddenly and before her stood an older man with white hair and eyes that looked as though they'd seen it all. "You must be Miss Sullivan," he greeted.
She held a hand out. "Alfred Pennyworth, I presume?"
She'd done her homework.
He nodded, taking her hand. "Master Wayne should be in soon. He had some... business to take care of. Would you like to join me for a cup of tea while we wait?"
She smiled. "I'd like that."
There was something about him; he rather reminded her of her dad or maybe her grandfather but at the same time, he wasn't quite as old and harmless as he seemed.
When the door closed behind her, she was given the opportunity to gaze at the beautiful inside of the house she so admired. It was even more attractive than the exterior. Hard wood and dark walls, paintings and pictures hung all over and huge staircases took up whole walls.
She followed Alfred to the sun room, as he called it, where tea was already out and waiting. She took a seat across from him and her eyes couldn't seem to stop roaming the expansive house.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" he asked, pouring their drinks.
"Gorgeous," she agreed.
"It's an exact replica of the original," he informed her. "Master Wayne wouldn't allow the slightest of modifications."
"Why would he?" She shook her head. "Why modernize perfection?"
He smiled. "Very true." He lifted the sugar bowl. "One lump or two?"
"Two please." She smiled. "I kind of feel like a little girl having a tea party. I'm mostly a coffee girl."
"Ah, well, it's a refreshing change then."
She nodded. His British accent was oddly comforting. "So you've worked for the Wayne family all of Bruce's life, is that right?"
"Yes. I knew his parents quite well." He nodded, stirring his own tea. "Mr. Wayne mentioned you recently moved here to Gotham."
"From Metropolis," she said, nodding. "The Daily Planet was always my dream job as a child, but..." She lifted a shoulder. "Apparently my dreams and my cousin's dreams were one in the same and they worked out better for her there." She smiled. "Gotham called and I answered."
"And how are you liking it so far?"
"When I'm not being mugged, it's nice." She grinned wryly.
"Mugged?" His brows rose but she got the feeling he wasn't the least bit surprised.
"Yes. More times than I can count." She shrugged. "It's not all that surprising any more. I'm a danger magnet." She shook her head. "And I seem to have a guardian angel watching over, whether he wants to or not."
His lips quirked and then fell so quickly, she wondered if she'd imagined it. "Guardian angel, you say?"
Her eyes widened, she hadn't meant to say that aloud. "Oh, it's... stupid, really. I've just... Had a few encounters with Gotham's Batman."
"Really?" His gaze fell to his tea as if he were mulling something over. "Some call him a menace... You say he was there to... watch over you?"
"Save me is more like it." She waved a hand. "Like trouble, I also seem to attract heroes. Just my luck." She tipped her head, taking a sip of the tea, smiling as it warmed her throat. "I forgot how delicious tea could be."
"Yes, we often get wrapped up in more modern alterations. I couldn't tell a Latte from a Cappuccino, I'm sure."
She laughed. "I'll have to introduce you to the magic that is coffee and its many forms."
He smiled. "I'd like that, Miss Sullivan."
"Chloe, please," she said. "So, until Mr. Wayne gets here, why don't you tell me about you and what it must've been like growing up in this incredible house..."
"I was quite grown when I arrived and my most fond memories are more with the family than the manor," he said, nodding. "The Wayne's were a very inviting and loving couple." He turned his eyes away, staring out fondly. "I believe more than anyone else, they and Master Bruce are my true family."
She leaned forward, smiling. "Sounds lovely."
"It was." He nodded. "You know... When Master Bruce was a young boy, he used to be so very excitable." He smiled. "In fact, he used to sit right where you are and drink tea with me. He'd ask me all about the wonders of the world, so curious he was... He took two sugars, but he'd sneak more when he thought I wasn't looking."
She grinned, chuckling.
For the next two hours, she was regaled with his life story and various stories involving a young Bruce Wayne, who didn't seem much like the man she'd read about or even met. Alfred's Bruce was a boy who saw the world as a giant rubric's cube, just waiting to be solved and explored. He was innocent and sweet with a natural child's mischief. But the Bruce she'd read so much about was an arrogant man who loved excess and women; shown often as a billionaire playboy. She was reminded briefly of Oliver and how he wasn't what he appeared either. The man she met was different from the public's Bruce and Alfred's. He was darker, more sensual and had a look in his eye like cunning knowledge of things most didn't understand. She wondered when she started thinking of Bruce Wayne so much.
"Well, it appears Master Wayne's business has gone on longer than anyone expected," Alfred said, frowning.
She nodded, not that she was really all that put out. She enjoyed her morning with Alfred; it was the first day since arriving in Gotham where she felt a kinship with someone. All her friends were back in Metropolis and Smallville and the closest she had was a brooding bat.
"I was rather surprised he told me you were coming..."
She glanced over at him. "So was my editor. I guess Mr. Wayne doesn't like interviews."
He nodded. "To put it lightly." He poured himself a little more tea. "Rarely is there a reporter here who isn't looking for scandal or trying to land him for herself. Greed motivates many." He frowned.
"I probably want to be here interviewing him less than he wants to be interviewed." She smiled slightly. "And trust me, the last thing I'm here for is a billionaire husband. I'll ask the basics and be out of here just as quick as I can."
He stared at her a moment before nodding. "Yes, I think you will."
For a long moment, they simply stared at each other and she felt as if she was on trial, as if he was reading every little thing she'd ever done wrong and deciding for himself what kind of person she was, to see if she was worthy. Of what, she wasn't sure, but there was something about his intense gaze that vaguely reminded her of her Uncle Sam and how he used to shoot her a long, penetrating look when she did something wrong and it'd all come pouring out, every secret and bad deed until he was satisfied that she was no longer hiding anything from him. That changed by the time she was a teenager; then she started knowing things that were too important for her to spill. But now she felt her throat tighten as if she should share everything she knew with Alfred, good and bad. She kept her lips tight however; she wasn't about to say anything incriminating about anyone. Ever. She was the secret keeper of too many heroes to start blabbing now.
"Would you say you were a trustworthy person, Miss Chloe?" he wondered.
She pursed her lips for a moment. "Yes, I would." She nodded. "But I have a feeling you wouldn't take my word on it, Alfred. Some things need to be proved rather than simply accepted by word of mouth."
He ducked his head agreeably. "What really motivates you here in Gotham? Why leave Metropolis for the complete opposite." He tipped his head to side. "You said yourself the Daily Planet was your dream and it's obvious you're a vibrant woman... So why move over here, to a place filled with corruption and darkness?" He stared at her intensely, desiring honesty.
She paused, taking in the question and then lowered her teacup to its china plate. "First, let me tell you that Metropolis isn't all rainbows and lollipops." She shook her head. "There was darkness there too, maybe not to this caliber, or at least not so much in the open, but it wasn't as good and safe as it might've seemed." She leaned back in her chair. "Secondly, I left Metropolis for a few reasons. One was that I felt I was being underappreciated, that I wasn't making the difference that I strived to make. The Gazette kept calling, they wanted me and my drive, so I finally took up their offer and I'll freely admit that it was a bit more than I ever expected but..." She looked up, brow furrowed. "I don't know what it is about Gotham, it just makes you feel like it's worth saving... and I want to help do that."
Alfred nodded. "Well," he said, "I believe you will."
Chloe grinned. "Thank you." She lifted her tea to her mouth before spotting the time. "Has it really been that long?"
He looked to the clock. "It appears it has."
She sighed, standing from the chair. "I'm really sorry, Alfred. But I need to get back to the Gazette. I have an article that needs to be done today and I've hardly started."
He stood with her, nodding. "Of course. I'll walk you out."
They walked through the halls once more with Alfred pointing out random places. "That's where Mrs. Wayne's prized vase used to sit... Until Master Wayne knocked it over playing hide and seek one afternoon." She smiled, watching his face light up as he shared memories. "And right there is where Mr. Wayne used to stand and wait for his son to come down and greet him after work." He sighed. "He'd come running down the stairs and jump right into his father's arms."
She touched his shoulder to comfort him and he gave her a small smile. Just as they were about to reach the front door, it opened, and in walked Bruce Wayne. His eyes widened as they fell on her.
"The interview was today?" Bruce asked, brows furrowing. "I'm sorry. I completely forgot."
"Given the two and a half hours you're late, I assumed that." She waved off another apology. "It's fine. Alfred was more than hospitable." Turning, she shook Alfred's hand, pecking his cheek in farewell. "We should get together again soon. I still have to introduce you to coffee!" She grinned before turning to Bruce. "Maybe we can set up another interview when you're less forgetful." She smiled cheekily. "Nice seeing you again Mr. Wayne." She left without a handshake.
Hopefully, that was that. Whatever he wanted from her, he could forget about it.
[ Next: Chapter Seven.]