sodaabaa - Tumblr blog

sodaabaa · 1 month

Text

silver eyes, part one

grayson hawthorne x OC

when tobias hawthorne is declared dead, one of his last wishes is for clare jones return to texas for the reading of his will. but when clare arrives, she does everything in her power to avoid grayson hawthorne, the hate of her life (hey, if the love of your life can be a thing, so can the hate of your life).

tw: spoilers for anyone who hasn't read the inheritance games, mentions of death.

a/n: i aged the characters up just a teensy bit – so at the start of the events of book 1 grayson is 19 here, OC is 18, jameson and avery are 18, etc… but the events of the past take place when grayson was 17/jameson 16 just to allow more time in between the past and the present. hope you all enjoy!

masterlist playlist

prologue

Tobias Hawthorne is dead. Clare read the letter again – it would be her sixth time reading the same four words over again, trying to put some kind of meaning to them.

Tobias Hawthorne is dead and he wants Clare to attend the reading of his will at the Hawthorne Estate? The old man had been a grandfather figure for her, her parents were both partners at McNamara, Ortega, and Jones (well one of them was the Jones in McNamara, Ortega and Jones) so Tobias Hawthorne had taken Clare under his wing along with his four grandsons. He had been good to her. He pushed her to be the best she could be -- always urging her to think faster, smarter, hone her skills. Without Tobias Hawthorne, she wouldn't be where she was today. So if Mr. Hawthorne wanted her to be there, then hell, she’d be there – even if it meant seeing him.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

Clare’s chest rose as she breathed in deep, her eyes trained on the daunting golden gates staring back at her. They looked exactly as they had nearly four years ago now. She stepped forward, mustering up all the strength she had as she pushed the buzzer.

“Hawthorne Residence, how may I help you?” A voice chimed from the speaker besides the buzzer.

She cleared her throat, “I’m here for the reading of the will,” She held the envelope to the camera, “Clare Jones.”

“Oh! Yes, come in, come in,” the attendant exclaimed.

The gates unlocked with a loud click as they pushed forward, allowing Clare to get a full view of the estate. From the gates, it looked massive – like something you’d see only in a fairytale. Before she could stand there and gawk for too long, a security guard in a golf cart pulled up to escort her to the main building. As they approached, Clare felt her heartbeat quicken, her hands became clammy, her cheeks began to flush. She couldn’t fight the childhood memories from flooding in – four boys and a girl, laughing, running, puzzles, games, the treehouse, silver eyes. She pinched the side of her leg in an attempt to ground herself.

The golf cart came to a halt and she thanked the driver before reluctantly stepping out to stand before the doors to the foyer, unable to will herself to go inside.

This was a mistake. I shouldn’t have come here, doubt started creeping into her mind. Her hands prickled with anxiety. I can’t do this. I can’t see him.

“Clarissa Jones, is that you?” That familiar southern drawl brought her back to reality and she whipped around, hard enough that she stumbled.

“Woah there –”

“Nash!” She ran right into his arms, he wrapped his arms around her in return as he stumbled back from the impact.

“Well hello there stranger,” He chuckled. Nash didn’t pull away until Clare did, and when she did, she was met with a warm smile and fond look in his eyes. Nash was the best not-actually-your-big-brother a girl could have ever asked for. He bandaged countless scrapes, mended several broken hearts, and was always there when she needed a shoulder to cry on.

“I’ve missed you so much,” She said, teary-eyed – when had she gotten teary-eyed?

“And here I thought you forgot all about lil ol’ me while you were at Yale with all those fancy-pants snobs,” He teased.

“How could I ever forget my favorite not-actually-big-brother?’

Before should could say anything else, another familiar voice shouted out to them from behind.

“Hey! I thought I was your favorite not-actually-brother – glad to see Yale has changed you, traitor!” She turned back around only to be met with a flash of curly black hair and then BAM – Clare nearly fell back from the impact of Xander’s tackle-hug.

I guess I should have seen that one coming.

She laughed, all prior anxiety had since dissipated.

“You can be my favorite not-actually-little-brother,” She replied in between a fit of laughter.

Xander pulled away abruptly, “Good enough, truce?” He held his hand out and she took it with an overly exaggerated furrowed brow and firm shake of the hand.

“If you all are finished with your reunion, can we go inside?” Alisa. Always ready to get down to business. Clare scoffed, it was good to know some things never change. After a brief, business-like greeting with Alisa, the four of them made their way inside and ran into a few more Hawthornes in the foyer. There stood Zara, Skye, Jameson and –,

“Who’s she,” She whispered to Xander.

“Oh, Mystery Girl. Her name’s Avery. The old man wanted her here – why? We don’t know yet.”

Weird, Clare thought to herself. Then again, Tobias Hawthorne worked in mysterious ways and she had learned over time to let things play out in order to understand what he had been thinking. Clare’s eyes anxiously scanned over the rest of the room.

“Grayson’s not here yet,” Xander leaned in to whisper to her, sympathy shining in his eyes. At the sound of his name, Clare’s stomach did a flip.

As if on cue, steady, commanding footsteps echoed through the foyer. If her stomach was flipping before – it was now doing olympic-medal-worthy-somersaults. She breathed in, willing her anxiety away to no avail. She pressed her clammy hands against the sides of her thighs as Grayson walked by. If he’d noticed she was here, he didn’t show it.

By the time Grayson had made it to the middle of the foyer, drawing everyone’s attention to himself – Clare had managed to unconsciously hide herself behind Xander and Nash, blocked slightly by their towering frames and broad shoulders. Maybe if Grayson truly hadn’t seen her, she could slip away unnoticed by the end of this whole thing and return to her normal life, far, far away. Though Clare should’ve known better; nothing ever managed to slip from Grayson’s attention. His eyes caught hers immediately. She looked away, at Alisa, trying to focus her attention on anything but Grayson’s silver eyes burning through her but she couldn’t control her eyes from flitting back to Grayson – only to see that he was still staring at her.

Alisa clapped her hands to signal the start of what they had all come for, thankfully drawing Grayson’s attention away from her -- for now.

“Thank you all for coming, I know it’s been a grueling journey for some of you so let’s get started.”

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

"Clarissa Jones, Mr. Hawthorne has left behind $400,000 US Dollars to be deposited into your bank account with the sole condition that you remain a resident of the Hawthorne Estate for one year, effective immediately."

Clare replayed the words in her head. There had to be some kind of mistake. Not only was Tobias Hawthorne giving her more money than his grandsons and daughters – but he was forcing her to live with them for a whole year. Part of her asked if it would be worth it, to live with Grayson Hawthorne, the man she swore she’d never see again, for $400K. It was just enough to pay for her tuition with some change leftover to do with as she pleased. Clare had to admit it was a tempting offer as she paced back and forth in the garden, running over the situation in her mind again.

“Uh-oh, Clare’s got that look on her face,” Jameson’s familiar voice startled her out of her thoughts. She turned to face her “twin” Hawthorne.

Jamie and Clare were mere weeks apart in age, thus, “twins.” The pair were inseparable as children, constantly getting into trouble and then scolded by Grayson, who always acted older than he was to their great annoyance.

She found him leaning on the wall with his arms crossed, sporting a leather jacket, dark jeans, and that damned charming smile.

“Yeah? And what look would that be?” She replied.

“The one that says you’re planning an escape,” He replied.

She rolled her eyes, “I’m not planning my escape – yet.”

He laughed, the type of laugh that came right from the heart.

“C’mere Jones,” He walked over with arms wide open. Clare scoffed but his presence always proved to lift her spirits. She welcomed his embrace, burying her face into the familiarly scented leather jacket.

“It might be fun y’know,” Jamie said as he pulled away.

“Living with the four of you and some random girl I just met today? Yeah, I think it’ll be a blast,” sarcasm dripped off her words.

Maybe it could have been fun had she and Grayson been on speaking terms but alas, that was not the case.

“We can make sure there’s plenty of space between your room and you-know-whose room,” Jamie wiggled his eyebrows at her, trying to convince her to stay.

She shoved him in the shoulder, both amused and annoyed at his offer. He did have a point, she had to admit. The Hawthorne Estate had multiple wings, each spanning thousands of square feet with a plethora of bedrooms, hidden passages, libraries, and recreational rooms galore. It wouldn’t be a difficult task to avoid Grayson.

“I have school – I can’t just put Yale on pause for a year.”

Jamie shrugged, “I’m sure they can be convinced to let you do remote work for a year. Has anyone ever refused an offer from a Hawthorne?”

#grayson hawthorne x reader #grayson hawthorne #the inheritance games #fanfic #x reader fanfic #grayson hawthorne x OC

9 notes · View notes

sodaabaa · 1 month

Text

silver eyes masterlist

grayson hawthorne x OC

when tobias hawthorne is declared dead, one of his last wishes is that clare jones return to texas for the reading of his will. but when clare arrives, she does everything in her power to avoid grayson hawthorne, the hate of her life (hey, if the love of your life can be a thing, so can the hate of your life).

playlist

part one: clare returns to texas after four years of running from the people of her past but in order to fulfill the last wishes of a close family friend, she's forced to face the ghosts of her past.

part two: clare makes a difficult decision and does her best to avoid any run ins with grayson hawthorne.

#grayson hawthorne x reader #grayson hawthorne #the inheritance games #fanfic #x reader fanfic #grayson hawthorne x OC

6 notes · View notes

sodaabaa · 1 month

Text

little fox, part four

bruce wayne x OC in looking for help from his friend and ally, lucius fox, bruce wayne finds a rather curious young woman working in his stead.

tw: mentions of an injury and recovery

masterlist

playlist

a/n: bruce with the silver fox look AHH. we as a society moved on from christian bale as bruce WAY too fast.

Maia showed up to work the next morning with a pounding headache, her hands rubbing at her temples as she walked into her office. She was immediately met with her boss trailing after her, asking a million questions.

“Since when do you work with Bruce Wayne? What did he ask for help with? Are you–”

“Carl. Please. Give me a second to put my stuff down and then you can badger me with your questions,” She snapped.

“I just don’t understand – how did you even meet him?” He rambled on.

She huffed, throwing her bag onto her desk as she locked eyes with her co-worker, Bridget, on the desk opposite of Maia.

Bridget leaned forward, “Rumor has it you attended last night's charity gala on a certain CEO’s arm.”

This only enflamed Carl, who sputtered behind Maia with a dozen other questions. Eventually, he walked off, muttering to himself when Maia refused to pay him any attention. She slumped in her chair with a sigh, already looking forward to the end of the day.

To her luck, the rest of the day had gone by relatively undisturbed as Carl had dozens of meetings to attend to. Maia stretched in her chair, working out the kinks in her shoulder from sitting in one position for so long.

“Wanna grab a bite from the Halal Cart? I’m starving,” Bridget asked.

As Maia began to respond, a ping went off in her bag. “One sec,” She pulled her phone out of her bag to see a notification alerting her that the honeypot had worked.

“You go ahead without me, I’ll grab something later,” She didn’t wait for Bridget to respond, already making her way to the elevator and up to Bruce’s office on the 44th floor.

Of course his office has to be at the very top.

She walked out of the elevator, going past the receptionist’s desk before she was stopped.

“Ma’am, you need to have an appointment to see Mr. Wayne. Can I see your badge?” A tall, leggy and blonde woman said.

Maia rolled her eyes, “Tell Mr. Wayne, that Maia Fox is here to see him.” The receptionist called in, her face smug as she held the phone to her ear.

“Mr. Wayne, a Maia Fox, is here to see you. Would you like me to have her make an appoint–, oh. Yes Mr. Wayne, my apologies.”

Maia smiled triumphantly and turned back towards the glass door to Bruce’s office.

“It worked,” She said as she walked in.

Bruce sat at his desk, going over something on his computer. He looked up, a smile on his face as Maia approached.

“May I?” She gestured to the computer.

“Please, help yourself,” He replied.

She made her way to his side of the desk, he made space for her as she leaned down. She took a minute to open up the system she had used to set the honeypot several nights ago.

“It looks like they took the bait,” She said, typing away on her computer, scanning and searching for any indication of a location.

There. She thought. Her brows furrowed in concentration as she narrowed in on finding where the signal had come from. She followed the trail they left behind, confident that she had managed to catch them when suddenly, the screen froze.

“What the–” The frozen codes on the screen rearranged, she tried exiting the program, her fingers losing their grip on the keys as panic set in.

“What is it?” Bruce asked.

“I–,” She continued trying to do something, anything.

“Maia.”

“I don’t know!”

The codes came together, finally merging to create a formula. It blinked on the screen, taunting her. She tried to reset the program, her hands frantically flying over the keys.

“Dammit!” She stepped back, exasperated.

Bruce went over to the side of the table and unplugged the computer, the screen went dark in an instant. Maia turned, looking out the glass walls, over Gotham.

“Maia,” Bruce said, his voice soft.

Tears pricked at her eyes, she sucked in a breath to calm herself – an attempt made in vain as Bruce placed a hand on either side of her shoulders. Silent tears slipped down her face. She brushed them away with the back of her hand.

“I failed.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

“No, Bruce. I failed. You’re better off finding someone else to do this. I thought I could outsmart them, I thought I–,” She threw her hands up, “I’m so stupid.”

Bruce grabbed her by the shoulders, turning her around to look at him. She held her face in her hands, unable to muster the courage to face him.

“Look at me. Maia. Look at me,” the assertiveness in his voice stirred something in her. She took a deep breath, letting her hands fall to her sides as she looked up at him.

“You’re incredibly capable of tracking them down. This was just a minor setback but I have full confidence in your abilities.”

She shook her head, his words weren’t going to convince her after what had just happened.

“We’ll go back to the cave, review what we know, what went wrong, and how to go forward. Are you with me?” She hesitated. How could she continue helping him – how could he want her to continue helping him when she had just completely and utterly failed.

“Maia. I need you with me on this.”

She looked up at him, he narrowed his eyes at her, holding her gaze until she agreed with the slightest nod of her head.

“Good.”

She took a few breaths to recalibrate herself, the anxiety rolling off her as she processed his reaction to her failure. He wasn’t angry – hell, he wasn’t even upset. They could get through this. She could get through this.

Maia and Bruce had spent the next few weeks tirelessly working to catch Entropy. The two of them built up a routine, their days being spent either in Bruce’s office or down in the IT department and their nights spent at Wayne manor. Maia spent most of her time trying to track Entropy, occasionally taking breaks to track easier targets for Bruce’s nightly patrols through the city – targets like illegal drug and human trafficking rings and various other exploits.

The sound of Bruce’s huffing took Maia’s attention away from the screen in front of her.

“Must you do pull ups right in front of me? Your huffing and puffing is distracting me.”

Truth be told, it wasn’t the huffing that distracted her. She tried to keep her eyes from wandering but it was useless – his glistening, chiseled body was on full display as he pulled himself up. He looked inhuman, like a Greek god as opposed to a human being. She cleared her throat, trying to snap herself out of it. He huffed again, the metal clank of the salmon ladder echoing off the cave’s walls as he jumped up to the next tier.

She rolled her eyes, getting up from her seat, “I’m gonna grab some lunch,” She called out.

Bruce jumped down, grabbing a towel from the back of her desk chair as he caught up to her.

“Please tell me you’re not ordering Chinese again.” She smirked, “Why, is your account finally running out of funds?” Bruce had insisted that he pay for her lunches, transportation, and any other expenses she might accrue as she spent her days and nights helping him. At first, Maia refused, unable to accept his help in fear of seeming like a freeloader. But he persisted – going so far as to threaten to increase her salary if she didn’t let him cover her expenses.

Bruce chuckled, following her into the elevator.

“If we keep this up, I fear it might.” Maia shrugged, “You insisted.”

“I had no idea how much takeout you ordered at the time.”

She held back a smile, “Should’ve done better research, Mr. Wayne.”

Maia glanced at Bruce, his demeanor easy and relaxed, an uncommon sight to see as the two of them walked off to find something other than Chinese to eat.

Bruce’s body jerked as the batmobile came to a rough halt, a shocking jolt of pain running up his torso, knocking the breath out of his lungs. He managed to climb out of the vehicle and walked limply over the bridge, holding onto the railings to steady himself.

“Alfred!” He yelled, his voice strained.

“Bruce? Oh my god, Bruce!”

Maia came running towards him, pulling his arm over her shoulders for leverage. She helped him get to the table he was so often forced to lay upon for Alfred to stitch him up.

“Alfred!” She called out.

When she didn’t hear a response, Maia began to undo his suit and cowl.

Bruce placed a hand over hers, “I’m alright, go get Alfred.” “You’re bleeding out, I can’t just leave you here. Let me at least try to stop the bleeding.” She worked swiftly, removing his suit entirely and grabbing various supplies to clean the wound before bandaging it.

As she worked on cleaning the wound, Alfred walked in.

“Well why didn’t anybody tell me you’re bleeding on the bloody table,” he muttered.

The two of them quickly worked to stop the bleeding and dress the wound as Bruce fluttered in and out of consciousness. The next thing he knew, he was back in his bedroom, tucked into bed, moonlight seeping through the curtains. He turned his head to the side to see Maia curled up on the chair in the corner.

“Maia?” She stirred but didn’t wake up.

He winced as he tried to sit up, pain shooting through his torso. The sound was enough to rouse Maia from her sleep.

“Bruce, what do you need?” She instantly sat up from her chair and came over to him.

He groaned, “What are you still doing here? What time is it?” She looked over at the clock behind Bruce.

“Three in the morning, do you need anything for the pain?” He waved it off, “I’m fine, did Alfred not prepare a room for you?” “He did, I wanted to stay here with you – in case you needed anything.”

Bruce looked up at her, admiring the way she looked when she was groggy with sleep.

“Are you okay?” She asked.

He nodded, looking over to the side of his bed.

“You know, this is a California king. If you’re not gonna go to bed in a room of your own, may as well use up the rest of this space,” He gestured to the vacant area next to him.

She scoffed, “I’m fine right here,” she tried to go back to the chair but he caught her hand.

“Please.”

She looked at Bruce and then at the space next to him. With a resigned sigh, she went over to the other side of the bed and plopped down, the sudden movement causing another jolt of pain up his side but he ignored it – smiling as she tucked herself under the duvet next to him.

“Stop gawking at me and go to sleep, God knows you need the rest.”

He didn’t need to be told twice as he drifted off, a smile still on his face.

Maia woke up to a heavy arm around her waist, the smell of musk and cedarwood surrounding her. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, finally realizing where she was. She tried to sit up but was met with a groan. She gently tried to lift Bruce’s arm off her, eliciting another groan. Eventually, she managed to get out from under his grasp without waking him up.

“Good morning Alfred,” She said as she walked into the kitchen. She grabbed a banana from one of the many fruit baskets on the counter.

“Good morning, Miss. How’s Master Wayne?” He asked, voice laced with concern.

“He’s still asleep but he’s doing well, I think he’s getting some much needed rest.”

“I’m afraid being severely wounded is one of the only times he allows himself to.”

Something tugged at her heart. The thought of Bruce working himself to the bone and denying himself of something as basic as rest didn’t sit well with her. She made a note to hound him about getting some proper sleep at least some nights.

“I have to head to the office. Tell Bruce I left a folder in the cave on potential Entropy members.”

“I will,” He paused, coming over to Maia and taking her hands in his, “and thank you.” Maia looked at him, confused.

“It’s my job, Alfred, of course.” “No,” he waved, “not for that Entropy nonsense. You’ve brought back light into his eyes. I haven’t seen him this lively since–”

She squeezed his hand, understanding what he meant to say.

“Did you hear, Wayne’s finally back. I heard he took the week off to blow money on some models in Cancun. Man, if only.”

Maia rolled her eyes at Carl’s comment as she walked into the building. Bruce had barely recovered and he’d returned to the office, despite Alfred and Maia’s protests.

She held her badge to the scanner to open the door to the IT department but she was met with an error.

“What the hell?” She held it up again, and again she was met with an error.

“Maybe your badge is expired,” Carl said. He scanned his and the door unlocked. He held it open for her and the two of them walked in. Confused, Maia went up to Molly at the front desk.

“Hey, Molly? My badge wasn’t working. Can you check to see why?”

“There was a message left for you to see Bruce Wayne, could be related?” she handed Maia an envelope addressed to her.

She took the letter from Molly, tearing it open to see what Bruce had left for her that he couldn't have just texted.

"No fucking way," She said as she looked up after reading the letter.

The sound of Maia’s heels echoed off the walls of the hallway to Bruce’s office as she stormed through, ignoring the protests of anyone who got in her way. She pushed open the glass doors, barging into his office. Bruce’s eyes shot up from the papers at his desk, a questioning look on his face. He opened his mouth to say something but Maia held up a hand before he could say anything.

“You made me your personal assistant?” She exclaimed, holding up the letter he’d left her.

“Maia–” “I worked my ass off to get that position in the IT department and you just threw it all away with the wave of a hand. How dare you?” “If you would let me explain–” He stood up, his hands up in a defensive position. He looked behind her through the glass-paned office at the busybody employees that were no doubt trying to listen in on what was going on. Maia didn’t care but of course, Bruce did. He walked over to her, grabbing her arm to move them out of their line of sight.

He leaned in, the charming billionaire Bruce Wayne act disappearing into thin air, replaced by the no nonsense crime fighter she worked the night with.

“I can’t go down to the IT department every time I need you to do something for me – nor can you come up here each time,” He huffed, “Once we’ve caught Entropy, you can have your position back – hell, I’ll even give you a higher position,” Maia cut in before he could finish.

“Nuh-uh,” She shook her head, “I am not going to give people any more reason to doubt my skills. It’s enough that people accuse me of using my uncle to get a job here. I’m not gonna let people think I slept with the CEO to get a promotion,” She snapped and pulled herself out of Bruce’s grip.

She ran a hand through her hair with a huff, anger and anxiety colliding. Her badge hadn’t worked this morning, locking her out of the IT department. She had thought it was just a mistake, so she asked around until she found out that Bruce relocated her to his office on the top floor – not as an IT specialist or a security systems engineer, no, she was now his personal assistant, his coffee girl.

“I understand. But I can’t run back and forth anymore. This has been going on for weeks, we need to stay close and I need you on standby for any alerts we get.” “They haven’t made a move in weeks – we spooked them, for all we know, they’ve gone under.” Bruce shook his head, “I can’t take any chances. You can go back to the IT department after we’re done. End of story.”

“Fine. But you can make your own damn coffee.”

Bruce smirked as he took a step back, putting his hands in his pockets.

“I’ll have someone bring your stuff up.”

The rest of the day passed by faster than Maia had expected, she didn’t have much work to do as an assistant in contrast to her job at the IT department. She spent most of the day going over the Entropy details with Bruce and scheduling meetings occasionally (and quite begrudgingly).

Though part of her was still annoyed at his antics, she found it was quite easy to forgive the playboy when he gave you an office that overlooked all of Gotham and double the pay with half the work. She would treat this as a vacation of sorts.

As she packed up her desk, Bruce approached, placing a sleek black envelope in front of her.

“What’s this?” She asked, looking up at him. He’d taken off his suit jacket hours ago, his sleeves now rolled up to his elbows, revealing his toned forearms. His disheveled hair framed his face perfectly. This was his best look — though she’d never admit that to him.

“Come with me to the Wayne Foundation Gala tonight,”

“Another gala?” She scoffed, “how many of these do you have within a year?”

He shrugged, his hands in his pockets, ever so nonchalant.

“You’ll have to be with me at all times,” He teased,

“as my assistant, of course, you’ll be expected to be at my beck and call.”

Maia tried to fight the smile on her face at the traces of mischief in Bruce’s voice.

“You’re incorrigible.”

Maia rubbed at her temples, the squawking laughter from the gaggle of women crowding over Bruce for the past two hours had given her a damn migraine.

“Tell us again about how you went skinny dipping in the Maldives, Mr. Wayne!” Another burst of laughter erupted from the crowd as Bruce entertained their brainless babble and Maia threw back her glass of champagne.

Not strong enough.

The women leaned in, watching Bruce intently, hanging off his every word. Maia had to admit, he did have a certain charm and when he spoke, you couldn’t help but listen. Maia caught his gaze as she listened to him tell the story, suddenly flustered by his stare, she looked away.

“Ladies, may I have a moment with M-,” He cleared his throat, “my assistant, please?”

The women all but deflated as he made his way out the crowd, a hand brushing the small of Maia’s waist as he led them away. The gesture had the unfortunate side effect of making her feel like a schoolgirl with a stupid crush.

They passed by CEOs, politicians and lawyers, and Bruce charmed his way through them with his warm smile and friendly demeanor. Part of her felt like sometimes being Bruce Wayne, billionaire CEO playboy, wasn’t always a mask he put on. It came to him so naturally, the smiles, the charm, the power.

Once they’d made it outside, Bruce spilled the champagne off the balcony.

She laughed, shocked, “I could’ve used that.”

“You’ve had plenty to drink, I’ll be lucky if I don’t have to carry you home,” he shot back.

She’d only drank a couple of glasses — though she could feel the warm buzz of inebriation creeping over her with the addition of that last glass.

“I needed it, those women were giving me an aneurysm.”

Bruce laughed, a breathy little laugh that made her insides twist.

“Is that— jealousy, I sense, Ms. Fox?”

“Pfft, no way,” Maia tried to play it off but she couldn’t help the knots in her stomach when he looked at her like that.

The pair stood in silence, taking in each others presence. The moonlight illuminated all the plains and grooves of Bruce’s face, making him look even more sculpted than usual.

Maybe it was the champagne — or maybe she was jealous. Whatever it was, it gave her enough courage to speak without inhibitions.

“You’re inhumanely beautiful,” she said, her eyebrows furrowed at the man before her.

Bruce chuckled, a full laugh now. It made Maia want to keep making him laugh.

“What! It’s true!” She said defensively as she pushed his shoulder.

Bruce stepped forward, catching her hand in his. He pulled her in and she stared, wide eyed at the sudden contact. His eyes never left hers as he held her against his chest. She could feel every breath he took, their chests rising and falling in unison. He brushed the back of his hand against her cheek. A shudder rose up her spine, sobering her back up.

“I think I’m sober now.”

Bruce smiled — but it didn’t reach his eyes. He lowered his hand, seemingly snapping out of his daze.

"I should take you home. Come on," He said gently, "Let's go."

#batfam #bruce wayne #bruce wayne x reader #batman x reader #bale!bruce wayne #bale!batman #dc comics #dcu

16 notes · View notes

sodaabaa · 1 month

Text

quite literally cannot stop thinking about grayson hawthorne from the inheritance games. he’s my new book bf i love that man with all my heart. should i try my hand at some grayson one shots in the (hopefully) near future?

update: i’m drafting a short fic 🤭

#the inheritance games #grayson hawthorne #grayson hawthorne x reader #the inheritance trilogy

12 notes · View notes

sodaabaa · 1 month

Note

I love your Nikolai series so much!

thank you!! that one doesn’t get as much love but i’m glad there are people out there who enjoy it 🥹🫶🏼

0 notes

sodaabaa · 2 months

Text

i haven’t written anything new in a minuteee i miss it 😫. i just got a new job and haven’t had the time or energy to come up with fully fleshed out stories BUT im thinking about dabbling in doing bulleted headcanons and im more than open to one shot/drabble requests so if anyone has anything in mind, my inbox is open!!

#batfam #red hood #batman #jason todd #acotar #batfamily #anthony bridgerton #bridgerton #bridgerton fanfiction #acotar fanfiction #fanfic

20 notes · View notes

sodaabaa · 3 months

Text

little fox, part four

bruce wayne x OC in looking for help from ally and friend lucius fox, bruce wayne finds a rather curious young woman in his stead.

tw: mentions of parental deaths, grief, typical violence/danger of gotham.

masterlist

playlist

Maia showed up to work the next morning with a pounding headache, her hands rubbing at her temples as she walked into the office.

So there is such a thing as too much champagne.

As she entered the building, Carl immediately trailed after her, asking a million questions.

“Since when do you work with Bruce Wayne? What did he ask for help with? Are you–” “Carl. Please. Give me a second to put my stuff down and then you can badger me with your questions,” She snapped.

“I just don’t understand – how did you even meet him?” He rambled on.

She huffed, throwing her bag onto her desk as she locked eyes with her co-worker, Bridget, on the desk opposite of Maia.

Bridget leaned forward, “Rumor has it you attended last night's charity gala on a certain CEO’s arm.”

As Maia began to respond, a ping went off in her bag. “One sec,” She pulled her phone out of her bag to see a notification alerting her that the honeypot had worked.

“You go ahead without me, I’ll grab something later,” She didn’t wait for Bridget to respond, already making her way to the elevator and up to Bruce’s office on the 44th floor.

Of course his office has to be at the very top.

She walked out of the elevator, going past the receptionist’s desk before she was stopped.

“Ma’am, you need to have an appointment to see Mr. Wayne. Can I see your badge?” A tall, leggy and blonde woman said.

Maia rolled her eyes, “Tell Mr. Wayne, that Maia Fox is here to see him.” The receptionist called in, her face smug as she held the phone to her ear.

“Mr. Wayne, a Maia Fox, is here to see you. Would you like me to have her make an appoint–, oh. Yes Mr. Wayne, my apologies.”

Maia smiled triumphantly and turned back towards the glass door to Bruce’s office.

“It worked,” She said as she walked in.

Bruce sat at his desk, going over something on his computer. He looked up, a smile on his face as Maia approached.

“May I?” She gestured to the computer.

“Please, help yourself,” He replied.

She made her way to his side of the desk, he made space for her as she leaned down. She took a minute to open up the system she had used to set the honeypot several nights ago.

“It looks like they took the bait,” She said, typing away on her computer, scanning and searching for any indication of a location. There. She thought. Her brows furrowed in concentration as she narrowed in on finding where the signal had come from. She followed the trail they left behind, confident that she had managed to catch them when suddenly, the screen froze.

“What the–” The frozen codes on the screen rearranged, she tried exiting the program, her fingers losing their grip on the keys as panic set in.

“What is it?” Bruce asked.

“I–,” She continued trying to do something, anything.

“Maia,” he pressed.

“I don’t know!” The codes came together, finally merging to create a formula. It blinked on the screen, taunting her. She tried to reset the program, her hands frantically flying over the keys.

“Dammit!” She stepped back, exasperated.

Bruce went over to the side of the table and unplugged the computer, the screen went dark in an instant. Maia turned, looking out the glass walls, over Gotham.

“Maia,” Bruce said, his voice soft.

“I failed.”

“We’ll figure it out.” “No, Bruce. I failed. You’re better off finding someone else to do this. I thought I could outsmart them, I thought I–,” She threw her hands up, “I’m so stupid.”

Bruce grabbed her by the shoulders, turning her around to look at him. She held her face in her hands, unable to muster the courage to face him.

“Look at me. Maia. Look at me,” the assertiveness in his voice stirred her. She took a deep breath, letting her hands fall to her sides as she looked up at him.

“You’re incredibly capable of tracking them down. This was just a minor setback but I have full confidence in your abilities.”

She shook her head, his words weren’t going to convince her after what had just happened.

“Maia. I need you with me on this.” She looked up at him as he narrowed his eyes at her, holding her gaze until she agreed.

“Good," he said with a smile.

Maia and Bruce had spent the next few weeks tirelessly working to catch Entropy. The two of them falling into a routine, their days being spent either in Bruce’s office or down in the IT department and their nights spent at Wayne manor. Maia spent most of her time trying to track Entropy, occasionally taking breaks to track easier targets for Bruce’s nightly patrols through the city – targets like illegal drug and human trafficking rings and various other exploits.

The sound of Bruce’s huffing took Maia’s attention away from the screen in front of her.

“Must you do pull ups right in front of me? Your huffing and puffing is distracting me.”

She rolled her eyes, getting up from her seat, “I’m gonna grab some lunch,” She called out.

Bruce jumped down, grabbing a towel from the back of her desk chair as he caught up to her.

Bruce chuckled, following her into the elevator.

“If we keep this up, I fear it might.” Maia shrugged, “You insisted.”

“I had no idea how much takeout you ordered at the time.”

She held back a smile, “Should’ve done better research, Mr. Wayne.”

“Alfred!” He yelled, his voice strained.

“Bruce? Oh my god, Bruce!” Maia came running towards him, pulling his arm over her shoulders for leverage. She helped him get to the table he was so often forced to lay upon for Alfred to stitch him up.

“Alfred!” She called out.

When she didn’t hear a response, Maia began to undo his suit and cowl.

As she worked on cleaning the wound, Alfred walked in.

“Well why didn’t anybody tell me you’re bleeding on the bloody table,” he muttered.

“Maia?” She stirred but didn’t wake up.

He winced as he tried to sit up, pain shooting through his torso. The sound was enough to rouse Maia from her sleep.

“Bruce, what do you need?” She instantly sat up from her chair and came over to him.

He groaned, “What are you still doing here? What time is it?” She looked over at the clock behind Bruce.

Bruce looked up at her, admiring her tousled hair and eyes half-closed with sleep.

“Are you okay?” She asked.

He nodded, looking over to the side of his bed.

“You know, this is a California king. If you’re not gonna go to bed in a room of your own, may as well use up the rest of this space,” He patted the vacant area next to him.

She scoffed, “I’m fine right here,” she tried to go back to the chair but he caught her hand.

“Please.” She looked at Bruce and then at the space next to him. With a resigned sigh, she went over to the other side of the bed and plopped down, the sudden movement causing another jolt of pain up his side but he ignored it – smiling at the girl beside him as she tucked herself under the duvet.

“Stop gawking at me and go to sleep, God knows you need the rest.”

He didn’t need to be told twice as he drifted off, a smile still on his face.

“Good morning Alfred,” She said as she walked into the kitchen. She grabbed a banana from one of the many fruit baskets on the counter.

“Good morning, Miss. How’s Master Wayne?” He asked, voice laced with concern.

“He’s still asleep but he’s doing well, I think he’s getting some much needed rest.”

“I’m afraid being severely wounded is one of the only times he lets himself rest.”

“I have to head to the office. Tell Bruce I left a folder in the cave on potential Entropy members.”

“I will,” He paused, coming over to Maia and taking her hands in his, “and thank you.” Maia looked at him, confused.

“It’s my job, Alfred, of course.” “No, no,” he waved, “not for that Entropy nonsense. You’ve brought back light into his eyes. I haven’t seen him this lively since–," He trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.

She squeezed his hand, understanding what he meant to say.

“Did you hear, Wayne’s finally back. I heard he took the week off to blow money on some models in Cancun. Man, if only.”

Maia rolled her eyes at Carl’s comment as she walked into the building. Bruce had barely recovered and he’d returned to the office, despite Alfred and Maia’s protests.

She held her badge to the scanner to open the door to the IT department but she was met with an error noise.

“What the hell?” She held it up again, and again she was met with an error.

“Maybe your badge is expired,” Carl said. He scanned his and the door unlocked. He held it open for her and the two of them walked in. Confused, Maia went up to Molly at the front desk.

“Hey, Molly? My badge wasn’t working. Can you check to see why?” “Actually, I think you’ve been relocated. There was a message left for you to see Bruce Wayne,” she handed Maia an envelope addressed to her.

The sound of Maia’s heels echoed off the walls of the hallway to Bruce’s office as she stormed through, ignoring the protests of anyone who got in her way. She pushed open the glass doors, barging into his office. Bruce’s eyes shot up from the papers at his desk, a look of question on his face. He opened his mouth to say something but Maia held up a hand before he could say anything.

“You made me your personal assistant?” She exclaimed, holding up the letter he’d left her.

He leaned in, the charming billionaire Bruce Wayne act disappearing into thin air.

“I can’t go down to the IT department every time I need you to do something for me – nor can you come up here each time. Once we’ve caught Entropy, you can have your position back – hell, I’ll even give you a higher position,” Maia cut in before he could finish.

“Nuh-uh,” She shook her head, “I am not going to give people any more reason to doubt my skills. It’s enough that people accuse me of using my uncle to get a job here. I’m not gonna let people think I slept with the CEO to get a better job,” She snapped and pulled herself out of Bruce’s grip.

“I understand. But I can’t run back and forth anymore. This has been going on for weeks, we need to stay close and I need you on standby, you know how close we are to tracking them.” “They haven’t made a move in weeks – we spooked them, for all we know, they’ve gone under.” Bruce shook his head, “I can’t take any chances. You can go back to the IT department after we’re done. End of story.”

“Fine. But you can make your own damn coffee.”

Bruce smirked as he took a step back, putting his hands in his pockets.

“I’ll have someone bring your stuff up.”

As she packed up her desk, Bruce approached, placing a sleek black envelope in front of her.

“Come with me to the Wayne Foundation Gala tonight,”

“Another gala?” She scoffed, “how many of these do you have within a year?”

He shrugged, his hands in his pockets, ever so nonchalant.

“You’ll have to be with me at all times,” He teased,

“as my assistant, of course, you’ll be expected to be at my beck and call.”

Maia tried to fight the smile on her face at the traces of mischief in Bruce’s voice.

“You’re incorrigible.”

Maia rubbed at her temples, the squawking laughter from the gaggle of women crowding over Bruce for the past two hours had given her a damn migraine.

Not strong enough.

“Ladies, may I have a moment with M-,” He cleared his throat, “my assistant, please?”

Once they’d made it outside, Bruce spilled the champagne off the balcony.

She laughed, shocked, “I could’ve used that.”

“You’ve had plenty to drink, I’ll be lucky if I don’t have to carry you home,” he shot back.

She’d only drank a couple of glasses — though she could feel the warm buzz of inebriation creeping over her with the addition of that last glass.

“I needed it, those women were giving me an aneurysm.”

Bruce laughed, a breathy little laugh that made her insides twist.

“Is that— jealousy, I sense, Ms. Fox?”

“Pfft, no way,” Maia tried to play it off but she couldn’t help the knots in her stomach when he looked at her like that.

The pair stood in silence, taking in each others presence. The moonlight illuminated all the plains and grooves of Bruce’s face, making him look even more sculpted than usual.

Maybe it was the champagne — or maybe she was jealous. Whatever it was, it gave her enough courage to speak without inhibitions.

“You’re inhumanely beautiful,” she said, her eyebrows furrowed at the man before her.

Bruce chuckled, a full laugh now. It made Maia want to keep making him laugh.

“What! It’s true!” She said defensively as she pushed his shoulder.

“I think I’m sober now.”

Bruce smiled — but it didn’t reach his eyes. He lowered his hand, seemingly snapping out of his daze.

"C'mon, let me take you home," He said as he led them back to the gala.

#batfam #bruce wayne #bruce wayne x reader #batman x reader #bale!bruce wayne #bale!batman #dc comics #dcu

12 notes · View notes

sodaabaa · 3 months

Text

little fox, part three

bruce wayne x OC in looking for help from ally and friend lucius fox, bruce wayne finds a rather curious young woman in his stead.

tw: mentions of parental deaths, grief, typical violence/danger of gotham.

masterlist

playlist

Maia rubbed the sleep from her eyes, looking through the room as rays of light shone through the beige curtains, making them glow golden with the sunlight. It took her a second to realize where she was.

Shit.

She threw off her covers and scrambled to reach for her phone – it was only Thursday and she had to be at the office by 8. She groaned when she saw the time, 10:46.

“Dammit,” She muttered. Maia didn’t make it a habit to be late, in fact, she wasn’t ever late. She stood up from the bed, stretching out her stiff muscles for a brief second as she looked for the clothes she wore yesterday. Alfred had set up the room last night, going so far as to provide a pair of pajamas – although much too large for her, they were quite comfy. The room was also fully stocked with snacks, bottles of water, packets of tea and even a Nespresso machine. Maia hadn’t ever stayed at a hotel with this amount of luxury, let alone a home.

She got dressed and quickly made her way downstairs. Her steps faltered.

Do I go to the kitchen? Or the dining room – if so, which one there's a dozen of them? Where’s Alfred?

Her thoughts jumbled. She didn’t want to leave without thanking Alfred and Bruce for accommodating her but she also didn’t exactly know where she’d find them. She stood in the middle of the hall, unsure which way to go. Luckily, footsteps echoed nearby so she followed after the sound.

She was met with the back of Bruce’s head as he strode through the hallway. He wore a gray suit accented with thin white stripes. He brought a hand up to check his watch (which probably cost more than a whole six months of her apartment’s rent).

“Mr. Wayne!” She called out as she scurried after him. He stopped in his tracks, turning to Maia. She had to steady herself as he laid his eyes on her. She hated how her stomach erupted with butterflies when he looked at her. Maia couldn’t deny that he was a beautiful man, resembling a Greek statue come to life – and the expensive suits, watches, and shoes he wore only enhanced his appeal.

“Good morning, Maia. Join me for breakfast?” He asked her with a smile, stepping back into a brisk walk, he didn’t wait for Maia to match his stride.

She took a few quick steps to catch up to him.

“Um, I’m a bit late to work – do you know where I might find Alfred?” She said as she looked around.

“Don’t worry about it, I already called your boss to say you’re fixing something for me and you’ll be out today. Breakfast?”

Maia stopped in her tracks, “You called–,” She paused, taking a moment to gather herself, “don’t you think you should’ve checked with me before doing that?”

He stopped, turning back to stand in front of her.

“You were up late last night and when Alfred came to check on you this morning, you were still fast asleep. He thought maybe you’d appreciate sleeping in and so I made a call.”

He said it so nonchalantly. She supposed for someone in his position, everything was just that simple. Maia sighed, she could already sense her coworkers coming up with rumors, whispering to each other about Bruce Wayne calling on her behalf to inform her boss that she’d be out for the day. She decided not to pick a fight and take advantage of the day off he’d just afforded her.

“So, I’ll update you when I get a ping on the honeypot then,” She said.

“You won’t join me for breakfast?”

“I’ve got some errands to run – thanks to you, I have some spare time on my hands now,” Palpable sarcasm dripped off her words. She couldn’t help but want to spite him after the liberties he saw himself fit to take.

Bruce nodded slowly, “I won’t keep you, then. I’ll have Alfred bring the car around. Thank you for the help.” He walked off, leaving Maia where he had found her in the hallway.

She ran a hand through her hair. The interaction left her feeling confused. He could never understand the difficulties she’d been through. Being one of the only women on the securities team at Wayne Enterprises required her to work twice as hard as the men she worked with – and still, the smallest mistake, the slightest indication of “having it easy” as a woman and all her hard work would be washed down the drain.

“Ready to go, Miss?” Alfred called out as he appeared at the end of the hall. She pushed her thoughts away, smiling at the butler approaching her.

“Yes, thank you Alfred. I could call a taxi, I wouldn’t want to trouble you.” “Nonsense, it’s no trouble at all. Shall we?”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maia threw herself onto her bed with a huff. Despite the luxury of Wayne manor, she much preferred the comfort of her own bed. It was only midday and for once, Maia had little to do apart from lounge about. As if on cue, her stomach rumbled and she remembered that she hadn’t eaten anything since waking up this morning.

“To Big Belly Burger, I guess.”

She pushed herself up off her bed, grabbing her wallet and keys on the way out. The beloved fast food restaurant was just around the block so she opted to walk. The city bustled around her, workers rushing to grab their lunches from the nearest bodega, people whistling for taxis, cars honking in the traffic. Maia could sit and people-watch all day, comforted by the endless hustle and bustle of Gotham. She finally reached the Big Belly Burger, bells ringing as she opened the door.

“Hey Reggie,” She greeted the staff.

“Hey Maia, haven’t seen you in a while. The usual?” Reggie replied with a warm smile on his face. He’d been working here ever since Maia moved in around the corner – she had just graduated from college and returned to Gotham.

“Yes, please. I’m starving,” She said, taking a seat at the counter.

“Ted! Number two with extra pickles!” He yelled over his shoulder. Maia smiled as Reggie walked off to tend to other business, leaving her to deal with her own work.

She pulled her laptop out of her bag to check on any Entropy updates. So far, they hadn’t tried to get into any Wayne systems – good for the company but she couldn’t help feeling anxious, what if she’d been wrong about Wayne Enterprises being the next target? Her fingers tapped away at the keyboard, going over everything she’d gathered the night before, tracing all the breadcrumbs they’d left. Her review was cut short by her phone buzzing, she reached into her bag and pulled out her phone to see a message from an unknown number.

Wayne Gala at 8pm. Do me the honor of being my plus one? - B. Wayne

She fought the urge to smile despite her frustrations with the charming man.

How did you get my number?

She waited.

You’re not the only one who can track subjects of interest.

She rolled her eyes.

“Hey now, who’s got you smiling like that, Fox?” Reggie’s teasing broke Maia out of her giddy daze.

She put the phone face down on the counter, trying her best not to blush.

“No one,” She replied defensively.

He raised his brows at her, unconvinced as he wiped down the counter and then left her to herself when she didn't give into his teasing.

Another buzz returned her attention to the phone.

Still waiting on an answer.

If her boss wasn’t already suspicious of her, this would surely be the nail in the coffin – her reputation and all the work she’d done would be flushed down the drain. But she also couldn’t help falling for his charms. It’d been an embarrassingly long time since she’d gone out and had some fun, and who’s to say her boss would even be there?

Can you check the invite list for Carl Langford?

She bounced her leg rapidly, waiting for his reply. The three dots in the corner finally appeared.

He’s not on the list.

She exhaled, sighing in relief as another text came in.

I’ll send a car. Be ready at 7.

See you then, Mr. Wayne.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bruce stepped out of his car, instantly being met with a swarm of paparazzi. He took a breath and plastered a drunken smile on his face as he waved and pointed, throwing quips and pleasantries at those he recognized in the crowd. He walked through the bright flashes, bringing a hand up to block some of the light. He made his way in, sobering back up. His eyes searched the room, he arrived slightly early this time in hopes he’d meet up with Maia but she’d yet to show. He looked down at his phone, checking her location – in reality, it was the car Alfred had picked her up in that he was tracking. The GPS indicated that she was just a few minutes away. Bruce decided to wait at the bar facing the entrance. He called over the bartender with the raise of a hand and ordered a drink suitable for the role he played at these events.

“Scotch, neat. Thank you.”

“Drinking already, Mr. Wayne,” A familiar voice called out from behind him.

He turned, meeting the friendly old man with a genuine smile.

“Lucius, where’ve you been?” He replied, arms open to embrace the man he’d come to be quite fond of.

“Taking a much needed break but I’m back now. I hope you haven’t gotten into too much trouble in my absence.” He offered Lucius a seat and gestured for the bartender to pour a drink.

“I’m afraid it’s been dull around here since you’ve been gone.” Lucius chuckled, taking a sip of his drink as Bruce did the same. The two were mid-conversation when something – rather, someone – entered the event hall. Her chestnut brown hair, normally pulled away from her face, was curled in a style reminiscent of old Hollywood actresses. She ran her hands down her shimmering, navy-blue evening dress as she looked around the room. She was clearly nervous, out of her element and searching for a familiar face. “Excuse me, Lucius,” He said, his eyes still trained on the girl in the distance.

He walked over to her, smiling as he approached. She noticed him coming up to her, her shoulders dropping in relief, her lips curving into a smile of her own. Something tugged at Bruce's chest.

“Glad you could make it. You look stunning," he said to her. He offered an elbow, which she took graciously, hooking her arm through his.

“Thank you – and thank you for inviting me,” She said.

“Oh you won’t be thanking me by the end of the night – these functions are terribly boring.”

A beat of silence passed between them before Bruce spoke again, "I apologize for earlier -- I should have checked with you before calling in." She looked at him, a genuine smile forming on her face.

"I forgive you," she nudged his shoulder with his, "I bet it'll give the IT department some excitement for once."

She laughed, a sound he wished he could bottle up and keep all for himself.

“Uncle Luc!” She exclaimed as they approached the bar. She pulled herself away from Bruce to give her uncle a hug. Lucius’ eyes shot between the two of them, trying to piece together what brought them together. Bruce offered a tight lipped smile.

“Maia, what are you doing here?” He questioned after their quick embrace had come to an end.

“Bruce invited me.” Bruce.

Lucius looked over to Bruce, waiting for an explanation. He cleared his throat, snapping himself out of the daze she’d just put him in.

“I went down to your office a few days ago for help with an issue,” he paused, “you were out at the time and so I enlisted the help of your lovely niece.” “Is that so?” Lucius said as he surveyed the pair, clearly upset.

“I know about your extracurricular activities, Luc. I was helping him track down a network of hackers. It’s just work,” she reassured him.

Just work. The words rang through Bruce’s head. He quickly caught himself, what was he, some sort of school boy? He didn’t need to get hung up on something she’d said.

“Mr. Wayne,” Lucius said, snapping Bruce out of his thoughts.

“Yes?” “I asked if you thought it was a good idea to get my niece involved without my permission.”

Before Bruce could speak, Maia cut in, “Luc, I’m a grown woman. I don't need your permission.”

Maia stepped back from her uncle, crossing her arms in defiance.

“Sweetheart, I made a promise to your parents that I’d look after you and–” “Don’t.”

Her tone shocked Bruce – and it looked like it shocked Lucius as well, the two men looked at her in silence.

“You don’t get to use my parents against me like that. I can make my own choices and I made the decision to work with him. I’ll take responsibility for whatever comes my way.”

Although Maia had shown little but professionalism in the time that they’d been working together, Bruce hadn’t expected the sternness that she’d just shown. He saw flashes of his own pain in her words. A reminder. The people who had raised them weren’t their parents, and never could be. The three of them stood in silence, the tension in the air stifling until Bruce broke the silence.

“For what it’s worth, Lucius, I did a thorough search for anyone else who might be able to help me but Maia seemed to be the best candidate. I meant no harm in asking for her assistance.”

Lucius pondered for a moment before he sighed, forced to accept his niece's decision.

“Promise me you’ll keep her safe.” “Uncle Luc–” Maia protested.

“I swear it,” Bruce cut her off, his voice gravely serious. He needed Lucius to know that he would put his life on the line before he allowed Maia to get hurt.

Maia scoffed, stealing Bruce’s drink from the counter. She threw her head back, downing the drink all at once.

Bruce and Lucius exchanged a look, a smile creeping on both of their faces at Maia’s antics.

“She’s a handful, Mr. Wayne. I wish you luck.” Bruce chuckled and Lucius bid the pair goodbye – though he made a motion that signaled he’d be keeping an eye on them.

He snaked an arm around Maia’s waist, leading them away from the bar and towards a few Wayne Enterprise Board members.

“Let the endless small talk begin,” He leaned down to whisper in her ear. He could get used to having her around.

#batfam #bruce wayne #bruce wayne x reader #batman x reader #bale!bruce wayne #bale!batman #dc comics #dcu

7 notes · View notes

sodaabaa · 3 months

Text

little fox, part two

bruce wayne x OC maia agrees to help bruce. the two of them find that they have more in common than they'd expect.

tw: mentions of familial deaths, grief

masterlist

playlist

As promised, at exactly 7 pm, a sleek, black Bentley arrived outside Maia's apartment in the southernmost part of downtown Gotham. She marveled at the car, rarely did Maia ever drive to work, preferring the subway because of the crazy city traffic. Outside of her job, she was a homebody so she had little need for a car. Regardless, her uncle insisted she have one ‘just in case,’ so they compromised on a used Toyota that now sat on the side of the street, collecting dust.

A man who looked to be in his seventies stepped out. His polished outfit consisted of well fitting black suit and a pair of black leather gloves.

“Ms. Fox?” He said in a thick British accent. “That’d be me,” She replied awkwardly, giving the man a little wave.

“Alfred, pleasure to make your acquaintance Ms. Fox,” He went around to where she stood on the opposite side of the car and opened the door for her.

“Shall we?” He asked, motioning a hand to the car.

She nodded, entering the car and once again, marveling at the interior that was just as luxurious as the exterior had been. Beige seats made from the softest leather, tortoise-shell trim accented the sides – she could get used to this.

“Master Wayne tells me you’re Lucius’ niece?” Alfred said as he himself entered the car and took off.

“I am, how do you know Luc?” She asked. He’d never mentioned any British friends to her.

“Work,” He said with a knowing smile.

“So you’re in on this whole thing too, huh?” “Indeed I am, Miss.”

The rest of the car ride was spent in silence as they passed through Gotham. She’d never been past the city limits and it seemed that she was in for quite a drive tonight. Bustling streets and towering skyscrapers faded away as they continued into the outskirts of the city.

“Does this even count as Gotham City anymore?” “Partially, there aren’t many residents in the Palisades – they’re still part of the greater Gotham County area though,” He replied.

She peered out the window, taking in the green landscape she seldom got to see living inside the city. In the distance, she saw what could only be described as a castle (at least in her eyes). Before she could say anything about the building, everything went dark as they entered an underground tunnel.

“What –” “A secret entrance, Miss. We’re almost there.”

Secret entrance. That’s a bit dramatic, she thought. “Was that Wayne Manor in the distance?” “Indeed, it was.”

“He lives there – all alone?” “If you don’t count the staff and me, yes.”

She hummed in reply, how lonely must it be? Everyone in Gotham knew the tragic tale of the Waynes, carelessly murdered in a mugging right in front of an eight year old Bruce. She stiffened, trying not to recall the memory of hearing about her own parents' death. She did her best to block the memory, the pain. Luckily, their drive came to an abrupt stop, pulling her out of her thoughts.

“We’ve arrived,” Alfred said as he stepped out of the car and walked over to Maia’s side, opening the door for her.

She stepped out into an actual cave. The distant sound of rushing water filled the air.

As they made their way further inside, she got a closer look at the dimly-lit cave, there was little furnishing the area, only a large black box that sat in the middle of the cave, guard rails on all four sides. Above it hung a simple lightbeam. The box was connected to the driveway they’d just entered through by a narrow, rusty metal bridge. She peered over the sides, a shallow pool of water underneath them.

Maia scoffed, “He wasn’t kidding when he said batcave.” “No I’m afraid he was not,” Alfred ushered them over the bridge and towards an impressive set up. “Right this way you’ll find we’ve hopefully equipped you with what you’ll need.” Multiple wide monitors sat atop a large metal desk. She took a seat, the monitor coming to life before her. She looked up at Alfred who stared at her expectantly.

“Um, I think I can take it from here,” She said nervously.

“Right then, I’ll see to some refreshments,” He chuckled and left her to get started.

She looked around the cave, her leg bouncing up and down rapidly, suddenly wishing Alfred hadn’t left. Was Bruce coming here tonight? Maybe he was giving her some space to do what she needed to do but she felt uneasy regardless. She was casually sitting in the middle of Batman’s lair. This was definitely above her paygrade, Wayne Enterprise employee or not.

Doubt weaseled itself into Maia's mind. What if she couldn’t track Entropy down? She was no stranger to self-doubt. Going to MIT, majoring in a male-dominated field -- she constantly felt as though she didn't belong, like she wasn't as good as her peers. But she pushed through, for the sake of her parents; to make them proud.

She stared at the screen as she cracked her knuckles and sighed, “Here goes nothing.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bruce rolled his shoulder as he walked into the cave. He’d spent the night taking down a drug trafficking ring, which was an easy task for the most part except for the dozens of men armed with a myriad of weapons – including steel baseball bats. He’d taken one too many hits, the effects of which were finally settling and resulting in a battered and bruised shoulder.

He paused when he heard murmuring. It was almost midnight. He crossed the bridge and saw Maia, her head resting against her crossed arms atop the desk. Her eyes were closed but her brows were furrowed as she spoke unintelligible words.

He laid a hand on her back, trying his best not to startle her.

“Maia,” He whispered. He patted her gently when his whispers didn't wake her up.

She jolted awake, clearly disoriented by her whereabouts. When realization dawned on her, she looked up.

“Oh!” She stumbled up but caught herself on the desk before she could fall.

“It’s alright, how long have you been down here – where’s Alfred?” He said, hands reaching out to steady her.

She rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand, “He, um,” she paused, “He came down a few hours ago to check on my progress."

Bruce nodded, "Have you found anything?"

"They’re good. I wasn’t able to track them down quite yet but I did compile a list of their victims so far and I managed to run it through a pattern recognition system to find connections between them.” “And what did you find?” He asked.

“At first it looked like there wasn’t much aside from their affluent backgrounds and their jobs but then,” She turned to the screen, leaning down to pull up what she found. She pulled up a map showing the homes of each victim. Each address connected to to create a spiral. But it wasn’t just any spiral…

“The Fibonacci spiral?”

She nodded, turning to look up at Bruce, “and I know who their next target is.”

Maia pointed to where the next part of the sequence would be. Wayne Tower.

“They don’t seem to be interested in money since there wasn’t any money taken from any of the other victims. Each victim has been a member of some public entity – City Hall, the police department, even the Gotham District Court.”

“Wayne Enterprises isn’t a public institution–” Before Bruce could finish, Maia cut in.

“But it funds every level – You provide thousands of dollars in donations to the police department, the District Attorney’s office, and you funded Mayor Loeb’s reelection campaign. I think their ultimate goal is to turn people against the Wayne name and everything it controls – it makes sense from their perspective, your family has a monopoly over this city.” A muscle in Bruce’s jaw ticked as he processed the information. The Waynes certainly had their fair share of rivals and misanthropists – it would take Bruce a considerable amount of time to figure out who’d feel strongly enough against him to go to these lengths. But what was the significance of the Fibonacci sequence? As if Maia had heard his thoughts, she spoke up.

"I was confused about what the sequence meant -- how it related to their cause but then I realized, Entropy is a gradual decline into disorder. The Fibonacci Sequence represents harmony and balance. What if they're trying to restore balance to Gotham by causing chaos, targeting the rich who they believe control the public institutions to spark a revolution?" "Creating chaos and darkness before the dawn," Bruce said.

"A dawn, they no doubt would be in control of," Maia finished.

Bruce ran a hand through his disheveled hair with a sigh. They want Gotham to descend into anarchy -- as if it weren't bad enough as it is.

His gaze returned to Maia, who looked like she wanted to say something more.

“Is there anything else I should know?”

She looked up at him sheepishly, “Since we know who the next target might be – I set up a honeypot.” “A honeypot?” Bruce questioned.

“Essentially a trap – a replica of your personal computer systems linked to your Wayne Enterprise accounts. It’ll hopefully lure them in and when it does, it’ll send me an alert.” “Is there something wrong?” She hesitated. He raised his brows in anticipation.

“If the honeypot fails, they’ll know we were onto them. It might spook them…or it’ll anger them. There’s no telling what they’d do out of anger.” Bruce nodded slowly, “So this better work then?”

“Yup,” She said, popping the ‘p.’

Bruce huffed a laugh, “I’m putting my company’s fate in your hands Ms. Fox.”

“It was your choice – not mine, Mr. Wayne.”

He held her gaze for a moment, admiring her intelligence and intellect. She had stayed here, working tirelessly all night to help him. She managed to figure out the group's agenda and set up a trap -- all in the span of a few hours.

She cleared her throat, snapping the two of them out of their trance.

“It’s getting late – I’ll have Alfred set up a room for you. Have you eaten yet?” Bruce asked.

“Oh, no I can head home – I’ll call a taxi or something.” Bruce waved a hand, “Not a chance. A taxi in the middle of the night in Gotham?”

She sighed, reluctant to accept his offer but she gave in. Gotham in the daytime was bustling and full of life but nightfall brought out the worst the city had to offer -- Bruce would be damned if he let her go out there this late.

The two of them made their way up to the manor and caught up with Alfred, filling him in on the details before he went off to prepare a midnight snack.

Bruce rested back on a plush sofa in one of the manor’s parlors that made for the perfect late night lounging spot. Bruce himself often came here to rest in between patrols. Maia sat across from him, her eyes making their way around the room. She stopped on the painting to the right of them above the marble fireplace.

“Your parents?” She said softly.

Bruce nodded.

“What were they like?” He drew in a breath.

“I’m sorry, you don’t have to answer that,” She quickly added.

He exhaled, “No it's alright."

He thought for a moment, trying to string together some words that would do his parents justice.

"My father was a doctor – often being the one to clean my scrapes and cuts from playing outside,” He paused, the corners of his mouth lifting into a smile, “He was a healer. The kind of person you'd run to for help, certain that he'd always have the right words to say, the perfect remedy to prescribe to make you feel good as new.”

She nodded, a knowing smile on her face. No doubt she was thinking of her own parents. Bruce wasn’t sure if he should bring it up. He opted to play it safe and stay away from the topic.

Another time, he thought.

"What about your mother?" She asked.

He let out a breathy laugh, “As a kid, I always thought my mother was a queen. She had this regal air to her, always dressed to the nines. But it was her grace and kindness that made her beloved to the people.”

Before he could continue, Alfred came in carrying a tray with an assortment of snacks; fruits, a variety of cheeses, crackers, and cold-cut meats. Grateful for the interruption, Bruce leaned forward to help himself, wincing at the ache in his shoulder.

“Oh, Alfred this is too much,” Maia said.

“Speak for yourself, I need the calories,” He replied in between bites.

Maia laughed, taking a slice of watermelon onto her plate.

“A room’s been prepared for you in the guest wing, Ms. Fox.” "Thank you," She said, looking between the two of them.

Alfred nodded, leaving the two of them be. They ate in comfortable silence.

As Bruce reached forward to place his plate down on the table between them, he hissed in pain and grabbed his shoulder.

"That's the second time you've winced in pain, let me take a look," Maia placed her own plate down and walked over to Bruce before he could protest.

She pressed gently on his shoulder, feeling for dislocated bones or swelling.

"It doesn't feel like anything's misplaced or swollen. Here, let me help you out of your suit so we can see what it looks like underneath." She helped him out of his batsuit, a difficult task to manage since he could barely lift his left shoulder. He sat in front of her, torso fully bare. Bruce suddenly felt too vulnerable -- every scar and bruise fully exposed under the warm lights of the parlor. Bruce watched her wince as she took in his battered skin, running her feather-soft fingertips over the newly formed bruises on his shoulder.

"Alfred!" She called out.

Almost instantly, footsteps could be heard from the hall.

"Is something wrong --" He paused when he saw Bruce's bare chest, "Oh! Master Wayne. Why on earth didn't you say something earlier! I'll fetch some ice."

He left as fast as he arrived.

"I'm alright, really," He said, returning his attention back to Maia.

"You need ice. And rest. And maybe a hospital -- how have you survived all these years?" She rambled, her hands trailed over the scars across the top of his chest. He tried not to shiver under her touch.

"Alfred does a pretty good job at patching me up," He replied.

"I'm serious," Her eyes shone with concern.

He took her hands in his and looked up at her, "I'm fine. I swear."

He held her gaze, both of them unable to look away. Caught in a trance for a second time that night. There was something about her that hypnotized Bruce. Her brown eyes flitted between his, their breaths syncing with each other.

"How hard is it to refill the bloody ice. I swear I'm going to fire somebody one of these days--" Alfred muttered as he returned, snapping them out of their trance.

Bruce inhaled, sitting back, putting some distance between Maia and him. She did the same, stepping back and stumbling into the coffee table behind her.

"No ice but I managed to dig up some packets of peas from the back of the freezer," Alfred said, handing it to Maia.

"Thanks, Alfred. This'll do," Maia replied. She placed the pack gently on Bruce's bruised skin. He sucked in a breath through his teeth as the ice assaulted his sensitive skin.

Maia winced, "Sorry." "It's not a problem," He waved off and took the pack from her. She took the opportunity to sit on the edge of the coffee table in front of Bruce, the look of concern still plastered across her face.

"It's late, you should get some sleep." "Are you gonna be okay? I can stay up and help if--" "I'll be fine, I've handled much worse than a few bruises. I'll have Alfred carry me bridal style if it makes you feel better," He laughed, trying to put her worries at bay.

She smiled, amused at the image he painted. Bruce's gaze lingered on her lips, the lack of sleep and the events of the night must have been getting to him.

She cleared her throat and stood up, "Good night then, Mr. Wayne."

He bid her a good night, leaning back on the sofa with a sigh as he watched her leave the parlor. He shut his eyes to get some rest himself but his mind replayed everything that had passed between him and Maia that night. Mesmerized, even by the memory of her.

#batfam #bruce wayne #bruce wayne x reader #batman x reader #bale!bruce wayne #bale!batman #dc comics #dcu

15 notes · View notes

sodaabaa · 3 months

Text

little fox

bruce wayne x OC in looking for help from ally and friend lucius fox, bruce wayne finds a rather curious young woman in his stead.

tw: mentions of parental deaths, grief, typical violence/danger of gotham.

a/n: currently on a batman kick after rewatching the dark knight trilogy. if anyone knows any good fanfics based on christian bale's portrayal of bruce wayne, pls lmk! for now, here's my attempt...enjoy!

playlist

part 1: bruce looks for help in tracking a network of hackers terrorizing gotham city officials.

part 2: maia agrees to help bruce. the two of them find that they have more in common than they'd expect.

part 3: bruce and maia continue working closely to find entropy, the pair clash and sparks fly. maia is reunited with her uncle.

part 4: as bruce and maia get closer to finding entropy, bruce makes a drastic change to maia's position at wayne enterprises.

further installments coming soon

#batfam #bruce wayne #bruce wayne x reader #batman x reader #bale!bruce wayne #bale!batman #dc comics #dcu

56 notes · View notes

sodaabaa · 3 months

Text

little fox, part one

bruce wayne x OC in looking for help from his friend and ally, lucius fox, bruce wayne finds a rather curious young woman working in his stead.

tw: mentions of familial deaths, grief

masterlist

playlist

Bruce pushed through glass doors and curious glances as he strode towards Lucius Fox’s office in the Applied Sciences department of Wayne Enterprises, his father’s company – his company, despite how unnatural it still may feel to call it such. He watched the staff stumble over themselves as he walked past, flashing charming smiles and meaningless pleasantries to make them feel at ease with his presence – not that it ever worked, his very name was plastered on their badges, only a fool wouldn’t stumble in the presence of Bruce Wayne, the company's sole heir. When he returned to Gotham seven years ago, Bruce nearly lost control over the company when Richard Earle – then CEO – tried to go public. Luckily Bruce managed to buy most of the company's shares, making him the owner and leaving Bruce to reclaim his rightful position as CEO.

Finally, after what seemed to be an endless labyrinth of offices, he stood before the open double-doors of Lucius’ office. He walked into the large space, piles of books and paperwork scattered on several desks crowded the room. He ran an absentminded finger over the desk nearest to him, surveying the boxes riddled across the office. It looked like someone was packing for a move.

“I need all the information you have on a network of hackers called Entropy,” Bruce called out to Lucius, who was nowhere to be seen.

He turned his head, looking around the vacant room, waiting.

“Lucius?”

Rustling in the corner of the room behind one of the many piles of boxes caught his attention. He made his way to where the noise came from, bracing himself for a number of unexpected outcomes.

“Lucius?” As Bruce peered over the boxes to get a better look at the source of the noise, a head of brown, curly hair popped up, bumping their heads together. Thumping ensued, a few boxes fell over as Bruce stepped back, startled but readying himself as he rubbed his chin.

“Ow,” a soft voice accompanied by the short frame of his attacker came into view. Bruce gave her a onceover, surveying the simple gray work dress she was wearing and working his way up to see her face, scrunched in annoyance. She rubbed her forehead with the back of a hand, holding a pair of glasses. Bruce relaxed his shoulders, tension fading away as he softened.

“I’m sorry, I was looking for –” “Lucius, I heard you,” she spat back, still rubbing at the sore spot on her forehead.

His brows lifted in surprise – and amusement. This five foot something girl working down in the depths of the Applied Sciences department had just spat at Bruce. He almost laughed but his good manners kept him from doing so.

“I'm sorry, I didn't see you there," He stepped forward, offering his hand, "I don’t think we’ve met, Bruce Wayne.”

She finally looked up at him, brown eyes deadpanned at the introduction as if to say 'i know who you are.' She took his hand in a firm shake.

“Maia Fox.”

“You’re related to Lucius?” The girl – Maia – nodded, “He’s my uncle.”

Interesting. Bruce thought. He made a mental note to do some research, how many of his employees employed family members…?

“Is he here? I’d like to speak with him.”

“You’re out of luck, Mr. Wayne. Luc’s on sabbatical. He asked me to keep an eye on his office while he’s out,” She rocked back and forth on her heels, shrugging nonchalantly.

“Are you cleared for work down here?” Before Bruce could ask if she was even a Wayne Enterprises employee, she cut in.

“I work for the IT department,” she paused for a moment, “why do you need to know about Entropy?” Bruce inhaled and with a shrug of his own, he replied, “Curiosity.”

She squinted, not entirely convinced. He flashed her one of his charming smiles, putting his hands in his pockets. It didn’t seem to work.

“They’re a network of hackers who crave anarchy and disorder – they take advantage of corrupt public figures to show the rest of the world the real faces of the people they’re supposed to trust,” She tilted her head to the side, “or so they claim” She finished.

"Have they done something to you?" She asked.

“No – not yet at least. Although it might be in my best interest to stay informed. How do they operate?” She pondered for a moment before replying, her eyebrows furrowed.

“Not much is known about how they operate or where they’re based – if there even is a central location. They’re good at covering their tracks though they always leave behind a calling card. But…” She trailed off.

“What is it?”

She sighed, “Their calling card is only recognizable to other hackers.”

Bruce knew his way around computers – as did Alfred. But if he wanted to take down Entropy, he’d need a hacker. Entropy had been terrorizing city officials for weeks now, even going so far as to target good, decent people who fought for change in Gotham, all to further their own gain. And Bruce had to admit, the thought of having his own secrets exposed left him feeling uneasy. He’d have to look into his connections, find out who might be employable to assist with his other job.

“I can send you everything we have on them, though it isn’t much.”

Bruce nodded an absentminded ‘thank you’ before he left, already curating a mental list of people with the skills he now required.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maia returned home that night, curious about her encounter with the people’s beloved Prince of Gotham. She’d never met him before, though her uncle had told her stories — and warned her to stay away from him, claiming he got up to all sorts of trouble “out of boredom.” For some reason, she found that hard to believe, especially after seeing his concern and stoicism today; the polar opposite of everything everyone says about him.

She couldn’t help her fingers as they clicked away on the computer before her. What dirt could she dig up about the enigmatic Bruce Wayne? It took some time, of course, Wayne Enterprises took great measures to protect its owner and heir, but she also knew the ins and outs of the company’s security systems. She managed to dig up large purchases and donations. She found that he heavily funded the Applied Science and R&D departments.

Thank you very much Mr. Wayne. She thought to herself.

As she continued digging, her eye caught on WayneTech and WayneDefense prototypes — tanks armed with state of the art weapons and a built-in stealth-mode option. She squinted, trying to recall where she'd seen a tank exactly like the one on her screen. Although the prototype sported the standard military camouflage, she swore she had seen something like this before. Unable to put her finger on it, she returned to looking through Wayne’s purchases.

Her breath hitched as she stared at the receipt of an absurdly large order of—

“Bat shaped helmets? Why on earth did he order ten thousand of them?” She spoke out loud, unable to contain her bewilderment.

She continued searching and the deeper she dug, the more bizarre his purchases became. Most of them were parts that together, would create a tactical suit good enough for military use — the bat helmets, the familiar tank, the parts to make a suit, the excessive interest in Applied Sciences and R&D. It dawned on her before she could fully process what it meant, her thoughts racing.

Bruce Wayne is the Batman?

It couldn’t be. What reason would he have to become the city’s most notorious crime fighter? The man who single-handedly reduced Gotham’s rate by nearly 47%, put an end to major organized crime families, and protected the citizens of this city with a ferocity that was inhuman. Bruce Wayne. Born into the wealthiest family of Gotham, raised with a silver spoon — maybe even, a 24K gold spoon in his mouth. He went home with a dozen girls on each arm every weekend, showed up to meetings late, and wore custom made suits tailored just for him. How could he be the Batman?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maia Fox, it seemed, was just the person Bruce needed to help him take down Entropy. She was an MIT graduate, specializing in cyber security and finishing at the top of her class. She currently held a junior position in Wayne Enterprise’s IT department as a security systems engineer which helped keep the company and all of its vital information, systems and assets secure. Perhaps Bruce should pay her another visit. He opened the email he’d received from her earlier with all the information she had on the hacker network.

Maia – Thank you. Do you have time to discuss this information tomorrow? B. Wayne.

He sent the email, sitting back with an exhale. Though he hated to admit it, Bruce needed all the help he could get with this new threat. But that meant potentially exposing his identity to a complete stranger — granted she was Lucius’ niece. It also meant he’d be putting her in danger’s way, he secretly hoped Lucius wouldn’t hate him for it. He was one of the few people Bruce could truly trust and God knows Bruce needed more of those around. A notification sound snapped his attention back to the computer.

Sure. I’ll be in Luc’s office the whole day. Maia.

“Will you be meeting someone tomorrow, Master Wayne? A girl, perhaps?” Alfred called out from behind him, a tray carrying a cup of tea in his hands. The butler came to Bruce, setting the tray down with that insolent look he often gave Bruce.

Bruce scoffed, “She’s going to help me track down Entropy, Alfred.”

He took the cup, taking a whiff of the strong herbal aroma – Earl Grey, his favorite ever since he was a child. Alfred knew Bruce had difficulty sleeping and one of the only remedies that brought him some comfort was this tea.

“Is she not going to be suspicious of you, sir?”

“Bruce Wayne could have secrets he doesn’t want getting out,” He shrugged.

“I suppose being you does have some perks – and the perfect cover story for almost everything,” Alfred chuckled.

Bruce nodded, taking a sip of the hot tea. He sighed, letting the tea warm him.

“She’s Lucius Fox’s niece, by the way. If need be, I may tell her.” Alfred looked at him cautiously, “Are you sure, sir?” He nodded again, “It could be worse.”

Alfred shrugged and muttered something Bruce couldn’t quite catch, leaving Bruce returned to the computer to resume his research on Maia. He looked through old newspaper articles, archived school photos, and several of her research papers from MIT. His eye caught on one headline and his stomach dropped.

MIT ALUMNI JAMES FOX AND KATIE FOX DIE IN LABORATORY EXPLOSION James, 46 and Katie, 40 were declared dead on arrival at Gotham General, leaving behind ten year old daughter, Maia.

He stopped reading, bringing a hand up to rub at his temple. A wave of grief washed over him, the wound of his own parents’ deaths reopening as he skimmed the rest of the article. He gathered that Lucius was her only remaining family and that there was suspected foul play, although the case had gone cold due to any evidence being destroyed by the explosion. He made a note to look into any available information on their case, Bruce knew how important it was to get closure and if her parents’ deaths were, in fact, a homicide – then she had spent fifteen years haunted, unable to get justice for her parents. He couldn’t help but feel an instant connection to the girl, they were kindred spirits in the most unfortunate way.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maia paced back and forth in her uncle’s office, she nearly fell out of her chair last night when Bruce messaged her about meeting right in the midst of her freaking out about his secret identity (which led her to freaking out even more). She chewed on her thumbnail as she paced, unsure whether she should bring it up or if it’d be wiser to keep her mouth shut. As if on cue, a sharp knock on the door jolted her out of her thoughts. There he stood, leaning on the doorframe with a hand in his pocket. She stilled, taking in the man before her. He looked almost unassuming, like he played polo in his spare time and that was the extent of his athleticism.

This is the Batman, huh? She thought to herself.

She cleared her throat, motioning him into the room.

“Mr. Wayne, what can I do for you?” “I’m in need of your particular skill set,” He said as he entered the room. He practically glided into the room, his movements as smooth as ocean waves. He stood in front of her on the opposite side of her uncle’s desk. Her eyebrows furrowed in question.

“My skill set?” “Hacking.” She drew in a breath. Did he somehow know she–

“You already hold a junior position in the IT department working with our security systems at the age of 25 – would you be able to track down Entropy, if given the necessary equipment?” She exhaled. “You want me to try to outhack one of the greatest networks of hackers Gotham has ever seen?” He gave her a curt nod, brows raised, expecting an answer. She supposed she could try – Entropy was good but there had been better groups throughout the past few years and they’d eventually been caught.

“I can try.” He smiled, lips tight, “Great. I’ll have a car pick you up at 7 pm. It’ll take you to a private facility where you’ll find what you need to get started.”

Okay. Ominous.

“Private facility?” She questioned.

“It’s a long story,” He sighed.

She hesitated.

“Would it happen to include a certain leathery, nocturnal animal…?” She trailed off, wincing as she finished the sentence she couldn’t stop from coming out of her mouth.

Bruce’s eyes narrowed at her, filled with suspicion and…amusement? Finally, after a neverending moment of silence passed between them, a breathy laugh escaped from him.

“It took you what, a day, to figure that out?”

She laughed nervously, “Actually, I did some digging a couple hours after we met. You’re not very good at making discreet purchases, y’know.”

This time, he actually let out a full chuckle – it served to settle her nerves (only a little, she was still very much intimidated by the man in front of her).

“You’d be surprised at how much I can get away with simply because I’m reckless and filthy rich,” He said.

She suddenly remembered the task at hand – and the private facility he’d referred to only a moment ago.

“So this ‘private facility,’ what–” He stepped forward, leaning closer to her over the desk. Expensive cologne flooded the air around her as she breathed in.

“It’s the batcave. And it’ll all be at your disposal. You’ll find that those purchases have proven to be quite handy,” He winked.

She couldn’t help the cursed blush that rose up her neck, flushing her cheeks with warmth. Maia had to admit – he was charming. But he was as charming as he was lethal, she realized.

He stepped back, hands returning to his pockets.

“See you at 7?”

“See you at 7,” She nodded.

He turned to leave and Maia called out, “Wait, I didn't tell you my address?”

Without turning back, he replied, “You’re not the only one who did some research.”

#batfam #bruce wayne #bruce wayne x reader #batman x reader #bale!bruce wayne #bale!batman #dc comics #dcu

19 notes · View notes

sodaabaa · 3 months

Text

grishaverse masterlist

stories

nikolai lantsov

his shadow. inessa, the darkling's daughter and a childhood friend of ravka's golden prince, joins nikolai and alina in their plan to fight against the darkling.

#shadow and bone #nikolai lantsov #nikolai x reader #six of crows #the darkling #the grisha trilogy #the grishaverse

7 notes · View notes

sodaabaa · 3 months

Text

dcu masterlist

stories

bruce wayne

little fox. in looking for help from his friend and ally, lucius fox, bruce wayne finds a rather curious young woman working in his stead.

jason todd

stolen tires. jason returns to gotham after the world believed him to be dead

one shots

jason todd

boss. reader is eager to work with the redhood, he's not so thrilled.

#red hood #batfam #batfamily #jason todd #batman #under the red #bruce wayne #bruce wayne x reader #batman x reader #bale!bruce wayne #bale!batman #dc comics #dcu

32 notes · View notes

sodaabaa · 3 months

Text

acotar masterlist

one shots

rhysand

wings. reader is mesmerized by rhysand's wings and he makes a tempting suggestion.

reunited. after reader is taken by tamlin, she yearns for the day she can be reunited with her mate.

azriel

shadows and spirits, part one. reader is azriel's mate but she hasn't accepted the bond yet due to her fear of azriel himself.

shadows and spirits, part two. reader continues to defy azriel, how long will she manage to refuse the bond before she breaks?

#acotar #rhysand #acomaf #feyre archeron #rhysand x reader #acotar fanfiction #azriel shadowsinger #azriel spymaster #acotar series #acotar x reader #azriel x reader #azriel x female!reader #a court of thorns and roses #azriel acotar #azriel

75 notes · View notes

sodaabaa · 3 months

Text

bridgerton masterlist

stories

anthony bridgerton

to flee or not to flee? what happens when a charming and determined viscount courts someone whose worst fear is to marry a man like him?

benedict bridgerton

noor. noorjan begum, a newly minted tawaif, flees the royal court of india to avoid becoming the mistress of a wealthy patron. she makes it to london where she finds work at the royal academy of art and meets the man who will turn her world on its axis.

one shots

anthony bridgerton

late night mischief. reader gets dragged into a bit of late night mischief with the bridgerton siblings while anthony is away.

powdered sugar kisses. anthony searches aubrey hall for his wife, only to find her where he least expected a viscountess to be.

birthday. excited to celebrate her husband’s first birthday since they got married, reader is confused to find anthony missing. she takes a trip to mayfair to ask the bridgerton family where anthony has disappeared to.

suitors and sutures. reader is named the diamond of the season but despite this, she finds the men of the ton avoiding her rather than courting her.

#bridgerton #anthony bridgerton #anthony bridgerton x reader #bridgerton fanfiction #bridgerton family #oc #netflix #fanfic #benedict bridgerton

91 notes · View notes

sodaabaa · 3 months

Text

y'all thank you so much for 1,500 notes!!!!! i can't believe that many people have read and enjoyed this story. i need more anthony ideas but im all out, feel free to send in requests, i'd love to write more!

suitors and sutures

anthony bridgerton x reader reader is named the diamond of the season but despite this, she finds the men of the ton avoiding her rather than courting her.

tw: none

Y/N marveled at the grand ballroom adorned with crystal chandeliers that sparkled as they caught the light. Her heart racing with nerves and excitement as she entered to make her debut. This moment would define her prospects — her entire future. She recalled everything she’d been taught for this moment, every movement she made exuding grace and poise. Y/N wore only the finest, her ivory gown embellished with dainty beading, her hair done up in an intricate updo with curls hanging out to frame her delicate face. She looked and felt like a princess.

She took slow, steady steps towards the throne. Queen Charlotte sat before her, trained on her every move as she approached, scrutinizing the girl before her. She stood before the Queen, a pleasant smile on her face as she curtsied — a movement marked by grace, as though she were floating. She rose after a heartbeat, looking up at the Queen in reverence. The Queen regarded her for a moment before leaning forward and with the gentlest of touches, held Y/N’s chin. She placed a kiss on her forehead, Y/N’s heart nearly burst. The Queen sat back, nodding as she declared Y/N to be the diamond of the season. She curtsied once more, thanking the Queen for bestowing her with such a title. When her presentation had come to an end, Y/N returned to her place beside her parents who gave her at least two dozen kisses, proud of their daughter for catching the eye of the Queen.

“Y/N!” A hushed voice came from her left – she looked for the source of the sound and found Francesca Bridgerton leaning behind her brothers to catch her best friend’s attention. Y/N leaned behind her parents to return her excitement.

“Francesca!”

“You’re the diamond! My best friend is the diamond! I knew only you could impress the Queen” She exclaimed, her face bright with excitement.

“I’m not certain I believe it,” she replied. It was true she couldn’t quite believe that her weeks of training for this moment had paid off.

“Hush, you two. There are still debutantes making their entrances,” Y/N rolled her eyes at the sound of the eldest Bridgerton chastising them. Francesca giggled at her friend’s blatant disregard for Anthony’s warning but swatted a hand at her to hush before Anthony scolded them once more.

Y/N lived directly across from the Bridgertons and thus, she grew up alongside the rather large family. Where Y/N was all mischief and confidence, Francesca was timid and quiet – as a child, Y/N had been drawn towards Francesca, the yin to her yang. They’d been inseparable since then. But with Francesca came an abundance of brothers and sisters who she’d grown comfortable with over the years – all except for the eldest, Anthony. Constantly reprimanding his siblings – and Y/N – for their behavior, always being the end to their fun. Though she had to admit, Y/N found great joy in taunting and teasing the grumpy viscount, making him lose his patience and composure was one of her favorite pastimes.

“Be mindful of who you are speaking to, Lord Bridgerton, I am the diamond of the season after all,” she retorted.

He gave her a pointed look which she returned, “it’s far too easy to rile you up, my lord,” she mocked. Next to Anthony stood Benedict, amused at their little spat.

“How you managed to become the diamond is beyond me,” he shook his head in annoyance.

She giggled but before she could tease him any further, her mother pulled her arm, motioning for her to face forward.

“Dearest, now that you are the diamond, you must be mindful of your behavior – especially with the Bridgertons,” she said, insinuating that she needed to be more ladylike with the Bridgerton boys.

“Of course mother,” she replied with a sigh.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

“May I have this dance, Miss L/N?” She nodded graciously, accepting the man’s offer despite her feet begging her to take a seat. She’d danced with at least a dozen earls and barons and a few viscounts here and there – all of them vying for her attention, trying to impress her so that she might be receptive to their courtship.

As they danced across the ballroom, the man droned on about his accomplishments – she’d periodically offered nods and smiles to appear engaged but truth be told all she could focus on was the pain in her poor feet. She looked around the room, trying to find something more interesting to think about when her eyes clashed with Anthony’s. He was already staring at her when she found him, his face set in a scowl.

Someone’s grumpy tonight, she thought.

“My lady?” The man snapped her out of her thoughts.

“Pardon?”

“Do you not think it is the most riveting exercise – chess?” He repeated his question.

She had to fight the urge to roll her eyes, had he been droning on about chess this entire time?

“Yes, of course. My apologies, all of this dancing has made me awfully parched,” she put on her most damsel-in-distress demeanor.

“I shall retrieve a lemonade immediately, my lady.”

Finally, she sighed, making her way towards the viscount pouting in the corner.

“Has someone insulted you tonight or is your face just permanently set in a scowl?”

He rolled his eyes, “You abandoned your dance partner.”

“Would you believe me if I said he’d been giving a lecture on chess the entire time?”

He scoffed a laugh, amused at the torture she had to endure. She leaned against the wall next to him, facing the dance floor. She saw the man looking for her in the crowd, two lemonades in hand as promised.

She turned to Anthony and threw him a dazzling smile, “Would you be so kind as to dance with me?”

He looked down at her, not buying her flirtatious act. From the corner of her eyes, she saw the chess man making his way toward her.

“Please, have mercy Viscount Bridgerton,” she said more sincerely.

He looked up for a moment, muttering a curse under his breath before taking her hand with a sigh. She smiled, triumphant.

“Miss L/N?” Chess man said.

“Apologies Donovan, I shall be taking this next dance with Miss L/N,” Anthony replied before she could say anything. He didn’t wait for a response as he pulled her to the dance floor.

“My hero,” she said, exaggerating her relief. He tried not to smile at her antics.

He led them across the dance floor, expertly guiding her through as he held her gaze. She was impressed by his ballroom skills – though she couldn’t say she was surprised, the grouch of a viscount had always been the type of person to excel in anything and everything he did. They danced quietly, a relief for Y/N after having to endure hours of talking. The two of them were content, comfortable to dance without exchanging meaningless pleasantries or droning on about their achievements. When the music slowed, signaling the end of the night, he bowed, she returned the gesture with a curtsy and with that, she bid the viscount goodbye.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Warm rays of sunlight nudged Y/N awake. Her mind instantly recalled her dance with Anthony last night. She sat up, suddenly remembering that there must be dozens of suitors calling on her right now.

Shit. She scrambled out of bed, calling on her maids to come and help her find the appropriate dress for the morning. She quickly did her hair, pinched her cheeks to bring some color back into her face, and rushed downstairs to the drawing room. There sat her mother – alone?

“Mother? Were there no callers?”

Her mother set down her teacup on the table in front of her, “perhaps it's simply too early, I’m sure there will be callers soon,” she replied.

She sat beside her mother, confused. She recalled Daphne Bridgerton’s experience with being the diamond. She had suitors instantaneously, regardless of the time of day. The maid brought her breakfast, setting it down on the table but Y/N found herself lacking an appetite. Her aching feet were a reminder of the many men who took a vehement interest in her the night before – where had they all gone?

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

“Perhaps it was simply too early in the day?” Francesca echoed her mother’s sentiments as they walked arm in arm around the park. The two oldest Bridgerton brothers trailed behind them, acting as chaperones (primarily for Francesca while Y/N merely intruded).

“Are you men not up at ungodly hours in the morning to tend to whatever business it is you have?” She called out to the two behind her.

“I certainly am not,” Benedict replied, “and you, brother?”

“Any respectable man would be up bright and early. I should think your suitors from last night are all lousy men you would not want courting you anyway, Miss L/N,” Anthony replied gruffly.

She rolled her eyes at his remark, “Do vampires require sleep?” She asked no one in particular (though she had hoped Anthony would understand the insult).

“Vampires cannot roam freely in the daylight,” Anthony replied. She smiled, satisfied.

Francesca and Benedict laughed, “I do hope whatever poor fellow does end up courting you has thick skin and an abundance of patience,” Benedict said.

“I think you should be a tad bit nicer, Y/N. Men have unfortunately fragile egos,” Francesca replied, leaning in closer to whisper the last part.

“Heard that,” the two men behind them said in unison.

That night as Y/N lay in bed, she raked over her conversation with the Bridgertons. Perhaps her behavior had scared away her potential suitors. She knew she could be a bit brash – not always able to hold her tongue or control her facial expressions but as Benedict said, she simply needed a man who could handle her colorful personality.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Dearest Reader,

It appears our revered diamond may not dazzle as brightly as Her Majesty had envisioned. Whispers abound that Miss Y/N L/N finds herself unable to secure a suitor. Despite her dances and promenades with many a gentlemen, a courtship remains elusive – let alone a match. Was it an error on the Queen's part to name Miss L/N as the diamond of the season? Or perhaps, dare I say, is she not quite equal to the challenge?

Yours Truly,

Lady Whistledown

Tears stung Y/N’s eyes as she read the excerpt of Lady Whistledown’s paper. It’d been weeks since the start of the season and she was still unable to keep a man interested long enough for him to court her. She took Francesca’s advice and started being kinder, showed more enthusiasm the interests of whomever was conversing with her but it was all in vain – for the next day they were nowhere to be found.

She took deep breaths to steady herself as she prepared for yet another ball, no doubt the Queen would be watching her closely trying to determine the reason for her diamond’s failure. She had not only embarrassed herself and her family this season but she risked embarrassing the Queen as well. The thought made her stomach churn with anxiety but she pushed them away, determined to redeem herself tonight.

Y/N entered Lady Danbury’s ballroom with her parents, eyes instantly seeking out Francesca for support. Instead, she found another familiar face standing before her, hand out in front of him asking for a dance.

“Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. L/N,” Anthony nodded to her parents, “may I steal Miss L/N for the first dance?”

They let her go with an enthusiastic nod as Y/N took Anthony’s hand. She muttered a ‘thank you’ to Anthony as they made their way to the dance floor. She knew she had to stay busy to avoid the Queen’s ire. As they made their way to the dance floor, she noticed one of the men who had walked with her days ago sporting a rather painful-looking black eye. Ouch. What had he done to earn that? She wondered.

“Lady Whistledown was quite harsh,” He broke her out of her thoughts as they started dancing.

“Perhaps she was right,” her voice was quiet.

Anthony’s face contorted in disbelief, “If there’s anyone who can handle being diamond, it's you, Y/N. Lady Whistledown is merely looking for a way to undermine the Queen’s judgment.”

She looked up at him, surprised at his reassuring words. But it was not enough, she couldn’t help but wonder if she was simply unmarriageable.

“Perhaps Francesca was right, I should be more gentle, more kind, and gracious to the attentions of men,” she said.

Anthony scoffed, “Perhaps those half-wits shouldn’t be courting you at all.”

Y/N couldn’t hold back the laughter that escaped her – had he just called the other men half-wits?

“Then who should be courting me, Lord Bridgerton?” She looked at him with curiosity.

“Whoever shows up at your house, calling upon you at ungodly hours in the morning,” he replied, a small smirk gracing his lips.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

“Miss! You have a caller!”

Y/N groaned, lifting the duvet over her ears. One of the maids pulled back the curtains, the sudden burst of light making Y/N flinch.

“What is it, Celia?” She muttered to her maid, still half asleep.

“You have a caller, Miss! Your mother needs you to come downstairs straight away.”

She sat up, cursing the awful man who had decided now to call upon her. She threw off the duvet, begrudgingly leaving the cozy bed to get dressed.

She made her way down the stairs to find out who had so callously pulled her out of bed at this time. She could hear her mother from the hall, stalling him by talking about all of Y/N’s achievements and something about how happy she was that a longtime friend was courting Y/N.

Longtime friend?

She turned the corner, entering the drawing room when she stopped in her tracks. The sight of the familiar silhouette jolted her awake.

“Anthony?”

He turned, standing up with a smile.

“Y/N, mind your manners, that is no way to refer to Viscount Bridgerton!” Her mother called out.

“It’s quite alright, Mrs. L/N, we’ve long since passed the need for formalities, have we not?” He asked her.

She nodded, unable to find any words to construct a proper reply.

“May we have a moment, Mrs. L/N?”

“Of course!” Her mother scurried from the drawing room, leaving behind a maid as the chaperone.

Anthony motioned for her to sit as he sat down on the sofa. She took a seat in front of him.

“What’s all this?” She asked, still in shock.

“I believe I should begin by apologizing,” he said.

Her brows furrowed in confusion, “Whatever for?”

He exhaled, “What Lady Whistledown said,” he paused, “you had – or would have had many suitors calling upon you had I not interfered.”

She looked at him, still confused – perhaps even more so. He took her confusion as permission to go on.

“None of those men were decent nor respectable. Your behavior felt like a challenge towards them -- I overheard several of those half-wits making bets on who’d be able to,” he cleared his throat, “break your attitude.”

Y/N sat back, astonished by the sudden revelation. He brought a hand up to his chin, stroking it as if in thought. Her eyes fell to his knuckles, red as if he’d –.

Realization dawned on her.

“Did you – one of the men I talked to, he had a black eye at the ball last night! Anthony did you –,” Before she could finish, the look on his face answered gave her all the answer she needed. He looked smug, pleased with himself.

“He deserved it," he said as he sat back.

“Anthony! The poor man probably needed sutures!”

“I was not going to allow such things to be said about a lady in my presence!”

She laughed, “What then, you were protecting me from them?”

He nodded, “They were unworthy of you.”

“And you are?” She challenged.

“If you’ll have me,” he replied.

She watched him, still reeling from the fact that he’d punched another man for her. That he’d been keeping all of those men away from her. It made her stomach flutter. She knew of his fierce protectiveness through Francesca and Daphne but being on the receiving end of such gallant behavior – if there was a man who could handle her, it had to be Anthony with his quick wit and no-nonsense attitude that he threw out the window when it came to matching her in a spat. He fit her in every way, though it took her until now to realize it.

“How could I refuse my hero?”

#anthony bridgerton x reader #bridgerton #bridgerton fanfiction #anthony bridgerton

2K notes · View notes