ooh, I saw the other anon offering their soul up for a request. I will make a sacrificial offering to the writing gods for you. if maybe you could write a Bruce Wayne Drabble with a handsize difference?- I dunno recently compared hands with a guy with hands almost two finger joints larger than mine so🥴
hey nonnie how does it feel to be living my dream
anyway
Not necessarily Shop Girl and Bruce
Warnings:...Idk, none? Yearning? Pining? And me pretending to know anything about gunshot residue because I did limited googling don't @ me
"What are you doing back there?"
"Nothing," You insisted, doing your best to ignore the feeling of Bruce turning to look at you. You just continued your inspection of one of Bruce's discarded gloves, turning it over in your hands before you hesitantly slid your hand into it. You watched the glove slide down, brows raising as you wiggled your fingers in the roomy interior.
"What is it?" Bruce chuckled.
"There's a lot of space in here."
"Is there?"
"How do you grip anything properly?"
"Here," Bruce reached out, sliding the glove off of your hand and casting it aside. Before you could argue, he took hold of your hand, raising it and pressing your hands together. Your stomach flipped at the heat and weight of his palm, taking in the sight of his fingers spreading above yours. You kept your gaze on your hands, unable to look at Bruce as heat crept up your neck and spread to your face.
"...Oh," You managed lamely after a moment.
"Does that answer your question?"
"Yep."
"Good." Bruce pulled his hand back from yours, only to reach up and gently chuck you under the chin with his knuckles. "And leave my gloves alone. You don't need any GSR transfer."
"Any what?"
"Gunshot residue. It's harmless and the transfer rate is pretty low, but god forbid the cops take you in and test your hands, it could spell trouble," He turned away taking up the glove. You folded your arms around yourself, fingers wiggling as you watched him bring the glove back to the rest of his suit.
"...That something you deal with a lot?" You hedged softly.
"Sometimes." He glanced back toward you, brows furrowing a little. "...I'm fine."
"I know," You nodded. It was too quick—you could see Bruce beginning to turn toward you a bit more, an argument ready on his tongue. But you didn't want to argue—not about this, and not right now.
"I'm going to go make some coffee," You insisted. "You want any?"
"...I'll take a cup, sure."
"Okay."
You'd only managed to take a step when Bruce caught hold of your hand, and you didn't have a chance to face him fully before you felt the warm press of his lips against your knuckles. You gave his hand a hesitant squeeze before he let go, and you strode out of the room as quickly as possible, trying to ignore your pounding heart and tingling knuckles.
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Hi! I love love love the other half. After the last chapter I hope Bruce does something nice for shop girl (and for himself to ig). Them being sweet just makes me screech.
Previous Part | Masterlist | Final Part
Some sweet Bruce comin' riiiight up
Warnings: Very light angst; mostly fluff
Not beta-read
“Are you awake?” Bruce’s breath brushes against the bare skin of your shoulder. You grunt softly, shifting where you lay on your belly. The sheets are soft and warm beneath you; you can see sunlight beginning to creep in between the curtains of the master bedroom of the mansion.
“...No,” You finally mumble, voice grumbling and thick with sleep. Bruce chuckles, pressing a sweet kiss to your shoulder as his palm brushes over your back, dipping beneath the covers. You hum softly, arching up into his touch and sighing through your nose.
“Why are you awake?” You counter. “What time did you get in?”
“A little after two.”
“Oh, wow. Early night for you.”
“Moderately.”
You roll onto your back, gently dislodging Bruce’s hand. You scrub the sleep from your eyes with the heels of your palms before you finally tip your chin up, getting a better look at him. He does look more well-rested than he has in a while: his eyes are bright as he smiles down at you.
Christmas and New Years had passed with little to no incident. Your Christmas celebration had been small; the most tense point had been a short video call with your parents. Conversation overall had been stilted, but not as bad as pulling teeth. New Year’s had been spent at Liz and Grant’s for their blowout celebration, but your night with Bruce had ended early when the signal had shown in the sky.
Still, despite your bumps and hurdles, you feel like the two of you are slowly inching toward where you had been before your break-up. Some of the buoyancy is coming back to both of you. With your relationship no longer Gotham’s best-kept secret, Bruce openly picks you up after work. Sure, you’re still mobbed by the press, but you’re so used to it that it hardly makes a dent anymore. You aren’t tip-toeing around one another. If you have a disagreement, Bruce stays to talk it out. Now and again he may step out of the room to get his head together—but he always comes back.
It isn’t perfect—it will never be perfect—but it feels more solid, and safe.
You raise your hand, sweeping it gently across his cheek, and giggling softly as he tips his head to press a kiss to your palm.
“Someone’s in a good mood.”
“Well someone,” Bruce leans closer, brushing his nose against yours, “Has plans for you today.”
“For me? Little ol’ me?”
You hardly have a chance to get the tease out before Bruce captures your lips in a tender kiss. You sink back into the mattress as he presses closer, looping your arms around his shoulders and smiling as his tongue gently probes between your lips. You hum at the feeling, shifting your hips as Bruce’s hand skims across them, then down your thigh. You pout as he draws back just a little, dropping another peck to your lips before his forehead rests against yours.
“What are these plans, exactly?”
“I don’t want to ruin any surprises.”
“Surprises?” You lean into it as your brows raise. Plural?”
“You’ll see.” Bruce gives you one more quick, warm kiss before he leans away. “Shower, get dressed. I’ll get you some coffee.”
You push yourself up onto your elbows, an intrigued smile curling your lips. “What the hell are you up to, mister?”
“You’ll see!”
--
Bruce doesn’t let a single tip slip throughout your shared coffee, or on the way out—not even when you crowd him into an alcove by the stairs and nibble on his earlobe. He nearly crumbles for a moment, but he rests his hands on your hips and gives them a lusty squeeze before reassuring: “There’ll be plenty of time for that later.”
You narrow your eyes slightly as Bruce steers you out of the dim space, a smile curling your lips as you take in the rising flush in his cheeks.
“Looking a little flustered there, Mr. Wayne.”
“What ever gave you that idea—Alright,” He chuckles as you lean in, pushing cool air over his earlobe. “You can’t get secrets out of me that way.” He curls his arm around yours, steering you toward the front steps of the mansion.
“Mm, but I was this close. What would the sinister of Gotham think if they found out that Batman needed so little teasing to crumble?”
“Why do you think the helmet covers my ears?”
You snort, bumping your hip against him before the two of you slow at the sight of Alfred standing in front of one of Bruce’s cars.
“Go on,” Bruce urges softly when you meet his eye again. “I’ll see you tonight.”
“At one of my many surprises?”
“Exactly.”
You pucker your lips, and grin as Bruce leans in for another indulgent kiss.
“Love you.”
“Love you, too.” He pats your lower back, urging you forward. “I’ll see you later.”
You grunt, jogging down the front steps.
“Morning, Alfred.”
“Good morning, miss.”
“I take it you’re in on these shenanigans?”
“Shenanigans may be a rather harsh word for the day ahead.” He shoots you a wink as he opens the door for you.
“Any hints?”
“I’ve been sworn to secrecy.”
--
Alfred leaves you at the front door of Grove, one of your favorite restaurants, at 11:30 AM on the dot, and tells you that your name is on the reservation. You linger in the reception area as the waiter prepares your table.
“Ugh, tell them to hurry up, I want a fucking mimosa.”
You shriek at the familiar voice, whirling around from the reception desk and right into Michelle’s arms. She cackles, and the two of you hug one another tightly for a long few moments.
“What are you doing here!” You ask, reeling away to get a better look at her.
"Moneybags offered to fly me in. No way was I turning down first class, a free brunch, and…Some other stuff.”
“Ugh, not you, too,” You whine. You let it drop just long enough for the waiter to show the two of you to a quiet table at the back of the restaurant. You let Michelle order the two of you a round of mimosas before you lean across the table. “Come on, not even a hint?”
“Well, I’m going to be around for a few hours, but that’s all you’re getting.”
“When did he reach out?”
“Like…I don’t know, sometime during gooch week?”
“During what?”
“Gooch week—you know, the week between Christmas and New Years? Like the bit between the asshole and the—”
“Okay, I got it, I got,” You wave her off as the waiter sets down your mimosas. “What did he tell you, at least? That made you come down here.”
“He said that he wanted to do something nice for you.”
You hum thoughtfully, narrowing your eyes as you consider what that could possibly mean. Bruce does nice things for so often.
“I think he still feels like he needs to make up for the whole…Situation.”
“Well, he does,” Michelle mutters, taking up her glass and taking a deep swig. You fight back a chastising frown.
“...He’s been getting better. We’ve been better,” You insist.
“Do you think he’s going to propose tonight?”
Her question stuns you, and for a moment, you can’t say anything. The prospect makes your head spin, and you actually lean back in your seat with the weight of it.
“I…” You shake your head, “I don’t…”
Michelle’s lift with interest, and she leans in.
“You don’t…what? Know how big the ring is gonna be?”
“I don’t think he’s going to ask,” You laugh. “I mean, at least, not right now. He and I haven’t spoken about it in a long time.”
“Not even after the attack?”
“We’ve talked about a lot of things, but that’s not one of them.”
Michelle grunts softly. “If he proposed tonight, what would you say?”
“He’s not going to.”
“But if he did?”
“Knee-jerk reaction? Probably yes. But we’ve still got a lot of crap to sort through.”
“Like what?”
“Like…” You flub for a a reasonable answer before you manage: “He’s an insomniac.”
Michelle's expression is rife with disbelief, and you couldn't blame her. To a reasonable person, it's probably not a great reason to end a relationship.
“That’s a deal breaker for you?”
“I know it sounds kinda petty, but it makes more of an impact than you’d think.”
“What else?”
“I mean, I’d kind of like him to make peace with my parents before any of that. Not like, go to them and ask for my hand—I don’t care about that and they don’t, either. But if he’s going to be family to them, I just want all of that bad blood from Thanksgiving cleared up.”
“He wasn’t given the green after the office?”
“I mean, they appreciated it, but my mom is convinced that bad luck just follows him.”
“Maybe it does.”
You purse your lips, swirling your mimosa a little.
“Maybe.”
The two of you consider it for a few moments before Michelle reaches out, patting your hand and pointing to your menu.
“Let’s order. I don’t want to miss our spa appointment.”
“Spa?”
She winces. “Just act surprised when we turn up so Lord Fancy doesn’t report back to the billionaire that I spoiled anything.”
--
“Are you kidding me?”
Bruce smiles smugly as he watches you nearly double over in laughter. You don’t care that the entire floor staff of Chef du Roi is looking at you like you’re insane.
“I figured we should try the food here at least once,” Bruce insists as you calm, steering you by the arm toward your table. You swipe a few tears that had gathered from your eyes, chuckling still as he draws your chair out for you.
“Thank you.” Your smile widens as Bruce leans in, pressing a gentle kiss to your cheek before he rounds to his seat. You take the proffered menu from the waiter, flipping it open. You wait until the waiter is out of earshot before you comment, “You know, I’ve been dying for Chipotle lately.”
“Ha-ha.”
You giggle, wriggling your foot out of your new pair of pumps and gently brushing your toe along his calf. Bruce’s gaze flickers to yours from beneath his lashes, and you fight back a devilish grin.
“So, the spa, the shopping spree, flying in my best friend…May I ask what triggered such largesse?”
“Well, it’s not every day that I have to scramble to make up for missing our first anniversary by bringing you back to the scene of our first date,” Bruce comments, glancing between menu pages. It feels a little like a goad—especially considering the fact that he’s the reason you’d missed your anniversary, and you both know it. You just hum thoughtfully, glancing over the entrees.
“...Technically the scene of our first date was the diner near the store I worked at,” You remind him. “This was our second date—And we didn’t even eat here.”
“Nitpick nitpick nitpick.”
“I learned from the best.”
“Michelle?”
“Alfred.”
Bruce chuckled, setting his menu aside. “How is Michelle?”
“She’s doing pretty well. Still adjusting to Keystone City, obviously, but she said that she enjoys how quiet it is by compairson…Thank you, by the way.”
“I know how much you’ve been missing her.”
“...She’s worried.”
“That I’ll do it again?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you worried?”
“Should I be?”
You don’t look up from your menu for a moment. You can feel him watching you heavily, but you don’t let it bow or shy you back from the question. You feel the table shift as he leans forward a little.
“Baby.”
“Mm?”
“If for some reason I lose my mind and do that again, I want you to take everything out of the mansion that isn’t nailed down.”
You bite back a smile, nodding. “Do me a favor and jot that out on a napkin. Alfred can notarize it when we get home.”
“Alfred can notarize it tomorrow morning. He has the night off.”
“Why’s that?”
Bruce’s foot hooks around your ankle, tugging a little closer beneath the table. You can’t help but wonder what sort of picture you make to the staff—Bruce, watching you so closely, you, studying your menu as if the waiter’s going to quiz you on it, and your feet hooked together, visible just beneath the end of the tablecloth.
“Because if you’re amenable, our plans don’t end with dinner.”
“What do they end with?”
“That is up to you.”
“Do I get to know my options?”
“I think you know your options.”
“Mm.” You make a show of turning the page of your menu, stalling and trying to weigh your words. “...So is this going to be an evening on the…Earlier side?”
“Not if I can help it.”
“...But if you can’t help it?”
“It’s going to take a lot to get me away from you tonight.”
“You know if you changed one word and omitted another, you would’ve been quoting Toto’s Africa.”
“That wasn’t on purpose.”
“Wasn’t it?” You cast him a glance from beneath your lashes.
“No.”
Your brows tip up, and his stern insistence melts before he shrugs. “Heard it on the way over.”
“Uh-huh.”
“It’s catchy.”
“It’s very popular.”
“I mean it.”
“...I know.”
“You know?”
“I know it’s catchy.”
He laughs softly, and you reach out, curling your hand around his.
“I know you mean it,” You reassure gently. Bruce smiles, raising his hand and pressing a kiss to your knuckles.
“...How long do you think the staff is going to linger over there?” He asks.
“I think they’re afraid to come over.”
“I don’t bite.”
“Sure you do.”
“Not with an audience.”
Final Part
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