#drifterbruce

You glanced at the bedroom door from where you were standing in front of the vanity, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt.

“Come in, Dory.” 

The door opened, and Dory walked in, shutting the door softly behind her.

“I was just checking to see if you were doing alright. You’ve been in here all day.” She smiled at you, which you returned as you fiddled with your bracelet, which had come undone.

“I’m okay. I’m just trying to put this bracelet back on. I’m actually about to go see what Alfred is doing as soon as I’m done here.” You chuckled.

The bracelet in question did not seem to want to cooperate with you; in fact, it seemed to taunt you by slipping from your wrist as you managed to almost hook the claw onto the other side, causing you to grit your teeth as you fumbled with it.

By the fifth try, you were ready to call it quits when Dory approached you, taking the bracelet from your hands quietly.

“Let me.” She said softly, and you held your wrist out. The two of you remained in a comfortable silence as she fastened your bracelet, then took a few steps back.

“Thanks, Dory. Usually, Bruce helps me with this, but…” You trailed off, gesturing towards the door.

Dory smiled, an understanding look on her face.

“It’s quite all right, dear. You’re not the one who’s been having some trouble. I heard that Bruce had trouble with his cufflinks earlier, but didn’t want help.”

You swallowed, a (petty) part of you feeling a little better knowing that Bruce was struggling too. The other part of you, however, ached because Bruce was struggling too.

“It’s normal, right? To have arguments with your spouse?” You asked quietly after a moment of silence, looking at yourself in the mirror as you remembered the argument you and Bruce had the previous night.

Full of scathing words and frustrated looks, it had ended with you walking out of the terminal, and Bruce watching with a defeated look on his face.

“It is. But this is just something that you will overcome. A bump in the road. It may not seem like it now, but everything will be just fine. Mr. Wayne loves you too much to let this argument be the end of your marriage.” Dory reassured you, patting your arm before excusing herself and leaving the room.

You remained there for a few moments, taking in what Dory said before walking out of the room, bracing yourself just in case you ran into Bruce.

It will be all right. You thought as you closed the door behind you.

Everything will be okay.

–

Everything was not okay. 

You paced the hospital hallway, waiting for the doctor to step out of Alfred’s room.

Did Dory manage to get a hold of Bruce? You would have to call her and ask her as soon as you received any news about Alfred. Sighing, you sat down on one of the chairs, pulling your phone out to text Bruce just in case.

“Mrs. Wayne?” A nurse approached you, a sympathetic look in her eyes. You smiled weakly at her as a greeting, putting your phone away and immediately standing up.

“I need you to please come with me to fill out some paperwork. Will it just be you visiting the patient?”

“My husband should be arriving soon.” You murmured as you walked to the nurses’ station with the nurse, clutching the jacket you were wearing closer to you.

“Okay. It’s not a lot of paperwork. Usually, we have the patient fill it out, but if they can’t, then we have their family member or emergency contact do it for them.” She explained, going behind the station to get a clipboard and the paper from the printer. “It’s mostly his medical history, so we know what we can work with.”

She handed you the paperwork and pen.

“Just fill it out, and bring it back to me when you’re finished.”

You thanked her and walked back to the small waiting area you passed on your way. Sitting down, you filled out what you knew, wishing that Bruce was beside you to help you with it.

You took the paperwork back to the nurses’ station after double-checking to make sure what you had filled out was correct. The nurse who helped you looked up as you approached her.

“I filled out what I knew, but my husband should be here soon. He should know the rest.” You said, handing her the items.

“That is quite all right, Mrs. Wayne. We’ll get Mr. Wayne to fill out the rest when he arrives.” She reassured you, and you nodded, thanking her.

Then your phone rang, and you ran your hands through your hair as you excused yourself quietly to take the call.

–

“We’ve sedated him. We just have to hope he stabilizes.” The doctor informed Bruce as she stepped out of Alfred’s hospital room. 

Bruce said nothing. He had arrived a few moments after you had excused yourself to take the phone call, and, after filling out the rest of the paperwork, the nurse gave him, had walked over to stand in front of Alfred’s room waiting for news.

“You should go home, Mr. Wayne. Get some sleep. Your wife, too. Is there anyone else to notify? Next of kin?” She continued.

Bruce paused and turned his head to glance at the doctor, thinking. The only ones who were there for Alfred was himself and Y/N.

“No. Just Y/N and I.” He said, turning back to look at Alfred through the window - not bothering to mention that he was Alfred’s emergency contact.

The doctor nodded and was about to say something else– but was interrupted by footsteps approaching. 

Bruce looked up to see you walking towards them, your phone pressed against your ear. He felt some tension leave him as he sighed quietly, the sight of you unharmed and safe bringing him some comfort.

“-I’m just waiting to hear what the doctor says before I head back.” As you got closer, he noticed that the jacket you were wearing looked big on you- it was his jacket, he realized a moment later, how your eyes were red from crying, and how your hair was disheveled from you running your hands through it- something you would do when you were worried or nervous.

“Okay. Both Bruce and the doctor are here. I’ll see you soon, Dory. Be safe.” You hung up and placed your phone in your pocket before looking up. “I am so sorry Doctor, I had to fill out some paperwork, and then I got a call and I had to take it–” You shook your head, glancing briefly at Bruce, who had not taken his eyes away from you, before asking, “How is Alfred doing? Is he okay?”

“We sedated him, now we’re just waiting to see if he stabilizes.” The doctor repeated what she told Bruce, and you nodded along. “I was just telling Mr. Wayne that he should go home and get some sleep–”

“I can stay with Alfred.” You offered, wrapping your jacket closer to you to block out the cold of the hospital.

“Mrs. Wayne, that goes for you, too. You both need to get some rest. We will notify you if there are any changes.”

With that, she excused herself, leaving you alone with Bruce in the hallway.

You ran a hand through your hair, turning your head to look at Alfred through the window. Your heart hurt, seeing the man you considered as a father lying there, injured.

“Y/N.” Bruce spoke in a gentle tone, causing you to look at him. His eyes bore into yours. “What happened?”

You looked away from the intensity of his gaze, your eyes flickering from the floor to Alfred and back again to the floor, not knowing how to start.

It was the first conversation the two of you were since the argument the night before, after all. Do you apologize, or…?

“We were talking,” You started quietly. “He was about to start sorting the mail, and I thought it would be nice to make some sandwiches to eat while we waited for you to get home. So I went to the kitchen-”

You didn’t notice your hands were trembling slightly until you felt larger ones taking a hold of them. Your eyes widened as you looked up, and your first instinct was to pull away, but you realized that it was just Bruce.

“I had just taken out the condiments when I heard the explosion. I-” You took a deep breath. “I ran to where Alfred was and saw him on the floor. I had Dory call the ambulance while I pulled him to safety.”

His thumb started tracing soothing circles on your left hand, which calmed you down a bit. You glanced from the floor to your joined hands, then to Bruce.

“The ambulance arrived before the police did. They almost didn’t let me ride with Alfred. I only had time to grab a jacket- the closest one I could find. And I told Dory to call you and tell you what happened. When we got here, the doctors took him and they’ve been trying to stabilize him ever since.” With that, you trailed off and let out a deep sigh.

The two of you stayed quiet for a few heartbeats. 

Bruce did not let go of your hands, even as he turned his head to look at Alfred.

“I tried to get there as quickly as I could.” After I found out was left unsaid. “The police and firefighters were in the Tower when I got there.”

“Did the police tell you what it was?” You asked, although you had a pretty good idea who was the culprit of all this.

Bruce’s eyes narrowed, dark with anger.

“It was a package intended for me. The Riddler sent it.” He clenched his jaw as he looked away from Alfred to the floor. The two of you stayed like that for a few seconds until he lifted his gaze to you. 

He looked like he wanted to say something, if the intense look in his eyes was any indication.

“We should go.” He finally said, letting go of one of your hands. He looked frustrated with himself. “You need to get some sleep.”

He needed to get some sleep too, you thought as you walked beside him to the elevators that would take you to the 1st floor of the hospital, past the waiting room and the nurses’ station. 

He did not let go of your hand until the two of you had reached his car. 

Bruce opened the passenger door for you and waited until you were seated before closing the door and walking over to the driver’s side. You buckled in your seat belt and bit back a yawn as he got in, buckling in his own seat belt and turning on the ignition.

The car purred to life, and Bruce made quick work of pulling the car out of the parking garage. You swallowed, looking at the window to the passing scenery outside.

You let out a deep sigh. Bruce glanced at you as he stopped at a red light.

“Are you okay?” He asked. You nodded, searching for words to say, but nothing came to mind.

As the light turned green and Bruce pressed on the gas gently, you rested your lower left arm on the middle console of the car, and rested your chin on your right hand, as if you were thinking.

Then you felt it - his hand moving to rest on top of yours - tentatively, as if he were afraid you would pull away. You smiled.

Wordlessly, you moved your hand so your palm was facing upwards, your fingers brushing against his.

Bruce then intertwined his fingers with yours, and gave it a squeeze, which you returned with a small, hidden smile.

A silent apology between the two of you - not the one either of you wanted to give - the two of you had a lot to talk about, and the hospital or car was simply not the place to do so - but it was a start. 

As he lifted your hand to his lips and murmured a quiet ‘I love you’, you realized that what Dory had told you that morning was true.

Everything will be just fine.