#jvsons1k

“And what about the synthetic processor?”

That would be the 10th question raised in a mere span of 4 minutes. Sitting on the edge of a very thin wire, the Knight sat back in his chair, running two hands up the sea of static that served as his face.

“It’s malfunctioning, sir.” The tech officer replied, scrambling for the set of notes in front of him. “Sensors are reporting abnormal deviations in chemical levels, nothing is coming out the same.”

An irritated click sounded from the Knight’s neck before he glanced to the side, daintily pointing a finger in your direction.

“Hand the notes over to Decipher. It’ll be taken care of within a week.”

You nodded, accepting the slide of papers across the desk and collecting them in a swipe. Anticipation dripped throughout the already blazing dawn atmosphere as the Knight raised a hand, signaling for any more questions. A few moments passed in silence, and it continued for the entire 20 seconds he waited, then lowering his hand with a somewhat content sigh.

“Meeting adjourned.”

A sigh accompanied your body as you stood up, stretching the stiffness of the morning off of your back. By the time you had collected your bag and the newest meeting notes, you were the only one left in the room, leaving you to venture towards the commander chamber alone.

A series of shrill beeps followed the retinal scan to your room, waving a dull flash over your features as your computer came to life. The very start of the dashboard presented 20 notifications ranging from tech notes to new messages, accompanied by a small circle fit with a 99+ on the inside.

You sighed, deciding to alleviate your stress before it rose any further by gently closing the computer. Your uniform was then swapped for a t-shirt and jeans, followed by the removal of your visor and a pair of sunglasses to replace it. A small grapnel was snatched from your bedside table before you set for your window, prying the latches open to welcome a gust of morning heat inside.

Small winds swelled into blazes as you dropped into the city of Venezuela, snapping your grapnel into the nearest roof ledge. With a soft swing you were lowering yourself into an empty alleyway, making sure to pocket your device before emerging into the bustling streets ahead. In every direction you looked, families moved in and out of stores, leaving you little room to sift through the masses until you reached your destination.

A chime rang out above your head as you pushed the store’s door open, glancing down to the small chalk board at your feet.

TASTE OF VENEZUELA

TODAY’S SPECIAL - SWEET VICTORY ROAST (MADE WITH ARABICA BEANS) - 41.2 VBS

STRAWBERRY PUFF PASTRIES - 24.7 VBS

You hummed at the board’s offerings, moving to complete your order spending only around 90 VBS. A small brown bag sat firmly grasped in your left hand as you moved to the streets once more, breaking for a shadowed lane to rise up to the rooftops.

Following a series of zips, you narrowly slipped back into your room, taking a moment to smooth out your windswept hair and grab your laptop before emerging into the hallway. Your feet led you to the room just beside yours, raising a hand to gently rap the door with your knuckles. After three coordinated knocks did you step back, lightly smiling when a muffled groan rang out from the other side.

Following that, came a slightly louder “come in.”

The door flashed green in an automated unlocked sequence, allowing you to push the handle open and enter. You let out a low whistle of greeting after the door shut, earning only a shallow wave in response.

“What do you need?”

“Nothing,” you shrugged, placing the bag on the table beside him. “Just wanted to check in.”

The Knight’s head shifted to the side at the crinkle of the bag, leading him to turn in his chair, directly facing you with the glowing LEDs serving as his eyes. The real gaze seemed to bore through the layers of screen and meta all the same, holding you with a squint, and slowly traveling over to the bag once more.

You rode the silence with caution, slowly unbagging your purchases before looking back to his bed. The sheets were cleanly folded save a scarce number of crinkles, giving you the impression that it hadn’t been used in days.

“When’s that last time you slept?”

Your question roused a stifled laugh out of him, following a shrug as he took your outstretched hand containing his order.

“I could ask you the same thing.” He contested, taking a glance down to the mocha iced coffee and strawberry pastry that sat in his grasp. “How did you know my order?”

You were faced with a look of suspiciously heightened eyebrows following a hiss of his modulator, soon narrowing as you laughed at his inquiry.

“Oh, I don’t know.” You sighed, plopping down on the foot of his bed. “Maybe because this is what you order every single time we go there?”

An unimpressed huff responded to your sarcasm ridden response. A soft smile accompanied your features as you lightly patted the spot next to you, rousing a quiet grumble from the Knight before he stood to join you. Just seconds later, the space beside you dipped, trailing a faint string of mocha to your nose as you breathed in.

The Knight slowly brought the cup to his lips, taking a rather small sip before letting it sit there, guarding the tip of his nose. Almost shyly, he cleared his throat, head tilting in the slightest so you could see his other eye.

“Thank you. Dinners on me.”

You almost spit out the mass of coffee that sat in your own mouth, rubbing your temples as you ensured that you heard him right.

If there was one thing you knew for sure, it was that the Arkham Knight never says thank you. And he most certainly doesn’t offer to buy anyone dinner either.

Yet, there he was, completely unphased, languidly sipping from his coffee as he typed notes into his laptop beside you. And if you squinted hard enough, you’d see the small smile dusting his face as he looked over in your direction once more.

“What?”

“Nothing!” You yelped, frantically snapping your gaze away from him. “You’re uh.. you’re welcome.”

He only huffed at your response, seemingly back to normal. You set your drink down on the floor before opening up your own laptop, diving straight into the flagged emails in your inbox. A few minutes passed before you felt a slight nudge on your knee, encouraging you to look up from your screen.

“Takeout sound good?”

A smile crawled upon your features as your mouth parted, mentally preparing for the extra workload you were about to get.

“Only if we’re getting Batburger.”