It's a Graves thing (soundofwings) wrote in doorslogs, @ 2012-04-09 13:40:00 |
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Entry tags: | alfred pennyworth |
Who: Iris
What: Returning to the "real world" (Narrative)
Where: Passages, Las Vegas, Park, Passages
When: Morning after the fear gas hit Caesar's, but fuzzy timeline is fuzzy. *magical handwave to make it all work*
Warnings/Rating: S for some sadness
Iris had known that she couldn't run away forever. While she felt awful and guilty about the way she had handled the situation with Wren and Louis and the background check, Alfred wouldn't let her hide for the rest of her life. Beyond that, even with what she'd told Wren, she needed to go to work - couldn't let Gus alone for another day, especially when she had all the previous week. So early Monday morning, Alfred stepped back through the door, leaving Iris standing in the hotel hallway. She sighed, giving the view of Wayne Manor one last glance before closing the door behind herself with a quiet snick. She had enough time to return home and get herself ready for the day before stepping out again to head for the silent little house that part of her despised. Her own upbringing, strange as it may have been, especially in retrospect, had at least been in a house filled with noise and love until her siblings moved out. For as often as she'd wished for her own freedom at the time, it was never as awful as the place that Gus had to call home. Before her week long absence, she had found herself taking Gus out more and more, even to her own apartment several times, just so they could escape the quiet oppression of the house.
She let herself into the house like she always did so that Gus' mother wouldn't be disturbed by having to answer the door, and the second she got inside, a small pair of arms was wrapped tightly around her legs. She looked down to find a pajama-clad Gus clinging to her, face hidden in her skirt, and it made something painful catch in her throat. She closed the door quietly and managed to disengage Gus enough that she could kneel there in the hallway and gather him tightly into her arms. "I'm sorry," she whispered as little arms moved up to cling around her neck. "Shh, it's okay now. I'm sorry..." They stayed that way for long minutes, Iris fighting back tears that wanted to prickle at the corners of her eyes, and she finally pulled away even though Gus tried to cling on. She would have stayed all day, but she would rather not have to encounter his mother if she could help it. She gave him a smile, one that said she had something fun for him. "Let's go get your things, alright?" She received a somber nod in return, but one that was followed by a tiny smile of his own.
His mother poked her head into his room as they were getting him ready - clothes, shoes, a brush through his hair and one for his teeth - and gave Iris a flat look. "Oh good. You're here today." Iris' hands stilled at her tone, frozen until Gus made a little sound of annoyance, his head still stuck inside his shirt. She shifted her attention back down to him, making sure he found his way through the collar and then smoothing his hair back down as well as she could with only her hand. "I am. We'll be heading out today." The other woman's only response was a half-affirmative sound before she was gone from the doorway again. It took another moment for Iris to re-steady herself, but then she was giving Gus a smile and gathering a few more of his things into his brightly colored backpack, eventually leading him out the door.
She didn't know what to expect that day, not after her conversation with Wren, but she took them to the park over the lunch hour nonetheless. She could tell that Gus was happy to be there with his friends, running around the way he always did, but he kept looking over his shoulder for Monkey - Finch - and it broke Iris' heart a little. She half-wished that she had given Luke the name of the park when she ran into him so that he at least could bring the dog around, but on top of everything else, she realized it was better this way. Even though she kept looking around as well, hoping for a glimpse at least of blonde hair that very nearly matched her own. By the time Gus' friends returned to the pre-school, Wren still hadn't appeared, so Iris took the boy by the hand, carrying his bag in the other, and hailed them a cab to take them to the zoo. They both needed something to brighten their day.
She was reluctant to return him home, hours later, the chatter about animals still flowing from him, but she knew that she had to. He went quiet as they approached the house, hand holding tight to hers, and she had to guide him gently inside once she opened the door. She closed it again and knelt down in front of him, ending their day the same way they'd started it, pulling him into a hug. "Be good," she whispered, and felt him nod against her shoulder. Minutes passed before she could pull away and stand again, giving him a smile. "I'll be back tomorrow. I promise." He returned her smile and nodded, and then she called out into the house, purposely breaking the silence. "We're back. I'll see you tomorrow." She gave Gus one last smile as he ran off to his room, letting herself back out of the house.
The thought of her own apartment was stifling, and while she knew she would need to return early the next morning, she headed back for the hotel. For a place as cold and as dangerous as Gotham was, it somehow felt more inviting than her own life just then.