Who: Luke, Iris and Gus What: Meetings and things. Where: A park, because that's where everything happens. When: Before group plot and the log of epic angst. Warnings/Rating: None!
While the world cracked and reshaped itself around him, Luke found minor solace in the fact that Caesar’s had given him a few days off, considering the circumstances, in order to give him time to make arrangements for Gus when he simply wasn’t able to be there. In addition to work, there was also time in Gotham he needed to factor in, because he simply couldn’t prevent Bruce from crossing when his presence was so integral to that side of the door. Hiring a babysitter would be easy, but hiring one he trusted, that was trickier, and Iris was the best choice for a number of reasons. Gus knew her, first of all, and secondly, she’d been willing to face murder charges just to keep him safe. He knew from experience that no one would choose to face jail time for someone they didn’t care about. Despite her problems, Luke trusted her to keep Gus safe, even though it meant that Bruce and Alfred would almost never be in Gotham at the same time.
He hadn’t left the apartment since being awarded temporary custody, too paranoid of what lay beyond, but he had to admit that Gus was beginning to grow restless. Finch’s presence had only gone so far, and the little boy still woke up crying in the middle of the night, asking for his parents, for Wren, even for him. It broke Luke’s heart, hearing his son sound so lost and afraid, but he couldn’t fix everything as he wished he could. It made him feel helpless, but Bruce reassured him that he was doing the best he could. He’d screwed up things with Wren, maybe for good, but he had to get this right. Without Gus, he had nothing. Losing him would be the final straw, and he knew Bruce was aware of that.
Asking Iris to meet him at a park, small and secluded, rather than large and public, was a sort of first step. He couldn’t keep Gus inside forever, even if he knew all too well the kind of nightmare the world could be for a child. It was a nice day, and the prospect of going to the park with Finch cheered Gus up slightly, even if he was still quiet and his eyes were still slightly red from his tears the night before. There were no reporters outside the building, thankfully; it seemed Thomas’ lawyers had effectively kept his address under wraps, and he was still using the car they provided, since he hadn’t yet managed to find a better form of transportation. His motorcycle was rather impractical now, and while he should have sold it and used the money to buy a car, he was reluctant to part with it; Max had gotten it for him all those years ago, and it was a reminder of simpler times, when getting up every morning didn’t require nearly every bit of willpower he possessed.
They arrived early in the day, when there were only a couple of other children there, and Luke sat on a bench and watched as Gus played his own version of ‘fetch’ with Finch, which really just involved the little boy running around with a stick and giggling while the dog chased him.
Iris was still wary of Luke’s request for her to be the one to watch Gus. There seemed to her to be so many reasons against it, but she had to admit that there was enough of a connection between her and the boy for her to worry about him, want to see him. If Luke was certain, after the few things she’d already told him, that he wanted her to be the one to watch his son, then she would likely agree to it and (as she had before) do her best to take care of the boy.
She hadn’t yet made the move to Anton’s home, was still staying in the hotel as she had been for the past few days. The charges would go directly to her parents, and all she had to do was sign her name as Morgenstern instead of Russell. It seemed ridiculously self-indulgent in a way, but she knew they would never begrudge her the money, and the hotel made her feel safer somehow for the moment. She’d even given her parents a call to check in, to reassure everyone that she would be fine, and no she didn’t need to come home. Not yet, at least.
She had to allow herself a small, ironic smile at meeting Luke and Gus at a park. It seemed like most of her meetings in Las Vegas had happened in the innocuously green settings of parks. It was familiar in a way that made her relax, even though her nerves had plagued her the entire walk from the hotel. Her hair was still dark (though even now the temporary dye was beginning to lighten), and she wore a pair of sunglasses to hide part of her face. Capri jeans, sandals, a light colored peasant blouse comprised an outfit that was unlike anything she usually wore, purchased online and delivered directly to the hotel. She hoped that Luke, and more especially Gus, would recognize her, but she hoped everyone else did not. She didn’t look like Iris Russell, and she most definitely did not look like Iris Morgenstern. She blended in with tourists and residents alike, in a way that hopefully sent curious eyes glazing over her without a second thought.
Gus was easy enough to find upon entering the park, chasing around with Finch and laughing in a way that made something in Iris’ heart ease. Luke was harder to find, but a quick scan of the benches revealed a somewhat familiar figure with sharp eyes trained on the boy and dog. She approached from across the park behind him, stopping several feet from the bench. Watching for several moments herself, she finally nodded slightly to herself. “He looks well,” she said quietly, eyes still on Gus and Finch.
Even though Luke and Iris had only met once, he was certain he would recognize her on sight, especially since she’d been in the news enough recently for all of Las Vegas to know her face. That worried him a little, despite her innocence having been proven, but not enough to make him rescind his offer. Gus was too young for school just yet, and while he was at work or otherwise occupied, someone needed to watch him; with Wren unable to even see the boy under supervision, Iris was the best option.
Every bit of his attention was on Gus, and while he smiled as he watched the boy run around with Finch, there was a tenseness in his posture that belied his false ease. He wasn’t exactly expecting anything bad to happen, but if it did, he was damn well going to be ready for it. Which was why he turned so quickly when someone spoke from behind him, the voice one he didn’t initially recognize. The woman wasn’t familiar either, not at first, and he studied her for a long moment before the realization clicked. “Iris?” After a few more seconds he decided that yes, it was her. “You look... different.” Which was probably intentional, he realized, and only then did he look back at Gus, as though just remembering she’d spoken. “Yeah. We’re making progress, I think.”
One of Iris’ hands came up when Luke whipped around, palm out in a gesture meant to be calming. The expression that was turned on her was skeptical and had an edge to it that she wasn’t going to attempt to define in that moment. She kept still until a hint of recognition crossed Luke’s face, her name following soon after, and she nodded. Dropping her hand now that the “threat” had passed, she circled around the bench and sat next to him, a polite and deliberate distance between them. “Sorry. I should have announced myself better.” Her attention immediately returned to Gus, though her words were meant for the man next to her. “People were staring right after I was released. I hoped this would be better.” She didn’t mention that she hadn’t had much chance to test that theory other than her walk over. It had been an uneventful walk though, so there was at least some success in that.
The mention of progress brought a nod in response, and while part of her wanted to smile, another part despaired that there was need for progress to begin with. The fact that Gus was laughing as she watched was at least somewhat helpful in calming the anger she still held toward the boy’s adoptive parents. She wanted to ask if there had been any more progress with the case, too, but it seemed impolite in the moment. So she simply watched Gus and Finch and waited for Luke to say something.
It was a fine line that Luke walked each day, pretending to be normal, but there were times when he slipped, and he was beginning to realize that he needed to keep better hold on his control. All parents were protective, of course, but very few were capable of what he was. “It’s okay. I guess I’m a little on edge,” he admitted. “I keep thinking someone’s going to come and take him away.” He wasn’t big on sharing, but he thought Iris might understand, since she’d known Gus longer than he had and was willing to face extensive jail time for him. Temporary custody wasn’t permanent, after all, and he was terrified of it being snatched away from him. He turned to look at her properly, taking in the darker hair and clothes, giving a short nod after a few moments. “I can understand that. I think it’ll work, for what it’s worth,” he added.
The little boy’s bruises had already faded, to the point where the handprints and mottled blue-purple were only faintly visible, but he still flinched at contact, like a puppy who’d learned to fear a heavy hand, and it took a great deal of willpower to keep from bypassing the legal system entirely and going after the Johnsons himself. It made him angry just to think about it, so he tried not to, but having a living reminder of it in front of him every day made that tricky. He let the silence linger for a while, until Gus came running over, followed closely at his feels by Finch. He beamed at Luke and began to babble breathlessly about how fast the dog was, but when he noticed Iris he stopped, arms going around Finch’s neck as he shrank back in what was obviously a failure to recognize his old nanny. “It’s okay, Gus,” he said reassuringly, ruffling the boy’s hair. “That’s Iris. You remember her, don’t you? She just changed her hair color, that’s all.”
Gus seemed to ponder this as he studied her, and after a long moment the familiarity set in and he smiled shyly. “Say hi,” Luke coaxed, and the boy looked to him before turning his attention back to Iris. “Hi,” he echoed, before launching into an explanation of how Monkey was really Finsh in his four-year-old’s lisp.
“You have every right to be on edge,” she stated, though her poor vision hadn’t hidden the dangerous set to his shoulders in that moment, nor the hard expression that had washed across his face. Their mutual confirmation of their time in Seattle, the fact that Luke had known Anton and Orin, and then that look on his face - they might all be coincidences, but Iris knew about vigilantes and dangerous people. And very little surprised her any more. Her gaze turned again to study Luke, intense behind her sunglasses, and she filed away the details she was able to find there. It wasn’t something she would ask about, not unless it became vital for her to know.
She didn’t respond to the comments about her own appearance, and turned her attention back to Gus, especially when the boy came running over. His not recognizing her at first caused a hard sadness in the back of her throat, but she pushed the sunglasses back on her head, revealing her face, and smiled as she said hi. His eventual recognition widened her smile, and she was hard pressed to not reach out to hug him. Instead, she leaned forward as she usually did when she talked to him, arms resting crossed on her knees to bring her closer to his height, and smiled as she listened to him intently, giving him all of her attention. Her expression lightened and shifted in the proper places during Gus’ explanation, pretending for his sake that she hadn’t known about the dog’s other name, letting him have his story. She reached out to pet Finch as Gus spoke, hoping that both dog and boy would quickly grow comfortable with her again. For a long while, she acted as if Luke wasn’t even there on the bench next to them, making sure all her attention went to Gus instead.
His past was something Luke was particularly private about, and while their shared connections might have made Iris suspect certain things about who he was, and what he’d done in Seattle, he was grateful that she didn’t pry. Even if she had, he would have likely deflected her questions; that part of his life wasn’t something he enjoyed discussing. Those who knew about it knew, but even they didn’t bring it up often, knowing better than to do so.
This wasn’t a test, not exactly, but he had wanted to see how Gus would react and, in turn, how Iris would react to him. He might not have been an expert in kids, but he could read body language, and he was confident in the fact that he would know whether Iris was feigning anything in her interactions with his son. Gus had apparently never associated the woman with fear or pain, because after his initial wariness he seemed utterly charmed by her attention, and if there was one thing a child loved, it was someone who would listen to their stories even if it was half-babble that didn’t exactly make sense. A smile tugged at his lips as he watched the two of them, while Finch stood at the boy’s side, relatively calm yet alert all the same; he could be as friendly as a puppy, but there was no doubt that he was a guard dog through and through.
When Gus started asking if Iris wanted to ‘come over and play with Finsh’ sometime, Luke interjected with a laugh and a fond look. “Oh, I think she might. You remember how I told you I have to go to work sometimes, right? And you can’t be home alone?” Gus nodded importantly, as though he’d spent a great deal of time and effort on understanding the concept. “Well, Iris is going to watch you when I’m not there, okay? Like before. Would you like that, Gus?” He nodded again, and they both turned to Iris then, for confirmation. Luke didn’t think she would have changed her mind, but he hoped he wasn’t wrong.
If it was a test, it was one that Iris was comfortable enough submitting to. She knew that the situation was strange and strained, and that any “normal” protocol was off the table. For a man that had flashed that protective of a look regarding his son, Iris knew that just anyone as a caretaker wasn’t going to do. She’d actually expected something more than simply an enjoyable conversation with Gus, but she left that decision in Luke’s hands. If he came back with more questions, more tests, at a later date, she’d do her best with that as well.
Iris graced them both with a smile, though much more of it was directed at Gus than Luke. “I would love to,” she assured him. “As long as it’s okay with Finch, too.” She looked very serious when she said it, as if the dog obviously had a say in whether or not she was allowed to visit.
Luke hadn’t brought Iris here to interrogate her, and truthfully he had his own ways of finding out what he wanted to know without asking. He and Thomas weren’t on good terms by any means, but the one thing they shared was concern for Gus, and for now he was comfortable enough to allow her to watch his son-- in his apartment, at least. He was far too aware of what the world was like to not have taken precautions, which included a security system that most people who lived in an average apartment building would never think of installing. If anything went wrong in his absence, he’d know about it, though he honestly didn’t expect it to.
He muffled a laugh, because Gus had a child’s tendency to treat Finch was a human rather than a dog, which included long one-sided conversations about whatever was on his mind during any given day. Gus took what she said literally and turned to the dog, whispering the question in his ear and listening for a response that apparently only he could hear. “He says it’s okay,” he reported proudly, and Luke couldn’t help laughing then.
Iris waited patiently for Gus to get Finch’s opinion on whether or not she would be allowed to come over. He hadn’t had much time to bond with the dog while he was in Iris’ care, but she remembered the beginnings of this sort of interaction. Though it had grown much more in the time he’d been with Wren and then Luke. The exchange of question and “answer” all looked very serious, but she was eventually presented with the reply she’d wanted. She smiled at the positive response, eyes warm on Gus, but Luke’s laugh made her look up and over at him finally. Her smile shifted from son to father, and he received one of her rare full smiles before she returned it to Gus. “I’m glad.” She turned to Finch then, reaching her hand out for his inspection again. “Thank you,” she told the dog, scratching along his neck as she spoke.
Iris’ smile said more than any answers to potential questions he might ask, and the fact that Gus wasn’t a scared bundle of nerves around her was a relief too. He beamed, clearly pleased with the situation, which was a welcome change to see. Between waking up in the middle of the night and asking for Wren, Luke counted each smile as a minor victory, and he managed to coax the boy onto his lap while Finch sniffed Iris’ proffered hand, after a moment, deemed her worthy with a quick lick. Gus, who wasn’t used to asking for anything, tugged shyly on Luke’s sleeve and reached up to whisper in his ear. Whatever his request was made him smile, and he nodded reassuringly. “Sure, kiddo. We can go for ice cream if you want.” He shot Iris a questioning look, not wanting to outright ask her and get Gus’ hopes up either way.
The gaze Iris turned back to Luke and Gus as the boy moved closer and climbed onto Luke’s lap. She was worried at first, especially at the whisper, worrying that perhaps it was something related to her. Her worries were relieved at Luke’s smile and the following look of invitation. She didn’t say anything, her smile already returning to its usual gentle curve instead of the wide one she’d sported just a bit ago, but the warmth was still in her eyes. She nodded in response and stood, smoothing down her top and then chafing palms against her jeans. Maybe going with them felt a bit like intruding on a moment that should have only belonged to family, but it was an invitation she wasn’t going to turn down.
He did intend on being careful about asking too much of Iris, and despite how things were between them now he still remembered Wren’s plea that he not let anyone else ‘mother’ Gus. Surely asking Iris out for ice cream with the two of them wasn’t crossing a line, since she was Gus’ nanny, and having a familiar face around couldn’t hurt. Luke waited for her agreement before informing Gus that Iris was going to come along, if that was okay with him--giving the boy a choice rather than making one for him, which he was always wary of doing--but he didn’t need to worry, since Gus seemed more than happy to have her come along. He could, at least, take comfort in the fact that one thing seemed to be going right for him, even if everything else was falling apart.