Evangeline Sablier is not broken, but please (handlewithcare) wrote in doorslogs, @ 2012-08-20 01:55:00 |
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Entry tags: | batman, door: dc comics, lois lane |
Who: Lois Lane and Bruce Wayne
What: LOL Roomies
When: A few hours after this
Where: Wayne Manor
Warnings: Snark and lulz
Lois had been fired. Her apartment had been completely ransacked and she had been being followed for the last three days. She did not have a death wish and she did not have Superman to get her out of this mess. Getting fired was almost the last straw, but having come home to find that her apartment had been turned over was really just the icing on the cake.
She packed up what she could, as quickly as she could, and paid an accommodating taxi driver to take her to Gotham City. Wayne Manor to be exact. After paying a ridiculously overpriced cab fare (fine job for a woman who was officially unemployed) she eventually found herself having been let in and sitting in a parlor. Or a foyer waiting room. Or a receiving room. Or whatever it was called when rich people didn’t want to let you in the actual house. She wasn’t too concerned. Her suitcase was still at her side and anyone would be able to tell that she wasn’t going anywhere. At least not anytime soon. She didn’t care what Bruce Wayne had to say about it. Running was bad enough, being driven out of her city, out of her home, out of her life was enough to put her in a sour mood. But now she was running away to the safety of some billionaire vigilante. Lovely. Just.Lovely.
Bruce had recently solved the problem of Alfred not always being present to answer the door (which definitely did not constitute as a problem to the rest of the world) by hiring temporary replacements to fill in the gap. None compared to his beloved butler, of course, as Alfred was more family than staff, but someone needed to be there, because Bruce wasn't exactly personable despite the whole playboy billionaire facade. It made being in the Batcave a little trickier, but he screened his employees very, very carefully, and they generally knew not to ask questions and to keep their heads down. On this particular occasion, he'd just returned from a business meeting (with Lucius absent, he'd been forced to take more of an active interest in Wayne Enterprises), which meant that he appeared in the parlor or whatever it was in a suit worth thousands and looking immaculate.
"Ms. Lane." He hid his surprise well, though being told that Lois Lane had cone to see him was nothing short of unexpected. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" His question was asked lightly enough, but there was concern in his gaze if one knew how and where to look.
Lois turned when he walked in but she didn’t stand. She just sighed. “Well Bruce,” they were beyond pleasantries, “I got fired. And someone made an awful chore of tearing my apartment to pieces. Needless to say I came to return this,” she said holding up the drive he’d given her. “And I thought I’d take up one of your nine hundred guest rooms for a bit. If I was smart I’d move to Smallville and track down the Kent farm, if it’s even there, and live out my days slopping pigs...But I think you and I both know I’m far from smart and the only reason people go to the trouble to take your job and terrorize your life is because you’re on the right track. So...Keep me on that track, but let me hole up here because frankly, I’ve got nowhere else to go.”
She certainly wasted no time in getting to the point, not that Bruce had expected any less. It was a trait he could appreciate. "I see," he said, the picture of eternal calm, add though she hadn't just told him that she was both jobless and homeless, not to mention in danger, because of an article he had asked her to write. The last woman to live in Wayne Manor had been his mother, however, and aside from Damian's brief stay he was very much accustomed to living alone-- save for Alfred, of course. "The article was more than enough, and it's only right that I return the favor. Of course you can stay here. I have more than enough rooms." He winced internally even as he spoke, but what choice did he have? After the risk Lois had taken upon herself to help him, he couldn't turn her away. Oh, gossip would fly, but at the very least it might help further his playboy image and continue to distance his name from Batman. There were complications, like Damian and Selina, and even Tim, but he would deal with those later. "I only ask that, ah... you remain above ground." Oh, subtlety.
Lois was in a mood, it was clear, but she had just been driven out of her job, her home, her god damned city...She had every right to be. But she was also very appreciative. Incredibly so. “Oh no, batboy,” she said giving him A Look. “I want more scoops. And more work. I want to help your fair city here. I’ve just been thrown out of mine, let me do more. I will go crazy sitting around here on your ridiculous threadcount sheets, so...You think about it, and find me a task, got it? Because the last thing I want to do is find my own and wind up in more trouble than I already am.” She rolled her eyes, but it was good natured when he told her to stay above ground. “Don’t worry, I won’t go wandering to the underground lair. I can stay out of trouble. I don’t like it, but you’re letting me hang my hat and I can respect that.” She smiled a bit. “But it’s a good thing I know what I know or else I’d be down there in a hot minute not even the hounds of hell could stop me from snooping.” At least she was honest.
Batboy earned a twitch of his lips, which was often the closest Bruce Wayne ever came to laughing. There was a distinct difference between who he was in private, who he was in public, and who he was beneath the cowl, and such different personalities probably would have been a psychiatrist’s dream come true. Fortunately, Lois was a reporter, not a shrink. “I would never expect you to sit on my ridiculous threadcount sheets and do nothing,” he said, deadpan. “There are regretfully few reporters of your caliber in Gotham, and if you’re willing to accept the risk, I’ll help you find whatever you need. Just try not to get in over your head.” Comics were quire informative, and he knew that Lois Lane had a penchant for trouble. Unfortunately, Superman was no longer around to save her, and while Batman dedicated his life to Gotham City, he wasn’t exactly a boyscout superhero in red and blue. He was, admittedly, relieved when she said she would keep out of the Batcave, and he actually smiled when she said it was a good thing she already knew about his double identity. “Oh, Ms. Lane. I wouldn’t let you stay here if you didn’t know who I was.”
Lois smirked when he said he’d help her find work, that was something. “You think anyone here would touch me after what I wrote about Arkham? I’m a pariah in Metropolis, no one would even return my phone calls. I’m half terrified I’ll wind up writing the obits for some newspaper in Bakersfield, or worse,” she gave him a salute when he said she should stay out of trouble, she didn’t know how to stay out of trouble but she was always at least thinking about attempting giving it a go.
Ah, and there Bruce's smile became more of a knowing smirk. "Not without some help. Fortunately, you just so happen to be staying with the wealthiest, most influential man in Gotham." While he likely would have become a recluse if he hadn't been forced to do whatever necessary to draw suspicion away from himself as being Batman, being the only surviving Wayne did have its benefits. As for Lois staying out of trouble, he wasn't too sure how well age would manage, and there was a faint thread of apprehension in the way he looked at her. "Well. Now that that's settled, I suppose I should show you your room. Normally Alfred would, if he were here," he added, "but for now you'll simply have to make do with me."
“Looks like I picked the right roof then,” she said glad she could chalk it up to something like that rather than something ridiculous like fearing for her life. She stood up and grabbed the handle on her suitcase pulling it out to make it easier to roll around. “I think I’ll find a way to survive,” she said all grins and happiness as she waited for him to lead the way. As she followed she looked around, she’d never been in a place like this outside of the few fancy hotels she’d stayed in. She hoped she’d be able to find something sooner rather than later, she didn’t feel like imposing forever. She’d rather impose on people and then be able to go home at the end of the day. “Bruce, I can’t thank you enough for this, I realize that it might be something of an inconvenience and I appreciate you taking that on.”
It occurred to him just then that Bruce had never had guests, proper ones, not in all the years he'd lived at the Manor. Even recently, those such as Damian already knew their way around; this was his first time giving someone else a tour. For so long it had felt like hallowed ground, more his father's house than his own, and even now there were certain rooms which were locked, left untouched since the day his parents died. "I don't doubt that you will," he said wryly. He wondered, as he led her past the sitting room and into the foyer, down hallways and up staircases, if she missed Clark, but he knew better than to ask. "You don't have to thank me. I have more than enough room, and it's the least I can do." He wasn't even being modest for her sake. He didn't expect or want thanks for risking his life for Gotham on a regular basis, and the same applied to giving her a place to stay. He stopped in front of the more recently renovated rooms, and gestured towards the door. "Make yourself at home."
Lois rolled her eyes, “Don’t get all stoic hero on me, Wayne. I’m going to thank you because I’m probably going to keep asking for things while I figure out the new and improved Lois Lane. So let me get my act together and I’ll decide who does the thanking around here,” she said as she opened the door to the bedroom. The bedroom which she was pretty sure was at least the size of her old apartment and she turned to look at him and smirked. “I suppose I’ll just have to get used to it, I’m not used to living in squalor,” she said with a chuckle. “Now shoo. I’m going to take a shower and pretend like everything is just peachy keen, got it?” because being fired and homeless was far from peachy. But she’d fake it. She could definitely fake it.
Bruce certainly had no intention of standing in Lois’ way on her road to self-discovery. A wise decision, he suspected, considering that she was very much a force of nature when she had a goal in mind. “Very well,” he said gravely, but there was amusement in the way his eyes crinkled, and in the twitch of his lips. “Take as much time as you need, Ms. Lane.” He was well aware that his bedrooms were likely the size of her old apartment, just as he was aware that this was not a magical solution to her problems, but at least she had a place to stay, and he intended on keeping his word in terms of helping her find future employment. Gotham was far more dangerous than Metropolis, yes, but she would be safe here. “Got it,” he echoed with a nod. “I’ll leave you to it, then.” And he did just that, backing out of the bedroom and leaving her to her privacy.