Had Iris known the sorts of things that Harley had said, she would have been so very confused. She would never think that Bruce was the one using her - wasn't she the one that took all of his help, his kindness, his support? And had she known Bruce's thoughts... No, he was providing her with far more than she deserved. And she was greedily taking all of it with barely a second thought.
But those thoughts were far from her mind in that moment, chased away by the Italian sun and the warmth of his hand around hers. It was difficult to think of much else when he was that solid presence next to her, steady enough to provide support as she stood. She didn't think much about it, did her best not to, but there was something that made her breathe easier around him. Italy itself should have been frightening, much less the time period, but she hadn't been nearly as anxious as she should have been, and so much of that was due to being allowed to live in a space that was his. After everything that had happened in her life, and she knew that he knew at least parts of it, he let her stay in a space that was his, and it made her feel safely content.
The clearing of his throat made her look up just as he looked down, missing each other's gazes, but then she returned her glance to their hands as well. She still wasn't certain if she should slip her fingers out of his grasp, and almost did at the twitch of his, but then he was speaking, moving, and she stepped with him, trying to match her shorter stride to his. The warmth of his skin against hers made her fingers just a little less chilled, and she smiled as Pip caught up to them after their first few steps. But the smile faded quickly at his next words, and she shook her head, though she kept her gaze on where her feet continued to step. "You don't need to apologize. I'm fine. I've..." She tried to find the words to reassure him, and though her previous thought of letting Lucia in peace still lingered in her mind, "Lucia's been spending time with me, and I know you have things to do." Of course he did. Even here, she knew he was important. And then, trying to reassure him. "I'm fine on my own..."