A Flickering Light

“A party?” Aria's brow furrowed together at the thought.

“Yes, I forgot to mention before, but we received an invitation to one of Mr. Wayne's parties. It's a formal gathering that I've heard all of Gotham's elite attend and this'll be a good opportunity to make some connections in the city before we've opened up this branch of the company,” her father explained over the phone.

“And it's tonight?”

“Yes. I know it's a bit short notice to tell you only now, but everything's been prepared already. I had Gina put together an outfit for you before we left Metropolis yesterday. I was told it'll be delivered to your hotel room early this evening.”

Aria looked to the small digital alarm clock on her hotel room's nightstand from where she sat on the bed. It was already two in the afternoon, meaning that the dress would probably arrive within the next hour or so. “Alright, that's fine. What time does the party start?”

“If I remember right, it should begin around six o'clock,” he answered. “Caleb and I are finishing up looking at the office building. We'll be heading over to the hotel in a bit to get ready too, but it'll still be a while.”

“Sounds good. I guess I'll see you when you get here.”

“See you in a bit, honey.”

The father and daughter hung up their phone call and Aria sighed. She had been looking forward to sleeping and lounging about tonight as she was still a little jet-lagged from the flight over, but she supposed that idea was thrown out the window now.

She fell back onto the bed and stretched out atop the soft, white sheets, her hand grasping the remote that was on the nightstand and flipping on the television. She channel surfed for a bit, looking through the limited guide menu that the T.V. offered her, not finding much to catch her interest.

However, it wasn't long before the awaited knock was heard on her door and she eagerly went to accept the clothing she would wear to the party tonight. After receiving it, she put it away into the small closet and flopped back onto her bed, going back to flipping through channels before landing upon a news station, the anchors that were talking about the current events eventually putting her to sleep.

“We'll go ahead and send things over to our reporter, Vicki Vale, where she is live at Arkham Asylum to get more information about the recent breakout.”

“Thanks, Jane. Vicki Vale here; live at Arkham Asylum where just recently hardened criminals were successful at breaking out. Details are being kept under lock and key here, with the warden reluctant to reveal how they managed to escape such an elaborate penitentiary as this one, but we were able to dig up the name of one infamous inmate to bring you this exclusive information. It appears that Jonathan Crane, also known as 'Scarecrow', was one of the few who managed to make it out from Arkham Asylum's walls, meaning that with this criminal out and about, the people at home may want to be a bit more careful in their everyday lives. This was Vicki Vale reporting from Arkham Asylum for GCN.”



The thing that had stirred her from her sleep a few hours later was the sound of someone knocking upon her door, and she groggily fumbled her way over after having forced herself from the bed. Her eye aligned with the peep hole to view who was on the other side and she saw her brother Caleb in a tuxedo. Aria's eyes snapped wide open as the image of him being dressed to impress reminded her of what they had to do. She was supposed to be ready to go to that damn party!

“Oh shit,” she sighed, smacking herself on the forehead.

She unlocked the deadbolt on the door and opened it hesitantly, her brother seeing his sister look more disheveled than she had when he and his father had left to take care of business.

“You're not going like that are you?” He asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Hardy har har, very funny,” she retorted, pulling her brother into the room and closing the door quickly.

“Okay then, what's with the get up? Or rather, the er... 'get down'?” He grinned as he tried his best to make another joke. “You know, because instead of being dressed up, you're dressed down?”

It took everything in her to not laugh. Not because she found it funny, but because she couldn't believe her brother's sense of humor. “You know, I really do think you missed your comedic calling.”

“I do sometimes feel bad that the world will never know my humorous genius.”

Aria rolled her eyes while failing to keep a hidden smile before getting back on track. “Anyways, I fell asleep!” She groaned, walking over to the closet and getting her things ready.

Caleb gave a soft sigh of his own when he knew their time for jokes was over and it was time to shift back into more of a business-like mindset. He knew his sister could be forgetful sometimes, even a bit ditzy on occasion, however, this was a pretty big party for their company. The three of them needed to mingle the entire night to help make Bolton Corporation's opening in Gotham a lucrative one. They couldn't necessarily do that if she wasn't there.

“How long does it take for you to get ready?”

“An hour at the most.”

“Alright, me and dad'll head down there first. Can you get there on your own?”

“Just leave me the address.”

Quickly scrawling down the information onto a nearby notepad, he placed it onto the nightstand and nodded to himself that everything would go according to plan. “I'll let dad know that you're almost done getting ready and that we'll just meet you over there.”

“What if he says that he'll wait?”

“Uh... I'll make some story up about you having cramps or something,” Caleb shrugged, leaving Aria to internally scrutinize her brother's plan, but still run with it as she knew her dad would definitely leave her be if it was something of the sort. “Just start getting ready, yeah? The longer we talk, the longer it takes for us all to get over there.”

“Yeah, fine, just go!”

Caleb laughed lightheartedly as Aria began to push him out of her room and into the hallway, the brother once again reminding her of where it was and to be careful before leaving himself.

After locking the door, she rushed into the bathroom and stripped, hopping into a shower that hadn't even reached a comfortable temperature yet and giving herself a quick scrub. After getting out (and nearly tripping as she did so with her wet feet on the tile floor), she dried herself off and ran out into the room, getting on her undergarments before rushing back into the bathroom to dry her hair.

Her hair and make up took the most time out of her getting ready, but she had cut the time down significantly by deciding that her hair didn't need to be styled or that she didn't need to put on too much make up for the occasion. Soon the dress that her dad's secretary Gina picked out was being slipped on her body, the brunette zipping up the back of the gown with haste (and some effort) and smoothing out the rest of it.

She had to hand it to Gina – it was gorgeous. The dress was an elegant peach – almost nude – color with a crystal embellished bustier. The chiffon skirt was long with a bit of a sophisticated train, and the crystals on her upper torso caught the light beautifully. If this was Gina's taste in clothes, Aria thought she just might have to invite her out to go shopping when she returned to Metropolis.

After admiring the dress, she remembered she still needed to put on her shoes and grabbed the box that had accompanied the dress as well. Inside were silver high heels as well as a small clutch of the same color. She slipped them on quickly and put her few belongings inside the purse – hotel key, ID, cell, and some money – and then reappraised her look.

Aria thought she looked well put together for having spent about forty-five minutes on her appearance instead of the estimated hour, and before speed walking from her room and to the elevators, she snatched up the note where Caleb had written down the building's address.

As she walked through the lobby and out onto the streets, the sun was already setting and street lamps were slowly lighting up as shadows were cast by towering buildings, and she could feel the glances of many upon her, staring at her seemingly extravagant choice of street clothes. She was immediately feeling out of place, but she did her best to pay it no mind, although she couldn't help but feel a slight blush spreading across her cheeks from embarrassment.

After what felt like an eternity, she reached the curb and a hotel employee let her know that he'd hail the next available taxi for her to take. Finally she'd be on her way to that party and feel like less of a spectacle.



The elevator dinged and the doors slid open right as he'd finished fixing his tie. Bria Andrews was the heiress to The Andrews Hotel, and she'd had her eyes set on Bruce for a long while. She'd made her advancements quite clear, and though Bruce knew that she was merely in love with the idea of his money, he couldn't help but accept her invitation the previous night.

He'd been pulling a lot of late nights recently, and he was surprised that he'd slept for so long. Thankfully Alfred had been on top of his Master's whereabouts and was able to prepare and send a suit to their suite earlier that morning. Bruce was grateful his longtime friend was able to anticipate the situation and be able to keep him on schedule for tonight's party (although, in his usual Bruce Wayne fashion, he would still be late to his own affair).

As his feet carried him through the lobby and out the double doors, he immediately spotted the black sedan waiting for him, with Alfred standing loyally beside it, waiting to open the door for him. As he began his approach, his eyes then caught sight of a young lady not too far from him. She was wearing a flowing dress yet looked rather flustered as she stared at her cell phone's screen, most likely checking the time. Part of him wished he could have offered her a ride, but he knew he had places to be and people to meet with a facade of enthusiasm.

He slid into the leather seat of the car, Alfred walking round the front and getting in himself before starting up the vehicle.

“Sir, I had hoped that you would be a bit more punctual after I had arranged your suit in advance this morning,” Alfred mused. “For once I was hoping we might be able to arrive on time to your own gathering.”

“Sorry, Alfred,” Bruce apologized automatically, his blue eyes still lingering upon the girl that was waiting for her ride. “She's pretty dressed up to be on the side of the curb, don't you think, Alfred?”

“Yes, but I believe she has good reason to.”

Bruce's brow furrowed together. “And why's that?”

“If I'm not mistaken, that's Ms. Bolton from Bolton Corporation. They're the business that's starting their expansion into Gotham from Metropolis and they've been given invitations to your party.”

“How do you know this, Alfred?”

“Well, with all due respect, Master Bruce, one of us had to look into them.”

Bruce smirked and shook his head. “Looks like she's late, too,” he murmured. “Let's give her a ride. Pull up, Alfred.”

Alfred did so and guided the black sedan right before her, Aria looking suspiciously at the tinted window with a bit of uncertainty until the glass rolled down. The man who stared right back at her was rather handsome, with chilling blue eyes and dark hair, and she soon saw he had a charming smile as he gave her a warm greeting.

“Hello,” he began.

Her eyes darted to the sides of her head, making sure no one else was there besides her before responding, “Hi...?”

The unsure tone in her voice caused his smile to widen. “You're late to Wayne's party, right?”

“Uh, yes...” she admitted.

“Do you want a ride? I'm headed there myself.”

“Thank you, but my brother gave me the address. I'm just waiting for a cab.”

“Oh, your brother—” Bruce's eyes flashed over to Alfred, who was staring right back at him with an expectant gaze.

“Caleb,” Alfred whispered quickly.

“—Caleb asked if I was able to give you a ride since I was in the area.”

Aria's brow scrunched up together, trying to think if maybe she had ever met this man before. How else would he have known of her brother? “You know Caleb?”

“Yeah, we've met once or twice for business,” he smoothly misled. “Did you still want to wait for the cab?”

She looked around, not a single taxi was pulling up to the hotel, and when she last looked at the clock on her phone, it was getting rather late. While she didn't know this man personally, if he'd met Caleb and Caleb liked him enough to ask for a favor, he had to have been a decent guy.

“I'll take you up on your offer,” she conceded, taking a step forward off the curb and to the car.

Bruce opened the door from the inside for her and scooted over, allowing her to sit comfortably in the seat before he nodded to Alfred to start driving.

The ride was silent for the first few minutes, Bruce noticing Aria fidgeting with her hands in her lap. He could already tell that she was hesitant about getting into the car with a stranger, so he decided to try and ease her worries.

“My name's Bruce,” he introduced, extending out a hand.

She stared at his hand and took it gently, but then out of habit her grasp tightened to a vice-like grip as she shook it. “Aria.”

“Whoa,” he sighed as he retrieved his hand, shaking it out a bit before looking to her in amazement, “didn't think you'd grab my hand so tightly.”

Her eyes widened when she realized what she had done. “I'm sorry,” she awkwardly apologized. “It's a force of habit. Caleb and my dad both have firm handshakes so I kind of got it from them,” she explained.

“Makes sense,” he nodded. “A good businesswoman needs to have a firm handshake.”

“Thank you for offering the ride,” she spoke up, trying to keep the conversation alive. “I knocked out earlier and woke up late so my dad and brother went on without me. I'm pretty sure my dad would kill me if he found out I had forgotten about this party.”

“Happens to the best of us,” he reassured. “Honestly, I'm always late to these things. I actually just woke up not too long ago either. I looked like death warmed over.”

She smiled, knowing that he was trying to make her feel better about being tardy. “I looked pretty bad, too,” she admitted. “My brother even asked me what was wrong with my 'get down'.”

Part of Aria couldn't believe she had actually shared such a moment with Bruce – maybe it was because she was still feeling a bit awkward and rambled, perhaps she was a bit frazzled because of how handsome she knew he was, or both. Either way, she was feeling pretty horrified.

Bruce cracked a smile and Alfred did the same. “Because you weren't dressed up, but down, right?”

Part of Aria couldn't believe someone had actually gotten one of her brother's horrendous jokes. Caleb was going to have a field day.

“Yeah...” she nodded, “sorry, my brother makes really bad jokes.”

“No, no, that was good,” he chuckled.

“Sir,” Alfred began, “I apologize for the interruption, but we're arriving.”

The car began to pull into the driveway of another hotel, the doors on both sides being opened for them by hotel employees. As Bruce walked around the back of the car to stand by Aria's side, he extended an arm out for her to take.

“Shall we?”

She smiled and nodded at the gesture, feeling more comfortable around Bruce after having a lighthearted car ride together. “Let's.”

They entered the building together and more people seemed to stop and stare at the pair than when Aria was by herself, however, as they rode the elevator to one of the highest floors, it no longer mattered as they were by themselves.

“So, how are thing like this anyways? I've never been to something like this before.”

“Stuffy to say the least,” Bruce admitted. “It's the same old people discussing the same old things – how are the kids and Fido, business, and a little bit of politics. It gets a bit old, I can tell you that much.”

“Sounds...” Aria started weakly, “interesting.”

“Another word for boring,” Bruce laughed.

“At least it sounds more polite,” she added.

The doors slid apart as a bell rung softly and the pair got off the lift, heading down the short hallway and to two double doors that were wide open to reveal a decent crowd of people gathered inside the room already deep in discussion with one another.

“Well,” Bruce began. “I have some business to attend to inside so I hope you won't mind if I leave you for now.”

“Not at all,” Aria answered, “and thank you for the ride and the company. I enjoyed both.”

“The pleasure's mine, and good luck with your first social gathering.”

“I hope I don't need luck to survive tonight,” she laughed. “Hopefully I won't meet Wayne though, he sounds like a bit of a drag if he's always throwing these parties.”

She didn't notice, but Bruce's face faltered a bit. Him – a drag? No one had ever called him that before, and part of his ego even felt a bit bruised because of it. Nonetheless, he was finding Aria to be some of the more refreshing company he'd kept in a long while. It was more stimulating than having the company of models who were only interested in his wallet than his personality.

Bruce's hand traveled down her arm and to her hand, taking it gently and bringing it towards himself. “I don't think he'll disappoint, Aria. He's one of the dullest people you'll ever meet. Hope to see you in there.” His lips brushed lightly against the back of her hand, her cheeks flushing with color as she hoped it wasn't obvious.

As Bruce left her, she remained standing there for a moment or two to collect herself and her thoughts, trying to get her heart rate to come back down and to also prepare for some boring conversations with Gotham's elite. Once she had done so and felt comfortable, she took her first few steps inside only to be dragged back out into the hallway by none other than her brother.

“Whoa, Caleb, what's wrong?”

“Nothing, nothing's wrong,” he started unconvincingly, starting at his little sister oddly.

“You're freaking me out, I hope you know.”

He shook his head and apologized. “Sorry, but... how did you meet him outside?”

“Him? Him who?”

“Him!” He repeated. “Wayne!”

“Wayne? The guy who threw this party?”

“Yes, that guy! How did you meet him?”

“What are you talking about? I haven't met him yet, calm down, would you?” If she didn't know any better, Aria would have thought that Caleb would lose his eyes as they were ready to pop out of his sockets. “I only got a ride from Bruce, and that's it. I haven't met anyone else on the way over.”

“Yes, Bruce – as in Bruce Wayne of Wayne Enterprises.”

Her brow furrowed together and she shook her head. “No, no, no,” she denied. “Th-that was Bruce – just Bruce. He said he knew you.”

“Oh no, I don't know him, but apparently you do.”

“No, Caleb, you don't understand. That cannot be Bruce Wayne. I-I-I...” her eyes began widen in horror at the last few words she had exchanged with him.

“...he sounds like a bit of a drag...”

She gasped and her hand flew to her mouth as if she were able to take back the words she had already uttered. “Caleb, I insulted him.”

It took a moment for him to process her words. “You... you what?”

“I called him a drag. I said I hoped I wouldn't meet him because he sounded like a drag.”

Caleb couldn't bring himself to say anything, all he could do was take her by the hand and walk back inside the hall, murmuring about having to try and do damage control with his father's help.

Thankfully, after that, the night seemed to progress much smoother. Brady and the kids made successful small talk with many other entrepreneurs in Gotham and also managed to woo a few politicians that were in attendance. For the Bolton corporation, this was proving to be a fruitful event that would lead to strong bonds with new partners.

The party was nearly over and the family of three was ready to call it a night when a voice rang out from behind them.

“Ah, Mr. Bolton.”

They all turned to look who was calling their names and the three of them seemed to lose color in unison as Bruce strolled on over to where they stood. Brady was the first to recompose himself.

“Mr. Wayne,” he greeted, “thank you for the invitations to your party. It has been a wonderful evening.”

“The pleasure was all mine, after all, if you're expanding into Gotham there's nothing wrong with my extending a little Gotham hospitality.”

“Thank you for the consideration,” Brady nodded. “These are my kids, Caleb, my first-born, and this is Aria, his sister.”

As Brady introduced his daughter, her face was cast downwards, embarrassed to look up and see the man she had gotten a ride from earlier. Bruce had to stop a chuckle from leaving his throat.

“Yes, I had the opportunity to meet with Aria earlier, I believe. I hope the party hasn't been too much of a drag for you.”

Aria, who had just tried to sip her champagne to calm her nerves, ended up choking on the bit of liquid she had taken in, drawing a few glances from others as she began to cough violently. Her blue eyes flashed over in Bruce's direction and she saw him wanting to laugh, but also concerned as she coughed, and she could feel herself wanting to die on the spot as her face flushed a deep red.

“Are you alright?”

“I'm fine,” she murmured. “I'll be fine.”

“Er, Mr. Wayne, I know my daughter might have said something unfavorable to you earlier when—” Brady began.

“Mr. Bolton, first, please call me Bruce, and second, Aria didn't insult me earlier. There's no need to worry. It was all in good fun.” He reassured, finally deciding to let them all breathe again. “Now, let me go ahead and introduce you to the CEO of Wayne Enterprises, Lucius Fox.”

A man who had been standing in a different group not too far away heard his name being called, and he turned and looked over to see Bruce waving him towards them. Lucius excused himself with a smile and made his way over with drink in hand and was introduced to the three of them, Brady and Caleb soon discussing business and figures while Bruce slowly departed from their conversation to join Aria who was staring at her empty champagne cup.

“Let me get you another,” he offered, stealing her old cup to replace it with a fresh glass from a nearby waiter.

“Thanks,” she mumbled.

“You're not still mad about earlier, are you?” He inquired. “I meant no harm, just wanted to see what your reaction might be. Do you still think that I'm a drag, though?”

“No, but you're definitely something else,” she admitted.

Bruce laughed and nodded. “Alright, you might be right about that. If anything, I'm sorry if I made you or your family upset by making you think you had insulted me.”

“You have a lot of making up to do, Mr. Wayne.”

“Well then,” he gently clinked his own champagne glass with hers, “I guess I'll have to get started.”