We Are in a Mess

He had come home hurt again.

Leah’s brows furrowed in both concentration and concern as she put a wet cloth to the dry blood on Bruce’s forearm.

“You should be more careful, B,” she murmured.

Bruce aimed a pointed but amused look down at Leah’s crouched form.

“Look who’s talking,” he said, laughter evident in his voice.

Leah blushed lightly and looked sheepishly up at Bruce.

“You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?” She asked.

Bruce shook his head, laughing in full now.

Leah scrunched up her face in disdain and got back to cleaning Bruce’s newly acquired wound.

In truth she always worried about Bruce when he was out being Batman. But she couldn’t do anything to help. She knew she could never make him stop. And when she had offered to help him, to stay by his side at all times, whether he was Batman or Bruce, he had politely refused, like the gentleman he was. He tried to explain that what he did as Batman was something he had to do by himself.

Leah knew the real reason. He didn’t want her to end up used as bait by the bad guys, and end up being killed, like Rachael had.

It touched Leah that Bruce cared about her that much, but she hoped one day he would welcome her assistance fully – even if only as a companion, and she could never have any more from him.