Stay With Me

The woman stood nervously in front of the door, she had rung the bell a few minutes ago and was now waiting for anybody to open the door. This was the last house she'd leave her young son behind but it was also the only one that had someone in it that had some sort of experience of looking after children.

She sighed and shifted the young boy on her hip, tapping her foot on the pavement. Hearing movement behind the door, she sighed in relief when she saw that Evey opened the door. Her face was streaked with some grease and the woman didn't even want to know where it came from. Evey cleaned off her hands on her jeans and raised an eyebrow at her neighbour.

"Listen, I know we don't like each other that much but, we need a babysit for Bruce and you're the only one that I really trust with him."

Evey blinked a few times and then held her arms open for the women to give her young son. He was now sleeping in her arms, his thumb in his mouth and his head resting on his mother's shoulder. Evey sighed and nodded, taking over the child from the woman and shifting him so he was comfortable resting on her arm now.

The woman was a bit weary at first, looking at her son and then at Evey who looked worse for wear at the moment, hoping that the girl wouldn’t drop her son every second now and then claim it was an accident. She had never really liked her and her girlfriend, mostly because they just made way too much noise when they played childish games in the garden but also because they generally just rubbed it in her face that they were happy while she was a divorced mother.

"When do you plan on getting him back?"

"Tonight, definitely..."

"Good," Evey nodded before closing the door in the woman's nose. Walking to the living room, Evey laid down the small child on the couch and grabbed one of the blankets to cover him. Staring at the young boy for a few moments, Evey had to smile. Young Bruce actually reminded her of a young Bruce Wayne, and even though she didn't like her neighbours or their children, she had a growing fondness for this child. Even if it was only because the boy shared the name and looks of one of her favourite superheroes.

"Hey," Lexy walked in the room, wearing one of her black summer dresses. Evey couldn't help but stare at her girlfriend for a moment until she shook her head and placed her finger on her lips.

"Bruce is sleeping."

"Bruce?"

"Neighbours kid," Evey rolled her eyes, "she asked me to babysit him even though she doesn't like me."

"Well that doesn't make any sense at all," Lexy frowned before she leaned over the couch and looked at Bruce sleeping, "he is adorable as hell though."

"I know right?"

“Why are you covered in grease?” Lexy giggled, pointing at Evey’s nose that was still covered in grease. Evey giggled herself and wiped her nose clean with the dirty cloth in her back pocket. Lexy walked over and wrapped her arms around Evey’s waist, her chin resting on her girlfriend’s shoulder.

“Been working on the car, I changed a few things so it would go faster and all,” Evey bit her lip and blushed, “could you watch Bruce for a moment? I mean, I need a shower, that’s for sure…”

“Mmm, can’t you get Jolyne to watch him, and then I can join you in said shower…”

“No,” Evey smirked, “you can get in the shower with me later, but this is a fast shower so you can’t join. Sorry darling.”

Lexy pouted and watched her girlfriend run up the stairs, already shedding her jacket and t-shirt so that she would be faster in the shower and out of it again. Lexy smiled to herself before shifting closer to the sleeping boy on the couch. She stroked some of the dark hair out of the boy’s face and stared at him, starting to feel maternal towards him.

“Your mother is one weird woman, you know that kid? I mean, she hates both me and Evey yet she can’t help but ask for Evey’s help whenever she needs it.”

“Who’re you talking to?”

“Bruce…”

“I thought you were Bruce,” Jolyne frowned, halting in her paces and stared at Lexy with a confused look on her face.

“I am,” Lexy nodded, “I meant Bruce Jr. here on the couch, neighbours kid.”

“Evey babysitting again?”

“Indeed,” Lexy sighed, “so no kinky shower for me.”

“I can hear the shower rejoice.”
__

“You know, when I said ‘go get ready’, I did not mean ‘go and make yourself look like Tony fucking Stark’,” Jolyne sighed, looking at Evey who had managed to get an impressing cosplay of Tony Stark down. She had even put on a fake goatee and put in contact lenses so she would have the right eye colour. Jolyne, who was a cosplayer herself, never really got the devotion Evey put into her cosplay characters and how they acted. Whenever she was in costume of one of them, it was like the person itself was walking around in their house sometimes. It was both amusing and creepy at the same time.

“You should’ve been more specific then.”

“I still find it creepy that you studied for make-up artist and then did the media course too. I mean, you’re crazy.”

“At least she went to the university! Unlike some!” Shakey yelled from his room upstairs, clearly following the conversation, or at least, what he could hear from it.

“You keep out of this! It doesn’t concern you!” Jolyne shouted back. Evey laughed and finished with the little costume she had gotten for Bruce. The boy grinned up at his babysit and then jumped off the couch, running around it with his little cape swooshing behind him.

“Where’s Lexy?”

“Getting dressed,” Evey shrugged, “isn’t Bruce simply adorable?”

“You put him in a gay outfit. I fail to see the cuteness here…”

“Shut up you,” Evey grumbled, “you’re just jealous!”

“I’m so jealous I’m about to explode,” Jolyne rolled her eyes, ignoring Evey’s knowing smirk.

“Tony! Where is my suit?”

“What suit?” Evey yelled back, ignoring Bruce who was still running around the room in his little outfit.

“My Armani one! Duh!”

“In the closet! Next to your pink Batman costume!”

“Found it!”

“Don’t tell me she really has a pink costume…”

“…why does it surprise you?” Evey raised an eyebrow at Jolyne who looked horrified for a moment and then just walked out of the living room to get her coat. Normally she woudn’t wear it but at least she could set the right example for Bruce. She knew that Evey and Lexy both wouldn’t even think about wearing a coat or put one on Bruce, for the sake of showing off their amazing costumes to the innocent by passers.

Once Jolyne walked back into the living room, she saw Evey fixing Lexy’s brown wig so it would look more real and young Bruce sitting on the couch, giggling at the strange antics of the adults in front of him. Jolyne pursed her lips together and placed her hands on her hips, waiting for the two girls to finish up.
__

“You spend too much time on Wikipedia,” Jolyne sighed when Evey explained what she had done to the car she owned.

“Weird, that’s what my teachers also kept saying…”

“With a good reason.”

“Stop bickering, Batman and Robin command you!” Lexy’s voice came from behind them, where she was walking with Bruce on a slower pace.

“Iron Man does not obey to anybody but himself!”

“You’re not Iron Man,” Jolyne sighed.

“Am so…”

“If she wasn’t Iron Man, she wouldn’t have a girlfriend who would be a wreck because she’d always be worried.”

“So, that concludes it. I am Iron Man!”

Lexy giggled and picked Bruce up, walking up to Evey and resting her head on her shoulder while balancing the young child on her hip.

“Hey Stark?” Jolyne asked, knowing well enough that once Evey was in her cosplay outfit, she wouldn’t answer to her name anymore.

“Yeahuh?”

“Can Bruce even talk? Cause the kid is as mute as a mule.”

“She said mule!” Bruce giggled, pointing at Jolyne who glared at the child for laughing at her choice of words.

“Seems like this mule can talk,” Evey said amused, looking at Jolyne while holding back laughter.

“It must be a magical one then!” Lexy exclaimed.

“Like…Harry Potter magic?” Evey asked with too much enthusiasm for Jolyne’s taste. The older woman sighed and sped up her pace, walking away from the three people that had joined her for the small groceries she had to do in the city.

“No! Criss Angel magic!”

“You two are insane,” Jolyne muttered when the two girls caught up with her during their bickering. Clearly, she hadn’t been walking fast enough.

“No we’re not, you’re just…not-insane!”