17019/So. Our Son Has Some Ideas...

So. Our Son Has Some Ideas...
Date of Scene:	26 January 2024
Location:	Master Suite - Wayne Manor
Synopsis:	Talia takes a risk. Bruce decides to reward her for it.
Cast of Characters:	Talia al Ghul, Bruce Wayne

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Talia al Ghul has posed:
She's lead along by the wrist, going along after Bruce. Talia's expression is ever so.. Unsure. Timid. Confusion. Nothing wrong at all. Just.. Surprise. And a very, very slow reorientation for her as she lets Bruce lead her along, going to softly focus.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
With the lingering sounds of the party below drifting towards silence the further the pair make it from the main hall, Bruce is silent. He has maintained that hold upon Talia's arm that she initiated, and in fact has even offered some measure of confirmation, or support. But the walk back to more private chambers is one in hanging silence, perhaps made all the more dramatic by the sheer size of Wayne Manor. But eventually, the pair find themselves in the suite that Bruce calls home.

Well, in truth, he calls the Batcave home. But Alfred calls this his home. And that counts for something.

He turns to look at Talia, somewhat expectantly. As if she should be the first to break the silence.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would glance over at Bruce, a rare showing of timidity in her form. The Daughter of the Demon takes a few moments to compose herself. Yes.. Compose is the term. "Thank.. You for tonight. It has.." Just that small thing of holding hands, of expressing contact?

"Meant a lot to me. Thank you." The words are sincere, even as Talia uses them to help relax herself. Her mind burying all those doubts for just a few moments that she did not deserve it.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
Bruce nods, slowly, at the gratitude. "You are most welcome." There is still something of a stiffness to Bruce, moreso than that usually Bruce Wayne stiffness. He looks at Talia, giving a moment, before he asks. "What is it that you are looking for, Talia?" There is no accusation in the tone. It is a simple, and serious question.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
And that has Talia Al Ghul closing her eyes for a moment, before looking over at Bruce. "I don't know." SHe would say quietly. "There is what I want.. But it is not what I can have. Not what I deserve. What I truly want is for Damian to be happy and to be safe. He is."

Bruce Wayne has posed:
Now it is Bruce's turn to make a gesture. He reaches out to take Talia's other hand. "I asked you what you were looking for, Talia. What you want." He watches her. "I did not ask what you deserved, or what you thought you could have." A pause. "Damian has chosen the world he wishes to live in, and he has taken up the mantle that represents that. He is safe. He is happy." He lets out a sigh. "How about you?"

Talia al Ghul has posed:
It takes a moment for her to compose herself, and she takes a breath in and out. "I want you, beloved. I want things the way they used to be. But they never were that way. And I have done too many things since.. To go on." She is honest in that. Of what she is not worthy of.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
"As if I have not?" Bruce tilts his head, looking at Talia. The mother of his son. "If any of us, the world over, stopped to wonder what we would deserve, none of us would find happiness." He thinks quietly. "There was a time, you realize, when I truly thought there was a chance for a real partnership between us."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would nod over at Bruce gently, "I suppose so." Her lips would twitch upwards just a bit over, and then nod over at him. "Yes. But it is long past that." And too much has happened. Her smile turns over to a sad one. But one that shows her appreciation.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
"It doesn't have to be." The Batman has never been much of an optimist. But Bruce Wayne? Perhaps there is still a little bit of that optimistic little boy who was flush with having just seen Mark of Zorro still inside of him.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
For once there's open confusion over on the face of Talia. "What.. Do you mean?" She would query, caught completely off guard at the response. One she doesn't know how to respond to.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
There is a slight shrug. A tilt of his head. Bruce looks at Talia. "Long past."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would look over at Bruce. "I.. Do not understand." She admits it openly. But.. things are long past to her where she could make amends. Too much has been done.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
Sometimes, the best way to make someone understand something is not to say anything at all.

Much time has past since these two were in quarters such as this. And much has happened since then. An entire Damian. But sometimes, things endure all of that.

Bruce steps forward, closing the distance to Talia, and unless one of the world's deadliest assassins uses her considerable skill at self-defense to prevent it, he will kiss her.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
And Talia, that views the world in a sense of complete pragmatism.. Of choice and consequence, of effect and reaction.. She views things through a skewed lens. So when Bruce comes at her, even though she can read his body posture, his language as he comes to her..

And then he kisses her. It connects a circuit in her consciousness.

And she clings to him tightly, desperately, returning the kiss.

And she cries.