Horrible, terrible, excruciating vacation

[mr_bruce_wayne]

It had been ages since Bruce had been on a vacation. In fact, he could not clearly recall the last time he had been outside of Gotham City for any reason other than Bat-business. Even his international travel was used as a guise for his true work, and it was very much out of his character to take a day off or otherwise "call in sick."

None the less there he was, beachside in West Palm Beach, wearing shades and some swimming shorts. None of this was upon his own will, it might be noted. The scowl on his face kept all but the bravest of resort employees at bay. It did not, however, save him from his immediate fate.

Alfred had mandated a weekend off, or else. Whatever else was, Bruce was wise enough to know better than to find out. With his tail between his legs, and with a most unhappy attitude, Bruce went on his prescribed vacation. If only to keep Alfred's displeasure at bay. At least he was not alone; Eddie had been sent with Bruce.

Bruce wasn't sure why the poor boy had to be subjected to a weekend of doing nothing and people watching, but he didn't argue that either. In fact, Bruce was being far too submissive about the whole thing, although it probably had to do with Alfred's age and constitution. As the man got older, Bruce gave in more and more to his demands without argument.

Sighing deeply, Bruce reached out to take up his drink and sipped at it while dark eyes looked out to locate Eddie. Maybe the kid was doing better at this whole relaxing thing than he was.

Comments

[fanboy_power]

Eddie was sent along for a few reasons. Not only to be around to help if there was trouble but because it was becoming clear he was just as unlikely to take a vacation. While the former street kid had been doing quite well with his school work and was certainly a lot more capable of handling himself as Eidolon than he was on that first night, he got out for non-Bat reasons about as often as Bruce did. Sure he went out more for errands and the like for Alfred but he wasn't taking time for himself. So Alfred insisted he go along for the weekend.

It wasn't very difficult to find Eddie but relaxing didn't seem to be what he was up to. In some swim trunks of his own, he's carefully setting up a large beach umbrella for a trio of bikini-clad young women that appear to be just a bit older than him. Even if what they're saying can't be made out, it's probably clear the three are fawning over Eddie as he helps out. At least whatever they're saying has him blushing furiously.

[mr_bruce_wayne]

The Batman saved many people, but in that moment in time and space, Bruce just sat back to watch Eddie from behind his glasses. He was interested in seeing what might just happen, and how the boy might handle it.

[fanboy_power]

Eddie will face down zombies, go head to head with supervillains, charge into burning buildings...all without a second thought. But this? This has him completely out of his depth. He gets the umbrella standing and open and it gets him a peck on the cheek from one of the girls which only makes him blush worse. He says something which gets the ladies laughing but before much more can happen, a few young men approach and get their attention. One walks right up and gives Eddie a shove, the teen stumbling back.

While the girls he'd been helping get annoyed, Eddie just seems to sigh and slump his shoulders.

[mr_bruce_wayne]

Bruce watched, his expression unreadable. You can do it. he encouraged the boy silently. Stand up to them, they are just being jerks to show off for the girls.

[fanboy_power]

Unaware he's being watched, Eddie stood there silently. The guys continued to be jerks, trying to impress the girls just like Bruce guessed. Eddie was quiet even as they obviously made fun of him. But then one said something that had him speaking up, getting the older guys looking quite surprised. The exchange continued back and forth until Eddie said something that caused a silence and had the two jerks actually looking apologetic. The conversation seemed to calm down and gradually take a slightly more friendly tone before the group parted, the girls heading towards the water with the scolded young men in tow. Eddie waved a little awkwardly before looking around. When he spotted Bruce, Eddie perked up a bit and waved his way before starting to jog his way.

[mr_bruce_wayne]

"Testosterone is a hell of a thing." Bruce commented quietly to Eddie, as the youth came up close enough to hear him. "Good job."

Shifting, Bruce took another sip of his water and he sighed out a big deep breath. This was boring, and Bruce was getting tired. Lord forbid he take a nap. Looking to Edie, he then asked "Want something to drink? The juice bar is supposed to be good." His tone was droll though, and Eddie knew Bruce well enough to hear the sarcasm behind the words.

[fanboy_power]

Eddie had been opening his mouth to greet Bruce but all that came out was a little squeak as red spread across his cheeks again. "Y-you were watching?" he asked, mentally adding to his nighttime burpee count.

He looked a little concerned when he saw how tired Bruce seemed to be but he didn't voice it yet. The sarcasm had him blinking and eventually a small smile formed on his face. "I'm okay. Thank you though," he replied. After a moment, he tilted his head to the side. "Not enjoying the vacation, sir?"

[mr_bruce_wayne]

The youth's question brought an inelegant sound from Bruce, and the elder man sat back with his face pointed towards the sky and sun. To anyone watching, they were having a normal sort of conversation.

"I would rather be anywhere than here. However, here we are, so I guess I had best try to make the best, hrm?" Bruce mused, before he turned his eyes back to the boy and asked "Aren't we supposed to eat a lot of food and lounge around? I want to make sure that I get it right." Wait.. is that a bit of a smirk? Is he joking?

[fanboy_power]

Eddie just offered a sympathetic look to Bruce's reply. He nodded to the first question but the second had him rubbing the back of his neck a little sheepishly. "I um...don't know. I've never been on a vacation before," he admitted. of course a moment later it registered with him that Bruce might be joking and he ended up snickering a little.

[mr_bruce_wayne]

"Never been on vacation before?" echoed Bruce, as a brow raised behind his sunglasses. After a moment he accepted the statement, his mind quickly putting a few things together. Of course this would be something new for Eddie. He gestured to a chair nearby, and said "Have a seat. Least we can do is people watch until we figure out what to do with ourselves."

[fanboy_power]

Eddie just shook his head in reply. He sat down carefully in the offered chair, letting out a breath. "First time I've ever been to a beach like um...well, for um...the way people usually go to the beach too," he added. "Any ideas what we should do?"

[mr_bruce_wayne]

"I imagine that the first thing we should do is see to you experiencing some beach time." said Bruce, though his expression didn't look quite convinced. Making sure Eddie got a good experience would require Bruce himself to have experiences too. Goddamnit Alfred.. was all he could think, sourly. The elderly man was an evil genius.

[fanboy_power]

"Okay," Eddie replied. There was a pause before he tilted his head to the side. "How do we do that?" he asked with a little frown. Alfred was indeed an evil genius sometimes.

[mr_bruce_wayne]

"By going to the beach." said Bruce with a displeased expression. "Alfred wants us to try to have a good time, and we should oblige him."

[fanboy_power]

"Okay," came from the teen again. He shifted a little in his seat and looked over at Bruce. "So what should we do here at the beach? Swim or something?"

[mr_bruce_wayne]

"Or something." he replied. Bruce stood and scrubbed a hand through his hair, grumbling wordlessly. They were going to have fun or something of that nature before the day was out.