Bruce has been sitting at the Batcomputer for what feels like hours and is no closer to solving his latest case.

A series of robberies has occurred in the homes of the wealthy by unknown assailants. And while Bruce doesn't pay much attention to the rest of Gotham City's upper crust unless it's in the interest of keeping up his persona or using their wallets to do some good, the news is all over The Gotham Gazette and Gordon called him in as a personal favor.

And what really intrigued the world's greatest detective was one oddity: strangely, by allegedly sheer coincidence, one of the only homes not burglarized were the Lenore's.

Omar and Aisha co-owned a jewelry store in the heart of Gotham's shopping distract for more than 40 years and specialize in diamonds. Their daughter, Heidi, who has just turned 30 and by all accounts is known for her renowned beauty and generous heart, is a socialite who moonlights as a fashion model.

Some online forums and certain circles speculate that the Lenore family is involved...or maybe even started the operation themselves, to get back at former business partners or scorned friends.

But right now, Bruce has hit a wall. Whoever is terrorizing the most rich and powerful in Gotham has covered their tracks well.

Just then, the grandfather clock upstairs rumbles to life interrupting Bruce's focus. Moments later, the tell tale quiet footsteps of Helena Wayne can be heard as she hums a nonsensical tune on her way down the stairs.

"Hi dad." Helena says once she eventually makes her way over to her father, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Helena, I am working." Bruce emphasizes, attempting to appear annoyed at the interruption but his lips quirk up into a small smile, betraying his true feelings.

Helena, with her mother's perceptive green eyes, spots Bruce's cowl on the desk and gives a once over of the bat suit that he has yet to take off.

"I can see that." She says dryly before smirking at him mischievously. "So what is this case you're working on that has caused you to not say hi to your kids coming back from college—"

"You and Damien are only here because I asked you to come for the gala tonight." Bruce interrupts pointedly. Helena rolls her eyes in response, disentangling her arms from her father's neck so she can lean against his desk instead.

"Just admit that you missed us already. Honestly, Jason had a better welcoming for me than this."

Bruce wants to interrupt again to point out that Jason adores Helena but decides against it. Helena has her father's smarts and her mother's wit—she would probably figure out a way to argue against that too.

As Helena eyes the screen intently, she quickly changes the subject.

"You didn't answer my original question." She points out. "Although perhaps I shouldn't encourage it. You could always work a little less."

Helena says the last part without a hint of irony, as if she knows any better. As if she doesn't prowl Gotham's streets at night while perusing a law degree and isn't verging on being a workaholic herself.

But for the sake of arguments, Bruce instead (finally) answers her original question. Helena listens intently, eyebrows furrowing in concentration.

"Well...you could always go to the source." Helena suggests once he's finished. "Heidi Lenore seems to be as good as a start as any. Just...I don't know...strike up a conversation with her at the gala or something. Her family is coming to the gala tonight, right?"

"I believe so."

"Then I think I just solved your latest case!" Helena beams and Bruce lets out a small and incredulous snort.

Soon, Helena is moving again, seeming to be satisfied with the end of their conversation.

"You've got five minutes to get upstairs before I send Alfred down to get you." She half-jokingly threatens before disappearing upstairs once again.

As the cave's door closes with a resolute thump, Bruce sighs. He glances at the case notes one last time before shutting down the Batcomputer, standing up and slowly getting out of his suit.

✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩

Later that evening across town, Heidi Lenore wrangles to find her emerald earrings and matching clutch.

"Cleo!" She calls out to one of her family's maids. "Have you seen my—"

Heidi stops as Cleo, a young woman with auburn hair, appears in front of her, holding out the earrings and clutch in question.

"Cleo! You're a lifesaver!" Heidi beams at her gratefully before turning around to put on her earrings at her makeup desk's mirror.

"Just doing my job, Heidi." Cleo insists with a modest shrug.

Normally the Lenores insisted on having their servants call them by their last names but Cleo and Heidi were only a few years apart and Heidi found the whole practice archaic.

She didn't see the point in treating "the help" as less than just because they did the jobs no one else would. Especially when she knows plenty of the rich in this city, or anywhere frankly, would not survive without the various assistants, cleaners, etc that they employed.

But Heidi puts away her thoughts on class structures for tonight as she smiles triumphantly in the mirror at herself.

She's wearing a dark green and sparkly eyeshadow with a maroon shade of lipstick. And her emerald green sequined dress hugs her eyes curve.

In short, Heidi is gorgeous and proud of that fact. Being a wallflower and appearing meek has never appealed to her. Except, well, a few occasions where circumstances unfortunately force her hand...

"You look beautiful, darling."

Her mother's voice filters through from the hall and Heidi's good mood immediately sours.

"Mother." Heidi says in response, polite and rigid. In no time at all, Mrs. Lenore sweeps across the room to appear at Heidi's right shoulder.

In the mirror, Aisha Lenore looks to be the spitting image of her daughter—if only older with her brown hair tied into a tight bun and wearing a grey suit and skirt.

Regardless if she's out or at home, Mrs. Lenore always must look her best. Heidi has ever seen her mother look dissolved or, if she was being honest, normal in her entire life. Insistence of wearing pair of jeans may make the woman faint.

Aisha's shrewd eyes stare at Heidi's in the mirror, eyeing her head to toe as she absentmindedly strokes her daughter's with a smile of satisfaction.

"Everyone will be looking at you, I'm sure. It will be good publicity for us."

Her mother always says that when these events occur. Like her and her husband hadn't stopped going years ago and have instead paraded their daughter around like cattle.

Sometimes Heidi wishes she could grow a spine when it came to her parents and just say 'no'...but things are never that simple.

Heidi glances at a clock reflected in the mirror on her dresser.

"I should probably be going. I'll be late for the gala if I delay any longer." Heidi excuses herself, abruptly standing up and attempting to subtly shake off her mother's clutches.

"Perhaps tonight you will finally find someone." Heidi tries not to flinch at the implications of that statement.

She wants to get married someday just...not now. Not yet. It feels like she's just started her life. In some ways she has.

"Perhaps," Heidi smiles shakily in an attempt to placate Aisha and then adds hastily, "Emmi."

Heidi doesn't speak Arabic well and knows very few words. She's a third generation, everything about her projects 'spoiled American heiress' but it always manages to bring a truly genuine smile to her mother's face.

It always made Heidi wonder why between etiquette classes and ballroom lessons that her parents never got an Arabic tutor. Or maybe even someone to teach Heidi the basics of fashion, something Heidi's genuinely passionate about. It would've been helpful to know something rather than learning as she went during the start of her modeling career.

Heidi shakes her head to get rid of the cobwebs that were her jumbled up thoughts and musings. She leaves her mother and Cleo in her wake, making a mad dash to the door where the family's town car is waiting.

As Heidi clicks the her clutch shut with a tube of lipstick and her phone tucked tightly inside, she takes one more glance upstairs by the front door.

Her eye immediately is drawn to her father's study. She thinks about maybe saying goodbye. But his door is shut and Heidi knows better than to disturb her father's work.

Turning back around, Heidi takes in a deep breath and finally exists into Gotham's night.

✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩

Tonight's Wayne Gala was for the cause of granting underprivileged kids college degrees.

And Bruce was incredibly proud about the turn out. Sure, plenty of people were here just to say that they went to get a chance to meet Gotham's most famous billionaire (and most eligible bachelor) or for public appeal.

But it was with the most rich, most well connected and most powerful that anything in this proud but flawed city got done. Bruce needed their wallets to get the movers and shakers of this city on board.

No doubt by tomorrow there would be a report in the Gotham Gazette about the gala and how much money it raised by Jack Ryder or Jack Knox or Vicki Vale or Summer Gleason or maybe even the up and coming Kei Nakajima.

But now, two hours into the event which consisted of many forgetful speeches and mind numbing networking, Bruce conceded that he needed a break.

Grabbing a glass of champagne from a side table, Bruce leans against the wall of his ballroom, casually people watching. His kids are all around, either networking or chatting amongst themselves. There is not an inch of space that someone isn't occupying. People casually sway on the dance floor whilst others wine and dine in grouped huddles.

However, as Bruce's eyes glaze over the center of the room, he suddenly stops as if transfixed. That's when he sees...her.

In addition to a matching green dress, shoes, clutch and makeup, Heidi Lenore wears beautiful emerald earrings, a necklace that sparkles under chandelier lights and green acrylic nails.

And as she laughs at something one of Gotham's upper crust, it sounds so carefree that something blooms in Bruce's chest.

Suddenly, she looks over at him. Brown meets blue and she's walking over to him, eyes locked and him nothing or no one else.

"It's odd to not be part of the action of your own event, isn't it, Mr. Wayne? I would've thought you'd be working the crowd rather than hiding by the drinks and food table." Heidi says by way of greeting.

"Perhaps, Miss Lenore, but after two hours hearing one of Gotham's up and coming senators go on and on about his golf record rather than how he would support my cause...I think I'm allowed a little respite."

To his surprise, Heidi laughs. It's the same carefree trill it had before but it's louder. It seems more...genuine. It's so noticeable that some heads turn but Heidi pays them no mind and soon everyone returns to their business.

"I understand completely. It must be frustrating not feeling you're being heard. This is such an important cause."

Bruce blinks, attempting to hide his shock by taking a sip of his champagne. It's not that he wanted to stereotype her but he didn't see the appeal of Heidi Lenore before when he was looking at her back catalogue of fashion shows and tabloid exposes for his investigation. Now that she's in front of him, he's starting to understand her appeal.

Heidi was quick-witted and smart, clearly knew what she wanted. Passionate about the causes she supported. What person wouldn't be fascinated by such a vivacious personality?

"It's good to have strong morals." Bruce decides to admit to her, a genuine compliment. He wonders if she hears them often or if most people go for the superficial.

Regardless of the truth, it gets Heidi to smile. She eyes him for a beat, seeming to look for something. It makes Bruce feel exposed. As if she can see all he is underneath.

"I like a man who has strong morals. It's admirable." Heidi is most definitely flirting with him and Bruce is almost tempted to rise to the bait.

But then images of the past cloud his mind and he decides to take a safer approach.

"Perhaps I should start directly addressing the invitations to you rather than your parents. Seeing you're so passionate about it."

Heidi leans back slightly, seemingly to put him at ease and then she nods with a smile that lights up her whole face.

"I would love that." She confesses, eyes shining with gratitude.

They stare at each other in silence, seeming to only have eyes for each other. And Bruce knows it's dangerous but...he wants to keep talking with her. He has a feeling he'd stay at her side all night if she would let him. Maybe he should just drop the formalities and ask her to dance.

But before Bruce can do anything, Alfred suddenly appears, looking apologetic, and the spell over the pair breaks as Heidi turns to face the butler.

"My apologies for the interruption, Master Bruce, but Miss Lenore's driver gave me a message for her mistress." He then turns to Heidi, explaining that her parents have requested her to return home for a family emergency immediately.

As Alfred finishes his explanation, Heidi's expression darkens as she frowns. Whatever this 'family emergency' is, it appears serious.

Quickly though, Heidi puts on a bright smile as she nods.

"Thank you for relaying this message, Mr. Pennyworth. Please tell Angie that I will be out as soon as possible." She says, seeming to be genuinely grateful.

Satisfied with her answer, Alfred nods once and disappears once again.

"It appears that our conversation must be cut short, Mr. Wayne." Heidi says apologetically. Bruce nods in agreement as he too is disappointed. Heidi doesn't move just yet though, seeming to be waiting for something.

Bruce clears his throat, setting down his champagne glass and searching through his breast pocket. He then hands her a black and gold business card.

"If you would like to continue our conversation or need to contact me for any reason, please don't hesitate to call."

As Heidi takes the card, their fingers brush. Her touch is electric and her hands are warm.

The moment passes and Bruce's hands feel cold in comparison.

"I appreciate this, Mr. Wayne—"

"Bruce."

"Bruce, then. Only if you call me Heidi." Heidi smiles coyly, leaning into his personal space. "I look forward to contacting you very soon, Bruce."

Then, Heidi is finally gone. She turns heads in her wake and lavender clings to the air for a brief moment as she disappears.

"So...I see you decided to take my advice." Helena appears out of nowhere and nearly startles Bruce, distracted from his revery.

"I...yes, I suppose I did." Bruce admits, still a bit dazed from what happened.

Beside him, Helena smirks as she grabs her own glass of champagne. She's wearing a purple dress with dark makeup and black hair expertly curled. Truly, she is beautiful. A spitting image of her mother so stark that a wave of nostalgia of a time before Helena was born hits Bruce with a muddled and distant ache.

"You seemed to like her company, that's for sure. Handing her your personal card and everything. Big step for you, dad." Helena teases.

Bruce seems to have finally realized he's been standing still, staring into the distance with a slack jawed expression. Slowly, a scowl appears on his face as he finishes off his champagne. He gives Helena a non-committal grunt, not confirming one way or the other of her thinly veiled assumptions. Helena laughs jovially at his expense.

✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩

Heidi returns to her family's mansion with a cloud hanging over head.

"Did my parents say what they wanted, Angie?" Heidi asks as the car comes to a stop.

Angie, who usually wears a face of grim professionalism, gives Heidi an apologetic look.

"They didn't, miss. But I heard Mr. Lenore talking to the family lawyer a few days ago as I drove him to the jeweler's. Perhaps it has something to do with that?" Angie suggests.

Like many of the staff, Heidi treats her kindly as if they were lifelong friends and not several decades apart. It made the staff treat Heidi as a confidante rather than an employer. As such, Angie wishes she could give Heidi more information...but she doesn't have anything.

In the back seat, Heidi sighs. Bringing the family lawyer, Tom Wordy, over last minute at the house could mean anything. Heidi wishes more than anything she could be back at the gala. It was stuffy and loud. Filled with obnoxious people who cared more about their image and not about what really mattered.

But at least the gala didn't remind Heidi of a trip to the gallows, however dramatic that comparison to her own home was.

Resigned to her fate, she pushed open the car's door and held her head high, attempting to appear as the confident young woman she was rather than a terrified girl about to be scolded by her parents.

Inside the foyer, it was darker in the evening. The house could no longer the cracks that could show through in the Lenore family's carefully protected image in the nighttime.

"We're in here, Heidi!" Her father, Omar, calls out to her from the parlor on her left.

Quickly, Heidi surveys the situation as she enters. Her parents are sat by the fire while the lawyer, remarkably dressed in a crisp white suit for it being late in the evening, sits on their ornate couch.

It almost amuses Heidi if the situation wasn't so tense by the display as this parlor is used for entertaining and very rarely to be sat in.

"Well? I'm here. What was this 'family emergency' you had to drag me to?"

"I'm sorry to do this last minute, Heidi but your parents have decided to make a change in your inheritance clause." Tom says, looking genuinely apologetic. Heidi can't fault him. He's young, Heidi's same age, with a passion to do what's right. A young black lawyer making waves in a practice that is very white. Heidi and him often had long and passionate discussions about what's to be done in the city.

And without her parents' legal fees, Tom's practice wouldn't have as many connections and business.

In the present, Heidi impatiently gestures for them to go on.

"You should sit down, Heidi." Omar suggests gently, the way one would attempt to soothe the anger of a child. But Heidi wasn't his little girl anymore and she was going to be as angry or as indicative as she liked.

"I'd prefer to stand. What is going on?"

Tom leans forward, rubbing his hands together nervously as he gives Heidi his most serious lawyer expression.

"Your parents have stipulated a clause in your inheritance...that you must be married in order to receive any money."

Heidi's blood ran cold.

"No." She accidentally utters out loud in a small voice.

"Heidi," Aisha starts speaking for the first time since her daughter arrived, "when we were your age, we had already had you and we think that settling down will help curb your...inclinations."

Heidi's head snaps up to meet her mother's gaze, a shocked look taking over her face before she laughs bitterly.

"Oh? My inclinations? You mean my love life, yes? Is the way I carry my life a problem now?"

Aisha's pleasant expression morphs into an ugly scowl.

"It would be better for you to settle...much better than parading yourself like a hooker at the East End—"

"At least they get paid generously for their time!" Heidi snaps back, cheeks darkening with embarrassment that she's even having this discussion (especially in front of Tom who Heidi considers a friend). "Instead, I get my parents critiquing my love life like it's any of their business!"

"You are our only heir!" Aisha barks, eyes blazing with anger. "You must think about your family's legacy!"

"And what about my happiness? Does that matter to either of you?"

Heidi is met with silence and she scoffs incredulously.

"Of course it hasn't." Heidi snaps bitterly.

"Heidi," her father speaks up, "please...just sign the papers. That's all you have to do."

"But father—"

"You will do this Heidi Nasira Lenore." Her father interrupts, using her full name in a cold tone of voice so icy that Heidi almost shivers.

Tom reluctantly slides the papers over towards Heidi as she stares down at the signature box on the contract and the pen beside it, emotionless. She swallows a lump in her throat and makes the choice to sign the paper despite her feeling like she's just willed herself to a death sentence.

✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩

Tom was briskly showed out the door and Heidi rushed upstairs to her bedroom, trying not to cry or have a panic attack.

When that doesn't work, she swings the doors to her balcony open and breaths in cold air. After letting in and out a few breaths, she feels calm enough to give herself time to think...and quickly figures out a solution.

Heidi returns to her bedroom and searches through her clutch for Bruce Wayne's business card and her phone to dial the number.

To Heidi's surprise, Bruce Wayne himself answers the phone.

"Miss Lenore." He answers professionally. It amuses how different he sounds from the gala where he insisted she use his first name.

"It's late for someone to be working, isn't it? Although I feel better knowing you're not overworking some poor secretary on a whim." Heidi teases by way of greeting.

"Something came up and I had to come back to the office. I hope you don't mind me inquiring about how everything went with your family?"

Heidi's heart drops into her stomach. It would appear that she's just going have to rip off the bandaid as quickly as possible.

"That's what I called to talk to about actually." Heidi begins, her tone shifting from teasing to serious. "I have a big favor to ask of you, Bruce, and I'm hoping you'll accept."

There's a pause on the other end of the line, the distinct tapping of a pen on a sturdy, and no doubt expensive, leather file folder.

"What makes you think I'd say yes?" He eventually asks and Heidi smirks even though she knows he can't see her.

"I'm sure I could find a way to convince you. I'm quite good at getting people to wrap themselves around my finger."

"...I'm sure you could." Bruce says, whisper-soft as if he didn't want for her to hear it. Then he clears his throat and speaks at a normal volume. "I'm willing to hear your proposal."

"Right." Heidi says, heart pounding as she bites onto a nail to calm her nerves, before answering him properly. "I need you to be pretend to be my boyfriend."

Author's Notes

Hello!

I announced this on my account yesterday but in case anyone that reads this doesn't follow me, I am rewriting all the chapters of Midnight Visits up to chapter 8 as, after having taking a 5 month hiatus, I realized that I didn't like where Midnight Visits was going. The romance was fine but the plot felt disjointed and some things felt out of place in the original chapters that I've resolved to fix (ie discussions about Heidi's identity, romance moving too fast, keeping plot a good balance of Bruce's investigation/Heidi's family drama)

I got into Sims 3 again so I named after the family lawyer, who didn't have a name in the original draft, after a townie from Bridgeport because I'm a nerd😅 I figured I'd have fun since he's only going to appear once. Sometimes you put in references for just you lol

I hope everyone likes these rewrites. If you've read the original chapters, please give these new ones some love also :)

BatgirlGeek❤️