IN MY DREAMS YOU'RE
TOUCHING MY FACE AND
ASKING ME IF I'D WANT TO
TRY AGAIN WITH YOU AND I
ALMOST DO.

WHY DO WE FALL?

One thing has been defined over the course of human existence: humans are not solitary creatures. They are not meant to be alone, even when they believe they are, they aren't. Human beings are known to be reclusive, not instinctively, at least. In an evolutionary sense, human beings grew into people with such a capacity for thinking that love was only imminent. A feeling that everyone felt for someone else, no matter the context. Evolution expanded the mind of human beings so they could see just how much they need another person in their life. Whether that be family, friends, or someone that owns their entire heart. Yet, perhaps that was one of evolutions biggest mistakes. Allowing people to give their heart, mind, body, maybe even their soul away to another person ridden with fallacies like them. Someone that could drop them and break them at any moment, if humans were to think about it, evolution would be the one to blame for that happening. Craving for that person to be next to them, desperately waiting by the phone for them to send a text or call to talk about their day. Human beings gave their heart away to people who were imperfect, as everyone on this planet was. People with flaws who couldn't help what they were doing. Evolution ensured that people would not only understand what love is, but also what it's like to lose that person. Because, every person, every human being is constantly evolving in their own way. Their thoughts, their feelings, it all changes. At some point, people outgrow their relationship. Especially if they're not growing together, people break past the confines their relationship had kept them in and suddenly they were seeing a whole world of colors they had never seen before. Yet, when it comes to the time that people tell them to leave, they can't.

Because a part of their heart, a part of their soul, will always be with the person they love. And that makes leaving even harder.

Harlow Verity Finley wasn't the one to worry about finding love, unlike many of the girls in her high school class were. She had hers from an early age, her best friend that had stolen her heart around the age of thirteen and never gave it back. Some small part of her knew that he would always have it, even if they never got together, even if they got together only to drift apart. What she didn't expect was holding onto the fringing rope that was their relationship. Grasping for something that was on it's final way out — a rope so close to snapping, so close to dropping her to the ground beneath with no safety net. But he was the only thing she knew, the only thing that felt constant in her life. A relationship she thought she was growing with. Only to wake up one day and realize neither one of them were the same as they had been years prior. Their love was there, she knew it was. Even if it was diluted through years of pain and words left unsaid, they still loved each other. So, why would she make herself all the trouble of leaving when this was comfortable? Bruce Wayne clearly thought they were fine — the ring that sat on her finger said as much. The very ring that was his mothers, a ring Harlow had always imagined would be hers one day. Harlow Finley found herself grasping at the tattered shreds of something that used to bring them both joy, hoping to sew it back together before they dissolved away into the air of Gotham.

Yet, she could grasp and hold on as much as she wanted. Climb the rope hoping to reach the top again, to see Bruce who was holding it on the top of the mountain. A smile on his face, arms ready to drop the rope and embrace her. Except, she couldn't hold onto a rope that wasn't attached to anything anymore. Harlow remembered the day clearly, how Bruce dropped the rope and with it she fell to the ground. She watched as Bruce barely noticed her presence next to him at the trial, her hand wrapped around his. His hand that never warmed up to hers sitting in it, the one that stayed cold and statuesque. Watching him stand up, her hand falling out of his, his eyes cold when he glanced from her to the judge and walked out of the room. That was the first time she ever felt cold at the sight of Bruce's blue eyes — they were normally a sense of peace for her, like the ocean waves hitting the shore for some people. But that time? There was nothing behind them, nothing that made her feel as though she was the only person he had loved, it was blank.

The future changes the past, right? When Harlow looked back, she knew that was the last time she would see him. The way he stared blankly at her, the months leading up to the trial where he was just different. He wasn't the same man she had been in love with — not the same man she agreed to spend the rest of her life with. When Rachel told her about the last time she saw Bruce, the gun, his plan. Everything clicked. It was all about revenge, avenging his parents death. He wanted Joe Chill to suffer the same way his parents had, he wanted an eye for an eye. He wanted the world to understand his pain. And when he couldn't get it, he left Gotham City with no second thought to the people in the ruins. Harlow Finley should have seen it coming when he dropped out of medical school instead of finishing it like she planned. They were only in their first year when he did so, when this trial was starting, when everything changed.

Harlow Finley wanted to honor his father, honor his parents, by helping Gotham in the only way she knew how. Helping those with her knowledge, with her hands that could do good, hands that could save people. She wanted to honor Thomas Wayne by continuing his legacy of helping the people who needed it most, helping the Gothamites through both his philanthropy and through his love of medicine.

Years later (seven years to be exact), Bruce Wayne was simply just a story that people spoke about in Gotham. But, his former fiancé wasn't. Harlow Finley was a household name, depending on the year it was with a different attitude and a different reason. She never let her name die, and she sure as hell tried to not let the news and press bother her. Like a woman frozen in time, she waited and waited until it hit her one day, nearly seven years after he left. He wasn't coming back. She needed to move on, she couldn't continue to live waiting for his phone call. Waiting for him to walk in through those doors, apologies leaving his mouth as he pulled her close to his body again. No, he wasn't going to come striding in offering to pick up the broken pieces of her heart that he caused. That was all her, she had to do it herself. Soon enough, Harlow Finley saw her heart get patched up in a way it wasn't before. All stitched and bandaged together with only a few places she couldn't find the pieces that matched. She figured those were the ones that would always be a part of Bruce — but she was okay with that. Harlow Finley was nearly whole again.

And soon enough she found herself in the arms of another man — a man who cared for her more than she did him. But, she was comfortable, and she felt safe in his arms. It had been a long time since she felt that way before, especially when it came to a man in her life. She found herself in a relationship with a man and for the first time, she found peace with something she had tried to hide for years. Ever since they first showed signs of being there, Harlow had tried to repress them. Act as though the powers weren't there, as if she couldn't hear others thoughts or do other things (things she had yet to even venture into). For the first time since she first discovered them, Harlow Finley had felt comfortable with them existing inside of her. Harlow felt the closest to normal she ever had.

Then, Bruce Wayne came back to Gotham. Except, that wasn't the man she was set to marry, the man who gave her the ring that use to belong to his mother (the same ring that was now sitting in a box on the dresser of Bruce's room with a note from Harlow), the man she loved more than words could ever describe. This Bruce Wayne was cold, he was different, harder might have been a better way to describe him. Yet, he was coming home to someone he thought was still there for him (newsflash, Bruce, if you leave for years, they won't stay!), only to realize she was more confident now than she ever had been. Somehow, the worst part of it all is one simple fact: Harlow Finley and Bruce Wayne never stopped caring for one another despite growing in two different directions. One thing remained, their souls were intertwined with each others, even through all of the things they had been through. They would always find each other again. No matter who they've become to reach that point.

If the future changes the past, can the past change the future? Harlow Finley wasn't sure and she didn't want to be the one to find out either.

TO PICK OURSELVES UP AGAIN.

HARLOW VERITY FINLEY, M.D.
portrayed by deborah ann woll

•
•
•

ADDITIONAL CAST MEMBERS
Willem Dafoe ... Joshua Finley
Michelle Pfeiffer ... Alice Elliot-Finley
Ghassan Massoud ... Ra's Al Ghoul

OTHER CAST THE SAME AS THE
MOVIES AND/OR OPEN TO YOUR OWN
INTERPRETATION FOR FAN-CASTING.
(In specific, I could not find an actress
that fit what I wanted Talia that was
ethnically correct so I am going to
write her with the comic accurate
description and you guys can imagine
her that way)!

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

•
•
•

AUTHORS NOTE

^ Y'all every time I come up with a new story idea despite literally NEVER writing for any of my already published stories. i hope you guys know that this story in specific has led to me thinking of ANOTHER fic (only this time it would be another marvel fic ,,, miss karen page fic with the OC being played by christian bale ,,, I think so). you know what the big issue is ,,, outside of this fic I've now got like two more (one DC,,, hello mister Grayson, and then one Marvel ,,, miss Karen Page fic with Christian as the OC anyone?). sorry all I can do is come up with story ideas and nothing else. (Update: idk if that Karen fic is happening, I literally have  one idea and Anya knows it so) (I give you permission to yell at me about it after the first week of May ends and I'm done with the semester).

Anyways, welcome back to Ashton falling in love with YET another fictional character. And welcome back to Ashton is unoriginal so we've come back into the sinnerverse (aka all of my dc characters and ocs are connected even tho it's a different movie universe all together). I hope you all like it and are excited for the story all together though. It is one of my favorite ones and plot lines that I have right now — Bruce and Harlow are just so very special to me 🥰. Let me know your thoughts (ahaha especially the little addition of a specific relationship with a villain here).

Welcome to the hell hole (round two)! Hope you guys are ready for some extra strength angst and better writing (or maybe worse idk, I think I peaked years ago and now I'm going downhill). This summary ended up being so long ... I also ended up rewriting the whole thing instead of just editing it like planned. But, I do believe this summary is so much better than the og version, so it was worth it. Anyways, leave your thoughts in the comments! I can't wait to have you guys read the rewritten chapters soon (again bc of school this is the first time I've written in like two weeks).

DISCLAIMERS
1. I do not own any of the plot lines and or characters created for the nolanverse. Any and all other characters and plot lines that are not seen in these movies are my own, please don't steal.

2.  This book may contain some of these things: violence, blood, gore, death, drugs, alcohol consumption, sex, sexual activities, crude language, mental health, etc. Please do not interact with this material if it will mess with your mental health!

3. Teaser trailer linked at the top of the chapter is by dunbonnet

DEDICATIONS
to the hogwarts founders: ownthelight, angeIeyes,
findtheforce
to the milfs: foxgIoves, fxllmoons, awfulmoons, bananapopsicIes, peoplehoods
and to my many other friends whom I love and appreciate: sanktham, svperboy, bokuroos, xonceuponatimex, arsvenal, bayports, elfaouly, dunbonnet, aethrastic_dreamxx, capnbarnes, binarysun, silksenses, -firestar, -rosepetal, clinquaant, GirlPotterheadXx, luckyvirgo, SPIDEYT0RCH!

thank you for reading,
SAINTS BEHIND SINNERS.