Chapter Text
It had been a number of years already and Delilah Al Ghul still missed them.
It had hurt, when she decided to run away from her father and siblings. But she knew it was for the best. She couldn’t stay there, not when they refused to trust her despite the many years she dedicated herself to learning under her father.
It hadn’t been obvious to her when she was a child. But when she entered her teen years, she quickly realized that their refusal to let her work solo was not a protective instinct for the youngest, but rather they wanted someone to keep her from undermining their values.
She had thought she proved herself to them already, but to discover that they truly believed she would just begin a killing rampage, it hurt.
And it showed her that her mother had been right. They would never truly trust her to succeed her father as she aspired to.
Perhaps it was cowardly, to run away. But she had been a teenager and hormonal and felt betrayed. So she ran straight into her mother’s arms.
Talia Al Ghul may have been a hardhearted assassin, but she loved and adored her daughter. She welcomed her home with open arms.
Though her mother was rather disappointed when Delilah refused to take back her place as heir to the League. But no matter how upset she was with her family, she couldn’t in good conscience take over one of their enemies.
That, however, didn’t stop her from slipping back into what she was trained to do since birth. If they were so certain she would revert back to her assassin mindset, she may as well prove them right.
So she took a job of becoming an underground hitwoman. She did keep some morals though. If any, she took a lot of inspiration from Todd, targeting criminals and war mongers.
With this in mind, Talia suggested she move to a small country that was on the verge of war, Ostania. The League had been keeping an eye on the warring tensions of Ostania and its neighboring county, Westalis. While small, the two countries had a lot of power within their governments, and the League always kept watch of those who could tip the scale.
A war breaking out between the countries could spill into the other European powers and potentially cause another world war.
That was not something Delilah would allow to happen. So, she agreed to move to Ostania under her mother’s guidance. Talia agreed to send her information and determine the threats that could affect the tentative peace.
With her mother’s assistance, Delilah was able to get a job at City Hall within the capital city. It was a low secretary job, but it was covert enough to keep her out of any main attention.
With Talia’s help, she forged birth certificates and ID for Delilah to be listed as a born citizen of Ostania.
It worked well enough as Ostenia was becoming very paranoid about foreigners. It was already a slight issue that she took a lot after her mother. Delilah did take pride in her heritage and often wanted to mimic her beautiful mother.
Ostania, however, didn’t have many dark skinned citizens, so she was already often looked at with suspicion. Thankfully, she could escape deeper inspection due to how intricate her mother crafted her backstory.
Talia had lived for centuries and she knew exactly how important it was to make sure nothing would be brought into question. And Delilah was trained well, so there was no chance she would slip up with the background she memorized religiously.
Delilah was born within the capital city, Berlint, to a middle eastern immigrant mother and a loyal Ostanian father. Her father was a nameless soldier who died during the last war against Westalis before the treaty was brokered when she was six years old. Her mother raised her alone within the capital until she was eighteen, to which Delilah inherited her father’s home and her mother left the country to travel.
Talia didn’t give her any school records, but that was actually the norm due to the war over a decade earlier. She did make false employee records for Delilah, claiming she began work as a clerk in the city archives before being promoted to City Hall. Of course, her mother made the records show Delilah worked in the most obscure of places, so it would be easily explained as to why no one knew who she was, aside from the obvious of her typically antisocial personality.
Her background was well made and air tight, an obvious showcase of her mother’s talent and the League’s influence. Of course, while that gave her an out in regards to the paranoid not-so-secret police, it didn’t really change perception of her with her coworkers.
The other secretaries were tight knit and wary of her. Well, two of them were. One was just indifferent, which did bode well for Delilah to become semi-friends with her as the two held similar personalities.
But Delilah knew social cues well enough to realize that the other two were less suspicious and more so jealous. Which was entirely understandable as Delilah knew she was beautiful. With both of her parents’ genes, it was obvious she would come into her adulthood as a gorgeous woman.
And no, it was not ego. It was just facts.
Delilah easily ignored the two gossip mongers as she made coffee for one of the managers. Being a secretary was annoyingly simple, but Delilah couldn’t really make complaints. A low office worker was less suspicious than if she were in a high position of authority. More out of view. People tended to ignore the ones who served. A hiding in plain sight motif.
“Did you hear about the office break-in? Scary, right?” Camilla exclaimed, “Apparently, someone broke in and stole a bunch of information on the women employees! What kind of creep does that?”
“The section chief is pretty creepy” Millie stated, “He’s always ogling me!”
Sharon took a leisure puff of her cigarette, “Maybe if you wore longer skirts, he’d stop.”
“My boyfriend likes it when I wear short skirts, though!” Millie whined, “Hey, you’re pretty fit Sharon! Why don’t you try showing it off a little more!”
“I stopped caring after I had a kid” Sharon stated bluntly.
“What about you?” Camilla asked, turning towards her, “You’re awfully quiet over there, Delilah. Does it creep you out too?”
“What? The break in or the section chief?” She drolled, “Honestly, I don’t particularly care. The break in probably won’t ever really affect me and as long as the chief keeps his hands to himself, what do I care if he stares at me.”
“Seriously?” Camilla wilted in annoyance. Of course that was her answer. She was so boring. She never really interacted with them aside from small comments, and she was clearly a homebody, as from what Camilla gathered, she never went out aside from work. Not to mention whenever they tried to invite her to gossip, she’d send them snide glances!
“Ooh, is that the section chief’s coffee? Blow some snot into it!” Millie suggested excitedly.
Delilah sent her a raised eyebrow, “And get fired? No thanks.”
Sharon snorted.
Millie whined, “So blunt.”
“Hey, by the way Delilah!” Camilla added in, “I’m having a party this weekend! You should totally come! Oh, and don’t forget to bring a date!”
“A date?” Delilah frowned, “Why?”
“Geez” The blonde sighed, “Come on Delilah. You’re like, what? Twenty four? You should really start looking into your prospects!”
“And why would I do that?”
“From what I hear, you need to be really careful at your age, these days. There’s spies everywhere, you know. People have been reported for the tiniest little things, you know.”
“That’s right!” Millie added in, “I heard just the other day that a bachelorette in her late twenties was arrested because her neighbors thought she was being extremely suspicious!”
“They are right. Being single at that age is kinda eyebrow raising.”
Oh yes. She forgot Ostania had high values in marrying young. Delilah was not really on board with that idea. Not just because it was a rather archaic way of thinking, but also due to her being an Al Ghul. Al Ghul’s fall in love hard and fast, and once you love, that’s it. No one else will do it for you. It was why her mother has spent every moment being exclusively in love with her father, despite their differing values and frequent fighting. It was also why her mother didn’t exactly like her step-mother either.
Delilah did like Selina, though. The two had an understanding of one another, both typically walking that line of morality. Plus Selina understood her blatant adoration of animals. It broke Delilah’s heart to leave her animal companions behind, but they were safer and more well cared for at the manor than they would’ve been following after her.
Though she did hope that her father cared enough about her to not actually eat Jerry, despite her running away.
“I see. Well, perhaps I will look into finding someone then” Delilah said, if only to soothe her three coworkers.
“Great! So I’ll see you at the party then!” Camilla cheered, heading off with Millie and Sharon in two.
Delilah easily ignored Camilla and Millie hushedly talking about how she wouldn’t find a date. What did she care if the two peons mocked her. Their opinions didn’t really matter in the long run.
Of course, she also couldn't put it past either of them to not try reporting her as suspicious merely due to their petty nature. It may do her well to at least try finding someone who would attend the party with her if nothing else.
As Delilah prepared her nightly routine, her phone rang. Picking it up, she heard her mother’s familiar voice. “Hello Little One.”
“Mother” Delilah greeted.
“How have you been, my darling?” Her mother asked.
“Just fine. I have run into a slight issue with my life, however. Ostania is quite behind in terms of female independence. My coworkers are rather concerned regarding my unattached status.”
“I see. Yes, I did worry that it may become a problem. However, I had believed it would not affect you for quite some time. My mistake.”
“It is a simple solution. I merely have to find a date for my coworker’s party and that should get them off my case for a little bit” Delilah explained, “It should be easy, either way. I took the best of you and father’s genes after all.”
Her mother laughed, “But of course, Little One. Only the best for the Al Ghuls. Now then,” She mother’s voice changed to a more serious tone, “I have found a client that would like to see you. The Royal Hotel, floor thirteen. Do treat him well, my darling.”
“Of course, mother.”
The client mentioned was the Vice President of the auditing department. He had been embezzling money from the government and putting it towards an underground fund to restart the war with Westalis. Which meant he had to go.
Of course, it was rather easy to finish the job. His bodyguards were good, she would give them that, however, they had nothing on the League of Assassins, let alone the Bat Family. And it just so happened that she was trained by both.
They stood no chance.
Delilah easily slipped out the window she came in from, climbing up to the roof as she surveyed the city skyline.
She missed her family. She missed racing across the rooftops with Todd. She missed flying through the air with Grayson. Hell, she missed her bantering with Drake.
She especially missed the proud headpats of her father after a job well done against whatever rouge decided to try their hand those nights.
But those times were over now. And she’s ruined her chance of getting that back. If she ever saw her father again, she knew he would hate her for reverting back to her assassin lifestyle. She made her choice, and it was time to lie in that bed.
Even if she spent a lot of her time regretting it.
Loid Forger, as his new identity claimed him as, was a simple man.
If you exclude the fact that his name was actually Twilight and he was one of the top secret agents in existence, that just so happened to be on a serious mission that would make or break the world as everyone knew it.
A deep cover mission to prevent what could potentially start World War 3. A deep cover mission that included building himself a family to get close to his targets.
He had one part down. His adoptive daughter. Anya was a strange child, but she was obedient and damn it all if he couldn’t feel himself getting just a little bit attached.
But he was missing a very important piece of that puzzle. Anya needed a mother figure. Mainly due to the fact that Ostania had a firm view on what a family should look like, and that included a mother and a father regardless of circumstances, however archaic that view was.
Anya needed to attend the highest profile of schooling to help get him close to his targets, and that school just so happened to be famous for those ideals. He felt it was rather ignorant, as there were many who lost parents due to either illness or accidents, or even assassinations.
But such was the life for the rich, he would suppose. Eden Academy was a high profile and extremely prestigious school. Only either the richest of children or the brightest of children were allowed to attend.
Unfortunately for him, Anya was neither. She was a good child and she could learn well when she wanted to, but she was not the brilliant genius that Eden was looking for. So, appearing to be an ideal family would be the best to raise their chances of her getting in.
And that meant finding a woman that would agree to be his wife and become her step-mother.
Another part would be to make Anya look at least a little more presentable. She didn’t have much clothes, only a couple of dresses due to being raised in a scummy orphanage. So he needed to expand her wardrobe.
Hence why they arrived at a well known tailor. Loid was given a very high budget for Operation Strix, so he could afford to get her clothing from a good tailor.
“Come along, young lady. We’re going to take your measurements” One of the seamstresses guided Anya with a kind smile.
Again, however, Anya was a strange child, “I’m being sold to traffickers!”
“You won’t if you behave” Loid retorted easily. He had grown quite used to her strange outbursts over the last week since he adopted her. Still, though, “Honestly, where does she even pick up that kind of language?”
Then again, the orphanage he got her from truly was the lowest of the low. Maybe that was a possibility there.
He should mention it in his report to Sylvia. She equally despised mistreatment of children, so he knew she would spend some time looking into the orphanage to see if they had dealings with trafficking.
As Anya was taken to be measured, Loid discreetly examined the women working in the shop. Most were married, but there were some who were still single. However, the ones who were had issues of some kind that would make their family life suspicious. One had already been arrested before, and another had a family member in the ‘secret’ police.
None of them would really be fit for-
“Excuse me” A sophisticated voice called out.
Loid snapped his head to where the young woman stood, expectantly waiting at the counter beside him.
How did she sneak up behind him?!
Twilight was known to be the best agent for a reason. His senses were unrivaled by any (though perhaps that ‘Batman’ character in America could best him, purely due to having more experience), and yet this one woman was able to glide past his notice.
It was intriguing, but most importantly, it was dangerous.
Either she was somehow well trained, or his training was beginning to relax. Both could be very bad for Operation Strix.
The owner of the tailor shop came over to greet the woman, “Oh, Delilah! How wonderful to see you again, dear!”
“Good afternoon” She nodded, “I came to pick up the new dress I ordered.”
The elderly woman nodded, “Let me go get it from the back.”
“Thank you” Delilah replied graciously.
Loid, meanwhile, was quickly reading through his mental files to locate the woman, quickly finding her record from the file Franky stole from City Hall. Delilah Al Ghul, daughter of Talia Al Ghul and Bruce Waldmann. Her mother was a middle eastern immigrant, who had moved to Ostania to be with her husband. Her father had been a simple soldier who died when she was a child during the war.
Delilah lived alone, she was twenty four, unmarried, and worked as a secretary at City Hall.
“Excuse me.” Loid’s attention was garnered when Delilah suddenly turned to him, “I couldn’t help but notice you staring at me. Is there something I can do for you?”
How did she sense him?!
Loid quickly recovered at being caught, easily slipping out the lie, “Pardon me! It’s just that you’re so beautiful!”
Delilah upturned her nose, a haughty gaze, “Of course. My parents have wonderful genes. It’s only natural.”
Loid easily held back the desire for his eye to twitch at the arrogance. He would grant her that she wasn’t entirely wrong. Delilah Al Ghul was a beautiful woman. Her long black hair felt down her back like silk, her caramel skin gleamed under the light and her eyes were a brilliant emerald green.
But could he really ask such an arrogant woman to marry him, regardless of if it was a farce?
“Papa! I’m this long! They told me!” Anya proclaimed, eagerly running to hug his leg when the seamstress was finished measuring her. She quickly caught sight of the woman he was speaking to, “Who’s that?”
“A fellow customer,” Loid explained with ease to his curious daughter.
Delilah sent the young girl a small smile. Which, in Delilah’s terms, was not really much different from her normal expressions. The only ones who ever really noticed the small twitch of the ends of her mouth were….
Well it doesn’t matter. She had debated on asking the man to accompany her to the party as her date. He was certainly easy on the eyes with blonde hair and ice blue eyes. And any man who was so confident to fully admit his attraction to her was certainly a plus.
Most men were cowards after all, and tried to play off staring. He was upfront about it and she admired that.
But that went down the drain as he was a father and most likely had a wife waiting for him and their daughter. And she knew some wives had a tendency to act violently if woman came onto their husbands.
Granted Delilah was a highly trained assassin, so there was no chance any simple wife could actually take her on, but still.
Anya Forger was an incredible little girl. Not entirely through her own abilities, however. When she was even younger, she had been taken care of by doctors which brought out her telepathic powers.
But for all her naivete, she knew it was in her best interest to run away. So she did. And then she was found by an orphanage and brought to be taken to a family.
She had been happy. At least until they found out about her powers and returned her. And then it happened again and again and again…
And then Papa found her!
Papa was great! He may have been a big liar, but he was so cool! Because! Her Papa was a spy! Like in the cartoons!
And that meant Anya was now a spy! And she was helping bring World Peace™ through their mission!
But now Anya needed a Mama to help her and Papa with the mission!
And here was a pretty lady who wanted to ask her Papa to be together! And she was an assassin ! Like in the cartoons!
Papa and Pretty Lady already had so much in common!
Thanks to Anya’s telepathy, she heard every thought of the Pretty Lady. And she knew she had to fix it! Because if the Pretty Lady knew Anya didn’t have a Mama, then she might be okay with becoming her Mama!
Anya was a genius!
“Oh poor poor me!” Anya proclaimed, doing everything in her power to look just like the cartoon damsels in distress, “I’m so lonely cause I’ve got no Mama!”
Anya was not a good actress.
“What’s this about?” Loid raised his eyebrow. Anya was certainly an odd one. Though she wasn’t wrong. He needed a wife for Operation Strix.
“I just need a Mama so bad~!”
Delilah turned to the girl’s father curiously, “Are you not here with your wife?”
Loid sent her an uncertain smile. Anya may be odd, but perhaps it would work in his favor. “No. Sadly we lost her two years ago. It’s just me and my daughter. I’m raising her by myself.”
“I see.” This was good for Delilah. That meant he was equally unattached. She could work with this. He was already attracted to her, so it shouldn’t be terribly hard to convince him. “Would you mind if I asked you for a favor?”
“A favor?”
“Yes, you see, I have a dinner party to attend. It’s being hosted by one of my coworkers,” Delilah began to explain, “I was wondering if you would be open to the idea of accompanying me as my date. They have been rather hard pressed to insist I need to search for a man, so it would be a great help if you could help get them off my back.”
“Oh.” Loid was surprised at how perfectly this was playing for him. “Well-“
He was cut off when the shop owner returned with a wrapped package in a shopping bag, “Here you are, dear!”
Delilah took the bag from her, “Thank you again for the rushed service. The dinner party was sprung on me rather quickly.”
“Of course, dear! Anything for our best customer!” The owner then turned to Loid, “We’ll have some new dresses made for your daughter in a couple of days.”
“Ah. Perfect. Thank you.”
“It’s no problem, son,” the woman smiled, giving Anya a small head pat as well, “Have a good day, sweetheart.”
“Bye bye!” Anya waved to the seamstresses as her father guided her out with Delilah.
Delilah wasted no time in returning to the conversation after exiting the shop, “So what do you say?”
“Ah, well actually, I think it works perfectly. You see, I had been hoping to ask you for a rather large favor.”
Delilah raised an eyebrow, “Oh?”
“Yes,” Loid nodded, “It’s a long story, but I would like for you to be Anya’s mother for an important interview.”
Delilah couldn’t say she wasn’t surprised. Out of everything to ask for, that was not something she expected. “Pretend to be her mother?”
Lois tried hard to play up to the woman’s empathy, though so far she had been rather lackluster in the emotive department. “We live in such uncertain times, and I just want my sweet little girl to get into a good school. I have to try, as it was her mother’s dying wish.”
Anya stared up at her Papa with wide eyes. Papa was a really big liar.
Delilah was impressed. A good looking, confident man who was a dedicated father and committed to fulfilling a deceased loved one's promise. He was perfect.
“Understood,” Delilah nodded, “I accept your request.”
“Perfect! Thank you so much for your help!” Loid said happily. He’ll ease her into an official marriage either before the interview or after. Either way, his cover was nearly complete, “I guess we’ll see each other Saturday then!”
“Yes. I will meet you at the crossroad of Park Avenue and Hersh Street” she stated firmly.
“Sounds perfect. I’ll see you then” Loid nodded, the three then parting ways.
Saturday soon came and Delilah was a little surprised to find herself becoming just a little anxious.
She wasn’t usually, so she didn’t know what was so different this time.
Though she had never been on a date before, so maybe it was that. Loid certainly was a good man though, so Delilah was rather hopeful to at least make a friend in him. She missed Jonathan’s company terribly, so perhaps Loid could help fill that void.
So, Delilah waited at the designated meeting spot patiently for her date to arrive. The dress she bought was nice and complimented her well, but it wasn’t made for cold weather. Thankfully her fur (obviously faux) coat did well to keep in some warmth. But hopefully Loid would arrive sooner as opposed to later. He seemed reasonable, so she couldn’t imagine him being anything but punctual.
However, the longer she waited, the more irritated she became.
She initially had concern that he may have gotten into an accident of some kind, but the more she debated with herself, she found it much more likely that she had been stood up.
Which was not a happy realization. Delilah Al Ghul was not a person to cross, especially when she had become rather eager to have something that didn’t happen.
By the hour mark, Delilah felt humiliated. And she couldn’t just ditch the party altogether because she had already told her coworkers that she would arrive with a date in tow.
She could make up a lie, but she knew they probably wouldn’t believe her. But at least she could try to save some face if she went instead of running away.
Frankly she had enough of doing that for her lifetime.
“Well look who finally decided to show up” Camilla said teasingly. Though Delilah knew it was more of a mocking.
“I apologize for my tardiness. I brought a gift for you” she stated, handing the gift bag to the blonde. It was good manners to bring a gift to the host after all.
“What’s up? I remember you saying you’d be bringing a date with you tonight” Camilla remarked as Delilah closed the door behind her.
“Unfortunately he had a last minute situation” Delilah replied, doing her best to attempt not to appear disheartened.
“Oh that’s a shame! I really wanted to meet this guy!”
Delilah wished she had run away instead. It was better than being a wallflower. She could remember a time when she had hated being in the attention of the rich idiots her father had to interact with at parties, but she’d take that any day over the awkward feeling of being left out.
She wasn’t entirely alone. Some of her other coworkers came up to talk to her briefly, usually a compliment from the wives and asking where she got her dress, but the three she knew the most were very blatantly ignoring her.
Well, Sharon did make some conversation before Camilla and Millie dragged her off.
She could just imagine the two joking around about how pathetic it was she came without the date she informed them about. And she certainly felt pathetic too.
And it was not a good feeling for her. Delilah was used to getting what she wanted. Even with her siblings, while she learned she couldn’t always have her father or Grayson’s attention, being the youngest meant she was oft spoiled even by them, even if they complained about how spoiled she was.
Even Drake gave her the last cookie when she pouted, purely because she was the baby of the family (which was a tool she utilized often when she realized being the baby wasn’t really a derogatory statement).
“Hey Delilah” one of her coworkers came by. Dominic was a good employee, hardworking and he was quite loyal to his girlfriend despite her being an absolute shrew.
“Hello Dominic.”
“It’s a shame about your boyfriend. I was looking forward to meeting him.”
Oh right. ‘Date’ had somehow been transformed to ‘boyfriend’ once word got out that ‘Ice Queen Delilah’ was going to Camilla’s party with a plus one.
The rumor mill truly was annoying.
“Ah. Yes. Unfortunately something had come up and he couldn’t attend with me.”
“Well maybe he can come next time” he suggested.
Delilah was very certain she would rather just miss any more parties than ask another man to disappoint her.
“Hey!” Camilla let out a clearly fake cheerful greeting as she latched onto Dominic’s arm, “So what are you two talking about?”
“Uh.” Delilah was rather certain that Dominic shouldn’t be surprised at Camilla’s jealousy, as she even became possessive at work when Dominic talked to other female employees. Which really solidified that he should break it off with Camilla, as that was not a healthy relationship, but to each their own.
“He was just asking about Loid.” Delilah stated. May as well throw his name under the bus. Not that it mattered anymore since he was a no show.
“Loid huh? What, is that your dog?” Camilla let out a fake giggle.
“No, my dog’s name is Titus,” Delilah replied easily. Even if she didn’t have them with her, her animals were still her babies. “My cat is Alfred, my cow is Bessy and my turkey is Jerry.”
Camilla didn’t really expect a retort, clearly showcasing her lack of understanding that her insults and mockery only served to make her look foolish. However she merely sent her a feign smile, “Gosh Delilah, you’re so funny!”
“I’m not joking” came the blunt reply. “They live with my mother, however. I miss them dearly.”
“Ah! How is your mother?” Dominic asked, clearly wanting the conversation to continue despite Camilla’s rudeness.
“She is doing well,” She replied, “I believe she is searching for true love once again.”
Technically true. Her mother did everything to find a way to reconnect with her father, despite him being married.
Well, no one could say Talia Al Ghul was not determined. Though if Todd was to be believed, she once tried to suggest to Selina that they share.
Delilah certainly didn’t want to keep discussing things with Camilla though, so she easily found an excuse, “I believe there’s a timer going off.”
“Oh! That’s the Grotten!” Camilla dragged Dominic off with her, her jealousy not wanting to leave him alone with Delilah.
Delilah examined the room, which was filled with conversation. People seemed to be enjoying their time well enough. But Delilah never liked crowds to begin with, and it had been such a horrible night already.
Sharon siddled up near her as Camilla and Millie gathered together again, “You certainly look bored out of your mind.”
“It has not been as enjoyable as I hoped. Though Loid’s absence does play a big part, I will admit” Delilah stated. She liked Sharon easily enough. She was a bitch but she owned up to it. It was something Delilah admired.
“So this Loid is the lucky man, huh?”
“Yes,” Delilah nodded. “Actually, I think I may just head out for the night. I’m going to give my thanks to Camilla and go.”
“Yeah? Get home safe then.”
However, before she could make a step, the door burst open. To Delilah’s absolute shock, it was none other than Loid, who shakily moved beside her, “Please forgive my lateness. I’m Loid Forger, Delilah’s husband.”
A shocking twist to their agreement, but considering he seemed to be covered in blood, she could probably forgive him for both that mistake and his tardiness. Clearly her initial thought of an accident was correct and now she was actually feeling a little bad for thinking poorly of him.
“I needed a date, or even a boyfriend. You’re the one who needed a spouse” she reminded hushedly.
He sent her a wide eyed look of small panic, “Wait, seriously.”
Damn. Those smugglers really did pack a punch. Knocked him so hard he mixed up their missions.
Dominc was the one who first spoke, “Mr Forger, is that…blood?”
“Oh!” He was in such a hurry he forgot about his horrid appearance. Hopefully that didn’t affect their regard for Delilah. “Yes! Pardon me, please. One of my patients had a violent outburst. Just one of the risks of being a psychiatrist.”
Delilah took out her handkerchief and carefully began to wipe the blood off her newly faked husband.
“Ah, thank you, dear.”
“You can’t be serious!” Camilla exclaimed, “Why didn’t you tell us you were married?!”
“Uh…” Deilah herself had trouble thinking of an excuse. A boyfriend was easy to explain, having a husband out of nowhere, however…
Loid saved her, however, by speaking up and appearing bashful, “It’s embarrassing but this is my second marriage and I have a child. Makes things a bit uncomfortable.”
Camilla was enraged. So this whole time, Miss Ice Queen had a hot successful husband and was just messing with them! Sneering at them for gossiping about men and the like while keeping something like this a secret! Gods, she really just kept pissing her off!
But Camilla didn’t know when to quit, so she quickly grabbed the Grotine she took out of the oven in a feign appearance of being a good hostess. “Well you’re just in time to try my famous homemade Grotine! Oops!”
Delilah firmly believed Camilla was a horrible actress. That fall was not even the slightest bit believable.
Of course, even if it truly was an accident, Delilah could catch the pan without issue. Such as she proved when she easily held out her leg and balanced the pan from its fall, kicking it up to catch properly with her hands.
Loid was rather nonchalant about her quick save. “I love that you’re so mindful about not wasting food, but I don’t think it’s good manners to use your feet, you know.”
“Ah. Wonderful point. Apologies.”
Neither acknowledged the fact that some of the Grotine did in fact spill onto Camilla, mainly because both knew it was a purposeful fall.
It really only irritated her more. She waved off Dominic’s concerns and stood back up, trying desperately to show up her perceived enemy. “Tell me Mr. Ranger~”
“It’s Forger” he remarked in slight annoyance.
“Did you know that your wife has quite the questionable background?” Camilla all but interrogated. “I mean, just look at her!”
“Your racism is showing,” Delilah said bluntly, not at all affected.
Camilla flushed heavily, gritting her teeth as Dominic tried desperately to make her back off. “Did she tell you what her mother does for a living? What was it again? Oh right! Men would call her to their hotel rooms for massages !”
Delilah was rather irritated at that. Firstly, that had been made as a cover as to why her mother didn’t have many employee records. It was used to excuse why Talia was more of an unknown than Delilah, aside from being foreign. It also helped explain why Talia would be seen in high hotels whenever she herself took a job. While Delilah preferred the sneaky vigilante way, Talia was more for open ambushes. She claimed it was more fun for her that way, though Delilah was certain her mother just enjoyed being lusted after.
Delilah was not so much upset at the information as she was with Camilla just blatantly saying out in the open, to the face of what everyone thought was her husband. It really wasn’t anyone’s business whether her mother was a prostitute or not.
Loid frankly felt a little offended on Delilah’s behalf. She may be rather arrogant and standoffish, but she hasn’t done anything to warrant suspicion. Especially not just because of who her mother was. And it was rather admirable that she would place herself in that position to help care for her daughter, “I think it’s great.” Loid ignored the startled looks of the other guests, turning to Deilah with a small assuring smile. She appeared equally surprised, “Her mother had to raise her by herself after losing her husband. And to make sure her daughter was well cared for, she did whatever she could. She sacrificed a great deal. Be it for somebody else’s sake, or whatever reason, having to put up with such a tough job takes real grit and dedication. And that’s not something just anybody can do.”
Delilah….was impressed. Any man who can see the value of her mother, even with a false alibi, was immediately high in her books. Her mother had her faults. Many of them. But there was never any doubt that she loved her daughter and would do whatever needed to take care of her.
If Talia truly did have to resort to prostitution to ensure Delilah was taken care of, she knew the woman would do it.
And to hear that Loid didn’t judge her at all for that was quite aspiring.
“Let’s go home, Delilah” he suggested with a small smile.
“Agreed” she nodded, rather regally. She then turned towards Camilla, taking her hands, “Thank you for having us.” Of course, she then squeezed hard, making the blonde wince as she leaned closer, lowering her voice a bit with a serene face, “Also, if you ever try to insult my mother again, I will make you regret it.”
Camilla turned red with a mix of anger and embarrassment, and just a little bit of fear, as Loid gentlemanly placed her coat around her shoulders.
Delilah left the party with her head held high, taking equal strides alongside her feigned husband.
She gave him her address as he drove his van down the empty streets. Loid kept his eyes on the road, though did take a glance at her, “Hey, sorry about the whole husband thing.”
“Don’t worry about it” she assured, “Actually, I was just thinking about this. You-“
She was cut off when out of nowhere, their van was crashed into from the side. “What the?!”
Loid quickly recovered control of the van, mind racing as he went into Twilight mode. It was the leftovers from the smuggler’s ring he just finished ambushing. He had been in such a rush to get to the party, he had left too many men alive. They must’ve left a tracker in the loot they had stolen to have been able to find him.
And now his failure was putting an innocent civilian woman in danger.
“Hang on Delilah!”
“What the hell is going on?!” She exclaimed as Loid quickly shifted gears (both physically and mentally) and made a sharp turn off the highway.
Shit. What should he say?! When in doubt, fall back to what was already thought, “It seems like some of my patients are still having psychotic breaks.”
Delilah was suspicious but she really didn’t have any evidence otherwise. “I suppose being a doctor is rather demanding.”
Twilight was frankly shocked she believed that lie. “The best course is to avoid them for a bit.”
“I see. There’s an abandoned warehouse off exit 32” she offered. Mainly so she could find a way to split off from Loid and take out the threats. Patients or not, they’re clearly too dangerous to leave alone.
Twilight listened to her instructions and quickly parked the van in a somewhat shadowed corner. The two climbed out of the van and hurried towards a small alcove to hide.
When two of the patients began to lurk nearby, Delilah watched in fascinated confusion as Loid grabbed a trashcan and slammed it atop one of the men before spin kicking the other. He then pried a pipe from the wall for future defense. “This way!”
Delilah easily kept her speed equal to him, “Should you be knocking your patients unconscious?”
Twilight floundered for only a moment, “Yes! I’m using a cutting edge technique known as the Concussive Recovery Method!”
Delilah had never heard of that but Ostania was rather weird, so perhaps it wasn’t all that strange.
“I see.”
Twilight was unsure if she actually believed him, but if she did, he may have greatly overestimated her mind. Still, it worked in his favor so he couldn’t really complain.
Sensing one of the smugglers approaching from behind, Twilight launched the pipe at the man, knocking him over. However, he was caught off guard momentarily by another smuggler leaping down from the roof immediately following.
Twilight cursed himself. Ever since he was assigned to Operation Strix, his training has constantly been failing him. Hopefully it was something he himself could overcome, otherwise he would need to inform Sylvia and he just knew she'd beat him into the ground.
However, before he could even think of a way out of the oncoming danger, Delilah intervened, jump-kicking the smuggler into a wall.
“Sorry” she said nonchalantly, “I’m not a doctor, but I am an expert of self defense.”
Loid let out a small surprised chuckle, standing up from his crouch, “Thank you Delilah. That was impressive. You sent him flying!”
“I’ve been training since I was young” She preened, “Mother wanted to ensure I would always be safe in this dangerous world.”
Loid would admit it made sense. Especially if her mother had to resort to the sex trade to provide for her. The world was already a dangerous place for a woman, but even more so for those in that sort of employment. Just being the daughter of a prostitute could be dangerous, even if Delilah never found herself in that workspace.
“There he is!”
Twilight grabbed Delilah’s hand and dragged her around the corner just as some of the smugglers began shooting, thankfully missing both of them.
Delilah caught herself up, racing alongside him. They were ambushed by two, but they dealt swiftly with them easily before continuing their way to escape.
“Ah, I almost forgot. Perhaps not the best time to ask, but how do you feel about marrying me?” Delilah proposed out of nowhere.
Loid was so startled at the proposal that he tripped over his feet, face planting into the stoned ground. He quickly scrambled up, “I’m sorry?!”
“Perhaps it was too fast, but I was just thinking it would benefit both of us” Delilah stated bluntly, “Anya already needs a mother for her to be able to attend her schooling. It would be rather suspicious if they delved deeper into her records and found that it had been a lie. And it would certainly help me as well. As you probably already guessed, some of my coworkers are petty busybodies. If they discovered we weren’t actually married despite the earlier confrontation, it would not do me any good.”
Loid had to admit, she wasn’t wrong in the slightest. And it saved him a lot of trouble in trying to coerce her into legitimately marrying him.
So, he climbed back tk his feet, brushing the dirt from his clothes, “Let’s swing by City Hall to sign the paperwork.”
Delilah’s eyebrows raised in surprise, “Right now?”
“No time like the present,” he said, holding out his hand to her.
Delilah was growing more and more impressed the longer she spent with Loid Forger. He knew what he wanted and had the drive to achieve it without the useless prattling most people did.
Loid moved to present her with the ring he swiped from the smuggler’s ring he and Franky intercepted, however, as it turned out, his jacket had a small hole and the ring was gone.
It sucked, but they could pick up a new ring at the store. He’d simply put it on ‘Operation Strix’ tab.
Still, ring or not, he needed to showcase a proper effort to keep her happy. Even if she was the one who technically proposed, it would do well to get into her good graces by a proposal of his own.
“You bastard!” Yet again the two had to make a run for it as the smugglers caught up to them.
The two dove behind a steel storage unit for cover, Twilight quickly grabbing a lone grenade one of the smugglers dropped.
Maybe she'll consider it like recycling, but he’ll use what he has available.
“Delilah. Even in sickness or in sadness” Loid began, pulling the pin off the grenade and launching it behind him towards the remaining stragglers of the smuggler ring. “No matter what hardships we face,” he ignored the explosion that quickly followed, and surprisingly so did Delilah, “Let’s do it together.”
Delilah’s eyes widened when Loid placed the grenade pin around her ring finger in lieu of an engagement ring.
Why was her heart pounding? It wasn’t adrenaline. This chase had nothing on battles against the likes of the Joker or Deathstroke.
No, there would only be one other explanation.
The fact that Loid Forger proposed to her in such a blatant act of passion, complete with an explosive end to their enemies, proved only one thing.
This man was her perfect match, her soulmate.
Only one day and he already understood the assassin's heart lurking beneath her, showing her his dedication in providing for her by doing whatever was necessary to be rid of those who would threaten them and their family.
Al Ghuls fell hard and fast, and once they loved, it was over.
Delilah would forever be in love with Loid Forger and she will do everything in her power to never stray from him.
“Yes. Beloved” Delilah accepted his proposal, feeling her face finally shift beyond her usual nonplussed expression, willing herself to let her Beloved see the happiness he brought her.
Loid felt his heart skip a beat when all of a sudden, Delilah beamed up at him, eyes wide and sparkling with joy.
It was strange. He was at the peak of health. His heart should not be causing him problems. He may need to bring that up to Sylvia next time they meet.
But right now, he would focus solely on marrying his chosen wife.