Entry tags:

batman, crossover, nadrawrimo, series: betty and the bat, ugly betty

Title: Betty and the Bat: Very Random Future Ficlet (NaDraWriMo: Day 1)
Fandom: Batman Begins/Ugly Betty
Characters/Pairing: Betty Suarez, Christina McKinney, Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne, mentions of Superman
Spoilers: Ugly Betty S1 and Batman Begins
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,452
Summary: Betty praises her friend's success in the world of heroic fashion design
Notes: Instead of National Novel Writing Month, I'll be attempting to drabble/ficlet once a day throughout the month of November. They're going to be quick, dirty, and all betaed by the lovely ittykat. They're definitely not going to all be in my Betty/Bruce 'verse, and they're not all going to be crossovers either. The idea is just to get my lazy and work-bogged self writing again, and writing for things that aren't RP.

That said, starting in the Betty/Bruce 'verse was the easiest jumping off point. This takes place about two years after the current Betty and Bruce arc. Betty is still working as Bruce's assistant and Christina has just gotten out from underneath Wilhelmina's Mode-shaped thumb. I'd reccomend having read at least some of the Betty and the Bat 'verse before reading this one, as it won't make much sense otherwise!

This counts for November 1st. I'm just late. Luckily, Daylight Savings Time is an amazing thing. Also, if there's something you'd like to see written, I offer my prompt table. I'm counting on prompts to get me through the next thirty days!

EDIT: Duh, I'd meant to say that the suits referenced in the fic are the Returns version, vs. the more traditional 90s/comicy version. Personally, I'm a fan of the comic!suit version, as much as I enjoyed Brandon Routh.

---

"I'm glad you left Mode."

"How many times are you going to tell me that?"

"Until you realize how great this is." Betty turned from the small coffee table in the corner of the office-cum-waiting-room, two steaming mugs in her hands. She practically shoved one of them at her best friend and one might have sworn that it was the radiance of her grin that was heating both mugs. Her smile beamed across the room, restrained only by the post-braces retainer that she had to wear for at least ten hours each day. "Look, I'm serving you coffee. You're a guest here; that's great, right?"

For her part, Christina attempted to hold back her simmering amusement at Betty's mood, holding her hand over her mouth before giving up and letting out a small unladylike snort of laughter. "I can get my own coffee, Betty. I've always gotten my own coffee."

"I know, but you haven't always been a guest of Bruce Wayne, and now you are so I'm getting your coffee. That's my job." Betty said in a very matter-of-fact voice. Her smile softened when Christina finally took the coffee from her hands. "You're your own designer now and Bruce is your client."

The older woman sipped carefully from the cup. "Do you have any milk?"

"Here." Betty passed her the thermos from the table. "You could be happier about this. Bruce isn't going to get upset if his waist size goes up a half inch." Not that it ever would, she thought to herself. Her boss happened to be in an unchanging state of perfection when it came to his physical form. Betty was almost positive he'd been the same weight and size since the day he'd decided to don the cape and cowl. He had armour to fit into after all.

She sipped from her own coffee as she walked back around her desk. The familiar lights on her phone were still flashing indicating that Bruce was still on with whoever it had been twenty minutes ago. She assumed it was still Commissioner Gordon unless he'd hung up and dialed out on his own while she'd conversed with Christina. "Probably just a few more minutes," she said.

Christina was anything but impatient. "I know he's not Wilhelmina, Betty, but it's still Bruce Wayne."

"So? You've met him before," she said logically. "And it's not like you called him. He called you. He really liked the menswear line you did for Gotham's fashion week, and he read that article about how everyone's calling you the 'Designer to the Superheroes'… well, Bruce has to have the best." Betty trailed off with a shrug and another smile. She would, of course, neglect to mention that it was the latter occurrence rather than the former than had really piqued Bruce's interest in her friend. Bruce attended Gotham Fashion Week for the façade, not out of interest.

She could see that Christina was blushing. "I am not a Designer to the Superheroes. It had to be luck that Superman saw my redesign sketches in that issue of Mode… and I felt a bit bad about it after he told me his mum made it for him."

Betty stopped, looking over at the other woman in slight disbelief. "Superman's mom made his costume?" Now she'd heard everything.

"Aye, she did, and I'm hoping she doesn't come after me with her bloody laser gun or space ray when she hears I messed with it."

"You didn't 'mess with it'," Betty insisted. "You were right about what you said. It was too dark and the symbol was too small. I like the brighter colours, and obviously he did too, because he asked you to make him four spares. And you're the one who was all excited when the other ones started to call."

"Before I realised what a pain in the arse spandex is to feed through a Singer," Christina mumbled behind a small grin that betrayed her glee at the entire situation. Betty understood the nervousness she might be feeling; it was exactly how she'd felt after being shown the Cave for the first time. It wasn't exactly something to be taken lightly, being pulled into this odd world of heroes and villains, the way they were. Even if, unlike Betty, Christina wasn't privy to the names behind the masks, it was still nerve-wracking. Betty suspected that the worry on Christina's face had nothing to do with the difficulty of getting spandex through a sewing machine.

She'd been sewing for Wilhelmina Slater for years, after all. Spandex couldn't have been the worst she'd ever faced.

Betty smiled at Christina. "Well, Bruce isn't a superhero and he doesn't need a spandex suit." Betty suspected he would have been very insulted to hear it suggested that he don spandex or a suit that hadn't been developed in the brilliant recesses of Lucius Fox's mind. "He wants business attire from your fashion week line."

"Couldn't this be considered… nepotism or something?" her friend asked.

"Nope. We're not related," she answered happily.

The look on Christina's face said clearly that she wasn't completely convinced by the answer, but Betty didn't much care. As far as she was concerned, Christina deserved the job. Her boss needed suits and every rich playboy and their cousins could order out Armani, Gucci, and the like. Bruce certainly did, but after hearing Alfred mutter something underneath his breath about his dislike of this year's 'plaid fixation' as he did his seasonal shopping for Bruce's wardrobe she'd very casually brought up that Christina had left Mode and had a menswear line for the coming spring that very much lacked plaid. It hadn't taken very much more than that.

It was less nepotism, and more a butler desiring a classic and respectable silhouette for his charge's business wear. Either way, it worked in Christina's favour and still, a year and a half after leaving Mode, Betty brimmed with pride for her friend.

She looked over at the lights on her phone. Bruce was still talking. Briefly, she hoped it was all business and had nothing to do with the amount of time his fifteen year old daughter was spending with Bruce's seventeen year old male ward.

She could have buzzed the line, but she'd already done that once. Bruce knew Christina was waiting, and Betty was enjoying extra time with her friend. "So who else is on the list?"

"What?" Christina asked.

"The list. You said other people called after you did Superman's suit. Who were they?" There was distinct blushing and Betty's smile grew. "I have to live vicariously through someone."

"It's not that exciting," she peered over her mug. "Maybe the Flash. Maybe Zatanna, that magician. Maybe the Black Canary. I don't want to namedrop."

"Fishnets and leather. Faye Summers would be proud."

"And isn't that what I've always dreamed of," Christina finally let out a real laugh. "I'll admit, some of the things in her closet might have helped."

Betty laughed too. "At least it was good for something." Well, something other than it's original intention. "And you love name dropping, but the way."

"This is different. They can probably hear me namedrop."

"Only Superman," Betty grinned.

When Bruce finally hung up the phone and made an appearance in the outer office nearly twenty mintues later, Betty had done her best to extract every piece of information out of her friend possible. Like she'd said before, she was living vicariously through others. Spending as much time working as she did, it was becoming a habit. Her imagination trucked along when Bruce described –in very minimal detail—how he'd gotten the bruises she covered each morning. She took notes on those sporadic occasions Selina dropped by, fresh from a trip abroad to some exotic country Betty had never even thought of going to. Daydreams popped up with Christina told her about the goingsons in the world of New York fashion.

Maybe she needed a vacation, she thought as she went about the pleasantries of reintroducing her boss to her friend. Hands were shaken and Alfred, who had been with Bruce in his office, took it upon himself to thank her personally for neglecting the questionable stylistic choice of plaid while they walked into Bruce's office. Betty smiled as she settled back down into her chair.

She didn't mind being left alone behind her desk. She was the assistant, after all. She was the assistant who'd helped land her friend an excellent job and who would be receiving thank you drinks of the best kind later that evening, hopefully with several stories to boot. If this was nepotism, Betty thought, then it was obviously the best kind.