sanctuary || d. wayne

THREE

KING'S APARTMENT
SEPTEMBER 18th
9:32 A.M.

"'Wayne Insurance?'" Andrea did not look amused. The forty-seven-year-old Korean woman glares at the large broken window in front of her. Two men work at their own pace (too slow for Andrea) to fix the King's window.

Her curly black hair, the grey roots hidden by dye, is pulled back into a low ponytail. Her business outfit, a pencil skirt, buttoned shirt, and blazer, was smoothed hours earlier.

"It's for employees at Wayne Enterprise, Mama," Noelle chimes from beside her, dressed in casual clothing for the day. "You're an employee."

Noelle decided it would be best to not tell her family about the other night's incident. Were they upset to see a broken window in their common area? Of course. Would they have been more upset to know it was Robin, of all people, to cause it? Definitely. Her parents find Batman and Robin to be nuisances.

She told her parents a brick from the nearby construction sight managed to fly through their window. It took convincing because a brick can't create a hole that big, but they eventually believed her lie (or at least pretended they did).

"It's not a usual benefit for employees to receive," Andrea remarks before looking over at her adopted daughter.

"No," Noelle agrees, "but neither are crime fighting vigilantes. Mr. Wayne did the insurance because of the crime rate in this city." She looks over at her mother, who turned away to glower at the two men working on the family's window. "Come on, Mama. You're gonna be late."

"I'm never late," Andrea mumbles before taking a few steps back. Her heels click against the floor as she grabs her purse from the armchair beside the couch. "See you later," she says as she leaves the apartment.

Noelle hikes the backpack up her shoulder as her father enters the living room with her little brother beside him. "Your mother already leave?" Dennis King asks as he pushes his twelve-year-old son, Leo, into the living room. Leo pouts before crossing his arms.

"You missed her by five seconds," Noelle admits with a sigh. She looks down at Leo before raising her brow. "What are you so pouty about?"

Leo scoffs. "You don't have to go to brunch with Nan and Pap every Sunday."

"All thanks to you," Noelle admits before booping him on the nose with her finger. "They've always liked you more."

"It's not my fault you're adopted!"

Noelle shrugs before giving a small smug smile. "I'm not the little half Asian child they clearly desired."

At the young age of thirty, Andrea decided to try for a child. After trying for a year, her and Dennis decided to adopt infant Noelle. Noelle was not immediately accepted by her mother's parents, but she went to brunch with them every Sunday until Leo was born four years later. Holidays are a little iffy considering her maternal grandparents don't like her that much, but Noelle never minded. Her paternal grandparents, on the other hand, adored Noelle. For the first couple months, they were very confused as to why Noelle is half black rather than half Asian, but the adoption certificate became very clarifying.

"What'd you plan on doing today?" Dennis asks as Leo pouts beside him. He glances at the two men working on their window.

Noelle shrugs her shoulders. "Work on that art project, maybe? Silas wanted to go out for lunch today."

She still had to tell her best friend about the other night's events. It took her a night to decide whether she would or not, considering she hid it from her family. But since she'll never see the sidekick again, she figured she could go ahead and tell Silas all about it.