First time writing anything for Gotham so please be gentle! I fell in love with how Jeremiah and Bruce interacted and became a fan of the pairing. It's a guilty pleasure. :) I do not own Gotham or the characters, just this story! Anyway, let's get this started!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gotham or any part of the DC characters! Just my story!

The Reveal

The last thing Bruce expected when he went to the maze of Jeremiah Valeska at the request of Jim Gordon was to meet his soulmate. Even more surprising was that the secluded genius was said soulmate.

Bruce was listening to Fox and Gordon talking to Mr. Valeska through one ear as he took in all the devices and plans in the room. The inspectors' attempts seem to be going nowhere and Bruce decided to step in.

"Mr. Valeska." Bruce interrupted, getting the ginger's attention. "I'm Bruce Wayne. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Bruce held out his hand and waited patiently. He wouldn't be too offended if the elder didn't take it. In a world where people met their soulmates through touch, some people considered it rude to be so open to touching everyone they met. Bruce found the idea silly since it was the best way to find ones soulmate. His parents had been soulmates and, as a child, Bruce had been eager to find his. However, after his parents had died, Bruce lost his interest, deciding to live his life without purposely seeking his soulmate. While he didn't protest against contact with others, he didn't offer it up much either. But from what he gathered, Mr. Valeska was a remarkable man and, at the very least, Bruce was interested in possibly working with him. A handshake was considered the best way to meet someone.

If they escaped the current mess they were in.

Mr. Valeska blinked at the hand Bruce held out and Bruce thought for a moment that he wasn't going to take it.

He was proven wrong.

"Likewise." Mr. Valeska began neutrally as he reached his hand out.

The moment their hands touched, both let out a sharp gasp, their eyes widening as they felt the bond of meeting one's soulmate form and connect. When Mr. Valeska, no Jeremiah, touched Bruce's hand he felt as if a flame engulfed their hands but this fire was not one that held a painful flame, but one filled with warmth. That warmth that sparked from their shared hands quickly spread up Bruce's arm and into his heart. As soon as that hit, the flame erupted into the rest of his body, making him feel complete.

Bruce stared at Jeremiah's wide eyes with his own, already feeling the poking and presence of the bond within his being. Neither of them knew how long they stood there, staring at each other but the silence was broken when they heard a throat being cleared, causing both of them to jump back as if shocked.

Bruce turned and saw Gordon and Fox giving them pointed looks and he knew that they knew what Bruce and Jeremiah were to each other now. The sight of the two older men also reminded Bruce as to why they were there in the first place.

As if reading his mind, Jeremiah glanced back at Bruce with a despairing expression.

"Wish circumstances could've been better." Jeremiah whispered and Bruce couldn't help but agree whole heartedly.

Jerome was dead, and Bruce couldn't be too upset about it. After everything the crazy man had done, Bruce was rather relieved that his mad schemes were no longer going to plague the city. The only downside was that he knew Jeremiah was upset, no matter how much he protested it to Bruce.

Bruce knew that no matter how insane Jerome had been, he had been Jeremiah's brother, and twin brother at that. Twins had their own form of a soul bond, one that wasn't easy to get over quickly.

That was why Bruce stayed with Jeremiah, visiting him down in his maze as the days passed, to both distract him and make their growing bond stronger. Bruce would have done it anyway since they were quickly becoming close. He and Jeremiah worked to build the generators Jeremiah had been enthusiastic about. And if they shared their first kiss after the building of the first successful generator, Bruce would go home with a lighter spring in his step after leaving the maze.

Bruce truly believed that, together, they were going to change Gotham for the better.

Bruce held on tightly to Jeremiah as they struggled with each other. Bruce had no idea what had happened to Jeremiah but he was obviously not himself if the giggles leaving his soulmate were anything to go by.

"Miah! Don't let Jerome win!" Bruce yelled desperately but Jeremiah continued to try to throw him off.

"Jerome. Beat me? That'll be the day." Bruce barely heard Jeremiah's reply and wasn't able to say anything back because that was when Jerome's followers found them and tore them apart.

Bruce fought to keep hold of Jeremiah but the ginger didn't try to fight them off at all, instead continuing to let out that disturbing giggle. The followers were chanting Jerome's name and next thing Bruce knew, a gunshot rang out.

Bruce watched in horror as blood splattered on Jeremiah's face as the man's, who had been holding him, head exploded. Jeremiah's demeanor completely changing from how he was acting only a few seconds ago.

"Jerome victorious?" Jeremiah questioned monotone, staring at the group of followers in front of him. "Are you serious?"

Bruce wasn't able to hear what Jeremiah said next, too much in a daze from horror as Jeremiah took off his glasses like he no longer needed them and brought a handkerchief down on his face to wipe the blood off.

Bruce draw in a sharp breath when unnaturally white skin was revealed underneath. He watched as Jeremiah causally went over to where Jerome's body was slouching against the tombstone and kicked his brother's body back into the grave. As he leaned over the grave, he whispered, "I am victorious."

It was a good thing Bruce was being held by the followers because his knees suddenly felt weak and almost fell over.

Bruce watched, his horror and despair growing more and more the longer Jeremiah, his soulmate, talked. Bruce didn't understand how this could've happened, Jeremiah had spoken about a gas Jerome had released on him and even though Jeremiah denied it, Bruce was sure that it didn't only cause cosmetic changes. This was not the Jeremiah he had met and would become his friend.

This was not the Jeremiah Bruce had been falling in love with. This couldn't be his soulmate.

"Bruce."

Jeremiah's voice spoke his name softly, bringing his attention back to the man who he saw as a stranger. Bruce noticed that Jeremiah had his gun pointing in his direction and couldn't help but stiffen in the follower's grip.

"I will not kill you Bruce." Jeremiah almost sounded offended by Bruce's reaction, bringing the gun back to his side. "You think I would? If you died, I would die too, and I cannot die before I complete my plans."

"Shooting me doesn't mean killing me." Bruce countered with a growl, and Jeremiah gained a thoughtful look.

"True, but you do not have to worry about me harming you Bruce. I do love you after all." Jeremiah declared in that soft voice of his.

Bruce glared at him. "I don't love you."

As soon as he said it, Bruce knew he said the wrong thing. Jeremiah's eyes flashed with something dark and started towards him. Bruce tried to move away, knowing what he was going to do but apparently Jerome's followers were now Jeremiah's because they crowded around him and the one holding him tightened their grip on his arms.

Jeremiah ignored Bruce's struggle to get away and reached out his hand until he touched Bruce's cheek.

The moment the tips of his fingers touched his skin, Bruce felt a wave of warmth fill him, causing his whole body to relax, falling limp and would have hit the ground if it wasn't for Jeremiah catching him. They went to the ground on their knees, Jeremiah having one arm around his waist while his other hand was being careful to make sure that their skin remained touching. Bruce mentally cursed up a storm because he couldn't speak out loud, trying to fight the touch's reaction. For once, he hated the fact that he had a soulmate because Jeremiah was taking full advantage of that little detail.

Depending on a situation, a soulmate can control the affects their touch has on each other. Such as in the current situation, a soulmate can make their partner relax, releasing all their tension. It's a physical and mental power but only with mates that have complete the bonding process. It was usually difficult to learn how to control the soulmate touch, but for someone like Jeremiah, Bruce wasn't surprise to find that he had no trouble controlling it. However, since they haven't yet fully completed the bond, Bruce was able to mentally rage at his soulmate even if he couldn't move.

At least his eyes were opened, allowing Bruce to express his anger through his eyes as Jeremiah stared down at him with complete apathy.

"Now Bruce, this is not the time to say such silly things." Jeremiah stated calmly, his thumb brushing Bruce's cheekbone smoothly. "We both know that's not true."

Bruce couldn't say anything back and continued to glare at his soulmate through his eyes. A couple moments later, Jeremiah let out a put upon sigh and straightened up, moving Bruce's body as well. Holding Bruce's face in his hand, Jeremiah made sure their eyes met.

"I know you don't see the truth at the moment, but maybe someday you will. Until then, we'll have to part." Jeremiah disclosed.

Bruce didn't know Jeremiah was going to kiss him until their lips met. He felt the spark as their lips met contact and the warmth that spread from his heart outwards. This was the second time they kissed and while Bruce was angry, he didn't notice it slowly fading into nothing as the kiss continued. What he did notice was that Jeremiah's lips were chapped but soft and it was an entirely pleasant feeling. It was a simple kiss, with lips pressing against each other but Bruce felt relaxed and content to keep it that way.

Out of nowhere, there was a large boom that caused Bruce to break away from the kiss. Opening his eyes, which he hadn't noticed had closed during the kiss, his jaw dropped as he caught sight of a trail of smoke flowing upwards into the sky.

"That's one down." Jeremiah's voice bringing Bruce's attention back to him. Bruce remained on the ground as Jeremiah stood up slowly and brushed the dirt off of him. Once he was done, their eyes met. "Jim Gordon is dead."

"No!" Bruce gasped once in shock then his anger came back with a vengeance. "NO!"

"Yes Bruce!" Jeremiah cut off, speaking at him as if he was a child throwing a tantrum. "Sorry, but for progress, sacrifices must be made. I'll be seeing you Bruce."

With that, Jeremiah made a gesture and Jerome's ex-followers went to Jeremiah and left, leaving Bruce kneeling on the ground in despair.

Bruce leaned forward and hugged his head with his arms as he curled in himself as if to block the events that happened out from his mind.

It didn't help. Jim Gordon, a man he saw as a parental figure, was dead. Killed by his soulmate.

Another thing kept poking at his mind and no matter how hard he tried to deny it, the bond wouldn't let him.

Jeremiah had decreased his hold on Bruce during the kiss, allowing Bruce to move again and be in control of his actions. And Bruce didn't do anything about it.

Bruce, not fighting or trying to get away from Jeremiah, had kissed him back instead.

Had to change the scenes a little bit, but I hope I did it well. Please leave me a review if you enjoyed reading it! I'm nervous about this one. Lol. See ya next time!