I'll be honest with you guys, I love the Riddler/Catwoman pairing even though I couldn't tell you why. Anyhow this is the first chapter in my three part Selina and Eddie fluff fest.
Selina could barely remember the last time she had felt the way she did now. The strange combination of emotions that made her feel like she was floating when she remembered the last time she had spoken with him and made it feel like a knife was being thrust into her heart when she even just thought of another woman speaking to him. She had fallen in love or maybe more accurately developed a crush. At least to Selina that juvenile expression felt more appropriate, whether that was because she felt that her love was doomed of if it was because the last time she had felt this way she was in high school she couldn't say.
For the longest time she had thought that she was in love with Bruce but the onset of her new crush had caused her to remember what falling in love really felt like and her attachment to Bruce was shown to be nothing more than a sexual attraction. This made sense considering how often she would grow bored of Wayne and would go months without speaking to him.
Although she hadn't dwelled on it for years, Selina's current condition made her think of the first time she had fallen in love. She was still in High school and a little unsure of herself, not like the confident and aggressive woman that would become Catwoman. The boy she had fallen for was scrawny, pale and quiet; the polar opposite of the type of men she usually found attractive. Selina couldn't remember what grade it was during but she could remember that she had shared a social studies class with him one year. He was the type that would come to class and basically never speak a word except for when their teacher would ask the class a question that no one knew the answer to. More often than not Sean would raise his hand and with obvious apprehension answer the question no one else knew the answer to.
It was Sean's unusually good grasp of the world for a teenager that made Selina notice him but that alone wasn't what made her love him. Like her current crush it had blossomed from a seemingly meaningless social interaction. Their teacher had assigned the class a partner project and of course Selina had ended up with Sean. Selina remembered that she liked working with him, he was intelligent and more or less ended up doing the work for the both of them. Another positive was that he had to speak to her; Selina had so rarely heard his voice before that day. Working with him she found that he spoke very softly most of the time and it made his soothing voice sound even cuter. That class ended and Selina went through the rest of the school day without incident. It was when she returned home and thought over her day and her social studies class particularly, that she felt a rush of emotion come and nearly overwhelm her. All at once she knew that she had fallen in Love with Sean, even though she had never felt the emotion before.
Selina's current crush and only the second of her life was similar in the since that it hit her like a ton of bricks after a seemingly uneventful social interaction. The difference this time was that she had fallen for the green laden narcissist, Edward Nygma.
Following a disagreement with Bruce over his insistence that she give up her life as a thief, Selina had gone to the iceberg lounge seeking solitude and a strong drink. Her desire to be left alone went unfulfilled though, as it was nearly impossible for a woman as attractive as Selina not to draw male attention. Coldly ignoring the stream of men that sat in the bar stools next to her, Selina stared forward and sipped her drink in silence till the man currently trying to entice her gave up and left in an awkward silence. This went on for ten frustrating minutes and nearly caused Selina to get up and leave till she spotted a bright flash of green.
Stepping out of one of the backrooms that she knew lead to Oswald's private office, selina saw Edward Nygma stroll up to the bar in full Riddler costume. Edwards's presence seemed to disperse the crowd of men around Selina immediately. While he was tall, Eddie wasn't a physically imposing man. Still he was one of Gotham's notorious super criminals and importantly he had the unmistakable smell of a recently fired gun on him.
Sitting in the stool next to Selina that was now empty thanks to him, the Riddler said "Good evening Selina."
"Hey, Eddie" replied Selina as she took note of how uncharacteristically soft his voice had been.
Peeking over at him, Selina watched a visibly tired Riddler raise a drink to his lips while he stared forward vacantly much like she had. It was strange being near Eddie without hearing him speak constantly but Selina didn't mind since he usually spoke too much in her opinion and she didn't have it in her to carry a conversation right then anyway.
For the next twenty minutes or so Selina sat and drank in silence while Edward did the same. As she did so the alcohol began to have an effect and soon her desire to be left alone began to fade. Suddenly feeling up to speaking, Selina turned to the tired looking man and asked in a joking tone "Hard day at work, Eddie."
"Exhausting…but lucrative" he answered plainly.
Edward reached into his suit's pocket and briefly pulled out a large wad of one hundred dollar bills before he pocketed it away.
"Most people in Gotham don't walk around with that kind of cash on them" Selina warned.
"Most people in Gotham don't carry a cane that doubles as a sword, as well as a gun."
Selina smirked in response as she looked down at the cane Eddie had leaned against the bar before sitting down.
"What about you Selina? Have you become an alcoholic or is this trip to the Iceberg lounge a consequence of your relationship with Gotham's favorite son?"
"You know about him" Selina asked by reflex but immediately regretted it. Her own question made her feel foolish; she was speaking to Edward Nygma after all. The man was full of himself but there was no denying he was brilliant; the Batman's true identity was probably obvious to him.
"I'm aware of almost everything that happens in this city, like how Batman uses equipment only a man of immeasurable wealth could afford.
Not willing to give him any details, Selina simply said "I'm not an alcoholic."
With a good dose of mockery in his voice Eddie said "It's a shame, you would think two orphans would be perfect for each other."
Trying to suppress a somewhat drunken laugh Selina replied "I suppose learning that your loved ones can be taken from you at an early age doesn't lead to a healthy relationship."
It felt morbid to laugh at such a subject but her alcoholic buzz made everything feel lighthearted.
"Having parents isn't all that it's cracked up to be."
Still joking Selina asked "What does having people tell you that they love you and that their proud of you get old?"
"Well, I wouldn't know about that, but I do know that if it wasn't for my father I would have had fewer bruises to explain away at school."
All at once Selina felt the humor in their conversation disappear. While she had grown comfortable with her own tragedy long ago, this was the first thing she had ever heard about Eddie's childhood and it troubled her.
"I'm sorry Eddie."
"Don't be, I'm the one that brought up childhood memories we'd like to forget."
Acting on a desperate desire to change the subject Selina asked a question. "So tell me Eddie, what motivated you to sit down next to me? You didn't seem to want to talk till you had a few drinks."
With a mischievous smile on his lips Eddie asked "Would you believe me if I told you I didn't feel like sitting by myself?"
"No" Selina answered coolly.
"Alright, well the reason is that your presence here presented a riddle to me, and we both know that I can't resist a riddle."
"What would that riddle be" asked Selina.
"Why would a woman as beautiful as you sit at a bar all alone?"
The compliment caught Selina off guard or at least she thought it had been a compliment. The way he had said it sounded like he was stating a fact not trying to flatter her. Left in an awkward spot, Selina was unsure of what to say next not that it mattered as Edward stood up from his seat.
"I'll admit that it took me longer than it should have to find the answer, but one doesn't just walk up to the cat and demand her attention. You wait till she extends it to you and then you probe for information. Or at the very least that's how most of our conversations go."
Pulling out more than enough money for both of their drinks, Eddie set the cash down on the counter before he spoke again. "Well, Miss Kyle I've enjoyed speaking with you but I really must be going.
With the tip of a hat the Riddler began to walk away.
"Good night Eddie" Selina said as she watched him go. As ridiculous as his green suit was, Selina had to admit it did wonders for his slim build.
Selina woke in bed the next day, as she stretched out and relaxed she tried to remember which day of the week it was. When you're a thief and not a member of the work force it was easy to lose track. In an effort to find out Selina thought over her memories of the previous day till she remembered her encounter with the Riddler. All at once she felt a rush of emotion that made her heart rate spike while at the same time a wave of warmth ran through her and made Selina feel like she was blushing. It had been a long time since but Selina knew this sensation, she had felt it before in high school, for whatever reason she had fallen for Eddie last night.
Although she had faced this type of situation once before, that didn't make Edward any less of a strange target for her hearts fixation. He was nothing like the men that usually caught her interest. Selina could understand why she was attracted to Bruce; he was good looking, wealthy, and genuinely a nice guy. Eddie on the other hand was thin, pale and self absorbed. Hell, falling for Bane would have made more sense to Selina, he was something of an over muscled freak but at the same time he was passionate and spoke with that sexy Latin accent. Eddie spoke with the same Gotham accent she did and the only things that made Eddie passionate were crossword puzzles and esoteric riddles.
Selina starred up at the ceiling of her bedroom and sighed in disbelief, she almost felt like arguing with herself that she didn't really care for him but every time the name Eddie came up in her thoughts she felt her heart flutter. Which Selina knew meant that the nerd in the green suit had wormed his way into her heart.
She wondered what had caused it, what had happened that changed her view of him. Perhaps it was the knowledge of his past, Selina had never even thought of him as a child before her talk with him at the Iceberg Lounge. Almost instantly her perception of him had changed from that of a man that was difficult to speak to because of his towering intellect to a little boy that was abused by one man that was supposed to protect him.
Was that it though, was the knowledge that Eddie was just another human being like her enough to make her fall for him or maybe she had always thought he was cute and that little bit of information about his past had humanized him and pushed her over the edge. She felt a little ashamed but as Selina got out of bed she saw that her latest theory was probably correct. She had always thought that the Riddler was in his own pompous way, kind of cute.
Going to her kitchen in search of a decent breakfast, Selina wondered what other people would think of her new crush. She didn't like it but Selina believed that it would taint her reputation as a woman not to be trifled with. She could only imagine what would happen if Ivy or Harley found out. Ivy seemed to have a personal disdain for Eddie, so that would be an ugly situation, although when Selina thought it over Ivy hated anyone with a Y chromosome. Harley however might very well approve of Selina's feelings considering the young blondes taste for crazy older men. Harley finding out would still bring problems though since the NYC transplant had never learned to shut her mouth.
In light of the way that other people would see her pursuit of Eddie combined with the simple fact that she never knew where the man was, Selina saw that a relationship with him wasn't realistic. Not to mention that Selina still had doubts as to what she felt for Eddie was truly love or if it was merely a childish infatuation.
Frustratingly, there was next to nothing in Selina's apartment to eat. Meaning she would have to venture out on a grocery run. The upswing of this was that she would get to walk in sunlight, which had become a rare occurrence thanks to her alter ego.
Kind of an odd place to end a chapter I'll admit, but I wrote this story out like a giant one shot and decided that breaking it up into three chapters would make it easier to manage.