Author's note: My friend Mari requested baby batcat + 5 "just like the calm before the storm, isn't it?" for this 20 prompts challenge I started on tumblr and never really got to finish. Sorry it took so long for it to be written!

I hope you guys like it.

Gotham and its characters are not mine.

about air and power

A Gotham fanfiction

The night Bruce Wayne was both surprised and not surprise to randomly meet Selina Kyle at a fancy party, the celebration had been thrown by none less than Sofia Falcone, an welcome back to herself, and all sort of powerful people were invited, including him. He went, of course, because part of wearing a mask involved socializing with dubious people.

Things were changing in the city, he knew. Something in the air told him. Same way he knew damn well what a Falcone in Gotham meant.

The air, it never failed.

Selina arrived in the middle of the uproar that was that party, coming down the stairs to the ballroom wearing a dark green dress, her hair loose on her shoulders. Sometimes, Bruce couldn't stand how astonishing she was.

The dancefloor became theirs when Bruce poked Selina's dance partner and asked for a dance hardly ten minutes after she arrived.

"A bit of a funny place to meet you, Bruce Wayne," she said slowly, tasting the words as they danced away. "It's like you're stepping to the bad side or something."

Bruce smiled. Her knowing smirk and raised eyebrow hid her thoughts from him and he couldn't help but wonder if she wore masks too, as figuratively as he was learning to do.

"As you might be aware, I have quite a lot of free time on my hands," he told her.

"Oh? So no more crazy training with Jeeves?"

Bruce didn't answer that, opting to spin her around once expertly.

"No," he said when she was against his chest again, her cheeks rosy and her eyes shining with mischief. "Just dance lessons and rock climbing."

Selina raised a brow again, not buying it. It was not an easy task to fool her.

"And gangster parties," she said and he nodded.

"Something like that."

They kept dancing to that slow song, his arms around her waist, her hands behind his neck. Even with those heels she was much shorter than him, and he wondered when such thing had happened. Growing up together like they did felt so organic that he didn't even notice.

"It's not like you to be here either," Bruce said and Selina looked up at him intrigued. "I mean, aren't you, Barbara and Tabitha trying to get on the Penguin's good side?"

Selina shrugged.

"I don't know, weren't you his very good friend?" she said and he smirked. "A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, Bruce, don't you know?"

Just partially. Selina was so full of surprises, really, it was hard to keep up with her. Her arms tightened around his neck bringing his face closer to hers, and when she spoke, her voice came out low and intense, her eyes locked in his.

"Something is going to happen, Bruce, something big. This cycle of blood and power will change hands once again and what is coming will make Penguins, Riddlers and Jeromes look like the calm before the storm. I'm just doing my part to be ready for when it takes speed, because it's starting, B. Think you'll be ready for it?"

Now, that was a bit of a grave statement, wasn't it? And it concerned Bruce greatly, but before he could say anything, Selina pulled him for a kiss and left him dry without saying goodbye. Another day that she stole him a kiss.

"Oh, great, you scared her away!" they guy that had been dancing with her before complained passing by him and leaving Bruce standing in the middle of the dancefloor trying to understand what she meant.