The speakeasy was stocked that late July night. The air filled with smoke and laughter, the crowd gathered swaying and dancing to the rhythm of the jazz. The band was giving it all, the tuba taking over with a remarkable solo. Everyone hummed in appreciation.
The delicate sound of glasses clinking and matches being lit seemed thunderous to Kate. She kept walking, unnoticed. Social interactions seemed so pointless to her, wasting time chitchatting with her cousin's friends' friends or bribing some copper. She couldn't begin to comprehend how Bruce did it.
Her cousin was surrounded by men and women near the bar stool, everyone clinging to his every word. Bruce and her, they have always been together. When Aunt Martha and Uncle Thomas were murdered, when her Mother and sister were kidnapped.
He smirked across the room to her, a kind look on his face, eying briefly the woman climbing up the minuscule stage to start her performance. Kate shook her head, not wanting to discuss Renee and decided that, after all, maybe talking nonsense would take her mind off the torn pieces of a once beaming heart that rested on her aching chest.
Kate wondered if she was meant to outlive all tragedies upon earth. She lit up a cigarette, to wash away the taste of Renee.
"Dear cousin," she managed a weak smile. No one noticed, the charisma radiating off the Wayne heir was blinding like that. Bruce frowned a bit, his trademark smirk faltering. He bend down to kiss her cheek and whisper on her ear.
"Let's leave," and she felt exhausted, the protective tone of his voice the safe net that always managed to catch her mid-fall. She should feel bad for making him leave, but in the end, Kate thought, she had never been that self-less.
The tragedies that had befallen both families had left them broken, but they had been each other's lifeline. Having someone falling apart beside you pushed you to keep moving, to keep them alive. To keep yourself alive in the process. God knows what would have been of them all on their own, drowning in sorrow, wandering the empty hallways where the ghosts of their beloved ones threatened to make the fall to their perdition.
Kate thanked everyday whatever god may be listening for not being sent away when his Father returned to the army to work the pain away. Instead, Bruce had stepped up and offered her a home. A rather unusual family. A chance to live.
And here they were, barely adults and making profit off the prohibition. Their Mothers wouldn't be glad, Alfred definitely wasn't. But to be fair, neither of them would be doing it had their Mothers still been alive. Probably.
.
Sat in the back of the Rolls Royce, Kate rested her head on Bruce's shoulder and closed her eyes, trying to remember simpler times. Everything around her seemed to fall down and bury her under every choice she ever made.
"Is there any chance she may change her mind?" Bruce asked softly against her hair. Her sharp intake of breath travelled loudly through the silence of the night. She saw Alfred's elegant brow rise in the rear-view mirror. The kind old man having been there all those years for her whenever she fancied some girl. He had been the first one to notice, even before her, how Kate seemed much more interested in Mary Pickford than the in Rudolph Valentino. Sharp man, Alfred.
Kate's lip trembled a bit, at remembering the pact both cousins' had. It had been Bruce's idea, really, just like every other reckless adventure they enlisted themselves in. It had been two years ago. They were smoking out of Alfred's sight on the Manor's gardens. Bruce had been eying Clark, who was their gardener at the time. He had been already in love, head over heels about the soft and gentlemanly Kansas boy. Kate herself had been already enamoured of Renee, the girl that sung like an angel. The one for whom Kate started frequenting clandestine bars and, against Kate's wishes, become acquainted with mafia members and other questionable men.
Bruce had turned to her, a cloud of smoke leaving his lips elegantly, and shared with her his worst idea yet.
"Let's marry," he stated plainly.
Kate choked on the smoke, swallowing it and throwing a coughing fit.
"Are you mad?" She choked through a couple of tears, her voice frail. "Why would I marry you?"
"Hey!" Bruce had the guts to look offended for a second, "I wasn't talking about me, you heathen."
"Please, elaborate." She frowned at him, still horrified.
"Look, you fancy women," he shushed her when she looked nervously to verify no one was listening in, "and I clearly fancy men more than women."
They both cast a glance over Clark, who was wiping the sweat off his forehead. He caught them staring and blushed violently, biting his lip while he made eye-contact with Bruce. Clark waved shyly. Kate snorted and hit her cousin on the shoulder. Bruce's glazed eyes turned to her and, for a second, Kate swore she saw him blush.
"Yeah, um," Bruce cleared his throat, "what I'm trying to say is: let's marry each other's lover."
Kate just pinched the bridge of her nose and walked away, irritated.
"She'll reconsider," Kate heard him whisper to Clark lovingly, just before she reached the back door.
Kate knew he was quite mad. The mere thought of them pulling it off was absurd, and yet, she found herself thinking about it frequently. It was so simple that it could work. No one would question them. They were the last heirs of the most important families in the city. They could travel abroad and maybe come back with a baby. It wasn't complicated at all. And yet.
Kate and Renee let the passion take them wherever it may. Their moans and laughter filling the manor. In the mornings they would lazily walk down the stairs, Clark and Bruce already having breakfast. Their lovers would blush a little more often than not, but they would get past it. Wayne Manor was a world of its own. Nothing that happened inside the property could reach the outer world. They were free, together. They were happy. Together.
Kate saw the question in Bruce's eyes. And she started considering, really. Bruce and her. If someone could make it work, it would be them. It had to be. She wanted it to be.
They were rich, they were smart, they were bold. And they were completely, utterly, inevitably in love.
They would will it to be.
And so she prepared. To tell Renee, to plan, to live their happy ever after.
Kate clutched Bruce's arm tightly in her hands, silently crying in the back of the expensive car.
Three months ago she had finally found the courage to ask her. Three months ago. In the middle of the spring, when every beautiful thing bloomed. Kate had asked her to join them permanently, to let their love be enjoyed without further fear. To join their particular world, where no one would hurt them, or judge them, or blame them.
And in that beautiful spring evening, Renee had rejected. She had crushed the petals of their love and left Kate crying amongst the lilies and roses of the garden.
She hadn't left the Manor in a month, wallowing in her misery and smoking the pain away in the middle of the night. Not able to sleep peacefully without Renee by her side. It was a different kind of torture each day. She couldn't enjoy the garden anymore, or meals, or the lake, for all felt void without her.
One night she went to take a bath and Bruce stormed in the room, her still in the water. She frowned deeply at him.
"Renee asked about you tonight," Bruce said casually. She knew he was eyeing her worriedly through the mirror in the bathroom.
"And what about it?" She barked, her voice deeper than normal. She really had been smoking more than she should.
"Come now, Kate," Bruce picked the dress on the floor with interest and started trying in on, "you can't keep pretending you don't care."
Kate wanted to shout at him. She wanted to smash his face against the mirror so he could eye her warily no more. She wanted to scream and punch and kick. But all the fight had left her, it seemed. She looked at him again, wearing her dress like any other girl.
"I hate you. So much," she wailed, splashing water in his direction. She hit the tub with her fist and refused to show how much it hurt, the stupid motion.
Bruce ran towards her, almost tripping with the skirt. Kate felt a sick satisfaction, watching him. He crouched beside the tub and grasped her hand. Kate looked away, not sure she could meet his eyes without breaking. Again.
"You walk freely on this earth," she sniffed, suddenly transfixed by the bathroom tiles. "You go wherever you want, without people wondering 'When is he going to marry?'. You have love, Bruce. You don't need me to be with Clark. And you obviously do not need a man to be socially accepted." Kate sighed.
She was so, so tired of just existing.
"You even wear dresses better than me." She grumped.
"You are an idiot," Bruce stated.
She turned sharply, clenching her law. Couldn't he just leave her alone?
"Do you think I walk freely? That I don't know what it's like to feel alienated? To feel wrong?" Bruce gulped, taking a shaky breath.
"I don't need you, that is correct." He nodded. "But I love you. I love you more than everything. More than I even love my life." He laughed softly with watery eyes. "Everything felt wrong, Kate. I felt wrong. Living felt wrong. But you never hesitated, you saw me and loved me just the way I am. You kept me alive." He choked.
"Bruce…"
He raised a hand, stopping her.
"So, no. I don't need you to be with Clark. I need you because you are my life, Kate. I need you because living wouldn't be right without you by my side. With us." He looked at her, broken eyes opening his soul to her.
Kate felt awful.
"And now, I'm going to keep this dress." He stood up and smoothed out the fabric. "Like you said, it suits me better than it suits you. And I believe Clark will love the satin."
Kate couldn't help the soft laugh escaping her mouth. Bruce smirked a little himself, just before exiting the room.
It was after Kate had dried herself that she realized she hadn't asked him about what Renee had said to him.
Well, it wasn't like she hadn't been clear in her intentions. She clearly didn't want Kate anymore.
.
Kate was still thinking about their mouths and breaths and the taste of Renee persistent on her tongue. Kate had wanted to talk, really, but Renee had seemed desperate, dragging a reluctant Kate to the a little room in the speakeasy. Suddenly, she felt hands everywhere, whispered sweet-things and Renee's teeth nipping at her throat distracting her from the talking bit. They tried to be quiet and quick, nobody really paying attention with the jazz and all the drinks outside that door. But they still tried.
And just as quickly as it started, it came to an end, Kate still dazed by the orgasm. She felt Renee's lips, kissing her softly just before leaving for her next performance.
Kate had been confused and frighteningly hopeful. She had run, and now she was here. Approaching the Manor and not knowing what would be of them, of their relationship, if there still existed one.
"Master Bruce?" Alfred asked quietly. Warily.
That made them perk up and pay attention to whatever he may be seeing.
There was light on the Manor, undeniably. But Kate knew for a fact that Alfred wouldn't have forgotten to turn the light off, he was too meticulous for that.
"Was Clark going to come over?" she asked Bruce.
Clark had been working for the Daily Planet over Metropolis for some months. Bruce had helped him economically so he could fulfil that dream. He was even good at it.
"No," Bruce frowned and reached for the gun always tucked safely on his wife beater. He felt a violent aversion when it came to guns, but he decided that he couldn't take a chance, giving the business they had involved themselves in. Kate grabbed her own revolver from under the seat.
Alfred stopped the car outside the Manor's grounds and went to retrieve the shotgun from the trunk. It didn't take them long to reach the back door. The lock had been forced.
Bruce went first, looking around the kitchen for possible threats. It was empty.
They walked carefully around, up the stairs, towards the room from which a soft light poured into the dark corridor. They heard voices.
"You sure you know how to open that thing, kitty?" the voice sing-sung.
"Quite sure," answered another voice, this one more serious.
Kate saw Bruce tense. Interesting.
They both hurried when they saw Alfred approaching the door with a determined expression. In a couple of seconds, the three of them were inside, guns raised and ready to fire. The sound of the Alfred loading the shotgun was what brought their attention.
"I hope those aren't Mrs. Wayne's pearls, young miss." The butler said, the aim of the shotgun never faltering. He had been in the British army, after all.
There were three people in the room, frozen at the barrels pointing at each of them. Crouched before the safe was a woman with short hair, Martha Wayne's pearls clearly curled between her fingers. She didn't seem worried by the prospect of ending with a couple of holes on her.
At the left, leaning near the window were the other two. One of them was a beautiful lady, with curls of white hair and crimson red lips. She looked like she was enjoying the precarious situation.
The third figure, the one that caught Kate's eye, was by the blonde's side, wearing a suit that looked rather baggy on them and a hat that covered half their face. Their arms circling the blonde woman possessively now tense.
Kate cocked her head. There was something about that third figure, something familiar.
"Selina," Bruce stated with disdain.
"Hello, Brucie," the woman by the safe almost purred.
"Of course you know the thief," Kate groaned, rolling her eyes.
Alfred hummed, sharing the sentiment.
"She's one of Capone's girls." Bruce explained, almost defensively. "We met in Chicago."
"You lost something that night, dear." She raised her hand, showing them the key you had to use after the combination to open the safe. "I was merely trying to be a good citizen and give it back." She smiled unapologetically.
"I am sure," Alfred deadpanned.
"Let go of my Mother's pearls, Selina," Bruce said patiently.
The woman huffed and let them drop. Kate saw Bruce clenching his jaw at the sound they made against the wooden floor.
"What happened?"
"We escaped," Selina shrugged, not showing any emotion. "We needed money to leave the country, and you happened to be very rich."
The figure in the suit moved a bit, catching Kate's attention again. And there, she could peek under the hat for an instant. Kate didn't quite believe her eyes.
"Take off your hat," she commanded.
The three of them tensed, nobody moving.
"I said," Kate repeated, "Take. Off. Your hat."
The blonde woman sighed, biting her lip and glancing at the figure behind her.
"It's okay, love," she kissed the person lightly and raised her hand slowly to grab the hat.
It fell to the floor with a soft thud, revealing a red bob held back by hairpins. The delicate face of a pale woman with piercing green eyes, staring defiantly at them. Waiting for their wrath, or maybe for their disgust.
"Well, that explains the awful fitting of the suit," Alfred declared, not unfazed.
"The tie is rather lovely," Bruce commented, appreciating the floral pattern.
The three thieves looked at them in disbelief.
"It's smart, to wear a baggy jacket to hide your chest." Kate hummed in approval. "But I believe you would look stunning in a vest."
"She's taken, honey," the blonde woman told Kate, a devilish glint in her eye.
Kate was opening her mouth to ask Bruce whatever they should do when they heard the screams.
"Kate?!" Bruce turned at her with an arched brow. She was sure she would find the same expression on Alfred's face.
"Katherine!" Renee's voice travelled through the Manor.
Kate sighed. It really was a strange night.
"Upstairs!" she yelled back, not lowering her gun.
"Oh, God." They heard Renee running up the stairs, yelling in a relieved tone. "The lock was forced! Are you all okay?!"
Her voice sounded near. Kate lowered her arm when they could hear the hurried steps in the corridor. She approached the entrance.
Renee collided against her, lips meeting and worried hands travelling up and down her body. It felt like home.
Behind Kate, Alfred cleared his throat loudly. And she was sure the blonde woman was cooing.
Renee took a step back and cupped Kate's face in her hands, smiling at her through watery eyes.
"I asked Jim to drive me here when I couldn't find you, and then I saw the lock and for a minute I thought…" she laughed softly and kissed her again. Then she looked at Kate and frowned. "Why did you leave?"
"Why did I leave?" Kate asked indignantly, "What was I supposed to do? Wait around until you decide you want feel like sleeping with me again?"
"Miss Katherine…" Alfred admonished.
"And then what? Wait for you to leave me again?" Kate's voice had risen with each question, Renee stepping back a bit.
She looked sad and guilty, and it was the only reason why Kate took pity on her and shut up, breathing in deeply.
"I'm sorry." Renee stepped towards her again, reaching for her hand. "I didn't want to leave you like that. I love you. It's just…" she closed her eyes.
"Just what?" A tear ran down Kate's cheek, "Am I not enough?"
She took a breath, looking at her lover imploringly.
"I thought you were happy here, with me and Bruce and Clark. I thought…" Kate couldn't hold back the tears anymore.
"I was." Renee wiped the tears from her face, pressing her forehead against hers. "I am happy with you. That's not the problem, love."
"Then what is it?" Kate's patience was running out.
"I… Before," Renee started, "Before I came here, to Gotham. I had trouble in Chicago. I came here to escape from someone. And then I met you and I fell in love and… But I can't. He would know if I marry Bruce. He would know."
Kate searched her beloved's face and found nothing but pain and sorrow. She tried to calm her tears.
"Who is that person?" She asked. "What's their name?"
"Kerr," Renee whispered back, "His name's Joseph Kerr."
"Kerr?" a voice asked behind them in distaste.
They both turned back. Bruce and Alfred had their weapons still raised, never faltering. Kate knew the new voice belonged to the crossdressing woman by the window. It was a little bit raspy, like she had just smoke a pack of cigarettes all by herself. She frowned, all eyes on her. Her lover caressed her cheek lovingly, red nails making a stark contrast against the fair skin.
"Kate, who are they?" Renee sounded confused.
"Do you know him?" It has Bruce who talked first. "Do you know that Kerr man?"
"Do I know him?" The woman laughed dryly. "I killed him last week."
Silence fell upon them all.
"You… killed him?" Renee asked in wonderment beside Kate.
"Of course I did." She didn't budge under their eyes. "He was killing my girl."
The blonde woman leaned back against her at the words and looked at them with a distant look.
"He wouldn't let me leave." She declared softly. "He used to beat me until I couldn't move anymore."
The red-headed woman kissed her hair and murmured in her ear as if trying to wash the memories away.
"Well, it certainly seems that no one will mourn him," Alfred commented, slowly lowering the shotgun.
"Alfred, what are you doing?" Bruce asked, not believing his eyes.
"Lower the gun, Master Bruce. There's no need for that." The butler said calmly.
The three women looked between them, not sure what they should do.
"And I believe that solves the obstacle for the future weddings, does it not?" He turned to Kate and Renee.
Kate looked at the love of her life, the question in her eyes.
"I… yes. Yes." Renee laughed and put her arms around Kate. "I would love to be your cousin's wife."
Kate laughed with her and kissed her passionately.
"They are lovely together," they heard the blonde woman comment.
"I'll call Clark to share the news," Bruce sounded equally elated. They could finally build their own private world. Together.
"Master Bruce," Alfred admonished, "You are not thinking about leaving these women without lending them some money, are you?"
"Alfred, they were stealing from us," he grumped.
The butler raised an eyebrow at his charge. Bruce sighed and took a roll of bill out of his jacket. The profit of this week's alcohol business.
"Here," he handed it to Selina.
He looked back at Alfred, clearly annoyed. The old man looked at Selina.
"Take the diamond bracelet, too." Alfred told her. "He's certainly not going to wear it."
The pair by the window laughed softly at Bruce's face and Selina took the item before any of them could change their mind.
"I guess we'll be going now," Selina smiled at them, sharp teeth and will of steel.
"Where to?" Kate asked curiously, her fingers interlocked with Renee's.
"France, Italy, Greece…" The red head said. "Somewhere we can have a nice house like this one."
"Where nobody can bother us," added the blonde one with a beaming smile.
"Do write when you arrive." Alfred smiled. "It will be a joy to know about your new lives."
"We'll see," Selina hummed while the three of them walked out of the room.
Alfred looked Bruce, then at Kate and Renee.
"Well, I believe we have two weddings to plan."
And in that moment, Kate knew only happiness.