Well Met - Part 2
A blinking red light greeted Selina Kyle home, not that she noticed when she dropped her shopping bags and kicked off her heels. Most days she would've felt some remorse (even if only when she got her credit card bill) for the nine bags she ended up with when she only meant to buy those shoes she'd been eyeballing for weeks, but the sale of those emeralds had been lucrative to put it mildly, so she felt entitled to some impulse shopping. The greeting she did notice came in the form of a previous impulse buy, a black kitten.
Selina abandoned her new purchases and picked up the furry black ball. She cuddled with the kitten and carried the little darling with her to her couch. Selina set the girl down after she took a seat herself to play with her properly.
Despite her alter ego's namesake this was actually Selina's first cat. Her parents refused when she was growing up and her previously unsettled days didn't lend well to pets. Even this cat hadn't been planned. She'd simply come across a small boy selling them out of a box on the street. Not only did the boy look like he hadn't eaten in a week, but he had that heartbroken look that children got when their pets died or had to be given away. She stopped out of pity, but immediately fell in love with the playful black kitten. The boy had only been asking for five dollars but Selina slipped him a hundred, which brightened the boy, even if only temporarily.
Selina spent a full ten minutes playing with the kitten named Isis, before she finally noticed the blinking red light on her answering machine. After giving Isis one more quick scratch to the ears she rose from her sit to go listen to her message.
You have one unheard message. First message: Hello, Selina. This is Bruce Wayne. I wanted to know if you'd like to have dinner with me Friday night. Call me at the office during business hours, and if I'm not there, my assistant will give you my personal cell phone number. I look forward to seeing you again.
Selina could just imagine the smirk/leer on his face with that final line. She wasn't surprised that he called, even less so that he did not leave any private numbers. She was surprised when she found herself calling him back.
At precisely eight o'clock on Friday night Alfred opened the door to a stunning woman named Selina Kyle. Her beauty did not impress Alfred; every woman Master Bruce dated was nothing short of breathtaking. She took in the lavish surroundings with less awe and greed than the others; her look simply belayed her curiosity. He greeted her politely, "May I take your coat, Miss Kyle?"
He watched as she gave him the same curious look she gave the entryway. "Of course, thank you, Mister?"
The slight incline of her head nearly made Alfred chuckle as he took her coat. "I am Alfred Pennyworth, Master Wayne's butler. You may call me Alfred."
He looked at her chosen attire. Tasteful, stylish, and classy, all which were not so easily applied to Bruce Wayne's dates. She spoke frankly. "I didn't realize people still had butlers." Her eyes immediately widened, but her words were neither stuttered nor rushed. "I'm sorry that was rude."
Selina passed initial inspection, not that he let on in any way. "Think nothing of it, Miss Kyle. If you could wait here a moment." With that he walked away with dignity.
Instead of placing Miss Kyle's coat in one of the many closets in the manor Alfred instead went to fetch her date first, who was occupied in the Batcave. As Alfred climbed the stairs down to where Master Bruce was to be found he lamented days past when he fetched the young boy from fighting imaginary monsters in the back grounds for his waiting mother, rather than fetching a young man fighting very real monsters for his waiting date. When he saw Bruce dressed in his Batman costume Alfred knew he was about to deliver bad news to Miss Kyle.
He cleared his throat. "Miss Kyle is waiting for you, Master Bruce."
Bruce's tone was emotionless. "Get rid of her. Falcone has a shipment of drugs coming in tonight."
Alfred didn't bother sighing, let alone arguing. It would be pointless and only keep the woman waiting longer. So he climbed the stairs to do another hated task. Informing Bruce Wayne's dates about some unexpected emergency or illness or whatever excuse Alfred felt like telling them.
When he returned he found her studying the Wayne portrait sitting at the top of the staircase. This was new, most women would've either still been impatiently waiting in the doorway or taken the liberty to explore further. He climbed the stairs, careful not to make any sound. She must have sensed him anyway for she looked over at him right as he made his way to her. She turned her attention back to the family portrait. "It's funny, for some reason I always remembered Martha Wayne having red hair."
Alfred hid his shock. "You knew the Waynes?"
She shook her head. "No more than anyone from Gotham did. I just vaguely remember the murders. My father mumbled something about losing the only good people left in Gotham as he read about it over morning coffee. My mother gave me a little hug, mentioning that poor boy." She paused there, Alfred suspected this was the first moment she realized that same poor boy was the billionaire she was waiting upon. "Strange how easily Gotham forgets its tragedies. Then again I guess it gets new ones to replace them every day." Alfred thought of how one person in Gotham hadn't forgotten so easily. Then Selina shook her head once more, shaking off the melancholy and faced Alfred with a smile. "I'm sorry, you obviously wanted something."
"Mr. Wayne sends his sincere apologies, he's been unavoidably detained."
Her eyes narrowed. Alfred could see she was wondering how many times he had delivered that line to a woman. He was wondering that himself. "And what is this avoidable detaining's name? Amber? Bethany? Chastity, no obviously that's wrong."
Master Bruce had not been lying; the other women would've either shrugged it off or stormed out by now. "Miss Kyle?"
The anger in her voice was turning to amusement like this was a game. "Daphne? Emma? Felicity? Greta? Heather? I've got the whole alphabet, Alfred."
Still, the dangerous look was unsettling. "I assure you, Miss Kyle, it was business emergency, not a personal one."
She cooled off at that. "Well, then he wouldn't mind if I waited up for him. Where is the bar, Alfred?"
This would be unwise on many levels. "Miss Kyle, these things can take quite long, perhaps it would be best if you went home."
Her voice took on that dangerous tone again. "I'm a big girl, Alfred. I no longer require a bed time." She smiled and the danger evaporated once more. She took his arm. "Now come on Alfred, fix us a few drinks and you can tell me all of little Bruce's shenanigans."
Yes, this one was vastly different. Alfred was unsure if he was very afraid or infinitely pleased.
Batman was successful, the drug deal was stopped and the culprits were being processed in the police station now. However, Bruce was in a great deal of pain due to the injury he sustained when one of the men slashed his stomach. The cut wasn't deep enough even for stitches let alone real damage but he still wanted Alfred to take a look at it. Unless he stayed out very late, even by his standards, usually Alfred had an uncanny sense of always being there right when he showed up, but tonight he was nowhere to be found.
Bruce did a quick patch job himself in the med lab before scouring the security footage of the grounds, fearing the worst. It didn't take him long to find his trusted servant though. Bruce dressed as quickly as he could, looking the part of a man just coming home. He exited the cave by going directly outside, in order to solidify the image just in case. It wasn't needed.
When he walked in through the front door, Bruce saw and heard nothing so he made his way to the entertainment room. Despite seeing it on the monitor in the cave he was still surprised to hear Selina Kyle's laughter coming from the entertainment room, and when he opened the door he allowed his surprise to show as he saw her sitting across from his butler.
When she saw him, she gave Bruce a seductive smile, which made him want to give a Bat-like scowl, but he resisted, giving a leer in return instead. He noticed her uncrossing her legs as she hopped off the barstool. "I believe that's my cue to go." She walked around the bar and gave the older man a hug. "It's been a pleasure talking with you, Alfred."
Alfred gave her a warm smile in return. "I assure you, Miss Kyle, that the pleasure is all mine."
Bruce watched as Selina focused her attention on him now, walking over with a cool, calculated stride. She opened her arms to him. "Bruce."
She brought him in close and gave his cheek a slight nuzzle, brushing her lips against his ear. Bruce let himself enjoy the sensation for the briefest of moments when he felt her knee him squarely in his freshly injured gut. The sweetness in her voice was replaced by a much more dangerous tone. "Don't you ever stand me up again, Bruce Wayne."
When she turned to grab her purple hand purse and coat she was all smiles again. Even giving Alfred a wave and Bruce a blown kiss good-bye.
Alfred walked over to assist his charge. "I quite like her."
Bruce glared, still bent over from the sharp pain coursing through his body centered on his tender midsection. "Of course you do."
In the end, they did get their date. He took her to the hottest restaurant in town sans reservation to make it up to her. They received the best table. The dinner consisted of great food and mediocre conversation. The only real interesting points were bits of innuendo, though despite his reputation nothing happened. Selina got no more action than a goodnight kiss on the cheek.
All in all, she found him to be incredibly dull and the romance petered out quickly, as the following week she saw the tabloids Bruce had moved on with a supermodel.
She kept his number though. She told herself it was because when you get a billionaire's private number you keep it. If she were being honest with herself she would admit that it was the memory of that initial spark and that nagging feeling that there was something more.
Ultimately, Bruce knew nothing could happen with Selina Kyle. She wasn't his type. Well, actually if he were looking for a real date, she probably would have been exactly his type, but a real relationship with an intelligent woman would not work well for him.
So he ended it, mostly by just not calling back.
He kept her number as a reminder of the mission and the sacrifices that needed to be made for it. Though, the optimistic part he thought long dead, kept it as a possible glimmer of hope in his darkness.
A/N: One more chapter to wrap up the other side.