A/N: As we enter the final two chapters of Season 1, I'd like to take another opportunity to thank you all for you continued support. It honestly means the world to me that people are enjoying what I'm writing. These last two are going to be much longer than any of the others, as a lot is gonna be going down for our favorite teenage Bat and Cat, so sit back, relax, and enjoy!

The First of Many

Selina had managed to call a taxi and get over the property line from right under the nose of her watchful guardian.

She'd put on the outfit Zee had picked out for her months ago, which fit a bit more snugly than she'd remembered, and dropped out of her second story window. She asked her driver to take her to Gotham City.

He'd given her a suspicious look. After all, seeing billionaire Selina Wayne going into Gotham City by herself in leather street clothes wasn't a too-common sight. However, she slipped him a hundred dollar bill, and he shut up and drove.

The entire drive, Selina's mind raced with possibilities of what Bruce would tell her when she arrived. Maybe he'd found out that Reggie had left Gotham, or maybe Bruce had found him, but it turned out he'd known nothing? Selina just didn't know, and she didn't like not knowing something, especially when it dealt with the fate of Bruce Kyle.

The cab arrived in Gotham shortly, and once they were across the Midtown Bridge, she told him to stop. Slipping the man two more one hundred dollar bills, she asked him not to mention ever seeing her. The cabbie grunted in response, which Selina took as a yes, and tore off down the dimly lit streets of Gotham.

Selina made her way down a heavily trodden path which led down below the bridge. She got a few glances here and there, but most of the people living there never took notice of her.

However, she had the feeling that she was being watched. Picking up her pace, she walked down the hill a bit faster than what was probably safe.

As she continued the descent, it got darker and darker to a point where she could barely see the path below her. Her foot caught on something, probably a root or a big rock. She flailed her arms out, trying to stay upright, but failed to do so.

She started rolling down the hill, roots and rocks slamming into her as she did so.

Eventually, the descent leveled out and she came to a screeching halt, her back and arms aching from the tumble. A hand took her by the shoulder and asked, "You alright, Miss?" She looked up and saw an elderly man with an overgrown beard and eyebrows. He seemed to have real concern in his voice.

Selina allowed the other person to help her up. She nodded, "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you." She started to walk away but the man tightened his grip on her arm.

She looked up at him and saw a dangerous look appear his eyes. She tried to pull away, but his grip continued to tighten like a vise. He shushed her and said in an almost completely different voice, "I don't think you are." He twisted her forearm and found a deep gash. He forcefully pressed his thumb down onto it, causing Selina to gasp in pain. "Come now, little one. I'll take you back to my tent and patch you right up."

Selina looked up at the stranger in shock. She was about to call out for help, to scream that she was being kidnapped or…whatever the man was planning to do to her.

However, another voice beat her to the punch.

"Oi!" a boy's voice yelled.

Selina couldn't see into the shadows where the voice had originated, but didn't need to see the source.

She would've recognized that voice anywhere.

Bruce Kyle came out of the shadows, a dangerous look in his eyes.

"Hands off, Chris," he told the old man.

The man sneered at him. "Ah, Kyle. I was wonderin' when I'd be seein' you around." Several onlookers had taken notice of the confrontation, and started circling around Bruce. The old man continued, "I should have my boys here chop your hands off, stealing from us."

"I didn't steal from you," Bruce retorted, showing no fear of the group of larger men surrounding him. "I stole from Tommy. The last I checked: Tommy's dead, but he never paid up for stealing from Jack."

"And Tommy used to run this place, but now I do," Chris told him, grinning evilly. "So, you owe me."

"If that is true, then that means you owe Jack, who works for Maroni…" Bruce responded.

Chris thought about this for a moment, considering the boy's threat.

Suddenly, his murderous demeanor went away and was replaced with the former expression of kindness, "Fine then. But, if I see you or any of your friends 'round this part again, I'll cut their throats, you hear me, boy?"

Bruce smirked. "What happened to cutting my hands off?"

Chris chuckled merrily and let go of Selina. She rushed over to stand slightly behind Bruce, who mock bowed to Chris, and then took Selina's hand in his own.

She started to blush a bit, but the moment was ruined when Bruce whispered, "We aren't out yet. Come on." As soon as they were out of Chris' line of sight, Bruce dropped her hand and gravely whispered, "Run."

He took off and she followed, making their way towards the Narrows where they ascended a tall building via its fire escape.

Once she was over the edge and they were out of sight, Bruce let out a sigh of relief.

"What the hell just happened?" Selina asked, gasping for breath.

"You just met Christopher Dent," Bruce told her. "I didn't expect him to be the new minor boss down there. Are you okay?"

Selina nodded. "A bit freaked out, but yes, I'm fine. What was up with him?"

Bruce smirked and told her, "He has a bad case of multiple personality disorder. His two sides are opposites, really. The one that tried to help you was the real Chris, but the other one," Bruce physically shivered, "He's bad news."

Selina scoffed. "Yeah, I figured that out for myself. thanks."

Bruce laughed and they fell into a tense silence.

"So…" Selina started, "what did you find out about Reggie?"

Bruce's expression instantaneously darkened. "I found him." He sighed. "I had a...acquaintance track him down."

"Was it the same person you saw when we were at the Flea?" Selina asked. His eyes widened in shock and she rolled her eyes. "Bruce, when you came back you looked like a ghost. Did you think I wouldn't notice?" Bruce shrugged in response. "Who is he anyways?"

Bruce shook his head. "I'd rather you not know, for your own good."

"Is he that bad?" she asked. Selina had just witnessed Bruce stand up fearlessly to a literal psychopath while vastly outnumbered and unarmed, so if he was scared of someone… And yet, he'd been willing to go to that person twice, just for her...

Bruce nodded. "He's that bad. Anyways, we found him and he told me that he was under the orders of a guy named Bunderslaw."

"Wow…" Selina said. "I figured it would've been a lot harder to get anything out of him."

"He was drunk," Bruce told her flatly. Technically that wasn't a lie, since Payne had definitely been on something when Bruce had interrogated him.

"Where is he?" Selina asked.

Bruce's heart dropped in his chest, and he suddenly felt very queasy. He looked down at the ground, and told her, "The guy, the one that helped me find him, he killed him."

Selina blanched. "I see," she responded quietly.

"I didn't know he was going to do it, and I would've tried to stop him, but it all just happened so fast…" Bruce rambled.

Selina shook her head. "It's okay, Bruce. It's probably better that way."

He nodded, but her words were of no comfort to him. Some part of Bruce had wanted her to go off on him, tell him how horrible a human being he was, and how he was a sick son of a bitch and that he needed to stay away from her. But, instead, she seemed fine with it.

And that scared Bruce more than any tongue lashing she could've dished out.

"Bunderslaw…" she muttered. Bruce could see the cogs turning in her head. "I'll look through the upper level employees of Wayne Enterprises, and I'll call you if I find anything."

Bruce nodded. "Okay…" He paused. "Selina, thank you," he told her.

She raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"For not being pissed at me," he responded. He still couldn't believe how she'd just forgiven him back at the hospital.

She scoffed. "Oh, I'm still pissed at you. I'm just waiting for the right time to get you back."

Bruce smirked. "Fine. But for now, I'm getting you a taxi and you're going home."

They arrived back at street level, and Bruce did his best whistle, earning the attention of a cabbie.

He opened the passenger door for her and she offered, "Ya know, you could come home with me, sleep in your old room..."

"Tempting," he replied, "but I have stuff to do. Goodnight, Cat."

"Night," she responded, climbing into the cab and driving away.

Two days later, the phone rang at the Gym. Bruce was sparring with Ted at the time, and when he looked over at the phone, his hands dropped. Needless to say, Ted made him pay for losing concentration.

He was on the floor before he knew what'd hit him.

"Hands up, B," Ted told him.

Bruce rolled his eyes. "I'm waiting for a call." Ted helped him up and he exited the ring, rushing over to the phone.

"Which of your girlfriends is it?" Ted called teasingly from the ring.

Bruce removed his gloves, gave Ted a rude gesture, and then said into the phone, "Hello?"

"Hey, Bruce," Selina responded. "I found Bunderslaw."

Bruce hummed for her to go on.

"He's a senior executive at Wayne Enterprises, which means that he'll have an upper level office with a safe in it. If he's hiding anything…"

"It'll be in the safe," Bruce finished. "Is it key or combination?" he asked.

"Key, and they're some of the best locks in the world, so I don't think you could pick it."

"So we need to steal the key," Bruce concluded. "How are we going to do that?"

Bruce heard Selina chortle on the other end. "One of the great things about being the heiress to Wayne Enterprises is that you get invited to a lot of boring formal stuff. And it just so happens that the Wayne Enterprises Charity Gala is on Saturday, and all the senior executives are basically required to be there."

"So?" Bruce asked, knowing what she was implying, but wanting her to say the words.

"So…" Selina started. "Would you accompany me?" she asked.

"Like a date?" Bruce asked.

"Yes…" she responded hesitantly.

Bruce smirked. "It'd be my honor, Miss Wayne," he finally stated, with an over exaggeratedly pompous tone.

"Great," she responded. "I'll have some suits and stuff sent to your place…where do you stay?"

Bruce told her the address of the apartment building that he'd stayed in when his mom was still around. His hand subconsciously drifted to his left breast, where, if he had been wearing his jacket, would've contained the locket he'd found that fateful day.

"Great…I guess I'll see you on Saturday, then," Selina said.

"Until then," he responded.

Selina said goodbye and the line went dead.

Just as she hung up, a thought popped into his head, and it was something he probably should've pointed out before he'd said goodbye: he didn't know how to dance.

He walked over the ring and asked, "Ted, do you know how to dance?"

Ted raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, why?"

"I need to learn how, fast," Bruce stated.

"By when are we talking?" Ted asked.

"Two days."

Ted's eyes widened. "Alright, we've got work to do."

After an intense day of dancing with one of Ted's 'female friends' from school, Bruce felt much more confident. It was surprisingly easy once he found the rhythm, and, although his feet were killing him, he felt good. Bruce noticed that once they'd finished, both Ted and the girl had seemingly disappeared, but he kept the thought to himself.

Around six, Bruce left the Gym and waited on the front steps of his old apartment building. Not more than thirty seconds after he'd arrived, a sleek, black car pulled up to the building.

The man asked if he was Bruce Kyle, and Bruce nodded. The man helped him unpack several large boxes from the car, and then sped off to his next delivery. Bruce looked at the five huge, cardboard boxes he was left with, and sighed.

He'd gotten some suspicious looks, a street kid lugging along five boxes, all of which were marked with expensive brandings, but he eventually reached the Gym.

Bruce had Ted help him move the boxes into his room, and, luckily, Henry didn't notice.

Ted asked, "Okay, what is all this about, really? And don't lie to me."

Bruce sighed. He proceeded to tell Ted all about Selina Wayne and the escapades they'd been through together. When he finished, Ted just shook his head. "You're a goddamn idiot, you know that?" Ted told him.

Bruce shrugged. "And now you know why I can't tell Henry this…"

Ted nodded. "Yeah, he'd probably flip. Now…onto these," he said, looking out over the boxes full of clothing. "Let's get to work."

Finally, the night of the Charity Gala arrived, and Bruce put on the outfit he'd settled on. It was made up of a white button up shirt, a navy jacket and tie, dark pants, light brown dress shoes, and a rose gold and leather watch he'd 'found' a few years back.

As he readjusted the tie for the fourth time, he heard a light knock at his door. Bruce glanced over and saw Zee standing there, a curious twinkle in her eyes.

"What're you gettin' all spiffied up for?" she teased, glancing admiringly at his well put together outfit.

"Selina found the guy she was looking for," Bruce responded. "She needs me to steal something from him. It's at some Charity Gala, or something."

She stepped around in front of him and knocked his hands away from his tie, retying it herself.

"Like a date?" Zee asked curiously. Bruce nodded slowly. "I'm glad you're helping her," she told him, seeming sincere.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Bruce asked hesitantly.

Zee raised an eyebrow. "Why would I mind?" she asked, refusing to look up at his face. When he didn't respond, she stated, "It's not like we're a couple or anything."

Bruce was severely confused. He took her tiny hands away from his tie. "Zee, what's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

She sighed. Looking up at him, she answered, "Bruce…I've been thinking a lot recently about…us. I won't lie, I do like you, but, I'm just not sure if this is going to work." She reached up to his tie again and resumed fixing it. "This has been a really amazing three months, and I've really enjoyed getting to know you better, but…I can feel you pulling away." He started to respond, but she talked over him, "Don't. Please, Bruce, just don't. I know you like Selina, I know that you've always liked Selina, and I don't want to get in the way of that. Hell, I even told her that I wasn't into you…" She shook her head at her own stupidity and continued, "Bruce, you have a real chance at getting out, and I want you to take it."

"But we can get out," Bruce told her. "Once all this is over…"

"Over?" Zee asked. She laughed mirthlessly and told him, "Bruce, this is never going to be over. No matter where we go, we're just two street kids going up against the world…and we'll lose."

"Zee, please don't…" Bruce started.

She sighed. "I'm sorry, B. It was fun while it lasted." She finished fiddling with the tie and smoothed it out on his chest, telling him, "Goodbye, Bruce."

Bruce stood in a stupor, watching Zee as she walked out of both his room and his life.

He hadn't been expecting that.

However, his alarm clock jarred him from his thoughts. He had to be at Selina's in less than an hour, so he didn't have time to waste.

Taking one last look in the mirror, he tucked a stray lock of his wild hair behind his ear, and then turned and left the loft.

Bruce flagged down a taxi, and spent the majority of the drive to Wayne Manor in a daze. He arrived before he knew it, and after paying the driver, Bruce got out and approached the front doors.

They opened before he got there, and Bruce was met by Alfred. He seemed angry, but was apparently trying to hold in his temper, probably on Selina's orders. "Hello, Mr. Kyle," he said through gritted teeth.

Bruce smirked. "Hey, Jeeves," he replied coolly. He walked through the doors and threw himself down onto one of the couches in the main room. Alfred took the sofa across from him. "Where's Cat?" asked Bruce.

Alfred bit back a witty remark and replied, "Miss Wayne is getting ready. However, before she finishes, I wanted to have a little chat with you."

Bruce cocked an eyebrow. "About what?" he asked, although he had a pretty decent idea of what Alfred wanted to talk about.

"Miss Wayne," he replied simply. Bruce nodded for him to go on, and Alfred asked, "Have you ever been in a romantic relationship before?"

Bruce felt his face start to heat up. But he knew what Alfred was trying to do. He willed his cheeks to return to their normal color, and then shrugged. "I've been in a couple, here and there."

"Ah, and I'm guessing they were all your type?" Alfred asked pointedly.

"My type?" Bruce questioned.

He knew Alfred was trying to get under his skin, and it probably appeared like he was succeeding, but Bruce wasn't going to go down that easily.

Not by a long shot.

"If you mean street kids, then yeah, but there was this one girl who was middle class and just lived in the Narrows." Bruce smirked: it was his move, now. "Although, that one in particular was more physical than anything else."

This time, it was Alfred who reddened slightly. "And what are your intentions with Miss Wayne?" Alfred questioned.

Bruce seemed to think about this for a moment. He eventually shrugged. "She asked me to do her a solid, and I figured having a favor from a billionaire in my back pocket wouldn't be such a bad thing. Besides, I only want what's best for her," Bruce told him sincerely.

"Oh really?" Alfred pushed. "Then explain to me: why is it that the last time you were here, I found Miss Wayne sobbing on the floor?"

Bruce bit back a retort and told him, "Like I said earlier, I only want what's best for her. At the time, that was the best solution I could come up with."

"Stop talking about me," another voice interjected.

Bruce looked up at the balcony, and his heart skipped a beat.

Standing high above them was Selina Wayne. Her locks of chestnut curls framed her face near perfectly, and her piercing eyes stared right back into his own. Her navy blue dress flowed down to just above her knees, and it seemed to be the exact same color as his jacket.

Out of nowhere, his brain went into overdrive, overanalyzing everything he'd done wrong in the past five seconds, any imperfections in his attire and hair, and essentially any and everything else he could possibly be anxious about.

He was suddenly very glad he'd let Zee do his tie for him.

He smiled weakly and stood from the couch to meet her.

She took a long glance over his outfit and commented offhandedly, "You look nice."

"The shoes hurt," he replied stupidly.

An awkward silence followed, during which Bruce mentally cussed himself out.

He cracked a grin, trying to pass the comment off as a joke. "You look nice, too," he told her. Now that she was closer, Bruce's brain picked up on the fact that she was wearing makeup. Bruce didn't know why it noticed, but it sure as hell did.

Another pair of footsteps rang out from the hallway, and a tall, dark haired woman came out onto the balcony. She smiled down at them, and asked, "So, Selina, this is your date?"

She made her way down the stairs and introduced herself as Doctor Leslie Thompkins. Bruce did his best to be polite and courteous, much to the amusement of Selina who watched on in stifled laughs.

Alfred cleared his throat and said, "Well look at the time, we best be off." He turned to Doctor Thompkins, his usual stern mask melting away. "Once again, thank you so much for helping Miss Wayne."

The doctor smiled warmly. "Oh, it really wasn't a problem. She's so naturally pretty, it didn't take much effort on my part." Bruce could't help but agree. She smiled at Selina and said, "Remember, if you need anything, give me a call, alright?"

Selina nodded and Alfred showed her out, leaving Bruce and Selina alone.

Selina asked in a hushed voice, "Are you ready?"

He nodded. "Are you sure about this?" he asked. "These people tried to kill Alfred…"

"And may have been responsible for killing my parents," Selina finished. "Yes, I'm sure."

Alfred came back and asked, "Ready, you two?"

Selina nodded, and Bruce held his elbow out for her to take.

As they walked past the butler arm in arm, Bruce shot him a quick, victorious glance, and Alfred glared in return.

The ride back to Gotham was interesting, to say the least.

It was Bruce's first time inside of a really fancy car (other than the Porsche that he and a friend had hotwired a couple years back) and he was having simultaneous urges to take anything he could fit in his pockets, as well as to not touch anything in fear of breaking it. Most of it was probably worth more than he was.

Whenever Alfred wasn't looking, which wasn't often, he and Selina would run over the plan in hushed voices. It seemed easy enough. They would dance and walk around until they found Bunderslaw, and Selina would distract him until Bruce was able to steal the correct key and return the key ring to his pocket.

What Bruce didn't think about was the amount of attention he and Selina would be receiving. They stepped out of the car to a hailstorm of camera flashes and reporters screaming questions at Selina. Security stepped out in front of them, clearing a path for the two teens to go through.

Finally, they made it inside the grand doors of the ballroom, and Bruce let out a sigh of relief.

Selina smirked. "If you think that was bad, you haven't seen anything yet," she told him.

He raised his brow. "It gets worse?" he asked.

She chuckled and took him by the hand. "Yup, but it'll still be fun. Come on," she said, dragging him away from the entrance and towards the main room.

They fell in stride and as soon as they arrived at the dance floor, Bruce knew this was going to be much harder than he'd originally thought.

Hundreds of pairs of eyes stared the couple down, followed by dozens of hushed whispers asking things like, 'Who is that?' 'Did you know Selina Wayne would be here?' 'Who is that boy?' and so on and so forth.

Bruce felt himself redden at the attention. He glanced over and saw that Selina seemed a bit pink as well, which made him feel a bit better at his own embarrassment.

Bruce took charge, leading her through the crowds and out onto the dance floor.

"This is probably poor timing, but do you know how to dance?" Selina asked him.

Bruce didn't respond. Instead, he took her left hand in his right, placed his left hand on her hip, and joined in with the already ongoing waltz.

"I'll take that as a yes," said Selina with a light smirk.

They danced for a few minutes, making light conversation while also scanning the room, looking for Bunderslaw.

After a while, Selina noticed Bruce had gone quiet. "What's up?" she asked.

Her words seemed to jar him from a deep train of thought. He shook his head. "Nothing, just thinking."

"About what?"

He shrugged in reply. She raised an eyebrow in challenge and he relented. "Why don't you hate me?" he asked.

She smiled. "I don't know. You've given me good reason to, but…"

He nodded. "Cat, I'm really sorry about that night…"

"I told you not to worry about it," she interrupted. "Like you said, you were trying to protect me, right?" He nodded again. "Then don't worry about it. Besides, even if I did hate you, I know you can't resist me," she said haughtily.

Bruce rolled his eyes and she laughed.

They danced some more. Bruce found it easier and easier to ignore the staring bystanders as he focused on his partner.

"But, seriously," he started, "I really am sorry."

She shook her head.

She knew people were watching, but she didn't care.

"Just shut up and kiss me," she told him.

His eyes went wide at her bluntness. "What?" he choked out, looking around the room at the many people who were intently watching the couple.

"Forget them," she started, taking the sides of his face in her hands, "and kiss me."

He stared deep into those piercing eyes. He could never decide if they were blue or green. But tonight, he simply didn't care.

Smirking lightly, Bruce brought his lips down onto hers in a sweet kiss, and she returned it. The whole thing couldn't have lasted more than two seconds, but that was enough for them. Bruce ignored the shocked and delighted gasps of their onlookers and focused on the beautiful girl in front of him.

She waited to open her eyes until a few seconds after he'd pulled away, savoring the feeling. "Better?" she asked, trying to fight the beaming smile that was attempting to form on her lips.

He nodded, even though he blushing more so than any other time that evening. "Better," he answered.

Something across the room caught Selina's eye. "Good, because I just saw Bunderslaw."

Almost on cue, the waltz ended, and they released one another. Bruce bowed and Selina curtsied in return. She took his arm and allowed him to lead her across the room. He grabbed two cups of punch from a nearby table, handing one to Selina, and then proceeding towards where Bunderslaw was standing.

He saw them approaching, and dismissed the two men he'd been talking to quietly. He put on a smile, which Bruce was pretty sure was fake.

"Hi, I'm Selina Wayne," Selina introduced herself.

"Sid Bunderslaw," he responded, shaking her hand.

Bruce saw a waltzing couple approaching and saw an opportunity. He 'bumped' into one of them, and lurched forwards, spilling a good amount of his punch onto Bunderslaw's suit.

Selina immediately started profusely apologizing, and Bruce grabbed a cloth napkin from a nearby table, acting as though he was trying to wipe the liquid off of his jacket.

Bruce backed up, and Selina took over from there, taking all of Bunderslaw's attention as Bruce removed Bunderslaw's key ring from inside the cloth. He smirked at the trickery. As quickly as possible, he went through the keys one by one until he found key nearly identical to the one that Thomas Wayne had formerly owned, which Selina had shown him.

He detached it, and then resealed the ring, handing it slyly to Selina who had her hand behind her back. She reached down and 'picked up the keys' from the floor, handing them back to Bunderslaw and apologizing again.

He assured them it was no problem, and then marched off to get properly cleaned up.

The second he turned the corner, Selina asked, "Did you get it?"

Bruce nodded, patting the inside pocket of his suit jacket. "Nothing to it," he told her with a cocky grin.

"Good. Now, how about one more dance?" she asked.

He raised an eyebrow. "Why? We finished the mission," he stated, trying to play dumb.

She shrugged. "You know, to safe face for my family. If I were to show up, dance to literally only three songs, and then leave, it would seem odd, wouldn't it?"

He smirked. "Alright, fair enough, but I'm going to grab a drink first. You want one?"

She shrugged and nodded, and he went off to make two more cups of punch.

"Hello, young man," a man greeted, approaching him at the beverage table. He was tall and had dark, slicked back hair. Bruce felt like he recognized him from somewhere. He was probably some big celebrity from the tabloids.

Bruce smiled and nodded. "Hi."

"I'm sorry, but you are Miss Selina Wayne's date, correct?" the man asked.

Bruce nodded in response. The question wasn't something he hadn't been prepared for, since some unknown teenage boy dancing with the owner of a multi-billion dollar corporation probably would probably raise inquiries to his identity.

"Tell me," the man started, placing a fatherly hand on Bruce's shoulder, "do you want Miss Wayne to die a horrific death?"

Bruce froze where he stood.

Chills ran down his spine at the man's words.

He was in shock.

Looking around, Bruce saw that hundreds of people were nearby, but he found himself unable to call for help.

In fact, his voice had seemed to stop working altogether.

Finally, Bruce was able to utter out, "Who are you?"

"I'm the servant of someone you've already met, Bruce," he answered coolly.

"What do you want with me?"

He had never been so terrified of another human in his life.

"That isn't your concern currently," the man lulled. "For now, I just want you to answer my question: Do you want Selina Wayne to die horrifically?"

Bruce shook his head in response.

The man smiled evilly. "Good. And would you be willing to do anything to save her from such a fate?"

Bruce nodded.

"Very well then," the man said. "Don't leave Gotham," he warned. "We'll be in touch shortly."

Bruce felt the weight of the man's hand lift from his shoulder, and when he looked back, the man had disappeared.

His breath started to quicken.

How could he have been so stupid to think that this was over?

How could he have involved Selina again?

Why was he so selfish?

What did those people want from him?

He looked back across the ballroom where he saw Selina standing awkwardly, waiting for him to join her for one last dance.

"Dammit," he muttered.

He threw away the two cups of punch, and, casting one last longing look back at Selina Wayne, turned on his heel and walked away from the crowd.

He found a backdoor and left the building, making a beeline for the nearest rooftop where he sat until dawn arrived, both questions as well as thoughts of self-loathing racing through his mind.

When the first song finished with no sign of Bruce, Selina started to get worried.

Maybe Bunderslaw had realized his key was missing, and then found him…

Selina shuddered at the thought, and started to walk faster.

She reached the beverage table and found it abandoned. However, Selina noticed an oddly shaped lump underneath the tablecloth. Suspicious, she reached underneath and removed a crumpled up cloth napkin with red stains.

It was the same one Bruce had used to steal the key from Bunderslaw.

She unwrapped it and found two things inside: Bunderslaw's key, and a short note in Bruce's handwriting.

It read:

Sorry I had to run, it was urgent.

Hope you find what you need.

Be careful.

-Bruce

Selina read over the note several times, searching the words for some hidden reason behind his sudden disappearance.

She sighed sadly. That was Bruce Kyle for you, there one second and then gone the next.

Tucking the key, as well as the note, into her small purse, Selina walked out of the Gala and found Alfred parked outside.

"Ah, Miss Wayne…" he looked back in the rearview mirror and saw a couple light tears welling up in her eyes. "Are you alright?" he asked.

She nodded, wiping a stray tear away. "Yeah, Alfred, I'm fine." She wasn't just saying it, either. The tears weren't so much of sadness as they were of childish disappointment.

"If you don't mind me asking," he started hesitantly, choosing his words deliberately, "and not that I'm complaining, but where is Mr. Kyle?"

She looked out of the window where the beautiful Gotham skyline sprawled out in the distance. "No idea."

"So…he just left?" Alfred asked.

She nodded. "But don't worry, Alfred. He'll be back."

"And why is that?"

Selina smirked knowingly. "Because, he can't resist me," she answered.

"Ah, bloody hell," Alfred muttered.

"Language," she chided. Alfred chuckled and started the car.

She read over the note once more, and then stared out of the window, some tiny hope in her heart thinking that she might just catch a glimpse of the elusive Bruce Kyle flying across the rooftops of Gotham.

'Be careful,' he'd said.

She scoffed to herself.

Like hell.

A/N: Wow. Simply: Wow. I can't believe that this is the second to last chapter of Season 1. It feels like I just had the idea for this project yesterday! I really need to start working on the plot for Season 2… Also, I apologize for the longer than normal wait for this chapter (and probably the next one, as well), as, like I said in last chapter's Author Note, I really want to take my time and get these right. Besides, this is easily the longest chapter of the series so far (just over 6000 words), so it took me a while longer than the others.

If you've enjoyed this series and/or have any suggestions/questions for Season 2, make sure to review! Thank you all for being so supportive of this series, and trust me: if you think this chapter was big, you ain't seen nothing yet! *Cue maniacal Jerome laughter* But seriously, thanks for reading!

Also, this may be the first time in a couple chapters in which I didn't use the title in the story, lol