Blood.

Sweat.

Tears.

Chapter 11

"You don't think this is going to put a hitch in our breakfast plans?" Selina asked. "Good picture though."

Bruce rolled his eyes.

"I think we should go to breakfast anyway. I'm hungry," Bruce replied. "And that picture is about ten years old. We...you…can just tell them that it isn't me, if they even ask."

Selina's face contorted in mock-revulsion. "You want me to lie?" Selina asked, barely able to controlling her giggling.

"I love that sound," Bruce said randomly.

"What sound?" Selina asked, suddenly quiet.

"A real laugh from you," Bruce said.

His words hit her and instantly melted her heart. Selina moved to Bruce and put her arms around his neck bringing his lips down to hers. Bruce's hands fisted in the thick white towel that was wrapped around Selina, but he wanted the terrycloth barrier gone. He tugged on it as he deepened the kiss and it fell to the floor at their feet.

"You've got me naked again, Wayne," Selina said softly in his ear.

"In my defense, you didn't put up much of a fight," he replied softly. "The bed. Now," he added, his voice changing to the darker Batman growl.

"What about breakfast?" Selina asked breathlessly. The change in his voice caused her body to break out in goose bumps that she couldn't even attempt to hide in her current unclothed state.

He knew what his Batman voice did to her. He was well-aware of the way it affected her and he liked it.

"We've got time," he growled. "Bed. Now," he repeated.

Selina looked up into his eyes. They had gone completely dark with want again. He wanted her.

She wasn't about to make the Batman angry, so she reluctantly removed her arms from around his neck and took his hand instead. Selina led him to the bedroom.

An hour and a half later, Selina and Bruce were rushing down to whatever was left of the hotel's breakfast, grinning like a pair of teenagers.

Bruce had Selina's hand firmly in his own. It felt right and he had the incredible urge to never let her go, even for a moment.

The lobby had three large tables set out, and they were full of people. However, there were two chairs open and they headed straight for them.

Bruce pulled one of the two chairs out for Selina, but she wasn't paying attention. Selina was observing the other guests with extreme caution.

She'd operated the last 20-odd years or so without trusting anyone but herself, especially when walking into crowded rooms. Selina needed to make eye contact with everyone in the room, so she could determine her safety, as well as that of Bruce's.

"Mr. and Mrs. Clément!" a woman's voice behind them shouted happily. "We were beginning to think that you weren't coming," the woman said.

The other guests that hadn't bothered to turn and look at them were now eyeing them curiously. They were trying to determine who the fuss was being made over.

Was this going to be the part where the others figured out that he was really Bruce Wayne?

"I just couldn't keep my hands off of her," Bruce said off-handedly, like it wasn't a big deal.

But it was a big deal. Selina's eyes went wide with embarrassment and she felt a warm blush through her cheeks. Did he really just say that? She took her seat and willed her face to go back to its normal color.

But the other people in the room didn't seem to be paying any attention anyway. Selina was grateful for that fact and turned her attention back to Bruce and the woman that was speaking to them.

"We love having newlyweds here," the woman said. Bruce's statement only seemed to make her more excited to have the two of them there. "It makes everyone's stay more romantic. My name is Antonia. My family owns the hotel and the grounds. I run the day to day operations."

Selina surveyed the woman who was beaming excitedly at the two of them. She was a bit shorter than Selina with a few added curves that she wore well. She had olive skin and the greenest eyes Selina had ever seen. Antonia had to be older than Selina, but she definitely didn't look it.

She decided the woman wasn't a threat and Selina smiled back warmly at her as Bruce shook the woman's extended hand.

"Thank you for inviting us for breakfast," Bruce said.

"Of course! Of course!" Antonia cried. "If you don't mind my prying, how long have you been married?"

Bruce took his seat and looked over to Selina. He was going to let her take the lead on this one.

"About a month," she smiled, taking Bruce's hand in her own. "He just couldn't tear himself away from his work until now," she finished. It might have been a lie about a wedding, but her statement couldn't have been more truthful.

"I certainly had a few things that needed to be taken care of before I could completely relax on a vacation," Bruce added.

"What do you do, Mr. Clément?" Antonia asked.

Bruce wondered when that question would be asked. Since they had to verify the credit card he'd used, they'd see the limit was ridiculously high. It was only natural that they would want to know what line of work he was in.

"He's a Public Defender," Selina replied, putting a hand on his arm and stroking it gently. "He's always trying to help those that can't help themselves."

"That's very admirable, Mr. Clément."

"He's my dark knight in shining armor," Selina said affectionately.

"Dark knight?" Antonia asked, questioning the nickname.

"Well, that's just between him and I," Selina replied smiling seductively at Bruce.

He tried to hide his own smile. He was smiling so much these last couple of days. It wasn't like him to smile this much; in fact, he couldn't remember if he'd ever smiled like this before in his life. It was so…out of character for Bruce Wayne. But he kind of liked the feeling.

"Well, I will let the two of you enjoy your breakfast," Antonia said. "We're so happy to have you both here. If you ever need anything, please just let any one of us know. We want to make your stay here magical."

"Thank you," Selina smiled. "That's very kind of you."

The woman stepped away from them, heading toward another table to speak with some other guests.

As soon as Antonia walked away, Bruce leaned down to whisper in Selina's ear.

"Dark knight?" he asked in a hushed tone.

"Isn't that what they call you?" Selina asked in an equally quiet tone.

"Yes," Bruce replied. "But I've always preferred 'Caped Crusader'," he finished dryly.

Selina couldn't tell if he was serious about the nickname. She knew she was playing with fire by even referencing Batman nicknames, but she couldn't resist. Selina hadn't made it this far in life by always playing it close to the cuff.

"Remind me to ask you about that later," Selina said.

"What?" Bruce asked, reaching for a bowl full of scrambled eggs at the center of the table.

Selina leaned in close to Bruce. "The cape," she tried to say as non-chalantly as possible.

Bruce nodded in response.

"So, what are you going to eat for breakfast?" Bruce said, changing the subject. "They seem to have a little of everything."

"I am not terribly hungry," Selina replied. "Maybe just some orange juice."

"You need to eat," Bruce said. "At least some toast or something."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're bossy?" Selina asked.

"I'm not bossy; I just prefer my way of doing things," Bruce replied coolly.

Selina smiled. "I think I knew that," she replied.

"Eat some breakfast," Bruce said back as he passed her a bowl of fruit. "And then we can go sightseeing."

"Sightseeing?" Selina repeated. "Now that's something I'd like to see. You, sightseeing."

Selina scooped some food on her plate and she and Bruce started to eat, making polite conversation with the people at their table.

As they started to leave the lobby to return to their room, an older couple stopped them.

"Congratulations!" she said. She had an English accent and despite her merry tone, she was eyeing Bruce suspiciously.

"Thank you," Selina replied. But the woman didn't walk away from them. "Is there something else?" Selina asked.

"You just look remarkably like that fellow I saw in the newspaper this morning," the woman said. "Richard, doesn't he look like that man?"

Selina and Bruce remained still, bracing themselves for what was coming next.

The husband, Richard, turned toward them, zeroing in on the conversation that his wife was having.

"Which man?" Richard asked.

"You know, that American fellow, the rich one," the woman said.

"Oh, Bruce Wayne," the man answered for her. "No, he doesn't look at all like that man. Quit bothering him and let them enjoy their vacation, Hyacinth."

The woman, apparently named Hyacinth, pouted at her husband.

"Have a good day," Richard said and dragged his wife off by her elbow. The wife followed along, grudgingly, but kept staring at Bruce on her way out.

Selina turned to look at Bruce, who blew out a sigh of relief.

"So, sightseeing?" he asked into her ear.

Selina nodded. Relaxing and being a tourist in Florence sounded like the perfect day.

… … … … …

"I'm sorry, I can't find any information on her anywhere," Eddie said.

The Joker paced back and forth behind him as Edward Nigma continued to type information into the computer. He wasn't having any luck locating the woman that the Joker was after.

"That's not good enough, Nig-ma," the Joker replied.

Eddie was nervous. He was good at what he did; he was a computer genius actually, but if there wasn't any information about someone, then there wasn't information.

"Would you care to explain yourself?" the Joker asked.

"Well, uh," Eddie started nervously. "It's possible that they didn't want anyone to be able to find her location," he finished. "Harley Quinn isn't showing up in any of the databases. Does she go by any other name?"

"Harleen Quinzel," he replied with a sour look on his face. He wasn't the biggest fan of her 'real' name.

"Now that is a different story," Eddie said after running a few more searches. "Harleen Quinzel, resident in a mental facility in Chicago, Illinois."

The Joker grinned maniacally, the painted scars adding to the dramatic effect.

"I guess my next stop is going to be Chicago, but not before I cause a little…chaos…here in Gotham."

"Gotham is still trying to rebuild after Bane…" Eddie began.

The Joker rounded on Eddie.

"That over-muscled idiot was a nice appetizer for Gotham, but wait 'til they get a taste of the main course," the Joker aid, putting a purple-gloved hand on Nigma's shoulder. "I do admire the work he started, but he still wasn't able to bring down the Batman."

"Batman's dead," Nigma said. "That's why they built that stupid statue at City Hall."

"That's why I'm the brains of this operation, Nigma. There's no way that the Batman is dead. He's just waiting to come back."

"How can you be so sure?" Nigma asked.

"How can you be so stupid?" the Joker said, slamming his fist onto the computer desk, causing Edward Nigma to jump. His hands went back to Eddie's shoulders and then suddenly there was a knife pressed against his throat. "If you don't stop trying to protect the woman, you're going to be next on my list. I know the Batman isn't dead because the Cat ran off with him. That was your friend in the shadows that night, Nigma, you idiot. There just needs to be enough havoc to draw the Batman back to Gotham. And the Cat will follow along," the Joker said.

He pulled his knife away from Eddie's throat and he slumped forward towards the computer.

"Step one starts tonight," the Joker said, smiling menacingly at Eddie.

… … … … …

It was late in the afternoon when Bruce found the tiny café for the two of them to relax at. They had walked miles of Florence and seen the things they'd only ever read about. Bruce carefully picked a table, and had Selina face the river. The Arno was a very beautiful river, so it wasn't difficult to talk Selina into it.

Expectantly, Bruce waited. He chatted with Selina, waiting for something, but for what he wasn't sure. Selina finished her glass of wine while Bruce got comfortable in his café chair.

"Do you think we should go back to the hotel?" Selina asked after an amiable silence. It had been almost an hour of sitting at the café and truthfully, she was tired after their day.

Bruce was startled out of his thoughts. He wasn't sure that this was the place he'd been looking for, but it was the only one he could picture it happening at. Perhaps he just hadn't been able to get away yet. They would just have to keep coming back.

"Yes," he said, standing up. "Let's go back to the hotel. You look like you could use a nap."

"Oh, no. Not until after you tell me how many times you've stepped on your cape in the middle of a fight," Selina said as he took her hand.

Bruce smiled. She'd effectively gotten his mind off of things, yet again.

"Well, there was this one time…" he began as they started walking back towards their hotel.

A/N: Okay, what did you think? Please let me know!

Thanks in advance and thank you to those who read and reviewed. It's much appreciated.