Blood.
Sweat.
Tears.
Chapter 12
Selina Kyle was standing at the window, admiring the view the city. There was a beautiful orange and pink sky before her. She sensed movement behind her and she assumed it was Bruce.
"You should really come over here, Bruce. The sunset is beautiful," she said without turning back.
"Brrrucey won't be enjoying any more sunsets," a surprising voice told her.
Selina spun around quickly. There, standing before her, was the only person she never hoped she'd ever see again. How could this be happening?
"What are you doing here?" Selina asked as calmly as possible.
"Did you really think you could run away? From your past? From me?" he asked her in return.
His smiling face was deceiving. Selina knew he was only there for one reason.
"How did you find me?" Selina asked, trying to hide the pure terror she felt looking into this man's blank eyes.
"You know, Miss Kyle, you aren't nearly as devious as you think you are," the Joker said, backing her towards the wall. "You owe me," he said, brandishing his favorite knife. It glinted in the light of the setting sun.
"Where's Bruce?" Selina demanded.
The Joker shrugged. "If that's the last sight you want to see, please be my guest," he said, holding out his arm to point her in the direction of her request.
Selina pushed past him boldly and walked further into the hotel room. Bruce lay broken on the floor of their hotel room. He was motionless and his body was contorted in a position that she'd only seen once before. Blood was everywhere. Selina screamed and suddenly there were arms wrapped around her.
"It's your turn, beautiful," the Joker hissed in her ear from behind.
She struggled against him, throwing her arms out in an attempt to get him off of her, but she couldn't break free. She squeezed her eyes closed. This couldn't be happening.
"Selina," a calm voice said into her ear. "Selina," it said again.
She forced her eyes open and it was Bruce Wayne that was staring back at her. She could see concern marring his handsome features in the darkness of their room.
"Holy shit," Selina hissed as she realized it was just a dream. Her heart was pounding and her skin was damp with sweat.
Bruce reached over and turned on the light on the nightstand.
"Are you okay?" he asked turning back to her. It took a second, but then it registered that Bruce was rubbing is jaw as he spoke.
"Selina, are you okay?" Bruce asked again, attempting to focus her.
"I'm fine, I think. What…?" she pointed to his chin.
"You socked me in the jaw," he smiled slightly. "I hope you won in your dream."
"I didn't," Selina said quietly.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"I punched you in the jaw?" Selina asked, suddenly feeling the pain in her knuckles. She flexed her hand.
"You have a pretty decent left hook, Miss Kyle," he said, trying to lighten the mood. "And you did not answer me."
"No, I do not want to talk to you about my dream…" Selina said firmly.
"Please?" Bruce pled with her. He knew what she had been dreaming about. She'd been talking, actually screaming, in her sleep. But he wanted to know if she trusted him.
Selina leaned toward Bruce and put her head on his shoulder. She needed to feel him. She needed to know it wasn't just another dream.
"The Joker was here. And…you were…dead," Selina replied quietly.
What Selina said didn't really shock him. He'd had plenty of nightmares before. Nightmares that included the people he cared about dying or dead. But Bruce had never really had to be the comforting person. Everyone else had always looked at him with sympathetic eyes and offered what they thought were words that would make him feel better. But now it was different. He actually had someone that he felt like he could be that person for. Bruce at least had to try.
Without a moment's hesitation, he wrapped his arms around Selina and held her close to him.
"He's not here and I'm very much alive," Bruce murmured into her hair. "He's in Arkham and he has no chance of getting out."
Truthfully, it was kind of a relief to not be the emotional one. And it was refreshing to see that Selina was starting to feel comfortable enough with him. Sure they'd already gotten to know each other in slightly more carnal terms and Bruce was glad to see, and feel, an emotional bond strengthening between them.
"What time is it?" Selina asked.
"Three thirty, almost," Bruce said after glancing at the clock.
"You should go back to sleep," Selina replied. She moved to climb out of the bed, but Bruce held on to her tighter.
"It's late, Bruce. You should get some sleep. I'm just going to get something to drink and I'll be back in a bit."
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"About needing something to drink?" Selina said, her characteristic sarcastic tone beginning to return. "I can find the refrigerator, Mr. Wayne," she said before kissing him sweetly on the jaw that she had punched minutes earlier and he released his grip on her.
She rose from the bed and turned off the light on her way to the door.
"Just…"
"What, Bruce?" she said from the dark doorway.
He could make out the tense way she was holding her body and from her tone when she said his name that she needed to be alone.
"If you need anything, just come get me, okay?" he said.
"Okay," Selina replied.
Bruce lay back down on the bed, pulling the blankets back up around him. He listened to her bare feet padding through the hallways and living area as she set off for the kitchen. There was no way he was going to be able to fall back asleep. Not with her as anxious as she was and certainly not without her there next to him in the bed.
Selina passed through the living room. She stopped in the kitchen but retreated immediately. She wasn't really thirsty; she needed some air. She continued back out to the living room and opened the door to the terrace. Selina instantly thought of her dream and that caused a knot to form in her stomach.
Up until tonight, Selina had been having the best three weeks of her entire life. They'd been visiting all of the major sights in Florence. Her favorites were the Florence Cathedral and the Baptistery building in front of it with its doors the Gates of Paradise created by the artist, Lorenzo Ghiberti. The city of Florence was considered the "Birthplace of the Renaissance" and it was full of art. There was always something to do and there was always something to see.
And the two of them had fallen into a routine of sorts. They would wake early, before the full heat of the day hit, to go for a run. Bruce needed to get his knee in full working order and running was going to be his physical therapy. Well, a portion of his physical therapy; they had been doing other things to keep each other in shape.
They'd go sightseeing in the afternoons, venturing to a new location each day and sometimes just relaxing in each other's company. And every day, they would go to the same café down by the river to enjoy the Italian sunshine and some of the local wine. Bruce always seemed to be waiting for something, but he wouldn't explain it to her.
Everything that had been happening was keeping Selina's mind off of the negative feelings that usually enveloped her. Things just seemed better each passing day she spent with Bruce and Selina was starting to rethink her plan of leaving him. He was more relaxed now; but that could be attributed to not having to guard an entire city any more. And he was laughing. It was a sound foreign to the both of them, but Selina was starting to love the sound.
She stepped onto the terrace, into the dark night. The stone floor was cold on her bare feet but she stood out there anyway. It was a clear night and the sky was filled with stars, despite there being no moon. A slight breeze was blowing and it made goose bumps appear on her bare flesh. Her sleep shorts and tank top pajamas weren't exactly meant for chilly nights alone on a balcony.
Selina needed to think about her life. The only really great things that have happened in her life had happened in the last month and a half. And they were only because of Bruce Wayne.
Would she ever really want to leave that man behind? The real question, could she ever really leave him behind?
Selina shook her head. The answer was a resounding no.
What has he done to her?
Despite the feeling that she still had in the pit of her stomach, she smiled. She had fallen for the man that was now sleeping in their bed.
"Shit," Selina hissed into the night sky as she leaned on the railing. The realization hit her like a ton of bricks.
"You're just out here swearing?" Bruce smirked from the terrace doorway.
Selina turned around and looked at the man. He was just wearing boxers and running a hand through his bed-head hair.
"I thought you were going back to sleep," Selina said.
"I thought you were going to get a drink and come back to bed yourself."
"I needed to think," Selina said, moving towards him.
"Oh?" he said, his brow furrowing with concern.
"Can I be honest with you?" Selina asked.
"I would appreciate it, actually," Bruce replied dryly.
"My plan, since day one, has been to make sure you were okay and then leave," she said.
"I know," he said.
"You know?" Selina replied. "What does that mean?"
"I know you better than you think I do," he said quietly.
His statement frustrated her, but she continued on anyway.
"But…" Selina started.
Bruce stepped forward to close the space between them.
"But…" he said, repeating her words.
"I don't want to go," Selina said, looking down to her bare feet.
"I don't want you to go either," he said. "So, I don't think you're going," he smiled at her.
"I don't think I am," Selina replied.
It felt incredible to be wrapped in Bruce's arms. She felt safe and she felt happy.
"I'm happy, for the first time in a long time, Selina," he said into her ear. "I've spent a long time being unhappy."
"I know," she said. "How's your jaw?" Selina smiled.
"I've been hit harder," Bruce replied, returning her smile.
"I can try again," Selina said.
"Let's go back to bed," Bruce said.
"Yeah, the old man needs his sleep…"
Bruce tried to hide his smile. "Selina," he growled.
It was that easy. They were going to try. The two of them were a real pair.
Bruce took her hand and led her inside the hotel suite. Selina pulled the door closed behind her and they retreated to the bedroom.
… … … … …
He didn't care that he made the news. He'd been in the news before and he didn't really care one way or another.
He laughed as he read the article.
"…The man, known only as The Joker should be considered armed and dangerous. Nine years ago, he was captured with the assistance of the Batman, who recently saved the entire city of Gotham from a nuclear bomb.
The Joker is believed to be behind the string of murders in Chicago as well as the break in at Chaplin Psychiatric Center. The break in resulted in the deaths of six staff members and four members of the Chicago Police Department as well as the break-out of one of the patients, Harleen Quinzel.
Currently, it is thought that The Joker is on the run with Quinzel, although it is not known what their plans are…"
"I should have gotten credit for at least one dead body," she said after he finished reading the article out loud.
"Oh, I've missed you, Harley," he said. "Get out here," the Joker said.
The blonde woman emerged from a door at the back of the compact room they were in. Her hair was teased into pigtails and her face was covered in greasepaint to match that of the Joker.
"That's crap," she said, grinning. "But I have missed you."
"You would have just loved what I did with Gotham a couple years ago," he said.
"I'm sure the Batman did," Harley replied. "Where are we headed? And how did you get this plane?"
The Joker's eyes widened in response to her question. "How do I get anything that I end up with?" he asked, pulling out a knife to illustrate his point. "I had that idiot Nigma dig up some information. Ya see, Wayne's got all of Gotham believing he's dead, but I didn't believe it for a second. Anyway, Nigma said that Wayne's old butler is headed to Italy. So, we're headed to Italy, too."
"You think Bruce Wayne is still alive? After they declared him dead?" Harley asked.
"More interestingly, Nigma made passports for both Selina Kyle and a mystery individual. He didn't ever see a picture of the man, but why would she need to have a passport made without a picture in it?" the Joker asked.
"So you're assuming that means it is Bruce Wayne that she's travelling with. Bruce Wayne would be slumming it with the gutter rat that is Selina Kyle."
The Joker shook his head in her direction. "What the hell did they do to you in there?" he asked. "I need the old Harley to come out completely. Unleash her, baby. Start thinking about how much fun it's going to be to skin The Cat."
She leaned over and kissed the Joker on his painted face.
"Just wait until Europe gets a hold of us," she smiled an eerily similar smile to that of her lover's.
"That's my girl," he smiled delvlfishily.
... … … … …
The following morning, Selina awoke feeling much better than she had the night before. She was alone in the bed, but she could feel Bruce's present in the hotel room.
As if answering her silent question, Bruce stepped back into the room, a mug in one hand and a tablet computer in another.
"Feeling better this morning?" he asked, as he watched Selina stretch the kinks out of her body.
"Yes," Selina replied. "A lot. Thank you. What are you doing up so early?"
"If you get cleaned up, we can go see why I am awake so early," Bruce smiled as he set the mug and the tablet down on the nightstand.
"Now I'm curious," Selina said back to him.
"I would expect nothing less from you," he replied. "Come on, get up," he said, tossing a throw pillow at her.
Selina narrowed her eyes at him and launched the offending pillow back at him and he caught it deftly without any effort at all.
"We need to work on your throwing skills," he said dryly. "Get up, Selina. I'm not going to ask you again."
"Good," she said, laying back down on the pillows.
"Suit yourself," he said. Bruce pulled back the covers, exposing her to the chill of the morning.
"Hey!" Selina shouted.
Bruce reached down and scooped her up over his shoulder. She squealed in a mixture of surprise and anger. Selina wasn't sure she'd ever made that sound before.
She fought him slightly as he walked her to the bathroom and turned the shower on with Selina still over his shoulder.
"Take a shower, and then I'll take you to see the house I bought," he said, setting her down in the bathroom. His tone remained flat, giving none of the actual excitement that he felt away.
Selina stared at him dumbfounded. What? House?
"You bought a house? When?" Selina asked as he walked out of the bathroom.
"This morning," he called back to her as he left the bathroom and closed the door behind him.
… … … … …
A/N: Okay, so that was my newest update. What did you all think? As always, I would like to thank everyone who has clicked on this story to read even a single chapter. It means a lot to me! And thank you to those of you who have chosen to review and send me an opinion/critique/review/etc. That also means a ton!
I'd also like to address a review I received:
In regards to the review asking about the Joker in all of the post-TDKR stories…I haven't been reading a whole lot of other Bat/Cat stories so I don't confuse myself. I am trying to stay as true as possible to my plotline and unfortunately, I had planned to use the Joker all along. I hope that's not considered rude of me, I mean it only as an explanation.
