Chapter 13: Wandering and Downtime
I decided after spending the day in bed yesterday that I needed to get out and walk around a bit. I must admit it was nice yesterday; with Bruce reading and with me distracting him every so often to make out. When I woke up this morning and had a shower I noticed the bruising on my neck has gotten darker and more noticeable. Even though Alfred said the bruises on my neck aren't life threatening they do look nasty and make it uncomfortable to talk. After I told Bruce I would go for a wander around the neighborhood to stretch, he suddenly ran out of the room. A minute later he came back with an old looking pale white scarf. He placed it in my hand and I ran my finger along what I am pretty sure is genuine silk. I smiled at Bruce as I wrapped the scarf loosely around my neck to hide the marks left by faux-Bruce. I left Bruce to his books as I took off for the front door. On the way I literally bumped into Alfred. After he delivered on of his choicer snarky remarks his eyes looked closely at my scarf. He asked me where I got it in a very accusing tone before I angrily told him Bruce gave it to me. I felt a smile sweep over my face when Alfred told me this scarf was his mothers and I should look after it.
After leaving the mansion I did a lap of the neighborhood; nothing to see really, just rich types doing rich things. The only other people I saw were maids, drivers, cooks and such coming and going. I smiled inwardly that at least Bruce doesn't have a whole staff of people waiting on him. Alfred doesn't count; he's more like a dad than either of them will admit. I quickly got bored and made my way back to Wayne Manor. As I stand looking up at the big mansion in front of me I think to myself I feel up for a bit of nostalgia and make my way down the side of the building. I come face to face with the study window and I take out a small metal tool from my pocket and quietly work the lock until I hear a soft click as the window latch unlocks. I push open the window and quietly step through the curtains. Bruce is sitting one of the comfy couches reading one of his books with his back to me. I step closer soundlessly as I try to think of the best way to jump him. Maybe I could flip over the couch and into his lap or kiss him on the neck.
"Selina would you close the window... it's getting cold in here" he says offhandedly over his shoulder as he scrawls some words in the margin of his book.
"You know it's not fair... I used to be able to sneak up on you all the time" I say frustrated as I close the window and click the latch closed.
"Well... if you get better then you can sneak up on me anytime you want" he says as he closes his book and turns to me. The soft smile on his lips makes me let out a chuckle.
"Imagine: Selina Kyle... master sneaker because she wanted to creep up on her boyfriend easier" I say jokingly as I flip myself over the couch and neatly into the seat next to Bruce.
"If you're not a master now what are you?" asks Bruce interestedly.
"I dunno. An expert maybe?" I say thinking. Bruce frowns for a moment as his mind does that thinking thing of his.
"Hmm. I read once that people in the top three percent of a skill set have only a marginal difference between them" he says.
"Meaning what, that you and I aren't that far apart in how good we sneak about?" I say in disbelief. "Bruce... baby... you may be able to know when I'm creeping up on you, but you sneak like you have a bell around you neck" I say trying to sound comfortingly.
"I have no delusions about my abilities... what I meant is maybe you are already a master of stealth" he says grinning.
"Nah... I can get plenty better. Just you wait!" I say as I slide sideways and press myself against him. "So how's your reading going" I ask.
"It's good. Lucius tells me I have a knack for electrical stuff" he says proudly. "He also says I should consider a college like M.I.T or something".
"You planning on going to college" I say trying to sound nonchalant.
"No" he says softly. "It would mean I would need to go back to school".
"Ah. And I already know your feelings on school" I say as a relief washes over me.
"I don't need to waste my time with qualifications" he says slowly. "I am learning new skills not for work, but so they can be useful to us".
"You know you said 'us' right?" I say as I feel a flutter run through my stomach as his choice of word.
"Yes" he answers simply. "Even before our deal and our dating I wanted to learn these things... but in my head I wanted to learn them to help us both" he says shyly.
"Aw were you crushing on me Brucie!" I tease softly as I stroke his arm consolingly.
"No" he says adamantly. "I just considered you a friend that I cared for and in no way had dreams about kissing you again" he finishes with barely concealed humor in his voice.
"So what did I do to make Bruce Wayne have a crush on me... besides kiss him" I ask slyly.
"Selina... you are fishing for compliments" he says formally.
"C'mon tell me" I say pleadingly as I effect my puppy dog eyes that never seem to work for me.
"Fine. You were beautiful, different, and smart and were able to make me smile" he says wearily. "Good enough?"
"Yeah... you thought all that about me the first time we met?" I ask slowly.
"Yes" he says.
"Oh..." I say thinking. "I just thought you were a dumb rich kid with a cute face" I continue teasingly.
"I would like to amend my last statement by saying that you were also a massive pain" he says rolling his eyes at me. I see the smile spread across his face as I try to up at him with a hurt expression. "Fine... a moderate pain".
"Better" I say as I rest my head on his shoulder. Bruce reopens his book and returns to his reading as I play with the soft silk of my scarf. "Hey Bruce?" I say.
"Yeah?" he says absently.
"Alfred said this is your moms scarf?" I ask quietly.
"It was" he answers not looking from his reading.
"Why did you give it to me?" I ask meekly.
"It's no good sitting in a draw... and it looks good on you" he says as he turns and gives me a soft wet kiss on my cheek. I just nod slightly as I let my fingers run over the white fabric and try to make sense of the scarfs meaning. Bruce never does things for no reason. I could ask him, but half the fun with us is trying to figure each other out. It's just how we work. The other half of what makes Bruce fun is when I tease him. I think the third half would have to be the kissing. I think I need a new kind of math to figure us out. I think about asking Bruce but he would probably get a blackboard and write out an equation giving exact values to how much fun each aspect of our relationship is. I smile warmly as I let my mind wander through the pointless and fun things we did to keep ourselves amused during our winter together. I feel Bruce's arm raise and slowly wrap around my shoulder as he continues reading and occasionally scribbling a note on the page. I feel a warm feeling rush through me as I remember Bruce telling me he was learning this stuff so it could be useful for us. Maybe I should pick up a new skill set.
"Hey Bruce... do you think I should learn to fly a helicopter?" I say suddenly. I feel a slight tremor run through him as his face pales. I giggle slightly at his reaction as I softly nuzzle my cheek into his shoulder.
AN: Just a bit of a breather chapter after a tense few chapters. Now that I've taken the black hood off of the stories head and you can see that the Adventure genre was there for a reason; what do people think so far? It's difficult to gauge for myself.