Author's Note: I'm sorry I'm the worst updater in the world I know. But I promise to be more dedicated from here on out and I'm even cooking up a whole new story. Something drastically different that I hope you'll all enjoy. But for now, on the with the show.

The Tipster's mysterious update did exactly what the little sociopath and hoped, it titillated the members of Gotham society who enjoyed peeking into Gotham's seedy underworld and put the Rogues on red alert. While having their secrets on display at all was rather unwelcomed, much of it could be brushed off or dealt with. Years of reports, articles, books, etc on their lives had prepared them well for this onslaught. But something big was coming.

Harvey angrily glared at the little screen in his hand. "I can practically hear the bitch salivating."

Ivy casually glanced over his shoulder to read the update and then went back to watering her plants. "It's probably nothing. Just her way of getting everyone into a tizzy."

"No, that's not her style. Something is coming. Something we're not going to like."

"Tell me one thing she said that we did like."

"Good point."

"Don't worry about her."

"How can I not? Think about it, this mess, all the shit happening, it's because of her. Giving out locaions, mindless gossip, that was all one thing, but she's starting to let secrets fly. We're all so paranoid about people finding out what we keep hidden we're outing ourselves."

Harvey had no idea how right he was. At that very minute, the entire underworld was turning itself upside down and pouring it's heart out. Life was about to become more complicated.

Holly hadn't even full processed the Tipster update before Oswald Cobblepot's name and picture (a cartoon penguin with a monacle and top hat holding a martini, Holly saw it online and couldn't stop giggling when she made it his contact picture) took over the screen where the message had been. He was calling her. Last thing she needed was a rambling list of more ridiculous things he was requesting for the over the top proposal. "Mr. Cobblepot, what can I do for you?"

"I'm calling to see what I can do for you," he replied.

"Um..."

"The Tipster," he went on, like it was any kind of real explanation.

Holly raised and eyebrow. The Tipster? Nothing really out of the ordinary there. The usual lame puns, sightings. Well, there was that little tease but...it...couldn't... "That couldn't be what she meant."

"Holly don't be naïve."

"How could she even find out?" She was pacing now, frantic, parting the curtains a sliver to peek out the terrace window as if she expected the Tipster to just be standing there.

"How does she find out any of this nonsense?" Oswald retorted.

"You didn't tell anyone did you?"

Although she couldn't see him, Oswald had adopted a look of utter disgust as if someone had defectaed on his desk right in front of his very eyes. When he regained himself, he said "Why yes, just after you left I called up Ethel and we talked all about it. Then we cooked up a hair brained scheme to get Joker to let me in the show! Of course I didn't tell anyone and the very idea of...the question alone is offensive Holly! I am not some loose lipped gossip."

Immediately Holly felt horrible for even daring to think Oswald would spill the beans. "You're right, I'm sorry. I'm just stressed out. Let's just assume this is what she's going to let loose. What do we do?"

"We find the leak and track her down from there. This ends now. But, before we do, I think it might be best to let a certain someone know before the Tipster does."

"Who?" Holly didn't know why she even asked. She already knew who he was implying.

"Mr. Nigma."

Holly peeked out the window again and chewed her lip.

"Look, we could fail. If this gets out he'll be..."

"He'll be nothing," Holly interrupted. "He wants me to move past Ivy he has to move past Joker and it was...it..."

"It was in the past," Oswald offered.

She could hear the smirk in his voice. "Damn it."

"You can't honestly tell me this realization hasn't hit you before now."

"No. It hit me when Ivy threw Joker in my face. I just hate realizing it over and over again. God, what do I tell him?"

"About Joker or about how you're a hypocrite?"

"I think they go hand in hand."

"Start with an apology and go from there I guess but do it quickly. Meet me at my office by 3." With that, Oswald hung up.

Holly looked at the clock on the wall, it read 12:30. She still had to shower, get dressed, and find Eddie, and then cross town to the Iceburg. "I wonder if anyone knows the number for The Flash?" she mused making a sprint to the bathroom.

"The Queen of Hearts knows about the tarts!" Jervis frantically squealed into the phone.

Eddie, with one eye open, checked the clock next to the bed. It was after noon. Really, it was ridiculous to still be in bed at this hour and was surprised Ivy herself hadn't woken him earlier. Although, perhaps she was otherwise engaged with welcoming Harvey home. Suddenly he remembered the raving lunatic on his phone. "Jervis. Jervis. JERVIS!" he screamed in an effort to get the madman to stop rambling on and on. He heard a squeak and then silence. He took it as a sign Jervis was ready to listen.

"Now, I need you to calmly, slowly, and without the use of Wonderland characters, excplain to me what is going on."

"The Tipster! The Tipster! She knows!"

"Knows what?"

"She knows about," here Jervis dropped down to a whisper "she knows about the ring."

"How do you know?"

"The update! Didn't you read it?"

"No, I was sleeping."

"It's past noon."

"Suddenly you're the Clock King?"

"I was just surprised is all."

"Back to the matter at hand, what exactly did the update say?"

"That she had a secret, a really big one, and that she wasn't ready to spill it yet but it was coming. It has to be it. It just has to!"

"Better beat her to the punch then."

"But the moment..."

"Forget the moment!" Eddie hollered jumping out of bed and starting down the hall. "The moment is...fuck the moment! The moment is now! Every moment is the moment because you love her. Because she is the one. Because every moment she isn't wearing that ring is a moment wasted!"

The sudden outburst had startled Jervis and caused him to fall off the closed toilet he had been crouched on top of. He hit the flusher as he went.

Eddie pulled the phone away from his ear upon hearing the flush. "You did not call me while you were dropping the deuce did you?"

Harvey popped his head up over the couch, wondering how he was involed.

"Not you Harvey, talking about the bathroom."

Harvey didn't want any details. He just dropped back down out of site. Ivy, who was standing in the kitchen, mouthed "what?" but Eddie waved her off for the time being.

"Good heavens no!" Jervis croaked. "I was just perched upon the toilet. Hiding from Alice in the bathroom. I fell over."

"I...I don't even want to get into it. Look, bottom line. Get out of the bathroom this moment and propose to that woman."

"I can't."

"Why the hell not?"

"Now I have to pee."

Eddie gave his phone the side eye and shook his head. "Pee. Wash your hands. Propose."

"I will!"

"Good luck. God's speed." Eddie hung up and tossed the phone onto the table.

"Do we want to know?" Ivy asked.

"Jervis. He's in a panic over the Tipster. He seems to think she has stumbled upon his intention to propose to Alice."

"Ah I see. And the deuce?"

"Oh he was on the toilet and fell off."

Ivy gave him a questioning look.

"Not on the toilet but on the toilet. He was sitting on it. Not using it." Eddie tried to clarify.

"The image is still burned into my mind."

"Yeah, me too."

"What is he going to do?"

"Pee and then propose I guess."

"Your phone is ringing again," Ivy told him not wanting to further comment on Jervis's bathroom activities and thankful for the distraction.

"Dear lord it's Jervis again." Eddie hit the answer button with all the annoyance he could muster. "Look Hatter..."

"IT FELL IN!" Jervis shrieked.

"What did?"

"THE RING!"

"Jervis?" Alice called through the door. "Are you okay?"

"NO I'M NOT OKAY! I NEED..." he faltered.

"Pepto. You need Pepto Bismal now," Eddie hissed through the phone.

"PEPTO! I NEED PEPTO BISMAL! QUICKLY DEAR!"

"Alright? I'll go to the store..." Alice walked away from the door.

"HELP ME!"

"What?" Alice yelled back.

"PEPTO!"

"Okay, first of all, calm down. Stop yelling. Second of all, I am coming over. Now, is it..."

"It was flushed."

"Of course it was."

"What if it's gone?"

"Don't panic I'm on my way. In the mean time, call the closest markets and tell them under no circumstances can they sell Alice Pepto. We need to keep her out of the house as long as possible."

"Right."

"I'm on my way." Eddie hung up again. "Jervis flushed the ring. We'll need help."

"I'll get my toolbox," Harvey grumbled.

Ivy pulled out her phone and dialed Sage. "We'll distract Alice."

"I'm starting to think this ring has no intention of being on Alice's finger," Harvey sighed.

"I'm going to find it and stick it on there myself."

Sage had bolted out the door with half a muffin crammed in her mouth and no explanation what was going on. Normal people would chase after their girlfriend or even call them but in the Rogue world you just sit back and wait for the chaos to spill over onto you. Jonathan's phone lit up three seconds later. Chaos was here.

"Dr. Crane," he answered casually.

"Doctor my ass. You're a patient like the rest of us," Eddie muttered.

"Did you call just to insult me?"

"No, happy bonus. What do you know about plumbing?"

Jonathan wondered for a second if this was a joke but then he recalled the dishwasher incident the day before. "The ring?"

"Yup."

"Where is it now?"

"Flushed down a toilet."

"Son of a bitch."

"I'm heading over with Harvey now."

"I'll meet you there."

"Oh hell," Selina hissed. The Tipster, always the thorn in her side. What could she possibly have now?

"What's new pussycat?" Harley sang stepping into the bedroom area of their suite.

"Tipster update. Apparently she has some juicy nugget of information she isn't ready to share yet," she explained. Selina watched Harley root around in the dresser for some clothes. "You don't think she knows about...you know?"

Harley shrugged. "Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"I'm not caring. Let everyone find out."

"I'm sorry, I must be in the wrong room because Harley would not be this calm."

"I ran into Bane last night."

"Bane?"

"Yeah Bane. He's on vacation here too. Anyway, I ran into him and we were talking..."

"If this story ends with you banging Bane, I don't want to hear it...I just want to know how big he is."

"I didnt bang Bane. I just came to the realization I need to just be happy and let the past be the past. It happened. He screwed me. It's not happening again and I'm not letting it keep me from living my life."

"Well I'm proud of you."

"You're disappointed about Bane aren't you?"

"I just wonder if it's so scale or does it look tiny by comparison?"

Harley wondered this herself. "He's in the hotel."

"I'm not banging Bane," Selina said firmly.

"We're not banging Bane. We can just sneak a peek."

"Are we really going to peep Bane?"

"What else do we have to do here?"

"Good point."

Holly's shower was really more of a rinse and she had no time to primp. Her wet hair was tangled up into a messy bun which would produce a head of frizzy curls later. She had grabbed the first pair of semi clean jeans she found on the floor and the first shirt that didn't smell, which happened to be Eddie's shirt, a light green button up shirt that still smelled faintly like his cologne. She pulled it on and took a deep breath of his scent and wondered if this was the las time she would be able to smell him. If he would be able to take his own advice and move on from this or if he had decided she wasn't worth his time over the whole Ivy thing. No time to think about it now and certainly no time for tears.

She grabbed the closest pair of shoes and headed for the door. She caught sight of herself in the mirror before she left. She certainly looked the part of pathetic in her baggy boyfriend jeans, large men's shirt, and dirty old sneakers with her soggy bun. He had to at least take pity on her appearance. Holly quickly hailed and cab and gave him Ivy's addresss. It was the last known place he had been. She knocked and was surprised no one answered the door. She pulled out her phone and tried to find a number to call. The obvious choice would be Eddie but she didn't want to start this on the phone. Ivy, but she could still be pissed at her. Harvey? Was Harvey talking to Ivy or Eddie yet? Would Harvey even know? Holly decided on Alice because at the very least she could call any one of the others and get his location.

"What?!" Alice barked.

"Um...hello to you too?"

"I don't have time for your woe is me bullshit."

"I'm just looking for Eddie. What is going on?"

"I have been to 6 different carryouts and none of them have Pepto and Jervis is either dying in our bathroom or up to something and my money is on up to something since yesterday he was being all weird about bacon in the kitchen!"

"Bacon?"

"He claimed bacon was under the dishwasher. Look, I don't know where Eddie is and I don't have time to play detective. Oh hell, here comes Ivy and Sage."

"Ivy?"

"Did I stutter?"

"Sorry prego! Can you please ask Ivy if she knows where Eddie is?"

"Hold on." Alice pulled the phone away from her ear and asked "Either of you know where Ed is?"

"He's at..." Sage began but was cut off when Ivy elbowed her in the stomach.

"Whoops sorry dear. Nope. He left the apartment this morning without word," Ivy lied.

"They don't know and I have to go. Good luck."

Holly decided Harvey was her next best lead.

"Make it quick, I don't have time to chat," Harvey grunted.

"What is with everyone today?"

"Look Holly, I'm in the middle of a crisis, what is it?"

"Do you know where Eddie is?"

"He's here with me at Jervis's."

"Why couldn't Alice just..."

"DON'T TELL ALICE!" screamed multiple men through the phone.

"I'm guessing this is the something up she was wondering about."

"Look, it's a long story. If you need Eddie he's here. Don't tell Alice."

"I won't. I'm on my way."

Alice shoved her phone back into her purse aggressively. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Oh just in the neighborhood," Ivy lied.

"Uh huh. What the hell is going on?"

"What do you mean?" Sage asked.

"Bacon under the dishwasher, Jervis locking himself in the bathroom, and every single one of the corner stores being out of Pepto? This is all too crazy even for this crowd. So spill it. Does it have something to do with the Tipster update this morning?"

"Tipster update? I didn't see it," Ivy said nonchalantly. "Well since you can't find the Pepto how about you join us girls for lunch?"
"No. I'm going home to get to the bottom of this."

Ivy quickly hailed and cab and with the help of Sage, forced Alice into it. "What are we all in the mood for? How about Golden Lotus?"

"That is all the way across town!" Alice protested.

"Is it? Hmm."

"Ivy!"

"Golden Lotus on Addams and 8th please," Ivy told the driver.

Alice sighed and just decided to go with the flow. She was wedged between Sage and Ivy so bailing out of the cab was not going to happen. Whatever the hell Jervis was up to, it had better be good.

Joker waited at the airport bar for Bruce who had a rental car waiting when he landed. He drove them to the finest hotel in the city. Joker had to say, Brucie had goo tastes. Even the jet was high style.

"The penthouse does have two rooms correct?" Bruce asked a little more than whisper.

The front desk clerk nodded.

"Good. Can we get someone to take the bags up? That would be great." He walked over to Joker. "Leave the bags. The bellhop will take them. Come on. I got us the penthouse."

"Trying to seduce me Mr. Wayne?" It was a joke yes, which was a sign of progress since Joker had gone from mopey to silent but there was no mirth or even sarcasm in his voice.

"A joke! That's good. I'd be happier with a little mirth behind it but it's something."

Joker just gave him a half assed glare and they stepped into the elevator. They rode in silence and Bruce couldn't decide which side of Joker was the most unsettling. At least with homicidal maniac Joker he could predict his next move. Mopey Joker was always a game of Russian roulette.

The elevator doors opened on the penthouse level. Bruce was the first out and unlocked the door but Joker pushed past him, entered the penthouse, and immediately beelined for the bedroom to the right where he flopped down onto the bed face down.

Bruce leaned against the bedroom door frame to view the sad scene. "Want to talk about it now or later?"

Joker just grunted and burrowed under a pillow.

"In the morning then." Bruce flipped off the lights and closed the door behind him. He couldn't think of anything that would send Gotham's most terrifying killer hiding under the covers like a child in a thunderstorm.

The following morning Bruce spared no expense and ordered a buffet fit for a football team. Everything and anything anyone could want was laid out on the large table as well as 4 trolleys. He went to knock on Joker's door but hesitated. Should he let his...best friend...sigh...sleep or wake him up? He went to knock again and had a devious thought. It was terrible really, to kick a man when he was down but to be fair between the things he did to Bruce Wayne and Batman, Joker deserved a little payback. Bruce slowly, carefully, quietly opened the door and tiptoed in the room. Joker was in much the same position he had been when Bruce had left him last night except he had snagged a pillow for cuddling. Bruce snapped a quick blackmail picture on his phone for future use. He picked a loose pillow up off the floor, smiled, and then began to beat Joker mercilessly with it until he rolled the opposite direction and hit the floor.

Joker's head appeared up over the edge of the bed, a hand massaging the back of his skull which had hit the floor first.

"Morning sunshine! The world says hello!" Bruce greeted cheerfully.

"Why?" Joker whined dropping back down to the floor.

"Because it was fun. Now, get up. I have breakfast waiting for us." Bruce tossed the pillow over the bed just as Joker was rising back up and it hit him square in the face. "Sorry, that was a happy accident."

Joker pulled himself all the way off the floor and followed Bruce into the main area of the penthouse . He slumped down into a dining room chair and rested his face against the table.

Bruce assembled a plate of various breakfast foods and slid it under Joker's nose. "You should eat." Joker's tongue poked out of his mouth and began to lick the piece of toast perched on the edge of the plate. It was pathetic. Too pathetic. He had enough. Bruce grabbed Joker by the back of the shirt and forced him to sit up. He then pulled Joker's mouth open, crammed a piece of toast in, and manually worked Joker's jaw in a chewing motion. "If I have to rub your throat like a dog to get you to swallow I will end you like old Yeller," Bruce warned.

Joker swallowed and actually poured himself a cup of black coffee. Bruce took this as a sign the clown would continue on his own and took his own seat across from him. They ate in companionable silence which surprised Bruce. There were very few people he could enjoy silence with. This sent off all the warning signs in his brain. He was slipping further and further down the rabbit hole. They barely made a dent in the buffet Bruce had put together but after a loaded plate each they were full.

"I did a dumb thing," Joker said finally. "I did a dumb thing a few years ago and now it's biting me in the ass."

"What did you do?"

"I slept with Holly, I did it while Harley was locked up in Arkham."

Bruce took a backseat as Batman took the reigns. Whether or not Joker loved Harley was no real matter to him. But when he had allowed her to join him, not exactly as a lackey, mor like at his side, it was shocking for the dark knight. He wasn't really a partner guy, certainly not affectionate, and here he was with a woman, a young woman. A young pretty woman who adored him and two hyenas. They were basically the Lucy and Ricky Ricardo of the underworld. While he could easily believe Joker wasn't in love with her, well then anyway, he couldn't see Joker bedding anyone else. He really couldn't see Joker and Harley in bed together. Did they have normal sex? Did he have normal sex with Holly? What was it liked being in bed with Joker? Did he cuddle? Was he the big spoon or the little spoon? Was this still Batman running with this train of thought or had Bruce taken over again?

"Did you break Brucie?"

Bruce snapped back out of it. "Sorry, I was just processing what you said. What happened?"

"I was drunk. I was dumb."

"No. I don't buy that. You're a lot of things but you aren't stupid. What really happened?"

Joker leaned back in his chair. He was good at blocking out the things he didn't want to think about. His entire previous life was locked so tightly away that he scarcely believed it happened at all. That night with Holly had been tucked into the same place. Never sparing it a second thought until that moment in the hotel hallway when it all bubbled over into the present. Why did it happen?

Harley was in Arkham. It was New Year's Eve. A night they had spent together every year since they met. The boys waited in the funhouse...or was it a toy factory that year? Either way, they were waiting for orders, a plan. Joker decided to keep it simple. A little laughing gas for the guards, his boys storming the halls for distraction, and a simple slip on the old key card to release her from her cell. Then it was off to the Iceberg for dinner and dancing. Joker absentmindedly drew a few hearts on the notebook page.

"Hey boss." It was one of his lackeys. Name...not important.

"Yes?"

"Any problems?"

"Nope. Just taking a moment."

"Okay, just checking. The boys uh, are getting a little antsy."

"I'm all ready to go."

"Kinda nice you breaking Harley out to ring in the new year with you."

"We always spend New Year's together," Joker explained.

"Must be love," the goon joked.

Before he had fully registered what was happening, Joker had put a new hole in the lackey's head with his gun. Love? Ridiculous. He wasn't in love. He strutted out to where the gang was huddled up waiting for orders or bullets. "Night off boys! Enjoy yourselves."

"But what about Harley?" one of them asked.

Joker 's smile faltered for a second and then he quickly ended the life of that moron as well. "Anyone else questioning their night off?" They all scrambled to get away.

"Joker?" Bruce called softly.

This time it was him that had drifted off in thoughts. "Sorry, thinking."

"And?"

"I was hiding. I didn't want to be in love. I was trying to prove to myself that I didn't love her. And now I'm spending every minute trying to prove I do. Irony. It's a bitch."

"How did it get in the toilet?" Holly asked from the bathroom doorway. There was really no room for her in the bathroom. Harvey was on the floor trying to loosen the pipes in the back of the toilet, Jonathan and Eddie were sitting on the edge of the bathtub, while Jervis sat like a baby in the sink. To normal people the scene would be surreal but to them it was an average Tuesday.

"I was peeing and I bent forward to flush. It tumbled right out of my shirt pocket," Jervis explained sadly from his sink cradle.

"If you weren't so short, you wouldn't have to bed forward to flush the toilet," Two Face jabbed.

"If I could be taller I would be!"

"Look, either way, Alice is suspicious so when you get the ring back, you better pop the question quick."

"That's the plan."

"No offense but why are you two here?" Holly asked the two tub dwellers.

"I brought Harvey," Eddie explained.

"When you get the call you just come," Jonathan sighed.

"Hey Harvey, did you turn off the water behind the toilet? Otherwise there's going to be a mess and you should probably flush the water out," Holly told him.

"You wanna do this sweetheart?" Two Face hissed.

Holly stormed into the bathroom and kicked Harvey out of the way. She then grabbed the proper wrench from the tool box, shut off the water, flushed the remaining water out of the toilet, and got down to business. "I didn't really come here to fish a ring out of the toilet. I came here to talk to Eddie."

Eddie straightened up at that. "Well talk."

"Look, I was being a total ass about the Ivy thing. I know. I have no excuse. I guess I was just having Dick flashbacks ya know? The exgirlfriend who is still in the picture. I guess I just panicked that one day you might decide to go back to her...or Harley. It scares me. I'm not like them or you. Neither is Alice or Sage really. You guys include us in this life but we're not really in the Rogue community. It scares me that one day you might want someone who is in the life." Holly has loosened and pulled off the pipe while she explained all this.

"I can understand that."

"I'm really sorry. And Jervis, I'm really sorry but there is no ring in this."

"I accept your apology."

"NOOOOOO!" Jervis howled.

"Where would the ring go?" Jonathan asked.

"I don't know. The sewer maybe?" Holly offered.

"How would we ever find it in the sewer?" Jervis cried.

"Maybe you should just buy another one," Harvey told him.

While Jonathan, Harvey, and Jervis quarelled over their next course of action, Eddie pulled Holly into the master bedroom to be alone. "So..." Eddie began.

"Sew buttons," Holly joked.

"So does this mean we are...you know?"

"Maybe. I need to tell you something else."

"Uh oh."

"Yeah, it's not good."

"How not good?"

Holly started to cry. "Eddie, it is the worst thing I have ever done and you're going to hate me."

"I'd ask if you killed someone but that's irrelevant to me," he joked.

Holly giggled. "No, it's worse. Look, a couple years ago, I had a one night stand with Joker. It was New Year's Eve, I was drunk, and it happened. I'm not proud. I'm so not proud that I drank the memory from my mind."

Eddie listened intently, wishing this was all a nightmare.

"It gets worse. I told Harley. I called her and told her and Joker knows she knows and it's all a mess."

"You told Harley."

"I told her yesterday. Ivy made me feel so guilty and I just told her."

"You told her to alleviate your guilt."

"Yes," Holly mumbled.

"You broke her heart, you told her something that would absolutely destroy her to make yourself feel better!" Eddie raged. "And do you?"

"No. I feel horrendous about all of it!"

Eddie shook his head and made his way to the door. "I need to help Jervis find his ring."

"Eddie wait!"

"You know what Holly, I can look past you helping Joker cheat on Harley but I can't even begin to rationalize you breaking her."

"I'll apologize to her."

"I really don't give a damn what you do." Eddie went back to the bathroom and waited until he heard the apartment door slam closed before he released the breath he had been holding.

"You guys ok?" Harvey asked.

"No. Let's just focus on the ring. What the plan."

"We're going into the sewers," Jonathan answered.

"And just fumble around in the dark for the ring?"

"No, we're going to use the Rogue's very own sewer guide," Jervis replied.

Eddie took a deep breath. He didn't like where this was going.

Lex Luther stared at his phone. A secret? Who was it about? He was a man of many secrets. And a man who hadn't been mentioned much as of late in the Tipster's updates. He and Talia had decided to leave town to stay away from it but the fan base had grown and nowhere was safe now. Even in Austria they were being hounded. Talia sashayed out of the bathroom in his shirt and nothing else. His favorite look on her. Especially with her bedhead and no makeup. Those moments she was Talia al Ghul, daughter of the demon. Just Talia, or Tally as he had taken to calling her. First thing in the morning with her sideways grin, eyes barely open.

She placed her hands on his shoulders and began to massage him gently. "Anything interesting my love?"

"Usual dribble. And apparently a juicy secret yet to come."

"Oh?" Talia asked peering at his phone screen.

"Got anything you want to fess up to?" he teased.

"This isn't my natural hair color."

He chuckled. "Is Talia even your real name?"

"Nope. It's Sheila. What about you? Anything you want to tell me now?"

"Well, there is one thing."

"Yeah?"

"This is serious Tally."

Talia came around to the front of his chair and rested her butt on his desk. "How serious?"

Lex took a deep breath and looked her dead in the eye, "I was going bald so I shaved it all off."

Talia laughed and swatted him on the arm. "Ass."

"How about this one, I love you."

She slid off his desk and into his lap. "I love you too."

"Do you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"My heart has never really belonged to anyone else. The casual dalliance here and there but nothing like this."

"This was a dalliance that just turned into more."

"And I'm thankful for that. I admit, when we first met I thought you were nothing more than a spoiled brat and when we started this I was fully intending on kicking you to the curb when I got bored. But your whining, demands, and pushy nature won me over. You are a woman who knows what she wants and I'm a man who knows what he want. I never would have guessed though that that would be you. It makes sense now. You on the other hand, you have quite the history with a certain caped crusader. Your beloved. I wonder often if you truly do or could love me."

"Many of the things I admired in him I admire in you. I did love him. Now I love you. The difference is I can see a future of some kind with you, I could only hope for a future with him. He may have loved me but I do not think I was ever meant for him. He has another. As do I." She kissed his hands. "I smile waking up in your arms, I only sighed in relief when I woke up in his."

"I'm going to get diabetes from this conversation, it's too sweet."

Talia got off of his lap and allowed his shirt to drop from her slender frame and onto the floor. "Better?"

"Mmmhmmm."

She pulled him up from his chair and toward the bedroom, trying not to give the Tipster a second thought. She doubted the Tipster could know what she was thinking but she couldn't help but wonder, had the Tipster discovered her secret tryst with someone else?

Across the world Bane rolled his eyes at the Tipster update. Gossipy bitch. He deleted the message and then brought up a new one. His fingers were large which made texting nearly a pain in the ass but slowly and typed out "Come to Vienna when you can. Missing you. Be careful. I think the Tipster is onto us.