Notes:

Hey everyone! This update came quicker :)

This chapter has a lot of references to Selina's past, so if you ever feel lost you should come back to Chapter 10 (maybe 9 too). Enjoy it!

———

"I can't believe you had never been on the subway before," Selina muttered still in shock as they stepped out of train.

"Well, if you remember well, I have been here before, I just never used it for transportation."

"That's even worse."

Selina had insisted on them using public transportation so as to not attract any unwanted attention by being dropped at Old Town in a BMW by a driver. They were going to get a cab, but when Bruce casually mentioned he'd never taken the train before she just had to put him through it at least once.

"Why couldn't they have gone to our place anyway? Wouldn't it have been easier?"

"No. I just think it's safer for them to keep them out of our bubble. Besides, no one's going to bother us here. The moment you step foot in Old Town you realize everyone here's sketchy and so no one cares what you're up to."

"But what if someone recognizes us?"

"They might. But I think you mean recognize you . Everyone around here already knows me, and so they know better than to ask questions."

Bruce smiled amused as they walked up the stairs leading out to the sidewalks. As they walked through the streets and crowds, Bruce noticed eventual stares and chitchat, and at first he got apprehensive thinking people might be finding his presence there odd, until he realized they were actually paying attention to Selina. Well, not actually paying attention, but more like tensing up around her, always stepping out of their way and looking away when she stared back at them.

"Okay… so why is everyone here acting like they're terrified of you?"

She laughed at the same time as this guy opened his door to the street and then shut it immediately after he saw her, looking like he had seen a ghost.

"A lot of people hate me in this city. I had to create a bit of panic around the neighborhood to keep me safe," she said, then continued talking on a more serious tone, "these people here aren't the problem, but they're very easily bought off. Couldn't have someone sniffing around on me for the bigger guys."

They stopped at a bodega and the owner seemed to be the only one inside that didn't flinch when they saw her coming in. He complimented her naturally, warmly even, and even commented that she'd been MIA. She had picked a bottle of red wine that made Bruce raise eyebrows, and even more so as she paid an entire seven dollars for it.

"Are you sure that's drinkable?", he joked as soon as they set foot outside of the store.

"We used to drink this practically every day. If it wasn't I wouldn't be standing here today talki…", a guy bumped into her and she got interrupted for a second.

"Sorry, Miss..."

"Hey, watch wher..."

She turned to look at the man and noticed his face for the first time. His familiar baby-blue eyes caught her off guard and she struggled to make the words come out of her mouth.

"T-ted?"

"Selina," his eyes widened in surprise, then he eyed her quickly from head to toe like he couldn't believe what he was seeing, "wow. I haven't seen you since…"

"I sprang out your window, yes," she said embarrassed, "sorry about that."

They both laughed nervously and Bruce moved on his feet uncomfortably. She'd been so shocked she'd forgotten to introduce him for a moment there.

She cleared her throat, "Uh, Ted, this is…", he finally seemed to notice Bruce standing there and jumped in before she could finish.

"Bruce Wayne!" he said excitedly and put his hand out for him to shake, "Hey, it's an honor to meet you, man."

"Ted... Grant, I'm assuming? The boxer, right?", Bruce eyed Selina quickly, but she didn't look at him.

"Yeah! You actually sponsored my first fights."

"I did?", he asked surprised.

"Well, your foundation did. With the scholarships for at-risk teens and all that," he explained, "really appreciate it, man."

"Well, that's nice to hear. Did you win?"

Selina and Ted chuckled lightly at the same time and Bruce didn't mind the way he was looking at her.

"Absolutely, sir," he answered.

She turned to Bruce noticing he seemed at loss and explained, "Ted never loses."

Bruce blinked, "Never?", he asked curiously, a spark seeming to be lighting up in his eye.

Selina swiftly changed the subject when she realized where his mind was getting at, "So, how have you been?"

"Can't complain. Just signed a new contract with WBC. And you… are you still… you know?", he touched the chain necklace he was wearing discreetly, then quickly glanced at Bruce worried he'd let slip something he shouldn't have.

"No," she laughed, "not really my area anymore."

"Good… that's good to hear. You still in the area, though?"

"No, I don't live here anymore, I'm just visiting. Needed a change of air, I guess."

"Yeah, I get it. You do look… different," he muttered, staring at her wistfully. An uncomfortable silence followed before Ted cleared his throat and forced himself to look away, attempting to regain his composure. "Well, anyway, good to see you again."

They hugged kind of awkwardly, "You too, Ted," she replied.

"Don't be a stranger," he said letting her go, "and it was nice to meet you, Mr. Wayne."

Bruce simply nodded and Ted crossed the street, distancing himself. They continued walking towards Selina's old building, which was only a block away. He couldn't help but notice she had an insistent smile on her face.

"You seem happy. Should I be worried?", he asked jokingly, but still there was a slight hint of concern.

"What? No!", she laughed, "It's just nice to see him doing well. And not hating me," she shook her head, "I thought if we ever ran into each other he'd like, tackle me to the ground or something."

"Well, by the way he was looking at you he might as well have."

She shoved him playfully and he smirked, pulling her to him and wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

"Come on, look at you. No one could hate you."

"Yeah, right. He certainly had reasons to. I guess some people really just are that nice," she muttered reflectively, "how do they end up coming across me is a mystery to me... God, I was terrible. Like, legit, awful."

"I'm sure you're exaggerating," Bruce said politely.

"I'm really not. Sure, I cared about him, but really I only stayed with him because it was convenient. And when he told me he loved me it stopped being that. I made his life a living hell on purpose hoping he'd just kick me out, and when he didn't I bolted," she stopped in front of the entrance door and pressed the button on the intercom, raising her eyebrows at him, "still think I'm exaggerating?"

"Okay, I guess you were kind of an ass. But some people are just more forgiving, I guess."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"What do you mean?"

"Come on up," a voice spoke coming from the speaker.

"You'll see," she sighed as she opened the door and held it for him.

They walked up three flights of stairs and stopped at a faded scratched red door on the left. Bruce had quick flashbacks of the first time he was there, looking for Selina and just hours before she handed him over to Bane. He giggled softly at the memory and she looked at him confused, but he quickly dismissed it.

"Hey!", a short blond girl opened the door, "Welcome back home. I see you decided to use the door for once."

Selina smiled and gave her a quick hug, "Jen, this is Bruce."

"Wait. Bruce Wayne?", she asked shaking his hand.

"Holly Robinson, right?", he gave her one of his characteristic smiles and Selina held back a laugh, because she could swear her friend was blushing.

"Call me Jen."

Bruce looked for Selina, who he could see was now warmly greeting a redheaded girl who'd just walked into the room. She turned and looked at him kind of weird, almost warning.

"Bruce, this is Jen's girlfriend, Pamela Isley. I've told you about her."

He blinked once and exchanged looks between the two, "Pamela, as in… Pamela, from juvie?"

"Am I famous around here or something?", she asked confused.

"Kinda, yeah," Bruce and Jen mumbled at the same time as he shook her hand.

"Bruce Wayne, it's nice to meet you."

"You brought our radioactive grape juice!", Jen yelled excitedly when she noticed Selina's bag.

"Of course I did. Like I'd forget it."

They left their coats on the door hooks and entered further into the small studio. Something smelled good in the oven and Bruce stood there feeling a little out of place after Jen dragged Selina with her to the kitchen.

"Sit down, I'll grab you a beer. The game's about to start," Pamela told him suddenly and pointed him to the couch. She came back with two bottles and spread some cushions on the floor around the coffee table. "Don't mind me, I prefer sitting on the ground."

"Yeah, I think I'll join you," he said.

"I thought Batman was your new boy toy," Jen mumbled softly, only for Selina to hear, as she sorted some appetizers into small bowls.

"What?", Selina asked surprised in a slightly high-pitched voice, "Why would you think that?"

"Well, a little bird told me you were all over town with him during the occupation," she smiled accusingly, "no need to deny it, I saw the footage."

"Yeah, then he kind of died , remember?", Selina replied sarcastically.

"And now he's back."

"Well… yeah. And I'm just as surprised as you are," she paused, "I've heard it's not the same guy though," she mentioned casually.

"Probably not. You didn't know who he was?", she asked unfazed, throwing some peanuts in her mouth.

"Of course not," she said blatantly, then started laughing, "Jen, you actually thought I was bringing Batman to lunch today?"

"No… yes… I don't know."

Selina laughed harder, "Well, you never know, maybe it's Bruce and I just haven't figured it out yet."

"Yeah, right," she replied with a mouthful, "anyways, what's the deal with Wayne anyway? I know you robbed him and all that, and I thought there was something going on with you two when he came by here last year," she said with sort of a question mark at the end, "but is it like a plot or scam or something?"

"Nope. No plot."

"So what, you just happened to fall in love with a billionaire?"

"I guess," she giggled, then raised her eyebrows, "Turns out, buying stuff? Not as fun as stealing it."

"Ugh, facts," Jen rolled her eyes as she nibbled on a cheese cube, "but I guess that's not even the shocking part. The shocking part is you. In . Love . Like, actually tolerating someone in that sense."

Selina laughed, "Yeah, tell me about it. I'm in shock too."

They both picked up the bowls and carried them to the living room, setting them on the coffee table. Bruce and Pamela were chitchatting quietly when they came in.

"Claws, sit down here!", Pamela said motioning to a cushion between her and Bruce."

She did and Bruce looked at her at loss, then curiously.

"Your nickname in juvie was Claws ?"

"Yeah, what's up with that?", Jen asked too.

"You guys didn't know that? Yeah, cause she used, you know, scratch other girls' faces off," Pamela explained excitedly.

Bruce's eyes widened a bit and he turned them to her, while she stuffed her mouth with popcorn to not laugh at his surprised expression.

"Why would you do that?", he asked in shock, but she could sense a bit of amusement in his tone.

"I was the youngest one there. I had to keep trouble away somehow. Sue me," she smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, she did that to me once before we became friends. Trust me, it's worse than it sounds," Pamela laughed, then added, "but it doesn't stop there, there was also Banana Split for a while, but that's just cause she kicked guards in the nuts a lot."

" What ?", Bruce laughed in disbelief and Selina simply shrugged her shoulders, but Pamela continued talking.

"Buuut, my personal favorite was Bam…"

"Oookay, that's enough for today," Selina cut in and shoved popcorn in Pamela's mouth and they all laughed.

They watched a football game on TV and ate Jen's homemade potato pie, then continued drinking beer and the other "liquid" Selina had brought that Bruce insisted couldn't be called wine for the rest of the afternoon. Watching from the outside, they could almost pass as a normal group of friends double-dating and spending Sunday together.

They mostly talked and laughed and joked at Selina's expense. Bruce couldn't help but feel like that afternoon was exactly what she needed. Just a bit of normalcy surrounded by people who loved her.

While she was already wasted enough to forget to drink, Bruce was still going through beers like they were in a college dorm happy hour. Pamela suggested they play poker and, though Selina initially was beating all of them, at some point the cards just started mixing together and getting blurry and she quit. She rested her head on Bruce's shoulder drunkenly and gulped from time to time to avoid feeling sick. Jen laughed at the sight, which she was still getting used to - it was unnatural for her to see Selina displaying any kind of physical emotional gestures like that.

"So, do you care to explain where were you all this time?", Jen asked at some point during the evening.

"Oh," Selina mumbled, thinking she was either too drunk or not enough drunk for that conversation, "I was just, you know, travelling around," she stuttered.

"Just spill the beans, Kyle," Jen stammed, also kind of drunk.

"Well, as you know I was in Switzerland," Bruce came to the rescue, "and I asked her to come be with me. But you know, that was classified for a while cause everyone thought I was dead. Which is why she couldn't tell you."

"Ugh. I mean, I knew you had plans to leave all along, but it sucked that you left so suddenly. And then disappeared off the face of the earth for so long," Jen said, not in an angry tone, but sounding more like she'd missed her and she'd been concerned.

"I know, I'm sorry," Selina raised her head from Bruce and huddled her knees against her chest, "but it was all so sudden and I was still worried some of Bane's mercenaries might come looking for me, specially after… anyways, then Bruce asked me to join him, but I would've probably had to leave either way as soon as possible."

Jen sighed, "Yeah, I know. I get it."

"So did anyone come looking for trouble anyway?", she asked half-jokingly, half-seriously.

"Not exactly," Jen said, then continued gingerly, "Eiko came by a few months ago."

Selina froze for a millisecond and her relaxed posture and expression suddenly crumbled slightly, as her eyes dropped to the floor. Bruce eyed her attentively as she hugged her legs closer together, looking disgruntled.

"What did she want?", she asked almost under her breath.

"Uh, I don't know, what does she always want?", Jen answered rhetorically, seeming a bit annoyed.

"What did you say to her?"

"I told her the truth. That I had no idea where you were."

Selina grabbed an empty bottle of beer from the table absentmindedly and started pulling on the sticker with her nails. Bruce touched her arm gently, but she quickly moved and dropped the bottle back looking a bit nervous.

"Her folks died in the occupation," Jen continued hesitatingly, "some East End gangs went there claiming territory during that whole chaos."

"Who's Eiko?", Pamela asked when no one said anything.

"Selina's crazy ex," Jen replied.

"Don't say that," Selina asked tiredly.

"Sorry."

Silence followed for a while. Jen left for the kitchen to grab more beer for them and Pamela silently showed Selina a card trick, trying to distract her and actually getting her to smile, even if it was faintly. Then she showed her how she'd done it, eventually getting her to chuckle a bit when she saw the piece of gum Pamela was previously chewing stuck to the card.

"So what did you do after juvie?", she asked while she opened everyone's bottle, "Or like for at least the ten years after that."

Selina puffed, "Much. Not much."

"Uh-huh. Did you find your siblings?", she asked casually.

Bruce shot his eyes at Selina, who became pale for a second, but recovered so quickly no one else seemed to notice.

"No. I never tried to."

"I've actually thought about you a lot the past year," Pamela said as she shuffled the cards skillfully, "we were all sent to Arkham for a while there after Blackgate was invaded and all. There was this doctor there that was like, obsessed with you.

Selina sat up straight on a whim.

"Wait, what?", she glanced nervously at Bruce, who paid close attention to Pamela. "What doctor?"

"Dr. Quinzel… she was nice, I guess. We'd talk for hours. But I guess the clown guy really just made her flip. I heard he did that a lot to people".

"What did she want with me?"

"Nothing," she answered confused, "we just talked about my past and all that and she thought it was interesting for me to talk about you. Cause you know, you were like my little sister there," she smiled.

"Oh, Pam," Selina sighed.

"What?"

Bruce and Selina glanced at each other shortly and communicated in that almost telepathic way they used to.

"It's nothing. Sorry, I guess it's the wine. It's been a while since I drank poison from the bottle like this."

"You're getting weak, Kyle," Jen chuckled.

"Maybe we should call it a day, right, babe?" Bruce smiled and gave her a meaningful look.

"Right. I should really go and take something to avoid dying of hangover tomorrow."

"Okay, then," Jen said.

Bruce helped Jen gather the empty bottles and used dishes around the room and take them to the kitchen, as Selina and Pam were in a worse state than them. They kept sat down on the cushions and leaned their backs down against the couch. Selina closed her eyes for a second to try to stop the world from spinning when Pamela's hand grabbed hers.

"I missed you, Bambi," she murmured.

Selina chuckled quietly and rolled her eyes, "You know I hated that nickname."

"I'm the only one who called you that."

"You're the only one who gets to without getting punched," Pamela laughed and Selina sighed deeply and airily, "Pam… I just, you know… I wanted to say… God, I don't even know what… how to… I suck at this."

"Are you having a seizure? I knew that stuff wasn't just alcohol," she teased her looking confused.

"No," she exhaled, "what I wanted to say is I'm sorry. But that doesn't cover it."

"Sorry for what, Claws?"

"What do you mean, Pam? You went to jail for me."

Pamela's face slowly became more understanding, "No, Bambi, come on. I did, but you don't have to apologize to me for that. It was my choice. I chose to do it. You didn't make me do anything."

"I know, but I shouldn't have accepted it. I should've stopped you."

"Claws, no," she groaned and turned to look her in the eye, "I love you. I did it because I wanted to protect you. I don't wanna hear you say you're sorry for that."

"But I am! I should've protected you too."

"You were the kid. That's not how this works. You were very mature for you age, so much that I think you often forgot it," she said then held her chin up, making Selina feel like a child getting lectured, "I don't wanna hear it, okay?"

"Okay…", she said defeated, "can I at least thank you? Or apologize for not keeping in touch?"

Pamela beamed, "Yes. You're welcome. And apology accepted."

They leaned back on the couch again and observed Bruce and Jen organizing the kitchen.

"We turned out okay, though, don't you think?", Pamela asked.

"Yeah," Selina smiled, "I didn't think we'd live to see 20."

"Me neither," she chuckled, then frowned more seriously, "One last thing, Claws. You have to stop beating yourself up so much. Not just about this. I've been out here for a second and I already noticed you're still doing this. Since you were little you put on this headstrong untouchable facade and you do whatever you feel like and act like you don't care or like nothing affects you. You know it does. You don't have to be so strong all the time. You're too hard on yourself."

Selina sighed, "It's cause you don't know, Pam. Since then, I've done some bad things. Like, really bad. And I've hurt a lot of people."

"I know you, that's enough. So you've done bad things. Doesn't mean you're a bad person," she said and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her jokingly, "that's what I'm telling you! Let go! Don't just fly, soar, Bambi!"

"That's Dumbo, stupid," Selina said laughing and finally relaxing.

"I'm not even gonna ask how you know that."

"Let's go?", they heard Bruce saying and turned to him.

"Yep," Selina answered, standing up quickly and immediately tumbling down to the couch.

"Alright, then. I can see you've sobered up."

Bruce helped her up and grabbed their things, putting her coat on her and saying their goodbyes. He wanted to carry her down the stairs just to be safe, but she threatened to scream if he did. It took some time, but he finally got a cab to stop for them. It wasn't even 8pm, but the cars didn't usually stop in that neighborhood after dark, so he assured the driver he was a very generous tipper.

Selina fell asleep on his shoulder almost the second they entered the car, so he called Alfred and asked him to open the garage for the car to enter so they wouldn't have to deal with any occasional surprise paparazzi by the door. When they got there and he was about to pick her up, she woke up and insisted on walking, which just turned out to be moving her feet while Bruce supported her weight.

"I told you that thing wasn't drinkable," he teased her when he let her down on their bed.

"Shut up," she slurred, her voice muffled by the mattress.

"Come on, let's get you in the shower. You should try to sober up at least a bit."

She groaned and he started taking his clothes off, keeping only his boxers, to make it easier to help her after. Her eyes involuntarily went to him, gazing, and her grumpiness quickly started to disappear. He noticed her looking, so sweetly, and smiled lightly and amused, then came to her and helped her sit down.

He squatted down in front of her and hesitated for a second when he grabbed the bottom of her shirt. At first her drunkenness left her confused about it and oblivious to the fact, but then it hit her. He'd be touching her. And he hadn't seen her like that since the day he'd rescued her from the Tower. She thought for a while and, finding no signs of panic, decided that it was okay.

She cupped his hands in hers and moved them up with hers, removing the shirt. He looked at her slightly surprised and she stroked his face shortly finding it a bit funny, then holding his shoulders to stand up. He quickly got up and helped her before she could fall again. She unbuttoned her skirt and it fell off completely, but then her blurry vision warned her she might need help with the stockings, and she groaned; he quickly understood, but waited for her to nod to allow him to go ahead, then started sliding and rolling them down her legs as she used his head for support. She felt shivers on her skin where his fingers brushed and sighed quietly.

He got up and gripped her waist softly to lead her into the bathroom, then turned on the tap to fill in the tub. His initial idea had been to shower with her to help her, because the alcohol in his brain also had made him forget he wasn't still living in a time where that was a natural thing for them. The tub would probably be more safe for her to be alone and leave her more comfortable.

He could understand why being naked or touched could be a bit overwhelming to her at the moment. But in that moment he'd realized he hadn't prepared himself for that either. The first time he'd seen her he'd barely had time to grasp it. She was practically passed out in his arms and still hadn't discerned and felt the trauma of it all. This time, he had to think it through, to do it right, and he became terrified that he might inadvertently do something that would set her off somehow.

She reached out to her back to take off her bra and held the counter to keep herself steady as she removed her panties. He helped her in the tub but then quickly went back to the bedroom, shutting the door behind him. Selina was left disconcerted and a bit disappointed, feeling the alcohol high dropping by the second and leaving her with that unsettling sensation of longing and emptiness. Cupping the water in her hands, she splashed her face and then ran her fingers through her hair frustrated. She rested her neck on the edge of the tub and closed her eyes, wishing things could be simpler. Wishing she could let them be simpler.

On the other side of the door, Bruce lay on the bed feeling defeated. Alfred called through the internal intercom and asked if they wanted to have dinner brought up to the room when it was ready, which Bruce appreciated because Selina would definitely need it. He closed his eyes for what seemed like a second, but was suddenly woken up by Alfred knocking on the door.

He came in when Bruce called him and left the tray cart by the bed. Bruce got up and knocked on the bathroom door calling for Selina. When she didn't respond for the second time, he opened it and immediately froze.

At first he saw nothing, but then he noticed only her knees afloat on the water.

"Fuck! Selina!", he ran to her and grabbed her by the shoulders briskly, brushing the hair off her face and fearing the worst.

She emerged alarmed and with her eyes wide-opened, panting and gasping for air. He helped her sit down and rubbed her back as she coughed desperately.

"Selina! What happened? Did you fall asleep?", he asked exasperated.

"I'm fine, I'm fine! What the hell. I was just thinking down there."

Bruce sighed airily and sat down on the edge, nervously pulling his hair back and trying to calm himself down.

"Geez, Selina, you scared the crap out of me. Do you realize how stupid that is? Specially when you're that drunk?", he puffed, pressing his eyes anxiously, "Damn it. I thought you were better, I thought…", he shook his head.

Selina hugged her legs against herself, trying to make herself smaller so as to try to control the burning and painful pull inside her chest, urging to outpour as tears through her eyes.

"Never mind," he muttered as he began to stand up.

"Wait," she moaned quietly and grabbed his arm, and the tone in her voice made him turn. "Wait. Just… get in here."

Bruce groaned impatiently pulling his arm, still a bit altered, but his eyes looked battling and uncertain.

"Please?", she pressed, gripping him softly.

Bruce sighed defeatedly and was about to get in when her grip slightly tightened around his arm. He looked at her to see if she was having second thoughts, but her eyes dropped slowly to his boxers and then she shook her head lightly and delicately. He double-checked her expression to make sure that's what she wanted, then took it off when he saw that she'd meant it.

He sat down in front of her and they were both silent for some time, only the light sounds of the water echoing through the air. She avoided his eyes and kept curled in a tight ball around herself.

After a couple minutes, Bruce splashed his face and wet his hair, then exhaled, "You wanna tell me what happened?", he asked, more calmly this time.

"Nothing happened. Don't make this a big deal," she averted.

"You could've died!"

"I knew what I was doing! I was just about to come out. You're the one who scared me and made me choke."

"So this is my fault now? I walk into whatever the hell that was, and I'm supposed to assume you're drowning for what, fun?"

"I wasn't drowning ."

"Of course you weren't," he laughed in disbelief, "you've been drinking all day and you think it's okay to pull this kind of crap? What the hell is wrong with you?", he splashed the water motioning with his hands.

Selina flinched at his words and looked down at her feet underwater. Bruce wiped his face nervously and sighed deeply.

"I thought you were getting better," he said more calmly, "and it's okay if you're not, but why do I have to find out like this? One moment you're laughing and joking and even letting me touch you and the next you're drowning yourself in the bathtub?"

"I wasn't dr… nevermind," she said frustrated, "I am better, I truly am. It's just that sometimes it becomes too much."

"Can't you just tell me when it happens? So I can help? So I can stay with you?"

"I guess."

"That's all I'm asking," he spoke softly, then sighed, "on a scale of 1 to 10, how bad is it right now?"

Selina thought for a second, "Seven," she murmured.

His eyes then suddenly became kind and apologizing, then he reached for her hand underwater. She looked at it, intertwined her fingers with his, and sighed.

"Six," she changed her answer and he smiled gently.

She alleviated the tension on her muscles and let go of her legs, lowering them down as she pulled herself closer to him a bit. She closed her eyes and brought his hand to her mouth, brushing it softly against her lips.

"Five," she whispered. Then she grabbed his other hand and held them both around her scarred wrists. Her eyes were still closed and she flinched a little. "Five," she groaned.

Bruce frowned sadly, but then tried and started caressing her healed fragile skin smoothly with his thumbs. It took a minute, but her hands finally relaxed around his.

"Four," she mumbled. He smiled.

Slowly and hesitatingly, she brought his hands to her legs as he gazed at her patiently. She accommodated them first on her knees; she left the left one there, but brought the right one further up calmly; taking two fingers, she made him touch and brush the small scars spread across her thigh. This time, she gingerly opened her eyes, realizing she could fight the few bad thoughts amongst the many good ones running through her mind.

"Three," she smiled, and he followed.

She opened her legs so she could sit around him and closer to him, settling them down on each side of his hips. He touched her face delicately, stroking her cheek, looked down at her lips longingly and began approaching very slowly, giving her time to stop him if she wished to. Their lips brushed together for a few seconds before he felt like he could kiss her, unhurriedly and ever so tenderly.

She deepened the kiss gradually, in need for more of him; and so she wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled his face closer, sliding her tongue inside his mouth and impulsively moaning as she felt his warm breath against her face. He tried and failed to hold back a grunt as he heard her react to him, and they both stopped at the same time. Their foreheads joined together and they didn't move, slowing down their breathing.

"Zero," she moaned almost soundlessly.

Selina dropped her head to his chest and he held her to him, wrapping his arms around her careful as to not over-palp her. She kissed his collarbone once briskly and they stayed like that for some time.

"I thought you were so happy today," he muttered pensively.

She stepped back to study him confused, "I was."

"Then why… forget it. Sorry, let's just drop this."

"We got home and it just became too much again," she explained anyway, "I… we were so good and happy and chill. And then, you know. You undressed me and it went fine and then you left and then I don't know."

His eyes widened a bit, "Selina, I didn't mean to… it wasn't never my intention to… upset you. I just thought I'd give you some space and some… I'm sorry if…", he blabbered nervously.

"I know. I know. It's my fault. I just," she sighed airily and frowned uneasy, "I wanna be with you so badly, it just frustrates me that I can't."

"Hey," he grabbed her chin, "we've got all the time in the world. You're not getting rid of me so easily," he smirked "although, if I do end up leaving or ever go missing, you can blame your friend for that."

"What?", she asked surprised.

"Jen threatened me," Selina raised her eyebrows in disbelief and amusement, "so yeah. She said, and I quote, "I've never seen Selina so happy, so if you ruin this, I'm gonna hunt your ass down and kill you. Then Imma steal your money and bail my ass out"," Bruce tried imitating her and Selina started laughing out loud, unable to stop, so he followed her.

"That does sound like her," she said when she managed to calm down.

"What about Pamela?"

"What about her?"

"Why didn't you tell me about her?"

Selina thought for a while, "I guess I didn't want to talk about it just yet. You know, maybe a part of me kind of expected her to be faking being fine with me."

"I like her. I really liked her. I can see how much she loves you", he said. Selina smiled.

"Yeah, she's something else, isn't she?"

He nodded softly, "So today I noticed you do that a lot. You know, expect people to resent you or hate you."

Selina frowned confused, then seemed to understand, "You mean Ted?"

"Yeah. I can tell you he really doesn't hate you, like at all," Bruce said kind of annoyed, "but also, Eiko…? You never told me she still tried to reach out to you after everything. The way you told me kinda made it seem like you never saw her again."

Selina sighed tiredly, "It's complicated… She didn't take it well, how everything went down. She kept following me for some time. She'd come by, stalk me, call me incessantly. That's why I stopped having cellphones," she chuckled humorlessly, then sighed, "Then her parents made her leave Gotham. Jen found out she was in law school in Metropolis, and it seemed like she'd moved on. So it was kind of a bummer today when I found out she came by recently," she looked down sadly, "I never should've used her like that. She was a perfectly nice girl, and I knew she wasn't always so mentally stable, and I did it anyway. I hate that I ruined her like that."

"The fact that you can admit that already proves how much you've evolved since then. I just wish you could see yourself the way I see you, cause I think you're amazing. You're great. You've done some bad things, sure. But most people have and you're still better than most people I know."

She laughed softly, "I seriously doubt that. But you are the second person to lecture me on that today."

"Then maybe you should listen."

Selina didn't really give much thought when Bruce said those kinds of things to her. It felt like he was biased, due to the blindness caused by whatever curse had befallen upon him that made him fall in love with her, of all people.

Great? Maybe to him. But she was fine , at most. But then again, who was she? If she asked that question to all the people in her life, they would each say something different and they would all, somehow, be true. So did that mean what he and Pamela said was too?

Not knowing what to say, she simply leaned on him again, finding comfort in his strong arms and broad shoulders that gave her the impression to be veiled and protected from all things.

Not long after, she started trembling, and they realized the water was already freezing. Her inebriation was long gone, which was giving space to an annoying headache to settle in. Bruce kissed her cheek and lifted her up, grabbing the towel and wrapping it around her.

They called in someone from the kitchen to reheat their dinner and then sat on the bed to eat it. Selina wasn't very hungry, but Bruce made sure she ate anyway, warning her the next day would be too long for her to spend it sick and hungover. She took a pill for the pain downed with almost a whole bottle of water at once.

He was right. She couldn't afford to miss the one reason she was there in the first place puking her guts out on a courtroom toilet.

———

Notes:

Thanks for reading guys!

The story's heading to its end, we'll probably only have a few more chapters.

Note: Here we talked about Ted and Eiko, two of Selina's exes, and as I said before at the end of Chapter 10, I imagined them played by Jesse Williams and Arden Cho, respectively.