NOTES:

Hi, everyone! This is our last chapter before the Epilogue. Thank you so much for reading and following this story with me!

So, since it's almost the end, this chapter has lots of smut (warning!) and fluff. Enjoy!

The hired driver dropped them off at the house entrance gate and Bruce picked up their bags from the trunk. It was the middle of the day, but the clouds covered the sky almost completely, making it look like an early winter morning.

"Thanks, handsome, but I think I can carry my own stuff," Selina smirked.

"I know, so?"

She chuckled and went ahead, opening the doors for him. They entered the house and walked up the stairs, heading to their room, when Selina suddenly stopped midway on the corridor, forcing him to do the same. She turned on her feet and touched his hands, brushing his tensed finger knuckles from the weight of the bags.

"Bruce…"

"What's up?", he asked, confused by her sudden interruption.

"I know we're drained and exhausted and jet-lagged… but I kinda need you right now."

He was promptly about to reach out to her, thinking she needed comfort or some sort of consolation, when she took his lips onto hers eagerly. It took him a second to catch up and understand what she meant, but his body lit up instantly as soon as he did, and he dropped their bags on the ground.

His arms wrapped around her waist urgently, pulling her body against his as she dug her fingers in his hair. His hands slipped down to her ass for a while, then dropped to her legs, grappling them and lifting her up so she could tangle them around him. He clamped her thighs pressing her tightly against him, making the skirt of her dress ride up to bare the tops of her pantyhose.

"God, I miss you so much," she mumbled in between kisses.

He groaned in agreement and began treading hurriedly towards the bedroom. She balanced her weight against him to take her coat and scarf off - there was too much fabric between them, and it was driving her crazy. She needed to feel his warmth and skin and the sensation of their sweats mixing together.

They reached the end of the bed and he put her down so he could take his own clothes and shoes off and help her get rid of hers. He tried being gentle at first, but only her dress survived his urgency - her pantyhose had become strips of rag on the floor. She reached down to his pants and opened his button with haste, working the zipper clumsily so as to not have to separate from his kiss not even for a second.

Her back hit the mattress and she promptly opened her legs to accommodate his body. His large hands clutched hers, pinning her down on the bed. His lips fell to her jaw, tracing their way to her neck and collarbone, biting her bra strap, making the elastic snap against her shoulder. She grunted lustfully and he backed away for a second to gaze at her. Her eyes were shut and she bit her lower lip in agony.

"The plane," it suddenly clicked in his mind, and she opened her eyes to him, "I knew I'd seen you bite your lip like that before."

She smiled and quickly clutched his lip between her teeth, staring him down teasingly. He scoffed a short laugh and dove into her mouth again, his tongue dancing with hers erotically, sucking each other's breath out.

She freed her hands from his grip to feel his broad chest and dig her nails on his back whenever a pressing impulse threatened to take over her. He clutched her waist softly and sucked on her earlobe slowly, sending shivers down her spine. Her need was becoming more and more urgent by the second as he only seemed to be progressively restraining himself more. She could tell that now that they were stripped off their clothes and lay on the bed, he'd become hesitant - his hands were uncharacteristically still on her body.

"You can touch me," she whispered in his ear.

He groaned and his fingers tensed around her skin.

"Are you sure?", he asked, trying to seem contained.

She paused and cupped his face between her hands, making him look at her.

"No touch from you could ever hurt me," she murmured, and it felt like something that, on some level, she was saying to herself as well. His love could never harm her.

And so he kissed her again, slid his strong arms under her and clasped her whole body against his. Her breasts pressed on his chest, threatening to expand out of her bra, shoved up high and begging to be released. As if he'd read her mind, his fingers found the hook on her back and got rid of it in a hurry, urging to feel her completely, with nothing on their way.

His lips worked their way down to her perky nipples, and she threaded her fingers through his hair as he lifted her up high with his swirling tongue and hot breath. An unsolicited shuddering, airy diminuendo poured out of her mouth as he bit her little button gently, pulling it to him.

He started traveling south and making his way to her belly button, leaving a wet pinkish trace of blows on her skin. A sudden calmness took over him, and he realized he wanted to appreciate and be as tender and loving as that moment deserved.

He began spreading kisses all over her, slowly taking her panties off and adoring and worshipping every square inch of her body; from her stomach to her ankles; from the scars on her legs to the ones on her wrists; from the tip of her fingers to the soft skin of her inner thighs; all the while always whispering "perfect".

She recognized the reverence in his voice as the same one she felt burning for him inside her; and when the moment finally came that his tongue reached her aching spot, nothing else mattered, and nothing else felt more real than that veneration.

She pressed her eyelids hardly with the palm of her hands in agony as he started out slowly, gradually building her up. Her moans became more and more uncontainable with time, and they'd assume a high-pitched soundless tone anytime his tongue tried penetrating her. Those simple vague and innocent thrusts would make her see butterflies. And when he clutched her thighs fiercely, opening her legs wider to expose her more and dove his face on her wet folds, she almost lost it.

He kissed her eagerly and urgently, sucking that sweet spot and leaving her breathless. She was sweating and wiggling underneath him, unable to control herself, and everything inside her obeyed and responded only to the overwhelming instinct to let go and outpour herself in his mouth.

"Bruce," she moaned breathlessly, "I-I'm almost there."

He groaned as his desire for her and to her watch her climax became overbearing, as the catch inside his boxers would make obvious. His tongue began working faster and rougher on her clit, and he decided to add a little more pressure on her body as he plunged two fingers inside her, making her jerk in spasms and cry out in ecstasy.

Her legs began shaking uncontrollably and she dug her toes on the mattress as furious waves of pleasure washed over her, forcing her back into an arc and having all her muscles tremble and clench in pure euphoria.

"Oh my god," she gasped.

Bruce smirked and crawled up back to her, digging his nose on her neck and taking her scent in in a deep breath.

"God, I love seeing you like that," he chuckled throaty, "I could watch and do this all day."

"You… are mind-blowingly good at this," she panted and gulped, "now… let me repay you."

Selina shoved him to the side and climbed over him on all fours, smiling mischievously. She lowered herself down on him, biting and sucking on his neck teasingly, pulling on his hair and finding just the exact balance between pleasure and pain. Her nails scratched his chest down to his abdomen, proudly stamping his skin with her mark. He shivered under her touch and got harder anytime she pushed the boundaries a bit further.

She started kissing his broad chest, sucking wherever his skin was pinker and more sensitive, trailing her way down with her tongue, licking him all over.

"Are you marking your territory down there?", he murmured and chuckled softly and out of breath.

"Well, I could just set up a flag, but I think that would be redundant," she said as she slid his boxers out of him and his cock jumped up. She smirked triumphantly, "Besides, cats are territorial creatures."

"I can tell," he muttered.

"Can you?", she purred as she grabbed him and took in inside her mouth.

Bruce rasped a scratchy grunt and gripped the sheets as she began moving rapidly on him. She repeatedly made him reach the back of her throat and removed it almost completely, as her hand worked on his base and balls as she couldn't fit him entirely. She would swing her head to the side, suck him, roll her tongue around him and make him grit his teeth through the pleasure. It was almost like he'd entered a state of frenzy.

He struggled to breathe, but then again so did she. Her lungs stung from the lack of air but she didn't care. She couldn't and wouldn't stop. She wanted to see him just about to tumble over the edge for her.

And he almost did. It took everything inside him to stop it from happening as he begged her to stop just before he exploded.

"I wanna be inside you," he moaned.

"Your wish is my command," she smiled.

Selina sat up on his lap and took his dick in her hand, lifting herself up enough to put him at her entrance and let him sink inside her as she sat down. They both gasped at the feeling; her muscles were still clenched and tense from her orgasm, and she had to force herself to relax to accommodate his big bulge. It only made the sensation more intense, though, as if he was stretching her from the inside out.

She began moving slow and then gradually speeding up the pace. He clutched her ass and made her moan, then gripped her waist hardly to help her keep up the pace and thrust harder back up against her. She rode him as she pleased and it was the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen; her eyes were semi-closed and her mouth had dropped into an O, which she quickly covered with her hand to stop herself from moaning loudly when he jammed rougher inside her.

He flipped her quickly and lay on top of her, then pinned her down by her wrists and continued thrusting. But then he let go of her remembering her bruises, chasing his climax more patiently this time. His fingers went to her swollen lips and he traced them longingly. Out of a sudden, he was being gentle.

Too gentle.

"Bruce, stop holding back," she lashed out, "I can take it. You're not gonna hurt me."

Her voice had lost almost all of its teasing tone; it was only raw and desperate, and the honesty and impatience in it took her aback.

She pulled his face to her and kissed him with such urgency and desire that he forgot everything else. The woman he loved was there, asking him to love her in the intensity his body begged him to, and he'd been stupid enough to try and fight it.

Giving in, his body took a life of its own, leaving behind any trace of fear or concern and just acting on its most primal need - to bury himself deep and hard inside her until they were both dripping and exhausted. He didn't hold back anything. Selina took it out on his back, digging her nails as he fucked her to her end and back, making her bang her head on the headboard repeatedly and mercilessly.

Passion couldn't describe it. It was a visceral, raw, brutal need to fill every space that threatened to separate them. Her touch burned his flesh and she clutched her legs tightly around him as they both moaned jarring in sync. He fucked all her tension away, and the pain she felt was nothing compared to the feeling of completion and utter bliss that surrounded her. How could it feel so natural? How could it be that good ?

She bit his shoulder to take it out on him a bit of the growing contraction in her abdomen. But the image she faced of their bodies violently merging and slamming together reflected on the glass wall was so intense that she had to look away before it sent her over the edge. She wanted to wait for him and he didn't seem that far behind.

Under all the layers of carnal lust and desperation, something soft and unexpected sparked inside her; like a flicker of warmth or a flare of deep longing.

"Don't ever leave me," she moaned under her breath, having no idea where that had come from. Her voice was so shaky she barely recognized it.

He turned to look at her, a bit startled by her sudden change of tone. Studying her expression, he saw in her eyes that same anguish he'd seen when she urged him to leave Gotham with her over a year before.

"I'd be crazy to," he pressed a kiss to her neck.

They continued frenziedly moving and reaching for their so coveted and necessary release.

"Hold me, tight, Selina," he puffed.

She hugged and pulled his back and head clinching to her and the sound he let out next was so guttural and erotic her pussy throbbed to it. His body was starting to cave in and she could hear it in his voice. But more than that, she could feel it all around. His ripped abdomen was tense, his breathing was heavy, and he was shaking all over as he rested his sweaty forehead on her neck.

Selina felt her insides clenching as he took her high, so high it felt like her body was slowly entering a pool of pure zest. At that point, she was shamelessly begging to finish. Bruce thrusted a few more times and a long animalistic grunt came out of him as he came undone. She followed him right after, holding him even tighter in need for support as her limbs went numb under him.

"Fuck," they both muttered together as let himself down on her. Shortly after he dropped to the side to not smash her with his weight.

"That was…", she started.

"Yeah…", he gulped, then called her after a while, "come here."

Her body was so relaxed she had to really put in an effort to get it to move. Is it possible to be too relaxed? So much that you just completely stop functioning? Apparently, it was.

The best she managed to pull without being able to move her legs was to sprawl all over his chest. Her dark strands of hair stuck to his sweat and tickled him.

"My legs don't work," she whined.

He laughed, "We'll manage without them."

"Worth it."

"Totally," he replied and tucked her hair behind her ear to see her better, "So… is this what you had in mind before?"

She blushed feeling a bit sheepish, though it'd be impossible to notice with all the general redness and exhaustion showing on her face.

"Nah, my subconscious couldn't possibly be this creative."

"Highly doubt it," he chuckled, then sighed heavily, "I missed you."

"So much," she added, kissing his chest softly, "let's never go this long without it again, okay?"

"You don't have to tell me," he smiled.

"I love you."

"I love you."

They lay there for a long time, just enjoying each other's company and catching their breath. Rain began pouring outside and Selina started getting chilly as her body stabilized and she regained some composure. She grabbed them some blankets and slid under them, resting her head on his shoulder and having him wrap his arms around her. He kissed her forehead and she giggled.

"What?", he asked curiously.

"We really are staying in bed all day today, aren't we?"

"Do you have a better idea?"

"Not a single one."

He chuckled, "Alright, then."

"Just for the record, for next time, now you know I'm not so fragile," she said smugly.

"Are you kidding me? I always knew you were an indestructible little thing."

"Come on, in the beginning you were touching me like I was a porcelain doll," she stood on her elbows to look at him and smirked.

"I just wanted to make sure it's what you wanted, that's all."

"I know, I get it," she rolled her eyes, but she was being honest, "it did take me a while there to catch up, I don't know why. But it wasn't with you, it was with me."

"You needed some time, period. I get it, no need for you to dwell on it."

She chuckled humorlessly, "Either you're impossibly understanding or you must really love me."

"No, Selina, I absolutely adore you."

She smiled sheepishly and went for his welcoming lips. Kissing him calmly, sliding her tongue gracefully inside his mouth to explore his, threading her fingers through his hair passionately. He entwined his arms around her waist and pulled her on top of him, knowing no better feeling than having her warm body fitting so perfectly over his.

His strong arms and big hands were made to embrace her back, the same way her narrow shoulders were the exact fit for his head to rest on her neck. And nothing else in the world really mattered when she had her long smooth legs wrapped around him.

As they kissed, she inhaled deeply the inebriating smell of heat, sex, and Bruce. Everything about him intoxicated her, and she soon realized the feeling was mutual.

She paused and scoffed a disbelieved laugh when she felt how hard he'd suddenly become under her.

"Already?", she teased him.

He chuckled airily, pulling her mouth to his again, unwilling to stay an inch apart from her.

"That's what you do to me. I can't get enough," he mumbled husky.

She grinned widely and let him take her for a second round. And a third, and fourth, and as many as they were able to pull. She'd come back to him; he wasn't sparing her and she loved it.

— A few weeks later —

"You've got Batman wrapped around your finger, what else do you need?", he joked.

"That doesn't count. I'm a cat. Bats are just mice with wings."

He chuckled, "Alright, what is it?"

She handed him a pamphlet. It read "Extreme Vacations".

"I think we should do something like this before we move. I'll even pay," she said, and he raised his eyebrows, "okay, you pay."

"Okay… where do you wanna go?"

"Well, there's this company in Indonesia that organizes travels with like, rock climbing, waterfall rafting, highlining, cliff diving, all things easy-peasy for us. But there's also this thing called "bush craft skills"; which is apparently a fancy term for the overcharged option of leaving you high and dry in the middle of nowhere to see if you can make it out."

"Hmm. Sounds tempting. Nothing says romance like wandering lost in the woods starving then dying together of mosquito bites."

"Come on. You're no longer the Bat, so you gotta redirect all that energy and not waste all those years of training by putting them into something productive. Like taking your girlfriend to have a near-death experience."

"Haven't we had enough of those?"

She sat on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, demanding his full attention.

"You don't fool me, Mr. Wayne. I know you're dying to have another one."

"Pun intended?", he smiled, then sighed defeatedly, "Alright... When do we leave?"

"Two days," she replied and jumped off of his lap excitedly. He eyed her confused as she smirked at him, "I knew I could convince you, so I'd already arranged everything."

"Of course you had."

It had been a few days since Bruce and Selina had officially decided to take a break from their retreat and self-isolation and try to rejoin society, now that they didn't have to hide Bruce's "aliveness" anymore. The idea to move to Paris had come from her, after Jacqueline Dupont contacted her shortly after they arrived home, asking her if she was still willing to work some jobs for them after everything.

She'd been hesitant at first, but then realized there was no point in doing so. If there was any way to keep at least part of the Cat in her life, that was it. She'd never return to the illegality of it all - nor did she wish to -, but this way she felt like at least she wasn't leading an all-legitimate life. The anti-hero title suited her better than the other two extremes.

Moving to Paris meant she was closer to the main office and to most of the cases; which meant less time spent on traveling and, consequently, less time away from Bruce. He was reluctant to the idea of moving at first, mainly because Paris had a different meaning to them than it did to most people. It was where they had spent the most terrifying and stressful days of their lives. But Selina had an answer for that on the tip of her tongue.

"I can't keep running from the past, Bruce," she'd argued.

"You don't have to run towards it either."

"I'm not. I'm just letting it go."

After that, and after he made sure she'd meant it when she said she was well enough to go through with it, he compromised. He only wanted the best for her, and if moving to France was what she wanted, he saw no reason why they shouldn't do it.

She was great, overall. There were a few bad days, when she'd feel more victim than survivor, but Bruce was always there to carry her through them. She'd also recently started taking medication for PTSD after Alfred insisted she tried seeing a government accredited psychiatrist. The doctor called and explained he was familiarized with her unusual situation, as he was the one who usually dealt with those kinds of secretive patients with out-of-the-ordinary life experiences. She only did it though to please Alfred and Bruce, but ended up following his protocol, because she didn't see how it could do any harm anyway.

Bruce began actively participating and working with the Wayne Foundation from afar. It was the way he'd found to keep an eye on his parents' company without meddling into the business and irritating the board. Besides, it was also a way to take care of their legacy and make sure the charities were being well-handled and funded. It also gave him a chance to see Alfred more often, as he'd need to fly to Gotham once in a while.

The morning before they left to Indonesia, Selina woke up early, even though they'd had a pretty busy night. The ropes tangled loosely around the bedposts were there to prove it. Their bags were packed and ready to go on the corner of the room, and Paula would soon arrive to prepare them a breakfast of champions because of the long flight. Bruce groaned into his pillow as he noticed her first movements on the bed, indicating she was getting up.

"I can't believe you're running this early after the night we had," he whined, his voice muffled by the mattress, "and also just before heading for more of that halfway across the world."

"I just like to begin my day like this, that's all," she mumbled as she began getting into her workout clothes.

"I know," he moaned.

He did. And he was counting on it.

As soon as she left the house, he became nervous. His stomach dropped and he started getting jittery, so he went for a quick shower to try to relax. If things didn't work out, then the 20-hour flight would feel even longer, and it'd start getting really awkward really fast.

By the time he got ready and was heading towards the beach, though, he'd become calmer. It was just another morning, just like any other they'd spent together in that routine over the last year, he convinced himself.

He'd grown used to a normal life surprisingly easily. Over the last decade, and even more, he never once imagined he'd ever get a chance, or even come close to having an ordinary, blissful life, let alone beside someone he loved.

Gotham no longer needed the Batman, and neither did he. Since longer than he'd thought, Bruce hadn't needed him. Other people did. What he actually needed was hope. Hope that someone could take on what he'd started. Hope that he could live fully and peacefully with that part of him forever silenced and dormant. Hope that he could find someone who accepted and understood it regardless.

And then, against all odds, he found more than that. Because Selina knew him wholly, completely. She loved and accepted both parts of him, and even more so, related to them on a deep personal level. They had both had difficult starts in life, and they had both chosen even more burdensome and grueling paths to follow. They'd both committed mistakes, suffered immeasurable losses, taken more hits than anyone would care to keep count, and they both came out the other way, because now they had found each other.

They were both stubborn, strong-minded individuals who would've never seen it coming for them. But something happened when they came together. They connected and let each other in, and that single act had tied them together into an inviolable bond.

And so when she entered his field of vision, running towards him in her tiny shorts and his old baggy Princeton hoodie, he'd never been so sure of anything else before in his life.

—

Selina had cut her morning run short that day, because they still had much to do and prepare. Bruce awaited her by the beach like he'd usually do, but the simple sight of him could still awaken some jiggling butterflies on her stomach.

She chuckled to herself, feeling a bit pathetic.

He got up on his feet as he hadn't brought her her usual snack - since Paula was already doing it for them that day - and she only stopped running after she smashed against him, kissing his cheek.

"Hey," she said gleefully.

"Hey back," he replied, "how was your run?"

"Uneventful… shall we see if breakfast is ready?", she asked, beginning to walk away.

He grabbed her arm, "No, I… I gave Paula the day off. I'll make us breakfast in a sec."

She looked at him disoriented, "Okay… what's up then?"

"I need to talk to you."

Her smile dimmed down a bit, but she managed to keep it, though a bit tensed.

"Oh-oh. Are you breaking up with me? Cause that would be a really sucky thing to do after last night," she joked.

"No," he chuckled, seeming a bit nervous, "I'm not breaking up with you."

"So…?", she asked, but he kept quiet, avoiding her inquisitive look and turning to the ocean, "Okay, if you don't start talking you're really gonna start freaking me out here."

Bruce took a deep breath.

"You once told me that our first kiss here on this beach was the first time you felt like you could hope again. Like you could finally feel something… or like for a second there you'd let me in somehow," he began talking, then turned to look at her confused expression. "That's what every second with you feels like to me."

"I feel like my whole life I shut down from any kind of commitment, because no one could fully understand and accept me - hell, I didn't accept me. Until you showed up," Bruce said and grabbed her hand.

She had no idea what was going on, but her heart was suddenly pounding so loud and strong in her chest it was almost painful. His other hand reached for his pocket and he got down on one knee.

"Bruce," she said in a shaky, guarded tone, but the little velvet box was already out and popped open before she could pull another warning shot.

"Selina… when I was a kid, I wanted to conquer fear. I would hold my hand over a lit candle and I would try to resist the urge to pull it away. If I knew what the pain felt like, I would know what to expect and I wouldn't have to fear it… I thought I'd conquered it, until I fell in love with you."

"Now I realize that I barely knew you then. But it still didn't matter, because you sparked a light in me from the moment I first saw you, and when I fell for you I got scared again. Then there were the first few months with you, when I was scared because it felt like you were constantly a flight risk. And then there was the worst fear, when I spent days thinking I'd lost you forever. And then every day after that, knowing it could've happened. Now I won't have a day in my life where I'm not scared, and I'm okay with that."

"Because now I know I can be more than that boy with the candle. I can be the man who chooses to have you and love you in spite of the fear and the pain. I can be the man who loves you, and will always try to love you better. You are the only one who knows me and understands who I am, so you'll believe me when I promise you this; I promise to be by your side every step of the way; to stand with you through the best and the worst; to always be there to catch you when you fall; to love you through every obstacle, hurt, and fight, and to always love you a bit more than the last day."

"Selina Kyle… you are the one thing I've been missing my whole life and never even knew. Will you do me the extraordinary honor of marrying me?"

Selina blinked away the tears she hadn't noticed were there, but they couldn't seem to stop coming. Her hands were shaking and her knees had turned into jelly. Finally, her tensely compressed lips parted and broke into the happiest grin as the teardrops streamed down her cheeks.

In an instant, she had him back against the yielding sand, hugging him impossibly tightly and kissing the air out of him as the wetness on her face transferred to his. He tasted her salty tears and smiled widely, having never felt such intense joy and overwhelming peace.

She parted from him and dropped to the side giggling, diving her hair in the sand and not giving a care in the world.

"Oh, you poor rich boy. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."

Bruce grinned, "I'll take that as a yes."

He sat up and pulled her up with him. He took the ring from the small cushioned box and placed it gently on her finger. The platinum band had tiny little pearls surrounding the biggest princess cut diamond she'd ever seen. She stared at it, stunned and dumbfounded. It shouldn't have come as a shock, but Bruce had really gone above and beyond.

"Bruce… Jesus Christ," she muttered.

"You're the expert… what do you think?", he asked, genuinely concerned.

She looked up at him in disbelief, "I wouldn't have pawned this for the world."

He smiled more relaxed and she kissed him once more, unable to stop herself.

"But honestly, you've just made me so happy, I wouldn't have cared if it was made of candy," she said, and he laughed as she turned to study her ring again, mesmerized, "when did you get this?"

Bruce stuttered, a bit unsure if answering that question would be for the best, "Uh, you know… it was… well… it was on your birthday."

"What? But that was like ages ag… Oh."

"Yeah…"

"Wha… how… why?", she asked, perplexed.

"Honestly, it was on the spur of the moment. I stumbled upon it just as I was heading to the restaurant to meet you. I saw it and I just knew I'd need it one day. I hadn't even thought further than that…", he spoke and she paid attention, gazing at him, "not until… that day in Gotham that you took us to the Batpod and then there was that fire. Later that night we were in bed and going through your old stuff, and it just clicked, like an epiphany. It was just this big elephant in the room of my mind that I didn't see until it was staring down at me."

"Alfred had been bugging me about it all year, but I'd always brush it aside or tell him to cut it out cause I never thought it was the right time. When we met in Florence, the first thing he asked me as soon as you left the room was how I was proposing. I'd never even told him I had a ring! - but I guess I shouldn't be surprised, the man raised me, he knows me."

"Then I almost did it the other day, when we were on the Batcave. It wasn't exactly planned, but for some reason I'd brought the ring with me. But I froze," he chuckled, remembering the moment, "I guess it was for the best. That place doesn't represent my life anymore - or at least, not the one we share. It needed to be in a place of our own. And I knew you'd hate something big and fussy, so…", he opened his arms, as if showing her the beach.

Selina stared at him with a stupid shocked smile on her face.

"I have so many questions," she shook her head.

"Well, lucky for you we've got our whole lives," Bruce mumbled, hugging her from behind and pulling her to settle her down between his legs.

"We're engaged," she said in incredulity. "Engaged… like, to be married."

His laughter came out muffled in her hair, "That's usually the point, yes."

She slapped his arm that was around her playfully, "Don't condescend, Wayne. Apparently you've had a year to process this as I'm just now hearing about it."

"I thought cats were supposed to be quick on their feet," he teased.

"Wow, I can't wait for a whole lifetime of cheap comebacks," she joked ironically.

Bruce pulled her head back and kissed her softly, "I can't wait either."

Her sarcastic mask fell off and she smiled.

"I love you, Bat."

"I love you too, Cat."