Selina slammed the door of Bruce's Aston Martin, trudging with quick, angry steps up her driveway and into her house. Bruce had to jog to keep up, carrying her bag like the gentleman he was. And that's what bothered Selina most of all. It wasn't that Bruce was completely loyal to her. Not that Bruce was at her beck and call or that she had some supernatural power over him. What bothered Selina was that Bruce was a genuinely good person. A good man who loved her despite everything. Who was maybe her best friend even when they fought. She didn't understand it, she barely even trusted it…and it just royally pissed her off because what the fuck had she ever done to deserve him? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And what had Harley ever done to deserve Pam? Ugh.
These thoughts carried her through the front door and halfway up the stairs before she was stopped in her tracks by what was- at this point- an unfamiliar voice.
"Selina, Bruce, Pamela…" Her mother greeted without looking up from her magazine.
"Pam's not here." Selina didn't mean it, but her words came out in a bitter growl.
"No?" Dr. Kyle put down her reading material. "Did you two get in a fight?"
Selina could feel the pressure of angry tears behind her eyes. "No!"
Bruce entered the house with a calming presence. "Hello, Dr. Kyle." He said with a slight sigh.
The older woman smiled. "Are you hungry? I ordered food this evening, there's still some left over."
"I thought you said you had a conference." Selina intoned. "You said you had a conference, but if they let you out early you'd come to my gymnastics meet."
"Oh, was that tonight?" Dr. Kyle looked a bit regretful. Just a bit.
Selina stayed silent, starring her mother down from her place on the stairs. Bruce took his cue and began to follow her, but the voice of Dr. Kyle stopped them once again.
"Take a condom, Bruce. There, in the bowl. I'm sure your children would be darling, but we're attempting to prove nurture can prevail over nature." She pointed lazily towards the table by the stairs where there was, in fact, a bowl full of condoms. Then she resumed her reading.
It took every ounce of willpower Selina possessed not to scream then. Instead, she nearly sprinted up the stairs to her bedroom, hoping that neither Bruce nor her mother registered the embarrassment on her face. Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry, she reminded herself as she lay face down on her bed.
Bruce came in after her and closed the door behind them. Without a word, he sat down next to her and rested his hand soothingly on the curve of her back, reminding her once again that she didn't deserve him or this life.
"Selina..." Bruce said. "Don't listen to her. She doesn't mean to come off like that. You don't either."
"Don't explain my mom to me." Selina said, the sound muffled into her pillow.
Bruce sighed and laid down next to her. "I wanted her to come too."
Selina flipped her head to face him. "Probably best she didn't, since I chose tonight for my first fuck up in two years."
Bruce trailed his hand lightly up and down her back. "So maybe your mom wasn't there…but I was there, and Pam was there," here, Selina grunted. "And even Professor Gordon."
"Ugh!" Selina turned onto her back. "Of course I fuck up in front of her. She's gonna kick my ass in class."
Bruce chuckled. "Selina, she's a teacher. Not everyone is out to get you."
"Yeah, you just keep thinking that, Brucie." She pat his cheek condescendingly.
The boy rolled his eyes. "You wanna enlighten me as to why you're being such a bitch to Pam?"
"Because she should be here." Selina mumbled. "I can't believe she's got the hots for Crotch Rocket."
"Selina…" Bruce laughed. "Harley is hot."
"Well so is Diana!" Selina argued, sitting up. "And she's obviously into redheads, so…match made in heaven!"
Bruce quirked an eyebrow. "You would rather Pam date Diana?"
"Well, yeah!" Selina said like it was obvious. "At least we've vetted her. Crotch Rocket is literally an idiot."
"I think she just has a different sense of humor than we do." Bruce reasoned. "The rest you can blame on her being blonde."
Selina allowed herself an amused smirk.
"Here's what I know, OK?" Bruce continued. "I know you were Pam's first friend. I know that both of you were at my mom's funeral. I know that I was your first kiss and I know that Pam was the first person to tell you she loved you, and I know that there will probably be a few different people that Pam dates because she's crazy hot and I always suspected she was a playa'." Selina rolled her eyes affectionately. "But at the end of the day, I know that it will always be us three."
Selina was quiet for a moment, letting those words sink in. When she finally spoke, she said: "Pam is hot therefore a player? I'm going to start calling you The World's Greatest Detective."
Bruce laughed. "Oh, you know she could get mad pussy."
Selina gagged. "What the fuck, Bruce?!"
He was laughing harder now. "I knew you'd hate that."
Selina rolled her body on top of his, pressing his muscular form into the bed. She looked at him for a moment, green eyes meeting blue, until his breathing returned to normal, then she lay her head down on his chest. "Please don't leave me." She whispered.
Bruce silently brought his hand up to stroke her hair.
I don't deserve it. The guilt inside Selina was thrashing around so violently that it was causing her physical pain. I don't deserve him. I don't deserve her. I'm an imposter. I don't belong here. They'll figure it out eventually. "I was a bitch to Harley tonight." I'm no better than Harley, I'm worse. I'm just street trash that someone bothered to pick up.
Selina felt the vibrations of a chuckle in Bruce's chest. "You're always a bitch to Harley." He reminded her.
"I said something pretty fucked up, though." Tell him! Tell him, you stupid bitch. Crawl back in the gutter where you belong.
Bruce looked down at her. "Selina Kyle, is this…remorse?" He meant it as a joke, but that just made everything worse.
He'll leave. Just like Pam. You don't deserve them.
She laid her head down once more, nuzzling into him slightly. "I love you."
