Selina settled comfortably into her role as bruce's girlfriend, despite little to nothing changing once she was assigned the title, quite easily.
She still came over, they still watched movies and read books and spent hours on his balcony. He still took her home at 11:15 or dragged her to his room at 4 am.
She still cheated at chess, and kissed him in front of Jim or Lucius to make him blush, and let him rest his hand on her thigh in the car.
Though, she now wore his shirts to bed more than her own and had two drawers of her clothes in his dresser. She stayed more often with less resistance. She slept in shorts when it was hot, and used his shower instead of one downstairs, and stopped jumping if he touched the small of her back or curled a strand of hair around his finger unexpectedly.
They were no strangers to physical affection. Bruce had pressed his lips to hers until she pulled away for air more times than they could count. They'd kissed one another's lips, cheeks, foreheads, jaws, and necks. He'd kissed her knuckles and she'd kissed his palms.
She'd spent minutes and hours with her hands in his hair and his around her waist.
But, there were limits. Invisible walls and red alerts in their brains when things got too intimate.
Said alarms had gone off, and been ignored, five minutes prior. Selina was pinned under bruce, one hand in his hair and the other scratching lightly at his back, arching up into his embrace almost desperately.
Bruce brushed his thumb against her cheek, the gentle gesture contrasting with the bruising force of his kiss. His free hand ran up and down her side, from the middle of her ribs to the end of her hips. She felt as though his fingertips left a trail of fire where they touched.
"Bruce," She whispered airly into his mouth, the sound sending a shiver down his spine.
He moved to draw back, worried she wanted him to stop, but she pulled his mouth back to hers before he got the chance. She wrapped her legs lightly around his waist, more for a place to put them than anything, effectively pressing herself closer to him.
She whined quietly when he nipped at her bottom lip, causing a groan to ripple through his throat. She circled her hand from his back to splay her fingers across his chest as he drug his lips down her jaw to her neck.
His next ministrations were all teeth and tongue, and she hissed before muttering something about 'not leaving marks because she doesn't wear turtlenecks everyday.' Bruce could barely make out the words, his ears almost ringing and senses full of her.
As he continued moving down her neck he was vaguely aware of her saying his name, but assumed her intentions were encouraging.
After an embarrassingly long while he realized that she wasn't the only voice in the room, and pulled away. He whipped his head around, making eye contact with Alfred, and felt as though he may pass out.
"Right then, Master B. I think it's time you take Miss Kyle home, no?" He asked, though his tone made it clear there was no debating.
Selina snorted, "As if we won't get start up again in the back of that fancy car of his in an alley in the na-"
"We're going," He interjected, tugging his sweater back on. "Straight home. No funny business, I promise."
Selina rolled her eyes, forcing down giggles at Bruce's flushed cheeks when they passed his butler.
In the garage, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, kissed his cheek, and leaned in to whisper in his ear.
"Y'know, you could always come in when you take me back. Not sure if you're aware, but I do actually have a room in there. You wouldn't have to hang out with Babs and Tabby."
"I think Alfred's expecting me home in exactly half an hour," He replied through a sigh.
She pouted playfully, pressing her lips to the place on his jaw directly below his ear. "Come on, B, let's have some fun."
He chuckled softly to himself. "Down, kitty."
Selina jerked back as if she'd been electrocuted, mouth open in a gasp, "Oh my god!"
Her reaction sent Bruce into a fit of hysterical laughter.
"Oh my god," She shrieked, shoving his chest, "That is so gross, don't fucking say that!"
"I thought cats were your thing," He teased.
She shook her head rapidly. "I am never kissing you again. I am never talking to you again."
"Come here," He replied, pulling her back towards him.
"No!" she yelped, leaning away from him, "Do you hear that? Can you hear that noise? It's the sound of me vomiting."
She continued, to prove her point, by making gagging noises in his ear.
"Gross, Selina!"
"I'm gross?" She asked, mock outrage betrayed by the smile she couldn't quite repress, "You just called me kitty!" Bruce continued laughing, encouraging her to as well.
Once they calmed down he grinned back at her, "Get in the car."
"Oh, you do not get to tell me what to do after that," She argued.
He rolled his eyes, "You can complain the whole way home, just get in."
She huffed, crossing to the passenger seat and murmuring about how badly she's gonna embarrass him and how many people she's telling this story to.
"I was messing with you, Sel, come on."
"Sure," She replied, drawing out the 'u', "Whatever helps you sleep at night."
They continued bickering lightly as he pulled out of the garage and drove towards the city.
And, despite her previous words, Selina kissed him goodnight as he parked outside her apartment and promised to see him the next day.
-
Selina felt ridiculous for sorting through her closet desperately, in front of barbara, no less, searching for something to wear. There was no reason she should be so nervous. First dates don't count if you're already dating.
"Just wear that get-up from the club," muttered Babs, quite unhelpfully.
She huffed, searching through a stack of pants. "Could you be any less specific," She muttered sarcastically.
"What's with the attitude, Kitty cat?"
She finally quit fidgeting, realizing she wasn't getting anything done besides making a mess, and sat next to Barbara on the bed.
"I don't even know where we're going," She groaned, "I mean, zero details."
The older woman raised an eyebrow, "You could always call him. Or have you forgotten you're already dating?"
"I don't know. He's taking it really seriously, like… he's picking me up and taking me somewhere as a surprise and whatever. I'm just worried it won't live up to his expectations."
"Don't be stupid," she chastised, "Rhat boy bursts blood vessels at the thought of seeing you. You couldn't disappoint him if you tried."
Selina laughed softly at that, sparing a glance back at her closet.
"Wear those new leather pants with the scoop neck tank and the mesh top."
She thought it over before rushing to collect the items with a grin, "Thanks, Babs, I owe you."
"As per usual."
An hour and a half later, Bruce pulled up to her apartment and, after taking a while to build up the courage, walked up to her door and knocked.
Tabitha answered it, out of habit, and looked him over with a neutral expression for yelling for Selina.
Babara walked her to the door, offering him a small smile in contrast to Tabby's icy demeanor, and ushered her out.
"Be safe," They called after her, resulting in her rolling her eyes and dragging Bruce to the car.
Once they were outside he finally had a chance to take her appearance in. All dressed up in the outfit Babs suggested and black boots with a slight heel that did absolutely nothing to make her look less short compared to him, he couldn't help but stare for a bit longer than necessary.
"You ok?" she asked, a little self-consciously.
He nodded, "You look-"
"Don't," she interrupted, "Don't say anything cheesy."
"What counts as cheesy?" He asked.
She snorted, "Forget it."
"Am I not allowed to compliment you?"
She ignored him, crossing to her side of the car and groaning when the door was locked. "You gonna let me in?"
He grinned, rushing to stand by her and unlocking the door before opening it for her.
She looked him up and down before rolling her eyes and attempting to look cool while getting in his unnecessarily low-to-the-ground car.
After the silence stretched to be almost uncomfortable, Selina looked over at him. "So, where are we going?"
"You'll see," He replied, sparing her a glance and smirking.
She furrowed her eyebrows at him, "Are you gonna kill me?"
"What?" He asked incredulously, "Why would you think that?"
"Because you said 'you'll see' like some creepy old movie villain!"
"What movie? I have never seen that movie," He insisted.
She stared back at him in disbelief, "I'm not talking about an actual movie, I said like a movie villain."
"That's a terrible comparison," he argued.
"Whatever," She huffed, smile and tone betraying her attempt at anger.
Bruce pulled over and parked slowly. "We're here."
She climbed out of the car, looking around for a minute. She, of course, recognized her surroundings, but wasn't sure what they were doing there. "You're really gonna kill me. You're gonna shoot me and throw me in the river like I betrayed the mob."
"You're dramatic," He criticized.
"I am not," She retorted, "Why else would you take me to the…"
She trailed off, remembering her offer to bring him to the Midtown Bridge when they were kids.
"Oh my god," She whispered, "I can't believe you remembered that."
"Still wanna climb it?" He asked, interlacing his fingers with her own.
She grinned, "Race you to the top."
Nearly an hour later they made it to the top, muscles sore and aching and the chill from the wind setting in.
"We," Selina panted, "are never doing that again. I am out of practice, and it is so cold."
Bruce, without thinking, tugged off the dark blue sweater he was wearing over his, undoubtedly ridiculously expensive, white oxford, and helped pull it over her.
She sighed as his smell and the warm, soft fabric enveloped her. "Such a gentleman," She teased.
He grinned back at her, cupping her cheek and kissing her swiftly. "You're so beautiful, Sel. You looked amazing tonight."
She had half a mind to tease him over tenses and pickup lines, but the warmth in her chest overruled the desire to hide behind sharp words and quips. Instead, she curled into his side and pulled the sleeves of his sweater over her hands.
He held one of her hands in his own, tucking her forehead under his chin and staring out at the cityscape. "I can't believe this is real," He said in a breathy tone.
"What's real?" she asked, tipping her head up to see his face.
He kissed the top of her head before continuing, "This. Us. I don't know. I guess I never thought we'd be here."
The feeling was familiar. They'd pushed each other away every time they got too close in the past. It was hard to accept the good without waiting for the other shoe to drop.
"B," She replied softly, "I'm not going anywhere."
Bruce, not trusting himself to speak, leaned down to press his lips to hers. Before they could continue, Selina pulled away to turn around and face him.
He nearly fell off trying to kiss her again, causing them both to gasp and erupt into a fit of giggles.
"Be careful! Alfred would be so mad at me if you died," She joked, pulling him back to her and pressing their lips together again.
After a while he pulled away, leaning his forehead to hers. "You're perfect, Cat. I… you'll never know how lucky I am."
She bit back the urge to cry, bumping his nose with hers.
Suddenly, she felt as though there was a confession on the tip of her tongue. She loved him, she knew, but she'd never been so ready to say it. She'd never been willing to tell him.
Instead, she whispered that she's the lucky one, and kissed each of his temples quickly.
He pulled her against him again, his arms around her waist and hers around his neck, and soaked in the feeling of her being close to him. They stayed in this position, enjoying being together and thinking about everything it took to get to where they are, until Selina's shivers convinced bruce to suggest they climb down.
On the walk back to his car, she curled into his side and stood on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear.
"Bruce," she asked, "B, can we get ice cream?"
He glanced down at her shaking hands and laughed, "Are you serious?"
She nodded, "The good place by your house, please."
"Ok, ok, get in the car."
And, twenty minutes later, Selina was eating ice cream and complaining about her cold hands.
"They're freezing!" She grumbled, pressing one of them to the back of his neck, "Feel them!"
Bruce yelped, his jump causing the car to lurch sideways, nearly taking out a stop sign.
Selina began laughing hysterically and he desperately fought to regain control of the car.
"Don't do that," He hissed, pulling over to calm his nerves.
She shook her head, "I'm doing that forever."
"We could've died," He lectured.
"My hands were cold!"
She continued to giggle as he finished driving the route back to her place.
She kissed him quickly before getting out and circling around to his window.
"Y'know," she started, leaning down until their faces were level, "You can come in. They're not as scary as you think."
"Sure," He replied, pressing a few quick pecks to her lips, "Maybe another time."
She rolled her eyes, "Fine. See you."
"Goodnight, Selina."