CHAPTER NINETEEN
FEBRUARY, 1995
Selina's trip had the result of making her face a few things she'd been denying for a long time, and finally took away some of the strain that had existed between her and Bruce since their confrontation the night of Maven's wedding.
Unfortunately, when the ill feelings disappeared it was only to be replaced by a different kind of tension. Their growing awareness of this attraction made both of them, but particularly Selina, nervous and even moodier than usual. She was living up to her promise to be her usual resolute and capable self, and she was willing to admit to herself that the status quo was definitely changing. Nevertheless, she couldn't forget what she had said at her father's graveside: "I don't know how to be in love!"
But by Bruce's birthday in the middle of February, she was starting to believe that she might be capable of learning .
Dinner that night was particularly successful. Bruce and Selina were both in top form; their conversation was punctuated with sparkling witticisms and the kind of very mutual flirting that had always been strictly taboo.
Afterwards, they braved the cold and took a walk by the river. The darkness and the weather worked a change on their good mood, and they walked for a long time in companionable silence. Finally Bruce stopped and leaned over the railings, looking into the dark, rushing water below.
"Lose something?" Selina asked.
He had a sudden strong urge to say something nauseatingly sentimental, like "Yes — my heart!" but he managed to stop himself just in time. Grinning over this idiotic impulse, he said, "My mind, possibly."
"What?"
"Oh, nothing. By the way, I forgot to tell you I have to go out of the country for a couple of weeks. Meetings in London."
"Oh. Well, I'll miss you."
Bruce was astonished. "You will?"
"Of course," she tried to say lightly, but it didn't come out quite that way.
They looked at each other for a long moment. Bruce put his hands on Selina's shoulders, expecting her to pull away. When she didn't, he decided if ever there were an appropriate time to break his promise about not pushing, this was it. He leaned forward to kiss her, and she responded willingly.
"I hope you don't think that was a mistake," he said when they parted.
She shook her head. "No. It didn't feel like a mistake to me."
"Me neither. Actually, it was one of the nicest birthday presents I've ever gotten."
"Well, you know what they say. What can you give the man who has everything?" joked Selina. They both laughed.
Then Bruce turned serious. "Not quite everything," he told her soberly.
Before he take the thought any further, Selina reached up and pressed one finger against his lips. "I'll see you when you get back from London," she whispered.
She turned to go, leaving him staring after her with a dazed expression on his face.
Selina was a little dazed herself when she got home.
Opening the door, she found herself face to face with her secretary, who was also reaching for the knob. Maven stepped back, startled. "Oops! I just came back for these papers that have to go out first thing in the morning," she explained, indicating the file under one arm.
"Oh. Right. Good thinking, Maven."
Maven looked at her employer with concern. "You seem distracted. Is everything all right?"
Selina's green eyes sparkled. "Better than all right. Everything is wonderful."
"Oh...good. I take it things are better between you and Bruce, then?"
"Incredible! Oh, Maven, I think I'm in love with him."
Maven clapped her hands delightedly, dropping the folder in the process. Papers spilled everywhere.
"Oh! Selina, I'm so happy! I've always said you were perfect for each other."
Selina laughed. "I know, but I was too stubborn to listen. Too infatuated with the dark side to pay any attention to what a wonderful guy Bruce really is."
Behind her glasses, Maven's dark eyes showed sudden concern. Hesitantly, she said, "Speaking of the dark side, what about...him?"
Shaking her head as she flopped down on the rather uncomfortable blue sofa, Selina sighed, "I don't know. Maybe it was doomed from the start. All I can tell you is whatever we had together is gone. That's if we ever had anything to begin with, which I'm not too sure about, either."
"But I thought you loved him."
"So did I. Maybe we were both wrong. No, I do love Batman, very much, but it's not the same. We save each other from the local psychopaths, flirt a little bit and then go our separate ways. What future is there in that?"
"I don't know."
"Neither do I. Funny, I thought things were going so well after last summer, but then we hit another dead end. And this time we didn't even try to get over it. Who knows, maybe I finally realised that he'll never let me into his life. His work is always going to come first with him; I can't compete. He'll share the work with me, but not what drives him.
"Not like Bruce," she continued, smiling fondly. "He's moody, and he can be secretive, too, but no more than I am. But he's also kind and generous and...and loving. And he's willing to share himself with me when I'll let him."
Maven smiled, glad to see her old friend was finally beginning to realise what she had known for a long time. She was an incurable romantic, and she wanted to see Selina find someone who would make her happy. At first it hadn't mattered which of the two would win, but after the way Batman had behaved — breaking up with Catwoman and then changing his mind, and worse, not believing in her when she needed his support — she was now firmly on Bruce's side.
"And now you're willing to let him?" she asked hopefully.
"Getting there. Maven, do you think it's possible to be in love with two people at the same time?"
Maven considered the question for a moment. "I think it's very possible to love one person and still cling to the memory of someone else. And it's certainly possible to love different things about different people."
Selina smiled. "You may be right. That reminds me, did I ever tell you about this weird theory that Sarah Miller — excuse me, Sarah Gordon — has? According to Barbara, she decided a long time ago that Batman is really Bruce Wayne, and apparently she still believes it."
Her secretary's eyes widened. "How bizarre! It'd be awfully convenient for you if it were true, though."
"Wouldn't it?" Selina laughed. "I wish it were true! That would solve everything. My ideal man would be a cross between the two of them." She smiled, considering the possibilities. Then she shrugged. "Oh, well. Wishful thinking. I suppose I'll have to content myself with the fact that they kiss alike!"
"At least the choice is made now," Maven said quietly.
Selina nodded. "Yeah. Only...it's not the choice I expected to make. But I have a feeling it's the right one. Maybe it's a good thing Bruce has to be out of the country for awhile. Time away from both of them is probably exactly what I need right now."
CHAPTER TWENTY
APRIL
It was a perfect night to prowl. Chilly but not too cold, no wind to speak of, and a nice, bright full moon.
Catwoman scaled the side of the Wayne Enterprises building, using her claws to grab the rough brick. As she passed the 16th floor, something dangled in front of her face. She examined the object curiously, holding it in one hand while she clutched the building with the other.
It was a wedge of black metal, with scallops cut out of the underside in imitation of a bat's wing. Attached to it was a thin black cable. She raised her head, following the line upward to the edge of the roof, but saw nothing. Balancing herself, she yanked on the cable to test it. It held. With a shrug, she shifted her weight and used the batline to pull herself hand-over-hand up the rest of the building, like a mountain climber.
When she reached the top, she dragged herself over the edge and flexed her hands to retract the claws. She knelt for a moment to disengage the sleeping cat from her shoulder. Then she stood and faced the man who held the other end of the batline.
"Thanks for the lift," she told him.
"Any time."
They stood regarding each other in silence. Finally Catwoman spoke.
"It's been a long time, hasn't it, Dark Knight?"
Batman nodded. "We haven't exactly drifted any closer the past few months, have we? Especially since you've been seeing someone else."
"Jealous?"
Ignoring her taunt, he merely asked, "Which one of us did you come to see?"
She looked at him for a moment before she answered. Then she pointed downwards, toward Bruce Wayne's penthouse office. "Him."
Batman smiled grimly. "I see. So you've made up your mind, then?"
"So it would seem," she answered coolly.
In reality, she was far from being as calm as her manner suggested. Her heart was racing; she hoped he couldn't hear it. Despite the depth of her feelings for Bruce, and the intimacy between them since he had returned from England, she still felt a strong, lingering attraction for Batman that caught her off guard.
"In that case, there's something I need you to do for me."
"What's that?"
"Take off your mask."
Catwoman blinked in surprise. "My mask? Why? You know what I look like."
He took a deep breath. "Take off your mask, and I'll take off mine."
Her reaction was anything but what he expected. She began to laugh. "'You show me yours and I'll show you mine'? I haven't played that since I was five, Batman!" she giggled, not believing him. Nevertheless, she took off the mask. "Now. Satisfied?"
"I'm serious," he told her sternly.
"I've never seen you any other way," she pointed out.
Ignoring her, he went on, "I can't play this game any more, Selina. I just can't do it. I'm tired of being two-thirds of a love triangle."
She looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. "What in the world are you talking about?" she questioned.
Wordlessly, he reached up and removed the cowl.
She took a couple of involuntary steps backwards, almost treading on Isis, who sat looking from one to the other as if wondering what the big surprise was.
"Bruce...? But why...? Why'd you lie to me all this time?" Selina asked in a small, hurt voice. She fumbled with her mask.
Misreading the gesture of re-masking, Bruce started toward her and tried to take her in his arms, wanting to comfort her. Her anger took over and she backed away hissing, all cat now. Stupidly, he followed.
Deliberately, Catwoman unsheathed her claws and raked them across Batman's left forearm, leaving a row of very deep, painful scratches.
"Hey!" he objected, surprised.
She started to leave, then hesitated for a second. "I don't know whether to throw myself into your arms or throw you off this building!" she said. "And until I decide, I suggest you leave me alone."
"Selina, I wish — " he started to say.
Her conversation with Maven popped into her mind. "Be careful what you wish for, Batman. You just might get it!" she told him with a bitter laugh.
She jumped down onto the next rooftop, forgetting Isis. As Bruce cradled the confused cat, the silent whistle vaulted her out of his hands, scratching his wounded arm in the process.
Alfred met his employer at the door, reaching out to take his overcoat. Bruce grimaced as he pulled off the left sleeve.
"Miss Selina called earlier looking for you, Master Bruce," announced Alfred. "I told her you were working late at the office. Did she get in touch with you?"
"I would say so, Alfred." Gingerly, he took off his yellow dress shirt, revealing the bandages wrapped around the tattered sleeve of the bat costume. Blood was seeping through in places.
Alfred drew in his breath. "A little cat-fight, sir?" he inquired.
Bruce showed him a grim smile. "More like a game of truth-and-consequences. I told her the truth — "
" — and took the consequences. Yes, so I see. Still it should be a relief to have everything out in the open now, sir."
"I hope so, Alfred. I hope so." He smiled. "It's been almost a year and a half since Andrea left. It's time to get on with my life. And I want — I need — Selina to be part of that life."
The butler smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure she will, Master Bruce."
Bruce wasn't too sure the next morning when he tried calling her. "Selina, it's me," he began.
"Which one of you?" she inquired nastily, and slammed the phone down in his ear.
Sighing, he hung up the receiver and decided he'd better do as she wanted and leave her alone until she'd had a chance to cool off.
Four days later, he was working late again, this time with Waynetech's second-in-command, Lucius Fox.
"Have you seen the Stone file anywhere?" Lucius asked him.
Bruce thought a minute. "Hmmm. You might try looking in Dana's office, but I wouldn't know where to tell you to start. I have yet to figure out her filing system."
A few minutes later, over the sounds of Lucius rummaging through files in the outer office, he heard another noise. A light tapping. He swiveled his chair around toward the big window behind his desk.
"What the...!" he exclaimed, jumping up and throwing open the window. Catwoman stepped lightly into the room. She stared at Bruce for a minute, realising what a psychological advantage it was to be the only one in costume. Then she grabbed him, kissing him hard and thoroughly.
"Selina," he whispered.
The smile on his face suddenly disappeared, to be replaced by a grimace of shock and pain as she put a strong grip on his wounded arm.
Still without saying a word, she turned and leaped out the window.
Bruce Wayne collapsed into his chair, shaking his head in disbelief. A small cough made him look to the doorway, where Lucius stood staring at him unbelievingly, holding the Stone file in his hands.
"What...was that all about?" he stammered. "I thought you said you and Miss Kyle were just friends."
"Things have, uh, changed between us lately," Bruce answered slowly.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
He gave her — and himself — another 24 hours before facing her again.
She let him in through the terrace door of her apartment, closing the drapes carefully behind him. She stood looking at him expectantly, so he reached up and removed his mask.
"Better? I take it from that little performance last night you've made up your mind what to do?"
In answer, Selina threw herself into his arms and he kissed her tenderly. When the kiss ended, they stood holding each other, smiling.
"Just don't stand too close to the balcony," she cautioned him. Her tone was humorous, but there was a slight undertone that should have warned him she wasn't entirely kidding.
But he missed it, preoccupied with other things, like how good — how right — it felt to hold her and have her know who was embracing her.
"You're everything I ever wanted," he told her. "I don't know how I could have made it through the last year if you hadn't been there. First as a friend, and then to show me — " He broke off suddenly. There was so much he had to tell her, and he didn't want to get bogged down in cliches.
"I know. Your friendship got me through some rough times, too. Of course, I didn't know how much of it was because of your guilty conscience," she said pointedly, and he winced. Then she went on, more gently, "But...no matter how it started out, I ended up falling in love with my friend, which definitely wasn't part of the plan. Not my plan, anyway."
"It came as a pleasant surprise to me, too," Bruce said lightly.
Selina ignored the interruption, trying to figure out how to phrase the question that had been bothering her ever since that night on the roof. "If I hadn't...if I'd made the 'wrong' choice in your book and kept on obsessing about Batman, would you have ever told me?"
He was silent for a moment. "I don't know," he told her finally. "That's what Leslie asked me, months ago: why not just tell you and get it over with?"
"Sounds like a pretty reasonable question to me," Selina pointed out archly.
Bruce nodded. "On the surface, yes," he agreed. "And I did think about it, more than once. But I just didn't think I could live without knowing if you cared because of who I really was, or because you were just still in love with the legend."
She raised one eyebrow. For the so-called World's Greatest Detective, he could be incredibly stupid sometimes.
"Good an excuse as any, I suppose," she shrugged.
Ouch, thought Bruce.
"What's the use in speculating?" he asked. "All that really matters is that we're here — together — like we belong. You know we're meant for each other."
Selina nodded, and stepped forward to embrace him again. She laid her head on his chest, and as he held her tightly, she said musingly, "Batman and Catwoman...Bruce and Selina...the four of us have always made quite a couple, haven't we?"
"Let's get married," he whispered.
"No!" Selina pulled free of him, glaring. "Why do you always have to push everything? God, Bruce, sometimes you act like nothing more than a spoiled rich brat who assumes anything and anyone you want is yours for the asking. I've always hated that. You may be used to getting what you want, but I don't intend to be another one of your conquests!"
Bruce stared at her, shocked. "I've never seen you as a conquest, Selina," he assured her hoarsely. "I love you. I always have. And I just want to have a life with you, that's all."
She sighed and touched his face. "Bruce," she began gently, "I'd like that, too. You know I love you. But don't you understand? That was some shock you gave me, and I'm still angry. And hurt. So right now, it might be best if we just took things slowly, okay?"
"Okay," he agreed sadly. "Maybe you're right. At least we know where we stand now."
"Yes. By the way," she told him, changing the subject, "I told Maven about all this, but I haven't told anyone else. And I know she won't, not even her husband." Especially not her husband. Tim had been furious the night Selina called their apartment in tears, waking them up and asking Maven to come over and hold her hand, figuratively speaking.
"I don't mind Maven knowing, but I'd rather you not tell Barbara for the moment. She's improved a lot, thanks to your training, but she's still not quite ready for full membership in the club yet. But I trust you to keep my secret as well as you've kept hers."
Selina grinned. "I might've known you'd figure it out eventually. But seriously, don't you think she and Robin — I assume that's Dick in that role? — should have the chance to start out with a little more honesty than we did?"
"Maybe. But not just yet. Besides, we've got other things to discuss right now. Like the fact that even with everything out in the open, this still isn't going to be easy."
She shook her head. "I know. With our personalities it couldn't be, could it?"
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
JULY
The decision about telling Robin and Batgirl was taken out of their hands late that summer. The two younger crime fighters found themselves caught up in an adventure all their own, during which they discovered each other's identities. They were surprised and rather pleased at the revelation, but angry at their senior partners for keeping the truth from them.
As for the senior partners themselves, they had taken things slowly, as agreed, but both were very pleased with the way their new relationship was working out. Batman and Catwoman continued to work together, although they were very careful to behave like friends and nothing more. On the other hand, Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle made no secret of their feelings for each other.
Of course, there were a few problems, and not just because of their difficult personalities. The gossip columnists had been a pain, delighted with the story of a wealthy businessman who fell in love with a beautiful criminal turned crimefighter. Selina had naturally heard a few nasty remarks about gold-diggers, while Bruce had taken some kidding (mixed with not inconsiderable envy) from his society friends about his taste in "exotic cats". But they ignored the gossip and concentrated on each other, both happier than they'd been in a long, long time.
And on the hottest, stormiest night of the year, they became lovers.
Selina managed to sleep through the thunder and lightning, but she was awakened by Lucky, her elderly white Persian (who had been terrified of thunderstorms his whole life, and was getting worse) trying to bury himself under her pillow.
"It's just a plain, old-fashioned thunderstorm, baby. I promise," she told him sleepily. "Nothing to worry about."
As she stroked the cat reassuringly, she heard something tap on the French windows. Hail? she wondered, getting out of bed to look. As she brushed the curtain aside, she saw the silhouette of a bat illumined in a flash of lightning.
Hurriedly, she opened the window for him. "What are you doing here?"
"I needed to see you," he answered, in an even huskier voice than usual.
Selina knew what he meant. "I see," she said softly.
She took off his cape and cowl and hung them up to dry on one of the ugly, horn-like projections that served as bedposts. Then she escorted several astonished cats out of the bedroom, shutting the sliding door that was almost never closed. "I figured you'd rather they stay outside," she explained.
He nodded. "Thanks." He held out his arms to her and she went into them willingly, not minding the wetness of his uniform.
Suddenly, there was a particularly vivid flash of lightning, followed by a clap of thunder that shook the building. Selina gave a hoarse laugh. "'It was a dark and stormy night...'" she quoted. "How appropriate. You're the Dark Knight, and I've occasionally been known to be rather stormy."
He silenced her with a kiss.
When she woke up the next morning she was alone, of course. But she smiled to herself as she caressed his pillow. He would be back.
Later that morning, she received two dozen red roses. The card, sealed with a gold, "W" embossed sticker, read simply:
"Good morning, Stormy.
I love you.
The Dark Knight"
