Men, Women, Garters, and Chains
By: The Angelic Temptress
Disclaimer: If I owned them, things would be different. (I don't own the songs mentioned, either.)
Spoilers: Through "Starcrossed"
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: BM/WW BM/CW GL/HG NW/BG
A/N: I just want to thank everyone who reviewed, again. Your sweet words make me so happy! :) Well, before you start the chapter, I must apologize in advance for the lyrics. (xffan-2000) You see, the song "La Vie en Rose" actually sparked the idea for this lil' fic, so I must pay homage to it. (Hey, I fell in love with the song when Audrey Hepburn sang it in "Sabrina" and fell again when Jack Nicholson sang it in "Something's Gotta Give.") Hope you don't mind too much. (By the way, I know none of my favorite singers sang it, so I inserted "Dream a Little Dream" to continue the trend.)
A/N 2: The quote about being in Chicago and praying for rain in California comes from the Dino song, "Little Ole Wine Drinker Me." The "honest to goodness rain" comes from the original "Sabrina."
)V(
Chapter 7: La Vie En Rose
Diana ran her left hand over one of the silver bracelets she had recently slipped back on and bit her lower lip. She had showered and changed at the Wayne Manor since being rescued from the abandoned prison, and she now sat in Batman's cave, only a few feet from the Dark Knight, staring at his mysterious form.
His gloved hands were typing away on the keyboard, which belonged to the large computer that his gaze hadn't wavered from. She knew that he was avoiding her, and she couldn't blame him.
Or could she?
Sitting beside those three other women and actually talking to them had done something to the princess. She was questioning herself and her faith in the relationship she and Bruce had conjured. Diana wanted to believe that what they had was real but couldn't help doubting its stability.
Was Selina accurate? Did Diana not know Bruce? Did she only know elements of his character: the Batman, the fake playboy, the orphaned son, the nearly unemotional companion, the protective father... Had he revealed himself to Selina in ways that Diana could never imagine?
Perhaps the criminal knew what she was talking about. After all, Catwoman knew an aspect of Batman that Wonder Woman would never know: the opponent. Diana would never be Bruce's enemy.
Selina had been at one time.
Could that detail outweigh the fact that Diana knew Batman's identity? Perhaps a name truly meant nothing in the dark world Catwoman and Batman resided in. Maybe to understand Batman, a person had to be him.
And Selina Kyle was his female counterpart. Diana had felt it the first time they met; that's why she had trusted her so quickly. Her presence had felt so familiar.
The Amazon princess stood from her seat on the steel chair and walked over to Batman. She leaned in and planted a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth, a kiss that he didn't return.
"Goodbye, Bruce," she whispered and rotated on her heel. When he said her name, Diana made a ninety-degree turn so she could see him out of the corner of her eye.
"Stay the night. You need to rest," he requested, although it sounded more like an order.
"I'll be fine."
"Then I'll call you."
"No. I think you misinterpreted the farewell." When his expression remained blank, she explained. "I'm not the one you care for." Before he could interrupt, she added, "Selina Kyle, however, is."
"That was a long time –"
"I don't need saving, Bruce. Catwoman does." She sighed, fighting back upcoming tears. "Love doesn't die, no matter what anyone tells you."
The Batcave was silent, and Diana could almost hear her own heart breaking in the darkness.
Once again, she said goodbye and slowly climbed the stairway that would lead her to the grandfather clock, which hid the entrance to the cave. From there, she'd leave the Wayne Manor as a single woman who had experienced something new.
A breakup.
Unexpectedly, a bittersweet smile found its way to her lips as she stepped into the night.
)V(
Shayera gradually opened her green eyes to see a ceiling. She didn't know where she was but wouldn't allow herself to panic. The circumstances seemed all too recognizable, and she knew that freaking out wouldn't help.
Carefully, she sat up in the bed she had been sleeping in and noticed the outline of a person standing by the window, watching her. Her twisted stomach loosened. She'd know him anywhere, especially in the moonlight.
"John?" she managed and tried lifting her right hand to brush strands of hair from her face but failed. It had been placed in a cast.
"Go back to sleep."
Her eyes darted around the room. The scene paralleled the night he had first kissed her. This time, she was the injured one in bed, and the moon hovered in the night sky.
She remembered hovered over the earth during his recovery.
"We need to talk," she found herself saying. "A lot has happened within the past few days."
His glowing eyes hadn't left her, and she could feel the intensity behind the stare. Maybe some of that intensity was love, but she could only hope.
"Not tonight." John turned his back to her and walked out the door without another word. Shy sat there, taken aback by his response.
How could he be so... cold? He wasn't Hro. He wasn't Hai. He was The Green Lantern, her John Stewart. He had been stern before, and he had been domineering but never cold.
Although her entire body ached from lack of sleep, food, and water, she climbed out of the comfortable bed and followed him into the hallway. She yelled his name, to get his attention, and raced to him.
She wrapped her arms around him, her left hand taking hold of the back of his head. Her mouth moved to the crook of his neck as the rest of her body melted against his.
"I'm so sorry, John," Shayera whispered against his neck, placing a kiss where her breath collided with his skin. She heard him swallow hard as his arms cautiously pulled her closer.
After a minute of just holding the sobbing Thanagarian, John's body finally relaxed against hers. His hand grasped her auburn hair, and his lips touched her temple.
"I know" was all he murmured in return, but she knew that he had forgiven her.
The Green Lantern lifted her into his arms and carried her back to the room she had been placed in earlier. That night, he didn't leave her side.
)V(
"You all right?"
Supergirl glanced to her right and noticed The Flash standing beside her. She gave a slight nod and said, "Aside from the fact that you all ditched Nightwing and me, I'm fine."
"Not my idea. Blame Bats."
She crossed her arms over the "S" on her chest and huffed. "Barbara and Diana could have been killed. Of all of us, I am the strongest, and you left me behind!"
"Whoa. Hold up. Lantern, Bats, and I are fully capable of taking care of ourselves. Sure, you may be a pretty strong 'Gal of Steel,' but you're still a kid and still new. I'm not trying to sound like a jackass veteran, but it's true. You and Nightwing were too close to this."
"And you weren't?" she countered, spinning to face him. "Babs is your friend too."
"But you've got to learn to take orders and brush off... brush-offs." He shrugged at his own inarticulate statement, and shook his head. "Do you get what I mean? It wasn't personal. In Gotham, we follow the Bat's rules. I never asked why, but I guess you could go to Supes for that answer."
"What about GL? Huh? You can't tell me that he wasn't 'too close to this.' He's still crazy about that Hawkgirl; everyone knows it. God, I don't know how many times I've heard the other heroes gossip about the two of them. But yet, he gets a call?"
"Bats isn't one to ask for help. We were lucky he even considered giving us a call." Flash scratched the back of his head and offered an apologetic smile. "Do you get it?"
The blonde heroine returned a small smile and nodded. "I guess so."
"Am I forgiven then?"
She chuckled. "Sure. Why not?"
He laughed too and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You'll get used to it. I promise. There'll be a time when you'll shine and outsmart them. Even Big Blue himself wouldn't be able to prevent that from happening."
"You think so?"
"Of course."
"And you're not just saying that to butter me up?"
"Why would I butter you up?"
"Because I'm beautiful, blonde, and bodacious?"
"Maybe you're just super, superior, and scrumptious. By the way, I didn't know people still used the word 'bodacious.' Didn't that die in the '90s?"
"Who am I to allow an innocent term to fade away?"
Flash raised an eyebrow and a corner of his mouth, and Kara couldn't help finding it adorable. He did have a boyish charm about him, and she couldn't exactly ignore it. That would not only be impossible, but it would be a sin as well.
She'd bet fifty bucks that he was thinking the exact same thing.
And she laughed again.
)V(
"Honey, I'm home."
Joker glanced around the quiet prison. There were no armed guards in sight, and the women's cell was completely empty. Already, he could feel his temper rising.
"What is it, puddin'?" Harley asked as she stepped inside too. Her mouth hung open, and her eyes grew wide with shock. "What happened?"
Joker scowled at his girlfriend and resisted yelling at her. How would he possibly know what happened if he hadn't been there?
The Clown Prince of Crime continued on his walk through the empty hallway once he told Harl to stay behind. Not three steps into his journey, he stumbled on something.
A batarang.
His jaw clenched in anger, and he stormed Hai Talak's bedroom. After kicking it open, he screamed, "What the fuck happened while I was away?"
The Thanagarian was sitting on his bed, his blue eyes staring into the abyss, but he didn't answer the clown's question. Already, Joker was exasperated.
"Didn't you hear me, Bird Boy? What. The. Fuck. Happened?"
After a moment of silence, Hai spoke. "They came. The Lantern took her from me." He stood from his seat and gritted his teeth. "I'll kill him, though."
"How did they find us? We destroyed their tracking devices and communicators."
"It was that feline. She must have warned them."
"Catwoman? But she was here..." Joker's evil eyes narrowed. "She escaped, didn't she?" Hai barely nodded, and the clown's knuckles grew white as he balled his purple-gloved fists. "And then she went to find the Bat. During that time, you didn't think to relocate or call me?"
Joker shook his head with disbelief. "It was the perfect plan. He'd never suspect me until the package would have been delivered. It would have driven the Bat off the edge. I would have won." He pointed a finger at the Thanagarian and shouted, "It's all your fault. You just wanted to fuck that Hawk Whore. That was all you cared about!"
Suddenly, Joker was pressed up against the wall with Hai's hand wrapped around his white neck. Gasping for air, he tried to apologize to the over-sized canary, claiming he was angry and not thinking clearly.
"Don't you dare call her a whore. She's my fiancée, you fool."
The color drained from Joker's face when he realized how bonkers the bird really was. Joker didn't need a guy like that to weigh him down.
Three shots went off in that bedroom. Three bullets were lodged in a man's stomach. A single revolver was smoking.
That revolver sat in the palm of the Joker's hand.
Those bullets had been fired into Hai.
As blood spurted from the Thanagarian's mouth, the grip on Joker's neck loosened. The criminal shoved the Hawk, sending him to the floor, and squatted beside him.
With a deadly whisper, Joker said, "That's for ruining my plans. See you in Hell, freak." The maniac stood, called for Harley, and walked toward the door.
"Yeah, Mistah J?"
Joker placed the gun in her hand. "Finish him off for me, Harl. I need to be alone for a few minutes."
"Sure thing, puddin'."
As he strolled down the hallway, he heard the gun go off another three times, and he smiled to himself.
)V(
Barbara finished towel drying her red hair and headed for her kitchen. She was starving and couldn't wait to scarf down a bagel and strawberry cream cheese.
A figure sitting on her couch startled her, and she nearly dropped her hairbrush. Nightwing came to her, without uttering a word. His arms pulled her to his kevlar suit as his mouth covered hers. She mimicked his passionate embrace and kissed him in return.
This time, she did drop the brush.
He felt so warm, and his cheek was so soft against hers. Her hand gripped his black hair as his lips traveled to her jaw line. She closed her eyes with approval and anticipation as his hands traced her curves.
But she knew she couldn't go through with it. At least, not until she talked to him.
"Dick. We can't."
Stunned by the remark, he took a step back. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing... Everything." She took his hands into her own and started to explain. "We need to discuss this."
"This...?"
"Whatever we are. Whatever this relationship is."
His face fell, and he took off his mask. "I knew this was coming." Before she could give her opinion, he told, "I don't want it to end. We'll work it out. I promise. I'll stop by more often. Call more. Talk more. Whatever you need me to do, I'll do."
Tears formed in her eyes as she caressed his cheek. "Then be your own person, Dick. You don't need me."
"Don't I? You're the best friend I've ever hand, the best person I've ever met, the best lover I've ever –"
"But how do you know that? How old are we, Dick? God, we sound like we're fifty."
"But aren't we? We both had lived a lifetime before the age of twenty... several lifetimes. We're four people, not two. We're not like other couples, and we have to stop treating ourselves as if we were."
Barbara shook her head. "Then are we together because it's logical? It's even? Not odd?
"That's not it, and you know it."
"I'm afraid I don't."
He took her face into his gloved hands and kissed her forehead. "I remember falling in love with you the night you first showed up as Batgirl. I've loved you ever since."
The tears fell from her blue eyes, and he wiped them away.
"If you need me to change, I will. I'd give my life for you. I'd do anything." He smoothed her damp hair and sent her a smile. "I love you, Babs. I always will."
A smile appeared on her quivering lips. "I love you too, short pants."
He laughed and kissed her again, softer this time. Before they knew it, the kevlar suit was lying on Barbara's bedroom floor, next to her sweatpants and GSU tee.
Dick didn't go back to Bludhaven the next morning. He didn't leave her apartment for a good twenty-nine hours.
)V(
She looked so peaceful sleeping, and he loved watching her. The way her chest would slowly rise and fall, the way she mumbled incoherent words in her sleep, and the way she'd lay close to him made John a happy man.
Other than a few innocent, although avid, kisses, the duo hadn't done anything. He had spent the night studying her, enjoying her presence.
Holding her...
The entire atmosphere seemed warmer now that she was close. He could smell her and touch her now. She was the real McCoy, not just a figment of his imagination anymore. John would never let her go, like he did the last time.
She slightly groaned, and her eyelids fluttered open. When those green circles of sight focused on his face, a smile danced on her pink lips.
"Hey there," he said quietly.
"Hey yourself." Shayera lifted her good hand and rested it on his jaw, specifically placing her thumb on his mouth.
He kissed it.
"Sleep well?"
"Mmm-hmm." Her fingers began to trace little patterns on his chocolate skin, inviting memories of their tender past.
And, for once, he didn't care.
Suddenly, her expression changed, and she sat up in the bed Bruce Wayne had provided. The billionaire believed it would be best to keep her at the Manor, for safety reasons of course. John couldn't have agreed more.
"What's wrong?" he questioned and sat up as well.
"What did you do with Hai?"
"Couldn't get to him. He ran. Batman and Superman are set on locating him within the next week, so don't worry. We'll –"
Her eyes widened. "He knows who you are, John. He's a devious little bastard, and we have to keep an eye out for him; he'll probably try to kill you." Shy's voice held so much concern for John, although she should have been worrying about herself.
The fact that she hadn't asked what Hai had done to her surprised the Lantern. If he had been in that position, he'd want to know.
"He didn't touch you."
She nodded but moved her gaze to her lap. "He's sick, John. He really wants to be his brother." Shayera faced him again and added, "I called him Hro, and he didn't flinch. It was... startling. It's as if he had convinced himself that he is his brother."
Even though hearing Talak's name leave Shayera's mouth warped his stomach into knots, John pulled her close and kissed the top of her head.
"I won't let him hurt you, Shy. I won't let him hurt anyone again. I promise."
"Thank you," she said against his bare chest.
After showering and eating the delicious breakfast Alfred had prepared, John and Shayera left the Wayne Manor and headed for John's apartment in Detroit, even though they knew Hai would probably target it.
He figured that they would be more comfortable talking in a place that they both loved, and Hai would have to face the both of them.
)V(
It had been twenty-four hours since Catwoman had escaped from the claws of Hai Talak, and the Batman stood just outside her city apartment, on the roof of an adjacent building.
Her lights were out, but he figured she'd be asleep or prowling around Gotham.
He shot out a line and swung onto her terrace. With a simple wire, he unlocked her door and stepped inside.
The apartment looked as if no one had been there for a day or so. Cats didn't parade around the living room, as they usually did, and all the dishes had been washed. Batman headed for the bedroom but only found an already made bed.
Selina was gone and had left nothing important behind.
Batman left her apartment the way he had found it and made his way to the 'Mobile. After slipping inside, he spoke.
"Computer. Run search for any recent purchases on Selina Kyle's MasterCard."
A few moments passed, and the computer responded. "Latest purchases: Hotel room at the Royal Parc De Seine Suresnesin Paris, France; one airline ticket on Air France flight 10 –"
He shut off the computer and started the car.
)V(
Selina Kyle sat alone in one of Paris' many smoke-filled cafés, sipping her second glass of white wine. She had arrived in France that day, six o'clock Gotham time and eleven o'clock Paris time. Now it was two in the morning, French time, and she was one of the few loners still sitting in the all-night café, situated not far from the Eiffel Tower.
The band was still playing, and the dark-skinned singer was finishing another song, "Les Yeux Ouverts" which was the French version of "Dream a Little Dream." Selina couldn't help mumbling the English words to herself.
Stars fading but I linger on dear
Still craving your kiss
I'm longing to linger till dawn dear
Just saying this
Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you
Sweet dreams that leave all worries far behind you
But in your dreams whatever they be
Dream a little dream of me
When the pretty young woman finished, Selina applauded and gulped the rest of her wine. It was then that the bartender caught her attention.
"Something wrong, mademoiselle?"
She raised her green eyes and shook her head. "No."
The piano started again, this time playing a tune she had heard in so many movies. The lovely brunette gave a dry chuckle and muttered, "How cliché."
Des yeux qui font baisser les miens
Un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche
Voilà le portrait sans retouches
De l'homme auquel j'appartiens
"I believe you are suffering from what Americans call 'Heartbreak,'" the man behind the bar said and refilled her wine glass. "No charge."
"Thank you."
He had gleaming brown eyes and tanned skin, but he looked like a typical Frenchman with his rugged, unshaven face. It almost made Selina laugh.
"You don't like this song? Most tourists do."
"I'm not a tourist."
This time, he chuckled. "Like I say before, you look sad."
"Well, when you find yourself in Chicago praying for rain in California, you know you're heart's broken."
His forehead wrinkled, but she didn't take the time to explain the quote.
"You see, there are rules in this war with love, rules in the world of men, women, garters, and chains."
"What rules?"
"Well..." She pulled the antique clip from her hair and allowed her dark strands to fall to her shoulders. "Rule number one: Men will always find the bad girl attractive."
"This is true."
"Rule two: All men are the same, no matter what you've come to believe." Selina sighed and shook her head again. "Rule three: The good girl always wins, leaving the bad girl in the dust."
"Good girl?"
"Don't act stupid. You know exactly what I'm talking about." Selina Kyle stood from her barstool and tossed a few Euros onto the table. "Keep the change." She slung her purse over her shoulder and started for the exit.
It was raining that morning, and she wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
Selina was sure that a person needed "honest to goodness" rain on his or her first day in Paris.
)V(
That night, starcrossed lovers allowed themselves to be loved again, college sweethearts gave into their desires, a young heroine found herself, a psychotic conspirator was found murdered, an Amazon princess grew up, and a criminal's heart ached.
And again, the Batman stood alone on one of many barren rooftops, watching over his city.
The wind tousled his cape as he tried to forget that he didn't have arms to come home to anymore.
He couldn't expect things to work out for him. They never had in the past. Batman had never once looked at life through rose-colored glasses and probably never would.
But that was life.
His life.
)V(
That's la vie en rose...
)V(
The End.
There. It's done. Hope you liked.
No, neither Shayera or John finished Hai, but he got what was coming to him with an ironic twist. (Maniac kills a maniac) Nobody won our Batsy... Did that surprise both the BM/CW and WW/BM fans?
Thanks so much! :)