Rebecca finally had to break for air.
Turning her head slightly, she broke their kiss while Bruce leant his forehead against hers tenderly, keeping them close as they caught their breath.
"Are you sure about this?" Rebecca whispered as she opened her eyes to stare at Bruce.
He gazed back as he murmured, "About what?"
"You're Batman." Rebecca reminded softly. "While you're him… you can't give up your playboy billionaire persona. And neither of us could justify a relationship in public while you're 'Bruce Wayne'."
"I can give up this life for you." Bruce answered without missing a beat, and Rebecca laughed.
"Oh, Bruce." Rebecca shook her head. "You can't do that. Not only do I think it's physically impossible for you, but you've started something incredible. You've become a symbol of hope for the city – she's depending on you."
Rebecca caressed the back of her hand fondly over his cheek as she added softly, "We all are."
Bruce swallowed, dread starting to creep into his heart as he asked, "What are you saying?"
"I'm asking how far you've thought this through, Bruce." Rebecca replied gently. "I'm asking… what exactly you're asking of me."
Bruce closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. He could smell the faint scent of vanilla and coffee again, a scent that was quickly turning into an addiction. But he forced himself to think on what Rebecca had said.
As much as he hated to admit it, she was right; and he had thought about it in passing more than a few times before he'd shied away from the thoughts like they had burnt his mind. Bruce couldn't change his fake persona without drawing suspicion, and he couldn't have that. Batman must never be linked to him, not just to protect the people he loved but because of what the Batman was coming to represent. A symbol of hope and justice; a symbol that couldn't be bloodied or killed, unlike his physical body.
Yet to have Rebecca so close; to know she felt the same way he did…
"I can't ask you to date me in public." Bruce said at last, opening his eyes to look Rebecca in the eye once more.
Disappointment and acceptance filled her gaze, and Rebecca was about to move back when Bruce pulled her close again.
Rebecca stared at him, startled, as Bruce continued while his eyes searched hers, "But I also don't want to ask you to wait for me any more."
"So what are you asking me?" Rebecca breathed, gazing up at Bruce with uncertain blue eyes.
Bruce took a deep breath before he answered in a rush, "Can I ask you to be mine when it's just us, and wait for when I can ask you in front of the whole world?"
A bubble of laughter escaped her as Rebecca asked, tears glittering in her eyes, "Is that the grand plan you came up with?"
"It's all I have." Bruce admitted sincerely. "And it's all I can offer; but it's everything I have right now."
"I know." Rebecca murmured, smiling slightly. "And I don't need the whole world to know. But…"
Her smile dimmed as she stared at Bruce, searching his eyes as he had with her as she pointed out, "What you're saying… it's not going to be easy, Bruce."
"I know that." Bruce answered quietly. "And it's not entirely fair to you – I know I'm being selfish with this. I won't lie, you'll have it the hardest, Becky."
"At least you know it." Rebecca joked, before her eyes softened as Bruce lowered his gaze.
"Hey."
He looked back up at her as she coaxed him gently.
"Look at me, Bruce. I don't want to let you go, either. I know it'll be hard, but… I'd rather be beside you somehow and know you're okay coming home every night, than staying separated and wondering if you're hurt."
Bruce's heart lifted at her words, and he let a small smile turn his lips up at the corners while Rebecca pressed another soft kiss on him.
It wasn't perfect – not by a long shot – and it certainly wasn't how things could or should stay.
But, for now, it was enough for them as Bruce deepened the kiss, pulling Rebecca's red hair back and getting his fingers tangled in the curls while her hands tightened around his neck as she ran her own fingers through his thick brown hair.
Later
"So, what are you going to do?" Rebecca asked as she and Bruce walked hand-in-hand through the charred ruins back towards Rebecca's car.
She gestured to the destroyed house, and Bruce answered with a wry smile, "Rebuild it. Just the way it was, brick for brick. "
"Exactly the way it was?" Rebecca teased, and Bruce chuckled as he answered, "Well, Alfred did have an idea for 'improving' the foundations."
"Where?" Rebecca asked curiously, and Bruce answered with a chuckle, "The southeast corner."
"Will I be allowed access to the corner?" Rebecca joked, and Bruce teased, "Only if you give the guard a kiss as payment."
"Lots of kisses for Alfred then." Rebecca tossed back, and Bruce barked a laugh.
"Very funny, Sergeant Dawes." He flicked at her nose, but Rebecca dodged it as she laughed back, "Oh, I know I am, Mr. Wayne."
"Come here, you." Bruce growled as he grabbed her around the middle and pulled her close again.
She kissed him back enthusiastically, before they broke apart as Alfred coughed lightly from behind Bruce.
"Alfred." Bruce sighed, while Rebecca stifled a giggle as the old butler said primly, "So sorry to interrupt, Master Wayne, but I have received a call from Mr. Fox about the tumbler."
"The Batmobile?" Rebecca asked in surprise, while Bruce sighed as he took the phone from Alfred.
"Yeah, I took it to him for repairs and to add improvements." Bruce muttered before he answered the phone.
"Bruce Wayne." He said, while Alfred turned to Rebecca.
"If you would like, Miss Dawes, Master Wayne was planning a small celebratory dinner tonight." The old gentleman offered, and Rebecca smiled.
"Just you two?" She checked, and Alfred answered, "I think three's good company."
"Then three it will be." Rebecca laughed, nodding at Alfred. "Thanks for inviting me, Alfred."
"It is genuinely my pleasure to have you, Miss Dawes." Alfred answered gallantly, making Rebecca laugh again.
She pressed a kiss on the old butler's cheek, before letting out a giggle as Bruce's arm wrapped around her stomach again.
"What was that?" He asked, playfully pouting, and Rebecca joked, "An early payment for access to the southeast corner."
"Where's mine as owner of the property?" Bruce pretended to be outraged, and Rebecca pretended to think about it.
"I don't know – I only have to pay the guard." She teased, and Bruce tickled her sides.
Rebecca squealed while Alfred shook his head at them, though he was smiling as he walked away with the phone again, leaving the new couple as Rebecca's giggling cut off abruptly when Bruce lowered his lips on hers once more.
A few nights later
Gordon adjusted the angle of the searchlight, just as Rebecca walked out onto the roof of the police station with a cup of coffee in each hand.
"You finished it?" She asked, impressed, and Gordon chuckled.
"Yup – I pulled in a favour to get it done as soon as possible." He explained as he switched the light on.
The pair stepped back to admire Gordon's handiwork as the metal stencil bolted onto the searchlight threw up a large bat shadow in the centre of the light's beam on the sky. It mimicked the effect that Batman's earliest signal had had with Crane strapped onto a searchlight, though it worked better with the actual stencil.
"I think he'll like it." Rebecca commented as she handed Gordon his cup while she sipped on her own coffee, and Gordon chuckled.
"You think so?" He asked, and Rebecca answered with a grin, "I like it, Lieutenant."
"Thanks." Gordon replied as he took a swig of his coffee as well. "I do too, Sergeant."
They shared grins, before staring off absently into the city below.
"Is that the reason you're trying to call the Batman?" Rebecca asked lightly, nodding to a plastic packet in her superior's hand, and Gordon nodded as he answered, "You've already heard about it?"
"I overheard a few rumours." Rebecca admitted. "I heard you were going to put a team together tomorrow."
"Yeah – I was going to tell you and the Batman together today though." Gordon admitted, before he glanced out at the city. "If he shows up tonight."
A metal tapping sounded behind them, and the pair turned around before Rebecca smiled and Gordon grinned as Batman removed his hand from the bat stencil.
"Nice." Batman commented in his deep voice.
"Couldn't find any mob bosses." Gordon tossed back as he and Rebecca walked over to join Batman next to the bat signal.
"Sergeant Dawes here said you'd appreciate it, though." Gordon added as he switched the light off, and Batman nodded once while Rebecca suppressed a grin.
"Well, Lieutenant, Sergeant?" Batman inquired as he looked between the pair, and Gordon commented more than asked, "So you know about that, then."
"It was in the news." Batman answered without any inflection, and Gordon shrugged.
"Fair enough." He answered as he watched Batman closely. "You've really started something, you know. Bent cops running scared, hope on the streets."
"But?" Batman prodded, sensing more, and Gordon sighed.
"But," he continued as he got to the surface issues, "the Narrows is lost. And we still haven't picked up Crane or half the inmates of Arkham that he freed."
"We will." Batman replied firmly. Bruce had already heard about that from Rebecca the day before, and he was already searching through the city to find and recapture the missing criminals. "We can bring Gotham back."
"And what about escalation?" Gordon inquired, examining the other man's eyes intently.
"Escalation?" Batman repeated, and Gordon was certain if he could see the man's eyebrows they would be lifted right now.
Gordon explained pointedly, "We start carrying semiautomatics, they buy automatics. We start wearing Kevlar, they buy armour-piercing rounds."
Now he was certain Batman was probably raising his brows, though the man's voice remained neutrally deep as he prompted, "And?"
"And, you're wearing a mask and jumping off rooftops." Gordon said bluntly, a hint of warning in his voice.
Batman just waited, and Gordon held up the plastic bag and the small file he'd been carrying as he explained, "Now, take this guy."
He opened the file, reading off, "Armed robbery, double homicide, got a taste for the theatrical like you."
He nodded at Batman, who glanced at Rebecca over Gordon's shoulder when the man looked back down at his file.
She just shrugged, not knowing the details yet either, as Gordon continued, "Leaves a calling card."
He handed over the plastic bag to Batman, who took it with a frown. Inside was a single, regular playing card and Rebecca also leaned over to look as Batman stared at the card intently. Turning it over, Batman examined the face side of the card, which showed the Joker symbol. Symbol...
"I'll look into it." Batman promised as he handed the card back to Gordon.
He turned to leave without another word, moving towards the edge of the roof, and Gordon hesitated.
"I never said thank you." He called after the Batman, a little reluctantly but his sincerity still rang clear.
Rebecca smiled slightly as the Batman stopped, before he turned to look Gordon right in the eye.
"And you'll never have to." Batman answered.
His eyes moved to meet Rebecca's briefly, before he turned and leapt off the building.
Gordon watched the man disappear, before he turned to see Rebecca grinning at him.
"You didn't say much – unlike usual." Gordon noted, and Rebecca shrugged as she answered, "You said everything you wante. d to. And I already had my shot when he rescued me from Crane before."
"I see." Gordon commented as he turned back to where they could still faintly see Batman swooping off into the distance before the man disappeared into the shadows once more.
"I thought you were afraid of bats." Gordon noted casually, and Rebecca's smile widened.
"I think I can make an exception for one." She answered, and Gordon chuckled as he glanced at her.
"You're going to fall for Batman?" He asked, and Rebecca rolled her eyes.
"Please, Gordon – we don't even know who he is behind the mask." She pointed out calmly.
Gordon just shrugged as he answered as he turned to go back inside, "Well, I know how it is with people, young people especially, Becky. You fall for the mysterious, brooding hero types."
"You think he's a hero?" Rebecca chuckled as she followed him back towards the station.
"Don't you?" Gordon countered, glancing back at her, and Rebecca just smiled again.
She turned to stare off again at where Batman had disappeared, and she answered lightly, "I think he is."
Gordon rolled his eyes, but a smile tugged at his lips beneath his moustache as he walked back inside, and Rebecca followed him. Far away, the Batman took off into the night while in the sky, his symbol blazed for all of Gotham to see.
End Arc 1
*A/N Thank you to everyone who read this thus far! This is the end of the first arc, but stay tuned for the next arc featuring possibly the best villain in cinematic history. You know who I'm talking about.