Storge part III

'Oh hello, stranger.' Said Barbara opening the door, she had her usual maniac smile and was day drinking.

'Sorry about coming without a heads up, Helena said she and Babs had a project for school that she forgot to tell me about.'

Helena seemed completely unaffected by her mother's jab.

'Hi, auntie Barbara.'

'Hi, honey, give me a kiss.' Barbara bended over to hug the little girl. 'Babs in her room, you can go in without knocking, she is blasting that awful thing she calls music and won't hear you.'

Then, she turned back to Selina.

'Don't be silly, Selina. You can come whenever. This will always be your home.'

'Thanks.'

'Can I get you a glass of wine?'

So what it was eleven in the morning?

'Sure.'

Selina Kyle, wine mom extraordinaire. She fell heavily on the couch as Barbara went to the bar fill a glass for Selina.

'You are not looking good, are you sick?'

'Wow, thank you!' Said Selina bitter and annoyed.

'I mean it.' She said it matter-of-factly but also with a concerned note as she gave Selina the glass of wine.

Selina sighed and took a generous sip, it was the good stuff, but then, it was Barbara.

'I know you do.'

Barbara sat beside her, massaging Selina's arm motherly.

'Selina, come on, you know you can talk to me.'

'I'm fine, Barbara.'

'You're clearly not. It's Bruce, isn't it? Did you fight again? You were looking so well at the party.'

Selina held the cup with both hands, looking at the shadows on the red liquid.

'No he… We didn't fight. Well, we did, but we always do. That wasn't it.'

'What was it then?'

'We had sex.' She blurted.

'Ohh juicy!'

Selina groaned, rolling her eyes. Why Barbara had to be so Barbara sometimes?

'Forget it.'

'No, please. I'll be good.'

'Right.' Selina snorted.

'But at least you used protection this time?' Barbara asked in a mocking sweet voice.

'Barbara, I'm not a teenager anymore.'

'Did you?' She asked more serious.

Selina actually felt her face heating.

'No… But I'm on birth control, so it's probably fine. But that's not the point.'

'And that would be?'

Selina sighed, and took more of the wine, she knew it would only worsen the headache and the stomach pain that she was feeling and that she knew it had nothing to do with an actual disease, but she didn't care at the time. The pain was good. It was a distraction.

'I told him to leave… When it was over. The face he made…' She drank more of the wine, her hands shaking. Barbara gently took the glass away from Selina who covered her face with her hands. 'Oh god.' She sobbed. 'I can't do it, Barbara. I can't do it again. I can just let him in after all that happened. Do you remember how I was when he left? I can't go back to that place, I have a kid now. I can't. I just can't.'

Barbara put the glasses on the wine table and held Selina's shaking shoulders sideways, resting her head against the younger woman's.

'Hey. Calm down.' And when Selina stopped crying so hard, Barbara loosened her grip. 'Look at me.' Selina did. 'You are not that Selina anymore, and he's not that Bruce.'

'So what?' She felt so stupid, so young, like a silly child, a crybaby. Her voice thick from all the crying. 'That changes nothing.'

Barbara rubbed Selina's tears away.

'That changes everything. Yes, maybe falling into bed with him without working through your baggage wasn't smart, but you clearly still have feelings for each other. You have always been so brave, you are the bravest person I know, Selina. Will you really let go of a second chance because you are afraid of getting hurt?'

'He will do it again, he will fuck things over, I know he will.'

Barbara sighed, the compassion dissipating.

'Well, maybe he will. Maybe you will. You are no saint sweetheart. People change. Maybe you will find out that you're just not compatible anymore. But you pulled yourself from that pit before, when things were so much harder. If you have to, you can do it again.'

Selina didn't want to have to. But she didn't say anything. The both of them stood in contemplative silence for a while, then Selina got up and went to bathroom to fix her face. When she came back, Barbara pushed a refilled glass in her hands.

'But now, comparative performance, better or worse?'

'Ew, Barbara!'

Barbara was clearly having trouble to hide her amusement, or maybe she wasn't trying at all.

'That bad?'

Selina took a huge gulp of the wine, her voice getting a little rough.

'He got better, okay?' Hating that she was saying nice things about Bruce, but trying to preserve her pride. She was not pinning over some guy that couldn't even fuck her properly. 'He was never bad to begin with.'

'Really? All my boyfriends from teen years were lame.' Barbara sounded almost sad.

'Well, I don't believe you went out with weird nerds like Bruce. He probably researched, read books, watched tutorial videos, and crammed like he had to take a test or something.'

Barbara blurted a whole-hearted laugh.

'You have such a great taste, kiddo.'

Selina finished her glass and filled another.

'Don't I fucking know it?'

'Oooh!' Exclaimed Barbara so excited that she almost choked with her drink. 'And there was his whore phase! He must have learned something there. The whore phase, I forgot about that. That was hilarious.'

'Oh yes, when he wouldn't talk to me but came to my bar every night to show off and make out with those brainless sluts in front of my face.'

'Careful, that sound a lot like jealousy.'

'I was jealous! How come after all the work I've done on that nerd they got to have the hot badboy version? I clearly had the dibs.'

ooo

'I make that by your glowing smile and lightheaded whistle things are going well with Miss Kyle.'

'Don't want to talk about it, Alfred.'

Bruce had not been leaving the cave in days, using all his time to brood and build, brood and build.

'Oh,wonderful, my TARDIS works. I did travel back in time.'

Bruce angrily used the driller to muffle Alfred's voice.

'Very mature, sir.' Said Alfred after waiting patiently the drilling to stop.

'Go away, Alfred, I'm busy.'

'Well, I might remind you, sir, that as much as you want to stay here and pity yourself for hours no end, there is a boy upstairs confused for why he is being ignored by his mentor.'

Bruce swallowed hard trying to ignore the bitter taste of guilt.

'I'll talk to Dick, later.'

'You might as well. I'll be leaving then, I expect to see you clean and ready to dinner at eight o'clock sharp.'

'I will eat a sandwich later.' Grunted back Bruce.

'No, you must certainly will not.' The butler said unfazed. 'You will have proper dinner with Master Dick upstairs.'

Bruce took a deep calming breath.

'Fine.'

'And I must remember you, also, Master Bruce, that you can hardly make a cat do your bidding whenever you want, but once it becomes fond of you it will eventually come to you on its own.'

ooo

She was languidly lying on his bed one morning after patrol, apparently, her plan had been surprising him with tequila and a very tight vinyl two-piece, but as he spent all night out, she fell asleep while waiting. Bruce wanted to be angry by her appearing like that after how awful their last meeting had been, but he just couldn't, he felt almost euphoric. Sure, he was dead tired when he parked in the cave, and the misery he had been feeling since she told him to go away had presented itself like exhaustion most of days, but now he felt alight like a Christmas three.

He sat on the bed next to her, and just looked at her for a moment. She couldn't be comfortable wearing that to sleep, as good as the shiny material made her curves look, but he didn't want to wake her up just yet. Bruce was very surprised that his presence didn't wake her by itself. She used to be so skittish as a child, once she squeezed a lot of money out of him by betting that he wouldn't be able to give her a scare. But she might have cheated back then, she always cheated. As much as the scenario presented looked to be in his favour he was dreading that moment to end, maybe it would be a repetition of the other night. Maybe she was just drunk when she crawled through his window, maybe, when she finally opened her eyes, it would be only to reject him again. He didn't think he could go through that again. Maybe they could stay in that moment forever, and he would pretend that having Selina in his bed was something that would remain true for as long as that stretch of forever would take.

'What are you thinking there so hard?' Her voice brought him back from his reverie, it was hoarse with sleep. She stretched like a cat, purring softly as she did so and then looked at him, her eye make up a little smeared, a severe case of bed hair, he felt himself unable to stop the smile blossoming in his lips.

'What are you doing in my bed, Selina?'

'Sleeping, obviously.'

'Obviously.'

'Come here.'

'But you said last tim-'

'Shhhh.'

They didn't talk a lot after that. Later that afternoon he woke to find an empty bed.

ooo

She hardly gives indication to their two shared nights after that, but he tries not to overthink it, as much as possible for someone like him, which isn't much. But he start making excuses for her. Maybe she is acting like nothing changed because it's too new and they have children now. They make small talk when they meet under pretences related to their daughter, after the dinner Helena was always anxious around them, expecting something to happen, but as weeks went by and her parents didn't look anything more than old friends, she started to stop showing interest.

Catwoman and Batman, however, don't do anything to avoid each other. Well, she runs, but that's only because she wants him to catch her, and sometimes, he does, but he often forgets to take what she stole as well as her clothes.

She is never his plus one at galas, but he always makes sure she gets an invite. And between fake laughs, boring conversations, he would discreetly follow her around the dance floor, trying to return as much wallets and jewellery she pickpocketed without neither of them being caught. These nights usually are followed by quickies on bathroom sinks or unlocked rooms.

And then, there was the nights he slipped under her sheets after a hard night of patrol, after he acknowledged that the price for those moments was silence. But she would trace the lines on his face and softly kiss his scars, and the lovemaking was sweet, she would smile into his kisses and he would lose hours of sleep just looking at her. But he would be gone before Helena woke up, Selina didn't exactly ask but he knew that was implied even if she wouldn't state it. Sometimes he felt like the woman he slept with and the woman who shared a kid and a past with him were completely different. The disconnection was such that he wondered what would be like asking the Selina, his friend, who talked to him every day, for advice dealing with the Selina who fucked him in back alleys and on the backseat of his car and then pretended he wasn't there. It wasn't like he had other friends he could talk about that. All his acquaintances where either father figures to him or seen him as such, in a way that talking about that would go from absolutely uncomfortable to completely inappropriate.

Alfred knew, of course, what Alfred doesn't. In the beginning he seemed satisfied with his discovery, for one Bruce was not hiding in the cave more than normal anymore. And since training had become harder and more frequent, Dick was getting a lot more self-control and breaking less things, which would make Alfred happy by itself. But he was always trying to let Bruce and Selina alone, which was odd considering Alfred had never been pro their relationship when they were young. Granted, that ship had sailed ten years ago and they had Helena as proof, but it was still funny see Alfred setting up situations for them to be alone instead of appearing out of the blue to stop them from getting too handsy with one another. However, was months progressed and no announcement was made, he started to become inpatient, and if Bruce was honest with himself, so did he.

ooo

'Good morning, sir.' Alfred announced himself, and Bruce pressed pause on the music to listen to him, but kept running on the thread mile. 'Miss Dawes called earlier, I told her you would free tomorrow for brunch.'

Bruce stopped running and almost fell.

'What? Alfred! You know I don't do dates!'

'Oh but don't you think people will start finding strange that the most eligible bachelor of Gotham City is never seen accompanied?'

'I don't care.'

'Well, I think you will not care either when they start calling you eccentric and making theories… Not many people in this city, quizás the world, have the means and the motives to have a… Hn… Hobby like yours, sir. You must make the idea that Bruce Wayne might be something other than a spoiled dim-witted prat ridiculous.'

'What going to brunch Miss whatshername has to do with that? And since when do you approve of brunch, Alfred?'

'I approve it is special occasions, sir. And it's Miss Dawes, she is a defence attorney.'

'Alfred? A DA? Me? You know how hard I work to put criminals behind bars and you want me to go out with someone who does the complete reverse for a living?'

'Considering your past choices for lovers, sir, I did not think that would bother you.'

'What do you mean by that?'

'The brunch is tomorrow at two o'clock, I will email you the location.'

'I'm not going, Alfred.'

'Do as you may, Master Bruce, but you will have to call her and tell her yourself. Now I shall tend to my chores.'

Bruce let his head fall defeated, and then he researched this Miss Dawes, what could possibly a DA have any interest in a billionaire playboy like Bruce Wayne?

ooo

Turns out she wasn't just any DA, she was specialized in cases concerning children accused of felonies. She said that she once heard him say in an interview that he was against incarceration of minors, a quick glimpse that escaped behind his mask of idiocy, and tried to get in contact with him to talk about this project she had to help such children but was desperately needing funding.

But what surprised him the most was how nice that afternoon had been. How freeing was to talk with someone intelligent and that had so many of the same ideals he had. Rachel Dawes was beautiful in her classic upper middle class way. She talked eloquently, and wore a silk blouse under a tailleur to see him, subtle make up, all very easy to look at, all very proper and polished. He wondered if it was that the kind of women he would be seeing if he had never met his destiny that awful night. If he would have gone to college like his parents intended, had crushes on a normal girl that took English Literature classes and talked about long dead writers like they were old friends. He imagined normal dates, cinema, the opera, no, not the opera. Walking hand in hand through museums corridors in which she would not even dare to touch the glass windows. He imagined dinners with his parents, and the normal order of things, engagement, wedding and then, after that, a kid.

He didn't want just normal, but the intimacy that came with it, he wanted the stupid disagreements, and goodbye kisses before work, he wanted to wake up every morning next to the woman he loved, he wanted more than stolen moments, he wanted more than what he had with Selina.

So, when Rachel asked him if he would want to meet another time, he said yes.

EVIL, I'M EEEEEEEEEVIL. But this is not what you're thinking, believe me. Rachel here will be as much as a character as she was in the Nolan movies, in which, you know, she could have been replaced by a sexy lamp (I don't like those movies either LMAO).

Take care my darlings, and tell me your thoughts even if they're angry ones. I can take it XDD.