A/N: It's been ages since I posted a BatCat oneshot on here! I didn't really have any prompts that I thought were good so I just didn't write anything at all. Well, I was listening to a bunch of my favorite older pop songs (aka. Around 2009-2014) and I started listening to a song by the band Fun and I got an idea so here you go and I hope you enjoy!
We Are Young
Bruce Wayne wasn't exactly known for being someone who enjoyed social gatherings.
So, when he walked into The Sirens Club the night of Oswald Cobblepot's mayoral victory party, Selina knew something was up.
"Dammit," she muttered, making a run for the nearest bathroom before he could see her. The night had gone near perfectly up to that point. She'd danced around, occasionally slipping a wallet or small purse into the many hidden pockets of her dress. She'd probably gotten a couple hundred bucks, if not more, and no announcements had been made that someone had lost their wallet, meaning she was still undetected. It was perfect. Too perfect.
Why was he even there? It wasn't like he and Cobblepot were buddy-buddy, and he technically wasn't even allowed to be in the club since he was a minor.
Well…so was she, but that was beside the point.
Selina took a heavy breath.
Why was she getting so worked up over this?
It wasn't like she hadn't seen him recently. Hell, someone who'd looked exactly like him had kissed her not a week prior.
It hadn't the worst thing that'd ever happened to her, but she hadn't exactly liked it, either.
The doppelganger's lips had been lukewarm and mechanical feeling, like he wasn't entirely human. She thought about her kiss with the real Bruce when they were younger.
For some reason, she couldn't remember what his lips felt like. All she could think of were the doppelganger's cold, dead lips. Granted, her first kiss with him had been four years prior, so maybe she'd just simply forgotten what it felt like.
She hit the sink with the heel of her palm.
Or maybe the feeling of kissing the fake Bruce was just stronger than the fading feeling of kissing the real one…
She took another deep breath and looked at the mirror. Her hair was a bit of a mess as per normal, but she felt something rise up in her stomach when she looked at it. Anxiety? Damn, it'd been a while.
She removed a small hairbrush from one of her many pockets and attempted to straighten out the wild curls. Obviously, it was no use, but she tried her damndest anyway.
A light hand took her wrist and Selina swung a fist wildly. The woman stepped back, avoiding the left hook that was inches from breaking her nose. Selina froze and then started to apologize, but the woman held up a hand.
She was African-American and had her dark hair pulled back into an elegant bun. Her eyes reminded Selina of her own. They were battle-hardened.
"Whoa, sweet heart," the woman said, a light grin dancing at her lips. "You're a little fighter aren't you?"
Selina looked at her apprehensively, refusing to respond.
The woman shook her head. "What'd your hair ever do to you?" she asked playfully.
Selina visibly relaxed. She scoffed and replied, "Existed."
The woman nodded and then held her hand out. Selina gave her the brush and the woman took a spot behind her. She was easily a head taller than Selina, making it easy for her to see the entirety of Selina's mane. As she ran her hands through Selina's hair, she commented, "If I had hair like yours I think I'd just leave it how it is naturally."
Selina chuckled mirthlessly. "Yeah, you'd think that."
The woman smiled and continued, "So, what was the problem?" Selina shrugged, not answering verbally because the truth was too embarrassing to admit, especially to a stranger. She hummed in acknowledgment, asking, "So, what's his name?" Selina blushed and the woman laughed. "Oh, honey, it's okay. Trust me, I've been there. You see a cute boy, you start to notice every little thing wrong about yourself, and you run into the bathroom to escape." She turned the younger girl around by her shoulders and started fixing the front of her hair. "But sweetheart, I just want you to know that if I'd looked like you when I was your age," she shook her head, "I wouldn't be worried about hair."
She turned Selina back around to face the mirror and she felt her heart rise in her chest. Somehow the woman had managed to somewhat calm her hair down into an elegant side part while still keeping her signature curls.
She stuttered out a thank you and then asked, "What's your name?"
The woman smiled. "I'm Tabby," she answered simply.
"Cat," Selina replied.
"What?" Tabby asked.
"My name's Cat," Selina repeated.
The woman nodded, telling her, "Well it's nice to meet you, Cat. Anyway, get back out there," she said with a playful smile.
Selina nodded and walked out of the bathroom with a confidence she'd been missing earlier. She looked back to the entrance where she'd seen Bruce earlier, but he was no longer there. She scanned the room a few times but everyone was so much taller than her that it was practically pointless.
Finally, a bit deflated, she decided to return to her work. It didn't take her long to find a couple more chumps who were too drunk to notice their wallets getting stolen.
She went to slide the wallet into her small purse, but a hand grabbed her own for the second time that night. This time instead of swinging she simply yelled, "Hey!"
"Hey, yourself," a tall, ginger woman replied. She smiled down at the younger girl with a certain arrogance that irked Selina to no end. "Funny," the woman started, "I never realized how short you were."
Selina narrowed her eyes and ripped her arm from the woman's grasp. "Who the hell are you?" she spat.
The woman beamed, like she knew something that Selina didn't. "Not yet. This is too fun. Run along, little kitty," she lulled. "Go steal some more wallets."
A man approached the woman just as Selina started to walk away. Something seemed…familiar about her, she just couldn't place what it was.
Selina eventually found a spot near the entrance to the bar where she could watch the ginger woman without other people disturbing her. Her face had fallen into a scowl, as it often did when she was deep in thought.
"Can I see your invitation?" a certain, familiar voice asked her. She looked away from where the ginger woman was standing to see none other than Bruce Wayne standing in front of her. She gasped. 'OH SHIT' she thought. 'I JUST GASPED WHEN I SAW HIM! PLAY IT OFF! PLAY IT OFF!' She turned the gasp into a sigh of exasperation. "What're you doing here?" she asked Bruce, keeping her gaze on where the ginger woman was standing, as if he wasn't even relevant enough to look at.
She saw him smirk in her peripheral. "I was invited," he replied.
This time, she couldn't help but look at him. "Of course you were," she said mockingly, although her heart was currently doing so many flips that it would've metalled at the Olympics. She returned her gaze to the woman and asked him, "You recognize her?"
He turned and looked at the woman she was referencing. He lingered for a moment longer than what she deemed necessary. Why did he linger? It shouldn't be that hard. If you know them then you should recognize them immediately, right?
"Should I?" he finally responded, turning back to her.
Selina scoffed and shook her head. "I don't know…" Why was she freaking out all of a sudden? Where was the confident girl who'd left the bathroom a few minutes prior?
She noticed that he was staring at her, which only built up her nerves even more. Her eyes flickered over at his and her heart skipped a beat. "Hey, are you, you…" she asked before she could stop herself.
He smirked again. Damn she loved that smirk. "I'm me," he responded.
"Uh-huh," she replied, laughing shortly before falling into silence again. For a moment, she'd hoped that it was just Five stealing Bruce's persona again. For some reason, having a conversation with him didn't scare her nearly as much as having a conversation with the real Bruce Wayne. "Well, I'm working, so…" she trailed off, starting to turn around and walk away.
"Actually, there was something I wanted to tell you," he said, his right eye twitching a bit as he finished.
Yeah, if she'd been nervous before, that level of nerves was a candle compared to the fire that was currently consuming her inside. What could he possibly want to tell her? She'd just called him a selfish, arrogant jerk a few days earlier! Granted, it was true, but still!
"Could we…go somewhere more private?" he asked.
The sheer amount of swears and curses flying through her head probably would've been enough to kill a small child. 'Okay, Selina,' she told herself. 'Keep it cool. Don't let Bruce Wayne of all people work you up.'
"Fine," she huffed, hoping her tone of annoyance seemed genuine, "but make it quick."
He nodded and walked past her. Selina breathed out slowly, throwing one last curious look at the woman before following Bruce through the crowd.
'Where is he going?' she wondered. He led her through the building into a secluded hallway. She suddenly missed the buzz of the party, as their footsteps were the only things breaking the tense silence between them. Finally, they made it to a door which opened up to the roof.
Selina felt a wave of calm pass through her as the crisp Gotham air hit her. She felt a bit of her usual self return. She looked out over the city and then turned to face him, asking, "So, what's up?"
She suddenly noticed that his cheeks were a little tinged with pink. Funny, either that'd developed extremely recently or she just hadn't noticed earlier, probably blinded by her own nerves.
"I hired Jim Gordon to help me locate Ivy," he told her flatly.
She felt her heart drop. That was it? "And?" she asked impatiently. If he'd made her go through all of this just to tell her that…
"There was a redhead who had her sweater…" Selina felt hope rise up in her chest, "but it wasn't Ivy."
And…it was gone.
Her face dropped from somewhat interested to utter boredom extremely quickly. Why was she disappointed? What had she wanted him to say? What had she expected?
He seemed to recognize her reaction and backtracked, "Saying it out loud, I realize, doesn't sound that impressive."
"No, it doesn't," she replied shortly, real annoyance starting to take control. Why had he led her on like that? "That's really why you brought me up here?" she asked, half hoping that that was all he wanted to say, and the other half hoping that there was something else worth her time.
He swallowed hard and she scoffed. "You are the real Bruce," she started sarcastically, "cause nobody else would be this boring." She clapped twice mockingly. "Great work, detective." She started to walk off.
This is why she hated Bruce Wayne. It's why when she saw him, she panicked. It's why when he asked her to go somewhere private, she knew in her heart that it wasn't going to be anything important, but her nerves went crazy anyway.
"That's not all," he told her.
She stopped. Maybe there was some hope after all?
'Hope? For what?' she thought. 'What could he possibly say that would make this entire evening not a complete disaster?'
She walked back, a bored expression taking over as he started, "We've been friends a long time, Selina. And ever since you've known me, I've been dedicated to one thing, but that's done."
'Oh. That's what he could say.'
"I don't know what's next, but I know…"
"Would you please…" Selina interrupted, sensing a ramble about to begin, "just say what you mean?" She wasn't angry or annoyed, just curious about what he had to say.
"I like you," he told her shortly.
Selina's world went on pause for a second. She simply stared at up him, her eyes flicking back and forth between his own.
"As more than a friend," he elaborated. They stood there awkwardly until Bruce finally said, "It'd be nice if you said something back."
Her heart had basically blown up right then and there. However, her brain, closer to her mouth than her heart was, influenced what she said next. Selina reset her stance. "How many girls have you dated?" she asked coolly.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
She chuckled mirthlessly. "It's not a trick question. How many girls have you dated?" she repeated.
"None," he admitted.
"None." She nodded. "Hmm, have you ever thought that maybe you only like me because I'm literally the only girl you know?"
"That's not true," he responded, a fire lighting in the back of his eyes. "I feel something." He paused. "And I know you do, too. We're the same," he told her.
"In what universe are we the same?" she retorted.
"The money doesn't matter," he argued.
"Try not having it! It matters!"
They both paused, neither sure of what to do next. Selina's brain was telling her feet to turn and walk away, but her heart, closer to her feet than her brain was, froze them in place. Her hesitance to storm off sent a message to Bruce. She didn't want to leave their relationship in the state it was in. He took a step closer to her, entering her personal space just slightly. She didn't back up, which was a positive sign.
"There's something between us," he stated. "I know there is." He paused, his eyes searching hers for a clue at what she was thinking. "You have to see that."
Finally, the two warring sides of Selina agreed on what to do next. "Rule one," she started, taking a step towards him, "don't ever tell me what I have to do."
She kissed him.
In that one moment, she'd officially dropped all her walls. Normally that would've been terrifying, but not with Bruce. Not then. Right then, she wasn't afraid. Her nerves had melted away. All that mattered was what was happening right then in that moment.
She lingered in the moment for as long as she could; enjoying the feeling of what lips were meant to feel like, of what kissing someone was meant to feel like.
Of what kissing Bruce Wayne was meant to feel like.
It was different than from before. The first kiss, all those years ago, was more for fun than anything else. It'd been quick and pretty meaningless. Hell, they were the same height back then.
She led go of him and dropped down off of her tippy toes, her eyes meeting his.
She noticed that music was streaming out from the party down below. It was so faint that she hadn't noticed it before.
Of course, Bruce Wayne had to ruin the moment. "So, you do have feelings for me?" he asked. "I'm confused."
She shook her head, placing both of her arms around his neck, trapping him. "Shut up," she said simply before kissing him again.
She didn't know when they started swaying to the tune emanating from down below, but they did, and she loved it to no extent. They didn't talk much, aside from Bruce apologizing when he stepped on her foot once.
It was fun while it lasted, just two kids dancing on a rooftop. Selina thought that that sounded like the words to some crappy love song, the kind of thing that happens in movies. But this wasn't a movie where the guy always got the girl and they lived happily ever after.
No, this was Gotham.
Still though, after living on the streets for nearly a decade of her life, Selina had learned that there was always a light in the darkness if you looked for it hard enough. It wouldn't always be easy to find, but it was always there.
Her light was a young man named Bruce Wayne. Sometimes he was boring, and other times he was an asshole, but he was always there.
And she loved him for it.
A/N: So this ended in a different place than I had originally intended, but I'm kinda glad it did. Originally I was going to end this with Bruce and Selina dancing in the club until the break of dawn, but I think their dance alone on the rooftop had so much more meaning than my first idea. Anyway, if you enjoyed, have ideas for future stories, or have any critiques on my writing, PLEASE REVIEW! I love you all and thanks for reading!
Also, I wrote a really brief denouement (only a hundred and seventy words) of a scene between an older Bruce and Selina. I originally had it between the last line 'And she loved him for it' and the Author Note, but I felt like it broke the flow of things so I cut it out. If y'all want me to post it afterwards as a second chapter, let me know. And…I'm done. Bye!