"Miss Selina, I was wondering when you might come back here." Selina stepped away from Wayne, old habits telling her to distance herself from everyone in the room in case of an attack. "Although I must say that you took your sweet time about it. Young Master Wayne's been pining for weeks."
"Jesus Christ, Alfred," Wayne muttered, his blush deepening, creeping up his very, very high cheekbones. "I was not pining."
"Oh, you should have seen him," Alfred said conspiratorially. "Moping about and locking himself in the office." Selina smiled mechanically, her defenses snapping into place at the sight of the old butler. Alfred asked questions. Alfred knew too much. Alfred, for all of his civility and refinement, was dangerous.
"I was not moping," Wayne protested.
"I am glad that you're safe, Miss Selina," Alfred said, a little more seriously. "That nasty business with those children. They were too young, and you'll forgive me if I'm glad you weren't one of them." Jesus, did everyone in the city know about reapers now? Selina wondered what the pair of them had been reading that they'd been able to put it all together. As far as Selina knew, there was no record of them available to the police. And if there was, she might have to make another stop at the precinct with a copy of Fish's magic virus to get rid of it.
Another siren rent the air and Selina flinched.
"Jesus Christ," she hissed, eyes darting up to the ceiling, feeling like it was going to come crashing down on top of her. The spacious halls had never seemed more claustrophobic and somehow the walls seemed to be crawling even closer together. "Are we safe in here? I mean, the roof's not going to come down on top of us, is it?"
"No, no, they assured me that it's perfectly safe. In fact, we've been instructed to stay inside until told otherwise.
"You okay?" Wayne asked, and there was something in his voice that was quiet and familiar. He didn't move any closer, for which she was grateful, but his dark eyes still shone with concern.
"Busy couple of days," she replied. The relief that he was alive was starting to fade, and Selina was struck with the seriousness of the steps she'd taken. She'd left the safety of her apartment while it was open season on reapers to make sure Wayne was safe. She'd snuck into his mansion while the press was right outside without so much as a backup plan. And she'd kissed him. Until a few days ago she hadn't even liked him, let alone…
She didn't regret it, Selina realized with a start. Part of her expected to want to run out the door, flee like she always did, but she didn't want to. She wasn't scared. Fear of being blown up or shot notwithstanding, being here didn't scare her. Selina had been living with anxiety gnawing at her insides for years, keeping her sharp and alive, but it was gone. Vanished, as if it had never been there in the first place and Selina felt lighter than she had in a long time. Sure, Alfred made her suspicious, and she'd need time to sort out everything that was swirling inside of her, but she didn't regret coming here. She sure as hell didn't regret kissing him.
And from the looks of it, Wayne didn't regret it either.
"Can I get you anything?" he said a beat too late. Selina bit her lip to keep from laughing. He'd been staring at her.
"By 'you' do you mean Jeeves?" Selina asked, arching an eyebrow.
"I think, Master Bruce," Alfred said before Wayne could respond, "that I've some errands to do. You're on your own." Selina was surprised that he didn't correct her on his name, but he seemed to sense her apprehension about him. Alfred had been the one to drive her away the first time. The old butler winked at her before striding down the hall, off to do some imaginary errands, no doubt.
"You look hungry," Wayne said once he was gone.
"That could be the tagline of my autobiography," Selina quipped, instantly wishing she hadn't when Wayne's face went dark for a moment. "And I'm not convinced that anything you cook won't poison me."
"Your lack of faith wounds me," Wayne said, putting his hand over his heart. "Come on, I can prove that billionaires aren't all completely useless." He smiled and started off down the hall towards the kitchen.
"I never said all billionaires," Selina replied, following him. "I said you."
"Ouch," Wayne complained, but his voice was light and he was still smiling. "Let the record show that you kissed me, not the other way around."
"You kissed me back," Selina reminded him. "And I don't think you get to throw that in my face just yet." At least not until she managed to get it all sorted in her own head.
"Fair enough." Wayne said amiably. "Just tell me when and I'll have jokes ready. Ow," he said when Selina jabbed her elbow into his side. "That would be my kidney. I need that, you know." Selina smiled.
"I think you'll survive."
To Selina's great surprise, Wayne could cook. Not well and nothing fancy, but it wasn't the disaster Selina had assumed it would be. She perched on a stool in front of the breakfast bar and he set down a steaming plate of pasta.
"What do you think?" he asked, looking far more anxious than he should have. It was only spaghetti and a bomb had recently gone off in his neighborhood. He needed to get his priorities in order.
"This is disgusting," she said around half a mouthful of noodles, nearly choking when she saw Wayne's face fall. "Oh Jesus, you look like someone told you Santa isn't real. I'm just kidding, it's good."
"Wow, okay, that wasn't nice," Wayne said, hurt converting to surprise and then laughter. Selina would be surprised too. He was taking all of this very well, considering most of the contact they'd had included her swearing at him or hitting him in the face. "I know I don't have a Michelin star but give me some credit."
"It's good, it's good, I promise," Selina said. "How come you can cook anyway? Don't you have personal chefs for that? Or Jeeves at least?"
"I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth," Wayne said unabashedly. "My parents figured that I might as well be able to feed myself with it." Selina fell silent, not knowing how to respond. She had no idea how he'd been brought up, and she had just assumed that because his family was, well, the Waynes, that he couldn't do anything for himself.
"Are you okay?" Wayne asked after a while. Selina ducked her head. That was a hard question to answer. "You don't have to stay here, you know." Selina looked up at that. "I just mean that with all that's happened, the reaper shooting and everything…if you want to go, you can. I mean, I don't think we've ever had a conversation where you aren't yelling at me or I'm not thinking that you're absolutely insane."
"Thank you for that," Selina said coolly.
Wayne stuttered, blushing again. "No, that's not what I meant."
"Then what do you mean?" Selina said, setting down her fork and lacing her fingers beneath her chin.
"I mean I'm giving you an out. You're…" Wayne paused, struggling for words, and dammit if Selina didn't find it endearing. "You're not a real person to me. You just appear in my life, send everything spinning into chaos, and then disappear again. And if I'm not real for you either, if you just panicked and came here without thinking, then you can go. And you don't have to come back and you don't have to worry about me – "
"You're not real," Selina said, realizing the truth to his words. He'd put it perfectly. He wasn't any more real to her than she was to him. He just showed up, turned her life upside down, and then she ran away. Usually there were life-threatening situations involved, but he was right. She'd built him up in her head, and she had no idea what he was like when she wasn't being held hostage in his house, or when neither of them were in serious danger. Wayne's face fell, but he nodded, looking like he was trying to brace himself. "But I don't want to go. You're right, I panicked and I didn't think before I came here, but I was scared for you and…" Selina trailed off, trying not to think about how ridiculous she sounded. She was terrible at this, especially since she had no idea what she was feeling or what to say. "Someone killed six of my people yesterday and very well could've killed me too, but I came anyway, because I was more worried about you than me." Wayne just stared at her, dark eyes unfathomable, and Selina took a deep breath, realizing that this was probably the longest she'd ever talked to him. "You're not real because you're a billionaire and I'm not real because I'm a criminal."
"I understand," Wayne said, staring at his pasta.
"Do you know what real is?" Selina asked softly, not looking at him. "For me? Real is getting used to gunshots. It's sleeping at three-hour intervals because I spent two years living under a bridge. It's working for people I am so afraid of that I feel sick every time my phone rings." It was the mansion getting to her again but Selina couldn't stop talking. "Real is blood and pain and always looking over my shoulder and one day real is going to kill me. That's what real is."
"Selina…" Wayne started.
"I don't want an out." Selina cut in, meeting his eyes and refusing to look away. "I don't want real." She didn't know what she wanted. None of this made sense. She should've hated him – she had hated him. Really, truly hated him. And then she hadn't. It was as simple as that.
"Not real it is. So. You're not a criminal and I'm not a billionaire." Wayne agreed like it was the most rational thing in the world. "Tell me something about yourself that is just you. Not Alleycat or a reaper or whoever. Just Selina."
"I think that's enough sharing for one day," Selina said, suddenly feeling exposed. She'd all but written out her life story for him and she felt like a sap. Ivy would've laughed. Actually Ivy would be furious that Selina had left the apartment when there were reaper killers on the loose.
"Hobbies then. What does Not-Real Selina like to do? Besides being badass and beautiful."
"Cars," Selina managed, trying to force her brain to work. Beautiful. He'd called her beautiful, the word dropping from his lips effortlessly. "I like fixing up old cars. Just fixing things in general, actually." Wayne grinned, setting his uneaten bowl of pasta aside.
"Then have I got a surprise for you."
"No fucking way." Selina's mouth dropped open as Wayne flicked on the lights to his cavernous garage. "No fucking way." It was like something out of a movie. The space was big enough to house a small airplane, and it was completely filled with cars. Camaros, Cadillacs, Mercedes'. There were makes and models that Selina didn't even know still existed just sitting there gathering dust.
"My dad was a car person," Bruce said, shrugging. "He went all over the country looking for antique models."
"And you just keep them here?" Selina asked, gaping. "You don't drive them. At all? They're just stuck in this garage?"
"My dad barely let me breathe in here, let alone drive any of these." Wayne said, shrugging. "I don't know anything about cars."
"Oh my God," Selina said, dragging her hand down her face. Without waiting for any kind of permission, Selina started down the line, inspecting each car in turn. They were perfect, all of them. Selina had never seen such finely tuned engines. She was so wrapped in her own thoughts that she didn't notice that Wayne wasn't following her. She also didn't notice that he had a tire iron.
Shit!" she swore, slinking into a defensive position when an earsplitting crack echoed through the garage. "Jesus," she mumbled, stowing her knives when she couldn't find a threat and before Wayne could see that she had them on her. Slipping them into the sheathes she wore under her sleeves, Selina swore again when she saw what Wayne was doing. "Oh my God," she breathed, walking over to the mess he'd made of one of the cars in the back. "No. No no no no, what the hell did you do?" Selina's mouth dropped open, seeing Wayne standing over the mangled body if a 1962 Ferrari. The 1962 Ferrari. Selina had been too absorbed in the others that she hadn't even seen what Wayne had done – he'd beaten the hell out of it, for once thing. And she had no idea what damage he'd wrought upon the engine, but it was steaming beneath the newly-battered hood. "Do you have any idea what car this is?"
"A shiny one?" Wayne said glibly. "I don't know actually, but my dad was really excited about it." Selina raised an eyebrow but didn't comment on that.
"This is one of the most expensive cars in the world." She couldn't believe that Wayne's father had bought it. Selina had tracked the auction for a while out of curiosity, but she had no idea that it had ended up back in Gotham, of all places.
"You said you like fixing up old cars, not just staring at them." Wayne said, looking very pleased with himself. "1962 was a long time ago. I think this qualifies."
"You're an idiot," Selina grumbled, throwing open the hood. Even broken, the engine was beautiful, not to mention years ahead of anything she'd ever cobbled together.
"So can you fix it?" Wayne asked, interrupting her diagnostic. "Because my father will roll in his grave if I messed with this car and you can't put it back together."
"No pressure," Selina grumbled. "I don't know. I don't have a blueprint, or any of the parts I need because you conveniently destroyed some of them."
"In that case, I've got to show you something," Wayne said, grinning. He pressed his palm against a panel in the wall and it lit up, a blue screen appearing out of nothing. "'62 Ferrari blueprints," he dictated, and the skeleton of the car appeared on the wall. "They're installed on the floor too. Check this out." With a sharp tug, Wayne pulled a model of the car into the middle of the room.
"You have a holoscreen," Selina gaped, circling around the floating schematic of the Ferrari. She knew that they existed, but had never seen one in person before. Although, they were being installed in several Fortune 500 companies, which she guessed would include Wayne Enterprises. It took a little getting used to, but Selina managed to get the screen to work for her. Quickly, she stripped the hood until all that was left was a map of the engine.
"I thought that Not-Real Wayne wasn't a billionaire," Selina said wryly, staring at him through the projection of the engine. Wayne shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. "Last time I checked us plebeians didn't get holographic screens installed in our houses."
"I figured you'd appreciate the exception," Wayne said with a smile. Selina couldn't argue with him there. The holoscreen had to be one of the coolest things she'd ever seen.
"I think I could fix it," Selina said after studying the hologram for a while, taking apart the model of the engine and making sure she could put it back together. "But I don't have any of the parts I'd need." You couldn't simply rebuild a Ferrari with any old scrap metal. Especially not that Ferrari. Carefully, Wayne laid a hand on her shoulder, gesturing to all of the cars in the garage. Selina didn't shrug him off.
"Take your pick."
"Your dad would kill me," Selina said softly.
"My dad would appreciate someone loving these cars like he did." Wayne replied. "Just tell me what you need." Selina smiled at the prospect of a new project, her eyes darting to the holoscreen.
"Can you make lists on this thing?"
Selina lost track of time, losing herself in the work like she always did. What she never lost track of was Wayne. She was painfully aware of him, always hovering just behind her, handing her tools or asking how he could help. Selina didn't know where any of this was going, or what the hell she was doing here, but he wasn't pushing anything. And Selina was content just being here, which was odd. She'd never felt comfortable with people watching her work, not even Ivy. But Wayne was quiet and helpful and unobtrusive. For all the world it seemed like he was just happy to be with her. Which was new but not altogether unpleasant.
"Selina?" he said softly, touching her wrist. Selina snapped out of her own head, blinking at him. "Your phone's ringing," he said. "Sorry to drag you out of your little world."
"Thanks," Selina said, reaching into her back pocket. "Hello?"
"You're good babe," Ivy's said, her voice distorted. The cell signal was bad down here. Selina was surprised that the call had come through at all, especially on her crappy burner. "Apparently Falcone raised holy hell and he said that if any more reapers – or any of his – got gunned down, he was going to start picking off Maroni's people."
"That doesn't sound good to me," Selina said. It sounded like the start of a gang war. Everyone knew that the motto of the families was "you put one of mine in the hospital, I put one of yours in the morgue," but nothing on this scale. A threat like this was exactly how the families started killing each other and everyone else got caught in the crosshairs.
"Yeah well we're going to be smart and stay ahead of this," Ivy said, sounding far too confident for someone who'd just said that there was a bloodbath the horizon. "I'm coming over and I'm bringing booze. After the couple of days we've had, I think we deserve it."
"Sounds good," Selina said, and hung up.
"Who was that?" Wayne asked, obviously trying not to look curious.
"A friend. I have to go."
"So soon?"
"It's been almost four hours," Selina said, checking her watch. Shit. If Ivy had just showed up at her place without calling ahead there would have been hell to pay. "Thank you for destroying one of your father's most valuable possessions, but I have to be getting back." Pulling on the jacket she'd discarded, Selina started out of the room. She froze when Wayne grabbed her hand.
"Come back tomorrow? We can work on the car some more."
"We'll see," Selina said. "I have your number." Halfway out the door she turned and kissed Wayne on the cheek. "I like us when we're not real."
Sorry for the late posting. Midterms kicked my ass this week. Hope you all enjoyed!