I had strange dreams that night. I dreamt about Batman saving me. The image replaying over and over again in my head. I dreamt about being back in that horrible prison. Strangest of all, I dreamt about Bruce Wayne, my savior, and, quite possibly, my best friend. I woke that morning to a bright morning. I glanced at the clock. Nine thirty. Good I thought. I walked downstairs slowly. Wondering if he was awake yet. He was.
I looked at him closely for the first time. He was really quite handsome. High cheek-bones, a straight nose, sleek hair. I caught myself staring and asked "So what's for breakfast this morning? Caviar?" I added teasingly.
He laughed, a musical sound. "No, no. I was thinking more along the lines of toast."
"Sounds good," I replied, smiling.
We ate silently. Staring out the large bay window than at the food, or each other. "Would you like to go for a walk?" He asked in an off-hand tone.
"Sure." I replied too quickly. I realized that I was beginning to like him. Probably much more than I should. We walked along the calmer streets. Eventually reaching the river. It was getting dark again. I groaned softly. "What?" He asked. "Am I boring you?" he teased.
"No, it's just that it got dark way too fast."
He laughed again. I was subconsciously aware that I was leaning toward him and that we had stopped. He took my hand and leaned toward me. I felt my lips part and I took in a ragged breath. I saw him smile. I closed my eyes to keep from blushing. Not that it helped. My face flushed like a tomato. He chuckled. He paused for a brief moment. He kissed me. He kissed me like I'd never been kissed before. Before then every kiss had been demanding. That's what I expected. Instead he was tender, patient. He let me kiss him as deeply as I wished. He pulled me closer. I grasped his neck. I gasped for a breath. I felt a deeper passion buried underneath. And, all too soon, he pulled away.
He smiled. I blushed and smiled back. He led me toward a car that came out of nowhere. Opened my door for me. I sat down as he got in the opposite seat. He drove home, I suppose I might as well call it that now, holding my hand. We got home and again I realized how late it was. "'Night." I said.
"'Night. Sweet dreams." He answered. He pulled me into another kiss. Just as passionate as the first. I walked to my room looking back at him, smiling.
I woke to an unfamiliar place. A cold, bracing wind toyed with my hair. "Where am I?" I asked. All I saw was a purple suit and a tangled mess of green hair. He spun around to face me. His face was painted white with black surrounding his deep brown eyes. He had scars coming out from the corner of his lips as if to resemble a smile. He had them painted red. He smiled, at least I think it was a smile, it may have been a grimace though. "Don't worry too much about where you are. You won't be here for long. Soon you'll be on the nice solid ground." He replied in an odd voice.
I knew exactly what he meant. He was going to throw me off the side and act like nothing ever happened. Terrific. I thought I finally meet a great guy and now I have to die. Terrific. He came over to me. Grabbed my face. "Now, why so serious? Nothing to be afraid of. Like I said, you'll be on the nice, solid ground soon. No worries, right?"
"So, in other words, you're going to throw me off the side and walk away, right?" I retorted.
"Hmm…you're a little too smart. That's why you've got to go."
I should have been used to this kind of thing. He grabbed my arm dragging me towards the edge. Pushed me. I felt his arm tight around my wrist. I was dangling over the edge, a few dozen stories above ground. "Have a nice trip." He said, and he let go. I felt the air rushing past me faster than I thought possible. I squeezed my eyes shut not wanting to see the ground rushing up at me. I felt something huge plow into my left side. "Hold on!" a familiar rough voice instructed. I did as he said. Grasping onto his neck for dear life.
We half landed half crashed into the sidewalk. He pulled me to my feet and dragged me into a back ally. He pushed me against the brick wall, "Nikki, are you all right?" He demanded.
"I-I'm fine." I replied shaken.
"Good. Just hold on a minute and let me get my car."
"Alright." I whispered.
As his "car" rounded the corner I watched his face. He seemed pissed. Whether it was over having to save me again or over having to let the Joker walk away I wasn't sure. He turned to me again and pushed me up against the wall. He spoke quickly and quietly, as if he thought there were others surrounding us, "Alright look. I need you to go home and stay there. I don't care what who says. You stay there. Until we get that maniac off of the streets I need you to stay safe and stay alive. I'll be guarding your house until then. Understand?"
"Yes." Was all I could reply.
"Good."
He still hadn't pull away. I swore I felt him leaning forward. He grabbed my chin and lifted my face up towards his. My lips parted. And he kissed me. I'd been kissed like this before. So tender and willing. Even the shape and the taste of his lips were the same. He pulled away. "That was probably a bad idea." He said, obviously in turmoil.
We climbed in the car. He closed the door. He sped towards home. He swerved into a stop. He sighed. "Close your eyes," he said reluctantly. I did as he asked, wondering what he was doing. I heard him lean forward. He kissed my eyes gently, probably making sure they were closed. He seemed to disappear. He kissed me. There was something different though. I ran my fingers through his hair…wait. Hair? I pulled away. "Bruce," I whispered.