chapter 8
"Well don't you look cute?" Dick said when Barbara opened the front door. She smiled at him sweetly before turning her head to call out to her dad.
"He's here, Dad," She said. "I'll be back tonight. I love you!"
"Love you too, Babs. Take care of her for me!"
"Will do, Mr. Gordon!" Barbara smiled and followed him out, straightening her mini skirt and sweater. She fixed her glasses on her nose and took Dick's hand, walking towards the car. When they got inside, he turned to her conversationally and said, "Where would you like to go?"
She pursed her lips. "We could always go to the Iceberg Lounge," She said with a wiggle of her eyebrows.
He grinned. "Honestly? I'm completely up to that. I love watching Cobblepot treat me like a guest. Makes me feel smug."
"Let's do it," She said, fastening her seat belt and smiling widely. The ride was short and insignificant and Barbara took Dick's hand as soon as they were out of the car and on their way inside. The line was terribly long and Barbara sighed in irritation, not in the mood to wait this long. A brilliant idea struck her and she smiled at Dick before saying, "Follow me." He gave her a look with a raised eyebrow but followed her without question up to the host's podium. The man gave her a look as if she was crazy for cutting, but Cobblepot, who thankfully was standing right there looked at her with wide eyes.
"Ms. Gordon!" He said cheerfully, taking her hand and pressing his lips to her knuckles. "It's been a long time. On a date with the boyfriend, I see," He said, nodding at Dick, who returned it politely with a small knowing smile of his own.
"It's nice to see you, Mr. Cobblepot." She put on a bashful face and said, "You don't think there's anyway we could get a table, do you? I have to be somewhere with my father in an hour and we wanted to eat quickly…" She made sure to throw in reference to the commissioner and Cobblepot acknowledged that immediately.
"Between you and me, I can get you a seat right now, but let's be discreet about it. The crowd gets a little impatient." He motioned for them to follow him after having the host jot down their names in the record book. The table was right in front of the iceberg with a perfect view of the rest of the room. Barbara. "The waiter will be with you soon, Ms. Gordon, Mr. Grayson," He said in his thick british accent before leaving the room. Barbara and Dick broke out laughing once he was gone.
"Last time I saw him, he punched me in the face," Dick said once they'd calmed down. He reached for a roll from the basket in the middle of the table a took a bite, smiling at his girlfriend.
"The funny thing is, I'm pretty sure Cobblepot is the only criminal we fight that actually has a life outside of his crimes," Barbara added.
"That's cause he can buy his way out of anything," Dick said. "Unlike Scarecrow, whose too crazy for anyone to let off the hook, Joker, who likes being chased or the crazies like Ivy. No one else bothers."
Barbara rolled her eyes. "I don't know what it is about Gotham."
"Ms. Gordon," The waiter said as he approached. "It's so nice to see you this evening. What can I get for you and your date?"
"For now, I'll just take a water," She said with a smile.
"Sweet tea for me," Dick told him. Once the waiter had left with a nod and smile, Dick raised his eyebrow at her. "Everyone here seems to love you a little bit too much."
She shrugged. "Being the Commissioner's daughter has it's perks, I guess. Especially with a socialite like Penguin. He's always —" There was a loud crash from above and they both gasped, looking towards the iceberg as a large black shape fell from the sky. Glass rained down from where it had shattered through the skylight.
"It's the Batman!" Someone screamed.
"Bruce," Dick and her said at the same time. "I'll go change."
Dick cursed loudly. It wasn't as easy for Dick and Bruce to switch so easily. With Barbara she had a costume that she could zip up and nothing more. They had armor to assemble. Barbara grabbed her bag and rushed to the ladies room to change into her outfit, hiding her bag behind one of the toilets before bursting out. The lounge was in panic as Batman grappled from the iceberg to the dining floor and tackled Penguin before he could raise his umbrella to shoot him. Barbara started to run, dodging civilians as she did so. "Where's Scarecrow?" Batman snarled in Cobblepot's face.
"I don't know what you're bloody talking about!"
Batman raised his fist like he was going to backhand him. "I know he was here, Cobblepot!"
"I ain't seen that loon since he was thrown in the shack last time!" He retorted, trying to beat the Bat off of him. "Somebody call the cops, he ain't got no business being here!" Barbara rolled her eyes. As if that would go over well. Batgirl chucked a batarang with all her force at him and it landed exactly where she'd aimed — right beside his head. He looked at it out of his peripheral with wide eyes.
"Tell him what he wants to know, Penguin, before things get ugly," Barbara demanded.
"You don't intimidate me, girl!"
"No? Then why'd you start sweating once I threw that batarang at you?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips.
"You stupid bitch! Get out of my museum!"
"Or what?" She demanded. "Where's Dr. Crane? That's all we want to know. We've got no beef with you, Oswald."
"Don't talk to me like you have a right to be here," He hissed. Batman had moved off of Cobblepot by now and he stood. Batgirl scowled, grabbing him by the lapels of his coat and slamming him into the wall. "Goddammit!"
"I'm a real pain in the ass, huh?" She taunted. Dropping the smart ass routine, she glared at him. "Where's Crane? Do you really want the cops here, because I have no problem with them coming. In fact, I bet Commissioner Gordon would be interested in seeing the surveillance photo of Crane coming in the back service entrance last night. So where. The hell. Is he?"
His mouth twisted into a snarl and he spat, "He's gone. He came here for no more than a few minutes, just to get his things. I had the keys to a storage unit that he'd given me for safe keeping. I don't know what the number is, just let me bloody go," He shouted.
"It was that simple," Barbara said before ramming her knee up between her legs and then head butting him as hard as possible. He had enough time for one scream and then he was unconscious on the ground. She turned to Bruce, breathing hard. He was watching her with an unreadable expression.
"Let's go," He finally said.
"Wait," She called as he turned. "Dick's here somewhere." She turned around, looking towards their seats and saw that he'd disappeared, probably heading to the Cave to change. She held up a finger to him and then ran back to the bathroom to grab her bag before coming back in and following his lead, grappling up to the hole in the ceiling. As soon as they were out from the building, Bruce turned to her with that same expression.
"Thank you for that," He said finally.
She nodded breathlessly. "It was just luck that I was there. Why didn't you call us?"
He shrugged one shoulder. "Wanted to handle something myself," He replied. "I knew you two had plans."
"How?"
"He told me."
"Oh." She licked her lips uncomfortably as they stood on the roof in silence. The wind was freezing and blew through her hair and their capes and by the look of the sky she figured a storm was brewing.
"Listen, Barbara, about back at the house…"
"Bruce, not right now," She said, her voice exasperated. "I'm not in the mood. Let's just focus on finding Crane. If we check the records at the storage facilities in Gotham, we're sure to find one of his common aliases." Bruce was stopped short by her indifference, offended by how she'd ran off earlier. Barbara knew she was being childish. How could she possibly be upset about him being with Selina when she was with Dick? They were both fucking each other on the side and had no commitment to the other. A throb of pain shot through her chest at the thought and she shut it out immediately. It's Bruce. You can't feel that way. Bruce nodded finally and she said, "Let's get back to the Cave. I'm sure that's where Robin went."
"Good idea," He replied. "I think I might need stitches anyway," He replied.
"Stitches?" She asked as they grappled down from the building towards the parked Tumbler. "How?"
"A shard of glass must've landed face up just as I landed and it penetrated the kevlar on my leg. It doesn't hurt too bad, but it's bleeding a lot." Barbara frowned, exhaling loudly.
"I'll drive," She said. "Focus on stopping the bleeding, okay?" Bruce nodded at her, climbing into the passenger seat while she got in on the left, starting the car quickly and reversing out of the lot. When they got back to the Cave, Bruce immediately headed to the medical table and grunted as he sat down. Taking off the first piece of armor on his thigh, he hissed as he saw the amount of blood. Barbara frowned at him from beside the car but then disappeared back into the house. "Dick?" She called out. "Are you here?" She frowned at the silence. Where had he gone? By the time she'd came back in, he already had the wound halfway stitched and his cowl was laying on the table beside him. The line was thin but she knew it must've been very deep from the way it was bleeding. She propped herself up on the table as she watched his self surgery. "Does it hurt?"
"I've had worse," He told her casually.
"Of course you have. Batman has no limits," She quoted.
He looked up at her with a small smile. "Exactly."
"Bruce," She whispered after a minute. He grunted as he poked his skin unnecessarily with the needle at the distraction but he looked up at her with a lowered brow and concern in his eyes.
"Yes?"
"I just wanted to —"
"What happened?" Selina's familiar voice called from the doorway. They both looked up and Barbara was surprised to see her completely done up as Catwoman, her skin tight leather suit on and in place, unzipped precariously low. Her whip was coiled in her hand. Barbara sighed and Bruce gave her an apologetic look for the interruption.
"Bruce decided to play Bond and come down from the ceiling and ended up impaling himself on a piece of a mosaic," Barbara said. Bruce gave her a look with pursed lips but then quickly returned to the job at hand. He tied off the string and then snipped it, setting his tools down on the table by his cowl. Selina walked up and looked at the wound, her hand resting on his shoulder. Barbara stared at the contact for a moment before snapping out of it.
"Looks like you could've used some help," She said teasingly.
"You're right. I think I chipped a nail back there," He said, giving her a grin with a raised eyebrow. Barbara stood up, walking towards the exit to the Cave and Bruce looked at her with a lowered brow. "Where're you going?"
"I'm going to find Dick. I'll meet you at Gotham's storage facility in an hour," She called over her shoulder.
Bruce frowned, but didn't halt her departure and instead turned back to Selina as he fixed his armor. She leaned against the wall for a moment before saying, "You're sure you're alright?"
"I'm fine, Selina," He said. "It wasn't that bad. Nothing I can't handle."
"I'm sure," She replied, gnawing on her lip. "You're investigating Crane's case some more?"
Bruce nodded, grabbing his cowl. He was about to put it back on as he talked. "Yeah. He got some keys to a locker from Cobblepot. We're gonna find out which one it is and see where that leads." Selina's hand landed on his and she paused his process. He looked up from the cowl to look at her curiously.
"Be careful," She said quietly, her gloved hand pulling him down by his neck and kissing him slowly. When she finally let him go, she said, "And call me if it gets too much to handle. I have some unfinished business with the hay bale." She winked at him and Bruce laughed, exhaling through his nose as he shook his head.
"I'll let you know if I need you, Selina. I'll be back tonight."
She smiled at him before leaving the Cave and walking back inside and Bruce sighed, pulling on the cowl and then walking towards the car.
Happy New Years, guys! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I know my night was exciting. (It included apple juice shots, attempting to make weed mac and cheese and FAILED desperately, and watching lots of How I Met Your Mother with my best friend.) I have such a thrilling life, right? Now, in response to my darling reviewers:
Guest (1): If I didn't leave you with cliff hangers, it wouldn't be any fun! The more you guys say you're addicted, the quicker I update. I SHALL FILL YOUR CRAVINGS.
lilly: Thank you, my love! Writing it has gave me a wonderful time to spend my own season! The holidays are amazing and so much better when infused with writing Batman smut.
deadpool: Aw thank you! I can get off to Batman themed shit without it even being explicit, so I know exactly what you mean. I hope you had a great New Year, too!
SUMMER: A long time ago I watched the first movie with my friend but I don't remember much of it. I'll have to take your advice, though and check it out soon! I really do need to know what all the hype is about...
Guest (2): Being called sinister made me SO HAPPY. That's my goal in life. Thank you so much for your compliments! I hope this update was quick enough! :)
A Non: I'm not bi, but the Gotham chicks are seriously the hottest things ever. Love writing about them and I'm so glad you like to read my portrayal! I know this isn't very canon but it's fun!
Kelly: *facepalming myself for thinking your review was terribly erotic* Loved reading that! :D Can't imagine how great it was!
Guest (3): Most definitely in agreement with the dark theme. In this story, I don't see Barbara getting to an extreme physical BDSM place, but I definitely can see her psyche disintegrating as her lust takes over. I can't wait to get deeper into the story to actually get to that point. We're only on chapter eight after all! About the Crane thing, I'm thinking yes. I wanted there to be a lot of action in the story aside from sex and, wow I never thought I'd say this, but I write Joker so much, I forced myself to change it up. Ah! Mr. J! I'm sorry, Puddin!
rocket: No, that wasn't weird or gross at all! I completely understand! It's very true about the primal concept of the clan. Something about Bruce being the alpha male really just makes a lot of sense and by claiming her as his own as a sign of dominance, although he's struggling with it. I love the mental debate they both have over the whole thing even though their instincts ARE animal and they can't help themselves. It just shows how much lust plays in the human mind. I liked your point about how the only answer would do consumate with someone in Gordon's bloodline. It makes perfect sense, and I think that in the comics, Barbara and Bruce would have made an interesting couple. I know most people have a problem with the fact that he's older, but the thing is, Barbara is much older than her age. She's a teen or early twenties and she has the mentality of a thirty year old. I love her maturity and think that Bruce can match her, and Barbara needs that.
Guest (4): That's so true! I love writing the process of someone maturing or at least their mind changing course. I can't really talk too much about adulthood (I'm only a teenager), but I think that Barbara deserves to be more of a woman than most times portrayed. She deserves someone who can challenge her everywhere and fuck her like she deserves to be fucked!
WonderBabe: Diana and Clark are a definite ship of mine! As soon as I saw your review I instantly agreed with what you suggested about Bruce being jealous of Dick and Barbara, and I'm hoping to focus on that just as much as Barbara being jealous of Selina. As much as I love things about jealous girls fighting, it isn't just girls that fight over men! Barbara is a strong and sexy woman, and it's completely unrealistic that Bruce wouldn't feel jealousy or at least some kind of discomfort, right?
Lucius: Of course I can add that in there! I really do want to get more inside Bruce's head. I'm thinking about starting to do Barbara's POV for a couple chapters and then Bruce's POV and back and forth so that we all get a fill of both of their mental processes. Sound good? I literally ran around telling everyone I knew about your comment saying that this is better than some things you've read years ago. It made me so happy!
Guest (5): Thank you so much! I'll definitely have to check it out. I sadly don't have netflix but my sister does so I might just have to watch it next time I go up there. I'll add that to my bucketlist of movies! :) I hope your new years was amazing.
SS5250: Oh, you flatter me. ;) Thank you so much for your support!
FANCYFANCY: I'm so glad you're enjoying it and welcome to our little soiree. I'm so thrilled that you said that about the dialogue. Writing inside people's heads is a lot easier in my opinion because everyone, even fictional characters, have their own distinct speech patterns. Plus, since there isn't much swearing in the comicverse, I sometimes worry about adding that in there, but hey, what can you do? Fuck is my favorite word. Shoot me. But thank you so much! I hope your new year was absolutely great!
ScarWitch: Doesn't sound gross at all! You made me so happy! Honestly in smut and in real life, nothing gets me off more than when the guy gets off. Something about a man's come just makes my knees weak and my mouth water. I try to write them in justice with how I see them in my mind!
Guest (6): Your review cracked me up! The PS thing was amazing. And hey, if I have a captive audience, writing a War and Peace sized novel sounds amazing! (Wether it be sex or just me rambling. But I know we all prefer the sex. Except... 99% of my rambling thoughts are about Bat sex anyway...)
BISHOP: Thank you so much! I sadly haven't been able to find many Batgirl/Batman stories on here. I'm not sure if I'm the only one whose wrote one, or if I'm just blind. But if you guys ever have any suggestions for me to check out, or have written any Batman porn yourselves, let me know!
Ducky: Ahh, I love you. Maybe I'll just roll with this soap opera thing and give Barbara an evil twin sister. *dramatic music* The darker the minds, the more I get along with them, so stick around guys and I'll keep spitting this stuff out!
L: Thank you so fucking much! BDSM writing is amazing and so much fun. It's all I think about. It made me smile to see that you like the Exhibition. No one really seems into it anymore, sadly, and so knowing that someone still enjoys it makes me feel a lot better!
Thank you guys for the reviews! You all are my muses. I love you. Let me know how your New Years went! I'd love to hear! I can't wait for the next update, darlings, and I can't wait to hear what you have to say about chapter eight. I love you all! Like I said earlier, if anyone ever has anything they want me to check out or something that they've themselves written, let me know or send me a PM! Have a wonderful beginning to 2015 guys. You deserve it!