Hello, my dears! Two updates in two days? Gasp! What's going on? Well, I'm feeling generous. And I'm way ahead of schedule when it comes to my writing so I have excess chapters that I really want you to read, so here I am, publishing chapter twelve. Excited? I sure am. Hopefully this chapter will answer some of your questions and fill in a little bit of the plot holes that I've purposefully thrown in just to torture you.

chapter 12

Barbara gasped when she got into the kitchen and saw that Bruce was already there, sitting at the island, sipping a glass of water. He gave her a look over his shoulder. "You're up late."

"I could say the same to you," Barbara whispered, grabbing her own glass and filling it up with water from the refrigerator. She leaned against the counter a few yards away and the two sat in silence for a few minutes in the dark kitchen.

"I came to apologize," Bruce finally muttered, his forefinger rubbing water on the rim of his cup. She paused in her motions, the glass of water poised at her lips, waiting. She didn't look at him as he spoke.

She swallowed uncomfortably and set the glass down, crossing her arms over her breasts. "Nothing to apologize for," She said bitterly. Bruce gave her a cross look and her lips formed a grimace in response.

"I know you saw me and Selina," He said, giving her a dark look.

"I don't care what you do, Bruce. If you want to fuck her, that's your business, not mine."

He scowled, his finger pausing on the rim of his cup. "Is that why you went and fucked Dick right after? Was that to get back at me?"

"He's my boyfriend," Barbara hissed. "Not everything is about you."

"I highly doubt that you just got the urge to have wonderful, boring sex with him. What? You suddenly lust after him? Is that it?" He demanded, standing up. The chair scooted backwards loudly and they both stopped talking for a moment, making sure no one woke up. Then he laughed bitterly, sarcastically and said, "Or did watching her jack me off make you horny?" Barbara's next words were a vicious whisper as she walked up to the island. They both braced themselves against the granite, staring each other down.

"I don't really think you have a right to speculate," She spat.

"Oh, but it's perfectly fine for you to watch while I get a hand job?" He growled.

"At least my door wasn't open!"

"You infuriate me," He whispered angrily.

"Yeah, because you're easy to get along with." They both glared at each other wickedly with narrowed eyes and scowls on their mouths. "Whatever this is…" She finally said, motioning between them. "It's over."

Bruce's lips parted and he began to fume as she started to walk away angrily. He followed her and grabbed her by the arm. Barbara gasped loudly as she was jerked back hard against Bruce's chest, hitting the hard wall of flesh with a thump. He pushed her against a wall and pinned her with his hips, each hand held to the wall by one of this. "Are you sure you want that?"

Barbara gritted her teeth at him. "100 percent," She hissed. Her knee tried to jerk up to hit him between the legs but he blocked it and forced her up against the wall even harder, making it impossible for her to move. One of his hands twisted in her red hair and he kissed her angrily, his erection stabbing her stomach. She was disgusted by how wet she was and how hard his cock was against her. Arguing with each other seemed to make them both terribly aroused. God, when he yelled at her, when he pushed her around… She wanted nothing more than for him to fuck her into oblivion. Right now, though, her pride was stronger than her lust and she shoved him off, grabbing the glass of water from the counter and splashing it into his face. He growled her name, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "Don't do that again, Wayne," She threatened, making her angry way towards the steps. Vicious arousal flared in her stomach and there was no doubt that the moment she was alone she'd have her hand buried between her legs, and that Bruce would be pumping his cock to the memories of their heated argument.

Barbara was certain that this was the most fucked up relationship she'd ever had.

"Barbara! Babs, wake up!" Barbara's eyes opened wide, quickly and she gasped. Her body was frozen in sleep paralysis and though she tried to move, she could do nothing more than breathe and stare. "Babs, were you having a nightmare?" She blinked once as she registered that Dick was speaking to her, his hand stroking her arm. Barbara clenched her eyes closed and shook off the feeling before she sat up slowly and buried her face in her hands. What had she been dreaming about? Little glimpses were on the edge of her memory but disappeared as soon as she tried to latch on to them, just like a word on the tip of your tongue. Intangible, but close enough to tease and torment you.

"I'm not sure," She whispered, shaking her head. "I woke you?" She asked, looking to her left to look in his eyes. He frowned at her.

"It doesn't matter. Do you want some water, or anything?" He asked solicitously, making something inside of her hurt. She didn't know what part hurt her— that she was cheating on such a sweet, loving boy, or that the strong, addictive man she was sleeping with wasn't the one saying those things.

After a minute of hesitation, she said, "No, no, I'm okay... " She paused and then opened her mouth to say, "Actually. Can I have another blanket?"

Dick smiled, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Yeah. I'll go get one. Try to sleep."

"Okay," She whispered, tucking herself back down in the blankets as the mattress shifted from the loss of his weight. It was silent in the bedroom once he was gone and Barbara exhaled loudly, burying her face in the pillow not a second before tears started pouring from her eyes and soaking the pillow case. Her sobs were muffled and she tried to control her shoulders from jerking so much but she couldn't catch her breath, making her cough. Barbara had never felt so much anguish. What was happening? How had this even started?

Bruce.

It was all his fault.

He started this, knowing that she was in a dedicated relationship.

Of course, he didn't force her. It was her own choice. She cheated on Dick, she slept with Bruce and she knew in her heart she couldn't blame him for that. If there was anyone she was angry with, it would have to be Selina. Why did she have to show up now? Not a day earlier and stopped this whole mess? She wanted nothing more than to go find Selina and punch her in her smug little face. I have claws too, bitch. Selina had always drove her mad. She used her sexuality as a weapon, and not even in a classy way. Her outfit practically was unzipped to her belly button most of the time. Barbara wanted to spit on the floor as she thought, I'm just jealous… Once again, rage possessed her and she was so tempted to go teach the cat a lesson.

She wouldn't be justified, though.

If she beat up Catwoman, or even yelled at her, she would need a reason. Right?

If Selina found out why, she'd be sure to tell Dick, ruining everything. So she was at a stalemate with herself. There was nothing she could do, other than forget this entire thing happened. You can't forget… You know that. She curled up in the fetal position, pulling her legs up to her chest. Barbara could never go back to her old ways, even if she truly wanted to. She knew she wouldn't be able to pretend like nothing happened. She knew that she'd never be satisfied, and that every time she looked at Bruce she'd either hurt inside or be blinded by unsated lust. Even now, as she cried, she felt her core grow warm in response to her thoughts of him. His perfect, smooth skin, dark eyes, tousled and messy brown hair… His mouth… Now that was an entirely different story. His lips were full for a man but not ridiculously so and a pale pink, often moist from licking them. They framed his talented tongue and she could still feel the teasing ghost touch of his warm tongue on her skin, her thighs, her sex… Then down his neck to his shoulders and collarbone. His neck was always hot and soft to kiss and Barbara licked her lips as she imagined licking up his perfect skin. Down even further, perfectly sized muscles leading down to a toned and gorgeous torso. Oh, she loved his chest. She wanted to kiss every inch of it, suck his hard nipples into her mouth, trace the lines of his abdominal muscles with her tongue. He'd never know how addicted she was. Something in her train of thought triggered her memory and her dream came back to her in a blur of color and emotion, sending her head spinning. It wasn't clear, just random images haphazardly placed here and there, but it was enough to make sense of. Bruce, strong arms wrapped around me… Lips on mine, sweet, loving… Breathing in his scent, making me feel safe… Watching as he walked away… Cold from his absence… Calling out that I love him… Hearing him say it back...

Barbara flinched out of her recollection when she felt a blanket drape over her body and a few moments later, the bed dipping as Dick got back in and pulled her close against him. She stayed there, neither rejecting or accepting his embrace. "Did you remember your dream yet?" He whispered, kissing her sweetly on the head. She swallowed dryly, trying to get rid of the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. Why didn't she feel that imaginary safety, that feeling of utter completion and peace when in Dick's arms? Why didn't he give her that? Something inside ached painfully and another tear slipped down the slope of her nose as her eyes closed. In a hoarse, broken whisper, she spoke into the material of his shirt.

"No."

Don't worry, guys! This story is far from over and their relationship is much of the same. Barbara's horny and emotional, she doesn't know what she's saying! Okay, I've gotten some comments that I reallllllly want to respond to, which is another part of the reason I updated so early. So in the words of my lover, Joker, "Here... We... Go."

WonderBabe: Oh, gosh, I figured, I just call everyone man. And dude, if you haven't already noticed that. Haha. Hopefully this was a pretty good sum up of his thoughts on the situation, but he elaborates a bit more in chapter thirteen which I'll have up sometime this week. As much as I love frequent updates, I'm a busy bee, so it will be a few days, but don't worry, I will return!

ZONA: Completely agreed! Compared to the hand job scene, the Dick smut was just... Eh. But it had to be done! I'm a vodka girl, what can I say? ;) And as much as Selina/Bruce is hot and expected, I'm a total Bats on Bats shipper, so I think we all know Babs is gonna be triumphant. But the ride on the way there is one hell of a trip. Hope you liked the chapter!

silver: I am so glad you liked it! It's funny, most of the people that have already read chapter eleven said the same thing about the Selina/Bruce scene. I loved it too! Something about Bruce cumming is just... *shivers* Mm.

Deadpool: That's my life. Every. Single. Day. Seriously, I know the struggle. And hey, I aim to please. ;)

Guest (1): You flatter me so much, I want to cry. Happy tears of course! You're the best, guest. Ha, that rhymed. And don't worry, the plot of the story IS Batman and Batgirl's relationship and how it evolves and changes and everything. The theme with Crane and all the twists and turns are... Well, not the backdrop. They are important! But the smut wouldn't be good without a good story, am I right? So yes, the story will focus on Batgirl and Batman, but the excitement and crime fighting greatness will definitely continue.

EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS NEXT ONE:

ava: You bring up a really good point, something I didn't really think of too much. I realize that everyone here probably imagines this and the characters in completely different ways. BTAS, New 52, Dark Knight Trilogy, Arkham games. The thing is, I imagine this in TDK setting, and how I imagine Barbara Gordon would fit into the Nolanverse setting. That being said, everyone is free to imagine it how they may. Hopefully this chapter touched a little on the lust versus romance concept. That's definitely important. When I started writing this, I didn't want it to just be sex. While sexual tension is the biggest plot theme, it isn't the only one I want to touch on. I'm trying to incorporate everything from the way that Bruce and Barbara are changing as their own people, the way they've started viewing lying and cheating as something carnal and sexy, and the way their sexual relationship changes. As in Barbara's dream, she has started to imagine certain concepts of them being more than just fuck buddies. That being said, this isn't a huge lovey dovey story. It's smut. But... It's more than that. In the next few chapters, I bring it out a lot more! Wow, sorry for the rant!

Guest (2): Honestly, I'm glad you took it that way. The thing is, with Dick and Babs, I don't get turned on at all. I didn't really write that scene for us to get off to. I wrote it as more of a look into her head, showing just how much she'd changed. That goes hand in hand with when I said "Reasonable Barbara never would have done this. Furious and horny Barbara just didn't care." Or something along those lines... Anyway, it was out of anger and sadness and yes, arousal. On the other note of your review: I am sooo thrilled that you liked the hand job scene! I give a pretty mean hand job... ;) Kidding, kidding, I'm not that cocky. (See what I did there?)

RED: Drink up girl! I hope you like this chapter too, even though it wasn't as hot, it was right up your alley with the jealousy and mixed emotions, which is my big thing!

I just want to say that I love you guys so fucking much. You're so amazing, and I try and take the time to reply whole heartedly to every review because I seriously read them over and over again, smiling so much. So please never be shy, because I'm pretty laid back and I think I'm just as big a fan of you as you are as me. I'll talk to you all in a few days, then!

- ArtiChoke