Before we begin! I've got news, loves! In the last chapter, I got a really interesting review from a Guest (who I totally wish I had a name for so I could personally thank them) that said something about me having them all go to one of Bruce's big fundraisers and end up having delicious Bat sex in another room while Dick and Jim and all of them are at the party with the risk of them getting caught any second. Guest, you are a genius. Sadly, I'm already too deep in the writing of this story to throw that in here, BUT, guess what? Today I started something new. And not the High School Music kind of way. The "delicious Bat sex" kind of way. It's basically right on point with your idea, and I'm planning on it being a few chapters long. So as soon as I get that published, I'll let everybody know. I'm really excited about it! And I'm also psyched about... *drumroll*...

chapter 16

"How are you feeling?" Barbara asked Dick, sitting down on the mattress beside her resting boyfriend. She stroked his hair back from his face and he grinned up at her.

"Oh, I'll be okay," He said, rolling onto his back to look up at her. She smiled pleasantly at him. "You alright?" He asked.

She laughed. "You're sick in bed and you're asking me if I'm alright?"

He gave her a lazy smile, eyes lidded. "Oh, shush. You just seem preoccupied lately. What's the matter?" He asked. Her fingers paused as they trailed through his black hair and though she prayed he wouldn't notice, he gave her a look. He noticed.

She hiked up one shoulder in a shrug. "Nothing really. Just… Lost in my thoughts, I guess," She sighed. He propped himself up on his elbow, watching her, head cocked to the side.

"Is it about Crane?"

She looked into his eyes with surprise, brow pulled low. That was the last thing on her mind as of right now. "Crane?" She repeated.

He nodded back. "I know how traumatizing the last time was," He said in a quiet voice, fingers reaching up to gently stroke her cheek.

She closed her eyes for a moment. He'd given her the perfect alibi for her odd behavior, and though she felt somewhat wrong taking it and blatantly lying, she nodded finally. "I don't want it to happen again."

"It won't," He told her supportively, pulling her down to his level so she rested on her back. He was on his side next to her, leaning over her, fingers caressing her skin sweetly as he spoke. "You've got Bruce and I there to protect you. Like always."

She smiled up at him, tired and unamused. "I know," Barbara whispered back. It was quiet in the room for a minute before he leaned down and let his lips brush against hers, making her squirm slightly underneath him. As much as she wanted to crawl away from his seemingly suffocating embrace, she knew she couldn't. She had an image to protect, after all.

The door loudly opened and Dick pulled away to look at the door, both of them facing Bruce. Barbara attempted a small smile, trying to make it look casual and he nodded shortly at her. "The tracker is getting weak. We need to go now." He looked at Dick now. "Are you well?"

"I'm fine," Dick said. "Let's go." Barbara casted him a worried glance.

"Dick, you're sick as a dog. I'm not letting you go out in the cold," She said, watching him, amused but concerned as he stood up, immediately bending over in a violent fit of coughing. His headache had turned into a wicked ear infection and in his weakened condition, a cold had set in. Sneezing and coughing was a very common occurrence around the mansion these days.

"I'm fine, babe," He said after a minute. Barbara glanced over at Bruce and saw his jaw tensing ever so slightly.

Controlling his emotions, Bruce finally said, "Dick, you obviously are still pretty sick. If you feel better tomorrow you can come out with us, but I'm not just going to let you go out there. It's freezing and supposed to storm." Barbara gave him a thankful look. She knew she couldn't be around them both at the same time anymore. In the beginning it was easier, but things had gotten so much more complicated recently. It almost felt like she was cheating on Bruce.

He groaned. "Guys," Dick said. "I'm fine."

"No!" They both told him, raising their voices. He glared at them and then sat back down on the bed, burying his nose in the crook of his elbow as he sneezed. Barbara raised an eyebrow at him. "We'll be back tonight," She said softly. "I'll tell Al to make you some soup." She stroked his hair back from his forehead and heard Bruce walking out the door, not bothering to stay around and watch her staged show of affection.

"I hate not going out with you," Dick muttered.

"I know," She said. "It's okay." She gave him a kiss on the forehead and then left the room, flicking off the light for him and closing the door after. She walked casually for a few minutes but once she was out of hearing distance, she sprinted. Even though they were looking for Selina, she was still thrilled to spend the whole night alone with Bruce. When she got to the Cave, she saw Bruce standing half naked, his armor already on his legs, getting dressed into the torso piece. Pathetically, she felt herself blush, trying not to ogle him as she went to get her own outfit on. As she scrounged around in her bag, she sighed, thinking about the last time she'd been in here with him.

When she finally stood up and began undressing and then slipping into the body suit, she felt warm hands lightly land on her hips, making her breathe in sharply. She leaned back against his chest, wishing she could feel the solidness of his body and not just the armor. The Batgirl outfit was already up her thighs and Batman's hands slid down to take it out of hers. "Let me," He said, his voice low, sensual but subtle. The words weren't even seductive, though suggestive, and she shivered nonetheless and extended her arms when he began to pull the sleeves up. Just before the material covered her shoulder, his lips pressed to the skin softly, tantalizingly slow. Barbara's eyes fluttered. When she felt him slowly begin to pull the zipper up, she made a move to push her hair out of the way, but he beat her to it, scooping it over the side of her neck and leaning his face against the back of her head, breathing in the smell of her hair. Her knees were weak by the time she was clothed. Barbara turned around to look at him, her palms touching the hard kevlar protecting his chest. He had yet to pull the cowl on and he watched her with his dark eyes, his hair messy and unkempt. He kissed her forehead, her nose and just before she tried to press her lips to his, he dropped down to his knees. Barbara's heart thudded in her chest, blood coursing through her veins rapidly. He pushed her gently backwards until her knees met a chair and she sat down, confused but excited for whatever he was doing. She watched with wide eyes and a fast moving chest as he grabbed one of her yellow boots, his fingers sliding up and down her calf, making the skin tingle even through the material of her clothing.

She shuddered out a breath, blinking twice quickly as she watched, not wanting to miss a single intimate detail of this strange but arousing ritual. He slipped the boot over her foot slowly and pulled the laces taught before moving onto the next one. She was heavily aware of the feeling of the boots sliding across her skin, igniting every nerve. She'd worn these shoes forever but they had never made her feel this way and she never thought they would. Bruce somehow made shoes arousing, the feeling of them touching her almost carnal. Again, his fingers slid up her calves until they found her left hand and pulled it towards him, his lips pressing to each fingertip once before he picked up the yellow glove and slipped it onto her hand, pressing it down until the very ends of her fingers were encased in the material, her whole body shaking now.

Bruce met her eyes finally and a wild heat began to build between her legs, dampening the seat of her costume. Bruce was dressing her. He was putting clothes on her, how was this so erotic? She was torn between asking him to strip her again and make love to her — yes, make love, in the beautiful way only he knew how — though the other part of her never ever wanted him to stop. He repeated the process with her other hand, sending goosebumps up and down her arms, her body quivering for him. He stood slowly and her head rose to watch him, admiring him without dismay, her lips parted and heart racing. He reached to the left to grab something but Barbara didn't dare moving her head to see what it was. When he brought his hands back, she saw her cowl.

Oh.

This should be good.

She stood slowly, her thighs pressed tightly together, their bodies not an inch apart. Bruce pushed her hair behind her back, his fingers tenderly tracing over the skin of her neck. When the cowl finally slipped down over her head, she shook with passion, the plastic like material of her mask somehow making her even more wet for him. The cowl covered her vision as he pulled it down and just as her eyes were blocked his lips grasped at hers, sucking on her lower lip, his hand behind her head as he held her still, kissing her wild and hard. She grabbed at him, but his other hand slipped down to pin her arms at her sides, making her immobile. A loud moan escaped her lips and she flushed at the obscene sound, tingles shooting through her limbs deliciously.

The kiss came to a slow stop but even once they finished, his lips still brushed against hers, their breath mingling, ragged and delirious. After a few moments, he pulled away, straightened her hair again and slipped the mask down over her chin, making sure it was secure. Barbara's eyes grew large as they took him in. His dark eyes were shining, lustful and his lips were pulled up in a handsome grin that made her swoon. The only reason she was able to stand was because his hands were on her. "Are you alright?" He asked, his voice quiet, a whisper, smiling at her.

"Never better," She breathed back, not willing to break the carnal silence. Her ears were ringing in a way that made her skin feel like it was electrified. "I just wish I had more clothes," She finally admitted. He grinned again, pulling her close, a hand on either side of her face and kissing her passionately again. She was breathless when it ended, a little light headed, but when he took her hand and pulled her along with him towards the Tumbler, there wasn't the slightest bit of resistance in her mind.

I know this one was kind of short, but I really loved it and thought this was a good place to stop the chapter. Fortunately, chapter SEVENTEEN which will be put up in a couple of days is filled to the brim with sex, danger, angst and excitement. Are you thrilled? I am! In case you decided to skip my note at the beginning, which I'm sure some of you did, I'm writing a new Bats/Bats story (that will be much, much shorter than this one, but just as Batty. I can't wait to publish it!) Once again, all thanks for the idea goes to one of my lovely anons.

Rogue: I loved that comment! :) I'm really excited that you all liked the scene where they got a little more intimate than just rough and hard. While I like both, I was worried that some of my more kinky fans (Hey guys ;) ) wouldn't like it as much! XD But don't worry, even though this chapter wasn't too lewd, next one will definitely be.

Mrs. Wayne: I'm soooo happy you liked it. It's always rewarding to know that I'm meeting people's needs. There will be a lot more Bat sex in the next few chapters. In response to your comment about Babs not wanting to share Bruce, I completely understand that, and that's why I don't think it would fit in very well in Tension. I love the idea a lot, but I think that if I were to write it, it'd most likely be a oneshot! So you never know how it will turn out. :) Of course, Barbara is a lot more possessive in this fic because she is developing feelings for him, so in another story, if it were more of a fresh start, she might not feel just so intense about it. But I don't know! Also about the TDKR themed Selina/Bats romance smut affair thing, I really like that idea. I haven't ever written a purely Bruce/Selina fic before, so I'd be thrilled to give it a try! I'm not sure how it will go though, but I'll keep you updated if I come up with anything. :)

Guest (1): I've got to clear this up! To EVERYONE that keeps asking if this story is over, please know that it isn't over until I say it is! Once the words "The End" are printed at the bottom, then it's over. I feel so bad for not clarifying that. But really guys, don't worry. I won't leave any plot holes unfilled, I promise! I wouldn't do that to you! And since the story isn't over yet... I won't answer your questions. You'll have to wait and see. ;)

Sakura: Currently imagining people being thrown off of literal wagons at high speeds for not liking Bats/Bats. I like that a lot. XD *bows dramatically* I wouldn't be able to do it without you guys, so seriously, everyone give yourselves a pat on the back. Even if you've never reviewed before, even if it's your first time reading, just stop everything right now and pat yourself on the back because you're fucking awesome for supporting me.

Guest (2): Don't pat yourself on the back. You're a dick. I take that earlier statement back JUST for you. But I have one question, dear guest? If this story is so dumb... Why did you read until chapter fifteen...? *raises eyebrow* Caught ya. Now please go be a little pesky cockgobbler on someone else's story. :)

Guest (3): THANK YOU. The moment I saw your comment, I smirked, cause I was like "Oh yeah, what now, Guest number three has my back!" And dude, really, thank you so much for saying that. If only you knew how elated it makes me feel!

WonderBabe: Doll, thank you so much. :) You're so uplifting. I love the idea of Alfred or someone like that finding out, and I was thinking about it a lot earlier as I sat in the shower like a bum (yes, that is where I plot all my fanfictions, it's a very nice environment) and I'm not sure how exactly I would go about that, or what would transpire afterwards? Ya know? Next review, please let me know your thoughts about it, cause I'd like to see what your magnificent mind has came up with!

AND FINALLY, GIVE IT UP FOR...

Guest (4): First off, I love your idea. I'm currently writing something themed like that and I'm desperately sorry that I can't make it work in Tension, just because I've already packed in practically everything I can and don't want to mess up the timeline I've finally got into place... But! So far, I have five pages on the other story, and I'm really liking it. Like a lot. It's from Bruce's perspective so far and I love being in his head, so yeah. On another note, I am so very happy that you like this story! Welcome to the figurative Tension mind-orgy that we have going on here. Hopefully, I'll see more of your wonderful reviews in the future and you'll stick around. :) I hope you liked this chapter, dear!