Simon stretched out as he woke up, Selina still wrapped around his stomach and sleeping quietly. He smiled to himself, trying to keep his mind off of having to team with Black Mask.
I've got a beautiful girl in bed with me, I'm at least an acquaintance with Batman, and I'm a Titan. One of my best friends is the daughter of one of the most powerful demons of all time, if that can be counted as a good thing. All things accounted for, I think I've lived a pretty good life.
The one worry creeping into my mind is if I should stay with Selina. She's a great woman, but I'm not sure if we're right. I promised her I'd keep this on for a while, though, and I have no intentions of breaking that promise. Lucky me. He leaned his head down and kissed her on the forehead, then slowly withdrew from her.
Kitrina should still be in the guest room. Raven's downstairs in her room resting up as agreed upon. The other Titans should all be-
"I bring the greetings of a new day, friend!"
Oh dear sweet Jesus. "Morning, Star. What are you doing here so early?"
"I did not mean to offend, I simply woke up at a far earlier time than I had intended to and did not want to be alone for so long."
"And you knew I woke up early so you came here. But so does Robin, so why...? Not that I mind, just wondering."
"Robin... does not seem to be very happy with me lately." Her body language changed dramatically; her shoulders drooped, and he could tell he'd just accidentally poked a wound.
"Come here," he said gently, guiding her down to the couch. "What's up with you two?"
"I am afraid that I do not know. He seems... he seems..."
"Distracted?"
"No no, I wish it were that simple. Why do Earth males always have to be so complicated?"
"We're not. We're just broken. So he's actually angry at you?"
"He has been refusing to speak to me."
"When did this start?"
"When we came to this city, he began ignoring me."
"He's under a lot of pressure, Star. Maybe he just doesn't want to do something he'd regret. Give him some time, that's all I can say." She mulled it over for a moment in her head, then nodded in agreement.
"I believe I see what you mean. Thank you, friend Simon."
"Any time."
"Oh! I forgot to feed Silkie. Excuse me." She left, leaving him alone again.
Do I just leave my door unlocked? How the hell are all these people getting in without me letting them in? Whatever. He grabbed a mug and filled it about three fourths of the way with coffee, filled the rest with sugar, and mixed it up. Evidently he'd made some amount of noise, because Kitrina left her room moments later, still in her underwear.
"My, somebody's feeling modest today."
"Shut up. Coffee." She had a mug in her hands in moments, and the two were both leaning over the counter drinking.
"Sleep well?"
"Have I ever?"
"Point taken."
"So... how are you and Selina getting along?" He felt a pang of guilt, knowing that he was basically dangling himself in front of her when he didn't mean to.
"You don't want me to answer that question."
"You're right, I don't. But I still would like an answer."
"Fine. No real problems. To be honest," he said, dropping his voice to a low whisper to avoid being heard. "I've been having some doubts, I won't lie. I'm not so sure she's somebody I can stay with."
"I understand. You've always been indecisive."
"That was almost my middle name. Couldn't pick between that and Shaquille." She smirked, too tired to actually laugh.
"I miss you, Simon. I really do."
"I'm right here."
"I mean I miss us."
"It's not going to happen, Kitrina. At least not right now."
"I know, you've got a commitment to her."
"I miss us too, though." Her eyes brightened, her chocolate brown irises now glowing. "That doesn't mean I'm going to cheat on Selina."
"I wouldn't want you to. If you're willing to cheat on her, you're willing to cheat on anybody."
"True enough." A black portal opened in the floor, and Raven rose through it, her thigh still bandaged.
"Morning, Raven," Kitrina said almost cheerily.
"Yay, mornings."
"You're almost as bad as Bats. I don't think you know how to use doors properly."
"Funny," his deep voice announced from behind him. They all turned to see Batman standing there, having entered the room without their noticing.
"How'd you get in here so quietly?" Kitrina asked.
"You'd never believe. I used the door."
"Let's cut to the chase. Why are you here? You never show up without a reason," Simon pointed out, knowing Batman's M.O..
"I'm making sure you know exactly what you're doing."
"Something I don't want to be doing."
"You're endangering other people's lives."
"Some of them won't leave," he noted, glancing at Kitrina and Raven as he said so.
"I understand that, but you had an opportunity to take out the assassin last night. Why didn't you do so?"
"How do you know that?"
"Answer the question."
"Because I still want Black Mask dead. I'm not killing that thing until it kills Black Mask."
"How do you not see the idiocy in this?"
"You call it idiocy, I call it revenge."
"You let an assassin that admitted that you're next walk away. I can understand you wanting Black Mask dead, even if I don't agree with it. I won't stand by and let you do it, but I understand it. But do you have no sense of self preservation?"
"No, I guess I don't. Then again, neither do you."
"If something is going to kill me, I do something about it."
"But you still go out dressed up like this and fight people with superpowers every day. You and I are the same in that way, except your hunt is for crime in general, whereas mine is for one man."
"You've got a long way before you're anything like me." He left, and the trio noted that he did, in fact, use the door.
"Asshole." Simon leaned back over the counter and sipped from his coffee some more.
"You alright?" Raven asked.
"Fine."
"No, you aren't. You don't have to be a psychic to know that you're pissed," Kitrina interjected.
"Just drop it."
"Simon, for once, stop being such a prick! We're your friends. You can talk to us. You look up to Batman. I know you do. You can't even try to deny that, because I can sense it in you right now. I could sit here and tell you exactly how you're feeling about anything that's in your mind right now, but you'll get through it faster if you just admit it," Raven said angrily
"I feel like I fucked up! Happy?"
"That's better. Now try to relax a bit."
"Screw off. Get out, please. Before we get into a real fight."
"Sorry. We'll talk when you've calmed down. I'd say go back to the psychiatrist." She vanished before he could respond, and he just put his head in his hands. Kitrina tried to put a hand on his shoulder, but he violently pushed her away.
"Leave me alone. I don't want to fight you either."
"You're stuck with me." She wrapped her arms around his ribs and hugged tight, but he didn't reciprocate at all; they stayed like that for a good long while, her trying to comfort him and him not accepting it.
Selina left their room in just a button up shirt and immediately noticed that Simon looked pissed.
"What's wrong, baby?" she asked, trying to sound sympathetic.
"Nothing." Kitrina looked up to her and just shook her head, signalling that she should just drop it.
"Come on." He ignored Selina and brushed Kitrina off, grabbed his jacket, and walked towards the door.
"Going out. Be back later." He slammed the door behind him and walked out onto the street, nearly missing the caped silhouette standing on a building adjacent to him, watching.
He walked past the psychiatrist's secretary and barged into her office; she was studying something on her computer and only began paying attention when she realized who it was.
"Ah, N. Nice to see you again."
"Sure. Need to let off steam."
"Lay down, then, please." He did as she asked, and she walked over to the chair in front of him.
"Fuck the anonymity. I'm Nightweaver. Let's just start with that."
"I had assumed so. What seems to be the problem?"
Catwoman and Catgirl both crawled through the bushes behind the building Simon had entered. Kitrina poked her head over the windowsill and saw that he was laying on a therapist's couch with a doctor sitting just off to the side.
"Here. You sure you want to do this?"
"It's my job." She extended a claw and cut a small hole in the window, letting the sound from inside escape more easily, and began to listen in.
"I woke up this morning feeling absolutely amazing. I was in bed with my girlfriend, one of my best friends in the room across the hall, life generally good."
"And what made things go south?"
"Batman showed up."
"Oh?"
"He started insulting me, basically, and he said I was just endangering others."
"From what I've heard, he always acts similarly to that. He's a brutally honest person."
"It's just painful because there are so many things leading up to this, and on top of that, I've come to respect Batman immensely."
"Tell me about the things leading up to this. Let's start with your girlfriend. Does this have anything to do with the other two girls you mentioned on your last visit?"
"It does, in a way."
"Might I ask who you're dating?"
"I feel like I shouldn't be using names here."
"I assure you, nothing you say leaves this room." He rubbed his forehead, then decided to trust her.
"I've been with Catwoman for about a week now. I know that doesn't sound like much, but it was hard for me to let somebody in after what happened with the other two."
"I understand. So where is the stress coming from?"
"Well, together, I feel like we're perfect, but sometimes it just doesn't feel right. And sometimes I still want one of the other two."
"I'm going to ask you a few questions about her, now. Do you feel in your heart that you have potential with Catwoman?" Selina tensed outside; she didn't know quite how to feel about what he was saying.
"I do. She's an amazing woman. That sounds stupid, but she's a good person. I mean, I'm not always sure how I feel about her, but I know that she's got my best interests at heart, and I think I have hers."
"You think?"
"I do what I think is good. I don't get very many opportunities to support her, but I try to."
"Okay, second question; are you ready to stay committed to her?"
"Unless there's a reason we break up, yes."
"Alright, then let me let you in on a little secret. People in relationships have doubts all the time. I've been married for fifteen years, and I can't say I've never thought about somebody else. I can't say that I've never thought about running off with another guy. But the thing is, I love my husband. Do you love Catwoman?" He struggled with the question in his head for a moment.
"I honestly think it's too early to say that. I wouldn't expect for her to be able to say that this early either. But when and if I do reach that point, I'll keep what you said in mind." He stood up and shook the psychiatrist's hand, only just realizing then he still didn't know her name. He ignored that simple fact and showed himself out politely, emerging back into the sunlight with his hood up.
"You alright, Selina?" Catgirl asked her mentor.
"Yeah. He's right. It's too early to say anything. But I do get what he's saying. Sometimes I wonder if I should be with him, seeing as he's younger than I am."
"Well, technically speaking, he is eighteen."
"I know, but I still feel like a cradle robber."
"You aren't much older."
"I'm twenty five. He's seven years younger than I am."
"There are plenty of couples with larger age gaps."
"That's beside the point. And I assume that by "one of the other ones", he means you?"
"I think so." Selina glared at her.
"Don't bullshit me. I know you." She sighed and relented.
"We talked. He wants to stay with you, but he did admit he still had feelings for me. I'm not trying to steal him from you."
"I wasn't saying you were. I just don't like when people lie to me." She got up and started to walk away, Catgirl in tow.
Simon sighed as he threw his jacket off, collapsing on the couch as he did so.
Head's more clear now. That's good.
I'm going to stay with Selina. At least for now.