When I said Selina had friends and people who cared about her, I meant she could rely on me, not lay on or hit on me. I glance down and see she's closed her eyes with a content smile on her face. Even if this could be interpreted as something comfortable friends could do, I still feel wrong, like I'm betraying or cheating on Diana, which I have no intentions of doing. And besides, I hardly know Selina.
"This is nice," she breathes after a moment.
Do I push her off? Try to move away? Make up an excuse? Be blunt? Selina did a lot for me, bringing me somewhere safe and patching me up, but I don't see Selina as anything more than an acquaintance at least, a casual friend at most. And she's also in a relationship with one of my best friends.
She reaches up and brushes hair out of her face before looking at me with a flirtatious smile. Something flashes in her eyes when she lunges forward and kisses me, causing me to pull as far back into the couch. Selina, however, doesn't seem to understand that I'm trying to pull away from her as she follows me back against the couch. I take my good arm and push her away.
"What do you want from me?" I ask.
"You know what I want," she whispers seductively, trying to lean back in but I just turn my head away. She presses against my bad shoulder, trying to slide into my lap, but the unexpected pressure has me flinching forward, pushing Selina not-so-gently away from me. "I can make it up to you," she trails her fingers across my good arm but I bat it away, Selina finally getting the message and sitting back down on the couch, facing forward as an awkward silence begins to grow between us.
"What's wrong?" she asks after a moment. "I thought….nevermind."
"I'm dating someone, Selina, and so are you. My best friend! I'm not going to do anything with you, especially when we both are with other people. You're beautiful but I'm not interested."
She's silent for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, I get it. Let me go get you a blanket." She stands and quickly exits the room.
I lean forward with my elbows on my knees, head in my hands as I try to think of what I'm going to say to Diana. There's no way I could keep this from her. I'm lost in my thoughts when a quiet mewl sounds from my feet. I glance down and see the Siamese from earlier glaring at me.
"At least she's not hissing at you anymore," Selina says as she reenters the room with a couple of blankets.
"Hooray for small miracles," I mutter sarcastically, still watching the cat.
"Another drink?" She asks as she gathers up our cups, not seeming to notice mine is still mostly full.
"No, I'm fine. Thanks."
"I've never run into anyone else who did this, you know?" she asks, refilling her cup. "You can't be Batman all the time. So what's a night off look like? What do you do when you take off the mask?"
"Are you kidding? I love being Batman." I try to deflect, realizing Selina's attempting to act like nothing happened, so I also try to return to casual conversation. "I feel more at home in the suit than I do as Bruce Wayne. You ever feel that way?"
Selina pauses for a moment, seeming to consider before answering. "I guess I just never saw them as different to begin with. Me and Catwoman….it's the same thing." Apparently done talking, she turns back to me with her mug once again full with the nasty fruit flavored Crown. "Guess this is goodnight, then."
"Goodnight, Selina." She tips her cup my way before going into her bedroom, waiting for the cats to follow, then closes the door.
I shift on the couch, awakening as it causes my shoulder to twinge painfully. I hardly slept last night, first debating if I should remain in my uniform pants or strip to my boxers, as the pants were very uncomfortable when trying to sleep. Then I couldn't find a comfortable position without my shoulder or ribs pulling uncomfortably. And now sunlight is shining through the blinds from behind the couch.
Signing, I sit up, grabbing my shoulder as another sharp pain radiates from it. I glance around the living room as I become aware of a very faint beeping. Wary that something may be wrong, I breathe a sigh of relief at spotting the cowl, noticing the beeping is coming from where I dropped it last night.
I lean down and pull out the earpiece from inside the cowl, placing it in my ear. "Alfred?"
"Oh thank goodness! Mistress Diana and I have been very worried!"
"Diana?"
"She stopped by last night to see you and then we couldn't reach you. She's been out searching for you all night." Guilt floods me, not realizing that Alfred or Diana would be looking for me. "I didn't know what happened, if you were-"
"I'm sorry," I cut him off, the guilt increasing. "I didn't mean to worry you, Alfred. Either of you."
"I'm just glad you're okay. I always fear the day you don't come home, Bruce," Alfred admits.
"I know, Al," having been told of this fear numerous times and feeling guilty each time he mentions it, wishing there was a way I could soothe the fear away.
"Where are you anyway?"
"I-" I hesitate, unsure of how much to say, knowing I could cause Alfred to panic. "I, uh, took a bit of a beating when I ran into the Children of Arkham." I admit.
"What happened?" Alfred demands.
"It's…." I hesitate again. "Kind of a long story. I'll tell you about it when I get back."
"But where are you, Bruce?"
"I fell asleep at Selina's last night."
A beat of silence. "Oh?"
"Nothing happened." I insist. "She patched me up and I fell asleep on her couch."
"I didn't say anything." No, but I can hear the disapproval in your voice, old man. "While you're there, this might be a good opportunity to learn more about Miss Kyle." Alfred suggests. "After all, we really don't know anything about her. See what you can find lying around. If she's trustworthy. We may not have another chance."
"Yeah, that's a good idea. I'll see what I can find."
"At the very least, you can find that grapple gun of yours."
"Right," I roll my eyes. While it's not great that she has it, it's not like I didn't have replacements. "That might be harder than you think. She doesn't share our love of organization."
"Yes, well, I'll see you back at home, Bruce. I'm sure Diana will be relieved to see you." My heart sinks at the mention of Diana, still unsure how I'm supposed to tell her Selina kissed me last night. I can only hope she'll believe I didn't initiate or reciprocate.
I pull the earpiece out of my ear, placing it back in the cowl before glancing around the messy apartment, eyes widening in surprise to see my grapple gun sitting on her dining room table. I reattached it to my belt, making a mental note to redress soon as it would look questionable should anyone, even Selina, see me walking around her apartment in just my boxers. I had stripped halfway through the night, hoping that by ditching the uncomfortable uniform pants, I may be able to fall asleep. Wishful thinking, apparently, as it didn't help.
Glancing around, I see her bookshelves are full of romance novels and a premium cat food sits on the ground beside a few bowls. Her magnetic device, the cat claw, sits on her coffee table. I pick it up, unsure of how I missed it earlier. It has strong magnets but is very lightweight. Something like this could be useful. I look around her apartment again, noticing a few paintings hanging on the wall by her bedroom door, one in particular catching my eye. It has no frame but I recognize it as a piece from the Gotham Museum of Art. I helped raise the funds for it and Lucius set up new security for it. How did she get in?
Just then, Selina steps from her room in a tank top and her underwear. Remembering I'm not yet dressed, I move towards my stuff lying by the couch. However, a knock on the door has us both freezing. Selina locks eyes with me, nodding to my suit on the ground then her bedroom door. I quickly grab my things, ignoring the pain in my shoulder and side before ducking into her room as Selina moves to open her door.
As soon as I step into Selina's room, her cat meows and hisses at me from her spot on the bed. I consider approaching the cat when I hear Selina's door open. "Harvey!" She says in surprise and I drop a boot and a glove in shock. Hoping I wasn't heard, I put my suit down on the floor and peek through the crack in the door.
Harvey stands in the doorway to Selina's apartment. "Hey! I-I brought breakfast. Can I come in?"
Selina looks away and I'm not sure if it's because she knows I'm in her bedroom, the kiss from last night, or if it's because she hasn't seen Harvey since his accident. "I-I'm not sure that's a good idea." she tells him.
"Just for a minute." Harvey insists. "I really need to talk to you." I debate revealing myself but know that it would only look suspicious since I'm only in boxers. "If you still want me to go, I'll go. But I have to get this out" At that moment, Selina's cat jumps off the bed and puts her front paws on my legs, claws hooking in as if I'm a human scratching post. I try to gently push the cat away but she hisses then nudges her way through the crack in the door, tossing her head aside and managing to throw the door open quite a bit, enough to reveal me.
The sound of the door squeaking on its hinges and Selina's cat running across the room draws both Harvey and Selina's attention to me.
"Bruce?" Harvey asks before pushing his way into the apartment. I wince before taking a deep breath and stepping out of Selina's room. "What the-what are-"
"Seriously?" Selina sighs.
"What are you doing here?" Harvey demands, holding two cups of coffee in one hand and a paper bag in the other.
"Have a seat, Harvey," Selina tries to offer but Harvey's head snaps in her direction, eyes accusing.
"No! I don't need to sit down." He looks back towards me, seeming to ignore my bloody bandages, which need changing, and my scar riddled body. His focus is solely on my lack of clothes and being in his girlfriend's apartment and I can't say I blame the fury building in his eyes. I'd probably be just as upset if I found Diana and Clark in a situation like this. "Bruce, tell me what is going on." He tries to keep his tone even and gather the facts like his attorney-wired brain would usually do but his emotions have a good grip on him.
"I spent the night here. That's it," I admit and Harvey's eyes harden, the side of his face not covered by the mask wrenching into a scowl.
"You-you-I can't believe this!"
"Nothing happened!" I try to tell him but Harvey isn't listening. "I got hurt and Selina was helping me." I gesture to my bad shoulder.
"Just calm down," Selina tries to step in, reaching a hand out towards Harvey but he drops the bag of food, hand filinging out to grab her wrist tightly.
"Don't! Don't touch me!" He picks up the bag of food and puts it along with the coffees on Selina's dining room table. "I thought I would come here and-" Selina glances at me and we share a worried look when Harvey slams his hands down angrily on the table, our heads snapping back to look at him. "So stupid!" He yells. "God, I should have known!" he whirls around to face us, eyes flitting between Selina and I before landing on me. "I should have known that you would do this to me!"
I move closer as Harvey's voice grows angrier, raspier. "None of it was real, anyway," he snarls but his eyes aren't looking at Selina or myself, now focused on the floor. "God, how could you ever think it was?"
"I shouldn't have come," Harvey's voice softens and his shoulders cave in.
"This isn't about you, Harvey. We're not doing this to get at you or betray you! This has nothing to do with you."
"What?" His voice is angry and raspy again. "So I'm just making this up?!"
"Yes, you are!" Selina tells him. "This had nothing to do with you." She agrees.
Harvey's gaze returns to me. "He-he will not be able to protect you." My brows furrow in confusion.
"And I don't need him to! Just get out of here, Harvey," Selina moves to lean against the wall, no longer standing beside me or closer to Harvey.
"What happens when the Children of Arkham come for him?" Harvey shouts. I don't know what I'll do then but it has nothing to do with this conversation. "You think you won't get caught in the crossfire? You can't stop them!" Harvey is once again looking at neither of us, yet still talking passionately, as if to himself before pointing suddenly at me. "He can't!
"I can handle myself and the Children of Arkham," I tell Harvey who begins to laugh mockingly.
"Of course, Bruce Wayne can do anything!" he says condescendingly. "Everything Harvey couldn't!" He turns away, slamming a fist on the dining table again. "He thinks he's so much better!" Why is he talking in third person?
"I'm sorry," he suddenly says.
"What the hell is going on with you?" Selina asks with concern as Harvey begins to pace back and forth in the kitchen.
"Up until now, Harvey has been weak! He's been afraid!" Harvey reaches up and pulls his mask off, Selina gasping and I remember it's her first time seeing that side of his face.
"Oh my god!" She holds a hand to her mouth, looking like she might be sick.
"This….this is the monster they all know that you are. Embrace it!" He punches a mirror that had been hanging beside the fridge, unbothered by the blood and shards of glass now covering his hand.
"No! No! Oh God, this is what you wanted to see, isn't it? Huh?" Harvey spins back towards us. "The freak!"
"Harvey," Selina begins but he ignores her, throwing his mask at me, which I easily bat aside. "Alright, now you've got two seconds!" Selina warns him.
"Or what? Harvey won't be pushed around anymore!" He growls. "No! He's gonna make them pay! Everyone who thought they could hurt him and get away with it! Starting with you!" He points at me. "Both of you!"
"You're gonna pick that up!" Selina orders him, pointing at his mask on the ground.
"Oh, am I?"
"Yes! You are!"
"This isn't you. Just calm down!" I try to tell him but he spins and grabs the shattered mirror off the wall.
"Just shut up!" He yells before hurling the mirror at us. Selina and I both duck out of the way, growing even more concerned.
"Jesus, Harvey!"
"Of course, gotta be fair about this. Can't play favorites." He pulls his two headed coin out of his pocket, spinning it through his fingers. "They both deserve it, one way or another. How about we flip for it?" He rasps.
"This isn't funny!" Selina tries to tell him but Harvey just smirks.
"No, no it really isn't." He agrees before tossing the coin up. He catches it and glances down at the coin before lifting his eyes to Selina. "Selina, looks like you're first." He grins manically but I step in front of her as he barrels towards her, grabbing his sweater, spinning him, and pinning him down against the coffee table with my good arm.
"Always getting in the middle of things," he snarls before jabbing a few fingers against the bandages of my side, causing my grip on him to falter and allow Harvey to push me off of him. Selina grabs one of her dining room chairs and holds it between her and Harvey as he turns back towards her.
"The call's already been made!" He shouts, moving towards her again.
"Harvey!" I call out to him, trying to be more gentle and grab his shoulder but he pulls an elbow back and it catches my jaw, knocking me back.
"Bruce!" he says, turning towards me with his normal voice, clearly confused as I hold a hand up to my face, knowing it will bruise. He suddenly grabs his head and stumbles away from Selina, back towards the kitchen. "No! I don't want to hurt you! This isn't-"
"They turned their back on you!" He argues with himself when his head tilts towards a knife on Selina's counter, picking it up and turning back towards us.
"Harvey! Put the knife down!"
"Selina!" I push her behind me, knowing that without my suit, that knife could go right through me, but whatever is going on with Harvey isn't normal. Something's definitely wrong.
Harvey is suddenly holding his head again and throws the knife away from him, narrowly missing us and embedding itself in the wall. "He's gonna hurt someone! You know we can take him out!" Harvey continues cradling his head, whimpering and murmuring to himself. "Have you lost your mind?" Selina demands Harvey.
"No…." He groans.
"Harvey!" I plead. "You need to calm down!"
"What are you doing?" Selina hisses.
Harvey mutters something to himself before lunging forward and swinging at me. I merely dodge each swing, hoping to wear him out rather than take him down. He pants in exertion from how much force he's putting behind each swing. He scowls at me before darting forward. I sidestep him and he slams into the exposed brick of Selina's apartment wall.
"Come on, Harvey! That's enough!" He ignores me, lunging again but I duck beneath his arm, sending Harvey toppling into the dining room table. It breaks beneath him and he drops to the floor.
Selina and I keep our distance as Harvey lifts himself onto his knees, sharing a look of surprise when he begins to cry. "Oh god," he gasps, turning towards me. "I don't want to be alone, Bruce! Please, not with him!" He throws himself at my feet, sobbing. "I can't! Oh god, I can't listen to him!" I kneel down in front of him, greatly concerned.
"You're not alone. We're right here, okay?" I insist.
"I am, I am, I am," Harvey repeats. "My fault," he mutters before standing and moving towards the door.
"Harvey-" I try to stop him, knowing it wouldn't be good if he left right now. He could hurt himself or others. But Selina cuts me off.
"Bruce, I-I don't think we can help him. Not on our own."
"It's just me. It's just me. It's just me. It's just me." Harvey tells himself as he continues to the door.
"Just let me talk to him."
"You don't know what you're doing. He needs a professional." Selina tries to persuade me.
"Please!" I turn a sharp glare her way and she immediately holds her hands up in surrender.
"Alright," she backs off.
"It's okay, Bruce. I'll go," Harvey tells me over his shoulder. "I don't deserve your help."
"Go off with your tail between your legs." His voice growls as he faces back towards the door.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He says again as he steps out of the door.
"Harvey!" I call after him but the door slams shut.
Selina sighs, glancing at her table and shattered mirror. "So much for this place. I'm not gonna stick around and wait for him to come back. Thought it would be awhile before I had to move again. That's what I get for wishful thinking." She crouches beside a tower of suitcases and begins to spread them out and open them.
"You're just going to take off?" I ask in disbelief, still reeling from what has just gone down in the last thirty minutes. "Where will you go?"
"I don't know. Not a lot of apartments in Gotham with this kind of private access." She scoffs and stands. "Maybe I'll live on a boat." Her cat suddenly crawls from beneath the sofa. "Yes, that means you too. We won't go far." She promises, though I'm not sure if she's talking to me, herself, or the cat.
Suddenly, something vibrates from my suit's belt. Remembering I had tucked my phone in one of the compartments, I fish it out, scowling and feeling my heart begin to race at the words on the screen from Regina.
Everything's nearly ready
See you soon
"Great," I mutter but Selina hears me.
"What's the matter?"
"I'm supposed to 'announce my resignation' at a press event today. Somehow try to appear happy that Oswald Cobblepot is taking my job." I admit.
"Sounds like an opportunity." She smirks.
"How do you mean?"
"They screwed you out of your own company. You have all this information that could bring them down and they're handing you a live mic. So use it. Don't be their puppet."
"Maybe you're right." I consider. "This could be my chance to expose Oswald for who he really is. Let Gotham know he's a part of the Children of Arkham."
"Exactly." She turns back to her suitcases. "Better get going. I have some packing to do."
A/N: I am not looking forward to the next chapter, let me tell you that. It might also be a short chapter, we'll have to see.
Thx!
AMM