Alfred visited Selina and Holly at their apartment a few days after the gala, after driving Bruce downtown for a meeting with the Board of Directors at Wayne Enterprises. It was the butler's first time here since shortly after Selina moved in, and he took in the changes with a quick scan. "It seems like you two are getting a bit cramped in here, if you don't mind me saying so."
Selina and Holly exchanged a glance, and Holly shrugged. "We manage. We don't need all the space that the rooms at the manor have."
They sat around the table. "Master Bruce informed me that your conversation after the gala had ups and downs."
Selina scoffed. "That's one way of putting it."
"He has nonetheless insisted that I invite you both to spend the holidays at the manor, as usual."
Holly looked at Selina, her mixed feelings clear in her eyes.
Selina fixed her gaze on the table. Her dreams since the gala had taunted her, showing her over and again how he entertained the flirtations of all those women, and then switching all those women to her. The dreams also replayed the moment when they almost kissed. Her body insisted on longing for that, and more, despite her better judgment.
She also had nightmares of him clashing with her father, which never ended well for him.
"We'll come," she said finally, "on one condition."
"And what condition is that?" Alfred asked.
"He has to promise not to go after Falcone."
"Master Bruce anticipated such a request, and supplied this counteroffer: He agrees not to interfere with Mr. Falcone's operations until a strategy can be devised that will ensure the safety of both of you, as well as anyone else that Mr. Falcone may target to get to him." Alfred leaned forward. "If I may say so, Miss Kyle, perhaps he would be more understanding of your stance on this matter if he had all the relevant facts."
"No."
"Very well. Far be it from me to attempt to guide you both towards reestablishing a trusting partnership."
"Trusting? How can you expect that, Alfred? Do you completely trust him? He abandoned both of us."
"And we both know his reasons for it, Miss Kyle. Yes, I trust Master Bruce completely. And you clearly maintain some level of faith in him, or this promise that you keep insisting he make would be meaningless to you."
Selina looked away from his knowing gaze, and swallowed. "We'll come, Alfred, at least for Christmas Eve."
"Thank you, Miss Kyle."
"I'm meeting with Mr. Fox that morning. If you don't mind picking up Holly, I'll head straight there from Wayne Tower."
Holly shrugged. "I can just take a cab."
"I'm happy to make the trip, Miss Holly.
As Mr. Fox had stated, the parking garage was empty. As Selina had expected, it was more than a little creepy. Nevertheless, she steadily crossed the lowest level until she arrived at the door in the corner. There was a small keypad beside the door with a tiny, red light above it. She typed in the passcode and the light turned green, and she opened the door.
Inside was a long, white corridor, which brightened before her as she walked. "Fancy," she muttered.
The door at the far end of the corridor had no keypad, so she simply knocked. There was a beeping sound, and then the door opened on its own to reveal Mr. Fox standing at a wide desk stacked with several piles of brown folders. His suit was a coffee-brown color this time.
The large room looked more like a cellar than anything else. The walls were unpainted cement, and several cabinets of dark metal were suspended at regular intervals. A table that wasn't much more than a white cube on a black stand stood in the center of the room, with various gizmos on it.
"Good morning, Miss Kyle. I trust you got here alright?"
"Of course, there's nothing like a morning stroll through an empty, creepy parking garage." She looked around. "Not very interested in office décor, are you?"
"This room is not supposed to be inviting. The idea is for nosy colleagues and directors to want to spend as little time here as possible."
"Mission accomplished then."
Mr. Fox gave a small smile and moved over to the table. Selina approached opposite him, examining the gizmos and recognizing some of Batman's gadgets. She picked up one of the smoke canisters.
"Mr. Wayne thought you might like those."
"They're pretty useful." Selina stashed a few of them.
Mr. Fox quirked a brow, but didn't comment. Instead, he picked up a grapnel launcher. "I know that you use your whip to assist with climbing, and you may have discovered by now that your claws can poke holes into most surfaces should you not have a ladder available. But should you need to rise more swiftly, you might want to consider this."
Selina took the gadget from him and studied it. "Cats don't fly the same way that bats do."
"And yet you seem just as comfortable on the rooftops. I'm thinking more along the lines of when you need to make a quick exit from a situation."
Selina nodded, and stored the launcher. "I don't suppose you have anything for cracking safes?"
"Cracking safes?"
"If Bruce wants to go after the big-timers, rather than just the thugs, he'll need to get his hands on paperwork sooner or later. That means breaking into locked rooms and safes."
He studied her. "And there's no other reason for your interest, right?"
"What makes you ask that?"
"I was once good friends with Bruce's father. He told me about the little girl who tried to steal his wallet."
Selina blushed, caught off guard by the response.
"But Dr. Wayne grew quite fond of you nonetheless. And you're correct about the utility of such tools for yours and Bruce's mutual purposes. I'll see what I can do, Miss Kyle."
"Thanks."
When she arrived at the manor, she stilled, immediately recognizing a certain green car that sat outside of it. She had last seen that car over four years ago, the day after Alfred retrieved her and Bruce from the East End.
Alfred greeted her at the door with a serious expression.
"Where are they?"
"They are awaiting you in the parlor."
Selina went to the room in question. Bracing herself and holding her head high, she opened the door.
Her father sat right at the center of the couch, just like last time, with Carlo standing behind him. Bruce sat opposite him, looking tense and defiant.
Carlo gave her a nod, but no smile.
"Welcome, Selina." Her father stood. "I hope your meeting went well?"
She briefly met Bruce's gaze as she shut the door. "Yes, Mr. Falcone. This is a pleasant surprise." It was a moment before she realized that she was echoing Bruce's words from last time.
"I was in the mood for a little walk down memory lane. Please have a seat." He gestured to the space beside Bruce, and she occupied it.
He sat back down, studying them in turn. "So, Batman and Catwoman. You two have always made quite the pair."
Selina fought the urge to glance at the man beside her.
"I expect that I don't need to lend my voice to the litany of disappointment, Bruce, for how you abandoned the people who care about you."
Bruce looked down. "No."
"But I believe that today can be a day for letting bygones be bygones, as they say, so long as we can all agree to trust each other moving forward, and work together in the interest of our mutual goals."
Bruce clenched his jaw, so Selina quickly spoke up. "I agree, Sir."
He gave a half smile that made his face even more reminiscent of her own for a moment, before returning his attention to Bruce. "I recall very clearly a conversation that I once had with your father. He uncovered a secret of mine that I had believed to be undiscoverable, and promptly asked me about it. We agreed that the secret needed to be kept, as there were matters at stake that were precious to both of us."
Selina knew instinctively what secret he was referring to, and her heart began thundering. Surely he wasn't about to finally acknowledge it, after all this time.
Not in front of Bruce.
"Tommy understood that there were concerns that were far more important than our philosophical disagreements. We both wanted to help the same people, and we cooperated in whatever ways were necessary to do so. I believe that you and I can have that same relationship, Bruce, one of mutual trust and cooperation."
"What was the secret?"
"Pardon?"
"What was the secret that my father uncovered? If you want to have the same trusting relationship with me that you had with him, I should know what he knew."
Selina tried very hard to make it seem like her blood hadn't turned to ice at his question.
"Prove that you trust me, and I will trust you. It goes both ways."
"You already know my secret."
"That isn't what I mean. Prove that you trust me to conduct my operations in the interest of the people of Gotham, without interference."
Bruce looked down. "I already have more than enough incentive to leave your operations alone." He very briefly glanced at Selina.
"Indeed you do." Falcone studied him. "The Batman has already made quite the impression in Gotham, Bruce, no less so in the underworld than anywhere else. As the nature of crimefighting becomes more... radicalized, I expect that crime itself will follow suit. You're an inspiration to people who desire change, some for the better, others for the worse. And those who desire to cause chaos will draw on that inspiration. That will be an inevitable part of your legacy."
"Where are you going with this?"
"There will be times to come when we will have to work together, and rely on each other, to protect this city and its people from those who couldn't care less whom they hurt in the course of achieving their goals. You're a masked crimefighter making very effective use of modern technology, it's only a matter of time before people whose brains and ambitions far outweigh their consciences start imitating that. The challenges that we face will only grow over time."
"So you're saying that what I'm doing will put the people in greater danger?"
"Not if we do what we can to stop it."
Bruce looked away.
"There's no point in regret, Bruce. What's done is done."
Bruce sighed. "So we have to work together."
"The more we do so, the safer we'll all be."
Bruce looked at Selina, and then at Falcone. "You've given me a lot to think about."
Falcone leaned forwards. "In the meantime, you two protect each other. You make quite a good team, as you demonstrated to some of my men. Do whatever it takes to keep each other safe." He stood and circled around the coffee table between them. Placing one hand on Bruce's shoulder and one on Selina's, he gazed down at them. "In bocca al lupo." Then he pulled away and made for the door.
"It was good to see you guys," said Carlo. "Merry Christmas." He gave them a smile as he followed Falcone out.
Bruce leaned forward, resting his elbows on his legs and staring at the floor. Selina waited, letting him parse out what was bothering him.
"Is this worth it," he asked finally, "if what I'm doing inspires the criminals to become more dangerous?"
She felt an urge to take his hand, and tamped it down. "Only you can answer that for yourself."
He straightened, raising his gaze to the table. "What do you think is the secret of his that my father found?"
"How would I know?"
"Do you think my father might have left evidence of it somewhere?"
She had certainly spent enough time searching that she could confidently answer that question. "No."
He grimaced. "Maybe I'll do some searching over the holiday."
"Go right ahead," she replied, knowing he wouldn't find anything.
He turned to her, studying her face. "I'm sorry for how I acted the other night, after the gala. I shouldn't have argued with you."
"Don't mention it." She quickly changed the subject. "How did your meeting with the Board of Directors go?"
He made a face. "They decided to table any discussion of my role at the company until after the holidays."
"Well, you did take them by surprise."
"They're just procrastinating. They know I'm not happy with how they've handled things."
"Your name is on the company. They have to give you some influence."
"It's more complicated than that."
"I know."
"And it doesn't help that I'm less than a third of most of their ages."
"You'll earn their respect. They'll realize how smart you are."
"I need to prove it somehow, that I know what I'm talking about."
"You will, Bruce."
He returned to studying her. "Thank you for being supportive."
She realized how close they were sitting. Fighting an instinct to move even closer, she put distance between them.
He looked down. "Selina, I'm sorry."
"Don't."
He met her gaze again. "There was never a single day when I didn't think of you, when I didn't want you out there with me. But I needed to learn independence, that was as important as all of the other lessons that I learned out there."
"I know, Bruce, but that doesn't make it hurt any less." She stood and went to the door.
Opening it, she found Alfred and Holly just on the other side, looking guilty. "What are you doing?"
"Well, we figured you and Master Bruce should have some time to talk."
"So you decided to eavesdrop?" She leveled her gaze on Holly, who smiled guiltily and shrugged.
"Special circumstances."
Selina shook her head, but chuckled despite herself.
"Right, well, now that business is done, we can get started on properly celebrating the holiday. We'd best start with some tea, yeah?"
"Of course, Alfred, the tea has to come first," Holly replied dryly, "but only if you let me prepare it."
"Absolutely not, Miss Holly. The tea is the one thing in that kitchen that you're never touching until it's in your mug."
It was Christmas, and already had been for an hour or so now. Downtown, some of the more energetic children of Gotham might still be awake, staring out their windows and waiting for a sleigh to appear in the sky.
Selina stood at the window of her room in the manor, staring at the glowing skyline of her city, just as she'd done many times before. She wasn't looking for a sleigh, though. She wasn't looking ahead to her next excursion beneath those lights like she used to. Tonight she was still awake for a far more simple reason: she couldn't fall asleep.
She told herself that it was because her body had gotten used to late nights as Catwoman, but she knew that wasn't the problem. She was usually able to sleep just fine on nights she didn't go out.
She told herself that it was because of the conversation with her father, but that wasn't it either. It wasn't fear that was keeping her awake. It wasn't fear that was keeping her warm despite the cool air of the spacious room, even after she'd changed into a tiny pair of black shorts that she'd last worn when she was eighteen.
But she refused to tell herself that it was because this was the first time she would be sleeping under the same roof as Bruce since the morning of his graduation. That it was because her body remembered that morning so well, when they'd awoken early and made love just hours before that fateful conversation.
Selina had always known that she was spoiled when it came to sex. She and Bruce had learned everything together, had mastered each other's bodies at the same time that they mastered their own. No one else would ever develop such mastery, such innate ability to fulfill her needs, no matter how many opportunities she gave them.
And it had been a long while since she had given anyone an opportunity.
But she refused to tell herself that that was why she couldn't fall asleep. She may have been back in this room, but she wasn't eighteen again. She had discipline and judgment.
And anger.
And the obvious solution was so complicated.
Did it have to be, though? He was able to pretend to just be Batman when she needed him to. He was able to join her in pretending that they didn't have a history, that they could just be partners and protect each other as needed, help each other as needed.
Wasn't this a situation in that category? She needed this. And if what he told her on that rooftop that night was true, that there had never been anyone else, he definitely needed this.
So why couldn't they pretend without the kevlar? Without the masks?
But she wasn't about to go to him begging. She needed a pretext. She thought back to their conversation after her father left. He needed an idea, something to impress the Board of Directors with.
And then it hit her. Turning from the window, she went to her bureau.
As she did, she caught sight of herself in her mirror. Her hair was getting longer and curlier again. When she first became Catwoman, she started keeping her hair short, so that it wouldn't peek out from beneath her cowl. And her curls had flattened out a bit from being pressed against her scalp for so long. But her new suit gave more room for her hair, so she was letting it grow and regain the wildness that she had learned to appreciate in her late teens.
She opened the top drawer of the bureau and pulled out Martha Wayne's journal. Quickly flipping through it, she reminded herself of Martha's ideas for the Wayne Foundation. Then she went to the back of the book and tore out the last page where Dr. Wayne had written her mother's name. Placing that page back in the drawer, she shut it and took the journal with her, silently leaving the room.
For the umpteenth time in her life but the first time in years, she snuck from her room to Bruce's in the dead of night. Silently opening the door with practiced ease, she slipped into the room and shut it just as silently.
"Selina?" He was sitting at his desk, still in the clothes he'd been wearing earlier. The lamp was on and there was a book open in front of him. She watched as his gaze quickly dropped to her exposed legs.
"You're still awake?" She had strongly suspected that he would be, of course. He was out at night even more regularly than she was.
He shrugged. "I'm used to staying up late."
She approached, placing her empty hand on the back of his chair as she looked at the book open on the desk. "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea?"
"It's still an old favorite." His gaze fell to her legs again. "What are you doing here?"
She held out the journal. "Bringing you this."
"What is that?"
"You need something to impress the Board of Directors. This was your mom's. She was putting together ideas for the Wayne Foundation, an organization to raise money for charities and philanthropic programs."
He stared at the journal. "Why do you have it?"
"Alfred thought I would be interested."
"Are you?"
"Of course I am, but you're the one with the ability to start putting these ideas into practice. Some of the information in here needs updating, though."
"Then you keep it for now. You know Gotham better than I do, you'll be able to make the necessary updates more easily."
"Bruce, I'm not..."
"If you're about to say you're not qualified, I beg to differ."
"But I'm not..." She couldn't manage to articulate her thoughts.
"You're not what, Selina? Not a Wayne? That's true, but you belong here. You always have. My mother took you in, she saw how wonderful you are. If she were here, she would agree with me that you're the natural choice to help make her vision a reality."
Selina stared at him, emotions warring within. "You belong here. You always have." His words echoed in her head, clashing with the thoughts that she'd had so many times. She'd always thought that she didn't belong here, but he had always been so certain.
The heat that had been flowing through her body all night ignited, and she pulled him up from the chair, kissing him hard. The tension released through every nerve in her body as her lips urgently reacquainted themselves with his.
But he pulled away. "Selina..."
She blinked at him, her better judgment arduously regaining control of her actions.
He stared at her. "I wanted that, Selina, so badly. That and more. But we're..." He swallowed. "You haven't forgiven me yet."
She pushed her better judgment aside. She needed this. "It doesn't matter, not tonight."
"What?"
"Just one night, no complications. No history. I need this, Bruce. And you... Is what you told me that night true? There was never anyone else?"
"Yes, it's true."
"Then you need this, too." She shut the book on his desk and placed the journal on top of it, then began pushing him towards his bed.
"Selina..."
"Shh." She kissed him again, her hands rising to the buttons of his shirt. "No history, not tonight. Except for how well you remember my body and I remember yours."
She cuddled against him, pressing weary kisses to his shoulder. "You really do have a good memory."
"I told you."
She trailed her kisses to his neck, but her weary body refused to maneuver her further than that. "You never consummated your marriage?"
"I don't think so."
She lifted her head, arching a brow.
"I admit there were some nights that are... fuzzy. They had this special incense, really strong stuff. But no, I don't think we ever did that."
"Alright." She lowered her head back to his shoulder. Then a thought hit her, and she giggled. "So I basically got to deflower the Prince of Gotham twice in one lifetime. That's a unique treat."
"I'm not sure that's how it works."
Her laughter continued, revitalizing her body. Leaning upwards, she loomed over him, straddling him, and pressed her lips down on his.
"Again?"
"If this is the only night we're giving ourselves, let's make the most of it."
She was warm, so wonderfully warm. His arms were firm and strong around her, and his body was an iron wall at her back.
She pressed into him, her shoulder blade caressing his chest. He really had filled out so well. Last time, when they were eighteen, he'd still been working his way out of his adolescent lanky phase. Now he was broad, sturdy, and powerful.
He gave a small hum as she moved, and his fingers flexed over her belly. After a moment, his head turned and his lips pressed against her neck. "Selina." He pulled her flush against him, pressing more kisses along her skin.
"Good morning."
"Morning."
She looked towards the window, noting how much light was already coming into the room. They had slept late. "Alfred will probably be wondering."
"I doubt he has to wonder very much." He gently tugged on her shoulder, shifting her onto her back and moving over her.
"Bruce..."
"What?" He nuzzled into her neck again.
"We should make an appearance at some point."
He pulled away, his face falling.
"It's Christmas. Alfred and Holly will be waiting for us. And Leslie will be here soon, if she isn't already." She blushed at the thought of all of them observing her and Bruce emerge together.
"Yeah," he muttered, getting off of her and out of bed. "Do you need clothes?"
She followed him up and grimaced at the tiny shorts that she'd worn last night. "Yeah, this big old house is way too drafty for walking around in these." She kicked the shorts beneath his bed.
He pulled out two pairs of sweatpants, handing her one, and she had to roll up the legs several times.
They found Holly and Leslie in the parlor, with a few scones left on a tray on the coffee table. "Good morning," Selina muttered, blushing at their expressions.
"We weren't expecting you so early, Leslie," said Bruce.
"It's not that early, Bruce," Leslie replied with a smirk. Bruce knew that, of course, and Selina wondered whether he was deliberately exacerbating her embarrassment to mess with her.
"Did you work up an appetite?" Holly asked, gesturing to the scones. Selina didn't meet her eyes as she took one.
"Ah, Miss Kyle." Alfred entered the room behind them, carrying another tray with two steaming mugs on it. "When I saw your room empty this morning, I figured you might have fancied an early-morning walk around the grounds."
"Very funny," Selina mumbled into her scone. "I'm going to take a shower." Grabbing a second scone, she scurried away with her loot.
"So..."
"So?"
He swallowed. "You're of course welcome to stay here longer, if you'd like. Both you and Holly."
"Thanks, but we don't want to risk another burst pipe."
"What?"
She explained what happened last year.
"Oh. Well, I can't fault your reasoning."
"Don't be weird about this, Bruce. We said that it was just one night."
"I know, but I don't want you to go."
She frowned at his words. "Funnily enough, I can relate to that feeling."
He winced. "I'm sorry."
"Well, just because you don't want someone to go doesn't mean they'll listen. Goodbye, Bruce."
"Are you alright?" Holly sat down beside her on the couch, carefully avoiding Flitz's tail.
Selina grimaced as the cat she'd been petting hurried off of her lap and over to Holly's. Traitor. "I'm fine."
"That was very convincing."
Selina sighed.
"So sleeping with your ex leads to emotional turmoil. Who knew?"
"It's not that simple."
"Of course it isn't. Nothing can be simple with you two. You work together as masked vigilantes while stubbornly avoiding the elephant in the room."
"That's how it has to be."
"That's how it was, until you snuck into his bed at night. I'm guessing you weren't wearing your masks then."
Maybe they should have been. "It was just one night."
"Did you actually convince yourself of that? With all the emotions between you two, that would be an interesting bit of mental gymnastics."
Selina stared at her. "Holly, you're sixteen."
"So what? I can see what's right in front of me. He's in love with you."
"That didn't stop him from leaving."
Holly's gaze dropped to the cat who was delighting in her partial attention. "He left to become Batman."
Selina scoffed.
"I know that it hurts, but it's easy to see what you want. And you two seemed pretty happy when you showed up in the parlor this morning."
"Well, what do you ex..." Selina trailed off. Sex was a topic they'd never really discussed before, given Holly's history.
"I'm just saying, you were never glowing like that when you got back from Sam's."
Selina frowned, and shrugged. "It's too complicated."
"I don't think it has to be. You love him and he loves you. And the reason why he left is not something that has to happen a second time." She smoothed out Flitz's whiskers, and he nipped at her. "Just think about it. I told Alfred we'd be back for New Year's."
Selina shut her eyes. "Of course you did."
There was an hour left in the year, and it was painfully obvious that Holly, Alfred and Leslie were all trying to get Bruce and Selina to talk without saying so aloud. Alfred would summon his two coconspirators for assistance in the kitchen or the parlor or anywhere where Bruce and Selina weren't, or Holly and Leslie would wander off while casually chatting and the butler would make himself scarce, or else Holly would be teasing Alfred about something and Leslie would excuse herself.
Finally, Selina gave in, and led Bruce to the study, where nothing festive was set up. It was an unusual choice, even to her, but she didn't want any distractions.
"I didn't know that he was going to do this," Bruce insisted, "that they would be like this."
"I know."
For a long moment, she stared at the desk that she still thought of as Dr. Wayne's. She thought about Bruce's parents, about the life that they had started to give her before they were lost. It was a life that she had never deserved, that she had never been willing to accept once she was old enough to choose for herself, except in those moments when her fondness for Bruce had been so intense that it consumed her better judgment.
She heard Bruce shuffle restlessly behind her, and knew what he felt he needed to start the conversation with. "Don't apologize again."
"Okay," he replied immediately, clearly having known how she would feel about it.
She turned to him, studying the face of the man that she loved, the face of the man that had hurt her so badly. "I need to know that you won't leave again."
"I won't," he said earnestly. "I'll never leave Gotham again, not without you."
She scoffed. "I'm not going with you on business trips. You know what I mean, Bruce."
"I know." He approached her. "Although I wouldn't mind you coming along on any trip I have to take."
"No."
"Fair enough." He stopped just inside of her personal space, holding her gaze with his. "I'll never abandon you, Selina. I had to, once, and you know why. And like I said, I wanted you with me every day, but I did what was necessary. But I'm back now, and I want you by my side. I meant what I said the other night, I firmly believe that you belong here, but it's up to you to decide that for yourself. I know there will be times when you'll need your space, just like when we were kids, and I'll be perfectly content with that so long as I know you'll always come back."
Her heart had begun hammering away as he spoke, and she broke their eye contact, looking away from him. She wanted to believe him, but it was difficult. That childhood understanding that she would always wind up alone in the end resurfaced.
"I love you, Selina."
Her breath caught, and her gaze snapped back to his. It was something that they had always known but never verbalized. The last time someone said those words to her had been a month after her eighth birthday, and that had immediately preceded that person disappearing and never coming back.
But Bruce had already disappeared and then come back.
"I love you," he repeated, his eyes earnest.
For a moment, her gaze darted up to the ceiling, as though it might break apart and fall on him simply for saying the words. What would happen to him now? The Wayne's hadn't abandoned her and so had died. Could he be spared her curse because he had already left?
But his life was dangerous. His armor was bulletproof, but he wasn't. No one had gotten a lucky shot on him yet, but how long would it be before some thug's bullet struck his face? He toyed with fate every time that he went out there at night, every time that he ventured into the true Gotham.
It would be so easy for fate to once again deprive her of the person who cared most for her.
If he truly loved her, she wanted him to stop, to be safe. But she knew that he couldn't stop, anymore than she could stop being Catwoman. Catwoman had become a part of who she was, and Bruce had set himself on this path long before she had. This was why he had abandoned her. This was the life he had chosen for himself, even at the cost of their relationship.
He took a step closer to her, then leaned down and kissed her cheek. She grasped his shirt and pulled him closer still, burying her face in his chest, briefly marveling again at how broad he had become. He embraced her tightly, and she once again felt warm and safe.
The words formed on her lips, but her voice didn't emerge to project them. Not yet. Instead, she mouthed them into his shirt, and she half-hoped he could feel them and half-hoped he couldn't.
His hand caressed her back, and his lips pressed against her curls.
Finally, she pulled back and reached up, pulling his lips down to hers. It was a long but gentle kiss, an expression of everything that was being said and everything that wasn't.
They broke apart, but her hand stayed tight behind him, keeping him close. She stared into his eyes.
They were both going to keep putting themselves in danger. So they would just have to keep being there for each other, protecting each other.
She kissed him again, and this time, the kiss quickly turned passionate. Her body heated up, and for a moment, she felt tempted to pull him towards the desk. But that wouldn't be right. They had never made love in this room before. Someday soon, Bruce would make this office his own, once he was allowed to take up his mantle at Wayne Enterprises, and maybe then they would christen it. But not before then, not when everything in this room still reminded her, and probably him, too, of his parents.
And besides, the others in the house would come looking for them before the new year started. And she felt that they should all be together then.
What she wanted could wait until after that. He wasn't going anywhere.
They cut it close, joining the others with minutes to spare. Holly looked at her, and Selina's face must have told her all she needed to know, because she gave a knowing smile, and Selina responded with a small shrug and her own smile.
Alfred got the champagne ready, and Holly threw one arm around Selina and the other around Leslie, while Selina pulled Bruce close on her other side. None of them were related by blood, but they were a family. They were a family not by chance, but by choice.
And so, as the new year began and she and Bruce shared their most chaste kiss of the night, she made a new resolution. She would do whatever it took to keep this family together, to protect them.
And she began the new year happy.