Chapter 19 – Catching the Bouquet

Reactions to Bruce and Selina's engagement were, predictably, mixed. They ranged from barely contained joy (Alfred) to utterly speechless awe (Holly, and Selina's newly-reunited sister Maggie), along with insincere adulation born of jealousy (Selina's female coworkers).

Then there was the rabid frenzy their news incited among the media. For the first few weeks, Selina resorted to various disguises when venturing out in public. Bruce's favorite was a sweatpant-sweatshirt ensemble she raided from his closet. She looked like a deflated gray grape bouncing down the sidewalk, oversized sunglasses and baseball cap completing the look. It deflected the paparazzi like a charm.

Once the commotion over their announcement settled down, so did Bruce and Selina's romanticized whirlwind of emotions. Setting a date and other preparations were straightforward, concrete tasks, but there were far more intimidating issues for them to address.

These topics surfaced, inevitably, at Clark and Lois' late summer wedding. The jet ride out to Pittsdale, Iowa was a fairly quick one, but long enough for them to start dissecting the Big Tickets: kids and careers. For most couples, these were serious enough concepts. But for Gotham's most ostentatious couple, discussing them was like blasting off to Mars and cataloguing everything on its surface.

Complicated didn't begin to describe their situation.

When one topic caught a snare, another offered no relief. When Bruce suggested a solution, Selina offered a counter-compromise that went unanswered. And this was one conversation they couldn't rely on Alfred or Holly for backup. It was just the two of them, thousands of feet in the air, zooming toward their future at frightening speed.

They landed in Iowa with more questions than answers, but at least they'd identified the three ultimate ones that remained:

First: If they ever decided to have children (Dick notwithstanding), what if it ended up being too late by the time Bruce retired? Mid-thirties weren't exactly the ideal time to conceive, after all. But the point may be moot, since neither of them felt qualified for the whole raising-a-newborn thing.

Second: Was Selina willing to wait for him to retire, knowing she'd have to spend most nights alone until then?

And third: Once Bruce did retire, what then? If Wayne Enterprises wouldn't satisfy his work ethic, what would?

Everyone who envied them might think twice if only they knew the dilemmas they faced. Nothing enviable there.

It was easy enough to bury it all, though, beneath the lavish proceedings of the Kent-Lane wedding. Bruce and Selina temporarily forgot their troubles as glamorous extravagance beguiled them well into the night.

Selina's first impression of the Kents had been favorable, in part because she found Clark's physical resemblance to Bruce amusing. She'd have to ask Bruce how the two became friends; did they share the same personal trainer or something?

She found Lois especially charming, no doubt due to her long-running role in journalism. Bruce later claimed that that was his connection to Clark – that Lois had interviewed Bruce many times over the years, and the two men eventually met as a result.

Somehow, Selina sensed that was only half the story, but she sidelined the thought. There were larger matters to focus on.

Reclining her leather seat, Selina closed her eyes and settled in for their return flight to Gotham. Bruce surprised her by initiating the next round of negotiations.

"See anything you liked at the reception?" he asked casually.

"Hm?"

"Flowers, table settings, food?" he clarified. "Anything you'd want for our wedding?"

Selina blinked her eyes open. "Well, to be honest… um, everything."

Bruce smiled. "All right, I'll ask Clark to send us their list."

"So when they attend our wedding, they'll be thoroughly creeped out?" laughed Selina. "On second thought, no thanks. We'll need different flowers for a winter wedding anyway."

Bruce nodded. That was at least one thing they'd quickly agreed on – a short engagement. Even though it meant "upstaging" Maggie and her fiancé Simon (whose nuptials were scheduled for next summer), they'd chosen New Year's Eve. If it bothered Maggie, she'd done a good job of hiding it, since her reunion with Selina last month had been perfect from start to finish. She'd been thrilled to be offered the Maid of Honor role.

"I doubt they'd be creeped out. They'd just be happy for us," Bruce assured her.

She studied him for a long minute. "You two seem close. Almost like brothers."

"I wouldn't say that…"

"You toasted them last night, and you weren't even in the wedding party," she pointed out. "You got pretty emotional toward the end."

Bruce lowered his eyes. "I wouldn't say that either…"

"We've known each other long enough, Bruce. I know there's something you aren't telling me."

He looked uneasily out the window, clenching his jaw a few times. Selina could see his internal struggle.

"Does… does he know, too?" she guessed finally. "About Batman?"

He didn't confirm her deduction, nor did he deny it. So she had her answer.

"Guess that explains why you weren't a groomsman. He knew you might be too busy to attend," she reasoned. "But, why him? Any why didn't you mention him knowing before?"

Both their memories flashed back to their third first date at the restaurant:

"So who else knows?" Selina spoke up again.

"About my extracurricular activities, you mean?"

She nodded.

"Besides you, just Alfred, his daughter, and Commissioner Gordon."

"You've got more liabilities than I do," Selina lifted an eyebrow. "Only my roommate knows about me."

She waited, ever so patiently, for him to offer a response. It seemed so simple a topic: how did he and Clark really know each other? If Clark was such an important influence in Bruce's life, why hadn't Selina heard much about him until now? And why was Bruce so reluctant to discuss him in any depth?

Given the secrets she and Bruce had already shared, this should pale in comparison, right?

"Selina," Bruce finally sighed, "have I asked you to account for all the things you've stolen over the years? Or asked you how you disarmed all those security systems?"

Crossing her arms defensively, Selina pursed her lips.

"No, I haven't," Bruce stated. "Because no matter how close we get, some things will always just be yours or mine. It's no insult to you. It's just… the way it has to be."

"I'm not sure I agree."

"Look, I know the passcode to the Gotham Police mainframe. Do you expect me to share that with you too?" he pressed.

"No, that's different–"

"Trust me. It's not."

Selina's protest stopped short. The definitive authority of his words resounded through the cabin, making her sit up.

"You've got to trust me, Selina," he said firmly. "About Clark… and about my future as Batman."