Chapter Text
Something causes him to gravitate towards her.
He does not know the why, the when, the how. He simply feels the pull, unable to deny the power that she has over him.
At times he wonders if she knows this. He wonders if she uses this fascination he seemingly has for her.
And he knows that she is dangerous. That she has the very option to destroy him.
But Bruce can’t seem to care. Selina is constantly alluring him closer, and closer with each encounter they share.
And it’s starting to get to him.
The first time it happens is when he’s talking to the Commissioner. The memory of her hazy eyes looking deep into him as though she can actually see who he is behind the mask. In an attempt to shake away her confident gaze, he shakes his head desperately and the Commissioner seems worried but doesn’t say a thing.
Bruce has never needed a strong drink so bad in his life.
When he finally manages to get hold of a tumbler of scotch, he notices that it does not help his situation at all. Because after the bitter taste that he loves to hate hits him, he can feel the tips of her fingers brushing against his cheek.
A glass of scotch becomes one, then three. And next thing he knows, he’s lying on his bed watching the world spin as he tries to hold onto the one solid thing in his life.
Which happens to be Selina Kyle.
-
Bruce is watching over one of the cocktail parties that Alfred has organized in his name, for who knows which cause. There are men and women, laughing at badly executed jokes, flaunting around in their designer clothes as they try to show off in an attempt to make connections.
It feels sickening because none of it is real. He knows what real is. The feeling comes to him when he is fighting some villain or when he’s with Selina. And he immediately curses his train of thought, as he watches over the grounds of his home from the large balcony above them. The shadows hide him from view and he leans upon the railings with ease. So when he feels a chill that settles deep in his bones, he can’t seem to understand the reason.
Until he hears her voice that makes him lose all self control.
“Always perching in some place or another. You gotta be careful, sweetheart, someone may start to notice a pattern.”
He hears her confident strut and tries his best not to glance at her. But he can’t help himself when she closes in and leans over beside him. Bruce is facing the crowd but Selina has her back to them, both her elbows are propped on the railings and her head is turned to him.
They don’t say anything for a moment and they don’t need to. Their attention becomes divided when some man down below drops a glass and a waiter swiftly passes through the bodies to clear the shards.
“How did you come in?” Bruce asks without his eyes leaving the scene.
Selina seems unaffected, “I have my ways.”
“Ways that my security measures should be able to stop.”
“Yes, but they aren’t meant to stop me, are they?”
Bruce finds himself wondering if the woman is a fragment seeping through the cracks of his consciousness. He’s been thinking about her for ages, so it would seem probable for her to appear like this. As a vision of his desire.
Was it desire?
And he decides to be bold, because what does he have to lose? She knows him. Selina knows this part of him that no one else does and no one will ever understand it as well as she does.
“No, they aren’t.”
Selina nods at that. Like he has merely said the truth. Because they both grasp that it is.
“You got a great party going down there, I’m surprised you’re not among your pals and doing,” she lazily turns her head and looks at the glamorous gathering, “I don’t know, doing whatever they’re supposed to be doing.”
Bruce knows he shouldn’t allow her to just stand there like it’s okay.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
The smile she sends his way is divine. “Just say the word and I’ll be gone.”
There’s this thing that happens whenever they are this close. It’s as though the world stops spinning and the air around them becomes so thick that Bruce is sure he can reach out and hold it.
He’s sure that Selina can feel it as her eyes become hooded and her lips part ever so slightly. If she was another he wouldn’t have thought twice before leaning in to kiss her.
But this is Selina, and he knows that one can never be too cautious in her presence. He uses every ounce of self control that he possesses so he won’t capture her lips hastily.
Only when Selina speaks is he reminded that he hasn’t even managed to answer.
“But you don’t want me to leave, do you?”
Bruce clenches his jaw. His boldness from a moment ago disappears and he finds himself yearning for a woman who is standing right before him.
So far, no matter how close.
Yet so close, no matter how far.
The push and pull will drive him crazy so he needs to speak before he loses himself amongst his own thoughts.
“Selina,” his face is hard yet his eyes are soft as he speaks, “what are you doing here?”
“I wanted to stop by, see how you’re doing. Can’t a girl sneak into a party to see a boy that she's fond of?”
He curses at himself when he fills with hope at her words. “And did you get to see this ‘boy’?” He asks, trying his best to sound nonchalant.
Selina lets her gaze travel down his body, and takes her time to meet his eyes again. A tremble starts to travel through his body by the time she speaks, "I did."
Bruce nods and focuses on the useless party once again. He doesn't know what to do and it makes him uneasy.
They stand in silence as the wind blows gently, carrying her scent closer to him. Bruce feels engulfed and is sure that he will drown if this goes on any longer.
And perhaps it's his own thoughts that are the cause of his carelessness but he never notices that Selina has reached forward to stroke the bone on his cheek.
Her touch is soft, feather like, but it feels as though it is a boulder crashing his skin and denting his skull.
He closes his eyes and only then does he hear her movements. She is shuffling in her spot, although shuffling is a word that makes her sound clumsy and Selina is in no way clumsy. She shuffles, no, she moves like water and her body is pressed against his side. The need to turn towards her and hold her tight rises within.
"Bruce." Selina's voice is close to his ear. The warmth of her breath tickles his skin with a promise of more.
He doesn't reply.
She lets her fingers wander lower, stroking his cheek to find his lips.
Her fingers are as smooth as he has imagined as she seeks an opening, desperately wanting him to lose himself.
"Bruce." She repeats and he finally opens his eyes.
When he turns his head to look at her, their noses brush against one another and they share the same oxygen that threatens to burn them.
A shaky exhale can be heard before he speaks, "Selina."
Her lips part as though she has been waiting to devour her own name spilling from his mouth.
He does not know who closes the gap between them to press their lips on the other.
But it makes him notice that it does not matter, that there has never been a gap to start with.
And it's slow, and nerve wracking, and he thinks that this, this, will be how he loses sanity. Because Selina is the other part that he has been searching for all his life and he has only noticed because finally they are connected.
They kiss for what seems like a lifetime with their hands searching for something they cannot seem to find as their lips form a rhythm that is so familiar to the both of them.
Bruce knows that a glance from down below will be enough for them to be seen, but he does not care. He does not care to be seen kissing the person who is supposed to be his enemy, his rival, his other half.
Not now.
And not ever, he thinks, for this is all he has ever wanted.