Thank You

"What'd you call me for?"

Selina was not one to enjoy random calls, she only had so many minutes on her crappy cell phone and she didn't fancy wasting them. When she wanted to be found or contacted, she would make herself known. This was not one of those time. She wanted to be left alone by the world for just a few moments. Since her mother had come and left town, disappointing her yet again, Selina had not had a chance to breathe. She left Bruce, was living on the streets again, found Bruce's clone, was pushed out of window by Bruce's clone, woke up from a coma, tried and failed to kill Bruce's clone, got involved in a civil war between criminals, and still can't bring herself to help look for Bruce. She can't fall into that again; when they team up, bad things happen to one or both of them.

"Ms. Kyle, I assume you heard about the bomb," Alfred said, his accent thick and rich per usual.

"Yeah, I don't live under a rock. What about it?"

"We found Bruce."

She froze, the hair sticking up at the back of her neck. It had been so long she had just assumed he would be lost forever if not dead. It would have been easier for her if he had been dead. She wouldn't have to worry about him and put herself in danger to save his ass. But still, she knew she couldn't live with herself is they had found him dead and she hadn't even tried to help him.

"Is he okay," she asked tentatively, a tone one wouldn't usually associate with Selina.

"They basically brain-washed him. He wanted to destroy Gotham; I finally started talking some sense into him, but the man who took him pressed the button."

"Bruce bombed the city," she stated to herself.

"Not exactly," Alfred said, and cleared his throat, "but in more ways than one, Bruce helped destroy the city. He's just now coming back to his senses and act like Bruce again, but he is going to be devastated. They really messed with him."

"What do you want me to do about it?"

Even she was disgusted by her spiteful tone. Alfred didn't deserve it, and Bruce most definitely did not deserve it.

"We are headed back to the manor now. You are welcome to come visit, he hasn't spoken to me. I was hoping you could get through to him."

The phone went silent and Selina looked out the shattered window of her apartment. She couldn't leave Bruce alone to suffer with what had happened. But she couldn't imagine how Bruce would want to see her? After everything that had happened and how horrible she was to him last time they had spoken, there was no way he would find comfort in her. Still, she couldn't leave him alone.

She grabbed her jacket from the couch nearby and she was off, Bruce Wayne the only thing on her clouded mind.

"He's in the study. He's not acting like the hypnotized mess I saw earlier, but he's not his regular self. I think it is more out of realizing what happened though. Just be gentle with him. I don't need him any more broken than he already is right now. I think you being here will really," Alfred was cut off, but Selina shoving her jacket into his arms.

"I'm not going to break the kid," she spat, her arms crossing defensively, "I will try my best to help him."

Alfred walked towards the kitchen and Selina started up the stairs, quickly walking towards the study. As she entered the room, Bruce was turned towards the fireplace, dangerously close to the muted flames. He was dressed in a simple gray t-shirt that would have once hung off of his frame, but now hugged the subtle muscles of his arms and shoulders. His jeans were a soft blue and he was barefoot, a tell-tale sign that he was comfortable to be home.

"Hey B," Selina said gently, walking into the study and closing the door behind her.

He showed no sign of even hearing her, his front stayed to the fire and his body remained in its rigid stance. He was stressed, but that wasn't surprising given the circumstances.

She walked towards him slowly, she hadn't realized it, but fighting with his clone had really messed with her head, her body viewed the physical form of Bruce as a threat, though her mind knew that this was the real Bruce, her Bruce and though he startled her with how honest he was, he never made her feel unsafe.

"Bruce?" She questioned as she got closer to him, standing right behind him. He still kept still, but she could see the smallest bead of sweat fall from his forehead, he was too close to the fire.

"Bruce, why don't we go sit?"

Silence.

"Bruce, it's really hot over here, you can't be comfortable."

Stillness.

"Bruce, c'mere," she grabbed his forearm and was shocked to find herself immediately being pushed against the neighboring wall with his body pinning her in place and one of his arms held forcefully against her neck.

She gasped loudly, her body tensing and her mind shouting at her to get out of here, but she knew he wouldn't hurt her. This was Bruce. This was her Bruce. He stared at her coldly, his eyes looking into hers, but really seeing her, he was wild.

"Bruce, you need to calm down," she said quietly, inwardly cursing at the catch in her throat.

He pressed his arm down on her neck. "I don't need to do anything. Everyone needs to stop telling me what to do."

His voice. She had missed it, and though he was growling in a manic tone, she still found comfort in his voice.

"It's just me, Bruce," she said, gently trying to wiggle her body out of his hold. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to. I just want to talk. We haven't seen each other in a long time."

"I don't," he started, his voice sounding more pained by the minute. "I don't understand what happened. What did I do? I ruined everything. I hurt people. I tried to forget about my parents. I tried to," he stopped, his body slumping and his voice breaking.

He fell to his knees and his breaths began to come out quick and panicked. She followed him down, her back sliding against the wall as she tried to pull him to her, and though he tried to resist he couldn't help falling for her. She was one of the small symbols of home left for him and though he didn't want to see anyone in such time of weakness he needed her. She knew. She always knew what he needed, just as he did her. That's why it hurt so bad when he kept her mom's secret from her. She knew he wasn't meaning to hurt her.

She held him close, her arms wrapped around his tall frame and his head resting against her chest, she just sat and smoothed his hair down his head until his sharp intakes of breath normalized and he could breathe fine again. He began to stir, wanting to get up out of the weak situation he had let himself fall into, but she tightened her grip on him.

"Selina, I want you to go," he said, his voice low, dangerous.

"No, you don't."

She was right.

"Yes, I do."

He managed to get onto his knees and he would've stood all the way up if she hadn't also sprung into a kneeling position and flushed her body against his, her arms wrapped around his torso in what seemed to be a tight hug. But Selina didn't give hugs, at least not the last time he had checked.

"Selina," he started, but she cut him off by grabbing the back of his head and quickly bring his lips to hers. He froze, his lips limp against hers and he could feel the nervousness in her body. Her hands shook slightly against the back of his neck, how her lips moved tentatively against his hoping for some sort of response. He pulled his lips from hers and rose up quickly bringing her up with him and her heart sunk. She had just wanted to make him forget about anything, but just as she had suspected, he didn't want her anymore. Why would he?

"I'm sorry, I just thought maybe I could," she was slammed back against the wall, but this time less forcefully, more passionately. His lips were back on hers, moving confidently, an extreme change from seconds ago when he stood completely still.

He wound his hand into the soft mass of curls that were spiraled around her face and her eyes fluttered closed, finding immense comfort in the physical contact after months of being alone. Her hands roamed around his chest feeling the rigid muscles that had developed and admiring how much the kid had grown up. She had missed him, but she didn't realize how much she had. His hands dropped from her hair and one settled on her waist while the other landed on her hip, feeling the smooth strip of skin that was exposed. She gasped before pulling her lips from his trailing kisses down his jaw towards his neck where she lingered for quite a while.

Out of nowhere, Bruce placed both of his hands under her thighs and hoisted her up onto his hips before carrying her over to the couch and laying her down. He took his time to look at her, her curls were everywhere and her face was flushed a rosy shade of pink, but what interested him most was the black bra peeking out from her low-cut tank top from where it had been pulled. Carefully, he lowered himself onto her, her legs opening in order to make space for him, and he continued his assault on her lips. He couldn't get enough of this, of her. He was a man lost in the desert and she was an oasis, he kissed down her neck, sucking and nibbling against the soft skin. He wanted to leave marks, he wanted more momentums to say this is my home, this is my girl, don't you touch her, and don't you dare hurt her.

He felt Selina's hands slip under his shirt and he shuttered, the feeling of her cold hands against his bare skin shocking him, but he wanted her skin, he wanted her to touch him and for him to touch her. He quickly pulled his shirt off and went back to kissing her, her lips already swollen from the earlier kisses. She pulled lightly at his hair and he removed his lips from hers, staring into her eyes.

"You can take mine off," her eyes darted away from him, obviously nervous.

He grabbed the edge of the black tank top and began to peel it off of the beautiful girl laying beneath him and soon enough it had joined the floor next to his.

"You're so gorgeous," he muttered.

He dipped his head back to the slope of her neck, but instead of lingering there he decided to kiss down, placing a kiss on her shoulder, her collarbone, her chest, the valley of her breast. She had decided she was done being at his expense though and pushed his chest so that he was off of her. He would've worried he had something wrong if she hadn't of pushed him backward so that he was atop of him, her face level with the bare skin of his chests. She began kissing down the new skin grinning when her lips met his abdomen and the muscles began contracting. All of this was new territory for them, but she wasn't afraid, she hadn't been more comfortable in months. She began kissing her way back up his torso when she heard a quiet whisper escape his lips. She pulled away, and he sat up, pulling her so he was straddling his lips and he wrapped his arms around her torso.

"Thank you for coming here," he kissed her shoulder.

"Thank you for staying alive," she kissed the corner of his mouth.

He pulled away, a smirk painted onto his face.

"What?" she asked, scowling slightly, at the odd expression.

"So does this mean that you're my girlfriend?"

"Ugh," she muttered, "I hate you."

"I love you too," and then he was kissing her again.