What do you get when you cross a man with nothing but questions with a woman with all the answers?

Lying bare naked on his bedroom floor, Edward ponders all of life's most important questions. His head is full. His mind, reeling.

Why her? Why now? What will happen when she wakes? What will she say? What will she do? What will HE do? Blame it on the alcohol? Blame it on Ivy? Pretend tonight never happened? Go back to the way things were? Perhaps he should make a return to villainy. He never seemed to have such problematic thoughts and feelings when he was elbow deep in constructing death traps for the Bat.

With a heavy sigh, he attempts to clear his mind, but of course, there is no use.

Sleep does not come to his wary form, instead he lies awake, staring at the ceiling fan turn as the warm body beside him slumbers.

She feels so nice beside him, pleasant and comforting as she rolls over and cuddles in closer to his body, wrapping her legs around his. Taking her in his arms, he pulls her closer, feeding off the warmth her body brings. Tucking her head beneath his, he buries his nose in her hair and breathes in her scent.

How perfectly their forms fit together. Weaving his fingers with hers, he's reminded of two puzzle pieces. Linked together, they're only meant to exist within each other's embrace. It's what gives them purpose. The bigger picture. Apart, they are nothing. Meaningless. Alone. Try as they might, these pieces can fit with no other. They are only meant for one another.

Since when did he come to be so fond of her? Was there an exact moment or did she grow on him in time? They've been friends for so long. Ok, maybe not friends, allies perhaps? Comrades. Partners in crime. He's known her from the start, and her, him. They've performed many a caper together. Hurt each other along the way many times too. Stabbed each other in the back. So he should be accustomed to her rejection, right? He had no idea this would impact him so greatly. That SHE would impact him so greatly. Is this what love feels like? He's been obsessed before, sure. But love?

And does she feel the same way?

She begins to stir and he holds his breath, desperate not to wake her for fear of what may come. For fear that their time will end.

He wants to live in this moment. The right here and now. This moment of questions without answers. Of torn wallpaper and broken lamps. Of the claw marks down his back. Of bedsheets strewn about the room and the sawed off pair of handcuffs still securely fastened around his ankle. Of him. Of her. Of them.

Her eyelids flutter. Soft and sweet, she presses her lips to his chest.

Feeling her warm breath on his skin, he smiles into her hair. She must still be under Ivy's spell.

The emotions swirling within him are conflicting. It's such a nice feeling to be wanted, but equally disturbing to know that those feelings are false. That she had only given herself to him so freely because of that leafy woman's meddling.

"Why so quiet, Eddie?" Selina purrs groggily into his chest. "I don't think I've ever seen you so quiet."

Loosening his grasp on her, he stares down at the crown of her head and sighs.

"Hm... Just thinking."

"Do you ever stop?"

A rather smug grin stretches across his otherwise pensive features.

"Never, my dear. These gears are always turning."

With an honest laugh, she chuckles into his chest.

"Mmm... You're warm."

Her lips brush against his skin, sending a wash of goosebumps across his flesh as she nuzzles her head into the crook of his neck. If he listens closely, he can almost hear her purr.

"Come the morning, I'm sure you won't find me so warm." He replies with a disheartened sigh.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because by then Ivy's voodoo will have worn off and I'm afraid you won't be all too happy to see me as I am with you as you are."

"You mean like this?"

Her tongue drags across his skin, leading up towards his face and finishing with a kiss just below his earlobe. Swooning, he grins.

"Precisely."

With an arrogant wave of his hand, he provides emphasis to his point.

"How are you so certain I won't be happy?" She asks with a touch of slyness to her tone.

"Because I know you, my dear. Better than you think. I know what you think of me. How you loathe me. How I'm beneath you. Etcetera. Etcetera."

He can feel her smiling into his skin, her grin stretching far beyond its means.

"You think you know everything, don't you?" She purrs.

"Think?" He asks. "Hn, no. No, no, no, my dear, kitten. I KNOW I know everything. It is in my very nature to know. My RIGHT to know. Everything and all. I exist to kn-"

Pressing her lips to his, she quiets his mind once more.

How difficult it is to think with her tongue inside his head. His every thought becomes wrapped up in her. Lost within her essence. Her desires. Her needs. Her taste...

"W-When?"

She smiles that bright and knowing Cheshire grin of hers as she plays with the answer.

"If you know so much, why don't you tell me?"

"Don't play with me, woman." He demands rather sharply. "WHEN?!"

Selina's head lops lazily to the side as she mindlessly traces circles along his skin, running her fingers through the few coarse hairs dotting his rather boyish chest. Every second that passes feels like an eternity. Eagerly, Edward awaits her answer. The anticipation is killing him. A grin graces her lips. She's enjoying this little game.

"Mmm... Somewhere after you tied me to the bed and worshiped every inch of me with your tongue... But before you took me from behind and spanked me for every riddle I got wrong." Her grin grows wider. "Which I must admit, I answered a few wrong on purpose."

Dumbstruck, Edward stares at her in shock. He can feel his cheeks grow hot and red.

"And... But... You... You let me?"

"You can't make a cat do something she doesn't want, Eddie." Selina replies with that curious smirk that keeps him guessing. Pressing her lips to his ear, she whispers slow and sultry. "I don't know, Ed... Maybe I've always been just a little bit curious what I would look like in green spandex and a nifty bowler."

He remembers those words. He should, they were his. Back in Rome when she had caught him trying on her costume for a bit of a laugh and to play with her head, those were the exact words he had said to her. Of course, at the time, this wasn't what he had meant. But looking at them now, the way they're wrapped around one another, they're practically wearing each other's skin. He can't help but admit, they do look pretty good on one another.

Still, with her lips on his neck, he feels his skin grow hot. Now that she's awake and free from Ivy's spell, Edward doesn't know how to act around her. He finds himself at a loss for words and her, intimidating. This is not what he had expected nor how he thought she'd react. Suddenly, being in such close proximity to her while wearing nothing more than his birthday suit is a bit unnerving. He feels as if he's come undone. Completely exposed. Like his heart and soul are on display.

Perhaps he shouldn't have gotten so carried away with her and their lovemaking. Call it the alcohol, Ivy's love dust, raw instinct or need, he simply doesn't know what had come over him. He had felt compelled to ravage her. Completely and utterly lost in the heat of the moment. Every desire, however great or miniscule, was satiated. Anything and everything he had ever wanted to do to her throughout the years, accomplished in one night. Well... Almost everything. Surely a great mind like his could think of more, that is if she'd ever look at him seriously ever again.

"Gotta say, Eddie. Never knew you had it in ya. You make for one hell of an... eclectic lover. I mean... Did you really threaten to throw me in a death trap if I didn't suck your co-"

Embarassed, he presses a finger to her grinning lips.

"I assure you... I'm not usually like that."

Propping herself up on her elbow, Selina rests her head in her hand casually.

"Then, indulge me." The kitten purrs, curiosity peaked. "What are you usually like?"

"Well... It's been a while, but... I've been told I-"

"I don't want you to tell me..."

Running her fingers through his hair, she pulls her body in closer to his. Her toes dance with his, playing as her bottom lip grazes the shell of his ear.

"I meant I want you to show me."

His eyebrow quirks.

"In the morning." Selina exhales with a groan and an arch to her back. Stretching out her arms and legs, she reminds him of a cat waking from a nap in the afternoon sun. "Right now, I'm exhausted, tiger. You really wore me out."

He doesn't know what to say. His mind is still trying to unravel the complexity of it all.

"So..." He begins cautiously, mulling over the question. "You're still planning on staying the night, then?" Edward asks in a skeptic tone.

"What? Are you trying to get rid of me so soon?" Selina shoots back, still a bit on the playful side.

"Well, no. It's just... I mean, I never figured you for the type to want to stay."

Her eyebrow arches and eyes darken just a bit.

"And what type am I, Ed?" She hisses, no longer playing. "What are you saying? Are you calling me a whore?"

He feels like a mouse caught in a trap. Whatever he says, she'll find a way to twist his words and extend her claws a little deeper.

"No! No, not at all, Selina. It's just that you don't strike me as the cuddling type."

"Don't get any ideas, Eddie." Selina replies as she pushes off his chest and to her feet. "I'm not."

He watches as she struts across the room, body shimmering like diamonds in the pale moonlight. She wraps her arms across her chest as she stares out of his tiny bedroom window, over the streets of Gotham.

"You know what, Ed? You're right." She begins as her eyes slowly scan the room for her belongings. "I think I'd better go."

He isn't paying attention to what words she says, but instead her sillouette against the window pane.

There's such a silent beauty about her, hidden underneath all the blatant sex appeal, just underneath the skin. How could he have never noticed it before?

She reminds him of the Sphinx. Body of a lioness and face of a goddess. A malevolent mistress, guarded with secrets. Her lips spell out her dangers. It's a cypher only he can unlock. A riddle truly worthy of Oedipus, himself.

"Riddle of the Sphinx." Edward thinks out loud, if only just a whisper.

Selina's sharp ears catch his voice in the dark and she turns her head his way.

"What?" She asks with the tilt of her head.

Edward clears his throat, perhaps just a little embarrassed that she had heard.

"The Riddle of the Sphinx." He repeats, this time a little louder, more sure. "It is said that the Sphinx asked a riddle of weary travelers to allow them passage into the city of Thebes."

"Yes, I'm familiar with my history." Selina cuts through the darkness."Which creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening? What of it, Eddie?"

"Well, my dear, do you know the answer?"

Selina rolls her eyes, she instead decides to place her attention on Edward's wall decor.

"Your pillowtalk is something to be desired, Ed." She says, choosing not to answer his question. "And your Dega is a fake."

Turning away from the window, she slowly makes her way towards the door picking up a lacy bra in the process.

"Do you have any idea where I left my shoes?"

"You're changing the subject." Edward groans, pulling himself up to sit. "Do. You. Know. The. Answer."

With a sigh, Selina stops in her steps and shifts her attention back towards the puzzling man sitting on the floor. Skirt and bra in hand, they hang loosely at her side as she rests her weight on her hip and stares at him with an annoyed look.

"Yes, Ed. Everyone knows that one." She replies. "The answer is man. As a baby we crawl on all fou-"

"The answer is correct, but your reasoning is all wrong." He says, cutting her off.

Edward gets up from his seat on the floor and makes his way towards her. His eyes are electric. Even in this dim lighting, Selina can tell. It unnerves her just a bit. She knows how he can get when riddles are involved. At least, how he used to get before he became "reformed." Clutching her belongings firmly to her chest, she backs up just a step as he takes his place beside her.

"The man on all fours is the man who comes crawling back to her."

He gingerly weaves his fingers in her short, black hair and turns her face to meet his.

"The man on two legs is the one who will stand up for her."

Their eyes lock.

"And the man on his last leg is the one who will die for her."

The answer is simple, it's so plain to see. All these years, the answer has been staring him in the face all along.

"Don't you see, Selina? The answer is me."

She eyes him skeptically, unsure what to think or say. His body so close, he can feel the warm blush to her skin.

"Edward?" She whispers.

He smirks at the full use of his name. He can't recall the last time, if ever, she has ever said it. Especially in such a heartfelt tone.

"Tell me, my dear Selina. After all these years and all we've been through. The constant bickering and backstabbing. The lies and betrayal. The sideways glances. Always flirting with the ultimate question..." Finding strength in words, he takes her hands and stares her square in the eye. "Tell me. Do you still despise me? Because truth be told, despite it all, I have always loved y-"

Throwing her arms around his neck, she lifts herself up to his height and presses her lips to his. Surprised, he stumbles back slightly with her warm body held firmly in his arms.

"So I take it, that's a no?" He says with a cocky grin, breaking from their kiss. "I knew it. You're absolutely crazy about... ngh."

"Shut up, Eddie." Selina growls.

With a grin, Edward winces as Selina digs her nails into the back of his neck, forcing him into submission. Digging a canine tooth into his bottom lip, she drags him back towards her.

His lips find hers and once again he feels complete. This is where he belongs. Linked together in the darkness, the missing piece to his puzzle has finally been found.