Welcome back! This is my sequel to .Tears with Selina and Bruce. I just couldn't help myself. I like the pairing too much. Read on!

Happily Ever After

.ONE.

"Turn left at via Esperanza," Selina said as she read the tablet computer in front of her.

"I could make a u-turn and we could go back home," Bruce replied dryly from behind his sunglasses. "I'll cook," he offered.

"We have to go," Selina smiled. "They are expecting us."

"We could go home and have a perfectly fine dinner alone," he replied. "And Alfred would understand. We could say that you're sick or something."

"Alfred doesn't believe your lies, Bruce. He knows you too well. It's going to be a pleasant evening. You can break your rule and have several glasses of wine and then we can go home."

Bruce let out a frustrated sigh.

"It's for Alfred," she reminded him. "You care about Alfred and his happiness. He finally wants you to meet her. He wants your approval."

"Alfred definitely doesn't need my approval to date someone," Bruce replied.

It was Selina's turn to let out a sigh. She was starting to get frustrated with her husband.

"Okay, I'll make a deal with you," Selina said. "And remember, I don't bargain often. If you play nice and are pleasant to be around tonight, I'll make you a very happy man later."

Bruce's lips formed into a smile underneath his very expensive Italian sunglasses, but he kept his face turned toward the road.

"You always make me happy," Bruce pointed out.

"Stock bullshit husband response," Selina said in a matter-of-fact way. "You take that deal or I tell Alfred that you were stalking him."

"I was not stalking him! He was smiling all the time, forgetting things and going places without telling us…by the way, thanks for not asking him where he was going," Bruce added sarcastically.

Selina rolled her eyes. "He's a grown man and can do what he wants, Bruce darling," Selina replied just as sarcastically. "I love you, but you have got to quit the detective work and find another hobby."

"I thought he had some kind of medical condition, Selina. How was I supposed to know he'd fallen in love?" Bruce asked.

Spotting the street he was looking for, Bruce made his left hand turn, narrowly missing the corner of the building with his wide turn.

Selina shot him a dirty look. "I'd like to keep both mirrors on my car, please and thank you."

"Sorry," he said curtly. "Narrow streets," he offered as an excuse.

"Bad turns," she shot back.

"Where is this house?" he asked, ignoring her last comment.

"Alfred said its traditional Tuscan style. And it should be the last one on the left," she said, turning off the tablet in her lap.

Despite the difficulty of getting Bruce to get himself cleaned up and dressed, the ride out to Alfred's female friend's house was not unpleasant. It was about a forty-five minute drive from their home, back towards Florence.

"Sofia sounds like a perfectly lovely woman," Selina offered. "She is doing wonders with Alfred's generally stuffy manners."

If she was correct, and Selina frequently was, Bruce was pouting in the driver's seat.

"Oh, come on. You should be happy that Alfred finally found someone, Bruce. Did you really want him to be alone forever?"

"Of course not!" Bruce said back, offended at the accusation. "And he's not alone, he does have us."

Selina looked at him through her long eyelashes. "Well, get over your jealousy, be a grown up and be happy for Alfred. He said she's smart and beautiful and kind…need I go on?"

Bruce shook his head. "No. Please don't."

It had been about two months since Alfred Pennyworth had moved in with Bruce and Selina. He was there mostly to help take care of the house while Selina and Bruce were incapacitated with injuries and unable to do things themselves. But as soon as Selina was starting to get her shoulder back in working order and taking over the household duties, Alfred started enjoying Italy again. He knew Bruce and Selina were safe, so he felt like he could relax, too.

Alfred had been mysteriously going out on his own, almost every day, for a month easily. He wasn't saying where he was going and no one was brave enough to ask him. About a week into it, Bruce thought it terribly suspicious and stuck a GPS tracker on the older gentleman without the man's knowledge or permission. When Selina found out, she wasn't pleased with him in the slightest, but her curiosity won out. She wanted to know what Alfred was up to almost as much as Bruce did.

Imagine their surprise when one day they followed him and found Alfred enjoying a lunch with a terribly beautiful woman.

They made sure they weren't seen and then got the hell out of there before Selina's terribly loud giggles gave them away.

A week ago, Alfred started staying out with this woman at her home. She must be damn special if Alfred was attracted to her.

Bruce pulled to a stop outside what must have been the house.

"This must be it," he announced.

The greatest detective in the world found Alfred's car in the driveway.

"I'm glad you could reason that one out, Mr. Wayne."

"Next time you can drive, Mrs. Wayne," he growled at her.

"Why are you so against a simple lunch with Alfred and his…um…lady friend?" Selina asked. "It isn't going to be any more uncomfortable than when the poor man walked in on us having sex in the kitchen."

That made Bruce smile, despite the current situation.

"Just smile and be happy, honey," Selina cooed in his ear sweetly. "It's going to be fine. I promise. And don't forget, Alfred said that he told them your last name was Kyle."

He nodded to indicate that he remembered. He'd laughed harder than he had in years at that particular conversation. The only thing that had stopped him was the jarring blow that Selina administered to his diaphragm with her elbow. She knew exactly how hard she could hit him without him ending up in too much pain and she frequently used that knowledge to her advantage. And while he struggled to catch his breath, he found that it wasn't all that funny anymore.

Bruce took the key out of the ignition and sat back in the seat while Selina opened her car door. Alfred emerged from the house and greeted the both of them with a smile as he walked toward them and their car.

"I'm happy to see that you were able to find the house," Alfred said, greeting Selina warmly with a kiss to both cheeks. "How was the drive?"

Selina looked back at the car and back to Alfred. "It was very pleasant," she half-lied. It was only the last ten minutes of the ride that weren't fun.

Bruce still hadn't exited the car.

Selina kept smiling, even though she was getting terribly angry at Bruce.

"We brought you this," Selina offered the pie in her hand. "I made it myself. I hope you like blueberry."

"I love blueberry," Alfred smiled, inspecting the pan in her hand. "I'm happy to see that this life is agreeing with you, Mrs. Way-Kyle," he said before turning his attention to the absence of Bruce. "Is he going to get out of the car?" Alfred asked.

Selina nodded. "His knee has been giving him trouble the last couple of days. You go ahead inside and I'll get my husband. I can't wait to meet Sofia. She has to be truly special to have caught your eye, Alfred."

The older gentleman blushed from the roots of his white hair to the starched white collar of his shirt, but smiled anyway.

"Well, lunch is almost ready, we're just waiting on the pasta to finish," Alfred said. "Tell him to quit acting like a petulant child and come inside," he told her, not believing her lie for one second.

Selina smiled. "I will," she said. "Just give me two minutes."

Alfred turned on his heel in the gravel driveway and walked back into the house with the blueberry pie in his hand.

Selina faced the car and stomped in her heels on the gravel all the way to the driver's side door. She wrenched it open before Bruce could lock it.

"You get out of that car this instant and you plaster a smile on your face. You are breaking that man's heart," Selina said.

Bruce sighed.

"You're Batman. You've done a million things more difficult than this," she continued. "So come eat some lunch and share some conversation with your wife and the man who spent his entire life taking care of you."

Of course Bruce knew he wasn't going to win this one. He had put up enough of a fight to look like an idiot. He unbuckled himself and extended his leg to indicate he was really climbing out.

"Good boy," Selina said sarcastically. "How old are you?" she asked smiling, but she definitely meant it as an insult.

Bruce finished exiting the car, his mouth set in a line.

"What is your problem with this?" she asked.

"I'm just worried about Alfred. In my entire life I've never known him to be romantically interested in anyone," Bruce said.

"Is it possible that he's just as sneaky as you are?" Selina replied.

"No," Bruce replied.

But then she realized something. It hit her like a ton of bricks and made her smile wickedly.

"You're jealous," she said softly as they walked up to the house. Selina latched onto his arm, pulling him close to her. "Bruce," she sing-songed. "Alfred is always going to care about you, love you like a son. But now he has someone else he cares about, I think," Selina said. "And remember, you've always got me to love you."

Bruce halted, pulling Selina back, right before they were at the bottom of the porch stairs.

"Bruce, we have got to go inside," Selina said.

But Bruce pulled her into his arms and kissed her hard.

"I love you," Bruce whispered into her ear. "I'll go quietly now," he smirked.

He took Selina's hand and pulled her towards the front door of the house.

The interior of the house was lushly decorated. Where the exterior of the house looked traditional and older, the rooms were all very modern. Everything was dark wood and glass. There were expensive knick-knacks and paintings in the living room and it seemed each room they were shown had more and more expensive objects occupying it.

Selina's eyes widened as she strolled past an original Van Gogh hanging in a hallway at one end of the house.

"Selina," Bruce hissed as a warning under his breath.

She shook her head. "Old habits die hard."

Sofia, herself, was probably 65 years old, but didn't look a day over 45. She had shiny medium brown hair, cut in a very stylish long bob. It framed her face and her sparkling green eyes. She had a nice figure and a beautiful smile. And Alfred positively lit up every time he glanced in her direction.

"Your home is beautiful," Selina said once they finally sat down to eat their meal.

The dining room they were in looked out the back of the house. The walls were painted a rich barn red and the wood was all dark. The chandelier was antique and probably real gold. Everything combined gave it a medieval feeling; it was just missing a suit of armor in the corner.

There were huge floor to ceiling windows that looked out onto an impeccably manicured lawn and in-ground swimming pool. There was a high fence that surrounded that, effectively carving out an oasis in the middle of the Italian countryside.

"Thank you, Selina," the woman trilled in her Italian-accented voice breaking Selina from her reverie about the home. Her voice was melodic and soft. Sofia was a very charming woman indeed.

The four of them continued to chat amiably over a lunch of pasta with some kind of cream sauce and several different kinds of salad. Wine was poured and Sofia began to tell them about her life.

"I was born in Paris; my parents had taken vacation. But I've lived here in my whole life. This is actually my family home," Sofia said softly, the smile never leaving her lips.

The woman's English was expert and Selina smiled at the way Alfred's hand covered hers as she spoke. Clearly, it was love between the two of them.

An hour later, they had heard Sofia's entire life story. Her parents were almost-gypsies who had given up travelling to become full-fledged farmers. They somehow managed to become skilled and built up a small fortune. She had been the first of her family to attend college. She had started a fashion line straight out of school and was head designer up until five years ago when she retired. Now she serves as CEO.

"Listen to me talk," she almost purred. "I don't know anything about you two. Alfred's told me a little, but how and when did you meet? How long have you been married?"

"We met about a year and a half ago," Selina said, looking to Bruce for agreement. "And we were business contacts at first," she lied.

Bruce smiled and nodded, sliding an arm tighter around her.

"She stole my heart that day," he said.

Bruce's particular words did not escape her.

Sofia put a hand over her heart. "Oh," she said. "That's adorable, but I would have thought you two would have been together longer than that," she said, eyeing Selina's enormous wedding ring set.

"And there was that six month gap when we broke up," Bruce said grimly, putting emphasis on an odd word in that sentence. Both Selina and Alfred knew what he was referring to.

"When did you get married?" Sofia asked sincerely.

Bruce did not answer. He waited for Selina.

"Three weeks ago. But it feels like forever," she smiled.

"Three weeks! Newlyweds!" Sofia gushed.

Selina squeezed Bruce's hand and smiled. He finally smiled again.

"It was a small ceremony, but it was wonderful," Selina said, her voice soft and her were words tender.

"Do you have family out here?"

"I don't, no," Bruce said gruffly. "Just Alfred."

"My parents have both passed away; I have a sister, but I haven't seen her in a long time," Selina said.

Bruce looked confused for a second. He didn't know what she was talking about. But before he could question her about it, Sofia chimed in with another question.

"Where did you go for your honeymoon?" Sofia asked.

"We decided that we weren't…" Selina started.

"I was going to surprise Selina, but now might be as good a time as ever. I'm booking a trip to Paris for us," he said.

Selina froze.

"Paris?" she asked.

"You don't want to go to Paris?" Bruce asked.

Selina shook her head. "Of course I want to go to Paris," she said. "I'm just surprised right now."

"What is it that you do, Bruce?" she asked. "Alfie's been vague and if you could afford a ring that size for your wife, it must be something good."

Selina tried to stifle a giggle at Sofia's use of Alfred's nickname. Bruce ignored it.

"He's a retired public defender," Selina answered for him.

Sofia smiled. "A lawyer? I guess I could see that."

Bruce narrowed his eyes.

"What does that mean?" Bruce asked in a minutely argumentative tone.

"You have a…sneaky…way of holding yourself, Mr. Kyle. I can usually read people very well and there's something about you that I'm not sure about."

"I get that a lot," Bruce said dryly.

"What do you do, Selina?" Sofia asked. "You said that you two met because you were business contacts."

"Yes," Selina said after swallowing a mouthful of red wine. "I had a kind of consulting business. I do a little bit of everything."

The group of them continued chatting over dessert and before long, they were saying their goodbyes.

Once they were back in their car and on the road, Bruce made an announcement.

"There's something off about her," he said.

"What?" Selina replied. "What are you talking about? Sofia is perfectly lovely."

"She asked too many questions," Bruce said.

"Sofia was just trying to get to know us," Selina said. "Is that a crime?"

"I'm going to run a more in-depth search on her when we get home. I just hope Alfred isn't giving any major secrets away."

Selina shook her head. "He wouldn't do that. He's kept your secrets too long to start throwing them around now. And Alfred would never forgive you for running background checks on his girlfriend," she said.

"I ran them on you and you married me," Bruce said. "By the way, you've failed to mention this sister of yours before."

"She didn't come up in your research?" Selina asked.

"No."

"I have a little sister. Maggie. She's four years younger than me. I haven't seen her since I was twelve years old," Selina said. "And this is beside the point; Alfred is a completely different person, Bruce. I wouldn't push it."

"I'll keep that in mind," Bruce said. "And I can't believe you didn't tell me about your sister."

"Normal people would be talking about how nice an afternoon we had," Selina said not-quite under her breath.

Bruce looked at Selina for a fleeting second before looking back at the road they were travelling down.

"Normal people haven't spent portions of their lives doing what we've done."

"Touché, Mr. Wayne," she said. "Let's go home. I feel like I need to go for a run after all that pasta and wine. That'll give you ample time to stalk this poor woman."

"I think I might go with you," he said.

"You're going to go for a run?" she asked. "Seriously?"

"That sounds like a challenge," he said.

"You bet your Batman ass it's a challenge," Selina replied, smiling wide.

Bruce followed suit and lips curved into a wide smile of his own.

"Challenge accepted," he said in his Batman growl that sent shivers down her spine.

He floored the gas pedal and the car pressed forward. He wanted to get home as soon as possible.

… … …

"Would you like to go out for dinner, my love?" Alfred asked.

He had fallen hard for the woman. It had been a long time since Alfred had been in love and he wasn't going to take it for granted.

"Yes, I think I would like to have dinner on the river tonight," Sofia said. "I have some paperwork to attend to first, so I'm going to sit in my office. We can head into town later."

"Of course, Sofia," Alfred said. "I'm going to read my book on the porch and enjoy the rest of the sunshine."

Sofia kissed Alfred lightly and headed back towards her office.

Inside her office, she closed and locked the door. It had been an interesting day and now she needed some time to herself.

Walking over to her drafting boards, she turned the lights on above them. She turned over the board on the first and there were hundreds of images of Batman and Bruce Wayne.

Sofia laughed to herself when she remembered what they were calling themselves. Bruce Kyle? Ridiculous. This man was absolutely Bruce Wayne. And any fool with enough time and resources could put two and two together to get Batman. Her next question was who his wife was. Selina Kyle was her real name, but so far nothing had come up on searches. But she wasn't going to stop until she'd figured it out.

Someone as intelligent as Bruce Wayne could put a serious kink in the plans she had, but now that she had them on their radar, she would be able to take them out of it.

Her plans would proceed as originally intended with only two extra hurdles in her way.

… … … …

A/N: So, what did you think? Let me know.