Postcards from Gotham

The sun was out again. Bruce took a puff from his cigarette and wished it away. It didn't go, though. He would need to work on that one.

It had been over a week, and Selina Kyle hadn't come back to the empty lot behind the gymnasium. At least while he'd been there.

He exhaled, staring off into the distance, and the bell rang abrasively, signaling the end of another day. The slow thud of doors opening and students shuffling out soon followed, and he grimaced, throwing the cigarette away. A waste.

He moved, seamlessly joining a crowd of people who chattered incessantly and waved at him. He grinned back, nonchalantly tossing a stick of gum into his mouth to cover the smoke smell. His dependence on nicotine didn't have to extend to keeping it there.

Selina paid no mind to the bell. She was currently immersed in a dog-eared copy of Peter Pan.

It was her first time actually reading the J. M. Barrie classic. She'd never had many books as a child, really, and the detention centre didn't make a habit of keeping literature strewn about. She had been re-shelving books, but had paused to thumb her way through the yellowed pages of the short novel. Something about an acorn and a kiss had caught her eye, though, and she'd sunk to her knees between two shelves and started at the beginning.

She was now poring over the final chapters, curled up somewhere between the row of History Encyclopedias and stacks of old magazines.

 Bruce milled around, following the throng of dull students who were slowly trudging to the exits with all the grace of dim-witted cattle. He didn't feel like going back just yet, though.

He passed by the old math buildings with very little remorse and suddenly, the entrance to the library building caught his eye.

Well, why not?

Impulsively, he stepped to the side, brushing past a few tittering freshman as he moved for the door.

The inside of the library was just as he remembered, old and smelling faintly of mildew. The dust gathering in the corners noted that this place had seen better days.

Smirking, he slowly slid up to the counter, tapping the metal service bell loudly and obnoxiously.

Selina nearly threw the book into the rafters she gave such a start.

"Christ- " she muttered beneath her breath, her heart thumping as she pushed herself up. She had been volunteering at the library since her freshmen year, and not once had she ever heard that bell rung before.

With a scowl of annoyance she set the novel carefully aside, making her way around the shelf. "I'm coming!" she called, taking a detour through the little back office so that she could come out behind the desk. She faltered as she opened the door a minute later, though, and her eyes narrowed as she leaned forward over the desk, clamping a hand over his to still his movements.

"What?" she demanded through her teeth.

He didn't know exactly why he felt the need to vex her today. Perhaps because he, himself, was in poor mood and wanted to share. Maybe it was just to pass the time.

Either way, the angry glare on her face filled him with grim satisfaction.

"Hello," he said pleasently. "I'm looking for some easy readers."

Selina glared across the counter at him.

It had been a week, a week and two days, in fact- not that she'd been counting- and for some reason she had thought about him every single one of those days. That fact vexed her even moreso than the relentless metallic clang of the little bell.

"Then I suggest you get in your fancy car, and drive yourself to a corner store, and pick up an issue of Playboy," she suggested, releasing his hand as if she'd only realised then they were touching. "I imagine the articles are riveting easy reads- and the pictures, I daresay, will suit your fancy."

He noticed her remove her hand- almost a flinch, and that in itself was entirely intriguing.

"Ah," he said, as if considering her suggestion, but watching her through narrowed eyes and a smile. "I doubt they'd appreciate the book report, don't you think?"

"Depends who your Professor is," she retorted, sliding the bell out of his reach. "What do you want, Bruce?"

  "There are so many answers to that question," he said, smirking a bit. "Got anything by Orwell?"

"Yeah, books, this is a library," she answered, turning away as she came out from behind the desk, starting for the shelves again. "How about Animal Farm, you might like that one."

"Marxism and talking animals," he said coolly, watching her move to his side of the counter. "What's not to like."

Selina perked an eyebrow at that, turning to face him. "I actually prefer animals that don't speak," she replied, her tone matching his.

"They probably just can't get a word in edgewise," he retorted blandly.

"Yeah, because I'm real chatty," she snapped, her eyes narrowing again. "What? Are you suggesting there is something you have to say to me?"

He only shook his head, waiting for her to proceed silently through narrowed eyes.

Selina pursed her lips, turning to the rack of books to her left. She trailed her fingertips across the spines before she paused, the point of her index finger hovering over one title. Orwell. A book of his essays, but Orwell nonetheless. She plucked it from the rack and then turned, crossing the space remaining between them.

"Do you," she began, pressing the book to his chest with a thunk, "have something...you want...to say...to me?"

He caught the hand that forced the book against his chest before she could pull it away, holding it there for a moment, leaning into her slightly.

"I don't think you're fooling any one," he said, smirking just a bit. He wasn't even sure why he said it, but something- something about her was just off. Something didn't add up. And he noticed it, at least.

Her eyes narrowed as he captured her hand, but she made no move to pull away.

"Is that so?" she asked, holding his gaze as he leaned in towards her. "Tell me then, Bruce, if I'm so transparent...what do you see?"

He quirked an eyebrow. "You, for one," he remarked. "You've stopped blending in."

bsg caprica6 (9:54:10 PM): She frowned at that, taking a little step back, though her hand remained trapped beneath his. "I haven't," she protested, "maybe you just started looking."

He stepped forward as she moved back, frowning just a bit as if trying to work out a puzzle. And he didn't drop her hand. "No," he said. "That's not it. You're hiding from something."

Selina shook her head, backing up again as he advanced. "Go away," she told him, her voice quieter now, though it was somehow more vehement than before, "leave me alone- " she went on, attempting to pull her hand out from beneath his own.

He had it now. And he wasn't about to let it go. He leaned forward, gazing at her intently as she backed into one of the dusty aisles, trying to read the answer in her eyes silently.

"But not from me," he said softly, his gaze searching intently.

It didn't add up. She worked so hard to maintain that grey persona, invisible, while in reality she was altogether different. Fiery. Why? And why not from him?

Selina's glasses slid down the bridge of her nose as her back hit the shelf. They balanced precariously at the tip, and she shook her head slightly. "Take your book," she barely whispered, pressing it into his chest again, "and go- away."

Behind her glasses her eyes were green.

Not blue, or even hazel like he had thought. Deep, endless green. He smiled slightly, not heeding her banishment as he caught the quaver in her tone.

The way he looked at her was unnerving.

He looked at her like he could, quite literally, see through her. He looked at her in a way that suggested he already knew her very deepest, darkest secrets.

"What do you want?" she asked again, though this time it was clear she wasn't referring to books.

His eyes flicked down to her lips before locking back to those eyes again. His hand had released hers a little while ago and now he reclaimed it, sliding over it slowly, testing the feel of her skin against his.

"Want?" he echoed, although it was only the faintest echo of her question as he leaned in to brush his lips over the corner of her mouth.

While mere seconds before the shelf behind her had served as the rock in the figurative rock and hard place, it all too suddenly became her support.

Selina's knees weakened as his lips brushed the corner of her mouth, and she exhaled shakily as her heart fluttered.

This was all a game to him- it had to be. What could he possibly want with her? She knew this, and yet...when he was this close, it was difficult to be aware of anything besides his proximity. Her eyes lifted to his briefly before they flickered to his mouth, drifting shut as she leaned in and pressed her lips firmly to his.

He hadn't known what he had been expecting- an angry refusal, maybe, certainly a push and an acidic retort. Certainly not the soft warmth of her return kiss.

He stepped forward automatically, pressing back as one hand- the one not currently pinning her hand between his and Orwell- slowly traveled up to barely touch the arch of her cheekbone.

Selina tilted her head automatically towards his touch, their noses bumping briefly. As he stepped forward, pinning her to the shelf, she wrapped one leg over one of his and brought her free hand up to cup the back of his neck. She kissed him almost tentatively at first, her fingers splaying out across the cover of the Orwell novel he held between them.

Her mouth felt remarkable underneath his and he leaned even further in, slowly deepening the connection of their lips. He hadn't come in here for this. Maybe fight with her, definitely to bother her, but this...

His hand entwined with hers, pulling her hand up off the book so it fell to the ground with an unnoticed thump as the other smoothed over her neck, fingers slowly winding into the hair that was so harshly pulled back.

Her lips parted with a soft sound that was muffled by his kiss. She interlaced their fingers, squeezing his hand gently, and her other hand mirrored his actions- sliding upwards into his hair as she drew him in closer.

Perhaps this was a game to him, but she found that at the present moment she didn't mind participating.

He inhaled sharply as he drew away from her for a moment, but quickly found her bottom lip, capturing it with his mouth softly before returning to the seductive trap of her mouth. The hand that held hers slowly moved up, pulling her hand to his shoulder.

She released his hand and curled her fingers over his shoulder instead, wrapping her leg a bit more securely around his.

The action drew his forward, and she gasped against his lips as she found herself straddling his thigh. She twisted his hair around her fingers as she traced her tongue across his bottom lip.

The movement made him gasp slightly, and he pressed himself to her, capturing her tongue with his own as the kiss moved a little more frantic.

His free hand moved to her side, tracing over the curve of her waist just slightly as the other found the nape of her neck.

Another soft sound was lost in their kiss as she brushed her tongue against his, and a shiver of what might have been anticipation raced down her spine.

She lowered the hand that was in his hair to his hip as their kiss deepened, linking two fingers through one of the beltloops of his trousers. With a little tug their hips were brought together, and her kiss intensified as the space remaining between them was sealed.

He swallowed a murmur that was half caught in his throat as he pressed fully against her, one knee slowly sliding further in between her thighs as one hand moved along her side, tracing her through her clothes.

It was moving faster now, almost gathering momentum and he didn't think he could slow down. He didn't want to slow down.

A hand slid up to the collar of her sweater, undoing just the utmost top button of it and he pressed his lips to her neck, tongue gently tasting her skin.

A breathy Oh parted her lips as she tilted her head back, causing a few books to shift backwards on the shelf. Her breathing had begun to pick up speed already, and a few soft gasps escaped her as his lips located her neck.

The feel of his tongue on her skin sent something akin to electricity coursing through her. She shivered, pressing down against his thigh as her eyes flickered briefly open and then closed again.

   The sound she made went right through him and his mouth traveled down her neck now, fingers unbuttoning another clasp so he could find the silky arch of her collarbone.

His hand remained where it was for a moment, but the temptation was too extreme, and his lips found her mouth again, swallowing one of her gasps as it moved down over her front, tracing over her breast.

Her back arched as her breath caught in her throat. Her eyes flickered open once again and this time she glanced down at him, pressing a kiss to his hair. Shakily, she lifted the hand from his hip to cover the one he had placed over her breast, pinning it briefly as he had done to her previously. Another little sigh was muffled by his hair, and she shut her eyes again, inhaling his scent with every gasp.

Oh, God.

He could barely stifle the sound he made this time, the weight of her breast against his palm like a burn. Finding the pulse of her neck, he gently bit down, raising a mark as he slowly arched the knee between her legs so she was forced up higher, to meet his lips.

She moaned as she felt his teeth sink into her skin- marking her. She'd have to cover that up later but at the present moment later was the very last thing on her mind.

She pressed her lips together as he shifted his leg, squeezing her eyes shut as a muffled Mhm managed to escape her. When their lips met again she kissed him feverishly, raising one hand between them to grasp the collar of his shirt.

His mouth met hers with equal fierceness, stepping forward again, almost impossibly, pressing her against the flimsy bookshelf and knocking over the opposite row of books.

The clatter that sounded this time was too loud to be ignored and he started.

Selina jumped as well, releasing him as she hurriedly lifted a hand to adjust her glasses as they had been knocked askew on her face. She ran her tongue briefly across her lips, hoping to soothe the way they burned, and glanced back over her shoulder at the shelf.

He stepped back as well, for a second feeling completely frozen as adrenaline- only half from the startled reaction to the books- slowly died in his veins.

Her lips looked flushed, her sweater buttons undone and he could see the dull bruise begin to form on the arch of her neck with almost magnified detail.

"Um," Selina began, her voice wavering as she lifted her hands again, missing a button as she haphazardly buttoned her sweater, "you...you should go now," she told him. "I, uh, I have to...re-shelve, um, those," she murmured breathlessly, turning away from him as she moved back around the shelf.

  "Right," he said automatically, hesitating for a second before he turned away too and walked out the door.

What was that?

Selina moved only her eyes to watch him go before she pressed the back of her hand to her mouth, brow furrowing.

What the hell?

With a shake of her head she bent to her knees once more, forcing herself to focus on the new task at hand. This one, at least, was relatively...methodical.

The sun had just been about to rise on Gotham when Bruce Wayne, Business King and Gotham Playboy, found himself awake.

It wasn't unusual. Bruce often found himself sleepless, especially after solving some baffling equation- as if his mind was in overdrive with the success of it. He merely had to surrender himself to the inevitability of insomnia... after all, it was a small price to pay to soothe his Rubik's Complex.

Bruce Wayne sighed, getting up and over to his study where there was a steaming cup of coffee awaiting him. He didn't know how Alfred could predict the nights he found himself unable to sleep, and he wasn't really sure he wanted to know.

The newspaper lay not too far away, thoughtfully placed by Alfred. The bold DAILY PLANET typeset stared unfamiliarily at him. Bruce took it, scanning the pages, more interested in the change of venue than the news itself.

'BANK ROBBERY FOILED BY PRODIGAL SUPERMAN', read the headline.

Strings of multiple robberies...

Metropolis hero SUPERMAN returns...

Police report that...

Well, wasn't that something.

"I trust you've found everything to your liking, Master Bruce?" asked his butler, coming into the room with a tray.

"Quite a headline," he said blandly, not batting an eye. "What happened to the Times?"

"I thought that you might like a change," said Alfred, glancing down at the paper. He set the tray down in front of Bruce.

"A bank robbing clown," Bruce remarked, glancing over the story briefly. "Don't we have one of those?"

"Quite," the butler said dryly. "Although I don't think the Joker is causing much headlines behind the walls of Arkham Asylum."

Bruce smiled in acknowledgement. "Surely the Times covered this."

Alfred cleared his throat. "I had thought that it might be...best to get it straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak." He motioned towards the front page. Bruce glanced down again.

The byline read 'Clark Kent'. Perfect.

"Thank you, Alfred."

"Of course, Master Bruce."

Alfred left, but Bruce Wayne hardly noticed, his mind was racing. He read the article a few times over quickly, then the whole paper. The paper managed to work Superman's return to the world into nearly every single article. He checked the society pages. Superman littered the columns even there, but he soon found what he was looking for.

Mayor Sackett to Celebrate 50th at Charity Auction

It had possibilities. He rose, tucking the paper safetly under his arm, and went in search of Alfred.

The butler was outside, directing the gardening staff on the proper way to prune the front roses. He smiled a little, quickly moving down the steps that marked the entrance to Wayne Manor.

"Alfred," he called. "Prep the jet."

The butler nodded, but hesitated a bit, looking at the oblivious gardeners. "...May I ask which one, Master Wayne?"

Bruce Wayne gave him his best charming billionare-devil-may-care grin. "I think the regular one will do for now," he said. "It's been a while since Bruce Wayne visited Metropolis."