The Big Book Of BatCat One Shots

Day 3 - Dancing (BatCat Week 2017)

It was nearly 3am in the morning and Bruce was just now making his way back to the Manor. He and Lucius had been going through new prototypes and testing out new equipment. He had been so involved with what he had been doing that he had completely forgot about the promise he had made.

That morning, before he had left, Bruce had promised Selina he would be back before midnight. Now that he had gone and broken that promise he knew that she was going to kill him. Okay, maybe she wouldn't actually kill him, but the second he walked through that front door World War III was going to start. Even so, he kept driving. Bruce knew from previous experiences that it was best to deal with things like this straight away. Trying to avoid them, for some reason, made everything worse.

As he drove, he thought back to the night they'd first met.

The night Bruce met Selina was one of his most vivid memories. Whenever he thought back to it he could remember every single detail. No matter how small. If anyone asked him if he knew what would occur after that night, in the mayor's office, Bruce would respond with "No". He had, had no idea that Selina would end up meaning so much to him. That she would be end up being the love of his life. Then again he had never planned to fall in love with anyone. Especially not like this. He chuckled a little at that thought. Love. Back then Bruce had, had no idea what it was. Hell, even now he wasn't completely sure he knew exactly what "love" was, but did anyone really ever know? He doubted it.

His thoughts soon turned to everything they had gone through since then.

Those first few weeks had been an absolute roller coaster. From that chance meeting at the cafe, the brawl at the bar, the night they had spent together, the mess with Harvey and everything else in between. One of the worst things of those weeks had been the uncertainty of ever seeing Selina again. She had captivated him in a way no one else had and the idea of their paths never crossing again...he didn't know if he would have called the feeling anger or sadness. Maybe it had been somewhere between the two or perhaps just frustration. Even so, if he had to, Bruce would go through all of that again, but only if everything that had happened afterwards would occur again.

As Bruce pulled up to the Manor he noticed that, through the drawn curtains, the parlor light was on. He turned the car's engine off and looked at the window nervously. He was in so much trouble.

After a few minutes, he exited the car and made his way up the steps of the Manor. He hadn't stayed in the car to figure out what to say, no, he already knew what to say. He had taken those few minutes to compose himself for whatever Selina was going to throw at him. Knowing Selina, she probably would actually throw something at him, be it a vase or glass or whatever was close enough for her to grab. Alfred certainly wasn't going to be too happy with that. Thank goodness he was out of town right now.

As he entered the Manor, Bruce shivered a little. It was that time of year again where, somehow, the inside was colder than the outside. Usually he blamed it on the age of the Manor, but recently he had been doing what he could to warm the Manor. Nothing had worked and he couldn't figure out why. That was one mystery he wasn't solving anytime soon.

His footsteps echoed through the empty hall as he made his way towards the parlor. When he reached the door, he stopped before it and gently knocked. "Selina?" he called out. He waited a couple of minutes for an answer that didn't come. He frowned. Bruce knocked and called her name again. Still nothing. His mind began to go through possible scenarios.

Was she ignoring him? It was possible. She usually did for a little while when he did something to upset her. Perhaps she had fallen asleep? He checked his watch. It made sense, it had just gone 4am or maybe, getting sick and tired of waiting, Selina had gone to bed and forgot to turn the light off.

Well, he wasn't going to find out if he stayed on this side of the door, so Bruce opened the door and entered the parlor. He found it empty. Inspecting the room further he found an almost empty scotch glass on the coffee table. The unmelted ice cubes inside the glass told him that it was quite recent. His last theory must be correct.

Deciding he would clean the glass when he got up, Bruce turned off the parlor's lights and made his way towards their bedroom.

He walked into the bedroom to find it empty. The bathroom too. He was severely confused now. Selina couldn't have left the Manor. If she had, if the scotch glass was anything to go by, he would have seen her on the way here.

He got out his phone and was about to call her when, through the window, he noticed a light in the Manor's garden. Lowering his phone, Bruce made his way closer to the window to try and get a clearer view. Illuminated by the light was Selina. He smiled. "There you are."

Selina looked out into the darkness. The only light she had was coming from an electric lamp. She was feeling a little tipsy from the couple of glasses of scotch she'd had. She was also feeling quite a bit angry at Bruce.

In all honestly she should have expected this. Bruce did have quite this history of breaking promises. Whenever he meant to or not tonight remained to be seen.

If tonight had been any other night, Selina really wouldn't have cared. Tonight had mattered because she had planned a somewhat romantic night for the two of them. Garlic and herb chicken with rice. Red wine or scotch, whatever he was in the mood for. Maybe watch a movie and just chill. She had even bought herself a new dress. It was a short black dress covered in sequins. When the light hit it, it looked like a star covered sky on a cloudless night. Something that you only truly saw way out here, far from the city. Selina had even gone to the trouble of doing her hair up. She had taken it done a couple of hours ago now though. It had been wasted effort.

She was soon brought out of her thoughts by the sound of a door closing behind her. "You're late." she said, not bothering to turn around as she knew exactly who it was.

"I know and I am so sorry Selina. I will make it up to you. I promise." Bruce replied.

She scoffed. "Yeah, sometime next year." she muttered under her breath.

"How about right now?" he offered, completely ignoring her comment.

"And how are you going to do that Bruce Wayne?"

"Like this." He began to play their favourite song on his phone. Confused, she turned and looked at him. Bruce took the opportunity to grab her arm and pull Selina to her feet. He then took one of her hands in his and wrapped his arm around her waist. She rested her hand on his shoulder and they began to dance.

As they danced Bruce couldn't help, but smile. His smile caused Selina to smile. Her gaze soon drifted to the ground, however. "I look like an absolute mess." she muttered. Earlier that night, when she had realised he wasn't making it back, she had half-heartedly taken her makeup off. There was still a small amount on her face that was now smudged.

"Darling, you look perfect tonight." Bruce whispered underneath his breath. His voice was loud enough that she heard him.

She laughed. "You always say that."

"That's because it's the truth." And it always would be. When he had seen her in that dress, damn, she had completely taken his breath away. Selina was absolutely beautiful and Bruce knew he didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve any of it. Yet every time he looked into her eyes he could see his future and he had never wanted something more.

They danced until the sun came up. By that time they were both somewhat exhausted and decided to go and get some sleep. They didn't make it up to the bedroom. Instead they crashed on the nearest sofa and fell asleep there. Neither of them had been this happy or content before. It was a welcome change of pace.

This one was inspired by Ed Sheeran's song 'Perfect'! Remember, if you enjoyed this and would like more batcat one shots vote and/or comment to let me know! No one shot tomorrow as I have created a playlist instead (mainly because I had no idea what to write based around tomorrow's prompt) Will include a link to the playlist along with Day 5's one shot!