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Bruce Wayne had seldom known a relief as great as unburdening himself to his little kitten; Esmeralda.
He told her about everything that had transpired since he met the infuriating Cat Woman, including how she outsmarted him time and again and escaped his attempts at catching her doing those alluring acrobatic moves that set his blood on fire and made his fingers itch to sink into her waist and bend her supple body to his will, finishing with how he was going to catch her no matter what.
He might have lost some fights but he was determined to triumph eventually.
Esmeralda was a better listener than anyone Bruce knew, perhaps even his butler; Alfred Pennyworth, because, unlike the witty old man with the way too knowing eyes, Esmeralda did not interrupt.
The kitten tilted her head and he found himself staring into a pair of firelit eyes, glittering with mischief which strangely reminded him of…
Blinking, Bruce shook his head.
Was he going mad?
Lazily, Esmeralda came slinking around the leg of his armchair and leapt into his lap.
"I don't know what to think," he said miserably. "I don't know how to feel about any of it. I don't know why she wouldn’t leave my thoughts, or why I am so drawn to her. It is so much easier to hate her. But last night when I saw that blasted smirk on her face as she stole yet another priceless necklace…"
The confession elicited a cute meow.
Esmeralda nestled in his chest and he felt the cool swipe of her tongue against his skin. Once again, the kitten sensed his distress and wanted to offer him comfort.
He smiled and scratched behind her ears.
Her adorably tiny paws rested over his heart, her claws retracted.
Esmeralda closed her eyes and he swore her whiskers twitched with amusement.
Bruce‘s lips lifted in a faint smile. “Now you’re just being greedy, my sweet.”
Esmeralda cocked her head sideways as if saying. “Of course, I am.”
"It had never occurred to me until last night that I have some strong feelings for her," Bruce’s brows furrowed in concentration as he considered the problem thoughtfully. “I don’t know how or when it started. All I know is I feel something. I thought that after Rachel…”
Bruce took a deep breath.
Rachel…
The night he lost Rachel and created the monster called Two-Face still haunted him. Yet, with time, the pain had ebbed.
Sometimes, he wondered if Rachel loved him at all.
At least, as much as she loved the idea of him.
He was not the charming prince. Shining armor went out of fashion in Gotham. And if fairy godmothers existed, his died several years ago.
He wondered what made the Cat Woman choose this path. Girls loved their diamonds but he swore there was more to it than collecting exorbitant pieces of jewellery.
There was passion there; a fire so hot it called to his frozen heart.
“You would think that I have everything, be it money, looks or brains. Yet, life tastes so bland,” he ran a gentle hand over Esmerlada’s fur.
“Sometimes, I don’t know who I am anymore. Am I Bruce Wayne; the shallow playboy the tabloids like to make fun of or am I Batman? When Cat Woman is in close vicinity, there’s no doubt in my mind.”
I am Batman.
Only a few glimpsed the darkness residing in him and that ardent need to have vengeance.
He was a man but he was a beast as well.
He was a fighter, an avenger, steeped in violence and deceit.
Couldn’t they see that?
They seemed to have no comprehension of the danger behind his flirty smiles.
Sometimes, he could barely restrain himself. It left him appalled and…bitter.
With the Cat Woman, it was different.
Unlike Ra's Al Ghul or Scarecrow, he didn’t consider her a threat. Which didn’t make sense at all considering the woman was actually a talented thief.
The way she teased the beast and tested the man left him desperate for more.
Bruce sighed and closed his eyes. “Last night, I thought for one moment we were going to have a real conversation or at least a civil one. Her eyes had revealed concern and a longing for something right before they turned bright with mischief. The woman is a mixture of emotions, most of them incredibly exasperating. She’s driving me crazy. What am I going to do, Esmeralda?”
The kitten meowed and waved her paw as of mocking his childish whining.
“Really? Are you mocking me now?” Bruce cocked a brow.
For a moment their gazes locked and he swore there was something unusual there, something almost….human.
Unease skated through his body, along with something else.
Something warm and alluring.
The sense that Esmeralda could understand every word he said.
His kitten was special.
His gaze lifted to the glittering chandelier, his mother’s favourite. “I need to talk to her. I need to clear things up. I have to face the Joker and end this nightmare. I can’t do that while my thoughts drift constantly to her.”
Esmeralda leapt from his lap in haste and bolted toward his office. She looked at him over her shoulder as if asking him to follow.
Bruce ran a hand over his dishevelled hair and snorted. “You are right. I should be working on the suit enhancements. I can always find the Cat Woman later.”
With a scrape of the armchair, he stood. “Thank you for being always here for me, my sweet.”
He winked and made his way toward the Batcave.
As soon as a click was heard, signaling that Bruce took the elevator down, the kitten meowed.
Her bright green eyes darted around before she stirred.
In a flash of blinding light, a slender woman rose to a standing position, stretching her arms over her head lazily.
The smooth leather of her suit shimmered under the light as she moved toward the small table with feline grace.
She smirked, her enigmatic eyes going to the door Bruce just left. With a wave of her hand, she conjured a piece of parchment and a quill.
“My poor Bruce,” the woman tsked. “Are you this desperate for my attention?”
Selina Potter’s mouth quirked up as she scribed a small note: ‘Catch me if you can. I’m waiting. Cat Woman.’
She hadn't predicted that letting her Animagus rule every aspect of her life would be so fun.
Never had she felt so carefree, never had she thought she would meet her mate in the driven Bruce Wayne AKA Batman.
With a stifled chuckle, she performed two somersaults then leapt from the open window.
The most important chase of her life was about to start.