the bat & the cat ; a one-shot collection.

unmasked.

"huh. bruce wayne is batman," uttered out catwoman, hazel eyes widening as her hand slid away from the vigilante's cheek. "who would've thought..."

selina kyle had always wondered about the batman's identity— until now, of course. there were two things she had known about him already; he was rich, and he obviously forced his voice. she could tell the difference between his grunts, blurts, and yells compared to whenever he spoke consciously. but, both of those didn't give her any hint on who he really was.

it was funny— the bat and the cat growing a strong, intimate relationship before who they could even reveal themselves. but, did selina care? not at all. in fact, the feeling was anticipating to her. it felt more secretive yet lustrous, being in some mysterious, noir-like romance. that thrilling feeling was gone, now. there was no need for the chase anymore. to be frank, she hadn't expected him to share his identity with her. no matter how close one was to mister vengeance, he would always be just batman to them. bruce wayne was just some orphan rolling in his dead parents' money.

of course, selina was surprised. a range of emotions traveled through her head, unpacking what had just happened... anger, shock, relief, frustration, confusion, joy. it was difficult to process. it wasn't a lot, yet bruce and batman were two totally different people with different personalities. it was weird for some rich playboy to be the same person as this gloomy, intimidating man in a mask.

bruce already found out who catwoman was during their first few encounters, and she knew that. he was only afraid of selina's reaction to his identity; maybe it would change her perspective of him, or he would lose another person he loved. nobody was to be trusted, as well... even her. after all, if this goes wrong, she can share his identity to all of gotham, maybe even beyond gotham.

allowing selina to remove his cowl, batman let it drop to the ground as he stepped back from her. "i understand if this changes everything, selina..." his voice shifted from his deep, gruff tone to a calm yet brooding one as he spoke.

oh, how bad he wanted to put the mask back on and pretend nothing ever happened. as they stood in silence, selina and bruce stared at each other from a distance, averting their gaze every few seconds. selina held a small grudge against bruce for a while— she was jealous of his wealth, his childhood she never had, even if it ended in a matter of a few years. after all, she was in shock to find out this rich guy she thought did nothing for the city is the man that she loved.

on the other hand, bruce was awaiting a response from her anxiously. it was known she wasn't fond of the rich and more fortunate. what if she left him? hated him for as long as they live? turn against him? , anything could happen. his head turned away from hers, to the night sky and view of gotham.

and then, finally, footsteps heading towards bruce to break the silence. selina wrapped her arms around his bulky neck, playing with his hair from the back. she laughed, "seems like uncle scrooge has been pitching in all along." teased selina, pressing her vermilion-tinted lips against his scarred ones. their textures clashed; while the bat felt her soft, smooth lips touching his, the cat felt the opposite, with a dry, slightly chapped, lumpy surface. she loved it, though... it was one significant thing about him.

pure bliss was what bruce wayne felt. as they kissed, the billionaire's hands— now on her waist— traveled her body with a mind of their own, the awkward sound of rubber gliding against latex keeping his hands from sliding around her torso and back smoothly. but, the both of them didn't mind. they thought of nothing but each other at this moment; just bruce and selina on the rooftop of the gotham, tenderly making out like they were the only ones there.