Batman and Catwoman

Magnet

          Catwoman gazed out into the sea of buildings, the whole city glowing, radiating with the usual deceitfulness, crime, and corruption. The night was young, and the cool air around her was thin and weightless, an invisible veil. The distant sound of a siren could be heard, as well as cars wandering the dusk streets.

          Selina raised from her crouching position, the usual routine she displayed during the countless number of times she'd visited lookouts like these. But there was something about this one spot-perhaps the perfect view, the peacefulness of the area, or the pure solitude it provided. There was only one other being who knew of her little hideaway, and Selina's lips curved into a smile as she sensed his presence behind her.

          "You move quiet," she greeted, not turning around.

          "So do you." he replied, in that thick, low voice of his.

          She spun and strided over to him, not even considering personal space-after all, they were far beyond that.

          "So, Batman..." she started, "...what brings you up here?" she was circling him now, uttering those last words from right behind him, her question not far from his ear.

          His expression was stone-cold, as usual. The silence he caused only proved that he had no reason he was willing to admit.

          "Oh, so it's like that, is it?" Catwoman replied, in front of him now, with her arm on his shoulder, breath warm against his suit.

          Batman turned his head away from her assertive gaze, ignoring the way her sharp claws trailed along his armored chest.

          "You're no fun," she growled, pulling her hand away.

          He finally forced himself to make eye contact and began to speak. "You stole an artifact two days ago, from the Gotham History Museum."

          "What are you gonna do, Batman, arrest me?"

          "I should," he huffed, grabbing her wrist.

          "But that's the thing...you always get the chance to and never do," she teased, her face inches from his.

          His anger fizzled as she pressed her lips against his. Batman moved his arm from her wrist to her waist, pulling Selina close to him. Though he never liked to admit it, he enjoyed his brief times with Catwoman, the way her arm snaked around his neck as they embraced, the warmth of her mouth against his.

          It wasn't hard to tell Selina enjoyed it either.

          Weeks would pass, sometimes months, between their short interactions, but they always came back to each other. It was almost as if the two were magnets, the way they were drawn together and away, together and away again.

          The wait always made Selina crazy with longing, a feeling she kept locked up.

          But each time Batman left her, he couldn't help feeling she belonged on the other side, the good side-his side.

          The forbidden love that they manifested was the only thing that prevented Batman from putting her behind bars.

          Batman pulled away first, as usual. Selina smirked, but there was sadness in her eyes. "What's wrong, Bats?"

          He avoided her gaze, instead choosing to study the city below.

          "Is it our status? Our masks? Our past?" Catwoman pushed.

          The word struck Batman. Their history, their intertwined childhood wasn't something they discussed. It was as gone as the little Orphan boy with the innocent grin that used to inhabit Batman.

          She took his silence as resistance. Rubbing her arms, she murmured wistfully, "Okay, Bruce..." then, her voice taking on it's normal bold tone, "...until next time."

          Catwoman leaped over the edge of the tall building, and, instinctively, Batman checked to see she hadn't simply tumbled to the ground. But she used her whip to swing onto a fire escape, hopping onto a stair and through an open window.

          He watched her go, lips curved into that habit of a frown as his cape blew around him. The wind was picking up, and something sparked inside him, that strange flicker of energy Catwoman gave him.

And he

smiled

as he

glided

back to

the ground.