Cold Winter's Night

Part III: Carpe Diem

^V^

He only employs his passion who can make no use of his reason.

Marcus Tillius Cicero

^V^

"Just forget about who we are, forget about the masks, forget that this city is falling down around us… for once, let it just be me and you. Everything else, just let go."

Despite the fact that I had every reason to be focused on the present, I found myself thinking back nearly fifteen years, looking into her green eyes, running my hands through her hair…

Not as Batman and Catwoman, but as Bruce and Selina.

I could still hear the clink of her silver bracelets, the way her hair covered half of her face, the rich scent of Chanel coming off of her in waves. I had been on my way out of a wedding reception, ready to shed the skin of Bruce Wayne in order take to the streets. Even in the begining, there was no one that stood in the way of my work, of my war.

Except her.

She had caught my eye as I approached the front door, standing with a hip cocked and fingers gently tapping her chin. It had taken me a moment to focus on her words given how little her little black dress had been, "It's hot... even for June. Years from now, when people are talking about the weather, they'll say 'It's hot but… not as hot as it was the night Johnny Viti got married…'."

"Hello, Selina."

That smirk, that look in her eye, it had never changed and never ceased to reel me in, "Care to dance, Bruce?"

A lifetime ago but I could still feel her arm around me as we danced amongst Gotham's elite, both civilians and criminals given the mob ties the newlyweds had. She had kissed me in between every song, biting my lip to the point of nearly drawing blood. When she had invited me to her penthouse afterwards, I had to literally force myself to decline, knowing if I went I would never make it to patrols.

While we had willingly shared a bed as civilians, our masked identities were caught in a relentless battle of wits and fists. Seemingly every night after leaving Selina's side, I would find myself face to face Catwoman. Without warning, she would hunt me down, engaging in abrupt, violent encounters before speaking her mind. Any time I had tried to reason with her, she would either kiss me or claw at me before taking off. As the year had progressed, she had even aided me in a number of confrontations, battling off mobsters and henchmen by my side with a grin on her face.

Unfortunately, the closer Batman had gotten to Catwoman, the further apart Bruce and Selina had grown. After Harvey Dent had been burned, forever scared as Two-Face, I had taken it as a personal failure and had started to drive away those who cared for me. It was only mad worse as a series of hangman influenced murder suspects began to surface, of which all leads had pointed to Harvey. Selina had done her best to tolerate being ignored and brushed aside, even going as far as associating herself with Mario Falcone in hopes of attracting my eyes through jealousy. I had managed several weak attempts but she spent more nights at the Manor with Alfred rather than myself.

New Year's Day we had reconciled after I had showed up at her doorstep with fresh baked treats and a dumb smile on my face. She had tried to reject me, saying that because I had bailed on her the night before that she had decided we were over. Rather than defend my actions, I had agreed to leave. After narrowing her eyes, she had grabbed me by the scarf, dragging me into her brownstone while sighing, "No, damn you. The least you could do is stay for breakfast."

If only that morning could have lasted forever…

Selina had left me two months later, the day after Valentine's. In fact, she left everything behind, moving out of her home, leaving nothing behind save for a note that explained why she left even though it hadn't been necessary. In a way, it had made things easier, giving me uninterrupted time to hunt down Gotham's latest killer. Not long after, I had gone to a charity circus performance that had turned tragic, thus making Selina's whereabouts the least of my concerns.