The Ties That Bind Us

CHAPTER 16: Recovery

Bruce's eyelids felt as if they were glued to his skin. He tried twinkling them against the weak light entering the room. Groaning drowsily, he turned to check the alarm clock on the bedside table. He rubbed his eyes, realizing it was almost nighttime and he'd slept for ten hours. Well, he'd also driven for almost as much the day before, so that wasn't a surprise.

They had only gone to bed in the morning, but the sheets on Selina's side were cold, so she'd been up for some time now. Bruce forced himself up and into the shower to try to at least look alive. When he was finished and already dressed up, he slid the curtains and opened the door to the balcony. The air was cool and fresh, announcing fall was finally settling in. The ocean was darker and more turbulent than usual, but it still made it to a very nice sunset.

By the beach, contrasting with the plain white endless sand, sat Selina on a long round cloth wearing Bruce's navy blue sweater. His heart stumbled upon a mix of feelings caused by the image—joy, sadness, frustration, wistfulness, but above all, relief. God only knows how many times in the last few weeks he'd thought he'd never see it again. Or, more accurately, how many times he'd fought the idea of thinking like that, not allowing himself to ever consider it, knowing what even the possibility of it would do to him.

On the way down the stairs, he ran into Paula coming up. She carried piles of clean sheets and towels and complimented him cheerfully as she'd usually do, then told him she had a meal prepared for him in the kitchen. By the time she came back, Bruce was almost done eating, and so she decided to take the opportunity to approach him. She respectfully asked him if everything was okay with Miss Kyle and if anything had happened to her while they were gone. She expressed her concern about her and mentioned that she'd found her looking ill and sad.

Bruce tried to ease her mind, explaining she'd just caught a bug on their trip, but that she was recovering fine and that her paleness was only due to the recent lack of sunlight. Paula insisted that she still thought Selina was a bit blue, but eventually let it go, telling him about dinner and letting him know what she'd stocked the fridge with. She continued to make small talk until she casually brought up how surprised she was when Batman showed up during the "incident" in Paris, and then asked him if he was too, being from Gotham and all. Bruce almost choked on his last bite, which then made her completely forget the subject and reach out to help him.

Paula left soon after and Bruce sighed, knowing he could no longer postpone what he needed to do. As he walked slowly towards the beach, he realized he had no idea how to approach Selina, and so he grew even more frustrated with how everything had changed in just a matter of weeks. They were so good before. No serious fights, no secrets, no earth-shatteringly traumatic events.

And so he wasn't sure what he was most angry about, that Selina had kept all those things from him, or that she'd come clean about them. I mean, she'd done them way, way before they had ever met, and so did he really want her to tell him the truth? Did he want the truth, or did he prefer living blissfully in ignorance? He didn't know, and, honestly, he figured that at that point it didn't matter. He couldn't change what had already happened. So the real question was, did it all really make a difference to him? And if so, how much would he let it affect him or their relationship?

Could he simply forgive and forget?

He hoped so.

As he stepped foot in the sand and started getting closer to Selina, he realized she was talking on the phone. He didn't want to seem too prying so he stood a few feet back away until she was done, although he was curious to know who could she be talking to.

She hadn't noticed his presence yet, being too absorbed in her conversation with Holly and her memories of a distant life in Gotham. It all seemed like forever ago.