(no subject)

[dragonbat2006]

Title: Moving On
Summary: After Batman RIP, Selina finds comfort… and more.
Characters: Selina Kyle, Alfred Pennyworth
Pairing: Selina/Alfred
Warnings/Triggers: Off-panel character death
Rating: PG
Genre: Romance
Words: 730
Timeline: Batman RIP/The Return of Bruce Wayne

Thanks to Kathy for the beta!

Moving On

She’d never meant for it to happen. Neither had he. They’d met at the gravesite; she’d come to pay her respects and found him tending the grass. He’d looked up at her approach.

“Miss Selina?”

“Hello, Alfred.”

She’d worn black, even though the funeral had been days earlier. A black silk dress with a formal black hat and birdcage veil, like Faye Dunaway in Chinatown. She’d almost forgotten the pot in her arms until Alfred glanced at it. “Are those…?”

“Tacca chantrieri,” she nodded. “Black bat flowers. They… seemed appropriate. I had a friend who was able to get them for me, so long as I promised that I wouldn’t cut them.”

“Ah.”

She’d smiled self-consciously. She’d meant to come when the grave was deserted so that she could have a few words with a man she’d always loved, but barely known. She was bending to set the pot down, when Alfred cleared his throat.

“If I may, Miss Selina, taccas are tropical flowers. They are not likely to last long out of doors in this climate. Perhaps, it would be best if I took them indoors to the arboretum while you… visit with Master Bruce. And then, if you’d like, I was planning to brew a pot of tea. It would be a pleasure if you’d choose to join me.”

She’d been only too happy to relinquish the flowers. She’d been wondering how Pam would react, should she find out that they’d been left to wither. Talking to Bruce had often felt like talking to a brick wall. She’d been surprised to find that talking a granite stone hadn’t been nearly as frustrating. If anything, the stone had seemed to be a better listener. The tea had been lovely, even if she would have preferred coffee. Bavarian chocolate coffee was one of her favorite “comfort beverages”.

It wasn’t her last visit to the grave. She’d been back a week later with white bat flowers—tacca integrifolia. Again, Alfred had been at the grave and again he’d left her alone while he carried the pot to the arboretum.

This time, he’d had the Bavarian chocolate coffee. And this time, she and Alfred had shared memories. And she’d found that talking to Alfred was a good deal more comforting than talking to a granite stone.

The third time came, she brought cut flowers. Alfred held her hand as she paid her respects. And over coffee, they talked about other things.

When she left Wayne Manor for the sixth time, she realized that they’d barely mentioned Bruce after returning from the gravestone.

The seventh time, she bypassed the grave entirely.

Over the succeeding months, her friendship with Alfred blossomed and she knew he looked forward to her visits as well. She wondered what he would have done, had she stopped her weekly visits, but when she broached the subject, for the first time, she’d seen a look of apprehension on the older man’s face.

“Miss Selina,” he’d said, “I would take it as a kindness if I weren’t forced to find out.”

That was when she realized that his feelings for her had passed beyond friendship. As had hers for him.

It was maybe four months after that day when she saw a familiar silhouette against the night sky. It wasn’t Dick; she knew the physique. He was back.

He was back… but her feelings weren’t. She was glad to see him and she wanted to know how he had survived his ordeal, whatever it had been. But while she felt joy at his return, the old feelings just… weren’t there. Or perhaps, it was more accurate to say that they were directed elsewhere.

Then next time she came to the manor, Alfred greeted her at the door. “I’m afraid that Master Bruce is occupied at the moment,” he said courteously. “But if you’ll come in, I’ll be pleased to tell him that you’ve arrived. I… Forgive me. He just hadn’t mentioned that you’d be paying a call.”

Selina took a deep breath. “He didn’t know, Alfred. Because I’m not coming to visit him.”

Alfred’s eyes widened. “I… should have restocked the Bavarian coffee,” he whispered, as Selina threw her arms around his neck and he instinctively pulled her close.

“Actually,” she murmured, “a spot of tea would be… lovely.”

Comments

[juliet316]

Very interesting and lovely. :-D

[dragonbat2006]

Thanks! Glad you liked!

[rileyc]

Proof that the unexpected can turn out to be something wonderful, both the way these two discover each other, and the reader as they savor this.

Lovely job. Thanks for the treat of something I didn't know I wanted. :)

[dragonbat2006]

Aww, thanks so much! I'm glad it hit a chord with you. :)