Chapter 3: Millionaire's Return

Gotham looked strangely different to Bruce, despite him being gone only a few years. The towering skyscrapers and medieval architecture that had been there for years appeared entirely new. Above the tops of the buildings were swirls of charcoal-colored clouds building beneath a purple-tinted sky. He had long since forgotten the endless thunderstorms that blanketed Gotham City. Even the smell was unfamiliar. Sewage, smoke, and gasoline flooded back into his nostrils, causing him to cringe.

"Something the matter, Master Bruce?" Alfred inquired from the driver's seat of the Rolls Royce.

"I'm beginning to realize how long it's been."

"I understand. It must be a shock to the senses, being thrust into the chaos of civilization again."

"The solitude was nice, but I did miss seeing familiar faces."

Alfred gave him a knowing smirk in the rearview mirror. "Such as one Miss Selina Kyle?"

Bruce dawned a sad smile. "Four years seemed like a lifetime without her. Even when we started dating, she was my best friend. It's been difficult not to have her there to remind me to live a little more. I missed her teasing." He sighed as he shook his head. "I haven't been able to reach her in a while. What if she doesn't want to see me again?"

"I sincerely doubt that, Sir. The last time I saw Miss Kyle was roughly two months ago. She told me she was working for a wildlife conservation organization. She fundraises for their charities and oversees the majority of their projects."

"You're kidding?! Selina—a former thief with anti-establishment views—is working for a charity?!" he asked incredulously.

"Indeed."

"The same Selina Kyle I grew up with, correct?"

"Is there another I don't know about, Sir?"

Bruce shook his head. "I have been gone a while."

"Not much else has changed," Alfred continued. "She still lives in the old shirt factory. She recently had it renovated."

Bruce laughed fondly, remembering the brick building he often visited as a teen.

The city demolished the abandoned hotel Selina had been using as a shelter and she was forced back onto the streets. She had been in and out of the manor for months before Bruce found out. He knew she wanted her independence, so he started searching for an affordable apartment. Instead, he found the abandoned Mercy Street shirt factory. He bought the complex, had it thoroughly treated, and converted the main workshop into a gymnastics studio for her.

When she was a child, Selina used to leave her family's apartment when her parents started arguing and broke into the gymnastics studio in the Amusement Mile several blocks away. It served as a playground for her to get away and Bruce knew she would appreciate having one in her home. The rooftop storage area of the factory was made into a liveable studio apartment with a kitchen, bathroom, and small patio. He could still remember the day he surprised her...

~7 YEARS PRIOR~

"Where the hell are we going?" Selina asked, making Bruce grin playfully.

"It's a surprise."

"I hate surprises," she groaned.

Bruce rolled his eyes as he stared out the back window of the car. It was late afternoon and they had just been released from school at Gotham Academy. Bruce was still amazed that he convinced Selina to go to the city's most elite prep school, considering she despised the wealthy and their children. She was not well-liked either. She was mocked endlessly by the other students and a few of the teachers as well. She never came to class on time and refused to do homework unless Bruce pressured her. The biggest shock was when she threw out the white socks and dress shoes that came with her school uniform and showed up to class in ripped black tights and leather boots. She received notices from the principal until she was finally put in detention and was instructed to change her clothes. She refused, knowing full well they couldn't expel her as long as she was attending as an "honorary member" of the Wayne family. She was as unashamed at school as she was in life, and it was one of the many things Bruce had learned to accept and admire about her.

The car gently rolled to a stop at the end of a shadowed alley between two brick buildings. Bruce stepped out and held the door open for her. She peered around the deserted streets warily.

"Did you bring me out here to kill me, B?" she asked.

He chuckled. "No, I promise. Besides, Alfred is right here."

"Are you kidding me? He'd be in on it!"

The two shared a laugh and began walking down the alley toward the fire escape stairs on the rightmost building. Selina's eyes wandered over its aged exterior when they suddenly landed on a line of white text that had nearly peeled away.

"Bruhn and Co. Shirts?" she wondered aloud as they climbed the steps. "Why are we here?"

"You'll see."

Before long, they reached the roof of the building. A smaller brick building with floor-to-ceiling windows stood amongst corroded steam vents and abandoned clotheslines. They circled to the other side of the structure, where a pair of sliding steel doors awaited them. Indulging in her dubious look, Bruce pulled them open and ushered her inside. A small entrance led into one large creme-colored room with concrete floors and floor-to-ceiling windows. Tucked behind them to the right was a small bathroom and on the left was a kitchenette with iron cabinets.

Selina gave Bruce a questioning look. "What is this place?"

Bruce smiled affectionately as he reached into his coat pocket and fished out a brass key. "It's home. Well, yours anyway."

Her eyes widened as he placed the key in the palm of her hand.

"I know you were kicked out of the old hotel, so I wanted to help you find a place that was a little better. It's pretty empty on this side of town, so you'll have lots of privacy."

Before she could say another word, he walked to the kitchen counter and grabbed an envelope resting on the countertop.

"I want you to have a permanent place to stay," he continued. "I understand things have been difficult for you lately. As your friend, I can't stand by while you live on the streets. If you won't stay at the manor with me, then I had to find the next best thing."

He passed her the envelope, which she took with shaking hands and ripped open. Inside was a stack of gift cards for supermarkets, furniture and appliance stores, and a few of the highest-priced clothing shops in town.

"I hope that will be enough to get you started."

Selina's lip trembled as her eyes brimmed with tears, but she quickly blinked them away and scrunched her nose in frustration. "Let's get something straight...I am not some charity case who needs your help. I don't want your pity and I damn well don't want your money! If I want something, I can get it myself through my own means. I don't want handouts, especially from sheltered rich boys who think they know how I should live my life!"

Bruce didn't say a word. He expected her to be angry. Selina was vexingly self-sufficient. She hated to rely on others because she never had to before and was convinced she could do everything alone. He couldn't blame her. He was the same way—too proud and stubborn to admit when he needed help.

A long moment of tense silence passed between them. Bruce diverted his attention to the living room wall, not wanting to feel her fiery gaze upon him. Selina glared at him for a few seconds before dropping the envelope on the floor.

"I hate you sometimes..."

She grabbed the back of his neck and turned his head to kiss his cheek before she shouldered past him and left the room. He smirked to himself.

"I know."

~THE PRESENT~

"I haven't seen her as of late," Alfred continued, "but it might please you to know...she still wears your mother's ring. I'm not a gambling man, but I'd wager all the money I've saved these past twenty years that she's anxiously awaiting your return."

Bruce smiled slightly and returned to looking out the window. He wished more than anything that Selina still loved him or as much as she was able to love anyone. He had always known how he felt about her since they were children, and he pictured her beside him, whatever his future entailed. His immediate plan was to reunite with Selina, start his father's company on the path to success, and use his newly acquired skills to shut down Gotham's criminal underworld permanently.

"Master Bruce, we're approaching the off-ramp at Pioneer's Bridge. Shall I drive you to her apartment?"

"I'm not sure, Al," Bruce mumbled uncertainly. "I promised that I would stay in touch, but I couldn't once I started heading out into remote areas. It's wrong for me to show up at her door and expect her to understand or to forgive me."

"If I may, Sir...nothing ventured is nothing gained. The only way to know for certain is to see her. The route to the Industrial District is the next right. You have thirty seconds to decide."

Bruce thoughtfully weighed his options. If he didn't go to see her and she found out he returned through the press or other sources, she would be livid. After years of silence, she might believe he was purposely avoiding her. If he did go, there was a chance he could earn her forgiveness. However, he could also arrive and find that she was with someone else or that she would be unable to forgive him for leaving.

Ultimately, Alfred was right. There was only one way to find out.

"Take the right."

...

Alfred parked the car in front of the factory, still as aged as it had been years ago. Bruce instructed Alfred to wait for him in case the reunion ended poorly. He made his way down the quiet alley to the metal stairs, his heart racing and his head whirling. With each step he practiced the calming mental exercises he learned overseas, but to little avail. Selina had the ability to tear down his defenses even when she wasn't there.

Bruce finally emerged onto the rooftop and weaved his way between the pipes and vents. Just ahead stood the small brick attic he had visited many times in his youth. Selina had certainly improved it since he left. The worn bricks had been painted a pale gray. Ivy vines with small white flowers curled around each corner of the building and along the edges of the iron windows. The platform under the double side doors had been rebuilt into a back patio with potted plants and a woven hammock hung from the old laundry lines. Bruce couldn't help but smile at how she made it her own and finally had the money to do so. It seemed like she had grown so much without him, which raised his anxiety even more.

As he approached the front door, he swallowed the lump in his throat. "Just do it," he urged himself. He rapped his knuckles against the metal door and waited anxiously for her to answer.

...

Selina lay on the mauve velvet sofa in her living room and swiped her finger across the screen of her iPad as she read the Gotham Gazette. She didn't understand why she read the news. They always delivered the same reports. "Home burglary on the rise" or "Mafia strikes again." Having abandoned her criminal lifestyle years earlier, she felt she was free to pass judgment on the common criminal filth.

Suddenly, a knock at the door seized her attention. Three stray cats lounging on her bed meowed loudly, urging her to answer.

"Alright! I'm going!" she said reluctantly. She quickly readjusted her black silk robe and walked toward the entrance.

"You know, I could have sworn this was private property," she stated bitterly as she shoved the doors open. A tall, handsome, broad-shouldered man in a black wool trenchcoat was waiting for her. When her eyes settled on his face, reality struck her hard in the heart. A flood of emotions rushed through her as she recognized the face of the only person she had ever truly loved.

"Hello, Selina," he greeted nervously.

They stood in silence, each absorbing the other's appearance. Bruce watched helplessly as her expression changed from shock and immense relief to confusion and mounting anger. Abruptly, the back of her hand connected with the softness of his cheek in a sharp smack. He had seen the slap coming, but he knew it was deserved.

"How dare you!" she shouted, her mind running wild with a cocktail of emotions. "You leave me on Christmas Day, then drop off the radar for four years, and all you can say is "Hello Selina"?!"

Bruce rubbed his stinging cheek and grimaced at his stupidity. "It's good to see you too, 'Lina."

She huffed in annoyance and stormed back inside with Bruce following tentatively behind. As she took off around the corner and paced in the kitchen, Bruce peered at the inside of the apartment. The once-empty beige walls had been repainted a deep gray and covered in pieces of beautiful artwork.

"Probably stolen," Bruce thought to himself.

Royal purple drapes hung around the large rounded windows and a faux sheepskin rug blanketed the black wood floor of the living room. Where there was once a modest mattress laying in the corner of the room now stood a king-size tufted bed. On the duvet sat three stray cats, who silently jumped off one by one to avoid the commotion.

"So what exactly was your grand plan, Bruce? That you'd show up on my door and I would jump into your arms like some hopeless bimbo from a romance novel? That seeing your face after all this time would somehow make me forget that you ghosted me for three out of the four years you were gone?" she lectured as she made her way back into the living room.

Bruce sighed and carefully searched his words. "No, I didn't. Alfred was the one who suggested I come here."

"Oh, so you weren't planning to see me. You were just going to hide like a child."

"Of course not," he replied, his tone serious. "I did want to see you. I just didn't know if you wanted to see me after I stopped calling. I spent most of my trip in areas where there wasn't even a post office, let alone a cell signal. By the time I arrived in the next major city, I was on my way home. I never forgot about you."

She turned to face him, exasperated. "Last time I checked, you can get a cell signal at the airport. You could have called me then...at least let me know you were still alive. But that wasn't it, was it?"

Bruce sighed. "I'll admit...maybe a part of me was afraid you had moved on. I know how much you value your independence. Our relationship was never set in stone. When I left...I allowed myself to believe that you would walk away if you felt you could do better without me."

She uncrossed her arms and sauntered over to him, her expression knowing yet exhausted.

"Do you remember what I used to tell you when we were kids?"

He remained resolved as her lips moved only a breath away.

"Never assume anything about me."

She seized the torso of his coat and kissed him urgently, nearly ripping the garment from his shoulders before tossing it to the floor. Acting instantly, Bruce lifted her into his arms and laid her gently on the bed. Just as he began to untie her robe, something landed on his back and moved along his spine.

"What the hell?!" he shouted, moving off of Selina. Leaping onto the foot of the bed was a black Siamese cat with large yellow eyes, glaring at him as if he was a demon spawn.

"Isis, he's fine!" Selina moaned, pushing the cat away. The feline vaulted off the bed but continued to look back at Bruce with menacing eyes, hissing on her way out.

"Charming," Bruce stated sarcastically.

"Yeah, I don't think she likes you very much," Selina joked.

"I noticed."

"Well, it's okay...she didn't need to be here for this anyway," Selina whispered seductively in his ear before biting down on his lobe. Bruce smirked and re-positioned himself as he kissed down her neck. Selina pulled open the last button on his shirt and slid it off of his arms, eyeing his sculpted chest and arms with surprise and pleasure.

Bruce leaned in to kiss her once again but stopped short." Alfred is still waiting outside."

"Call him and tell him you're staying the night."

"Anxious, are we?"

"Bruce Wayne, I've wasted four years of my life waiting for your sorry ass to come home. It's about time my patience was rewarded."

He chuckled as he retrieved his phone from his coat. "Alfred...change of plans. I'm staying over. Pick me up tomorrow morning."

"Very well, Sir. Send Miss Kyle my regards." Alfred said as he hung up the phone.