❛ I SHALL BECOME A BAT.

“i don’t like him,  though.”   bear grylls.   she decides to ramble on in a feeble attempt at taking their minds off just how dreadful of a situation they’ve found themselves in.   “i think he’s an idiot.   survivalists are all freaks.   who in their right mind heads out into the jungle,  showers in creeks,  sleeps under a rock and kills wild animals for lunch when they could just stay home and go to a mcdonald’s?”   camping is a different thing.   camping can be fun when done properly.   but people like bear grylls take everything to the extremes.   she tilts her head up to look at the sky above as bruce tells her about navigating the stars,  trying to see something through the clouds and thick tree crowns.   “so that’s what people did before iphones and maps.   that’s kinda fascinating.”   for nerds like him,  of course.   she might be a little impressed by his knowledge,  but won’t openly say it.   so he doesn’t get too arrogant.   “do you also know the names of the stars you’re looking at?”   she wonders,  rubbing the back of her neck as she looks at him.   briefly,  afraid her face might be saying things her mouth refuses to.   “do you think alfred is looking for you?”   she hopes so.   her feet hurt,  her thighs burn,  and she’s hungry,  but before she can complain about any of these things,  she hears something move in the bushes.   her heart skips a beat,  and not in a nice way.   not like it does when bruce slips his hand into hers or does something nice for her.   a shiver races up her spine.   “hm?   no.   it’s only in your head or maybe a squirrel,”   she says,  trying to convince herself that she hasn’t heard anything.   but it’s clear they both did.   her hand finds his,  squeezing gently,  even though she’s looking in the opposite direction.

“there wouldn't be any shame in it even if you did.” soft spoken voice reassures, “maybe it's slightly nonsensical, but still. it's neat knowledge to acquire.” look at them, they could use some of the knowledge quite frankly so bruce wasn't debunking their desires to survive for whatever reason intrigued them so much. “yes. isn't it.” he agrees, intrigued selina even tells him it in the first place.

❝   yeah,  no…  we  never  really  discussed  that,  but  i  think  that’s  because  we  didn’t  actually  have  to.  it  just  naturally  came  to  us,  this  mutual,  silent  agreement  that  we  wouldn’t…  you  know.   ❞   have  children  of  their  own.  and  this  decision  has  never  felt  like  a  sacrifice  of  some  sort,  at  least  not  to  selina.  she  has  never  experienced  any  kind  of  internal  struggle  or  felt  like  maybe  she’s  missing  out  on  something  because  she’s  not  changing  diapers.  if  anything,  she’s  been  at  peace  and  considered  it  a  relief  to  know  that  both  she  and  bruce  are  on  the  same  page  when  it  comes  to  how  they  envision  the  future  of  their  family.  which  is  yet  one  more  reason  why  the  situation  that  they’re  in  right  now  terrifies  her  so  much.  it  feels  like  the  rug  of  stability  and  comfort  has  been  pulled  out  from  under  her  feet.   ❝   what  do  you  mean,  bruce?  it’s  like  an  atomic  bomb  exploding  in  your  backyard,   ❞   she  muses,  brows  slightly  furrowed  but  in  confusion  rather  than  annoyance.  she’s  not  trying  to  argue  with  the  other,  just  hoping  to  understand  his  way  of  thinking  better.  how  come  news  like  that  wouldn’t  have  ruined  his  morning?  it  makes  her  wonder  if  the  thought  of  starting  a  family  with  her  has  crossed  his  mind  before,  if  he’s  tried  to  imagine  them  with  a  kid  or  two  in  some  alternative  universe  where  they  were  just  ordinary  people  with  ordinary  jobs.    

“same way i know about obama.   i don’t live under a rock and we do have TVs in the narrows.”   contrary to what a rich kid like yourself might think,  she’s tempted to add but decides against it,  figuring her facial expression speaks loud enough.   “and i don’t actually have to watch or like the show to know who bear grylls is.”   she rolls her eyes,  not willing to admit she may have seen an episode or two and been quite fascinated by that man’s survival skills.   “even if we did see the stars,  how would you navigate them?   were you a corsair in the past life or something?”   call her pragmatic,  but stars all look the same to her.   she absently kicks a rock farther down the trail,  pulling the flaps of her jacket tighter around her body.   “maybe we should just stay here?   if we knew how to start a fire,  someone would see it and come rescue us?”   under any other circumstances,  she’d be against asking or hoping for help,  but they seem to be running out of options here.   “that’s it.   that’s my best idea,”   she sighs,  walking a little closer to bruce as the air around them grows colder.

“oh, i see.” feeling embarrassed for underestimating her, his cheeks pale into rosiness. “that makes sense.” the dark haired boy admits, he was always taught to never give in to his pride for long. that's what makes a man a better man, in the words of his father. “no, but maybe my father was since he was good at it. if only we could get a clearer view, though.” attention focused on the sky, of course he flinches when he hears the rock hit, “it's simple, selina. you observe which direction the star has moved– if it has descended, then that means you are facing west. and if it has ascended, you are facing east. if the star has moved to the left, you are facing north and if it has moved to the right, you are facing south. and of course i know what direction we came from.” but it's the canopy of tree branches and the partly cloudy sky making it hard to decipher. something else shuffles and it wasn't a rock this time selina's thrown, he's paying attention this time. gaze moving on her side profile, hoping he's merely paranoid, “did you hear that?”