#shepurrs

he thinks that is the beating of his heart that's pounding in his ears. the tip of her whip scratches at his skin, circling around his bicep and hanging from something-he-can't-see on the wall. eyes, a darkening blue as pupils widen, stare at the figure over him - they won't dare move, not to even check how well she has him bound. selina must love power plays.

her knees straddle his chest as he lies flat on the bed. " you're killing me. " he mutters, and she laughs, finally sliding the rest of her clothing off of her body and onto the floor. selina runs her fingers through his curls - coffee-brown and starch white, with little greys peppering both. his teeth clench when he feels the bite, her hand now a fist, yanking at the strands until his head is promptly pushed back, chin raised. you look so pretty like this.

𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐥  𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞  𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐬

“   I   think   the   room   is   bugged.   ”

“   . . . 𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍’   𝐘𝐎𝐔   𝐍𝐎𝐖  ,   the   answer   is   probably   gonna   be   a no  ,   but   you   can   go   ahead   and   give   it   your   best   shot   .   ”      he’s   crouched   ,   half   -   hidden   in   the   shadows   ,   perched   upon   a   rooftop   watching   as   the   city   breathes   and   hisses   beneath   them.   always   on   guard   —   𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿   𝗮𝘁   𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁.   james   watches   her   for   a   moment   ;   he   doubted   the   leather   catsuit    (   literally   ,   a   catsuit   )   provided   much   protection   ,   though   she   seemed   agile   enough   to   avoid   contact   altogether.   he   took   note   of   the   claws   ,   sharp   as   a   razor’s   edge   (   𝙿𝙾𝚂𝚂𝙸𝙱𝙻𝚈   𝚆𝙾𝚁𝚂𝙴   )   and   though   he   couldn’t   visibly   pinpoint   any   other   weapons   ,   he   didn’t   doubt   she   had   tricks   up   her   sleeve.

the   unassuming   were   always   the   most   dangerous,   but   she   might   as   well   have   had   ‘ dangerous ’   written   across   her   forehead.   𝐀𝐍𝐃   𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓   𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃   𝐒𝐇𝐄   𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐘   𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓   𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌   𝐇𝐈𝐌   ?

Alex’s sidearm, loaded in anticipation of an ambush ( a sudden volley, a toxic flash bang; anything classically Gotham, in lieu of the unsettling quiet ), found its way into her grasp before she’d fully registered the eerily sonorant drain - drip of rain, the scuffle of rats in the gutter — or the startling clip of feet finding an unmistakably feline footing against the wet alleyway concrete behind her.

Relief, in part partnered with a frisson of unfading distrust in the cityscape towering above, laced the bluster of Alex's breath.

" —— Some warning would have been nice before you just dropped in. "

" there's no point in that, selina. " head bowed, shame on controllable features. downcast eyes and worried brow and downturned lips, harvey cannot face anymore. he cannot face himself. doesn't she know he's tried. doesn't she know bruce has pulled him from the edges of gotham's rooftops underneath many different shades of the moon?

there are no medicines that can cure his pain, not when it is he who is the cause. harvey is destroying harvey, a heart that eats itself, hands that choke out the oxygen when he sees what hurt he causes others. maybe that is why he still sulks in the dark corners of his favorite bar. the air is thick and stale, the booze is always flowing. he drinks into a stupor just to forgive himself.