7549/Loaded Gifts For Loaded People.

Loaded Gifts For Loaded People.
Date of Scene:	26 August 2021
Location:	Grand Hall - Wayne Manor
Synopsis:	Selina impulsively brings Bruce a gift that carries more emotional weight than she'd intended. Feelings are stirred, but secrets are held on to.
Cast of Characters:	Selina Kyle, Bruce Wayne

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Selina Kyle has posed:
    Technically Bruce Wayne should know that Selina Kyle is coming. Though, because it's Selina, she didn't ask, so much as she announced that she was coming, and didn't really say why. It's one of those things that's probably been consistent for most of his adult life. But in fairness, Batman doesn't tend to give Catwoman a lot of head's up. Maybe familiarity is comforting?

    Regardless, a short time later Selina pulls up to Wayne Manor in a royal purple sports car - one of the few major eccentricities she allows her civilian guise - and steps out wearing a cropped black jacket over a dark red shirt and jeans; closed high heeled boots, and a small sampling of pretty, tasteful, and clearly expensive jewelry about her wrist and neck. As ever, she looks immaculate.

    She marches up to the door and rather daintily rings the door bell, holding a wrapped package under her left arm.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
Alfred diligently answers the door, offering Selina a familiar smile that doesn't bely any of his knowledge of her activities beyond her civilian identity The Grand Hall is, as always, immaculate and spotless with a large oil painting of the Wayne Family (featuring a seven-year-old Bruce) dominating the cavernous space.

He leads her through a door that leads to the gallery, lined with ancient tapestries acquired by various and sundry Wayne ancestors along with more oil paintings and cultural artefacts not currently out on loan to museums. The path ends in the library, two floors and a mezzanine of bookshelves with richly appointed wooden furniture.

Bruce, his arm in a sling, glances up from the WayneTech laptop on the desk. His features break into an easy smile: "Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in."

Selina Kyle has posed:
    "Alfred~" Selina greets the old man with a smile, having become somewhat endeared to the mansion and its occupants, even if she's not a frequent guest. Though, outside of parties at the manor, she may ACTUALLY be its most common non-family guest. She kisses the air beside his cheek with a soft 'Mwa", saying "Great to see you." and follows him inside.

    The painting never ceases to catch the eye. It has a weird way of dominating the room in a way that's hard to articulate, drawing Selina's eyes until she walks out of range of it. The rest, she doesn't pay much mind to. While her... fondness for art has given her an appreciation for history; legacies don't hold an incredible amount of weight for her most days.

    Selina gives a gratious nod to Alfred and steps inside, visibly a bit taken aback as she sees the state of Bruce - though it doesn't seem to have done anything to disrupt his sunny disposition. Selina smirks and replies, "Be nice to Alfred. He works hard." She says, knowing full well who his target was.

    She does an expert job of disguising the reflexive 'heart stop' moment that comes with being addressed with the word 'cat' in civilian guise.

    "This a bad time? I can take a lap around the house if you need an extra momth to recover." She teases as she approaches, though she does express a bit of proper concern as she looks down at the arm and asks, "What happened?"

Bruce Wayne has posed:
"Skiing at Las Lenas," Bruce answers, a sheepish grin on his face as he glances down at his bandaged arm, "I took a tumble and got the biting end of a tree branch. The Doctor says it should be all good in a few weeks. Bit of a shame, honestly. I had to cut the vacation short and I'm going to miss out on eighteen holes at Augusta next week."

Before his eyes he sees the true circumstances of his injury. A smoke-filled corridor, angry shouting in Russian, a steel-jacketed rifle round flying out of the darkness to catch him in his shoulder with a pained grunt. Then, just as quickly, he is back in the present.

"I'm fine. Just checking my e-mail. Let it build up a bit, I'm afraid."

Selina Kyle has posed:
    Selina winces sympathetically as she hears Bruce's fabricated story, though she can't contain a bit of a wry look at his golf lamentations. "I weep for those evergreen fields." She says dryly, then grins as she just goes ahead and takes a seat on the side of his desk, putting her back to his monitor, and her right side to Bruce. "You're so clumsy." She says with a merry sigh. "Good news though! I have something to brighten your day~"

    Selina grabs the gift from under her arm and holds it out to Bruce with a smile, and a cheerful "Merry Christmas~"

Bruce Wayne has posed:
"You should weep for me. Now I don't have an excuse to miss the Gotham City Bank AGM next Wednesday. Talk about a snooze."

Bruce opens his mouth to say something when the gift is presented and regards it curiously for a moment. This is a genuine surprise for him, as he'd hardly expected her to bring him a gift. He knew she was visiting but didn't quite know why until now. He nevertheless takes it graciously, shifting the laptop and setting it on the desk in front of him.

"Christmas? What's the real occasion?"

Selina Kyle has posed:
    Selina idly kicks her legs a little as she looks away and smiles wistfully, "The stars aligned, and I was feeling thoughtful when an opportunity came by." Selina tilts her head back thoughtfully and adds, "Plus, I know three... maybe four halfway decent guys in this city? And I feel like I should encourage these things. Also you're the only one with both a phone number, and no day-job! So..." Selina looks to Bruce again, smiling mischeviously, but fondly, "... you win the jackpot~!"

Bruce Wayne has posed:
"I'm only halfway decent because I'm boring," Bruce says with a chuckle, "I read the gossip columns. Gotham's most disappointingly shallow bachelor."

He doesn?t say it like it hurts him, but rather like he finds it to be very amusing. He almost laughs, though that's not quite his style. He looks down at the gift for a moment and then begins to unwrap it, not tearing but rather carefully separating tape from paper so he can unfold it.

The smile on his face fades after a moment, eyes briefly widen, and his voice becomes hushed as he sees the contents: "Oh ... Selina."

Selina Kyle has posed:
    Selina smiles bemusedly and shrugs, "Eh, I've seen worse. You've got your moments~" As she watches Bruce unwrap the gift, she begins to squint with increasing - but exaggerated - exasperation at his careful pace. "Oh my god, you're one of those...!" she laments playfully, but doesn't interfere.

    The gift is, of course, the memoirs of Simon Trent, the actor who portrayed the eponymous Grey Ghost, signed with his name and the personalization 'For keeping the spirit alive.' Selina seems a little surprised at his reaction, but keeps upbeat, "Hope it's not too childish. When Bruce Wayne geeks out about something, it kinda sticks in your mind."

It may have even been only one conversation, but when it came up, the both of them expressed as surprising amount of nostalgia - even full blown fandom - for the Grey Ghost. Selina probably wasn't quite on Bruce's level on the subject, but...!"

Bruce Wayne has posed:
"I used to watch the show when I was a kid. The Spring it came out I was obsessed. It was like someone had distilled everything I liked in the movies - Tyrone Power, Guy Williams - and put him right here in Gotham. I was ... mesmerized."

Once more his past flashes before his eyes. This time he's eight years old, dressed in suit and tie. He's kneeling in the study in front of the television watching the Gray Ghost and Madame Minx. His mouth slightly agape. Behind him, his mother's shadow fills the door.

"Bruce -come on, we'll be late for the movie ..."

"Just a minute, mom."

Once more he returns to reality, opening the book and running his fingers over the inscription.

"Thank you. This is very thoughtful."

Selina Kyle has posed:
    Selina isn't privy to the exact association she's sparked in Bruce, but she's at least emotionally intelligent enough to know that his reaction isn't purely positive. She was only five when the Wayne family was slain, but even she had an impression of how thoroughly shook Gotham was when it happened. Sooner or later she may put that and the show's release year together and kick herself.

    For now, though, her expression and her voice become a bit gentler as she slips off of the table and turns towards Bruce, saying "Glad you like it." and kissing him once on the cheek. "I should probably run before Alfred offers me dinner or something." She says, in jest. She's a busy lady after all. She kisses her fingers, and *very* gently presses them to the least wounded part of Bruce's arm and says "Feel better, okay?"

    Man she's bossy.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
"Selina - "

Bruce opens his mouth to say something. He hears it perfectly in his head. He asks her to stay. She agrees, though she casually dismisses any deeper meaning. They eat dinner. Afterwards, he leads her to the study and tells her he has to show her something. The old grandfather clock, set to 10:47, swings aside to reveal a dark passageway. Stairs. Cold stone. Down, down, down. To the Batcave. It was him. Him all along. And he knew it was her, too.

If only.

He gives her a slight smile and rises from the desk: "Drive safe, okay? I'll see you out."