Chapter Text
If someone would have told Selina Kyle she had a thing for strays, she would have reluctantly agreed with them. If that someone had said the stray she would hold most dear would be of a more human-like quality, she would have scoffed in disbelief and pick-pocketed them. She had always made sure that her affection was saved solely for her cats and the strays that littered the alleys and streets of Gotham. She fed them, made sure they received the shots they needed, took them to the vet, abused their abusers, the works. But now she was going to do the same thing, but with a human? Unthinkable.
=-=
Yet here she was, perched in a shadow on one of the fire escapes in Crime Alley watching a little boy try to steal the tires off of the Batmobile. Selina would have normally laughed at the situation, at how she wished she could see Bruce's face if he was watching this attempt at theft, but as she kept looking at the kid she found she didn't have the heart for jokes. The poor thing's fingers were shaking from the chill in the night air. He kept looking over his shoulders what seemed every five seconds as if he knew someone was observing him. At least he has good instincts, Selina thought, cocking her head to the side as she continued to stare.
She saw that the clothing the young boy was wearing thin, the red hoodie was covered in the Alley's grime and the jeans and sneakers had holes in them. He's going to get cold like that. Even though the clothing was slightly bulky, she saw how it hung off the kids frame as he was bent over trying to get the passenger's side front tire off. If she bet money, which she didn't because who could in this economy, she would have bet the knobs of the kids spine would show. Malnourished.
The kid suddenly let out a small, quiet yelp, immediately sticking a finger that he must have pinched in his mouth. The tire iron hit the ground with a loud clanking sound, echoing off the Alley walls. The boy paused, finger still in his mouth, whole body going motionless as he listened to see if anyone had heard the sound and came to investigate. Selina found herself holding her breath with him, waiting to see what happened. After a long minute of the both of them staying absolutely still, the boy leaned over and picked up the iron, getting back to work on the tire. Selina smirked at his tenaciousness. The kid has a job to do and he is dead set on doing it.
She looked on for a little while longer until she began to grow bored with the whole thing. Pretty soon, Batman was going to come back for his car and she did not want to be here when that happened. He had probably already heard about her breaking into the Crowne estate and stealing away with some of their more…precious trinkets. She stood up from her position, stretching to relieve the aches the cold gave her joints, and turned to make her way to climb further up the fire escape, but something inside of her told her to turn around. She glanced over her shoulder to where the boy was still kneeled near the Batmobile. His hood had fallen off and Selina saw his black, too-long wavy hair, the kid kept brushing it out of his eyes. Hands are still shaking, a voice said. She turned away again and glanced up at the smog-covered night sky through the steps of the metal stairs. "Fuck, what are you doing, Kyle," she muttered to herself.
Selina abruptly turned and carefully made her way down from her hiding spot, footfalls silent unless one had superhearing. She flipped over the last railing near the drop ladder and landed noiselessly on the ground below in a crouch. She looked towards the car, trying to see if the boy had heard her. The air in front of her clouded as she forced her breath to come out evenly. She didn't hear anything in the quiet Alley other than the muttered curses from the child as he continued his struggle to get the tire off the car.
Selina stood and stalked over until she was behind the boy. He hadn't heard her approach, continuing his struggle with the tire. He must be feeling safer now that no one has come, his head isn't on a swivel anymore. "That's dangerous out here, ya know. Letting your guard down," she said.
The boy didn't wait, he swung around with the tire iron, aiming for her lower abdomen. She deflected it with her right hand and danced back, a smile twitching onto her face. He is a fiery one. I like him already. Any kid that decided to steal the tires off of the Batmobile and then attack anyone who came up to him with no hesitation? Selina had to color herself impressed. He took a few more swings at her while she slid out of the way, maneuvering them so they were no longer near the car. The boy stopped, breath puffing out of him. blue eyes wild and searching the space around them.
"Get away from me," he said, voice working through a tremble.
Selina cocked her head at the words, eyeing him down as the tremble went from his voice to his body. His arms shook a little more, becoming more evident when the tire iron that was pointed at her also began to shake. Poor thing. The thought crossed her mind before she could think better of it. Curse her and her stupid sentimentality for strays and the creatures that looked like they had taken one too many beatings from the world.
The more she thought about it though, she was sure she cut a more intimidating figure to the child than she had initially thought. She was in her black catsuit, her mask was on, concealing everything but her eyes and mouth, and she had her clawed gloves and boots on. Not exactly someone a kid would trust or want to talk to.
She had to go about this carefully.
She raised both of her hands placatingly. "Look, kid, I'm not going to hurt you," she said, aiming for the calming tone she used to get scared kittens to come to her. "But I'm going to need you to put that thing down before you hurt yourself."
Her words only seemed to harden the boys resolve. "The only one who is going to get hurt is you!" he shouted at her.
She waited until the sound of the boy's yell stopped ricocheting off the walls around them. She had to give it to him, he had guts. Giving him a small smile she asked, "You and I both know whose car that is and you're the one stealing its tires. Who do you actually think is going to be the one in trouble here?"
Her question had the kid stumbling for a response. "I, um, I, you don't…" he trailed off, seemingly not coming up with the words. The tire iron lowered a little bit.
Selina chanced a step closer. The boy raised the iron back up, aimed at her chest. How do I go about this? she internally groaned. Her experience with humans was limited to her mainly stealing from them. This, kids, were unknown territory. She sighed heavily, lowering her gloved hands. "If I were you, I'd get the hell out of here before that tire's owner comes back. He doesn't leave his toys for long. Especially not here."
The kid chanced a glance back to where the front passenger tire was hanging on by two lug nuts and then back at her again. The iron lowered a fraction again. "But I need…," the kid began, but once again trailed off, lost in his own thoughts.
He probably needs the money. Selina's ice-filled heart broke. She'd seen too many people suffer at the hands of cruel fate in Gotham. And maybe, maybe she could help this one escape it. I'm getting soft. And Selina would be lying to herself if a part of her wasn't just dying to mess with the Batman. Oh just to see Bruce's face.
"What do you say to me helping you get those tires off more quickly?" she asked, aiming to get the atmosphere light and playful.
As she knew he would, the kid responded stubbornly, "I don't need help."
Selina cocked an eyebrow at him. "It has taken you over thirty minutes to not even fully remove one of those tires."
"It wasn't that long," he mumbled, hitting the toe of his shoe on the pavement, the iron dropping down as he looked to the side sulkily.
Selina took advantage of the boy's distraction and snatched the tire iron out of the boy's hands, prancing towards the car, waving it in the air tauntingly. Predictably the boy followed her, reaching up trying to get the tool back. She dropped down near the tire he had been working on. "C'mon, kitty cat, I'll show you how it's done," she said, grinning, "This way you'll be able to take all the tires you want without ever getting caught."
A small smile began to form on the boy's face, but then was forcibly shoved down when Selina's own grin widened at the sight of it. The boy turned away and didn't say anything, just stared at the tire. Guess he's just waiting for me to begin. All warm and fuzzy like. This is why I don't do human kids. "Alright so you were good when you jacked the car up, but when you get to getting the lug nuts off…"
Selina had never had a more attentive student. The boy watched closely as they made their way around the car, asking relevant questions here and there. Selina showed him the quick way on the two remaining tires and had him use what he'd learned to get off the fourth. It only took him eight minutes and the tire was off. The boy looked down at his prize, surprise etched on his face. "Holy shit, I did it!"
The exclamation had Selina smiling again. He picks things up fast. She shoved his shoulder lightly, "See? You're a natural."
"Yeah," the boy said, the small smile crawling its way back onto his face.
They both sat like that, smiling down at their handiwork, before the silence began to stretch into something bordering on awkward. Shit, what do I do now? "Uh, so, um," Selina started, but began to grow pissed at how she couldn't figure out how to even talk to a fucking child. "Uh, do you have somewhere to stash these or someone who you can give them to right now?" she finished.
The boy's smile vanished again, out like a light. Back to business. "I have someone who will take them," he paused, as if deciding if Selina was someone he could trust with more information, "But he can't take them until the day after tomorrow."
Well shit. Selina was hoping he wouldn't say that. She looked around the alley, trying to see what she had to work with. Hiding things away was her specialty. Her eyes caught on a few dumpsters further down from them. Not my favorite, but guess that'll have to do. "We can put them in there," she gestured at the bins with her head, "Put the trash that's already in there over top of them and no one will be the wiser."
The boy nodded silently, face carefully blank. They both got up and began the process of rolling the tires and taking the kid's other tools to the dumpsters. Selina watched the boy struggle trying to lift one of them before she took mercy on him and hoisted the tires in the bin herself. She smirked at the indignant expression the boy had on. Without thinking she reached down and pinched his upper arms through this oversized sweatshirt, making the boy giggle and swat her hands away. "You gotta start eating more if you're going to start stealing tires, kid," she said.
Her heart warmed at the laugh. The kid reminded her so much of herself and yet nothing at all like she'd been at his age. She wanted to know where the boy came from, if he had anyone to go home to, whether he was safe. He's a stray in need of a home, a voice said.
The boy looked away from her, towards the Alley entrance as he bent down and picked up the iron again. Selina knew that her comment was insensitive, but she couldn't help her curiosity. I really am getting soft. She looked around at the Alley, thankfully silent and devoid of a certain someone still. Now or never, Kyle. "Do you have somewhere you can go to?" Selina asked, a part of her reluctantly hoping that there was at least a roof this kid could go to for the night. Don't say no, don't say no, don't say no.
The kid's blue eyes were back on her again, glaring, and said in a peevish voice, "It's none of your business."
No it really isn't, yet here I am, she thought, exasperated with herself. "I just want to make sure you're not going to be out here in the Alley all night in the cold."
He eyed her up and down, still not fully trusting her or her words. Smart kid. "Why do you even care? I can take care of myself."
"I'm sure you can-" her reply was cut off by the quiet 'shhhh' sound of a grappling hook behind them. They were out of time. Hastily deciding to forgo the niceties she reached forward and grabbed the tire iron in the kid's hands and pushed him towards the other end of the Alley, away from the sound. He opened his mouth to most likely rip her a new one but thought better of it when there was another sound behind them. She waved her hands in a shooing motion, thinking he'd get the hint and start moving ,but still he hesitated, as if he didn't want to leave her alone with the evidence and the crime scene.
"Scat kid!" she hissed at him, gently pushing him a little further. "I'll handle this."
She turned her back, hearing the retreating footsteps behind her and began stalking her way back to the Batmobile, twirling the tire iron in her hand coyly. She knew she could successfully distract the Batman of Gotham from the poor kid running the other way. Selina took a glove off and ran a hand across the car's driver's side door and towards the hood. Have to make sure he didn't leave any prints behind. Hand gloved again, she met the heavy footfalls that approached her.
"Catwoman," Batman grunted in greeting.
"Hey, you," she purred, sauntering her way up to him, making sure she was swinging the tire iron playfully where he could see it. "How was your night?"
He didn't fall for the bait she laid out, he rarely did. Batman caught the iron mid-swing once she had come close enough. "Hnh. You don't usually use something like this in your line of work."
"Oh, you know me, just trying something new," she said flippantly, fixing him with a smile.
"Hnh," Batman grunted again. He opened his mouth as if he was about to say more but stopped, his mouth snapping shut with an audible click. She watched the corners of his mouth pull down in the typical scowl she was used to seeing as he took in the scene behind her. "I see you've been busy."
"Slow night," she said, cheekily.
"The Crowne family not have enough jewels in their safe to entertain you?" he asked, tone biting.
Oh joy, he's mad, she thought, but she had known he would be. Bruce didn't like it when people touched his stuff without his permission. "I don't know what you're talking about, honey."
He wrenched the iron from her grip and stalked over to where his car sat, tireless. After a minute or two of examining her (and the boy's) work, she heard him let out a sigh. "You were stealing the tires off my car in Crime Alley, alone, on a cold night, for what exactly?" his voice came out tired, as if he knew Selina's answer was going to run circles around him already.
"Weeeell," she drew out the vowel, aiming for playful, "While I don't know what you're talking about with all that Crowne family nonsense, I was just making my way through the Alley and saw this car all alone and without tires! As you know I've been on the straight and narrow-" that earned a scoff "-so I've been cutting back on all my heisting in general, therefore I'd have never done this, but you should know that tires are going for a great price these days and people gotta eat." She paused, tilting her head to the side as if really thinking about the current predicament, "You know, it's really your fault for parking it here in broad nighttime." She ended with a shrug, playing up the indifference.
Her answer had its intended effect. Batman scrubbed a hand down his face as he looked up at the sky, as if asking the clouded-over heavens, "Why me?" "Are you telling me the truth, Selina?" he asked wearily.
The memory of the young boy with black, wavy hair, shaking as he undid one of the lug nuts flashed across her mind. Blue eyes, staring defiantly back at her even while afraid. Selina grinned at Bruce, making sure it was all teeth and saccharine, "Scout's honor, baby." She raised one of her gloved hands and crossed one of her fingers over the other, silver claws on the finger tips glinting in the streetlight.
=-=
Selina stood on top of one of the rooftops in Crime Alley alone as she watched the Batmobile drive away. While waiting for Alfred to bring him new tires, Bruce had forced her to fork over some of the Crowne family's belongings - not that she gave everything to him, she kept some of the smaller, more overlooked items for herself to sell later. She had only gone along with with placating him because she was pretty sure he thought she knew who'd stolen his tires and didn't want him asking questions. Plus, with how his mood had been lately, she hadn't wanted to give him a reason to dig further just to spite her.
"Grumpy boys and their toys," she muttered as she made her way towards the opposite side of the rooftop to make her escape from the area.
Just as she was halfway there, there was a rattle of crates being knocked over to her left. It took everything in her to not jump at the sudden sound as she froze. She didn't move, focusing on her breathing and listening for further noise. She felt like all the hair on her body was standing on end. When there was nothing more, she flipped her goggles down over her face again and slowly turned to where she had heard the sound. Making sure her footfalls were soft, she made a wide berth around the area, coming up behind whatever -whomever- had made knocked the boxes over.
Selina saw a small, dark figure was hunched down near the fallen crates, carefully trying to stack them back into place. She pounced, her hands landing on the figure's shoulder and using her feet to propel them into a somersault, stopping their roll once she had gotten on top again. She pushed the person down, pinning them on their back. She brought one of her claws to their neck as she tore the hood from the person's face. "Just who do we have-" she started but stopped as blue eyes stared back at her, no fear in them this time.
She immediately let go of the kid and stood up. She backed up a few paces, increasing the distance between them. I hadn't even noticed he was up here with me. She suppressed the shudder the thought threatened to run through her. There were very few people in this city that sneak up to Selina Kyle unnoticed. "What are you doing here kid," she said, her one flat, hands on her hips.
The kid propped himself up on his hands, still sitting on the ground. A smirk started to grow as he said, "Didn't hear me did you?"
She let out a short bark of laughter. The little shit. She hadn't known he was here when she had made her way back to this roof, and she had been standing here watching Batman below for at least seven minutes by her estimation. "You didn't answer my question."
The boy made his way to stand, brushing both hands together to get the grit off of his palms. He brought his gaze up to make eye contact with her, looked down, and then up again through his eyelashes, almost shy. "I just wanted to make sure you were going to be okay," he said, tone sheepish and laced with guilt.
That was the last thing she had expected him to say. Surprised, Selina jerked a thumb over her shoulder towards the alleyway, "From what? Batman?"
The kid nodded, no longer looking at her. Guilt radiated from him. Her cold heart once again warmed towards him, at his good intentions. Adopting a more open stance, hoping to make the kid more at ease, she said, "Appreciate the thought, but like you said earlier, I can handle myself. And I can definitely handle the Batman of Gotham." The kid nodded silently, guilt not receding.
She eyed him further, allowing the silence to grow a little as she waited to see if he'd say something. Where is he going to go after this? a voice inside her head asked. "Speaking of what was said earlier, do you have somewhere to go kid?"
The familiar guarded expression that Selina had noticed the boy continually wore came back. He made eye contact with her and didn't say a thing, defiant. Her heart warmed further. She always had a thing for the ones that fought back, they were usually the ones that needed help the most. But this isn't a cat Kyle, or even a stray animal, this is a human child. It felt like Selina's brain and heart were warring with themselves, one wanting to leave the boy and this night behind them, move on, while the other kept telling her to bring the kid home.
She looked behind the boy, where the crates were and saw a pile of cloth laid on the ground, mostly hidden from view. "Were you going to sleep here?" she asked, though she already knew the answer.
The boy shuffled to the left, obscuring the fabric from her line of sight. "I wanted to make sure the tires were there in the morning," he confessed.
Selina cocked her head, "And then after that?"
The boy looked away again, confirming what she already knew. Well, that settles it. Letting out a dramatic sigh, Selina quickly walked forward and scruffed the boy, half dragging him to the other side of her roof. He put up a halfhearted fight, barely any push against the hand near the back of his neck. "Hey!" he said indignantly, "What do you think you're doing?"
She continued walking (and slightly pushing him). "I'm bringing you to my place," she said calmly, "You can spend the night there."
"What? How do I know you're not just going to kill me or sell me off?" the boy said, starting to struggle just a little bit more.
Selina stopped and let go. She came around to his front and bent down so they were eye level. "Hi, I'm Catwoman, jewel thief extraordinaire, stealer from the rich, giver to the poor, all that jazz. It's nice to meet you," she stuck out a gloved hand.
The kid looked at her, an unsurprised expression on his face when she told him her name. Catsuit really gives it away. He took her hand and shook it more firmly than she thought he would. She grinned. "I'm Jason," the boy said, "Nice to meet you too."
Still grinning, she stood back up and scruffed him again, "Now that we're no longer strangers, Jason, what do you say to getting out of this cold? My bike is just this way."
