Batman: Motherly Comfort [short]

The sounds of sirens peeling through the city and the heavy rain beating down on concrete and metal mask the thuds of his heavily armoured boots and his ragged, laboured breathing as he walks down the alleyway.

He holds his side as blood drips from his body, joining the puddles of rain water gathering on the uneven pavement through which the end of his heavy cape drags. He winces in pain. A collection of his ribs are broken, he's sure of it.

"Fuck," he thinks to himself, "I'm sloppy tonight. Distracted..."

Finally, he reaches his destination, a nondescript alley tucked behind the old, abandoned Monarch Theatre. There, he falls to his knees succumbing to the pain in his body and his increasing emotional distress.

It was the anniversary of his parent's murder. The first anniversary since Alfred had been killed earlier this year. The first anniversary where he was truly alone.

"Mother... Father..." he chokes out from beneath his cowl as he braces himself against the ground with one hand, continuing to hold his side with the other. The rain pounds against his body.

Every night since Alfred died he had felt like I was just barely hanging on. He was off his game. He was struggling. He hadn't taken hits like this since the early days.

He felt alone against the world. Truly alone. And, though he was terrified to admit it to himself, he wasn't sure if he could keep going, keep fighting without Alfred...

As he kneels on the spot of his parent's death, the memories of the that night fill his mind. He hears the sound of the gunshot, deafening in the tight alleyway; his mother's scream and her pearls dropping, each one pinging as they hit the pavement; his father whispering his name to him through gargling blood.

He looks up to see a figure approaching him in the dark, damp alley. For a moment, he considers letting the figure reach him. Perhaps it would be a fitting end for him, dying in the same place his parents had. But, not without some effort, he banishes the thought from his mind.

Slowly, he stands, his muscles screaming in agony as he does so, readying his fists for another fight.

"You want me!?" He growls. "Come and get me!"

"Oh I want you alright..." It's a woman's voice. Her tone is teasing and seductive. Non-threatening. He recognizes her voice.

"Selina..." His bravado drops and he falls again to his knees with a gasp of pain. He's in bad shape and they both know it.

"Easy Bruce" she soothes, dropping her trademark sexualized tone and speaking with genuine concern. She goes to him, gently helping him stand again. She reaches for a hidden button on his belt, the one to signal the auto-pilot for his 'car' -- he insisted on calling it a car, even though she felt it was more of a tank. She presses it, calling the car to them.

"Selina, it's... My parents, it's the..." he trails off, his usually gruff and confident voice replaced with one laced with near unbearable physical and emotional suffering.

"Shhhh, I know Bruce. I know" She replies.

They stand in silence as they wait for the car to arrive, each looking down at the small memorial plaque embedded in the pavement of the alleyway: 'In Honour of Thomas and Martha Wayne, Gotham's guiding lights.'

Selina reaches into one of the pouches on her belt and pulls out a small, fragile flower. Silently, she hands it to Bruce, who painfully places it on the plaque.

The roar of the car's engine cuts through the steady drumming of the rain as they are suddenly bathed in the bright white of its headlights.

"C'mon. Let's get you home..." Selina says as she guides him away from the memorial and into the car.

***

The rain patters against the window as they sit together in front of the warm fire in the fireplace, drying off, as Selina tends to Bruce's wounds. The top half of his armoured costume lays dripping in the corner of the room next to each of their boots and cowls.

He winces as she wraps his bare torso in bandages. Even this scarred, bruised, and bleeding and despite the sombre mood of the evening, Selina can't help but notice how beautiful his body was.

She traces her fingers across his muscles as she listens to him talk.

"Selina... I don't know how much longer I can keep doing this..." He confesses to her.

"I feel so, so... so alone without Alfred, without my parents. I feel like a rudderless boat lost at sea, always threatened by the ever present storm... Sometimes I think I may just give in to the waves, let the storm overtake me... I felt like that today. Before, before you..."

Gently, Selina lifts his body and slides her own in behind him so that his torso is resting against her's, so the back of his head lays against her chest. Slowly, she strokes his hair as tears begin to fall down his cheeks.

"I feel like I did as a boy... lost, alone, confused..." he confesses, fear evident in his voice. "I can't do this!" he sobs.

She holds him and strokes his hair as he cries. She'd only ever seen him like this once or twice before. Normally he was so strong, so stalwart. He seemed as though he didn't need anybody. But tonight was different. Tonight, he needed her. He needed to be held, to be comforted. And they both knew it.

"Shhhhhh," she whispers in his ear. "It's okay... you're okay Brucie..." her tone is soft, gentle, motherly.

She hugs him tight and he holds on to her arm even tighter. Slowly, his sobbing subsides. She just keeps stroking his hair and whispering into his ear.

"There you go baby, relax. It's okay... you're safe here with me."

He releases the tension in his body, relaxing as her soothing words and gentle strokes calm him down. His breathing becomes less erratic and more slow and controlled.

"Don't worry sweetheart, Mama's got you" she says.

She's surprised by it. She's never referred to herself as 'Mama' before -- well, at least not seriously outside of teasing a mark before beating them up and stealing their valuables. Selina isn't sure exactly why she said it; it just... felt right to say in the moment.

However, as much as she surprised herself, Bruce's reaction to her comment surprises her even more.

"Mommy..." he whispers. It's soft, barely audible, practically a breathe. But there's no mistaking it.

Bruce is immediately embarrassed by the sudden slip, he's in his late thirties and hasn't said the word 'Mommy' since before his mother was killed. Selina can tell just how embarrassed he is as his body tenses up in her arms.

"I--" he says, starting to explain himself.

"Shhh, don't apologize baby" Selina interrupts. "It's okay. Mommy's here... Mommy's here Brucie" she adds, giving him a squeeze.

"He needs this," Selina thinks to herself. And she was right. Almost immediately Bruce softens in her arms again, seeking the comfort he'd been denied for nearly 30 years now. She strokes his chest soothingly as he breathes deeply in her arms, his head resting against her own chest.

Suddenly, Selina gets an idea: "Skin to skin contact!" she thinks to her self.

She stops briefly and lifts him up off of her so she can unzip her catsuit, exposing her bare breasts underneath. She then lays his head back against her chest again, his head cradled by her ample breasts, the warmth of her skin radiating through him. Selina resumes her gentle stroking of his chest.

He'd seen her breasts many times before -- on Gotham's rooftops, in her apartment, deep in the Batcave -- but he'd never laid on them like this. It was nice. It was comforting.

"Mmmmm" he sighs, contentedly.

"There there Brucie, Mommy's got you, Mommy's here..." she says, giving him a kiss on the top of the head.

"Ahh..."

It's almost as soft as the first time he said 'Mommy,' perhaps its even softer, but as Selina kisses him, Bruce lets out a little moan. Not only that, but he feels a stirring in his crotch as his penis begins to stiffen under his pants. He blushes, embarrassed again, unsure why he's reacting this way.

"Selina--" he stammers.

Once again, she interrupts him: "It's okay..." she whispers into his ear. He gentle, nimble fingers creep down his chiselled and bruised body, towards his waistline.

"You need this sweetie" she whisper again, her voice soft and gentle, maternal even. "Let Mommy take care of you..."

His now nearly fully erect penis flexes as she says this. It's unmistakable to both of them.

He gasps softly as she reaches from behind him and fishes his now raging hard-on out of his pants. It stands at attention, rigid and ready.

She kisses his ear, his jaw, and his neck softly and tenderly as she slowly starts to stroke him. Her soft hand working the full length of his shaft, twisting slightly as she moves her hand up and down, up and down.

"Ohhhhh" he moans as she expertly strokes and kisses him. His breathing begins to become laboured.

"Don't worry sweetie," she whispers in his ear again, her voice a strange and taboo mix of sensuality and motherliness, "Mommy knows what you need..."

"Haaa!" he moans again, his member flexing in her hand in response to her words. He closes his eyes in pleasure, leaning his head further back giving her better access to his neck, as she steadily pumps her hand up and down his hot and throbbing shaft. Her bare breasts press against his scar covered back.

In his mind's eye, he doesn't see Selina, he sees his beautiful mother, Martha.

"That's it Brucie baby, let go... Let Mommy take care of you... Mommy loves you Brucie. Mommy loves you so much..." Selina whispers directly into his ear.

This practically drives Bruce wild. His hips start to buck as Selina unerringly works his shaft and kisses his neck.

"I--! I'm gonna--!" Bruce starts to pant, Selina just keeps pumping him.

"I love you, son" she whispers in his ear.

"Mommy!" Bruce cries out as he erupts. His body shakes with the most powerful orgasm he's ever had, covering his torso and Selina's hand in his sperm as she continues to stroke him through the duration of it.

Finally, with a heavy sigh, Bruce's body goes still and Selina relinquishes her grasp of his member. For a moment, they stay there, his body laying on her, both breathing heavily.

The moment over, the reality of what had just occurred starts to hit Selina. Had she really just given Bruce a handjob while pretending to be his dead mother?!

Feeling awful about what she'd just put him through she starts to apologize.

"Bruce I... I'm so--mmh!" Suddenly, he spin and around, grabs her face, and kisses her, cutting off her apology.

He kisses her deeply, passionately, lovingly. She melts in his strong arms, her stalwart Knight seemingly returned. Finally, he breaks the kiss.

"Thank you, Selina." His voice is calm and in control. He's sure of himself again. The Batman is back.

"Any time Bats," she says, her tone seductive, teasing.

A smile spreads across the Dark Knight's face for the first time that night as a swarm of bats fly through the air above Wayne Manor.