Shall we dance? (A Catwoman and Damian Wayne fanfiction)

It wasn't usual for Damian Wayne to be nervous. It was, in fact, a rarity. However, he was in completely uncharted territory and felt at sea. He tried to tell himself that this didn't matter, but knew it was a lie as soon as the thought was formulated.

Olivia. Beautiful, brilliant, talented, kind Olivia. One of the few people in his own age group who didn't treat him as if he was a freak. She had been nice to him since his first day of school. And if Damian was going to attend the upcoming school dance at all, he only wanted to go with her. But therein lay his problem. Dance. He wasn't a dancer and felt awkward at the mere thought of waltzing with Olivia. He considered joining a class but that simply wouldn't do. He didn't want his siblings finding out. Especially not Timothy. He would have a field day with this!

"A diamond for your thoughts?" A deep, feminine voice asked from behind him. Damian turned around to find Selina Kyle standing there. His father's mistress. No. That wasn't correct, he reminded himself. Selina was his father's partner. Damian hand come to accept that, and over the last year or so he has come to genuinely like Selina. She was an excellent conversationalist, while at the same time, lacked any kind of pretence that one usually found in Gotham high society. But still, he wasn't about to spill his troubles before her. He did not even do that with his own mother.

"It's nothing. I just had a long day."

"If it was nothing, you'd be busy playing video games or sparring with Dick. You wouldn't be standing here on the balcony."

Damian said nothing. So Selina continued.

"It's ok if you tell me Damian. You don't have to be stoic and ice cold all the time, you know. At least not at fourteen. If you want, as soon as you turn eighteen, you can out-brood your dad."

This drew a chuckle from Damian. Kyle always knew how to make him laugh. It was what he liked the most about her.

"Besides we made a deal. That we'd always have each other's backs, right?"

She was right. They did promise to look out for each other, back when he had been terrified that her place in his father's life would become a threat to his. But Selina had laid his worries to rest so effortlessly, it didn't take him long to realize that she simply wanted to be with his father, not take him away.

So he thought "what the hell...may as well tell her." She had kept his secrets in the past, so he felt comfortable telling her. And he did. Damian told her all about Olivia, the dance and his inability to perform the said activity.

Selina thought for a second, then asked "how about I teach you"?.

"The dance is in eight days" he told her.

"So we'll work hard. With your martial arts training and athletic skills, it shouldn't be too difficult for you"

"When?" Damian asked, warming up to the idea.

"How about you skip your video gaming sessions and Japanese lessons for the next week. That gives us two hours. I'm sure fourteen hours of lessons will be enough for you."

"I'd prefer if we kept this discreet." He told her.

"Of course. We'll use the old music room in the East Wing. No one ever goes there."

"Ok, then." Damian said tentatively.

"Great. Tomorrow, 7 PM."

At seven the following evening, Damian and Selina stood in the middle of the old music room. It was rather spacious, a twenty-five feet by forty feet rectangular room which was scarcely furnished. Perfect for dance lessons.

Damian was in his tux, Selina in a lovely violet dress with matching heels. Soft classical music played on her phone and the lesson began.

On the first day, Damian didn't fare quite so well. He was a bit awkward. He found it odd to be so close to Selina and have his arm around her waist. But she gently encouraged him. On more than one occasion, he stepped on her toes, but she remained patient and offers corrections. She did have to take off her high heels though. At five feet eleven inches, she was already three inches taller than the five foot eight inch Damian. The added height difference made it very difficult for Damian to twirl her. During dips, Damian nearly droped Selina, but she regained her balance effortlessly.

During lessons, Damian let it slip that he had seen Selina and his father dance together on many occasions. Selina was able to read between the lines that Damian wished to be as graceful a dancer as Bruce.

On the second day, Damian got a little better. He was no longer shy about holding Selina. On the third day, he didn't step on her toes even once. By the sixth day, Damian's dancing skills showed a remarkable improvement. As Selina predicted, his martial arts training did come in handy and soon he was dancing with Selina with a grace that matched his father's.

Unbeknownst to Damian, Dick had come over for a surprise visit and heard the music and went to investigate. He couldn't quite believe his eyes when he saw Damian and Selina dancing. He quickly ducked out of view, but Selina had seen him. Damian didn't as he was busy choosing a different song. Selina gave Dick a smile and pressed a finger to her lips. Dick gave her the "zipping lips" gesture and walked away.

On the evening of the dance, Damian and Olivia were the centre of attention. With her grace and his confidence, they were the most handsome couple there. Olivia went on and on about what a great dancer Damian was, causing him to make many failed attempts at hiding the blush that spread across his face every time she complemented him.

That night, as they all sat together in the living room, chatting and relaxing, Damian was uncharacteristically happy. He caught Selina's eyes and she raised an eyebrow, silently asking how things had gone. Damian gave her a discreet thumbs up. Selina gave him a warm smile, which was returned.

As they were about to go to bed, Bruce put his arms around Selina, kissed her forehead and said "thank you, Kitten".

"For what?" She asked.

"For the dance lessons. It meant a lot to him." He replied, gently caressing her beautiful face.

Selina knew that Dick had surely kept her secret. But then , how?

"How did you know?"

"I'm Batman!" Came the reply.

Selina burst out laughing. She loved this smug, arrogant, wonderful man.

"Mmmm.....yes you are." She said removing his shirt, as he took off her dress.

Their lips met and they wrapped their arms around each other. Lifting her up in his arms, Bruce took her to bed, where they began a sensuous dance of their own.