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[likemichael]

[The phone comes on to a shaky feed and it's clear whoever is recording this isn't the main focus of the broadcast. Instead, it tilts up to show a man covered in blood and filth and wounds. He holds a strange weapon and it's obvious that Dean is wary, alert, and more than prepared to shoot or stab someone if they get in his way

Comments

[adaptably]

action;

[ Selina saw the broadcast, but didn't bother to respond to it. As she figured it, Dean would want to get home to his brother and his friends before anything else. That's how she rationalized it at least. Really, she just wanted to avoid a reunion. Reunions didn't go the best for her, and Dean looked like he had been to Hell and back. Putting her phone back in her pocket, she kept walking down the sidewalk she was on. She didn't have a real destination in mind, which is probably why she ended up in one of the old construction sites bordering the Business District. Too distracted by her thoughts, she turns the corner and bumps right into someone.

Hi, Dean. ]

[likemichael]

[Snatching hold of her out of instinct, Dean had Selina pinned to the wall in mere seconds, the blade of his weapon held up near her throat. It took him a second to register who she was and he let out a breath, backing off finally.]

Dammit, Kitty. Don't sneak up on a guy with a bad case of itchy trigger finger. [He rakes his hand through his filthy hair then grins at her and doesn't even think twice about pulling her forward into a hug.] God damn, it's good to see you.

[adaptably]

[ So much for laying low. Her back hits the wall and her hands automatically go to the wrists of her attacker, intending to flip him over. Then it clicks that it's Dean. It's hard to recongize him from all the dirt, blood and God only knows what all over him. Before she can even get a witty retort out, he's pulled her into a hug.

She raises her hands and pulls back. Someone has her defensive walls all back up in place. ]

I'm touched you bothered to remember me. [ And there is the playful -yet flippant - attitude. ]

[likemichael]

[Dean eyes her for a moment before giving her a gentle smile, his green eyes warm and vibrant. He can see exactly what she's doing. He's got her figured out.]

Damn right I'd remember you. A couple years away won't wipe my memory. You're pissed I was gone, though, right? [He reaches to cup the side of her neck, his thumb stroking her jaw.] I'll make it up to ya.

[adaptably]

[ She gives him a jaded smirk to try and bite back her anger. Disappointed, angry, sad, it is pretty much a mix of emotions. Ones she isn't going to admit to it. ]

If you're asking if I missed you? I'm going to have to disappoint you. [ She did, but as with everything else with Selina? It's complicated. Then she rolls her eyes and gives him a pointed look. ]

[likemichael]

Liar. [He pulls his hand away, though, and looks down at the weapon he has, adjusting the duffel bag over his shoulder.]

But, hey, I missed you at least, so... yeah. [Not the best with words, Dean shifts a bit and looks down at his feet before looking up at her.] It's been... Hell these past couple years, so it really is good to see you, Selina.

[adaptably]

[ Her eyes narrow at being called a liar. Then her expression softens, even if there's still a cynical tinge to it. ]

You actually bothered to remember me. [ Maybe she shouldn't be so surprised. She does leave impressions on people. Maybe she just figured that whatever was in Dean's home would eventually out weigh whatever happened in Mandalus. ]

[likemichael]

[He shrugs a bit, hands curling tighter around the bone handle of his weapon and the straps of the bag he stole.]

I couldn't forget you, Kitty. You kinda left an impression on me, that's for sure. [He grins a bit.] I said I'd come back, if I went anywhere, didn't I?

[adaptably]

[ Selina smirks to herself. This is far too familiar and she has no intentions of it going the way she's seen this go before. She just shakes her head. ]

It's the Catwoman thing. [ It's practically what she's convinced herself of. ] Oh, don't say that, Dean. We both know you went and came back because the System wanted you here. [ She's not going to let herself actually think he'd want to come back to Mandalus and be with the people he knows here. ]

[likemichael]

It's the Selina thing, although the catsuit is definitely a bonus. [He gives her a smile, shaking his head a bit.]

Okay, fine, but I'd rather be in Mandalus than where I was and that doesn't change the fact I didn't forget you. [His tone tenses up a bit. He's been working non-stop for months on end to get himself and his two friends out of Purgatory and even with Castiel here he knows that in his time Cas and Benny are stuck in Purgatory with no way out because he's not there.]

I wouldn't forget you.

[adaptably]

[ She gives a smug shrug. The catsuit always helps--unless there are nosy people up on the rooftops. Except now people are noticing so she has to pull back on how often she's out looking for things. ]

Why? [ Selina exhales to calm herself down. She knows there's no real point in doing this: insisting he tells her why it's so important. Not that she really understands why it's important to her. There's most likely something he has to go do that she's keeping him from. She looks away and shakes her head. ]

[likemichael]

Because I give a damn, okay? [He's starting to raise his voice and Dean drops his duffel bag and his weapon, pacing a little bit as he tries to calm down, his gait like a caged animal more than a man at that moment.]

I wouldn't forget because there's been way too little good in my life but what good I have had, you're part of that. I don't just leave behind the people I care about, alright? I don't.[And the survivors guilt is already setting in hard.]

[adaptably]

[ There's a small step to the side to avoid the weapon, then a glance to make sure that no one is actually watching their exchange. She isn't the only thing that prowls around in the night in Mandalus.

Then her gaze goes back to Dean, watching how he moves and gauging how he speaks. It's obvious that he's different. She has no idea how long it's been for him when he left, but it's not just the instinctual reactions that make it obvious. Her expression falls at his words. She frowns and closes her eyes, balling her fists in the pockets of her coat.

There are plenty of remakes she can think of to upset him further to defend herself; to get her out of the situation she's in. Except she reminds herself that she's can be a different person. She doesn't have to be the same Selina Kyle who fought tooth and nail to live in Gotham. As strange and terrifying as it is for her, people care. ]

That's a first. [ It's a soft and bitter remark, more angled to herself than at him. She takes a deep breath and raises her head, looking over at him.

[likemichael]

[He clenches his fists, pacing a little bit more, tense at all the noise of the city and close to just wanting to lash out. He can't move, he can't pack up and leave, and it's driving him crazy already. He feels caged in Mandalus in a way he didn't quite feel it as deeply before. In Purgatory, he could run, just as fast as he wanted, and he had to fight to stay alive. Here, he already knows he'll be crushed back into this normal life and it's making his skin crawl.

He glances at her at the bitter comment and grits his teeth. He knows it's more at herself but he still hates it.] Last time? What about "last time"?

[He glances around more and the stiffness of his bloody, filthy clothing makes the leather jacket creak as he moves.] I'm not someone else, Selina. I'm me. And if there's one thing I know about myself, it's that I never forget people and I never betray them. I don't like lettin' down the people I care about, so just suck it up and face it that I'm not gonna just screw around. We're friends-- dammit, we might be something

[adaptably]

[ The backfire interrupts what she was going to say. She forces her shoulders to relax and the tension to meld away. It doesn't really mater to her if Dean is himself or trying to be a superhero. She's not looking for a shoulder to cry on or for someone to tell her it'll be okay. Life is rarely <>okay and part of her hates that Dean keeps insisting he's not going to betray her, forget her, however he wants to phrase it.

Selina reaches down and grabs the dufflebag and weapon, walking over to him. It's still obvious that she's angry and bitter, maybe even a little hurt, as she stares him down. She recognizes the look of feeling trapped without a way out, because it's how she's lived her entire life. She drops the two items between them and leans forward, thankful that the backfire broke some of the tension. ]

Last time, [ she repeats, but her voice quickly fills with the emotion she tried to push down. She tries again. ] He came back. Just like you did. He gave me a way out, and I asked him to come with me. [ Selina pauses and blinks

[likemichael]

[He watches her move his stuff, he follows every movement, and he wonders for a moment why they're even arguing. He's not sure when they evolved into this, whatever the Hell they are, and while he doesn't consider himself in a relationship with her, he still feels like he did when he'd argue with Lisa sometimes. It's just a very different kind of subject and Selina is nothing like Lisa was. And, God, it'd been a long time since he thought about Lisa, but he didn't get as sharp a pang of guilt and loss as he used to. He supposed that was called "healing" after losing someone. It never happened when he lost Sam.

Listening to Selina, he watches her face, and as much as he knows he's a filthy mess he doesn't even consider keeping his distance. His hands come out to cup her face, his thumbs on her cheekbones.] Hey.

[He frowns a bit, shaking his head. Now is not the time to get upset about Batman dying, Dean.] I'm sorry that happened to you, but I'm not him, and if I die, I usually come back. I've done it at least a dozen times to my