"Stranger, please do not speak presumptuously to the residents of Storybrooke Town. I will warn you three times. If you do not restrain yourself, I will temporarily detain you in the holding cell for a night."
"Alright, alright."
Dante nodded in agreement, but his tone was quite perfunctory.
Bruce Wayne, who had been pushed forward by Dante, extended his hand like a true gentleman and shook hands with the deputy sheriff, Selina Kyle.
"My brother has a peculiar temper. I sincerely hope to receive your forgiveness, madam." Bruce Wayne's originally stern face revealed a perfectly charming and gentle smile. "Our car broke down on the road, so we could only push it to town to see if it could be repaired."
"Then your brother… he must be incredibly strong to push a broken-down car by himself."
Selina Kyle's gaze towards Dante instantly shifted from "suspected delinquent idle socialite" to "a strong but foolish child who speaks without thinking."
Damn, I suddenly feel like this couple is so annoying.
But as the most outstanding FBI agent, acting skills?
A piece of cake.
"Brother, I'm a bit hungry. Hurry up and transfer a hundred or eighty billion to me."
"...Don't be too much!" Bruce Wayne maintained his perfect smile while squeezing out a very low threat from his throat. "I told you to act, not to deliberately extort me!"
"Just kidding." Dante chuckled.
"My suggestion is to joke less."
"Leave the car here for now." Selina Kyle pointed to a parking spot in front of the tavern. "There's a hotel in this town, located at the northernmost part of the town."
A dwarf less than a meter tall passed by the tavern door. Hearing Selina say this, he immediately spoke up loudly, "Selina! Agatha's hotel was renovated two days ago and isn't finished yet!"
"Oh? Is that so? What should we do then?" Selina Kyle, who had just warned Dante, now looked at the two with some apology. "If the only hotel is being renovated, then you two…"
Bruce looked at the completely different Selina Kyle, somewhat stunned.
His Selina, though equally gentle, was certainly not this kind of gentle.
The subtle thoughtfulness hidden beneath her sharp tongue was what he was most accustomed to.
"It's alright, we can make do with a night in the car."
"It's too cramped for two grown men to sleep in one car." Selina tilted her head, pondering for a moment. "How about this, my parents' room is still empty, you two can make do for a night. Don Quixote from the repair shop was just carried back by his wife; he's dead drunk and won't wake up until at least tomorrow afternoon."
"This, wouldn't that be inappropriate?"
Bruce immediately started with zero-frame, grabbing Dante's clothes and pulling him over.
But he was still speaking hesitant polite words.
Dante looked at this preening butt-chin with great disdain.
Not yet married and already so impatient.
…
Dante and Bruce Wayne followed beside Selina, arriving at her "home."
The two exchanged glances and nodded.
Unexpectedly, this reality distortion was quite complete; Selina Kyle, who hadn't entered Storybrooke Town much earlier than them, actually had such a house.
"My parents' room is on the first floor. There are some disposable toiletries under the sink…" Selina Kyle introduced, smiling apologetically, "The conditions in our remote small town are generally not great. People from big cities like you might find it a bit uncomfortable…"
"It's alright, the conditions in my hometown were even worse, it even felt like living in a cave." Bruce again shook hands with her, full of gratitude. "Such a warm, home-like house makes me very envious."
"Is that so? I am uncultured then." Selina Kyle's eyes held both regret and longing. "The people of our town never leave the border. Almost everyone has never left this town in their entire lives."
"So the only way I learn about the outside world is through the books in the town library."
"Believe me, the outside world isn't necessarily much better."
"But every night, I feel a desire to leave Storybrooke Town and see the outside… But the next day, I still need to get up and patrol."
Selina smiled, waved to the two, and went upstairs.
Bruce kept staring at Selina Kyle's back, his gaze lingering for a long time.
"Hey, are your eyeballs stuck to her?"
"Has anyone ever told you that you're annoying?"
Dante shrugged and sat on the somewhat old but very clean large bed. "Did you hear what that woman just said? Almost everyone, it's 'almost' oh."
"I'm not deaf, and I have a brain, so of course I heard it." Bruce Wayne added, "And I told you, you might as well call her 'Catwoman'."
"I'm just afraid your brain is a love-struck one."
Dante looked at Bruce Wayne teasingly.
Even someone as rational as Batman will always encounter a harbor where all his emotions can be vented and entrusted.
And Selina Kyle, it seemed, was his destined soulmate.
"That's still better than you, you scumbag."
"One of America's two most famous playboys calls me a scumbag? Do you feel guilty when you say that?" Dante patted the other side of the bed. "Come on, Master Bruce, lie down and chat."
Bruce looked at Dante's mischievous demeanor, and instead felt much more relaxed.
You know, encounters and unexpected events were his biggest weaknesses.
Although with his abilities, he could usually gather all information and set up a winning situation while maneuvering.
But each time, it felt somewhat like walking a tightrope.
He had always been accustomed to working alone and never collaborated with others.
But Dante's presence made him feel…
Having a talkative but reliable teammate didn't seem like a bad thing.
In an old two-story house in Storybrooke Town, a desire arose uncontrollably in Batman, Bruce Wayne's heart.
A desire to no longer walk alone in the darkness.
He yearned to fight side by side.
He yearned for a…
Batman family.
(To be continued.)