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From Now Until Tonight
By : moviefan
Category: DC Verse Cartoons > Batman Beyond
Views: 547 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Chapter List
- 1-From Now Until Tonight
- 1
(A/N: And here we go. This is going to be the last of my lemon challenges. At least for a while. I've been pushing my writing to different areas, including covering topics I'm not exactly comfortable about. This one involves themes of infidelity, which I most certainly do not approve of. And with it I'm tackling one of my favorite ships from Batman Beyond between Terry and Melanie. I really love those two together, but I also really ship Terry and Dana, which pretty much makes the theme for this one work out perfectly. This one takes place during the episode Once Burned, Twice Shy, involving what happened after Terry found Melanie in his room after the camera faded to black, after which we got a time skip. Like I said, I do not approve of cheating, but it was the only way I could make this work. So, what happened between the two of them after the scene faded away? Let's find out. I'm not really happy with the title though, but it's the best I could come up with.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing.

"FROM NOW UNTIL TONIGHT"
Terry had known that he would see the Royal Flush Gang again. Ever since he had heard that the criminal family had escaped from prison, he figured that their paths would cross at some point. In fact, just the other night, he’d had a run-in with Ten as she tried to rob an illegal, high-stakes card game. Well, Batman had anyway, but that was just a technicality.
What he didn’t expect was to find Melanie Walker in his room when he entered it. And yes, it was her, not Ten. She was in her civilian attire rather than her Royal Flush suit, looking just as beautiful as ever. He had no idea how she got in here, but he supposed it shouldn’t surprise him; she was a master thief after all.
“Remember me?” she asked gently, almost as if she were shyly greeting an old friend.
Being Batman, Terry had gotten good at hiding his emotions when he needed to, but he was unable to keep the surprise out of his voice at the sight of her. “Melanie!”
Upon hearing him say her name, a small smile made its way across her lips, and she began making her way over to him. But then a surge of anger suddenly flashed through him as she approached. He still recalled how she had indirectly broken his heart when he had discovered her secret identity, something she had yet to discover about him. They may not have known each other long, but in that short period of time, she had stolen a piece of his heart, a big piece. Finding out she was a criminal, even if it had been at her family’s behest, had felt akin to a betrayal.
His eyes narrowed as he made his animosity known. “Or should I say Ten?”
She had been in the process of reaching out for him, but suddenly drew back as if he had struck her. Looks of hurt, sadness, and regret flashed across her face, and he saw the shame in her eyes.
“If you hate me, I understand,” she said miserably. “What I did to you before, I didn’t have a choice.” She gave him a desperate look, pleading for him to understand. “It was between you and my family.”
His anger spiked again. Not merely at her words, but because he believed them. And this wasn’t based on naivety or affection. Even prior to discovering her identity, he could tell that there had been something different about Ten, a reluctance on her part that the rest of her family didn’t share for her criminal activity. It had been for that reason that after he had discovered her identity and apprehended the rest of the Royal Flush Gang that he had silently pleaded for her to leave; he would have let her go if she had and hoped that she would give up crime without her family there to influence her.
But she hadn’t. Instead, she had attempted to rescue them, and he’d been forced to take her down as well. And he understood why she had made that choice too. He knew how important family was, especially after having lost his father; she couldn’t just abandon hers. He understood that, and that was, perhaps, what he was most angry about, because he sympathized with her. And if given the choice, couldn’t help but think that he would make the same one she did.
That still didn’t change the anger and disappointment in her that he felt. “There’s always a choice, Melanie,” he told her bitterly.
He moved away from her, making a show of going to hang up his jacket. He did need to hang it up, but it provided him with a good reason to put some distance between them, because he needed it. Because despite what had happened between them, despite the anger and hurt he still felt, that connection between them was still there.
He still remembered the night they met; he didn’t think he’d ever forget it. After his duties as Batman had made him late, yet again, for his date with Dana, the two of them had broken up once more; breaking up and getting back together seemed to be the norm for their complicated relationship, made more difficult due to his secret double life. Only this time, Melanie had been there afterwards.
There had been an instant connection between them, something Terry had never felt before, not even with Dana. He wasn’t sure if he could call it love at first sight, if such a thing was even real, but there had definitely been something that had sparked between them, something that hadn’t been simple rebound on his part. And it had most definitely been mutual, the two of them growing very close, very quickly.
In hindsight, they had probably moved too fast. But she had said that it was always that way with her. It was because of her parents, she had said, they moved the family around a lot, and they were never in the same place long. Terry had been incredibly naïve about the situation, delusionally wishful even, somehow believing that despite having known her for such a short time that there could be some kind of future for them, even after she told him that she might be moving again.
And then everything had fallen apart when he found out who she and her family really were, and he had been forced to take them down. But even after all that, even after he and Dana had, once again, gotten back together, there had been a part of Melanie Walker that had remained etched into his heart.
As he hung up his jacket, he heard her come up behind him. “I need a place to stay till it’s dark. That’s all I’m asking for.”
Sadness and desperation filled her voice, but her words only served to irritate him further. So this hadn’t just been a social call, she was looking to lie low. It shouldn’t surprise him; she was a wanted criminal after all. And he’d been stupid enough to think that she had come here just because she wanted to see him, but she was just looking for a place to hide so she could continue her thievery. It seemed he was still naïve when it came to her.
But at the same time, the fact that she had come here of all placed spoke volumes. It showed that she trusted him, that she felt safer with him than anywhere else. That helped to quell his anger a bit, but not completely.
“Let me guess,” he said, his voice full of judgment, but less harsh, “cops after you?”
She closed her eyes and looked away. “Among others, including Batman.”
Oh, she had no idea. He wasn’t so much ‘after her’ though as he was keeping an eye out in case she caused any trouble like she did last night. And he had no idea what the rest of her family was doing, but knew that it couldn’t be anything good.
She moved towards him again, reaching up and placing her hands on his chest. “But even he would never think to look for me here.”
Well, she wasn’t wrong about that. If he were searching for her, he never would have thought to look in his own home. Or would he? Was he being biased? Bruce Wayne would probably have guessed to look here. He’d even gone through a similar experience as him and Melanie with Selina Kyle, better known as Catwoman. The old man had shared that story with him after the Royal Flush Gang had been arrested when he recognized Terry’s predicament.
“No, I guess he wouldn’t,” he admitted truthfully, his voice softening, and she began moving in, sliding her hand up to his shoulder and bringing her face close to his, “but there are laws against harboring criminals, and I’m–”
“I’m not a criminal,” she exclaimed, pulling back and holding out her arms. “Not anymore.”
As much as he wanted to believe that, all evidence pointed to the contrary based on that poker heist she had been pulling that he had interrupted. “Then why is everyone after you?”
Her eyes grew sad and pleading. “Because I was forced to rob a big poker game by the Jokerz.” She hung her head. “They’re holding my family.”
This revelation took him by surprise. He hadn’t known what to expect, but it hadn’t been that. The Jokerz were holding her family hostage? It was easy enough to believe, because it was absolutely something those delinquent freaks would do. As followers of the long-since dead Joker, they relished in any chaos they could cause and took pleasure in all kinds of crime.
But was it true, or was she just feeding him a believable lie to gain his trust and sympathy? He didn’t detect any dishonesty from her, and she had told him the truth about the poker game, not to mention she trusted him enough to come here.
He wanted to believe her, and that was the problem. He was too biased and emotionally invested when it came to her to trust his own judgment. As Batman, he was duty-bound to stop all criminal activity, no matter what kind, but as Terry, he was more limited. He couldn’t do anything as Batman right now, but if she was telling the truth, then he could at least help her however he could as Terry.
“I think we better call the police,” he told her, making his way over to the phone.
He felt her hand on his shoulder, stopping him, and he glanced back at her. “Don’t you get it? If I do that, the Jokerz will kill them.”
Now that he believed, if she was telling the truth about her family’s predicament that is. But he was ordinary citizen Terry McGinnis right now. What else could he do besides call the cops? Just let her run off into danger? Let her risk her life stealing from dangerous criminal elites to deliver a ransom to a gang of psychopaths who may just kill her family anyway, along with her, the second they had the money?
He turned to her, looking into her pleading face. She may be a professional criminal, but she was no con-artist, she wasn’t even a good actor. He could see it written all over her face. She was scared, desperate, lost, and he found that he did believe her.
But then he reminded himself about his bias, and tried to work out if his belief in her story really was genuine belief or if his judgment was just clouded from his own personal feelings. But, damn it, how could he work out if he could really trust her or not when all he wanted to do was grab her and kiss her?
At that moment, as if Fate itself had ordained it, the phone rang, drawing his attention. It was a welcome distraction from the situation, and he turned away from Melanie to answer it.
“Hello?” he asked, and was greeted by the voice of his girlfriend, as if Fate truly were interfering. “Dana. Hi.”
Even though he wasn’t looking at her, he sensed a change in the room’s mood, and he could imagine the scowl that crossed Melanie’s face at hearing his girlfriend’s name. As grateful as he was for the interruption though, he now wished it hadn’t happened, because the moment had just become incredibly awkward. He now had his on-again-off-again girlfriend on the phone and his criminal, sort of ex-girlfriend who he never actually broke up with and who he still had very deep feelings for that she obviously shared in his room. Yes, this was the very definition of awkward, and he wondered if Mr. Wayne ever had to deal with anything like this; the man did have a reputation as a playboy.
“Oh, yeah, tonight, history homework,” he said in response to Dana’s question, taking a seat on his bed. “No, no, I didn’t forget it.”
Which was true. The two of them had made plans to work on their homework together. He’d just planned to come home and get grab his stuff, then head over to her place. But he hadn’t expected Melanie to literally break into his house and ask for sanctuary for the next few hours.
Feeling the mattress dip next to him, he glanced at the blonde as she crawled onto the bed beside him. “It’s just that there’s… a change of plans,” he said to Dana, hoping she wouldn’t get mad at his cancellation; he had enough on his plate to deal with without having an angry girlfriend added to the mix.
Melanie moved closer to him, too close, the look on her face sad and wanting. Guilt clawed in his stomach at the thought of bailing on Dana, yet again, for the sake of another girl at that, one who was making her intentions very clear. He really hoped he wouldn’t end up doing something he would come to regret.
“Yeah, tomorrow night would be a lot better,” he replied when Dana asked if he wanted to reschedule. “Thanks. Bye.”
He hung up the phone and then closed his eyes and hung his head. He really felt like such an ass at times. Lying about being Batman was one thing, but this felt like something else. He almost felt like he was being unfaithful. And in a way, wasn’t he? He was ditching his girlfriend, lying to her, to stay with another girl, another flame of his no less, one that still burned brightly. Dana really deserved better than that. Sometimes he really hated himself.
He felt a soft hand on his face and opened his eyes as Melanie turned him to face her. That look of sadness was still present on her face, but there was now also a look of gratitude. And mixed with it all was a look of want.
They stared at each for a few moments, then she leaned in and kissed him, kissed him as if he hadn’t just spoken to is girlfriend literally less than 30 seconds ago. And he didn’t even think to resist. Rather, his arm went around her, and as she moved forward to sit in his lap, he pulled her towards him, nestling her in place and dipping her back to deepen the kiss.
What was he doing? What the hell was he doing? He’d just got done talking to his girlfriend, lying to her, and now he was kissing his… ex-girlfriend? Sort of ex-girlfriend? What the hell were they exactly? And that didn’t just go for their relationship. Were they friends? Acquaintances? Enemies? Star-crossed lovers? How exactly did one define what they had? Too much had been left unresolved, and it was making him feel confused and swamped by a series of emotions.
Damn it, why hadn’t she just left that day after he had apprehended her family? No, that wasn’t fair, he knew why, and he understood. Just like he understood why she was going to do whatever was necessary to save her family from the Jokerz. He couldn’t exactly fault her for that, even if it meant it was going to make his life more complicated as Batman, because it meant that he was going to have to get involved.
As Melanie’s hands tangled in his hair, he cursed how complex his life had become. But even if he wasn’t Batman, this would still be a complicated situation. He wasn’t prepared to have Melanie suddenly drop back into his life. There were too many unresolved feelings between them, and they were being stirred up once more now that she was back. And if things hadn’t been complicated enough already, now his relationship with Dana was thrown into the mix, something that hadn’t been an issue the last time Melanie had been around, but now just made things even more complicated.
And here he was, kissing another girl, after having rescheduled his plans with his girlfriend for said girl. If that wasn’t the definition of cheating, then he didn’t know what was.
Breaking the kiss, he turned away from her. “Sorry, I can’t.”
A sad look appeared on her face, and she reached up to cup his cheek. “Terry.”
He caught her hand before she could touch him, holding it in his. “I can’t.”
Her look became almost pleading. “Why not? Because I’m a criminal?”
If only that were the reason. “No, it’s not that. It’s… Dana.”
Her shoulders slumped. The sadness was still in her eyes, but he saw a flash of jealousy there too. “So, you two are back together then?”
Letting out a sigh, he released her hand and she retracted it. “It’s one of those on and off things. It’s complicated.”
More sadness. She always seemed so sad. “I know all about complicated. Can’t say I can relate to the on-again-off-again thing though. Never been with anyone long enough.” She turned back to him, placing a hand over his heart. “If only things were different.”
He looked directly at her. “But they’re not.”
The look of sadness she wore almost became one of heartbreak, and he saw a flash of anger in her gaze too as she suddenly stood up. “I’m sorry. It was a mistake coming here.”
She made to move to the window and his hand shot out, grasping her wrist to stop her. “Don’t go,” he said, surprised at how his own voice almost sounded like a plea. For his efforts though, she didn’t try and pull away, but nor did she look back at him. “Why did you come here, Melanie?”
Several seconds of silence passed before she spoke. “I wanted to see you… possibly for the last time.”
“Last time?” he repeated, not liking the sound of that for multiple reasons.
She turned back to him with a mixture of fear, sorrow, and anger written all over her face. “I’m not stupid, Terry. I know the risks. I’ll be taking a big one to get that ransom. But even if I’m successful, I also know how ruthless the Jokerz are, and that there’s a chance that they’ll just kill me and my family to tie up loose ends once I give them the ransom. And even if they do let us go, there’s no telling what my family will do or where we’ll end up going.” Her expression softened. “So yes, I wanted to see you again while I still had the chance.”
His grip on her wrist tightened. “Don’t do this. If you can’t risk your family by going to the police, then perhaps Batman could–”
“Batman has no reason to trust anything I say,” she interrupted, an edge of venom slipping into her voice in reference to the Dark Knight. “I’m just another criminal to him. And even if he did believe me, it would still put my family at risk.”
“Not necessarily. Batman takes out the Jokerz all the time. They would have no reason to believe he’ll be there for anything else.”
She shook her head. “I can’t take that chance. Besides, even if he does manage to rescue them, it’ll be right back to jail for all of us. Master criminal family, remember?”
She was half-right. He might be able to make an exception for her, but for the rest of her family, she was right, it would be right back to prison for them. Unless…
“Maybe you’re not giving Batman enough credit,” he said carefully. “He only goes after active criminals. If you can convince him that you and your family won’t return to a life of crime, then maybe he’ll be willing to… look the other way.”
She gave him a grateful yet disbelieving smile. “That’s just wishful thinking, Terry. Even if I did somehow manage to convince him of that, I know my family; they’ll never change their ways. Not that they even have that choice anymore since we lost everything.” To her credit, she did sit down beside him once more, burying her face in her hands. “What a mess.”
Terry’s heart went out to her. In some ways, her life was even more complicated than his was. He felt any resentment he still held for her disappear as he stared at her looking so defeated. And despite everything, he found that he was glad she had come back. He just wished that there was a way to help her that didn’t end in tragedy somehow, but he didn’t see how.
He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Melanie, I’m sorry. I am glad that you came here. If there’s anything I can do…”
Her own hand came up to cover his, and she gave him a sad smile. “You’re sweet, Terry. Too good of a person for someone like me.”
“That’s not true,” he told her. And he believed that. She was a good person; despite the mistakes she’d made. Mistakes made at the behest of her family, who had coerced her into a life she didn’t want, but felt she couldn’t escape from.
“Yes, it is,” she insisted. “After everything I did to you, you’re still willing to help me, even though I have no right to ask anything of you.” Her other hand came up as well to take his hand and place it against her cheek. “Just… please, let me spend these last few hours with you.”
He really wished she wouldn’t talk like that, it almost sounded as if she had resigned herself to death. He hated that. He wanted to reach out and comfort her, and he found his thumb beginning to stroke her cheek, almost subconsciously. Damn, her skin was so damn soft.
Melanie closed her eyes, and a genuine happy smile spread across her face as she turned her face into his palm. She slowly inched his hand closer to her mouth and placed a kiss to the tip of his thumb. She then placed a kiss to his knuckle, and then began lovingly kissing the back of his hand.
Terry watched her for a time before he suddenly realized what she was doing, what he was doing, and pulled his hand away. “Melanie, stop.”
He was surprised at how it came out sounding almost desperate, and he held his hand as if it were hurt. He could still feel her lips on the back of his hand, as if they had branded him, and he realized that nothing had changed between them. He still harbored the same feelings he had for her before discovering that she was Ten. Time and her choices hadn’t changed anything, nor had the anger and hurt he felt, both paling in comparison to what he felt for her. Damn it, why was he so weak when it came to her?
“I can’t do this,” he told her, though he felt as if he were saying this more to himself than to her.
“Why?” she asked pleadingly, her own voice sounding desperate once more.
Dana’s face flashed in his mind, and he was hit by another way of guilt. “You know why.”
She was silent for a moment. “Because of your girlfriend.” It was more of a statement than a question, as if she were reminding herself about the fact that he was taken.
“Among other things,” he replied. While it was true that Dana was the primary reason that he couldn’t get involved with her, he also couldn’t do it for his own sake.
He continued rubbing the back of his hand, not looking at her. Several seconds of silence passed before she finally spoke up again. “I love you, Terry.”
He inhaled deeply at those words. Time itself seemed to stop, and he had to take several moments to make sure he had really heard them. But yes, he knew he had, and he felt as if a vice were closing around his heart. Why did she have to say that? Why now? It just made an already complicated situation even more complicated.
Letting out an exhausted groan, he ran his hand through his hair. “Melanie… don’t say that.”
“But it’s true,” she said sincerely. “I know that we haven’t really known each other that long, but I also know how I feel.”
“Melanie…” he muttered, unable to look at her, afraid of what would happen if he did.
She hugged herself, her eyes downcast. “You’re all I have left, Terry. Besides my family, you’re the only one that I love. That’s why I came here tonight. I wanted to be with the only other person I loved, truly loved, while I still could.”
He could hear the sincerity in her voice. This was no lie, no act. She was genuinely speaking from the heart. “Melanie, I can’t.”
She placed her hand on his knee, leaning in close. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone else. There’s something special between us, Terry. I’ve felt it ever since the first moment I saw you.” She reached up and cupped his face, turning him to look at her. “Don’t you feel it too?”
He lifted his eyes to meet hers, and they bore into his imploringly, almost pleadingly. And she was right. There was something special between them, something undeniable, something he had never felt with anyone, not even Dana. It had been there since the beginning, and it was still there now, even after everything.
“Yes,” he admitted, unable to bring himself to lie. He reached up though and removed her hands from his face. “But I still can’t do this.”
At his admission, the smallest of smiles had made its way up her face, but it now fell away. “Right, because of Dana,” she said regretfully, barely suppressing the jealousy in her voice. “Your on-again-off-again girlfriend.”
He gave a grunt of acknowledgement, wishing he sounded more confident, more certain. But just as he had already surmised, he was weak when it came to her. What was it about her that could cause him to crumble like this?
“Terry,” she said tenderly, smoothing her fingers through his hair, “I didn’t come here to try and steal you from her. I didn’t come here for this.” She gave a roll of her head, indicating their positions and proximity. “But… since we’re here now, can I at least pretend that you’re mine, just until I have to go?”
“Melanie…” he said, now almost pleadingly himself.
She placed her hand on his cheek, not letting him look away. “I know I might die tonight. And even if I don’t, there’s a good chance that I’ll never get to see you again. So please, before I go, I want to express my true feelings.” She leaned in, placing a light kiss to the side of his mouth. “Let me show you how much I love you, while I still can.”
She kissed him again, more fully on the mouth this time. Then once more directly on the lips. Her kisses were gentle and loving, as if she really were trying to express the depths of her feelings. He did nothing at first, merely let her kiss him, his fingers gripping his pants. But as she continued to kiss him, his lips began to slowly move against hers until he was kissing her back.
She shifted closer, rising up onto her knees and turning into him, her other hand coming up to rest on his shoulder. Slowly, his right hand came up to press against her back, the other moving to the back of her head, bringing her even closer. They continued kissing for several long moments before he felt her lips slowly begin to part against his.
The tip of her tongue brushed against his lips, a request, asking him to deepen the kiss. He found himself obliging, opening his mouth and sealing their lips together, allowing their tongues to sensually rub against each other. Even so, it was driven by a display of love and tenderness rather than lust or passion.
What the hell was he doing? What the hell was he doing? Those words seemed to be playing on a loop in his head. He knew this was wrong, kissing Melanie like this was wrong while he was still with Dana. And yet he couldn’t seem to bring himself to stop. And the longer he kissed her, the more Dana’s face seemed to fade from the back of his mind to be replaced with hers.
The kiss ended when the need for air became too great. They remained close though, their foreheads resting against each other. Her hand on his shoulder gripped his shirt tightly, as if she were afraid to let him go, like he was some kind of lifeline that she was terrified would disappear, leaving her lost and stranded.
“Terry…” she whispered, her lips brushing against his as she spoke.
He opened his eyes and looked at her beautiful face. And she was beautiful. Her pale skin, her platinum blonde hair, her baby blue eyes, she was the image of perfection. And that was only on the surface. Beneath all that was a kind-hearted yet sad and lonely girl who had been forced into a life she never wanted to be a part of that was desperate for love, acceptance, and understanding.
That had been the girl he had fallen for. The one he had seen himself having a future with. That is, until the rug had been pulled out from underneath him when he discovered her identity. That discovery had nearly crushed him. Yet even then he’d still held some hope, and he’d held onto that hope until he’d been forced to turn her over to the cops, leaving a large, gaping hole in his heart.
Dana had helped fill that hole when they got back together, but there had always been a notable scar left behind in the shape of Melanie Walker, and he suspected that there always would be. After all, scars faded, but they never healed. She had been so much more than a mere rebound girl. If Ten hadn’t been part of her life, if her domineering family of criminals hadn’t had such a hold over her, then who knew where things would have gone between them.
And yet Dana’s face once again flashed through his mind. No matter what he felt for Melanie, the feelings he had for Dana were prevalent as well. And she was the one he was with, not Melanie. Yet his heart still felt torn in different directions, most likely a result of things having never been resolved for the girl in his arms when she was carted off to jail. He never truly made a choice between them; that choice had been taken out of his hands when she’d been arrested.
It was a choice he would have to make though; it wasn’t fair to either of them otherwise. He couldn’t rightly be with either of them while his heart was at war like this. One way or another, he had to make a decision.
“Melanie,” he said quietly, “I… I can’t….”
She stared at him for several long moments, then slowly pulled back. He could read it in her eyes, she didn’t think this was fair. Truthfully, neither did he. But this was the truth of the matter.
“Do you love her?” she asked him quietly.
His fists clenched at the question, and it took him several seconds before he could bring himself to answer her. “Yes.”
Her expression didn’t change, and she continued to stare at him before finally asking, “And me? Do you love me? Even a little?”
Damn it all to Hell, why did she have to make this so difficult for him? He almost felt like he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Damned if he did and damned if he didn’t. He felt that if he told her that he did that it would just make an already complicated situation even more complicated. But if he told her that he didn’t, it would crush her and she would fall from that thin, little thread she was hanging from. But how could he even give her an answer at all when his own heart was so conflicted?
He let out a resigned sigh. “Melanie, please don’t ask me that. I can’t answer it right now.”
He watched her expression become sad, but then understanding. “It’s ok,” she told him, and leaned in to press a kiss to his cheek. “You don’t have to do anything.” She kissed his chin. “Just let me love you.”
She moved lower and began pressing kisses to his neck, the hand that had been gripping his shirt by his shoulder now pulling his collar down to allow her to press kisses to his collarbone. All the while, her other hand had moved down his chest to the bottom of his shirt, and it now worked its way up and inside. Terry’s own hands had fallen to his sides, his nails digging into his palms in an effort to keep still.
“Melanie,” he breathed out, hating how shaky and weak his voice sounded, “don’t.”
She just continued to press kisses to his neck and jaw. “Please, Terry,” she pleaded, sounding almost desperate, “just let me love you, just for a little while. Just while you’re here with me now.”
He didn’t respond, and she began to push his shirt up his torso. He continued to do nothing as the material was pushed further and further up until it bunched under his arms. She then began to work it over his head, and he finally moved, bringing up his arms to assist her in its removal. Once he was free of it though, he grabbed her and pulled her into a heated kiss.
She went to him willingly, her arms going around his neck and his around her back. She climbed into his lap again, wrapping her legs around him as they fell into a heated make out session. Terry instantly grew rock hard as his body responded to the girl in his arms, and she ground down against him, her legs tightening around him as she moaned into his mouth.
Realization hit him again and he tore his mouth from hers with a frustrated “Shit,” escaping him. He turned his head away from her, looking and feeling ashamed. He could still see her in his peripheral vision though, and he could see the sadness and disappointment on her face before her eyes softened and her expression became more understanding. “It’s ok. Just leave it to me. I’ll take care of you.”
She leaned down and began placing kisses over his chest. Her hands began sliding over him, exploring the contours of his chest and feeling his muscles. Terry let his head fall back and his eyes drift shut as she pressed feather-light kisses to his skin and lightly caressed him. He knew he should be stopping this, telling her no, but he couldn’t bring himself to for a number of reasons, many that had nothing to do with him simply being a horny teenager.
When it seemed as if she had kissed over the entire expanse of his chest, she sat up again, shifting in his lap so she was straddling him on her knees. He opened his eyes to look at her, and they simply stared at each other. She then reached for the bottom of her shirt and turned it inside out as she pulled it up and over her head. She let it drop to the floor, and now sat astride him with only a black bra covering her upper body.
God, she was beautiful. Even with her chest still covered, Terry’s eyes couldn’t help but to run over her newly exposed creamy skin, and he itched to caress it. While the two of them had never gone this far before, Terry was no virgin. He and Dana had been dating for a very long time, even if it had been on and off, so naturally they had been sleeping together.
With Melanie though, they had never gone beyond some pretty intense making out, and there hadn’t been any removing of clothes. But as much as he liked the direction this was going in and how much his body was screaming to continue, it didn’t change his current predicament or fix the dilemmas he faced.
“Mela–” he began.
She gently placed her finger to his lips, silencing him. “Shh. It’s alright. I know. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. Just leave everything to me. I won’t ask you to betray her, but let me do this for you.”
She said that, but even if he didn’t do anything, it was still a betrayal, at least to him it was, and he knew that Melanie would consider it one too, no matter what she said. Truthfully though, he’d already betrayed Dana by kissing Melanie the way he did. Anything more would just be a further betrayal. And yet he still couldn’t bring himself to stop her as she removed her finger from his mouth and leaned in to begin kissing along his chest again.
She kissed her way down lower, sliding off his lap to kneel on the floor as she pressed her lips to his stomach, placing a kiss to each of his visible abs. She then lifted her head from him and her hands moved to the front of his pants and began undoing his belt. Terry realized what she was about to do, and it finally jolted him into action.
“Melanie, wait,” he said suddenly.
She paused and glanced up at him with a frown on her face. They stared at each other for a short while, her silently asking for permission with her eyes. Terry was on the verge of telling her to stop, but the words failed him. His shoulders slumped in resignation and he shamefully closed his eyes, consenting to let her do as she willed.
Her fingers went to work again, unbuttoning his pants and pulling down the zipper. Terry hated himself as he let her to pull down the top of his boxers and allowed his swollen member to spring free where it rose to its full length.
His eyes were closed, so he couldn’t see her reaction, but he heard her intake of breath. Dana had always been impressed with size, not to mention what he could do with it, so he assumed that Melanie was impressed as well. Thinking about Dana though buried him in another avalanche of guilt, and he almost made her stop again.
But then he felt her soft hand wrap around him, and all other thoughts escaped him. She held him gently, stroking it with her thumb. Then she leaned in and placed a kiss to the head. Her lips parted and her tongue poked out, and she gave his head a light lick. Terry inhaled loudly at the sensation, and she began licking up along his length. Her hand began moving up and down on it as well, the wetness she left behind aiding in her strokes.
Terry grit his teeth, both from the sensation she was bringing him and the conflicting thoughts racing through his head. This was wrong, he knew it was. Sitting here and doing nothing wasn’t going to absolve him of guilt. It wasn’t fair to Dana. He knew he should stop it, and yet couldn’t bring himself to. He should though. He should tell her to leave him be, that he was happy with Dana and wanted to be with her.
But he couldn’t say that, because it wasn’t completely true. Yes, he was happy with Dana and wanted to be with her, but that was also true of Melanie. She was in his heart too, and his heart was so mixed up right now that it was hard to think straight even without her doing what she was doing.
“Melanie,” he managed to say.
She briefly paused in what she was doing, her eyes going up to his face. But then she resumed her actions, giving his length a squeeze, causing his head to produce a few droplets of clear fluid that gathered at the tip. Melanie then dragged her tongue up to the top, not taking her eyes off him as she licked up the pre-cum she had squeezed out of him.
It was such an erotic sight that he forgot his train of thought. It only became worse though as she opened her mouth and took his head inside. Terry let out a groan, his head falling back as she began sucking on his head. He could only describe it as sweet torture, both on his body and his mind, but he could no longer formulate thoughts. Then it became even more difficult as she took more of his length into her mouth, drawing upon it succulently.
It was heaven and hell at the same time. Heaven for how good it felt and hell for the crushing guilt that came with it. But the longer it went on, the more one began to dominate the other. All on its own, his hand found its way to the back of Melanie’s head as she began slowly bobbing up and down on him. Her tongue swirled around his head and flattened on its underside as her lips sensually moved up and down his length as she sucked on him, her hand moving up and down on what she hadn’t taken into her mouth.
It wasn’t sloppy or rushed. Rather, she seemed to be taking her time, truly enjoying the pleasure she was bringing him. It was as if she were trying to express her love for him by making him feel as good as possible, showing him with actions rather than words the depths of her feelings, for one truly spoke louder than the other.
Terry’s mind could no longer focus on anything other than what Melanie’s mouth was doing to him. Thoughts of anyone or anything else were banished to the back of his mind as he took long, deep breaths. And when she took as much of him into her mouth as she could, his other hand tangled in her hair as well.
He massaged her scalp as she continued to move up and down on him. Her own hands now rested on his thigh as she raised and lowered her head, her lips smoothly gliding over his length. He emitted soft groans every time she rose and fell on him, her eyes never leaving his, and it was one of the most erotic sights he ever saw.
Usually, Terry had great endurance and stamina; he needed to in order to be Batman. And that endurance extended to the bedroom as well. However, being the Dark Knight was exhausting and time consuming. As such, it had been a while since he and Dana had fallen into bed together, and it had also been some time since he used his own hand to get off. As a result, he found his stamina quickly being robbed of him as Melanie’s mouth worked over him, and he struggled to gasp out a warning.
“M-Melanie…” he managed to say, “I’m going to…”
He didn’t finish as he focused on holding himself back, but it seemed to be enough to get his message across. And while his hands remained on her head, they did nothing to hold her there, allowing her to pull away if she wanted to.
She didn’t stop however. She didn’t so much as change her pace, as if he hadn’t spoken at all. If anything, she only sucked at him harder. The only change he saw was in her eyes as they seemed to silently tell him to go ahead, that she wanted him to.
He did, unable to hold himself back any longer. He released himself into her mouth, letting out a loud groan in the process. She kept her lips wrapped around him the whole time, keeping as much of him in her mouth as she could as he released spurt after spurt into her wet cavern, never once so much as flinching. She watched him the entire time with nothing less than complete adoration, and when the last of his seed escaped him, she looked straight into his eyes and swallowed.
Terry’s whole body relaxed as the tension seeped out of him. He watched as she removed her mouth from him, licking her lips before bringing her fingers up to them and closing her eyes, almost as if she were savoring the experience. Terry, however, was feeling something else. Now that the distraction of pleasure he had been feeling began to fade, he was left with the guilt, and it hit him with the force of a train.
“Oh, God,” he groaned, covering his face as he realized what he had done, and he fell back onto his bed.
Stupid. He was so damn stupid. How could he have done this? How could he have done this to Dana? Poor Dana. She really deserved someone better than him. How could he have betrayed her like this? He was such a scumbag. A lousy, poor excuse of a boyfriend who wasn’t worthy of someone as patient and understanding as her. She put up with so much of his crap that he dumped on her because of his duties as Batman, and this is how he thanked her, by being unable to keep it in his pants.
Cheater. The word echoed in his head over and over again on a loop. So what if he hadn’t ‘done anything’. Not doing anything was actually the problem. He’d just let it happen. He was so disappointed in himself. He should have put a stop to this. It didn’t matter how conflicted his heart was, he was in a relationship with Dana. That’s all that should have mattered, and that meant no other girls outside of platonic friendships.
And speaking of other girls, he felt Melanie crawl up onto the bed again. She laid down on top of him, resting her head on his chest, her hand over his heart, and simply laid there, not moving or speaking. Terry didn’t move from his position either, keeping an arm draped over his face, the other lying limply on the bed.
He didn’t know how long they stayed like that, but it must have been for several minutes. His mind was in turmoil, both from his betrayal of Dana and for his feelings for Melanie. He wanted to say something, but didn’t know what.
But then she saved him from having to say anything when she spoke instead. “I’m sorry.”
Her words surprised him, and he shifted his arm away from his face enough to glance down at her. “Huh?”
She looked up at him sadly. “I was being selfish. I don’t do things like this. I don’t steal guys from other girls or get involved with ones that are taken. But, Terry, I…” tears gathered in her eyes, and her bottom lip began to tremble, “I just love you so much, and I wanted to show you that. I just couldn’t help being a little selfish.”
He stared at her for several long moments before letting out a sigh. Removing the arm draped over his face, he brought up his other one to wrap it around her, lightly caressing her shoulder.
“No, this was my fault,” he admitted. “I’m the one who cheated on his girlfriend.”
“Terry, you didn’t–”
“I cheated, Melanie,” he interrupted, his anger at himself evident in his voice. “You and I both know that’s what this was, no matter how we try to rationalize or sugarcoat it.”
She didn’t respond for a long time, and instead just rested her head down on him again, looking sad and guilty. “I’m sorry.”
She sounded as if she meant it, but Terry just shook his head. “Like I said, the fault is mine. I’m the one in a relationship, not you. It’s my job, my responsibility, to turn down anyone who comes on to me.”
And he hadn’t, that was on him. How would he tell Dana? Should he tell Dana? It wasn’t like he wasn’t already lying to her and keeping several secrets from her already. Hell, he never even mentioned Melanie to her at all, it had been too painful to talk about, and he didn’t see how it would do anything more than complicate their relationship further.
Several more seconds of silence passed before Melanie finally spoke again. “Are we not too?” She looked up at him. “In a relationship?”
He stared at her for several long moments before realizing that she was thinking along the same lines as he had been earlier. Did they have a relationship? Technically, they had never officially broken up. She had been carted off to jail, and the next time he had seen her had been here in his room, not counting their interaction as Ten and Batman.
Their relationship could have just been considered to be on hold, and maybe she had even seen it as such. Officially, he had never broken up with her, he and Dana had simply gotten back together again while she was in prison. That was no excuse for his actions, of course, but it did make things even more complicated. Things were already hard enough with Dana with him being Batman, but having feelings for two different girls, both of which were entangled in his secret double-life, what a tangled web he had woven.
“Melanie,” he said with a sigh, “I’m with Dana now.”
He could see right away that that hadn’t been the answer she had wanted to hear. “And if you weren’t?”
“But I am.”
She just stared at him after that, possibly trying to see if he meant what he was saying. He did his best to keep his expression straight, to both convince her, and himself, that he did in fact mean it.
In the end, she seemed to take his word for it, because her expression grew sad once more. She moved further up his body though and cupped his face. “Then allow me to be selfish for just a little longer.”
She leaned in and kissed him again, just as lovingly as before. Then pressed her foreheads to his and lightly rubbed their noses together. She then began moving further down, kissing across his chest once more, and Terry’s hand came up to run through his hair as he was overcome by more self-hatred. And yet he still did nothing to stop her, letting her have her way with him.
She all but worshipped him with her kisses and caresses, seemingly intent on tracing her lips over every bit of his flesh. She then sat up and picked up his hand, placing kisses over the back of it, down the length of his index finger, then wrapping her lips around the digit and gently sucking on it. Terry suppressed a groan as she drew upon his finger, wanting to reach for her, but he was at least able to hold himself back from doing that. He instead focused on watching Melanie as she continued to stare at him, her eyes shining with love and desire.
Slipping his finger from her mouth, she stared at him now, seemingly in consideration, lightly nibbling her bottom lip. She then set his hand down and reached behind her, and Terry heard a click as she unclasped her bra. Her hands came back around to cup her breasts, holding her bra to her chest as the straps slid down her shoulders and arms. She looked nervous, but also sure of whatever she was thinking about, and after a few seconds, she lowered her hands, letting her bra come off and exposing her breasts to him.
Terry’s eyes widened at the sight before him. He’d been so mesmerized as he watched her remove the last of her top covering that he hadn’t even thought about stopping her. And now he was mesmerized at the sight of her bare breasts as she presented them to him. God, she was so damn beautiful.
“Terry,” she said quietly, her voice betraying her nervousness, “say something.”
He answered honestly and without thinking, saying the first thing that came to mind. “You’re flawless.”
A light shade of pink colored her cheeks as her lips curved upward a bit in a small smile. She then reached for his hand again and brought it up, gently pressing it to her breast. This seemed to be enough to snap him out of his stupor, causing him to, once again, realize what he was doing.
“Melanie, wait,” he said, and pushed himself to sit up, “I told you, we can’t do this. I can’t do this.”
She frowned sadly, but there was understanding in her eyes as she let his hand go. “Right, because of Dana,” she said, sounding defeated.
“It isn’t fair to her,” he told her, removing his hand from her breast. “I’ve betrayed her enough already. And…” he gave her a sorrowful look, “it’s not fair to you either.” At her questioning look, he elaborated. “It’s not fair to do this with you when I’m with her. I won’t just use you, Melanie. You deserve better than that. I can’t give you what you really want.”
The look of heartbreak that flashed across her face nearly shattered his own, and she turned away, blinking back tears. He instinctively reached out to comfort her, but then closed his hand into a fist as he forced himself to hold himself back. She didn’t seem to notice though, but soon turned back to him, and he saw what he could only describe as sad acceptance written across her face.
She reached for him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she hugged him. Her breasts pressed against his chest, but her actions weren’t done with the intent to seduce, but as a display of affection and a need for comfort. “What I want is you. You’re all I’ve ever really wanted, Terry. I don’t care if it’s not fair to me. It’s not fair no matter what, but I don’t care. I don’t care how you treat me, I don’t care whether I deserve it or not, I just need you.”
She spoke with such desperation, as if she really were clinging to him like he was a life preserver preventing her from drowning. And perhaps that was indeed the case. She never really had anyone be there for her, not even her family, not really, even though she had been forced into a life of crime by them and was going to risk her life to save them. Who else did she have? Who else did she ever have besides him?
“Melanie,” he whispered, his arm going around her to rest against her back in a half-hug.
She pulled back slightly and wiped her eyes before giving him a pleading look. “I know she’s in your heart, Terry. I’m not going to try and steal you from her. But is it so much to ask that I have a small piece of your heart too?” She placed her hand over his chest, feeling the beating organ inside it. “I may not survive what I have to do, so can I at least have until tonight with you? I know that’s not fair to ask, and I know it’s horribly selfish of me, but can I pretend for just a little while that you’re mine? She can have the rest of you, but can this time just be for me? Will you at least grant me that?”
“Melanie,” he repeated sorrowfully.
Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it! He couldn’t take this. He couldn’t stand that look of love and pleading that she was giving him. If she was just some other girl, that would be one thing, but she wasn’t. And despite everything, despite what she had done and what she was still planning to do, despite the fact that he loved and was with Dana, the truth was that he still loved her too.
Damn his love life. This was too much to deal with. Fighting an assortment of deadly and powerful criminals wasn’t as hard as this. He was in love with two women and didn’t know what to do about it. How could he possibly choose between them? He knew he had to, but how could he? No matter what he decided, he felt like he would be ripping his own heart out while stomping on one of theirs at the same time. How exactly was he supposed to deal with that?
But Melanie wasn’t asking him to choose. She seemed to have accepted that he had already chosen. Now all she was asking for was until tonight, before she ran off to what could be her death. Could he give her that much?
Yes, yes, he could. He would still need to work out his feelings and make a decision later, but he could give her until tonight. It wasn’t fair to Dana, he knew that, and he felt horrible for that, but this wasn’t about her, or even him. This was about Melanie. He could give her the portion of his heart that she possessed. As for Dana, he would deal with the repercussions and guilt regarding his actions later. He’d already crossed that line anyway.
He glanced back at her pleading face, her sad eyes asking, imploring. He let out a sigh, hating himself, and reached up to cup her cheek, gently stroking it with his thumb. “I can do that.”
At his words, he saw a spark of life return to her eyes, and her lips pulled into a grateful smile. Her arms went around his neck again and she moved to sit in his lap. He held her close as she brought their faces together and whispered against his lips. “Terry.”
This time he moved first, pressing his lips to hers. He would hate himself for this later. Right now, this was about Melanie, about what they once had together, what they still had. Her arms tightened around him, as if she never wanted to let him go, as she turned her upper body into him as far as she could. One of his hands rested on her upper back, the other on her waist as he held her to him, and underneath her, he felt his softened member begin to stir.
The hand on her back soon slid around her front, moving to one of her breasts and cupping it. Melanie’s mouth opened in a gasp, and he took advantage of the opening to slip his tongue inside. Hers immediately tangled with his, and their two muscles rubbed together sensually.
They continued kissing for a time as Terry’s hand gently squeezed and massaged her breast, teasing her nipple to a point. His other hand came up between them as well to take hold of her other breast. She moaned into his mouth as he lightly tweaked and rolled around her nipples, tangling her hands in his hair to keep their faces close.
When they came apart, they once again rested their foreheads together, simply enjoying the physical contact. Melanie then nuzzled into his neck before bringing her lips to his ear and whispering to him, “Go down on me, please?”
It was phrased as a request, her way of asking what he would be willing to do during this time he had granted her. His betrayal to Dana already ran deep, but he found that he couldn’t deny her, not right now. He would regret this and hate himself for his actions later, but right now was for Melanie.
Reaching up, he stroked her hair. “Lie down for me.”
She complied, crawling off his lap and sitting on the bed beside him before lying back. He took her legs, draping them over his lap, and ran a hand down her smooth skin to her boot, and then gently slipped it off. Once it was removed, he plucked the end of her sock and slowly pulled that off as well before leaning down and pressing a kiss to her calf. He then gave her other leg the same treatment, pressing a kiss to that calf as well.
With her boots and socks removed, Melanie reached for her skirt. Raising her bottom, she shimmied it down her hips and legs, wiggling it down to her feet before gently kicking it onto the floor, leaving her in only a black thong that matched the bra that lay discarded with the rest of her clothes. Shifting on the bed, Terry turned to her and reached for her thong himself, hooking his fingers in the sides and slowly pulling it down her legs. She raised them up to assist him, and off came her last article of clothing.
Dropping her final barrier to join the rest of her clothes, Terry stared down at Melanie in all her naked glory. She brought her legs down, allowing them to fall open as she exposed herself to him. She sat up slightly, propping herself up on her arms and observed his reaction, looking both nervous and needy. Terry barely noticed as his eyes ran over her fully exposed body. He had been right in his description of her earlier, she was flawless.
His eyes eventually made their way up to her face and locked onto hers, finding them loving and wanting. He then began the process of kicking off his shoes and removing his socks before shifting to face her as he kneeled on the bed. She scooted back further and laid back as he moved between her bended knees, reaching up to spread them further.
Once again, Dana’s face flashed in his mind, and he guiltily forced himself to push it aside, ignoring his self-loathing. It was Melanie who needed him now. This was his time to express his love for her without words until he could fully work out his feelings enough to make a decision between the two of them. People might judge him harshly for that, calling him an indecisive, cheating two-timer, and he certainly felt that way about himself, but they couldn’t understand his situation, nor the depths of his feelings for both girls.
He was distracted from his thoughts when he felt a hand run through his hair, and he glanced up at Melanie. She lovingly stroked his face, her eyes needy and full of desire as she watched him, waiting. His own eyes moved away from her beautiful face, over her firm breasts and flat, toned stomach, down to the triangle of blonde curls above the junction of her legs, landing on her nether-lips. He felt his mouth water as he stared at them. He’d wanted to taste her for so long.
Slowly lowering his head, he turned his face into her leg and pressed a kiss to her inner thigh. He kissed his way closer and closer to her center, feeling the heat radiating off her. He paused when he reached her core, then pressed a light kiss to her nether-lips. He heard a deep intake of breath from her, and he followed up with a second kiss to the top of her slit.
She was already beginning to weep with arousal, and he ran his tongue from the bottom of her slit to the top. A gasp escaped her and her body jerked at the contact, her legs briefly squeezing his head. He brought his hands up to open her legs further and then gave her another lick before lightly blowing over her.
“Terry,” she whimpered, her voice cracking slightly.
He glanced up at her, seeing that she had closed her eyes and covered her mouth. “Do you want me to stop?”
He wasn’t entirely sure if he was asking for her or for him. Either way, it didn’t matter, because she shook her head and looked down at him, silently begging him to continue. He complied, lowering his head again and licking along her slit. Her hips rose at the contact and she let out a muffled cry. Terry then began to repeatedly drag his tongue over her nether-lips, earning him more whimpers and mewls from her.
Reaching around her leg, he used his thumb and index finger to spread her before he began probing her with his tongue. Melanie’s back arched as she let out a loud cry, her arms dropping to her sides. She grabbed handfuls of the sheets and began twisting and pulling at them as her head turned side to side. Terry just focused on trying to keep her still as he licked along the inside and outside of her labia. He switched out his index finger for his middle finger to hold her open as he began rubbing the former over her clit. She continued to grow wetter under his ministrations, and he proceeded to lap up her sweet nectar.
“Terry,” she cried out again as she shifted about, yanking on the sheets. “Terry. Oh, God, Terry. Don’t stop.”
He didn’t think he could stop if he wanted to. Her taste was addictive. Her whimpers and moans were music to his ears. He needed more of it, more of her, more of everything she had to offer. He released one of her legs and inserted a finger into her, and Melanie cried out so loudly that he was glad his mother and Matt weren’t home. They shouldn’t be back for a couple hours yet, not until it was night, right around the time Melanie said she had to leave. He didn’t want to think about that right now though, he just wanted to savor his time with her while it lasted.
Removing his finger, he grasped her hips with both hands and lifted them up as he fully latched her mouth onto her center. Melanie began emitting noises that almost made it sound like she was crying, but they were undoubtedly sounds of enjoyment. She lifted the sheets into the air before releasing them and hugging herself. Terry tilted her hips up even higher as he feasted on her, observing how she began running her hands over her body.
This may have been his first time doing this with her, but he could tell that she was close. Beads of sweat dotted her body and her cheeks were rosy with a blush. Tears were present in the corners of her eyes as she squeezed them tightly and bit down on her bottom lip, her hands once again seizing the bedsheets and twisting them tightly. She seemed incapable of speech as she lifted her own hips towards his face, her toes curling on either side of his head.
Terry was almost afraid she would make her lip bleed with how hard she seemed to be biting on it, but then her mouth flew open in a loud scream that made him once again grateful that no one was home. Her back completely arched off the bed until she was practically balancing on her shoulders as her orgasm sent her into a frenzy.
She began repeatedly thrusting her hips into his face as he lapped at the juices she released. Her legs trembled as he balanced them on his shoulders. Her voice repeatedly got caught in her throat and she seemed to have trouble breathing as she jerked about, lost in a wave of ecstasy.
Gently lowering her to the bed, Terry watched as pleasure continued to overtake her until her body finally started calming down. The gasps that were getting caught in her throat soon gave way to heavy breathing as she finally fell flat on the bed. Releasing the bedsheets, her hands came up to cover her face, and a choking sob escaped her. It was a sound of both heartbreak and joy that caused Terry’s own heart to clench.
Sitting up, he turned to let his feet hang over the side of the bed, not taking his eyes off Melanie. The movement seemed to stir her and she removed her hands, revealing her flushed face. The tears in her eyes began to slide down her face as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. Terry reached out and gently brushed them away. Her hands came up, taking his in both of hers, and she brought it to her lips, pressing a lingering kiss to it.
“Oh, Terry,” she whispered, nuzzling his knuckles. “You’re wonderful.”
She pressed his hand to her cheek, giving him a look of the utmost affection as more tears fell, a small smile grazing his lips. They remained like that for a long while, simply staring at each other. Guilt clawed at Terry’s chest, but it was overpowered by the affection he felt for her. No matter how much he knew he would berate himself for this later, he also knew he could never regret this time with her.
She seemed to read something in his expression, her own becoming more serious. She moved in towards him and their lips met. One of her hands rested against his chest, feeling his heartbeat, but as they continued to kiss, it slowly slid down to his lap.
Terry’s member had long since grown hard again, becoming fully erect, and Melanie’s hand soon made contact with it. Taking hold of it, she began pumping her hand up and down as they continued to exchange kisses. Her other hand eventually moved to the top of his still open pants and she began to push them down.
Breaking the kiss, she whispered against his lips. “Take these off.”
She gave his pants a yank of encouragement. Terry hesitated as his thoughts turned to Dana again. He’d already betrayed her, but this, this was so final, the last act of betrayal before he was officially a cheater in every sense of the word. He didn’t want to do that, he didn’t want to go there, he hated himself enough already. But where exactly did he think that this was going to go once it started?
“Melanie,” he said weakly, “I don’t know…”
She looked up at him with her pleading eyes. “Please, Terry. I need you so much. I need to feel you at least one time. Let me have you just once.”
Closing his eyes, Terry bit back a curse. How was it that not cheating on his girlfriend could feel like the wrong decision? It was like some kind of twisted, cosmic joke. Could he really go through with this? One way or another, he was going to have to pick one of them. Melanie or Dana, two girls he loved and who both loved him. He couldn’t and wouldn’t string them along, he needed to make a choice.
But he couldn’t do that right now, his thoughts and feelings were too mixed up right now. And now that he thought about it, since he had never officially broken up with Melanie after her arrest, she was technically still his girlfriend. In Melanie’s eyes, had she still viewed him as her boyfriend, even while she was in prison? Since he had gotten back together with Dana after Melanie had been arrested without breaking up with her, did that actually mean that he had been cheating on her with Dana all this time? God, thinking about this was making his head hurt. And the lack of blood reaching his brain right now was making it even harder to think properly. What a confusing mess this was.
He glanced at her again. She was still watching him and waiting. After several long moments though, he let out a resigned sigh. Lifting up, he began to push both his pants and his boxers down. Melanie assisted him, pushing and pulling at the material until they came off. Once they were gone, she didn’t so much as hesitate for a second. She instantly threw a leg over him and sat in his lap. Her arms immediately went around his neck and she hugged him tightly, their naked bodies in full contact with each other.
A soft groan escaped Terry at the feel of Melanie’s body flush against his own. His own arms came up, going around her back to hold her close, and she nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck. He simply held her like that for a few moments, then pressed a kiss to her shoulder. She lifted her head and gazed at him, reaching up to smooth his hair back, as if she wanted to see as much of his face as she could, then leaned in and kissed him.
It wasn’t passionate or deep, just the mere pressing together of lips, as if she were trying to convey her love. She held the kiss for a long while before breaking it, but still pressed a few short kisses to his lips afterwards before pulling away, as if she were reluctant to do so, and simply stared at him with a loving but sad smile. Terry wanted to take away that sadness and reached up, gently caressing her face. Some of her hair hung over her shoulder and he brushed it back behind her.
He saw some of the sadness fade from her expression, her smile widening the smallest bit. She then reached down between them and took hold of his member. Rising up on her knees, not once did she look away as he felt her position him, and he inhaled deeply as he felt his head press against her wet heat, realizing that this was it. More guilt raced through him, but it all but disappeared when she inserted his head, and her nether-lips parted to welcome him inside her.
Releasing him, she placed both hands on his shoulders. Her nails bite into his shoulders as she hovered over him, and then began to slowly lower herself. Terry’s breath hitched and he felt her go tense as she began to envelop him, looking into his eyes the entire time. And when her hips made contact with his and he bottomed out inside her, her mouth fell open in a silent gasp.
It was done, he was inside her, finally inside her, something that he, that they both, had wanted since the day they met. And now that moment was finally here. She was clearly no virgin, but her inner walls still tightly squeezed him as she kept her hips pressed to his, holding him inside.
They remained like that, simply staring at each other as they remained joined as one, and deep, wheezing breaths began to escape Melanie. Terry grew concerned that something was wrong, almost afraid that she was going to start hyperventilating. “Melanie, what’s wrong?”
Her bottom lip started trembling and she shook her head. When she stopped, there was a smile on her face that was somehow both overjoyed and profoundly sad, as if she had just obtained something wonderful that she knew wouldn’t last. Tears began sliding down her cheeks again and she opened her mouth to speak, but it seemed to take a few moments to find her voice.
“I finally have you,” she said, sounding both rapturous and heartbroken all at once. “I’ve wanted this for so long, and now I finally have you. Even if it’s just for a little while.”
He internally winced. She sounded as if she knew that she’d already lost him and was trying to savor what little she could get. He wanted to tell her that that may not be the case, that his choice wasn’t made. But if he did end up choosing Dana, it wouldn’t be right to give Melanie hope just to break her heart; doing so might just break her completely. It would be best not to say anything until his choice was made. But he could give himself to her now and fully be here with her while this lasted.
He leaned in and kissed away her tears. As he pulled back, Melanie gave him a tender smile before wiping away the wet trails from her cheeks, then hooked her arms around his neck. They stared at each other for a long while, and then she slowly began to move on him. A light groan escaped him as she ever so lightly moved her hips forward and back.
As she slowly grew more confident with her movements, Terry’s hands moved to her lower back to help steady her. She rocked back and forth on him, and he began gently mimicking her. As they moved together, her lips slowly parted as she began releasing light pants, her eyes growing hooded. Her arms tightened around his neck and Terry pulled her a little closer as he observed her sweet expression.
“Terry,” she whimpered, suddenly hugging him tightly, pressing her cheek to his face. He pressed a kiss to her neck, causing her to release a loud gasp before she bit down on her bottom lip as he lightly nibbled and licked at her skin. “Terry, please kiss me.”
She turned her face to his and he lifted his head and kissed her. His arms moved higher, hugging her close as they held each other in a passionate embrace. Mouths opened, tongues tangling, they kissed as they moved together, and Melanie moaned into his mouth as she tightened her hold on him. Their bodies were in full contact, her breasts rubbing against his chest with their rocking motions.
They came apart when they needed air, and Terry lowered his head to her luscious breasts and took a pebbled nipple into his mouth, something he had been wanting to do since she had bared them to him. She sucked in a loud breath of air as her head fell back and clung to his shoulders, her nails digging into his skin. His arms around her prevented her from falling back, but he moved one to her front to grasp her other breast.
A high-pitched moan escaped Melanie as she pushed her chest towards him, her head falling further back. She pulled him more into her chest, her back arching, her face to the ceiling. Terry sucked at her nipple, gently taking it between his teeth and pulling on it, swirling his togue around the rosy bud. His hand gave attention to her other breast, giving her whatever pleasure he could with it.
“Oh, God, Terry,” she breathed loudly, leaning far back while holding onto his shoulders. “I can feel you touching my womb. You feel so amazing in me.”
Terry’s only response was to switch breasts. Melanie made a mumbling sound and licked her lips before pulling herself upright again and hugging his head to her chest, letting out a sigh as she buried her face into his hair and rocked against him. Terry continued to tease and torment her, kissing along her breasts and circling his tongue around her areola. He felt her hand close in his hair as she continued rocking on him, feeling his scalp sting slightly as her grip on it tightened.
Bringing his hands down, he gripped her rear and shifted on the mattress, scooting around so he could lift his legs up onto the bed. Melanie adjusted with him, and once he had his legs stretched out, she pushed him to lay down. She breathed heavily as she stared down at him, pinning him down with her hands on his chest. Terry had never seen such a look of raw want before, and it sent his heart racing.
“I want to ride you,” she told him breathlessly.
Leaning down, she pressed a lingering kiss to his lips, then sat up to sit astride him, staring down at him from behind the curtain of hair that was partially obstructing her face. She began to rise and fall on him, rising up on her knees and then grinding back down on him. Terry let out a groan as he took hold of her hips as she moved on him. He watched as her own hands moved up her body to take hold of her breasts, caressing and rolling them in time with her movements.
Terry could think of few sights more erotic and arousing than that of Melanie riding him. Her eyes drifted shut and her mouth fell open as she began panting, her hair bouncing around her as she rose and fell on him. He slid a hand across her stomach and down to where they were joined, and he began rubbing his thumb over her clit. She hissed in response, briefly pausing in her movements. She resumed shortly after though, running a hand over her face, pushing her hair back and tangling her hands in it.
Arching her back, she thrusted against him as she faced the ceiling. Soft sounds escaped her as she grinded against him, her other hand squeezing her breast and tugging on her nipple. Terry’s gaze remained fixated on her, and he rose up and attached his mouth to her other breast, hearing her intake of air. She kept moving though, her eyes remaining closed in bliss, and he sucked hard at her nipple.
She released her other breast to tangle both hands in her hair, gathering it up in a bunch that she grasped behind her head. Detaching his mouth from her, Terry fell back down into the mattress and took hold of both of her breasts as she rotated her hips while riding him.
“It’s never been like this before,” she whispered, almost seemingly talking to herself.
Terry could relate. She’d obviously had at least one other lover before him while he’d never had another besides Dana, but there was something unique and different about being with Melanie that he hadn’t felt before. Was it merely because she was a different lover, or was it something exclusive to them? Despite also being Batman, he didn’t have the playboy reputation Mr. Wayne had, so he couldn’t say. There had always been some intense chemistry between him and Melanie though, and it was coming out now.
Releasing her hair, Melanie leaned forward, balancing and holding herself up with her hands on his chest. Terry’s own hands returned to her hips to help guide her movements as she rocked against him, keeping their nether regions pressed together. His eyes found hers and they held each other’s gazes. For a short while, he saw all traces of loneliness and sadness vanish from her eyes as she lost herself in him, the two of them speaking silently to each other without words.
Her movements began to speed up, her panting coming out faster. Terry’s own breathing was heavy, and he was emitting his own occasional pleasured grunts. Hisses escaped him as well as he felt Melanie’s nails dig into his chest, and some instinctual part of his mind that always worried about his Batman injuries being seen now warned him of the possibility of Melanie leaving any marks on him that Dana might notice.
He couldn’t be bother to take caution of such a thing right now though as his own fingers gripped Melanie’s hips with near-bruising force. And depending on his decision, it might not even matter if she left any marks on him or not. But then it became a moot point as her hands slid outward to his arms, running down their length to his hands. They interlocked their fingers and held them up. Melanie smiled down at him tenderly as she began slowly rising and falling on him again, holding his hands for balance.
“Terry,” she said, her voice cracking slightly. “I’m getting close. I think I’m about to cum. Oh, God, please make me cum.”
Terry could only utter a grunt that was some semblance of her name as a response. She began thrusting down on him harder, and her moans became higher-pitched and more desperate. Her hold on his hands tightened as she began stretching her arms out and then bringing them back in, her body twisting and jerking on top of his. A small cry suddenly escaped her and she suddenly dropped forward releasing his hands as she collapsed on him. She didn’t stop moving though, bringing her hips up and down on him as she gripped his shoulders.
Terry’s hands went around her back to hold her to him as he thrusted up into her, matching her rhythm. She moaned and whimpered into his ear as her hips moved faster and faster until he nearly fell out of her, and he moved one of his hands down to her lower back to help control her movements. Melanie’s voice grew louder and louder, no longer moaning, but letting out small cries that were rising in volume.
She finally let out one final cry that was drawn out until the breath in her lungs was used up as she slammed her hips down on him one last time. Her legs squeezed him tightly and Terry felt her inner walls begin to contract around him as her passage was flooded by a rush of her juices. He held her tightly as she quivered in his arms, gripping his shoulders and emitting small choking whimpers in his ear. Her body jerked a few times, almost as if to get away from him, like the sensations were too intense for her, but she clung to him just as tightly as he held her.
Her grip on him eventually loosened as her body began to settle down, and she finally seemed to start breathing again. Terry was almost surprised she hadn’t passed out from lack of oxygen, but she was making up for it now with her deep, heavy panting. He gently stroked up and down her back, once again admiring how soft her skin was, and she released his shoulders briefly to instead hook her arms underneath his before grabbing hold of them again to ensure that there was absolutely no space between them.
Lifting her head, she stared down at him, her face flushed and damp with perspiration, her hair disheveled. Terry didn’t think she’d ever looked more beautiful. He didn’t get to admire the view long though as she lowered her mouth to his, kissing him passionately. Terry kissed her back just as hungrily. His body still demanded more, but he kept himself in check, not willing to ruin this moment by letting his lust get the better of him.
They slowly rolled onto their sides, remaining in a tight embrace, and her legs entangled with his. They continued to kiss, only briefly coming apart for air before locking lips again, until Melanie finally pulled away and stared at him with her loving gaze, giving him an adoring smile as she reached up and stroked his hair.
“Don’t stop,” she whispered to him.
She must have realized that he hadn’t finished. It seemed his stamina had completely returned after his first release. With one hand on her lower back, he began to slowly move in and out of her. Melanie’s mouth fell open in a silent mewl as she brought up her leg, hooking it around his calf. She leaned in and gave him a light kiss, and they panted in each other’s mouths for a short while before she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, lovingly rubbing her cheek against his.
They remained on their sides as they moved together, gently making love. Terry eventually turned them more so that she was on her back with him on top of her. There was no hesitation on her part, she immediately opened her legs fully and wrapped them around his waist, allowing him to penetrate her more deeply. Terry lifted himself up and stared down at her. She looked up at him with glistening eyes, keeping her hands hooked around his neck.
“Oh, Terry,” she said, her voice laced with passion. “Say my name.”
His gaze became more tender as he stared a down at her. “Melanie.”
The look that crossed her face at hearing him say her name like that almost undid him. She gently pulled him down to her and their lips met in a heated kiss. Her arms wrapped around him tightly, keeping him close, and he held her just as tightly as well.
The kiss ended, but they kept their lips in contact, and she whispered against his mouth, “Say it again.”
He kissed her again before whispering her name against her lips. He began rocking against her, resuming their love making, and he felt her hips rise to meet his and her heels lock together around him as she used then to help push him into her.
Her arms tightened around him, and she nuzzled into his shoulder as she spoken in his ear. “Keeping saying it, Terry. Say it as you make love to me.”
It felt wrong to say her name in the heat of passion like this when his heart was still so conflicted and indecisive. And yet he couldn’t stop it from falling from his lips as he continued to move within her. He heard her gasp out his own name into his ear along with her breathy moans as she clung to him, matching his pace as they moved together.
“God, I love you, Terry,” she panted into his ear. “I love you so much. I need you, Terry. Terry. Terry.”
“I’m here,” he whispered to her.
“It’s not enough,” she gasped out. “I need more of you. I want all of you.”
He lifted his head and looked down at her. “This is all I can give,” he told her, begging her to understand his predicament. He couldn’t give her any certainties or make her any promises until he worked out his feelings once and for all.
In response, she reached up, grasping the back of his head and pulling him down to kiss him with all her love. “Then give me everything you can. All you’re able to give, let me have it. For now, let it be mine.”
He gave her what she asked for, kissing her with everything he had, everything he could give. She clung to him desperately, making sure there wasn’t so much as the smallest bit of space between them. He groaned into her mouth as her nails scratched at his back. He continued driving into her, and she thrusted back encouragingly. The mattress creaked underneath them, mixing with the pleasured sounds they released that echoed throughout the room.
They moved in sync, as naturally as long-time lovers, kissing, caressing, giving and taking. Melanie was reduced to a panting mess beneath him, her legs falling from his waist with her feet flat on the bed, her hands dropping down to stretch out and twist the sheets in her grasp. Her back arched and her mouth fell open as Terry rocked into her, her breasts rubbing against his chest with every motion. He stared down at her passion-filled face, his own straining as he attempted to hold himself back, wanting to bring her to the brink again.
Reaching up, he wiped his damp face before leaning down to rest fully on top of her, latching his lips onto her pulse point. Melanie whimpered in response, her toes curling and her hands yanking at the bedsheets. Her squirming grew more frantic and her inner muscles seemed to be attempting to suck him in even further, signaling her approaching release, and he pushed to get her there before he did.
“Terry, I’m close,” she gasped out. “So close. Oh! Ah! Are you?”
“Yes,” he grunted out as he drove into her.
She released the bedsheets and grasped his face, kissing him with all her pent-up passion. “Cum in me. I want to feel it. Let’s cum together. Ooooh! Please, Terry. Cum. With. Me.”
Her urging was quickly breaking his control. Grasping her shoulders, his movements also began to border on desperate. Melanie cried out each time his hips met hers until she grasped the back of his head and pulled him down into a kiss. She continued to cry out into his mouth, refusing to break lip contact. Her other arm went around his back and her legs locked around his waist once more, keeping them as close as possible.
Terry swallowed her muffled scream as he felt the start of her orgasm. He stopped holding back and strove to reach his own release. And with the feel of her inner walls convulsing around him, he reached it a few thrusts later. He let out his own pleasured groan into Melanie’s mouth as she continued to whimper into his, and he felt her fingers in his hair and her limbs around him tighten.
He held himself as deeply inside her as he could as he continued to release spurt after spurt into her. She quivered underneath him, his weight on top of her holding her in place as her body jerked. Their kiss finally came to an end and her head fell back with a loud sigh, but she continued to cling to him.
“I can feel it,” she said blissfully with her eyes closed. “I can feel it inside me. Oh, Terry.”
He barely registered her words as his own mind went blank. His energy felt completely zapped, and he collapsed on top of her with a huff. She no longer clung to him so tightly, but she still refused to let him go, keeping her arms and legs wrapped around him.
They laid there in an entanglement of limbs, and as Terry began to be able to think properly again, he became aware of Melanie sniffling. He picked up his head and looked down at her and saw that she was weeping again, much more openly than before. He hated seeing her cry, and he wiped her tears away, only for more to fall.
“Melanie,” he said tenderly.
Her tear-filled eyes opened and she gave him the most loving smile. “Oh, Terry. That was beautiful. Thank you.” She hugged him tightly. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Her tears kept flowing as she pressed several kisses to his face, shoulder, and neck. Letting out a sigh, he began to lift himself off her, but her limbs around him immediately tightened, preventing him from moving away.
“Not yet,” she begged, her nails digging into his back. “Please, just hold me for a while.”
He lowered himself back down on her, and her hold on him loosened. He grew concerned that he might crush her though, so he rolled onto his back, keeping himself inside her as he took her with him. She allowed this and settled on top of him with a sigh, resting her head on his chest and tangled her legs with his. Terry’s arms went around her and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
For the next several minutes, they land there and simply held and cuddled each other. No words were spoken as they basked in the afterglow of their love making. Terry absentmindedly twirled a lock of her hair as she traced patterns on his chest with her finger. Although he knew that their problems hadn’t disappeared, right now they felt a million miles away. Right now, they weren’t Batman and Ten, they were simply Terry and Melanie, two lovers with an unresolved history and an uncertain future. Nothing else mattered right now except for them.
Turning her face to press a kiss to his chest, Meanie nuzzled him. “I love listening to your heartbeat. I could listen to it forever.”
He didn’t respond, but tightened his hold on her. He knew that the real world would soon come knocking and they would have to face reality once more, but he just wanted this moment to last for as long as it could.
Sadly, that moment did not last long. As Melanie rested her head against his chest once more, he felt some of the tension return to her, and when she spoke a few moments later, he heard the sadness return to her voice. “The sun is setting.”
On reflex, he glanced at the window, seeing that the sun was indeed going down. Had they really been making love for that long? A quick peak at his watch showed that they had been. That meant that she would be leaving soon; she had said that she needed a place to stay until tonight. No, she couldn’t leave yet, he wasn’t ready to let her go yet. He wasn’t ready for what was to come when she resumed her guise as Ten to try and save her family. He wasn’t ready to face off against her again, because as Batman, he would be duty-bound to stop her.
Instinctually, he tightened his hold on her. “Don’t go.”
She let out a sigh, one that held all her regret, letting him know just how much she didn’t want to. “I have to. I’m sorry, Terry, but my family needs me.” She extracted herself from his arms and sat up, and he finally slipped from her body as she moved off him. “Do you mind if I use your shower before I leave? I need to clean up.”
“That’s fine, but, Melanie, listen,” he said, reaching for her as she stood up, grabbing her wrist. “Please, don’t leave. Let’s… Let’s just talk about this a bit. I’m sure we can come up with a plan to save your family without you having to rob anyone.”
She hung her head, glancing at him sadly from behind her blonde locks. “We already talked about this, Terry. I wish that were possible, but this is the only way. I can’t risk my family’s safety. I… This is just something I have to do.”
She weakly tugged her hand free and slowly made her way out of his room. Terry let her go, not sure what he could say to change her mind. A minute or two later, he heard the shower start running, and he crossed his arms and began thinking.
What could he, Terry McGinnis, do or say to convince her not to go through with this? The police weren’t an option, and she didn’t trust Batman, not that he could offer a way to make the latter work without looking suspicious, so what other suggestions could he offer? Perhaps he could call Mr. Wayne and see if he could come up with a solution.
But no, that wasn’t an option either. The old man would just tell him to apprehend her as Batman the moment she left. He was always so suspicious and cynical. As far as the former Dark Knight was concerned, once a criminal, always a criminal. They were never really reformed, just not active for periods of time. And once they returned to their criminal ways, regardless of the reason, it was Batman’s job to stop them.
Damn it. He didn’t see a way out of this. If he couldn’t come up with a way to convince Melanie not to rob that poker game, then he would have to take her down, if he could prevent her from getting killed. Perhaps he could get to her before she even got there and convince her that they could work together. It wouldn’t be easy to get her to trust Batman, and it would be even harder to fight through all the Jokerz to rescue her family, but he didn’t see any other solution.
He was still pondering alternative solutions when he heard the shower turn off. He waited for her to return, and a few minutes later, she walked back in the room with a towel wrapped around her middle and another one that she was using to dry her hair.
She gave him a small smile when he looked up at her. “Thank you. You’re up now if you want; I left you plenty of hot water.”
He could tell that she was trying to lighten the mood with a joke, but he wasn’t in the mood for it. “Melanie, seriously, we need to talk about this. You can’t go, it’s too dangerous.”
The smile left her face and her eyes became downcast as she let out a sigh. “I don’t have a choice, Terry. Not this time. I’ve thought about this from every angle, and there’s nothing else I can do without putting my family at risk. It’s not a chance I’m willing to take.”
She walked back over to him and removed the towels from her hair and torso, then began to get dressed. Terry just watched her, ignoring her nakedness as he continued to try to come up with something to say, but he was coming up with nothing.
She’d finished putting on her socks and thong and was in the middle of strapping on her bra when she glanced at him and gave him a playful smile. “As much as I enjoy the view, you might want to get cleaned up, unless you want your mom and brother to catch you like that.”
He glanced down at his own nakedness. He knew she was trying to lighten the mood again, but she was also right. His mother and brother would be home soon, and the last thing he needed was for them to catch him in a disheveled, post-coitus state. He’d already had a couple close calls in the past with that with him and Dana.
Dana. Thinking of her brought everything crashing down on top of him. He knew the guilt would hit him, and now he felt like the piece of shit he knew he would. It also did nothing to help him in his decision of choosing between the two girls who owned his heart. If he ultimately chose Melanie, then perhaps what he did with her here wouldn’t be so bad since he could just consider this to be the moment his and Dana’s relationship ended. But if he chose Dana… well, then he really would be a cheating piece of shit, and he would do everything he could to make up for his weakness, whether she ever found out or not.
But that was a matter for later. There were more pressing concerns right now. While he would need to make his decision eventually, he had to focus on stopping Melanie from making a big mistake. If he couldn’t convince her to take another path, then he would step in as Batman and offer his assistance in rescuing her family; that is, if he could get her to trust him and believe that they could take on that many Jokerz without putting her family at risk. Preferably, he could convince her to find another solution so it wouldn’t come to that.
Either way, he should get himself cleaned up first so he’d be ready. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He stood up and grabbed the towels she had discarded off the bed, hesitating before leaving the room and glancing back at her. “You’ll still be here when I get back, won’t you?”
She gave him a smile as she finished putting on her skirt. “I’ll be here. I wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye.”
Goodbye. How ominous. He wondered how final that word meant in this context. Goodbye for now? Goodbye because she might die? Goodbye because she might have to leave with her family? Goodbye because she thought that Batman might catch her and send her right back to jail? All of the above? She probably didn’t even know herself. But she would be here, he believed that.
And so would his mother and brother. They should be home soon. It would be bad if they walked in to find Melanie here, so he had to hurry.
Stepping into the shower, he let the hot water pour over him. Despite deciding to put off his choice between Melanie and Dana for later, he couldn’t get it out of his head. It seemed like such an impossible choice. No, it was more like he couldn’t choose between them. No matter how much he wanted to commit to one of them, he loved them both.
Losing one would be like cutting his heart in half. But he didn’t want to be a sleezy two-timer, he had to make a decision. He just didn’t know how he could choose. In truth, he hadn’t even chosen last time, the choice had been taken out of his hands when she had been arrested.
He froze at the thought. Perhaps that was the answer. If he couldn’t decide between them, maybe he shouldn’t. The last time he and Melanie were together, it had been her siding with her family that had brought an end to things between them. So maybe he should put the decision in her hands once more. He’d offer his help as Terry, then if that didn’t work, as Batman. Depending on what she chose to do, he might have his answer.
It wasn’t a perfect plan, but it was something to go off of. He could think on it more from there, depending on what she decided. And with that in mind, he finished up in the shower and headed back into his room.
He found Melanie fully dressed, sitting on his windowsill, looking out at the city. She looked almost… at peace sitting there like that. The calm before the storm he supposed, and he was at least glad that he’d been able to offer her a little time free of all her burdens, because the next few hours would not be easy, for either of them.
Walking over to his bed, he glanced down at his discarded clothes. He considered putting on new ones, but then thought his mother might question his change of wardrobe from earlier; as Batman, he didn’t want to risk casting even the smallest bit of suspicion on himself for anything. So instead he got dressed in the same clothes and took a seat by her on the other side of the windowsill, joining her in watching the city. Neither of them spoke for a long while, they simply enjoyed the peaceful moment in each other’s presence for what it was for as long as it could last.
She seemed to pick up on his inner turmoil and glanced at him with a look akin to melancholy as she broke the silence. “There’s an old saying. ‘Once burned, twice shy’. Is that about what you’re feeling now?”
It was an unexpected question in light of what they had just done. Or maybe not. Was he hesitant about being with her again out of fear of being hurt? Not really. If Dana wasn’t in the equation, then perhaps the two of them could pick up where they left off, despite what the Jokerz were forcing her to do. He could overlook her life as Ten, but the real problem was that he and Dana had been broken up when they had first gotten together. He and Melanie couldn’t just resume a relationship as if nothing had changed.
“No,” he answered honestly in response to her question. “But you did burn me, bad.”
That was the truth too. It wasn’t really so much her being Ten that hurt, it was her not taking the opportunity to give that up when she had the chance. Her family was caught, she could have just left. He would have let her go if she had, he hadn’t even given chase prior to that. She could have even gone to him as Terry and been honest with him about everything.
He would have helped her, she had to have known that he would. But instead, she chose her family, her criminal family who had forced her into a life of crime she didn’t want. She had chosen them over a future with him. That was what had really hurt. And again, he could understand her being unable to leave her family behind to be arrested, even a family as horrible as hers, but it still hurt.
Looking at her, he saw her face fall and could see the regret on her face. “I don’t suppose an apology would put everything back to the way it was before,” she said sadly.
If only it were that simple. And if he didn’t have Dana, perhaps it could be. “Melanie, things have changed.”
He had to make her understand that. His decision may not have been made, but he still had Dana in his heart and was in a relationship with her. Perhaps he had given her hope by sleeping with her, further evidence that he shouldn’t have done that without making a clear choice between the two. There was a hope that he would still choose her, but he couldn’t give her a definitive answer yet, and he had to let her know that he couldn’t promise her anything right now.
“How?” she asked, leaning towards him. Her voice suddenly took on a more playful and seductive tone as she gave him a saucy look. “Are you saying you’re not attracted to me anymore?”
She knew good and well that that wasn’t the case, especially in light of what they had just spent the past couple hours doing. All the same, he gave her teasing question an honest answer. “No, I’m not saying that.”
He couldn’t help but glance at her body, running his eyes from her legs up to her face, where she wore a look of pure seduction, completely with bedroom eyes. She looked so beautiful in the moonlight, and knowing what perfection she had hidden beneath her attire caused his body to stir once more.
“Not at all,” he added for emphasis, unable to resist letting a bit of teasing from entering his tone.
Her smile widened and she leaned in towards him. He moved towards her as well, the space between their faces closing and both their lips puckering. Just before they closed the gap though, they heard the sound of the front door opening, and they instantly sprang apart.
“Terry, we’re home!” he heard his brother announce.
He glanced back at Melanie and saw a regretful smile cross her face as she turned away from him and threw her legs out the window. “That’s my cue,” she whispered.
They were out of time. She was leaving, and he hadn’t been able to come up with anything to stop her. Out of desperation, he reached out and grabbed her arm. “You can’t do this. Not by yourself.”
She paused, if only for a moment, staring back at him as he silently pleaded for her to reconsider. Seeing her hesitation, he dared to hope that she would, but those hopes quickly came crashing down when he saw sadness and longing spread across her face once more.
“I have to,” she told him regretfully. She moved closer to him. “But, Terry, thanks for caring.”
With that, she pressed a quick kiss to his lips and hopped out the window onto the ledge of the building, then took off. Terry reached for her, wanting to call out for her to come back, but words failed him. There was nothing he could say to make her change her mind; she was determined to do whatever it took to save her family.
But if that were the case, then maybe he still had a chance. Terry couldn’t help her, but perhaps Batman still could. He would find her and offer his help in saving her family. After that, the ball would be in her court. Depending on what she decided to do from there could determine where the two of them and their relationship went.
With that in mind, he set out to get ready. No matter what she decided, Batman had a job to do, and he would see it done.
THE END

(A/N: And another one has come to an end. If you saw the episode, you should know how things go from here. I really wish we got more of Melanie in the series, I really like her, and her and Terry together. I wanted to keep things canon though, and I know this made Terry seem like a bastard for cheating on Dana, hence why I tried to portray such an inner conflict within him and try and make it... I don't want to say not as bad, because cheating is always wrong, but perhaps understanding would be a better way of putting it. That's why I tried to have this up in the air status of his relationship with Melanie be brought into question since, technically, they never did break up. I really want to do a full story between these two at some point in the future, so I will be brainstorming ideas, but for now, I hope you enjoyed this one and I'll see you next time.)
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From Now Until Tonight	By : moviefan Category: DC Verse Cartoons > Batman Beyond Views: 547 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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From Now Until Tonight