Source : Varient cover of the comic book, Hush
'Don't cry, snowman, not in front of me
Who'll catch your tears if you can't catch me, darling?
If you can't catch me, darling.....'
The realization hit her soon after he removed his mask and let her in on his biggest secret. His parents. Their horrifying deaths. That's what made him what he was. The grief caused by losing them is what propelled him to become a symbol of fear for Gotham's criminals and a protector of the vulnerable.
Selina thought of all those times she thought she had seen sorrow in Bruce Wayne's eyes. She had dismissed it. It was probably just boredom, she had told herself. Mr Billionaire probably didn't consider the lesser beings worthy of his time. But now.... she admonished herself for being so cruel, even if only in thought.
'Don't cry, snowman, don't leave me this way
A puddle of water can't hold me close, baby
Can't hold me close, baby'
Clearly, he hadn't forgiven himself. Even though it wasn't his fault, even though he was only a child when it happened, he blamed himself. To the point that he struggled with happiness. He couldn't let himself smile, because in his mind he had no right to.
'I want you to know that I'm never leaving
'Cause I'm Mrs. Snow, 'til death we'll be freezing'
Selina Kyle wasn't exactly an expert at comforting those in pain, just as Bruce Wayne was no expert when it came to expressing his own pain. He confided in her for the first time, after one of his nightmares caused him to wake up gasping, about reliving his parents' deaths nearly every night in his dreams. She couldn't find the words to make him feel better. So she awkwardly put her arm around him, and pulled him close. He let her. She held him even as he slept. And soon, sleeping in her arms became his shield against his nightmares. They couldn't get him while he was being protected by her.
'Yeah, you are my home, my home for all seasons
So come on, let's go'
For years, Bruce Wayne had to guess about the kind of childhood Selina must have had. She was even more guarded than he, and was reluctant to share her pain. He was, however, able to deduce that she was a survivor of childhood trauma. His knowledge of psychology enabled him to recognize her coping mechanisms for what they were. Her fierce independence, her inability to display any kind of vulnerability, her ever present sarcasm and wit that she hid behind...... they were all trauma responses.
'Let's go below zero and hide from the sun'
And yet, in spite of all the pain and all the scars she carried on her heart, she made sure to take care of him. She could tell when he was sad. She didn't have to ask him, or even look into her eyes. She just.... knew. She also knew how to bring him out of it.
'I love you forever where we'll have some fun
Yes, let's hit the North Pole and live happily
Please, don't cry no tears now, it's Christmas, baby'
She was so quick and stealthy, it would take him a moment to realise that she had run off with his utility belt. Of course, be needed to get his damn belt back. Forgetting all his sorrow, he would set off after her. They leaped across the rooftops of Gotham, having a grand old time as they did so. The chase would get his blood pumping, his heart racing and before he knew it, he would be grinning. The anticipation of being able to catch her could fend off all the bad memories, all the trauma that tormented him.
'My snowman and me
My snowman and me
Baby.....'
When he did finally catch her, they would both burst out laughing. For no reason, other than that they felt so alive in each other's arms. Typically, this would be followed by torrid passion. In his bed, or hers. Or sometimes, even right there on the rooftop.
'Don't cry, snowman, don't you shed a tear
Who'll hear my secrets if you don't have ears, baby?
If you don't have ears, baby'
She had opened up to him when a particularly tragic case of child neglect and abuse opened up some old wounds of her own. He had to beg her to talk to him, as she hyperventilated and struggled to hold her tears in. But eventually she did. She told him how her own "father" would openly question her paternity and would use it as justification to verbally abuse her or neglect her basic needs. Just like the sperm doner of the little girl she had found on the street. Her bruises, her tears reminded Selina a little too much of her own childhood. She allowed herself to cry in his arms. He, in turn, knew just how significant it was for Selina to be vulnerable. He had held her and gently kissed her hair.
Their scars uniting them, more firmly than any marriage ever could.
'I want you to know that I'm never leaving
'Cause I'm Mrs. Snow, 'til death we'll be freezing'
Jason's death had been yet another cruel blow life had dealt them. He had shut her out. Reverting back to his old ways of keeping all his pain to himself, he would act cold and distant just to get her to leave him. To get her to come to her senses and realize that she could do better than a man who couldn't even protect his son. And for a time, it had worked. She distanced herself, as she couldn't watch him torture himself for a crime he didn't commit.
'Yeah, you are my home, my home for all seasons
So come on, let's go'
But not for long. All it took was for her life to be threatened by the diabolically brilliant Thomas Elliott for Bruce to open his heart to her. There in that hospital room, he had confessed everything he had ever felt for her. She did the same.
'Let's go below zero and hide from the sun
I love you forever where we'll have some fun
Yes, let's hit the North Pole and live happily
Please, don't cry no tears now, it's Christmas, baby'
The missing piece of both of their hearts, Jason, had also returned to them in time. With the resilience that came so naturally to them, they began rebuilding their lives. With maturity, and with some help from their friends and family, came the realization that they were more alike than different. And, as Dick Grayson had so eloquently stated, at their age, angst did not become them. They needed to embrace the happiness that was right in from of them and leave the angsty nonsense to teenagers.
So they did. And in each other, the Bat and the Cat had found strengths they never would have found separately. Fighting together till they would melt into each other.
'My snowman and me
My snowman and me
Baby......'