Kei doesn't remember when this became a thing. When she and Selina were...well, not exactly friends but not exactly together. The more Kei thought about it, she wasn't sure what they were. Putting a label on it was a lot.

And Kei would know all about labels. Figuring out she was pansexual had already difficult enough. Putting a label on her and Selina's relationship felt similar to that...though she hoped it wouldn't also lead to a nearly decade long crisis like the first one had.

Kei did know one thing, however: she was enjoying it. There were no expectations and that felt freeing. More frequently than not lately, Selina would show up at Kei's apartment to chat or keep her company while Kei her research for the article. Or they would go out to eat (with Selina out of costume, of course) or walk around Gotham without a plan in mind. But other times, when Selina wished to lie low or Kei was too drained from work, the two would stay in Kei's apartment cuddling or kissing softly in the dark. Sometimes they would go further than that.

Kei wouldn't call it love—it was too soon, too fresh to call it such a thing. It had only been a few weeks since they nearly lost their lives during their fight with The Court.

But Kei always blushed every time she felt Selina's eyes on her. And how her heart skipped a beat every time they kissed. And every time Selina left the next morning with a note or her lingering perfume in the sheets, Kei would end up feeling a twinge of disappointed. Those all certainly felt like feelings one would feel while trying to deny that they were in love with someone they can't or shouldn't be with.

This morning, Kei had actually been awake to see Selina leave. Heard her as the cat burglar crept across the carpeted bedroom floor and through the living room before slipping out the window with practiced ease.

The bedroom door was open ajar, letting a sliver of light in but Kei didn't feel like getting up to close it. She had to have been laying there for at least an hour. She wasn't exactly sure how long it had been. Couldn't be bothered to roll over and check the time from her phone.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the world did not stop for anyone and a work email notification dinging from Kei's computer in the living room meant the young reporter would have to get up sooner or later whether she liked it or not.

Kei huffed in annoyance, turning on her back before grabbing her phone to look at some notifications while she opened her curtains and got ready for her day.

According to the time, it was coming up on 9am, which meant Kei had only been lying awake for about 30 minutes. There was also a reminder set for Kei to not forget to call her brother and check in with her family tomorrow. At that moment her stomach growled and Kei had to agree--having some breakfast and caffeine in her system would do her some good.

Putting on some sweatpants and throwing on a cardigan, Kei entered her living room/kitchen area to make some toast and grab a yogurt from her fridge. As Kei shuffled over to her right so she could flick down the lever to turn on her tea kettle, she found a sticky note on the counter.

"Sorry I couldn't stay. Have to take care of something. I'll see you later, kitten. --Selina."

Kitten. It had become Selina's new nickname for Kei and made her flush, making her feel warm all over. Another thing that Kei was sure wouldn't happen if she didn't care about Selina at least a little.

Her computer dinged again, souring Kei's good mood. Of course it wouldn't last long. Rolling her eyes and glaring at the computer from where it sat perched on the coffee, Kei let out a long sigh. She took a bite of her yogurt, attempting to multitask as she buttered her toast and poured herself a cup of tea.

Kei then dragged herself over to her couch and set down everything nearby. She took a sip of her tea, letting the caffeine sink into her bones before she dove into actual work.

Finally, Kei reluctantly opened her computer to check her email. She expected it to just be a message from Vicki or Gloria, asking for some clarification on one of her sources or something similar as the three had taken to collaborating in order to make the work faster for finding any information on The Court of Owls that they could find.

However, there was no email from Vicki or Gloria or even Kei's uncle in her inbox. Instead, it was a reply to the email that had gone unanswered weeks prior when Kei was researching Victoria Windermere of Windermere Technologies.

Curious, Kei clicked on the message and instantly regretted it. While the original email was an entire paragraph, the reply was short and to the point.

To: KeiNakajimaReporter

From: 69526878MAIL

Subject: Re: We ask you not look into this further

Miss Nakajima,

Since you either purposely or carelessly did not look at our last email, we will keep this short:

You will stop investigating our organization or any possible associations. If you do not...we will have to take more drastic measures.

Seeing something was attached to the email, Kei hesitantly opened it and instantly felt her blood run cold.

Attached was a photo. A very specific photo from last week when it had been raining. It was of Selina and Kei standing close to each other to stay warm underneath a small piece of shelter. The fire escape behind them was one Kei knew well. It was the one near her apartment building, the one that led to the roof.

Suddenly, Kei didn't have much of an appetite anymore. They weren't doing anything wrong and yet Kei felt as if they had done something wrong. She found herself analyzing the photo and how close they were huddled together. Tears pricked in Kei's eyes as a thought came to her:

She may not know what Selina and her were yet, but The Court certainly knew. They knew that Selina and Kei were close, closer than a fresh reporter and cat burglar. The Court intended to blackmail Kei or hurt Selina...and Kei felt terrified and didn't know what to do.

Author's Notes

Happy Pride everyone🥳🏳️‍🌈

I learned how to format an email in a book/made a fake email using telephone/keypad numbers just for you guys so you'd better be grateful lol

(69526878 is OWL COURT spelled out. Yes I know it isn't subtle but let me live😭)

I'm sorry if the ending feels abrupt, I am writing this on a somewhat empty stomach. Definitely going to eat lunch once this is published :3

Also sorry it's been a while since I last updated. I've been on hiatus for literal months for various life reasons but mostly mental health and college stuff.

But my house's whole downstairs area got flooded and I have been stuck in my room so I have nothing better to do. Also, I got a new computer yesterday so I figured I'd test it and write something. Excuse any typos as a result, I'm still getting use to the keyboard—it's smaller than my last PC😅

BTW, I changed the cover for Midnight Visits back and I was going to do the same for this but I did a graphic contest for my birthday and this was one of the winners. So, long story short, shout-out to thedyinglights for making this cover.

(I tagged the wrong person at first, had to fix it. Don't know how I made that mistake but I did have a headache while I wrote this chapter so I didn't go back and edit anything before posting😅)

Lastly, there was this show that came out on Hulu called 'The Watchful Eye' (S1 just wrapped a few months ago) and my mom and I ended up hate-watching it😅 I didn't like the main character by the end but the drama kept making me come back. Anyway, my point is—that's what the title is reference to.

I changed it (can't remember what the original title was now...it's been a while) since I figured it was fitting since The Court is supposed to have eyes everywhere in Gotham.

I don't know how many of you caught this but the email that Kei left unanswered last chapter while researching the Windermeres is the email she opens now. I wonder what will happen with Kei and Selina👀

I think I've talked enough for today—thank you for reading!

BatgirlGeek❤️