DISCLAIMER: The Justice League of America
characters are the property of DC Comics. The story contents are the creation
and property of Djinn and are copyright (c) 2006 by Djinn. This story is Rated
PG-13.
Mating Displays
by Djinn
The Watchtower's main
monitors were set to Slivonia's capital city, the images full of people lining
up for their first free election in decades.
No one was really expecting trouble, but the League had offered to monitor
things from afar. Diana knew she wasn't
needed; she'd done her shift with J'onn and should be headed home. But she'd
settled in by the window in "observe the observers" mode, and was
watching Bruce and Zatanna work.
"Sectors four-seven-nine
through six-nine-eight check in clear," Bruce said, not looking at Zatanna
as he made some adjustment to his election observer protocols.
Diana knew Bruce was waiting
to hear the tappity tap of keys, but Zatanna didn't seem interested in being
his personal secretary.
"Voice recognition
software, sweetness," the younger woman said. "It's the wave of the future."
"Just enter the
data." His voice wasn't exactly a
growl, but Diana had heard rabid dogs sound friendlier.
"Don't you ever have any
fun, Batman?" Zatanna asked, her tone teasing.
Diana glanced at Bruce,
curious how he was going to answer. She
expected his mouth to set in a grim line, his eyes to turn even more
forbidding. But he surprised her. He gave Zatanna a half smile as he shrugged.
"We really should do
something about that." Zatanna winked
at Diana. She at least was including
Diana in things. Bruce was acting like
she wasn't even there.
Diana didn't try to wink
back. She'd mastered a lot of new things
during her time in man's world, but winking was not one of them. "Batman is all work and no play,
Zee. You know that."
"Once upon a time he was
more fun. A lot more fun." Zatanna drained her cup of coffee and
relinquished her chair to Diana.
"I'm going to take a break."
"Take a long one,"
Bruce said, but his voice wasn't half as rough as before.
Once Zatanna was out of
earshot, Diana said, "You two have a history."
He ignored her observation.
"One of a sexual nature,
I think."
Still nothing.
"But it's
over." She came off a little shaky
on that one. She'd meant to say it with
more finesse, with more certainty.
"Very good, Princess. I see you've been watching the daytime soaps
Flash recommended."
"I have not."
"Oh, so you're new
astuteness is due to...?"
"I'm not blind. I see the ways people find to pair
up." She hit him on the upper
arm. "And stop calling me
that."
"Workforce brutality
will not be tolerated." But then he
smiled again--that cute little half smile.
And he murmured, "Diana," at the end of the admonition in a
way that made it anything but.
She tossed her hair back as
if using it to make a statement. "I
leave the brutality to Hawkgirl."
"Right, because there's
nothing warlike about your approach to a problem." This time his smile was annoying. He was probably compensating for having said
her name in quite that way.
"You object to my
approach?" she asked. "It's
saved your ass a few times."
"I'm not sure your new
ease with the vernacular is a good thing, Diana."
"I'm sure you're
not." She began to enter the data
that Zatanna hadn't wanted to deal with into the computer. "Why don't we have voice recognition
software?"
He chuckled. "We do.
I just like to irritate Zee."
She stopped typing. "We do?"
"Yep. It caught my update; you don't have to type
it in."
"What else did it
catch?"
He grinned; this time it was
a full-on smirk. "Oh, you know...things." As she pretended to ready herself for a
massive punch at the console, he shook his head. "You're safe. It's not recording everything we say."
"Good."
"Yes."
She turned in her chair,
crossing one leg over the other and letting it swing. "So..."
He glanced at her. "So?"
"So, you were with
her?"
"A long time ago."
"She's not that old,
Bruce."
"Well, not compared to
you." He laughed at her
expression. "She was old
enough."
"And you two were
close?"
"Mmm-hmmm."
"But you're not
interested in her?"
"She's a beautiful
woman, Diana. Who wouldn't be interested
in her?"
"Yes, she's very
attractive but--"
"So you're interested in
her?" He seemed to be trying not to
grin.
"I didn't say
that."
"Logically, it makes
sense. That you'd prefer women." He sounded as if he was giving a lecture on
methods of harvesting toadstools rather than girl-on-girl stuff, as Flash
called it. Flash always seemed to get quite
aroused by the girl-on-girl stuff. Why
wasn't Bruce aroused? Was it Diana? Did she not arouse him?
"After all," Bruce
said, "you grew up on an island full of nothing but women; you might yearn
for that again."
"I am not
yearning."
"No?" He didn't even look at her. Just kept on what he was doing. "Do you yearn?"
"Do I...?"
"Not a hard question,
Princess."
"I get
lonely." She shifted her legs. "Don't you?"
"All work and no
play. You called it."
"Big liar." Diana heard the click of heels coming down
the hall. "Not a long break."
"Guess she missed
us."
"Missed you, you
mean." Diana realized she sounded
sulky.
Bruce seemed to think so too,
because he glanced over at her, then gave another of the little half smiles--had
she really thought they were cute?
She slid out of the chair as
Zatanna came into the room.
"What did I miss?"
Zatanna asked, taking her seat back.
"Nothing but one of
Batman's mind-fucks."
Zatanna laughed out loud, and
Bruce turned to look at Diana; his expression--what she could see of it under
the mask--was one of stunned amazement.
Or maybe horror. Or possibly
demonic delight. With him, who the hell
could tell?
"How do you like my
vernacular now?" she muttered as she walked out of the room.
-----------
Diana sat next to Flash,
resting on some rough grass as the flood waters finally receded. They'd rescued everyone that had been cut off
when the river had surged over its banks, and this was a prime outdoor
recreation area, so "everyone" had been a lot of people.
"I'm bushed." Flash lay back on the grass. "And I could seriously use about thirty
mochas."
She nodded; mochas sounded
good.
"We could get
some." Flash shielded his eyes from
the sun and looked over at her.
"You and me. Just the two of
us."
"I don't think so."
"You must be tired. That lacked your normal disdain."
She frowned. "Disdain?"
"You want me to call it
something else? Okay. Snobbishness.
Exclusivity." He sat up. "I just don't measure up."
She touched him on the arm,
tried to smile gently. "It's not
that."
"No? Because it sure was at first."
"You're a good man. A fun one.
But you are attracted to every woman you meet. I've watched you try to work them."
"You say that like it's
a bad thing." He gave her a
sheepish look, then it changed, became more serious. "Well, if it's not me keeping you from
saying yes, then it must be him."
"Him?"
"Yeah, you know,
him." Flash's eyes were sparkling.
"Which him?" She was smiling now, couldn't help it. He was so obviously trying to get her to
admit her preference in the Superman versus Batman pool.
He laughed. "Now you're just yanking my chain,
aren't you?"
"I learned from the
best." She wished she could take
that back. She'd sounded way too bitter.
"Aha, so it is Bats who
has your socks rolling up and down. So to speak..." He glanced at her boots. "You don't have socks on, do you?"
"Yes, big, ugly white
sweat socks. It's a very sexy look."
He laughed. "See how well you're settling in? Humor's tough, but you're catching on
quick."
She wished she'd caught on to
the whole man/woman thing just as quickly, but it seemed to be eluding her.
"So, Diana, it is Bats,
isn't it?"
"He hates it when you
call him that."
"Not an answer,
Princess."
She looked away.
"If it helps, I think he
digs you."
"And you base this
on...?"
"My keen powers of
observation. My vast experience in the
field of romance. And the fact that he
can't take his eyes off you when he thinks no one is looking."
"He can't?"
"Nope. I see a lot when I race through for milk and
cookies. I'd say the look was
longing. Maybe even mournful." He grinned.
"How can you tell the
difference between Batman's usual look and mournful?"
"Hey, I admit it's a
challenge, but it's there." He got
up. "Okay, if you won't have coffee
with me, there's a little blonde I rescued earlier who's saving me a
seat."
"Go." She turned back to the river.
Flash was gone, then just as
suddenly he was back. "Look, it's
none of my business. But I've found that
if you want to find out if someone likes you, the best way is to just ask. If you're me, you get truths you don't like a
whole lot of the time." He winked
at her. "But if you were to ask the
humorless one, he might surprise you."
He laid a warm hand on his shoulder.
She put her hand over his,
pressing down gently. "Maybe that's
what I'm afraid of?"
He laughed. "I can't help you with that one,
Princess." He gently pulled his
hand away, then he really was gone.
----------------
"Aaaaaaa-choo." Bruce fumbled with his belt.
"Could you sneeze a
little louder, Bruce? I don't think the
bad guys quite heard you." Diana
rolled her eyes at the glare he gave her.
"Why did you insist on being my partner if you have a cold? You should have stayed home." In her opinion, he sounded like he had a
whole lot more than just a cold.
"We don't stay home for
colds."
"We do if they're making
us sneeze and sniffle and cough loudly enough to spoil the stealthy part of
sneaking up on someone."
"We're the rear
guard. J'onn and Clark are sneaking up
on the bad guys. We'll just pummel them
once they know we're here."
"My mistake." She saw him open another compartment of his
belt. "What are you looking for?"
"Kleenex. I don't suppose you have any pushed into that
bodice of yours?"
"Yes, I pad with
Kleenex, let me dig one out." She'd
heard more cracks about her breasts when people thought she was out of earshot
than she cared to think about.
"Those can't be real" was the favorite comment.
"Dig a couple of them out;
I'd like some spares." He suddenly
put his head down, steadying himself on the downed log they were hiding behind.
"Are you all
right?"
"I'm dizzy. It'll pass."
"Why can't you just
admit you're sick?"
"Diana, leave me
alone." His tone was harsh, his voice
cracking from coughing too much.
"Fine. But you stay here. I'll come back for you when we finish
this."
"I'm perfectly--"
She threw her lasso around
him. "Tell me, Bruce, if I were as
sick as you are, would you let me go on a mission with you?"
"No." He sounded utterly pissed that she was doing
this to him.
"And what would you tell
me to do if I had insisted on coming and then proved too sick to be of any use?"
"I'd tell you to stay
here and I'd get you when we were done."
"Well then, take your
own advice, damn it." She flicked
her wrist and the lasso came free.
"I'll be back in a while."
She left him, could hear him
cursing under his breath. His voice
sounded congested in that way that made everyone sound sort of French.
Kal looked up as she flew in
to join him and J'onn. "Where's
Batman?"
"Convalescing in the
hinterlands."
Kal smiled at her, then
turned to J'onn. "You owe me a
latte. I told you she could get him to
stay."
"I should know not to
bet against you. You only bet on a sure
thing."
Unlike Bruce, who never bet
at all, just made sure he controlled every variable in the game.
Kal nodded toward the
cabin. "We're ready. Let's do it."
They made short work of the
bad guys, who amazingly had not seemed to hear Bruce's hacking cough--although
Diana had been able to make it out even from this far away.
Kal looked over at her as he
trussed up the last bad guy. He
indicated a private spot under the pines.
"Bruce sounds terrible."
"He says it's just a
cold."
"You'll take him
home?"
She nodded.
"You're good for him,
Diana." He touched her cheek, his
eyes very gentle. "He needs
you."
"Does he?"
Kal nodded. "I think you need him, too. I don't like to think of you lonely." His look was pensive. He was her best friend; they were so
close. And they both knew what the
tabloids liked to say about them. Even
if they'd never pushed friendship into anything stronger.
"I better go collect
him."
"Yep, go get him."
Bruce was sitting up against
the log, head lolled back. "Took you
long enough." His tone was normal,
even if his voice was very soft.
She didn't stop to ask, just
scooped him up and flew towards Gotham.
He glared at her as she held him in her arms.
"It's this or a
fireman's carry," she said.
"Your pick." She didn't
think he'd relish that position.
He quit glaring.
"Good boy."
It was a short trip to
Gotham, even shorter to the outskirts and into the Batcave. Bruce fell asleep, cradled against her
chest.
Alfred was pacing as she flew
in, and she imagined him having been there since she'd flown in to pick Bruce
up for the mission. "Miss
Diana! Is Master Bruce all right?"
"He's sick."
"I know. But he wouldn't listen to reason." He gestured up the stairs. "Could you fly him to his bedroom, my
dear?"
She smiled gently at
Alfred. "Of course."
"Then she's
leaving," Bruce said, surprising her: she'd thought he was asleep.
"I don't have to leave."
"Yes, you do." Bruce's voice was like the crack of a gun.
She could feel her face turn
red, knew Alfred was seeing how Bruce's words had stung her. "Then let's go. The sooner I get you up there, the sooner I
can leave."
They were upstairs in record
time, and she dumped him onto the bed and then stalked away without tucking him
in or doing anything else that might be unwelcome. She met Alfred on the main stairs. "Good night, Alfred."
"Miss Diana?"
She stopped and turned to
look at him.
"He didn't mean to be
unkind."
"It's just that he
doesn't want to have me around?"
"No, my dear. It's that he doesn't want you around when you
might see him weak."
"If you say so,
Alfred."
"I do say so," he said,
and she heard him even though she was halfway to the stairs that led down to
the Batcave. "Don't give up on him,
Diana."
She took a deep breath, closed
her eyes, and flew home to New York.
-----------------
"Your form's off,
Diana." Bruce's voice held nothing
but criticism as he watched her and Kal work out.
"Her form is fine,"
Kal said, picking himself up from where she'd lobbed him into the wall. "Trust me on that."
Bruce shot him a glance that
could have frozen boiling oil.
"I meant her fighting
form, you moron." Kal met Diana's
eyes and sighed. "Why don't you spar
with him? Getting thrashed by you might
be good for his mood."
"I'm not sparring with
anyone; I'm assessing. Get back to
work." Bruce sat down on the mats
against the far wall.
Diana realized he must still
be weak from the virus. He'd come back
to the Watchtower much too soon; she'd heard him coughing at the end of his
shift the day before--not that she was listening for that.
"Why don't you go?"
she said to Kal, in the nearly subvocal way they'd perfected for when they were
on a mission. There weren't many who
could hear them when they talked so low.
Kal nodded and headed toward
the men's locker room.
"So. You afraid to fight me?" She put her hands on her hips, giving Bruce
the classic Wonder Woman pose.
"There is no reason for
me to fight you." But he pushed
himself to his feet, and she suddenly felt very guilty at the effort it seemed
to take.
"Bruce, if you're still
sick...?"
He walked onto the mats, no
weakness evident in his movements.
"I'm not still sick. I have
a lingering cough, which is normal for this type of respiratory virus."
"Nevertheless, I'm pretty
sure you're not supposed to fight Amazons in this phase of recovery."
His only answer was to kick
her legs out from under her.
She landed hard, not
expecting him to attack when she was lecturing him about his health. "Damn you."
"Sympathy for your opponent
is never wise, Princess."
"I'm certainly learning
that applies to Batmen." She let
her anger fill her to give her the rush of adrenaline she needed, then dialed it
down so that her brain could resume strategizing.
They circled; he tried to kick
her legs out again, but she wasn't there.
He whirled but not quickly enough to avoid a punch straight to the solar
plexus.
It had been a light punch,
but he fell like a stone, then began coughing to the point where she thought he
might throw up.
The guilt resumed. "You damned, stubborn, arrogant
man."
He kept coughing, but he fell
back to his hip, his legs sweeping out, dumping her on the ground again. He pinned her, but the coughing was real and
he couldn't hold her. She threw him away
from her lightly, careful to make sure he landed on the mats and that the
landing was not very hard.
"You're holding
back," he said between hacks--she thought his eyes were watering under the
cowl. "Don't."
"Bruce, for Hera's sake,
stop fighting."
He stared at her. Then he pushed himself up and walked toward
the locker room.
She raced after him, managed
to get in front of him. "What is
wrong with you? I'm only trying to help,
and you keep pushing me away."
He moved around her.
"Why are you being so
mean?"
He didn't turn around. "Look Batman up in the dictionary,
Princess. It doesn't say warm and
fuzzy. It doesn't say boyish and aw
shucks."
She frowned, pulled him back
to her when he tried to step away.
"Are you jealous?"
"Of you?"
"Of Kal and me?"
"Is there a Kal and
you?"
"We're friends."
"Fine. Then I'm not jealous."
"Maybe you should
be. You're not much of a friend."
"Who said I wanted to
be?" The line would have been heart
shattering if he hadn't started coughing in the middle of it. He looked like his legs were going to buckle.
"It should hurt being as
stubborn as you are." She put her
arm around his waist, tugged his arm over her shoulder. "I'm taking you home."
"I have monitor duty in
an hour."
"I'll cover it for
you."
"What? You're not going to sit by my bed and watch
over me?" His voice oozed sarcasm, giving
clear indication of what he thought of such devotion.
"I'm really
not." She walked faster. "Besides, even I have a limit for how
much abuse I can take from you."
"If you think that was
abuse, Diana, you're way too sensitive to spend time with me."
"Not that you'd want me
to spend time with you. You've made that
abundantly clear. Maybe I should take
Flash up on his numerous offers. At
least he'd be fun."
She felt Bruce stiffen and
slow.
"Or maybe not," she
said, hating the game they were playing.
Why was this world so disingenuous?
Flash had told her to just
come out and ask. But now was probably a
bad time, given how riled Bruce was.
"Do you like
Flash?" Bruce asked.
"Of course I like
Flash."
"I mean like him in that
way."
"Do you care if I like
him in that way?" It wasn't total
honesty; it was more the "shinny up the drainpipe and sneak in through the
attic" approach to honesty. But
whatever worked with this man was fine with her.
He didn't answer her.
"Too many words,
Bruce? I'll cut some out. Do you care?"
His grip tightened on her
shoulder and suddenly she was being spun around, her hold on his waist lost,
her back slamming--but with nothing near the force he was normally capable
of--into the wall of the gym. He pushed
up against her, his hands tangled in her hair, pulling the strands in what
would have been a painful way if she hadn't grown up on an island where wooden
combs were the norm and the post-shower comb-out was an exercise in discipline.
She reached up and disengaged
his fingers from her hair, twining her own with his leather-clad ones. "Do you care, Bruce?"
"No." But his eyes were burning into her. Until he suddenly leaned away, coughing
furiously.
She let him go, supporting
him again. "Let's get you
home."
He didn't argue, seemed to be
allowing her to help him now, rather than trying to do it all on his own. As they neared the teleporter, he said in his
normal, growling fashion, "Maybe you should date Flash."
"Okay."
"You'll have fun."
"Uh huh."
"Don't patronize me,
Diana."
"Wouldn't dream of
it." She manhandled him into the
teleporter, then set the coordinates for time delay to the Batcave and got in
with him, holding him so he wasn't leaning on the wall. They appeared in the Batcave a moment later.
"Sit," she said,
pushing him into his console chair and studying the control panel near the
intercom. "How do I get
Alfred?"
But Bruce was already doing
it, hitting a series of buttons instead of using the intercom, probably because
he was coughing too hard to speak.
Alfred came hurrying down the
stairs.
"Call the doctor,
Alfred. He's not getting better, no
matter what he says."
Bruce glared at her. "You can go, Diana. We don't need your help from here on
out."
"Speak for yourself,
Master Bruce." Alfred winked at
her. "The bedroom, if you
please."
She scooped Bruce up,
ignoring his creative use of swearwords.
Some of them she'd never heard in that combination. He only shut up when he started to cough
again. She closed her eyes, unwilling to
see how much this was hurting him and how little he--or she--could do about
it.
"I should have taken you
to the infirmary." She'd been so hell
bent on getting him home. What if home
wasn't as good a place as the Watchtower?
"No, this is better. Establishes that Bruce Wayne gets sick. That he's just a normal guy."
"Always the
strategist." She set him down in
the chair by his bedroom door. This time
she turned down the bed and fluffed the pillows. She waited for Alfred to come up and undress
Bruce, but then realized he was downstairs calling the doctor. She could hear him talking, the words
indistinct, but his voice heavy with concern.
She pulled Bruce to his feet,
drew off the gloves, then the cowl. His
hair was sweaty and his face flushed. His
skin felt clammy and hot to her. She
reached for the uniform, and he stopped her, whipping his hands up, grabbing
her own.
"No." It was the Batman's voice. The Batman's control. Bruce was shuddering, but he wasn't going to
let her help him. He also wasn't meeting
her eyes.
She pulled him close, kissed
him, her lips light on his, but there, definitely there. She felt him try to push her away with one
hand, while he held onto her as if for dear life with the other one. He kissed her back, his mouth opening.
She heard Alfred coming up
the stairs, and pulled away, easing Bruce into a sitting position on the
bed. "Don't come back to the
Watchtower until you're well."
"Are you coming back
here?" He looked down, as if he
couldn't believe he'd asked that.
"You told me not to last
time. You didn't want me here, remember?"
"I may have been--"
"Wrong? Stupid?
Mean?"
"I was going to say not
thinking clearly. I was sick."
"You still are."
"I know." He glanced back at the stacked pillows, as if
they were a little piece of heaven.
Alfred bustled in. He smiled at her, then reached for Bruce's
uniform.
"At least wait till
she's gone, old man."
Diana smiled at Alfred, then
she turned and walked out, easing the door shut behind her.
She didn't mean to eavesdrop
as she walked down the stairs. But she
heard Bruce say, "I chased her away."
And Alfred answered him, "No, you didn't, sir. She'll be back."
If Bruce replied to that, she
couldn't hear it.
-------------------
"So he
reappears." Flash said, grinning at
Diana.
"Don't rile him,"
Diana said, waiting for Bruce to make eye contact with her. She'd been to his house to see him while he'd
been recovering. He'd been asleep every
time.
Flash moved faster around the
kitchen, adding a third mocha to his preparations. "Here," he shoved it at Bruce, then
carried the other two over to the table.
He chose the seat next to her, seemed to edge it closer with his knee,
instead of sitting across from her like he normally would have.
"These are good,"
he said. "But not as good as those
ones we had last night in Seattle."
Seattle? She'd been helping Kal move some refugees out
of the way of hostilities in Africa. Not
in Seattle.
Flash rolled his eyes at her,
then pointed to Bruce, who was standing at the counter, his back to them. His very stiff back.
"I had a great
time," Flash said, his voice dropping in a way that implied he'd been
sampling more than just the mochas.
Diana tried not to laugh.
"I hope it was good for
you, too?"
There was the sound of
ceramic mug being crushed by sudden clenching of a Batman's hand. Mocha went everywhere.
Flash went into hyper mode,
had it cleaned up in a jiffy and a new mocha in Bruce's hand. "Buddy, be careful. Guess you don't know your own strength now
that you're all better." He gave
Bruce a smile that could only mean "I just slept with your woman and boy
was she fine" and returned to the table.
Bruce turned and studied
Flash as if he was ready to challenge him to a duel, then he glanced at Diana. She was keeping a straight face, but her
shoulders were shaking from the strain of holding in her laughter. His expression changed to one of chagrin and
anger.
"Man, are you easy." Flash left--very, very quickly.
"Not funny," Bruce
said.
"I didn't ask him to do
that. I think we're his new pet
project."
"There is no
we." But he took the seat Flash had
vacated, even managed to nudge it a little closer to her. "So you weren't in Seattle?"
"Check the logs. I was with Kal."
His look told her he wasn't
sure that was much better.
"Working. I was with Kal working." She sighed, devoted herself fully to
finishing her mocha. Why was this so
hard?
"You stopped by while I
was sick."
Alfred must have told
him. "Yes," she said. "You slept through my visits."
"Not all of them. I just...I guess I figured if I was awake,
we'd have to talk. And you know how well
that goes." He sipped at his mocha
rather desperately, too.
"Why is that?"
"You're not the easiest
woman to talk to."
"Oh and you're the world's
chattiest man when I'm not around?"
She laughed. "Right."
"Diana, you like
challenges. I've seen you on a mission;
you never give up."
"You're not a mission,
Bruce." She'd resign the league if
he was. Clearly a no-win thing.
"It's the same
principle. You can't have me, so you are
intrigued. Just like with Kal."
"Right."
"You don't seem
interested in any of the men you can have."
She ignored him. "Why can't I have you? Technically, you're single. Or is there a wife you have hidden in a
locked room in your manor house?"
"You know there's
not."
"Then why are you
unavailable?"
"I've told you emotion
is weakness."
"Actually, you said
sympathy was. I think emotion makes us
strong. Gives us a reason to care."
"People we care about
make us vulnerable."
"So you admit you
care?" She smiled gently at him.
"It was a
generalization." His voice was hard
again, and he suddenly pulled his chair away from her.
"Bruce, would it kill
you to feel something?"
He stared hard at her for a
moment. Then he said, "No, but it
might kill you."
She saw his mouth tighten,
his muscles bunch as he prepared to get up.
She touched his shoulder, but it didn't arrest his motion, or stop him
from shrugging out from under her hand.
"Bruce, I'm tough. I'll be all right."
"You don't know
that. And neither do I."
"And if you don't know
everything, you just back off? You can't
control this, Bruce. You just have to
let go. To...run with it."
"No. I don't have to do anything." He got up.
"Tell Flash if he does that again, he'll be sorry." There was no teasing in his voice.
Their eyes met, and she
looked away. "He won't try it
again. You're a lost cause. And I'll be sure to tell him that."
"You do that,
Princess." He stalked away, in
perfect Batman mode.
Diana suddenly hated that
mode with all her heart.
---------------
The aliens that had been
hitting Earth in lightning attacks then disappearing just as fast, appeared
about a half mile out to sea, moving steadily inland. Down the shore, Diana could see the batplane
lifting off. Bruce hadn't said one word
to her that wasn't mission related since he'd stalked off a week ago.
She hadn't tried to reach out
to him. She was sick of reaching
out. He didn't care about her. Not enough.
J'onn mindvoice sounded, loud
in Diana's head, "Attack!"
Diana looked at Green Lantern
next to her, who grinned and said, "Let's do it, lady."
They launched themselves into
the air, both intent on hitting the aliens before they could make land. Diana could hear the sound of battle all
around her; she saw Bruce shoot down one of the alien ships. Hawkgirl took another out with her mace. John used his ring to swing one of the ships
into another, while Kal flew fast and furious, his heat vision burning through
the wings. J'onn phased in and out, removing
components that the ships needed to fly on his way through, then he joined
Flash on the water's surface, carrying any aliens who came out of the downed
ships to land.
Diana saw an opening to get
to what looked like the mother ship and took it, slipping past three of the
other ships. The mother ship was bigger
than the rest, and more heavily armed.
And coming fast. Avoiding the defenses
when she could, blocking the rays with her bracelets when she had to, she
lassoed a part that jutted out and let it pull her while she drew herself
hand-over-hand along the rope until she was on the top of the ship. They were almost over land, so she picked up
the pace, tearing away anything that looked crucial or dangerous.
The ship began to tilt to the
right, then pointed nose down, toward the rocky shoals at the shoreline. She lassoed the nose of the ship, leapt off
and pulled it down with her. The ship
fought back, but soon more of her damage began to take its toll. She pulled again, felt the nose follow her
down, then catch up with her, pressing into her as the ship headed for the
water.
"Diana!" she
thought she heard Bruce yell through the mindlink just as she made contact, the
water slapping her hard. The link went
dead as she hit, and there was only blackness for a second while the ship
obliterated the sun. She didn't fight
the ship's thrust, used her strength to maneuver herself more on the side of the
nose than below. As the ship hit bottom,
she was thrown clear, and let herself float back up.
The ship had traveled farther
than she thought before it touched bottom.
When she broke the surface, gasping gratefully for air, she was out of
sight of where the others had been fighting.
She dove back down, waiting for the aliens to come out of the ship, to
rise up in droves, but no one came. The
hatches stayed closed; the ship listed slightly.
Diana rose into the air,
skimming the water to conserve strength.
As she flew slowly, she could
hear the fighting end, saw Bruce's plane land on the bluff she'd taken off
from.
She touched down in the trees
behind where everyone was standing.
Bruce was immobile, staring out to sea.
His hands were clenched.
Kal stood behind him and put
his hand on Bruce's shoulder. A hand
that was shaking.
"Kal?" Diana said
at their special volume.
He turned slowly, a huge
smile lighting his face as he saw her.
The others turned around too, all except Bruce who had pulled away from
Kal's hand and stepped closer to the cliff.
Diana put her finger to her
lips. "Take them away, Kal?"
Kal led the others away. They were all grinning furiously. Flash started to laugh and took off, probably
so he wouldn't blow the secret.
"Oh and check on that
mother ship," she told Kal. "There
may be survivors inside."
"Will do,
Diana." He grinned at her
again. Clearly delighted to have her
back. "Good luck with him."
She turned back to watch
Bruce. He was gazing out to sea, at the
spot she and the mother ship had disappeared into. She didn't move, just stood watching him,
taking in the clenched fists, the steely straightness of his spine.
He cared. Hera help them both, but he cared about her.
She wasn't sure what to say
to him. How to start this.
"For God's sake,
Diana. How long are you going to just
stand there?" Bruce turned, pulling
his cowl off, probably so there'd be no mistaking his expression. His eyes blazed, but he also seemed to be
drinking in the sight of her. His lips
were trembling, but she thought it was because he was fighting a smile and
maybe the urge to yell at her.
"I just wanted you to
realize you missed me."
"I've missed you all
week." He moved quickly, far more
quickly than she expected. He covered
ground as if he was the Flash, pushing her to the ground once he reached her,
kissing her frantically. And
angrily. And with a great deal of
ardor. His hands were never still, brushing
down her legs, her arms, and then touching places he'd never touched before. Soon he was pulling her uniform off, pulling
his off, too.
Oh yeah, he cared.
Then she stopped analyzing
anything, as pure sensation overwhelmed her.
His hands were gentle on her, and he slowed down. Franticness gave way to deliberate moves
designed, she realized, to give her pleasure.
Much pleasure. Mind blowing,
"you'll never think of dating Flash or anyone else ever again"
pleasure.
She reciprocated in
kind. Let him try to think of Catwoman
or Zatanna or anyone but her when he wanted sex.
They finally slowed, desire
burning down to something cooler. Something
sweeter. Bruce kissed her gently. The first time he'd ever kissed her that
way. It was a sure kiss. One that said,
"I like you," and not just "I want you."
"Did you think I'd
died?" she asked softly.
"I did until Kal saw
you. I felt his hand jerk. And I could
practically hear his smile." He
kissed his way to her ear, began to nibble and lick it, making her squirm and
cry out. "Punishment,
Princess. It was very mean of you to let
me think you were dead."
"It was only for a
moment. I just..." She pushed him back, so he'd have to look at
her. "I just needed to know you
cared. You haven't been very forthcoming with that information."
"I have, too. You just didn't want to see it."
"You were mean to
me."
"Anyone who knows boys
knows we're mean because we like you."
She snuggled against
him. "But I don't know boys. I don't know boys, at all. Only men."
He chuckled. "Guess I should have considered that
when you never seemed to get it."
"So much for the great
mind of our time."
"Hey, you try being
around divine beauty and think big thoughts."
"I'm not divine. I'm only a woman." She kissed his ear. "A very, very tough woman."
"Tough on the outside,"
he said. "Not so tough on the
inside. You wound easily."
"Then quit trying to
draw blood." She pushed him to his
back, climbed on top of him. "I
don't care what you say about boys and their dysfunctional way of attracting a
mate. You were scared and you pushed me
away."
He didn't struggle under her
hold. Just stared up at her blandly.
"Admit it."
"All right. I pushed you away." That was as much as she was going to
get--he'd never admit he was scared.
Suddenly, his eyes grew a little distant. "I still may push you away. At times.
I'm not sure this is a good idea."
"It's good, Bruce. It's a very good idea." She touched his forehead, trying to get him
to stop over-thinking this.
"Promise me you'll give us a chance. Just a chance to be happy."
"I'm not used to
happy." His smile broke her heart.
"I'll show you. I'll teach you. Okay?"
He stared up at her, and she
couldn't read his expression. Then he
seemed to relax, his eyes grew soft again and he smiled tenderly. "I promise."
"Okay then." She started to slide off.
"You can stay
there. I feel...rested." His eyes sparkled in a way she wasn't used to
seeing. And his hands were very gentle and sure on her waist as he resettled
her to a location more conducive to what he had in mind.
"I love you," she
said, not sure he was ready to say it back.
But he didn't hesitate. "I love you, too." And he pulled her down and kissed her and
generally made her melt on that bluff under the afternoon sun with the sea
breeze floating over them.
Typical Bruce: once
committed, he'd throw everything he had at the game. In her own way, she threw everything she had
right back at him.
FIN