Just Say No
By Serena
Summary: He couldn't say no to her. But would she say no to him? Bruce/Diana fluff spanning the series and after.
A/N: I know it's cheesy. I know it's fluffy. Do I care? No. I'm a sucker for happy endings.
Time frame: Post Maid of Honor, This Little Piggy, and Destroyer.
Disclaimer: If I owned this goodness, Bruce and Diana would've SO gotten together in the series.
"You know, we never did get to finish our dance."
He gave her a glare. "I don't know what you're talking about."
She smiled coyly. "If you say so. But you're still taking me dancing." As she took his arm and started to walk away with him, he swallowed. Despite the fact that every part of his mind was screaming for him to stop and pull away, his body said differently. And how could he say no to Wonder Woman herself? Only a very, very stupid man would refuse the most beautiful woman in the world.
And Bruce was by no means a stupid man.
While other superheroes were proud of the powers and great strength, Bruce prided himself on his great intelligence. They didn't call him the World's Greatest Detective for nothing. And as he looked at the amazing Amazon walking beside him, he realized that he couldn't say no.
It wasn't as if he didn't want to dance with her, either.
He took her dancing the next night. They ended up being the last two people there.
"So, are you going to tell me what happened?" Diana prodded as they sat together at a table on the Watchtower.
He didn't look at her. "No."
"No? Not going to tell me why Circe took the spell off of me?" She raised an eyebrow and poked at her barely touched food. A dark curl fell into her eyes as she looked down, and Bruce stiffened. She blew at it, but it fell back down. Bruce cursed whoever was putting him through this torture and grit his teeth.
Why me? What have I done to deserve this?
"C'mon, Batman," Diana pleaded, leaning forward. "Pleease?" She batted her thick, lush eyelashes and gave him a mega-watt smile that would melt even the coldest of hearts.
Bruce could only stare at her uncharacteristic display in shock and disbelief, wondering where on earth she could've picked up something like that. "Diana… this isn't like you," he managed to get out.
She grinned even more brightly. "Blame the Justice ladies," she said with a shrug of her perfect, pale shoulders. "So, is it working? Are you weakening yet?"
Damn it!
Bruce growled, "No."
"Not even a little?" she said, tilting her head to one side.
"Not even," he gritted out. He pushed his plate away, sullen and angry with himself for acting this way around her.
To his dismay, she drew back and shrugged again. "Okay." Glancing down at his plate, she added, "Not hungry?"
"No."
Not for food, anyway.
"I know what you mean," Diana said sympathetically. "I still can't eat anything that has to do with pigs."
Sympathetic, caring, understanding. Again, why?
"Understandably," he muttered.
She paused, then said in a quiet voice, "Why won't you tell me, Bruce? What happened? What did you give to Circe?" She reached out a hand and placed it on top of his. He nearly pulled away but found that he couldn't. "If I can pay you back in any way-"
Batman rose quickly to his feet, and she jerked back, hurt. Inwardly wincing, he rumbled, "You don't owe me anything, Diana." After a second's hesitation, he brushed his hand through the wayward curl and pushed it back, away from her face. With that, he turned and strode out of the cafeteria, glad that it was mostly empty.
Diana's eyes remained wide for a full minute before she pushed away her food and hurried after him. "Batman, wait!" she called after him as he reached his quarters. He didn't turn around to face her but touched his door controls. As the door slid open, and he stepped through, she rushed after him before he could shut the door on her. To her surprise, he whirled around and grabbed her arm, yanking her into the room.
They stood inches apart, face-to-face, in the darkened quarters. Both breathed heavily, and both stood silent for a long time. Finally, he said, sounding defeated, "I… sang."
Her eyes widened. "Sang?" she echoed softly.
"Yes. I sang."
"For me?" Her voice grew smaller.
He couldn't deny it any longer. With his free hand, he reached up and slowly pulled the cowl back, gazing at her earnestly. "Yes, for you. I sang for you, Diana."
She smiled again. "Thank you, Bruce," she whispered, and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him on the cheek.
That's not good enough.
Bruce pulled back slightly and muttered, "I think we can do better than that." And lowered his lips to hers. He afterwards decided whole-heartedly that saying no to her demands would've been the stupidest mistake he would've ever made.
"And so the adventure continues," Diana said with a smile.
The original seven sat in Bruce's giant living area, just relaxing after a long, hard day of tracking the criminals who had helped them. J'onn sat in the leather seat, experimenting with its different stages; John and Shayera sat together on one sofa, holding hands. The other leaguers knew it was only a matter of time before the two got back together – even after their awful breakup, the two were a perfect match. Superman and Flash each had their own seat – both were arguing about which baseball team was better – Metropolis or Central City. And Bruce and Diana both sat opposite John and Shayera on the other couch.
"I thought we'd never be done putting all those criminals back in jail," Shayera moaned, rubbing her neck.
"What happened to your warrior mentality?" John asked with a raised eyebrow.
"It disappeared with a glass of Bruce's wonderful champagne," the Thanagarian said cheerfully.
Bruce rolled his eyes and glanced at Diana, but she was grinning at Shayera. "I'll have to agree," she said, holding up her glass and nodding it towards the other female warrior. "Here's to Bruce's champagne!"
Shayera laughed. "Here's to us – the only girls in the original seven."
"May we live to withstand another day of the oppressive men," Diana said jokingly, winking at Bruce.
"What is this, anti-men day?" he returned. "I must've missed the memo."
Diana gasped. "Did you just make a joke?"
He shot her a withering look. "No."
"Oh, come on, Bruce," Clark said. "Lighten up."
"Don't bother," Wally put in, munching on a bag of chips. "It'll never work. They don't call him the Dark Knight for nothing. Speaking of which, they don't call the Central City Cyclones the Cyclones for nothing!"
Clark scowled. "Please. The Metros have defeated them three times in the last series – your team doesn't stand a chance."
Bruce shook his head at his friends' conversation and took another sip of his drink. Some things never changed.
"Bruce?"
He turned at Diana's quiet voice. "Yes?"
"I have this… well, this gala that I have to attend as an ambassador on Saturday. I need someone to accompany me." She smiled shyly. "Would you come with me?"
He blinked in surprise. "You want me to come with you?"
She nodded.
"As Bruce Wayne or Batman?"
"That's up to you."
Bruce stared down at his champagne glass, unsure of what to say. When Diana sighed and said, "You don't have to. I can always ask someone else – maybe Agent Faraday would be available."
No way.
Bruce scowled and looked up at her, snapping, "I'll go."
Her eyes brightened, and she exclaimed, "Really?"
"Really," he said in a dry tone.
"Thank you, Bruce!" Her eyes were positively shining, and Bruce had the sudden urge to kiss her senseless right then and there.
With her bright smile and glowing eyes, Bruce couldn't see how he could ever say no to her.
"Nervous, sir?"
Bruce straightened his tie. "No, of course not." He slipped a hand into his pocket and fingered the small item tucked in there.
Alfred suppressed a smile and helped Bruce put on his blazer. "If you say so, sir."
Bruce sighed through his nose and froze when the doorbell rang. She's here. Already.
"I'll get it, sir." Alfred started for the door, but Bruce stopped him.
"No, it's okay. I gave you the night off, remember?"
"You're not going to follow me, are you?"
Bruce grinned. "I said that if you ever took the night off I'd have you followed. But I'm giving you the night off. That's different."
Alfred raised an eyebrow. "Of course it is, Master Wayne. Have a nice night." He started down the hallway. "Oh, and one more thing." Bruce looked at him curiously. "Try not to make a bloody mess of things."
Bruce laughed. "I'll try, for your sake." He hurried down the stairs and found Diana waiting at the door. His mouth nearly fell open. She wore a midnight strapless gown that fell to her feet. Her hair fell down her back, silken and sleek. She was stunning. "Diana, you're… you're beautiful," he said, taking her hands in his.
Diana smiled and blushed, saying, "I bet you say that to all the girls."
Ushering her in, he said, sincere, "But this is the first time I really mean it."
Her eyes widened, and she gave him a wide smile. "Thank you, Bruce."
They had a nice, quiet dinner, talking about things such as Shayera and John's wedding, Wally's escapades, the well-being of the Batclan members, and so on. Afterward, they sat together on the thick sofa in front of a roaring fireplace, just quietly enjoying each other's company.
Bruce stroked Diana's hair while she rested her head on his shoulder. "Diana," he murmured, breaking the silence.
"Mmm?"
"I love you." His heartfelt statement caused her to look up at him, and tears formed in her eyes.
"I love you, too," she whispered.
He felt a burst of overwhelming happiness hit him and lowered his lips to hers. After a moment, he pulled away and sighed. "Look," he said, drawing back. "I know this can get complicated and overdrawn, so I'm just going to make this simple and get straight to the point."
She swallowed. "All right."
Bruce felt a wave of nervousness wash over him, but he slid down onto the floor, kneeling on one knee in front of her. "Diana," he said, taking the small item out of his pocket and opening it in front of her, "Marry me?"
Diana couldn't keep the smile off her face. She started to laugh and cry at the same time, but she couldn't get any words out.
"Is that a yes?" Bruce asked at her muddled words.
She nodded enthusiastically and exclaimed, "Yes! It's a yes!"
Bruce smiled and slipped the ring on her finger. Once the ring was on her finger, Diana grabbed him and covered his face in kisses. He found himself laughing and pressing his lips to hers.
When Diana pulled away, she said with a grin, "After all, for the man who never said no to me… how could I say no to him?"
Feedback is appreciated.
Oh, yes, almost forgot. In one of my other stories, I wrote that Diana was an alien. I was completely wrong, she is NOT an alien. Sorry 'bout that!
- Serena
