DISCLAIMERS/NOTES

1. This is a fan fiction based on characters owned by DC Comics. I DO NOT OWN THEM. This is just for fun.

2. Wayback Wednesdays continues! Once again, I must reiterate that this was written over a decade ago. Here in the UK, Season 2 of the JL cartoon had yet to air, so Hawkgirl had not been revealed as a spy. And needless to say, the massive, every-hero-in-the-DCU roster of Unlimited wasn't a factor. My timeline picks up after the Season 1 finale, The Savage Time. It began with Together, continued with Mistakes, and this is the third instalment. I hope you enjoy it.

Diana and Shayera sat in the Watchtower lounge, bored out of their minds. They had just watched a dull documentary about birds. Even Shayera had yawned more than once. There was nothing else to do; the boys were all busy. They had all just been on a mission, so the Earth was quiet for the time being.

Diana sighed, and looked at the calendar on the wall. Her eyes lit up; she had remembered something. "Shayera?" she asked, turning her head to her friend.

The Thanagarian looked at her. "Yeah, OK, Diana… lemme just see what station the Amazon rainforest documentary is on…"

"No, not that," she said. "Can I ask you something?"

"You can ask me something else as well if you like," said Shayera.

Diana frowned, but let it go. "What's Valentine's Day?"

Shayera raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I was in Go… er, New York the other day," explained Diana, "and I saw all these shop windows showing something called Valentine's Day. There were hearts everywhere, and all kinds of romantic things."

"Ah," Shayera said. "You obviously haven't come across this before. Well, Valentine's Day is an Earth day dedicated to love."

Diana sat up. "Love? In what way?"

"Well… you know…" Shayera held her chin. "Like… it's a special day to spend with your loved one. Like, on the day, I'm gonna spend it with John. If you had a boyfriend, you'd spend it with him."

Diana smiled slightly. Little did Shayera know… "But what makes it any different from any other day?"

"Nothing, really," Shayera said. "It's just a big commercial thing really. But it's the one day of the year that Humans show their loved ones just how much they love them. We had a similar thing on Thanagar."

"So on Valentine's Day," said Diana, "people spend the whole day with their partners?"

"Well, not the whole day," Shayera said. "But more often than not, they spend the whole night together. They make a special effort to make it romantic, like candles and flowers and stuff. And they… well, don't get any sleep." Her eyes sparkled as she said that.

Diana suddenly felt low. It was just her luck the man she loved worked at nights…

Still, maybe they could find a way to celebrate their love somehow…

/

Batman strode toward the Batmobile. It was 7pm, February 13. One of the most depressing nights in the year.

Although the night after would be even more depressing.

He used to hate Valentine's night. As he patrolled his city, he could hear the joyous laughter of people in love. It used to make him feel awful. And the reason tonight would be depressing, was because those people would be preparing for the occasion.

However, that was not the case anymore. He was in a relationship himself. No… it was more than a relationship. Deeper. He was in love with the most wonderful woman in existence. And he would love her, until the day he died.

He opened the cockpit of the Batmobile with his remote control, and heard footsteps coming closer. He smiled slightly, and turned around slowly. There, standing a few feet away, was the woman he loved.

"Regular night, tonight?" Diana asked, hands locked infront of her.

"Yes," Batman said. "At least, that's the hope. But I don't really know what constitutes a regular night in this city. At least, not if I was explaining to an optimist."

"Is that your way of saying I think too happily?" Diana said, walking upto him. She stopped centremeters from him, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

He breathed in her aroma. "It's OK," he said. "That's one of the things I love about you. You've given my life happiness."

"Aww," said Diana, grinning. "You know that goes for me too, right?"

"You give your life happiness too?" he said. "That kind of goes without saying…"

"No, silly," she said, tapping him on the shoulder. "And you DO know what I mean, Mr. World's Greatest Detective."

"That reminds me," Batman said, referring to his sidekick's nickname for him. "Where's Robin?"

Diana was silent, and blinked. "Er… Alfred said he could have the night off. He… wants him to help him with… dusting."

Batman looked at her, frowning. "Why didn't he tell me…?"

"Oh, you know Alfred," Diana said quickly. "Never admits he needs help until the last minute. Now stop asking questions and kiss me."

He smiled, and leaned forward. She mirrored the move, and their lips touched. They kissed tenderly, and as the seconds passed, they pressed harder together. They pushed their bodies closer, and the kiss intensified. It seemed that nothing would separate them.

Two minutes later, they broke the kiss, and she sighed with contentment. "I'll miss you," she said.

"I'll miss you too," he said. "I'll come by the Watchtower later."

She nodded. "OK." She then released the grasp on his neck, and they slipped away from eachother reluctantly. He then turned around and hopped into the car.

Within moments, he was gone.

/

"Hera, give me strength! I'm going to throw this thing into the sun!"

Alfred remained unfazed at Diana's outburst. "Now, Ms. Diana, that would solve nothing." He went upto and held out his hand. Diana looked at him, then gave him the tape recorder.

"I don't understand how that works," she whined. "It's like… it keeps not recording."

"That's because you have to press play and record simultaneously," Alfred explained. "And you have to wait for the music to start on the other speaker."

Diana looked at the double-playing tape recorder. On one side, was a blank tape, and the other, a compilation cassette of the all time greatest love songs. "Why can't I just play the actual tape?"

Alfred put the contraption on the table. "I suggested that four hours ago. But you wanted to select the songs… as you said, and I quote, some where 'sexist racket"."

Diana sighed. "OK… but… you're going to have to go through it just one more time, Alfred. I told Tim you'd go help him in the cave."

"Master Tim can do with some normal labour," said the butler. "A thick coat makes a nice change from a cape."

"So… I have to press those buttons at the same time?" Diana said, pointing at one side of the machine.

"Yes," said Alfred. "AFTER you have pressed play on the other cassette."

"So… one side, just play… the other side, record AND play…"

"Yes."

Diana folded her arms. "OK, I think I've got it. Thank you, Alfred. You better go help Tim."

"OK, ma'am," he said, going to the door. Just before he left, he turned back to her. "And ma'am? I'd appreciate it if you didn't throw the recorder into the sun. I've had that for twenty years."

Diana grumbled as he left. "It IS the 21st century, you know, Mr. Pennyworth…"

/

The doorway opened, the tunnel was filled with light. The sound of engines engulfed the area, and the Batmobile drove through the passageway, and into the Batcave.

The car reached its turntable, and stopped gently. As the vehicle began turning, ready to leave for the next patrol, the cockpit opened. Batman stood up and looked around. What he saw made his eyes widen.

He slowly stepped out of the car, and walked towards the main area of the cave. He could not believe what he was seeing…

There were candles.

Hundreds of candles.

Everywhere.

The main lights of the cave had been turned off. The candlelight was the only illumination in the entire complex. He stared wide-eyed. What was going on…?

"I wanted it to be a surprise."

Batman turned his head at the sound of the voice, and looked at the top of the staircase. He stood still, as Diana emerged from the grandfather clock doorway, and began walking down the stairs. "What's this?" he asked.

"It's me showing you how much I love you," Diana said, reaching the bottom of the steps. She went upto him, her beauty lighting up from the candles. "Happy Valentine's Day, my darling."

Batman blinked. "Diana… it's only 4.30 in the morning…"

"Still makes it Valentine's Day," she said. "And as you have to work tonight… we're going to celebrate our day, now. And for the rest of the day."

Batman glared at her. She had set all this up… for him.

He had never had such a gesture before.

He noticed she was hiding something behind her back. He motioned to her pose, and she smiled lovingly. She then slowly brought her hands around… and revealed a bunch of red roses. "This is for you," she said.

Batman could not believe it. His face fell slightly.

She mirrored the expression. "Darling… what's wrong…?"

He was embarrassed. "Diana… you should have said. I… I would have…"

"It's OK," she said. "I didn't expect you to get me anything."

"No, it's not that." He looked at her awkwardly, then turned around, and went back to the Batmobile. She frowned as he reached down, and removed something from the passenger seat. He then walked back to her, the object hidden by his cape. "If I'd have known you'd done this…" he began…

He brought his hand out from his cape…

Revealing a bunch of red roses.

Diana's jaw dropped, and her eyes watered…

"… I would have gotten you something different."

She looked at him, speechless. Their bunches were exactly the same… same paper, same number of flowers, same card attached to it.

"Darling…" she whispered. "You…"

"Happy Valentine's," he said.

Diana stepped closer, but stopped inches from him. They could feel their love reaching out to eachother…

"Wait," she suddenly said. She took his bunch of roses and backed away, then went toward the Batcomputer. Batman followed her move, confused. It was at that point he noticed Alfred's old tape recorder on the console.

Diana put the roses on the console, and pressed a button on the recorder. Romantic music began to play from the cave's speakers. "I made this tape," she said. "Tim said it was a 'mixed tape' or something…" She walked back to him, and held out her arms. "Dance with me."

Batman looked worried. "Er…"

"Now come on, I know you can dance," she teased. "Maybe it'll be better… without this." She reached up, and put her hands to his face. She then slowly pushed back his cowl, revealing the face of Bruce Wayne. "Now," she said, "dance with me."

Bruce moved his arms around her waist, as she put hers around the back of his neck. They began moving slowly, holding eachother close, as the soothing music continued…

She looked at him. "I love you so much…"

He smiled. "I love you t…"

"OK, so I've pressed play. Now this should be recording, right?"

They both stopped, and looked at the tape recorder. The romantic music had been cut dead, replaced with the sound of Diana's voice. "OK… so Alfred said this should be recording… but how do I know if it IS recording? I can't hear anything… oooh, I hate technology sometimes."

Bruce and Diana looked at eachother. "I didn't…" she stammered.

"Mind you, this can hardly be called 'technology'. I doubt even GL with all his military training could work this contraption…"

Diana looked devastated, while Bruce tried to hold back a smile. "I didn't know I was recording…" she said. "I must have pressed the wrong button…"

"Great Hera, if this doesn't start working, I AM going to throw this thing into the sun! Ugh… OK, OK, calm down. I'll just unplug it… and see if I can start again. Ohh… why did I have to tell Alfred to go downstairs…" Diana's voice suddenly cut off, and the romantic music resumed.

She looked at him. "Darling… I'm sorry… I didn't mean…" She looked down, and sighed. "I wanted everything to be perfect."

He smiled, put his finger under her chin, and lifted her head back up. He stroked her face. "It is," he said.

He leaned close, and kissed her tenderly. She returned, pressing her lips against his, as the kiss increased in passion. They held eachother tightly, never wanting to let eachother go.

It was the perfect Valentine's morning…

THE END