Wonder Woman sat slumped in her cushioned chair within the walls of her room at the Watchtower; the lights were dimmed and she was exhausted from thwarting thirteen heists, seven kidnappings, and five riots all around the world. She sat there with her torn, dirty outfit, not caring to wash or fix it because she had the nagging suspicion that she would be called for another emergency. Looking down, she stumbled upon the realization that one of her magical bullet-deflecting bracelets had vanished from its normal home on her wrist. "Great." Frankly, the heroine needed a break, "Hera, give me strength; I fear the world has gone mad...And myself along with it." She whispered to herself, biting her lip nervously while revealing images of one of her teammates flashed through her mind. "How are such feelings possible? We are only friends." She thought to herself as the pictures in her head became more erotic; her cheeks turned to a bright crimson. Shaking her head to clear out the thoughts like a child's etch-a-sketch, she stood and poured a glass of cold water, hoping that the liquid would cool the heat that had risen in her face.

"Diana?" She jumped, and spilled water over herself, at the voice that resounded through the tiny intercom mounted on her wall; she cursed quietly.

"Y-yes?" She was especially shaken to find that the voice belonged to the teammate who's body she had just been mentally studying.

"Are you busy tonight?" The voice was sweet and made Diana's breath catch in her throat, it made her pause when an arm extended to grasp a paper towel.

"No I am not, why do you ask? Is something wrong?" She glanced carefully at the clock as she answered, 6:02, it read. She resumed her motion and began wiping the liquid from the fabric of her dirty outfit, thinking to herself that the mess was most likely an improvement.

The other person laughed, "No, not yet at least. I was wondering if you'd like to come to dinner with me." Wonder Woman was stunned into a brief silence.

"Of course! Do you know what they are serving in the cafeteria tonight?" She asked, trying her hardest to avoid the lump in her throat as her arms began working on auto-pilot and her thoughts trailed away to daydreams she'd previously had.

The voice came back a wonderful, clear, laugh, "No, I meant, come OUT to dinner with me, at an actual restaurant. I don't think I can take another night of Clark listening in on my conversations with Wally." Wonder Woman's heart leapt while her toes curled in pleasure at getting to hear that rare laugh.

Diana thought a moment, weighing the consequences of going out with her comrade in her mind; thinking of what the League might say made her nervous. Her stronger side piped up and encouraged her, "You didn't leave Themescera, all your sisters, to be discouraged by something so simple and easy. If you want it, go for it you idiot. I personally challenge anyone who has fool-hearted qualms about it." A smile spread across her features as she quietly cleared her throat before answering, "What time do you want to meet?" Her arms stopped moving completely.

"I'll pick you up at your room in exactly," She could hear her teammate move to glance at a clock, "Fifty seven minutes, savvy?" She could hear a smile in the other person's voice, it made a smile slide over her own features.

"That sounds wonderful; I am looking forward to spending the evening with you. Should I dress up?" Her face grew hot again.

"You can, I am and I don't want to embarrass you by looking sexier," The person at the other end of the line laughed again, "But I'm sure you'll look beautiful no matter what you wear... You always do." The voice came back to her, but her comrade had disconnected before she could reply, leaving her to ponder what exactly that last statement implied. The wet cloth in her hands fell to the floor and she trotted off towards the bathroom to take a shower; her dirty uniform dropped to the floor as the water started and she stepped in.

"It should take me five minutes to shower and get out, leaving me a window of fifty one minutes to compose my attire." She said to herself quietly, her heartbeat growing faster as she imagined what the evening would bring. Wonder Woman wrapped herself in a towel while drying off her hair as she walked into her bedroom; opening her closet, she paused to think about precisely in which direction she wanted dinner to head. Minutes later, if one looked where her bed should be, they would only find the contents of her wardrobe. Jeans, silk tops, blouses, slacks, belts, and beautiful dresses were strewn about on the sheets; the heroine stomped her feet in agitation, she was utterly dumbfounded. "I know!" She floated upward and opened the hatch at the top of her closet to grab a small cardboard box; she hovered slowly down until she sat on her knees, the box in front of her. "Mother gave me this for a special occasion, this seems perfect." She smiled and pressed the soft fabric into her cheek. Wonder Woman stood and let her towel fall to the floor as she sprang into the bathroom and got ready.

Smoothing out the rumples in her dress, Diana stood in front of the full-length mirror just inside the bedroom door. A knock sounded through the metal of her door, startling her into taking another quick glance at herself; the white dress she wore went down to the middle of her muscled thighs and were smartly accented by white 2 inch high heels. Her hair had been carefully brushed and pulled up into a rose-style bun a little ways above the base of her skull, leaving her shoulders completely exposed. The ebony-haired heroine stood before the door taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, letting the cool handle rest in her grasp. She willed her face to stay pale in anticipation for the greeting; with a final quiet sigh she pulled open the metal door.

"Wow, you look, man..." Shayera's voice was hoarse, obviously stunned by the beauty in front of her, "I mean, I've seen you wear less than this everyday for the past three years and I must say, I never thought more could be so sexy." She recovered, leaning slightly against the door frame, her beautiful grey wings paled by her form-fitting black dress; Wonder Woman felt her face heat up as her pulse increased.

"Shayera... You look, stunning." The Amazon barely choked out.

"Awe come on; don't tell me I shocked the Princess of Themescera into silence! Hey, I can clean up too; I mean, I AM a woman." Her eyes raked over Diana's body seductively.

"That she is, and her figure makes it painfully obvious." Diana thought to herself, her eyes drinking in Shayera's appearance. The Amazon was completely entranced by the beauty of her comrade and the wonderful fragrance that radiated off of her skin. The Thanagarian's beautiful red hair was brushed and down, tumbling like a waterfall over her shoulders; her emerald eyes shone brightly against her hair and tanned skin. The black dress she wore was ankle-long and split seductively at her hip to reveal long muscled legs and sexy black stilettos. The raven-haired woman's eyes wandered back up to the tanned flesh that was exposed below the Thanagarian's collar bone; the redhead's dress came from under her arms and wrapped tightly around her torso, just above her breasts, with a wide V to show off some cleavage.

"Uh, forgive me, shouldn't we be going? I don't want to waste our quality time together gawking at y-your...your..." She couldn't help but trail off as her eyes fell upon Shayera's practically free breasts, they looked quite snug in that tight dress; the Amazon bit the inside of her lip.

"What's the matter Princess? We have plenty of time together, unless you planned on running away right when we get to share a strand of spaghetti." The redhead smiled and laughed at her remark, leaning lightly against the door frame.

Despite the way her heart leapt at the other woman's laugh, Diana's face was one of incredulity and pure confusion. "What?" Was all she could say.

The Thanagarian laughed, "Obviously you've never seen the Lady and the Tramp. It was the coolest kid's movie I came across in my first year on Earth." She muttered, pulling an imaginary piece of lint from her breast.

Wonder Woman's face grew to one of slight horror, "There is a movie for children that introduces whores taking advantage of classy women?!" She said a little too loud, causing Batman to stop in his tracks and look at them with his mouth slightly agape, and his cowl-clad brows continuously rising.

Shayera's laughter rang out through the hall as she nearly doubled over from rib convulsions and twitching lungs, "Oh my god! That is absolutely hilarious!" She couldn't stop laughing and her fit only grew louder due to the face Diana couldn't seem to get rid of, she looked like she'd seen a walrus flipping her off from the passenger seat of a moving car. The redhead walked over to Batman and gave him a big Thanagarian hug, followed by a kiss on the cheek. Wonder Woman's brow quirked as the pair whispered quietly to one another and Batman gave Shayera a hug this time, along with a deep-throated, hearty laugh. Diana was utterly shocked and completely speechless.

"Come on Princess," She said, walking back to her date while waving goodbye to their comrade, "We've got a dinner to eat." She flashed Diana a grand smile and pulled the Amazon into the metal elevator to ride down to the teleporters. A portion of the journey was in silence, until Shayera broke the ice. "I appreciate you respecting the deal I kinda forced you into last week, the whole 'you want the mace you got me too', thing." Diana could see the other woman bite her lower lip.

"I'm just glad you stuck with it." She said with a smile, trying hard to keep her eyes away from the other woman's exposed skin. However, she was able to catch the light blush that rose in her companion's cheeks.

The pair remained silent until they reached their destination; Shayera grabbed Diana's hand and they strolled to the platform together. Standing on one of the partially lit circles, they looked at the worker standing there with her light purple uniform on as she read a woman's soccer magazine. She looked up when Shayera cleared her throat, "Preset destination number four, please." She said with a nod.

The blond woman grinned broadly and typed on the keypad to select their target. As the lights began enveloping them from the ground up, the blond woman winked at Shayera, her smile never wavering.

Their matter was broken down and reassembled in a pleasant alleyway somewhere on Earth. Shayera linked her arm with Diana's and walked her out onto the cobblestone street. The scent of the sea filled the Princess's nose as the sound of crashing waves and seagulls enveloped her ears. She closed her eyes, as Shayera led her out across the street to the sidewalk, to find the insides of her eyelids greeted by an incredibly soft light. Orange shone through her skin as scents and sounds painted a beautiful picture in her head of the place she was visiting; it was a picture she would never forget. "This place...is wonderful." She whispered, her eyes still closed.

"Why don't you open your eyes, Princess? Its better when all of your senses are live." Her companion's voice was soft and warm as it was whispered in her ear. Her eyelids slid open, revealing an all-too familiar world to her; she was standing on the sidewalk in Themescera.

"W-what are we doing here, Shayera?" She was trying her hardest to whisper through the anger and frustration that had washed over her.

"Quiet!" Shayera clamped a hand over her companion's mouth, backing her into the ally they just came out of. The redhead craned her neck to look carefully out at a pair of women passing by, giggling as they went. When she was sure they had moved out of earshot, she took her hand away from her companion's mouth. "What's up? Why are you freaking out?"

"I'm not sure if you remember or not but my mother banned me from my home!" Diana felt warm tears in her eyes at the memory; she hated feeling like her mother didn't want her, it made her feel weak.

"Exactly! This is your HOME, is there a better place to stay and have dinner in the beautiful light if the moon? I think not." Shayera's wings were beginning to flare up behind her, looking white in the black of the night; it reminded Diana of their time together in Hell.

"How about a calm place where my own sisters won't attempt to kill me, and the world won't fall apart on my shoulders?!" She had to fight to control the waver in her voice, as well as the volume.

"Diana, I didn't know you were that stressed..." Shayera's eyes bored into her companion's.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't be here, it's too risky. I could not bear my mother being even more disgraced by me." She prepared to fly away or call J'onn for transportation, whichever would get her away from her old home faster. Before she could even float from the ground, the redhead grabbed her hand.

"Don't leave, please; I have something special planned for us this evening." Her eyes pleaded with the Amazon.

"Alright. Hera, you must have lost your mind." She said, after a moment of thought; her feet slowly came back to rest more firmly on the ground, Shayera smiled.

"I lost my mind a very long time ago. Now, come here so you can put this on." Her hand moved from Diana's wrist up to her soft elbow drawing her closer.

"Put what on?" Wonder Woman asked, turning to face the other woman.

"This." Shayera said with a smile as she plucked a long feather from her left wing, twitching slightly as she did so. She turned Diana around to tie it over her eyes.

"So soft, with such a wonderfully pleasant smell." Wonder Woman thought to herself, she felt a smile spread across her features. "What are you smiling at, Princess?" The redhead's voice purred in Diana's ear.

"I-I am simply having a wonderful time being with you, Lieutenant." She said, returning the favor of calling her teammate by her title.

Diana wasn't aware of it, but a frown grew on Shayera's face at the last word she'd uttered. "I'm not in the Thanagarian army anymore." She whispered under her breath. The redhead straightened her back and let her wings flutter behind her so she could drop the slight agitation. "Come on hot stuff, let's get going." She took Diana's hand into her grasp and pulled her through the torch-lit street. The stone road beneath their feet slowly went from sand, to wood, and back to stone as they made progress through the city. The more they walked, the more couples and pairs of Amazons greeted them on the street, waving and smiling at the beautiful redhead with shining emerald eyes; they barely noticed her blinded companion walking behind her linked by their hands alone. With every step they took, the sounds of the ocean grew louder and closer, the sounds of the sea were so close, Diana could practically feel fresh waves crashing over her shoulders.

When Shayera deemed they were close enough to their destination, she broke contact with her friend and quietly floated away so Diana wouldn't hear her. "Shayera?" The Princess whispered, feeling empty and very alone; standing there made her realize quite how much she enjoyed the other woman's company. Diana's hand reached up to touch the soft feather wrapped around her head; her fingers slowly grasped the bottom of the soft covering, before a hand gripped her wrist tightly.

"Let me get that, Princess." The Thanagarian's voice was like warm honey pouring from her throat into Diana's ear, overpowering the sounds already surrounding them. "It'll just be a second..." Her voice moved from one direction to another as the winged beauty stepped around her slowly and seductively. Diana's hands fell to her sides as she waited patiently for her companion to take the feather away from her eyes. A pleasant shiver ran up her spine as strong hands rested at the base of her neck on both shoulders; her toes curled in surprise and pleasure as warm breath ran down her neck.

Shayera grasped one end of the feather she'd plucked from her wing carefully in her teeth, pulling her head away as slowly as she could to undo the knot. When the feather had finally come loose and the women were facing the ocean together, Diana saw something that touched her heart in ways she'd never imagined. There was a square wooden deck built out off of the street to branch out over the shoreline, and in the center of the cherry-red finished wood was a stone center with two chairs and a white clothed table with a meal hidden by silver bowls waiting on it. Torches surrounded the deck, Diana's face lit up as the fires' light flew across her skin. They were standing in the middle on the stone center; Shayera grasped her feather as it flickered in the wind like the fire trapped within a torch. "I don't need this anymore." She said, relinquishing the soft grey object to the wind. Diana's face turned to one of worry; the Amazon leapt up and grabbed the feather before it could be lost to the waves.

"I do." She said, gliding back down to stand next to her companion. The Amazon brought it slowly across her face, feeling the softness and smelling the perfume she was about to commit to her list of favorite scents. "The smell of Shayera next to me in the morning will be at the top." Her more lustful side whispered in her mind. "Let's do something risky." An inner voice said.

"You're sweet..." The Thanagarian trailed off as her eyes went wide with shock and excitement; Diana was sliding the long grey feather down in the front of her dress, carefully tucking it into her right breast cup. It was a moment after the intentional pause that the Princess looked up from her endowment.

"Something wrong, Shayera?" The other woman's name rolled from her tongue, she willed her face to stay colorless.

"No, nothing at all. Here, let me get your seat." She recovered, pulling the metal chair out from under the table so her companion could sit.

"Why, thank you." She sauntered over to the offered seat, lowering herself into the chair as slowly as she could to make Shayera jealous. The Amazon smiled to herself when she heard her friend sigh quietly above her.

"N-not a problem. I don't mind it at all." She regained her balance and whispered her last sentence in Diana's ear. The winged beauty stepped around the table to sit in her own chair, facing the Princess. "Soon to be MY Princess." The thought passed quickly through her mind. "Are you ready to eat, Princess?"

A smile swept across Diana's lips, "What are you offering?" It was her turn to make a woman's face red.

"I meant the food, Princess. My dessert comes after dinner." Shayera said coolly, her emerald eyes shining in the torchlight as she leaned into intertwined fingers that were propped up by strong elbows.

Wonder Woman's breath caught in her throat at the sight, "What is for dessert?" She did her best to recover, with little success.

"Now that is entirely up to you." She leaned further into her hands as she paused; when she saw that her companion was speechless she continued, "Dinner, however, has already been prepared; all that's left is to serve it." She pulled the silver cover-dishes from the bowls, revealing the food she had slaved over for nearly two hours, trying desperately to get it right for the woman she could not tear from her mind. The redhead smiled when Diana leaned into the released steam to draw the wonderful smell into her nostrils.

"Mmmmmm, it smells divine. What is it?" She asked, grinning broadly, ready for her fork to dive straight into it.

"Shrimp Linguini, for the beautiful Princess," Shayera smiled at the blush Wonder Woman tried weakly to hide. "Damn thing took me a while to get, but it just melts in your mouth." She beamed. A short, clear, laugh escaped the Thanagarian's throat when she saw the hungry stare Diana's bowl was receiving from its owner. "Shall we?" She gestured to their bowls as wind blew by them, tousling her hair and ruffling her feathers slightly.

"I would hate for it to get cold..." The Princess trailed off, her eyes devouring the food before her mouth could.
Another laugh jumped from Shayera's lips, it made Diana look away from the food, "I seem to be making that wonderful laugh less endangered than it was this morning." She thought to herself.

"Go ahead, dig in, Princess." The redhead smiled sadly, whispering the last word to make it inaudible. She ate slowly so her eyes would have all the time they needed, to create a mental map of Diana's body, "Like you haven't already! You haven't been able to get your eyes off of her since you beat the snot out of Faust!" She thought to herself.

"Hera, this is delicious!" Diana nearly shouted, thankfully the sound of the waves all but drowned her out.

"Actually, Shayera made it, but I'm sure Hera would like it too." The Thanagarian said, after finishing another bite of her food with a slight chuckle. A pleasant smile played about on the redhead's lips as she thought of a particularly fond memory. "Do you remember when we snuck into Wally's room to bust him for stealing batarangs?"

Diana began laughing, "Do you remember what we found in their stead?" She held a hand over her mouth, trying not to laugh.

Shayera nodded, her smile growing, "A pair of Clark's teddy bear boxer-briefs!" She rocked back into her chair clutching at her ribs, laughing at the incredible surprise that had awaited them at the end of their adventure. It was hard for her to keep her eyes wide but when she managed to pry them open, she found Diana laughing just as hard as she was; both women were partially afraid food would fly from the other's nose.

When the majority of the bursts of laughter had subsided, Diana looked across the table. "Thank you, Shayera, its wonderful." The Amazon couldn't stop smiling.

"From the looks of things, it WAS wonderful; and thank you, I'm really glad you liked it." She smiled at hearing her name from the lips of such a beautiful woman; the redhead placed her hand on the one Diana had lain across the table.

"I didn't like it, I simply love it." Diana said, taking comfort in the hand lying on hers while trying not to let extra blood creep into her cheeks.

"Are you finished?"

"Yes, and you? Your bowl is almost completely full." The brief notion passed through her head that she'd been poisoned, she shooed it away.

"I'm finished; I had to ingest almost an entire pot-full to make sure it was edible. Besides, I always leave plenty of room for dessert." Shayera's emerald eyes shone brightly under the flickering torchlight.

"She looks like a Goddess, and the moon against her wings, Hera, I think I'm in love!" The Princess thought. "And what is for dessert tonight, Shayera? Do we get ice-cream?!" She nearly squealed like a child in glee.

A long, clear, laugh jumped from Shayera's throat, her eyes gleamed with the moonlight pooling at the bottom of her pupils. "Let's go down by the beach and you'll find out." She stood and shook her wings out, pulling a long red hair from the side of her dress.

"How are we getting there? Your dress and our shoes will be ruined if we walk." Diana pointed out, getting up from her chair and the empty bowl in front of her.

"When did I say we were going to walk?" Shayera's confident smile never left her face; neither did the gleam in her eyes.

"Oh, yes...We can both fly..." The Amazon trailed off, looking rather disappointed, she looked like the romance that thinly lined their evening had dissipated.

"Yeah, we can, but indulge the hopeless romantic side of me for a while." She smiled, offering the princess her hand.

Diana's heart fluttered almost uncontrollably while she took careful steps toward her companion on the stone square inside the deck. She took the other woman's hand with a wide grin, "You're a hopeless romantic? This is certainly new." She was pulled into the redhead's arms.

"I've always been a romantic; you just never gave me the chance to prove it to you." Shayera purred in her Princess's ear, scooping her into her arms as if she were a weightless bride. The former Thanagarian Lieutenant guided Diana's arms up to wrap around her neck, ignoring the shiver running down her spine at touching the Princess's bare back and legs, to bring their faces incredibly close; Diana could smell the spice of the other woman's perfume.

"Prove it now." Her face got closer; her breath became slightly more ragged.

"I intend to, Princess." She breathed into her companion's ear as she stretched her wings out in the open sea air. Arching her back, the redhead took off, soaring through the air with the Amazon in her arms. Wind whizzed past their ears and face as they flew, causing the breath to catch in Diana's throat, especially whenever Shayera's hands moved.

"I never knew it could be so different if I just became the passenger." She smiled into the redhead's ear, tightening her hold on her neck to bring them closer; warmth radiated from her companion and she drank it in.

"Different as in, romantic?" Shayera's eyes raked over her comrade briefly, before darting back to the path in front of them.

"Yes, quite romantic." She tried to hide the blush in her cheeks that rose when her arms automatically pulled her closer to Shayera. Diana's heart nearly stopped when their breasts rubbed together. The sea washed over itself below them, enveloping more air and bringing about bigger waves as the water churned. A couple was lying on top of one another on the beach, clearly enjoying their time together; Diana's face grew furiously hot as her mind replaced the faces of the two women below. She pressed her face into Shayera's collarbone, trying to avoid the other woman's breasts so as not to make her uncomfortable; the redhead twitched slightly, keeping her companion gripped carefully in her arms as she snuck a whiff of the Princess' black hair. Grey wings, with the span of a car, fluttered in the salty sea air as the two women flew together, wrapped tightly in each other's arms; Shayera's strength never wavered. The wings that propelled them through the night sky shone almost as brightly as the moon, its light shining through them beautifully. The Amazon was thankful she hadn't worn a long dress that would've flown up into the other woman's face. "Do you remember when we were trapped in a fight to the death?"

"You mean, do I remember the bitch that ensnared our minds and made us attack each other? Yes, I remember her." The moonlight reflected angrily off of Shayera's emerald eyes.

"Roulette, that awful woman. She made me hurt you. I'm so sorry." A tear welled in the Amazon's eye at the thought of hurting her crush.

"You can't hurt me, Princess, I was holding back for you. Just for you." A smile crossed her lips.

Diana grinned inwardly. Gliding through the air with the woman that had been in her mind for days on end made Diana's mistrust fade away, it filled her to the brim with joy, happiness, and possibilities. Her eyes slid closed and she felt like she was completely weightless, totally unaware that the two of them had landed on large rocks at the base of the shoreline. Her blue eyes revealed themselves again and she found that they were standing, facing each other on a big grey, rounded, and perfectly smooth boulder; Diana's legs were weak as she looked into Emerald pools that reflected water off of them. As the Amazon fell into Shayera, both women accumulated a bright red tint to their cheeks and each of them bit their lower lips longingly; their breasts had slid roughly against one another. As tanned, strong arms wrapped around the Princess to pull her up, she found that she could barely breathe; every place Shayera's skin touched hers was on fire, all her nerves were alight, everything felt perfect, so she leaned in to kiss the redhead. It felt like every fantasy she'd ever dreamed up, multiplied by several thousand times. There were sparks and rockets flying behind her closed eyelids.

Shayera had waited for this moment for several weeks; she had longed to tangle her fingers in black hair, to feel pale legs around her, to taste the perfect lips of the Amazon. She would always remember what it felt like to hold Diana close, to hold her against her own body with a hand placed firmly on her lower back. Their faces were incredibly close, each of them savoring the taste of the other's lips. "Do you still want ice cream?" Shayera pulled away breathless to ask, a heat rising in her cheeks.

Diana smiled and pressed their foreheads together, heat dancing around under her skin. "Screw ice cream." She bit Shayera's lip, erecting a moan from the other woman. As they kissed, all Diana's earlier fears melted away; the thoughts that discouraged this intimate connection were gone and her mind could not be changed. "This feels too good, too right to be wrong!" She thought.

"Wait, your place or mine?" Shayera breathed, breaking their lips apart.

"Do you have visitors in the mornings?"

"No, none." A smile parted her lips.

"Then yours." She whispered onto the Thanagarian's lips.

They broke apart again and Shayera pressed her finger to her earpiece carefully, clearing her throat as she did so, "Immediate transport to Hawkgirl's room please." A smile took residence on her face as her arm slid around Diana's waist and they teleported. The room was dark and they fell together onto the bed, arms and legs a tangled mess as each woman fought to be on top. Finally, Shayera had her friend pinned against the blanket, her arms held well above her head; the redhead burrowed her body in between Diana's legs, leaning to envelop pink lips with her own. Shayera's leg ground into her companion's pelvis roughly, erecting soft moans and rapid breathing from the other woman. Both of their dresses came off in a matter of seconds, each woman eager to be acquitted with the other's body as well as their soul. Shayera held her Princess down on the bed with her weight, as her hands occupied themselves with making map of Diana's body. Shayera kissed every inch of her lover, and took explicit care in massaging the ebony-haired woman's breasts. Grey wings flared above the bed as orgasms wracked their bodies, to form a canopy over the two of them. Intertwined fingers broke the purple of the sheets, as moans and screams pierced the still night air, the couple was thankful that Bruce had invested in soundproof walls.