Despite the warmth and force behind the kiss, Cassandra felt nothing. Kissing the clone was more like a laborious chore. She was just going through the motions for the sake of her promises. For more than two year, she had repeatedly tried to pretend otherwise. Now, after a week of marriage, she was sure of it. She did not love Connor.
No. Not Connor, she reminded herself, his clone. It was only a factually perfect replicate of the boy she once loved. That's all. When he gave her a beaming grin, she put on a similar one and touched his hand. Slowly, he slid away from her grasp as he ascended into the dimming sky. Vanishing into the rays of the setting sun, her forced smile faded away.
With a heavy sigh, she turned and left the Tower's lower balcony. Cassandra could find no comfort in this marriage of convince. She was doing it for a dead past and a potential future. Still, Tim said it was important, and if nothing else, she trusted his judgment. None of this would be possible without him.
As her thoughts drifted to the imposing Dark Knight, Cassandra found herself stopping at entrance to the War Room. Even from here, the expansive portrait of the Titans' founding members was visible. The dark figure in Kevlar gear held her attention the most. With arms cross over his broad chest and his hard set frown, Batman looked ever the imposing agent of fear.
In the silence of the Tower, Cassandra swore she could hear his deep, thundering voice cutting through the air. It caused shivers to rake over her bare arms. Gripping them, she shut her eyes and pretended her hands were his gauntlet covered ones. His hold would be iron tight; his breath would be fire cascading along the curve of her throat as he breathed her name.
"Tim," she gasped in response to her vivid daydreams.
"Wonder Woman," barked the unmistakable voice of Batman, snapping her back to the present. She fought the blush spreading over her face.
"Yes," she replied, not turning but mustering enough strength to hide her discomfort.
"So he's gone to join the others?" Batman inquired bluntly. Blowing out a long breath, Cassandra put her emotions back into their box.
Squaring her shoulders, she turned to meet his gaze. "Was there any doubt, Tim?"
He snorted at her, narrowing his gaze.
"Batman," she corrected herself, placing her hands on her hips and giving him a self-assured but straight-lipped look.
The hard set jaw gave little away. His face was an absolute picture of a controlled storm. With each purposeful step closer to her, his cape flowed effortlessly. It spread out like an ominous, oncoming bank of clouds. Her stomach did two cartwheels. She had to fight her schoolgirl urges. Wonder Woman didn't swoon over a man, not even Batman. Besides, Cassandra knew the real him. He wouldn't like any of that childish stuff.
"I had no doubt you could… persuade him. You do have…" He paused in speaking. She swore his gaze quickly and thoroughly glided over her uniformed form. "… your ways of dealing with him."
A sly smile spread over Cassandra's face. She leaned closer to him, whispering. "As any good handler would, no? Too bad, I don't have the same effect on certain… other… members of the Titans"
A brief chuckle fell from his lips with only the quickest of part smiles. There was almost a nervous quality to it. "You don't give yourself enough credit on your persuasive ability, Wonder Woman."
Cassandra took that as an invitation and opened the box she had locked earlier. Driving forward, she grabbed his head with both hands and pulled his lips against hers. Without hesitation, she bit at his tightly drawn mouth. For several breathless moments, they were unyielding and cold. Then, like a break in the storm clouds, he was released.
Those gauntlet-covered hands roughly grabbed her arms, pulling her against her chest. The hammering of his heart cut straight through her. His mouth was a world of searing heat, bitter coffee, and a spice that was uniquely Tim. They sent bolts of blinding sensations to ever nerve ending. Soon, her body hummed with need and desperate cravings as she never had with the clone.
This was not the first time they kissed. It wasn't even the first time they did more than kiss. She just hoped that this time he didn't push her away. Her hands grabbed at him, using her strength to keep him pressed against her. Still, he found a way to break her grip. Only he ever could.
A ragged breath slid past his lips. "No," he hissed, turning his gaze away from her. "This is…."
"What? What is it?" Cassandra asked, fixing him with a determined and longing look. When he didn't reply, she grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at her. "Why do you deny me? I know you feel what I do. We're in this together. This team, the clones, all of your plan… all meant to strength us. So why…?"
"Complicated," he said hurriedly. Blowing out a breath, he pushed her hand away. "Far too complicated."
While she stared wide-eyed at him, he turned away and strode to the Tower's elevator. "Complicated?" she scoffed, following after elevator doors parted, and Batman entered it. She only stopped at the elevator's entrance when he held out a hand and said, "Don't." Standing outside of the elevator, she crossed her arms and glared at him "Don't give me that bullshit! Complicated… that's all our life is!" He said nothing, simply staring at her and silently restating his order. As the doors began to slide shut, she grabbed them and forced them open again. "We do more than just live through the complications and difficulties." She pushed her way into the lift, coming face to cowl with him. In a low growl, she stated, "We've thrive!"
Tim grunted, keeping his jaw set hard. "So…" she stated, giving him a defiant glare, "next excuse?" For several deep breaths, they stared intently at one another.
The doors slid shut and the elevator started upward. Only the occasional sound of chiming when they reached a new level filled the space. She would not let Tim off this time, not like every time before when they started to get close. He knew how she felt, and she was sure he felt the same. They come too far to deny it.
"You're... you're real," Tim finally told her.
Cassandra's brow furrowed. "Sorry? What's… what's that… supposed to mean?"
Tim's throat quickly restricted, before slowly loosening. A ragged breath struggled out between his lips. "Because…" he said in a tight voice. "This is not how it's supposed to be."
"Supposed to be?" loudly stated Cassandra, chuckling at the ridiculousness of his words.
"Yes," Tim told her. His head dipped as one of his gloved hands, gripped his cowl. In one fluid motion, he revealed his sweaty, disheveled hair. "You belong with Connor." His intense, stormy gaze rose to meet hers. "It's supposed to be you and Connor."
Cassandra felt her breath catch in her throat. She looked at the man who had always been by her side. When everyone else had died or left, he remained. They'd become stronger together, made all they'd ever dreamed come true. They'd even become better than either of their mentors. And now, after all this planning, she realized he hadn't done it to protect Earth or to relive a dead past. He had done it all for her… out of love.
Raising a hand, she caressed his pale cheek. "Oh, Tim," she said with a sad smile, feeling even more adoration for the man before her. "That clone can never be Connor. He's dead."
Almost immediately, Tim's face hardened. The softness turned to rage in his storm ravaged eyes. With one dismissive shake of his head, he was back to being Batman. He unceremoniously shoved her into the elevator wall and swept past her and out of the now open elevator door.
When she turned, the expansive, amber colored skyline of New York stretched outside the elevator. It accented the black bat jet on the roof of Titan's Tower. "Tim!" she called after his retreating form.
Tim made a grunting noise. He was being pig-headed again.
"That clone will never be him! No matter how much stuff you and Luther shove into his thick head!" she yelled. Tim didn't turn to reply. "Tim!" she called once more before taking action.
Using the speed of Hermes, she flew across the roof and straight at Tim. With the strength of Hercules, she lifted him off the ground. She brought him face to face several feet in the air. Only her grip on his cape's lapels kept him from falling to his death.
"Wonder Woman!" he said angrily.
"No, you listen!" she practically screamed at him. "Get it through your head. Connor is dead. You have to accept that. As much as you have to accept, I don't want him! I want you!"
When Tim's nose flared, she all but expected him to lecture her or take counter-attack measures to escape her grasp. Instead, all she noticed was a nervous twitch under his left eye. His face remained impassive. Taking that as good enough of a reason to continue, she went on.
"I will not let the past hold me back, not anymore" she spat. "And neither should you!"
For a moment, Tim's gaze dipped before snapping up to meet hers again. "But…"
"The clones of Connor and Bart and even Luthor might be necessary to further our plans for Earth, but they will never be at the top of my mind. I don't care about them. To be honest, I care little what happens to this world. I only care about you!"
"Me?" he said suddenly. His voice didn't sound as rough or threatening. "Why?"
With that simple, silly question, her angry started to fade. "You utter idiot. Can't you see? It's so obvious. You're all I have left. You're real! And..." She drew in another airy breath. "I love you. I always have, and I always will."
Tim blinked at her a few times as if he truly did not understand. She was all but ready to continue lecturing him when she noticed his jaw softened and his eyes grew wide.
"Hades, you really are thick sometimes, Tim," Cassandra laughed.
Slowly, a warm smile crept across Tim's face. His voice sounded more like the naïve but confident boy from so many years ago. "I prefer stubborn if you don't mind."
Cassandra couldn't help the grin as she shook her head. Sometimes, she almost forgot he was once a Boy Wonder. She was about to tell him that when she felt his arms wrap around her waist. The humor froze on her lips as she felt his lips press firmly against hers. The familiar surge of warmth returned, sending shivers through her. Her eyes were about to flutter shut when he pulled back again.
Instantly, her eyes flickered open with irritation only to see Tim beaming a huge grin at her. "I love you too," he whispered softly. "And I wouldn't change any of it." He tugged her close, deeply kissing her once again. This time he didn't let her go.