It was late. He'd been up for days and days, working on an important case. Hah, a case... at least, that's what he'd told Alfred...
"There used to be a greying tower alone on the sea
You became, the light on the dark side of me"
Bruce rubbed his weighted eyelids, trying to keep delerium from clouding his mind.
The clock ticked, a sound that drilled into his skull and aggrivated a throbbing pain that pulsated beneath him.
The truth was, Bruce never wanted to sleep. Never wanted to allow his subconcious to take over and pull him back into the nightmare that was his life. Each dream carried with it the sound of death, pain, and misery, waking him all hours of the night in an attempt to escape the plauge.
"Love remained a drug that's the high and not the pill.
But did you know,
That when it snows,
My eyes become large and
The light that you shine can be seen."
He picked the bottle up, turned it in his hands a few times, studing the label. These miracle tablets had knocked him out many a time.
Usually the slumber was so deep, he couldn't even remember his dreams the next day.
Bruce looked up when a hushed voice resouned in his ear. Startled, he jerked slightly and listened again. "Bruce?" a soft, feminine voice cooed. The bottle fell.
"Baby,
I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grave.
Ooh,
The more I get of you,
The stranger it feels, yeah."
Warmth traveled through his appendages and shortened his breath immediately. "What do you want?" He answered shortly.
"I though you'd be up. I just wanted to talk a little... unless you're busy."
"I'm busy." He replied
There was a pause.
"I've been having trouble sleeping. I lie awake in bed for hours before I'm tired. Have any suggestions?" The voice continued, unshaken.
He sighed and clenched his fists. They were trembling, almost as violently as his heart was beating. His brain was swimming euphorically in an altered state, and he loathed it.
"And now that your rose is in bloom.
A light hits the gloom on the grave."
"There is so much a man can tell you,
So much he can say.
You remain,
My power, my pleasure, my pain, baby
To me you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny.
Won't you tell me is that healthy, baby?"
"Deep breaths." He called out suddenly.
The voice retorted. "Pardon?"
"Take deep breaths. Count. Close your eyes and clear your mind."
The woman stopped to think, and then replied.
"I'm not sure I can. Care to help me relax?"
His heart stopped.
"W-what do you mean?"
"...Can you tell me how to do that? To clear my mind..." She elaborated innocently.
"Oh... y-yes. Of course." He resumed breathing and shook his head.
"But did you know,
That when it snows,
My eyes become large and the light that you shine can be seen.
Baby,
I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grave.
Ooh, the more I get of you
The stranger it feels, yeah
Now that your rose is in bloom.
A light hits the gloom on the grave."
"Okay. Deep breath in. One, two, three, out on four, five six, seven..."
He listened to the sound of her rich breathing. It made him feel fuzzy inside, a feeling he refused to admit to anyone.
While he hated to admit it, she had this unexplainable hold on him, and even in silence he could practically smell the sweet honey scent of her hair, see the rosey golden hue of her cheeks.
The very thought of this woman sent him into a spiral, and her slightly plangent respiration threatened to drag him under. He was oblivious to the fact that he was still counting. "twenty four...thirty...seven...t..y..."
Silence followed.
"I've been kissed by a rose on the grave,
...And if I should fall along the way
I've been kissed by a rose
...been kissed by a rose on the grave."
Diana exhaled smugly as snores echoed in her ear. She could hear soft breaths, and she knew he was smiling. "Goodnight Bruce", she whispered, and drifted off into dreamland to meet him once again.
"And now that your rose is in bloom
A light hits the gloom on the grave"
"Kiss by a Rose" is a beautiful song that I thought fit with the Bruce/Diana relationship so well. Of course, it was used in the Batman movie, so the connection was kind of already there. I do not own the rights to the song, nor did I create the lyrics. Seal is the singer and creator. I don't own Batman or Wonder Woman either, though it would be cool if I did!
It was kind of weird writing a story from a male's perspective...which is why this is a one-shot and will remain one :D Read and review if you'd like.