Author's Note:

Imagine this song playing in the background: Look for "Louis Amstrong 'La Vie En Rose' by KOREAN POPS ORCHESTRA" in youtube.

I aimed for more fluff but I ended up adding some action. Will edit for errors and typos.


Diana found herself liking the band's instrumental piece more than anything in tonight playlist. The trumpet sounded nice, as well as the violin. She knew that it was what the people in Man's World called a 'classic' or at least an 'oldie'. She was wishing she caught the title once more so she could download it from iTunes later; especially that it's difficult to search songs that was first heard without the lyrics. Nonetheless, the princess settled to just enjoy it for now. In all honestly, she considered the song to be very therapeutic.

Suddenly, a noise from the comm link snapped her back to tonight's important matters.

"Everything good there, Di?" asked Black Canary's voice in her hidden communicator.

"So far so good" she replied discreetly, as she fixed a crumple in her sparkly, velvet gown. Nobody was looking at her which made her feel safe to fall out of character for a while.

Undercover missions are always very tedious, especially when it involves bait. In this particular mission, a crime syndicate has hired multiple assassins to exterminate Sofia Alexeeva, a Russian socialite-party girl who happened to witness some evidences of drug trades in Moscow. She was supposed to attend tonight's charity ball but seeing that it could be very dangerous for her, someone from the Justice League had to fill in. Diana was unanimously the top pick for it because a) she can protect herself well and b) she has the closest look for Sofia.

And now here she was, with a red-haired wig and thick makeup, sitting in one of the unoccupied chairs. Occasionally, she'd talk to some guests in an overly friendly manner in order to appear a bit drunk. And she had to do it all with a Russian accent. Unfortunately, the whole act felt like a chore that made Diana's energy ebb away quickly. Good thing people didn't seem to notice that she had retired in one place. However, her eyes still kept watch.

"See anything yet?" said Green Arrow in the comm link.

"Nope. Just a bunch of over privileged people dancing and gossiping" she calmly replied.

"Are you sure?"

"Yep"

She was beginning to notice her teammates' impatience. Since it was snowing heavily outside, their position isn't exactly enviable. And it's bad enough that they're on rooftop of the building across the street, experiencing the coldest winds despite their winter clothes.

"You guys alright out there?" she asked quietly as she faced the window. She tried to get a glimpse of their base across the street but the snowing was too thick to even see the details.

"We're fine. Just kind of boring out here. It's been almost two hours and still no sign of anybody" Dinah commented.

"Maybe Batman had a false tip" Ollie added.

Diana didn't answer to that. Just the mention of Batman gave a reminder of what happened a few days ago. She had raised her voice against him while he said a bunch of remarks in his own arrogant way, but she knew the words only hurt them mutually. It was just a recent fight between them. A silly, trivial thing that blew up into something they couldn't contain.

Seeing from Lois and Clark, Dinah and Ollie or John and Shayera, Diana knew that fights are normal in couples. It could be bad or it could be just nothing, but the kiss-and-make-up part is inevitable. Still, her mind worried that maybe it was enough to end it for real. And that thought alone made her very uptight lately. She wanted to talk to him, to fix things, but apparently, he was avoiding her – constantly being in missions and whatnot. The man has issues facing it and that angered her more.

"You alright there?" Dinah asked.

Diana was a bit annoyed with the questions. Why ask it twice?

"Didn't you ask that already?" she replied, again with her quiet voice.

"No. I mean you"

Diana stopped her thoughts and raised the curiosity.

"What do you mean exactly?"

"I could see your scowl from here". It must be her turn on the telescope, Diana thought.

And with a whisper, she retorted: "I am NOT scowling"

But it was Ollie's turn to tease. "Yes, you are. You can't hide that big face of yours. Anything to share? I'm betting we have enough time"

The princess wanted to groan but she'd risk her cover. It's not always advisable to visibly express something while you're playing a different character. For any consolation, she imagined that Dinah would scold the archer for pushing it.

"Save your interrogation skills for the bad guys, please?" she demanded in a sarcastic tone.

That snarky order did its thing because both stayed quiet for a long time. Diana sighed and noticed that the band was playing the song again. It must be a crowd favorite. She forced a smile and stood up. Maybe someone would offer a dance.

And it didn't take long.

"Care for a dance?" said a British voice.

She turned to it and saw a tall blonde man in a simple but sophisticated tux. His eyes were vibrantly green but his nose was a bit too large for proportion. However, he is the best-looking man she's seen so far in the ball. Immediately, Diana made her best Sofia impression. She looked at him with too much interest and showed off a slightly tipsy posture.

"I would love to" she said in a thick Russian accent.

She placed her palm to his open hand and let him tow her gently to the dance floor. They danced inconspicuously and so far, she felt very comfortable.

"It's a surprise to see you here, Ms. Alexeeva" the man commented as he placed his hands safely on her waist.

"Why is that?"

"The tabloids didn't brand you for a person who goes to charity balls"

The reply was a bit arrogant in tone but she let it pass her. Meanwhile, they continued to sway to the music.

"You shouldn't always trust the tabloid's stories, Mr…"

"Burrows. Hayden Burrows" he said in a suave tone.

"Mr. Burrows" she began again, "As I have said, the tabloids can't be trusted"

"Well, you've proven that so far"

She scoffed as she laid her hands on his broad shoulders. Hayden Burrows felt strangely strong and gentle at the same time. She examined his face. There was something off about it.

"You seem like the business type. Are you here for business, Mr Burrows?" she asked.

"Please call me Hayden," he assured, "And no, I'm here for personal reasons"

She raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"Well, I'm here for someone… someone special"

"Is she one of the ladies at the buffet table?" she playfully suggested as she pointed the buffet table with a movement of her face. The buffet table where always crowded with the gossipy girls.

"No. Unfortunately, she might not even be here"

"Maybe you'll get to meet her next time"

She can feel that his movements were becoming smaller and smaller.

"I'm afraid I may have broken her heart for good" he finally said.

After that, he stretched her arms as she began to twirl. While she spun, she felt something vaguely familiar. Then her feet stopped moving and glanced at her dance partner once more. She furrowed her eyebrows and began to see something.

"Diana? What's going on?" Dinah asked, alarmed by Diana's sudden silence or maybe with her stillness.

She approach Hayden Burrows and saw the real man behind the façade.

"And now I'm wondering if she'll ever forgive me" he said. And he said it with an American accent.

Diana dropped her character and looked at him in the eyes.

"Bruce?"

Yes, it was him in disguise. She was sure of it. Even though the eyes and the hair looked real, his nose has some imperfect edges – a realistic rubber nose. The characteristics that truly gave him away were his defined jaw and his touch. Nobody held her so gently and so preciously like him.

What are you doing here?" she asked, but she wasn't mad yet.

The familiar seriousness in his eyes emerged. He moved closer to her ear and continued the dance. The true baritone of his voice revealed in a raspy whisper.

"Green Arrow asked for a back-up. Not me specifically, but I was the only one available."

"Why in disguise?"

"Wayne would draw too much attention"

Then she remembered her anger, the words that he said in that argument. She let go of his hand, pushed him away and began to walk away. Despite the music, she could hear his footsteps.

"Wait" he called.

She turned around to face him, intending to raise her voice once more like before. But then she saw something odd behind him. Two of the musicians in the band weren't holding violins anymore.

They were holding black machine guns. They were aiming at her and Bruce was in the way.

"Look out!" she shouted before the first few bullets propelled. She jumped to the side where the tables are and so did Bruce. The music stopped. Bullets pierced the floor. The people started screaming. It was chaos in high heels and spilt champagne. The guests ran for the exits as the two stayed behind.

Diana hid behind a tables and Bruce kneeled next to her already without the wig and the fake nose. Instead of his cowl, he wore a black mask that was shaped like his usual bat insignia - similar to Nightwing's but it's more Batman's than him.

"Canary, Arrow, the shooters are here!" she shouted at her comm. link

In the midst of the noise from the dispersing crowd, she could hear that there's a struggle in their location as well. She could hear punches, kicks and gunshots - all from the tiny earpiece.

"We know!" Dinah Grunted, "We have our hands full at the moment"

"Duck!" Ollie shouted as the noise intensified.

Then, it all went into a haze.

It sounds like they'll have to face these shooters alone. Normally, it's not a big problem but unfortunately, the princess was lacking the bracelets and the lasso in the moment. She had left them in her bag a few tables away.

As if reading her mind he said: "Go. I'll distract them"

While he readied a couple of batarangs, she nodded.

Bruce jumped into the shooter's sights and quickly released his batarangs with mighty speed. Meanwhile Diana flew into the panicking crowd, to the opposite direction, trying to reach the bag in time. The man with the gun evaded to the right, then batarangs hit the wooden décor on the stage where he would've been standing.

More shooters emerged from behind the stage. They're now fifteen killers. Dressed in black from head to toe and armed with the same guns. A few of them began shooting at Bruce. Luckily, he was quick enough to get away and hide behind another table. But then, they approached his direction and started shooting again. And with his quick, acrobatic movements he manage to evade.

Meanwhile, Diana reached her bag, grabbed her bracelets and wore them as fast she can. Most of the shooters concentrated on her direction and started pounding her with the bullets. But with her amazing speed and her special bracelets, she bounced off the ones that were within her proximity. Somehow in their craze, they hadn't realized that she wasn't the real Sofia. So Diana grabbed the lasso and flew high up in the air to show who she really was.

Immediately, their reactions were satisfying. They stopped shooting and marveled at the floating woman. They don't know what to make of it.

Diana took off her wig and revealed her raven hair.

"Like what you see?" she asked playfully.

Confused, they looked at each other like they were supposed to answer that. Soon after, one of them shouted.

"Don't you just stand there! She's Wonder Woman! Kill her!"

And then they did. But again her speed and shiny accessories on her wrists did their thing.

"I'll take that as a 'no'" she commented, "Very well then, time to end this madness"

She swooped down and took out one with just a punch. Some still tried to stop her but eventually received the blows that rendered them unconscious. The rest made a run for it. Unfortunately for them she was already overtaking them and knocking them out.

Soon, all of them where down on the ground. Unmoving and defeated.

The ones that went after Bruce were also in that state.

To signal a finish, he dusted off his hands.

"Well, that was quick" he commented.


On the snowy rooftop, Green Arrow and Black Canary have started packing up their surveillance equipment. While Dinah carried the telescope, Ollie collected some of his used arrows.

"Recycling, are we?" Dinah asked as the archer passed her by with a bunch of arrows on both of his gloved hands

"These are expensive. Saving them would be the nicest thing to do"

"Says the billionaire" she replied with her eyes rolling.

"Ask Bruce. I'm sure he's done the same thing with his batarangs" the mustached man retorted.

Bruce just stood there in silence, as if he wore the whole bat costume. But with a black winter jacket for the cold, his outfit still consisted of the tux and the mask. A few feet on his right, Diana, who also wore winter clothes, leaned on the rooftops stone railings. Similarly, she still wore Sofia's make up and the velvet dress underneath.

When it was getting embarrassing to wait for the dark knight's comment, Ollie moved on and followed Dinah on the way down.

Later they went up again and got the rest of the stuff. When it was clear that they were carrying the last of the equipment, both just stood there.

"Are you coming with us?" Dinah asked.

Diana looked at her for the first time.

"No. We'll stay here and watch out for more trouble"

Dinah nodded and urged Ollie to leave the two alone. As soon the door was shut, silence filled the place. The snow fell but not heavily. And like frozen statues, they just stayed there for a while.

"Are we just gonna stay here and let the cold kill us slowly?" she asked.

However there was no response. He didn't even look at her. But after a while, he started speaking.

"The things that I've said… I regret saying them" he awkwardly stated.

She knew he was having trouble saying it. After all, he wasn't the best in apologizing.

"I didn't want to hurt you" he added.

Then she faced him and found that his eyes were focused on her

"We never really wanted to hurt each other, Bruce.

She paused and then she said: "I've said some things too but I never really meant them… It was just a silly thing"

His face softened for a bit and moved closer.

"I'm sorry" he said.

"Me too" she replied a bit softly.

They closed the gap and embraced like they haven't seen each other in years. Once again, she felt his warmth… his delicate touch. She wanted it more than anyone else. For a while they stayed that way, holding each other while the snow slowly covered them.

Then out of nowhere, she heard his voice. And she was a bit surprised by it because he was singing. No. He was humming. His body swayed to his music and led her to dance slowly as he held her waist. Willingly, the princess held his hand. She recognized the song. It was the instrumental that she liked in the ball.

"What's name of the song?" she giggled.

"La Vien Rose, originally by Edith Piaf" he answered.

He continued to hum and they continued to dance to it. His voice soothed her heart. It was beautiful as she expected it to be.

Later on, the warm hugs became wonderful kisses under the winter night.


Author's Note part 2:

More chapters are coming! Just sit tight, I'm trying to wiggle more room into my busy schedule.

Trivia: I was supposed to make Bruce sing the song with lyrics but FF doesn't allow that... so humming is the best I could offer.