"How did we get here?"
That was the question. How – and when – had the tension between Diana and him reached such a level that acting on it was only inevitable, to the point where it led them to being curled up together on Diana's bed in the Watchtower?
They'd been returning from a mission in India, and were overhead the Antarctic when the Javelin suddenly lost power. And since the teleporters and comm. links were down due to a system upgrade, they were stuck here with no way out.
Usually, Diana would have flown and gotten help, but she'd been running herself ragged on missions for the past few weeks, and it seemed that her exhaustion was affecting her ability to control her body temperature, which meant that on no account was she leaving the Javelin.
The Batsuit, on the other hand, protected Bruce from extreme weather conditions, but that didn't really help in this situation apart from keeping him warm – there was no way he'd be able to reach anywhere near civilization before fatigue overcame him. But there were other things he was more worried about right now – the Javelin had a temperature control system, but since it had lost power, it wasn't working. And as Diana's suit was, in effect, nothing more than a glorified bathing suit, she was obviously freezing, no matter how hard she tried to hide the fact.
If there was one thing the Batman always made sure to do, it was to keep an eye on his Princess. That much, he could admit to himself, even if he would have vehemently denied it to another. And the first thing he noticed as soon as the Javelin crashed, it was that she had started shivering uncontrollably.
"What's wrong Princess?"
"It's nothing."
"You're shivering Princess. It's not nothing."
"Leave it."
"Princess…"
He got up from the pilot's seat, walked up to her, and gently pulled her up, wrapping her in his arms. He picked her up gently, sat down on the seat he had made her vacated, and deposited her in his lap, pulling his cape tightly around them.
"What…"
"Exchange of body heat Princess. This should help keep you warm until we find a way to get out of here." Not to mention that it was extremely pleasant holding her like this in his arms.
Well. It was best not to look a gift horse in the mouth, as the saying went. And after all, this might just be her only chance to be in Bruce's arms like this. So that was that. Nothing could get her to move from his lap. It might just be the best moment in her life.
And then – well if anyone had heard her previous thoughts, she would have told them to disregard that last statement. This was the best moment of her life – in his arms, with his arms wrapped around her, her head buried in the crook of his neck, and him stroking her hair. It was pure bliss, and in this moment she could pretend that he wasn't pushing her away constantly, and that they were a couple.
"Princess?"
"Hmmm…?" She couldn't bring herself to say more than that.
"Feeling warmer?"
"Slightly…" That should make sure he wouldn't pull away from her.
And she was right. His arms tightened around her, and he tilted her head from its position so that he was looking into her eyes.
"Princess?"
Suddenly, she knew exactly what he was asking, and though a part of her insisted of wondering exactly what had changed, and why his reasons no longer applied, she didn't really trouble herself with it. She knew there would be more than enough time for that later. For now, there was only possible answer that she could give him.
"Yes."
Her voice was nothing more than a breathy whisper.
The reaction was instantaneous. He pulled her in for a kiss, gentle at first, but soon turning passionate. Lips moved over each other, tongues tangled in a heat of desire, hands wandering over the other's body. They pulled away from each other only when the need for oxygen got the better of them, resting their foreheads together.
"Prin –"
"Batman, Wonder Woman, are you'll OK? We just got back on line and notice the Javelin failure."
Of all the times – why did the systems have to have finished with the update right now, just when she'd finally had Bruce to herself for this once? She was about to cry out in frustration as he got about to untangling their bodies.
And suddenly she was scared that she was wrong, that she wouldn't get a chance to find out what had changed in that instant, and that he was going to pull himself away from her again. But when he gently stoked her hair and kissed her forehead, all those thoughts fled her mind, and she sent a quick thanks up to any Gods that might be listening for this sudden change in Bruce.
"Well?"
After thinking about it, he knew that just as she could have given him only one answer, there was only one answer to give her.
"We were going to end up here sooner or later Princess, and I, for one, am glad that it happened sooner rather than later." A mischievous grin was on his face – he knew exactly what she had meant, but couldn't help teasing her.
"Bruce –"
"Shh." He pulled her body even more closer to his, and as she snuggled closer to his comforting warmth, he began to talk.
