Bruce took a deep breath of the cool air in the Batcave and glared at his target. It was a wooden mannequin carved in the shape of and painted just like the Joker standing some thirty feet away, and even though it was lifeless for some reason or another it appeared to be mocking him. Perhaps the fact that he'd already thrown three batarangs at it and missed with each and every one of them was the reason for it.
Bruce raised his right arm and let loose another batarang, and his already formidable scowl deepened when the batarang merely glanced of the Joker's right thigh.
"Nice hit," said a sweet voice from off to his right which was followed by footsteps that got louder and louder indicating that she was coming towards him.
He nearly growled, not at the ludicrous compliment but the fact that the cause of his distraction of invading his space.
Again.
When he got to the office he was going to call R&D and have them double the manpower on the new Watchtower project just to get her away from him faster.
Not that Diana was doing anything wrong or deliberately annoying. Far from it. Since the destruction of the Watchtower at his hands and his agreeing to let J'onn and her stay at the manor while other arrangements could be made, she'd been a model tenant. Polite, helpful, beautiful, intoxicating, arousing…
He glanced to his right to take a fleeting glimpse of her and then quickly refocused on the Joker mannequin. He tried to remember what the Joker really looked like, but all he could picture was Diana in her current attire. Even in the split second that he'd looked at her he'd taken in every detail. She was wearing a black sports bra and matching black, skin tight, spandex shorts. Her hair was swept back and slightly upward into a ponytail, kept in place by a white, frilly scrunchie that he'd have bet an enormous amount of money against her owning. Her skin, a substantial amount of which was easily visible because of her hairstyle and the aforementioned scanty outfit, was damp with perspiration indicating a good workout, the reason for her being in the Batcave in the first place. Even her cheeks were flushed and it gave him cause to wonder if he'd have to replace whatever equipment she'd been working out on. Her eyes glowed, in amusement he knew, and a smile played at her ruby lips. He'd even noticed the way the powerful thigh muscles moved as she'd walked towards him, and the effect seemed to echo all the way down her long, slender legs right to the white sneakers he was wearing.
She came to stop beside him and said thoughtfully, "A perfect hit to bring him down without serious injury."
If it had come from anyone else, Kent or West for example, he would have known it to be a disingenuous compliment and he would have given them a healthy glare for their efforts. To her he simply nodded in thanks as though that had been the plan all along.
She moved past him, walking in front of him just close enough to make him wonder if she was taunting him somehow, but he dismissed the idea immediately and watched like a hawk as she reached down to the table and picked up one of his midsized batarangs. He felt a familiar and unnerving stirring in the pit of his stomach as her slender fingers, powerful enough to tear apart steel and crush rock if she'd been so inclined, gently caressed the upper edge of the bat shaped object as she studied it.
"These are formidable weapons," she said as she turned it around in her nimble hands. Her hands stilled and she looked at him and added, "When used by an expert, of course."
Bruce nodded at the compliment and was about to excuse himself when Diana spoke again.
"May I try it?" she said as she held the batarang up and motioned to the target with her head.
Curious beyond belief, Bruce stepped back and held his right hand out toward the mannequin. "Be my guest, Princess."
Bruce watched as Diana strode to where he'd been standing moments earlier and smirked when Diana, without preamble or preparation of any kind, simply threw the batarang at the target. Bruce managed to stifle a snicker as the batarang unceremoniously hit the floor of the cave ten feet before the mannequin with a resounding clang and then tumbled on toward the pseudo Joker.
By the time she turned to look at him with a sheepish smile upon her face, he'd stilled his features and said without any hint of amusement, "It takes practice."
Diana laughed and nodded emphatically. "I would say so."
Bruce offered her a fleeting smile before saying, "Keep trying." As he started towards the change rooms he added, "I need to shower before I head into the office."
"I was hoping you would have some time to help me with this," said Diana, her voice heavy with disappointment.
Bruce stopped and slowly turned around to face her with full intentions of telling her in no uncertain terms why he would absolutely not teach her about throwing batarangs. When he saw her though, with another batarang in her hands and a small pout upon her beautiful lips, he acknowledged that he was about to do exactly that.
"Alright, Princess," he said and he paused for a moment as a smile erupted upon her face and her eyes lit up like stars. "I suppose I can spare a little time."
He walked back to the table and picked up one of the batarangs and held it up in his right hand. "I usually grip it by the tip of the wing," he said as he held up the batarang to show her. Diana copied the pose exactly prompting Bruce to say, "Good."
He moved to stand to Diana's right and faced the Joker. He raised his right arm and waited for her to follow suit, then he threw the batarang towards the Joker and smirked again when it hit the Joker in the chest. He turned his head to watch Diana as she threw her batarang. Her form was fine but her release point was too low, causing the batarang to impact the floor only a few feet beyond her first attempt.
"Release point is the key," he explained as he went to the table to retrieve another batarang. He walked back to Diana and handed it to her. After she took it and held it the same way he'd just shown her, Bruce moved behind her and put his hands on her shoulders- reveling in the fact that her skin was so incredibly warm and soft only for a millisecond. He positioned her just so and then leaned in closer so that his right arm moved along her arm until his hand covered hers. To do this, of course, he'd had to press the front of his body against her back. The warmth emanating from her was comforting and encompassed him from head to toe. The fact that they melded together so perfectly made him think for a moment what it would be like to be in such a position in his bed, sans clothes and…
He shook his head and swallowed the small lump that had appeared in his throat.
He focused and gently grasped her hand, then slowly brought it upward into the ready position and a moment later smoothly moved her arm downward again, stopping where he would release the batarang if he had wanted to hit the Joker in the chest.
"This is where you'd let go to get him in the chest," he said in his normal baritone voice, much to his relief. He moved her arm down a few inches and added, "here for the knee," he moved her arm upward again and concluded with, "and here for the head."
Diana nodded and said after a moment, "Okay."
He released her arm and slid his hands of her shoulder and arm, then took a step back to give her enough room to give it a try.
He valiantly tried not to watch the muscles along her arms, shoulders and back flex and ripple as she took a few practice swings, but it was impossible. She was right in front of him, after all.
"Okay," repeated Diana as she reared her arm back and then let it fly forward, releasing the batarang and then watching it fly towards the mannequin.
Bruce instantly knew it was going to go high and miss the target. Sure enough, four point one three seconds later the batarang impacted a bank of lights in the ceiling of the Batcave sending it crashing to the floor. He leaned to the left and Diana leaned to the right to be able to see past the Joker to survey the damage. Sparks were still erupting from the fallen unit when they both straightened up a few moments later.
Diana turned to face Bruce, her cheeks redder than he had ever seen them and her eyes slightly widened in alarm. "I'm so sorry, Bruce," she said before glancing back at the carnage. "I'll clean it up and…"
Bruce smiled at Diana and let loose a little chuckle to let her know he was serious when he said, "Don't worry about it, Princess. It's not the first stray batarang to do some damage down here. You should have seen what Dick did the first time he tried to throw one."
Diana returned his smile and quirked and eyebrow as she said, "Oh?"
Bruce glanced at the Batcomputer and noted that he was really running late. "A story for another time," he said. "I have to get going to the office before Lucius calls and gets Alfred to come down here and berate me for neglecting the company."
Diana's brow creased though her voice was filled with amusement as she said, "I have trouble believing anyone could berate Batman."
"It happens more frequently than Master Bruce would like to admit, Miss Diana," announced a voice from the bottom of the stairs that led up into the manor.
Bruce and Diana turned to regard Alfred standing at the bottom of the stairs with his hands clasped behind his back and an undeniable smirk upon his face that made Bruce wonder just how much of the last few minutes the old man had witnessed.
"Mr. Fox has called to remind you of the very important meeting you are supposed to have this morning, Master Bruce," Alfred said. He turned to Diana and added, "Breakfast will be ready when you are, Miss Diana."
"Thank you, Alfred," replied Bruce for the both of them.
Alfred nodded and moved silently up the stairs leaving them alone once again.
It was Diana who spoke first. "Thanks for the lesson," she said gratefully, though there was a hint of disappointment in her voice as well.
Bruce nodded, then turned and started walking towards the change room. "Keep trying, Princess." He stopped and turned to give her a small smile while taking in the sight of her one more time. "A warrior of your skill should catch on fast."
Before she could do or say anything, Bruce quickly moved into the change room for what he knew was going to be one of the coldest showers of his life.
Diana smiled at his comment, and when she was sure he was gone she finally allowed herself to release the shiver that had wanted to manifest itself since Bruce had first touched her shoulders. She slid her left hand up and down her right arm to try to hold onto the electrical current that his touch had left in her arm, but it faded much faster than she liked.
After a few moments of collecting herself, Diana took a deep breath and walked over to retrieve another batarang. She positioned herself just so, narrowed her eyes and let the batarang fly right into the chest of the Joker next to the one Bruce had thrown into it earlier.
When she walked towards the stairs to head up into the manor a few moments later, the smile on her face nearly lit the way for her.