Heaven
"Time for bed, my little sun and star," Diana told the twins.
Brianna rubbed her eyes and gave a big yawn. "But I'm not sleepy yet, mommy."
"Yeah," Brian chimed in as Bruce picked him up and started going up the stairs. "We want to see daddy suit up as Batman!"
Bruce looked at Diana in alarm. "They… know?"
"What is wrong with you, Bruce?" Diana asked him in exasperation. "You're acting as if you don't remember anything."
Well, I don't. The thought that floated through his mind bothered him.
"Yes, daddy," Brian regarded him closely, tapping a small finger on the tip of Bruce's nose. "You're getting forgetful."
Bruce grinned at his son. "I must be getting old, Bry."
"Don't get old too fast, daddy," Brian told him solemnly. "I'm not big enough to fit the Robin suit yet."
"Yiayia Hippolyta said I can have armor like mommy's," Brianna said with a sleepy voice. "But I think I want a skirt. Can I have a pink skirt instead, mom? And I want a cape, too, because daddy has a cape."
Bruce stared at them in horror. "Unless it's Halloween, both of you will not have any need to use any armor of any sort!"
"But, daaad…" Brian wailed.
"… You promised!" Brianna finished.
"I did?" Bruce looked at Diana incredulously.
Diana sighed. "We'll talk about this later, Bruce."
Suddenly, a fragment of a memory floated through his head. A chance… that is all I ask. I don't deserve it but I'm asking for it anyway, he recalled telling Donna. Exactly where, when and why… he could not remember. The fleeting thought nagged at him.
"Can you read 'Lord of the Rings' for us tonight, dad?" Brian snuggled against Bruce's chest, closing his eyes. "I want to hear more about the Uruk-hai."
Brianna stifled another yawn as Diana pressed her cheek against her shoulder. "Yes, we want 'Lord of the Rings,' daddy. But I don't like those orc creatures, Bry," she complained. "They're scary and dirty and nasty… I want to hear about Arwen and Aragorn…"
"You are such a girl, Bree," Brian murmured against his father's chest.
"I am a girl, silly…" Brianna trailed off, finally drifting off to sleep.
"Bruce is beginning to see inconsistencies in the dream," J'onn told Clark and Donna. "I think I can… exploit… it to convince him of the truth." The Martian looked haggard.
"Perhaps you should take a break first, J'onn," Clark told him gently.
J'onn nodded in agreement. He would need all his strength to help his friends. But he was not looking forward to doing what he had to do.
Diana smiled as she tucked the blanket around Brianna.
"Come away from the babies, Diana. We need to talk." His low, quiet words did not make the children stir. With a kiss on Brian's forehead, Bruce walked over to a window. Diana followed him. She felt like she could follow him anywhere, to the ends of the earth and farther and then back, if the need be. He had only to call her name. Nobody had ever said her name quite the way Bruce did.
You've got a way with me
Somehow you got me to believe in everything that I could be
I've gotta say... you really got a way
Diana circled her arms around his neck and rested her head against his chest. She felt safe in his strong embrace. It was all she ever wanted. It was enough. Bruce held her close, one hand stroking her back. He caught her chin in another, turned and held her face in the moonlight shining through the window. Diana saw his eyes turn dark with desire.
It's in the way you want me
It's in the way you hold me
The way you show me just what love's made of
It's in the way we make love
He dipped his head, kissing her, arm tightening around her with demand. Diana felt the familiar blinding ecstasy race through her veins. Her fingers ran through his thick hair, grabbing, holding his head and mouth against hers. His kiss made her feel weakly faint and at the same time stronger and fully alive. Only the fear of waking Brian and Brianna kept her from moaning wantonly.
When the kiss turned too insistent, Diana broke away reluctantly. "We should get ready for patrol."
Diana saw Bruce's expression harden, eyes glinting dangerously. "We? You're going on patrol with me?"
"Of course not," Diana sighed. After all these years, why does he bring this up again? She thought.
"You never did want me to go with you on patrol, what with your 'no metas in my city' policy. But you know I just can't stand idly by while you went out and risked your life," she explained aloud. "It was always a recurring debate between us. So, we decided on a compromise, Bruce. Every time you went out, I would stay in the Batcave and liaise with you, watch from a bird's eye view, man the Batcomputer, feed you information. It's not at all different from what Oracle does. Only when things get totally out of control, would I come out to help. It was your idea, Bruce. You even orchestrated a press release where you announced that you have been funding Batman almost right from the start. You always have a contingency plan for everything."
Bruce nodded slowly. Yes, I always do.
Convenient, isn't it? A small voice agreed.
Early afternoon sunlight was warm and bright against his eyelids when Bruce began to surface from deep sleep. A sense of well-being, absent from his life for more than four months, filled him. Strangely enough, it was the unfamiliarity of the sensation that caused him to awaken.
Yes, Bruce… that's it … things are not what they seem…
Thinking that maybe some dream caused it, he rolled onto his stomach, keeping his eyes closed, reaching for the dream, willing for sleep to claim him, rather than deal with the emptiness that normally dominated his waking hours.
No… you need to wake up… you have to save Diana…
Unfortunately, awareness already had a good grip on him. He felt the vast emptiness of the huge bed he shared with Diana. Bruce groaned as the dull ache of regret and worry began to throb within him.
Yes, you are worried about Diana, Bruce… We need you to break through this… Diana needs you here…
Knowing that sleep was beyond his reach now, he jerked himself onto his back and forced his eyes open. The blazing sunlight hurt his eyes, his pupils constricting reflexively from its brilliance.
And then it hit him…
Where he was…
You are in the Watchtower… in the medical bay…
… And who had spent the remainder of the night with him in naked ecstasy and unbridled lovemaking when he came home from his nightly patrol over Gotham.
Never had much faith in love or miracles
Never wanna put my heart on the line
But swimming in your world is something spiritual
I'm born again every time you spend the night
Bruce closed his eyes in relief, allowing the joy to wash over him. He felt the mattress shift as somebody sat down on the bed.
"Wake up, sleepyhead," Diana's teasing voice greeted him. He breath caught upon feeling her feathery touch on his hard chest. His body's reaction was instantaneous. He caught her hand in his and slid it slowly down his chest to the flat planes of his stomach… and lower… lower.
No, no, no! Wake up! Bruce was pretty certain it was J'onn's voice.
He inhaled through his teeth in a soft hiss when Diana's hand wrapped around the evidence of his desire. His other hand moved by its own accord, seeking, finding her waist and pulling her closer to him. He groaned in pleasure as her full breasts flattened against his hard chest, separated only by the thin silk of her robe.
J'onn, when next we meet, we are definitely going to have a talk about your voyeuristic tendencies, he thought wryly.
Bruce, wait! It's not what you think! I –
You bring me to my knees, you make me testify
You can make a sinner change his ways
Open up your gates cause I can't wait to see the light
And right here is where I wanna stay
Go away, J'onn, Bruce interrupted, firmly pushing the Martian's voice from his mind. He opened his eyes and saw Diana's gorgeous, blushing cheeks, her kissable lips parting slightly in a soundless gasp. A seductive grin spread across his face. "As you can feel, princess, I am awake," he told her in a husky voice.
Can I just stay here?
Spend the rest of my days here?
'Cause you make me feel like I've been locked out of heaven
For too long, for too long...