Updated to be more intimate between Bruce and Diana
Warning: Minor lemon ahead. Read at your own discretion.
CH9: Interlocked
Bruce looked back at his courtyard and saw the destroyed foliage and improvised landscaping that was the result from the skirmish he had just endured. He observed as his Thrasher armor continued to short out, eventually exploding. Black smoke arose from the metal husk into the snowy sky and Bruce just stared blankly as the metal shards landed throughout his yard.
'Alfred is not going to be happy…'
Diana tugged on his hand mid thought and both made their way to the much needed warmth of the mansion. They trailed through the snow to a different entrance emerging in the main living room cold, wet, and exhausted.
"That was fun."
Bruce just deadpanned her.
"You destroyed $50,000 worth of custom retrofitted armor and rearranged my courtyard… speak for yourself." Bruce retorted.
Diana just coddled his arm. "You were the one who decided to bring out that expensive toy." She was cold to the touch and Bruce could feel her shivering. He was a bit warmer considering he had a couple more layers on him, but they were not waterproof. The snow melted into the wool turtleneck sweater he had and his socks were soaked.
The superhero couple made themselves comfortable at the mansion's master fireplace. It was surrounded by multiple couches with the largest one right in front of the radiating heat. Diana was the first to settle down on the plump cushion as she whipped her wet hair towards the blaze neck down in an attempt to dry it.
Bruce took off his shoes and placed them by the fire. He then removed his socks which were sopping wet and put them on the warm brick to dry them quicker. Water dripped onto the wooden floorboards of his mansion forming a small puddle at the base of the fireplace.
"I didn't realize my socks could hold the Gotham River in them."
"That's cute." Wonder Woman removed her high heel boots and poured a good amount of melted snow from each of them, forming a bigger puddle on the floor. "Try half an ocean." She smirked.
Bruce looked annoyed as he watched the water make its way across the floor and under one of his end tables.
"Thanks for not making a mess…" He said sarcastically.
"I do my best."
While the atmosphere surrounding the flames was warm, both couldn't shake the uncomfortable feel of their drenched clothing. The fabric stuck to their skin and the simplest of movements would make a sloshy sound due to the water in the fabric being displaced.
"Maybe we should…"
"Yea." Bruce cut her off. He left the living room for a brief moment eventually returning with a comfy bath robe.
"Sorry, I don't really have any women's clothing in the mansion."
"That's surprising." Wonder Woman retorted suspiciously as Bruce gave her a glare. The Amazon smirked as she began to take off her signature outfit much to Bruce's awkwardness. He turned around respecting the Amazon's privacy and held out the robe urging her to take it.
"I'm done." Diana's outfit was now besides Bruce's socks drying off and she was completely covered. The robe outlined her gorgeous figure and certain other "traits" could be seen due to the remaining moisture on her skin soaking into it. She closed the gap between them and grabbed his turtleneck sweater. "Your turn."
She removed the soaked layer gently exposing a long sleeve shirt underneath. She stripped that off as well expecting to see Bruce's muscular chest but was instead met with a long sleeve thermal to her annoyance.
"Seriously?" She rolled her eyes.
"What? Unlike you I was actually prepared to go outside."
Diana gave him a playful grin as she literally ripped the shirt in half in order to remove it. "Bet you weren't prepared for that."
Bruce's jaw dropped slightly as the princess tossed what used to be his thermal to the ground. "I didn't expect to have my $60 shirt ripped in two today, so no."
Diana's mischievous attitude disappeared when she saw Bruce's chest. It was still bound due to his fight with Bane earlier. What parts were exposed were scarred, spreading across his pectorals and disappearing under the bandages. A look of worry overcame the princess as she traced the abrasions on his skin.
"How did you get these?"
"That one was from Scarecrow."
"And this one."
"Penguin."
"You got these scars from fighting a wheat crop guard and a cute Antarctic bird?"
Bruce raised an eyebrow. "The king of fear fights with a scythe that has insane reachability. And the 'cute' bird as you put it has an umbrella full of gadgets that serves as a sheathe for a sword which he uses as a last resort."
"I was just joking." Diana teased as she tugged Bruce to the couch. The billionaire sat down with her next to him, her head on his shoulder and her hand still on his pectoral.
"Do they hurt?"
"Sometimes. But you learn to live with it."
While watching the fire crackle, Bruce's arm eventually found its way around Diana's shoulder pulling her in closer. The couple's heartbeats raced as several different scenarios flashed through their minds.
Whether the evening would consist of intimate fireworks or some good old fashioned chivalry, neither one of them was quite sure how to trigger it.
Bruce who hesitated to let anyone close found himself cuddling the Amazon princess who hours ago he gave reasons to why they couldn't be anything more than colleagues. As for Diana, she could only imagine the disapproval of her mother and sisters if they found out she was in love with a mortal man. Both were standing on the precipice of a decision that would impact them for the rest of their lives.
"Remember when we saved Gorilla City from Grodd's attack?" She asked.
"Hard to forget when you keep brining it up."
Diana bit her thumb as she thought about how she was going to get Bruce to be a bit more open.
"Why did you dig through the rubble for me? I mean you must have know it would have taken more than the warhead of the missile to kill me?"
Bruce just stared into the fire.
"I mean, at least you did something, which is more than what I can say for J'ohn, Hawkgirl, and the hundreds of bystanders there." She chuckled. "What made you do something that impulsive? You, the man who always rationalizes every action and decision he makes?"
Bruce's entire body was stiff as a board and his gaze never tore away from the flames.
"Maybe… I panicked." He said quietly.
Diana smiled sweetly as she grabbed his chin gently and made him look at her.
"Why?"
"You're a valued member of the team…"
"Bruce!... Don't even. Just for today, no more bullshit." She pulled him closer so that their foreheads were touching.
So what if he actually admitted it. There was no actual harm in telling her right? Part of him wanted her to know anyway.
"… because, going against my better judgement, I have affections for you…"
Diana's heart skipped a beat. She suspected the usual emotionless Bruce had feelings for her. The signs were there since Gorilla City, Kasnia, and several other missions they have been together on. But nothing compared to actually hearing him utter the equivalent of "I like you". The school girl within Diana who was ecstatic about the confession was quickly being overshadowed by her prideful Amazon self. She grabbed him by the bandages on his chest giving him the most devious smirk as the rest of her body language let him know exactly what was going to happen.
Diana interlocked her lips with his and embraced him like a full sized body pillow. Eventually Bruce's arms wrapped around the Amazon since he also was beginning to enjoy the close contact. She tore away and aggressively pushed the man onto the couch on his back. His eyes widened when Diana fully removed the robe he got her. He was stunned by her beauty. Every muscle on her body was toned and her feminine hourglass figure looked fierce in the flickering fire. Her ample assets balance out her warrior ferocity with conventional female attractiveness. She looked good, and she knew it.
She got on top of Bruce and began to tug on the remaining layers he had on only to pause at his hesitation.
"Diana I…"
She quickly placed a single finger on his lips to shut him up. "Bruce, for once, don't think… don't rationalize. Just… enjoy and be happy for once."
He became more at ease after making the subconscious decision to do just that. All the scenarios he played out in his head on how things could go wrong, every alarm that was currently going off in his head, it didn't matter, not in this moment. His tense muscles learned to relax as the touch of the Amazon explored his body eventually making their way down to his pants once again. Locking eyes with her she gave a mischievous grin as the last of his clothes were literally torn off much to his annoyance.
"You are unbelievable." He deadpanned as he saw his split assets soar through the room and onto a different couch.
Diana's smirk disappeared as did the witty retort she had, distracted by the intimidating sight. "Hades…"
"Excuse me?"
Her face turned fifty shades of red as she shamelessly stared at Bruce's member that mere was inches away. Diana's gaze awkwardly shifted to her forearm, and then back to his impressive display, internally comparing sizes.
Bruce was getting irritated being studied like an exhibit on display at a museum. "Are you done staring yet?"
Her scrunched up nervous look indicated that perhaps the princess had bitten off more than she could chew.
"Have you never seen… one of those?" He continued.
She instantly glared at him. "I lived on an island full of nothing but women for most of my life. What do you think!?" Her attempt at bravado made him smile amusingly.
He offered her his hand which she took as she stood up from her knees. His hands captivated her slim waist as he gently placed her on his lap to get used to the position before anything actually happened. "We'll take this slow... very slow. I don't expect a woman without experience to just jump… right… in…"
Bruce trailed off midsentence as Diana's gaze pierced his with such authority. She grabbed his right shoulder and shoved him against the back of the couch whilst her other hand began to stroke him completely catching the billionaire by surprise. The grip was firm enough to make him feel good and much to his appreciation not strong enough to rip it off. She knew her Amazon strength needed to be controlled in delicate situations such as these.
What she whispered in his ear sent chills down his spine. "I never said I didn't know what to do."
Bruce's skepticism was overtaken by his alter ego who was good at one activity in particular, pleasing women. He smiled ruthlessly as he caught the princess off guard by grabbing and kneading her bust with skill while turning the tables on her with him being on top.
Their eyes interlocked and established a sense of trust; the unspoken message from the princess to the playboy was unmistakable. Diana bit his earlobe and wrapped her legs around him as she braced herself for the insertion. Inch by vigorous inch, she eventually completely engulfed him. Both of them entered a state of perpetual bliss as they enjoyed each other for the rest of the evening, appreciating everything that led to this singular moment.
…
The chaotic rumbling that subsided earlier resumed throughout the mansion in a more rhythmic way. The intervals were more consistent but the quakes weren't as strong as before. Nevertheless, Alfred had just about enough of the mansion shaking for one evening. He hesitated to confront Bruce about it earlier because he didn't want to get in the way of his company. But now the Christmas dinner was fully prepared and he was NOT about to risk it being knocked onto the floor due to the couple's irresponsible shenanigans.
As he entered the main living room he was met with a gruesome sight for someone in charge of maintaining the manor. The three couches that were originally all in front of the fireplace were ALL relocated. The love seat was halfway up the flight of stairs while the segmented couch's pieces were scattered all throughout the room. The final couch's legs were snapped off as if some great force came down on it… so to speak. Other small furniture pieces were impacted due to the activities that happened in the room with rugs sprawled on the shelves of the wall and decorations on the floor. While the quakes didn't affect many other rooms in the mansion, it certainly did a number on this particular one.
Needless to say Alfred's mouth just about touched the floor as he gawked horrified.
'I swear to God, Bruce is going to downright rebuild this room or so help me…'
Pennyworth's train of though came to a stop as he saw the remains of Bruce's clothes scattered throughout the room. Lifting an eyebrow he approached the couch with the broken legs and peeked over the backing of it and saw the power couple intertwined in each other's embrace under a warm blanket. Diana's head was comfortable in the crease of Bruce's neck while he held her with his muscular arms. It has been a long time since Alfred had seen him this serene.
"Well, I hope this moment was worth all the destruction." He whispered as he turned and left. Wearing a satisfied smile he was relieved that this was the end result from all the arguing earlier as opposed to a grimmer scenario. 'While I am happy to how things unfolded… if those two hooligans think I slaved away all those hours in the kitchen for them to sleep through dinner, then they've lost their minds.'
Pennyworth activated the com from around the corner and the feedback from it was almost powerful enough to break the windows of the mansion. The sleeping couple shot up like catapults and looked startled as it dissipated.
"Master Bruce and Mistress Diana, dinner is fully prepared. Please make yourselves decent and come to the main dining room… eventually."
Bruce and Diana snapped out of their bafflement and chuckled.
"You need to get your com fixed." She said.
"Alfred did that on purpose. He didn't want us to sleep through the rest of the day." He looked her over with a bit of concern. "You alright?"
Diana grabbed his arm and tugged for him to lay down again, and not for a nap.
"You're serious?"
"Oh come on, we can go another few rounds before we feast."
"I'm sure YOU can. But in case you've forgotten, I'm not superhuman! I consider it a small miracle I didn't die during our activities."
"You enjoyed every second of it."
"That weird martial art move you did, WHILE WE WERE COUPLED, not only sent my second favorite couch flying across the room with us in it, you managed to bruise me up more than Bane did!"
Diana looked over his body and there was clear discoloration along his midline and upper thighs, clear signs of being straddled like a horse. Except this rider had Amazon strength and the endurance of a machine.
"Sorry, guess I got a little carried away."
Bruce helped the princess to her feet and managed a smirk.
"I suppose there are worse ways to die. But putting that train of thought on hold, it's time we eat. It was the reason I invited you here after all."
"Shower first?" She asked matter a factly.
Bruce could feel the grime, sweat, and multiple other bodily fluids on his skin, shuddering at the thought of putting fresh clothing over it. Surely it would have felt more uncomfortable than the wet fabrics he wore earlier. He decided attending dinner would be more comfortable not smelling like sex.
"Absolutely."