Part Two of a Billion
"Absolutely not." Shayera crossed her arms, stared at Batman.

He stared back. He always won in staring contests, he wasn't even sure why she bothered.

She stared. He stared.

His eyes began to hurt from the lack of moisture on them. He wanted to blink so badly he could feel it in his little toe.

He blinked. And swore.

Hawkgirl grinned. "I've got an invisible second eyelid that keeps my eyes moisturized and protected while I fly."

"…superpowers….dumb…whiny…it's not easy to be me…" Batman muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." Batman cleared his throat. "What if I said 'Please'?"

Shayera rolled her eyes -- her damn moisturized eyes, Bruce thought. "Sure, if you throw in a free trip to the French Riviera, too," she said sarcastically.

"Done!" Batman said. There were benefits to being a secret billionaire. "Let's go practice."

"Wait--" Shayera protested. "What?"

"You'll get your trip." Batman pushed her toward her bedroom. "Do you have a stereo in there?"

"Of course, but--"

"Look, if you just do this, you've got an all-expenses paid trip to the Riviera. And I'll make it tickets for two, if you like -- if this works out like it should. You just have to do this one little thing with me."

Shayera hesitated, weighing the humiliation that she knew was coming against a week of fun and sun in France. "All right, come in," she grumbled, and led him into her bedroom. "We'll do it."

**********

John stopped around the corner of the hallway, his ears picking up Batman's and Shayera's voices.

Look, if you just do this, you've got an all-expenses paid trip to the Riviera. And I'll make it tickets for two, if you like -- if this works out like it should. You just have to do this one little thing with me.

All right, come in. We'll do it.

He turned the corner just in time to see Batman's cape disappear into the room, and the door shut behind them. His heart pounded, and he considered breaking through the door, demanding to know what in the hell Shayera thought she was doing, and smashing Batman to a pulp with a big green fist.

Just last night it had been John in there…making sweet love to his little hawk. His back still had marks from her claws.

Instead of killing Batman and yelling at the love of his life, however, he ran to the exercise room. If he lifted weights long enough, maybe the pain in his heart would be replaced by the pain in his big Marine muscles.

He stopped before he actually made it there. His big Marine muscles? God, that sounded pathetic, not to mention ridiculously stupid. He went to the kitchen, got three bottles of Diana's wine, and headed back to his room instead.

He was off duty, and he was going to get smashing drunk.

Well, he was going to try, anyway. It was a pity that Superman didn't allow hard liquor in the Watchtower, and he and Flash had used all of the beer up the last weekend. He was probably just going to get sick, not drunk.

He passed Shayera's room on the way to his, heard giggles and the beat of loud, throbbing music.

"Arrgh!" He ran the rest of the way to his room.

Inside, he uncorked one bottle, took a drink directly from it.

A big drink.

A really, really big drink.

"Red, red wine," he whispered. "Goes to my head. Makes me forget that I still need her so." He finished off the bottle, grabbed the second one.

Batman. Shayera. He uncorked and guzzled.

Feeling the warmth steal into his big Marine muscles, he sat down on the bed, his mind whirling dizzily. "Red, red wine, it's up to you," he said to the bottle. "All I can do I've done. Memories won't go."

He realized fuzzily that the bottle kind of seemed like a microphone. He brought it to his lips, and after another drink, sang.

I'd have thought that with time
Thoughts of you would leave my head
I was wrong now I find
Just one thing makes me forget

He paused long enough to take another sip, then looked at the bottle, stroking the condensation from its neck tenderly. "Just one thing makes me forget -- that's you, baby," he told the dark glass container.

Forgetting Shayera for a moment, he concentrated solely on the liquid in the bottle. He loved it at that moment. Nothing was sweeter, nothing was better. He crooned:

Red, red wine stay close to me
Don't let me be alone
It's tearing apart
My blue heart

He finished the second bottle, hiccuped, and passed out.

TO BE CONTINUED