~Diana's POV~
"Thanks for helping me, Shay," I tell my friend as we walk through the dress boutique.
"Diana, you didn't need to ask me twice to go dress shopping with you." Shayera insists as she stops at one rack, walking around it to see the dresses on the back. She pulls a blue one-shoulder number off the rack but I shake my head. Too brightly colored. "Besides, we haven't seen each other much since you got back from your honeymoon."
I look down, guilty. Even without being sent out on as many missions, I still could've visited more. "Don't beat yourself up about it, Di. We all understood that you've been otherwise….occupied since your return." I'm unsure as to whether she's referring to the Selina situation or something else.
"What Selina was trying to do to you guys was awful." There's my answer. "It's a good thing you guys are secure enough in your relationship."
"That's the thing, though." I stop and hold out a deep red off the shoulder dress.
"Too princess-y. Poofs too much," is all Shayera offers before strolling away.
"That's the thing. I did doubt him. I know his past with Selina. I'm one of the reasons why Bruce was so tired last night after Dr. Destiny. He'd been sleeping on the couch because I wouldn't talk to him."
"So you had to do some groveling?"
"Yeah, I should've believed him from the beginning but I let her get between us. I won't be making that mistake again. I want my dress tonight to be stunning to soothe my own doubts and prove to everyone else that we're stronger than ever. I don't want his eyes on anyone else."
"Diana, his eyes have only ever been on you since you arrived on Earth years ago." Shayera gives me a look before stopping at a white dress. The sleeves would hang around my arms but it's too flowy. I shake my head and Shay rolls her eyes. "You're going to be really picky about this dress, aren't you? Don't you have designers that send you dresses?"
"Yes but I don't want to wear those dresses. None of them are to my taste. They're too gaudy or look super uncomfortable."
Shayera huffs a laugh. "Diana, only you would turn down designer dresses." Shayera pulls a baby blue halter dress off a rack and I'm shaking my head before it's even left the rack. "So you made it up to him by doing what I told you about, right?" My eyebrows knit in confusion as I finger a black lace dress but decide against it.
"That you told me about?"
"Diana," Shayera groans in frustration.
"When you got back?" I search my memories, still not coming up with anything.
"Where you pleasure him? Like he pleasures you?" My face immediately flushes, making Shayera laugh.
"Remember now?" I nod, tucking my head.
"I take it you didn't do that?" I shake my head. "Then what did you do?" Shay holds up a deep green dress with flowy sleeves but I shake my head again.
"I got on top." Shayera rolls her eyes, unimpressed.
"Girl, you gotta do a little more than that."
"He didn't seem to mind," I mutter under my breath but Shay catches it.
"I'm sure he didn't, but that's not something new, is it?" I shake my head. I thought he seemed pretty happy after this morning but maybe I should've done more. In my head, I solidify my resolve to find the sexiest dress I can then I'll make it up to him tonight. As soon as my mind is made up, my eye catches on a silver off the shoulder floor length dress with a high slit up the side. I make a b-line for it and quickly take it into the dressing room, glad that it fits perfectly.
"So? Is that the dress?" I look at myself in the mirror, twirling slightly to admire the way the subtle sparkles catch in the lighting. The dress fits my form and dips between my breasts, accentuating them. I open the door and Shayera's eyes widen before she smiles mischievously. "Perfect."
I nod in agreement before closing the door to take the dress off. And I have the perfect pair of heels to go with this.
Shay had come back to the mansion with me to help me style my hair. After debating what we should do, she curled it and pinned a few strands back with a silver clip. She then flopped on Bruce and I's bed and watched me put my makeup and jewelry on. Bruce tried to come into the bedroom at one point but Shayera hadn't let him in till I was in the bathroom.
"I'm not get married again, am I?" he asked through the door as the treatment was similar to our wedding day. I laugh as Shay let him into the bedroom.
"Hurry up, Bats," she tells him and I can see through the crack in the door as Bruce turns a Batglare on her, making Shay look away and back up.
"You do know this is my bedroom, right?" he asks after a moment, disappearing into the closet. Shay doesn't answer and a couple minutes later, the door snicks and Shayera lets me out of the bathroom.
"Did you really try to tell him to hurry up?" I tease as I roll perfume behind my ears, on my neck, and on my wrists.
Shayera looks out the window, crossing her arms. "Shut up."
I chuckle before slipping my heels on and leaving the bedroom.
"I'll catch up with you later, Diana," Shay promises before flying over the banister and out the front door.
"Forgive me, Mistress Diana, but I am quite glad you do not do that." Alfred says as he appears out of nowhere to close the door behind Shay. I laugh as I walk down the stairs.
"I'll keep that in mind, Alfred. Where's-"
"Wow," Bruce chooses that moment to step out of the library in his tux, eyes locked on me as I make it down the last few stairs. He moves to greet me, his eyes trailing over my figure. "You look beautiful, Princess."
I flush but lean forward to kiss his cheek. "Thank you. You look quite handsome, yourself." I don't think I'll ever get used to the dashing sight of my husband in a tuxedo. Alfred hands him a cloak to wrap around my shoulders as the nights have begun to grow cooler. Bruce wraps the cloak around me before leading me out to the car. Alfred closes the car door behind us before stepping up behind the wheel. My hand snakes out from under my cloak to grab his hand.
"You really do look beautiful, Princess," Bruce compliments again, his eyes looking from my face to my hair to my jewelry then cycling through again. His gaze catches on my mouth as I smile before raising to my eyes, offering a small smile back.
"As do you. I do enjoy seeing you in a tux." I admit. Bruce's smile turns into a smug smirk.
"Oh, you do?"
I lean into his shoulder, biting at my lower lip and fighting my own smirk when his eyes drop to catch the movement. "Mm, yes." I nod. "It always makes me feel so conflicted."
"Why is that?"
"I can never decide if I should fantasize about you in it or fantasize about ripping it off of you." I lean in closer and closer as I speak until we're sharing breath.
"You are making it very difficult not to have my way with you right here, in the back of this car, Princess." His eyes have grown dark and my skin prickles with desire.
"I mean, I wouldn't stop you."
"Ah, ah, ah, Princess," Bruce pulls back to give a playfully scolding glare. "You're the one who signed us up for this benefit tonight. You must refrain from your fantasies for now."
My head falls to his shoulder as I groan in frustration, wanting to reach out and smack Bruce as he chuckles at me, his hand squeezing mine.
I feel the car pull to a stop and Bruce releases my hand to step out before holding the door open to re-offer his hand. I grab it and allow him to gracefully pull me from the car. He closes the door behind me and knocks on the window, signaling Alfred is okay to leave. Cameras immediately begin to catch pictures of Bruce and I as we walk towards the entrance to the banquet hall. I allow Bruce to guide me, his hand slipping from mine to wrap around my waist, applying gentle pressure to my lower back or hip to silently move me where I need to go. Within the door, Bruce helps me remove my cloak before handing it to a lady to store away till we leave.
The moment my cloak is gone, I hear the ballroom just beyond the entryway go quiet and when I look towards the room, most people are looking at Bruce and I. I look back to my husband, perfectly fine to ignore the onlookers. While the smile he gives me is small, his eyes shine and convey his true thoughts as he offers me his arm. I accept his arm, happily wrapping myself around the strong limb to give off the head-over-heels look to those watching. Not that it's a lie or anything.
A server walks past with a tray of champagne and Bruce glances at me, watching my eyes follow the flutes of bubbly. He reaches out and thanks the man as he takes two glasses for the both of us. Bruce wordlessly passes mine over and I smile as I take it from him, taking a sip of the bubbly beverage as I look around. Some people are blatantly watching us while others have looked away and are trying to be sly when sneaking peeks. A few people come up to talk with Bruce but it's obvious the conversation is forced along with the smiles on their faces.
I don't think Bruce could throw enough proof about Selina's allegations at the media, people are still going to believe what she initially said. They're going to come up with ways to make his public statement false or look for holes in his story.
"And how are you doing, Diana?" one of the people forcing conversation with Bruce asks. I hadn't been listening to the conversation, preferring to look around the ballroom instead.
I offer a smile to the older woman, noticing the pointed look she gives me. My smile widens and I lean into Bruce's arm, hoping to convey my trust. "Oh, I'm holding up just fine! I think I need to get involved with more going on here in Gotham. When I'm not away helping the Justice League, I don't have much to do around the manor. Maybe I need to ask Alfred to split his duties with me."
"I don't think Alfred would quite know what to do with himself if you did that, Princess."
I laugh, smiling up at Bruce. Part of this is an act, an over exaggeration to try and show these gossiping snobs that what Bruce said on the news this afternoon is the truth.
"My love, I would like to dance." I turn towards the people staring at me with wide eyes, clearly bewildered by my actions. "I hope you don't mind, but we haven't had the chance to dance these last couple weeks. Things have been pretty hectic." I offer a fake laugh.
"Of course, Princess," Bruce presses a kiss to my forehead before excusing us from the gossipers and leading me onto the dancefloor, passing our champagne flutes off to another server.
"I'm sorry for all of the whispering," I whisper into Bruce's neck as he I lean in close, his hand warm on the small of my back to keep me close.
"Don't apologize, Princess. These people live for rumors and gossip. It's nothing I'm not used to," Bruce tries to reassure me. I remain quiet, pondering his words as we dance. "Don't worry about it, Diana, really," his hand leaves mine to press against the skin between my eyes, smoothing out my frown before recapturing my hand and continuing to sway to the music with me.
The song ends and another begins, this one more upbeat. Bruce begins to dance to the tempo, holding me away from him enough to do more than sway. As we begin to actually dance, he spins me out before bringing me back against him, my back now to his chest as he holds my arms crossed in front of myself.
"Hmm, this reminds me of another dance just a couple years ago." Bruce's lips quirk as he remembers the night. "Should I expect to see you on my balcony later tonight?" I tease.
"Well, seeing as how your balcony is now my balcony as well, yes, more than likely." I laugh, my head tilting back to rest against his shoulder for a moment before he spins me away again and brings me back to face him properly.
As the dance ends, Bruce leads me off the floor to find refreshments. "Bruce! Diana! Lovely to see you!" One of Bruce's chairwomen appears out of nowhere and I see Bruce off her a small, genuine smile.
"You as well, Regina." He says politely, grabbing Regina's hand to press a kiss to her knuckles before shaking hands with the woman's, Regina's, husband. "Hello, Rob," Bruce greets the man and while he shakes Bruce's hand, he doesn't seem as social as his wife.
Said woman turns to me and pulls me into a hug. I hesitate before patting her back in an awkward return of the embrace. "Diana, it is lovely to finally be able to meet you! I am so sorry for all of the trouble that awful woman has put you two through. I've known Bruce since he was a boy. He may have been quite the flirt but he's always been respectful of the woman he's courted." I offer a smile as Regina finally pulls back.
"What do you mean 'was'?" I tease. "This man will flirt with me as if we weren't married a few months ago."
"That's not such a bad thing!" Regina winks at me before grabbing onto her husband's arm. "Just be sure to keep him in line! He can get up to quite a bit of trouble if someone doesn't keep an eye on him!"
"Oh, come on, Regina. I stole the cookie from that jar one time."
"And I will never let you live that down! That was the last time I let your father leave you with me during a meeting!"
"I was four! What did you expect me to do when I knew there were cookies in the jar?"
"You're a cookie thief? Is that where those homemade cookies Alfred made went?" I teasingly accuse, giving Bruce a fake incredulous look.
"What? No! I didn't eat those! Promise!"
"Uh huh, uh huh, sure. I'm telling Alfred you ate all of his cookies."
"But I didn't!" Bruce claims, Regina laughing at the two of us bickering. I know he didn't steal any cookies, I'm actually quite guilty of sneaking extra treats but I can't help but pick on him.
"Well, it looks like you chose a mighty fine woman to keep you in line, Bruce," Regina says after a moment of laughter at Bruce's expense.
"It does help that she makes me look better when standing next to her," Bruce jokes back. "Though, no one pays any attention to me when I go out with her. It's like she's the most beautiful woman on the planet or something." I flush but lean into Bruce's side, appreciating the compliment.
"I'm just trying to help tame your ego, dear," I tell him, patting his chest mockingly.
"Well, keep it up, Diana. I look forward to seeing you two again! Stay strong! You'll make it through this publicity nightmare!" Regina reaches out to pat my arm before she steers her husband away.
"She seems nice," I comment as we watch the couple move through the room.
Bruce nods. "She's been on the board for almost as long as I can remember. Her and her husband. They knew my parents really well. Wayne Enterprises wouldn't be where it is today if she'd left before I took over." He continues to watch them before looking down at me. "Another dance, Princess?"
I smile and nod, allowing him to pull me back onto the floor. We dance for the next hour, ignoring those around us until my feet begin to hurt. The straps of my heels are beginning to dig in.
"Love, my feet are beginning to hurt. Do you think it's an acceptable time to leave?" I'm still trying to learn the proper etiquette for attending such events.
"Princess, we can leave whenever you want. I'll text Alfred after we find you a seat."
"Oh no, I'm okay to stand." Bruce acts like he doesn't hear me as he finds the nearest seat and gestures to it for me to sit. I roll my eyes but do as silently instructed, trying not to sigh in relief as I take pressure off of my feet but the smirk on Bruce's face tells me I didn't do a good job.
He pulls his phone from his pocket to text Alfred before sitting beside me, holding my hand as I lean over to rest my head on his shoulder. "Despite the stairs and the whispering, I had a lovely night." I feel Bruce press another kiss to my forehead.
"I'm glad," is all he says when his phone vibrates in his hand. He glances at it before slowly moving to stand, allowing me to pull back before standing to join him. I wince as I stand back up, the straps immediately digging back into my feet. Bruce navigates us through the room before requesting my cloak from the person at the front door. He wraps it around my body and secures it before lifting me into his arms.
"Bruce!" I gasp as the doors open and the cameras begin flashing. "What are you doing?" I laugh as Bruce ignores the cameras and walks down the steps. "You look like a caveman taking his meal back to his cave."
"I know your feet hurt, so I'm carrying you but taking you back to my cave to be devoured doesn't sound too bad." He glances down at me before we reach the car. Alfred is out and waiting with the door open, fighting a smile as we make it to the towncar. Bruce carefully sets me down but I easily sit into the car and slide over to allow Bruce to follow. Alfred closes the door behind us.
"Home, sir?"
"Stop at Kelly's on the way, Alfred," Bruce requests and I immediately smile. Kelly's Custard is a small family-owned custard shop. Kelly, the owner, makes the best chocolate cookie dough custard and keeps some stocked at all times for me.
"Really?" I ask, excited for the treat. Bruce chuckles and nods, knowing my sweet tooth.
A few minutes later, we pull up to the curb, not surprised to see a few people sitting at the picnic benches out front. Kelly keeps the custard shop open till midnight every other Friday and Bruce and I have never been with no one else around, no matter the time.
"Your usual?" he asks me as he moves to get out of the car. I nod eagerly and Bruce chuckles again before stepping out. I watch through the window as Kelly smiles at him as he approaches the window.
He talks for a moment before gesturing to the car. I move to wave but know she wouldn't be able to see me through the tinted window. Alfred, reading my mind, rolls down the back window for me and I wave at Kelly from my seat. Bruce and Kelly both smile as Kelly eagerly waves back. A moment later, Bruce turns back to face her, pulling his wallet from his pocket.
He steps back a minute later and waits for my custard. He looks out of place in his tuxedo while those around him are in sweaters and boots. After a couple minutes, the window slides back open and two cups are pushed through. Kelly smiles at Bruce as he grabs the cups and he says something to her before turning to walk back to the car. I eye the second cup with confusion, not recognizing the white cream.
Bruce hands me my cup through the window before opening the door with his now free hand, reaching through the privacy window to hand Alfred the other cup. "Oh, Master Bruce, you really didn't need to."
"Sure I did, Al," Bruce says, watching as Alfred takes a bite and smiles. "How'd she do?"
"This is wonderful, you'll have to thank her next time for me." Alfred says after another bite.
"What flavor is it, Alfred?" I ask curiously.
"Something with marshmallow." I hum, intrigued before eating a spoonful of my own cup, moaning at the flavor. Bruce's eyes cut to me at the sound and I blush. However, I don't hesitate to take another bite which results in a similar sound.
"I'm sorry, I'm not trying to tease you, I promise," I say after swallowing my bite. Bruce squints his eyes at me, trying to decide whether or not he believes me. After a moment, he looks away and out the window, eyes scanning the streets as we pass. I watch him for a moment before nudging his knee and offering him a bite, despite knowing what his answer will be.
"Thank you, but no thanks, Princess. That's your dessert." An idea pops into my head.
"Oh? Then what's your dessert?"
Bruce either doesn't pick up on my sultry tone or he's choosing to ignore it. It's more than likely the latter.
"You know I don't have much of a sweet tooth. I'll probably have a cup of coffee when we get home before heading out on patrol." The flirtatious smile on my lips falls at the mention of patrol and Bruce notices.
"I'll stay with you until you fall asleep," he grabs my hand and my smile returns.
"Coffee doesn't count as dessert, Bruce."
"Says who?"
"Me."
"Ah and if this is going to remain a happy marriage, you are always right?" I nod, taking another bite of my custard. "Then I suppose I will have to skip dessert tonight." However, his eyes fall to the slit of my dress before moving to look back out the window, his jaw clenching.
As we pull into the garage, I glance down at my custard, deciding that it can wait till later. Perhaps I'll want a midnight snack after Bruce leaves for patrol. As Bruce helps me out of the car, I hand my custard to Alfred. "Alfred, would you mind putting this in the freezer for me?"
The older man takes the cup from me and smiles. "Not at all, Mistress Diana. I am going to turn in for the night. Call if you need me," Alfred looks at Bruce who gives a single nod, understanding the double meaning. We bid Alfred a good night before ascending the stairs.
"Was the custard not good, Princess?" Bruce asks as he follows me into the bedroom, removing his bow tie and tuxedo jacket. He tosses both items on one of the chairs by the window before sitting to remove his shoes and socks. Before he can remove any more clothing I let out a loud sigh, happy when it catches his attention.
Bruce's eyes look up at me as I pull the pins from my hair and remove my jewelry, setting all of the pieces on the dresser before turning towards him. I slowly begin the small walk across the bedroom, making sure to sway my hips, and appreciate the way his eyes appraise me.
"No, it was delicious as always but I found myself craving something else. I figured I'd have that for dessert instead."
"And what might this other thing be?" Bruce plays along as I drape myself across his lap. One of his hands moves to rest on my thighs while the other stays resting on the armrest of the chair.
I lean forward, tracing the edge of his jaw with my nose before attaching my mouth to his neck, tongue slipping out to taste him. "You," I whisper and suddenly his free hand is in my hair, pulling my mouth to his.
A/N: I intended on writing more but I didn't have the time if I wanted to have this posted today. Sorry for no post last week, I had a bunch of midterms to study for.
Thx!
AMM
