He began beeping as they flew over the suburbs of Gotham City. Tapping a device on his glove, he said, "Go ahead, Alfred."
"Pardon me for interrupting, sir, but you have a telephone call from Ms. Davis."
Batman frowned. "Can you take a message?"
"No sir, she's quite insistent on talking to you personally."
"Then tell her I'll call her back tomorrow."
"I tried to sir, but she didn't seem to believe me when I told her you were in a meeting. If you're not too busy at the moment, may I suggest you take this phone call?"
He sighed, casting a quick glance at his current travel companion. She'd been observing him during the conversation, but turned her gaze forward to give him more privacy. "Fine, put her through."
"Very good, sir." The line clicked, and Alfred's calm voice was replaced with a much higher, much shriller one."
"Well, Bruce, aren't you just the hardest working man in Gotham."
"Betty, I'm sorry I couldn't call you myself to cancel our plans, but you know the business world. Always moving." The change in the consistency of his voice had startled Diana into looking at him again. She wasn't yet used to the different inflections of Bruce Wayne and Batman.
"I'm so sure Bruce Wayne. That's four times you've stood me up now."
"I know, and I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you, I promise."
"I've heard that before. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me five times, shame on me. If you're not going to take me seriously, Bruce, don't bother calling."
"Well, if that's the way you feel..."
Her indignant scream was loud enough for even Diana to hear.
"I don't know why Veronica thinks you're such a good person! The way she was gushing about you, I'd have thought I was being set up with Superman. Sure you can be charming when you try, but there's not much else to you, is there? Well, I'm cutting my losses right now. Four cancelled first dates? I can take a hint. Good night and good bye."
The dial tone echoed loudly in his year, and he closed the line.
"You had plans for tonight?" Diana asked.
"Had, yes."
"Oh… " she trailed off, seemingly confused.
"What?"
"Nothing. I just thought that we…never mind." She paused, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry that your evening didn't go as planned."
"In this line of work, it's something I've gotten used to. My 'nightlife' isn't conducive to socialization."
She was once again confused. "Are you alright?"
"Fine. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Doesn't it bother you that your…girlfriend just ended your relationship?"
"She wasn't my girlfriend. She was just a woman that I was seeing."
Diana frowned. "I'm not sure I see the difference."
"Relationships here can be…complicated."
"Believe me, I've learned that. I just don't understand why."
He wasn't about to get into the nuances of dating with her. "No one does. You just accept it and move on."
"That's rather cynical, isn't it?"
"Me, cynical? Shocking," he said dryly.
"You are not the misanthrope you try to make yourself out to be."
He cocked an eyebrow at her, making one of his eyelets appear larger than the other.
"You make people think you are cold and uncaring when in truth you are compassionate. You have the honor and courage of an Amazon and I am proud to stand beside you in battle. As would be any of my sisters."
"If they didn't despise men, you mean."
She smirked, holding his gaze. "Oh, I don't know. I have a feeling they'd find you quite charming."
Unlike Clark, whose body temperature matched that of the average human, Diana's superhuman physiology kept her a few degrees warmer. He felt that heat radiating of her—from her arm, her side. His gloved hand began to perspire as he held her waist. He lifted it slightly, decreasing their direct contact. Looking down into the lights of downtown Gotham, he said "The Batmobile is parked down there. In that alley."
She lowered them to where he'd indicated silently. The sleek black car was there, sure enough, hidden in the shadows. She wondered how he was so confident about leaving it unattended in a city with a rather high crime rate. But then again, there was probably no one foolish enough to mess with Batman's car.
He activated a small device on his utility belt, and the car automatically pulled up in front of them. Turning to her, he said "Earlier tonight…with Cheetah. Thanks for your help."
"Of course." She smiled slightly as he pressed another button to retract the front covering of the vehicle. "Well, I suppose I'd better go then…I'll see you at the Watchtower tomor—" she stopped mid-word after the cover of the Batmobile had pulled back completely.
Batman turned back to his car to see what had caused her surprise. In the front passenger seat, was a petite black-clad woman. She pushed herself up out of her seat when she knew she had his attention and threw her arms around his neck. "Happy anniversary, darling," Catwoman said, before pressing her mouth to his.