Only you, Diana
Legal Mumbo Jumbo: The usual, I bet you're tired of reading the same thing over and over again, so I'm not going to bother…
3
Why is it that time seem to travel in its own accord? Time was like an old gypsy man, they wander but they never stay, not for anything in the world. Many maids would have surely given up their beauty and health to him. Children would fling their youthfulness away if only Time would put up his old caravan. Men would sacrifice their strength and pride but Time would not look back. If that wasn't bad enough, he mocks you. Whenever you wish for it to slow, it speeds, whenever you are expecting it and waiting for it at the end of the road, it never seems to move at all. Right now, at this moment, Diana would have given up all she have got, her pride, her strength, her youthfulness, her beauty to old Time, if only he would stay
She was given a decision, either to go through with the arrangement or turn it down. One major con of womanhood was always the possibility of an arranged marriage, especially if you are the daughter of some rich and powerful family. Many lives were ended tragically because of this: Juliet of Capulet, whom was arranged to Paris when her heart yearns for the warmth of Romeo's soul. And what of Persephone and Hades? Lovely Persephone was kidnapped by the cold and heartless Hades, the world mourns for the sorrow of Demeter, her mother, and the inhabitants were somehow pulled in the conflict without being invited. Finally, when Persephone was released she was still forced to be married to the cruel lord of the underworld and forced to live three months of unhappiness in the gloomy realm each year
The night was offered to her so she could choose her decision. Diana became a woman torn, which path should she chose? One path laid her mother, her home and should she agree to walk down the path, she would most likely spend her life in splendor and happiness. Gone would be days of Wonder Woman, most likely, her service of the League would no longer be required, there would always be eager members to fill her shoes. But then again, there's Bruce…What can she say about Bruce? He was so hard to put into words. She wonders if anyone in this planet in this lifetime would ever actually understand the real Bruce Wayne. That afternoon when Batman ran out of the temple, she chased after him as soon as she could but it still took her awhile to track him down. By then, the sun was already setting and the golden hue was creating lovely reflections on the water surrounding Themyscira
She spotted him standing there, on the edge of the island, staring out at the setting sun, his cowl lifted from his face. He seemed so peaceful she did not want to interfere, a look of sadness overshadowed his feature. It was so rare that Diana felt captivated by his expression: his soft eyes, the expression on his lip, the lines across his forehead. He seemed vulnerable. Even as she was floating above him he did not make the slightest notion of acknowledging her, she knew he had noticed her, but he did not say anything or made any movement. Was he ignoring her? Or at that moment, maybe Bruce had forgotten how to be Batman
She sat down on her bed and sighed. At least her mother had left her alone to think in her chamber. There was a knock at the door and moments later, her mother entered. So much for alone time.
"Diana?" she called softly
"I'm listening," replied the Princess
Queen Hippolyta seated herself down beside her daughter, "Diana, I hope you're not mad at me for putting you in this position," she said earnestly
Diana shook her head and forced a smile on her face, "Oh no, I'm not mad. I was just a little taken back. You know, you called me back to the island for the first time since god-knows-when. I was so excited to finally be back and then you throw me this guy I don't know and you want me to marry him" Diana took a deep breath and said in a finite tone, "So yes mother, I guess I am sorta mad at you"
Her mom frowned, "You have to remember, my dear daughter, that our family's freedom is restricted by our beliefs and laws. You did break one of our most important rules by running away as Wonder Woman and I was forced to expel you. But Diane, I still love you, I have always love you and I always will love you"
"What's your point?"
"My point is that sometimes you'll have to make sacrifices in life for others, for your loved ones, for your brothers and sisters, for your sake"
"Then what sacrifice did you make when you expel me, mom?"
The Queen looked unfazed as she answered Diana's question, "I made a sacrifice for our people. You have disobeyed Zeus and his Pantheon and he would have surely chastised the Amazonian race for that. You should know Diana, you should know how strict and orderly our Gods are. And no matter how hard it was for me, I still had to make that choice. Not a day went by when I regret that decision"
Diana fell silent, she cast her eyes to the ground, "That's still not an excuse," she whispered simply
Hippolyta nodded, "I know, my dear. I just want you to know that no matter what your decision is, I will still respect it. I don't want you to give you the wrong impression; you don't have to get marry"
"What would happen to us if I refuse?"
Her mother sighed, "There are other ways around it Diana. The answers won't come easily that's for sure, but I believe there must be another answer. If you are not happy, then you will also upset you and those around you"
"But sometime, you'll have to sacrifice the things that will make you happy for the sakes of others," Diana concluded. She looked up and for the first time ever, she saw her mother's face beaming back at her. Other time, it was the face of a queen, strict and orderly, who hardly had time for her only daughter. The smiles that were given to her were smeared and forced by the Queen's unnatural will. Her mouth was upturned but her eyes remained as it has always been, and every time Diana thought about it, it sent a slight shiver down her spine. But now, her smiles were real, and how beautiful the smile was. She wished that her mom could give her the same smile everyday, wrap it in papers of gold and present it to her like everyday it was her birthday
Her mother brushed a few strand of hair out of Diana's eyes, "Have you decided yet?"
Diana shook her head, "I have heard from my fiancé. I have heard from you, mother. I have heard from my friends and other Amazons. But I need to ask one more person…"
–—
Something was wrong, it shouldn't hurt this much. He had been down the path of the broken-heart, but it had never wounded him this much. He had been stepped on, but never stomped on. He had been chewed, but not swallowed. He had been ripped, but never torn. He had been fractured, but never broken…Until now
He know it shouldn't be hurting this much. It would have never happened between Diana and him anyway. Had he not told himself to just forget about any notion he had in his head about a serious relationship with Wonder Woman just this morning? So, why? Why does it hurt this much? As he sat on the wing of the Invisible Jet, tears of sorrow were threatened to spill out. He would try to hold them, but only for Batman's sake. But Bruce Wayne, he knew they would come sooner or later
"Bruce," he heard a familiar voice called out from behind him
Not now, he thought, even though it was already too late. There was a shuffling noise and before he knew it, Diana was already beside him. For the first time since he met her, he wished she wasn't. He had always enjoyed her company but today, it was different. Each time she breathes, it was like Diana was taking away his sanity away, she was shattering his heart and his will to live. Each time she attempts to go deeper into the mind of Bruce Wayne, she was actually pushing him away, causing him to fear, to hate
"Bruce?" Diana called out softly, she tried to reach out and touch his face but he pulled away
"Princess," he acknowledge sadly
That was the first sign: Batman calling her Princess instead of Bruce Wayne calling her Diana
"Look, about the whole wedding thing, I really need to talk to you tonight" Diana announced
"There's nothing to talk about" Bruce said blankly
"Yes, there is, and you know it. Bruce, I talked to my fiancé, my mother, my friends, my sisters, and they all seem to agree that I should just go ahead and do it…"
"Then you should," interrupted Batman
"No I shouldn't! I mean, I don't even know! They all agree I should because they are the Amazon, if I listen to them, it would be a bias decision. If I asked Flash, Superman, or anyone else in the league, perhaps they would tell me not to. But they're not here, the only one here that can represent them is you"
Batman said nothing. The second sign of Bruce returning to his cold and unfeeling persona
Diana swallowed the tears threatening to spill and continued, "Their decisions wouldn't matter, Bruce, if you tell me, right here and right now, that you love me"
An awkward silence erupted then. Batman opened his mouth, the conversation with Flash that he had in the morning visited him in fragments: Diana is a super lady Bats. But if you're not careful, someone else might take her before you do…This world wasn't meant for the procrastinator… You know, Bats, I'm surprised that for someone like you, you haven't done anything about it…Instead of words, a choking sound came out and Bruce could seem to have misplaced his tongue. He didn't know what to say. He wanted to tell her very much that he did love Diana. But just at that moment, he turned around and saw the moonlight reflecting off Diana's face. The image was similar to the one this morning in Diana's jet and the dreading feeling crept up to him once again and the tragic thought re-visited him
"Well?" Diana spoke, "Do you love me or not?"
Bruce shook his head, "I don't know…I don't know"
Diana reached up and wrapped her hands around his neck. Then softly, she gently brought her lips up to meet his. This surprised Bruce a great deal but what surprised him even further was his own desire to return the kiss. But before he could, that same dreading feeling came, and that kiss seem to be the final message given to him by Faith. He pushed her away slowly. Diana looked at him with a hurt and confused expression, surely he didn't…Could he?
"I'm sorry Diana," he started, his heart was literally bleeding from the hurt, it felt like it was being cut open by a hot blade, "I…don't love you, I realize that now. You should get marry, you'd be happier"
Those two words seemed forced to Diana, don't and should. Diana felt hot tears raining down her cheeks, "You're lying," she whispered. The words flows out of her tongue like instinct and she soon found herself screaming the words out, "You're lying! You're lying! You're lying!" she raised her hand and slapped him across his cheeks with such force that Batman was knocked off the jet. She stooped over the fallen figure and spat each word out at him, emphasizing it in an especially loathsome tone meant only for him, "You know what, Batman, I will get marry, but not only to save my race and be happy. But to see how you feel to see me being in love with someone else, not you, to see me living my life happily with someone else, not you, to see what you would do. And when you realize that you made a mistake by telling me that you don't love me, I'll see you crawl back and realize that you were too late!"
She began to walk away when she reconsidered, she spoke to him but never turned around to face him, she wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine "I want you to know that I did love you, Bruce. But I was foolish to think you could love anyone. Take my jet and leave or tomorrow my sisters will have your eyeballs for soup," then she was gone
That was exactly what Batman did. The next day he came to work with an expression that Flash knew better to mess around with. Batman carried everything like nothing was wrong with him, but beneath the cold statue that was wrapped around his soul, was a broken-heart. He couldn't stop thinking about her. All day, he kept on thinking that he would break down in front of everyone and rush off the Themyscira to beg Diana to come back, to beg Diana to forgive him, but he could not. The after effect was the worried and concerned teammates that trailed behind him. Still, they did not do anything, they knew better to poke around with a moody and depressed Batman
Later at night, when he went home to his huge mansion located at Gotham City. The emptiness haunted him and drove the Batman persona out of him. He cried that night, when he was alone. Even though he wasn't exactly surprised by the tears; after all he was always right: for Bruce Wayne, the tears would fall sooner or later
