~Diana's POV~
I pull at the hem of the red swimsuit cover up Lia left out for me. I went ahead and changed into another swimsuit, a light pink one this time as my other one was still wet. Bruce made it back to his cabana a few minutes after myself. I know because I watched him through the slats of my blinds, my eyes roving across his body. He had paused right outside of my hut, his head turning to look at the window I was peeking through and I dropped with a squeak, knowing without a doubt he knew I was there.
I have not gone near the window since.
Peeking again at the clock on my nightstand that has only ticked one number, I throw my hands up in frustration before storming out of my cabana. I had this whole plan where I was going to dance around and tease Bruce into giving in but it's proven to be a lot more difficult than I thought. I'm so distracted thinking of a couple hours ago, his lips on mine, his hands tracing my skin or tangling in my hair, his body warm beneath my own wandering digits and hard between my legs. It becomes a struggle to keep my mind out of the gutter so that I don't grow too aroused and need to change into another swimsuit from the slick that never fails to gather between my legs at the thought of him.
I slam my door closed a little too harshly, the smack of the wooden door connecting with its frame making me wince as it echoes across the water. I tuck my head down and walk quickly up the pier and towards the hammock Lia pointed at earlier. I may be half an hour early but I can't stand being so close to Bruce, knowing he's only a short walk away. I'm surprised to see Lia already at the hammock, her camera hanging from around her neck with her phone in her hand.
As I approach, she looks up, eyes widening in surprise for a moment before smiling. "I just texted you! I was going to see if you and Bruce were ready to possibly do the photoshoot now. That sunset is gorgeous but there's a storm rolling in and I need the sunset pictures before it starts raining and grows too cloudy."
"Lia!" I hear Bruce call from behind me and my entire body grows tingly as I hear him walking through the sand. He didn't even address me and my skin feels warm, my breathing grows labored, my heartbeat kicks up, and I grow damp between my thighs. A hand on my hip startles me, not having expected Bruce to so openly touch me but I immediately lean into him as he stops beside me, his hand never leaving my hip.
"Oh good! I was just explaining to Diana that there is a storm rolling in and there's a couple sunset pictures I want to get before it hits." Bruce simply nods, squeezing my hip before moving forward to climb onto the hammock. The bruising on his ribs appears darker but I can't tell if it's the lighting. Then my heart drops.
He's been picking me up and I've been throwing him into the ocean. He must be in so much pain!
As soon as Bruce is settled in the hammock, he and Lia both look at me expectantly but I toe nervously at the sand, biting my lip and twisting my fingers together with my eyes focused on the sand at my feet. I don't want to hurt him anymore then I probably already have by being so selfish. "Princess?" Bruce asks and my eyes meet his, worry lining his brow as he starts to sit up from the hammock.
"Come on, Diana, I'm going to miss my shots!" Lia pressures from beside me and I finally walk towards the hammock, hesitantly accepting Bruce's outstretched hand. His eyes continue to watch me with worry as he helps me into the hammock with him. He keeps his hand in mine but I remain sitting beside him, feeling awkward. Bruce carefully sits up as well, trying not to tip the hammock.
He completely ignores Lia as his hand reaches out to lightly touch my cheek, his thumb tracing my cheekbone as he stares intensely into my eyes. "What's wrong, Princess?"
My eyes drop, catching on his ribs and I gingerly reach out to trace the bruise, hoping to convey my worry without saying anything. I glance up through my eyelashes at Bruce and see he still looks worried with a bit of confusion now. "I hurt you," I mumble, looking back down with guilt.
"Diana," he breathes, fingers hooking beneath my chin to tilt my head back up. "Princess, it's really no big deal. I promise you, I'm fine."
"Sorry if I don't believe you. I know that you tend to overdo things even when you're hurt." I look back up at him with a quirked brow. It's Bruce's turn to look away but he quickly looks back to me.
"Diana, when I am with you, pain is the farthest thing from my mind," he insists, keeping a finger hooked beneath my chin so I can't turn away from him. "If I didn't want to hold you I wouldn't. Simple as that."
"But when I dunked you this morning, I wasn't thinking about how much pain that must have caused and-"
"Princess, you must not know me if you think I'd let you tipping me into the water get to me. Did it hurt? I won't lie and say no, but it also isn't that bad, just a little tender. Nothing I can't handle or haven't experienced before."
Though his attempts to persuade me should work, I can't get over the guilt. "But I-"
"Princess, hush," I open my mouth to protest but Bruce leans in, pressing a sweet kiss to my lips and I can't stop the quiet moan or from melting into him. He pulls back after a moment and lies back against the hammock, gently pulling me down with him.
I remember Lia with a jolt and glance over my shoulder only to see her turned away and talking quietly on her phone. Choosing to ignore her, I settle against Bruce who is sitting up a little more than this morning. I curl into his side and throw my leg over one of his like we did earlier, with a hand against his chest, just on his right rather than his left. Bruce grabs the back of my thigh, pulling it further across his legs, turning me further on my side in the process so I'm lying more on his chest instead of just beside him.
Reaching up, my thumb brushes over the stubble that has grown throughout the day, appreciating the ruggedness it adds to his already handsome face. My thumb moves to trace his bottom lip, the desire to take it between my teeth growing strong. Some guilt still lingers but as Bruce's fingertips begin to soothe back and forth along the back of my thigh, I let it fade away, leaning up to kiss him. My hand falls back to its spot on his chest as I fulfill my desire, sucking Bruce's lip in between my teeth and biting down on it, nibbling on the plump lower lip that always teases me as being one of the only things visible beneath his cowl. That and his jawline.
A growl resonates from deep in Bruce's throat at the rough treatment of his lip, his teeth nipping at my own as soon as I've released his. Upon hearing Lia's camera begin to flash, Bruce and I both calm ourselves, our kiss going more gentle. After a moment his hand reaches up and pinches my butt, causing me to smile against his mouth, fighting a laugh. I pull back, allowing the laugh to escape but it's cut short at the look Bruce gives me.
His head is tilted down to look at me with a soft smile, love and adoration shining in his eyes. My breath catches and Bruce's smile only widens as I realize what his eyes are saying. "Alright, out of the hammock!" Lia shouts, her voice sounding almost panicked. "The storm's coming in and the clouds have almost covered the sun!"
I float out of the hammock to prevent any rocking before holding out a hand for Bruce as he begins to climb out of the netting. He takes it quietly and we follow Lia who has run off towards the water. "Can I take this off?" he asks, reaching over to pull at the coverup. My cheeks flush but I nod and Bruce pulls us to a stop before reaching for the hem of the short dress, carefully pulling it up and off. I raise my arms to assist him, my hair falling against my back and shoulders as he pulls the mock dress over my head.
Bruce offers another smile, his eyes trailing over the skin he's just exposed before he recaptures my hand and we continue walking towards Lia. Bruce tosses the cover up at her feet once we grow close enough, not waiting for Lia to prompt him before pulling me with him till the waves lap at our feet. That's when he stops and turns to face me, reaching out to grab me with zero hesitation.
"Wait, Bruce-" he isn't listening, though, his hands grasping the backs of my thighs, right beneath my butt, picking me up. He doesn't pull my legs around his hips and I find my left leg kicking out, similar to how a princess would kick her foot out in a fairytale when being kissed by her prince charming. I laugh at the cheesiness, my hands cupping the back of his head as he smiles at me, his eyes never leaving mine. He tips his forehead forward, touching mine before pressing a sweet, loving kiss to my lips. He lowers me to the ground before taking my hand and spinning me, a laugh spilling from my mouth at the absurdity and in joy at the silliness of the moment. I never would've thought Bruce Wayne, the Batman, would be dancing with me on the beach.
He pulls me into his chest before dramatically dipping me, making me laugh more. "You don't need to worry about me," he whispers after he pulls me back up, both of us ignoring Lia moving in our peripherals and taking pictures.
"Don't tell me that because you know I'll continue to worry. Just as you would if I told you not to worry about me." I press in for another kiss. "I always worry about you. You put yourself in the harm's way every day and night."
Bruce opens his mouth to respond but at that moment, Lia curses from beside us and a moment later, we're caught in a downpour. I let out a shriek of surprise before laughing. Bruce laughs with me as we watch Lia take off for the hotel, trying to shield her camera. "We should follow her." he comments after a moment and I nod, grabbing his hand and pulling him up the beach after our friend.
Upon entering the lobby of the hotel, we're laughing once more, earning dirty looks from those around us as we drip water all over the floor. We both walk into the gift shop and find dry clothes, Bruce telling the staff to charge it to the card on the tab for his room before he ushers me up the stairs to Lia's room.
Bruce knocks on Lia's door before opening it, somehow knowing it was unlocked. Lia is frittering around her bed, trying to find things to properly dry off her camera from where she's thrown things. "Why don't you change in the bathroom and I'll change out here?" I suggest. Bruce's eyes move between Lia and I and I roll my eyes before laughing quietly at him. "It's nothing she doesn't have, Bruce. And besides, she's too distracted with her camera." Bruce stays where he is for a moment more before stepping into the bathroom and closing the door behind him.
As I thought, Lia pays no attention to me as I strip out of my bathing suit, knocking on the bathroom door to request a towel from Bruce. A moment later, his hand reaches out through the crack in the door with the towel. I trail my fingertips down the forearm that is revealed seductively before taking the towel and laughing again as Bruce's arm quickly retracts through the door, followed by it closing and the lock sounding.
I dry off my hair as best I can, running the towel over my skin before moving to pull on the shorts and shirt that I grabbed. However, as I go to pull the shirt over my head, I realize how small it is. Taking a closer look at the shirt, I realize I grab a child's shirt. At that moment, the bathroom door unlocks and Bruce steps out. I hold the shirt to my chest before looking at him sheepishly. He grabbed a baby blue t-shirt and black shorts, the blue bringing out his eyes.
His eyes immediately zero in on the shirt I'm holding to my chest before looking up to meet my eyes, an eyebrow cocked. "I, uh, may or may not have grabbed a children's shirt…." Bruce stands there for a moment, before sighing and reaching behind his head to pull his shirt off. My eyes drop to follow the skin that is re-revealed to my eyes as he pulls the shirt up and over his head, holding the shirt out to me. I blush before taking the shirt, mumbling a quiet 'thank you' before turning away from Bruce to pull his shirt on. Despite wearing the shirt for only a minute or two, there's still a faint trace of his cologne. I fight the urge to pull the shirt over my nose and inhale deeply.
I turn back to face Bruce and blush once more as he appraises me in the shirt before nodding in approval and turning towards Lia. "So, what now?"
"Well, I was hoping to have a couple pictures out in the rain but it's coming down way too hard right now." She does a double take at our appearances. "When did you guys change?" We both start laughing, realizing just how true my statement from a few minutes ago was.
I sit on Lia's bed, in a small area that doesn't have the contents of Lia's suitcase thrown everywhere. Bruce walks towards Lia's open patio doors, the rain blowing in the opposite direction of the door so we don't have to worry about it being blown inside. He leans against the doorway, watching the rain. I see the scratch winding around his side and all of the scars on his back shining in the light of the one lamp turned on beside the bed. A loud clap of lightning sounds and suddenly the room goes dark. We all look at each other before Bruce heads towards the door, snagging a towel to wrap around his shoulders.
"I'll go see if the front desk has any candles." He claims before stepping out of the room.
"You really seem to like him," Lia says after a moment of my eyes remaining locked on the door.
My head snaps to look at her. "I do," I admit, twisting my fingers together in my lap. "I know he's not some rich playboy. He's more than that." I begin to fidget with the hem of his shirt.
"He is," Lia agrees. "He's one of my closest friends. Bruce and I were really close in grade school and high school. I watched him grow into the handsome man he is today but I also watched him struggle. Everyone saw him as the rich, smart kid. He was quiet and they thought that meant he was naive and easy. Girls thought he would date them so that they could get expensive gifts and marry a rich man. I watched him learn he could keep people away by never committing to a single relationship. I watched him throw himself into his studies and sports so he could keep his mind off his parents." Lia pauses to take a deep breath. "I love Bruce like the brother I never had. Bruce helped me when I struggled, opened his home to me when I felt unsafe in mine, insisted Alfred feed me and care for me. I don't want to see him hurt, Diana, not anymore than he already has been." I watch Lia sit in an armchair and pull her knees into her chest.
"I wouldn't be where I am if it wasn't for Bruce and the Wayne's. He doesn't know I know, but he paid for my college tuition so I could go up to Metropolis and chase my dreams, getting away from my parents. I can tell he really likes you, but I want you to promise me that you won't hurt him." I nod quickly, wanting to assuage her fears.
"Bruce and I have known each other for a little over two years now," I admit to her, but not wanting to go into too much detail. "I feel so drawn to him whenever he's around. My life can be….stressful and being around him makes it all just fade away."
Something in my face must give away that I'm being truthful as Lia smiles. "Bruce does that. He's good at making you feel safe. He was the hardest person to leave behind in Gotham but he refused to hold me back from my dreams." I smile to myself, knowing that's how I feel about him being Batman. I could never keep him from protecting his city. "It's kind of how I feel about my own boyfriend." Lia's cheeks light up as my eyes widen, a playful smirk dawning on my face.
"Oh? I didn't know you had a boyfriend?"
Lia nods, biting her cheek and picking shyly at her fingers. "Bruce doesn't know, he'd go all overprotective big-bro on me." I fight my smirk. I bet he does know and just hasn't told her. You don't just hide things from the Batman. "Tyler and I will have been together nine months at the end of the month. Bruce and Tyler are the only two men that have ever made me feel safe. Well, and Alfred."
"I love that old man," I agree and she laughs, nodding in agreement.
"Who doesn't?" Lia smiles before she quiets down, her eyes dropping to her hands which continue to pick at her nails. "I think I want to marry him someday. And have a bunch of babies with him. A whole house full of babies." She smiles to herself.
"I think that is a wonderful dream. It makes me jealous," I admit to the blonde, also glancing down towards my hands, my fingers wringing together anxiously.
"What do you mean? You and Bruce would have beautiful babies. As long as I'm the aunt. If I don't get to be an honorary aunt then they're ugly." I laugh but it's partially forced.
"While today has been wonderful, I don't know if Bruce actually wants a serious relationship with me. We've flirted with each other for years but it never goes anywhere. He shuts me out."
"That's what Bruce does," I look up. "But I've also never seen him look at someone the way he looks at you."
"You're just saying that because Alfred told you to play matchmaker." I was surprised the other day to receive a call from Lia, having never met her before, but once arriving in Bora Bora and realizing Bruce and I knew each other rather well, she let it slip that the older gentleman had been behind her reaching out. She and Alfred just didn't want Bruce to figure it out.
"No, Diana, I'm serious. I watched Bruce try and date and then get hurt when it became obvious the girls were only interested in his money or getting into bed with him. I could cut the sexual tension between you two with a knife but I also have seen the way he looks at you, watches you, holds you. That isn't some meaningless act with him. Besides, he's never been good about hiding things, like his true feelings, from me."
I go to make another lame excuse when there's yelling heard from downstairs. "Sir! Wait!"
"Help!" Another voice faintly cries out.
I rush out onto the patio to see a man running off towards the beach in a tuxedo. Following his path, I see another man struggling out in the turbulent water.
"No, sir, stop!" Before I even have a chance to vault the railing, Bruce is running out after the man, his towel falling off his shoulders as he runs for the water.
"Tyler?" Lia cries worriedly from beside me.
"Bruce!" I call out but he doesn't stop or slow down. I leap over the railing and land in the sand, following him as he runs down our pier. The man in the tux jumps into the water beside Bruce's cabana, as if to help the man struggling. But rather than being much help, I can just make out his head bobbing above the water before disappearing below. "Bruce!" I call again as I reach the start of the dock, watching as he doesn't hesitate to dive into the ocean, disappearing into the dark, churning waters. "NO!"
A/N: I don't know how many of you read 'What Makes Bruce Happy' but the chapter I posted last week was to soothe my soul from the TRAUMA that is the end of Batman Arkham Knight. This story wasn't going to contain anything like this but then I decided, eh, what the heck. Apparently, while I demand that Bruce has a happy ending (UNLIKE THE END OF ARKHAM KNIGHT) (Spoiler….) I also apparently like to make him struggle a little bit too. I think it builds character….plus I also like making him appear heroic. If you couldn't tell.
Next chapter will more than likely be the last. This story was only supposed to be 2-3, 4 at most, chapters. Funny how "short" stories never stay super short.
Thx!
AMM