One could say that the night was beckoning, or perhaps at the peak of its activeness. Everyone would say as well too – even a certain man laying in his bed just staring at the ceiling for some reason.
Bruce had a blank expression as he gazed at how a lizard patiently crawled on the ceiling. Lizards actually keeps mosquitoes from swarming the manor, and so he found no problem on them sniffing around.
"I bet it's nice how lizards can just stick around and freeze on the spot all day. Me on the other hand – had to do tons of work at the company in the day and patrol Gotham at night…"
Bruce mumbled to himself, his eyes never leaving the lizard up top
"But I don't really mind that much, I am dedicated in this life. Lucius can't handle everything in the company, I had to step over sometime – and crimes haven't been so imminent than before…"
His thoughts raved to a certain someone, words can't describe the impact she's had in his city ever since she arrived in Gotham
Bruce was all up in his thoughts – when suddenly, a large ring from his phone took his attention. It was an incoming call from the lady herself
A coincidence or so Bruce may say. There was no denying the fact that timing couldn't have been better for so
He answered the phone, which culminated a surge of silence which he didn't expect
"Hello?" he spoke to the phone
There was no response
"Are you there?"
Still, not even a single hum.
Bruce thought up of reasons for the sudden call from her. Perhaps she needed him for something…
It didn't take long before the world's greatest detective could come up with a conclusion
"Press the green button, Diana…"
A few seconds later and a voice finally responds
"Oh can you hear me now, Bruce?"
Bruce heaved out a sigh upon hearing this.
"Yes, I am here, princess." Bruce flatly responded
"How can I help you?"
"Oh, it's just… I wanna test this new smartstone that you gave me"
"It's 'smart phone', Diana." Bruce corrected
"Of course, smart phone" Diana responded, a feint giggle can be heard from the other line despite being low
"Well, you're still adjusting with the technology so it's nothing to stress about. Just ask me anything that might pique your confusion whatsoever"
"I have a lot actually" She answered
"Like how are we able to talk despite being so far away?"
"It's because of a wireless connection, Diana. It provides a channel that lets our voices reach each other and have this communication despite being far away"
"But I don't see any wires, this rectangle thing doesn't have any wires in it" Diana reasoned out
Bruce scratched his head upon hearing this
"Diana, it's called wireless for a reason…"
"How does a wireless work, Bruce?"
"I just explained it earlier…"
"Oh, so this rectangle thing in my hand lets my voice reach you as your voice reaches mine?"
"Yup, pretty much." Bruce responded sharply
A sudden pause transpired in between the lines. But it didn't take long as the naïve Amazon finally spoke…
"What sorcery is this!?"
A chuckle escaped through his mouth, something that he didn't expect. That sure did come out of nowhere. He was hoping she didn't hear that whatsoever, Diana can be quite petty at times
Diana was still new to this world, and it was his responsibility to teach such things to her. Also – he would be lying to himself if he said that he didn't found her naivety adorable
"Bruce!"
"I'm here, I'm here" Bruce responded with a chuckle
"The sorcery was made by the great Merlyn himself"
"Are you making fun of me?" Diana uttered with a slight irk in her voice
"No, I'm definitely not making fun of you," Bruce playfully responded with a slight sarcasm
"Okay, I'm coming there right now to make sure."
Bruce's fun was halted as soon as he heard that statement
"Wait… what?"
"You heard me, I'm on my way right now." She responded sternly
"D-Diana… It's midnight"
There was no response.
Bruce was in no mood to entertain someone at the moment, knowing Diana, it would just take her a couple minutes to reach him – seconds even
Suddenly, her voice spoke through the phone
"Come outside real quick~"
"You're not really outside, are you?" Bruce slowly asked
"Why don't you find out~" Diana uttered in a teasing tone, it was now her tone to have the upper hand
And so, Bruce stood up to his feet and walked to the window. He hesitated at first, but as he opened it – there was nothing but thin air
He could hear a series of laughter coming from the other line as a frown forms on his lips
"Ahahahaha, not so funny now, are we?" Diana jested
"Yeah Yeah, you got me…" he murmured slowly as he closes the windows
"Anyways, if that's all, I'm hanging up now"
"What's hanging up, Bruce?" Diana asked
"It means ending the call." He responded
Bruce was about to tap the icon but for some reason, the girl on the other line was fidgeting something under her breath
"Bruce… wait–"
"What's up?" he asked
"ummm" Diana hummed for a second
"You don't have plans for tomorrow, do you?"
"What do you think?" he sarcastically responded
Diana uttered a nervous chuckle in response
"Oh of course you are…"
Bruce could hint the need in her voice, despite just hearing her voice from a call and not seeing her face – he could still tell that she needed something
"What do you need, Diana?"
"Oh, I don't need anything, Bruce" she responded nervously
"Come on, just tell me…"
"I really don't need anything though, don't worry"
"Are you sure?"
"Of course."
"Well, if that's the case… I'm hanging up now."
Bruce waited for a couple of seconds before ending the call, waiting until she finally breaks. After half a minute, he concluded that she might actually mean what she said
But as he was about to tap the red icon…
"Okay, there might be a little something that I need"
The young man almost collapsed to his bed upon hearing this
"Then why didn't you say so."
"Because!" Diana grunted in response
"I thought that you would figure it out…"
"You know, with your body languages and reading – between – the – lines – stuff" she added
"Diana, give me a break. We are literally talking on phone right now."
"Then perhaps we should do the thing?"
Bruce paused for a second when she said this
"Wait, what thing?"
"you know… the thing…"
"Okay… now I can't really do all that mind reading stuffs over call, Diana. You'll have to say it to me properly what this thing is"
"I really don't know what to say…"
"Just put it simply, don't overcomplicate. What do you propose we should do?"
"You know… when we look at each other's faces…" Diana slowly uttered
"In the bed"
"In the bed!?" Bruce repeated
"Yeah… in the bed" Diana responded as she let out a slight hum of pleasure
This caused more unease on Bruce himself. This phone call needs to be stopped ASAP before it transpires into something else
"Diana, are you unwell or something?" Bruce asked
"What are you saying?"
"Don't play dumb, Bruce." Diana answered sharply
"You're the one who taught me about these things"
It was at this moment that Bruce had reached his peak, he had taught her a lot of things, but he was adamant that he haven't crossed that "line" of respect for her Amazon upbringing
"I didn't teach you any of that, Diana" he stated
"Bruce, let's just do it over the phone" Diana interrupted
"Do what on the phone?"
"The thing." Diana responded
Bruce groaned to himself, he was nearing at the edge at this point, but he somehow caught his composure
"Okay Diana, let's start from the very beginning Bruce stated in a calm manner
"What do you want to do?"
Diana didn't respond, another surge of silence filled the lines in which Bruce was anticipating for an answer on
But it didn't take long when…
"I… I wanna see you, Bruce." She slowly uttered
"See me?"
"uhuh…" Diana mumbled slowly
Bruce wondered whatever she meant by this – it didn't take long however before he yet again could come up with a conclusion on what she was pertaining with the "thing"
"It's called a videocall, Diana." He uttered
"Right, that's the world I was looking for!" she responded
"I was wondering maybe we could do stay up all night"
"What for?" he asked
"No reason at all" Diana responded
"Maybe we can make this into a competition, the one who stays up the longest wins"
"That sounds completely childish, but it sounds competitive. Count me in" Bruce answered
"Competitive? You really think you stand a chance?" Diana uttered with a proud smile
"Big words, Princess." Bruce retaliated
"You must not know how many times I've done this before" he added
Bruce gave her his signature confident smirk which she responded with a teasing glare of her own.
"So how should we do the videocall, Bruce?"
"Just tap the icon on the screen that looks like a camera"
"A camera?" Diana was quite confused at first over this word, but she eventually remembered what it was
"Oh yes, I remember what a camera is. It's that small box thing that you brought in our date"
"Wait What?" Bruce asked when he heard something that was quite peculiar
Suddenly, a text appeared on his screen.
"Diana wants to do a video call"
Realizing there should be nothing wrong with this, besides, they see each other all the time anyways. This should act as an education for Diana's first woes with technology
But as they finally connected, she didn't appear on the screen. What Bruce saw was her room and her door
Bruce chuckled with this upon realizing something
"Diana, your camera is the other way"
"Oh, I'm sorry." Diana uttered
"So how do you change the camera?"
"You see the switch icon just above?"
"yeah"
"Tap that gently"
It only took a second before Diana's face finally was revealed to him.
"Can you see me now?"
Bruce paused there for a second, perhaps the reason was Diana's phone was too close on her face and he could see better with the close proximity
"y-yeah.. I can see you"
"Why is it dark in your room?" Diana asked
"Yeah, you know I prefer sleeping in the dark." Bruce responded
Diana giggled feintly, Bruce did always work better in the dark, but she didn't know he rested better in it too
"My hair is kinda messy, I hope you don't mind."
Bruce didn't respond, he was – distracted there for a second. He could tell that she just came from the shower from the way her hair looked
"Bruce?"
"Yeah Yeah, I was definitely listening and was not staring at your face at all"
"What?"
"Nothing." He responded sharply
Diana took a sip of her hot chocolate from the table
"So, how was your day today?" she asked
"Stressful as always." He answered
"I never took you for the complainer, Bruce"
"I'm not complaining, I like the thrill of the challenge, but stress is something that ruins your day – especially on a daily basis"
"I guess that makes sense" Diana muttered as he sipped her hot chocolate
Bruce looked at the screen as he notices this
"What are you drinking?"
"Hot chocolate." She responded
"Keeps me awake, especially in the afternoon"
"That's cheating, I don't have any of my coffee here" Bruce playfully uttered
Diana stuck out her tongue in response as she sipped another portion
Bruce couldn't help but chuckle slightly upon seeing this. Despite everything, Diana's childish side never fails to amuse him
Diana shifts her gaze back unto Bruce whom was saying nothing. It was a sudden surge of silence as the two just stared at each other's screen.
It didn't take long before Diana's eyelids started to droop slowly – perhaps it was the ambient mood or the comfort of her beds-
or because Bruce is watching her slowly without saying a word
Diana hated gazes, she hated how men would stare at her as if she was a piece of meat in public. It made her feel uncomfortable and uneasy, despite having the pride of an Amazon
But somehow… Bruce's gaze feels different. She loved how his eyes would settle on her, the same eyes that she could see through, the same eyes that has no intent in them whatsoever. Diana wanted his gaze all to herself.
Perhaps it was because of how well she knew him already, or how he would treat her very well. With everything they've been through, it should be obvious now that Diana feels comfortable with him.
This "comfort" however became a disadvantage to her as her drowsiness slowly kicked in. She felt safe with Bruce watching her, as if they were close to each other at that moment
Bruce, who was reading a book, was too engrossed to notice the Amazon sleeping on the other line. It was silent now, like she wasn't there anymore. He checked the screen to see, and what he saw was something he never hoped to see
There in the screen was Diana's face up close. Bruce was truly mesmerized with how peaceful she looked.
He smiled to himself, remembering how confident she was to do this earlier, just to be the first one to fall to slumber
Seeing her face made him feel something strange. It was out of the blue, but he didn't hate it. Despite being far away, Bruce felt as if they were close to each other with Diana sleeping close to him
It was something he never knew he needed, even so, there is no way that could ever be possible. Diana and himself are just friends, nothing more. And he knows damn well about Diana's upbringing.
But somehow, Bruce wondered how good it would feel to have Diana close to his arms every night and waking up every day to see this face he is watching right now
In an instant, Bruce returns to his senses up realizing what he was just thinking
"What is wrong with me, that was definitely improper…" Bruce pondered to himself
"What would she think if she heard that somehow…"
"She'd probably never speak to me again."
Bruce decided to end the call before his thoughts could betray him once again, but upon doing so, he paused midway and took a screenshot. It would be such a shame to just end the call with this wonderful scene on the screen.
"Good night, Princess…" Bruce muttered softly
And so, the young man closed his eyes for slumber. Diana's face still appeared in his mind despite his eyes closed. He didn't hate it however...
Seeing Diana's face at the end of his day is something Bruce never knew he needed.
