A/N: Now chapter 6 because I had to go back and add in the Engagement Party Scene... Enjoy!
Bruce swings the Fox around and lands the plane on the roof of her building. He sees her through the cockpit window, hand up to protect her eyes from the wind. The riot of anticipation in his stomach kicks up another notch. He feels a little like a teenager pulling up to his girl's house on a loud motorcycle to whisk her away before her father comes out. Only she's not just any girl, he's in a high-tech troop transport and her father is Zeus, the ruler of all gods. The irony is not lost on him.
His hand shakes as he presses the button to release the tailgate, tremors of excitement coupled with nerves. He rolls his neck to release the tension. He's part of a family again. People depend on him. Care about him. All of the teasing and the jokes, it feels strange, though not unwelcome, which is surprising. Maybe it's his age. Maybe Alfred's empty nest syndrome is contagious. He doesn't dwell.
The door parts and she's there dressed in those dark jeans that make her legs look a mile long. The smile on her face makes the four-hour impromptu flight all the more worth it. The deck touches down and she's up the ramp in two strides into his arms, solid and strong, soft and supple. His hands warm from the heat of her skin through her silk blouse. The scent of her light perfume tickles his nose and he inhales her deep into his lungs.
She drops her small travel bag and cups his face with her palms. Those lips he's had the first of many exquisite dreams about since decades past touch his own in a sensual kiss. He's missed her so much more than he realized.
She always pulls back so slowly that it makes him want to chase after her and beg for more. Her fingers brush an errant lock of hair from his forehead and she smooths her hands over his wrinkled shirt on his shoulders. Her lips, glossy and red from his kiss, form a concerned pout. "Did you fall asleep in your chair again or are you still up from the night before?"
"I was working on an adjustment to the weapons canon, if you must know." His avoidance of the answer is answer enough.
"Did you even grab a bag before you left?"
"No." He looks around uselessly. "I have clothes somewhere." Then a grin pulls at his mouth. "But then again, who says we'll need clothes?"
She giggles and pulls him in for another kiss. She bites her lips nervously when he ends the kiss. And a thought dawns on him. "I don't think I have a tooth brush."
"You can use mine."
He pulls back in mock horror. "That's gross, Princess."
A dark eyebrow arches. "You'll slide your tongue in my mouth but you can't use my tooth brush?"
"That's a whole different thing."
"You know, modern tooth brushes weren't invented until 1938." Her finger teases the stubble at the corner of his mouth. "We used chew sticks with frayed ends to rub against our teeth."
"Fascinating. I'll just find a twig from the yard."
She presses a kiss to his jaw. "I'm sure Alfred has supplied everything we could possibly need."
"I'm sure you're right." He smooths his hands over her back to her shoulders. "We should take off. I've checked the structural integrity of your building, but it is old and the weight of the plane is probably cracking someone's plaster ceiling."
"Yes, I'd hate to be a bad neighbor."
She takes his hand and they settle in for the short flight to Eze.
He finds her outside on the balcony overlooking the blue waters of the Mediterranean. She's changed into a thin strapped, loose sundress that skims her curves in all the right places. Her hair is blowing in the warm breeze. Her expression is peaceful and content. When he slips his hands around her waist, she startles slightly and runs her hands over his arms as she leans back against his chest. "It's so beautiful here. I'm reminded a little of Themyscira."
"That's what I was going for."
She chuckles. "No it wasn't, but I appreciate the sentiment."
He buries his nose in the floral scent of her hair and places a kiss the back of her head. "You ready to eat?"
"Soon." She spins in his arms to face him. "I want to enjoy you in the sunshine." The backs of her fingers caress his temple and down the side of his face. "You look relaxed. No stress. No lines of determined planning, or fixing, or worrying over things you may or may not ever be able to control."
"They're called wrinkles, Princess. I'm old."
She shakes her head. "Not compared to me you aren't. You've lived a hard life, abused your body. Taken risks that have cost much. You're exhausted."
"I've been doing this for twenty years. That's a long time for a human."
"So it's high time for a vacation, don't you agree?"
Yes, he's come to realize he agrees wholeheartedly.
She finds him after dinner on the couch in the great room. The lights are dim and he's checking the status of the diagnostic running on the propulsion system he's been working on with Victor. He can hear her enter before she even makes the dissatisfied hum over his right shoulder. She comes around to the front of the sofa to stand before him. That regal set to her lips and haughty lift of her chin make him bite back a smile. She's displeased. Probably because he's on his phone. The domesticity of it tickles a strange, if not unwelcome feeling.
Instead of reprimanding him, she hikes up the hem of her skirt to her knees and settles herself on his lap. The solidness of her body above him feels incredible. His free hand moves of its own volition to smooth up her thigh and curl around the swell of her hip. The heat of her skin through the thin cotton seeps into the pads of his fingertips. She's always so warm and lush when he touches her. An impish smile starts in the center of her lips and then slowly spreads before she reaches out for his phone.
"Hey…" It's in her grasp before he could protest further. She holds it out and away. "Di––No." It crumbles into a thousand tiny pieces. A frustrated sigh pushes through his teeth. That was a prototype version he was testing as a comm device for the entire team.
Her hips shift against his. The pleasure of that motion would have been enticing if she hadn't just crushed his phone but a groan escapes his lips nonetheless. The movement causes her pert nipples to peak through the thin gauze of her dress and okay, he's not really that upset about the phone.
"What are you doing?" he asks.
"Are you going to give me my explanation?"
"About what?" He isn't about to justify why he's working for the two minutes it took her to return from the bathroom.
She rolls her eyes. "About why 'Netflix and Chill' means to have sex?"
A laugh blurts out of his throat unchecked. "Are we still on that?"
"It just doesn't make any sense to me, about why you got so upset with Barry and how that silly phrase actually caused you to end up here with me right now." Her fingers trace up the soft fabric of his t-shirt to bop the cleft in his chin. He's realized over the course of this courtship that she likes to touch, even if its playful. It's okay, he finds that he likes it a lot more than he thought. He feels grounded when she's connected to him, as if her tranquil energy is a stabilizing force to the chaos in his mind.
He brushes her hair back over her shoulder. "It's a term the kids use to spend time with a girlfriend, or boyfriend, significant other, whatever… under the pretense of watching movies at home when really what you want to do is have sex."
"But we really do watch movies…"
"I know, Princess." The smile on his face couldn't be contained. She was so beautiful. Her gaze warms the hollow coldness that has long been resident in his heart and he grows serious as his mind mulls over where this is headed. "I got angry with Barry because there are some things about you that I want to keep pure and good. And I don't want my involvement with you or the way that I feel about you to set you up for ridicule."
"Oh Bruce, that could never happen." She pressed both of her hands to the sides of his face. "They are our friends and they're invested in us because they want us to be happy."
"I am happy." A swift breath invades his chest at the admission. He drapes his hands over her arms, reveling in the sensation of her smooth skin against his. "The happiest I've been in a long time."
"Me too." She closes the distance and touches her lips to his in a gentle kiss. When he pulls her close, her lips part and she swipes her delicious tongue against his. Her touch is slow and deliberate, filled with passion and reverence. She ends the kiss with a sensual giggle deep in her throat. She nuzzles his nose with hers then stands.
Bruce immediately misses her heat. She saunters away, clearly aware that his eyes are following her every move.
"I'm going to bed," she announces over her shoulder like a royal decree. "You can either piece your gizmo back together or you can join me. Your choice."
A low growl murmurs in his chest as her dress slides off her shoulders and slips into a pool of thin cotton on the floor. Her long hair cascades down the elegant sweep of her back. She is naked and glorious and he's frozen in his spot mesmerized by her beauty.
She pauses at the threshold of the bedroom and raises her hand to the doorframe. The curve of her breast peeks out from under the silhouette of her arm. His pulse thrums in his neck. A coy smile turns up her lips in invitation before she slips into the room.
He's on his feet in the space of a heartbeat and moving to close the distance between them, stripping pieces of clothing as he goes.