THE QUEEN´S DAUGHTER.
CHAPTER ELEVEN: I´M STRONG ENOUGH.
The princess´s heart wrenched with her mother´s sadness and her star-crossed love. It wasn´t just curiosity anymore, she messed things up big time and she wanted to fix them the best way she could. She couldn´t if she didn't know. Sophie skipped a few pages ahead. She wanted, she needed to get to the juicy part of the story. Come on, mommy dearest. Did he love you? Did you love him? What have you both really done? The wait was maddening. She sighed and read.
After trying to bump onto her for a few days, Diana finally spotted Zatanna having lunch by herself at the Watchtower. A heavenly chance she would not forsake. Clark's words about Bruce's interest in her had the princess thinking, irking to know the truth, and she wanted to double check. The last thing she needed was to make a fool of herself when he rejected her plainly. She knew the magician had been spending time with her love, so she grabbed a glass of orange juice and sat down.
"Hello, Tanna." The Amazon knew her friends called her that.
"Hello, Di. What's up?" She asked, undistracted from her marvelous smelling chicken.
"Not much, been a quiet day despite the volcano..." Diana smiled nonchalantly.
"True, quiet and boring." She complained with a frown of pure exasperation.
"Well, I have some questions for you. I hope they are not boring too." The princess innocently toyed with her hair.
"Shoot." Her eyes lightened with interest when she finally looked up.
"It's about Batman..." Diana continued reluctantly. Suddenly, she wasn´t so sure anymore. She would still make a fool of herself if Zatanna confirmed what she dreaded.
"He's good, but he can be a jerk. He can't team up and he certainly can't hold a conversation. Boring. Anything else?" Every glint of hope was gone.
"That wasn't my question. I want to know if you think he likes me. Because I don't know..."
The woman put her fork down and looked up at her again with her eyes wide open. Shock.
"You can't be serious. You really like him?"
Zatanna's reaction crushed Diana's hopes. Was the situation that bad?
"I think I love him." She admitted sadly. The magician groaned and hit her head with her palm. "What's wrong?"
"That bitch! Now I owe Dinah fifty bucks."
Diana shook her head and frowned. "Why?"
"Because she said you wanted Batman and I said it was Superman. We made a bet and now I lose." She sighed and crossed her arms.
Diana's mouth fell open. "You´ve been making bets upon my love life? Are you insane?"
Zatanna shook her head and laughed. "No, of course not, love. We made a bet over your sex life."
"Great Hera! This can't be true. I will not tolerate it!" She stood up and smashed her angry fist against the table. The steel twisted and dented under the pressure of her hand. The magician´s food survived only because she lifted the tray right on time. But the princess´s drink spilled and cascaded to the floor. An offended Diana shot fire at her with her glare.
Zatanna gave up. The bet was lost and playing the match-maker would be way more interesting so on. She grabbed the Amazon´s arm.
"Wait and sit down, woman. I was joking."
The princess smiled relieved and sat down again. Thank Hera.
"So there is no bet?" She questioned, intertwining her fingers.
"Oh, yes, there is one. But it is indeed about your love life."
"I don't like it." She showed a very unfriendly frown.
"Never mind. Now shut up and listen. Do it, I think you really have a chance. He's so... grumpy tough." She was about to protest again, but swallowed her pride for the benefit to get her answer. Because her face lit up with a smile again.
"Well… good! So, now…?"
The colleague grabbed her arm. "If you want to have something you have never had, Princess, you have to do something you have never done."
"What do you suggest I do then?" She sighed her discouragement.
Zatanna shrugged. "Strip off."
Diana stared at her in confusion. Too confused to take offense. "Strip off? What kind of twisted advice is that?"
She winked. "Well, he likes you, but I think the best chance you have is getting into his pants."
"But that's not what I want. I want a relationship." She tilted her head to the side, uncertain of why the woman was oblivious to something so obvious.
"Well, it will turn out way better like that than if you go to him to ask for a bucket of flowers and an engagement ring. Please don't do that."
"Who said I want to get married?" The Amazon jumped back on her seat.
Zatanna rolled her eyes. "You are unbelievable."
"I'm not going to undress in public." She tried to reason.
"Who said you should? Get the man into a room with you, honey. I'm sure you can do that. If it works out, you get the guy, if it doesn't, you still get to have a good time. I would bet a very good time. He seems that kind of guy."
"A good time? But I..." Diana blushed. She didn´t plan to discuss her private life.
The woman smirked and snapped her fingers in understanding. "Oh, yeah, that's it. You are a virgin, aren't you?"
Diana blushed even more and looked away speechless. What could she say? Zatanna´s jaw dropped in awe.
"Shut up! You are not! You have to tell me like right now! Who was it?" She squealed in excitement very much aloud.
"Tanna, keep your voice down. You are making bets upon my life, you seriously think I'll tell you?" The princess hissed harshly.
"That's disappointing." She pouted in discontent. Diana sighed feeling the same.
"My sentiment is exactly. What if he rejects me? I don't want to go through that. To be honest, I don´t think I can stand it."
"Believe me, honey, he won't say no. He has got the hots for you."
"What?" A clueless Diana inquired in confusion.
"He wants to score a whole in one..." The magician whispered.
"I still don't get it."
"Come on, woman, he wants to plunge his stick into your hole!"
Diana's jaw dropped down. "You don't have to say it like that!" Zatanna just chortled. "But I still want to know if it´s true."
The woman laughed more. "Sex is not overrated, is it?"
.-.-.-.-.-
When Sophia finished that, she was shocking with laughter. The notebook slipped away from her hands, so she used them to grab her stomach. Oh, yes, she was astounded Diana didn´t rip Zatanna´s neck right there. Now, she regretted the fact she didn´t stop by to talk to her, even if it was only to say she met the woman who was betting on her mother´s love life and tease her to death. Once again, when she calmed down and regained her breath, the princess went a few pages ahead and kept on with her task. She didn´t stop to check on every day, nor was every single day written down anyway.
Diana was nearly dozing back to sleep as her head rested on Bruce's shoulder. He leaned next to her against the same counter she was sat on, eating in silence. He wasn't the best one with small talk, so when he spoke, his voice startled her.
"I´m not so sure that starting this is a good idea, Princess..."
Diana put her bowl down, next to her on the countertop. She had to gulp before she looked up at him. Angst was suffocating. Is he walking off on me?
"Why not?" She bit her lower lip to help herself from confessing how much she loved him and how hurtful that would be, it would scare him off forever. Her eyes lingered on his mouth a whole minute before he replied.
"Because we´re too different. Because dating a teammate always lead to disaster. We have to keep our minds en eyes in the battlefield, not on each other."
She closed her eyes and sighed softly. "It's a little too late for that, Bruce. And you know it."
He nodded unwillingly and kept going. "Because you are a princess of a race of immortal warriors and I'm just a rich kid with issues. Because I'll never forgive myself if my enemies hurt you to get to me..."
A scornful lop sided smile bloomed at Diana's face when she heard the last statement. It was way more likely she would lose him to his own foes than she ever getting hurt by the Joker. But she didn't say it. She gently placed her hand on his cheek.
"And does any of those reasons change the way you feel... about me?" He stared into her ocean blue eyes for a long while and a faint smile twitched her lips when she could read his answer. "Because you can give me a billion reasons, one for each dollar you own, and it won't change what my heart wants. Not a little bit. And that is you."
"No. It won't change my feelings either."
The night before had been enough proof to Diana of the strong feelings the man held for her. The experience with Clark had been nice and enjoyable, but Bruce drove her wild with pleasure and made her squirm in ecstasy. It had been pure inexorable bliss. She was still half drunk with it when they did it again the next morning. He had her heart in his hand... and that was saying too much for an Amazon. She knew the same thought that helped her made her mind up and strip down for him would make him concede having a relationship with her. In their own way and terms, but a relationship at the end.
"If you don't want me hurt, Bruce, don't hurt me yourself by leaving. I'm a big girl and I can deal with my own disasters."
And it was truth. The mere thought was a stab to her chest and she was praying to every deity she knew for him to stay. He only wrapped his arms around her, deep in thought. She shot her final dart.
"What would it feel if you walk away now and in a few months you hear I'm off with someone else? Would you still think this isn't worth it? Am I not worth fighting for?" She whispered close to his ear.
The swift image of a smiling Diana, his beautiful princess, dressed in white and clung to Kent's arm was enough to clear up all of his doubts. It would have been simply unbearable.
Holding her closer against him, he kissed her ravenously, unleashing the passion he had been restraining before and making it clear for her that she was now his woman. She responded eagerly and wrapped her arms and legs around him. His closeness was toxic, his touch was addictive. She didn't squeal the happiness of her victory because she was too busy tangling her tongue with his.
When she broke apart out of air, Diana beamed and rested her head on his chest. His heart was pounding as fast as hers was. And nothing had ever made her heart race. Before him.
"Do you always have an ace under your bracelets to get what you want, Princess?" He smirked, placing a soft kiss on her neck and holding her close.
"I'm a spoiled princess. I always have them four." She chuckled, lovingly running her hand up and down his back.
"Wow." Sophia whispered, as she turned to the day before. This was how it all started.
.-.-.-.-.-
Diana wasn´t used to the piercing insecurity she felt before heading to Bruce´s mansion, but at the end she found herself staring at his door.
"Do you want me to go with you?" A concerned Superman asked Wonder Woman, a little after he had entered the lobby of the Plaza himself and ordered Alex to go back home. The boy protested but did as he was told.
"Thank you. But I have to go by myself. What kind of mother would I be if I couldn't face him for my own daughter's sake? What kind of Queen would I be if I were so weak?" She wrapped her arms around herself and looked down. Suddenly she was bothered by the fact it was all too bright. Thank Hera the couch was cozy and cold dark leather.
"Fine. Be careful." He replied, sitting next to her.
"You´re always worrying about me..." The woman smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder. He hugged her.
"I am worried. You don't seem fine at all."
Diana´s sigh was full-loaded with sadness. "I just don't understand why she did it. I thought she trusted me, I thought I taught her well, I tried my best to be a good role model for her..."
"Diana, what did you do when your mother told you not the get off the island?"
She looked up to him. "I did it anyway."
He raised an eyebrow. "Do you regret it?"
The Amazon admitted reluctantly. "No."
He grinned. "Did it make her a terrible mother for you?"
The woman shook her head, making her curls bump gracefully. "Not at all."
"Did you love her any less because you did so?"
"Not a little bit." She blushed faintly, finally understanding.
"Did anything prevent you from going back?"
"Nothing could have."
He smiled and rested his hands on her shoulders, letting her go. "She will be fine."
The Queen smiled back. "Thank you."
Diana shook the memory of her conversation with Clark away from her mind and stared at the entrance for a long while before she gathered enough courage to ring the bell. The sudden disruption of the silence was very awkward. After so long, she wasn't sure what her reaction would be. Her trip wasn't completely selfless. She wanted to prove to herself that she was totally over him and that she wasn't mourning about losing him anymore. And she feared to find out it wasn´t so.
A gentle smile enlightened her features when the sight of Alfred at the threshold warmed her heart. She hugged him a bit too tight.
"Hello, miss Diana." He mumbled, surprised and out of air. She realized it and let him go.
"Hey, Alfred. It's been a long time." The Queen beamed.
"A long time indeed. It´s a lovely surprise to see you." He nodded with a smile
"Same. Is... Bruce around?" She dragged the words more than she should have, looking down.
The butler nodded. "He was about to leave, but I will go check. Come in."
The Amazon followed him into the garden and the Englishman returned to the house when she sat down. She was already feeling uncomfortable and it wasn't a good omen. The place was a soul-shattering fountain of memories. Beholding the dusk, her gaze fell first upon the swimming pool.
It was a hot summer day. Diana was sitting at the border of the pool and Bruce laid beside her with his head on her lap. Her fingers were lovingly stroking his hair. He was nearly dozing and she suddenly snapped out of her reverie.
"Are you tired, baby?"
"I'm fine, it's just the heat."
She leaned down and kissed him deeply. It surprised him, but he wrapped his arms around her. It was a long passionate kiss that stole their breath and made them squirm. Her heart was left hammering in her chest long after it was over.
"Wow. I'm definitely much more awake now."
She laughed and shook her head. "What would you do without me?"
He sat up and shrugged. "I guess Alfred would do."
"I didn't know you got into his pants that often." Diana smirked amused and bit her lower lip.
"I mean to wake me up... with a cup of coffee."
"Oh, good, I was feeling a little left aside. He's still the one who gets your outfit ready though."
"So?"
Diana rested her hands on her hips. "Come on, man up and face it. What would you be without your suit?"
He raised an eyebrow in mockery. "I would still be a super smart, very attractive billionaire."
She giggled. "Quoting The Avengers, huh? You are both, and strong, and brave, but you're incorrigible."
"You love me tough."
"Touché." She winked.
"I have to add the suit would be way more useful if you stop trying to cover my back all the time, Princess."
She blushed and looked away. Guilty. "You are right, I'm… sorry."
"I know you are a meta and I'm not, but I have my ways too. You always say you can deal with your own disasters, I can too. I didn't like what happened to you yesterday, not a little bit."
"I know, but I had to help you get out of there..."
"I was going to find a way, trust me."
"I was scared... I've never felt like that before."
"You don't have to be." He grabbed her hands in his. "I´m hard to kill and you will never lose me." A heartfelt beautiful smile bloomed on her face, his words made her deeply happy. "But since you did it, now I owe you one."
With a playful grin, she answered. "I'm sure you'll find a way to pay me back."
And she discreetly pushed him onto the pool.
Diana sighed, blinking so her watery eyes wouldn't cloud the view of a magnificently grown garden with the glowing jasmines that smelled like her home. She turned her head away and her gaze fell upon the bench on the corner of the place, framed by a thousand color orchids. She still remembered the sweet, intoxicating whiff of the perfume.
"Are you done yet?" Diana asked restlessly, toying with the fingers that rested on her lap.
"Patience is a virtue, ma chère. Can you smile?"
She accommodated the white hat over her long ebony braid and obliged to his demand. "You know, you don't have to ask me to smile all the time. A kiss would do for that."
"Come over here, I´ll show you."
The Amazon promptly tiptoed to the other bench and sat next to him. Bruce leaned and kissed her softly, which resulted on the smile she had promised. She propped against him, resting her head on his chest and pouted. "That's cheating. It's not finished yet."
"I know, but you deserved the kiss you asked."
She kissed his cheek. "But it's amazing. You have an outstanding talent."
Bruce shrugged. "You can sing and write. I can draw. Actually, I did the first designs for the batmobile and the suit myself."
"So that's all I can do? Sing and write?" She raised her hand to her chest in offense.
"Does is sound better if I say you sing like an angel?" He grinned.
She slapped his arm playfully. "So I'm not wife material then?"
"I'm not husband material either." He shrugged.
"Not for any other woman, but for me, you are."
The Queen wiped a tear of her cheek, embarrassed of her weakness. How could I have ever guessed...? Once again she looked away. Everything was a new painful remembrance. It seemed all so recent... and suddenly she could just go mad. Because it was too vivid.
Diana moved her Queen with an elegant twist of her well-polished hand.
"Check." She smiled with feigned innocence.
He moved the black bishop so with a single move it protected his King and threatened her Queen. She backed out scared and frowned.
"I didn't see that one coming."
"That's because you're a rookie."
She smirked widely, proud of her own wits and moved her knight triumphantly.
"I wouldn't be so sure. Checkmate!"
His face transfixed with surprise as she shook her arms in the air in celebration.
"How did you do that?"
"Oh, if I tell you, I would have to kill you after."
"You do know how to amaze me, woman."
"Sure thing I always do." She winked.
"Fine, it was a flawless victory." He conceded.
"You know what comes next." She battled her eyelashes beaming.
This time, it was horror what transformed his features. "Mortal kombat?"
"Haha, very funny. This princess can get her fatality later, but now, I get to drive the batmovil. Woohoo!"
Bruce grimaced. "Can you pick something else?"
She walked around the table and sat on his lap, straddling him. Her arms wrapped around his neck.
"Let me think... No."
"And is not driving it the only thing you want, right?" There was a half-smile when he said it.
She whispered to his ear seductively. "Actually, that was your idea, but I'm completely up for it."
Diana had to smile to herself then. And that was quite a night.
"Hello, Diana."
When she heard his voice, the Queen squirmed and turned around immediately. Air escaped her lungs and suddenly the void was a whirlpool drowning her. Dressed up in the black Armani suit and sixteen years older, the man was more tempting than he had ever been. And her last memories didn't help a bit. She wasn't ready to face him again. She tried to deny it, but the truth was self-evident: she was still head over heels in love with a man who dumped her without blinking an eye. And despite how much she fought it, it wasn´t rage what she felt.
"Hello, Bruce." She managed to respond.
If there´s something you need to know about Batman is that he doesn't wear a mask, he is one. Anything can be hidden when it's needed to.
Surprise left him abashed when Alfred announced that his former lover was waiting downstairs and somehow forced him to meet her. She was still the love of his life and facing her again was not a very pleasing thing to do, but he wanted to prove to himself that he could survive the experience. Without love. Without anger.
His heart skipped a beat against his wishes.
"How are you?"
He descended the stairs and reached the garden, standing a single step away from her. Diana felt her skin tingle at his closeness.
"I'm alright, thank you. How are you?"
When he spoke and inhaled the smell of her hair, it was excruciating. She still owned his heart.
"I'm fine too."
Diana looked down awkwardly, mostly to avoid looking into his eyes and jumping over him. She needed the comforting feeling of his arms around her, she wanted him to say that everything had been a nightmare. She longed to hear he loved her. But it wasn't what she said.
"I'm sorry to intrude like this. But I'm looking for my daughter Sophie, and Alex, Clark´s son, told me you've seen her." She spoke slowly and her eyes scanned everything, unsure of where to set.
He was dumbly disappointed to find out Kent was again the first person she turned to. She fiddled with her hair considering if telling the truth or keeping it for herself. That was if he didn´t figure it out on his own already.
"She was here, she was fine. But she´s not under my roof anymore." He slid his hands onto his pockets.
"Do you know where is she gone?" The mother pleaded for an answer.
"She didn't tell, but she won't be coming back."
"Thank you." She sighed and turned to walk away.
"She is a wonderful girl. She deserves to know the truth you denied her."
Diana stopped and swiveled towards him. Then, she was angered and her eyes didn´t hide it. "Didn't she ask you?"
"I told her everything I know, and she left to find Kent."
Then, realization suddenly hit her. Her wrath grew. Bruce told Sophia that Clark was her father... but why?
The Amazon frowned. "You told her...? You're nuts!"
"I just told her the truth. What comes out of it is not my fault." The lack of emotion in his voice was piercing her. She gritted her teeth out of fury.
"I hope it was actually the truth. I never understood what you did."
He scowled too. "Do you think I understood what you did?"
Bruce grabbed her arm instinctively and the touch made her jolt and shiver. The Queen decided to leave before her feelings forced her to indulge into something she so deeply desired but would truly regret. She shook her arm away and hissed, mostly because otherwise her words would have been a sob. "Don't touch me!"
Diana shuddered once more and crossed her arms. She hated everything he made her feel.
"Don't worry, woman. I´ll never touch you again. I won't."
His words weren't meant to say he didn't want to hold her and make love to her again, but she was unaware that his heart was still hers. She only accepted the fact she would never get hers back.
She was strong enough to live without him. He was strong enough to know he had to let her go... again.
And the same way she did 16 years ago she gulped her pain and fledged her pride, turning around, walking away. She didn't wipe the silent tears that soaked her cheeks when she did so. He didn't stop her.
But the concern in Alfred´s voice when he ran down the stairs to meet them did the trick.
.-.-.-.-.-
A/N: Thanks for reading and for your wonderful support. Comments, please?
GabrielTDO: Yes, FINALLY someone got my point! :P They have ALL done something wrong, so they have to just go over it! :P And I´m so glad you love it. Thank you!
Amberrose: Thanks so much for reading and commenting! And I´m glad you think I got Bruce and Clark right ^^ It means a lot! Well, Lois was hard to portray but I think the situation should irk her no end. Your husband suddenly having an illegitimate child? Go figure! And yes, Diana overreacted but that is just our Queen ^^