Chapter 5: Hungry Eyes

After "This Little Piggy," Batman tries to decide between following his heart and listening to his mind. In this chapter, he'll explore Reason #2 for not getting involved with Diana – the fact that she's a princess from a society of immortal warriors and he's a rich kid with issues.

Disclaimer: Still don't own Justice League or Wondy or Bats. Most unfortunate.

Thanks to all of you who came up with ideas for songs! I really needed the help and you guys came up with some great ideas! This chapter title's all mine though. wink

My beta's computer is on the fritz, so this chapter was beta-ed by DWParsnip – thanks for all your help with this chapter. I really appreciated it!

"I've been meaning to tell you/I've got this feeling that won't subside/I look at you and I fantasize/You are mine tonight/Now I've got you in my sights/ With these hungry eyes/One look at you I can't disguise/I've got Hungry Eyes/I feel the magic between you and I"

-Eric Carmen, Dirty Dancing

"Our being teammates is what brought us together," he said, pulling her closer to his heart and warmth. "We have often partnered on missions and, regardless of our feelings for one another, we have been warriors and detectives first and emotionally involved second. I see that now."

And he could see that her eyes glittered with unshed tears as she continued to smile softly at him and it moved him, deep within, to see his brave warrior so emotionally wrought as he spilled his heart and his thoughts at her feet. So, he leaned over and as her eyes fluttered shut, he gently kissed the lids, thanking Diana's gods and whomever else that he'd finally opened his eyes to the treasure in front of him.

Admittedly, there had been so many obstacles in their way, at least to his mind, but with time and her patiently stubborn nature, they'd somehow managed to perhaps not overcome them, but at least get to this point with each other, the point where they were talking about things, not just flirtatious banter, and not simply just ignoring the issues and the spark that had been between them for some time. Taking stock of the situation for a moment, it still surprised him that they were sitting here, entwined, wrapped in each other and the moment, discussing and beginning a potential relationship in the dimness of her room on the Watchtower. She had turned the lights on low as she had headed out the door, coming upon him in the hallway, and now the room was still in moderate darkness, lit only by the stars from outside the window of her room and the soft overhead fixture.

It seemed fitting though, that blend between romance and practicality, especially for them. To the eyes of others, they would always be seen as a contradiction in terms, the naive princess and the analytical knight, the immortal warrior who wanted to help the world and the man who tried to fill the void in his hometown, to step into the fray and bring his city back from the brink of despair and desperation. The world saw Wonder Woman as a light and a beacon of the goodness in this world while Batman was merely a mysterious figure cloaked in the darkness and shadows. But, somehow, that blend of their contradictions seemed to suit them, and ultimately, even strengthen them.

Diana, her eyes still filled with the watery mixture of tears and happiness, placed her head on Bruce's shoulder, marveling at the heat and hardness of the muscles that run under her cheek, particularly knowing the lengths that he had to go to in order to maintain the physique, so vital to his role as Batman and his presence in Gotham. Closing her eyes and enjoying the moment, the magic that lay between them in the quietness of her quarters, was, right now, tantamount to perfection, even though she knew it couldn't last. Tomorrow would bring about another mission, another complication to this budding relationship, but right now, tonight was all that mattered. Just the fact that he had forsaken Gotham today, putting it in the charge of others as she had learned earlier from Zatanna, had showed her how deep the feelings ran between her and the Dark Knight.

He had saved her tonight by sacrificing his dignity, his almost mythical status amidst the world, and for that, she could be no less than grateful, no more than satisfied if that had helped to bring about this moment. He didn't seem particularly upset at the humiliation he had suffered at Circe's hands, as if for once not analyzing the situation until he both justified and organized it in his mind. Still, she was loathe to mention it, instead taking comfort and solace in his arms and, Hera help her, praising Circe for bringing this man to her, for opening his eyes to the possibilities that lay between them and allowing him to finally take that step that had led him here, to right now.

She could feel the heat of his skin pressed against her hair as she curled into the pocket between his neck and shoulder, feeling that it had been tailor-made to suit her; even with her height, she fit perfectly, absorbing his warmth and truly relaxing for the first time in days. The recent span of time had been mission after mission, never allowing her a moment of peace or respite and if this was her reward, then she praised the gods for their thoughtfulness and foresight.

A sigh of happiness escaped her as she felt the cheek that was pillowed against her head rub gently against the wet ebony strands. Earlier she had been ready to leave the room in search of a snack and now she couldn't for the life of her focus on her stomach when so much was filling her heart. Besides, she wouldn't be surprised if he carried something in his utility belt if she truly grew hungry enough to go in search of food.

Her previous thoughts of the gods allowed a wayward question to enter her mind, and loathe to interrupt the moment, she instead tried to keep her words to herself. Bruce had mentioned earlier that her immortality was a burden in their relationship, that it was one of the things that he kept them separated, worlds apart from becoming the couple they appeared to be now. Her immortality was one of those things that she had never really considered before he had brought it up as a potential issue; she had always been immortal, grown up around women who were the same, therefore, it was simply part of the everyday and the ordinary.

She was immortal, after all, only in one sense of the word. She could be killed, contrary to some popular beliefs, so it wasn't exactly a foolproof kind of immortality, more of an agelessness she'd been granted by the gods. Diana still knew though, that with each mission, each step into the world of the superhero, it could be her last. That thought had never frightened or worried her – life did not end with death, it was simply a part of the eternal immortality that everyone received. If she died, in combat or otherwise, she would be granted entry to the Elysian Fields and that had always served to, not comfort, but to satisfy her. She would be granted a warrior's boon for her death and besides, it wasn't as if she could turn her back on Earth and the problems the ordinary citizens were forced to face, whether thanks to natural disasters (as they were called here) or thanks to the evil handiwork of others in this sphere, like Darkseid or Vandal Savage.

She had been born a warrior and without using her god-given talents, what would she have done, where would she be now. She couldn't regret the decisions that had led her out into Man's World, particularly when they lead to the protection of others and the fulfillment of the dream to be loved by another.

Although a young girl's dreams certainly had changed over the millennia – never would she have imagined that she'd be in a space tower full of superheroes, sitting on the lap of a man dressed in a Batman costume. Her imagination had never been that vivid. It seemed though that dreams often seemed to be what one could make of them and she had made this one into what she not only wanted, but needed.

And for that, Hera be praised.

Almost timidly, afraid to spoil the moment, she asked from the warmth of her nook in his body, "What about your second reason?"

"Hmmm?" he murmured, not even lifting his head from its position atop hers.

"My immortality? Your issues?" she stated quietly, needing to hear how he had overcome those particular reasons for the blockade of their relationship.

"As to the issues," he murmured just loud enough for her to hear, "they've yet to stop you from wanting this, wanting us."

"Do you consider your life as Batman the issue?"

"In part," he answered softly. "That side of me, the vigilante, the protector, is always going to be necessary for me to function. I can't give it up."

His voice had hardened slightly and Diana moved quickly to soothe him, adding, "I understand that, Bruce. I couldn't give up being Wonder Woman easily either." She paused for a moment. "All those people…" she trailed off.

"Gotham is a part of me," he murmured. "My home, where my…"

Diana knew that he had been thinking about his parents and let the comment slide, let the room lapse again into that comfortable silence as they sat together, entwined and in love.

"It's more than Batman," Bruce finally stated into the quietness, his voice soft but carrying. "It's me, my personality, the darkness that consumes me to the exclusion of all else."

"Bruce," Diana interrupted, "that's not darkness." Sitting up, she took his face in her hands, forcing his eyes to look into her. For a second, they stared hungrily at one another, hungry for the feelings and emotions that only the other could provide in this instant. Blue met blue before Diana continued, "You're a hero of the night, not the darkness. You are a harbinger of light, the candle that burns when all other hope is extinguished. You simply see it as darkness because you can't see what I can, what the rest of us can: that you are a light for Gotham. Do not disrespect yourself by thinking of what you do, of you, as less than that."

He closed his eyes for a moment, overwhelmed by her words, allowing them to seep into the depths of his soul as he pulled her in closer for a hungry embrace, so glad that this woman had entered his life and refused to take no for an answer with all the stubbornness in her. Mine, he thought to himself, taking her lips with his and tasting on them the fantasy and the reality that was Diana, that was this woman that he loved, even if he hadn't managed to bring the words to his lips just yet.

Drawing back after several long minutes, they stared at one another, eyes clouded with passion, arms filled with one another as they each contemplated how things had changed between them, so rapidly and yet over such duration, so many months of wanting and wishing without fulfillment.

"My immortality is not something that should hinder this love that the gods have granted us, Bruce," Diana said softly but firmly, placing her hands around his neck and returning to her original position between neck and shoulder, her drying hair sweeping over his shoulder and streaming down his back.

"I dislike…magic…" he murmured.

"It's not magic, Bruce, nor is it a burden. It is a gift. Gifts do not come without a price, without some cost. The cost to me may be watching you die, may be watching all those around me pass on with the years as I remain young and vital."

The thought hurt her heart, knowing that her friends would eventually leave her, that she could truly be alone in this world, without this family that she had made in the Justice League. She pushed aside those feelings though and continued, "The cost may be going out tomorrow with the confidence that I have many years in front of me only to fall in battle. The cost may be losing my immortality if I dishonor or disrespect the gods in some way."

Pressing her lips to his neck, she felt him shudder as she added, "It is neither a certainty nor an impediment to what lies between us. It simply is."

They sat in silence for a few moments as he absorbed her words, as he understood all that she was trying to tell him. Yes, she was immortal, but she was also a woman, an often tender hearted, but ruthlessly stubborn and practical woman who had been granted this gift and had to face it in her own way, on her own terms. It would always be there between them, but so would so many other things that would overshadow her lack of aging. It was hard to press the issue knowing that ultimately, it was her decision to watch him grow old and die, and her willingness to shoulder that burden. It wasn't a certainty.

And, pressing his lips to the top of her head, feeling the damp silk beneath his lips, he realized that nothing was. Sometimes you couldn't control all the variables and sometimes, life simply played out itself regardless of where you tried to lead it. Not exactly fate or divine intervention, but simply a way of directing you into doing what was right, what was necessary, regardless of what was good or easy.

That direction had led him here, to this room right now, and while he deeply regretted the first step that had forced him along this path, the loss of his parents, he knew that he couldn't back the clock and maybe, just maybe, his past had given him his future and alongside the ever present sense of loss was contentment.

Next chapter – Untitled – Batman and Wonder Woman discuss Reason #3…

Good reasoning from the two about Reason #2 or not?

Again, if any of you have anything you'd like to see in this story, let me know! A few of you have already given me some great suggestions and I'm going to try to incorporate them, so thanks BuffySMG18, MysticWeaver, T, Lavender Gaia, and SiriusLover4eva! I'll see what I can do.

To reviewer LadySerenityRain2233 – I love Jim Brickman! My husband and I's "song" is a Jim Brickman song called "Love of my Life," so I'll definitely have to check out our cd collection and see if the song is on there. I appreciate the help and thanks for the offer. If I need any help, I'll definitely take you up on it. And you write poetry? That's great, you should share it!

To reviewer Lauren – I went online and translated the lyrics that you sent me and they look pretty good, very fitting for the story. I'm glad that you like the chapter and thanks!

To reviewer ButterflyV – Thanks for the songs – I'll check them out whenever I get the chance, which, hopefully will be soon. Glad you liked it and I'll try and keep it going!

To reviewer MysticWeaver – Great name. Don't worry about the song titles. So many people have come up with great ones! And I promise you that I will get to the point where he'll return the "I love you's" – but I have no idea when. You'll just have to keep reading!

To reviewer T – Thanks for the help! Your house came up with some great songs. I can't believe I hadn't thought of Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes – I know I have it around here somewhere. That's a great one and I'll definitely use it.