Title: Break My Stride

Disclaimer: I do not own DC Comics or any of their characters.

Un-betaed version. If you notice any mistakes, please email or pm me. Thanks.

Thanks for all the reviews and the support!

"Ain't nothing gonna break my stride, nobody gonna slow me down…" – Matthew Wilder

He had once tried reasoning through love, tried to escape the ties that now bound them so tightly together. But, she thought to herself, with a little perseverance on her part, she had overcome his fear steadily but surely, showing him what life could entail with her at his side, with her in his heart without trepidation, without fear. And they'd found this.

Granted it had taken the patience of Atlas on her part in order to finally capture the heart of the man known as the Dark Knight, but she felt that the ends justified the means, all in all. Feeling his hand tighten on her shoulder, she looked back at him, gifting him with a smile that gleamed luminously in the darkness that surrounded them. Outside the window lay the twinkling the stars, reminding her of that first date…

Flashback

Content with his administrations and with their togetherness in this moment, Diana continued softly, "The fire, it's so beautiful: the play of light and dark as they come together to create a thing of beauty. I wouldn't mind just sitting here and watching it for awhile."

And seconds later, when Alfred walked into the room to announce dinner, Bruce quietly and subtly shook his head at the butler, wanting a few more minutes alone with Diana in this setting, in this moment. The butler slowly backed out of the room and Bruce continued to play with Diana's hair as together, they watched the intense light of the flames and myriad of swiftly dancing shadows it created in silence, wrapped in each other and their togetherness.

The feel of the hard muscle pillowed beneath her cheek made Diana smile; the strength was somehow comforting without being overwhelming and she relished in the moment here with Bruce, idly relaxing for one in their lives and doing little more than enjoying their time together, a rare occurrence for each of them.

They each had their outside duties, she mused, their obligations to the world at large and to others. She had her work at the embassy, he his work at Wayne Enterprises and each of them were still involved regularly in the missions of the League. She didn't even begin to think about the countless hours that he spent in Gotham. In many ways, it seemed that the odds had been against them from the beginning – with Donna's death showing her the deepening feelings she possessed for the Dark Knight. But she knew that even though it had taken months to get them to this point, it was most definitely a step in the right direction.

Closing her eyes for a minute, she enjoyed the heat of the flames and of the body next to her, the feel of Bruce's hand stroking through her hair as they relaxed on the couch, tangled up in one another. She hadn't expected this, this ease of coming together, this gentle and emotional side of Bruce. She knew that there was a soft man buried beneath the hard, protective shell of the Bat, but Diana hadn't expected to find it tonight, in this setting, at this time.

Some surprises were sweet indeed.

Feeling his fingers tangling in the tips of her hair, she turned to him, eyes open, with a sweet smile on her face. And as their eyes met, fire dancing over their skin, they moved slowly closer together until finally their lips brushed one another, the kiss deepening until the fire roaring in the hearth was merely a spark in comparison with the blaze created between them. Tenderly, fingers, teeth, and tongues explored, all else forgotten as they came together, one hand gripped in her hair while she placed a hand on the nape of his neck, eagerly pulling him closer, their eagerness and the intimacy almost palpable.

After long minutes, their lips eased back and Bruce rested his head on the softness of Diana's hair, trying desperately to remember if he had ever had a kiss this passionately, this intense and yet so comfortable. Their coming together rivaled nothing he'd ever experienced before and something about that worried him, that perhaps this was the only woman capable of pulling him from the shadows and bringing him a bit of peace and happiness, things that had no part in his mission to protect Gotham.

The sounds of their heavy breath was soon punctured by the arrival of footsteps and a voice – Alfred's - signifying that dinner was prepared. As the butler left them to head back towards the kitchen, Bruce and Diana shared a glance of mutual frustration, lust, and a wish to return to the passion of just moments ago.

But as the smell wafting from the nearby rooms hit her nostrils, Diana smiled softly, deciding that perhaps dinner would relieve a little of the tension that now surrounded them, a tension that had nothing to do with her nerves and everything to do with her libido. Something about Bruce's kiss had left her body heated to a degree that she hadn't expected and even now hadn't managed to cool down from. Maybe dinner would enable her to discover more about this softer side of Bruce and she knew that Alfred would never serve a sub-par meal to a guest, so of course the food would be delicious.

Leaning forward, she pressed her lips quickly and gently to Bruce's before smiling softly at him, enjoying the slightly stunned look that still graced his face, incredibly pleased at having managed to surprise the unflappable man behind the mask. Perhaps if she kept him on his toes, she wouldn't have to work so hard to convince him of the rightness of this relationship.

Gracefully rising from the couch, she allowed him to take her arm and escort her down the hall to the dining room. It was intimately set with fat white candles, flickering in the muted lights, their glass holders refracting the lights and sending them spinning across the room. The tablecloth was a deep burgundy and the drapes were pulled back so that moonlight flooded through the windows in streams and they could see the canopy of stars in the night sky. Diana had wondered what Alfred would do to set the scene for tonight's dinner, and whether or not Bruce had told him of the developments in their relationship, the man had obviously set a lovely and dreamy scene perfect for budding lovers.

Taking a seat as Bruce pulled out her chair, she laughingly smiled up at him, pleased by his elegant manners and the beauty that surrounded her tonight, an ideal setting and one from which Bruce had little escape. She knew, of course, that eventually he leave her to go to Gotham, but she was resigned to that fate for the evening and accepting of it. But right now, he was all hers and she intended to take shameless advantage of it.

Sipping the red wine that filled her glass, she watched Alfred came into the room bearing a tray laden with two bowls of salad, crisp and delicious. After he placed her salad down in front of her, she laid a hand on his arm and murmured, "Everything looks perfect tonight, Alfred. Thank you."

He gave her a hint of a smile, but his faded blue eyes gleamed with his pleasure at her words and he knew that all the effort he had put into making this evening a dream come true for the princess were worth it. His heart also hoped that tonight spark his charge into making a romantic overture of his own, particularly since Alfred knew that no matter how Master Bruce denied it, he was most definitely interested in the Amazon princess and beauty known to the world as Wonder Woman.

Diana turned back to her salad as Alfred left the room, forking up endive and radicchio before looking at the man seated across the table from her. "You have a lovely home, Bruce," she murmured, biting into the greens.

"All Alfred, I assure you," he murmured after finishing his first bite of salad.

"I'm sure that's true," Diana said with a laugh. "I have a feeling that without that man, this place would be falling down around your ears."

"And who would cook?" he asked, a smile teasing his lips.

"Certainly not the great Bruce Wayne," she retorted with a blinding smile. "Seriously, Bruce, do you realize what a treasure you have in Alfred?"

"Everyday," Bruce returned. "There's no one quite like him," he continued, glancing over at the kitchen door as Alfred bustled into the room, hands empty and face bland. Coming to halt, the older man announced, "I'm sorry, sir, but it seems you're needed in Gotham. Some sort of emergency involving the Gotham Bank and the misses Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy."

Bruce immediately got to his feet, his mask of emotionless and vengeance falling over his face as he turned to Diana, his eyes blue and cold as he stated, "I have to go."

Out of the corner of her eye, Diana watched as Alfred disappeared into the kitchen, giving her a moment to say her goodbyes to Bruce in private.

"Would you like me to – "she began, but she was interrupted by Bruce's harsh words filling the room.

"I don't need your help."

"I wasn't offering help, Bruce," she said, reigning in her impatience at his attitude and stepping close to him, laying a gentle hand on his cheek. "I was going to ask if you wanted me to wait here so that we could continue our time together later, after your patrol has ended."

"Go home, Princess."

She looked up into those hard blue eyes and she couldn't see a speck of warmth in their depths. It was as if every part of Bruce, every sweet moment they'd shared tonight, had disappeared with the emergence of Batman. This man looked cruel and cutting, nothing like the man she'd spent the past hour with, kissing and cuddling, enjoying their time in the firelight, just the two of them. Obviously that time had passed.

"I'd like to try this again, Bruce," she whispered before laying her lips gently on his. To her surprise, she found herself suddenly kissing air and opened her eyes to see Bruce striding away from her, each step eating up the ground as if he couldn't get away from her fast enough.

Emergency bedamned, she thought. "Did I just miss something here, Bruce?" she asked with a bite of sarcasm, anger starting to thread into her voice as she watched his retreating figure. "I thought you were going to give us a chance." She crossed her arms across her chest and tried desperately to hold onto the warmth that had pervaded her early this evening. Suddenly, the setting, the Bruce of earlier, didn't seem romantic but only a dream, a wish that she had wanted, but apparently not enough to make it work, to make them work.

"There is no us, Princess," he bit out, turning smoothly on one heel to look at her, blue eyes cold and passionless. "There's the mission and that's all. There's no room in my life for anything else. Not you, not anyone else." His voice rang clearly through the room and she felt his words batter at her heart, at the emotions that had filled her soul tonight. As joy deflated in her heart, she realized that she had tried, but that tonight had served little purpose other than to hurt her and to reinforce Bruce's need to be only the Batman.

Suddenly, it seemed that there was little she could do to convince him otherwise. She could only be herself and love him and those things apparently weren't enough to allow her into his life. Keeping her face steady and her body language calm, she said softly, "Now I know."

They'd needed more than a chance, she decided, watching his proud figure as he retreated, never looking back, no hesitation in his body; they'd needed faith, trust, and maybe even a miracle.

Next chapter: La Tortura – Bruce and Dick have a discussion about regrets…

To Reviewer Lauren – A very romantic dinner and a very fun scene to write so far. I'm not sure if you're the only one who noticed or the only one who said anything, but you picked up my implications about the fire in this last chapter – how the shadows and light of the fire remind you of a certain couple. It should! So glad you like it and thanks!

To Reviewer T – Thanks! I really enjoyed writing the date. At least until the end. But it was fun to just do a little romance for once without anything else – no drama, no anything but the sweetness of their date. Good times. You only get to sleep in an extra half hour? I'd cry! Me and sleep get along pretty well whenever we get the chance. I'm trying to keep them in character as much as possible – keeping Diana strong and passionate, making sure that Bruce has trouble dealing with his emotions and is still the same Batman, maybe just a little softer around the edges. It's hard to do the big bad Bat on a date, you know? Thanks again!

To Reviewer Brittany Brown – Thanks! I'm so glad that you like it! It truly has become my favorite story to write and I'm not sure that I ever want it to end. But I also want them together. Ah, dilemmas…