Interrupted

Gotham Heights

"Aren't you going to say anything, Kal?"

Nervousness and maybe a little fear, two more emotions she wasn't used to.

"I'd prefer you kiss me to hitting me, Diana."

"Don't be funny."

For the second time since they'd been living together he acted without over-thinking things. He leaned in and kissed her. It was meant as just a small, reassuring kiss to let her know everything was okay. His eyes gazed over her face taking in just how extraordinarily beautiful she was. The second kiss had a different meaning and received a suitable response. He started to pull back, but she wasn't finished. The third and fourth kiss she initiated, but he didn't resist.

"For someone new at this, you're very good."

"Shut up and kiss me, Kal."

He obliged. She shifted position and now was straddling his lap. His hands skimmed down her back, holding her close. His senses, both super and otherwise, were on overload. She was feeling a need unlike anything she'd felt before. His arousal was apparent even through the layers of clothing. She grounded herself down on it, wanting to get closer. Their lips devoured each other.

His shirt and tie were in the way. Yanking the tie, there was a moment where she almost strangling him before it gave and snapped. Taking the two sides of his shirt in her fingers, she ripped it open.

'Hey, that was a new shirt."

"I'll buy you another one."

The shoulder straps of her dress slipped down, giving him a tantalizing hint of her upper body. Her excitement or more accurately, her twin points of excitement, were the only things stopping it from slipping to her waist.

"I want…"

The doorbell rang and cut her off. They broke their embrace for a moment.

"I should answer that."

"Maybe they'll go away if you don't, Kal."

"It might be important."

"It might not be."

"Diana."

"Kal."

He tried to shift her off his lap. She was reluctant to move and he had to lift her up and set her down next to him. Her expression made it clear she was not happy about this development. He looked at her for just a moment, trying to control the desire threatening to overwhelm him. It took a long moment. With a sigh, he stood up and adjusted his clothes. He stood there for a moment, bent over trying to catch his breath. He looked at her again. She shifted forward, her dress slipping down just a bit more. She stared at him, a wanton smile on her lips.

"Don't look at me like that, please."

"Don't you like it?'

Her voice was playful, teasing and sexy.

"You are so going to get me in trouble."

"I won't tell, if you don't."

"I'm going to answer the door now."

She gave a displeased huff and sat back, crossing her arms in front of her. Shaking his head, he slowly walked to the front door. He took a couple of deep breaths, trying to get himself under control before opening the door.

"Hi Clark!"

LuAnn, Dottie and Jenny were standing there smiling at him.

"Um, ah, hi."

The three immediately noticed his ripped shirt.

"Did we interrupt something,' LuAnn asked.

"Do you have any brownies,' Jenny added.

"Ah, no and sorry, no brownies,' he replied, pulling the sides of his jacket closed.

"Cookie dough, anything,' Jenny asked.

"I don't so,' he answered.

"We just wanted to stop over to let you know that someone thought they saw an intruder go into your house while you were gone,' LuAnn said with a big smile.

"Our house?"

"Yes, a woman,' Dottie said.

"A giant woman,' Jenny added. "All in black and metal."

"A giant woman in black and metal,' he repeated.

"Yes, ten, seven, um, six and a half feet tall,' Jenny explained.

"There's no one here like that now,' he replied. It wasn't really a lie; she was up on the station.

"So since you're up, can we come in for awhile,' LuAnn asked. She stepped closer, expecting him to move. He didn't.

"It's really getting late and we were just about to turn in,' he offered. "I appreciate the heads up on the giant woman, though."

They could see he wasn't going to let them in, so they reluctantly took a step back.

"Well, if you're turning in, I guess we can stop another time,' LuAnn said.

"Sure."

"Well, good night, Clark."

"Good night, LuAnn, Dottie, Jenny."

"Do you have any cookies? Fudge? Something,' Jenny asked.

"No, sorry."

"Come on, honey, I've got some cake over at my house,' Dottie offered. The three women waved at Clark as they walked down the sidewalk. He closed the front door and leaned his head against it. Taking a deep breath he turned and walked back into the living room. She was standing waiting for him. She was also smiling.

"I'm glad you got rid of them."

"I think we should talk, Diana."

"I was hoping we would,' she said, moving towards him. He stopped her, gently but firmly. He moved the fallen dress strap back up onto her shoulder.

"Talk, Diana, actually talk."

She nodded.

"I guess we could do that too."

They moved back into the living room and she sat on the couch. He started to, but the memory of only a few moments ago came rushing back. He moved over and sat on one of the chairs.

"You're not going to sit with me on the couch?"

"No."

"Well that seems more cramped, but I'll give it a try."

She started to get up, but he raised his hand to stop her.

"No, no, you stay there, please. Four feet, we are going back to that, okay? I want to talk, Diana, just talk this time."

"You didn't seem to mind just a minute ago."

"I know, but we didn't do a lot of talking, either."

She smiled.

"Yes, I liked that. You seemed like you liked it too."

He nodded.

"Yeah, I did. You definitely have a major effect on me.'

Her smile got bigger.

"I know, I could feel it against me."

"I didn't mean that,' he quickly replied. "Look, I think we need to talk about this."

"All right, but do we have to sit so far apart, Kal?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Cause if we sit any closer, I'm not sure how much talking we'd do, Diana."

She moved a little closer.

"It was talking in a different way, Kal, like sign language, or body language."

He shifted back in his chair away from her.

"Any more of that kind of talking and there would have been an exclamation point."

She moved a little closer and smiled.

"I think I'd like to see that."

"Not tonight and move back over to the middle, please."

Her smile slipped a little bit.

"It's my couch, I can sit anywhere I want."

He sighed and then moved to another chair, putting the coffee table in between them. She didn't like this move at all.

'You act like I'm contagious, Kal or you're afraid of me."

"In a way I am, Diana."

"You weren't a moment ago."

"Things got, um, out of hand a moment ago,' he offered.

"Out of hand? So are you saying you don't want to make love with me, Kal?"

He actually winced at this.

"I know you like being direct, but there's a line, Diana."

She continued to stare at him, waiting for an answer.

"Yes or no, Kal?"

"It's complicated, Diana, you know that."

"Would it help if I said I want to with you?"

"Not really."

Now she was confused. Was he saying he didn't have those feelings for her? He could see this and didn't want her to get the wrong idea.

"Diana, the easy answer is yes, I want to very much.'

She smiled and started to stand up. He held up his hand and continued.

"But-But and there's a big one coming, I can't. Well, can't isn't the right word, of course I can, I'm a guy. What I mean is I don't think we should."

She was confused again.

"Why?"

"Could you sit down again, please? You make me nervous standing like that."

She didn't want to, but reluctantly sat back down. She did lean forward, cutting into his four feet.

"Why shouldn't we, Kal?"

There was a war going on inside of him. Every time he looked at her, a primitive part of him was practically shouted, 'Take Her, You Fool, Take Her! She Wants You Too!' His higher brain functions were struggling with it too, but kept reminding him of the real situation. He ran his hand through his hair and then haphazardly gestured around them.

"Cause of all this.'

She looked around them and only saw the living room.

"You don't like the house? I guess we could go outside."

She started to get up again, but he waved for her to sit down.

"No, no, that's not what I mean, Diana."

"Than what, Kal?"

"This, this is all an illusion, Diana, the house, the marriage, everything. It's not real."

"I've told you before, Kal, we are married and it's real. I don't know why you are having such a hard time with that."

He looked at her and there was sadness around his eyes.

"We'll put that to the side for a moment. Just answer me this, Diana, is all this over in two weeks?"

That was the part she didn't like to think about. The smile left her face and he felt even worse for being the cause of it. She moved back just a little, as she whispered her reply.

"Yes it is."

"Than it's not real, Diana."

She looked at him, not wanting to accept this.

"Are you saying our feelings aren't real too, Kal?"

"No."

"Than what?"

"This situation, us living together, pretending to be husband and wife has affected both of us, Diana. I think we're both guilty of forgetting that it's because of a bet this situation occurred. I have found myself thinking of you as my wife and maybe even getting a little jealous when I see you talking to other men."

A small smile came back to her lips.

"You have?"

"A little and I think we both can agree you've been a little jealous of me talking to other women."

"Not talking, flirting, Kal."

Not wanting to get her angry again, he quickly agreed.

"Okay, flirting, but what I'm saying is I think this situation of us living together is the cause of that. Think about it, Diana, before we moved in, we'd never even been on a date. It feels like we've skipped over some rather important steps. We went right to being married and started acting like it. We're both guilty of forgetting this isn't real."

What he was saying did have a ring of truth to her, but she didn't like it. The feelings she was experiencing didn't feel fake.

"Is it all fake for you, Kal?"

"No, but the parts that are, are the reason we can't."

"So you are more than attracted to me?"

The words 'in love with me' were right on the tip of her tongue, but she was too afraid of him saying 'no' to say them out loud.

"Yes, Diana, I am, but there's also other issues that we have to consider."

His admission sent a thrill through her. She didn't care what other issues he brought up, she now knew the attraction was mutual.

"What issues, Kal?"

"Bruce."

"What-What about him?"

"This started because you were interested in him, Diana. Have your feelings changed so much in two weeks?"

So that was it, she thought. He felt honor bond by his friendship with Bruce. She should have realized it right away. She was just about to answer, when she stopped and really thought about his question. What about Bruce?

"Diana?"

"If you're asking do I still find him attractive, then yes, Kal, I do. My feelings have changed though. You talk about this being the illusion, but I'm starting to realize perhaps what I was imagining with Bruce is the real illusion."

This surprised him.

"How so?"

"He seems interested, but every time I've tried to get closer he pushes me away. I didn't want to believe him, but his actions keep telling me the same thing. I know he has issues with intimacy, not just with me but everyone. I've been realizing that I have issues too. This was all new to me when I came to the Man's World, so I had no experience with any of it. I guess the romantic side of me wanted to believe I was just like any other woman, but I'm not, Kal."

"Meaning?"

"I'm almost as strong as you are, so I have to face that I'm going to have the same issues you do with a normal person. The way I pulled your tie off earlier might have strangled a normal man."

"It was a little unpleasant for me too."

"Shut up, Kal and stop trying to be funny. What I'm trying to say is that I face the same issues you do. I'm not going to age, while a normal man would. There's also the fact that one slip and I could crush him by accident."

Clark winced and closed his legs. Diana smiled at this.

"Yes, crush that, Kal."

A shudder went through him at the very thought.

"I got it."

Diana gave a little laugh at this.

"Why do all men make that face at even the mention of crushing that?"

"It's kind of an important part for us, Diana, really important."

"If you say so."

"Could we not talk about crushing it, please?"

Diana rolled her eyes as his reaction.

"I was just making a point, Kal. I could just as easily crush a normal man's hand if I gave it a squeeze and didn't think about how much strength I was using. The point is I always have to be in control with just about everyone, except you, Kal."

He dipped his head, as he thought he understood what she was saying.

"So you're just attracted to me because I'm the only one around that you don't have to worry about physically hurting, is that it?"

She shook her head, realizing he'd jumped to the wrong conclusion.

"No, Kal, that's not why I'm attracted to you at all. Though it does seem like a nice added bonus!'

She started to stand up, smiling lustfully at him. Again he raised his hand to stop her.

"Four feet, Diana, we're not done talking just yet."

She grumbled, but sat back down.

"Now you're going to push me away? Am I so hideous that men want nothing to do with me?"

He had to smile at this.

"Far from it, Princess. I told you at the theater you were the most beautiful woman there and I meant it."

"I'm going to let the Princess comment go this time. But you still insist on me being four feet away from you."

He gave her a bigger smile now.

"Any closer and I have trouble thinking, Diana. You don't realize the effect you have on me."

She gave him a look and sat back with her arms crossed.

"I thought I did earlier, but it seems to have disappeared.'

He laughed out loud now.

"I'd have to see a doctor if it didn't."

She gave him a snide look.

"Oh, you're very funny."

He continued to smile at her, thinking she looked even more beautiful when she was pouting. He knew her well enough now, not to mention she was or he'd get hit. Knowing she was attracted to him, more than attracted to him sent a bolt of joy throughout his body. He wanted to fling the coffee table out of the way and take her right then, but there was still reality to deal with. He kept reminding himself this was all make believe and that it wasn't real. Feelings and emotions were intensified by the situations

The truth was he was still a little afraid. If you've had your heart broken, it never fully leaves you. As much as you want to rush in, your feet hesitate for a moment. It doesn't mean you're any less in love now, but it makes you a little more cautious. For a person experiencing it for the first time, it seems like the moment will never end. For someone that's had his or her heart broken, there is always the memory that it might.

It's like an office romance. The two of you are thrown together for hours everyday. You share the office politics and gossip. It seems you both have the same interests and you grow closer. Then one of you gets another job. You don't see each other everyday. You find yourself not as interested in the gossip from the old job. The people you talk about at your new job, they don't know and aren't really that interested in. Suddenly you don't seem to have as much in common as you both thought. You see even less of each other. Someone at your new job catches your interested. The same thing happens at your old job to them.

Both of you wonder was it just the situation that brought you together?

Clark also remembered he'd given a promise.

"Diana?'

She didn't reply.

"Diana?"

"What?"

"We both seem to be forgetting I gave a promise to your mother."

She uncrossed her arms and looked at him.

"Meaning?"

"She trusted me to keep my word. I want, no, that's not right, I'm going to make sure I keep it."

She slowly nodded. That he kept his word was always one of the things she liked about him, but in this case, though, not so much.

"I understand, but can I ask a question, Kal?"

"I guess."

"What if you hadn't given your word?"

It was his turn to groan. He dropped his head into his hand and rubbed just about his eyebrows.

"I don't think it would do either of us any good to think about that."

Now she was very interested.

"Why?"

"Diana, come on, don't torture me like this."

She flashed him a dazzling smile.

"Does it mean your four feet rule wouldn't apply anymore?'

He shook his head and stood up.

"I'm not talking about this. It's been a long night and I've still got to deal with Lashina tomorrow. I'm going to bed."

Her smiled slipped a little at the mention of Lashina.

"I don't want to talk about her right now, Kal.'

"I know what you want to talk about and I'm not having that conversation with you, Diana. Good night."

He started for the stairs and she was right behind him. He stopped and she bumped into him.

"Where are you going?"

She gave him a teasingly smile this time.

"I thought I'd turn in too, Kal."

"Diana, I'm keeping my promise. Please, don't make this difficult for me."

She gave him her most innocent expression.

"Of course not, Kal."

He was a little dubious, but decided to let it go.

"Thank you."

"Your welcome."

He shook his head and started up the stairs again. She was right in step with him.

"So you were jealous of me talking to other men, Kal? Who?'

'I'm not talking about any of that with you, Diana."

"Was it Bruce? It had to be, didn't it?"

He stopped halfway up the steps and turned to her. She was standing on the same step, very close to him. He glanced down at her feet and then up at her eyes. He gave her a look as if to say, too close, please. She stepped a little bit away.

"So?'

"All right, yes it was Bruce, but others too, okay?"

"What others?"

"Where do I start? The guys constantly hitting on you at the bar or the market or the neighbors or just about every guy that sees you."

She had a big smile on her face at this. He gave her a little, so he had to take some of it back. He started up the stairs, but continued talking.

"Of course, I'm not nearly as bad as you are. I mean the way you acted about me harmlessly flirting with Shayera, Dinah and Zatanna, was a little frightening."

"I was only a little jealous, Kal!"

He didn't turn, but chuckled a little.

"Uh-huh."

She protested, not wanting to admit just how jealous she was.

"I wasn't! If you hadn't been shamelessly flirting with them, I wouldn't have reacted like that!"

"Uh-huh, good night, Diana."

As they entered their bedroom, she realized he'd sidetracked the conversation. He took his pajamas and quickly left the room. She wanted to go after him, but decided to wait. A quick change into her nightgown she was sitting on top of the bed when he walked back in. He groaned at the sight of her and she liked this reaction. He saw the smile on her face and was a little uneasy of what it might mean.

She waited patiently until he was in bed and under the covers. He just closed his eyes when she spoke.

"Kal?"

"Yeah?"

"I wouldn't want you to break your promise, I hope you know that."

"Thank you, I appreciate it, Diana."

He gave her a smile and she returned it.

"I know it means we can't, well, you know, but does it mean we can't do anything?"

She had his full attention now and he moved up in the bed and rested his back against the headboard. Almost instinctively he pulled the covers up to his chin.

"What-What do you mean?"

She moved closer.

"Can we kiss?"

"Just kiss?"

She nodded and then explained.

"Earlier you said we hadn't even been on a date, Kal. I was thinking that isn't this, us living together sort of like a first date? Don't people on dates kiss?"

He was very uneasy about where this was going.

"Yeah, I guess."

"So could we kiss without breaking your promise?"

"Just kiss?"

"Yes."

"What would your mother think about that, Diana?"

"I'm positive that wasn't what she was worried about, Kal."

She knew her mother better than he did, he had to admit.

"I guess if you think she wouldn't consider that breaking my promise, it would be all right."

"Good."

She leaned in and gave him a smoldering, passionate kiss that took his breath away. She held his gaze when it ended for a extra moment and then glanced down and smiled.

"It disappears and now it reappears. Good night, Kal."

She smiled happily as she climbed under the covers and turned off the light. He sighed, knowing it was going to be a long while before he could even think of getting any sleep.