Summary: (BM/WW Wedding-fic) When Batman finally gathers the courage to ask Wonder Woman to marry him, the Dark Knight gets more than he bargained for when the entire League decided to pitch in and help plan their impending nuptials – contains fluff, random humour, a temperamental Amazon princess, drunken bachelor-party escapades, and various attempts on Superman's life!
A/N: Um, wow… A lot of you guys are expecting Batman to get beaten up by a satellite full of lady-heroes, aren't you? Uhh… about that…
This might not be what you were anticipating, however what it lacks in senseless violence and bloodshed, I would think it makes up for in WonderBats fluff (and there will be fluff – my inner girly-girl has needs dammit‼). Also, this chapter is pretty short in comparison to the others, but, I like this way and it came easy enough to write – the action comes in the next chapter.
So romance now, ass-kicking later xP
[CHAPTER EDITED] [2013/O9/27] (Dear god… the typos… so many typos… note to self; check chapter first before publishing over internet…)
Disclaimer: Mmm… nope, I still don't own these characters… nor Disneyland, nor the moon… nor anything too bright or generally too awesome (I was lazy, so I reused an old disclaimer – sue me).
Bridezillas & Kryptonite
09.
~Chapter Nine~
Heart-to-Hearts
Bruce flat-out ignored Oliver's blatant staring as he stepped out of the teleporter – he couldn't exactly blame him per say, if he looked half as bad as what he felt, and were he in the archer's shoes, he'd have probably stared too.
However, at that specific point in time, he just didn't give a damn about what anybody thought right now – he was tired, he was irritable, and he most definitely was not in the mood for games.
"Wow…" Ollie said, whistling lowly. "Bruce, you look like crap."
Bruce just barely managed not to roll his eyes. "Where is she, Oliver?" he asked, not even bothering to sound too annoyed with him.
"Diana? She's in her room on the Residential wing of the station," the Emerald Archer replied before hesitating. "But, uh, are you sure you want to go through with this?"
"I'm not leaving until I see her." Bruce said as he made his way to the door.
Ollie cut him off halfway. "Okay, okay!" he said, holding up his hands. "I get it, but before you do anything, hear me out, first."
Bruce brushed passed him and started walking. "What is it?" he asked impatiently.
Ollie walked next to him, matching his pace. "Shay's been looking for you."
It must have been the lack of sleep, because Bruce just stared incomprehensibly at him out of the corner of his eye.
"…So?"
"So, she wants to talk to you – which, by the by, is probably just another way of saying she's gonna bash the living crap out of you if you show your face. Hell, I'm risking my head just telling you this."
"Why would you-" he began.
"You don't understand the severity of your screw-up and how it effects the rest of us, do you?" Ollie deadpanned.
Bruce stopped for a moment, turned his head and raised an eyebrow.
"We're all suffering, man. Every single guy on this station. It's like, everyone with a X-chromosome just went nuts. They made Captain Marvel cry at lunch today – Billy made the mistake of asking Beatriz something and she totally flipped out on him, in Portuguese. I was scared out of my mind – the poor kid never knew what hit him."
Bruce almost face-palmed. "Oh god…" he groaned.
"Some of the guys who haven't left already are either hiding out in the Hanger or staying out of sight as much as they can – Atom was supposed to have Transporter duty with me, I haven't seen him since this whole mess started. He's probably must shrunk himself down to a subatomic level or something, and let me tell you, it's the best thing that he could have done."
"This is ridiculous." Bruce muttered, shaking his head.
"Tell me about it, but, oh… uh, and Wally's pretty pissed at you too, you know."
Out of all the things that he'd heard so far, that single sentence wasn't at all what he had been expecting. At all.
"Wally." Bruce repeated.
Ollie nodded. "He's gone over to the dark side. I didn't hear the whole story, but apparently, he was the first to talk to Diana when she got on-board. She was a total mess, broke down right there in front of him."
Hearing that about Diana, an awful, sour taste entered Bruce's mouth as his heart sank to the deepest pit of his stomach.
His fists clenched. "Dammit…"
"If you're planning on fixing this, Bruce, I'd suggest you do it, soon."
Bruce snorted lightly at the irony. He was being preached by Oliver Queen, and the truly sad thing was, the archer happened to be right too.
Something obviously had gone terribly, horribly wrong in his universe.
He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "This whole thing's a mess…"
"No kidding." Ollie piped in.
Bruce actually did roll his eyes this time.
"But, hey, no worries," Ollie said, clapping him on the back. "You've been through worse, right?"
Then, all of a sudden, "Bruce Wayne!"
The two men's heads snapped to where the angry voice was coming from.
Ollie visibly cringing at the sight of Black Canary and Huntress marching towards them. "Of course," he allowed, "I have been wrong before."
Both women looked like they could quite possibly rip Bruce in half, and were it any lesser man, the fierce expressions on their faces would have been enough to send him running as fast as humanly possible in the opposite direction. But, since he was in fact still Batman, Bruce held his ground and kept his face as straight as possible when Dinah walked up to him.
"You've got some nerve!" she began, her blue eyes fierce.
"Now, Pretty-Bird," Ollie tried to reason hastily, but was cut off by Helena who glared at him and poked him in the chest.
"Don't you 'Pretty-Bird' her, arrow-boy," the purple-clad heroine snapped. "Stay out of this."
Ollie gulped subtly and took a small step back from Helena, shooting Bruce an apologetic, 'hey-at-least-I-tried' look.
"Dinah, step aside," Bruce said calmly.
The blonde crossed her arms over her chest. "I'd like to see you make me." She challenged.
He sighed again. He could have, really, he was capable of it, sure, but on top of his fatigue, there was no doubt in his mind that Helena wouldn't hesitate to jump in and would quite possibly have wiped the floor with his sorry behind.
So, instead, he went for a different approach.
"Dinah," he said again, his voice having an subtle edge of desperation in it, "Please."
Helena and Ollie stared at him in disbelieve as Dinah's face shifted from stunned to uncertain, her expression eventually softening slightly.
"You're an idiot," she said matter-of-factly.
The corners of Bruce's lips tugged up in a humourless half-smile. "So I've been told."
"You better make this right, Wayne…" She said, a threat underlining her words as she stepped aside.
Bruce nodded once. "That's why I'm here."
As he walked over to the residential wing of the station, he ignored the looks he received and tuned out what was being said about him, his body moving as if on auto-pilot as he mulled over what he was going to say.
Eventually, he arrived in the hallway where he found Flash and Hawkgirl were standing outside of Diana's door, talking to each other until Wally stopped midsentence and actually glared at him – which was an oddly surreal experience.
When Shayera saw him, her eyes narrowed dangerously and she squared her shoulders as she approached him, furious beyond all reasonable belief and it was remarkable how much the Thanagarian resembled a sabre-toothed tiger at that very moment – it quite intimidating even by Bruce's standards.
For a second, he thought Shayera was about to reach for her mace when she stopped in front of him, until her hand came up empty and-
SMACK!
He felt his head turn sideways forcibly at the impact of the blow. His cheek stinging and throbbing, Bruce clenched his jaw and he shut his eyes for several seconds. In case it wasn't clear, getting back-handed by a woman ten times stronger than yourself did in fact hurt.
"What the HELL is wrong with you!" Shayera demanded.
When he turned his head back and opened his eyes again, he stared at her with a blank expression.
Meanwhile, in her room, Diana woke up at the sound of a commotion. She'd only just managed to doze off.
Sitting up, she listened and could hear Shayera's voice – not that she normally kept it down, but it was clear that she was shouting.
Frowning, Diana stood up and walked over to the sliding door, surprised to find that a small crowd of heroes had now gathered in the hallway.
"Di," Wally said, appearing next to her.
"Wally, what's going on?" she asked.
The speedster didn't answer as he looked ahead and frowned. When Diana looked to see why that was, her heart stuttered for a moment.
Her throat constricted when she saw he actually looked worse off than she did – it seemed unreal, but he was there, shoulders sagging slightly from fatigue, hair standing up in odd angles and in serious need of a shave, and getting shouted at by an angry Hawkgirl without so much as batting an eyelash.
"Bruce," she spoke without thinking.
A few of the onlookers parted out of the way, and when he looked at her, Bruce's dark blue eyes lit up before his mouth fell into a straight, concerned line – admittedly, she didn't exactly look her best at the moment either, and she had changed out of her armour earlier and into a pair of black sweatpants and a simple white tank-top.
"What are you doing here?" she asked after finding her voice again.
"I need to talk to you," he said, taking a step closer but was blocked by Shayera.
"And what if she doesn't want to talk to you?" the Thanagarian growled.
For a moment, Bruce's weary expression momentarily gave way to annoyance and he glared at her half-heartedly. "I'd say it's her decision."
At that point, Wally had moved so that he was standing a little in front of Diana, he too giving Bruce an angry look of his own, very much acting like the protective little brother she never knew she had.
Diana then reached out and lightly tugged at the speedster's hand. "Wally, it'll be alright," she assured before walking towards Shayera and put her hand on the redhead's shoulder. "Shayera, he's right, it is my decision."
Shayera's scowl lessened when she turned her head towards Diana.
"I'll be fine." Diana said quietly.
Reluctantly, Shayera nodded and with a final hard stare directed straight at Bruce, she backed away and went to stand next to Wally.
"We'll talk in my room." Diana said.
Bruce nodded once and followed her in.
When the doors slide shut, Bruce turned to the small panel next to it, and entered the locking code as an extra safety measure.
There was a beep and finally a clicking noise. Letting out a sigh, he ran his fingers through his hair before turning back. Diana was standing there, looking at the floor and hugging herself.
There was a tense silence for a few moments.
"Hi…" he said.
Much to his relief, the corners of Diana's lips tugged up and she looked up at him.
"Hi."
He was about to smile back before something stopped him and he shook his head to himself.
"I'm… sorry."
Diana's half-smile faltered. "Don't be," she said simply.
"No, really,"
"I understand,"
"It's still not an excuse." He said, "I shouldn't have waited until Alfred told me you walked out before coming to you."
"But where were you?"
"I can't tell you that."
"Then why bother coming at all?"
Bruce walked over and took her hand. "Because," he said firmly, "there are a lot of other things I can tell you instead."
Diana looked at their hands before looking up at him.
"I can you that the baby's about the size of a grain of rice, I can tell you that it's arms and legs are starting to develop and in a few weeks it should be able to have control over them, and I can tell you that it has an heart and that it's beating, right now."
Diana looked at him, stunned at the information.
Bruce let go of her hand and started walking around the room. "I guess, what I'm trying to say is that, for the last few days, I've been trying to come to grips with this. I admit that I've been handling this whole situation like a case that needed solving, over analysing every detail just so I could wrap my head around it."
"And have you?"
"I'm getting there."
"This isn't one of your murder cases, Bruce… it's quite the contrary really."
Bruce sighed. "I know, and I'm starting to think maybe that's where I had it wrong all this time. I've been thinking too much."
"It's not a sin," she allowed before her eyebrows furrowed together lightly. "…Though, I do wish you could tell me how you feel about this. Are you disappointed?"
"Diana," he said gently, "if there's one thing I can tell you for sure, it's that I'm definitely not disappointed."
"Then…" she hesitated. "How do you feel about it?"
"Honestly?" Bruce said, a tad sheepishly now. "I'm terrified."
If Diana didn't look surprised then, she did after that.
"You are?"
"Like I said, I think too much. And a baby is… well, it's unfamiliar territory for me."
"I'm scared too, Bruce." Diana said quietly. "And when you left…I thought…"
He squeezed her hand lightly but held onto it tightly. "I'm not going anywhere, Princess." He said firmly. "Not now, not ever. Not again."
"What about in eight months?" she asked despite herself.
"Still not happening." He said. "Besides… I'm up for the challenge if you are."
"Together?" she asked with a genuine smile.
Bruce nodded. "Together." He reaffirmed.
"Then… I suppose the only question remaining is, what do we do now?" she asked.
"Right now?" He said, leading her over to the bed and sitting down. "I'd say the best thing we can do is wait here for a while."
"Bruce?" Diana asked, sitting next to him.
"Just until most of the crowd outside the door are gone." He amended, barely repressing a yawn. "And I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not exactly Shayera's favourite person at the moment."
"No… I suppose you're not." She said, slightly amused. "But that wasn't what I meant."
"I know what you meant, and we'll talk about it… just, not now."
"Very well…" Diana said and regarded him carefully. "…You look terrible, Bruce. When was the last time you slept?"
"I don't know, a few days?"
She then leaned towards him and put her hand against his scruffy cheek, which happened to be the one Shayera slapped – at her touch, he winced a little.
"What's wrong?"
"It's nothing," he said.
"What happened to your cheek?" she asked, noticing that his skin was still slightly red.
"Hawkgirl." He said simply.
"She hit you." Diana said disbelievingly.
"Frankly, I'm just grateful it wasn't with her mace."
Diana stifled a laugh. "Still… she didn't have go that far."
"It's nothing I didn't deserve."
Diana shook her head out of amusement. "Well then, since you insist on waiting it out, I think it's reasonable to assume we're going to be stuck in here for a while," she said. "You should try and get some sleep in before we leave in the meantime."
"I'm-" he began before she cut him off with a kiss, very effectively silencing him.
"No, you're not." she said when she pulled away.
Bruce wasn't exactly in a state to argue with her, so, he nodded and repositioned himself so that he was lying down.
He then smiled to himself and backed away so that he could make some space for her.
"You might as well join me." He suggested.
Smiling, Diana laid down next to him, letting out a small sigh when he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her body closer to his and relaxed.
"Bruce?" she asked quietly, just as he began dozing off.
"Mmm?"
"Do… do you think we'll be good parents?"
He tensed up for a second before answering her. "…We'll just have to see when the time comes." He said thoughtfully.
She nodded.
"Sleep well, Bruce."
"Oh, I'm planning on it…" He said, hugging her closer.
Later…
It was little after seven, according to Bruce's watch, when he and Diana finally walked out of her room, hand-in-hand.
Things seemed to have calmed down in the Watchtower, though Bruce would have been kidding himself if he thought it would go back to normal immediately as he still got dirty looks from some of the women on the station.
Diana noticed this and couldn't help but to be amused at this, and held his hand a little tighter.
"Don't worry," she said when a huffy Vixen and a suspicious Crimson Fox passed them by in one of the hallways, "I'll protect you."
"I'm counting on that." He said. "But… did you tell anybody about…?"
She shook her head. "No, I didn't, but we are going to have to at some point, aren't we? This isn't exactly something you can keep a secret for long… Why? Are you worried what some people might think if they found out?"
He scoffed. "Actually, there's only one person's reaction I'm worried about…"
"Oh?"
"Your mother's."
Diana's eyes widened. "I… did not think about that." She admitted.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get there, Princess."
And, one way or another, they would. Together.
Carl Peterson:
"You've done everything you can to undermine me. You've tried to intimidate me. You've tried to humiliate me. You've bastardized my project to the point where it's unrecognizable. But here's the thing, Bob. I don't care. I don't care about this job, and I don't care about you. I care about Molly! She means everything in the world to me. And if you're going to stand in the way of me trying to win her back, you'd better bring a pretty big candlestick."
- You, Me & Dupree
"How many times will you let me change my mind and turn around?
I can't decide if I'll let you save my life or if I'll drown."
I hope that you see right through my walls,
I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling.
I'll never let a love get so close,
You put your arms around me and I'm home."
- Christina Perri, 'Arms' Lyrics
A/N: Yay! I don't know why, but I feel way better after writing this chapter! Again, sorry for the length of this, but I was way busy this last month (I have two assignments due next week, right after each other… not nice, not nice at all X(…)
(I'm going to bitch here, so skip if you want) Oh, and you know what, if there are any haters out there who didn't like what I did here, I'm at a point right now where I'm beyond letting people tell me how to write my story because I've done something against their liking, and where I'm confident enough to say that people like that, can bite me – I don't mind people pointing out my mistakes, but don't try and make me doubt my writing, please.
Besides, I promised ass-kicking next, and ass-kicking there shall be, along with not one, but two villains, ninjas, a Batman-Superman team-up… oh, and did I forget to mention the ninjas? It's gonna be schweeeet…! X)
In response to the previous chapter's reviews:
StraightedgeWingZero: I know… that's why I didn't write it like that… *whistles awkwardly*
B1udman (guest): I'd like to disagree with the last part of your review, my friend – admittedly, yes, Bruce is a great father to the boys, but, I'd also like to point out I've read several comics in which he's done some less-than-fatherly-things, for example, in the newer All-Star Batman & Robin, right after he 'adopted' Dick from the circus, he left him in the Batcave for a long time, where the kid either had to live off of rats or starve (granted, that Batman was as nuts as a goddamn squirrel, but the argument still stands).
The Goddamn Dark Knight: Okay, buddy, I'm gonna put a word-limit on your reviews! Besides, I'm gonna have a lot fun with the whole 'out-of-control-hormonal-Amazon' thing, just you wait!
mbembet: I'm sorry if this one is a little less action packed than what you were hoping for.
Wonderwomanbatmanfan: Does it make me a bad person to say that that makes me a little happy? Tear-jerkers are a winner!
yellowstar128: Ha! Evil! Hahaha! …Well, yeah, okay, you got me there… maybe I am just a little evil… but you know the best part about the dark side – we've got cookies.
yob3: Thank you, and I won't.
CasualReader111: I am happy you liked it!
Alaura Nova Shadowman: I know, it's gonna be great! (I hope), anyway, I hope you'll like what I've got planned next!
I Am Not a Human Being: Tell that to my college professors!
Cajun Strong Man 2: Ahh, yes, but that's a matter of opinion…
Masked-Maiden-of-Gotham: I'm sorry if this didn't live up to your expectations.
The Mortal Knight: (See above apology, I feel like I'm repeating myself…) Though, I am pleased that you like this story so far.
Superfan2: Uh… actually, the attempts on Superman's life so far are more like fillers when you guys get bored of all the wedding-mushy crap… it's not so much a subplot as it me letting my mind wander… however, I am planning something big in a later chapter…
Lloyd RPGFan: I say nothing, I was just kinda getting sick of writing action so I opted for a slightly softer approach.
lady wayfarer: :) Those are getting increasingly rare, aren't they?
R-dude: Not necessarily that last part… but next time, hurry the f*** up, please? Lol.
1Superman4Me: Yeah, I liked that too, but you know, men in general, they do tend to stick together when the going gets tough – it's admirable.
JericaMMADfan: I hope this brought some closure!
Guest: Hey, only because you said it, but, no, I wish I was! Thanks for the ego-boost though ;)
Delta808th: Ah… hormones. Lol, indeed – the fun starts now!
Now, need I even say what next?
Pretty please with sugar and rainbows and all that other fun stuff on top.
Until next time,
GoddessofDawn out.