Favor

Diana came to stand before the door of Batman's private lab in the floating satellite, pausing to draw a deep breath before lifting her hand to punch in the code to enter. The door slid open, bidding her entrance to his domain. She immediately spotted the object of her search hunched over a microscope.

"Batman," Diana brightly greeted him as she made her way to him, trying to decide on the best approach.

"Princess," he gruffly replied without looking up from his work.

"I was wondering—"

"No," he firmly and swiftly stated as he placed another slide under his microscope.

"Excuse me?"

"The answer is no," he muttered.

"But I didn't even—"

"It's still no," he told her.

Diana's sapphire eyes narrowed into a frustrated glare as she studied him. "You don't even know—"

"The answer is still no, princess," he flatly stated, his voice broking no room for argument.

Diana cursed under her breath, her hands clenching into fists at her sides as she nearly shook with anger. "Would you at least let me get out what I wanted to ask you?"

"Fine, but whatever favor it is that you want I'm not going to do," he told her, increasing the magnification on his microscope before jotting down a couple of notes.

"I haven't been able to even say anything yet and you're already telling me no," she ground out. Hera, this man aroused her anger like no one else ever could.

"You want to ask me for a favor," he replied. "That's all I need to know to give my answer."

Batman smiled to himself as he heard her curse again in Greek. He had a feeling he knew why she was here and what exactly she wanted. He wanted to find out just how badly she wanted him to do it before he even considered saying yes…if he ever did agree to it.

Diana drew a deep, calming breath, relaxing her stance as well as her fists. She needed to take a different approach with him. "Bruce, I—"

"It's Batman when we're on the Watchtower."

"Hera, Bruce!" Diana yelled in utter exasperation. "We're the ones in your lab which by the way is sound proof and has no security cameras in it!"

"You can never be too careful, Diana," he reminded her. "Hand me that other slide."

Diana looked around on the counter, spotting the slide he was looking for and handing it to him. "I just wanted to ask you if you—"

"Pass me that bottle of reagent," he requested, staring into his microscope as his left hand shot out at her without a glance.

Huffing in annoyance with his constant interruptions, she grabbed the bottle of reagent, her arm extending to give it to him only to abruptly pull it back at the last second. Her blue eyes revealed the angry storm brewing inside as Bruce finally looked over at her.

"I will give this to you once you let me ask you my favor," she stated, lifting her chin in regal defiance.

Frowning, Batman turned to face her, his right hip coming to rest against the edge of his work desk. He folded his arms against his chest as he studied her. "Fine," he finally bit out. "What is it that you want me to deny you?"

"That's not fair and you know it!" she exclaimed, holding the bottle of reagent protectively against her chest. "You could be a little less…well, yourself…and a little nicer to me you know."

Bruce released a sigh as he reached up and pulled his cowl and gauntlets off, tossing them onto his desk. He turned to give the Amazon princess his full, uninterrupted attention. "What can I do for you, Diana?" he politely asked.

Her lips curved into a dazzling smile, eyes sparkling as she hooked a raven lock behind her ear. "That's much better," she readily decided. "I was going to ask you for a favor."

"And the answer is still—"

It was Diana's turn to interrupt as she growled in fury, slamming the plastic bottle of reagent down on the desk before swiftly closing the distance between them. Her forefinger pressed against his lips, silencing anymore responses from him.

"You will listen, and you will listen good, Bruce Wayne," she stated with steely determination. "Kal has been really down lately. He's struggling over what to do about Lois and needs a good friend to talk to. I think you could really help him."

Bruce reached up and gently pulled her forefinger from his lips, his hand continuing to hold hers as he stared into her eyes. "Why me?"

"Because you're his best friend," she told him, trying not to notice the way that he was still holding her hand, his thumb gently caressing the back of it and causing pleasant tingles to shoot up her arm.

"I thought you were his best friend," he countered.

"But I'm a woman," she shot back, her voice losing a measure of the anger it had just held as she gazed into in his piercing blue eyes that were intently studying her.

"And?" he pressed, knowing he was having an effect on her as her cheeks flushed pink.

"And he needs a man to talk to," she replied.

Bruce leaned in a little closer, allowing his close proximity to have its desired effect on her as he tilted his head slightly. "Why me, princess?"

"Because you've dated…so many women…and you know how to romance…a…a woman," Diana managed to get out, her breath catching in her throat as their mouths nearly grazed one another's. She could feel the warm brush of his breath against her face, causing a shiver to race up her spine.

"The answer is…no," he huskily responded before abruptly pulling away from her and turning his attention back to his microscope.

Diana slammed the palm of her hand on top of the desk, making everything on top of it rattle with the force of the blow. Bruce ignored it as he continued to work, more than accustomed to her temper and her angry outbursts. He'd either been on the receiving end of it or the cause of it more times that he could count. He considered it a gift to be able to rile the princess.

"Bruce, Clark needs a friend right now," Diana told him, crossing her arms against her chest as she glared at him. "You know more about women than anyone else. Hera knows you've had years of experience with the thousands of women who've paraded through your bedroom."

Bruce noted the flare of jealousy that flashed across her face and laced her voice, clearly not appreciating the fact that he'd been with many women over the years. There was one, though, that he wanted more than anything.

"For the record, it's not been thousands," he told her.

"Fine," she spat out. "Hundreds of women."

"I wouldn't go quite that far," he said, a smirk playing on his lips. "How much is it worth to you?"

Diana's face brightened with his willingness to at least hear her out. "What did you have in mind?" she asked. "I'll happily do anything you want if you'll help Kal."

Bruce's gaze darkened with a lusty haze as it lazily traversed down the length of her body to the toe of her red dominatrix boots and returning just as slowly to the tiara that adorned her raven head. By the time he reached her face again, she was raking her teeth over her bottom lip, a look of nervous anticipation revealing the thoughts racing through her mind.

He closed the distance between them, his eyes falling to her lips. He leaned in close, his lips brushing against hers. "Be at the manor tonight…seven o'clock," he murmured.

Diana shuddered as he kissed her with a sudden heated passion, burying his hands in her raven hair. She fully returned his passion; a fire being lit deep within as she parted her lips for him. Their tongues warred for control, neither willing to concede. They parted several long moments later, both breathing heavily.

"I…I'll see you at seven," she told him, a smile adorning her face. She quickly turned and headed towards the door, thrilled with the unexpected turn of events.

"Princess," he called to her, causing her to stop at the doorway. "Do me a favor?"

"What's that?"

"Don't forget to bring your lasso," he replied with a sexy smirk as he turned his attention back to his microscope.