Bond
I fly through Gotham's night sky with a certain person firmly in my mind. I can't help the overwhelming guilt that it has taken me so long to make this visit, but I've had my own personal drama to contend with for the past couple of months.
It's one that I had not seen coming but now that it has I feel a startling sense of freedom and relief. It's as if a newfound seed of truth has suddenly worked itself up out of a dark cavern to take root and firmly sprout in my heart. It creates a shiver of excitement that races through me before settling into a nervous bundle in the pit of my stomach just thinking about it.
A thousand thoughts flit through my mind like humming birds, all of them trying desperately to be heard above the others. One seems to be calling out loud and clear above the din. I just pray that I'm doing the right thing in coming here and talking to him about it.
I spot his black cape snapping in the wind as I draw near, his large muscular frame standing like a silent sentinel watching over his city like the noble man with a courageous heart that I know that he is. I also know that same heart is broken and hurting, and I hope that I can provide at least a small measure of comfort for my friend.
I silently land behind him, my boots touching down on the roof several yards behind him. His head tilts slightly to the side and I know that he has likely been aware of my presence in his city long before I even made my presence fully known to him.
His profile doesn't change as he greets me. "Princess, what are you doing here?" he rasps, and I can't help but notice the undercurrent of warmth in his tone.
"I came to see you," I truthfully reply because I know its past time for full honesty between us no matter how difficult this will be…no matter how painful the outcome could be.
He turns his attention back to the street below as I slowly approach. I'm a little taken aback by the fact that he hasn't ordered me out of his city by now or fled my presence in order to escape, but after everything that we have endured together, I guess I've earned a little leeway. It's not something that I take lightly. In fact, I feel it's a privilege that very few have been granted and I won't abuse it.
I come to stand beside him, folding my arms against my chest as we both gaze out over the city in a mirror image of the forbidding man beside me. A comfortable silence settles between us, one that I appreciate as I attempt to organize my thoughts and feelings.
"How are you?" he softly asks after several long moments.
It both startles me and warms my heart that he is the first one to break the silence between. It's very unlike him and yet neither of us are who we once were…who we were when we first met. We've both been through tragic ordeals separate and together. It definitely changes a person, though, when you face what we did together for those thirty-seven years it forges an inexplicable bond.
I shake my head, a slight tug of amusement on my lips. "I should be the one asking you that," I point out.
He doesn't answer at first. It's as if he's weighing his words or trying to decide how open or closed off he wants to be about things, but he knows with me nothing is ever truly closed off. I won't let it be. "I could say I don't know what you're talking about, but we both know that's a lie and I'm talking with the goddess of truth so I guess I'll go with I'm fine."
I almost snort in response, but it comes out as a girlish giggle instead, one that I'm certain he's never heard from me if the expression on his face is any indication. "Hera, did you just crack a joke?"
"I've been known to indulge from time to time," he replies with an ease that stuns me.
He's certainly full of surprises tonight. Hopefully, he'll continue to surprise me before I leave here. "I'm truly sorry it has taken me so long to come see you, Bruce," I apologize, feeling my throat constrict with guilt.
My friend has been hurting greatly for the last three months and I have made no effort to see him, to provide him comfort or a shoulder to lean on. Of course, this is Bruce we're talking about. He never has asked for comfort or a shoulder and likely never would even if he were on the verge of death.
Still, not seeing him very much the last three months outside of an occasional mission has hurt me deeply even though I did have my own reasons for not rushing to him weeks ago. We share a deep bond that can't be explained or broken since our time together spent fighting the Hoard and if I were honest with myself, a bond that was there long before there. He needed me even if he would never admit it, and I wasn't here. Some friend I am.
"Actually, I should be the one apologizing to you," he tells me, his gaze locked on the city street below.
"What for?" I ask, feeling my brow knitting in confusion.
"Clark told me what happened a couple of months ago," he confesses. "I never made any effort to check on you."
I shake my head. I should have known that he knew. "It's all right, Bruce," I reassure him. "It was difficult at first, but I've come to realize that I've been living a lie."
His head snaps to the side, his piercing gaze boring into me as if attempting to burn away the layers to look into my soul in order to capture even a sliver of what I'm thinking and feeling at this moment. "What do you mean?" he questions me with an urgency that I hadn't anticipated.
"Steve and I…it's complicated," I settle on as I try to decide how best to describe it. "I loved him…a part of me still does and always will, but I've come to realize that he's not the one that has held my heart all these years."
"What?" he whispers as if almost afraid of what I'm about to say.
I continue to stare out over the city as I decide it's finally time to bear my heart and soul to him. How can I be the Champion of Truth when I haven't even been able to admit the truth to myself…haven't been able to accept what my heart has been telling me for so very long?
"After we returned from fighting the Hoard, Steve had a very hard time accepting that nothing had happened between us while we were gone…especially when he found out it was thirty-seven years for us," I reveal, my chest tight as I remember the heated fights that we had after I returned.
"Selina was the same way," he reveals, apprehension and a hint of sorrow evident in his words. A rueful smile touches his lips, holding all the hallmarks of regret as well as something more that I can't put my finger on just yet. "She wouldn't believe me that nothing happened between us. I even told her that you were the strong one. You made sure that neither of us became that person, but she never really believed me."
"Bruce, something did happen between us during that time…at least it did for me," I confess, releasing a nervous little sigh. "Steve didn't believe me no matter what I told him, but he noticed a change in me, one that I've been struggling to understand myself and now I finally have."
"What are you saying, Diana?" he asks as he fully turns to face me.
"Do you remember that day when we decided to remain friends instead of pursuing a relationship?"
He is quiet for a long moment and I begin to wonder if he's even going to respond. "Yes…I do," he replies with a haunting tone. "I take it what you saw of our future together was pretty horrible."
I turn to face him, my face filling with regret. "No…no, it wasn't," I reveal. "In fact, it was amazing…more so than I had ever believed was possible."
I can tell that I've stunned him senseless with my revelation despite the cowl that hides a good portion of his face. "What? Why then did you…why?" he manages to utter.
"I guess I was scared," I admit.
"Of what? Of me?"
I shake my head with a wistful smile. "No, Bruce…never you," I tell him. "I've never been afraid of you. I guess I was afraid because it was different from what I'd been raised and trained to believe. My heritage taught me that happiness with a man can never truly happen. There was also a part of me that did fear you would eventually decide you didn't want to be with me.
"You've been against the notion of us for so long that I feared finding happiness with me would end up scaring you…driving you away from me in the end. I couldn't live with that. I couldn't live with loving you only to lose you so I walked away, knowing that I would always have your friendship if I couldn't have your love."
"But you—"
I finally turn to face him, not wanting to hide anything from him anymore. "Fighting the Hoard gave me a small glimpse into what our life together could be like if only I'd give it a chance. That's when I began to change…started listening to my heart instead of ignoring it like I've been doing ever since then. I realized I was a coward that day and because of it I lost out on something truly amazing with you."
"Diana…what are you saying?" he softly asks and I don't know if it's out of fear of what I'm about to tell him or because he feels the same way, but I'm about to find out.
"I love you, Bruce," I declare, wishing I could look into his eyes instead of the cowl. "It's always been you. I guess deep down Steve knew that. It's why he broke things off with me and…to be honest, I feel like a weight has been lifted now that I'm finally being honest with myself and with you."
"Diana…"
I take a step closer, holding my hand up to silence him. "I don't expect you to reciprocate or to make a similar declaration," I continue with a shake of my head. "That was not my intent in coming here. I wanted to see how you were doing and to tell you the truth of my feelings. If in time, you find that you feel the same way and—"
Before I can finish, Bruce's gauntleted hands are gripping my upper arms, his mouth crashing into mine and effectively silencing any more words. In fact, he has managed to erase any and all thoughts as I readily return his passion with my own, my arms slipping around his neck and drawing us closer to one another.
My lips part and he takes full advantage, his tongue slipping inside to explore my mouth. Our tongues create a sensual duel that only seems to fuel the fire that I feel burning deep inside of me. It shoots pleasure like lighting through my veins, a warm arousal that quickly settles low in my pelvis.
He retreats after several long moments, his forehead pressing against mine. "I've missed you…so much," he breathlessly confesses. "Selina somehow knew that my heart was already spoken for even though I refused to admit it to her or myself. When you and I decided that day to remain friends, I tried to bury my feelings for you…to lock away my heart, but it never really stayed that way. It's only seemed to grow stronger no matter how hard I tried to fight it."
"I had no idea," I murmur, stunned by his confession.
"I love you, Diana…I've always loved you," he tells me with a sincerity that feels like it's reaching right inside of me and touching my very soul.
I try to keep the tears I can feel rising to my eyes at bay, but I can already tell I'm losing the battle as he wipes a stray teardrop from my cheek. "I was afraid that you weren't ready to hear it from me after what happened with Selina. I was worried I was pushing you too soon…that you wouldn't want me."
"I realized the same thing about you since coming back from fighting the Hoard and Selina leaving me. I've been waiting for you after what happened with Steve…trying to give you time," he reveals, his fingers brushing my hair back behind my ear. "I've been dying to kiss you ever since that night when we almost gave in."
I tilt my head and find his lips, my heart singing now that things are finally the way that they should've been all along. I pull back to cradle his face in my hands much the same way I had that same day we had decided to remain friends. "Now, you can kiss me any time you'd like," I lightly tease.
"Good…because I fully plan on making up for lost time, princess," he responds with a growling rasp that sends a shiver up my spine, his lips hungrily descending on my mine.
A/N: This fic is dedicated to all you readers who inspire me every day with your faves, follows, reviews, and PM's. Getting to know you has been the biggest highlight of writing Wonderbat fanfics. If you haven't already, come join our #Wonderbatcrew on Twitter. It's the best bunch of people that you'll ever get to know. :)