Pledge (DCAU)

Batman pushed his Batplane to its very limits, knowing that he was risking a system failure, but he had no choice. Things had spiraled so far out of control. It never should've come to this...how had it come to this? He knew how it had come to this…the things that he had said and the things that he should have said, but never did.

Peering around him, there was nothing but blue water as far as the eye could see, making him feel very small and insignificant. It only added to the cloak of loneliness that had securely wrapped itself around him like a straitjacket that refused to release him any time soon.

He could feel his desperation rising within him with every minute that ticked by, reminding him of the chaos that he alone had caused. He knew that he had no one to blame but himself and the foolish demons that he hadn't learned how to control as of yet.

His vaunted control had also been one of his strongest qualities, one that he was most proud of and yet there was one thing he couldn't control. He'd never been able to tame the demons that dwelled inside of his soul, rising up like a deadly brood of vipers intent on destroying him.

He was also powerless when it came to the Amazon princess and the hold that she seemed to have on him. Much to his shame and anger, his demons had won out this time, Diana the loser in the battle for his soul.

Batman glanced down to check his coordinates for the hundredth time. He knew he was getting close, but would it be in time?

Bruce,

I find great difficulty in writing this letter to you especially knowing it will be the last time I will be communicating with you. I am leaving Man's World and returning to my home, Bruce. I feel that it would be the best for the both of us.

I know how difficult it is for you to allow others to get close to you after all the horror you've endured in your life. Please know that I don't blame you that things didn't work out between us. I'm just wish that I could've been the one to give you the love and happiness that you are so worthy of.

I fear that my presence would be a distraction and a hinderance to you in your mission to save Gotham. That is something that I cannot allow. I also need a fresh start and I can't do that being near you. That is why I'm returning to Themyscira to fully pledge myself to the goddess Artemis, binding myself to Themyscira forever. I just pray that you find the peace and love that you deserve in your life even if it's not with me.

You will always own my heart, my Dark Knight. Maybe someday we will be reunited in Elysium should you choose to find me there.

Love eternally yours,

Diana

Bruce felt the fierce burn of tears building behind his eyes and in his throat as his jaw locked like a steel trap. He'd read and reread that letter at least a dozen times, every single word imprinting itself in his heart and mind. In his mind's eye, he could see the elegant flow of her handwriting, her tearstains that marred the paper she had written those heartfelt words on.

She had left because of him…because he had been a complete fool. She had left so that he wouldn't have to see her on League missions or on the Watchtower, knowing that he would end up questioning everything in his life or locking himself away in his gloomy sanctuary in an effort to avoid seeing her.

She loved him so much that she was willing to sacrifice her own happiness and desires all for him, and, in doing so, showed more strength and courage than he could ever hope to muster. She truly was a goddess, proving all over to him in bright, dazzling colors how much he didn't deserve her.

Diana was everything that was pure and selfless and good in this world, displaying immeasurable compassion and love like nothing he'd ever seen before. She gave him back the faith that had been stripped from him the day his parents had died in that alley, providing him hope that he thought he'd never have again.

He needed to get to her before it was too late…before he lost her forever. He swore on his life that he wasn't leaving Themyscira without her. Living in this world without her being a part of it was imaginable, something that he refused to even consider.

It felt as if his heart had been lodged in his throat from the moment that he'd found the letter that she'd left for him. He never meant to hurt her or push her away. He'd allowed his fears and paranoia to dig their claws into him, doubts running rampant through his mind and refusal pouring past his lips.

The look of anguish that he had seen in her eyes when he'd turned her away had nearly been his undoing right then and there. Instead of falling on his knees and begging for her forgiveness, he had stood there tightlipped with a stony glare as she had proudly tucked away her hurt before turning and leaving him standing there in his self-imposed prison of isolation.

The beeping on his monitor alerted him to the fact that he had finally reached his destination. He released a ragged breath as he made the necessary adjustments to land on the island that he knew was there but couldn't visualize just yet.

He quickened his descent at a faster rate than was safe as his heart quickened in his chest. The island suddenly appeared in a burst of color and glorious wonder. It was truly breathtaking, paradise not even coming close to truly describing what he lay ahead of him.

Bruce didn't have to time to admire the scenery. He had a princess to find before it was too late. If he didn't get to her in time, his life would truly be over for the second time since he was eight years old. He refused to allow that to happen.

Batman landed the Batplane on the sandy beach, the water lapping at the landing gear as he quickly escaped its confines. He was off and running the second his boots hit the sand, racing straight towards the majestic palace in the distance. He knew it was only a matter of time before he'd have hordes of Amazon warriors ready to tear him limb from limb, but no one was going to get in the way of what he wanted.

Warrior cries pierced the air as spears attempted to pierce his body. He dodged to the left, ducked and rolled to his right before coming up into a crouching position with a Batarang gripped tightly in his hand. He didn't want to fight the entire Amazon nation, but he was not going to be deterred from his goal as he let several Batarangs fly.

"Batman!"

Bruce looked to his right to find Donna racing towards him, panic etched in her face. "Where is Diana?" he demanded without preamble.

"What are you doing here?" she questioned him with barely restrained anger. "You're going to get yourself killed."

"I came for Diana and I'm not leaving without her," he spat out.

"You're the reason she left Man's World in the first place," she stubbornly pointed out.

Batman warily straightened to his full, imposing height as his guarded gaze eyed the approaching Amazons, knowing that they could kill him at any moment. "I was wrong, Donna," he impatiently replied. "I'm here to make it right and to bring her home with me."

Donna's angry gaze softened, her hand coming to rest on his shoulder. "Are you really?" she asked.

"Yes, I made a mistake, but I can't fix it if I don't find her before she pledges herself to Artemis," he told her, his annoyance getting the better of him.

"She's in the Temple of Artemis," Donna informed him. "She's performing the cleansing ceremony right now. You have to hurry. If she completely submerges herself in the water, it can't be reversed. She'll never be able to leave Themyscira again."

"Where is the temple?" he urgently questioned her, grabbing hold of her upper arms. "Please, Donna…I love her."

"I know you do," she softly said. "It's—"

"Batman!"

The furious roar of the Queen of the Amazons sliced through the air like a deadly dagger causing Bruce to grow rigid in response. He released his hold on Donna, turning to face Hippolyta and the full extent of a mother's ire. He knew that he deserved everything that he was about to receive and then some, but no one hated him more than himself at that moment.

"Queen Hippolyta," he stoically replied, bowing his head slightly.

"How dare you show your face here," she seethed as she stalked towards him, heavily flanked by Amazon warriors carrying weapons intended to shred him to pieces. "First you defile my daughter and then you have the insolence to reject her? Now, you have the outright arrogance to appear where you are neither wanted nor allowed to tread?"

"I know I don't deserve to ask anything of you, my Queen, but I ask for your mercy and permission to speak with Diana," he responded, steeling himself and preparing for the worse. "I made a horrible mistake that I will regret for the rest of my life. All that I ask is for a chance to make it right."

"Because of Diana's feelings for you, I will show you mercy," Hippolyta spat out, hands clenched tightly at her sides. "I will spare your life if you leave right now and never come back here. That is the only mercy that you will receive from me."

"Please…I have to see Diana," he pleaded with her much to Donna's surprise. She'd never known Batman to plead for anything. "I know that I deeply hurt her and that I don't deserve a second chance with her, but I am humbly asking for you to allow me to talk to her just for a few minutes."

"Guards!" Hippolyta yelled. "Escort this mortal man to his plane so that he may return to his home."

Artemis and Phillipus led the charge to escort Batman back to his plane, but he was not in a very agreeable mood at that particular moment. Diana had given up her life among her friends for him. He was ready to give up his life just to see her one last time.

"I'm sorry," he softly said before throwing an array of gas bombs that quickly clouded the entire area.

"Batman!" Donna yelled. "The temple is down the path past the palace on the left side!"

"Donna!" Hippolyta screeched, enraged. "Find Batman and stop him! He is not to see Diana!"

Batman didn't wait around for the Amazons to follow their queen's orders, racing through the clouds of smoke towards the palace. He could hear the pounding beat of the Amazon's boots following him. They yelled to each other in Greek, reveling in the sweet thrill of the hunt.

He gritted his teeth as he pushed himself harder, refusing to stop now that he was so close to finding her. The royal palace came into view, telling him that he was getting closer. Spears sailed past his head, causing him to run closer to the tree line to avoid being impaled. It would do no good to finally find Diana only to have a spear sticking through his chest.

Batman spotted two Amazons standing guard outside of a temple on his left. That had to be where Diana was performing the ceremony. Reaching into his utility belt, he pulled out his electrified brass knuckles, putting them on his right hand as he raced towards the temple.

Without a single pause in his step, he ran straight towards the first guard, hitting her square in the jaw and taking her down. He instantly whirled on his heel as he threw an electrified bola at the second guard, the cords wrapping securely around her and dropping her in less than heartbeat.

Racing inside the temple, Bruce stopped dead in tracks at the view that greeted him. Diana was dressed in a ceremonial chiton, her raven curls pulled up into an intricate updo that accentuated her graceful neck. She was walking in the ceremonial pool with head bowed and eyes closed in supplication and meditation. The blue water lapped at her body just below her breasts as she waded towards the statue of Artemis that awaited her arrival at the end of the pool.

"Diana!" Batman yelled, panic lancing straight through him as Amazon guards abruptly grabbed him from behind.

Diana looked to her left to find Batman standing there in the Temple of Artemis. "Bruce?" she murmured, stunned by his appearance, fearing it was nothing more than a wishful dream taunting her in the midst of her heartache.

She watched in disbelief as her sisters forced him to his knees, three guards on either side of him holding him down. "Diana…please," he cried, gritting his teeth as he struggled against their hold on him. "Don't do this!"

Diana shook her head in confusion as she took another step towards the goddess of the hunt. The water nearly covered her breasts now causing Bruce's fear to explode inside of him. "Wha…what are you doing here?"

"I came here for you!" he confessed, tears beginning to blur his vision.

"Let him go," Diana ordered as she turned towards them.

"But the queen ordered us to—" Artemis countered.

"Release him…now!" Diana yelled as Hippolyta and Donna raced into the temple.

"Diana, continue the bonding ceremony," Hippolyta commanded her. "We will deal with this vile excuse of a man."

"He loves you, Diana!" Donna yelled. "He wants to make it right."

"Continue your pledge, Diana," Hippolyta stated. "Bind yourself to Artemis."

"Give him a chance!" Donna told her.

Diana looked from the enraged face of her mother to the pleading expression on her sister to the desperation she could practically feel rolling off the Dark Knight of Gotham. At that moment, she knew exactly what she needed to do. She needed this closure if she was ever going to be able to let him go.

"Leave us," Diana commanded from her position in the pool. She wasn't proceeding any further, but she wasn't leaving the water either. "I will hear what Batman has to say and then I will make my final decision."

"Are you sure, my sun and stars?" the queen questioned her, reluctant acceptance swimming in her eyes. She already knew what her daughter would decide even though Diana did not know as of yet.

"I'm fine, mother," she reassured her with a reassuring smile that never reached her sapphire eyes.

Hippolyta grudgingly nodded her head in response, the guards releasing their hold on Batman. Bruce stood to his feet, turning to find the Amazons leaving them. Turning his attention to the princess, he was mesmerized all over again by how positively radiant she looked in her white ceremonial chiton.

He was finally all alone with his princess and he didn't know what to say to make her understand how much he loved her…how he couldn't go on without her. All the things that he had rehearsed in his head during the flight here suddenly vanished, his throat constricting so tightly he could barely draw a breath.

"I didn't think I'd ever see you again," she softly said from the pool.

Batman tilted his head down to remove his cowl, tossing it on the temple floor before removing his gauntlets and dropping them to the ground as well. He wanted…no, he needed…to do this as Bruce Wayne, not the fearsome vigilante that lived in the darkness and worked in the secret places that no one dared to speak about.

"I'm sorry, Diana," he replied, his head slightly lowered. "There is no excuse for how I acted…how I treated you. You deserved far better from me and I failed you."

"Why are you here, Bruce?" she questioned him. "If your only here to apologize, then apology accepted. You can return home and go on with your life with a clear conscious."

Bruce adamantly shook his head, his piercing azure eyes boring straight into her. "That's not the only reason I came here, Diana."

She released a weary sigh, wanting him to just leave so she could get this ceremony over with once and for all. "Bruce, what do you want from me?"

"I want you…I only want you…with me," he revealed.

"You had that, and you pushed me away," she reminded him, bitterness and anger seeping into her voice as she looked down at the water that lapped at her breasts. "I'm not what you want, Bruce. You made that very clear. What made you suddenly change your mind?"

Bruce slowly walked to the edge of the pool, the toes of his black boots coming to a stop at the edge. "I have always wanted you, Diana," he stated with a steely resoluteness that forced her to look up at him. "That never changed, not even for a second has that ever wavered."

"Then what was it?" she softly asked, afraid to test her voice.

He drew a deep breath, slowly releasing it through parted lips. "I was afraid," he confessed.

"Afraid of what?"

"Of you…of us…of the future," he explained as he averted his eyes, his gaze settling on the pool that could take her away from him forever. "Everything was so perfect that it terrified me. Nothing good ever stays that way in my life, Diana. I was terrified that it would all be taken away from me and I couldn't bear the thought of losing you."

"But by pushing me away, you did lose me."

"I know and it hurt more than you can possibly imagine," he admitted as his eyes briefly fell closed, remembering how much his heart ached. He crouched down at the edge of the pool, wanting her to see the truth of his words reflected in his eyes. "I don't feel like I've been able to fully draw a breath since you left the cave that day, princess. Your leaving me…your letter…it opened my eyes and forced me to realize just how much I love you. I'd rather have you with me than to try to live without you because if you're not with me then I'm not truly alive."

His words were like a balm to her wounded heart, but they were just words right now. "And what about six weeks from now? Six months from now?" she asked him, shaking her head. "What about the next time you get scared or something happens to me on a mission or you have a bad night on patrol? How do I know that you won't push me away again?"

Bruce lowered his head for a long moment, making her wonder if he was going to answer her or not. When he finally raised his head, the fierce determination permeating his eyes stole her breath. "I know that I don't deserve for you to give me a second chance, but I pledge myself to you for as long as there is breath in my body. I promise that if you come home with me, I will spend the rest of my life trying to make you happy and to prove to you how much I love you."

Diana swallowed hard as tears stung her eyes. She floated up out of the water to stand beside him on the temple floor by the pool. Bruce slowly stood to his feet, hungrily drinking her in like a man lost in the desert. The wet diaphanous material clung to her breasts and hugged her every curve, hinting at the breathtaking beauty he knew that lay beneath.

Her hand came to rest against the curve of his face, her thumb caressing his cheekbone. "I love you, Bruce," she confessed with a heartfelt sincerity that he felt deep in his bones. "I want to pledge myself to you too and no one else."

His hand came to rest against the slight swell of her abdomen where their child grew, relief washing over him like a spring rain. He released a ragged breath as he slowly leaned in, his nose brushing against hers. "I thought…I thought I'd lost you both," he managed to utter, his voice choked with such raw emotion as an unwanted tear broke free to slip down his cheek. "I'm so sorry, Diana. I never meant to hurt—"

Diana pressed her lips to his, effectively silencing him as her arms slipped around him and drew him close to her. Bruce readily returned her kiss, passion flaring fiercely as they lost themselves in each other. His kiss was desperate and frantic, needing her to feel how deeply his love for her ran.

The sound of a loud cheer coming from Donna outside of the temple caused them to break part, both looking to find Hippolyta, Donna, and two dozen Amazons watching them. Hippolyta did not look happy in the least, but there was an air of hesitant acceptance about her.

"I take you're not staying, my sun and stars?" Hippolyta asked, her lips pursing as a single eyebrow arched in question.

"Just long enough to gather my things," she admitted, biting at her bottom lip.

Hippolyta released a sigh of resignation as her shoulders slumped slightly. "It's getting late," she stated. "You two might as well as stay the night and leave in the morning."

"Are you serious, mother?" Diana questioned her in stunned disbelief. "You're going to let Bruce stay for the night?"

"I guess I am," she replied with a frown as she approached them. "He is the father of my grandchild whether I like it or not. I guess it would be a good time to get to know one another. Artemis, go tell the kitchen to prepare a feast for our guest."

"Yes, my queen," Artemis responded, bowing her head before leaving.

"Thank you, mother," Diana softly said with tears in her eyes.

Hippolyta embraced her daughter, squeezing her eyes closed against the surge of emotion. She was losing her daughter to Man's World all over again, but she was gaining a grandchild, one that she was more than anxious to meet.

"Thank you, my queen," Bruce stated, stunned by the unexpected turn of events.

"Anyone who defies the orders of a queen and tries to take on the Amazon nation in order to get to my daughter must be madly in love or absolutely crazy," she told him.

"I swear to you it's the former, my queen," he reassured her.

"Just don't hurt her ever again or you'll have me to deal with you," Hippolyta threatened him with a deadly glare. "I will show you no mercy regardless of my daughter's feelings for you."

"I assure you that no one is angrier at myself than I am."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, young man," Hippolyta muttered under her breath as she turned on her heel and walked away.

"Well, that was unexpected," Bruce decided as he watched the queen walk away.

"I'm so happy for you two!" Donna squealed, wrapping the pair up into a tight embrace. "When is the wedding? Can I come and babysit? I'm going to be an aunt! I'm so excited!"

"Wedding?" Diana questioned her, glancing warily at Bruce. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Donna."

"Can we just get used to the idea of being parents first?" Bruce asked.

"Oh, fine," Donna replied with a pout, "but I call dibs on being maid of honor when you finally get married."

"Go get ready to eat," Diana shooed her away, turning her attention back to her lover.

"I'm sorry, Bruce," she apologized. "I hope Donna talking about weddings didn't upset you."

"No," he responded with a shake of his head. "When I said that I pledge my life to you, I meant it in every single way. I just want to take things slow and make sure we do it right. I've already screwed everything up once. I don't want to do it again."

"You won't," she reassured him, kissing him softly. "I'll just have to make sure you stay in line."

"I'm sure Alfred would appreciate the help," he admitted with sigh.

Taking his hand, Diana began to lead him away, pausing to retrieve his cowl and gauntlets. She laced her fingers with his as she began to lead him towards the palace. "I still can't believe mother is letting you stay here tonight."

A smirk played on Bruce's lips. "I just hope she lets me sleep with you in your room," he told her.

"Well, seeing how I'm already pregnant, I doubt it will be an issue," she pointed out. "If she does make you sleep in a different room, I'll just have to come find you."

"You better," he told her. "If you don't, I'll be finding you."

"I'm counting on it," she replied with a grin.

"I've missed you so much, princess."

"I've only been gone for two days, Bruce," she reminded him.

"It was the worst two days of my life since losing my parents," he stoically confessed.

He abruptly pulled her to a stop as he claimed her lips once more in a heated kiss, more than relieved he'd gotten his princess back with him where she always belonged. While he was still anxious to marry her someday, they had pledged themselves to each other and that was more than enough for him right now.