Stranded (DCAU)

"Bruce, please just sit down," Diana said with overt exasperation, her patience running thinner with every passing second.

"Don't use my name," he snapped as he continued prowling like a caged animal. "You don't know if someone is listening to us."

"Bruce," she curtly stated with a pointed glare before continuing. "We've already established we're the only two people on this tiny little speck of an island so give your paranoia a rest."

He glowered back at her, doing his best to ignore the blood that had caked in her hair and the side of her head from the nasty gash she'd received above her right eyebrow. "You should let me treat that," he growled.

"And you should let me take a look at the wound on your arm, but you refuse so I guess we're at a stalemate," she stubbornly replied as she gazed straight ahead over the ocean where pieces of the destroyed Javelin floated on top of the water, wisps of smoke rising in the air from the wreckage.

"Damn stubborn Amazon," he cursed.

"Cursing at me is not scoring any points with me right now," she flatly stated, refusing to meet his scorching glare that was boring a hole into the side of her head.

"You have a serious head injury," he told her as if she didn't already know it.

"And you could have a broken arm."

"Damn it, Diana!" he yelled.

Diana calmly stood to her feet, her blue eyes blazing with anger. "Let me make this easy for you," she told him with a deadly calm that sent an unexpected shiver up his spine. Using the toe of her red boot, she drew a line in the sand. "This is my side of the island. That is yours. Cross over that line and you'll find your utility belt wrapped around your throat."

A flurry of curses escaped as he balled his gauntleted hands into fists. "I'm going to go look for food."

"That's something useful," she sarcastically muttered as she resumed her previous position, drawing her knees up and wrapping her arms around her legs.

Bruce scowled darkly at her as she just sat there staring out into the ocean at the burning wreckage floating on top of it. He knew she had every right to be furious with him. He hadn't been the best company since the Javelin was destroyed and they'd been stranded on this island.

A terrible thunderstorm had created less than adequate flying conditions to begin with. Add to that the multiple lightning sticks that had struck the Javelin, frying the entire system. A fire had broken out on board forcing them to crash land into a reef just off the island.

Diana had saved his life, wrapping her arm around him, and flying his unconscious body to shore. He came to shortly after, finding a piece of metal sticking out of his right arm and Diana injured. His surly mood had only compounded things especially when they discovered commlinks were down with no way to contact the Watchtower.

Stalking through the thick jungle, he found his anger growing hotter now that Diana was basically refusing to talk to him or wanted him anywhere near her. He knew he deserved it, but it had still stung, nonetheless. It wasn't her fault the storm had come on out of nowhere…that the Javelin was destroyed or that the comm links were down.

He had lashed at her out of his worry for her. He needed to get her back to the Watchtower right away. Head injuries could turn deadly in the blink of an eye. He couldn't afford to sit here for days waiting for the League to find them. He had no way to help her if her condition worsened.

She had wanted to try to fly them to civilization, but Bruce had been adamantly against that idea. She was injured and the nearest development was a thousand miles away. He wasn't about to risk them getting halfway there only for her to suddenly worsen, dropping them into the ocean to become shark food.

Batman glanced past the trees to the sky overhead, knowing that evening was coming soon. He needed to find them food, wood for a fire, and drinkable water. They would need to build some sort of shelter in case there was another storm. Unfortunately, the gathering clouds told him that could be sooner than later.

Pulling out a Batarang, Bruce began the arduous task of hunting down something to eat. He couldn't believe this was happening. Of all people to be stranded on a deserted island with, it just had to be the Amazon princess. She was the one person he'd been trying his best to avoid because he knew he couldn't trust himself around her. She made him want things that he shouldn't want, his vaunted self-control vanishing in her presence. It was both magnificent and infuriating at the same time.

He threw his Batarang with expert precision, pinning a large snake against a tree trunk. "Well, at least we have appetizers," he muttered to himself as he walked over to the trunk to retrieve his weapon and their dinner.

XXX

The sun was already beginning to set when he finally returned to the beach with his catch for the day. He stopped short to find Diana had already managed to build a three-sided shelter as well as a fire on "her" side of the beach, causing his guilt for being so nasty to her intensify.

He sighed heavily as he made his way towards her shelter to find her lying on her side resting. She looked pale, her dark eyelashes a stark contrast against her cheeks. He knew he needed to apologize for being so difficult to deal with, but he found it to be the hardest thing in the world to do.

"You're on my side of the island," she said without opening her eyes.

"I have dinner," he replied, holding up his treasure.

Diana's eye popped open as she sat up, rubbing her forehead before running her fingers back through her hair. She crawled out of the shelter to see what the Dark Knight had caught for them. "I guess I'll overlook this infraction just this once," she replied. "Just don't let it happen again."

"Your mercy is astounding," Batman sarcastically replied as he dropped the two snakes that he'd killed for dinner. "I was able to find a natural spring, so we have drinking water."

"This is a rare treat," she said, reaching for the snakes. "I haven't had snake since I left Themyscira."

"I take it that it's a delicacy there?" he asked as he sat down next to the fire she'd built. He removed his gauntlets and cowl before removing his cape to spread out inside the shelter like a blanket.

"Actually, squid is more of a delicacy," she told him.

"I never developed a liking for squid," he divulged as he removed his cantina that he'd filled with fresh water and handed it to Diana. "Here, you need to stay hydrated."

Taking the cantina, Diana took a long drink before handing it back. "Batarang," she requested, holding her hand out to him.

He handed her one of his Batarangs, he watched with fascination as she expertly beheaded and skinned the snakes, creating skewers with the thin branches that she'd collected for the fire. She then went to work setting up a spit and in no time had the snake skewers cooking over the fire.

"That was impressive," he said with a lop-sided smile.

"Did the Dark Knight of Gotham just compliment me?" she teased with a grin.

"I wouldn't get used to it if I were you," he shot back. "Hell might freeze over before that happens again."

Diana chuckled with his response as she rotated the skewers on the spit. "You keep complimenting me I might just let you on my side of the island more often."

Bruce smirked at her, his gaze softening. "I'm sorry I was a jerk," he apologized.

A single, raven eyebrow cocked as she studied him. "A jerk?"

Bruce huffed under his breath. "Fine…a jackass," he corrected himself. "Are you happy?"

"I'm getting there," she replied. "Keep going."

"Will you let me take a look at your head?"

"After dinner," she relented as she handed him one of the skewers. "It'll burn if we don't eat now."

Taking the skewer, Bruce carefully took a bite, deciding Diana was a surprisingly good cook…either that or he was so hungry anything tasted good at that moment. "Not bad, princess," he told her.

"Could use a little salt, but it'll do," she decided.

"So, you didn't just sit in the palace being served hand and foot by your servants?" he teased.

Diana looked up sharply as she chewed her meat, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "No, I didn't just sit around the palace waiting to be served," she stated indignantly. "Is that what you really think of me?"

Bruce shrugged a shoulder as he took another bite. "I don't know…you tell me what life was like on Paradise Island growing up as a princess."

"I may have been the daughter of the queen, but I had to fight better, work longer, and train harder than everyone else. I had to prove myself better than my sisters because I was the daughter of the Queen of the Amazons. I needed to show that I was capable of assuming the throne and leading the Amazons should something happen to my mother."

"That's what I thought," he admitted with a smirk, pausing to lick his fingers.

Her expression grew somewhat sorrowful as she considered home. "I was actually kind of lonely at times," she confessed as she stared into the flickering flames of the fire. "I was the only child on the entire island, everyone like a mother-figure to me. Even when I got older, my sisters still thought of me as that little girl always getting into trouble."

"A troublemaker," he said with a grin. "I should have known. I had you pegged as a sweet, virtuous girl."

Diana glared haughtily at him, realizing that he'd only been provoking her. "I had my mischievous moments," she informed him. "So, what was life like growing up for you? Did Alfred wait on you hand and foot…bring you breakfast in bed?"

Bruce snorted in amusement as he reached for another skewer. "Do you honestly think that Alfred would wait on me hand and foot?" he asked with a snort of laughter. "He made certain that I didn't grow up to be a spoiled brat."

"Or spoiled bat," she said with a giggle.

"Funny, princess," he drawled with a roll of his eyes. "I had chores to do just like every other kid growing up…spent most of my time with Alfred or by myself. When I started my training to become Batman, I worked twice as hard as the others. I pushed myself, my mind and my body past their limits so I could be better than everyone else."

Diana thoughtfully chewed her dinner, realizing that she and the Dark Knight weren't that different. "Sounds like you had a somewhat lonely childhood too," she commented after several long moments of silence. "I guess we're more alike than people think."

"I guess so," he agreed, his brow furrowing in thought.

He'd never really realized how similar they were until that very moment. He'd always been so focused on their differences…all the things that would make it next to impossible to ever begin a relationship with her. He'd even used their differences in a ridiculous list of excuses he'd given her on that rooftop. Now, he was beginning to see things in a different light, realizing just how much alike they really were.

Diana reached for the last skewer, handing him the stick. "Here, take the last one," she offered to him.

"No, you should eat it," he told her. "You need to keep up your strength."

"I'm full," she insisted with a frown.

Bruce looked at her skeptically before finally taking the skewer from her. He snapped it in half, handing back the other half. "Here, we'll share it."

Diana gave him a look of exasperation before reluctantly taking it from him. Her fingers brushed against his, sending a tingle up her arm. She wondered if he had felt it too. "I'm really not hungry."

"Humor me, princess," he encouraged her. "You've only eaten one skewer of snake. I've seen you eat ten times that amount."

Diana's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Are you saying I'm a pig?"

"Well, you were at one time…" he teased, his voice trailing off.

Diana threw her used skewer at him, annoyed that it bounced lifelessly off his emblem covered chest. "I told you never to bring that up ever again."

"I didn't bring it up," he replied as he reached for his cantina. "You're the one who brought it up."

"Hera, Bruce," she ground out. "You're making my head hurt worse."

"So, you do have a headache."

Diana averted her eyes, wishing now she hadn't said anything. "It's not that bad."

"Let me take a look at it before the sun completely sets," he said with a gentleness that took her by surprise.

Removing his utility belt, he opened one of the compartments, removing the medical supplies that he needed. He moved to sit beside her, using his cantina to wet the gauze before he gently began dabbing it against her wound. He frowned at how deep the gash actually was, causing his worry to grow. He was going to have to keep a close eye on her.

Diana's eyes fell closed as he worked to clean her wound, trying not to respond to his close proximity. She hoped that he couldn't tell that her heart was beginning to beat a little harder. He had a way of knowing everything about everyone and it infuriated her to no end.

"Breathe, princess," he murmured as he wet another gauze. "You're holding your breath."

"No, I'm not," she insisted with a frown.

"You need stitches," he informed her.

"It'll be fine," she reassured him. "Your arm on the other hand…"

"My arm is fine," he tried to tell her, trying not to wince with every little movement. She didn't need to know that his arm hurt or that he could feel fresh blood oozing from it. "Let's just worry about you right now."

"You're deflecting," she pointed out, turning her head slightly to make eye contact with him only to find that his mouth was millimeters away from hers.

His gaze fell to her invitinh, red lips, his breath hitching almost imperceptibly. He swallowed hard as his mind raced with a thousand reasons why he shouldn't kiss her while his heart pounded with a million more why he should. He wasn't certain which one he wanted to win out at that moment, but he didn't have to make the decision.

Diana didn't hesitate, her lips meeting his with a determination to finally show him what she felt for him. She didn't give him a chance to think about it—to weigh every viewpoint, to decipher whether this was a good decision or not, to lose himself in his own mind again.

She tilted her head as she deepened the kiss, her hand coming to rest on the nape of his neck. The tip of her tongue danced along the seam of his lips, his mouth opening to invite her in. She moaned as their tongues slid seductively against one another's, spurring Bruce into taking control as his desire for this woman sparked hotly within him.

His arms snaked around her, pulling her closer to him as the kiss grew more heated…more persistent. She gasped as she drew back, both breathing heavily. Bruce ran his fingers back through his jet-black hair in an effort to regain some much-needed control. However, Diana wasn't about to let him, wanting him to finally lose control with her and inside of her.

She caught his lips in a heated rush, stealing his breath all over again. He buried his hands in her raven hair, groaning as she nipped and sucked on his bottom lip. She was already beginning to drive him crazy, his heart beating harder as his body demanded far more with her.

"Diana," he managed to utter her name as he broke the kiss. "We…we shouldn't…"

"Bruce, stop thinking for once in your life and follow your heart," she told him, her hand coming to rest on the side of his face. "What is that you want?"

Bruce lost himself in her deep blue eyes that threatened to drown him in the depths of the love he found swimming there. Love for him and only him. It stunned him senseless, logic fleeting along with all the doubts and fears that he'd been harboring and debating with for so long now.

"You…" he softly murmured, afraid to test his voice but pushed on. "It's always been you. I don't believe in love at first sight, but something happened inside of me the moment I met you. You captured first my attention, then my respect and somewhere along the way my heart."

Diana didn't get a chance to respond as he dipped his head and captured her lips. Her hands moved to grip his shoulders, careful to avoid the wound in his arm. The kiss quickly grew more passionate as he worked to remove her breastplate, anxious to run his hands over every inch of her body.

Diana readily stripped him of his uniform top, tossing it aside to run her hands over his muscular chest. She appreciated the sculpted curves and even more so the countless scars that crisscrossed his upper body. "Perfect," she murmured appreciatively to Bruce's surprise.

Her lips descended on a particular scar that ran from his clavicle down to his right pectoralis, his fingers digging into her hips as she blazed a passionate trail to his nipple. She gently pushed him to lay back on his black cape, eager to explore every part of this amazing man.

XXX

Bruce slowly opened his eyes, sighing softly. He couldn't help wondering if last night had been an amazing dream or if it had been a sweat reality. He smiled to himself as he stretched, feeling pain lance through his upper arm. The rest of his body was sore but in an incredibly good way.

Last night had been amazing in every way imaginable. She had literally rocked his world multiple times, he just as happily returning the favor just as often. The physical intimacy that they'd shared had been intense, binding them as one and making him anxious to experience that sweet connection with her all over again.

Sitting up, he spotted Diana standing in the ocean, the water lapping at her thighs and her wet raven hair clinging to her bare back. She turned to find him staring at her with shameless desire. She crooked her finger at him with a smile, inviting him to come join her in the water.

He didn't hesitate in responding to her invitation, getting up and walking towards her. Her hungry gaze wandered over his hard body, his desire for her more than obvious to her as he entered the water. Her smile became a smirk as he drew closer. "Didn't you get enough last night, Batman?" she flirted.

"You're such a beautiful tease," he huskily replied. "Are you feeling all right?"

"I told you last night, Bruce," she reminded him, pausing to kiss along his collarbone. "I'm fine…better than fine thanks to you."

He grabbed hold of her and branded her with a searing kiss, tongues tangling and fighting for control. She hummed her satisfaction as she returned his passionate kiss, her arms slipping around him and pulling him flush against her. She groaned with the feel of his hard member pressing into her abdomen, more than impatient to feel him inside of her again.

His hands skimmed across her hips to grip her thighs, lifting her up to wrap her legs around his waist. She eagerly complied, sucking in a gasp as she fully sank over him. She readily decided there was no better feeling in the whole world than when he was buried deep within her, his muscular body pressed against her.

Unexpected static abruptly filled both of their earpieces as their commlinks suddenly came to life. "This…tower…come in…" Superman's voice broke through. "We…rescue team. We'll…at your position…an hour."

Diana broke the kiss with a growl of frustration. "Should we answer?" she asked him.

"You do and I'll never forgive you," he growled, his mouth finding her pulse point.

"I love how you think, Dark Knight," she replied with a wicked grin.

"And I love you, princess," he told her, gently kissing the dark bruise that had formed on her cheek.

"Love you more," she flirted as she began to move her hips, his lips finding hers once more.

Bruce decided that whoever had said that being stranded on an island was a bad thing had never been stranded with an Amazon princess.