Dance (Any)
Rain began to pour down, not a heavy, torrential downpour, but a steady beating of water droplets pelting the Earth. It was a soothing sound that seemed to bring a measure of comfort, a measure of normalcy after everything that had been so anarchic.
Not just chaotic. It had been a living nightmare, one that they had managed to thwart…just barely.
Her eyes fell closed, swearing that she could still hear the terrifying screams of people running for their lives with no safe place to go. No safety, no shelter to be found. Those same screams still haunted her dreams every night when she went to sleep.
Would they ever cease?
She felt an unexpected tear skip down her cheek, forcing her to open her eyes. It would take time, but life would eventually return to normal again…whatever that was. She didn't think she knew anymore. It felt like a lifetime since anything felt normal.
She knew she wasn't alone in that unsettling feeling. She wrapped her arms around her torso as if holding all the pieces of herself together. She was an Amazon, a warrior. She shouldn't allow herself to feel so upset about the war they'd been forced to fight.
She held not one ounce of regret about anything that had happened during what people were now calling the Great Invasion. She frowned to herself as she considered it. There was nothing great about it. The only positive was that they had won, defeated Darkseid and his army, sending them back to Apokolips with their tails between their legs.
Too many lives had been lost, too much bloodshed.
Angrily wiping away another unwanted tear, Diana stared out at the rain, a thought taking shape in her mind. Her lips slowly curled into a mischievous smirk. She hadn't been living since the first Parademon had invaded their space. She had felt as if she was nothing more than an empty shell for the last month.
Fighting, killing, saving lives, and feeling as though she was losing a piece of herself with every swing of her sword. It was not the killing that had stolen something from her. It was something deeper…darker that she couldn't put her finger on. She wasn't sure she wanted to.
The mischievousness on her lips soon occupied her eyes as well as she slipped off her sweater first. Watching the rain, she felt an inexplicable pull that would not be denied. Her socks and shoes quickly followed next, joining her sweater in a pile on the floor.
She looked down at the cast on her arm, knowing it was supposed to come off in a couple of days. She had insisted that it was unnecessary, but others who were just as stubborn as she was had insisted otherwise. Hence, the white cast on her arm.
She grabbed hold of it with her right arm, crushing the plaster with ease. The cast crumbled to the floor in a dusty pile that she told herself she'd clean up later as she made her way towards the back patio door. Without a word, she exited the house, standing on the patio, she watched as if in a trance as the rain fell in a steady pitter-patter.
Without thinking twice, Diana walked out into the rain, the sound of thunder grumbling all around her. Standing in the grass, she lifted her face to the angry clouds above her, her eyes falling closed as she savored the feel of the cool water splashing against her skin.
Her lips parted, allowing the droplets to fall into her mouth. It tasted like spring…like renewal as lightning streaked in the distant sky. She knew it was probably crazy to be out here in the middle of a thunder and lightning storm, but it felt daring and amazing and rejuvenating in a way that she could never explain.
"Diana!"
She smiled at the sound of his familiar baritone voice, keeping her eyes closed as she appreciated the falling rain. She was drenched from head to toe, and she didn't care one bit. Her shirt stuck to her like a second skin, her jeans growing heavy and threatening to slip past her hips.
"Diana! Get in here!"
Diana lifted her arms up away from her body as if beckoning the rain to come harder, the lightning to come closer. "No! You come out here!"
"No!" he yelled back. "You're still recovering! You should be resting!"
"I'm tired of resting!" she hollered back.
Diana finally turned to face him, her raven hair stuck against her head and shoulders. She saw Bruce standing there under the safety of the covered porch, his arms crossed against his chest and a scowl fixed on his face. She swore that scowl had been permanently carved into his face for the last month. It hadn't broken form once, not even when she'd gotten him to sign her cast.
"Don't make me come out there and get you!" he shouted with a growling tone that was unmistakably all Batman.
Hadn't he learned long ago that there was nothing he could do to intimidate her and yet he still tried every chance he got.
"You're going to have to if you want me!" she challenged him.
She could hear him curse despite the thunder that grew louder, the lightning that cracked as if Zeus himself was showing his support for Bruce. She didn't care. She felt alive for the first time in over a month, and she was going to enjoy every single second of it for as long as possible.
"Diana!" he yelled. "You're going to get sick!"
"I don't get sick!"
A string of curses followed that made her giggle. She knew that he was in a battle that he was never going to win. Battle of wills, battle of egos, battle of the sexes. It had started from the first moment they had met. He knew it too, but still, he tried. Tried to outrun her, outrun his feelings, outrun the capitulation that awaited him…outrun the rain.
"Come on, Bruce!" she encouraged him. "Come play in the rain with me!"
"I think that hit to the head by Darkseid did more damage than we thought!" he shouted back. "You've lost your mind!"
"You don't believe that," she told him as she slowly began to approach him, her eyes locked on him like a predator on its prey.
"Diana…" he warned her, knowing what she was up to as he gave her a threatening glare.
Her lips curled into a grin as she stopped just before the protection of the patio. Rain ran in rivets down her face and neck, disappearing beneath her shirt that was revealing far more than she realized…or maybe she knew all too well what she was doing.
Bruce's gaze wandered over her as she held out her hand to him. He slowly shook his head, his resolve beginning to crumble. She was gorgeous. "I need to take you in to have your head checked."
She ran her fingers through her wet hair as her eyes momentarily fell closed, knowing she was an absolute mess, but she couldn't have cared less. "I've never felt better," she replied. "You should try it. It would do you good to be unpredictable for once in your life."
The corner of his lips quirked slightly as he studied her. "Unpredictable?" he questioned her; his arms still folded across his chest in a defensive stance. "You think I can't be unpredictable?"
"No," she dared him. "I think it goes against the strict Bat code."
He couldn't help but snort in amusement. "Bat code? Do you really think I have a Bat code?"
"Yes, I do," she confirmed, using her fingers to beckon him to come with her. "I don't think you have it in you to be unpredictable…walk a little on the wild side."
"Is being out in the rain getting drenched while you're supposed to be recovering from your injuries walking on the wild side?"
"It is if that's all you have available at the time," she pointed out. "I think you're scared."
His gaze narrowed as he stared at her. "Scared of what?"
"I don't know," she replied. "Why don't you tell me."
"I'm not scared of anything," he stated.
"Are you sure about that?" she questioned him. "I'm beginning to think you're scared of me."
With a contemplative look on his face, Bruce glanced up at the sky, wondering if he was the one losing his mind now. Removing his sweatshirt, he tossed it aside, removing his socks and tennis shoes before walking out into the rain with her.
"There," he said, standing before her. "Happy?"
"No, dance with me," she requested.
"Dance?"
"Yes, I want to dance," she insisted, offering him her hand.
He looked at her hand before taking in the mischievous expression. Who could possibly say no to that face? "Fine," he relented, taking her hand. "I'm already soaked to the bone. Why not dance too while we get struck by lightning?"
"Exactly," she agreed. "I'm glad you finally see things my way."
Taking her into his arms, Bruce and Diana began to dance in the rain, their bare feet moving in the wet grass as they moved to a tune that only they could hear in their minds. Diana rested her head on his shoulder as they danced, the rain falling around them as thunder rumbled above.
Inside, Alfred happened to glance out the window to see the pair dancing in the rain. It brought a smile to his face, a feeling of great satisfaction filling him. They'd been figuratively dancing around their feelings for each other for far too long and now it seemed that dance was finally leading somewhere.
Bruce lost track of time as he held her in his arms, swaying in the rain. He had to admit that it was something that he'd never done, but it was turning out to be the most enjoyable thing that he'd done in a very long time…far too long if he were honest.
He tilted his head to rest on top of hers, her hand held protectively in his. He'd thought he'd lost her in the war with Darkseid, but she had survived in the end, proving once more the depths of her fighting spirit. Nothing was going to keep her down, not even Darkseid, but he had stolen her joy and that had scared him almost as much as her dying.
They'd suffered some casualties, more than he cared to think about. Thankfully, Diana hadn't been one of them. It had proven to him once more just how short and unpredictable life could be. Friends and acquaintances had learned that the hard way over the last month.
"I'm not scared of you, Diana," he softly admitted as they swayed back and forth in the pouring rain.
"What are you scared of then?" she asked, pulling back to look into his eyes.
"Losing you…you not being you anymore," he confessed.
"I'm not going anywhere," she reminded him. "I'm right here."
"You almost did," he told her. "You almost went somewhere I couldn't reach you. I don't want to go through that again. I need you to be you."
"What do you think we should do about it?"
Bruce lowered his lips to hers, bestowing her with a sensual kiss that conveyed his feelings for her. Her hand slipped around to the back of his neck wet with rain, pulling him incredibly closer as she shared in his feelings. Her lips moved against his in a slow, passionate burn that had them both warming up despite the cool wind that swept through with the storm.
His hands moved to cradle her face, his tongue seeking refuge in the warm cavern of her mouth. The rain began to fall harder as the wind whipped around them. A deafening crack of lightning interrupted their intimate moment, causing them to retreat.
Rain pounded down in waves, forcing them to run for cover on the patio where they found some towels and a couple of blankets waiting for them. They took a towel drying off as much as they could before Bruce pulled her to him, wrapping them up in a blanket.
They sank into a lounge chair, curled up together in the warmth of each other's embrace and the blanket. He kissed her softly, tightening his hold on her as they cuddled under the safety of the patio. They watched as it poured down rain, enjoying the sweet solace they had found in one another.
"I've never danced in the rain before," he admitted. "It's a first."
"There's a first time for everything."
"There's another first time I'm dying to share with you," he flirted with her, kissing her forehead.
"We have plenty of time for that later," she decided, not wanting to leave this spot just yet. "Right now, I just want to hold on to you and watch the rain."
She pressed her lips against his, wishing they could just shed their clothes and make love right here, but propriety ruled against it. Maybe next rainstorm when no one was home but them. Right now, she just wanted to savor this time with him, knowing they were fortunate to have it.
She had once heard that life should never be taken for granted, always try to find joy by learning to dance in the rain despite the storms of life. She'd learned that lesson in glaring clarity during the month-long war with Darkseid. He had taken something from her, something that she never thought she'd find again.
She'd found that dancing in the rain had renewed her joy, and refreshed her spirit.
It had also given her what she'd wanted most. It had given her Bruce.