A/N: I don't usually do this fluffy kind of writing.
I got to the dojo in Wayne Manor not expecting to see what I saw, but I really should have. Bruce was there beating the crap out of a punching bag.
"I know you are off of bed rest, but shouldn't you be taking it easy," I asked not sure if he should be doing something so strenuous.
"I'm fine. You going out tonight," he returned a little out of breath. Sweat was dripping down his face and his chest was glistening. Chill Barbara, it's too early in the day for that.
"Yes, why?" If he thinks he's up to going out on patrol tonight, then he's crazy.
"I'm coming with you," he said pouring water from a water bottle over his head.
"No, you're not," I replied sternly, "How about you wait a week…or two. Cause, you know, you crashed a plane into a kryptonite warhead and miraculously lived."
"Barbara," he said glaring a bit.
"Barbara," I said in a deep tone that mocked his.
"That's real mature," he countered back.
"No offense but I'm also worried about my safety. I'd rather have a partner out there who is ready than someone who has barely recovered from CRASHING AN AIRPLANE INTO A MISSLE," I said really spelling out the last part for him. Bruce just looked at me blankly trying not to react.
"Fine then, spar with me. If I beat you, you have nothing to worry about," he said. I gave him an incredulous look. He didn't falter with his gaze.
"Okay then you're on," I said reaching for the tape. I wrapped it around my hands quickly and stood on the sparring mat.
"Ready," he asked.
"Let's go tough guy," I tapped his fists to show I was ready.
He threw the first punch. I dodged it easily. He then tried to do a cross, jab, and then uppercut. All dodged again by me.
"Are you even going to try to hit me," he asked. He went to punch again but I grabbed his hand and blocked it. I then kicked my foot to the back of his knee. He fell to the ground. I kicked him in the chest and he fell on his back. I put my foot to his throat to hold him down.
"You see what I-" I began to say and was interrupted by him grabbing my foot and pushing it back. We kept sparring back and forth until we were both in fighting poses and not sure what attack to try out next.
"You would have beaten me by now," I said breathing heavily.
"You have gotten better, that's all," he replied. Partly True.
"It has nothing to do with you being injured," I interjected dodging another punch.
He really was pissing me off. I went for the final push: punch, punch, cross, elbow, uppercut, knee in the gut, and to top it off roundhouse kick. He fell to the ground with a thud. I suddenly realized what I just did and came rushing over.
"Damn it, Bruce! See why I didn't want to do this shit. Why do you have to be so stubborn?"
He groaned a bit and slowly got up. "I'm hitting the showers," he said wincing.
"Damn it," I said irritated with myself.
"Barbara. It's okay. Really." I could tell he was angry and embarrassed.
"No, it's not," I said looking him in the eyes. His disposition melted before me.
Both of our eyes were locked in on each other and both our chests heaved up and down trying to get air in our lungs. We had been really going at it. At that moment everything seemed to slow down. He looked at my lips and I looked at him and then that's when he did it. He kissed me in broad daylight where anyone could see us. I was surprised at first, but then I just let it happen. We were all sweaty and gross but we didn't care.
"We shouldn't be doing this here," I said laughing a little bit.
"You're right. We shouldn't be doing this, I need to rest," he said teasing me. He just keyed me up and then stopped...That's my power move.
"If we were to do something, you won't have to do anything too strenuous," I teased back and upped the ante by letting my hair down.
"I don't want to distract you before you go on patrol," he said getting a towel and gently wiping the sweat off of his neck and chest. He knew what he was doing.
"Hmm, how thoughtful of you," I said slightly irritated. I needed to take a shower, a cold shower.
Later that night Bruce was in the cave working on the computer. I already sent Tim off to bed. It was eerily silent for a moment like he was waiting for me to say or do something else.
"Is Alfred still up," I asked nonchalantly and hoping the answer was 'no'.
It seemed like these days asking if Alfred was still up was code for 'I need to be physical with you now'. He stopped typing and turned to give me a glance. A glance that told me he DID know exactly what he was doing earlier.
"Shut up," I said taking a step back and pointing a finger at him and slightly laughing.
"Now you know what it's like," he responded with a very matter-of-fact tone and a hook in his brow. I got defensive.
"What are you talking about," I said with a straight face. I knew what he was talking about. I just wanted him to tell me. He turned the chair to face me.
"Ever since we started this thing between us you have been purposely trying to get me riled up," he said staring directly at me. The accusation was true.
"Okay, when have I done that," I asked mockingly. He looked at me like I had to be kidding. I was but I wanted to hear him say it.
"What about that night I had you stay home because of your headache and you knew I still needed to patrol but decided to kiss me and run your fingers through my hair? Or what about that morning you came into my room, made out with me, and then left saying you needed to get ready for work? Or the time I was remotely attending a meeting with the League and you were purposely stretching and working out off-screen right where I could just see you? Or when you were mad at me but bandaged my arm and stroked my hand seductively? Or how about all the times you brush up against me while we are on patrol knowing that I am trying to concentrate? I could go on but we'd be here all night," he replied with some irritation.
I furrowed my brow. "Wait, I wasn't purposely doing anything for most of those, especially when we are on patrol," I said confused.
"So don't do it on purpose anymore," he replied with a raised tone of frustration.
My cheeks burned. I was embarrassed. I had no idea it was that bad. The last thing I wanted to do was completely distract him while he was out on patrol.
He got up from his chair and closed the gap between us. He then decided he needed to take my cowl off so he can really look at me.
"You really still have no idea how irresistible you are to me," he said moving a strand of hair from my face, "what do you need from me to convince you?"
"Nothing," I said smiling at his gesture, "it's a 'me' thing." He looked into my eyes, held me close, and kissed me. The kiss was a little different than usual, it was like he was trying to prove to me that any doubts I had were wrong.
"Actually I take it back. More of that will convince me," I said while he tried to continue to kiss me. He ignored me trying to be funny, knowing it was a defense mechanism. My heart skipped a beat as he delved deeper into the kiss. He gently put a hand to my face.
"Bruce," I said. It was all I could muster out.
"Have I convinced you yet," he whispered as he rested his forehead against mine.
"Mmmhhmm almost," I hummed back. He gave a bit of a lopsided grin to that.
"I love you," he said with his grin and staring deeply into my eyes. I was paralyzed for a moment. I was not expecting that at all. I felt lightheaded for a second. I didn't know how to respond because I wasn't sure I heard him right. It wasn't until I searched his face with my eyes that I knew he meant it. I didn't hear him wrong.
"You don't have to say it back," he said concerned as if he did something wrong. I smiled and stood on my tip toes so I could reach him better. I kissed him gently and deeply. He held me closer and slightly lifted me off the ground with his embrace. I pulled away and got lost in his eyes for a moment.
"I know I don't have to say it back, but I love you too," I said with a smile.
Bruce chose to respond physically and began to kiss me again. This time it was even more passionate and intense than earlier. I really was that intoxicating to him.
"Let's go upstairs so I can convince you some more," he said leading me towards the stairs. Our kissing remained feverish as we made our way up the stairs to the mansion. We didn't make it to the bedroom though. I pulled him to one of my favorite rooms in his home, the library. I was still in my costume and he was in just a shirt and some casual pants. I grabbed some of the blankets Alfred kept in there for me to use when I read and I pulled him into the stacks of books in the far corner of the room.
"Can't say I've ever done this in here," he said between feverish kisses.
"It's my favorite room here," I replied.
He unbuckled my belt and let it drop to the floor. Soon he was pulling at my cape and cowl. I was pulling at the soft cotton shirt he wore and pulled it quickly over his head. I then saw one of his new scars across his chest from the crash. I took a moment to look at it and then look at him.
"I'm here," he said reassuring me this all wasn't just some dream. That he really did crash a plane into Kryptonite warhead and he did in fact just tell me he loved me. I slowly kissed the scar as if that would make it disappear.
"I almost believe that you could make it go away by doing that," he whispered knowing what I was trying to do.
He then pulled my top off over my head and took his hand and put it under my chin. He brought up my chin so he could kiss my lips which were swollen by this point from his rough kissing. He bit my lower lip slightly and pulled me towards him from the small of my back. That caused my breath to hitch and my back to arch. That was the plan all along as it gave him access to my neck and collarbone.
Once again I believed he could devour me at any moment and I would be completely fine with it. His hands forced their way under my sports bra and he pulled that over my head. I was now completely topless and my bare chest was up against his as we continued to kiss. My hands made their way to his pants and I pulled at his waist. I turned us around and shoved him against the bookshelf behind him. We both simultaneously helped each other with our pants and shoes. I got caught up in the tight pants of my costume and tripped falling towards the ground. He took the tumble with me and quickly turned us to make sure we landed on his back and not mine. Not only did we go down, but we both managed to dislodge some books from their places on the shelves.
"Oh my god! Are you okay," I asked worriedly. I hoped we didn't hurt one of his still-healing ribs.
"More than okay," he said rolling us over so he was on top. Another book that must have been teetering on the edge came down and bonked him on the head. I gritted my teeth apologetically towards him. He just rubbed the back of his head for a moment and gave me a slight smile.
"Still okay," he said calming my worries. I gave him a cartoonish frown and laughed a little.
"You don't always have to protect me," I said giving him a sheepish look.
"I know," he said giving me a kiss and then pulling back again, "but I want to." He then kissed me again to shut down the conversation and get back to what we were down here for. No more words, just actions.
One thing that can be said about Bruce is that he took his time and was very sensual. He knew that the little things in lovemaking are what made me happy. He also made sure that I was enjoying myself, which is something other men rarely did. Nothing was performative, it was all genuine. At one point he whispered in my ear, "Are you convinced now?"
"Yes," I said breathlessly as he made my breath hitch again. I tried my best to stifle a moan as he kissed down my neck to my clavicle. I was careful to not be rough with his midsection. His ribs were still healing. As I reached my peak I made sure to make direct eye contact with him. I felt so vulnerable at the moment but so safe at the same time. This man has a hold of me now. Not just body and mind, but soul too.
After we were spent, we collapsed next to each other on the floor. Somehow more books came tumbling off the shelves at some point. "If you had done that instead of sparing with me earlier I probably would have said you were more than capable of going out on patrol," I said smirking as I turned on my side so I could see him. He reached for one of the blankets I grabbed earlier and covered us both with it.
"Funny," he replied flatly. Bruce was the king of the deadpan expression.
"It's weird not having you out there," I replied mindlessly tracing an unknown pattern on his chest with my fingertips.
"This is the longest time I've ever gone," he said a bit concerned.
"You had to heal first. I'm glad you took that time," I said sternly.
"Between you and Alfred, I had no choice," he replied.
"Hmmm," I hummed rolling more on top of him and covering his body with mine under the blanket. I just smiled and put my hand to his face.
"Satisfied," he asked damn well knowing the answer.
"With you...always," I said using my thumb to stroke his cheek. "What about you," I asked genuinely curious.
"Do I have to convince you again," he asked a bit concerned.
"No...well maybe," I said with a hook in my eyebrow.
"I thought I was pretty convincing earlier, especially when I did that one thing. Or at least you seemed to think it was pretty convincing at the moment", he smirked.
I clicked my tongue, "You certainly were convincing." He stared into my eyes like he was trying to forever etch this memory into his mind or at least that was what I was trying to do.
"I love you," I said opening my heart to him.
"I opened Pandora's box," his eyebrows lifted up with that statement. I laughed into his chest. He knew I was going to say to him all the time now and giggle about it sometimes.
"I for sure thought I was going to be the one who said it first," I said jokingly.
"I'm going to be endlessly teased for it now aren't I," he inquired.
I nodded and bit my lower lip to try to hide my smile. I was a bit giddy.
"You are the emotional one in the relationship now," I replied with a straight face still trying to hide my smile.
"Really," he said with a slight grin. I laughed back.
"Whoever says it first is the emotion-" my breath hitched. He cut me off by flipping me onto my back and kissing my neck. He knew how to shut me up.
"You were saying," he replied knowing exactly what he'd done.
"I don't recall," I said running a hand up his back and to his hair. He growled a bit at that.
"Maybe round three will give you no doubts that I'll be fine out there," he whispered in my ear. Chills ran down my spine and goosebumps formed on my skin.
"As long as you do that thing again," I whispered back into his ear and then kissed the spot between his earlobe and jawline. His breath hitched a bit at that and he kissed down my neck even more. He did end up doing that thing again and it was just as toe-curling as the first time. Later my heart ached as we put the books back and went up to our rooms. I wanted to stay in the moment with him forever, but we didn't want to give Tim or Alfred the shock of their lives if they found us naked on the floor of the library and asleep together.