Complications(DCAU)
Bruce took a small sip of his glass of champagne as his piercing blue eyes surveyed the bustling ballroom. He had come to Paris as part of a case he was working on…or at least that's what he had told himself. The fact that an Amazon Princess was also going to be attending this same gala had little to do with it.
This was important business. She could be a complication…a very big one.
He unconsciously adjusted his bowtie as a wave of excited murmuring rose and fell like a crescendo through the ballroom. Lights seemed brighter at her entrance, the room suddenly awash in a sense of warmth and awe that even Bruce could feel.
Heads turned and necks craned just to get a glimpse of the beautiful Amazon from a magical island that had come to help save their world. Cameras flashed furiously as people began to gather around Diana, anxious to meet the exotic heroine who could crush steel with a single hand.
People began to talk over one another in excited desperation, hammering her with one question after another. Diana was clearly bewildered by the sudden wave of enthusiasm that was barraging her, taken back by all the questions and interest in her.
"May I have this dance?" he asked.
The deep baritone that greeted her ears had a familiar ring to it, the hand that cut through the gathering crowd a welcome lifeline at that point. She immediately reached for it, more than grateful for the rescue that had been afforded her.
"Yes!" she readily uttered, her hand slipping into his.
He quickly led her away from the crowd to the dance floor, expertly twirling her around. He was rather surprised by how graceful she was as well as her ability to dance. He shouldn't have been surprised, though. She always possessed a measure of grace that could outshine everyone around her.
"Thank you, Mister…uh…"
"Wayne…Bruce Wayne," he uttered with a well-practiced smile.
"I appreciate the rescue," she replied with a smile that seemed to light up the room.
"I'm surprised to see you here," he commented. "From what I've seen, this isn't really your sort of affair."
"I've decided to get out more…have a little fun," she divulged, finding herself completely at ease with this tall, handsome stranger.
"Enjoying yourself so far?" he found himself flirting with her. He mentally chided himself. This was strictly business.
"More than I expected," she replied. "How about you? What brings you to the City of Lights?"
"I never miss a good party," he smoothly responded, somewhat surprised by how comfortable it was to converse with her out of the Batsuit. "I may also have to attend to some business while I'm in town."
It would be so easy to lose himself in her, to give in to what he was beginning to feel for her. If only he could just allow himself to fall head over heels and not look back, but deep down, he knew it wouldn't be that easy. It never was and it never could be, not even with Diana.
Shattering glass, men dressed in black, and a kidnapping squashed those thoughts, reminding him once again of who and what they were. They had a job to do, and nothing could get in the way of that.
Complicated to say the least.
XXXXX
Batman did his best not to glance at her out of the corner of his eye, forcing himself to keep his focus on the museum they were watching. It didn't help that every time she ran her fingers through her raven hair, her Jasmine scent would assault him all over again.
"Get your head in the game," he rebuked himself.
He rolled his shoulders, steeling himself against the thoughts and feelings that attempted to overtake him. He couldn't allow himself to get wrapped up in a teammate let alone this one. He had his reasons, and there were many.
"Don't you ever wish you were down there?" she asked with a note of sadness.
"I'm down there all I need to be," he stated without missing a beat. It was impossible not to notice the loneliness that had crept into her voice, but he tried not to let it affect him.
"Yes, but it's just a job to you," she retorted, her frustration rising. "I'm talking about going down there and having some fun…maybe with someone special."
Batman turned to look at her, watching as she hooked a lock of hair behind her ear. He knew this conversation was eventually going to come up. They had grown exceptionally close over the last year, so much so that many in the League had taken notice, and bets were placed.
He knew he needed to put a stop to it. Hurting her was the last thing that he wanted to do, but he couldn't let her in no matter how deep his feelings for her ran. He had a mission and Gotham was his mistress. He couldn't afford another.
"No…no dating for the Batman," she said with a glare of annoyance. "It might cut into your brooding time."
The barb had been mildly sharp, but nonetheless he couldn't waver in his belief. The risks were far too great if they gave in to what they both obviously wanted. He would end up destroying her, destroying the bond of friendship they had cultivated, not to mention their seamless working relationship. He didn't want to risk it all for a romantic relationship that could never work.
None of his relationships ever worked.
Looking at her here and now with the moonlight glistening off her silken hair and her sapphire eyes alight with hope, it was difficult to remember all the reasons that he had created about why they couldn't be together. All he wanted in that moment was to give in to what he wanted for once in his life.
"It's far too complicated, Wayne," he growled to himself. "It won't end well. It never does for you."
"One…dating within the team always leads to disaster," he quickly rattled off. "Two…you're a princess from a society of immortal warriors and I'm a rich kid with issues…lots of issues. And three…if my enemies knew I had someone special, they wouldn't rest until they'd gotten to me through her."
Bruce had barely gotten the last word out of his mouth before Diana reached over and crushed the head of the gargoyle she had been leaning on. She had dramatically halted whatever reason that was next to come, the words dying on Batman's tongue.
"Next," she stated with a challenging look in her eyes, practically daring him to give her another ridiculous reason.
The alarm at the museum effectively ended that conversation, saving Bruce from trying to find a way to counter her point. Watching Diana being turned into a pig, losing her in the city, and then finding out she had nearly been slaughtered only seemed to prove his point in his mind.
XXXXX
John watched Shayera walk away with her lunch tray, a lingering longing still tugging at his heart despite the fact that he was with Vixen. "Anyway, why are we always talking about my love life?" he asked. "What's going on between you and Diana?"
"Nothing," Batman replied a little too quickly. "She's a respected colleague."
"Uh-huh," John mumbled in obvious disbelief.
"I'm in love with her but it's complicated," Batman thought to himself, refusing to give voice to his feelings.
"I don't have time to pursue a relationship," Batman said instead, attempting to explain. "My work is too important to allow any distractions. Diana is a remarkable woman, she's a valued friend…she's standing right behind me, isn't she?"
A lunch tray rattled as it was set on the table beside Batman, an arm slipping around his shoulders as she leaned in close. "Don't let that stop you," she said. "Keep digging."
Once again, Batman had been saved by another alarm, keeping his heart safe and his true feelings from being exposed. It had turned out to be a difficult mission, one that had forced him to watch Diana disappear right before his eyes with no way to stop it from happening.
Losing her was one of his greatest fears. That was one of the reasons he hadn't pursued her despite his feelings for her. He feared her being taken from him or Diana leaving him if things didn't work out between them, never to see her again. That day, he'd watched that fear play out right before his eyes.
The relief he had felt when they returned to the Watchtower cafeteria to find Diana there had nearly overwhelmed him. Everything had been set right and Diana had no memory of the events that had transpired.
XXXXX
Alfred frowned as he treated yet another wound, the Dark Knight grimacing as his butler finished suturing it closed. The bloody scissors clanked loudly as Alfred dropped them onto the metal tray. He took his medical gloves off, grabbing the roll of bandages.
It was more than obvious to Bruce that his old friend was not pleased with his latest set of injuries, but it couldn't have been avoided. People's lives had been at stake. If given the opportunity, he would do it all over again without a second thought.
"You know this is not what your parents would've wanted for you," Alfred told him, taping the bandage in place.
"Alfred…" Bruce uttered with a weary sigh, not in the mood for this argument yet again.
"I know they would be proud of your efforts to protect and save Gotham, but they would hate to see you coming home injured almost every night," he continued. "They would want more for you."
"You know it's part of the job," Bruce countered, gingerly raising his arm to work out the pain in his shoulder.
"And what of your future?" Alfred continued to press. "Is this all you're going to have?"
"Looks like it," Bruce retorted as he hopped off the medical table, making his way to his computer station with a slight limp to his gait.
"You need to think about finding someone and settling down," Alfred said. "You deserve to find some love and happiness."
Bruce snorted in response as he slid into his chair. "This life isn't very conducive to a relationship."
"I know of one woman who would accept it and even join you in your fight," he suggested.
Bruce shook his head. "Diana and I are just friends, Alfred—nothing more."
It was Alfred's turn to snort his disbelief. "Bull rubbish," he stated. "You are in love with her, and you know she has feelings for you. Yet, you refuse to acknowledge it."
"That doesn't mean I should start a relationship with her or ask her to marry me."
"What are you afraid of, Master Bruce?"
Bruce tilted his head back against the headrest, feeling a bad headache coming on as he squeezed his eyes closed. "It's…complicated, Alfred."
Alfred drew near as he leaned against a desk, folding his arms against his blood-stained apron. "The only one that makes everything complicated is you," he gently pointed out. "You need to give yourself a chance at happiness with Miss Diana. You know I'm right. She's the only one who truly accepts you for who you are and what you have dedicated your life to doing."
Bruce thought about it for a long moment. He did know that Alfred was right, but did that give him the right to drag the woman he loved into the darkness that was his life? They were so different and yet so alike in so many ways.
"Think about it," Alfred softly said, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder before turning and leaving him to his thoughts.
Bruce did think about it long into the early morning hours before he finally decided to head to bed. Could he actually allow himself the happiness that had eluded him for years? He decided he'd think about it later, sleep beginning to claim him.
Maybe it didn't have to be so complicated.
XXXXX
Diana appeared on the transporter pad in the Batcave, knowing that she wasn't going to be welcomed initially. Fortunately, she'd brought provisions that would hopefully soothe a measure of his annoyance with her unexpected appearance.
She didn't see him at his computer station nor was in the gym. She finally spotted him at his workstation, tinkering with something. Probably a new gadget that he had thought up, she decided as she approached.
"What are you doing here, princess?" Bruce demanded to know without even looking up.
"I knew Alfred was gone this week so I thought I would bring you dinner," she replied with a smile, setting down a large bag.
"I'm not hungry," he stated, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye as the smell of the food she'd brought wafted toward him.
He wouldn't admit it, but he hadn't eaten all day. He'd been too busy between Wayne Enterprises and working on this new device that he was creating. He'd actually lost track of time. It wasn't until the transporter alerted him to the fact that he had a visitor that he realized it was after seven.
"Your loss," she said with a shrug of a shoulder, obviously undeterred. "Well, I guess I'll eat while you work then."
Diana began removing different containers from the bag, the smell of Chinese food filling the workstation. She hummed softly as she worked to arrange the containers, pulling out paper plates and a pair of chopsticks.
He smiled to himself as she tossed the chopsticks back into the bag, retrieving a fork instead. As powerful and amazing as Diana was, she'd never been able to get the hang of chopsticks. She quickly began to dig in, filling her plate, and causing him to pause to watch her.
"What?" she said, noticing him looking at her. "I haven't eaten all day."
"Missions?"
"All day long," she confirmed.
"Is that how you got that cut on your arm?" he asked with a nod at the large gash on her forearm.
"It's nothing," she insisted. "It'll be gone by morning."
"In the meantime, it's starting to bleed on my workstation."
"Sorry," she murmured, taking a couple of napkins to wipe away the blood droplets.
"Come with me," he stated, taking her plate from her.
"Bruce!" she exclaimed. "That's my breakfast, lunch, and dinner."
"It can wait until I bandage your arm."
Bruce led her to the medical bay, pointing her towards the medical bed as he grabbed supplies. Turning around, he found an annoyed Amazon glaring at him as she held her arm gingerly. "It's not that bad," she tried to tell him.
"Good," he replied. "Then, it won't hurt to put a bandage on it."
Diana reluctantly held her arm out, deciding the gash was deeper than she had originally thought. Hopefully, once he'd taken care of it, she could tempt him into eating some Chinese with her. "How have you been surviving without Alfred this week?"
"Been too busy to even notice," he told her.
"That's…touching," she said as he set the supplies on the medical stand.
"I didn't mean it like that," he attempted to explain. "I just meant that it's been so busy this week that I haven't had a chance to notice much of anything."
"Where are the boys?"
"They all went to a double-feature movie."
Diana watched as he gently began cleaning the wound, taking his time to check the gash. Picking up some tweezers, he began to remove shards of glass. "Diana, this is bad," he chided her. "No wonder it was still bleeding with all this glass in it. Why didn't you go to the infirmary?"
"Same reason you never go."
"Touche," he murmured.
Finished with the task of removing all the glass, Bruce finally began wrapping bandages around it. Satisfied with his work, he backed up. "Okay, now you can eat."
"Thank you," she said with a smile, hopping off the medical bed. Looking around, she asked, "Do you ever sleep down here?"
"Sometimes," he admitted as he returned to his workstation. "I have a bed over that way past the medical bay."
"Get something to eat," she encouraged him. "I'm sure you haven't eaten all day either."
Bruce decided he couldn't fight the hunger that was gnawing at his guy any longer. Taking the plate she handed him, he filled it with his favorites, settling on top of one of the barstools beside her. He grabbed chopsticks from the bag, using them with expert precision.
"I don't know how you can use those things."
"Easy," he told her with a grin, popping a shrimp into his mouth.
Diana shook her head with a chuckle. "I can never get the hang of them."
"Here," he said, grabbing a set of chopsticks and handing them to her.
She picked them up, Bruce adjusting them in her hand. He kept his hand over hers as he helped her pick up a noodle. It slipped out of her chopsticks as it neared her lips, sliding down her chin and onto her shirt. They both laughed as she picked up the noddle and threw it at Bruce.
"This isn't working," she decided.
"You need more practice," he encouraged her, his hand still holding hers.
They stared into each other's eyes, losing themselves to what they felt for one another. Bruce leaned in to kiss her, finding her meeting halfway. Their mouths collided in a long-awaited kiss that had been far too long in coming.
The chopsticks were forgotten as was the Chinese food as they finally gave in to what they both had wanted. Her hands found his face as she tilted her head, her tongue finding the warmth of his mouth. It served to further light the fire that was burning within them.
Diana shifted her position to sit on his lap, her legs wrapping around his waist as his lips traveled down her throat. She leaned her head back with a gasping moan as she rocked her hips against his. His arms snaked around her waist, keeping her flush against him as he stood up, determined to have her tonight.
As he stood up, he knocked over the stool, but neither noticed it. He began to carry her towards the bed he kept in the cave. She sucked on his earlobe, raking her teeth over it before moving to the sensitive spot behind his ear. Diana's shorts didn't survive Bruce's heady ambition.
It was Bruce's turn to moan with building desire as he nearly stumbled over some equipment cables that he'd left on the cave floor. They careened into the rocky wall of the cave, Diana's back slamming hard against it. She didn't let that slow her down as her mouth connected with his once more.
She ground her hips against his, both of them panting heavily and parting only long enough for him to remove her shirt. She made quick work of his shorts, pushing them past his hips with her heels. Bruce deftly kicked his way out of them as he turned to carry her to their desired destination.
Diana's bra went flying over his shoulder, landing on some computer console as his boxer shorts soon followed suit. Bruce kissed along her collarbone as Diana's fingernails raked down his back, earning a hiss of pleasure from her soon-to-be lover. Her lace panties were practically torn off, left to hang precariously from an IV pole.
They staggered towards the bed only to bump into a stack of crates that toppled over with the unexpected collision. Bruce regained his footing enough that they fell onto the bed, laughing as they struggled to catch their breath.
"This is not going at all how I had imagined it would," he told her as he buried his face in the crook of her neck, placing nipping kisses along her flesh. "I had pictured flowers and candles and lingerie…"
"You've been imagining making love with me?" she breathlessly asked, her chest heaving in anticipation.
"More times than I can count," he confessed, lifting his head to gaze into her eyes.
She reached up to brush a lock of jet-black hair away from his forehead. "So have I," she admitted.
He couldn't help but smile down at her, his hand caressing her cheek. "This is going to be complicated, you know," he warned her.
"It only has to be as complicated as you make it out to be," she gently reminded him.
Gazing down into her blue eyes clouded with desire for him, he came to a conclusion. "To hell with complications," he growled before his mouth crashed into hers.