Chapter 13: Olive Branch

Diana had remained mostly hidden in her room since what the Watchtower was calling "The Batman Beating" more than 24 hours before. Everyone, it seemed, wanted to know what started it. The general thinking seemed to be: of course Batman could hold his own against Wonder Woman and go nearly 35 minutes with the Amazon princess. And no, there was no reason why Wonder Woman shouldn't fight Batman if he deserved it. But why?

The answer was simple. She was tired of his "protecting" her from dangers – real and imagined. She was especially tired of not being told of the dangers – whether they be real or imagined. But it was a private matter between her and Batman and she didn't want to answer questions.

However, after a day of coming out only to eat armed her haughtiest face to discourage questions, she was bored. She wanted company. So, mentally prepared with the best way of handling the inquisitive, she opened her door.

And nearly tripped over a small, plain canvas bag.

She was quite certain she had not heard a knock but she picked up the bag and returned to her room. Sitting on the edge of her bed, she opened it.

Inside was a hairbrush, a toothbrush, a neatly folded blue silk robe and the few other items of hers that she had left at the Wayne Manor. She felt a sense of panic build up inside her as she looked for a note or any kind of explanation.

There wasn't one.

Was he dumping her? Was this just house keeping? What was going on?

She immediately activated her communicator.

"Wonder Woman to Batman," she said trying to keep the trembling out of her voice.

"Look at the clock, Princess," came the harsh answer, followed by his disconnecting.

She did. He was on patrol.

She stared at the wall wondering what to do next. Obviously, she would have to go see him after patrol.

This meant she had plenty of time to get her breathing and the panicked feeling under control. But it also meant she had plenty of time to think the worst.

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The headlights of the Batmobile lit her up wonderfully. He knew that she would be waiting for him, especially after the call earlier. She was dressed casually in jeans and a red long-sleeved shirt. She had pulled her hair back into a ponytail and even stood with the casual grace that seemed to come naturally to her, but he suspected she had worked very hard to make sure she looked casual and at peace. He felt a twinge of guilt which he quickly quashed.

He cut the engine on the Batmobile and got out of the car. Then, he stood silently next to the vehicle.

"I brought the canvas bag back," she said. "I gave it to Alfred, but he told me I ought to wait for you."

He continued to stand silently.

"He didn't quite understand why you brought my personal items back to me either," she said.

"Either?" he asked, his voice feigning surprise.

"Bruce, just be direct. Are you ending our relationship? Was that what you wanted to tell me?"

"Am I ending the relationship? Does that mean it wasn't you in the training room?" he said coldly and began to walk towards the Batcave's computer.

Diana flushed a bit. "No, it was, but I thought...," she said to his back.

"What?" he snapped and turned towards her. "That you would wait a day, call me, maybe come down here in something silky and it would all be as before?"

"But it wasn't about us, it was…"

Again, he interrupted her. "Princess, that's why you don't date within the team. It is always about us, at all levels."

It was her turn to stand silently. Her eyes were wide but otherwise, she was managing to keep her emotions from being read. After a moment of her silence, Batman turned back to the computer.

"All right," she said mournfully and turned around, clearly planning to leave the cave.

"Repercussions, Princess," he said darkly without looking at her. He was working very hard on focusing on his computer and the materials he had brought back from his patrol.

She stopped mid-stride and turned back towards him. "What?"

"Repercussions, Princess," he repeated exactly as he had said it the first time in the same position – preparing a slide of a small chemical sample for the microscope.

"You're kidding," she all but spat.

"No," he said evenly.

She paused, clearly thinking. "You're an ass," she said matter-of-factly.

"Princess?" he asked, but he had a feeling he knew. She had worked it out. He looked up from his work.

"You heard me. You never said 'it's over,' did you? This is your way of proving that you were right the whole time. I don't think things through and this was your way of teaching me a lesson. Damn, I should hit you again," she said. However, the tone of her voice was more disgusted than angry.

He said nothing. Besides, he was too busy suppressing a smile. It was one of the things that amazed him about their relationship – they never seemed to be able to stay mad at each other very long. Considering the passionate nature of them both, it was something of a miracle. They understood each other so well.

"That's why Alfred didn't know what was going on. He wouldn't have let me in the house if you told him our relationship was over. Damn you, Bruce Wayne."

Her body language was matching her voice. She was disgusted with herself for not catching on sooner. He removed his cowl and placed it on the desk.

"Language, Princess. With your connections, your damning me is quite worrisome," he said lightly.

"It should," she said with a smile.

"Princess, you shouldn't be the only one who gets to make a painful point," he said gently.

Suddenly her stance and expression changed. She smiled at him mournfully and walked over to him. She stopped about six inches in front of him.

"That isn't what you taught me," she said softly.

He said nothing but he arched an eyebrow.

"I thought I had lost you," she said softly, placing both hands flat on his chest. "And I thought it was my fault. And although you were physically and mentally sound, I think I got a taste of how you feel all the time. How you worry about Gotham and, well, everyone. It must be more intense."

He didn't say anything. The conversation had taken a turn he had not anticipated and he was not enjoying it. He was not going to talk about his fears.

She pulled her hair out of the ponytail and gave it a little shake. It fell across her shoulders and Batman smelled her shampoo. He loved that smell.

"I didn't like it. I was completely absorbed by guilt and the desire to fix everything. I felt vulnerable. It was awful."

He said nothing. She was emitting so much energy that he was surprised he didn't see sparks.

"But just because I almost understand doesn't mean I approve," she said. Her voice was sultry and she had leaned into him and her hands had moved up to his shoulders.

"I can live with that," he said, his voice matching hers as he slid his arms around her waist and pulled her in even closer.

"It doesn't change anything, does it?" she asked. "You are still going to be overprotective and keep me in the dark."

He just wanted to kiss her and there was no doubt in his mind that she just wanted to be kissed. And she did kiss him -gently and somewhat timidly. It nearly drove him mad so he kissed her back.

"Nothing changes as long as you are naïve and impetuous," he said between kisses.

The kisses quickly increased in passion and hunger. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her head back to give him access to her neck, which he quickly took advantage of.

"We are going to have this fight again, aren't we?" she said, her voice thick with desire.

"Count on it," he said as he swept her up in his arms and began the trip to his bedroom.

She laughed lightly.

When the sun finally made its way into Wayne Manor, the couple had long since forgiven each other and, more importantly, accepted each other.

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Author's Notes:

I realize there is not a lot of resolution in this story, but the Cadmus story line is so well documented in Justice League Unlimited and in other fan fiction that I am trying not to mess (too much) with that.

My thanks to everyone who reads and reviews – I really thought I would just write one story and be done but nope! I'm having too much fun.

Special thanks to Devil's Own for inspiring me to change the meaning of the last line in chapter 12. I'll leave it to individual readers to decide if I am crediting or blaming, but the end of this story was going to be completely different before Devil's Own's comment. And also thanks to Bunnylass and Geeky BMWW Fan for making it quite clear with their other comments that drawing out a break-up would not be a good thing.

And if you thought this story was slow in updating! I am three weeks from the due date of the birth of my second child. So, while I have an idea for my next story, I suspect it will be even slower in coming.