A/N: Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing, I can't tell you how wonderful it makes me feel to know people enjoy my work so much! Here is the lemony ending – and my personal favourite.

Just in case you didn't get that - this is an 'M' rated chapter, maybe even 'MA'. DO NOT read if you're offended by stuff like this.

If you're not, read and…enjoy!

Chapter Twenty One (Again) – Bruce's Greatest Strength

Bruce was a firm believer in the adage 'patience is a virtue'. In his line of work it was, perhaps the most important strength he possessed. Waiting for his enemies to make a move on a stakeout, waiting for bullet analysis to be complete and the police to make convictions – all these things required patience to handle them. Even when fighting, he needed patience to help clear his mind, to make sure frustration didn't get the better of him. For more than ten years, patience had been his greatest asset.

Right now it had utterly betrayed him.

He hadn't stopped pacing, and wouldn't have been at all surprised if he'd worn a groove into the rock floor of the Cave by now. A dozen times his hand went up to his ear to call for a teleport, and a dozen times it came down again. She'd come. If nothing else, she had to be able to hear his heart thudding, from outer space or not. God knew he couldn't hear anything else.

After what seemed like one hundred and fifty years, Bruce's brain kicked in. He couldn't just grab her and kiss her – as attractive as that idea was. There were things that needed to be said, things that he needed to tell her. Or, more specifically, one thing, comprising of three words. Three words that with any other woman probably wouldn't have come at all, but with Diana he knew they'd just…flow. God, that sounded ridiculous.

The sound of the teleport sounded like an executioner's axe and a chorus of angels combined. For a moment both of them just stood there, silently, blue eyes scanning the face of the other. Then Diana's eyes softened, and she smiled. Only slightly, the corners of her beautiful mouth turning upward.

She didn't rush toward him, or burst into tears – she didn't want to do either of those things. There was no point in wasting tears at a moment like this, they had all their lives to cry. All she did was walk slowly to him, stepping into his arms quickly and without words or fuss. Closing her eyes with a sigh of mingled bliss and delight, Diana only felt utter relief.

Bruce buried his face in her hair, also closing his eyes and holding her closer. It all clicked into place. "Diana, I love you," he said, voice open and words simple. Everything that their relationship had never been, and everything it should have been.

She looked at him, her smile widening as she leaned in to kiss him softly. "I love you too," she murmured. "Bruce…"

They both said it together: "I'm sorry", followed immediately by both of them frowning in question at the other.

"Why should you be sorry?" he asked. You're not the one who just killed the person you love.

She must have seen his thoughts on his face, since her frown didn't vanish. Instead she only titled her head slightly. "Bruce, don't you dare. This is what I wanted. Perhaps not something I would have asked for, but we can do it all now. We can live the way normal people are supposed to."

"Neither of us will ever be normal, Diana, you know that," he said, kissing her forehead.

"No," she agreed. "But that doesn't mean we can't pretend in moments like this. I love you."

"And I love you."

"Then it's perfect," she smiled.

Knowing that she was incapable of a lie, Bruce still searched her gaze, unable to quite convince himself that she was serious. Her smile widened and she chuckled softly, putting a hand to his face and pulling him to her lips, kissing him thoroughly. When she stopped, his expression was exactly as she'd hoped; utterly dazed with a slightly joyful edge. "Stop thinking," she whispered.

He smirked. "Still some thought going on, Princess."

This time, it was Bruce that kissed her, keeping it slow – there was no need for frenzied passion right now. Besides, he was pretty sure that there would be time for frenzied passion later. Like the next fifty years.

"Marry me," she said softly, planting kisses along his jaw line.

"Is that a command, Your Highness?" he asked, suppressing the urge to groan. Did she know what that did to him?

She pulled back and nodded seriously. "If you choose to take it that way."

He kissed her again. And again. And once more just for good measure. "Then what kind of loyal subject would I be if I refused?"

Laughing from sheer joy, Diana practically leapt on her- her fiancé, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and kissing him until it felt as though her lungs were on fire. Which didn't take as long as she thought it would; it was going to take some getting used to, this mortality thing. "Then there's only one more request I have to make of you, Bruce," she said.

"And that would be…?" he asked, nuzzling her nose.

"Love me," she said. "Properly."

Without waiting for his response, Diana took his hand, turned and led him up out of the Batcave. Still the middle of the day, Tim was at school, Alfred (if Bruce was right) was in the gardens. They had the whole manor to themselves – not that he was planning on leaving the master bedroom at any point today.

Safely closeted inside the bedroom, they faced each other, Diana's eyes shining in anticipation. Bringing one hand up, he buried his fingers in her dark tresses and wrapped the other arm around her waist. Pulling her to him, his mouth landed on hers with more tenderness than she expected, lips hungrily caressing hers, swallowing up any protest or misgiving she might have had with no effort whatsoever. Not that she would have had. She let out a low moan and brought her arms around him as well. He drew back less than an inch, drinking in the soft look of desire on her face. When her eyes slid open, they were heavy with anticipation.

He caught her hands for a moment. "Diana…are you sure?"

She felt so serene nestled in his arms, so close to completeness. "I need to feel you, Bruce. You're already inside me." It wasn't what she'd meant to say, but as it left her mouth, it was true. Some part of him was as deep a part of her as her own soul.

"Diana…"

She smiled and put her fingers to his lips. "The next time you open your mouth, it had better be to tell me you're going to undress me," she warned gently.

He raised an eyebrow in amusement. He opened his mouth. Diana kissed him. All objections went out the window.

Diana's hands rested on his chest, then slowly moved up to his shoulders roving her hands over them, then down his arms, fingers gripping his biceps. She started off gently, but her fingers dug into the muscle with a little more force as his own hands wrapped around her waist, lifting her up against him. Her touch felt different than it had before, sending the electricity of desire trilling through his every nerve and the smell of her filling every pore. Their mouths remained locked, fused together with a heat that would have melted metal in an instant.

Her lips tore away from his for a second to place kisses all along his jaw line and brush against his ear. "I need…" She trailed off with a moan as he took advantage of her distraction, leading a path of flame along her neck. She drew in a sharp breath as his deliciously sinful mouth fastened on her ear lobe. Her fingers slid up to tangle in his hair. "Oh Hera, Bruce…" She shuddered with desire.

A great big blaring klaxon of an alarm went off in his brain as he realised just how fast he was moving. She had no experience with this. Slow it down, Wayne. He put the woman in his arms down for a moment, keeping her close to him. Doubt flickered across her face. "Why are you stopping?"

He took a moment to look at her, holding his breath while he took in everything – the soft lighting playing across the raven sheen of her hair, her flawless skin, the depth of the ocean in her eyes. This couldn't be about him. It was inevitable that he'd eventually get pleasure from sex anyway, but that had to be incidental to hers. It was her fist time – he had the responsibility to make sure it would be unforgettable in every right way. He let his breath out and shook his head a little. "I'm not."

She tilted her head back up to his, meeting his lips gently this time, just enjoying the feeling of kissing him for a while before she deepened it. She drew back with a smile and pulled the zipper down the back of the Kevlar suit, trailing her fingers down the skin she found there and peeling the fabric from his flesh. Letting the suit fall to the floor, she took her time exploring him, the ridges and planes of muscle on his torso. She smiled and kissed him again, then moved along his jaw line and down his throat, letting her tongue flick against his adam's apple and feeling him swallow hard as her fingers caressed his skin. It was the turn of his hands to entangle in her hair as he clenched his jaw to fight down the groan of pleasure deep in his throat. Other than that he stood as still as he could bear, letting her explore him at her leisure.

"You know, this is hardly fair," she murmured after a while, grazing her lips against one of his nipples.

He sucked in a breath before answering. "What isn't?"

She smirked up at him. "You're mostly naked, whereas I'm still fully clothed."

He looked down with some surprise to see that, yes, he was actually well on the way to being naked. Even his boots were gone. He'd been so focused on the feel of Diana's hands on him that he'd had no idea where they were going. He smirked in reply and put his lips to her ear. "We can always change that."

His hands were the ones moving this time, only undressing Diana seemed to take a million times longer than it had to undress him – even though she was actually wearing far less in terms of fabric volume. Still, his fingers knew what to do, undoing the metal clasp that held on her breastplate. The sacred armour of the Amazon champion hit the floor with a soft thud. Next came the lasso of truth, coiling like a snake next to her scarlet boots. The red bustier followed straight after that, and Diana moaned low in her throat when her breasts pushed gently against the warmth of his chest. At the feeling of her flesh on his, Bruce groaned too; a soft, urgent noise that vibrated through her, then pulled her closer, held her harder. Diana let a tiny, embarrassing whimper escape her as her sensitive breasts crush against his scarred, muscled torso, feeling her nipples draw up into tight, hard buds. The lust uncoiling in her chest pooled downward. The next time she pulled away to take a breath, she looked into his eyes, knowing that as much love and lust hazed her eyes as his. Darkened and thunderous, they told of a storm about to break.

He pushed her backward gently to sit on the edge of the bed. She did, and he knelt in front of her, taking a foot in his hands. Diana's breathing, slowing from breaking contact, sped up again when he barely ran his mouth over the inside of her knee while sliding the boot off, his hot breath driving her crazy. She got the same treatment to the other leg, her muscles flexing spasmodically in her thighs. He stood and backed off with a smirk at the expression of extreme frustration on her face. With a quiet growl, she stood too, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and crushing her mouth to his with bruising force.

Bruce moved his mouth to her neck while his hands traced down her sides slowly until they came to the hem of her panties. He drew back slightly, not moving his hands but silently asking permission. She swallowed, then nodded. He pulled them down. Diana flinched, but relaxed instantly as the material simply slid down her legs. She got tense again as his hands went on the move once more, exploring the soft skin, his mouth against hers. Her hands moved down his abs once more, then dipped into the waistband of his boxers and pulled them down. He stepped out of them as he did the same for her. For one long, protracted moment, they stood before each other, bared body and soul. Strangely though, neither one looked away from the others' gaze. Bruce reached out to cup her face, pushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "I love you," he murmured, eyes searching her face. The trust he found there was almost overwhelming.

"Feeling's mutual," she whispered back.

She put her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a deep kiss. He ran rough palms down a smooth back, biting at her bottom lip slightly. She groaned and allowed him to deepen the kiss, guiding his tongue into a slow, sensual dance. Without breaking the embrace, Diana took his hands and laced their fingers together, drawing him backward to the bed. She sat down on its foot, then lay down, bringing Bruce to lie on top of her. The feeling of his warm weight above her made her feel…complete.

His mouth trailed fiery kisses up the column of her neck, leaving her breath catching with tiny delicious sounds as her fingers entwining in his hair. Coming to the shell of her ear, his teeth found the lobe and gave a tiny nip; at the change of sensation, Diana drew in another sharp breath and gave that moan that was swiftly becoming his favourite sound in the world. That was, until, he tongued one nipple, teasing it into a small pink stone. She arched her back and let out his new favourite sound. "Bruce…"

Never in a million years had she ever thought she could feel like this, that her body could surrender to the desires of another so completely, that her every nerve could spread lightning trilling through her cells. She felt his hand brush down her stomach and rough fingertips caress along her ribs, counting each one with his thumb and into the curve of her hip, revelling in the shiver that raced across her skin. She felt the prickles of arousal burn in her other breast, bereft of Bruce's attention and practically crying out for it. Unconsciously, one of her own hands came up to ease the ache, pinching and tugging gently while her other hand kept Bruce's mouth inflicting the wonderful torture where it was. His hips lay in between her legs, and she arched again instinctively against the hardness that she found there.

It was Bruce's turn to groan in pleasure as she rolled her hips again, the tip of his length given a teasing preview of hot wet heat when it came briefly into contact with her burning sex. Her hands were moving again, mapping out the plane of every muscle in his back, raking her nails instinctively down the smooth skin flexing in desire. Bruce let out a soft hiss at the slight pain, then grazed his teeth against her nipple in retribution, milking another moan from her kiss-swollen lips. He trailed one hand down her skin until his fingertips reached her lower stomach. She moved like sinew, twisting and writhing in liquid motion under his touch. When his fingers passed her throbbing sex to trail over her thigh, she growled in protest and pulled Bruce up to her mouth, sinking her teeth slightly into his bottom lip. He grinned and kissed her properly, moving his tongue around hers and devouring her lips with the same barely-contained intensity that his hands were exploring her skin.

She clutched at his shoulders. "Bruce, please, just…" She wasn't sure why she wanted it to be over so soon – but she knew that it was going to hurt. If she got it over quickly then the pain would fade faster and-

Bruce seemed to read her fears playing across her features with ease. "Princess…" he breathed, running a rough palm gently back up her thigh, "…does it hurt now?" he asked, fingertips sliding up to the juncture between her legs.

She drew in a sharp gasp as his fingers slipped into searingly hot wetness. All trepidation melted away in the jolts of pleasure flaring through her. "N-no…Oh Hera…"

The pad of his thumb touched against her clit, then began drawing lazy circles against the bundle of nerves. He smiled against her neck, continuing to place kisses on it. "Then relax…and don't worry until it does."

Diana was well on the way to not understanding what the word 'worry' meant anymore. Her muscles were beginning to tense as his fingers slid smoothly in and out of her, her toes curling as his thumb continued to tease against her clit. She'd had climaxes before – but the rush of pleasure that came when she used her own fingers was nothing like the wave of bliss about to engulf her. It seemed like every muscle in her entire body tensed, and her mind was lost in the white flare of pleasure. Her nails dug into Bruce's skin, and she threw her head back, her mouth heedlessly repeating his name over and over in a breathless litany. It seemed to take an eternity and a second for the mindlessness of it to pass, and suddenly she knew her own name again and became aware of just how hard her heart was beating.

As Bruce's mouth met hers again and he kissed her down from her high, she wondered what she should say. What, if anything, did one say? He'd just given her the most intense climax she'd ever experienced, but 'thank you' didn't fit. She settled with kissing him back with equal passion, her hands sliding up to the nape of his neck to keep his mouth to hers. From being entirely at his mercy, she now became the aggressor, wrapping her legs around his waist and grinding her still throbbing core against his pelvis. Before either of them knew it, Diana was sat astride him, her breasts pushing against his chest as she leaned down to kiss him. He put his hands on her hips and slid his hands into the sweat-streaked tangles of her hair, returning her kiss. Her fingers slid down his torso to caress his length, moving up and down in a rhythm that made him groan in pleasure. He broke away from her lips for a second to look at her; she gazed back with a mischievous glint in her eyes that he found utterly alluring. He put his lips to her ear. Until the words were leaving his mouth he had no idea which words they would be. If he'd heard them in any other time and place, with any other woman, he would have winced at them. Now though, with Diana…the words were just truth.

"You are so…beautiful."

She moved willingly when he rolled her back under him, yielding to his greater knowledge and experience. She trusted him. He would not fail her – he never had. He settled himself once more between her hips, the tip of his length brushing against her still-smouldering and tender core. She couldn't hold back the expression of nervousness from crossing her face. Seeing it, Bruce's face remained serious, yet kind and concerned. He asked the silent question, and moved forward slowly. Diana nodded, drawing in a breath at the unbelievably foreign, yet so right sensation of being filled, centimetre by tantalising centimetre, by hard, hot heat. Reaching the barrier, he stopped, looking deeply into her eyes, his own serious. "This is where it hurts."

Diana smiled and placed her hands gently on his, keeping his hands stationed on her hips. "Go slow?" she asked.

He nodded. "I promise."

She took a deep breath and nodded, steeling herself. Deciding that her face had said get it over with, Bruce moved once – one quick thrust that tore through the barrier in a single movement. Diana drew in a breath and tightened her fingers slightly on his biceps, but gave no other reaction to the pain. It didn't actually hurt as much as she'd dreaded it would – one flare of pain, and that was already fading. She controlled her breathing for a few seconds until it went completely. Bruce didn't move while she adjusted, keeping himself still against what his every base instinct was calling for. Quite honestly he could have died a happy man right now, immersed in the woman below him.

Once the pain had gone, Diana rolled her hips experimentally, her moan flying up to join Bruce's as she discovered that the tingle sweeping through her was now of a pleasure that had the potential to become dizzying. It came again, slightly stronger as her lover began moving too, the muscles under her fingers rippling like waves. He moved like the tide; agonisingly slowly at first, inexorable and patient. Of course, neither of them had unbounded patience, and though he was true to his word, Diana found herself straining toward the ecstatic explosion, words like harder and faster now thrumming in her brain. Her body knew how to voice the words her mind didn't, arching her back against his body and bringing him deeper inside, increasing the rhythm.

She wondered for a moment what they looked like, the two of them, their bodies locked in the most primitive, primal movement there was. Yet it didn't feel like that, it didn't feel animalistic or crude. It felt like flying. It was a physical expression of the grace and power and coiled force that existed in both of them. She knew there was no music, she knew that the only soundtrack was the moaning and the slightly grotesque sound of flesh on flesh, but she could swear to all that was holy she heard it as a symphony, pushing her spirit as high as her body. The age-old dance between man and woman was consuming them both, writhing and twisting to a silent rhythm that both of them heard as blood pounding in their ears. But more than that – two people who cared for each other deeply making love was the most ascending physical experience there was – yet with these two people, it became so much more than that.

They realised it as the same time.

It felt like Bruce's heart had been suddenly set on fire, the flames spreading rapidly to consume his entire body. Diana felt the same heat flood her senses, and she arched her back harder against his chest, voicelessly pleading for more of him. The pleasure built to a mind-blowing zenith of joy, and the explosion of ecstasy caused both of them to cry out in heady, senseless bliss. In that one, iridescent moment, they were one being. In those few infinite seconds, something irreversible had happened, something that didn't have a name, and was too complex to be named anyway. But something…had changed, melded something wonderful into something phenomenal. They held to each other, hearts bursting and lungs heaving, to avoid losing their minds in the wake of the tsunami.

Still breathing hard, Bruce let his head collapse slightly to the side of Diana, his weight resting heavily on her body. She didn't care, instead hugging him closer and pressing kisses all over his forehead, revelling in the feel of him still inside her. She was still breathing hard, in tandem with the gasps he was taking. He rolled onto his side, still running his fingers endlessly over her face and through her hair. His eyes roved all over her face, taking in the sheen of sweat on her shimmering skin and the deep sated sapphire of her eyes. She glowed. There'd be no point in saying it again, but there really was only one word for her; beautiful. It made him realise how grossly overused that word was. Perhaps along with 'love' it should be filed away in a box and taken out only when truly deserved. God knew Diana deserved both.

Bruce was trembling, she realised suddenly. His fingers running through her sweat-streaked hair were shaking uncontrollably, and she could feel his heartbeat still thudding erratically against her own chest. His entire body was quivering. "Are you alright?" she whispered. "You're trembling."

A soft, sexy smile spread slowly across his face, and he nodded slowly. "I'm fine."

She grinned and pressed a kiss to his lips. "Thank you," she said seriously, feeling like she was pronouncing it with her whole heart. "That was…"

He kissed her forehead, lying on his back with Diana still half-draped over him. "I know."

They were still only as long as it took for them to recover their breaths – the urge to make love and to map every part of the other was too strong, had been denied too long to stop now.

After hours of giving and taking pleasure, Bruce's breathing had settled into a slow steady pattern, and he fell asleep quickly, arms still securely around her body. Diana did not follow her lover into slumber right away, instead taking the time to breathe in the still of the dusk and the tranquillity of the silence. It felt like someone had pressed pause on a great cosmic remote control, allowing them this one endless moment, taken out of space and time to another reality altogether. One that belonged wholly to them. Diana went to sleep still feeling how ragged her breathing was, even though she was unable imagine a state of deeper relaxation than this. The sense of completeness ran to her soul, still intertwined with his.

Finally, when the sun set and for once Gotham didn't call, Bruce and Diana came to one, blissful realisation. It didn't matter how long it had taken, or how winding the road had been, the errors and heartbreak that littered it-

They were home.

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A/N: Ok, so there's the ending. Did you like? Apollo Prophecies will also be up shortly I hope.

Thank you again, to all of you, for everything.

Isis