TITLE: If Only

AUTHOR: LOTSlover

CHARACTERS: Batman / Wonder Woman

RATING: M

WARNINGS: Author Chooses Not to Use Warnings

DISCLAIMER: I love Justice League, but especially Batman and Wonder Woman. Unfortunately, I do not own the characters and, if I did, things would be much different for them.

SUMMARY: WonderBatWeek2018 submission for "Make Up". Batman is hating himself for enlisting Diana's help in stopping a man who kills prostitutes in Gotham. If only he could find a way to survive the night without giving into his heart or body. BMWW

If Only

Batman growled under his breath, muttering various curse words that when strung together made absolutely no sense. He tightened his grip on his binoculars as a man attempted to proposition Diana to sleep with him for twenty dollars. Everything inside of him wanted to go over there and strangle the creep.

Diana gave the sleaze bag a sultry smile before leaning in and whispering something in his ear that caused Bruce's lips to thin into a grim line of approval. He smiled to himself as the guy quickly walked away, relieved that he had taken the hint and ran off.

He couldn't believe that this was happening in the first place. He had never intended for Diana to help him with this investigation in Gotham and yet here they were with Diana dressed up like a prostitute and him in the Batmobile being forced to watch her flaunt her body to every piece of scum that passed by.

If only he hadn't discussed this case with her.

It made him sick to his stomach watching the way that these men leered at Diana as if she was nothing but a source of physical pleasure that they could take and toss aside like she was nothing but a piece of trash. Although impossibly gorgeous, Diana was so much more than just her physical appearance. She possessed such incredible compassion and strength of character, fierce intelligence and a fiery spirit to match.

And here she was standing on a street corner in the worst part of Gotham, parading herself in order to help him with a murder case.

If only he hadn't given in to her demands to help him.

Bruce cursed to himself again, his binoculars nearly cracking under the intense pressure being placed upon them. He watched as Diana pulled a compact from her purse, pretending to powder her nose as she spoke to him.

"If you don't stop growling under your breath and muttering profanities in my ear, I will disable this commlink right here and now," she threatened him, her voice leaving no room for argument.

"Don't you dare, princess," he heatedly growled, channeling every bit of menace into his voice that he could possibly muster in an effort to force her to do what he wanted her to do.

Of course, he knew when it came to Diana that was an impossible feat that was only accomplished in his dreams. The woman was just as obstinate as he was if not more so and it burned him to no end. She was one of the very few people in this world that he couldn't force to bend to his will and it drove him absolutely crazy.

He watched in horror as she slowly began to reach for her commlink in her ear. "Diana!" he fiercely growled.

"Behave yourself or else, Batman," she warned him.

"Fine," he spat out. "Take off some of that make up. You're wearing too much of it."

"Are you saying you don't like the way I look?"

If only she knew how positively amazing she looked.

"You look acceptable," Bruce casually told her.

"Such high praise," she tersely murmured. "I should mark this day down in my diary."

Bruce could see Diana rolling her eyes from the driver's seat of his car as well as the flittering hurt that passed over her face. His heart immediately sank with that single look. He hated making her feel anything less than happy, but he couldn't tell her how he felt about her. It was far too dangerous to be close to him.

If only she knew what she did to him just by existing.

"I think we need to call it a night," he decided. "We're done here."

"We haven't even been out here for an hour yet," she pointed out with outright exasperation with him. "We need to give it more time."

"It's too dangerous, princess," he shot back, both of them angry with the other but neither willing to back down.

They'd had a pretty nasty fight in the cave before they'd even left for this mission and both were still feeling the anger lingering there beneath their skin. He hadn't wanted her to go while she had insisted that they do this. She had even threatened to go out there alone without him, forcing him to concede.

"I'm not having this conversation with you," she angrily hissed, closing her compact and shoving it back inside of her purse.

If only he hadn't let her talk him into this ludicrous plan.

It felt like rocks sitting in the pit of Bruce's stomach as he watched one guy after another try to pick Diana up, none of them matching the description of the man they were looking for. Their suspect had a large build, dark hair, and had murdered seven prostitutes. It was high time he caught this vile excuse for a human being. He just hated being forced to use Diana to do it.

Unfortunately, she had made too good of a case for allowing her to help him. He couldn't very well dress up like a woman and go out there undercover. First of all, he was far too large. Besides that, he had tried putting on makeup, but immediately removed it as thoughts of Joker flitted through his mind.

Secondly, Diana had pointed out that it was far better to use her as bait instead of putting Barbara out there. Diana was far more powerful and could better ward off an attack despite the fact that Barbara was a skilled fighter.

Thirdly, Diana looked far better in that red dress than he did.

Watching her saunter up and down the block in that strapless red leather dress and heels for the last two hours was wreaking havoc on his body and mind. Countless thoughts and images continually invaded his mind, generating one fantasy after another that always ended with those long, toned legs wrapped around his waist and her screaming his name.

He adjusted himself in his seat, readily deciding he needed to redesign his uniform pants to allow for a little more room. It didn't help at all when she stopped to rake her fingers through her long blond hair, shaking the strands out as she tilted her head back.

If only he wasn't so damn attracted to her.

Bruce groaned deeply as she began to touch up her red lipstick, squeezing his eyes closed.

"Did you say something?" she whispered.

"No," he growled a little harsher than he had intended, adjusting himself again in an effort to find some sort of relief. He was beginning to think she was purposefully doing this to him in retaliation for trying to avoid a romantic relationship with her. She just didn't understand that it wasn't that he didn't want her. In fact, he wanted her more than anything in this world.

If only he had the courage to tell her.

"You don't have to sit out here with me if you're getting bored," she softly said into her commlink.

"Hell…no…" he ground out through clenched teeth, pausing to draw a deep breath to help clear his head a little. "I'm not leaving you out here all alone."

"I can take care of myself," she murmured with a huff of irritation.

"And I will always be here to take care of you whether you like it or not," he thought to himself.

"Damn stubborn Amazon," he said instead.

He watched the corner of her lips curl up into a tiny smirk as she leaned over to adjust one of the straps on her spike heels. Oh yah…she knew what she was doing flaunting that firm derriere at him that he was dying to…

At that moment, a black SUV pulled up in front of Diana, causing Bruce to instantly grow tense in anticipation. He really hoped this was the guy because he couldn't bear being subjected to this torture for very much longer.

Diana made sure to show off her long legs and red stiletto heels to whoever was behind the wheel before sauntering over to the driver. She leaned over to talk to the man through the passenger side window, her lilting laughter filling Bruce's ear and piercing his heart.

His chest constricted as she got into the SUV and took off to God knew where. This was finally it. He was certain this was the person that he'd been searching for and now Diana was alone with him in his car. He tried to remind himself that she could handle herself as he started up the Batmobile, but it made little difference at that moment. His fear was already tightening its hold on him.

If only he wasn't madly in love with her.

His tires screeched as he took off after Diana, following her from a distance. He would never forget the way that she had looked in that strapless red leather dress, the innocent princess exuding such sex appeal that he'd nearly fallen on his knees at that moment when she had exited the changing room.

She had looked so beautiful even though she had been forced to wear far too much make up for his taste in order to go undercover. She wasn't wearing her bracers, tiara, or lasso. She had her powers and her fighting skills, but he still couldn't shake his worry that something could still happen to her.

He raced through the streets of Gotham, his gaze frequently checking the tracer that he had slipped on Diana to make sure that she was still all right. He could hear her talking to the man, but not receiving any answer from him. She was trying to make small talk with him, but it was breaking up and filled with intermittent static.

He didn't like this one bit. He never should've let Diana put herself in danger like this. He slammed his foot down hard on the gas pedal, his teeth clenched hard enough to cut through steel. He swore to himself that he was never going to let her talk him into something like this ever again.

Whoever it was behind the wheel had something in his SUV that was blocking Diana's commlink. It was keeping him from hearing their conversation and inhibiting the tracking device that he had slipped onto her earlier this evening. He knew the SUV had gone in this direction, heading towards the outskirts of Gotham, but that was all he knew so far. He couldn't see it anywhere.

His ear was filled with nothing but static now, the red dot on the screen in the Batmobile disappearing altogether. He growled low in his throat as he drove to the outskirts of town. He released the breath that he hadn't realized that he'd been holding when he spotted the SUV parked out in front of an abandoned little house.

Parking the Batmobile, Batman quickly exited, slipping through the darkness towards the dilapidated house. He tightened his grip on his batarang, more than prepared for a fight. No one was going to touch his princess and live to tell about it.

Fortunately, a fight wasn't necessary as Diana stepped out of the abandoned house with a triumphant smile on her red lips, holding their suspect up by the collar of his shirt. "Got him," she said, tossing him at Batman's feet like a rag doll. "You'll find all your evidence inside the house."

Batman looked down at the suspect lying unconscious on the ground before him, relieved that it was finally over. They had their killer and Diana was safe. He immediately contacted the GCPD, giving them the coordinates to pick the guy up and secure the crime scene.

He bent over, picking him up and dragging him back inside. Tying him to chair, he found all the evidence they would need to convict him before finally turning his attention to Diana. "We're done here," he bit out.

Diana watched as he stalked past her without another word, his black cape flapping behind him in the wind. She followed him to the waiting Batmobile, the sound of police sirens piercing the air and growing louder by the second. Climbing inside, she buckled her seatbelt as Batman tore off through the night, removing her blond wig and shaking her raven curls free.

They rode in complete silence all the way back to the Batcave, neither uttering a single word. Diana was mad at him for acting like a complete jerk, treating her like she was nothing more than annoyance and incapable of protecting herself.

She was working herself up for another huge argument as they pulled into the Batcave, ready to dispute her case and make him see that he was acting stupid about this whole thing. As soon as the car pulled to a stop, she unbuckled her seatbelt, exiting the car and slamming the door closed in abject fury that had been steadily building all night.

"How dare you…" Diana began only to be silenced by Bruce.

Exiting the car, Bruce had stalked around to her, roughly grabbing her as his mouth crashed into hers. Furious with him, she resisted at first only to give into the passion that flared between them any time they were anywhere near each other.

She parted her lips, begging him for more as she pressed her body against his. He readily complied, his tongue thoroughly ravaging her as he buried one of his hands into her hair. He titled his head as he kissed her hard, his lungs beginning to burn with the need for air, but he was unwilling to let her go any time soon. He'd been a coward but not anymore.

He swallowed her moan as his hand moved to her thigh, caressing her soft skin as he pressed her back against the side of the Batmobile. He lifted her leg up to press against his hip, grinding his pelvis against hers and earning a sharp gasp as he moved to kiss and nip at her throat. The line had definitely been crossed and he found nothing but peace with that decision.

Picking her up, Bruce carried her back to the bed in the medical bay, more than desperate to finally lose himself in her body like he had been dreaming of doing for so long now. He removed her dress, allowing it to fall down at her feet. It was swiftly followed by his uniform top and cape. His pants and boots soon followed suit, left forgotten on the floor along with her heels.

In that moment as he picked her up and laid her down on the bed, Bruce knew in his heart that he would love this woman until the day he died…and it was time that she knew that too. "I love you, princess," he confessed to her.

"I love you too, Bruce," she softly said, pulling him into another heated kiss

He only had one thought in his mind as they began to make love, his hands and mouth exploring her perfect body.

If only he hadn't waited so long to tell her that he loved her.

THE END