Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: I'm (trying to come) back! Hopefully it won't be another five years before I update again.

Madly:

Chapter 21

Diana froze, feeling something brush against her cheek. Her eyes snapped open, and she saw Bruce staring at her.

She sat up, immediately on edge. There had only been one morning after between them in the past, and she was still unsure how to handle the situation. She looked over towards the nightstand, searching for her com link. The League must have paged her for some emergency. Otherwise he would not have woken her.

"What's wrong?" she asked as her eyes scanned the room for her uniform. She immediately stopped. Her Wonder Woman uniform was in her bedroom, properly folded and put away, because she had worn an altered batsuit for patrol yesterday. With a blush she remembered that other uniform, now scattered across the floor of the Cave.

Bruce's answer to her question was not immediate, and she looked towards him, feeling apprehensive. He appeared uncomfortable, and Diana's stomach twisted with foreboding. Did he regret what happened last night? Lifting her chin, she prepared herself for anything.

"Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to…touch you." Bruce looked up at her, his cheeks pink with embarrassment. "I'm sorry I woke you."

Oh.

Relief flooded her instantly and she could not contain a small laugh.

Leaning down, she kissed him on the mouth, bringing herself closer to him. Lying back down, she rested her head on his shoulder, watched her fingers as they circled around the bruises on his chest. "And I'm sorry I didn't get around to wrapping your ribs last night."

The bed shifted as he moved his arm around her. "As I recall, we were both occupied with more pressing matters."

Diana kissed the bruise closest to her, delighting in the warmth of his skin under her mouth. "Are you in any pain?"

"Only when I move."

Diana frowned. Given that information, last night was not the wisest decision. But it was hard to regret, especially with the way Bruce kept touching her. His hand stroked her back, moving lower and lower with each sweep of his fingers.

"It was worth it," he said, affirming that she had made the right choice.

"I should probably get you some ice and a heat pack."

"Probably."

Neither of them moved.

"So," Bruce said, clearing his throat as her fingers trailed over his hip bone. "We've done this before."

"That's right," she laughed. "You don't remember." Not that she had expected it to, but it appeared last night had done little to restore his memory. Diana looked up, a new thought springing to mind. "When you were held captive, did we…?"

"No. And you still haven't answered my question."

"Are you worried you didn't measure up to your previous self?"

Bruce pressed his lips together, and she burst into laughter. "You know, Bruce, most people worry how they compare to others. Only you would be concerned about how you stacked up against yourself."

Bruce didn't seem to find the thought quite so amusing. "Were there other men?"

"Would it matter?" After all, she hadn't complained, and she knew Bruce had been far more experienced in that department than she would ever want to be.

Bruce gave it some thought. "It wouldn't keep me from being with you, but I don't like the idea." Hmm, her thoughts exactly.

"There was no one else."

"Not even Tom?"

"Tom?" Ah, right, her ex-boyfriend. "Oh, no. Not even Tom. We only kissed."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"How was I?"

"You mean you didn't find a file of this on your computer."

"Yes, but—"

"What?! You had a file on that?!" Diana pinned him by his shoulders to the mattress.

Bruce smirked up at her. "And if I did?"

"Destroy it. Now."

"If such a file existed, I wouldn't need to ask you how I did."

Diana rolled her eyes. "You're smart, Bruce, but even you couldn't read my mind, and you never asked my opinions about that in the past." Not that there had been any time for that, but she refused to dwell on that now. This was their new beginning.

"I didn't?" he asked innocently. "I'll make sure to rectify that in the near future." She felt his hand at her back slowly making its way down to her leg, hitching it over his body.

"Did you like that? Before she could answer, his mouth moved to her collarbone, kissing then blowing on her skin until her toes curled.

"What about that?"

His actions grew progressively bolder, and his persistent questioning was met with speechlessness and the occasional gasp.

By the time he was finished, Diana wasn't quite so convinced that Bruce wasn't a mindreader.

"And how was that?" he asked, collapsing beside her.

Diana felt completely boneless, but she managed a tired smile.

"I'll make sure to add that to my file," Bruce said, just before she kissed the smug grin off his face.

While that first night of patrol could hardly be called a success, the subsequent outings were rather uneventful. Much to Diana's obvious relief.

She and Bruce had settled into a routine. During the day, Bruce would attend to Wayne Enterprises business, while she dealt with her ambassadorial meetings. Then after the sun set, they would both patrol Gotham until it was time to return to the Manor, to their room.

The arrangement suited Bruce perfectly, though he knew Diana still felt uneasy about the change in their relationship. Even now, as she lay with her head in his lap, the crease in her brow did not go away.

"What's wrong?" Bruce asked, running his fingers through her dark hair.

She kept her eyes closed. "I'm just tired."

"Everything alright at the Embassy?"

She didn't answer right away. "I have an upcoming meeting with the Kasnian government. I'm lobbying for them to disarm their nuclear weapons in the hope that other nations in the region will follow." Rubbing her temples, she sighed. "I don't know how I'm going to get everything done before then."

"I can patrol by myself now. You don't have to be here every night," Bruce offered, as he had on multiple occasions even though he already knew her answer.

"No, I'll manage."

"This is my city, not yours," he said gently.

Diana sat up, looked at him. "There was a time when I couldn't set foot in Gotham without you yelling at me."

Bruce sighed. He didn't want to keep having the conversation about his old self, and how he no longer measured up. "I know, I'm not him."

"I spoke with Superman, and he told me he had asked to reinstate you to active duty with the Justice League."

A victory he had been elated about, though he had asked Superman to keep quiet about it until he had time to discuss it with Diana.

"They think I'm ready. I know I'm ready. Evidently you don't agree."

"Bruce, why are you doing this?" she asked quietly. "I took you to your parents' grave, and you felt nothing. You have no memories of this city, no connections to this place."

"I thought this was what you wanted."

"Bruce, I don't need you to be Batman for me to love you. Not anymore," she said hesitantly, as if she was afraid of his reaction.

He wasn't angry, but he wasn't relieved either. His goal since coming back was to win Diana, and that meant being Batman. Or so he thought. Once again, he was adrift.

"Then where does that leave me? Am I just supposed to be your boyfriend while you do all the work?"

Diana reached for his hand. "You are much more than that. To me, to Gotham, and the League. But you can be just as valuable without being Batman. I've been thinking…There are other ways to serve Gotham. Think of all the philanthropic work you've done as head of Wayne Enterprises. Not to mention all the intelligence you still gather, and the financial support you provide for Nightwing, Oracle, and the others."

"And what about Gotham?"

Diana's brow furrowed, but she seemed to come to a decision.

"I will move here. Make Gotham my city."

"But what about your other duties?"

Diana shrugged, though her eyes were glistening. "Another Amazon can be Wonder Woman," she said in a choked voice. She swallowed, and said more clearly, "I will still be part of the League. I will still work to bring peace to Man's World. I will just do it in a different uniform."

He thought she had meant simply moving her base of operations to Gotham.

"You could still be Wonder Woman."

"Being Wonder Woman is a full time job. I can't…" her voice broke again. "As much as I want to be Wonder Woman, she isn't the hero that Gotham needs."

"You mean the hero that Batman thought Gotham needed."

"And Batman was right. I can't be Wonder Woman here. My methods are completely different from Nightwing's, Oracle's, and the rest of the Batclan. I would disrupt the already successful system you established here."

Bruce shook his head, but Diana continued, "Even if Gotham could accept Wonder Woman, I owe it to my sisters to see that their message continues to be heard."

"How would giving up Wonder Woman accomplish that? If anything that is the message of Man's world, that you can't have it all."

Diana sighed heavily. "If you are no longer Batman, you do not need a secret identity. And I have no wish to hide our relationship any longer. If it were known that Wonder Woman came here because of Bruce Wayne—"

"But he is no longer a womanizer," he interrupted. The public face of Wayne Enterprises had returned from his travels a much more enlightened and respectable man.

"It doesn't matter. They will see it as me putting our relationship before their mission." Diana blinked. "Before my mission. Well, not my mission anymore."

"I thought that was the highest goal of your mission—to spread peace and love in Man's World." Diana was willing to sacrifice everything for him; he couldn't think of anything more loving than that.

"I don't think this is what the Amazons envisioned when they sent me here. I certainly did not, and I have no wish to tarnish the title of Wonder Woman in their eyes."

"I can't ask you to do this," Bruce said sternly. "Compromise your core beliefs for my sake. Be something that you are not."

"I could never be anything other than myself. I'm choosing to do this."

He brushed the hot tears that trailed down her face. "Diana, I can't be the reason—"

She pressed her mouth to his. "Please. It has to be this way."

He tried speaking again, but she silenced him with another kiss.

Diana was wrong. It did not have to be this way. But now wasn't the time for argument.

Bruce wrapped Diana in his arms, holding her tight as she desperately kissed him. Met her desperation with his own. He knew what it was like to lose everything. For once he could be her strength. But they had each other. And soon they'd have everything.

To Be Continued

A/N: I'd like to think of myself as above begging for reviews, but who am I kidding? Reading your reviews is the only thing that motivates me to keep writing. =D