Murder at Wayne Manor

Epilogue

Wayne Manor; October 15th; 16:26 EST

There's a cool autumn breeze that fills the air as I make my way out to the cliff that overlooks the water, knowing that is where she'll be. It's where she loves to go when she needs to sort out her thoughts...or resolve her anger.

I know that there is a lot that we need to talk about. I'm hoping that getting her to open up to me will help both of us. It's time to move on from this horrific ordeal and to heal, to tell her how I really feel about her. The irony of it all is not lost me, the fact that I'm the one who is going to hopefully get her to talk to me. How many times have the roles been reversed between us in last two years?

I can't help thinking that I could be making the biggest mistake of my life by telling her how I've fallen in love with her, how I can't go a minute without her in my life, how the thought of never seeing her again nearly stops my heart. I know she has feelings for me too, but how deep do they truly run? Is it love? Does she even want anything to do with me now after everything she's been through?

I stop several yards away from her just to watch her for a long moment, wondering if she knows that I'm there or if she even cares. I'm taken back to that day a few months ago when I found her out here, upset about what had happened at the charity function that she had worked so hard to organize.

I can't help being reminded of the differences between now and then. It was only four months ago and yet it feels like a whole lifetime ago. So much has happened since then, so much changing in horrifying ways that I wish I could just forget, but I know I'll never be able to. The emotions and the images are forever seared into my heart and mind. I just pray we never have to go through something like that ever again.

"Diana," I finally...tentatively call her name, my hands fisted tightly in my pants pockets.

"Bruce," she says as she glances back at me over her shoulder, her tone flat just like it's been ever since she woke up in the hospital.

A sudden breeze causes the ends of her hair to lift, raven curls dancing in the wind and the sunlight. I know she's broken on the inside and I have no clue how to even begin to help put her back together again. I swear to myself I'll do whatever it takes, though, to bring my princess back to me.

I move to sit in the green grass beside her, reaching over and picking up a leaf as I cross my legs in front of me. "Thought I'd find you out here," I tell her as I twirl the leaf by the steam, creating a flame of orange and red in my hand.

She's sitting with her knees drawn up tight against her chest, her arms wrapped around her legs as if trying to find a way to hold all the shattered pieces together. She looks so small...so broken. A faint, wistful smile touches her lips as she draws a deep breath. "It's so beautiful out here."

I stare at her in obvious wonder, stunned once again by her loveliness. "Yes, it is," I fully agree, but my attention is not on the landscape that surrounds us but the breathtaking Amazon sitting to my left.

"I'm going to miss this when I move into my new quarters once the Watchtower is finally finished."

I instantly stiffen with her words, dreading the thought of her moving out of the manor. I already feel myself missing her and she hasn't even left yet. "You don't have to move back right away, Princess," I quickly tell her. "You're welcome to stay here for as long as you want to."

Diana turns to look at me, tilting her head slightly as she studies me. "I'm sure you're anxious to get your house back without having J'onn and me underfoot all the time," she replies. "I know how much you value your privacy and time."

"Yes...I mean...no...I mean..." I stammer, growling at myself to get a grip. She looks at me with confusion, trying to decide what I mean. "It'll be nice to have the Watchtower functioning again so J'onn won't have to do monitor duty from a small table in the corner of the Batcave. He'll also have a lot more help and better equipment."

I look away from her with a sudden apprehension that is so uncharacteristic of me, but she makes me so tongue-tied sometimes, like a teenage boy with his first crush instead of the confident playboy Bruce Wayne. I just don't know if now is a good time to push the idea of us after everything that she's been through. All I know, though, is that I can't lose her.

I draw a deep breath, fortifying myself to press on, to grasp hold of what I want most now. "What if I told you that I like having you here?" I tentatively ask, my attention solely on the leaf in my hand that somehow holds so much fascination instead of the beautiful woman beside me.

"You do?"

I force myself to turn to meet her gaze, the hope that laces her voice giving me the confidence I was sorely lacking at that point. "Yes, I mean it's been nice having you here," I explain, mentally kicking myself and wondering what had happened to the suave playboy that I so frequently channeled. I find I don't want to be that fake persona with her. I want to be me—the real Bruce. "The manor doesn't feel quite so cold and lonely with you here."

A corner of her lips quirk slightly. "Bruce, are you asking me to stay here with you?"

"If I did, would you accept?"

"If I accepted, what would that mean for us?"

I hadn't anticipated her question, but, now that it's out there, it's time to forge ahead regardless of my fears and worries. There's no going back now. "I would hope that it would mean you liked living here with me...that you might want something more from me than just my friendship."

Diana reaches up to grab hold of her raven mane, pulling the wild strands out of her face. Her blue eyes brighten somewhat, almost returning to their usual bright sparkle. It's a sight I've sorely missed. "What if I did want more from you?" she coyly prods with a mischievous smile and I know she's making me be the one to come out and say it. "Would you be willing to—"

Before she can finish her sentence, I lean over and kiss her, slowly caressing her lips with mine and relishing the moment I've longed for as my fingers slip into her hair to keep her close to me. After several moments of tasting her and relishing every second of it, I pull back before it can grow more heated, wanting to keep things chaste for now. I don't want to scare her away or push her too far after everything she's been through.

I study her face filled with serenity as she slowly opens her eyes to gaze at me. "Does that answer your question, Princess?" I question her with a note of male cockiness as I brush a strand of hair behind her ear.

Her tongue darts out to wet her bottom lip, making me want to kiss her again. "I would like that," she softly confesses, causing my heart to flutter.

I can tell there's still something more that she's holding back, but I don't want to push her right now. We need to take things slow, especially after the torture and attempted rape, but I'm more than willing to give her whatever she needs from me no matter how long it takes.

My hand moves up to cup her face, my thumb caressing her cheekbone where a nasty bruise had just been a couple of days ago. "We can take things as fast or as slow as you want," I reassure her. "I just know that I want you in my life in every way possible."

She leans in and kisses me, her lips parting as her arms wrap around me. I pull her closer as I deepen the kiss, our tongues meeting and she tastes like heaven. I finally feel whole for the first time in my life. Knowing that this remarkable woman wants to be with me makes me lightheaded with a happiness that I haven't felt since that fateful night I lost my parents.

I know a difficult road still lies before us, a path littered with duties and responsibilities and secret identities. We both have issues now, born out of horrifying experiences in our lives that we still need to contend with, but I also know that we can get through it together.

We just have to be willing to talk and to let each other in. It's certainly not going to be easy for me to do that, but I know for the first time in my life I really want to try with her.

TO BE CONTINUED

Well this is the end for now. I'm going to continue posting the sequel called What Lies Beneath. It will be from Diana's POV and explore more in depth what she went through and how she struggles to come to terms with it all. At the same time, Bruce is trying to solve a case involving missing female students from Gotham University that will threaten not only their lives, but their growing relationship as well.

Anyway thank you so much for reading this story! I hope you loved it. All the credit goes to LOTSLOVERCSS from making this story at BatmanWonderWoman.com.