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"Come with me!"
The outstretched hand, gloved yet strong, didn't waver. The face behind the mask, though mostly obscured, didn't bother to try and hide the desperation that bled through the words.
You stared as your heart (was that even real?) thudded like a drum behind your chest. You looked at the man before you, at the rift he stood in front of. The wind whipped across your face, but despite what should be an intense force of nature, it felt as if it was simply curling around the rest of your body, beckoning you into your collapsing fantasy world behind you.
"Please!"
You jolted. He had never been that desperate before, especially not to you. His voice, normally pitched deeper for the mask, held a higher lilt that simply didn't suit him. But, it sparked dormant emotions that you tried to ignore, dragged them to the surface of your heart and mind kicking and screaming, reminding you of all the moments the two of you spent together before.
You loved him. You couldn't deny it any longer, even as the ground beneath your feet slowly crumbled into nothing.
And he...
He loved you.
Before you could think about it, your hand was in his, your face was shoved against firm Kevlar, and then...the world vanished.
----
There's something to be said about your world not being real, about fake things stepping into reality. Looking back, you would reason that your existence was taking time to meld with the world you were pulled into. But for now, you had no thoughts left to think.
For a long time-Days? Or was it seconds? Minutes? Hours?-you floated in darkness, head heavy and light at the same time. It felt comfortable, but there was always something missing. Something remained just outside of your reach, no matter how far you floated around, how much you tried to think past the cotton that filled your mind.
You couldn't count any days in this strange floaty realm. No light flickered, no sound reached your ears. Your own voice didn't slip past your lips. But strangely, you didn't mind.
Until, that is, a voice did filter through the silence.
"My lady..."
That voice...it was gentle, comforting...familiar. You found yourself drawn to it, slowly drifting towards words that varied over time.
"I love you..."
"Wake up..."
"My lady..."
"Please..."
One voice became two, which became three. Sometimes it was one at a time, sometimes it was two. You couldn't find it in yourself to care about that. With each passing moment, you moved closer and closer to the words.
"I miss you...please..."
You felt like you were breaking above water, eyes bleary and body heavy as bright lights, brighter than anything in that strange floating realm, broke past your eye lids. A familiar face, motherly and warm, looked at you in open relief. You felt yourself slip down once more, but the ascent to the surface felt shorter than before.
This repeated, with the face you saw ranging from that motherly woman, to an older gentleman, to the face of a man you came to love so dearly.
Eventually, the waters within your mind and body stopped tugging you below the line, and you broke the surface for the last time.
----
"Oh? My lady, are you finally awake?"
Thadia Claymore was at your side in an instant, checking your face for signs of lucidity. You gave her a weak smile, hand twitching as you tried to give the weakest salute imaginable.
"Hey...Thadia..." You croaked. She held a glass to your lips, and you drank gratefully. Lifting your head when you finished, you looked around the room.
You weren't in a hospital. In fact, it was a room you recognized as one in Wayne Manor. Back in your world, your false dimension where you were birthed from thoughts and hopes, this particular room was kept dusty and unused. But here, it looked lived in, clean, and comfortably fancy. Your eyes shifted across the room, seeing it properly for the first time. It looked like a guest bedroom, repurposed to fit the medical equipment that connected to you.
"Very good, my lady," she replied, smiling warmly. She grabbed a phone off the side table. "I shall inform Alfred and your husband of this development. Master Bruce said he would be on patrol, but I'm sure he will make time to see you as soon as possible once he knows you're awake."
"We're still married?" You couldn't hide the surprise from your voice. You didn't expect Bruce to remain married to you after pulling you through the portal. There wasn't really any reason for it now, except...
"Of course, my lady," Thadia said, smirking knowingly. She knew all too well about your doubts regarding Bruce's affections. You came to believe that her and Alfred were making bets on the two of you, after a while. "In this reality, things are not...official. Yet." Her fingers touched something on the side table. Papers... "But Master Bruce was hoping you would like to do so now that we are out of that little fantasy world."
Hot tears pricked at your eyes as you stared at the ceiling, reality washing over you in more than one way. Thadia's voice faded into background noise as she stepped out of the room, and your thoughts slotted together into the world's most confusing puzzle.
You were real now. Not just a concept, not just a fantasy woman created to trap Batman away from Gotham with magic. Real. Flesh and blood. And he wanted you. He wanted you enough to risk everything just to bring you and Thadia, people who did not exist before in his world, with him.
A smile spread on your lips. You noted how they weren't dry and cracked. Ah, Thadia. She would never let you live in discomfort if she could help it, even in a coma.
The next few minutes were a blur, but soon there was someone rushing to your side. A familiar voice called out to you, and you turned your head to see the man you once hated, but now dearly love.
Bruce.
He was suited up, cowl off his face, as he looked at you with a relief you wished you could bottle forever. He really did rush back from patrol just to see you.
"You're finally awake," he said, taking your left hand in his. It was then that you noticed a familiar band on your ring finger. His eyes followed yours, and a light blush spread across his cheeks.
"It's custom made," he explained, eyes staring at the band on your finger, "The original vanished when we crossed through the portal. I remembered you saying how much you loved it."
"I do," you said, squeezing his hand. Your chest, originally filled with the heavy weight of an ocean current that tugged you under over and over, now felt light. "Thank you..."
Your eyes trailed over to the end table, forms you couldn't read from your current angle resting beneath a fancy pen.
"Marriage forms?" You asked, a smirk on your voice. Bruce cleared his throat, looking away from you as the blush deepened.
"Yes." He did not elaborate.
You tried to sit up, sparking worry in his eyes. He helped you up after you made a point to not stay laying down. Your eyes danced with a familiar glint, one you used to reserve for lurking the rooftops of Gotham with Batman at night.
"Excellent. Where do I sign?"