Chapter 70 – Wonder Pt. 6

August 25, 2010 -  Washington, DC

The Wonder Dome

22:10:11

“I feel…” Connor trailed off, unable to find the words to truly express himself, and then got distracted as Diana’s fingers roamed through his hair again. Instead, he hummed contentedly, leaning in to her touch like a cat seeking attention. She certainly noted the similarities, chuckling softly, she intensified her massage of his scalp.

“What do you feel?” Diana prompted him, making the involuntary grin he wore fall off as he returned to the thorny question of his feelings.

“Like I have something now, that I needed and never knew existed.” He said after a lengthy pause to gather his thoughts. 

“Hmmm…” She replied.

Connor snuck a look up at her face, around her bust, as he lay on the divan in her reading nook. He was on his back with his head in her lap as she sat at the head, stroking his hair, much to his delight. They were dressed for bed, he in a T-shirt and trunks, and her in a translucent red silken chemise. A long day of training had ended with a meal of steak, baked potatoes and salad that Connor didn’t think he’d done so bad with, a bath and what Diana had come to call ‘stamina training in the marital arts.’

He grinned at the recollection. Diana was a lot funnier and more playful when she let her hair down, literally. Taking off the Tiara seemed to transform her from Wonder Woman, Princess of Themyscira into Diana, in a momentary whirl. Connor was beginning to see why so many of the heroes he knew kept a strict protocol of separation between ‘work’ and ‘real life’. As perfectly poised and indefatigable as Diana seemed, being Wonder Woman was still a burden to her. His gallant attempt at offering her a foot rub after the day’s exertions had turned into an hours-long ‘teaching moment’ in the arts of oiled massage.

Which had necessitated another dip in the bath, afterwards.

“When was the last time that you experienced physical intimacy?” Diana asked, and Connor’s eyebrows shot up as he met Diana’s crystal blue eyes, peeking out from around her prodigious bust as she looked down at him. 

“Uh… earlier?” He answered, blushing.

“Besides with me.” She amended, with a gentle smile that warmed his heart.

“Well, you see…” He began, immediately fumbling as his eyes darted around.

“I am well aware that you have lain with members of the team.” Diana said constantly, and Connor turned beet red and facepalmed.

“Does everyone know that?” Connor asked shamefaced.

“The entire Guild? No. Those of us supervising the team? Yes. And perhaps some others.” She stated matter of factly. “It is nothing to be ashamed of, Connor. So long as none of the girls were taking advantage-”

“No! No. Nobody took advantage.” Connor stressed, definitively. The protectiveness that Diana and others offered him was hard to accept. Like they expected him to need protection.

Diana’s expression softened, seeing his defensiveness.

“If anyone did pressure you, or tried to use that as leverage against you, I hope you would tell me. That would not be tolerated.” She said, her mouth a thin line.

“They wouldn’t, they’re all good. Its fine.” He said, still not making eye contact.

Diana reached down and drew his chin up so he could look her in the eyes.

“It is not an issue if you have lain with them, Connor. I am not so jealous as that.” She said with a reassuring smile. It relieved his worry but not his embarrassment at the topic.

“That’s… good.” He replied, still uncomfortable, even as he finally met her gaze. “It won’t happen anymore, though.” Connor added quickly.

She gave him a sympathetic look, and pulled him in to kiss his forehead.

“It is not an issue if it does happen, either. I am not so jealous as that, either.” Diana stated with emphatic warmth.

Connor’s jaw fell as he processed that.

“Its not?” He squeaked out, now completely incandescent. Diana’s easy laugh and dancing eyes filled him with even more warmth and confusion.

“No, its not. I have had and have many lovers, partners and friends. Some are all three.” Her face tightened a bit as if she had realized something unpleasant. “I apologize, this is something we should have discussed before.”

“Oh. That’s okay.” He said automatically, and was surprised by it.

So was Diana.

“You are okay with me having other lovers and partners?” She asked.

Connor paused and once more considered the question and examined how it made him feel. He had been doing that a lot more this week with Diana, at her prompting and on his own. There were a lot of new emotions and experiences in his life, things he had never thought he would have before. They came in different ways than he had ever expected, and he felt thrown for a loop nearly continuously. It wasn’t bad; most of it had been good, just not what he expected.

When he thought of Diana, he couldn’t help but compare her to the character he knew. He was aware that this Diana wasn’t any version of those Dianas, but she had many similarities. It was difficult to distinguish all the ‘variants’ and not project them on to his mentor, but he had an archetype of ‘Diana-ness’ in his mind as a result. That archetype was of a sexually and romantically liberated woman who could romance anyone if she wanted to.

‘His Diana’ also had the blessing of the goddess of love, so he had already accepted that she was much the same. The fact that there was a ‘His Diana’ was something so mind-meltingly shocking and amazing that basically anything became acceptable after that. Being here with her now was so wondrous he found no room to be jealous of her having other lovers, men or women. A small part of him hoped to be the only man in her life, though.

“I am.” He said, having given it due thought and consideration. “I love you, Diana.” Conor’s voice grew choked as he said the words. “I want you to be happy. If you were happy with just me, then that would make me happy for you. If you needed or wanted other people to make you happy, I wouldn’t get in your way. I don’t know if I could be everything you need-”

Diana cut him off with a kiss, tender yet fierce, holding him close until it ended.

“My dear, sweet boy.” She said warmly, and his heart fluttered at her praise. “You are too precious a treasure. I cannot offer thanks enough to the psychopomp who brought you here to me.” Diana touched her forehead to his, breathless. 

Connor returned to his prior state of incandescence.

“Well, um, I mean-”

“Shhh…” Diana said with a finger upon his lips, smiling. Connor was so overcome with love in the moment he kissed her fingertip, making her giggle.

“You have a beautiful outlook, and Aphrodite has blessed you as well, I think.” Diana declared, and Connor froze as he considered that.

“Does that mean your blessing… changed my mind?” He asked with trepidation, but Diana was shaking her head as soon as he began.

“It cannot do that, I assure you.” She answered, frowning. “It cannot becalm a jealous heart, or make a closed one open to sharing their love. Though there have been times in my life I wish it did. If you feel as you say, then it is your own feeling. No godly charm has snared you, I assure you. Though you may wish to consult with M’gann or J’oann if you wish to confirm it.”

Connor shook his head.

“I trust you.” He said simply, and melted at the joy his words evoked in Diana.

“Thank you. But I meant that your openness to love is a blessing of the goddess. She is love and passion, wild and free as the crashing of the waves which birthed her. I have followed her ways my whole life, and I have found many loves as a result. On Themyscira, and beyond.”

Connor’s mind wandered to some of the sapphic art that decorated her apartments, but he had never ceased blushing and couldn’t get any redder. Those idle fantasies starring Diana didn’t rouse any jealousy in him, not at all.

“But my meaning was this; I have felt my love blossom for you since the day we found you. When you became my mentee, I was overjoyed. When I looked at you, I saw a lost young man who needed acceptance, support and training. But as we spent more time together, I could not deny that it was more than that. You have a beautiful soul, and it shines through your caring eyes and noble actions.” Diana explained, and Connor saw the now familiar intensity in her eyes. It was hard to not look away, but he was growing used to that intensity and earnestness. He would have blushed harder, but he was already at an eleven on that scale.

“Thank you.” He said simply, unsure of how to respond to that compliment. Diana was possessed of a radical authenticity and openness that was intimidating yet captivating. She told him exactly what she felt, without anxiety over appearing vulnerable or that she was oversharing. Her truth inspired him to be more open with his own feelings. There was never a feeling of judgement from her when he shared, only joy at his sharing.

“You are welcome.” She said with a smile that made his butterflies dance. “To my point, though; love is as bountiful as the ocean, and it is not diminished when you take a bucket of it to give to another.”

Connor rocked back as he considered Diana’s meaning. It had the ring of truth but it was at odds with everything he thought he knew about love.

“Don’t couples say they love their spouse ‘with all their hearts’, though?”

“They do say that; but that doesn’t prevent romantic partners from loving their children, does it? Or the rest of their family? Their friends?” Diana responded.

“But those are different.” Connor objected. “Loving your kids and your parents, and your friends, isn’t the same as having a partner.”

“There are many types of love, though; platonic, romantic, sexual, sororal, familial. But they are still love, and I think we all recognize that, regardless of culture or creed. So we know that we can love more than one person, unless one’s heart is very different from the norm. It is not that big a stretch, then, to acknowledge that we can love more than one person romantically, is it?” Diana asked, and Connor stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“It sounds like… cheating.” He said, and winced, realizing what he had said. But Diana simply smiled indulgently.

“There is only cheating where there is trust or expectation of adherence to an oath or code of conduct, and someone betrays that trust. What if a couple decides together they are open to pursuing others romantically or sexually?” Diana asked, with another knowing smile, and he suddenly felt like he was being lectured by an ancient philosopher.

“Well, if everyone is aware and agrees… then that’s fine, I guess.” He answered, dragging his eyes away from her to consider it more, before returning to her. “But how would that work? If one person is at home and the other person is off having dates and hooking up, that doesn’t seem fair. I know it probably can’t be ‘even’ or whatever, but it would seem like someone is gonna get jealous.”

“It is a common problem that is difficult to resolve. Tell me, do monogamous couples have issues with jealousy?” Diana asked with a quirk of her eyebrow.

Connor rolled his eyes, knowing the answer, but Diana waited patiently for him to provide it.

“Yes. Some of them, anyway.” He finally answered.

“How do they resolve that jealousy?” 

“Uhhh…” Connor said, and realized he didn’t have a great answer. The end of his parent’s marriage had a great deal of jealousy, though he wasn’t even sure why. They hadn’t been happy together before his father had met his stepmother, so it didn’t seem like it should have mattered. He floundered, unsure of a real answer.

“The only way issues in a relationship can be resolved; communication.” Diana answered for him, faint amusement on her face as he rolled his eyes. 

“Okay, but obviously that’s not as easy as it sounds.” He objected.

“Of course. If it was otherwise, the rates of divorce would not be so high in this country.”

“...That’s a good point. So that’s the silver bullet for problems in relationships? Communication?” Connor asked before adding. “I’m actually asking. This is… my first.” His eyes wandered purposefully away from hers as he trailed off, and she cupped his cheek gently.

“Yes, it is.” Diana said beatifically, looking down at him, head in her lap. Connor’s heart caught in his throat at her tenderness. “Love is a treasure, but it is also work, my apprentice. It pays the greatest rewards, but it can also be the greatest struggle. You and I will not always be in perfect accord, but we must endeavor to communicate with each other truthfully and compassionately, no matter what. Otherwise, our love will not hold.”

“So if you want to see someone else, we should talk about that?” He ventured, and she nodded. “Okay.” Connor finished, biting his lip. Diana noticed, and raised an eyebrow.

“Well…” he sighed. “What if I’m not okay with it? I said I was, and I meant it. But what if I feel like you’re not interested in me anymore?” 

Connor squirmed a little, uncomfortable with challenging what he had already declared he was fine with. It felt wishy-washy, but he worried his feelings would change if he saw Diana with someone else. Raising the possibility that Diana would get tired of him just slipped out, their new love having papered over most of his anxieties lately, but not all of them.

Its hard to feel… worthy of her.

Diana’s eyes tightened with concern, and she stroked his cheek reassuringly.

“I have made you my apprentice, Connor, so that I could offer you the stability you need. I will always offer that to you; my home is yours, you have my support and my instruction. That will never change. Believe that, if nothing else.” She vowed, holding his gaze and he saw the promise engraved in her heart there. “You have offered your loving submission to me as well, and that is a gift beyond all others. I hold that love as precious as anything in this world or the next. If ever you feel that way, you must tell me. It is not too great a pain for my heart to hear it, I swear to you. Nothing would pain me more than for you to suffer in silence. It would be the worst failure in my duty to you.”

Her eyes were bright with concern, and she spoke with a firm resolve that soothed his anxiety. Diana’s thumb stroked his cheek as she spoke, and his eyes grew hooded as he listened. She offered him every reassurance, but he still worried it would all go wrong. In this moment, basking in the warmth of her presence, her touch and her love, he heaved a sigh and nodded. He chose to trust in her, because this all encompassing warmth that banished a chill he felt in his soul, was worth it.

Diana smiled, and bent down to kiss him, her lips sweet on his. As he settled down, a thought occurred to Connor.

“So… you have other partners?” He asked innocently, and Diana laughed at his phrasing.

“Yes, I do. I am not concealing them from you, I assure you. My life is very busy, which is why it took a month for me to clear my schedule to make this time with you. I will arrange a time for you to meet them as well. To be clear; you and I have a relationship, but that does not necessitate you having a relationship with them as well.” Diana explained and he nodded along, accepting that his mentor, mistress and girlfriend had a number of other girlfriends. That made perfect sense, after all. She was wonderful. 

“Unless you want to.” 

Connor’s eyebrows shot up at that and he tensed.

“Really?” He asked, gazing up at her incredulously.

Diana cocked her head as she considered his question.

“Yes. Did you think that I reserved the right to have other relationships solely for myself?” She asked jokingly. Her face fell when she realized he was serious.

“Oh, no. Connor, as I said, you have a view of love that is blessed of Aphrodite. I would not deny it to you. You are open to your love having other loves; I am open to the same thing. I would be happy to be your sun, moon and stars, but it is not required.” She explained, and his eyes widened.

“Really?” 

Diana snorted at his repetition.

“Yes, Connor, really.”

New vistas of possibility opened up for him that had heretofore never been explored. He was brought crashing back to reality a second later as he considered how he could possibly juggle Diana and any other girl. Connor wasn’t really sure how he had ended up here, his head in Diana’s lap after an evening of highly disciplined lovemaking and a sensuous bath. In the parade of improbabilities his life had become, somehow this one felt most improbable of all. A wrinkle did appear to him and he felt that he needed to address it.

“What about the… loving submission?” He asked awkwardly.

“That is between you and I, Connor. It does not extend to anyone else. You are not my property. It means that you have offered yourself to me and I have accepted you, to love, to hold and to instruct. That does not mean you cannot love others. It defines our relationship with each other. Though I require you to speak with me before offering your loving submission to any other.” Diana said, and her voice had the same intoxicating timbre of command she used in the bedroom that sent shivers down his spine.

“I don’t think that will be an issue, but okay.” He hurriedly responded, but his response was met with an arched eyebrow.

“...Yes, mistress.” He offered, and she smiled like a cat that had caught the mouse, and stroked his hair again. He settled into silence, content with their discussion and her touch. 

She asked if he had other concerns, but he didn’t. He was still trying to digest the meat of their discussion. There was a lot to consider, about their relationship with each other and with others. Connor had a lot of feelings to sort through about it, but they all seemed good. There were some worries that it wouldn’t all work out in the same rosy way Diana described it, but communication was key. 

They would work it out, together.

********

August 26, 2010 -  Washington, DC

The Wonder Dome

20:13:26

A sound that had been drilled into Connor’s head since he had become a member of the team cut through the fog of pleasure, and the bath’s eternal steam. He stood up, water sluicing off of him as he stepped out of the bath and in an instant was snatching up his Eye Phone. Diana’s questioning silenced the moment he held up a hand to her.

The team’s alert alarm, which cut through any do not disturb function and went into the ultrasonic to make it impossible for him to ignore or fail to recognize. The result of Rikki’s tinkering with his gear.

“Superboy.” He answered.

“You’re needed back at the Cave, pronto.” Rikki’s voice came over the line. Connor couldn’t resist a little slump in his shoulders at the news. But he steeled himself and took a breath.

“Right. I’ll have Diana drop me off at the Hall and Zeta back. What’s going on?” 

“Ugh, Batwoman has a mission for the team. She’ll give everyone the details.” Rikki stated, the strain in her voice evident to him.

“Are you alright?” Connor asked, his concern growing.

“Yeah, just been dealing with said case all day. It started this morning and we do most of our work at night. Feeling a little… disheveled. This guy? He took everything we threw at him and was still decidedly sheveled.” Rikki quipped, but in a tired yet not defeated way.

“We’re helping Batwoman with a case?” He asked, his excitement rising now.

“You’re helping Batwoman AND Robin with a case.” She groused, and he smiled.

“Who is it?” He couldn’t resist asking, despite her assurance that Batwoman would brief them. “The Riddler? Mr. Freeze? Bane? …The Joker?” He ran down the list in descending order of fearsomeness.

“Somebody new, never seen him, or it, before.” Rikki confided. “Wait… you knew about Bane.” 

“Yeah, she’s… well she’s a he back home-” 

“Yeah, yeah, you keep saying. But we’d never encountered her before. Maybe you know this one, too. Sending you a couple of surveillance camera pickups, and a few from the cowl cam.” Rikki said, and Connor’s excitement only grew.

As the photos populated on his phone, he saw the grainy surveillance cam stills that showed Batwoman and Robin fighting some… thing in the fancy lobby of a big building. It looked like a big dark blob on the camera, then he saw the pictures that came from the camera that apparently his friend had on her mask at all times. 

He put that worry aside as he stared at the grotesque approximation for a face that was far too close for comfort from Rikki’s cowl cam point of view.

“Oh shit…” Connor said dumbly, staring at the horrible countenance.

“So you know this thing?” Rikki inquired after a beat.

“Yeah… its-”

“Don’t tell me now, save it for the briefing. You’ve got a little under an hour.”

Rikki instructed and hung up. 

“Trouble?” Diana asked, as he looked over at her. She had stood out of the bath and her glistening body stole his breath away for a minute. Eventually he had to breathe again, but he could have done it for a lot longer. Sighing, he tossed his phone back down on the pile of his training stained clothes.

“Yeah, in Gotham. Batwoman’s briefing the team in an hour, so I have to get back to the Cave.” He said, reluctantly fetching towels for them.

“Then I will prepare Pegasus, and get you to the Hall.” She said, accepting a towel from him, all business now as she efficiently dried herself, playfulness departed. 

Connor sighed as he began drying himself as well. When he had finished, Diana drew his face in for a long and loving kiss that made him weak in knees. When it broke, her face stayed close to his and she gazed into his eyes, a fierce and intoxicating glimmer of love in her eyes.

“Duty calls, my apprentice.” She said smiling, and pushed him towards his clothes as he sighed again and slowly trudged toward them.

There came a stinging crack across his ass as he malingered, making him jump. It didn’t hurt, but he rubbed it self consciously. He turned to object, and Diana greeted him with a raised eyebrow, hands on her hips, a sculpted warrior goddess in the nude.

“...Yes, mistress.”