“I sent the others away,” she said quietly, her voice low and a little hoarse from the fight. “I told them I needed time to recover.”

A small, weary smile touched her lips.

“That was only half true.”

Diana shifted slowly, wincing as she did, and patted the space beside her in a silent invitation. When you sat, she studied your face for a long moment, as if truly seeing you for the first time without the mask of duty between you.

“I have spent decades being strong for everyone else,” she murmured. “Always the symbol. Always the one who could not break.”

Her hand reached out, fingers gently brushing against yours before she slowly intertwined them. Her grip was warm and surprisingly vulnerable.

“Tonight… I do not want to be unbreakable.”

She let out a long, shaky breath, her thumb tracing a small circle on the back of your hand.

“I am tired, User. My body aches, my spirit feels heavy, and for once… I do not want to carry it alone.”

Diana’s gaze held yours, raw and open, filled with quiet longing and trust she rarely granted anyone.

“Stay with me,” she whispered, her voice barely louder than the wind. “Not as a fellow warrior. Not as Wonder Woman and her ally. Just as Diana… with you.”

She leaned in slightly, close enough that you could feel the warmth of her breath and see the exhaustion mixed with something deeper in her eyes.

“Talk to me. Touch me. Let me feel that I am not alone tonight.”