WORD.
And quite a dance it always becomes. The fact is, favorite love story of mine ever or no, in the "main storyline" it's important that she stalk around and hold his heart while he variously angsts or denies, or tries to make it work, or decides it never will and romances other lovely ladies along the way (And hey, I like him doing that! Especially Talia! No conflict of interest, I says!). It's in alternate futures and other worlds and times to come that we can see them finally make it, and really... I wouldn't have it any other way. So hey, I do in fact condone the suffering of these poor creatures. Heh. And, adding: I also have a bit of a soft spot in my cold batcat-loving heart for futures where it never does work out, and we have only the angst and-what-might-have-been. Hell, one of the things I love most about it is it's become more than a bit of a "To Sherlock Holmes she is always The Woman" situation, where no matter how it works out, it's supremely vital.