Bruce watched Diana, who stood out on the edge of the cliff, watching the glittering lights of Metropolis next door. She had been looking distracted lately, like her head was somewhere else. Was today something special?
"She's been out there for over an hour now." Alfred said. Bruce turned around.
"I noticed. She's been distracted lately." He told the butler.
"Well, have you tried talking to her about it?" Alfred asked. Bruce shrugged, putting his hands into his pockets.
"She hasn't even been here that long. I don't want to pry." He said. Alfred raised a brow.
"What's this? The feared Batman is denying to find out about everything? He isn't being nosy?" Alfred questioned sarcastically. "Someone call Vicki Vale! I think we have a story on our hands!"
Bruce rolled his eyes. "I'm not nosy." Alfred crossed his arms.
"Master Wayne, you are the definition of nosy." He said. Bruce stuck out his tongue at him like a child. Alfred just chuckled and walked away to do a chore.
Bruce turned back around. Diana hadn't moved a muscle. He sighed and headed out of the manor, making his way to the woman standing still. He stood by her, hands still in his pockets. He looked out to Metropolis.
"Everything alright, Princess?" He asked. The tension died down, thankfully, between them. Now it didn't feel so awkward to call her by that name.
"Of course." She answered. "I was just thinking about someone, that's all."
"Your mother?" She shook her head.
"No, someone I knew from a long time ago." She sighed. She turned to him. "It doesn't matter now though. Anyway, I should leave. I'm going to London tomorrow and I have to wake up early." Bruce nodded.
Bruce stared at the monitor in front of him. The picture meant something, it had to. She probably wanted the original back. His eyes went from Diana to the man next to her. He sighed, leaning back into his chair, finally understanding the reason for the gloomy princess.
Tomorrow was Memorial day.
He remembered Diana asking him about what it was. When he explained it to her, she had seem to lose all the sparks in her eyes, not to mention she walked about with her head down for majority of the day. How could he not notice it before? He should have known. Narrowing his eyes, he stared at Steve.
Alfred came down with tea. He looked at the man in the chair, reading something. He set the cup down and put his hands behind his back. He glanced at Bruce. "Might I ask what you're doing?"
"Being nosy."
Diana stood in front of the board in London, her eyes fixed on the photo in front of her. After all these years, they had never removed the board or pictures of those who had fallen in the Great War. She gently touched the photo, tears threatening to come down. She took a deep breath. She had to keep it to herself, bottle up the feelings, and bury them in the deepest vaults of her soul. Yes, she could do that.
"Steve Trevor, a pilot who risked his life and died saving the world. One hell of a man." A voice said. Bruce's voice.
Her eyes never left the photo, but she nodded in agreement. "He was a hero." She said.
"Diana, I know it isn't my place to pry, but you could have told someone how you were feeling." Bruce said, looking at her. She continued to stare at the photo.
"You are my teammates, my colleagues. I don't understand how I would tell you my feelings." She said with a little sharpness to her voice.
"I know you haven't been here long, and I don't know what a teammate means back home, but over here it's more than just having each other's back in the battlefield." This time, she turned to him.
"It means just being there for someone overall. Physically, mentally..." He motioned toward the photo. "emotionally." She glanced at the photo.
"You don't have to talk to me about your feelings, but you can if you want to, just don't bottle it up and throw it away. Because sometimes, the pain of losing someone you love motivates you to do more." He added.
Diana released a breath she never knew she was holding. The first tear came down, then the second. She wrapped her arms around Bruce, and buried her face into his jacket. He hesitated at first, but then placed his hands on her back and pulled her closer to him.
"I have seen a century of horrors." She said, her voice muffled. Her grip tightened. "Your kindness means much to me."
She pulled away, still crying. Bruce wiped a tear and she smiled before drying her eyes. She breathed in deeply and released it and the sparks had returned to her eyes. Bruce gave her a smirk.
"There is an ice cream place that Steve had once showed me. I think it's still there. Would you like to come?" She asked.
"Sure, Princess." Bruce replied. She smiled, took one last look at the photo, and headed off in the opposite direction. Bruce looked at the photo and nodded to himself.
"I'll take care of her, I promise." He whispered before running to catch up to Diana.
When Diana returned to her job in Paris, she tilted her head to the side at the briefcase on her desk. She set her things down and turned her attention back to the case. She opened it. Carefully, she took out the photo encased in glass.
And she smiled.
I wanted to mix the DCAU and the DCEU a little bit so that's why the setting is the manor with the cliff instead of at the lake. Anyways, hope you enjoyed!