Bruce and Diana take a stab at a relationship and tension builds within the batclan. Meanwhile, a conspiracy and a murder put pressure on everyone and causes Bruce to question things with Diana.

Family: Repercussion of Responsibility

Prologue

This is almost perfect, Diana thought as she brought the fork to her mouth and looked around. It had been a day since the team had voted on whether or not Shayera could stay in the Justice League. Despite her former teammate's obvious betrayal the voter had been a long and tedious ordeal. Flash was quite close to Shayera, seeing her as an older sister, and was naturally a forgiving soul. He had voted that she could stay. Clark, too voted to forgive Shayera, stating he believed in second chances and never gave up on his friends. Batman-no, Bruce, was rattled by how quickly she had circumvented the defenses and had flat out said no. J'onn was forgiving and could relate to Shayera's solitary state as the only Thanagarian on Earth. John had abstained from the vote, which Diana had thought was a good idea. He was close to the issue.

What had truly made Diana- what was the phrase Flash, no Wally used? Ticked. Yes, that was it. What truly made Diana ticked was how Shayera hadn't even bothered to hear the verdict. She had to do things her way. Considering how the last few days had transpired she didn't know why she had been surprised at all.

After that the team had spent the next day considering the candidates who could not only fill Shayera's shoes but add to their ranks. It had taken hours and some candidates were still up for debate like the Question, Huntress, Supergirl and Stargirl. Clark was wary of giving Supergirl and Stargirl such responsibility at such young ages and Question seemed to make everyone nervous except Bruce. Great minds think alike, Diana silently chuckled to herself. Bruce voiced a great many opinions- some of which weren't surprising to her such as his concerns over Huntress. But others were a total mystery to her. Especially, his total disinclination to allow Batgirl, Nightwing, or Robin to join the Justice League, for example. She didn't understand his explanation. The five of them noted that they were more than accomplished warriors, but Bruce could not be swayed.

After a long day of that the members of the league who had their own residences had returned to them. J'onn decided to stay with the Kents again, with a promise from Clark to meet up with him there after checking in on Metropolis. John had wanted to see how badly his Detroit neighborhood had been affected and Diana had a feeling he needed some time to himself. All Shayer's fault. Wally couldn't wait to inspect his apartment to see if anything was missing and he wanted to see someone he referred to as Aunt Iris.

With no place to go, except a hotel which Alfred had deemed out of the question, Diana had elected to stay at Wayne Manor. The home and its grounds were spacious, Bruce had reminded her, so she'd have all the privacy she'd need and there was always some thing to do. The plans for the new watchtower were in development and Bruce had wrangled all of them into promising to check in on them. Diana was sure the schematics and technical end of it were over her head, but it if made Bruce happy…

What had delighted Diana was finally getting a look into Bruce's world. From the pictures to the cave, it was all telling to her. She had been curious for so long, especially after their dance in Paris. Even though Bruce had denied it then, Diana had been certain that the man in her arms that night had been Batman. A warrior born, Diana knew how her fellow warriors moved. She could have recognized Batman's body language anywhere. He had intrigued her that night, his thoughtfulness at rescuing her from the reporters. It was polar opposite from the cold man she had gotten to know in the field. Then had come the invasion, his revealing his identity and the kiss. The kiss in the café and his mischievous grin. There was a hint of playboy in it and so much more. The more was what drew her to him, like a moth to the flame, despite her good sense and the fact that he had not given her a look at the man he had been in Paris and in the café since those times.

But now she was in his home and whether he liked it or not she was discovering him. Somewhere between the cave and the Bentley the playboy drove was the truth, the real Bruce Wayne. And part of that truth was the dedicated elderly major domo who was refilling her glass of wine.

"Thank you, Alfred," Diana said as she gave him a small smile.

"No trouble at all, Miss Diana," the butler replied.

The loyal servant had been telling for Diana. He was as every bit kind and understated as Batman was harsh and blunt.

The older man looked at the twenty-something hero that sat across from Diana and silently offered the same, to which he replied, "I'm good for now, Alfred. Thanks."

Dick Grayson returned his gaze to his "brother," Tim and made a silly face that mirrored the boy's. The younger stuck out his tongue in response.

"Boys, not at the table," Bruce said simply, not looking up from his plate. The two in question, his sons- Diana reminded herself squished their faces just once more and then did as told.

He really is a father. When Diana had learned that Bruce was not only raising a young boy, but had already raised another, she'd been floored. Or course if she thought about it, it made sense. If Bruce Wayne was Batman, which something she had suspected for some time, then who else had been Robin? Robins, she corrected herself. Dick, the first Robin she had learned had grown up to be Nightwing and even protected his own town, Blüdhaven. When the Thanagarians attacked, he'd had his hands full evading patrols and trying to get the Blüdhaven citizens to cooperate for their own safety. After the Thanagarians had left, Bruce had insisted he see Dick in person and that he'd stay for at least a couple days. Typical parent. And then there was Tim, a ball of energy and observation. Diana could already tell that he was a very astute child. Bruce had formally adopted them both.

She could take it all in stride, really she could. It was just contradictory to what she knew about him.

"Diana, Alfred, tells me you had a tour of the manor," Bruce said evenly, probably in an attempt to drag his two boys out of boredom.

"I hope you don't mind. You were going over schematics and everyone else had left. Curiosity got the best of me."

"Hmm."

"I really didn't get to see everything though," she said quietly. "I did notice that you have some very good art pieces here."

"Really?" he asked evenly, almost like it wasn't a question.

"Yes. The East wing has a few pieces by my sisters."

"I was told the artists were unknown."

Diana chuckled. She could almost see the faces of her fellow Amazonians. "Well, I know them very well. They would be proud to have a place in your home."

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," Bruce replied civilly.

"You have a wonderful home Bruce," Diana began with a new enthusiasm. "Though it is a bit big. You can tell it was made for a family. It has to get lonely here sometimes."

"Oh, I have family enough and I'm hardly lonely," Bruce quickly quipped.

She hated when he did this; when he acted like he wasn't an island. But, the truth was he was more solitary than J'onn and that was depressing.

"Alfred hardly counts," Diana fired back. There.

Bruce's eyes met her's and she saw a hardness there.

"I was referring to Dick and Tim," he stated.

She realized her mistake and her breath caught in her throat. She looked across from her and watched as Dick nervously ran a hand through his hair and immediately looked down at Tim, who had become crestfallen and perplexed by his plate.

"I'm so sorry-"

"Can I be excused?"

Diana said as Tim mumbled.

A warmth invaded Bruce's eyes as he turned to his youngest.

"I'm sorry chum, but you have to finish your dinner. You're going to need your strength if you're going to patrol with me tonight."

Tim's face took on a glow as he grinned at his guardian.

"You're coming with me?" the boy asked excitedly.

Between league business and the Thanagarians, Diana realized Bruce probably hadn't been home in sometime and Batman hadn't prowled his city. Inwardly, she'd shrunken a little more. She had insulted his boys at their reunion dinner.

"Yes," Bruce said. "Both of us," he affirmed as he met Dick's eyes. Dick half smiled and nodded.

"Yes!" Tim exclaimed.

"Ya hear that goober? You have to eat everything. Especially if you're going to keep up," Dick teased as he ruffled Tim's hair.

The boy dug into his plate with new exuberance and Diana bored her eyes into her's. This was definitely going to take some getting used to.