Disclaimer: I do not own DC or any of its characters
A/N- Well this is the beginning of the third story in my series. Sorry it took me so long but last year of college eats up much more time than you could imagine. Thanks once again to MGD for betaing this for me and helping me turn it into something I can be very proud of. This first chapter is a little short but more is coming so don't worry. I hope everyone likes it and please by all means let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns also remember to review.
Chapter 1-Women
Wayne Manor, the Castle of Gotham, could only be described as a modern castle with its elegant and sweeping gothic architecture and its sheer enormity. The imposing formation even featured its own towers relocated from Scotland by Wayne. A Medieval structure may have seemed out of time overlooking the modern city of Gotham, but the silent stones and eerily quiet of the mass made it ironically fitting. It was the fortress watching over Gotham, her own watchtower.
If anyone took a walk around the grounds, it was almost as if they were transformed to the times of Arthur and Merlin. Yet, it was only on the outside, where it bore influences of Western Europe. Many people, who have borne witnesses to its private interior, were surprised by the oriental theme that some of the rooms possessed.
It is in one of these rooms that Bruce Wayne could be found stripped above the waist meditating in the lotus pose. When anyone asked why a notoriously shallow adrenaline junkie and playboy would have a room dedicated to inner reflection, he would laugh it off as a fad that he just needed to have.
In reality, this room was one of the most used rooms in the entire manor. Bruce would retreat to it when he was working on a particularly difficult case and needed to step back to refocus and gain a new perspective on it. Of course, it was also aided in his pursuit of the martial arts and willing his mind and body beyond normal limits.
Today, however, the room was used for entirely different reason. Today, Bruce was reflecting on a woman. It was not uncommon for him to think about a woman here since he had done so when one of his female adversaries presented a threat in Gotham. What was uncommon was that this woman was not an enemy, nor did she represent a threat to anyone except villains and potentially his sanity at this point.
(From Bruce's perspective)
Diana never seemed to be far from my thoughts. More specifically, I often relived that albeit indirect confession on the rooftop in Eastern Europe two weeks ago. Mediating on it, I knew that I was being careless, and it was only a matter of time before Diana figured out my true identity. Now, I essentially have three options: tell her who I am, break off all contact with her, or throw her off the scent somehow.
Telling her my identity was out of the question. I have never compromised it yet and did not intend to now. If she knew who I was, it would drive home the fact that I am only human. I would lose the power of mystery and the unknown. The option of breaking off contact may look good on the surface, but I knew that she was not one to accept that without an explanation. Eventually, she would dig until she discovered my identity. All that was left was to convince her indirectly that the notion of Batman and Bruce Wayne being the same person was ludicrous.
That brought me to this room. I needed to decide on the best course of action to take to dissuade her from the idea that I am Batman, but I did not want to outright lie to her at the same time. For some reason, lying to Diana made my stomach turn. I could not come out and tell her a bold face lie. Misdirect and mislead, yes, but lie, no. Thankfully, I have had already taken positive steps towards this by acting in contrary manners in my different personas, and there was the fact that my parents death records had been sealed years before she even came to the modern world. She would have to spend years, more money than she possessed, and have an extremely valid reason for seeing them to get through the court system and have them unsealed.
Still, I knew that I had to keep up and even reinforce the difference between the two personalities, so that she would only lose suspicion. While she did not seem to suspect anything at the moment, I remembered one of our first encounters, where she correctly pinpointed me as Batman. Taking any chance in the matter would be extremely unwise at this point.
Still contemplating on the matter, I was interrupted suddenly by Alfred. In a calm manner, Alfred informed me, "Sir, Princess Diana called to inform you that she has just left her residence and is on her way to join you for lunch."
Snapping my eyes open, I looked at the clock and realized that the originally short thirty minute planned meditation had turned into two hours. Smoothly, I rose to my feet, thanked Alfred, and headed towards the dojo down the hall. I had planned this meeting for full week, and now my prediction that she would show up early was correct. I could put my plan into motion. Small steps were all I needed to convince her that I am not Batman. When she got here, she would unknowingly see that very first step.