This is my first fanfic that I've posted. I do appreciate honesty, because improvement cannot be achieved without criticism. Also keep in mind that this is not my favorite pairing, but when the inspiration hits, you go with it. And with this story, that is just what I did.

Also note that Threads is essentially a series of one-shots…many different realities. Treat them as such.

This particular thread takes place sometime before Shayera meets Carter but after the Chronos affair.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Justice League or any of its characters. Just a fan. As simple as that. On with the show.

Threads.

by Maria Sophania

Bruce Remembers.

For every moment in time, there exists a multitude of possibilities. While we live in this time, this thread there exists a perpendicular one that branched from the path we now walk to create its own future, reality from a single decision. This creates a pattern in the majestic blanket known as time and space. Every thread. Every line. This was all that Bruce could think of has he held her in his arms. In his bed. Between his sheets. Dreaming.

It seemed like it had all happened so long ago. They had built the new Watchtower, tucked safely within the confines of Metropolis, and the people had become secure with its presence. The League members took shifts, and there was a constant rotating staff. No one worked more than a total of six hours. The perfect life, right?

Not for the founding seven. While they had finally convinced themselves that they were not the tyrants they had once met, they still faced…problems. Diana still wanted Bruce, Bruce wanted no one, Clark wanted everyone to get along, John wanted Shayera but would never admit it, Shayera wanted John but would never tell a soul, J'onn wanted everyone to stop wanting, and Wally just wanted everyone to give it all a rest. They were a family alright; a messed up, disorganized family.

In the months following, with the League closer to the people, the members themselves were able to live more efficient alter lives. Clark was more focused on work, Diana actually created an alternate life herself, and Wally never rested when it came to the luxuries of normal life. The lives of John, J'onn, Shayera, and Bruce actually didn't change all that much. They kept up with their normal routine. That was, until he came.

It hadn't been six months when Shayera bumped into the tall, handsome curator of the Midway city museum. She had saved his life from a burning building, or robbers, it's not really clear to anyone anymore, but she had saved his life, and in a moment of battle, he had saved hers. They went out a few times before John found out, a few peaceful times.

Bruce still remembers the conversation.

"What! Do you even KNOW this guy!"

"Yes! I do! I've been out with him four times in the past TWO weeks! Not to mention it's NONE of YOUR business WHO I date!"

"It's plenty my business!"

"Oh, REALLY! You've got no right! You're dating! You're moving on! Why can't I!"

John couldn't come up with any suitable reason, but he did try. John had continued to date Vixen, and Shayera had found a nice suitor in the man known as Carter Hall. A good man, Bruce remembers. They had apparently gotten pretty serious after a year, and John hated the man even more with each passing day.

The two, while still in love with one another, couldn't bring themselves to break the other of their "happiness" with another person. They couldn't bring themselves to admit to one another that they would still die for each other. And that's how it stayed. Shayera continued to date Carter, and John continued to date Mari. It didn't seem right to everyone else, but to those two, it seemed like the thing to do at the time. It was an escape, and they seemed to agree that it was best for them both at the time. But after a while, the glory faded when Shayera was tired of dealing with John, Carter was tired of dealing with John, everyone was tired of dealing with John, and the two decided to stay close friends.

But Mari had gotten to the Green Lantern. She had confronted him with his obsession with the Thanagarian and, amazingly enough, he tried to deny it. And for some reason or another, Shayera had been spending too much time with the Bat. While John still loved Shayera, he had begun to fall for the lively model. He liked her, he respected her.

At that same moment, Shayera found something as well. For months, Batman had her working on a secret project that not event the Boy Scout knew existed. The Dark Knight had wanted something created that was impossible for a human to create. The mathematical process was impossible for a human to grasp, but Thanagarian…he had known for sometime that her brain synapses were far more powerful than that of any human. He had confronted her about it, testing her of the knowledge he needed, and when she explained that there were extremely complicated formulas that could neither be written in the human language nor worked with a human mind, she volunteered to design the thing herself. In the beginning stages, they worked at the Watchtower, but soon the project became too large and it was moved to the Batcave.

It was here that Shayera found herself while John was pledging his life away to a woman he didn't really love. She was working hard in a language Bruce couldn't seem to understand as he had watched her over her shoulder. Maybe it was their proximity. Maybe it was their mutual loneliness. Maybe it was the mind boggling physics problems he had watched her work for hours on end. Neither of them knew, but at the time, all they cared about was the feel of one another.

Shayera awoke the next morning beside the richest man in the free world. Tucked comfortably in between black satin sheets, she found herself locked in the arms of the pretty boy orphan as he slept. Her hands rested comfortably on his bare chest as his arm was relaxed, hanging loosely around her bare waist, as her wings blanketed them both.

In the weeks following, it seemed like John had had enough. Enough of wanting something that he couldn't let himself have. Enough of pretending like he didn't care. So he took a good look inside and found a way to cover it all up. By purposing to Mari he could find comfort in knowing that he had chose his own fate, and Shayera and Bruce had found comfort in one another. After hours, when the bulk of the work was done, he'd find her standing against the work table, her eyes closed as she computed mental math with only the slight movement of her lips and he'd find her irresistible. And she never argued. It blew his mind what she could do to him, how she could make him feel. And while Shayera had had her share of men, she was amazed at how skillful Bruce was. She thought that John was the only one who could make her feel the things that she felt while in his bed, but Bruce…Bruce made her keep coming back for more. And so it was they worked diligently by the day and into the night but found comfort and…peace in his bed afterward.

Maybe those two always being together drove John to the edge when he figured out they were sleeping together. Maybe that's why he proposed to Mari. And maybe that's why she accepted.

In the months before the wedding, the League finally figured it out, the situation between the Bat and the Hawk. Go figure, Flash would have had to be the first. It was out and neither of them cared. They found their work engrossing and each other invigorating. It didn't matter that it was just physical. That it was just sex. That didn't matter. Because at the time, that's what they both needed. Neither could handle anything emotional. But when the League found out, Mari moved the wedding up two whole months. She was afraid of losing John, and for good reason, because he was about to ruin everything between them by charging into the mansion and claiming the winged woman as his own.

The days afterwards turned into weeks and weeks into months and before everyone knew it, a year had gone by. Mari was pregnant. Nine months later, she birthed a healthy baby boy. All John could think of was that this boy, he wasn't Rex. He did it. He changed it all. But what he couldn't figure out was why didn't that make him happy?

John was proud, but his eyes still lacked something. He loved the boy with all his heart, or at least, all his heart that he left open for this family. She still held the rest of it. She would always hold a part of it.

Of course something else would have to happen. Sinestro had attacked Detroit, looking for John and when John had come out to stop him, the Yellow Lantern had been ready. Injecting the Green Lantern of sector 2814 with a vibrant yellow serum, John began to die a slow and painful death. They took him to the Watchtower, the only medical facility that had the capabilities to give him a fighting chance, except, he had already given up.

Bruce still remembers that night. He remembers her. Everything about her. Every movement. Every smile. Every tear.

/Flashback/

Founding members, report to the MedBay immediately. I repeat, immediately.

J'onn's telepathic thought had reached the other five members of the inner League as they rushed to the MedBay only to find one of their own lying before them, dieing. Mari sat in a chair beside him, their eighth month old boy sleeping in her arms, as tears rolled down her face.

Superman, Wonder Woman, and J'onn all respectfully said their goodbyes, thank yous and told him how good a warrior and friend he was.

Flash was oddly respectable. He spent a few moments talking to John and the Marine told him that he was proud of him, and that the kid had better stay out of trouble. It wasn't too bad, except the kid had to go and cry on them.

Batman stood back as Shayera slowly walked to the edge of the bed.

"John?"

"Hey."

As she looked down at him and his injuries, their eyes met and in that moment, they knew they had made a mistake. They knew that they both had screwed up.

"Do you hate me?"

His question surprised her as she got to her knees on his bedside, opposite Mari, but she never saw the taller woman.

"Hate you? John, I could never hate you."

"I'm sorry, you know. Sorry I didn't wait for you."

Tears began to form on the corners of his now-brown eyes, as tears already began to flow from her radiant emerald ones.

"Me too."

"I wish, everyday I see you, that I hadn't screwed up."

"We both screwed up."

"Ya, but I love you. I never stopped."

He held his hand out and she grasped it fiercely, bringing her closer to his face.

"I love you too, John. I never stopped. And I never will."

With that, John Stewart used the last of his strength to bring her into a soft, yet passionate kiss. In that moment, he wasn't dying. John wasn't married to someone else, and Shayera was his. It was the moment they had both lived for after so long. And it was their last. That was when she shared his last breath. Leaning back from his face, she looked at his relaxed form and dropped her head beside his, sobs wracking her body.

The others in the room couldn't believe it. She had never cried in front of anyone before. She had always seemed so strong and war-like. But now here she cried.

For a moment no one spoke, no one moved. Every eye was showing the emotional feelings regarding the loss of a friend; that is all save the Batman. He slowly made his way to the mourning Thanagarian and quietly knelt beside her. Diana had watched his every movement. With a gentleness that could be rivaled by no one, Batman gently laid a gloved hand on her left arm which was securely fastened to John's right. Snaking the other arm around her waist, he leaned against her slight form and gently began kissing her shoulder, followed by her collarbone and neck. Moving up until she had stopped crying aloud and was now sitting up in her position gazing at the lifeless form that lay before her. Batman's grip on her tightened as he attempted to lightly lift her to a standing position, but ended up lifting her into his arms instead.

"If I hear from any of you until tomorrow evening, you can give John a message for me."

With that, he left the infirmary with Shayera's arms fastened securely around his neck. Holding onto him for dear life, they went to his room where she never let go. He made love to her faster, harder, and more passionately than he ever had. And that was what she had needed.

/End Flashback/

Yes. He remembers that night. That was the night everything changed between them. That was the first night that when they made love, he didn't see Diana or Selina or any other woman he thought he once loved, he saw her.

/Return to Flashback/

She had held onto him so tight. Her grip was strong and her pace was fast. He had forced her on her back, and as uncomfortable as she often found the position, she did not complain that night. She watched him with tear-stained eyes as his pace slowed above her and he opened his eyes to see her panting, staring back.

"I'm not him you know."

"I know."

He leaned down to trail kisses down her neck to her collarbone.

"I can never be him."

"I know."

Her arms had snaked around his neck, her fingers digging in his hair as his journey continued down her chest.

"I'm sorry."

As he apologized her hands stopped their movement, but his did not. As he continued to kiss and caress her, she moved one of her slender, strong fingers to his face, halting his actions as he moved down her toned abs. Moving his face back to hers, she kissed his lips. That time, it was different. That was the only word Bruce could have found to describe it. Only now he knows that, like him, she had stopped seeing a ghost. She saw him.

Her lips pulled away and he hovered there inches away.

"I'm not her you know."

"I know."

"I'll never be her."

"I know."

Just as she was about to speak he stopped her with a finger.

"Don't be sorry. I'm not anymore."

She grinned up at him as the tears slowly began to fade away from her eyes. Bruce's blue eyes lit up with this realization and leaned over to retrieve something from the night table. Hiding it quickly again he returned to his position above her and kissed her again.

"I can't replace him. I can't be him. I can't even pretend. He left you to be there for someone else."

Her green eyes never left his blue ones. Her grip around his neck never loosened as he brought his right fist up to rest on her left hand, grasped tightly behind his neck.

"I want to be there for you. I can't love you like he did, but I think I can love enough to make us both happy."

With that she watched his movements as she felt him open her left hand and slip onto a finger a smooth, metallic band. She drew her hand out from behind his neck to find on her third finger a silver ring of immeasurable beauty but not too magnificent. Simply eloquent, it was. Shayera stared at the ring for several moments before her face finally realized the implications. She looked at the smiling billionaire above her as she pulled his head closer to hers. Grinning she kissed him. Hard. This was the time Bruce remembers. This was when he knew he saw her for her. This was when she finally saw him for him.

As the kiss ended, Bruce never stopped. He continued down her jaw line, her neck, her chest until he made his way back up to her neck. This was when he remembered her sign. This was when he remembered her words with complete clarity.

"Give one life for another."

To any other man, this would not seem like an odd statement. But Bruce knew better. He stopped his kisses to look her in the eye. His eyes narrowed to bore into hers with everything he had, but she simply held a sad smirk.

"What did you say?"

"One life for another. A trade-off. It's almost as if two beings couldn't possibly coexist within the same space."

At his continued stare, she revealed all. She revealed information that in that moment would change their lives forever. Frowning, her emerald eyes clashed with his blue and her words hit him like fire.

"Bruce, I'm pregnant."

/End Flashback…again/

Bruce smiled at the memory. He remembered it took him a while. It was a lot to handle at that moment as he had stared into her eyes. But the longer he hovered there, the more it sunk in. If anyone else were in the room, they would have been witness to something that no one else had ever seen. Bruce Wayne smiled. It was a slow, genuinely happy smile. In a rush he kissed her and moved a hand to her stomach. His mouth had followed his hands' movement to rest on her fit, flat stomach. She grinned at him as he caressed, kissed, loved her stomach for what seemed like hours. Bruce definitely remembered that smile of hers. After the hours of crying and of mourning, he contributed to a genuine smile of hers, just as she contributed to a genuine smile of his.

That was what he remembered. He remembered her words. A loss of one life in exchange for another. He almost saw the logic now. The two star-crossed lovers, one to die for the other to live and to give life, but not with each other. Bruce was never one to overlook irony.

Many things remind him of those times. Their child-to-be. Waking up next to her. The completed time machine harbored deep in the Batcave. It all seemed like a dream until reality returned to remind him it wasn't.

Bruce slowly looked from the ceiling at which he had been staring to the beautiful angel who now rested in his arms. She was sleeping on her right side as his left arm wrapped around her waist to rest on her very swollen stomach. His eyes then moved down her form to rest on her stomach where his left hand rested. On his left hand, third finger over, there rested a simple gold band. He remembered the commotion it caused. Gotham's most eligible bachelor had been snatched up and headliners had said she must've been an angel for Bruce Wayne to fall for her. Angel. They never knew how right they were.

Fine.