Chapter Seven: Truth Hurts
July 8th
"I'll have the apple pie." Clark Kent said to the waitress with a smile.
"Alright, and what'll you have?" The waitress looked to Bruce, who was sitting across from Clark in the booth.
"Just pick the greasiest, most unhealthy thing on the menu and bring that to me." He said in all manner of seriousness.
"….Ok?" She scribbled something down on her notepad, and moved on to the next table.
"Letting your health go are you?" Clark raised an eyebrow.
"I don't need it anymore."
"Right." A look of sadness flashes across Clark's face. "So I've been meaning to ask you Bruce… where do you think you'll go after you die?"
"A hole in the ground somewhere. Preferably next to my parents."
"You know that's not what I meant."
"If you're talking about the whole Heaven and Hell business, you know I don't believe that. Religion is just another word for superstition."
"And isn't Batman founded upon superstition?" Clark grinned.
"Yes, in order to strike fear into the hearts of the superstitious. Criminals are, by their very nature, a-"
"A superstitious cowardly lot, I know." Clark cut him off. "But Bruce… I was raised on Christian beliefs. And I know you don't believe it, but I do, so I would appreciate it if you would at least look into it with an open heart. If for no other reason than to give me peace of mind."
"Maybe."
"Bruce have you ever even stepped foot in a church?"
"Once, when I was seven. My parents dropped me off there and told me to go to the Sunday School while they were at a business meeting, because Alfred was out of town."
"I'm guessing it didn't go well?" Clark inquired.
"I couldn't find where I was supposed to go, so I just sat on a bench near the door for a couple hours. Some old man saw me and asked what I was doing there, so I told him I was sick and my mother didn't want me to go around everybody else, since I might be contagious."
"You lied in a church… when you were seven… to avoid sitting through Sunday school?"
"Yup."
"Then what happened?"
"The guy gave me a cookie. I waited for him to walk away, and then I threw it behind the bench because I thought he was trying to poison me."
"Oh boy…" Clark sighed. "Well, here." Clark reached into his bag and pulled out a bible. He placed it in front of Bruce on the table. "Just look at it with an open mind. Please."
"Fine." Bruce let out a groan. The waitress came back with their food, Clark's apple pie and Bruce's… well, he wasn't sure what it was. All he could see was grease, and some form of meat slathered between two buns.
"Thank you." Clark said.
"Is this made of tire?" Bruce questioned as he inspected the 'burger' she had given him. Clark quickly kicked him under the table.
"Here's a tip." Clark said, reaching into his wallet.
"I've got it covered." Bruce revealed his own wallet, and withdrew a wad of hundred dollar bills. He handed it to her. "Just keep it."
"Oh my-!" The waitress's eyes bulged. "Thank you so much sir!" She took the money and ran off.
"You don't exactly seem on the top of your game this morning, Bruce." Clark said with a concerned look.
"I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night. I had another heart attack."
"What?" Clark gaped. "Does… does Diana know?"
"Not yet. I'm telling her tonight."
"You've said that before."
"I mean it this time. I'm having dinner with Wally's family, and I'm bringing Diana. Then we're taking a ride in one of my private jets to Paris, where we'll have a romantic ferry ride, and we'll get a nice hotel somewhere. And I'll be sure to buy a second room, too. In case she decides to kick me out of ours once I tell her the truth."
"That's a terrible plan Bruce."
"How is it terrible?"
"You're planning an unnecessarily elaborate romantic night, building up all sorts of emotion, just so you can get a hotel room and tell her you're dying? It can't be that convoluted, or you'll look like even more of an asshole than you're already going to."
"So… I should cancel the flight to Paris?"
"Yes. Dinner with the West's is fine, but after that… you need to tell her."
"I know. I do." Bruce sighed. He took a bite out of his burger, and his eyes widened. "This tastes amazing!"
"You've really never eaten fast food before, have you?"
"I think once when I was six." Bruce said with a full mouth. "My parents were health nuts though, and after they died I was too focused on staying healthy." Bruce then waved to the waitress and said, "Three more of these please!"
"Hey, Bruce, lets not overdo it…"
"I'm going to be dead in about two weeks! If I want to get fat, then damn it I'm getting fat Clark!" Bruce spat.
"Ok then… but you're paying."
Gotham City Carnival – Four Hours Later
"Diana I am so sorry!" Bruce said as she exited the restroom, having just cleaned his vomit out of her hair.
"What the hell was that Bruce?" She shouted. "All the sudden Batman can't handle one freaking roller coaster?"
"Sorry… I ate fast food for the first time today. A lot of it. My stomach isn't really at its best." Bruce belched out the last few words.
"I don't see why you even brought me to a carnival, to be honest."
"You aren't having fun?"
"Being puked on by my boyfriend? How could I not enjoy that?" Diana rolled her eyes. "It's just… we're Wonder Woman and Batman, we deal with things that would make most people wet their pants on a daily basis. A roller coaster really isn't all that exciting for us."
"I guess I wasn't thinking ahead." Bruce laughed. "I was just trying to kill some time until we had to be at Wally's."
"I'm still not sure why you agreed to that. I mean, I'm fine with it… but you? Why have you been spending so much time with Wally all the sudden?"
"I'm just redefining my life, I guess." Bruce grinned. "Finding out what's really important, and what really isn't."
"I see." Diana moved closer to him. "Am I on the 'important' list?"
"You are the list." Bruce smiled, and they kissed. But she pulled away quickly with a frown. "You seriously need a breath mint or something, your mouth tastes like a deep fryer."
"Sorry about that." Bruce laughed.
"Let's just get some cotton candy or something." She shrugged.
"I would… but I actually don't have any more money on me."
"Are you kidding me?"
"I bought a whole platter of something called a 'big mac.'"
"Oh gods." Diana shook her head. She began moving toward the carnival gates. "Let's get out of here."
"We don't have to be at Wally's for another three hours. What are we going to do until then?"
"Anything, as long as I won't get puked on."
"Well I guess that rules out sex."
"Shut up Bruce." She shoved him playfully.
"Sorry, it's the big macs talking."
WayneTech Building – 20 Minutes Later
"Wow… it's amazing up here." Diana remarked, her legs casually hanging over the ledge.
"It's even better at night." Bruce smiled. "The city lights look like a… a radiant sea, shining vigorously against the night. And then it all reflects in the harbor, and creates a shimmering wall of bright and dark colors. It's incredible, to say the least. And a lot of nights, it's what gives me hope. When I've given up on this city, when I think there's no hope that things will ever be any better, I come up here and I see it… and it reminds me that there's some beauty to be found in anything. You just have to look."
"Wow." Diana grinned. "Who knew there was a poet in you?"
"No. I learned that from you."
"What?"
"The part about there being beauty in everything. That came from you Diana."
"I don't think I've ever said that."
"No, it's just who you are." Bruce smiled at her. "You can find something to love in everyone. Even the worst of humanity, you look at them, and you see something to love. Even if it's something small, like the way they smile, or how they laugh… anything. And it's great."
"So…" She said with a grin. "What have you found to love about me?"
"I love everything about you." Bruce told her in all honesty. Then he kissed her again, for several minutes, atop the highest building in Gotham, and he didn't care who saw.
Because once the night was over, he knew he might never kiss her again.
The West's House
One of Bruce's many cars pulled up the drive to Wally West's home. Bruce and Diana both exited, took a look the nice, average sized home, and walked up to the porch. Before they could even knock, the door had been pulled open.
On the other side was a boy, about twelve years old, with short, dark, slightly reddish hair. He stared at them a moment, then looked back into the house. "Mom! There's some dude here!"
"Just a minute!" A woman's voice echoed back at them.
"You must be Jai?" Bruce asked.
"Yup. Are you that rich guy my dads been hanging out with?"
"Yes I am."
"Cool." Jai looked to Diana. "Is she your girlfriend?"
"Well…" Bruce looked back at Diana with a grin. "Yes she is."
"She's hot."
"Thank you."
"So…" Jai paused. "Can I have some money?"
"What?"
"Well you're rich, and I really want an x-box, so-"
"Jai!" A woman suddenly appeared, and pulled the child away. "Go bug your sister!"
"Happy to." Jai shrugged, and then he was gone.
"I'm sorry about that." The woman groaned.
"It's fine." Bruce laughed. "You must be Linda?"
"That's right." She nodded. "Nice to finally meet you Bruce. You too, Diana. Come on in."
"Where's Wally?" Diana asked.
"Oh, he's late as usual. I'm married to the fastest man alive, and he can't even make it home for dinner on time." Linda rolled her eyes.
"I'm sorry if this is inappropriate, but I've wanted to ask you about something for a long time, and I feel like I should do it while your kids aren't in the room." Diana smiled. "Is Wally fast when he's… in bed, too?"
"Oh yeah." Linda groaned. "If I don't remind him to go at a normal pace, it's over in a couple seconds."
The two women laughed. Bruce just shook his head. Linda and Diana continued talking while Bruce walked off through the house.
Soon Bruce came across a hallway, where several family pictures were hung on the wall. There must have been forty pictures of the family, displayed on this one wall. And all of them were happy. Always.
Bruce realized for the first time that he didn't have any pictures of his family. Or at least, the people he considered family. Barbara, Dick, Tim, Alfred… there were no photos anywhere. He made a note to take some before he died.
"What are you doing?" A girl's voice suddenly interrupted Bruce's thoughts. He looked down to see Iris West, Wally's daughter.
"Just thinking about my own family."
"Oh. That's weird." She said.
"Why is that weird?"
"Because my dad told me that you don't have any family and that you're a grumpy hermit who's going to die alone and like it."
"Oh did he?" Bruce raised an eyebrow.
"Uh-huh. And I also heard him tell one of his friends once that your girlfriend gives him a bo-"
"Hey, now!" Wally West blurred into view and grabbed his daughter gently. "We talked about this Iris; some things stay a secret between you and daddy."
"I'm twelve now dad, don't talk to me like I'm a baby."
"Fine, here's a dollar to shut up." Wally held out a dollar bill.
"One dollar? Dad what can you think of that I can actually buy with one dollar these days?"
"Just take the money and go you little brat." Wally told her, sending her on her way. Then he stood up with a grin. "Now that's parenting."
"A grumpy hermit huh?" Bruce raised an eyebrow.
"Well that was before you were dying. You know, before you were cool." Wally shrugged. "So are Diana and Linda getting along?"
"Within five minutes they were talking about your performance in bed."
"What?" Wally grunted. "And women say men are the perverted ones!"
"Just imagine what they talk about when they go to the bathroom together."
"Right! I really don't get that." Wally laughed. "Well… dinners probably ready by now. We should go and eat."
"I agree. You need to eat anyway; it'll help your endurance… fastest man alive." Bruce turned and walked back down the hall.
"Yeah- wait… what? What does that mean? Bruce! What the hell does that mean?"
Five Minutes Later
Soon everyone was seated around the dinner table. Linda had cooked steak, and between Jai, Iris, and Wally, it was nearly gone within a few minutes of being placed on the table.
"So Batman and Wonder Woman, a couple." Linda smiled. "I never imagined it."
"Neither did we." Diana laughed.
"Whoa! You're Batman?" Jai jumped up and ran over next to Bruce.
"And you're Wonder Woman?" Iris grabbed Diana's arm.
"Whoa!" The two kids said in unison.
"Hey, I'm the Flash! And I'm your dad!" Wally stated.
"Yeah but the Flash is boring." Jai stated bluntly. "He's Batman dude!"
"The Flash is boring." Wally slumped back in his chair. "Ok."
"Dude can I have a baterang? Oh, can I have an autographed baterang?" Jai rattled off.
"I'll consider it." Bruce laughed.
Wally, wanting to change the subject, said, "So Bruce, have you told Diana you're dying?"
"What?" Diana looked up. Bruce quickly kicked Wally under the table and mouthed the word no.
"Oh, uh… that you're just dying to marry her?" Wally said quickly.
"What!" Diana redirected her gaze to Bruce.
"Whoa! Batman and Wonder Woman are getting married!" Iris shouted.
"Married?" Bruce's eyes widened and he glared at Wally with a look of rage.
"Married?" Diana repeated, sounding confused and slightly uncomfortable.
"Hey Wally, I think we left that television running in the other room." Bruce said.
"What are talking about?" Wally asked.
"You know, that television we left on, in the other room."
"Bruce we didn't even-" Wally started to interject when Bruce kicked him again. "Oh, yeah! The television."
"We should go turn that television off. Shouldn't we?"
"Yeah, you're probably right." Wally and Bruce got up from their chairs and walked into the living room.
Once there, Bruce grabbed him and spoke in a hushed tone. "Marriage? Are you serious?"
"Well what was I supposed to say?"
"Anything else! Literally anything else!"
"I'm sorry, I got nervous and I couldn't think of anything better."
"Well now Diana is going to think that I'm going to propose to her, and I'm not Wally, I'm telling the woman that I am dying!"
"Well you could have given me a little heads-up you know. Like, 'Hey Wally, Diana still doesn't know, so don't bring it up at dinner please'."
"You are such an idiot!" Bruce leaned against the wall.
"Hey dude," Wally pointed a finger. "You'd better check yourself, before you wreck yourself."
The moment Wally said this, Bruce looked up, stared into his eyes, and felt his rage boil. He grabbed Wally by the shoulders and rammed his head straight through the wall! He then pulled Wally out and threw him onto the table in front of the couch, breaking off several of the legs.
Wally grabbed one of the legs and leapt forward, attempting to beat Bruce with it! Bruce took a hit to the shoulder before he punched Wally in the face. He then tackled the speedster, and they tumbled into an end table, crushing a vase with Wally's head. Wally flung his knee forward and caught Bruce in the ground, inciting a scream, and Wally tackled him.
The two stumbled back and crashed directly into the TV, smashing the screen! Bruce fell lip on the broken glass, and Wally punched him repeatedly. Bruce got his arms around Wally's waist, lifted him up, and threw him! Wally smashed through the glass sliding door and tumbled out into the backyard.
Bruce moved to jump on him, but Wally grabbed a wooden baseball bat up off the ground and struck Bruce in the face with it! Bruce hit the ground and kicked out Wally's legs.
About this time, Linda and Diana came rushing to see what was going on, and both stood in stunned silence at what they saw.
Jai and Iris ran in front of the two women and began chanting, "Superhero fight! Superhero fight! Superhero fight!"
Bruce rammed Wally through the side of his tool shed. Wally zoomed straight out and kicked Bruce down. Bruce started to get up, but then froze. He clutched his chest, and his body started convulsing.
"Oh my God!" Wally shouted. He dropped down next to Bruce to try and help him, and this was when Bruce punched him in the lips, having faked the heart attack. Wally hit the ground next to Bruce with a bloody lip.
"Ok…" Bruce huffed. "You're jaws not broken is it?"
"Nah, I think it's good." Wally said. "I'm sorry dude; I shouldn't have brought any of it up in the first place."
"It's ok. You were just jealous because your kids like me better."
"Yeah."
"I overreacted, sorry."
"It's cool. Are we good now?"
"Yeah, yeah we're good."
The two men stood up slowly, bleeding and sore. Wally looked at his horrified wife and said, "So what's for desert babe?"
Ten Minutes Later
Wally and Bruce had cleaned up the mess from their battle, and now Bruce and Diana were heading back toward their car. "I am so sorry Linda." Diana sighed.
"I'll pay for all the damages." Bruce told her.
"It's fine. I understand how tempting it can be to punch my husband." Linda said.
Once in the car, Diana slouched back in her seat and rubbed her temple. "What the hell was that?"
"Sorry." Bruce told her as he started the car.
The car ride was mostly silent. After about an hour drive, Bruce pulled up to the house Diana was renting, and they both got out and walked up to the door. "So what was that Wally was saying about marriage?" Diana raised an eyebrow.
"Don't worry about that." Bruce said in an uncomfortable tone. The two stepped inside her house, and she quickly retrieved a bottle of wine from the kitchen.
"I really need a drink after all that." She sighed. "How about you?"
"I'm not drinking right now." Bruce told her.
"Oh my God are you pregnant?" Diana smiled.
"I told you we should have used protection." Bruce laughed. Then his expression turned serious. "Diana, could you sit down somewhere please?"
"Um… ok." She sat down on her couch. "What's going on Bruce?"
"Diana…" He felt that lump in his throat again, and like always, tried to speak around it. "There's something very, very important I need to talk to you about."
"Oh boy." She sighed. "Bruce about the marriage thing, I-"
"No! It's not that." He assured her.
"Oh. Then what's going on?"
He pulled a chair closer to the couch, and sat down in front of her.
"Diana… I'm dying."
"What?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Dying. You heard me right."
"Wait, like… you mean literally dying?"
"Yes. I have a little under two weeks left now, if that."
"Is this a joke? Because I don't find it very funny."
"No, Diana I'm serious. I have a heart condition known as EHD, Explosive Heart Disorder. It's incurable."
"Bruce-" Diana still seemed disbelieving.
"I'm telling you the truth. Wally found out, and he wanted me to enjoy my life before I die. That's why I've been spending so much time with him. That's why we were climbing those pyramids in Egypt, its why I was drunk when you called me a few nights ago, its why we had dinner with them tonight, its why I was in the hospital yesterday… and its why I couldn't wait any longer to tell you how I really feel."
It appeared that Diana was putting the puzzle pieces together in her mind. She kept a blank expression her face. Bruce reached into his pockets and pulled out the folded up medical records. He unfolded them, and placed them in front of her. "There's the proof."
Diana looked briefly at the records, and tears began streaming down her face. "You bastard."
"Diana I-"
"So you've been lying to me this whole time?" She questioned. "You've been lying about everything?"
"Not everything. Diana I really do love you."
"So that makes it ok to just string me along? To lie to me and make me think we could have something lasting?"
"Diana please try to-"
"Shut up!"
"I wanted to tell you. I just-"
"No Bruce. You didn't want to tell me." She glared at him, hot tears streaming down her face. "You selfish, heartless son of a bitch! That's why Clark has been talking to you, isn't it? You still wouldn't have told me if he hadn't convinced you to!"
"Diana I am so sorry." Bruce fought back the tears in his eyes.
"Stop lying. For once, stop lying!" She stood up. "This whole time I thought I was so in love with you, you've been lying to me!"
"I know." Bruce lowered his gaze. "Please… please forgive me."
"I can't do that."
"Diana I want to make this work so badly!" Bruce stood up and tried to hug her. She pushed him away.
"You don't get it do you? Remember when you told me how I could find something to love in everyone? Well you were wrong Bruce. You're selfish, you're manipulative, and I don't want you to ever speak to me again!"
"Diana…" Bruce allowed a single tear to run down his face. "I'm so, so sorry I lied to you for so long."
"Get out."
"Diana-"
"Get out!" She shoved him toward the door. She was crying even harder now.
"Ok." Bruce choked out. He pushed open her door, and headed back to his car. Then he sat inside, and he cried.