Justice League does not belong to me. Just Artemis and Thomas.
Big thanks to The Book FANGIRL, Tigress2929, Janizary, and Ammaviel for reviewing!
Iris smirked as she, Wally, and Jai looked at the scene in the den. It was eight in the morning and she and the boys had been heading to the kitchen to get a start on breakfast when Iris had heard the unmistable sound of one of her Uncle Bruce's snores.
Jai chuckled behind her while Wally just looked dumbfounded. The look on her father's counterpart's face was priceless. Mouth wide open.
Iris motioned for them to follow her, leaving the three in the den undisturbed. About time Artie finally got some real rest. She's gonna kill me for not waking her, though.
"Is that what I think-"
"Yep."
"I just never thought that Bats-"
Jai chortled at the exchange as he opened the door for his sister and Iris looked back over her shoulder at the slower speedster, "Apparently you don't know your Batman that well, Uncle Wally. Contrary to popular belief, he's actually just an overprotective softie."
Wally just looked at her like she was stupid, which caused her to break down into giggles. He crossed his arms and leaned against the kitchen island as Jai got the stove and pans ready and she pulled out the various required ingredients for their omelets. "Earth to Imp. This is Batman we're talking about. You know. Big guy, dark and scary. There is nothing soft about him."
Jai smirked and shook his head, "You'd be surprised, Flash." He's still uncomfortable calling Wally by his name. Even though the twins had only been two years old when their father had been publicly murdered, they'd both taken it hard. Jai more so than Iris. He'd been the one to see it on the News. Jai had just been trying to turn on their favorite preschool show and, being just a toddler, had accidentally switched the TV to the wrong channel. He'd gone ballistic. It wasn't until Mommy had told her that Daddy was gone, did little Iris finally understand why her brother was so upset. That evening, Uncle Bruce had stopped by to check on the West family and had ended up rocking the twins to sleep.
When they were thirteen was the first time she'd seen the video of her father's execution for herself. Artie was twelve and the two best friends were looking up Uncle Bruce's past cases when they'd come across a file marked simply as 'Flash'. Batman had returned from patrol to find both girls almost inconsolable, curled up in a corner of the 'Cave. If anyone else had tried to comfort them, Iris doubted that they would have been successful. Uncle Bruce was the gentlest man she knew. He'd just held both girls as they sobbed into his chest. A then still powerless Aunt Diana had come downstairs to check on her husband and daughter. After Artie had followed her mother upstairs, Uncle Bruce had spent the rest of the night just trying to soothe Iris, gently answering any questions that she'd had about her father. The kind of questions that she couldn't ask her mother. Like her son, Linda West still had a hard time talking about her husband.
The White Speedster snapped out of her reverie to find that Wally was watching her closely. She cleared her throat quietly, "Jai's right. If It weren't for our Bruce, I don't even want to think about how messed up us kids would be now."
For a minute, Artemis actually thought that her father was safe and sound and that they'd just fallen asleep on the couch like they'd used to after a particularly long patrol. The problem was that she didn't remember rescuing her father. Her eyes scanned the room and fell on the person sleeping in the recliner across from her. Diana. But she knew that it wasn't her Diana, her mother, back from the dead. This Diana was younger, no gray hairs or worry lines.
She clenched her left fist as her half-awake mind finally put everything back together. I fell asleep in their Bruce's arms. Speaking of which, his arm was still around her as he snored softly. As an Amazon princess herself, Artie wasn't one to sit still for long. She needed to move, but she didn't want to wake Bruce. And besides, it was still early yet. According to the clock on the mantle, it was only-
"Great Hera!"
Bruce and Diana both snapped awake. Both jumped into defensive positions.
"Artie? What's wrong?" Bruce questioned softly. His eyes were glued on her while the other Amazon's gaze swept the room for hidden dangers.
"It's almost two!"
Both relaxed. "So?" Diana looked at her with confusion while Bruce just smirked.
"I overslept! I never do that!" And with that, she took off towards the 'Cave. Leaving the stunned younger versions of her parents alone.
But that was the furthest thing from Artemis's mind. The more time she wasted, the closer she got to losing her father forever.
I cannot believe that I did that! She'd only planned to sleep for four hours. Not twelve. She'd long since trained herself to wake up at the hour that she planned. But, apparently, the past month of sleepless nights was catching up to her more than she'd thought. But I cannot let that happen again. Not until Dad is safe and Superman is locked away. Preferably for forever.
Sitting at the computer, Artemis wasted no time bringing up the details of the mission that the six of them had managed to piece together the night before. After perusing the plan for several minutes, she knew that it was the best that it could be. But she couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing.
Lost in thought, she spun in the computer chair. Something she hadn't done since she was eleven. On the first turn, something gold flashed, catching her eye. She stopped the chair on the second turn and her eyes rested on the glass cases that prevented the dark damp of the 'Cave from damaging the costumes inside of them. Her blue gaze rested on a particular suit of armor. One that seemed very out of place with the rest of the BatClan's costumes...
That's it!
Bruce chuckled as Artemis ran out of the room. Her behavior reminded him so much of Dick's earlier years as Robin. Has it really been that long? It seemed only yesterday that he'd first brought Dick to the mansion. Not to mention Tim. He'll be starting high school soon. He shook his head, making himself focus. Normally, he was never distracted this easily. Bruce surmised that it had something to do with being around Artemis. Getting to know Lord Batman's daughter was making him question his stand on several issues. Mainly the issue of relationships...
"Diana, I-"
"Look, I'm-"
They both stopped and Diana shook her head, a sad smile on her face.
"You first, Princess."
Her smile brightened just a little at the nickname, but her expression was still nervous, "Alright. About last night. I had no right to speak to you in such a manner. It was rude, and I apologize."
"No need to apologize, since it was probably my fault anyway."
"Probably?"
Wrong thing to say. Nervous for the first time in a very long time, he tried to change the subject, "Why were you sleeping in here, Diana?"
She nervously tucked a strand of raven hair behind her ear, eyes on the floor, "Well... I was looking for you. I wanted to apologize. But when I found that you and Artie were already asleep... I couldn't wake you."
"That still doesn't answer the question, Princess." And that was the first time that he'd ever seen her blush. It made her look even more beautful...
"Diana, I need you to understand the reason why-"
She sighed, "You've already given me your reason, Bruce." Her blue eyes finally met his, "And more reasons besides."
He cleared his throat, hating the distance between them. She was still standing in front of the recliner and he was still at the couch. He took a hesitant step towards her. This is worse than facing one of Joker's traps. "Those... those were just excuses."
"Oh? And what would the real reasons be?" Her gaze turned cold.
He cleared his throat again, even more uncomfortable, "Reason. There's only one reason."
"And that is?"
"I..." he began to place his hand on hers, but let his arm drop to his side. "If anything happens to you, I won't be able to live with myself."
"You've already told me-"
"You misunderstand. I don't think I can live in a world where you don't exist." The horrible image of her fading from view during the Lord Chronos mission entered his mind. "Which is why I-"
She stepped closer and placed a finger on his lips, stopping him, "I love you too."
"Diana-" he protested, but she didn't let him finish. He felt his resolve melting away as the Amazon kissed him softly.
She laid her head on his shoulder, "We'd better get downstairs."
He nodded, "The last thing we need is for Flash to figure out what is going on between us."
She pulled away from him and walked towards the hallway, giving him a coy smile over her shoulder, "And what exactly is 'going on', Bruce?"
He couldn't help himself. He smiled broadly at her and pulled her in for another quick kiss, "Just lead the way, Princess."
Yes, he still worried about her. He was scared to death that he'd lose her just like Lord Batman had lost his Diana. And although he'd never tell her that, he was well aware that she knew. And that she was just as scared for him. Not that she'd ever tell him that, of course.
Diana was on Cloud Nine, as Flash would have put it. Never in her wildest dreams would she had even thought it possible that Bruce would admit his feelings for her. But he had. She kept glancing his way and he'd meet her gaze with a smirk. She looked his way again when they reached the doorway to the kitchen and he raised an eyebrow. Right. Pretend that nothing is going on. She opened the door and greeted the twins and Wally, extremely aware of Bruce standing at her side.
Iris gave them both a wide-eyed look. So much for pretending. Neither of the boys noticed the difference though. Thank Hera for that. "Where's Artie?"
"Downstairs, Di. I was just about to take her some food. She's got a bad habit of forgetting to eat when she's 'working'," Iris stated, giving Bruce a playful glare. "Like someone else we all know and love."
Bruce harrumphed which earned him chuckles from all three Wests. He just rolled his eyes at them.
As Iris passed her, she inclined her head ever so slightly, "Do you mind grabbing that cup of juice and the roll of silverware, Di? I'm not that great at balancing all this stuff going down the stairs." I'm sure. More likely, Iris was planning on quizzing her once they were out of earshot of the men.
The annoyed look on Jai's face was enough to prove Diana right.
Please R&R.