42. Thursdays
Nearly ten years had passed since Bruce had seen her last when Diana showed up on a Thursday afternoon. He was hardly welcoming to her, but she took his ill humor in stride, making them both a cup of tea. She stayed for about two hours, and then left, much to his relief.
Except she came back the following Thursday. Then the Thursday after that, and the one after that. Every single Thursday.
Bruce didn't know what to make of it. He thought he had made it abundantly clear after he'd been forced to retire that he wanted to be left alone. Clark, John, and some of the other League members emailed him regularly, which was fine, but none of them actually showed up on his doorstep week after week. Diana, no matter how hard he tried to dissuade her from it, kept coming.
Sometimes it was for tea, sometimes she brought breakfast with her, sometimes she even brought a book that she recommended that he read. Never once did she lose her temper at him when he tried to drive her off. It was a sight, considering how easily she could be induced to anger in years gone by.
Diana visited him every Thursday for the next twenty years. One time she even came before dawn – as though she knew he would be up – and they sat on the terrace together. It was Diana who took his hand in hers as the sun came up.
Even after Terry came, Diana visited every Thursday, though somehow she and Terry kept missing each other. Bruce was pretty sure the kid never even knew she was around. Diana was the first person he told about Amanda Waller's Batman Beyond project.
Taking that foolish trip to New Cuba with Talia caused Bruce to miss one of Diana's Thursday visits. When she showed up the following Thursday, Bruce thought it was going to be the one time she was going to blow up. He remembered what she was like when she was angry. Still, though her eyes glittered furiously, she managed to hold her displeasure at bay. After he told her what happened, he thought that if Ra's had survived, the demon had better tread carefully. Diana was not pleased with him er, her.
Bruce's kidneys began to fail on a Thursday. He'd startled the hell out of Diana when he collapsed during her visit and she'd had to take him to the hospital. That was how she and Terry met for the first time.
A few months later, he told Diana that he was pretty sure Terry knew the truth. Diana had sipped her tea and agreed, saying that the kid had actually taken to asking her questions about cases she and Bruce had been involved in. She said that Terry's favorite had been the one where Morgan le Fey had turned them into children so they could deal with Mordred's attempt to take over the world.
Bruce died on a Thursday. Diana was with him, as always. Stubborn woman.