Stowaway (DCAU)

Wonder Woman peeked around the corner of the transporter doors, making certain that no one was in the hallway of the Watchtower. She knew she was going to have to be stealthy and cunning about this if she was going to be able to pull this off. Guile, however, was not her strongest trait.

Exiting the transporter room, she silently prayed to every single goddess she could think of that she wouldn't run into anyone on her way to her quarters, but especially a certain pointy-eared hero adorned in black Kevlar. He was the last person she wanted to see at that moment despite her feelings for him.

Coming to the end of the corridor, Diana peered around the corner to find Flash walking in her direction with Fire. She immediately pulled back, pressing her back against the wall. She considered taking the long way around to her quarters, but she knew that she ran an even bigger risk of running into Batman and being discovered. She couldn't let that happen. There was too much at stake right now.

If she was lucky, Wally would be too consumed with Fire to stop to talk to her or even notice her, but when she had ever been that lucky? Drawing a deep breath, she released it slowly before deciding to make her move. Straightening her shoulders, she confidently walked around the corner, trying to appear as natural as possible.

Her hand rested lightly on the strap of her cloth bag; her gaze locked straight ahead of her as she attempted to pass by the couple unnoticed. Flash, however, was on a major sugar rush from the seven super-sized Slurpee's that he'd downed before returning to the Watchtower after a mission. He was practically vibrating with energy.

"Wondy!" he called. "What's in the bag?"

Diana bit at her bottom lip, doing her best to keep the panic she felt rising inside from reaching her face. "Oh, hey, Flash," she replied, changing the subject to avoid answering the question. "What are you two up to?"

"Flash and I are going to the training room to—"

"Train!" Flash abruptly interjected, grabbing Fire's hand. "Train…we're going to train together. Nothing else…all purely innocent."

"But Flash, I thought we were going to…" Fire began, confused.

"We better get going," Flash said, rushing Fire along. "We don't want to be late for our time slot."

Diana chuckled in relief as she continued on, glancing down at the cloth bag over her shoulder. She was thankful that no one else seemed to be in the vicinity at that moment as she made a beeline for her quarters. She would be there in just a few more minutes. Then, she'd be home free.

"Hey, Wonder Woman!" a voice came from the other end of the corridor. "Wait up!"

Diana groaned to herself, her eyes falling closed. She was never going to get to her quarters if this kept up. Turning, she saw Booster Gold coming towards her. "I'm kind of in a hurry, Booster," she said. "What do you need?"

"I was hoping that you'd be able to take my monitor duty shift for me tonight," he said, his breathing somewhat exerted from trying to catch up to her.

"Sorry…can't," she flatly stated, turning on her heel to walk away.

"Oh, come on, Wonder Woman," he pleaded as he fell in step beside her. "I'm in desperate need of someone to cover my shift for me. I have tickets tonight to a concert that I'm dying to go to."

"No, I've got plans tonight," she insisted, feeling slightly guilty that those plans were pretty lame. Still, she wasn't about to tell him that.

"You can be my date," he offered. "I'll find someone else to cover my shift and I'll take you to the concert. What do you say? Wanna be my date?"

"Don't you have some place you need to be?"

The grating rasp of the Dark Knight of Gotham caused Booster Gold to insistently stiffen with fear. "Gotta go!" Booster said, taking off down the hall in a self-preserving sprint.

Diana cursed under her breath, doing her best to sneak away. It was the one time in her life when she regretted seeing Bruce on the Watchtower. Normally, it was something that she looked forward to, but this was definitely not one of those times as she drew near to the end of the corridor.

"Diana!" he called.

Diana froze in her tracks, silently wishing for some sort of an alarm or emergency to keep her from having to talk to him at that moment. "What can I do for you, Batman?" she asked as she slowly turned around, careful of her cargo inside her bag.

"Have you done your mission reports yet from yesterday?" he asked as he came to stand in front of her.

"No, I haven't had a chance to get to them yet," she quickly replied, a broad smile plastered on her face. "I've been very busy…one mission right after another. Always on a mission. In fact, I've gotta go now."

Diana spun on her heel, desperate to make a quick escape before he busted her. "Wait!" he called after her, jogging to catch up with her.

"Where were you?" he asked, the white lenses of his cowl narrowing suspiciously.

"On a mission," she informed him, not slowing her pace any. "I'm sorry. I can't talk right now. I really have to go."

Batman reached out with lightning speed, his hand wrapping around her upper arm and halting her progress. "Where was your mission?"

"San Francisco," she told him with growing exasperation, careful to keep her bag tucked safely behind her where he couldn't see it. "There was a massive fire in an industrial park. It devastated several buildings…took hours to get under control. Well, it was nice seeing you. I'll see you later."

Just as she was about to take off again, she was stopped by his hand on her forearm. "You should get those burns on her shoulder and arm checked out," he stated, an undercurrent of concern in his voice. "They could become infected if not treated."

She glanced down at her arm, noticing the burns for the first time. "I'm sure they'll be gone by tomorrow," she insisted as she took off down the hall. "It was nice talking to you. I'll see you later!"

Flying around the corner, Diana didn't stop until she'd finally reached her quarters. She punched in her code, impatiently waiting for the doors to slide open to grant her refuge from her friends and some much-needed privacy. It had been a harrowing experience to say the least just trying to get here from the transporter room, but she was finally safe now and so was her precious cargo.

Locking her door, she quickly went to her bed, slipping the cloth bag off her shoulder before opening it up to inspect the little stowaway inside. A soft meow greeted her as she lifted the frightened little kitten up out of the darkness of the bag to set her down on her bed.

"Hi there, little one," she gently cooed as she stroked the kitten's back. "You're safe now."

Moving to sit on the edge of her bed, she lifted it up to hold against her chest, the kitten snuggling against her. "I know you've been through so much," she softly said. "It's a good thing I found you before the fire got to you."

The kitten lifted his head, his little pink tongue darting out to lick at Diana's face. She chuckled softly as she held the kitten up in front of her. "I think you need a name," she decided as she studied her little friend.

His black fur made him look stealthy and sleek, the patch of gray hair on his chest reminding her of someone in particular. "I know," she said with a grin. "I'll call you Bruce."

She kissed her kitten's nose, knowing that she needed to try to find some food for her newest roommate. The problem was that pets were strictly forbidden on the Watchtower. If Batman found out about her little stowaway, he'd be furious and order her to remove the kitten from the premises.

A look of haughty indignation passed over her face as she held her kitten against her chest. "Nothing is going to happen to you, Bruce," she said. "I'll protect you from her namesake.

XXX

Diana glanced down at the coffee cup filled with milk as she made her way across the commissary, hoping she didn't look too conspicuous. Milk wasn't really something that she drank much of, always preferring a large iced mocha. She knew, though, that her kitten needed something to eat and this was the best that she could do right now.

He had to be absolutely starving after everything that he'd been through, losing his brothers and sisters in that fire and being left alone in the world. It broke her heart that she hadn't been able to save the others, but she had at least been able to save him.

She suddenly realized she was also going to have to try to sneak a bag of kitty litter up here at some point. She let out an exasperated sigh, wishing Bruce would just let her have a pet on the Watchtower. A kitten required so little care, practically taking care of itself. They never really made a mess or created a lot of noise like a dog could.

She released a relieved breath as she exited the commissary only to nearly run straight into very man she'd been trying to avoid. She righted her cup at the last second, barely avoiding spilling the milk all over Batman's Kevlar uniform. That would definitely not have gone over well.

Why was it when she wanted to see him, she couldn't find him and when she was trying to avoid him, he seemed to be everywhere. Damn him to Tartarus.

Batman glared at the Amazon princess, glancing down at the cup in her hand. "What is that?"

"I believe most people call it milk," she replied with a frown.

"I realize it's milk," he stated. "Where are you going with it?"

"I was just going back to my quarters," she uttered in complete annoyance. "Why?"

"You don't drink milk."

"I've been known to from time to time," she adamantly declared, taking a drink from the cup. "See?"

If the white lenses of his cowl narrowed even further, it wasn't easily seen. They were already barely perceptible slits now. "What's going on, princess?" he demanded to know. "Are you feeling all right?"

"I'm fine," she insisted. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to return to my quarters."

"Come with me to the infirmary," he told her, turning away from her and heading down the hallway.

"Why?" she questioned him. "I told you I feel fine."

"You still haven't gotten those burns taken care of yet," he reminded her.

"I'm fine," she ground out. "I'll see you tomorrow afternoon at the Founders' meeting."

Bruce turned to see Diana walking away from him at a very fast pace. He growled low in his throat, his hands balling into fists. Diana wasn't acting like herself at all. It was almost like she was trying to avoid him. It made him wonder what she was up to. He decided it was time to find out.

He quickly headed to the Monitor Womb, settling down at one of the computer stations. He began pulling up the security feeds on the Watchtower, catching sight of Diana as she came to a stop in front of the door to her quarters. He watched her as she looked both ways before punching in her code and entering her quarters.

Deciding to see what she was really up to, he typed in the secret code to pull up the security feed in Diana's quarters. He told himself that he was only doing it out of concern for a teammate, but deep down, he knew that it was more than that.

The Amazon princess was up to something and he was going to find out what it was.

Bruce scowled to himself as he brought up nothing but static when he hacked into Diana's quarters. She had somehow managed to disable the security feed to her room. The question now was why would she do that…unless of course she was doing something she didn't want anyone to find out about.

And he had a pretty good idea what that something could be.

XXX

Diana made her way through the halls of the Watchtower, a bag of kitty litter hidden in a large bag along with some cat toys and food. Hopefully, everyone would think that she had gone on a shopping spree, buying clothes for a charity event of some kind. Her only nemesis would be Kal. He'd be able to look through her bag to see the litter hiding inside. He was the worst at keeping a secret.

At least she didn't have to worry about Batman. He would still be asleep after a long night of patrol, making her mission that much easier this morning. She loved having a kitten in her room. Little Bruce had slept on her bed, curled up against her abdomen. It was something that she had missed from her childhood on Themyscira. She was always bringing one animal or another home to keep in her room in the palace.

She hummed softly to herself as she drew closer to her quarters. Coming around the corner, she stopped dead in her tracks, spotting Batman standing right outside of her quarters. He was leaning against the wall opposite of her quarters, his long legs stretched out before him and crossed at the ankles.

She was so dead. The World's Greatest Detective was on to her.

Batman turned his head, noticing Diana standing there like a deer caught in headlights at the end of the hallway. He suppressed the smirk that threatened to form on his lips, knowing that he had her dead to rights. "Morning, princess," he greeted her.

"What are you doing up here?" she demanded to know as she slowly closed the distance between them, tightening her grip on her bag.

"Is that how you greet someone good morning?" he asked as he straightened up to his full imposing height.

"Sorry…good morning," she sheepishly murmured as she ducked her head, tucking a raven curl behind her ear as she made a beeline for her quarters.

"It's pretty early to go shopping, isn't it?"

"I had a lot of things that I needed to get," she tried to tell him, keeping her back to him as she entered her code. "I'll see you at the Founders' Meeting this afternoon."

Batman watched as she quickly entered her quarters, intent on leaving him behind. He wasn't about to let that happen. His gauntleted hand swiftly reached out, coming between the sliding door and the doorframe, keeping the door from fully closing. She wasn't going to get away so easily this time.

Diana gasped as she turned to find Batman filling her doorway in that ominous way of his that was meant to intimidate and frighten. Unfortunately, it didn't work on her. "What in Hera do you think you're doing?" she yelled at him, setting her bag down. She quickly glanced around the room, praying that little Bruce stayed hidden until the real Bruce had left.

"I know what you're up to, princess," he bluntly stated, stepping inside and allowing the door to slide closed behind him.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she retorted, her chin lifted in utter defiance. "I merely went shopping—nothing more."

"Shopping for your cat," he informed her.

Diana began to chuckle, scoffing at his insinuation, but knowing that she couldn't lie to him. He was so unbelievably infuriating. How did this man always know everything that was going on? "I don't have a cat," she firmly stated, avoiding making eye contact with him.

At that moment, little Bruce stuck his head out from under her bed, meowing at the visitor standing in Diana's quarters. "Correction—a kitten," he grumbled, folding his arms against his chest as he glared at the intruder.

Diana's eyes fell closed as she released a frustrated sigh, knowing she was in trouble now. She was never going to hear the end of this. She slowly turned towards her bed, crouching down to retrieve her kitten. "Come here…it's okay," she cooed to the kitty. "Batman won't hurt you."

The corner of Bruce's lips twitched in barely suppressed amusement as Diana picked up the kitten, holding it against her shoulder. The kitten cuddled against Diana's neck, its little pink tongue licking at her skin and causing Diana to laugh in response.

"He's quite affectionate," Batman noted.

"That he is," she agreed with a bemused grin. "Do you want to hold him?"

"No, I'm good," he told her, holding up his hand in front of him. "You know you can't keep that cat, Diana."

He watched as the pure happiness that lit Diana's blue eyes completely vanished, replaced with despair. "But no one has to know about him," she softly said, her gaze falling to the kitten in her hands. "I'll keep him here in my quarters. I won't let him out."

Bruce felt his chest tighten, knowing how much she loved animals. He didn't want to hurt her, but there were rules that had to be followed. "That's what you said about the snake you snuck up onto the Watchtower last year," he reminded her. "It ended up getting out. Screams could be heard from all over the Watchtower. Some of the civilian staff have yet to fully recover from that one."

"But that was a snake," she responded as she shook her head in disagreement. "This is just a little kitten. He'll be no trouble at all…I promise."

"That's what you said about the parakeet that you found," he said, pulling his cowl off his head to rest against his back as he gazed at her. "It took Green Lantern nearly two hours to trap it and take it back to Earth."

"Okay, that was a bad idea. Birds can make such a mess," she agreed as she closed the distance between them. "See how cute he is?"

Bruce's blue-eyed gaze fell on the little black kitten that Diana held up before him. He had to admit that the kitten was kind of cute, but that was beside the point. Pets of any kind were forbidden on the Watchtower and that had to include kittens.

"And what about the rabbit you rescued six months ago?" he asked. "It ended up escaping and eating through several of the computer wires and nearly taking down the entire security system. Took us hours to replace it all."

"That was just an accident," she tried to tell him.

"That's what you said about the squirrel," he pointed out.

"It had a broken leg, Bruce!" she exclaimed. "I couldn't just let him fend for himself."

"Where did he come from, princess?"

"I rescued him from one of the supply buildings in the industrial park fire in San Francisco," she confessed. "I wasn't in time to save his brothers and sisters, but I was able to save him."

"You need to take him to an animal shelter," he gently told her, feeling bad for her. "They'll find him a good home. I'm sure there's a little boy or girl who would love to take care of him for you."

Diana tilted her head, rubbing her cheek against the kitten's head. "I guess you're right," she reluctantly agreed, holding the kitten up to look him in the eyes. "I'm sorry, Bruce. I guess you can't stay here. I'll have to take you—."

"Bruce?" he questioned her, stunned.

"Yes, I named him Bruce…after you," she confirmed.

"Why did you do that?" he asked.

Diana shrugged a shoulder as she studied the kitten again. "He has black fur and a gray patch on his chest like Batman," she told him. "He's sweet and skittish. He also likes to run and hide from me under my bed. He reminds me of you."

Her words stuck a cord deep inside of him, one that he'd been grappling with for some time now. He slowly closed the distance between them, reaching out to take the kitten from her. "I know I'm going to regret this," he told her, giving her an annoyed look that was far from irritated. "You can keep Bruce at the manor if you'd like. That way you can come visit him whenever you'd like."

"Really?"

"It would be a shame to let him go now that you're so attached to him," he decided. "Besides, who in their right mind who adopt a kitten named Bruce?"

Diana snatched her kitten out of Bruce's hands, a triumphant smirk playing on her lips. "I would," she insisted.

"Of course, you would," he replied with a crooked grin, finding her completely captivating once more. She always managed to charm him even with the littlest things.

"Thank you, Bruce," she told him, setting the kitten down on the bed.

"Just don't try to adopt any more animals," he gruffly stated.

"I promise…I won't," she swore. "I swear this is the last one."

"Right," he dryly said with a frown. "Next thing you know, there's going to be a horse on the Watchtower."

Diana tapped her bottom lip as she considered it. "You know you do have horse stables on the grounds of Wayne Manor."

"Don't even think about it," he growled. "The cat is the last—"

Diana abruptly silenced him with a toe-curling kiss as she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him firmly against her. Bruce eagerly returned her kiss, deepening it as his arms snaked possessively around her waist. While it was an unexpected turn of events for him, it was definitely not unwelcomed.

As Diana parted her lips for him, she readily decided that her little stowaway had turned out to be the best matchmaker she could have ever asked for.