A/N: This little piece of fanfiction was written for the Temple of the Sage "Western Animation Drabble Tag" and is my first bit of fanfiction for the Justice League Unlimited. The prompt was "sensitive".
"I haven't been a kid since I was eight years old."
Bruce's biting response to Diana's off hand comment made her frown.
Yes, she was saddened by the harsh tone he'd taken when he'd said it, but it also made her really think about the person she'd come to care about more than any other since she'd taken her first steps into Man's World against her mother's wishes.
She knew when many people looked at him, either as Bruce Wayne or Batman, they saw one of two things: the Billionaire Playboy with more money than he knew what to do with, or the anti-social, brooding loner that was passively borderline hostile to practically everyone around him.
She also knew of their opinions of him.
Most of the League feared him more than any villain they'd ever faced. However, despite their fear and his lack of superpowers, they also respected him and his abilities. They were also curious as to just exactly who was behind that mask, wanting to know just who it was that put on the cowl night after night to become the infamous Dark Knight.
The other founding members, however, were different in this opinion. Likely because they knew the identity behind the mask. They, Clark especially, felt that whenever Bruce took the physical mask off, the metaphorical one took it's place. That it was Bruce Wayne, who was the mask- the false identity of Batman.
Diana had long suspected, that this was inaccurate. Bruce's statement further confirmed it.
It made her see him in a different light, made her realize just how sensitive the Batman truly was.
It helped her see that the many facets of Batman that they observed on a daily basis were merely superficial.
It made her realize that the Batman and Bruce Wayne were not true insights into the depths of who Bruce was. That they were only two parts of the whole. That deep down inside, Bruce was still that sobbing eight year old crying over the still bodies of Thomas and Martha Wayne.
The realization made her heart break more than a little. But it also made her cherish him even more, because it allowed her see just how much Bruce cherished the world around him.
Diana couldn't help but smile because she knew the others would never hope understand that underneath the cold and rough exterior, the Batman was perhaps the most caring and sensitive of them all.