Note: I do not own any of the characters in this story. DC Comics owns them.
This story isn't using Grant Morrison's version of Talia Al Ghul. How she got pregnant with Damian also isn't what Morrison said it was, but rather a one-night stay.
The plot for this story was a request from Alvaroant, so the story idea isn't mine. A lot of the plot is about Talia reforming, so if you think she's pure evil, don't read this fan fiction! Also, to read this, I'd recommend you ship Batman x Talia Al Ghul.
Please read and review! Every review is very much appreciated. Anyway, let's get into the story!
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Talia stared down at the clock in her hands. It was as if she was waiting for something to end, or something to begin. She was waiting for something, but unlike most scenarios, she had no idea when it would come. When this wait would be over, and she wouldn't feel quite so lonely.
"How long, I wonder…." She mumbled to herself, thinking of the last time she had seen him. It had been quite a long time ago, but she had lost track of how long. Months? Years? Decades? It at least felt like decades.
She missed him. Batman. Bruce. Batsy. He had a thousand names. She was sure that if she were to make a list, she'd need more than one piece of paper. But despite this long list, she thought of him as one thing; "Beloved", her true love.
She reached her hand into a drawer, "Where is it?" She wondered to herself. Her hand kept feeling around in the drawer until it reached the smooth glass of a picture frame. She pulled the picture out.
That rare smile of his was what really jumped out about the photo. He was always so depressed. So serious. That was what made his smile so much more rewarding. The smile he only showed to people who he truly loved, people like her. The picture was so perfect, both of their smiles completely genuine, not the fake ones people always seemed to put on for the camera. She wondered why it was stuck inside an old drawer, when it should have been on her nightstand, so she could look at it every time she went to sleep. She had been having trouble sleeping lately, with all the loneliness she felt, so perhaps this would help.
She placed it on the table, moving another picture to the side to make room for it. On another table in her bedroom, there was a picture of her and Damian together, one that was almost as good as this one, just a bit more staged, but the picture she was moving aside right then did not measure up to either.
She hated that photo. The entire thing was just so… fake. Every smile. The playful energy they had tried to set up. Maybe to a person who wasn't there for the actual event it would be a good photo, but she was there. She knew how depressed she had actually felt. She knew that the second before the picture, her father had hardly looked happy, maybe just the tiniest bit proud, but not to the point of smiling. She remembered the guilt she had felt. The fear of herself. At least the picture of her and Damian wasn't completely staged and faked. At least she had been happy, even if he had been kind of embarrassed about the way she was hugging him. But this photo was a pure lie.
"My first kill…." She brushed her hand across it. All those emotions she had felt came flooding back. By now, she had gotten used to the feeling of killing someone. It felt normal, and even, depending on the person, justified and righteous to do so. But sometimes, there were still times where she didn't think the person deserved to get killed, but would somehow end up doing it anyway. Those were the real times when killing someone got hard. The same way it was for her when she was a child.
But no, she wouldn't ever stop, or leave the league of assassins, because supposedly it was all worth it for her father's affection. Even though, because of her place in the league, seeing her Beloved Batman had become extremely hard. So hard that sometimes she started to wonder if he was even still alive.
She looked back down at the dreadful picture of her and her father. She didn't want to look at it, as it made her sad. Sad for the innocence she had lost. Sad for the childhood she had spent training for him. Sad for how it felt every day her father showed less and less love towards her.
But at least there were people like Batman, who would show his love for her no matter what, and be there for her even when she made mistakes. She sighed, thinking again about how long it would be until she'd get to see him again. Most of the time she could manage not seeing him for so long, but right then, she missed him so much more than normal.
Talia looked back at the picture of her and Bruce. Maybe the loneliness and the way she could never stop thinking about him for a second wouldn't be as bad if she just looked at the photo for comfort and pretended that it had only been yesterday. But truthfully, deep inside she knew the only thing that would really help is seeing him again.
A bat flew out from behind a curtain. "Beloved?" Talia asked, hoping for Batman to be following it. They did always seem to be where he was. But to her dismay, the bat was on its own. She opened the window to let the creature out.
"He's back in Gotham," Talia reminded herself. As she glanced around the room, making absolute sure the bat wasn't a sign of him being there, she spotted something outside her door in the hallway. "An old newspaper," She said to herself, walking towards it. She learned it was from Gotham as she read closer, and was not very old at all. Actually, just a week old. She figured her father may have been considering going to Gotham for a bit, and had wanted to get a look on what was going on there. He then, she guessed, had specially gotten a copy of the Gotham's newspaper, but later decided not to take the trip.
Talia scanned the articles. One caught her eye. She, while scanning, had seen it mention "Bruce Wayne". So, wanting to learn more about how her Beloved was doing, decided to read into it.
"Fundraising Gala later this month" The title stated, while as below it, "Bruce Wayne" was marked as a co-host who helped with the party. None of it was some sort of surprise that something like this was happening, but it made her start thinking. If he was a co-host, he'd most certainly be at the gala. But what if he saw someone unexpected there? Someone who had been missing him especially much in the past few weeks. Someone who just needed, so bad, to see him. To feel his love and give him love in return. To just be with him for that one night.
She thought it over. There was no way her father would let her go to the gala. He'd probably claim Batman was a "bad influence" on her or something. Truthfully, she found that he brought out the best in her. An innocence that she didn't even know was inside her. Being with him was magical for her. But her father would never understand any of the wonder of their love. That didn't mean she couldn't figure out some way to see him again, though.
Talia picked up the newspaper. She went back into her room, closing the door behind herself. She looked back down on the article, or actually, what was more of an ad for the gala. It said that the date of the gala was almost four weeks from when the newspaper had been published, meaning it was still three weeks off from right then. She had just enough time to plan. Stuffing the newspaper into a drawer, she went off to continue her day. But this time, with a smile on her face, knowing she would soon be with her Beloved, dancing the night off in his arms.