In the Middle of a Broken Constellation

Pairing: WonderBat (Wonder Woman x Batman)

Rating: T / 14A

Universe: N/A - Reader's Choice

The buzz in the lobby of Wayne Tower was chaotic the moment Bruce led Diana off of the elevator and towards the main entrance. Guests were paralyzed, employees were trying to busy themselves so as to appear worthy of being in his presence, and it gave her the impression that his arrival was like that of a foreboding thunder cloud, as if they had all been struck by a single bolt of lightning once he had appeared before them. A storm of his own design, he walked tall and made sure to put more weight into his heels when they reached the intricate tile design in the center of the marble floor.

Yet, in contrast to this moment entirely, his own energy moments ago was similar to that of his staff when they were alone in the elevator.

Diana knew that he must have felt he overshared when discussing the absence of his parents from his life, despite the conflicting report he had given her to what she had always believed to be the truth. In an effort to appear confident once more he had silenced himself to present her with a mysterious front, however, it was clear that he was regretful of the way with which he had portrayed such a personal matter. Bruce couldn't have known that he had confided in her a handful of times in the past, and seeing him shut her out when they were alone as they traveled down to the ground floor gave her the genuine feeling of her stomach plummeting inside.

But the sharp turn he performed when he was inches from the revolving doors in the lobby drew her out of such melancholy though, as he offered her his hand. In the blink of an eye, they were meant to forget the end of their conversation and return to a much more socially acceptable state of a potential boss' boss and a new hire. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Prince. I hope Lucius makes the right choice."

Taking her victories where she could find them in times like these, those words really wound up the crank she had in her back, pulling her shoulders back and returning the gesture with ease. "I appreciate your confidence, Mr. Wayne. I'll be sure to let you know what he's decided by tomorrow morning-"

She allowed for a beat to pass between them, just to watch his brows attempt to pinch together over his nose, wondering what she meant by her words.
"-when I stop by your office to say hello, before heading to my own."

Both of their grins must have seemed so cheeky, as she realized that they mirrored one another with how quickly they smiled. "I'll be on the lookout for you then. I get the feeling you aren't one to disappoint."

"No, but I am the type that makes you wait and see what it is you'll be getting." And with one last strong-armed shake, she let Bruce go for the moment - as regretful as she was to do so now that she finally had him so close - and exited the tower with her head held high. Once she stepped onto the sidewalk, Diana took a deep breath to reward herself for the strong performance she had put on in her meeting. The sun still hadn't made its way into Gotham, but it hovered behind the weakest cloud coverage she had seen over the city thus far, and she saw that as a wonderful omen.

"Well who would have thought," a voice she knew all too well stole her away from her moment of peace, and Diana turned her head so fast to the right that she could have given herself whiplash. "I would have found you exactly where I left you."

Diana had to force herself to swallow the name she typically called her friend, as they were in public. And, she thought to herself as a sidebar, she would most likely need to get in the habit of referring to him by the name that others did on Earth. "Clark!"

Dressed in the same suit as he was the day before, only with a slight shadow along his jaw, Superman stood before her in his civilian disguise and looked completely worn. "Sorry I was gone so long. I should have contacted you or Victor, but I got really swept up with Vicki."

"You were with her ever since you ran off yesterday?" Diana couldn't hide her surprise as she gawked at what he was saying. Never mind his job, she couldn't help but wonder how Lois would have felt about that.

But to match her shock with his own, Clark pointed at the building behind her and rightfully asked, "Were you just walking out of Wayne Tower?"

They stared one another down, as if a mutual understanding passed between them, letting the other know that they both had to do some outlandish things to get the information they required, and Diana knew she had no right to judge anyone considering the lengths she was going to for this. Sighing, she decide that if they all had time off today, she knew where they'd be catching up. "Why don't we talk somewhere more private?"

"Or we could go to a diner, have a cup of coffee? I could really use one right about now." Said the man who had all of the powers in the universe. Maybe Gotham's constantly cloudy coverage wasn't providing him with the energy he actually needed, she couldn't help but wonder.

As they walked, Diana led him towards the city parking lot that was across the street. "I'll order some food up to the apartment. How does that sound?"

"Apartment? Whose?"

"Well," she hummed as she clicked the automatic start for her Mercedes, listening to his roar to a start as they stepped beyond the chain link fence and into the lot. "Let's just say there's a lot you need to be caught up on."

Jason unlocked the door to room 15J and swung it open by holding onto the top of it. "Welcome to best apartment in Gotham's East End!" cheered the young man who was behaving much more like a realtor than anything else. Diana watched his playful persona fade ever so slightly when he saw who she brought with her. "Oh hey! Welcome back. I thought you were dead."

"Because I went to talk to someone?" Clark wondered, sounding surprised that Jason would make such a leap in logic.

Diana, despite being amused by the conversation, made sure to question him with an arched brow. "Can I enter my apartment now, please?"

For the first time since she met him, Jason not only obeyed, but he did so without a word. Now that her doorway was empty, Diana stepped inside and looked at the apartment that she had blindly purchased through the 'reigning Batman's' eyes in the middle of the night. The first thing she noticed was the brick walls, which nearly sent her into a tizzy. "Jason!"

"What!?" Was his panicked response as he stayed against the door he was so fond of holding onto.

"You didn't tell me the walls were exposed brick!"

"What's wrong with that?" To her surprise, Clark got the question out before Jason did.

It was all she could do to keep her voice down. "This is an older building, isn't it? How old?"

Quick to defend himself, her unofficial realtor seemed to take offense to her question and put one hand on his hip while the other motioned to the small entryway they were all crammed in. "It was torn down and rebuilt by Bruce, like, twenty years ago. He made sure everything was up to code while making sure it still had that old Gotham charm."

"Why is that an issue, Diana?" Came the innate curiosity of Clark Kent.

"Because these types of surfaces aren't energy efficient and can create mold very easily. If there is brick sealant on them, it's not as much of an issue. An accent wall is fine, but an entire apartment?" After having moved from many places in her immortal lifetime, Diana had learned many things about being a homeowner, and what she needed to be careful of when sacrificing sensibility for aesthetic.

As the door slammed closed behind them, Jason grumbled. "Gee, tell us how you really feel," Her vibrant eyes met his instantly, but he wouldn't take anymore of her critiques. "It's not the whole apartment, all right? This hallway has it, the backsplash in the kitchen and the fireplace are brick, and the two bedrooms each have an accent wall. Otherwise, it's fine."

Trying to diffuse the tension in his country boy way, Clark muttered with honest excitement. "Ooh, a fireplace."

Hearing that little attempt of his to find the silver lining made Diana feel like a bit of a tyrant, and she knew she had to reign herself in. Moving from her old apartment to Gotham suddenly was costing her so much money, and she'd no doubt have to downsize her belongings. Everything in her civilian life was happening so fast when she was usually so much more orderly about switching locations, finding new lifestyles and reinventing herself.

It wasn't a reinvention this time, she knew.

It was a more like a sting operation.

"Is this a walk-in closet, in the front hall?" Diana wondered aloud as she opened the door. Indeed, there was enough room to store all of her coats, at the very least, given how far back the bars went. Considering the square footage of the place, the storage she had discovered already was an instant point in Jason's favour.

Taking on his apparent side job with great pride, he even decided to point out another great aspect. "If you notice, the hardwood flows throughout the entire place, from the closet to the living room to the bedrooms."

"Perfect," Diana praised his attention to detail more than the flooring as they finally decided to enter the apartment itself. Immediately to their right was a very long living space, with that highly revered fireplace on the wall closest to her. It would have been a feat to not be impressed by the size of such a lounge area, given that there were supposedly two bedrooms as well. In fact, the room that was cutting off the possibility of an open concept made her wonder. "Is this the first bedroom here?"

Jason smiled wider than she anticipated. "Yup. It's a bit of an awkward spot since it's between the kitchen and the living room, but I think it's so the bathroom and kitchen can be closer, since they both need plumbing?" The more he went on, the more it sounded like he was trying to answer a teacher's question in a classroom and lost his train of thought.

Diana noticed that as well, considering she could see the fridge sticking out of the kitchen from her stance in the hall. Peeking in, it was somewhat cramped, but there was a dishwasher staring her down from the other end of the room and she was incredibly grateful to know that she'd have one here.

The bathroom was tiled with a large enough bath, and the linen closet sat right outside the door for convenience, which Diana appreciated as well. But again, she was enamoured with the two closets that sat across from the bathroom, as it allowed for even more places to store her collectibles, the treasures she had found throughout her time of traveling the world, and it meant she wouldn't need to place them in some sort of safety deposit box at a bank in the city.

Then, they reached the master bedroom and Diana felt all of her worries melt away. She could make anything work in her favour when it came to living spaces, so long as it didn't cost her an arm and a leg. Nevertheless, the size of her own little oasis - her private quarters where she could shed her persona and just be herself - was surprisingly generous. Purchasing the place as quickly as she had made her worry about the faith she had blindly put in Jason.

Quickly, she had realized that he was more than deserving of her trust and admiration.

When she turned to face Clark and Jason, she realized they had stood in the hallway and were anxiously awaiting her verdict, unable to move while she had wandered throughout the apartment. Giggling to herself, she called to her realtor. "Jason?"

"Yeah?"

"I love it."
"I knew you would!" So he said, but the exhaustion in his tone hinted that he might have been lying. Making her way back over to the other two, she noticed that even Clark was much more relieved. Until he was punched on the shoulder, that is. "And now, I have a handy muscle man to help me move in everything tomorrow."

The wording of his observation was rather odd to Diana. "You're going to take care of the moving trucks? You don't have to do that."

"Well, it's the least I can do for you since you put your name on the lease." Again, the way he was carrying on with the conversation felt as though he had a different perception if what was to come than she did.

Now, it was Clark's turn to take Diana's side as he crossed his arms and removed himself from Jason's side. With a furrowed brow a straight lined lip, he chose to get straight to the point. "What aren't you telling her, Jason?"

A gloved hand ran through black hair, highlight the white stripe that resided over his forehead. It was impossible to appear calm while exhibiting such nervous behaviour, but having only known him for a bit more than a day now, Diana wasn't surprise that he'd attempt it. "It's not that I am not telling her something, it's that I was hoping that I could make a deal with her and crash in the second bedroom." To emphasize his point, he presented exhibit A of his argument by motioning to the very bedroom he was hoping to live in for the foreseeable future.

Though it wasn't an inconvenience, Diana was definitely disappointed to be finding out about his intentions this way. "Why didn't you just ask me last night, when you were helping me comb through listings? You were so adamant I had to have a second room for an office, but now it leads me to believe you tricked me into this location."

Her disillusionment didn't reach Jason, or rather, he wouldn't let it impact his attempt at convincing her to let him move in. "I'm not trying to take over the room! I'll sleep on a futon, and I'll fold it up into a couch before I leave in the morning. I just can't stay at the manor with Alfred the way he is, so I don't have anywhere to stay in Gotham now. But I'll work off my debt to you, I promise."

His face had sifted through many emotions as he proclaimed his thought process to her, and Diana knew he wasn't truly trying to lie to her. In all honesty, she could afford a place this size on her own quite easily and didn't need a second income of any kind, so it wasn't off putting to have Jason stay as a guest. Based on the way he had gone about things, it was clear to her that he didn't feel as though she would have accepted his suggestion of living together if he asked her outright and that must have stemmed to the way he had been treated in the past. He had projected rejection onto her and hoped to have gratitude motivate her decision.

When, really, she knew how to handle this predicament with simply her heart.

"Jason," Diana began with her signature tone, lightly stern, completely genuine. "I would never turn you away from staying with me. You can have the second bedroom, but make sure you're more straightforward with me in the future. Is that clear?"

Never before had she been able to truly study his face so precisely, as the way he gaped at her allowed her to take in of the smaller features of his face. So overcome by her generosity, he couldn't front the defensive guard he was so proud of. So stunned was he, that she didn't even anticipate a notion of gratitude. It meant the world to her that someone like Jason trusted her enough to want to stay with her, to share a place with her and be in each other's space for more than just what their joint 'mission' might call for.

She knew Jason would abide by her one rule, which is why she didn't mind in the slightest when Clark looked towards her and decided to move beyond the conversation at hand. "I'm glad your apartment is to your liking, Diana. But I do have to make it to the Daily Planet at least at some point today, so would it be all right if we discuss what I learned from Vicki?"

"Actually, I think we'd like to know what she said too."

There was a new voice in the conversation, distinctively male, and he referred to more than one entity suddenly entering not only their discussion, but the apartment too. The intrusion echoed, which made it clear that whomever had decided to drop by hadn't used the front door, like a typical guest would have.

Together, Diana, Clark and Jason rushed towards the living room to greet the intruders with their fists at the ready. It would be a tumultuous moving day if she add a battle in her living room to her to do list, but as she rounded the corner, she recognized the latex costume of a certain Gothamite she had met before.

"Huntress?" It wasn't as though they had planned to meet again anytime soon, but for her to be standing in her newly purchased apartment was rather startling.

Especially when she brought company with her that she had yet to introduce.

"Dick!?" Jason exclaimed with a tone of astonishment, leading Diana to believe that he wasn't cursing at the young man standing by her window. The only thing she was certain of, was that she had the most batty housewarming party on her hands, pun intended.

Author's Notes:

What!? They are gonna be roomies!? I think this is such a cute idea, and it was thanks to my conversation with saultnpeppah last night that made that happen, so thank you for your wise words and patience! I know LOTSLover and I adore the show Fixer Upper, so I wanted to try and paint a vivid picture of what Diana had gotten herself into by purchasing this place in Gotham's East End. I hope it was okay!

Also, I made Jason respond to Diana's offer to stay in a way that was similar to this one moment from the original Titans run, where Donna asked him his opinion as Robin and he was shocked because no one ever asked him that before. I wanted to draw upon that version of him for that scene, because I think that little boy is still inside of Red Hood, you know? I hope you enjoyed the chapter as much as he enjoyed being invited to stay, and you'll stick around for the next chapter! ~ Maiden