A/N: I do not own anything except the plot. Wait. I own the Batmobile. Wait. I don't. Aw.
It took thirteen hours for Batman to publically admit his worry over Diana's disappearance.
In all honesty, Bruce had been concerned even before she had left his arms.
There had been an air of desperation about her as she had kissed him. Diana had always been passionate in all things she did, but she had been unrelenting last night. Every action had been so strong and deliberate - every touch, every embrace, every push of her body against his - that it had almost seemed like an attack on the enemy. Not that Bruce was complaining; he wasn't yet accustomed to making out with a woman he genuinely cared about, as opposed to the sweet, airhead bimbos he interacted with daily (though the phrase 'making out' seemed too crude to describe what he and Diana had done).
Bruce shook his head and took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the cool air of the Watchtower.
"Where's Diana?"
Three pairs of heroes' eyes landed on him.
Shayera raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Yesterday she went to Wayne-"
Bruce cleared his throat.
"-your place."
"She probably returned to Themyscira. She never did tell us why she came back so suddenly anyway." Clark eyed Bruce skeptically. "Did she tell you?"
"No." He paused and trained his glare on Clark. "Why do you believe she'd share that information with me?" he snarled.
J'onn allowed himself a secret smile.
"As you know, Batman, It's not unusual for one of our members to be absent for short periods of time." Clark stared at him pointedly. "We'll take further action when more time has passed," J'onn added.
I'm sure she's fine, Bruce heard in his mind.
He wanted to scream in frustration, to throw a fit and tell them that something had to be wrong because Diana never disappeared without explanation, but he couldn't do any of those things.
Because he was Batman.
And because no one knew of his relationship with Diana.
"Fuck this," he growled before stalking out.
If it had been a few days ago, Bruce would have taken out his irritation on a punching bag down in the Batcave. Now, though, he had new resources at his disposal.
Lying down on the cold silk sheets of his king-sized bed, he closed his eyes and let himself go for a nap before patrol.
"Mom. Dad."
They were sitting on a newly conjured park bench, hand in hand. Smiles spread across their faces as he waded through his dream towards them.
Martha turned towards her husband. "I could get used to seeing our son every day," she said laughingly.
A grin escaped Bruce's lips, until he remembered his anger and frowned.
"Is something the matter, son?" Thomas asked.
If there was anybody he would confess to, it would have to be his parents for two reasons. Firstly, because they were simply his parents, and secondly, because they resided in the realm of the Underworld.
Before he knew it, Bruce was spilling out the story of his relationship with Diana, the revelation about Hippolyta's involvement in their deaths, his current preoccupation over Diana's disappearance, and his overlying problems with Gotham's criminals. It was the first true emotional catharsis he had had in years, and it was both strange and phenomenal.
As Bruce stopped speaking, he noticed that Thomas and Martha Wayne were exchanging anxious glances.
"What's wrong?"
"Bruce... honey, we didn't mention it the first time we appeared in your dream, simply because we were too happy to see you all grown and healthy, and we're still so pleased that we can look forward to seeing our son every day..." Martha rambled.
"But."
"...but I feel - we agreed - that while the dedication of your life to protecting Gotham is an extremely noble endeavor-"
"And one we're very proud of you for, son," Thomas added.
"-we believe there are more productive ways to help the city and simultaneously better your own life. I'm your mother, Bruce, and it breaks my heart to see you so distressed."
Bruce let his mouth drop open in shock. He'd already let go of his cold, impassive image in his dreams, mine as well abandon it completely. How could his parents, of all people, not understand his mission?
Seeing his son's shock, Thomas stepped in. "Son, you were young, but you remember the charity events your mother and I held to raise funds to aid Gotham's needy. Those can be just as effective, if not more so, than what you're doing now. You wouldn't have to risk your life for those."
"Bruce, please don't look like that," Martha pleaded. "Imagine your life without this Batman persona constantly hanging over you. You could be so happy."
She reached out to place her hand against his unshaven cheek, and despite his disbelief at their words, Bruce leaned into the comforting, maternal touch.
Except he felt nothing.
He stumbled back, tripping on nonexistent bumps and cracks in the dream floor.
"I- I do all that I do for you two, and that's what makes me..." Not really happy, he thought, "...satisfied. If I didn't physically participate in putting Gotham's criminals in prison, I wouldn't be content knowing I could accomplish more. I wouldn't have met an exceptional group of people, and I wouldn't know Diana."
Diana.
"Mom. Dad. I've got to go."
Opening his eyes, Bruce didn't dwell on the fact that his parent's hadn't comprehended his dedication to his mission. He could do that later. For now, he thought of how he had confirmed- mentally, if not verbally- the importance of the Justice League in his life. He always argued with Clark, claiming the League didn't need a city-based vigilante in its arsenal, but for the first time Bruce admitted to himself that he needed the League.
That wasn't the only thing he needed.
Bruce needed to know where Diana was. Now.
Persephone's warm smile was a welcome sight amidst the dank chill that occupied the Underworld.
I miss the sun. I miss flying. I miss the freedom. I miss them, she thought. I miss him.
And it's only been a day.
"The myths always recount tales of how I plant black orchids and other morbid plants. Honestly, the people must not know me very well. What do you think, Diana? The kaffir lilies or some winter aconite?"
"The lilies, my lady," Diana replied, trying to inject some enthusiasm in her voice. She had promised to be Persephone's attendant, and she refused to do a halfhearted job simply because she was forlorn.
"I really am so glad to have you along, dear," Persephone continued. "Having company really helps the time pass."
I'll get through this, Diana thought as she handed Persephone some seeds. Because she deserves it. Because I will keep up my side of the bargain. Because the Justice League needs me to.
Because I'll see him again.
"Alfred, I need Dick to take patrol tonight."
Before his butler could reply, Bruce was talking into his comm-link.
"Hawkgirl, meet me in the aircraft hangar in five minutes." He switched channels. "J'onn, teleport me up in 30."
When Shayera arrived four minutes later, Batman was already there.
"What's the rush? We didn't get any alarms in the Monitor Womb."
He glanced at her shortly before striding over towards his jet.
"It's time for an impromptu visit to Hippolyta."
Shayera desperately wanted some answers. Observing Batman, she noticed the extra tension in his shoulders and his unwavering attention on the controls. He hadn't replied to any of her questions or protests.
Why are we visiting Hippolyta? Diana's fine. Her mother's not going to be happy that you're there. Why is this such an emergency? Would you fucking listen to me, dammit?
She still hadn't gathered any more information when the jet landed on the beaches of Themyscira.
"Hawkgirl, you should get out first."
"Yeah, yeah," she replied petulantly.
To no one's surprise, Themysciran warriors were already waiting.
"What are you doing on our island, Shayera Hol? Our princess is not here."
"Then where is she?"
Gasps erupted from the Amazons as Batman stepped onto the sand behind Shayera.
All became still as someone emerged from a path hidden within the brush.
"I would like to ask you the same question, Batman," Hippolyta spat.
Bruce walked right up to her, until her guards thrust spears in his direction.
"Hello, murderer."
A/N: I am SO sorry. I've been caught up with writer's block, summer laziness, and a whole load of other stuff... I know this is really a filler chapter, there's no BMWW interaction, but I needed to write something to try to get me going.
I haven't fallen out of love with BMWW, not at all, but I think because there's a smaller fanbase (and therefore fewer fics), it's easier to move on from. That's why I sorta took a break from JL and got so drawn into the HP fandom, because there are 500k+ fics here on . I admitted in the previous chapter that I got into Dramione... and that's when I went on this whole analysis of BMWW and Dramione, and all these pairings that are so similar. Bad boy + good girl... way too easy to love. Ugh. Does anyone have any BMWW fic recs to get me more solidly planted back in the JL world?
Back to It's My Fault (IMF?): I know this is a BMWW fic, but I've always been really interested in Bruce's relationship with his parents. I feel like most fics I read have his parents idealized as the perfect parents, and Bruce worships them. Given the opportunity to interact with his parents as an adult, I couldn't resist having Bruce discover some fault in his parents. They're not just the smiling, loving parents who died in his presence (though they are undeniably that); they have opinions too, and those opinions might not mesh with Bruce's. Parent-children bonds are so much more intrinsic and natural than romantic bonds (though I know we all get more caught up in the latter... that's why we have our OTPs).
Please review! Because (insert reason that pleases you here) .