A/N: Hey! Sorry it's been awhile since I last wrote, now that I'm on summer vacation I now have time to write. Along with that I have been low on ideas for awhile so if you have a story idea leave it in the comments for me to see.

This story has re-written and revised as of 3/2/22.

Watchtower, Cafeteria - 12:52 AM

Batman was not in a good mood. He had stayed up all night trying to apprehend the troublesome trio consisting of Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and Catwoman. Usually he preferred to fight them individually, but fighting them as a group wasn't the worse. He had fought them all numerous times in the past, so he figured last night wouldn't be any different.

No, it wasn't the battle that had him in a bad mood, but rather the uninvited guest that showed up.

Diana. Otherwise known as Wonder Woman.

In the end he didn't mind her help, but it still bugged him that she still continued to show up despite his numerous protests in the past not to. He had even made a point to tell J'onn to report any distress signals coming from Gotham only to him.

As Batman continued to mutter indignantly to himself down the hallway other members hastily moved out of the way. One of the first rules interns learned on the Watchtower was to avoid all contact with Batman when he was in one of those moods.

Striding into the cafeteria with purpose he caught sight of Wonder Woman and Superman sitting at a table together. As he walked closer towards them Superman looked up to see a scowling Batman.

"Hey Bruce." Superman said. "You okay? You don't look so good."

Despite Superman announcing his presence, Diana made no move to look up from the book she was reading.

Odd.

Normally, she would be the first to greet him. The book she was reading couldn't have been that interesting to her.

Batman grunted. "Way to state the obvious."

Superman frowned slightly as he took a sip from his coffee. "Well, anyway." He continued. "Flash was looking for you this morning to help him fix his commlink, but I told him that you weren't here."

"Hmm." Batman said absentmindedly, turning slightly to look at the book cover. The words A Rose in Winter adorned the cover in large, white cursive font. His gaze scanned downward to a handsome, muscled man wrapping his arms around a scantily clad woman, swooning in the arms of her lover as they both gazed longingly into each other's eyes, set against a lush green forest.

He returned his gaze to Wonder Woman, one elbow on the table holding the book and the other on her rosy cheeked face. She appeared engrossed as she continued to turn the page, oblivious to the people around her.

Batman struggle to repress the smirk that tugged at the corner of his lips as he stared amusedly at the sight. Wonder Woman reading a romance novel? That wasn't something you saw everyday. It was so unlike her to be so brazen like this. Usually, she would read in her room or on monitor duty. Once, when he came to take over her shift last week, he caught her reading a similar book. Although he had only caught a glimpse of the title, she looked embarrassed she scrambled to hide the book when she finally noticed him behind her. It was adorable as hell, and he regretted not teasing her about it that night.

He was so amused thinking about it that he had forgotten about the foul mood he had been in all morning.

"So, have you finished the report on the Javelin's damage yet?"

Shaking his head, he returned his gaze to Superman. "I'll have it finished by the next meeting."

A gush of wind swooshed through the cafeteria as Flash zipped over to the table. "Hey, what's everyone congregating around here for?"

Unfortunately, Flash had arrived, which meant that his foul mood would most likely be make a comeback. Before Superman could respond, Flash darted towards Wonder Woman and peered over her shoulder.

"I didn't know you liked romance novels." Flash declared. Despite the fact that the cafeteria was sparse, several people cast curious glances in Flash's direction.

Slightly flushed, most likely from embarrassment, Wonder Woman unceremoniously closed the book, placing it on the table, and looked up warily at Flash. "Hello Wally, when did you arrive?"

"About a minute ago. You know I never expected you to be the type of person who reads these kind of books." Flash continued , his voice as loud as ever.

Batman scowled as his good mood evaporated. Although Flash was a valued member of the team, he had his strengths and weaknesses. Often times there were moments when his weaknesses outweighed his strengths. Particularly now.

"Don't you have a boomerang to chase?" he snapped, leering at him with his deadly glare.

The room was deadly silent as everyone stared, transfixed by Batman's sudden outburst. Even the Man of Steel looked alarmed.

Flash shallowed dryly and took a step back hesitantly. It was well known that Batman was known to be moody from time to time, but this? This was something entirely different. "Oh boy, looks like Bats is in one of those moods again. I should probably take my exit."

"...Well it was nice seeing you Di, but I just remembered I have to...run some errands. Talk to you later!" Before Diana could even respond Flash had already dashed out the cafeteria doors.

Even when Diana stood up, the room remained deafeningly quiet.

"Wait, Diana, I-"

Tucking her book under her arm, she walked past him to the exit, shoving the double doors so hard that they slammed against the wall.

"Damn it." Batman gritted his teeth and chased after her, ignoring Superman's objections in his ear.

"Diana!" As he pushed his way through the doors, he looked around frantically to see which way she went. His gaze darted to the golden rope dangling at her side as it disappered around the corner.

Batman was mentally kicking himself. He knew it wasn't Flash's fault and the he shouldn't have lost his temper in front of Diana; all he needed to do was find her and apologize. She would forgive him, right?

When he finally caught up with her, he lightly touched her shoulder. "Diana, wait."

She shifted her weight and rested her hands on her hips, one hand gripping the book. "What?" her brows arched and her face tightened into a frown.

"Here goes."

"I'm sorry."

Her expression remained unchanged. "Instead of apologizing to me, you should apologize to Flash. What you did was rude." There was a time when Diana was willing to be patient with Bruce. Even when he was abrasive, she knew he cared in his own way. But there were moments when he went too far. It didn't help that her feelings for him never truly vanished, even when he stated his reasons for not pursing her. Tit didn't make it any easier for her to hear. She often wondered if he even cared about her; after all, if you truly care about someone, you wouldn't hurt them, right?

"I know," he admitted quietly. He cast a sheepish look at the ground before continuing, "I shouldn't have taken it out on him."

"Well, you did seem a little off today." she said coolly.

They exchanged glances for a few moments before he looked down at her book. "What are you reading?"

"Oh, this?" She averted her eyes. "It's nothing, I'm just doing some research."

Batman cocked his head and smirked. "Really? What kind of research are you doing?"

Diana released a huff of annoyance. "Why do you care? I'm the one who's doing the research."

He chuckled. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about Princess, I only wanted to know what you were reading."

"Couldn't you tell by the cover?" she asked, her grin widening.

"Yes, but that doesn't tell me anything about the plot. What exactly is it about?"

"How about we discuss it over dinner, maybe...this Friday?" Diana knew she was pushing her luck. Over and over, every time she tried to get Bruce to acknowledge his feelings for her he would always deflect or shut down the conversation, but that didn't stop them from flirting with each other every now and then.

It was quiet for a few moments before he said, "Fine, but it's not a date."

"That's fine," she smiled as she wrapped her hands around his arm and dragged him behind her. "I'll settle for what I can get."

FIN