Part XIV
He heard his name as he neared the door. Batman could hear the muted voices of his teammates on the other side of the door. He keyed the door not to open automatically and leaned in close. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but he had distinctly heard his name followed closely by Diana's. He reached up to his cowl and turned his audio receptors up. The voices that had at one time been dampened by the door now became distinct.
He recognized Flash's voice first.
"All I know is that I passed Diana in the hall last night and she said she was going to Gotham and when she came back she was pissed."
"Ol' Batsy does have that effect on people. I'd be willing to bet my stretchy parts that Wonder Babe went down there to get some Bat loving and he shot her down."
Batman could just imagine Plastic Man morphing into a cartoonish version of him as he said that. He could hear Flash's laughter filling the room.
"You gotta be kidding me Plas. I don't think any man could turn down Wonder Woman, she's a stone fox. Besides what makes you even think they have something going on anyway?"
"You haven't seen the way they've been making goo goo eyes at each other lately? Okay you can't see Bats eyes, but I definitely saw a goo goo glare thrown her way.
Batman was tempted to burst through the door and ruin their little gossip session, but before he could do so he heard heavy footsteps approaching behind him. He turned down the volume. The footsteps quieted to light taps on the flooring. Not light enough for him to not recognize the step though.
"Don't you know it's impolite to eavesdrop, or do you care?"
He hadn't wanted to see her alone until after the meeting. He needed the time to think.
"When the conversation is about me, no."
She was angry. That's what he had wanted.
"It's always about you isn't it, Bruce?"
Batman stared blankly at her. He refused to be baited.
"Can we talk about this after the meeting, Diana?"
"I'd say yes, but I'm afraid you'll run out before I got there."
Diana was yelling now. He clenched his teeth together to keep from saying something he shouldn't.
"After the meeting," he ground out.
Batman turned back to the door. He noticed the voices on the other side had gone silent. He keyed it to open again and stepped
forward so it would open. He was not going to deal with Diana now. He wanted to be calm when they talked and she wasn't making it easy.
As the door opened he saw the members of the league in their respective chairs. All their eyes were locked on the doorway. He gave each of them a withering glare before he took his seat. Diana emerged from the doorway not long after him. She made eye contact with everyone, as if reassuring them that all was well. Everyone except him. Before entering she had been able to regain her composure. Her steps and movements were once more those of a princess. She sat down beside him, not one time glancing in his direction. Her eyes were locked expectantly on Clark. On the opposite side of the table, Batman saw Plastic Man stretch his neck over to Flash.
"I told you so. You could cut the tension with a knife."
Batman could hear the whispers across the table.
"I think you're right," Flash replied as O'Brian transformed into a knife.
He'd had enough.
"Right about what, Plastic Man?"
Plastic Man was startled by Batman's voice ringing out in the still silent room. He twisted his head around to look at Batman, who was now on his feet. His palms were flat against the table as he leaned across the table glaring. Muscles in his jaw clenched and unclenched. Plastic Man's jaw dropped to the floor.
"I asked you a question, Plastic Man."
O'Brian's neck untangled itself and snapped back to it's normal position, leaving his still slack jaw lying on the floor. Under Batman's unwavering glare he gathered his chin up and brought it back to his face.
"I was right that…"
Plastic Man's face showed he was searching in vain for some excuse. Suddenly his face lit up.
"I was right that it's time to start the meeting. Yeah that's it." His voice had lost its light tone and was laced with nervousness. Batman turned his glare to J'onn. The Martian was sitting innocently to his left, his hands crossed behind his head. He turned back to Plastic Man.
"That's what I thought you meant."
Batman sat back into his seat. All eyes including Diana's were now on him. He looked at Clark. The tall man stood in front of his seat, a small grin playing on his face. It was times like this that he wished he still carried that kryptonite in his belt.
"Go ahead, Superman."
"Thank you, Batman."
As Clark began going over the old business, Batman stole a glance at Diana. He caught her looking at him out of the corner of her eye. Having been caught she quickly turned back to Clark. Batman remained looking at her, smirking the entire time. She cut her eyes back towards him. She saw him still looking at her and blushed. This caused Batman's smirk to turn into a half-smile.
Diana noticed that it was nothing like his smile in the Articulator's room a couple of days ago. It seemed more natural. An easy smile that she imagined he seldom shared with a lot of people. She felt flush under his steady gaze. His look was almost predatory; it brought back memories of the previous night. She paused a moment to cool down before responding.
"What," she mouthed.
"After the meeting," he whispered.
Batman broke his gaze at her and turned back to the meeting. Diana did likewise, but she noticed that there was not really a meeting going on at all. The entire league was looking at her and Batman. Large smiles covered all their faces. Diana blushed again and looked at Batman who remained unfazed. Eight hours ago she had thought it was over between them. That there was no changing his mind. He had not stopped her when she left, so she had taken that as his answer. He was hardheaded, arrogant, and by far one of the noblest men she had ever met. She had respected his wishes, even if she didn't agree with them. In her time with the league she had thought she had an idea of who he was, but there are moments spent with him that he surprises her.
This was one of those moments.