Author's Note: I think we all know what one word chapter/story titles mean by now. Character ownership goes to DC Comics.

My eyes widen in shock as Diana pushes me away. I hear her words, her loaded questions. For almost a minute, I don't know how to answer. The first answer to mind is the first out of my mouth, though the words are barely considered beforehand. "Well, what would you rather I do?" Diana's expression doesn't change. 'Perhaps that wasn't the thing to say.' I need a change of tactics.

'I can't let it end. No matter what I have to do, no matter what it costs me, I won't let everything I've gained fall apart!' I turn away, taking a quick glance at Alfred. I can't read him. It nearly stops me cold. I close my eyes. "Ok. Bad choice of words," I start off by admitting.

I lift my gaze back to Diana. "What's wrong with putting you ahead of me?"

Diana sighs. She turns, walks past me and over to the edge of my bed. She sits down, then pauses to look down at the sheets, rubbing her hands against the mattress and giving a little approving smile. She holds the smile on her lips as she turns back. "Because it isn't you, Bruce."

I open my mouth to object, the words forming automatically yet unbidden. Still, Diana beats me to speech. "Now, before you tell me off for that comment, I already know you don't think anyone in the League could ever understand you. But would it really hurt for me to understand? Doesn't it encourage you even a little that for all I've figured out on my own and for everything else I can only guess, I've only come to love and respect you more? I've lost a lot of sleep over you, Bruce Wayne, even before you threw yourself back after me."

'Wayne…She never met a real Wayne…' I stop myself to rein in the emotions before I can lose myself in thoughts of my parents. I turn my focus back to Diana's words. A small piece of me wishes that Diana could understand what happened to me, but it doesn't matter. That pain belongs to me. It's not something I want to share, even if I could.

Regardless, Diana losing sleep thinking about me is unexpected news. 'It's like she…obsessed…over me. I never thought anyone would do that who wasn't trying to kill me.' I chuckle before I can think not to. Diana casts me a questioning glance. "It usually doesn't work out well when someone obsesses over me. Only, it isn't Bruce Wayne they focus on."

"You know, I had to tell Kal to trust me, to trust me to know what I'm doing with my heart." She pauses, looking away for a minute. "Bruce, if there's anything I can ask of you, it's don't make me tell you the same and don't make me tell Kal I should have listened to him."

'Don't doubt you and don't hurt you,' I paraphrase to myself. I shake my head. "I won't, Diana. No matter what happens, I won't let that come to pass."

"It's fine, Bruce. You don't need to be so serious." She pauses. "It's just… Bruce, I want to be your equal in this relationship. So, why were you acting like that to begin with? Did you just wake up one day and decide you cared more about what I might want than anything else? Did you decide that your wants didn't matter anymore or that I wouldn't care what you might need out of us?

"Is it the dreams, Bruce? Were you trying to avoid telling me about them?" She pauses again. "Did you learn something? Figure something out? It didn't seem like Zatanna was able to help much."

Diana stops, turning from me with a look of guilt. 'She spoke to Zatanna. I should have expected that.' "What did she tell you?" I ask, looking past her for a moment to see if Alfred knew as well. He looks surprised.

Diana hesitates before answering. "She told me that you got your memory back. She said she didn't think it helped you."

She pauses for long enough to turn back to me. "Bruce, I've doubted myself, too."

"What?"

"I once asked myself if it was worth it to keep fighting. I doubted that we could do any good, that our efforts amounted to anything."

Diana has always been steadfast in her beliefs, her commitments to justice. What could shake her resolve? "When did you ever believe that?"

"Gorilla City. When I was trapped under that missile."

I remember. I shouldn't have been, but I was scared. Scared for Diana. I had been in denial about what appeared to happen. Shayera and J'onn watched me dig until J'onn finally stepped up to stop me. I had closed myself off, kept my reactions from the surface when she pushed the missile aside and stood on her own. Inwardly, I had been full of relief.

"I thought about leaving. I couldn't go home to Themyscira, but I thought about quitting the Justice League and just...wandering."

I ask the unavoidable. "What made you change your mind?"

Diana looks back to me. She smiles and lifts her hands to my cheeks. She leans closer, presses her lips to mine. My hands move of their own volition, my right hand to Diana's back, my left across her lap to her right thigh.

She pulls her lips away. "You," she answers. Before I can think of a response, she kisses me again.

'Me? How me?' I have to wait to ask. I don't push Diana back for a turn to speak, but as I try to comprehend the idea, I'm too busy to kiss back. She soon gives me some space and the words fall from my mouth.

"Because you don't give up. Because you fight on. I thought about when we all met, when J'onn helped hide you and the rest of us all thought you were dead. I heard you call for me, I heard you digging while I was unconscious. That was what brought me back to the waking world."

A smile makes its way to my lips before I know it. I had always thought my efforts that day were ineffectual. I'd cursed my own powerlessness, hated myself in that moment like I'd done only on a rare few occasions. To now know that my efforts had meant something, that I had succeeded where I thought I had failed… "Thank you."

"For what, Bruce? I should really be the one to thank you."

I take my turn, kissing Diana, silencing her for a moment. I don't want to think of an explanation, I don't care. I only want her to know I'm glad to know I helped. I pull Diana closer, against my side while continuing to kiss her for a moment, then pull back and tell her, "Just thank you."

"Well, I suppose I should say 'you're welcome' while you're still so happy," Diana says, moving her hands from my cheeks to my sides just above my waist.

"Why?"

"Because now that I have you, I'm not letting you go until you tell Alfred and I about your dreams." I lift my left eyebrow, the centerpiece of my questioning stare. Diana only smiles. "An advantage of being an Amazon." The words sound almost too happy.

I turn from Diana's joyous, almost triumphant visage to Alfred, looking for assistance. He certainly isn't making any moves to intervene. If anything, his expression is telling me that I deserve this and that it should have happened long ago.

'I'd rather not,' I say to myself, even as the reality of the situation begins to set in.

I can't help myself, I twist a little, testing Diana's grip. It doesn't take much to realize I would probably have to break my back, or at least a few ribs, before I would be able to squirm out from between Diana's hands. I could always just suffer an injury and then try to make my escape, but where would I go? I certainly can't escape to the Watchtower in my pajamas and I'd never have enough time to put my Batsuit on before Diana would catch up.

Another idea comes to mind, a reversal of tactics. I could try kissing her, surprise her just enough that her grip loosens and I can twist free. I shoot that idea down just as quickly. There's always the chance that Diana would simply wrap her arms around me rather than relax her hands. More importantly, I follow the idea back to its source, Selina and Talia. Both turned my heart against me for their own ends. How could I ever allow myself to do the same to Diana?

I look up from Diana's arms to her face again. I feel my expression mellow as I watch her. 'No... I could never use her heart against her...' I revisit my first idea, discounting it after a quick moment. It would be much the same for me to hurt myself using Diana. She would blame herself for my injuries.

I don't really have a choice. I'm about to resign myself and start explaining when Diana breaks our silence. "Alright, Bruce, how about if I tell you a little more about what happened to me in Gorilla City?"

"What?"

"I'll tell you more about when I was under that missile and you tell us about your dreams." She turns away, looking to Alfred. "Do you have any stories you'd like to add to this exchange?"

"None of my own, Miss Diana, but perhaps you would be interested in the tale of the young Master Bruce and the disappearing oranges."

My jaw falls slack and, for a moment, my eyes widen. "You wouldn't dare!" The expression on Alfred's face tells me that not only would he dare, he wouldn't hesitate.

"I've never heard anything about this." Diana is too excited for comfort. "Could I convince you to tell me regardless, Alfred?"

"Alright!" I nearly shout. Diana and Alfred turn back, their exchange successfully derailed, even if only for the moment. "Diana, what were you going to say about Gorilla City? I'll tell you about my dreams after."

"Deal." Though she gives her agreement, her grip remains tight around my waist.

She seems to take a few moments to prepare herself, turned away and her expression shifts subtly before she gives a nod and turns back to me. "The missile rendered me unconscious. While I was out, Apollo granted me…a series of visions."

'Apollo, Greek god. Son of Zeus and Leto; brother of Artemis. If Diana's mention of visions is anything to go by, it's his role as god of prophecy that is important.' I nod my head in understanding.

"The first thing I saw was the missile laying on top of me, then you, Shayera, and J'onn rushing towards it. I saw Flash with Solovar, Grodd with the doctor helping him. I didn't see a vision of John, but I did see that Kal was, at least in that moment, stopping a bank robbery.

"Things became… I don't know, more disjointed after that. There was a series of scenes, everything from the everyday to the bloodiest violence. I saw people crossing at a busy intersection. I saw a police shootout. I saw a man smash a folding chair through a store window. I saw a mall lobby. I saw a man abducted and thrown in the back seat of a dark sedan."

Diana stops for a few seconds. "I saw Themyscira, Mother and my sisters frozen in stone. That infuriating smirk on Faust's lips, knowing I would have to do his dirty work, knowing that restoring them was more important to me than beating the tar out of him for daring violate Themysciran law."

If I didn't care about Diana's feelings, I'd almost be willing to remind her that she brought us to Themyscira. Fortunately, she continues before the words betray me. "I saw memories of Atlantis, when Aquaman's brother tried to have Kal, the two Johns, and I drowned.

"For each, I was always an observer. It was unsettling, seeing myself like that. Aside from the longer visions in which I played a role, I saw something of a series of vignettes. There were so many...crimes...atrocities; I was a powerless witness to them all."

She pauses, struggling with the words. I bring a hand to her shoulder, the other to her left cheek. "Bruce, in the face of it, I gave up. I questioned if we were really doing any good for the Earth and her people. I convinced myself that we weren't preventing any crimes from being committed."

She seems to shrink, then lifts her gaze to my face. Her grip loosens, though her hands remain still. "After spending so much time amongst humanity, after finally getting through to you, I'm not so happy thinking it anymore, but I realized most of the criminals I saw were men. I thought it was normal. I figured that Mother was right about men and Man's World. I thought the only thing I accomplished by leaving Themyscira was getting myself exiled."

"Diana..." She looks deep into my eyes, apologetic. I smile reassuringly. "You know that's not true. You've helped us through disasters the world over. You've saved my life on many occasions."

Alfred sees fit to chime in. "Take heart, Miss Diana. That might be the last you'll hear of a 'thank you' from Master Bruce for quite some time. Don't doubt yourself or that Master Bruce's words come straight from the heart."

Diana turns to Alfred. "I know. Thank you." She turns back to me and I get a better view of her radiant smile. "Thank you both."

The smile fades a little as she continues. "I had decided that there wasn't a reason for me to continue, but I realized I had nowhere to go. Then I was returned to the invasion, to when we met the Imperium. I saw you climbing up to that crystal.

"I saw my relief...my joy when J'onn gave you the signal and you made your appearance. I never heard any words, any sounds in any of the visions, but my mind filled in what I said when you landed beside me and started cutting my hands free.

"I saw scenes of crimes in progress all over the world. I have no idea how much of it might have been happening while I was beneath that missile, how much was a vision of the past. All I knew was that it was consuming me. I was losing myself to confusion, overwhelmed by everything all at once.

To my surprise, Diana's hands leave me. She brings her hands close to her body, her gaze following them to her lap before she wraps them around, hugging herself. "I kept myself together by clinging to whatever single vision that I could. I found a family, a little boy and his parents. I'll never forget them. I found peace with them, pushing the other visions away."

The faint smile disappears from Diana's lips. Her arms slacken, falling loose until her hands are resting on the outside of her hips. Her voice seems to become empty, pained until there is nothing left but words.

"They were in an alley. The boy was excited. He had a sense of relief on his expression. Partway into the alley, a man in a long coat appeared before them, as though born from the shadows of the alley."

My eyes widen involuntarily and a sinking, sickening feeling drags my heart to my feet. 'What? No...'

"He spoke, but I couldn't hear what he said. He raised a gun, held it aimed at the boy's parents."

'No, it can't be...'

"I tried to put myself between them, but I had no bracelets to fight with, no arms or legs, not even a body to block him with. He made a move for the pearl necklace the boy's mother was wearing. The boy's father tried to stop him, but the man shot both of the boy's parents and then fled."

'I…I don't… How?'

"My goodness…" Alfred mutters. I share his shock.

Diana either misses it or ignores Alfred's response. "I couldn't do anything but watch the boy as he sank to his knees. I could see the pain and emptiness consuming him, yet there was nothing I could do.

"A moment later, I heard you calling my name and the vision faded away just before I heard you start digging. All I wanted was to comfort that boy, but I didn't know how. When the vision was gone, I knew the chance was lost."

I shake my head, thought almost absent from my mind. "You have, Diana. You are."

"What?" Diana asks as I stand. I reach down, crossing my arms and taking her hands, pulling them straight as I lift her from the bed.

"Come with me." I release Diana's right hand from my left and turn to my bedroom door. Alfred is a few steps ahead of me as I drag her towards the door. I'm not surprised at all that he knows what I intend.

He leads us down the hall, back to the foyer. Diana asks questions as we all walk, but neither Alfred nor I take the time to answer her aloud. She'll understand soon enough.

At the foyer, Alfred leads us downstairs, then down another hallway towards the sitting room. He stops at the door, opens it into the room and then lets us pass by before quickly following us inside. I take Diana over to an ornate, marble fireplace. Finally, I stop walking and turn to her.

"You still have a vivid memory of that vision?" Diana nods. I turn away and lift my chin meaningfully, looking above the fireplace at the large portrait hanging in the open space past the mantle. Now, I only need to stand still and wait. I don't know if I want to be proven right or wrong.

Diana doesn't make me wait long. She steps past me on my left, her mouth hanging open and her focus solely on the image of my parents. "Great Hera…" she nearly whispers. That's all the response I need. It takes all the willpower I have to keep my feet still.

Diana turns to me. I lower my chin, turn my head slowly to meet her stare. "That little boy…" Her words are light, delicate, like the tread of feet across a sheet of glass. "It was you…" My resolve falters.

'I can't do this.' I close my eyes for a few moments, long enough to block the sight of the empathy, the concern, and the pity painted all across Diana's expression. I turn away and walk briskly out of the room, leaving Alfred and a still-shocked Diana behind. I don't have to worry about Alfred following me this time. He knows Diana needs him more than I do.

I follow the hallway back to the foyer, and then a second to the study. Before long, I'm at the bottom of the stairs in the Batcave, on my way to the underground gym and the punching bag Alfred kept me from at the dawn of my relationship with Diana.

"Diana," I mutter under my breath as I enter the gym, barely cognizant of the clap of my slippers against the floor or the pajamas I'm still dressed in. 'Her gods showed her my parents' murder! And for what?'

I wonder for a moment if they showed her a vision or if they brought her consciousness back to that moment. My body begins an automatic assault on the punching bag while my thoughts wander. If a mere human can invent a time machine in a few decades, what would stop gods?

'How cruel can they be?' My eyes focus for a moment as my punches slow. 'How could they force Diana to watch? How could they bring her back and do nothing to stop my parents from dying?'

I stop. 'That's the problem…' I'm not angry with Diana. I don't even feel the familiar need for strength, power, the wish that I had been able to act that night. The mere possibility that Diana's gods had brought her back to the alley in Park Row had blinded me to information Diana herself had provided: it was Apollo, god of prophecy and truth.

"It was just a vision…" I try to tell myself. It works, for the most part, but largely because I focus on a new problem. 'Why?'

To busy my body, I begin punching the bag in front of me once more, though more relaxedly than before. 'This is all too specific. There was nothing trivial about selecting my parents' murder to show Diana. Why my past? Why not the end of Krypton? The fall of Martian civilization? Even the Graysons' murder?'

The first thing to come to mind is also the most worrying. 'They directed her to me, but why? Because we might one day fall in love? Because we're supposed to fall in love? Was it even our choice to make?'

"Bruce!" Diana, shouting from somewhere behind me, probably from the bottom of the steps down from the study. I give myself a moment to punch the bag once more with each fist, then stop and stand straight. A small piece of my mind had been curious about how long Alfred would be able to keep her from coming after me.

"Bruce!" She must have crossed the Batcave in the air. I didn't hear her getting closer. She is at the entrance to the gym.

A few moments later, she speaks again. "Bruce."

"I never meant to share my pain with anyone, Diana." Even to me, my voice sounds almost despondent.

"I'm sorry, Bruce. I didn't realize I was dredging up your past."

I turn around slowly. The only thing I hope is that I won't see the pity I saw before. Fortunately, she only looks deeply apologetic. That will be far easier to deal with.

"I'm not angry with you, Diana." My voice is soft, my words sincere. "But I need to know why. Why did your gods show you my past? Did they know we would end up together or need us to be together?"

"Bruce, don't talk like that." She sounds…worried. "Shayera told me what John said to her. I never thought you'd have to tell me you won't be a puppet of fate."

'A puppet of fate? No.' I shake my head. "No, even if visions of me kept you with the League, choosing to let you in was my decision. Pursuing me was yours." Though I might be a little more skeptical if the first dream had happened before I went after Diana.

She relaxes, sighing with relief. For some reason, I feel the need to explain further. "At first, I wasn't thinking of Apollo as the god of truth. I thought that you might have been taken back to that moment and forced to watch, rather than seeing an image of that night.

"I became Batman because, on that night, I was as powerless as you saw. I dedicated myself to turning fear on the cowards, crooks, and madmen preying on Gotham's innocent. It didn't take much time or even a Justice League before my mission expanded into much more."

Diana only nods. I'm not sure that I would know what to say either. I've given her a lot to think about. I've said more than I probably ever would have if she hadn't seen how my parents died.

"Diana." She looks up to me and I approach, prepared for an entirely new discussion. "You wanted to go out on a date today." After a few moments of silence, she nods. "How about dinner? And how about we eat here at the manor instead of going out?" I place my hands on her upper arms.

"Yeah. That sounds good." Her hands make their way to my chest. They slide slowly up to my shoulders and she pulls me closer. She lifts her chin and I answer with a kiss. She surprises me with passion. I return it as best I can.

What I had intended to be only a brief kiss, she extends over a minute. Our lips brush repeatedly across each other as we wordlessly, almost urgently reaffirm everything between us. We keep our hands mostly still and our tongues to ourselves, reserving them for moments of security, for when we want to arouse one another's passion, for times of intimacy.

Finally, Diana pulls back. She looks into my eyes with a mixture of appreciation and relief. After a moment, she smiles, lifting her right hand from my shoulder. I feel her fingertips on my left cheek, rising until they begin playing into my hair. "You should get ready for work," she tells me while her fingers straighten the hair along the center and left side of my hairline.

I nod. 'She's going to let me off about my dreams again?' I'd thank her if I wasn't sure she just isn't thinking of them at the moment. "Right. We'll talk this evening."

She nods in response. "Would you mind me waiting here? I don't feel like going back to the Watchtower right now."

"Of course."

I take Diana's left hand in my right. She squeezes my hand and turns, starting us back into Wayne Manor proper. Alfred meets us in the study and I fill him in on our plans for the rest of the day. Before I excuse myself to change, he offers Diana lunch and teases her with promises of confectionary treats in the afternoon.

I can't keep myself from pausing for a few moments when I close the door to my bedroom. I want to be angry with Apollo, with the whole Greek Pantheon for using my personal tragedy for their own ends, but there are things more important. Thinking positively and oddly enough, I owe everything I've gained with Diana to myself, to my parents, and to Apollo if not the other gods as well. The nagging issue is why.

I enter the bathroom in the corner of my room and begin stripping to take a shower. 'At least some of the gods have a vested interest in Themyscira, if for no other reason than as a gate to Tartarus. Was it simply that they wanted to preserve the connection between Themyscira and the rest of humanity after Diana forced it upon them?'

I consider briefly that they might be thinking of Diana's happiness. The idea is too far-fetched to give any weight. If entering into a relationship with me has brought Diana half as much happiness as I've seen, why wait years for us to start on our own? If Gorilla City was good enough for a touchpoint, why not affect us both? Simply go the full distance and make it the catalyst for our relationship.

I lift my hands to my head, a small glob of shampoo on my left palm. 'An issue of timing? Something our relationship itself is a catalyst of? Maybe something else needed to happen first.' Maybe the expansion of the League. Maybe Darkseid's second invasion—his third if counting when Superman was his willing pawn.

I let the possible prerequisites spin in my mind as I finish my shower and then step back out onto the tile. After a round of dental hygiene and the rest of my morning bathroom routine, I exit out into my bedroom. I follow the route from bureau to closet, fetching my clothing for the day, dressing myself as usual in my tan suit.

I exit back out into the hallway with my tie in hand and head off for the foyer. Once I arrive, I head back downstairs and then towards the library, where Alfred said he would bring Diana. He had suggested it as a good place to pass the time. I'm sure Tim would have suggested the entertainment room for its personal theater, but I expect Alfred's suggestion will be little more fitting.

I find Alfred just inside the library door, waiting a respectful distance away, but more than close enough to assist however he might be needed should Diana have any questions or a request for a specific book or topic. "Ahh, Master Bruce." He sees the tie. "The usual, sir?"

"Thank you, Alfred," I reply while handing it to him.

He wraps the tie behind my neck. "Honestly, Master Bruce, one would think you'd have learned to tie one of these on your own by now." He leans a little closer and says much more quietly, "This is one duty I hope to never have to pass on to anyone else."

I give a small groan and look past him to Diana. She's looking on from afar, sitting in a cushy seat with an open book in her lap. I'm happy she's found something to occupy herself with already. 'Good. Doesn't seem like she heard Alfred.'

Alfred soon finishes and I thank him again before heading for where Diana is sitting. She begins to stand, but I stop her with a gesture. She pauses as I come to a stop in front of the chair. I lean over and rest my hands on the arms of the chair.

"You'll be alright here until I get back?"

"I should hope so, Bruce. You have a big enough house. I didn't get through too much in the library while J'onn and I were staying here after you used the Watchtower in lieu of a batarang."

I smile, despite the verbal barb. Diana had always been the most outspoken about that decision. I've known for years that it was because she cared, but I can't fool myself into thinking I'd have ever done things differently. She, John, and Superman were needed at the force field generator. Flash, J'onn, and I were more than enough to retake the Watchtower. I could never have asked either of them to guide the Watchtower in my place.

"I thought so," I reply, leaning forward.

I stop with my face a scant few inches from Diana's. She leans forward and takes my lips with hers, at the same time lifting her hands to mine on the chair's arms. We stop after a few moments, pulling apart and opening our eyes to look at one another. It doesn't last long. We come back together for a second, then a third kiss.

"I'll see you this evening."

Diana leans forward, gives me another quick kiss. "Yeah." She closes the gap one more time. Her hands leave mine, finding me again on my cheeks just as her lips press gently to mine. Our lips brush lightly for almost a breath before she presses more tightly, pulling my head more firmly forward, a long goodbye kiss to hold us both over until the end of the afternoon.

"I love you, Bruce." Her hands fall away from my face. "Don't let anything ever come before that." A quiet voice, her words as much an order as they are a plea.

"I know." I lean back, but keep my hands on the chair for a few moments longer. "I love you, too, Diana." The words bring me a sense of joy as they pass unforced across my lips. The declaration does the same to Diana. She gifts me with a brilliant smile, the first I've seen since she learned that she watched my parents die.

"Feel free to ask Alfred if there's anything you need," I tell her as I pull my hands from the chair and stand. She nods to me, then turns to Alfred and gives him a smile.

"Thanks," she replies. "I'll see you soon."

I nod, taking her words as a dismissal. I turn to Alfred and the door and cross the room. Alfred follows me into the hallway. He breaks his silence only once before we leave the grounds. "If you'll wait in the foyer while I bring the car around."

After I answer, he turns and heads for the garage. I, meanwhile, return to the study, retrieving my things to spend what's left of the day at the office. With my briefcase filled, I return to the foyer and wait barely more than a minute for Alfred to pull the car to a stop in the parking loop.

I head outside and quickly descend the steps, climbing into the open back seat. I thank Alfred as I pass him and then set my briefcase on the driver's side of the seat and wait. Before long, Alfred has closed my door and is back in the driver's seat, taking the car out of Park and easing us down to the gate at the edge of 1007 Mountain Drive.

"I just don't understand it, sir," Alfred finally comments a quarter mile after the gate has closed behind us.

I don't need to ask, but I do regardless. "What, Alfred?"

"How Miss Diana could have witnessed your parents' murder."

"It was Apollo, Alfred. Among other things, he is the Greek god of prophecy and truth. He merely needed to show her a vision." I wait a moment to see if Alfred will say anymore on his own. "The question is why."

"I assume you've considered the possibilities, sir."

"Not all of them, Alfred. I feel like I'm still missing a piece of the puzzle. None of my scenarios seem to explain everything we know."

"May I also assume that you mean everything you know, sir? I expect you have an advantage over the rest of us with your dreams."

I pause a moment. It's been a while since Alfred tried to get information from me. "No, Alfred. I don't believe they provide any clues to Diana's visions or her gods' actions."

"Very well, Master Bruce. I trust you will keep us abreast of any developments on the topic of Miss Diana's visions?"

I'm growing weary of the verbal jabs. "Yes, and I'll even explain my dreams once we've finished eating dinner." I hope that will placate Alfred for the time being.

Luckily, it does. He leaves me to my thoughts until we are in the shadow of Wayne Enterprises. He wishes me a good day and I thank him in reply before asking him again to assist Diana however he can. He agrees, telling me he will make sure Diana feels most welcome, and then offering to save a few portions of whatever treats he makes for our dessert in the evening.

I thank him one last time before seeing him off and finally entering the building. I hand out greetings freely, responding in as friendly a manner as I can when people bid me a good morning. Many of the female employees seem more relaxed around me, appreciative of my lack of flirtatiousness now that it's a well-known fact that I'm dating Wonder Woman.

The change in my public behavior towards women is the first of many planned changes in my overall public persona. My end goal is to shed the skin of the playboy entirely, to be merely the 'Bruce' that Diana has chosen to date, regardless if I am in public or private, regardless if I am out together with her or on my own.

After only the hour before lunch and by the end of the afternoon, I have made positive strides towards appearing more attentive and involved, been friendly instead of flirtatious, and allowed small, business-related bits of my intelligence shine through. To cap it all off, I spend more time than I normally would with Lucius going over the available files on an aerospace research lab at LexCorp, placed on the market by the surprisingly cutthroat businesswoman, Mercy Graves.

Mercy had placed the lab up for bids as it was underperforming from the perspective of profit margins. With her return to power after the apparently permanent disappearance of Lex Luthor, she had turned the company around, aiming for higher and higher profit margins. Cuts and sell-offs had enabled much of LexCorp's new quarterly profits, but it had taken consistently rising stock dividends to keep investors happy.

The first round of cuts were the entirely unprofitable, research teams and even a whole division dedicated to technological developments Luthor had employed for his illicit gains and in efforts to destroy the Justice League, both directly and in the long-past times of CADMUS. This aerospace lab is one of the last to go. Among other things, this lab's scientists had developed the delivery missiles CADMUS utilized to flood the Watchtower with copies of the Ultimen.

In the end, Lucius and I determine that the lab would be worth the investment, as their operations had merely been mismanaged. With a little restructuring, they might prove very profitable. If nothing else, they are fresh minds. Their work would certainly benefit the well-established Wayne Aerospace. Indirectly, they could also provide valuable insights for the next generation of Javelins.

As the workday draws to a close, I make my way back down to the ground floor lobby. I step out onto the sidewalk pavement and am greeted with the sight of Alfred and his preferred car. On a second look, I spot a passenger in the rear passenger seat. It's Diana, I realize a moment before the car rolls to a stop in front of the building.

I step up as Alfred and Diana exit the car. Diana doesn't bother to wait for Alfred to come around to open her door—something I'm sure he would give a quick lecture about if we were not in so public a place. I greet Diana and then Alfred and together, she and I climb into the car and wait for Alfred to come back around.

"Decided to hitch a ride, I see."

"I prefer to think that I grew tired of waiting for you to come back on your own." She leans toward me, placing her left hand on my chest and bringing her lips tantalizingly close to mine, but pausing to await my response. I don't make her wait, closing the gap and kissing her while my hands find her left side and the bare skin of her shoulder. I try to ignore thoughts of others' reactions to seeing me getting into a car to share the back seat with Wonder Woman, clad in her signature armor.

I spend the car ride home in silence, relaxed and at peace. Diana shares her hand with me for the drive. I feel a sense of loss when we must let each other's hand go to climb out of the car once we arrive at the manor.

Dinner is similarly at ease. The privacy and atmosphere do all of us good. Alfred's meal certainly helps. He credits Diana with her choice of steak for dinner as he serves us our filet mignon with béarnaise sauce, stuffed baked potatoes, and a small glass dish of mixed vegetables. Our desert is a slice each of caramel apple cheesecake. Everything, from start to finish, is cooked and prepared with Alfred's impeccable care and precision.

"Thank you, Alfred," I say after we finish our meal. "Everything was absolutely scrumptious."

"I was happy to cook, Master Bruce. It's a rare occasion indeed when I get to present a full, warm meal to anyone but Master Timothy or, looking back a few years further, Master Dick. I would certainly welcome the opportunity more often. Perhaps, Miss Diana, if you would be willing to spend more time at the manor.

"I would be pleased and honored, Alfred," Diana replies. "You spoiled us when J'onn and I were staying here. I have to say I had a little difficulty adjusting to commissary food after the second Watchtower was completed."

"Alfred."

"Yes, Master Bruce?"

"Leave the dishes in water for now. Come back as soon as you can from dropping the dishes off."

"Might I be so bold as to ask why, Master Bruce?"

I turn from Alfred, looking across the table towards Diana. I clasp my hands and rest my forearms over the edge of the table. "It's time. I have a lot to explain."

"Of course, sir!" Alfred exclaims while redoubling his efforts to clear the table.

Before long, the table is empty and he is back. He takes my usual seat at the head of the table, with Diana in the first seat on his right, me in the first seat on his left. I look to both of them in turn, they're both the epitome of attentiveness.

"You both know that I drove you away, Diana, but I was not prepared for you to walk away for a final time. Well, it didn't fill me with any sort of relief or satisfaction. I went to the gym, tried to relieve the stress. Alfred followed me. I was fortunate, considering I wouldn't have been able to act if not for him." I turn to my old friend and ally as I finish. He replies with a nod, appreciative of the credit given, but stays silent so as not to interrupt.

"I went to the Watchtower with purpose, a goal—hope for a chance to speak to Diana. When the elevator door opened on Dormitory Deck A, I found myself face-to-face with Superman."

Diana's expression shifts, almost a wince, when she hears me mention Superman. I pause, give her a chance to speak. "He met me when I was getting on the elevator to go down from the transporter deck. He could tell that something was wrong from the moment he saw me.

"I told him I wanted to be alone, but he ignored it, taking the elevator back down with me and following me to my room. He said he couldn't just leave a friend as distraught I was alone.

"He tried to console me, convinced me to tell him what happened—after all, he guessed it was something to do with you before I said anything." She pauses to smile and chuckle. "He got angry, but he didn't do much to show it. I didn't give him much of a chance. I was too busy being depressed and then angry."

I give a wry laugh. "Well, he certainly saw fit to show me his anger." I see I have my audience's full attention again. "Before I even made it out of the elevator, he grabbed me and slammed me against its back wall. He demanded to know what I was doing and threatened me, told me that the Justice Lords would start with my death instead of Flash's if I ever hurt you again."

"What?" I'm not at all surprised by Diana's disbelief. Another question comes to her mind. "Is that why you decided to put me ahead of yourself?"

"No. And don't tell him I told you about this." Diana nods after a few short seconds. I turn to Alfred and he agrees as well.

"The first…dream, for lack of a better word, was a few days later and was much the same up until that point. I remembered the original events nearly from when the dream started. My thoughts were different, but all the words and actions were the same, right up until I bypassed security on your door and looked into your room.

"When you threw your dress at me, I caught it. When I lowered it from my face, you were nearly on top of me, then shoved me back into the hallway as you left your room and headed for the elevators. You never said a word and didn't look at me for any longer than while I was in your way. Even so, your anger, your fury was clear."

I take a deep breath, look back and forth between Diana and Alfred. Neither could be any more interested than they already are. "I lifted myself to my feet and let myself think that the dream was real. It seemed more likely that you would walk away, Diana, rather than forgive me with an apology, an explanation, and a simple declaration of love."

"Well," Diana interrupts, "it was funny seeing you get hit in the face with a dress. Did you ever try to imagine what that looked like? If you denied me that bit of amusement, I can't say what I would have done."

"In any case, I went to the elevator after a few moments and prepared myself to return home and to disappoint Alfred."

"I must say you would have disappointed me! I held onto every hope that you would come around to each other. I was absolutely overjoyed when you told me the news."

I look to Alfred, let a second or two pass before speaking again. "I never got the chance." I look back towards Diana. "Superman took the elevator back down, met me at the end of the deck. He grabbed me by the throat, choked me the moment the doors were open."

I let the weight of my words begin to sink in. "He threw me down the hall. I slammed into the far wall and slid down it, disoriented. I tried going for the kryptonite shard in my utility belt, but he melted its lead compartment shut before my hand ever reached it.

"He spent a few moments telling me what I had done to you, how I'd hurt you. He told me how difficult it was for him to stand by and watch. He lifted me from the floor, ripped off my cowl, and reminded me of what he vowed to do. Then he punched me, drove his fist through my chest and crushed my heart.

"He told me 'now you know how Diana feels' just before I lost consciousness. I eventually woke up in my bed here. I immediately rushed down to the Batcave to make that panicked call to you, Diana."

I don't give them time to say anything yet. I want them to hear everything before they respond beyond a quick interruption. "The second dream was a few nights later. It was like a continuation of the first. I was still dead. You were staying in my bedroom." I motion to Diana so there will be no question. I omit the fact that she slept naked in my bed.

"Alfred, you came to the door to tell Diana that my body had been delivered by Superman. You told her I was in the Batcave and left to wait below the stairs." I turn from Alfred.

"Diana, you got up and dressed yourself in ceremonial garb. The same outfit you wore to Superman's supposed funeral back before the expansion, complete with your golden winged circlet, your sword, and your shield."

I hesitate a few breaths before continuing. "Alfred guided you to my body, laying in nearly full dress, only my cowl missing, as it was at the end of the first dream. He turned on the lights and you took one step before floating to my side and dropping your sword and shield.

"You asked Alfred if Superman said how I died. He answered that it been accidental, that I had been impaled by a pipe in an explosion." There's still anger over that scene, though I know the Clark Kent I've known for longer than there's been a Justice League isn't responsible.

"You both stood over me for a short while before Alfred noticed that my condition seemed wrong. He scanned for traces of metal, then scanned the shape of the...cavity in my chest. He determined that I was killed with a fist. You both came to the same conclusion as to how."

I hesitate again, but for longer this time. 'Should I mention the hidden kryptonite? Is it worth compromising in reality?' I close my eyes for a deep breath as I weigh the options.

"Diana opened a hidden vault in the Batcave. It's where I store kryptonite. Before now, I've never told anyone, not even Alfred that it exists, let alone how to access it. Alfred clearly had no knowledge of what Diana was doing." My words strike me as a little odd. I'm describing the actions of the people listening to me, but as though I'm talking about someone else. In a way, I am.

"Diana punched her way into the vault, retrieving the small lead case and the shard of kryptonite within it." I watch Diana, study her expression. Her clear and unmasked worry tells me that she already knows, but I need to finish my story.

"Diana, you went back to my body and removed my cape, wrapping it around yourself and leaving your circlet behind in my hands. You saw the half-melted compartment on my belt and tore it open to reveal the shard on me when I died.

"You took the other shard's lead case apart, used the top cover to fashion a makeshift compartment on the inside of your left bracelet. You hid one shard inside, held the other in your bare right hand. You then made your way to the transporter in the back of the Batcave and asked if you could stay in the manor if you survived. Alfred said yes."

I look to Alfred. "I would have done the same." I return my attention to my story. "The second dream ended shortly after, when you went back to the Watchtower. I woke up when my perspective hit the Watchtower's hull, after my consciousness was stretched all the way from the cave to space."

Again, I start right into the next dream before either listener can mistake me for finished. "The last dream was a little over a week ago. I didn't see the beginning of the battle, but you were fighting Superman and may have been for some time. One of the first things you must have done was to destroy the transporters. They were gone, their wreckage covered in fire suppression foam.

"The first thing I saw when it started was you flying across the open air in the main transporter deck, tumbling until you slammed into a wall. Shayera interrupted your battle with Superman. She sent you sailing into the wall. When you recovered, you fled, lured her out of the room and to the nearest escape pods. You told her what he did, then grabbed her, tore her from her mace, and threw her into an escape pod. You tossed her mace in and deployed the pod before returning to where Superman was recovering from who knows how many of your punches with the kryptonite in the middle of your palm.

"When you arrived, he defended himself with his heat vision, burned a hole through your hand to destroy the kryptonite. You more or less ignored it after taking a moment to examine the damage. The Watchtower staff who helped Superman to his feet scrambled out of the way as you dropped out of the air, bowling him over.

"With him pinned from behind, you demanded to know why he killed me. You said that he had told you about the pipe, demanded to know why he lied to your face. He managed to elbow you in the gut, trip you up, and pin you to the floor. He told you it was all for you, because he could no longer stand to just watch me hurt you over and over again. You pushed him away, kicked him in the face and then demanded to know if he thought killing me could ever make you happy. You didn't give him time to answer, instead beginning to pummel him, landing punch after punch as you told him you might have forgiven me in time.

"Finally, you pinned him to the floor with your left arm. You removed the lead from under your bracelet, threw it aside and went back to retrieve the second kryptonite shard. You asked him if I suffered when he murdered me. The last thing you told him was that he was going to find out what it would be like to be killed by someone you hold in high regard, then you thrust your fingers and the kryptonite wedged between them into his chest and waited until he was dead.

"The Watchtower's staff and a number of injured, regular Leaguers began to approach. One asked what would happen to the League. You told her there wasn't a League anymore. Then you left, took an elevator to the Javelin bay. The dream ended with you still in the elevator, holding the door open to the Javelin bay, curled up on the floor and crying. You were apologizing repeatedly. To me. You said you still loved me. And I could do nothing but watch."

Now I wait. Finally, Diana breaks the silence. "…Bruce…" she begins to say, her tone without any form of gaiety, her words mired in sadness, in shock, and in the pity I had fled from in the morning. Her attempt to speak goes nowhere.

After another silence, Alfred gives his attempt at a response. "And you were afraid this would come to pass, Master Bruce? That Master Kent would kill you for a perceived injustice against Miss Diana? That she would then kill Master Kent in retaliation? That the Justice League would be destroyed by the chain of conflict?"

"Yes and no," I answer almost immediately.

I'm about to explain when Diana finds her words. "Not that, but you were afraid that something similar would happen if we broke up on anything less than friendly terms. You wanted to keep me happy so Superman wouldn't see me in emotional turmoil. You were trying to keep the cycle from starting. You die, Kal dies, the Justice League ends."

I close my eyes. Diana has again proven herself as intelligent as I have always known, as intuitive as she proved herself by deducing my secret identity. "Yes," I answer.

She gives me some time to add more, but her patience wears thin. "Bruce, what is so hard about just telling me these things? Telling Alfred these things? You still haven't told me about your past romances. Thanks to that, I had a few awkward moments of misunderstanding when I talked with Zatanna about your investigations."

My expression conveys my apology, but I stay silent. "Just…think about it. Alright, Bruce?" I nod.

Alfred reenters the conversation. "Master Bruce, your timeline doesn't make any sense. How could they be the same sequence of events?"

I notice a small twitch of frustration run across Diana's left eyebrow as I turn to Alfred, answering his question immediately. "I don't think they are. There were little differences scattered between the three segments, but there were some glaring differences that make them separate. The first was, Diana, you in my bed at the start of the second dream, with so much of your clothing already in my bureaus."

"Well, my ceremonial outfits are not aboard the Watchtower. Mother returned them to Themyscira when she went back home to the island."

"Can you see yourself coming to the manor in the event of my death? Suppose you left the Watchtower entirely after leaving me behind."

She considers it for a few moments. "I suppose I might. I guess I can't rule it out."

"Alright. Where else might you have gone?"

"I might have left in my jet, just flown. I might have gone to the museum in Gotham where we met Circe. I might have gone to see Audrey. I can't say for sure, but before I threw my Paris dress into your face, I thought about going down to Earth to cool off. Those are some of the things I thought of doing."

"So it is possible." I shift my focus. "The other big difference is who Superman spoke to. In the second dream, it was Alfred. In the third, it was Diana."

"Bruce, what did you say it was like, your experience in the second and third dreams, when you were already dead?"

I let the memory run through my head briefly. "I had no corporeal form and no way to interact with the world around me. I couldn't move on my own and I was tethered to within about ten yards of you. I had awareness of my surroundings in all directions, but was typically focused in only one direction. I had sense of sight and sound, but no taste, touch, or smell."

Diana folds her arms across her stomach and sits back. She spends nearly a minute pondering before Alfred finally break the silence. "What are you thinking, Miss Diana?"

"The overall experience. It's very similar to my visions in Gorilla City. I had limited movement and couldn't hear, though, but aside from that, they're almost identical. Perhaps Apollo had a hand in your dreams. Then again, what other non-corporeal form could you have had?"

"An image of my body, potentially capable of possessing other living beings, à la Boston Brand. Still, it's a possibility. I hadn't considered Apollo or your Pantheon, but I certainly wouldn't put it past them." It still leaves the question: "But why bother? What could your gods possibly gain by meddling with both of us? And why show me three differing scenes? Why not just one, continuous event? They still could have split it over three nights if that was somehow necessary."

"If we owe your visions, Miss Diana, and your dreams, Master Bruce, to the Greek gods, then perhaps it is beyond our ability to discern meaning on our own," Alfred offers.

Diana and I both turn to him. I admit to myself that he might be right, but it doesn't make me like the idea of such an unanswerable riddle any more appealing. I count myself lucky that Nygma isn't aware of this situation.

"Perhaps a break for a spot of tea or coffee would help us think." I agree with a nod of my head, welcoming the opportunity to continue brainstorming with the two people I hold most dear. Alfred, meanwhile, turns to Diana. "If I remember correctly, Miss Diana, you very much favor iced mocha."

"Oh—yes, please! If it isn't too much trouble…"

"No, not at all, my dear." Alfred rises from his seat. "Then if the two of you will excuse me, I shall return shortly." Diana and I take our turns thanking Alfred before he smiles and turns to leave the room at a leisurely pace.

Diana and I sit in silence for a few short minutes. I am lost in my own thoughts, barely aware of what Diana is doing. "Bruce." I stop and look up. She is resting her chin in her hand, her elbow below, propping her head up from the surface of the dining table.

"Yes?"

"I've been thinking about a couple of things you mentioned from one of your dreams. They've been nagging at me ever since you said them."

"What?" My mind sets about, reflexively working to anticipate what I might have said that she is concerned about.

"Well, first off, do you really have a hidden store of kryptonite?"

There's no point in spending any time denying it. "Yes."

"Are you really that afraid that Kal will turn on us? On you?"

"No, but it's happened before, with Darkseid's influence. Boston Brand was able to possess Superman with no effort, though his intentions weren't evil. Professor Ivo's android copied Superman's strengths and weaknesses perfectly before adapting to his weaknesses. There are numerous possibilities with the same contingency. I have to plan for as many as I can."

Diana takes a deep breath in relief. "I have to say I'm glad to hear you say that, Bruce. The idea that you don't trust Kal doesn't sit well with me. You do trust him, right?"

"At least as far as I can throw him," I joke, adding a well-humored smile.

"Please, Bruce. Throw Superman?"

"Ask him next time you get the chance." I leave the topic at that for now. "You said there were a couple things bothering you about my dreams," I prompt.

She shakes her index finger at me once in confirmation. "Yes! You said I was in your bed at the start of your second dream. You also said that I had a lot of my clothes already in place around your room." I nod in understanding before she continues. "So, what color nightclothes was I wearing?"

I can't keep myself from giving a little start in surprise at her question. Her smile broadens into a knowing smirk. She drops her arm from below her chin and then floats out of her chair, over the table and towards me. "Come on, Bruce. It's not a difficult question. Red? Green? Blue?" She floats around to my left, settles into the chair beside me. "Cyan? Magenta? Yellow?" She leans over, lays her forearm across the top of my shoulder, then rests her chin on her arm and whispers into my ear, "Black?"

'Is she trying to entice me?' I close my eyes, feeling myself compelled to answer. "No."

"No what, Bruce? I wasn't wearing black? Green? Magenta?"

"No, nothing. You were nude," I admit before she can drag it out any longer.

She takes a deep breath, pulling slowly back into her new seat. "I believe you. Everything you've said, I'll believe you." Her words are small, quiet, but leave no room for me to doubt them. Her voice comes back up. "Just remember that you owe me, Bruce."

"For believing everything I've said or the discussion of my past lovers?"

"No! Well, telling me about your past lovers, yes, but no. I meant for what you saw." I really hope she won't go any further into this conversation with Alfred coming back at any minute. "But regardless, Bruce, I assume you've been trying to think about bigger pictures while analyzing your dreams." I nod and then turn towards Diana, glad for the change in topic. "Well, how about the small picture?

"I wanted to leave the League, so Apollo granted me a series of visions that kept me where I could do the most good. Is there something small that your dreams might be addressing? Something you wanted or needed at the time? You said it's been a week since the third dream, so maybe whatever it was that made the dreams necessary has passed."

I've certainly thought about such eventualities, but never truly considered them. The whys for such an explanation are much easier to think about than the reasoning of a pantheon of bickering gods. Diana's experience certainly established the possibility. I find myself thinking more seriously than I ever have about so simple an explanation.

I turn towards Diana suddenly and hook my left foot around the leg of her chair, pulling her and her chair closer. I draw her into a tight embrace, give her an appreciative 'thank you' before relaxing my hands, leaving them on her back. We sit smiling at one another for a few long breaths before Diana and I tip our heads to the side at nearly the same time.

My eyes close and I barely see Diana do the same through my narrowing vision. Our lips touch delicately almost half a breath later. I pull away just a bit, coaxing her to chase after me. She does and I immediately press my lips to hers, earning myself a moan of satisfaction in response.

I slowly, gently work my lips against Diana's, delighting in the feel of her touch. I let my hands wander down her back and to her sides, caressing her through her armor. At the same time, her hands find their way to my shoulders. Her hands' soft caresses calm and relax my muscles, but make me want to make our kiss more passionate, more intimate.

I pull my lips from Diana's for a moment. We share and gauge each other's excitement with our gaze, then tip our heads the other way and come back for another kiss. As the movements of our heads become more pronounced, the boldness of our lips grows steadily more intense. I drop my right hand from Diana's far side, letting it settle atop the warmth at the middle of her bare thigh. I glide my palm and fingers across her skin, quickly sliding it towards her knee, then slowly back up to where it started.

Diana's hands leave my shoulders, moving to my chest. With roaming hands, she hurriedly unbuttons my suit jacket, then calms to slowly slip her fingers beneath the jacket and spread it open with her wrists. At the same time, I lift my left hand along her spine until the whole of my hand is above the top edge of her armor and entangled in the ends of her gorgeous, satiny sable.

Our kiss continues apace until I capture her lower lip between mine and give it a gentle pull. Diana gives another satisfied moan before matching me beautifully. I revel in her passion, in the knowledge that this woman, with all her cultural past and all of my issues, has chosen to love me, chosen not to let me go. She has persisted beyond what any woman should have let herself endure, all for the sake of pursuing me. It's always been a humbling thought, one I'd be more aware of if not for our kiss.

More than whatever Diana has in mind, I owe her. I want, I need to show her my thanks, however passionately I can. I edge my right hand closer to Diana's hip on each upward caress, then quickly retreat towards her knee, gradually testing her limits and mine. Her hands move again, leaving my chest as she moves them fingers-first onto my neck and then up to my face. She cups the whole of my jaw between her hands, then gives my upper lip a more urgent tug.

I open my jaw a little and our kiss along with it. Each refreshed kiss starts with open lips, growing smaller as our jaws close. We take turns capturing each other's lips before starting again. We hold the rhythm for a while, until I change the motion of my right hand, reaching a little farther to move my caresses from the top of Diana's thigh to the outside. Diana gives a moan of pleasure while she works her hands back for a moment, weaving her fingers into my hair before returning her hands to my jaw.

I respond with my tongue, throwing its tip into the middle of our open-mouthed kisses and letting her unsuspecting lips close around it. She immediately gives a quick moan of surprise as she pulls away. I pull my tongue back just slowly enough for her to see its tip disappear behind my lips as I answer her gaze with a smile. She only spends a second more watching in silence, then takes a sharp inhale and leans back in, picking up our kissing right where we left off.

She lets a single kiss go by before she places her tongue in my lips' path. She gives a long moan of pleasure when our lips close together around her. I give a hum back in a mix of amusement and delight. We take a few turns each, sharing our tongues and savoring in the flavor of one another's lips and tongue.

Finally, when the lightness in my mind is making it difficult to think, I pull back from Diana's lips. I look back to her with my happiness and pleasure displayed clearly in my eyes and across the rest of my expression. "I love you, Diana," I tell her after I see my satisfactions reflected if not amplified by her royal visage.

Her smile broadens and she seems to relax further. "I love you, too, Bruce." She is about to say more, but straightens abruptly, looking past me. "Alfred!"

Diana's hands fall from me and she leans away. I pull my left hand from her back and then pull my right from her thigh, surprised that I had let it come to a stop so daringly close to her rear. Luckily, Diana offers no protests, though neither about its placement nor its removal.

"Don't mind me. I will have no trouble keeping our drinks warm if you'd prefer." I turn to Alfred as he speaks.

Diana answers for us. "No, Alfred. Please, come in. I'm sorry. We're sorry."

"Oh, please, Miss Diana, there's no reason for either of you to be sorry. It warms this old heart of mine to see that you care so deeply for one another. I only pray that your romance will never falter or fade, but I trust that it will not."

I can't help but give a small nod in agreement. Alfred approaches at the same time, setting a coffee down at my place at the table. He reaches for the cup of Diana's iced mocha when she stops him. "Hold on a moment, Alfred."

He nods as she lifts herself out of the seat and into the air. She straightens the chair before floating back to her original seat. Once she is for the most part behind the table, Alfred reaches out with her cup, setting it at her place setting before putting his tea down at the head of the table.

Diana takes a sip of her iced mocha before giving her warm thanks, then fills Alfred in on the short discussion we had before so thoroughly distracting ourselves. 'Filling an immediate need… If Diana is right and Apollo is responsible, he certainly seemed to want to tell me a single story. Perhaps the differences were simply red herrings that captured too much of my attention—distractions...a way to muddle a singular message with insignificant branches.'

Author's Note: Reviews are welcome and appreciated, but certainly not required. Thanks for reading.

I apologize for the delays posting. I got myself onto a roll writing. It ended up longer than I originally expected. I considered splitting it, but decided against it. I decided to keep writing (and editing) until I finished. I'm very happy to have come this far and I'm still thinking about what to do next. Anyhow, tune back in for an epilogue, coming soon. Oh, and I know that K is Key.