Chapter 5: Among Friends
Bruce's lake estate had the air of a haunted place. There wasn't a soul within a mile of it, and the only building along the road that led to it was Wayne Manor, a ruin under restoration. There were no lights on, an eerie silence hung over the grounds, and the lake rippled in the dark. Bruce pulled into the garage and got out, followed by Clark and Lois. Diana stepped out of her car wearing a black, faux fur coat and carrying a large, black leather purse. Bruce unlocked the door.
"Alfred, I'm home," he called.
They heard movement from one of the inner rooms.
"Welcome home, Master Bruce," Alfred called back in a blasé tone, "Shall I set the table for dinner?"
"We have guests, Alfred," he said as he locked the door behind them and pulled off his coat.
"Ah, very good, Sir," Alfred said without any more enthusiasm.
His approaching footsteps echoed loudly through the glass and metal hallways.
"How many guests will be joining you this evening, Sir?"
"Just three."
Alfred emerged out of the shadows. He wore a white dress shirt, russet vest, and black pants. He grinned widely when he saw who the guests were.
Diana stretched out her arms and said happily, "Hello, Alfred!"
"Hello, hello, hello!" he said as he strode towards them, "It's so good to see you!"
He hugged Diana.
"How are you, my dear?"
"Very well. I missed you," she said as she pulled away, "I brought you a present, you know?"
"A present? For me? Oh, you didn't have to."
He looked at Bruce.
"Turn the light on, why don't you?"
Clark was the only one who glimpsed the face Bruce made as he walked over to the light switch and flicked it on.
"Ah, how are the two lovebirds?"
"We're good," Lois said as she hugged him, "How are you?"
"Much better than some. I'm well on my way to becoming a grumpy old man."
He looked up at Clark.
"Hug man, right?"
"Sure," Clark said, grinning.
"When he says 'sure,' it means 'absolutely,'" Lois said.
"M-hm. Very demure, this one," he said and patted his arm, "How've you been?"
"Good."
"Haven't been to any ritual animal sacrifices, have you?"
Clark's brow wrinkled.
"Why would I do that?"
Alfred laughed.
"I'm just joking. I'm referring to that cult of yours."
"Alfreeed," Diana said, "don't bring up his cult, you'll make him uncomfortable."
"Too late," Clark muttered.
"I'm sorry," Alfred said, "Shall I distract you with dinner?"
As he led them through the spacious house to the dining room, Diana asked, "Are you going to eat with us, Alfred?"
"Well, I don't usually join Master Bruce when he has guests, but for you, I think we can make an exception. Wouldn't you say, Sir?" he said, looking over his shoulder.
"They're your guests, Alfred. You should have heard them clamoring for you at the gala."
"Is that so?" he said, clearly pleased.
They entered the small dining room. The table was stainless steel and had six chairs. It was parallel to a long, glass wall that offered a view of the lake. Alfred and Bruce set the table and insisted that everyone else sit down. Clark and Lois sat on the side facing the window, and Diana sat on the other side. When they were done, Alfred left to go retrieve the food from the kitchen, and Bruce sat at the head of the table, with Diana on his right and Clark on his left. He unfolded the napkin in his plate, laid it on his lap, and cleared his throat.
"I heard you were gonna receive an award," he said to Clark.
"Yeah," Clark began hesitantly, "It's kind of them, and I figure it's about time to stop avoiding the public."
"You aren't going to do this regularly," Diana half-asked.
"No. It wouldn't be practical, anyway. This is just the first time in a long while."
Alfred came back, balancing a heavy-looking serving dish on one hand and a cloche on the other. Clark started getting up to help him.
"Oh no, no, I've got it, don't worry."
He set them down in the middle of the table and pulled the lids off. The cloche contained a roast beef sirloin, and the serving dish contained lasagna.
"Lasagna!" Clark and Lois cooed at the same time.
"It looks delicious, Alfred," Clark added.
"Thank you. Master Bruce is partial to lasagna," he said as he cut the beef.
"Aww, Alfred, you made his favorite food," Diana simpered, glancing at Bruce.
He looked as embarrassed and annoyed as she expected.
After Alfred filled up the plates, he left and returned with wine glasses and a bottle. When he finished pouring those out, he sat down beside Diana.
"So, what have you two been up to?" he asked Clark and Lois.
"Working," said Lois, "We don't actually do much. Which is why it's nice to get out of the apartment."
"Do you watch TV at all?"
"Mainly the news," said Clark, "And game shows…"
He laughed, "And home renovation."
"Hallmark at Christmas," Lois added, "because what says 'holidays' like terrible, repetitive romance movies?"
Alfred laughed.
"It's true, but once you start bingeing them, it's hard to stop, isn't it?"
"M-hm," she agreed as she sipped her wine, "What do you watch, Alfred?"
"Oh, whatever's on. I've got a soft spot for crime shows, preferably British. I find the American ones a bit silly. Master Bruce's favorite show is CSI, did you know?"
They all looked at Bruce. He tried to look like he didn't care, but the set of his mouth betrayed his annoyance.
"Well, he is a detective," Clark said.
"Funny thing is, all he does when we watch is complain about how unrealistic it is."
They laughed.
"I would have thought you had a bit more appreciation for the fantastical, Bruce," Diana said.
"There's a difference between innovation and magic," he said seriously.
Over the course of the meal, Alfred casually dropped slightly embarrassing facts about Bruce. At first, Bruce ignored them and maintained a carefully constructed neutral expression, but as the night went on and the wine disappeared, he began defending himself and laughing while doing it. Lois was more than happy to engage in some playfully deprecating banter.
A couple hours and three bottles later, Bruce said, "Should we open another bottle, Alfred?"
"Very good, Master Bruce," Alfred said cheerfully before getting up.
Lois pulled her phone out of her purse.
"Wow, it's 2:00 A.M."
"So late?" Diana commented.
Lois looked at Clark and stroked the back of his neck.
"Are you tired, sweetheart?" she asked.
"A little."
"Do you want to go home?"
"Mmm…," he hesitated.
She rolled her eyes.
"You usually asleep by now?" Bruce asked.
"Usually," Clark said, "I guess maybe we should head back…"
Lois ended up calling a cab. They had to wait about 20 minutes for it to get there, and they talked some more in the meantime. When it was almost time, they started to say goodbye.
"Thank you so much for inviting us," Lois said as they stood up.
Bruce followed suit.
"It was nothing. Thanks for coming over."
He and Lois kissed on both cheeks, and she went around the table to say goodbye to Diana. He leaned over to Clark.
"Hey, do you think she's still a little mad at me for…" he trailed off.
Clark smirked and patted his shoulder.
"Yup."
"Don't let him keep you locked up in here," Lois joked as Alfred hugged her to his side.
"Don't worry, my dear, I would never allow it."
Bruce lead them to the front door.
"Take care," he said.
"You too," Clark said, "Get some rest tonight, ok?"
Bruce smirked.
"Ok."
He closed the door behind them. Clark rested his hand on the small of Lois's back as they walked across the driveway.
"That was fun," he said cheerfully.
"Yeah," she yawned, "I wish we could see them more often."
"Maybe he'll throw another party as an excuse…You should try to stop being so salty to him, y'know?"
She looked up at him from under her eyelashes.
"What are you talking about?"
He chuckled and kissed her forehead.
"Alright."
Back in the house, Alfred claimed to suddenly remember that he had to run a diagnostic on one of the Batcave computers. He refilled his glass and left Bruce and Diana sitting alone together. She smiled amusedly, then turned to look out the window at the dark lake.
"They're a sweet couple," she said.
"Yeah."
"They care for one another. They would make very good parents."
"If they can have children."
She gave him a critical look.
"Yes, if they can, they would have a very happy family."
He nodded. A minute passed.
"Have you…" he hesitated, "ever wanted that?"
"Children? Yes. I wished to raise a daughter as my mother raised me."
"You don't want to anymore?"
"I would like to, yes…But, I can't see it anytime soon," she hesitated for a minute before continuing, "I haven't met an appropriate candidate."
He smirked and nodded.
"They're hard to come by. You'd probably have better luck with clay."
She smiled.
"You could always adopt," he suggested.
"Yes," she said, trailing off almost as if she was talking to herself, "I could.
"It's not the right time, though," she said, addressing him directly.
He nodded again.
"I can understand that."
A few more minutes of silence passed. He finished his glass and looked across the table at the bottle. He didn't want to get up, nor did he want to ask her to pass it for him, so he stayed in his seat and followed her gaze out the window. The moon had come out and was shimmering in broken lines on the water.
"I think you are a natural father," she said.
He looked at her, surprised.
"You care about the young people you take in. You want them to succeed, to do better than you. I see it, even with Victor and Barry. They look up to you."
He looked out the window again. Everyone was so full of flattery today, he wondered if he had a terminal illness only he was ignorant of. Perhaps Clark had spotted an aneurysm or heard a heart murmur.
"Thank you," he muttered, "They look up to you, too."
She smiled and sighed before standing up.
"Are you leaving?"
"Yes. I'm taking a plane back to Paris in the morning."
"Well, thanks for coming. Have a good flight."
She walked over to him and leaned down. He held his breath as she kissed his cheek and didn't exhale until she straightened up again.
"You're welcome. I'm going to give Alfred his present."
"Alright."
Before she receded into the darkness of the hallway, he asked, "When will we be seeing you again?"
She looked back at him.
"I don't know. Whenever we're both available, I suppose."
"Yeah…Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Bruce."