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Chapter 11

Bruce stood and stared at the older man before him. He was tall, only a couple inches shorter than Bruce, and in possession of a thin frame. What little hair the man had was gray, lending him a distinguished air, which was added to by his black suit. Next to Bruce in his bedraggled state and Diana in her superhero uniform, the butler looked completely out of place, and yet it did not seem to faze him in the slightest.

"It is good to see you again, Master Bruce." The man held out a briefcase toward him. "A change of clothes, and a few other items, including a razor."

"Thank you…Alfred." Taking the case, Bruce sat down on his cot and after a few seconds of playing with the locks the lid popped open. On top of a crisp, white oxford shirt rested two pictures. The first was of a young boy with two adults. Obviously it was important; otherwise Alfred would not have put it there. But the picture meant nothing to him; it was like looking at strangers. He was grateful Diana was behind him, her hands a reassuring presence on his back.

"The one on top is of you and your parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne," Alfred said.

Bruce slowly put it back in the briefcase. The second picture depicted the same little boy many years later, but with a younger version of the man before him.

"That was taken during your college graduation, sir."

Bruce stared down at the photos in disbelief. That he could have a whole life, one that was documented by pictures and eyewitness accounts, and yet not remember any of it was mind-boggling. Disturbing.

"Are you alright?" Diana asked, leaning over his shoulder. Her hair brushed against his face, and he closed his eyes. Slowly inhaling the familiar scent of her hair, he forced himself to calm down. "Yes."

Finally steadied, he opened his eyes just in time to see Alfred glance away from him and Diana.

Bruce cleared his throat. He had a request to make of Alfred, but not knowing what kind of relationship he had with him made it difficult to ask.

"I would like you to prepare a room for Diana in the Manor." Bruce looked over at the guest in question, who gave him an encouraging smile. "She will be staying with me indefinitely."

He saw the older man's eyes flit over to Diana, confusion and happiness visible in his blue orbs.

"Of course, sir. When should I expect the two of you?"

Again, Bruce deferred to Diana. "J'onn will probably want to run a few more tests, and after that I need to stop by the Embassy and gather a few of my things. So in about three hours," she said.

"I will have dinner ready and waiting for your arrival."

"Thank you, Alfred."

"It is my pleasure, Master Bruce." Then butler gave a brief bow of his head and left the room.

When he was gone, Bruce searched through the rest of the brief case. There was a pair of slacks, socks, underwear, shoes, and a toiletry kit, along with the shirt.

"Do you have any questions?" Diana asked from over his shoulder.

"If I'm as brilliant as you say, I should probably be able to figure it out."

"See, you don't need me after all," Diana said, her lips twisting once again in a smile.

It was meant as a joke, but he couldn't see the humor in it. He had known what it was like to be without her. The very idea caused the ache in his chest to flare again, and he set the briefcase down, pulling Diana into his arms. Desperate to forget the horror of those few days he thought he had lost her, he pressed his mouth to hers, sighing against the certainty of her lips. The relief was instant. She clung to him, and he knew she had been just as distraught as he was at their separation.

When he drew back, he rested his forehead against hers. "I couldn't do this without you. I couldn't do anything without you."

"And here I thought you'd be able to handle shaving by yourself." Diana looked away from him, and to his ears, her laughter sounded forced. He couldn't blame her. Everything was changing so quickly. The least he could do was play along.

"I was actually thinking of keeping the beard. Alfred seemed to like it."

Diana pulled away. "Really?"

He shook his head, smiling fondly at her. "No." He was quite certain Alfred despised his disheveled appearance. The not so subtle mention of the razor practically screamed his disapproval.

"Good. It keeps scratching my face." Diana blinked, and a faint pink stole over her cheeks, but this time she did not look away.

An overwhelming surge of gratitude coursed through him, and he tiredly relaxed against her strong form. Without thinking, he said the first thought that came to his head. "I love you."

When she didn't say it back, he opened his eyes. Hers were shiny and wet, dark and troubled as the sea. "What's wrong?" he asked.

She buried her face in his neck.

"I love you too."

After the tests with J'onn showed Bruce was stable enough to return to the Manor, Diana and Bruce took her jet to the Embassy.

When she'd landed the plane in the courtyard, she picked him up in her arms. "You're supposed to be out of the country, so we're going to enter through a back entrance."

"Is it necessary for you to carry me like this?"

Diana laughed. "You won't remember this, but you've always hated being carried. I suppose some things never change."

After disembarking off the jet, she flew to the balcony of her room.

Bruce looked over at her in shock once she placed him on his feet. "You're amazing," he said.

Perhaps he had always felt that way about her when he saw her in action, had just never let it show. She tried not to let it affect her too much. "Not wonderful?" she teased.

"That too."

Keying in the access code, Diana pushed the door open. Waving Bruce through, she said, "Welcome to the Themysciran Embassy, though I'm afraid you'll have to wait until later for a proper tour."

Bruce stood back, eyes searching her room the instant they crossed the threshold. She left him to his wanderings as she rummaged through the drawers in her room and bathroom, quickly assembling a bag for an overnight stay in the Manor. She would return for more later.

"Do you need any help?"

"No, I'm almo—"

The sound of someone coming up the stairs set Diana on alert.

"Bruce," she whispered, "Go to the bathroom." She motioned quickly with her hands the direction he was to go.

A knock on her door came soon after that.

"Who is it?" she asked

"Tom."

Diana shut her eyes and uttered a quick prayer to her goddesses. This was not good.

"Just a second," she said. "I'm coming." After zipping up her overnight bag, she walked over to the door and let him in.

He held a beautiful bouquet of flowers, her favorites, in his hand. Leaning in towards her, he gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I didn't know you were going to be here. I was just going to drop these off."

"Who let you up here?"

"Susan."

"Oh." She knew Tom and her secretary got along well, but then Tom got along with everyone.

"No need to be jealous," he said, smiling.

"I'm not," she said, matter-of-factly. Too distracted by Bruce, Diana was incapable of recognizing Tom's humor.

Looking down, Tom noticed her bag. "Going somewhere again? I thought you just got back from your last mission. Surely that's earned you some time off."

There was never going to be an easy way to do this, so it was best to just get it over with. Like setting a broken bone. Diana sat on her bed, hands folded in her lap. "Tom, there are some things we need to talk about."

Tom's smile faded, and he stopped moving. He struck the stance of a soldier, feet shoulder width apart, hands held behind his back. "I'm listening."

Tom knew nothing of Batman's disappearance or return, so to him, her about face would seem like it was coming out of nowhere. Well, maybe not completely out of nowhere. She had been distant in their past phone conversations, and he probably noticed something was off. She hoped so. Maybe then, this wouldn't come as such a surprise.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think we should see each other anymore."

Tom's flowers dropped to his side. "Are you dumping me? For him?"

It was pointless to ask who he was referring to. "Batman and I are not together."

"I should hope not. Not after everything you told me about him. He doesn't deserve you."

Diana cringed, forcing herself not to look back towards the bathroom.

"You're right, he did hurt me. But that's not why I'm breaking up with you. Tom, I can't invest myself any longer in this relationship."

"Diana, you know I'm willing to work through this."

"But I'm not. It wouldn't be right, and if I'm honest, I don't think I can try anymore. Before it was possible, but now…I just can't."

"It's because of him, isn't it?"

"Yes."

Tom inhaled deeply. "Setting aside my feelings, you realize that this is stupid, don't you? You've worked so hard to get past him, and you're just throwing that all away."

"I'm not doing this because he and I are back together. I'm doing this because it is best for all involved."

"So should I expect to hear you two are dating very soon?"

"I can't answer that question, because I don't know."

Tom's shoulders drooped, and Diana's gut churned with guilt. "Tom, I'm sorry. It was wrong of me to begin dating you in the first place. I should have waited till I was truly ready. Maybe if things had been different, we could have worked out, but at this point in time, I have no business being in a relationship with you."

Tom ran his hand through his hair and let out an uncomfortable laugh. "Well, now I feel really embarrassed telling you I love you."

"And I feel horrible not being able to say it back. You are such a wonderful person, but…"

"I'm not him."

"That isn't a bad thing. Under different circumstances--"

"You don't need to explain. In fact, I really don't want to hear it."

Diana nodded her head, sad that she was hurting someone she respected and admired. Taking a step forward to embrace him, she cringed when he moved away from her. It was nothing she didn't deserve. "I'm really sorry. You've always been there for me, and I wish things could be different."

"So do I…I guess this is goodbye, huh?"

"Not unless you want it to be. I value your friendship very much, but I will understand if you no longer wish to be friends."

"I think it's best if we just go our separate ways. Clean break and all that."

Diana nodded her head, unable to speak.

"Goodbye, Diana."

She watched him turn away and head out the door and out of her life. There was sadness, but also relief at his leaving. Everything was over now, with minimal damage done. Still, she felt terrible.

Picking up her bag, she turned to the bathroom to open the door and tell Bruce she was ready to go. But the door was already open a crack, and she realized it had never been closed.

TBC