Bruce quickly spotted Clark and rushed over to the booth he sat in, taking a seat across from the man who had arrived a few moments prior. He quietly glanced around the bar, taking in the various awards and photographs that plastered the walls, before he studied the bartender chatting with a few bikers at the bar. "Glad you could make it," Bruce said casually, not bothering to look at Clark as he continued to study his surroundings; The Batman always needed a means to escape if necessary.

Clark scoffed. "Not like I have anywhere else to be," he quipped. He leaned back in the booth, letting his head hit the top of the seat with a sigh, before he dragged his hand down his face. As a means to keep a low profile, Clark had been spending more time at the farm with his mother in Smallville. He loved his mother's company, and there was a certain nostalgia to being at the farm after all this time, but he forgot how utterly boring it was, especially when Lois was away at work. He would finish all the chores in less than an hour, read everything he could, help Martha with her errands, but the busyness of Metropolis had seeped into his blood and he soon found himself craving the bright lights of the city. He could only hope Bruce found a way to explain Clark Kent's reappearance soon, so that he could get back to his life in Metropolis with the woman he loved.

"Farm life is not everything you dreamed of?" Bruce asked with a smirk. He watched as Clark lifted his head and glared at him, unamused, before he cleared his throat. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted when the door creaked open once more and the chatter that filled the bar died down.

Bruce turned his head and watched as Diana walked towards the two of them, trying to ignore the stares from most of the men, and a few of the women, seated at the bar. Bruce watched as Diana offered Clark a smile, gently placing her hand on his shoulder as she took a seat next to him, before she looked up and gave Bruce a small nod. "Gentlemen," she greeted.

Bruce watched as Clark reciprocated the smile and his hand gripped his knee tightly as a surge of jealousy rushed through his body. "You're late," Bruce said quietly, trying to make his voice not betray him, giving any indication of how she made his heart skip a beat every time he laid eyes on her. He glanced up at her, watching as she adjusted the jacket she wore, before she leaned back and crossed her legs.

"I had to travel internationally," she explained, glancing up at Bruce with a smirk. "Next time you decide to do this, how about Paris?" She watched as Bruce flashed her a smirk. Her heart fluttered as she watched Bruce's eyes travel to her lips; she had done the same to him the past few weeks.

Ever since defeating Steppenwolf the two had grown closer. The flirtations soon followed, as had the innocent touches. Diana would casually stroke Bruce's arm and shoulder while they waited for a file to download. Bruce would gently place his hand on her back as she helped him fine-tune some of his equipment. The two had become comfortable with each other - too comfortable. That was Bruce's worry. He had let himself get swept up in the dream that was Diana and her perfection, and he knew he had to force himself back to reality before it all came crumbling down. Diana was an Amazon, destined to outlive him and be something great for this world. He was a man who was past his prime and nearing retirement. He couldn't rob her of the life he knew she was supposed to lead. So he had pulled back, ignoring her calls unless completely necessary, scolding himself whenever he sent her a text that was less than professional. He needed to focus on finding more members for the team, not pursuing a woman who he clearly did not deserve.

"So why call us here, Bruce?" Clark asked, interrupting the unspoken flirtation Diana and Bruce were engaged in but would never admit to. He had noticed it when he had first come back, back at the memorial. The way Diana had jumped in between him and Bruce, Clark could tell she was protecting him. He obviously meant something to her, and the way Bruce acted around her was evidence enough that the feeling was mutual.

Bruce cleared his throat, clearing his head from any remnants of jealousy, before he glanced up at the Kryptonian. "Now that we know there are others out there, others that want to harm us, we need to be ready." He looked up and lowered his voice, careful not to let everyone around them, who had all gone back to their side conversations when they realized Diana was not interested in any of them, hear what he had to say. "I think there are others out there like us that are willing to join us so we can be ready should another threat come."

Diana nodded and shifted in her seat, placing her hands in her lap. "Agreed," she said. She looked Bruce in the eye and raised an eyebrow. "But something tells me you've already found some."

Bruce only smirked. As much as he hated to admit it, she knew him all too well.

The next two hours were filled with careful planning, whispers of strategies and plans, and boisterous laughter. Bruce had tried to keep this meeting as professional as possible, trying to keep his eyes from stealing glances at the Amazon in front of him, not wanting her to know just how mesmerized he was with her, but had failed miserably. Diana would casually flirt with the man as well, stealing glances of her own, smirking each and every time their eyes met over the table.

Clark, who had grown more and more uncomfortable with the building tension between the two had tried to ignore it, but the harder he tried, the more comfortable Diana and Bruce became. He had even gone to the bar twice to pick up a few drinks, staying a few extra minutes to give the two privacy, but each time he returned, the tension only seemed to have gotten worse.

"So are we not expecting the other three to show up?" Clark finally asked. He was technically the newest member of this group, as he had been six feet under when Bruce and Diana had gathered everyone. Why was he the only one having to deal with the awkward tension that Bruce and Diana were slowly creating.

Bruce tore his eyes away from Diana and shrugged. "Barry is working," he answered, glancing up at Diana who only smiled. She knew it was Bruce who helped Barry get the job at the crime lab, giving him resources to help get the evidence to prove his father was an innocent man.

"Victor has been pretty quiet since getting back to Gotham," Diana explained, her voice nearly a whisper as she glanced over at Clark. She watched as his face softened, his knitted eyebrows relaxing as he realized the weight of her words.

The team had been so occupied trying to calm him when he first came back from the dead, trying to make sure he didn't destroy the city and kill everyone in his path, they had neglected the MotherBox. With no one watching it, Steppenwolf had found it easily, and Silas Stone had given his life so that they might have a chance at finding it once he had taken it away. Clark was convinced he had a part in Silas' death.

Diana's hand quickly found Clark's on the table. She let her fingers wrap around his, giving them a gentle squeeze, silently reminding him Silas' death was not his doing. "I see," Clark whispered in return, giving Diana a small smile, thanking her for her small gesture, before lifting the bottle of beer to his lips and taking a sip. "And Arthur?"

"Arthur is busy being Arthur," Bruce explained, shrugging his shoulders once more.

"Informative," Diana said sarcastically as she released Clark's hand and grabbed her own glass of alcohol. "So you don't have any trackers in Atlantis?" she joked as she swirled her glass, watching the red wine slosh around in the glass as she gave Bruce a smirk.

Bruce tried to hide the smirk that was creeping up on his own face, flicking his eyes up to glance at Clark, who only closed his eyes in embarrassment. "He's in Sicily, actually," Bruce corrected, moving his empty glass toward the middle of the table.

"Ah, forgive me then," Diana said with a smile. She raised her glass to her lips and took a sip, watching as Clark glanced down at his phone. She knew he was silently praying Lois would text him that she needed his help lifting something off the top shelf, or she needed him to go to Chicago for that deep dish pizza they had once had during a conference; anything to get himself out of the awkward situation that he currently found himself in.

"Excuse me," Bruce said abruptly, scooting his chair back and standing from his seat.

Diana and Clark watched as he walked toward the back of the bar, pulling his phone from his pocket as he disappeared around the back corner. "So," Clark began, clearing his throat before he continued, "You and Bruce?"

Diana gave him a guilty smile. "What about us?" she asked, feigning ignorance. She took another sip of her wine.

"What's exactly going on between the two of you?"

Diana shrugged. "It's complicated." Her answer was met with a skeptical face and a laugh of disbelief, as Clark crossed his arms over his chest, not convinced. "Bruce is guarded. Too guarded, and I can never tell what he wants."

Clark took a deep breath, unable to believe he was going to have this conversation with Diana. After everything they had all been through the last year this seemed like it was beneath them, but the more he thought about it, thought about the happiness he felt when he was with Lois, the more he realized everyone deserved that. "What do you want, Diana?" he asked.

Diana said nothing as she stared past Clark at the two men gathered around the pool table at the end of the room. She watched as they threw around friendly banter, each challenging the other, raising the stakes of their game until they shook hands and began to gather the balls.

"Diana," Clark began, forcing her to look away from the men and back at him.

"Bruce loves to throw himself in the fire," she explained. "He tries to sacrifice himself for everyone else, he forgets to live for himself and-"

"And you're worried about getting hurt again," Clark finished. He knew her backstory with Steve. He knew she had been wary about getting attached to anyone else, anyone who was willing to sacrifice themself without a second thought. But he also knew something she didn't. He knew how Bruce felt, even if he couldn't utter the words himself. "You should give him a chance," Clark said. "I think you'll find he feels the same way."

Diana's eyes narrowed. "How do you know that?" she asked, watching as Bruce turned the corner slowly, his attention still on whoever was on the other end of that phone call.

Clark only smirked. "Because every time he's around you, his heart races." He watched as Diana chuckled and finished her wine, shaking her head as she placed the empty glass beside Bruce's. "What?" he asked, raising his hands defensively. "I tried to ignore it, but the other day at the farm I thought he was going to have a heart attack the way it kept skipping and speeding up. It's not healthy for the old man."

Diana let out a hearty laugh, the sound of her laughter filling their corner of the bar. "Clark," Diana warned in between laughs, "leave the man alone."

Clark smirked once more, lifting the half drunk bottle of beer to his lips and taking a large sip. He watched as Bruce finally made his way back to the table and took a seat, before he looked around and noticed the bartender staring their way, wondering when he would be up for yet another refill. "Excuse me," was all Clark said as he stood and made his way to the bar.

"Do you think we can make this work?" Bruce asked, watching as Diana glanced over to the men playing pool, her attention on the cues in their hands.

"The plan for the team?" she asked absentmindedly, her focus still on the men as they took turns aligning their sticks with the white ball on the table.

"Yes." He watched as Diana nodded, her attention still on the gentleman and their game. Bruce leaned closer to Diana, trying to determine what had caught her attention. When he saw the two men playing at the end of the room, he raised an eyebrow. "You want to play?"

Diana turned around to face Bruce, her face stopping a few inches from his. She hadn't noticed how close he had gotten, nor had she minded, but seeing his face this close to hers, even in the dim light of the bar, she noticed just how red his cheeks were. Whether it was the alcohol or his irregular beating heart like Clark had mentioned, she didn't know. All she knew was she didn't mind the closeness. "I, um, I never learned how to play," she confessed, her eyes falling to his lips, watching as he unconsciously bit his bottom lip in thought, before she glanced up to meet his eyes.

"Ah, another time then," he said, his voice raspy as he tried to fight the urge to kiss her. He leaned back away from her, distancing himself, and cleared his throat. "I actually have to get going. I have a meeting in the morning and should probably get some sleep."

"Yes," Diana said, flashing him a smile in an attempt to hide her disappointment. "You've gotten boring in your old age," Diana said with a chuckle, winking at Bruce as he stood from his seat and pulled his wallet from his pocket, stopping momentarily to glare at her after her comment.