WONDER WOMAN

Barry chuckled at the water bottle toast and quietly watched all of the small movements and uneasy playing with her bottle’s cap as she mulled over his question. Her answer came at no surprise. “I don’t think any of us are, Dee.” He spoke in the softest of tones. “Not even those of us that do everything we can to seem otherwise…” He spoke knowingly. He hurt. He didn’t know how they were going to move on from Bruce’s death and have things ever feel somewhat normal again.

“We have our memories with him. We have the memories, and we have each other to lean on when the weight of everything is too much to bear.” Barry spoke. “You know I’m here if you need anything - anything at all. You never need to hesitate asking.” He was one of the core League members, but with Diana and Clark it was different. Together, with Bruce, they were the League’s ‘Big Three’ - a symbol for justice and good. 

Though death was inevitable and this wasn’t her first - it hurt and she didn’t want it anymore. She didn’t want to hold onto it, she didn’t want it to find a home in her, as it had found so many others. But that would also be inevitable, though not a lasting thing. In time it would pass; Diana just wished it hadn’t come to this.

“Thank you, Barry,” she finally uttered out once she’d soaked in his words; tears stung her eyes but she willed them away. Of course the memories would never be enough, but that was the way of the world. She’d grieved for Steve - even still, her heart ached - but she had learned to accept it and turn it into something more than just sadness and regret. She stood, then, and reached over to pull Barry into a brief, yet warm embrace.

Some faces hurt a little more to see than others. Diana and Bruce had both been his best friends for so long, yet they had both been so much better at doing what they were all meant to do. They were actual heroes and Clark, with all of his gifts and abilities, felt like a fraud. It had taken him too long to put the cape back on, and once he had he’d been unable to protect both the city he’d settled in and the people he cared about. 

Still, he couldn’t ignore Diana when she came. He had never been a good liar, and according to Lois he was a terrible actor because of it, so when he opened the door with a forced smile it was all too easy to see through. “Diana. Can I do something for you?” He couldn’t imagine what, but he couldn’t stand someone else being there just to be concerned for him. He wanted to turn all of that toward Wayne Manor where it was deserved. 

It was one of those that just finds its way under a stack of old files and records and disappears forever. Everyone else would be fine, but there was an insurmountable amount of his presence lacking in her life - until she lifted a tall stack of Banker’s boxes from a side desk she’d kept on there forever. Glinting pieces of whatever tended to catch her eyes, especially after a fight, so when she spotted these, she had every intention of returning them. 

Now seemed a little late, but there was someone else she thought should have one. Diana returned the smile, though hers settled in with concern and warmth. She didn’t want to be a bother - or intrude on any grief that may stricken him. A passing comfort, maybe. “Clark,” she returned and allowed a beat to pass between them. “I wanted to give you something, if you’ll have it.” She reached behind her and pulled out a worn Batarang. There was a chip on one of the wings and the tip of an ear was missing. Diana’s had a crack through the middle.

It was a good day.  The sun was shining, warm & bright, without a cloud in the sky.  Oliver leaned back on the park bench, smiling to himself with eyes closed and face turned to the heavens.  Birds were singing in the trees and people were laughing & playing around him.

It was practically a parody of a good day, and Oliver couldn’t help but chuckle to himself, wondering how long it would’ve been in the old days before some supervillain or other had ruined an idyllic scene like this.

He used to carry his mask and a collapsible bow everywhere, always on edge and waiting for the next disaster to react to.  The Green Arrow rarely got the chance to just sir back and enjoy a day like this.

The only thing that was missing was good company, but that would be solved soon enough.  After all, Oliver wasn’t out here by chance.

Her message had been as cordial as ever, asking after him, hoping he was doing well, and then asking to meet.  He had a suspicion as to why, but hadn’t mentioned anything to Dinah… not yet.  

Raising his head at the approaching sound of footsteps, Oliie removed his sunglasses and grinned in his friend’s direction.

“Hey there Princess,” he called, raising a hand in greeting. “Got your message.  It’s good to see you.  I bought coffee and pastries… including some Bougatsa, which I’ve never had before but thought you might like.”

She was beauty, strength and elegance personified.  It was easy to understand why women and men worshipped her as an elemental force, hanging on her every word and action, hoping for a blessing.

But to him, she was just Diana.

“…And if you’re here about that other thing, my answer’s still no.”

@wndwmn

It had been a few, slow months since Bruce’s passing. It all felt like a dream now, just a memory to hold onto; an ever present scar, one that ached and ached. Diana did better than most who knew him, at least, that was what she showed off to be true. She was hurting, too, still, but there were others who’s pain was far worse. She didn’t feel like she had much right to wear it on her sleeve, so she distracted herself with side projects and work.

And people.

One such was Oliver, a good friend and occasional pain in the ass. His skills were exceptional and they would’ve been needed had he not turned down her offer to join the League. Diana respected his decision - while she had certainly missed working with her friends and teammates, she, too, had hesitated on returning. Being welcomed back to Themyscira, even for just the moment, had been a dream. It was disheartening to leave again.

But, she had made her choice and now she stood with hair slicked back into a sleek and long ponytail with sunglasses aimed directly at the blonde seated in front of her. Diana tipped her shades off her nose and shifted them to the top of her head; she returned his smile.

“I feel like, after all we’ve been through respectively, we should have expected it. But I guess that might be me just trying to take on the guilt.” He supposed he did that a lot. Still, it as impossible to accept that someone’s death had simply been inevitable. That Bruce was going to die because, what? It was his time? At this point, Steve was not a Faith-driven man and he didn’t like to imagine that anything controlled them without their consent. Still, he knew she was trying to offer comfort.

Her question was easier to address. He blew out a breath. “God, what doesn’t? I want to put on a memorial for Bruce. For the team.” He was invited to and would be attending the funeral in Gotham, but he knew that most of the members of the League would want some closure. Batman had touched so many of their lives, after all. “But I guess the biggest thing is… what the hell will happen to the League. Because we’re a hell of an organization at this point.”

Leveling baby blue eyes at her, he swallowed. “That’s kinda why I’m here. See… when Bruce and I started the combined team, we wanted one of your originals in charge and one of mine. Now he’s gone. I could run it by myself, but Di… Frankly, I would rather the help. And you and I have known each other for so long… Would you consider it?”

Diana didn’t want to expect it, though death was no surprise to anyone. Not to them. They knew the risks, which was partly why it was so much harder. She lowered her gaze to the tea pot nestled in the center of the coffee table; a soft breath of a chuckle escaped her at his comment and she turned her attention back to him. “There would have been only so much we could have prepared for... Out of all of us? No one anticipated the switch in location. Not you. Not Bruce... Don’t put that on yourself.” Hypocritical words, perhaps. Diana was critically aware of her own shortcomings.

A sudden flurry of black fur whizzed out of the bedroom and leapt onto the spot beside Steve. Theron looked up at him with alarmingly large, green eyes. He meowed for attention. She watched the cat for a moment and took in her friend’s words, listened intently before piquing up and met his gaze. He was asking her to help him lead. It had been some time since Diana last led any team, and while she tended to be good in the position, she had her own doubts about her abilities.

Barry regarded the woman with a smile, but leaned back into his seat before he spoke. “I’ll be fine… a twitch means I’m getting feeling back into them; which means I can start preparing them to walk again - to eventually run again.” Barry explained with the anticipation clear in his voice. He was more than ready to be back on his feet so he could go back to taking care of everything he handled day in and day out. 

“I worry about you too, Diana - about everyone. Are you okay? Not from the injuries… are you okay, about Bruce…?” Barry asked with a quiet and gentle tone.

Barry wasn’t clueless, as some people made him out to be. He was aware of many things, quick on his feet and in his mind, and he was loyal. He was a good friend who’s known her far too long to take any of her lies. Diana knew this. She was thrilled for his progress, knowing that it shouldn’t be too much longer before he could do what he did best - run. “Well, then, I wish you many twitches,” she returned with humor and a brief lift of her water bottle in toast.

Barry had tried not to dwell on Bruce’s death. He let himself mourn, of course, and shed his share of tears in the solitude his apartment provided, but he couldn’t let himself spiral into a depression because of it. His own sense of self just wouldn’t allow him to sink that low - it actively fought against it. Being the optimistic member of the League had been who he was for so long that it was nearly impossible for him to be anything else.

Barry gave the woman a gentle smile as she responded. The Amazon was such a strong woman, but even Barry could see that her shell was fractured by recent events. She was trying to make it through just as they all were. He put on a grin and nodded at her exclamation. “Yeah! Well, at least standing and I can drag my feet around the place!!” Barry explained. “I woke up and could actually make my toes twitch; so I thought - well, time to start forcing myself onto my feet. It’s… a lot more tiring than I thought it would be, but most of the pain in my body is gone now. Just a little soreness in my back and stuff - but that should be healing up fine now!” 

Diana’s brows danced as Barry’s excited grew and fell in waves as a rollercoaster would. She was used to his quickness and how fast his mind tended to move, and the overwhelmingly positive nature that radiated from him, even in the most dire of circumstances. Diana was very proud to call him a friend.