Disclaimer

The characters used in this story are the property of DC Comics and Warner Bros. I have used them in this story which is entirely a product of my own imagination

Premise

Diana announces to Superman that she is in love with Batman. Superman, being the dutiful brother has apprehensions, considering his friend's history of relationships. The rest follows…

Apprehensions

"So what do you say?" she asked, after completing her monologue substantiating the - iWhy/i which came from the other end which followed her revelation.

It was actually a iWhat!/i followed by a iWhy?/i which was weakly mouthed.

He wished he could take back those expressions. But it was too late. It was his turn to respond, and he knew that he had to. He shook his head impatiently, as if to drive away the thoughts impinging upon his mind.

"What do you know about him?" he could say, finally.

"Nothing," she admitted.

He sighed and struck his palm against his forehead.

"Tell me something, Diana! Did you come to me for advice? Or are you merely to informing me?"

She thought for a while.

"It was Hawk Girl's idea," she said, pointing to her winged friend. He squinted at her and she dodged him.

Diana took charge, knowing that Hawk Girl wasn't going to plead her case as she did before her a few hours ago.

"Listen, Superman! She felt the same way as you do, right now. However she did not want to jump the gun about a person she really didn't know much. So, she suggested that I should talk to you."

"And why me?" he frowned, not taking his eyes off Hawk Girl.

"Because he is your friend," she raised her eye brows. His eyes darted towards her in half amazement.

"Who said that he's imy friend/i?" he asked, as if he loathed the phrase.

"We all know," Hawk Girl finally spoke.

"He's not my friend," he said curtly.

"Well at least you know him better that we do," Hawk Girl continued.

He shook his head again, and sighed.

"If you think that you know him well, it means that you don't know him at all!"

He then looked at the two puzzled ladies. Did he emote more that he was required to?

"Listen, Diana," he began in a softer tone, "He is not the one for relationships. From what I know of his history, even if he succeeds in getting into one, he won't rest until he smashes it into bits and pieces and leaves the woman to keep picking them up for the rest of her life!"

He paused and reconsidered. iNo, he had no right to make that statement!/i He always had valid a reason to end the relationship, and he always ended it taking all the blame upon him. It was he who was left with broken pieces of the relationship.

"Do you suggest that he is bad, some kind of psychopath?" Diana asked.

"No, no," he said desperately, as his thoughts began to take form in his mind.

"Then why does he do it?" she asked, the next obvious question.

"I…I don't know," he said. It was too late to take his word back, which he regretted. And that was the safest answer he could give, and hope that it wouldn't beg further questions.

"I am ready to face the consequences of my decision, however repugnant they might be," she said in resolve of the warrior princess she was.

"He doesn't even trust you, let alone…" he stopped. She could fill in the blanks.

"I know that," she said calmly, "He has made that clear on many occasions."

"And still, you want to pursue," he said.

"I want to find out if my feelings are well founded. My heart has never betrayed me before. I have embraced the decisions it took for me all through my life. Coming into the man's world was one of them, and I didn't regret it. I'm sure I won't regret this either." she said solemnly.

"The point is that you never had to take a decision like this in your life before." he said earnestly, "I'm not sure if your heart is really capable of taking a decision which is going to have greater impact on your life that any other decision you have taken."

"If you're trying to protect me from getting hurt, as you presume, I'd like to say – Don't worry about me." she said, "I want to give it a shot. I want to earn his trust, and his LOVE! And in that course, if my heart gets shattered into pieces, I won't regret. The moment I know that it's hopeless, I'll back off."

"It's not so easy as you think, Diana!" he said, "Trust me!"

She smiled. "You need to win that trust, my friend!"

He gave a weary smile.

"Does he trust you?" she asked.

"I don't know," he said, almost immediately.

"How long have you known him?"

"Two years, perhaps," he said.

"I can wait for two years, if I can earn his friendship, like you did!"

"He doesn't take me for a friend!" he said discretely.

"Well then whatever he takes you for! I am ready to wait to get there!"

And she left…

"Wait! I need to talk to you," he said impulsively, as he got up to leave.

It was hard to read what he was thinking behind his mask.

"About what?" came the reply.

He found himself searching for words. For one, he was his boss at work. And he was pretty sure that he exercised the same control over him, even as his alter ego.

"Diana thinks that she loves you," he blurted out.

He hoped to see some change in the expression, a wince, or at least a flinch. But the man before him was as inanimate as a rock.

"So…" he raised his eye brows, "Won't you say anything?"

"Why should I say something?" his pointy eared colleague retorted.

"Well,…." He began impatiently, "She thinks that she loves you and she wants to itry/i! Won't you stop her?"

"Why should I?" came the question as the answer.

"Because you don't love her! And you're only going to break her heart, just like you broke…"

"Lois'?" Batman raised a brow.

"I was going to say…Selina!" he completed and frowned at him, for having brought her up.

"I never broke her heart," Batman said.

"Well, we know the fate of the relationship, don't we," he smiled sardonically. But his smile only faded as the other refused to cooperate.

"The point is, that you don't love her." he said in exasperation.

"I never said that," Batman shrugged slightly.

"Do you mean that you do?" his eyes widened.

"I never said that either," he said.

"Are you saying that you are open for this relationship?" he continued.

i"I am not saying anything."/i

"Then what do you intend to do?" he almost screamed.

"Nothing." he said dryly, "And if you have nothing more important than this to discuss, please excuse me, as I have more important matters in hand."

He got up and left, and this time, the man of steel did not try to stop him.

Instead, he smiled…

biIf you screw this one up, Bruce, and I'll kick you out of this Solar System!/i/b