Work Text:
Bruce was far too busy to be occupied with frivolous ideas like romance. His crusade against crime took up his every waking moment, and many of his non-waking moments as well. He simply didn’t have the time to waste on feelings.
He took anything that had the potential of developing into something romantic, and locked the feeling away deep in his heart.
He refused to think about Selina, and her quick wit. The way she would toy with him, and leave him wanting more every time. They’d chase each other across rooftops, but she’d always slip away from him at the last moment.
He refused to think about Clark, and his unerring kindness. The way he was willing to use his own body to shield others. How he’d carried Bruce so tenderly in his arms after rescuing him from a hostage situation, chiding him about putting himself in danger. He must have picked that up from his mother.
He refused to think about Diana, and her passionate strength. The way she inspired women all around her to become fighters. When she told him old stories, she made even the simplest and most mundane tale seem grandiose, and it always left Bruce speechless.
He refused to think about J’onn, and his quiet grief. The way he had opened his mind up to Bruce, in a moment of terse vulnerability, and they had found solace in each other, even if only for a moment. Sometimes, J’onn would call out to Bruce, even half a world away, to check on him. Bruce knew J’onn worried about it sometimes - about feeling the sudden severing of the bond he shared with the ones he cared for - and Bruce never failed to call back to J’onn, maintaining that fragile psychic connection.
He refused to think about Hal, and his stalwart willpower. Once he had his mind set on something, Hal would make it happen. Bruce admired that sort of conviction. Though their relationship could be tense, Hal had gotten Bruce out of a fair few sticky situations, and Bruce always appreciated his efforts.
He refused to think about Arthur, and the undeniable regality he carried with him every day. The king of the waters had come to the surface for the good of its people. Despite the ridicule he had faced at first, he had stayed firm and refused to be shaken.
He refused to think about Barry, and his brilliant, mile-a-minute mind. Even a minute felt long for Barry, but he could still spend time with Bruce whenever he came to the Watchtower, working through reports and swapping forensic information. He was flattered that Barry cared about him that much, to push through the discomfort of a conversation that felt like it took ages solely for Bruce’s sake.
He refused to think about any of it because doing so would mean admitting that these people had snuck their way into his heart.
And Bruce wasn’t ready for that yet.
Not now, and perhaps not ever.