Chapter Text
The night was almost over. After a successful night of cleaning the streets of its threats, the Dark Knight of Gotham was brooding on one of his favorite rooftops, though he would most probably deny the fact that he was brooding. The city was unusually calm that day. But his usually organized mind was in disarray and it had nothing to do with Gotham. On the contrary, it originated from Metropolis of all the places. From an annoying reporter of the Daily Planet, by the name of Clark Kent, to be exact. The said reporter had miraculously wormed his way into the heart of vigilante. Broke down all of his walls and had made him give his trust. Something that was held by very few people that, he can count them with one hand and one of them was a flying alien with unbelievable powers. A small part of Bruce blamed the mentioned alien for his current predicament, but rest of him was thankful to the blue clad superhero. He wouldn't have met Clark, if he hadn't tried to run away from his feelings for Kal.
Batman and Superman had started off on the wrong foot, with the latter trying to capture him, mistaking him to be a threat to the city and him threatening the Last Son of Krypton with Kryptonite to stay away from his city. Yet, as time passed, with multiple unfortunate incidents forcing them to team up and work together, their rivalry had turned into grudging respect and later trust to each other. Now, Bruce considered Superman to be, one of his trusted allies. No, who was he kidding? Kal was his best friend. They were similar and different in many ways. It was a relief to have someone who understood and empathized on why he donned the mask every night. It had become a common occurrence for Superman to fly over to Gotham after both of their patrols. To his horror, he soon realized that he was in love with his best friend. He knew that Kal did not feel the same about him. He had heard more than enough stories about Superman and Lois Lane. Why should he ruin a friendship that he cherished because of his silly feelings? He considered pushing Kal away from his life, but he didn't have the heart to hurt his friend for something that was not his fault.
So when he got an opportunity to get away from everything, in the form of a deal for Wayne Enterprises which led him to spend a week in a cruise at the Bermuda triangle, he did not hesitate. He was glad he took that leap. He had met Clark because of it. It was not love at first sight. They had almost annoyed each other to death when they accidentally ended up sharing a room for the entire cruise. But at the end of the week, the seemingly clumsy reporter had charmed himself to Bruce with his wit and that sharp mind behind the glasses. The reporter had seen through his playboy act and accepted the reasons he gave him. Bruce had asked Clark out on a date when they were back in Metropolis and the rest was history. It has been almost an year and a half and they were still going strong. He was still surprised that he hadn't scared the reporter off from his life and messed up the relationship as he usually did. There were difficulties, of course, with his secret double life and Clark's hectic schedule as an investigative reporter. But they somehow pulled through and made it work and Bruce has never been happier.
'Who needs Superman, when I have Clark Kent, ' he thought with a smile.
The only setback was that Clark did not know about his night life. He wanted to stop lying to his boyfriend. A part of him shriveled and died whenever he lied to Clark. He had lost count of the times he had tried to tell him the truth. But, fear held him back. Fear of rejection. Fear of losing Clark. Fear of putting his life in danger. As if, Clark didn't have enough danger in his life already. He was partnered to Lois Lane, of all the people. That woman was a danger magnet. (Thank whichever higher power, for Kal.) He was pretty sure that Clark will find some crazy way to help him in his crusade for justice, when he reveals the truth. Another dark part of his mind was convinced that Clark will leave in disgust. He had found solace in darkness and Clark was the sun that brightened up his life.
And thus Batman continued his brooding, for who knows how long, trying to figure out how to tell his partner about his double life. He knew he had to do it soon. For his sanity and for Clark, who deserves better than lies. He hopes he could get the courage soon. He was the Batman. Yet, he would rather fight the Joker, than lose Clark.
He stood there for a long time, lost in his thoughts, until he sensed a presence behind him.
"I know you're there," he said without turning back.