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The Daily Planet had recently been publishing a new series of articles about a day in the life of some of the most fascinating public figures in the world. They had followed around celebrities, titans of industry, royalty, and even a superhero. It had been some D-List hero from the Teen Titans reserve list but people had still been utterly fascinated.
And now Perry White wanted A Day in the Life: Gotham's King.
Lois had almost snorted when he'd thrown out the ridiculous title and Clark got a look on his face like he couldn't wait to tease Bruce about it. He had assumed he'd be doing the piece. After all, he'd been the only reporter at the Planet that Bruce would consistently answer calls from. But, in a move so stunning their fellow reporters would be gossiping about it for months, Perry White had pointed at Lois instead.
"You're on the billionaire piece," he said.
"What?" she asked, almost stupidly. "Why not Smallville?"
"Because he's busy," Perry replied. Clark shrugged when she glared at him as if this was his fault.
"Perry," she started to protest.
"Do it, Lois," he snapped and she knew the conversation was over. At least, Bruce wasn't so intolerable when out of uniform, and she would see Damian. She liked that kid.
And, of course, seeing Alfred would be the best part.
Yes, she could make the most of this puff piece.
00000
She arrived at the Gotham City International Airport at six in the morning with an overnight bag and hopped straight in the car Bruce had sent for her. Forty-five minutes later, the driver pulled up to the Manor and she walked through the front door, not even bothering to knock.
Just inside was a woman Lois knew well from her all of her years crossing paths with Bruce Wayne. It was his executive assistant, Margie, a woman wholly capable to taking his crap and a woman after Lois's own heart.
"Margie," she greeted, giving the other woman a hug. "How are you?"
"Oh, you know," she said noncommittally. "How was your flight?"
"Early."
"Well, Perry White did say he wanted you to see the day from start to finish," Margie said, taping away on her phone. "Seven am and we're already behind."
"Really?" Lois asked. She would have probed a little deeper but Bruce came down the main stairs at that moment, a tie in one hand, a piece of toast in the other, and an annoyed look on his face.
"Sorry, Lois," he said. "We're running late. My teenager is being extra teenager today."
“Which teenager?” Lois asked, as he rounded a corner nearly at full speed. “You’re lousy with them these days.”
“Don’t remind me!” he threw over his shoulder as he disappeared.
“So, Margie,” Lois whispered. “Fill me in.” She and Margie had crossed paths so many times through the years that they had begun in an informal gossip club between them. All off the record and just as friends.
“Bruce ousted Tim as CEO and is forcing him to finish high school,” Margie replied just as quietly. “It's caused quite the tension around here." Lois felt her eyebrows going towards her hairline.
"I'll bet," she replied.
And that was when Tim Wayne made his first appearance of the morning, stomping down the stairs with a scowl and every ounce of teenaged angst he could manage.
"Hey, Lois," he mumbled.
"Hi Tim," she replied brightly. "I haven't seen you since Jon's birthday party."
"Yeah," he replied. She tried not to smirk in his face but the picture of this seventeen year old superhero in the throes of a teenaged temper tantrum was almost too much.
"Tim, get in the car," Bruce said as he rounded the corner, Damian hot on his heels. "We're already late because of you."
"Whatever," Tim snapped and went outside.
"And Lois gets the front," Bruce shouted after him.
"Whatever!" Tim yelled back. Damian smirked as he followed his older brother out to the car, stopping only to give Lois a hug hello.
"Margie," Bruce said, ignoring Tim's outburst. "Alfred will be out in a minute."
"Thank you," Margie replied, tapping away at her phone again. Bruce led her to his car, currently a black SUV. Lois could immediately tell that this was a family car. Tim's skateboard was on the backseat, there was someone's hoodie piled on top of that, and Lois had to move a book off the front seat which she handed to Damian in the back.
She chatted with Bruce about his schedule as they drove the two boys to Gotham Academy. Damian was reading and Tim had put his head phones in, pointedly ignoring everything, and blaring his music. When they finally got there, Damian bounced out with his backpack saying, "Bye Lois, bye Father!"
Tim finally took out his head phones and looked at Bruce.
"I don't want to go," he said, sounding completely miserable. Lois could tell that it went beyond just a teenager not wanting to go to school that day. He truly sounded as if he was getting ready to walk in to his own death. Surprisingly, Bruce seemed to take him seriously for the most part.
"I know, but we talked about this," he said, looking over his shoulder. Lois felt as if she was invading a significant moment between them. There was a long moment of silence. "You need to go in Tim."
"Fine," he said quietly. "I'll see you later."
And he left the car, walking into the school, completely dejected. Bruce pulled back into traffic.
"Why are you making him go back?" Lois asked. "Does he need the education?"
"Not really," Bruce replied. "But I want him to have the paper that said he at least put his butt in the chair. He may have gotten away with being a high school drop out for a few months but I know my board. They'll spit that fact in his face every chance they get."
"So, it's for his protection," Lois acknowledged.
"Yes," Bruce replied. "And it's only for a few more months. He'll be fine."
00000
Their next stop was Wayne Enterprises. This part of the day was actually incredibly boring. Bruce did a lot of computer work so Lois wrote an article she'd been meaning to get onto paper for a while but working in the office was always a constant stream of interruptions. She appreciated being able to sit on the couch in the corner of Bruce's massive office and simply work in peace.
Around noon, they got back in the SUV and drove to a fancy steakhouse that she and Clark could never have afforded. She was very excited to put a very expensive meal on Bruce's tab. She might even have a glass of wine. She was without husband and child today, she could live a little.
"Dick and Jason said they were going to meet us today," he told her as he handed the keys to the valet.
"Oh!" she said. "Perfect! I haven't seen them in a while."
"Welcome, Mr. Wayne," the maitre de greeted when they walked in. "Your other guests are already here."
Jason gave Lois a bear hug when he saw her, lifting her off her feet, completely ignoring Bruce who slid into his chair as if he was used to it. Dick also rose to give her a quick hug, being far more gentle.
"What happened to your eye?" Bruce asked Jason, catching his face with a hand and forcing Jason to look at him so he could see the dark bruise. He pressed down on the black eye with his thumb and Jason winced.
"Bar fight," Jason replied, sounding pleased with himself. Lois wasn't sure if he was lying or not. Jason was the type to get into a bar fight, after all. Bruce let go of his face and didn't make any further comment.
They actually had a very pleasant lunch, being waited on hand and foot. Lois ate a steak she couldn't afford and split a bottle of scotch with Jason that she also couldn't afford. Dick and Bruce talked about an upcoming charity gala they weren't sure they wanted to attend and Jason told her about his night club plans. He was opening another one soon and he was clearly quite proud about it.
By the time they got back to the office, Lois was ready for a nap.
"Do you eat like that everyday?" she asked, wondering how the man could possibly stand it if he did.
"Just when friends are town," he said, smiling at her. She wondered when she'd been upgraded to friend status and not just Clark's wife that bossed Bruce around whenever they were in the same room. It must have been recently. Perhaps when Damian and Jon had become friends as well and it had become thoroughly impossible for him to ignore her.
"No wonder Clark's always so eager to come to Gotham," she said.
Bruce actually laughed and Lois felt smug. She liked making him laugh.
00000
Alfred was apparently on pick up duty, so Bruce took Lois to a place she never thought he'd take her too. A spin class.
"Seriously?" she asked. "Is this why you told me to bring exercise clothes?"
"Yes, why?" he asked.
"I thought you were going to take me some where way more insane," she replied.
"I come here to be photographed," he said. "And some of the high level executives also come here. It's good for the image. And it'll kick your ass, so let's go."
He never did say that it would kick his ass too, but he had been right. Bruce went to a crazy high intense spin class that had her wheezing desperately within the first five minutes. She had to rest every couple of minutes and once, when Bruce had smiled at her with a shit-eating grin, she had flipped him off.
But when the class was almost over, his face changed, and he suddenly stopped. He gripped the handle bars so hard that his knuckles turned white and he had to breathe through the obvious pain. She stopped as well, looking at him in concern.
"I'm fine," he mouthed, but he didn't continue and it took him nearly five minutes to get off the bike. She didn't press him, figuring it was an injury from whatever crazy thing he'd been up to lately.
00000
"The kids are all doing their own thing tonight," Bruce said as they drove to dinner. "And I have to go to a club opening."
"Sounds fun!" Lois said perkily. Her thighs were so sore she knew she wouldn't be dancing the night away but she could at least sit at his table and watch him make a fool of himself. She had heard plenty of stories from Clark over the years and she really wanted to see it for herself.
"I have a date," he said, sounding perfectly awkward.
"Is that my cue to get lost?" she asked. "Are you planning on getting lucky tonight?"
She had been hoping to embarrass him with her teasing, but he was immune.
"I don't take women to the house when the boys are in town," he told her.
"Can't take your hot date to one of your penthouses?" she asked, now genuinely curious.
"No," Bruce replied, shaking his head. "We use those as safe houses and the public ones we don't go to, except to host a party or two. When I take someone home from the club, I usually go to their home or to a hotel."
"Classy," Lois said sarcastically. "Never would have pegged you as a hotel fling kind of guy."
"It's better than having your twelve year old walk in on you," he said. She nodded, remembering their own close calls over the years. Kids just didn't think to knock.
"Fair enough," she said, conceding the point.
00000
The night club was filled to the brim with people ten years younger than her and on a lot more drugs. She and Bruce had been seated at a private booth in the corner, clearly the most exclusive guests there, which had only attracted drunken girls like moths to the light. His apparent date for that had been a no-show, something he clearly wasn’t too worried about.
Bruce had left her there at one point, being dragged onto the dance floor with a couple of girls he'd let in past the bouncer. She was glad to see them go so she could text Clark about how vapid they were. He responded that he'd always hated that part of Bruce's life as well. He also said that it was even more unbearable when Ollie and Bruce were in the same place. Apparently, they would spend the whole night trying to out do each other as if it was some sort game.
Hal Jordan called it the Douche Bag Wars.
Lois was so busy laughing at that, she almost didn’t notice Bruce stumbling back to the booth. At first she thought he was drunk or pretending to be drunk, but then she caught sight of his face. He was in pain, enough pain that he couldn't hide it. He gripped the booth and she reached out to him, helping him to slide in beside her.
"Are you okay?" she asked, shouting above the music, eyeing him up and down, her mom skills kicking into gear.
Whatever it was, whatever was happening to him, he couldn't hide it and he shook his head.
No, he wasn't okay at all.
00000
They had stayed in the booth until whatever was happening had more or less passed. She had then helped him out of the club, making it appear as if she was simply helping a drunk friend to the car, and he also played his part, especially to the paparazzi. She drove him home to the Manor and he was at least able to get himself to his desk in the study. She sat across from him.
"Be honest with me Bruce," she said. "I promise I won't tell a soul. Not even my aliens."
He huffed a little as if he was about to laugh but he winced instead.
"This life," he started slowly with a sigh, looking at her with such intensity that she could immediately see why all those junior members of the Justice League were so cautious around him. He looked like he could see into your soul and expose all your secrets. "This life has its consequences. I have broken many bones, taken too many hits, been poisoned one too many times."
He paused here and Lois was immediately concerned. Never had she heard something like this come out of his mouth. He was always so stoic, so strong, and so invulnerable. He went toe to toe with gods and warriors, somehow always seeming to come out on top.
"And now," he continued. "I have pain that will not go away."
"Where is the pain?" she asked.
"My back," he said. "My hands, my feet. I've got a bad shoulder from a car crash. The usual."
"Have you been to the doctor?" she asked, knowing from Clark that he wasn't one to accept any kind of help.
"I have, actually," he said with a small smile, like he knew exactly what Clark had been telling her over the years. "It's pretty bad, Lois."
"How bad?" she asked, more concerned than ever. She almost felt as if she would start crying soon. This was her husband's best friend, the closest thing he would have to a brother, and he was hurting.
"If I'm not careful, I could end up paralyzed," he told her. This time she knew she was about to cry, especially since he seemed to be determined to be calm about the whole thing.
"Oh, Bruce," she said. She didn't know what to say beyond that.
"It's okay," he replied. "I've gotten used to the idea."
"How long have you known?" she asked.
"About two weeks," he said. "I've decided that now is the time to retire."
That surprised her; she had always assumed that one day Clark would come home, inconsolable, and tell her that Batman had died. He would die a superhero's death, of course. Something to truly be remembered by. Never would she have thought he would simply retire.
"Retire?" she asked, still shocked.
"I've done what I can," he said. "Twenty years ago I would have kept going until my body gave out. But that was before."
He paused again, clearly struggling with the words. She knew, though. She was a parent too.
"But now you have the kids," she finished for him.
"Yes," he said. "And they still have a future. One I'd like to see, if I could."
"Maybe chase around a few grandkids," she teased him. He smiled, a genuine, soft smile. He liked the idea, she could tell.
"I have to ask that you keep this to yourself for now," he said. "I haven't told the kids yet. I haven't even told Alfred yet, although I'm pretty sure he knows."
Lois nodded. There was not a chance in this world that Alfred wouldn't have at least seen this coming if he didn't already know the full details.
"And, I would like to tell Clark myself," he finished. "I owe him that respect."
"Of course," she said. "I understand."
"Thank you," he replied and he reached across the desk towards her. She took his hand and they stayed like that for a minute, just letting the moment wash over them. It was the end of an era but she hoped, prayed really, that he would find peace. And maybe sleep a little more. He'd probably be far less cranky if he got more sleep.
00000
She had learned a lot about her husband's friend during that day. Far more than she'd ever thought she'd learn. She could have written a moving piece about the man and his family, even without all the information about Bruce's health and his superhero night life.
What she wrote instead was a run of the mill puff piece. Perry had loved it and so did the public. Bruce's social media stats had spiked and there were even rumors of him being named sexiest man of the year. People online were clamoring for a shirtless photo.
Clark had laughed long and loud when she'd told him that one. Lois had faked it well enough but she knew that Bruce couldn't do that kind of photo shoot.
The scars on his torso were too obvious.
She wondered if those scars were painful or if they just blended into the overall feeling. She had to excuse herself so she could make her teary eyes go away. She had promised Bruce and if Clark saw her misty eyed she knew she would spill the secret immediately.
00000
The next time Lois saw Bruce was in Smallville for Conner's birthday party. He'd brought the whole brood and while the party had technically ended, the Wayne kids were still making just as much noise as they possibly could. Lois had escaped to the front porch with Martha and Jonathan. Bruce had taken Clark aside to speak by the fence around the horse pasture.
They could tell, even from this distance, that it was not a fun conversation. Bruce's arms were crossed defensively and Clark was standing rigid and unmoving. Lois knew that it was happening now.
"What are they talking about?" Jonathan asked, also noticing his son's posture.
"Bruce is retiring," Lois told them quietly. She knew that the Wayne kids probably all knew at this point but she didn't necessarily want them to know that she already knew. Martha and Jonathan looked at her in complete surprise.
"What?" Martha asked, shocked.
"Apparently, his body is starting to give out," she told them. She blinked back tears again, watching Bruce tell Clark was a lot harder than she thought it would be.
"Oh my," Martha said.
"Poor boy," Jonathan said. "But hardly surprising."
"No, not surprising at all," Martha agreed. "I do hope he'll be alright."
Clark suddenly hugged Bruce, probably too hard, but Bruce stood there and took it like a good friend. Lois knew that meant that Clark was clearly upset at the news.
If Clark hadn't been obviously distressed, Bruce probably would have thrown him over his shoulder and into the bushes by now, something she had seen plenty of times before.
She felt a tear roll down her face when, instead, Bruce hugged him back.