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1
The first time they even had to think about sleeping arrangements for each other was while working a case that brought them to team up.
Lex Luthor had been pulling resources in both Gotham and Metropolis, leading both of the heroes to take notice and grow concerned about the man's obviously nefarious intentions. When they each found the other was also working the case, they came to a mutual understanding and joined forces. Bruce was not thrilled with the mere thought of sharing his case, but he was a practical man, and willing to accept that having another competent investigator on the case surely would only benefit him. And he couldn’t look past the fact that the boy scout was just as protective of Metropolis as he was of Gotham, and they both wanted Lex brought to justice for several reasons. Not to mention save as many lives as possible if the situation gets dire.
Oo
The two had met a few times over a 3 day span, and the course the case was taking highlighted the use of Batman’s alter Ego. It made him glad to have ‘access’ to a widely known, well to do socialite, allowing him to get himself invited to Lex’s grand reveal of his newest ‘tech line’. From even a glance, the event was clearly a front for whatever he was planning. The resources and funding the man had been pulling did not match that of the project, and something near the reveal site had been drawing far too much energy to be brushed off.
The first day of the grand event and thus the beginning of their combined mission, Bruce Wayne got himself checked into the penthouse suite of the hotel that would also be functioning as the event host. It didn’t make sense for Clark Kent, as a Metropolis reporter, to be able to afford one of the rooms, so he snuck in and out of Bruce’s suite as he needed. Making sure not to be seen as either Clark or Superman anywhere near the hotel before it was time.
They didn’t see each other the entire first day. Superman had spent his time scoping out the city, scanning all the local buildings, following Lex and his henchmen, and gathering intel about what might be going on. Bruce spent his day schmoozing with the other guests, filling his role as the flamboyant celebrity, pretending to not know what was going on, and secretly gathering his own intel on the event and figuring out Lex’s plans. Two very different methods of problem solving, but this worked in their favor, allowing them to fill in gaps of information and get the whole picture.
Late in the night, Bruce had finally made his way back up to the suite, fumbling with his keys and laughing sloppily in the hallway, his neck littered with smudged lipstick. As soon as he was able to step over the threshold and get the door closed, Bruce dropped his drunken playboy billionaire act. The far away look in his eyes gained a sharp focus to them much too quickly, and his flashy smile sunk into a hard line. Clark had never seen that moment in person, and it sent a shiver down his spine, how quick his colleague could drop the act and turn into that to a dark and broody batman without hesitation. But the man's quick fix of his collar to hide the love marks distracted from the mysterious front he was giving off, causing Clark to think about it just a little too long.
Oo
They swapped notes and information, discussing their game plan far too long for Bruce’s liking, and found they had nothing else that could be done until the next day.
Not one for small talk, Bruce let himself into the master bedroom of the penthouse and shut the door, signaling he was done for the evening and would be going to bed. Clark was not surprised by the action, and so he took a quick shower in one of the many lavish marble bathrooms and tucked into a queen size bed. Positioning himself nearest to the entryway and farthest from Bruce, wanting to give them as much space as possible. In the time before falling asleep, Clark used his super hearing to check in on everybody in the hotel and local buildings, making sure nothing sounded suspicious before falling asleep. This had become a routine of his since he was young. Listening for the signs of life that his parents and other loved ones were near and alive. It brought him great comfort and allowed him to sleep more soundly.
Oo
The next morning marked the beginning of their scheme. Much to their surprise, everything went according to plan, and Lex Luthor's plan had been foiled. Though the unfortunate side effect of having to destroy the masses of malware tech that he had planned to distribute to the wealthy party goers, the heroes had little proof to specifically tie Lex to the crimes.
When all was said and done, and the mission was completed, the two men came back to their hotel room to grab the few things they brought. Bruce took a few minutes to trash the entire suite. Opening bottles from the mini fridges, pouring them down the sink and strewing them about, knocking most things off of any table there, throwing a glass vase against the wall and leaving the shattered bits. He also went around to every bed and pulled up sheets and blankets, making them look used. And as they left, he took several hundred dollar bills from his wallet and threw them on a table. All with such a stone cold, unmoving face, as if this were a normal and natural occurrence. Clark had never thought much about it, but Bruce’s playboy lifestyle was just as calculated and thought out as his Dark Knight identity, if not more. Perhaps Brucie Wayne was his secret identity, and Batman was really him. Or maybe the true essence of the man lay somewhere between the two masks.
2
The next time their sleeping arrangements came up was on a remote island, on behalf of the Justice League.
The team was looking for a hidden lab, they had triangulated the location to be somewhere on the island, but there was a lot of heavily forested land to search through. There was also a high dose of lead in the sand and soil, causing the team's technology to be almost useless, and Superman's Vision to be unhelpful at quickly scanning for the location. It was known that there was a large bomb-like device being built and it was destined to go off uncomfortably soon by their calculations, so it was of the utmost importance that it be found and deactivated. And so this task had several members of the league called to be of assistance.
They had all split up into pairs to cover more ground while still maintaining the safety of numbers. Superman and Batman were placed in the Northern quadrant, Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl were in the Southeastern quadrant, and Green Arrow and the Flash were in the Southwest quadrant. Each starting out at the water on the outermost banks and moving their way inland, searching for anything that might point them in the right direction of the device.
After a full day of recon work and little to no information, the boys found a covered rock face and set up a small camp for the night. Not wanting to build a fire and risk drawing attention to themselves, they settled in the darkness of the night and agreed on taking shifts throughout the night to keep watch. The moon provided very little light, causing their space to be almost pitch black. Bruce wasn’t able to see farther than a foot in front of his naked eyes, so they set their sleeping pads pretty close to each other to better ensure their safety.
During Clarks shifts, he tried to zero in on the heartbeats of his teammates. He knew they were each more than capable of taking care of themselves, but he always wanted to make sure they were safe wherever they were, while also listening for heartbeats that weren’t theirs. This was when Clark noticed that Batman slept on his back, and did not move at all throughout the night. Perhaps it was because of his batsuit, or maybe he didn’t feel comfortable given their circumstances, and this was the most tactical position he could sleep in, to allow himself to wake up swinging if he needed to. Leave it up to Batman to have trained himself to sleep with that in mind.
During Bruce's shift he used the night vision feature of his mask to keep watch. At some point during the night, he couldn’t help but notice that Clark slept on his side, which he thought had to be uncomfortable on bare ground beneath him. But when you had super strength and could literally deflect bullets, maybe discomfort wasn’t an issue for him. Clark had the luxury of being able to sleep without much worry, impenetrable skin and super senses. It almost seemed unfair. He tried to banish those thoughts from his mind, thinking like that served no purpose, and he needed to pay full attention to his unfamiliar and dark surroundings.
To wake each other up for shifts, Superman would place his hand, palm up, on his partner’s shoulder, and Batman would tap twice on whatever body part happened to be closest to him. Both using calculated movements to not startle the other, while also making the least amount of physical contact possible. Clark was actually quite surprised that the other man woke him at all for any night shift work, almost assuming that he would want to have total control and not make himself vulnerable by sleeping in a strange place.
When the sun had just begun to rise above the island's horizon, they each took a few moments to stretch themselves awake, brush the dirt off their suits, and make their way further into the depths of the heavily forested island.
Eventually, the two men located the lab entrance within a large tree that had been hollowed out and used for an elevator entrance. The team met them there shortly, settled on a plan of attack, and leaped into action. The bad guys had seemed to drop their defenses, comfortable in how well they had hidden their work. The team was able to easily defeat all of the henchmen that threw themselves their way, while Bruce was able to deactivate the bomb with very minimal issue. It took almost a day and a half to find the blasted thing, but less than 7 minutes for the rest of the action to go down.
After the area was secure, everybody took a look around the room. Green Arrow looked like he was more than ready to be through with the mission, obviously not being able to handle the non-stop energy of Flash. Hawkgirl and Wonderwoman seemed to have figured themselves out, both somehow looking well rested and chatting amicably with each other. Batman and Superman were somewhere between, not annoyed or at each other's throats, but also not more friendly than before. This surprised nobody there, all knowing how Silent and too himself Batman stays, especially while on missions. Shortly thereafter, they all took off towards the watchtower for a debrief.
3
The first time they actually shared the same bed was almost out of necessity.
It was about 3.5 weeks after the island campout and the two heroes had just spent a very tense 83 hours searching for one of their fellow justice league members. The Flash had gone missing with so few clues left behind, all available team members were called to assist. Bruce was not one for sentiment or personal relationships, but he allowed himself to be a little thankful at the priorities of each team member, taking a small enjoyment in how they work to keep eachother safe, while also remaining faithful to their other duties.
During those days, Clark had to work his reporter job during the day and then search for his friend at night, on top of his regular rotation of Superman work in Metropolis. He did not sleep during this time, not wanting to allow himself rest until the Flash was safe. Bruce was also on the case the entire time, only catching himself a few hours of sleep here and there, just long enough to sustain his body and the functionality of his work.
Eventually, Wonder Woman had been the one to finally locate the Flash’s captors and free him. Batman and Superman just so happened to be at the same location when they heard confirmation that their co-worker was alive and safe. A look of relief covered each of their faces and they immediately felt the full weight of their bodies, becoming almost too tired to move.
Both of the men had been searching many of the League’s safehouses, checking for any sign that he might have been there, and within the small cabin they currently found themselves in, Clark didn't even think twice, making his way towards the bed and collapsing on top of it. Bruce watched this, and barely took the time to remove his mask and cowl, following suit and collapsing on the unoccupied side of the bed. Clark fell asleep quickly, out before his head even hit the firm pillow. Bruce took an extra minute communicating his whereabouts to Alfred, before turning off his comms allowing himself to get some rest.
When the two eventually woke up sometime the next morning, they both laid there, a moment of silence hanging between them. Clark let out a sigh and Bruce a sleepy grunt. Their shoulders touched in the small bed, but neither of them seemed to have the energy to move just yet.
Then, in a split second, Clark was gone, leaving Bruce time to get out of bed and start stretching his stiff joints. Rolling his neck, he heard the tell-tale woosh back through the entrance of the safehouse and turned his head to observe the other man. Clark set down a cup of coffee on the small wooden table between them, steam visibly rising from the lid of the cup.
“Figured you could use this. Don’t worry, it’s on the house.” He said with a wink, the corner of his lip raising up in a small smirk.
And with that, Clark took off again, in much the same fashion as before. He knew better than to wait for a thank you, but if he wasn’t mistaken, the other man's eyes warmed up ever so slightly at the act.
Bruce took a sip and was taken off guard, surprised to find that it was made with 2 sugars and no cream, exactly how he preferred to take his coffee. It intrigued him that the other man knew this about him.
He turned his comms on and made his way out of the small cabin and to the batmobile, regretting having to drive it home in broad daylight. A few minutes after climbing into the driver's seat and hearing the engine roar to life, a familiar British voice came through his ear piece.
“Enjoy your sleep over?”
He turned his comms off.
4
The next time they shared a bed, it felt more like an active choice for both of them.
It was only about a few days after the Flash incident, and Batman and Superman had been on duty on the Watchtower. About an hour after turning in for the night to their own quarters, Bruce heard a soft, almost nervous knock at his door.
He had just gotten out of the shower, and was dressed in a pair of black cotton sleep pants and a soft gray t-shirt. He always made sure to dress comfortably but modestly while on the tower, always ready in case of an emergency.
Opening his door, Bruce found a somewhat distressed looking Clark standing there, also dressed in his sleeping clothes, made up of a worn blue sweatshirt and light gray sweatpants. Without prompt, he quickly started
“My room is right next to Black Canary. Her and Green Arrow are dating again and… Super hearing doesn’t exactly come with a mute button...”
Bruce finished the other man's thought, matter-of-factly
“And my room is on the opposite side of the tower.”
Bruce gave it some thought, Clark was about to turn back, realizing this was a very personal and obscure thing to ask of the man in front of him. That was until he moved out of the entryway, allowing his door to stay open, silently making way for the metahuman to come in and loosely gestured to the bed in the center of the room.
“I sleep on the right side.”
The door was shut behind them and Clark dutifully made his way to the left side. Before tucking himself under the covers, he let out a soft but sincere ‘“Thank you”. To which Bruce turned the lights out and settled himself in.
A few minutes passed, and a small whisper from the right side of the bed came,
“How are you so warm, I can feel you from here.”
Clark had to let out a short bark of a laugh.
“I’m an alien that absorbs energy from the sun, and you're wondering why I’m warm?”
“.....”
“I can absorb or emit energy or heat at will, would you like me to cool down?”
There was a long pause, before Bruce responded in a much quieter tone.
“...No. It’s nice...”
Clark blinked in the dark where those words had just come from. Had he heard that right? Nothing else was said, and Bruce flipped over and his breaths started evening out, indicating that he was falling asleep.
Clark focused on the man's breathing and heartbeat. It was soothing and allowed him to ignore the frankly concerning noises that the super couple was making on the other side of the station.
Oo
In the morning, Bruce woke first. Noting how comfortable he was and how that might have been the best night's sleep he had gotten in much too long. Usually he wasn’t one to linger in bed in the mornings, but a part of him didn’t want to leave the warmth that surrounded him. He allowed himself to experience the moment a little longer, letting the comfort settle through his body and into his bones. Until the large form beside him, half asleep, shifted his weight and rolled towards him. Clark's eyes tiredly flickered open, mere inches away and met two icy blues, causing him to jerk slightly in shock before remembering where he was.
Trying and failing to stifle a yawn,
“You’re awake.”
Without hesitation a response came,
“That must be the top notch reporter skills I’m always hearing so much about.”
He couldn’t help but smirk at the early morning sarcasm, especially from such a usually terse colleague. They had been in the Justice League together for a year or so, and known each other for longer. But ‘friend’ was never a term they would have chosen to use for each other. That seemed to change at that moment. Bruce let down a heavily guarded wall, willingly letting him sleep in his bed and showing something besides his typically serious Batman demeanor. Clark felt special about that, being one of the few people to see this part of the man. Wanting to make that special feeling last a little longer, he raised a joke back,
“I’ll let that one slide, but next time I’ll make you get your own coffee.
Bruce followed up hopefully, “Was that an offer?”
Bruce heard the whooshing sound he was becoming very familiar with, and a few moments later, still in his pajamas, the speedster stood with two paper cups of fresh coffee, winking as he offered one with an outstretched hand. Mustering his most charming smile,
“You think I’m the type of man to stay the night and not offer coffee in the morning?”
He was met with a pointed look and a long silence. As if the other man was trying to figure out if he should say something or not. Apparently he settled on not, because he took a long sip and made his way out of the bunched up blankets, giving a curt nod to the metahuman before making his way to the closet to get dressed.
Clark took that as a sign that he should probably leave and get ready himself, they did have to meet on the bridge for duty soon, and he didn’t want to overstay his welcome. He felt lucky to have been there in the first place.
If J’on saw him slip out of the bat's room, he never mentioned it.
5
The next time they shared the same bed, it felt more like Bruce’s life depended on it.
It occurred only about two and a half weeks after sharing a bed at the station, which somehow felt like forever ago. They had both been so busy after duty and hadn’t seen each other since.
Bruce of course had thrown himself back into his nightly watch over Gotham and found himself chasing down a gang of criminals that had recently escaped from Arkham asylum. The chase had led them to a tension bridge spanning over a large river on the outskirts of Gotham. Midway over the bridge, the Bat found that he didn’t have much of a choice. There was a large patch of ice ahead of him, and he could either risk his own life by knocking the criminal’s stolen car off the bridge along with the batmobile, or he could let an ambulance and a handful of civilians get caught in the crossfire and hope they survived. It didn’t take long for him to decide and take action.
He soon felt the brute force of the impact, and then the water whirling around him, starting to drag him towards the icy black depths of the river.
Bruce was glad to have an underwater escape route in the batmobile, and soon found himself on the closest patch of land. Well, it felt soon anyway, he couldn't be sure. His body had taken a lot of trauma hitting the water so hard and he was violently shivering in the frosty air that hit his soaked suit. Willing his body not to go into shock, he waited for his pan B to show up. Alfred has already input the coordinates and sent his backup transport to his location, and had the frozen bat home as soon as possible. While also ensuring that the police would have the coordinates to begin their search for the escaped prisoners.
Even through all their haste, the dark knight was already starting to succumb to hypothermia, not being able to completely focus on anything in front of him or control his breathing. By the time he was able to register where he was, he saw the brilliant red cape flutter beside him.
“Go.” it sounded sluggish, like the word escaped through his pale blue lips.
“Bruce, I saw your wreck on the news, even I wasn’t certain if you would make it.”
“IiiI.. I’m hine.”
His speech slurred between the chattering.
“You are not fine. You’re damn lucky you didn’t break any bones, your core temperature is way below average, and not to mention your heartbeat is concerningly weak. I’m not going anywhere.”
As best he could with frozen lashes, Bruce looked towards Alfred as if for help on the matter.
The Englishman simply responded, “I think it's good you have somebody who cares, I will not be so rude as to ask him to leave.” As he simultaneously helped Bruce out of the soaked cowl and suit.
Had Superman not known about his secret identity already, or perhaps not been to the Batcave before, he might have asked the hero to leave, but he really was concerned for Bruce, and the super strength and x-ray vision would certainly have their uses.
Clark, wanting to do something to help without overstepping boundaries more than he already was, moved forward a little more closely towards his friend and raised his own body temperature, trying to focus all his heat forward to the now nearly naked man.
Bruce relaxed just a fraction of a moment before realizing what was going on. He turned around stiffly and muttered,
“I donnn’t nnneed it.” Bruce sounded more like a petulant child now.
“Oh really? You don’t need my meta human body heat? You seemed to really enjoy it a few weeks ago.”
That caught Alfred’s attention, he made a note to question the brood about it later, but decided that he would need to bring some tea and biscuits to the perplexing man in front of him.
Bruce didn’t say a word, he made no sound or motion to indicate that he heard what was just said. But soon the man of steel felt the frozen form against his chest, and instinctually wrapped his arms around the broad shoulders in front of him.
Clark adjusted his body heat back down just a little bit, focusing it towards Bruce, but also wanting to conserve his energy and not to heat Bruce’s body up too quickly. Worrying about damaging the frozen blood vessels.
Looking down, Clark then realized the man's bare feet were on the ground beneath them, almost completely white with lack of circulation. He knew that they needed a better way to provide heat evenly to his entire body to save his external limbs from suffering frostbite damage. So he asked in the most straightforward manner possible.
“Does this cave come with a bed? Or somewhere we can more efficiently warm your whole body?”
He expected to be shouted at, or called a name, or even to be met with a dead silence. But like Bruce had been doing so much recently, he surprised him, answering softly,
“Bed. Far side.”
And then made no indication that he would be moving himself.
So Clark firmed his grip and gently flew the two of them to the far side of the cave, finding a bare bedroom with a large bed in the middle. It didn’t look like it had been used often, but appeared soft and had plenty of blankets to help trap their heat in.
It didn’t take long to get settled under the covers, Bruce still embracing him, but not quite as tightly. So he took the opportunity to flip his friend over, aligning Bruce's back to his chest and wrapping him again in a large bear hug, focusing all his energy on stabilizing his core temperature.
The bat was either way more cognitively impaired than he had realized, or he knew this really might have been life or death, allowing all this to happen without a fight. And gave in on his fight with consciousness quite easily.
Clark focused very intently on the weak heartbeat in front of him for a long time, before eventually feeling relief as it started to strengthen. A few hours later, their body temps had evened out to a normal level, so he brought his heat down, but not completely. Figuring his friend might actually enjoy waking up to the warmth around him, and then he too dozed off.
Oo
The two men found themselves abruptly woken the next morning by Alfred, ushering himself into the makeshift bedroom with a cart of hot beverages, and what looked to be home made pastries.
Bruce seemed to be analyzing what had happened and where he was. It didn’t take long for him to fully process it all.
“Did you enjoy your sleepover?”
Clark could only see the jet black hair on the back of his friend's head, so he couldn't be certain what his face was doing, but he mused that it was probably staring silent daggers into the butler.
“I wasn’t sure if you preferred tea or coffee Mr. Kent, so I brought both, along with some blueberry scones and chocolate eclairs. Please help yourself.”
And then he was gone.
The boys quickly untangled themselves and made their way out of bed, Bruce quietly disappearing to get dressed. Clark had already finished his coffee and was on his third pastry when he returned.
With a flat but sincere tone,
“Thank you.”
And then he turned and left again, making his way further into the bat cave to settle back into his work. Clark took one last bite of his eclair, and made his way out towards the sky. Processing everything that just happened on a slow fly back to Metropolis.
6
The next time the boys slept together was on the one year anniversary of Jonathan Kent’s death.
Clark wanted so badly to be back home with his Ma, but she insisted that she wanted to spend the day alone to reminisce about their life together and to go through some of his things. It killed him having to be alone, not being able to comfort or be comforted by his only family. He had managed to make it through most of the day, throwing himself completely into his work so he wouldn't have to think about his pa. Though afterwards, he felt so empty, and even Metropolis seemed too quiet and peaceful that evening.
Not being able to stand being by himself any longer, Clark went to somebody he knew would understand what he was feeling, a friend that he might be comforted by.
Batman barely noticed the light sound of feet hitting gravel on the roof next to where he stood, keeping surveillance on a possible bank robbery in progress. Of course he knew why the other had come, and he silently offered a thermos of coffee and an understanding glance. It was hard to look friendly in the cowl, but he was sure his friend knew the sentiment.
They sat together like that for a long time, close enough for just their shoulders to barely touch. Both watching across the street and sharing the hot beverage. It suddenly became apparent that the goons at the bank were in fact planning a heist and had just started when they were found and busted by a squad car of policemen that happened to be in the right place at the right time. Surprisingly the robbers went down without a fight, the officers seemed to have it all under control, freeing up Bruce’s attention.
The two heroes then relaxed onto the rooftop, and Clark finally broke the heavy silence that had hung between them.
“I didn't want to be alone.”
And then he made the mistake of looking up, because when he saw the warmth and understanding and sadness in those brilliant blue eyes, he cracked. Letting himself really start to process his own emotions, and allowing the first of many tears to fall.
Clark instinctively reached out to hug the man in front of him, but stopped abruptly. It somehow felt more intimate to embrace his friend now than it did just a few weeks ago to save his life. This felt more real, more emotional, like they were taking a new step deeper into their friendship.
Bruce took notice of the man's conundrum, and took a single step forward, instigating the physical touch himself. Immediately, the tense shoulders slumped and he let his tears fall freely. Bruce was all too familiar with that feeling of loss and grief, he knew how hard it was to think about the loss of a loved one. They stood like that for a long while, though time didn’t feel real. Until Bruce sensed the tears were starting to subside and he whispered,
“Let’s get you home.”
Not breaking their hold on each other, Clark carefully jumped into the dark of the night, and in no time at all they were landing on the balcony of his Metropolis apartment. Clark broke their hold and started for the door, getting it open and almost completely through before looking back like a lost child. Bruce had already moved forward to follow him, but verbally assured,
“I’m right here.”
Something about the way he said it made Clark feel safe, like he knew he wouldn't be alone in this. Bruce ushered them into the living room, closing the door behind them.
“Tell me about him.”
Clark could feel the tears starting to well again, so he distracted himself, looking anywhere but his friend's face, and awkwardly finding a seat on his worn couch. Then he found his words and began telling random stories about his pa. Jumping from memory to memory, sloppily over explaining miscellaneous details and forgetting others, skipping through his childhood and young adult life like a flip book.
During this time, Bruce had been taking off his batsuit. Cowl, cape, breastplate armor, weapons, boots, folding them all in a neat pile on the coffee table until he was in an undershirt and pants.
At some point during a story about pa teaching him how to drive, Clark changed into pajama pants and an old college sweatshirt, and settled back next to Bruce.
A few hours passed, and the two men had oozed closer and closer to each other on the small couch until they had found themselves positioned with Bruce lying long ways and face up, and Clark somehow on top of him yet wedged in the crevice between him and the couch. His head lay on his friend's chest, listening to the steady heartbeat to keep him calm. He found it very soothing, being able to focus in on that sound and letting him clear his head of everything else. The steady beats eventually allowed him to drift off to sleep.
When the sun came up, Clark quietly roused himself awake and took a look at the position he was in. Still basically the same as when he fell asleep, but with a blanket haphazardly draped over his body. Obviously Bruce had grabbed it from the back of the couch and tried to wrap them without having to move too much, as if not to wake him. It was such a small gesture, but it filled his heart up.
He allowed himself that moment, held close and comforted by one of his best friends, the sun pouring softly through the curtains. His brain was a million miles away, lost in thought, when the radio in his bedroom started playing.
Raspy from sleep, a deep voice from below him asked
“Clark. Why is Patsy Cline playing?”
He twisted his head to look into those blue eyes and laughed when he saw actual confusion in them.
“I have my radio set to play music on the weekends. So whether or not I’m actually here, it sounds like I’m home. And I happen to like Patsy Cline. thank you very much.”
They laid there, matching breaths as the rest of I Fall To Pieces played. Then suddenly, as if just remembering, Clark practically shouted,
“Wait, how did you know this was Patsy?? ”
Bruce light scoffed, but the smile at the corner of his mouth gave him away,
“She’s a country classic. Is it so odd that I would be familiar with her work?”
Clark quieted down, but wonderment still filled his tone,
“Don’t tell me baby Bruce went through a cowboy phase?”
Bruce took a baited breath, and paused briefly before talking,
“My mother loved Patsy Cline. My father had given her every Patsy record he came across, and she would play them for me. She would play this song in particular when I was upset or had trouble sleeping. When she died, I couldn’t stand listening to those songs anymore, they made me so sad and angry and I hated feeling that way, feeling so helpless and out of control... But a few years ago I made myself listen to them again. Made myself feel all those feelings, and remember all the good things they reminded me of instead of the pain. So now I play them when I’m missing her.”
Clark moved the hand he had under his chin and placed it on Bruce’s hand, giving it an assuring squeeze, with a sincere smile.
“Thank you for sharing that with me.”
Bruce couldn’t place a finger on exactly why, but it felt good to share that memory with his friend. He had never told anybody about it before, not even Alfred. And it felt very comforting to be able to share that moment with somebody that cares.
It was quiet in the room again as a new song began to play, and the seriousness of the moment made Bruce uncomfortable for some reason.
“So what about the man who doesn’t sleep with somebody without making breakfast? I don’t see any bacon or coffee here.”
Clark could appreciate the change to a more sarcastic and lighthearted mood. He understood that it must have taken a lot to share about his mom, and he himself was still melancholy about his own father.
“Was just waiting for you to wake up sleeping beauty, wouldn’t want your food getting cold”
And with that he was up on his feet, walking towards the kitchen, swaying his hips as he moved.
“Serious question though.”
He turned on his heel, and scrunched up his face like he was going to ask the most important question in the world.
“Pancakes or waffles?”
Bruce had just stood up, and was stretching his back out, it didn’t seem to enjoy sleeping on a couch. He barely gave his response a second thought,
“Waffles are for children. I’m gonna take a shower, so I hope you’re done by the time I’m out, I’m starving.”
And with that he slipped back through Clark’s bedroom and took a hot shower, all the while judging the cheap drugstore products that were kept in there. He made a mental note about gift ideas for Christmas.
Clark was just pouring two fresh cups of coffee when Bruce walked out in a holy pair of his jeans and a worn flannel shirt.
“I’m gonna have to start keeping clothes here, this is unacceptable.”
From the kitchen Clark let out a deep belly laugh, but couldn’t help the fondness in his voice
“Hey I think that’s a good look for you, we might make a cowboy out of you yet.”
The man rolled his eyes.
“You better be careful before I force you into a top of the line tailored suit. I think you might clean up nicely.”
They both chuckled at the thought.
“Touché… You are right on time, breakfast is served and the coffee is hot.”
Bruce started towards the kitchen and grabbed plates to set the small kitchen table, there was something about them getting ready to share breakfast that felt so.. domestic. He found that he didn’t hate that thought entirely.
Bruce hardly ever had such an intimate setting that wasn’t prepared by Alfred, and Clark was not one to frequently have guests stay over for breakfast in the morning. Despite this scene being foreign to both of them, it somehow felt natural, and like a relief from their usual lonely and stress filled days.
They got themselves settled and that’s when Bruce noticed the waffles in the middle of the table, he looked up to Clark with a goofy smirk, which made the effort completely worth it.
“Touché.”
And so they ate, making comfortable conversation. About their parents, about things that reminded them of their childhoods, and what their plans were the rest of the day.
7
The next time they slept near each other was quite literally against their will.
Despite their best efforts, a small group of the justice league members had been ambushed during a routine reconnaissance mission. Unsuspecting, Batman, Superman, Aquaman, and Hawk Girl were sedated using an airborne toxin. As they quickly and violently lost consciousness, the two friends unknowingly stepped towards each other, reaching out to help the other, but both were knocked out and collapsed heavily to the ground.
When the rest of the Justice League was able to defeat the men responsible for the toxin and make it to the collapsed figures, they found the two mens outstretched hands loosely intertwined together.
With an aerosolized antidote to the toxin, Wonder Woman woke each of the 4 up.
It took a minute for either of the men to remember where they were or figure out what was happening. Their brains fogged and groggy from the drug, it was a slow process to completely regain their mental and physical functions. And in all that time, they never released their hands. As if it was a connection between the two, proving that the other was there and okay, and that they themselves were alive. They didn’t release until they went to stand, and then turned to check on their other 2 team members. Nobody dared to mention it. They certainly didn’t.
8
The next time they shared a bed, it started with a worried call from Alfred.
Bruce had been working on a case that was hitting him hard, harder than any other case he had ever worked, and he wasn’t taking care of himself. It had been almost 4 full days without sleep and the dark knight pushing himself in a way that scared his butler like never before.
Superman flew through the familiar cave and found his friend absolutely wired and hunched over his computer. He could see on the screen a tracking program running, dozens for pictures and live video feeds shuffled one right after another.
“Bruce.”
….
There was no indication that the other man had even registered his presence, let alone the worried tone in his voice.
He gave it a few moments before speaking again, sounding more like a beg now
“Bruce, please.”
With that, Bruce pivoted quickly on one heel, whipping around at a breakneck speed to face the concerned man. 2 pairs of concerned blue eyes met each other.
“They’re children Clark, they’re just… they’re just kids. 90 of them have gone missing, been trafficked, and abused, and, so much worse….”
A tear began forming at the corners of his face.
“I can’t save them. I’ve just let this happen on my watch. I can’t find them. I can’t save them.”
The anguish and self hatred in his friend's voice shattered Clark’s heart.
His tears fell, and in another dramatic movement, he turned back around to stare at the program running on his screen. Paying no attention to his blurred vision and stinging eyes.
Clark stepped forward, leaving barely any space between the two, and placed his hands on the tense shoulders in front of him, rubbing gentle circles with his thumbs.
“You didn’t let anything happen Bruce. You’ve been giving it your all, and you’ve made so much progress. It looks like you’ve synced this program and it is tracing just about every camera in town, running facial recognition against the missing children. This is going to take time, yes?”
There was an almost invisible nod of the head indicating yes, anybody but Clark likely would have missed it.
“It’s going to take time. When you get a location, you’ll be able to get to them immediately, and will probably have to fight for the kids survival. If you don’t let your body rest, you will be useless to those kids. You will be overcome by their captors, and their only chance at freedom will be gone. Not to mention your identity would be blown and Alfred would then be in danger. I’m not letting it happen. I’m not letting that happen to you.”
Bruce knew he had a point. He knew that he needed sleep, and he couldn’t do anything until he found those kids in the meantime. The program he hacked was his last hope. So he slowly turned around, more tears having found their way to the corners of his eyes.
“An alarm will sound when it matches, listen for it. And get me back here immediately.” His words came out flat, but the meaning was conveyed.
Clark eagerly agreed, if he could lend his super sonic hearing to get his friend some sleep, he would be more than willing. He also realized that statement was part invitation and part assumption that he would be staying the night with him. They really had seemed to be doing that a lot lately, but he didn’t mine, especially if it got Bruce to rest more easily.
Allowing himself the thought of sleep, the past 4 days came crashing down on him like an unbearable weight. Almost falling forward, he leaned into Clark, and wrapped his arms loosely around his waist.
Immediately he warmed his body a little more, to completely relax the mess in his arms, and as he slowly flew up and started toward the back of the cave where they had slept last time, a soft mumble came “my bed”.
It took a few minutes and the use of some x-ray vision, but Clark was eventually able to locate the elaborate and expensive looking room that obviously belonged to him. Bruce had already fallen asleep in his arms, and didn’t rustle when they settled into the silk sheets of the king sized bed. This time Bruce was laying Almost completely on top of clarks chest with his head in the crook between his head and shoulder. Warm breath tickling the hairs on his neck. After making sure that Bruce was in a comfortable position, assuring that he wouldn’t be sore when he woke up, he focused his ears on the program running below them in the cave, and started to look around the large room. He could almost pick out every single detail that was Brucie Wayne and what was his actual friend Bruce. There’s no way anybody else knew the man well enough to see these things and know the difference, and that caused pride to well in his chest.
Clark resolved himself to stay awake all night, listening carefully to make sure he didn’t miss the computer going off, and to monitor that the other man was sleeping well. He would surely need to be as well rested as possible for the next day.
With plenty of time alone with his thoughts, he found his mind fixing on how comfortable he was here. How comfortable he has been every time he found himself sleeping next to his friend, sharing warmth, sharing those small moments of emotion filled glances and comforting touches.
Bruce had been letting down his walls and showing parts of himself that he had heavily guarded before. Clark was no detective, but he was certain that Bruce had to trust him and feel comfortable accepting his help and friendship, and that feeling was indescribable to him.
He sat there in the dark, essentially spooning his best friend, and grinning like a madman at the absurdness of it all.
Surprisingly it took about 6 hours for the facial recognition software to pick up anything, but when Clark heard the first chirp of the alarm go off, he quickly, but softly held the sleeping form close, and flew them down to the computer. He wanted his friend to get even those last few seconds of rest. They were right at the alarm when Bruce registered the sound and woke up, still being held by 2 strong arms, his first thought was panic. As soon as Clark noticed, he loosened his grip, and softly spoke
“Bruce.”
Immediately he was calmed, assured he was safe, and looked towards his program. It didn’t take him long to grab the details and connect the coordinates to his batmobile. And then Clark got to witness the dawning of the batsuit. Bruce was fast and methodical about it, not missing a beat even in his tiredness. And he was in awe. He really should stop being shocked that their friendship ran deeper by the day and that he was privy to things nobody else was, but it still made him feel some kinda way every time. He just patiently watched and waited. Not wanting to get in the way, and knowing that when it came to case work, the Batman was in charge, and he was serious.
Right before Bats took off, he paused for a moment and looked back to him and then the screen, and an ounce of worry crossed his face.
Somehow he knew what was going on in that big brain of his. He was concerned Superman would want to make a visit to check up on him.
“Only if you ask.”
Those icy blue eyes softened and the emotions they held could melt even the coldest of winter days. There was a small but noticeable crack in his voice
“Thank you.”
He had been doing that a lot lately too.
Obviously the words held more gratitude than he could ever express. And then he was off.
Before he even had the thought to leave, Alfred was right next to him with a smile.
“Coffee and biscuits Mr.Kent?”
9
About 2 weeks after that, there was a knock at the door of Wayne manor.
Alfred answered, and was a little surprised but delighted to see Clark standing there.
“Master Bruce is in his study, right this way sir.”
With that, Alfred turned and quickly led him to the study where ‘Master Bruce’ had the news on in the background while he poured over what seemed to be Wayne Enterprise business proposals. Not the usual case work he was used to seeing sprawled out in front of the intense man.
Yet another facet of his friend to learn about. Of course he would spearhead all the projects his inherited company would execute. Especially the charitable and community enhancing ones that were obviously labors of love. He felt like he could spend the rest of his life learning all the little things about his friend and never get bored.
Words from across the study caught his attention, bringing him out of that train of thought.
“What brings you here on Friday evening?” a half smile creeped onto his mouth. “ Did You come for another sleepover?”
“Well… Yes. Kinda. Actually.”
Bruce laid down the papers he was scanning and looked up, arching one of his eyebrows comically high.
Rushing through his answer,
“Well, Lois mentioned her apartment was being fumigated today so she has to be out for at least 24 hours, and she was going to get a hotel. But I told her that I was going out of town this weekend, so she could stay at my place for the night and not have to spend the money. I figured I would just hang in my fortress of solitude, but then I found myself here, and I would rather stay with you.”
He ended it with shy eyes and a goofy smile, as if begging the other man to say okay.
With barely a pause of thought,
“Alfred, please prepare an extra space for dinner.”
They spent most of the evening there, Bruce explaining several Wayne Enterprise projects, how he has made it a focus to build his community and putting resources in the hands of those who need it.
Asking a million questions and feeling amazed at the thoroughness of it all, Clark could see his friends growing excitement about being able to share this with somebody. Especially somebody who could really understand and empathize with all aspects of it. As Brucie Wayne, he had a reputation to upkeep; so he never really got to talk shop to the full extent.
Eventually Alfred called them down for dinner, serving grilled chicken and veggies at Bruce’s earlier request. At the dinner table they chatted about metropolis and Clark's career with the Daily Planet. He really enjoys his secret identity and being able to work and make a difference in other ways Besides being Superman. And without his job he never would have met Lois Lane. While they did date for a while, their breakup was amicable, and she was still one of his best friends, and he would be forever grateful for her presence in his life.
Come sundown, Batman was set to make his nightly rounds of Gotham. Clark briefly thought about asking if he could join but decided against it. He wasn’t particularly in the mood to do a night shift, and he didn’t want to overstep his friends' boundaries. Instead he had Alfred show him to the home theatre, where he started to binge the pirates of the Caribbean movies.
Oo
He fell asleep somewhere during the third one, and only awoke sometime later when he felt strong hands pushing him over, making room on the sofa for another body. Without opening his eyes, Clark shifted himself, lifting his arm, wordlessly inviting his friend to lay with him.
Without hesitation the other body collapsed into his form, pressing his chilled nose to the crook of clarks neck and letting out a heavy sigh. After a few seconds of wriggling and adjusting they found a comfortable position. Their bodies touching from head to toe, limbs completely intertwined.
Clark sensed his friend’s much too high blood pressure and briefly opened his eyes to X-ray, ensuring that no bones were broken or organs damaged. He likely took a beating that night and was sure to be achy in the morning, but he was okay, and that would have to be enough.
Not long afterwards, they were both fast asleep. The soft blue light of the now blank tv screen lighting them in the otherwise dark room.
Oo
There was an annoying buzzing that disturbed the peace. Bruce reached his hand out and fumbled around, not looking at the phone he had grabbed before answering with a Brucie Wayne voice, sloppy and much too sensual.
“Hellooo, you’re interrupting something veryyyyyy important here, you better have a good reason for waking us up.”
A few seconds passed, and a confused woman’s breath came across,
“Hello? Clark?”
That made him pause. Bruce opened his eyes and blinked a few times, trying to get a look at the bright phone screen. He saw that it was Lois Lane calling, and then very shortly after saw that he had answered Clark's phone. Mentally kicking himself, he looked over at the flabbergasted face next to him,
“Sorry. It’s Lois.”
Taking a moment to process what had just happened, Clark laughed a bit and took the phone. Usually he would excuse himself to take a phone call, but seeing as he was trapped by a sleepy bat that was obviously not moving, and it was likely to be a brief call, he stayed put.
“Hey Lo, what’s up?”
Neglecting to answer that question, or even continue in with the reason she even called, excitedly she demanded,
“WHO WAS THAT!? Out of town my ass, you’re with somebody! Wait, you’re WITH SOMEBODY? You’re with a man?! My god, I need details mister! What’s his name? Where did you meet him? Should I get you a coming out of the closet cake? Can I meet him? Dude, did we break up because you found out you were gay? Seriously, who is it? Do I know him? Is it Pete from sports broadcasting? He is capital F fine, and definitely gay.”
Clark had to bite his lip to keep himself from laughing at the dramatics of it all, but decided he would have to cut the woman off, Rao knew she could go on forever.
“Good morning to you too. Please stop shouting, he’s trying to sleep.”
Pointedly ignoring her excited commentary, he continued
“You called for a reason. What do you need?”
Resolving that she wasn’t going to get any information right then, she pouted and made a mental note to pester him about it on Monday then asked,
“Fine. How do you use this ancient stove of yours? I feel like I’m going to burn the whole place down.”
He laughed and then explained how to get the stove to turn on. From what Bruce heard, he was suddenly concerned for the woman. Surely it wasn’t safe to use a gas stove that took a stern kick and matches to start.
Once he was off the phone, Bruce looked up and sincerely expressed,
“I am sorry to have answered your phone, I should have paid more attention.”
Clark brought his hand up to brush the hair out of his friends face and gently run down his scalp as he assured,
“Hey, it's not a problem. Mistakes happen.”
He smiled,
“Though she’s never going to rest until she gets more dirt on me sleeping next to a man who can’t answer a phone like a normal person. I suppose you might owe me for that.”
Bruce leaned into the head rub,
“Hmmmm, perhaps you could get an exclusive interview from Bruce Wayne for one of your articles.”
Clark stopped at that, Bruce's face showing his displeasure as the loss of movement.
“You know I would never ask you to do that.”
Bruce stared harshly until the man continued softly raking his fingers through thick black hair,
“I know. You’re not asking, I’m offering.”
He smirked,
“Unless everybody will think you’ve slept your way to the top. I would hate to ruin your Boy Scout image.”
They both fell into a fit of laughter at that. At one point Clark snorted quite loudly, and that just made them laugh even harder. Neither one of them could remember the last time they had really been able to let go and enjoy themselves with that kind of laughter.
They eventually giggled themselves out, and were left in a comfortable silence. Still laying intertwined, and enjoying the now familiar comfort of each other.
“Okay, I accept your offer. I would love the chance to interview the one and only Brucie Wayne.”
There was an awkward pause.
“Brucie Wayne?”
Clarks eyes widened. Had he really said that out loud?
“Well, uh, yeah. Brucie Wayne. That’s what I’ve taken to calling your Billionaire-Playboy-Party-Animal persona. It’s different from my best friend Bruce Wayne, and it’s the polar opposite from my co-worker Batman. So Brucie Wayne.”
Bruce took time to mull this over in his mind. Not only did this charade character of his now have his own name, but he was comforted that Clark knew this and could make the distinction. He found that he enjoyed the concept.
“Brucie Wayne. Assuming you will keep that out of your article, I quite like it… Does it bother you at all? Me having 3 different personalities? Does it make you feel too much like you’ve befriended one of the maniacs we fight so often?”
Bruce’s voice got softer as he went on, the sincerity and self-consciousness coming through. Without hesitation, Clark responded,
“Of course not! I know that you have to keep up your image in the public eye, I know your passion for protecting your city as the Dark Knight, and I know you at your core without these masks. But most importantly, I love that I know each of these aspects of you. You can’t have one without the other, and I wouldn’t have you any other way. These little sleepovers may be the best things to ever happen to me. I don’t think I would have really gotten to meet you any other way.”
Bruce didn’t know how to respond. How could he? His own emotions over the sentiment overwhelmed him, and so he nuzzled his face back into Clark’s neck and steadied his breathing. Clark just squeezed him tighter, knowing this was enough of an answer to his words.
He wasn’t sure how long they laid like that when Clarks stomach made a loud rumble.
Bruce laughed lightly but began to move slowly,
“Alfred would be so disappointed in my manors. I gave him the day off, but let's go get you some breakfast.”
With that they made their way off the couch, Clark lazily stretching and following Bruce downstairs to the kitchen.
They grabbed fresh coffee and Bruce fried up some eggs. They ate comfortably in the large kitchen, and discussed when their official interview would be while spitballing topic ideas. Settling on the following Friday and to focus on the newest charity project he had going on at Wayne Enterprise. Clark was almost more excited to see Brucie Wayne in full action, not just as a bystander or on tv.
Afterwards they split ways. Bruce going back to his study to finish up his business proposals, and Clark making his superman rounds. Right before leaving out the door, Clark went in for a hug which was more than happily returned.
“Thank you Bruce. For everything.” He smiled
And then he was off, missing the matching smile that he left behind.
Oo
That following Monday, Clark found a bouquet of simple red roses on his desk with a note that said “Just to give her something to talk about ;) ” Then he looked over and realized that Lois had a very large and elaborate floral arrangement on her desk. Having his suspicions he peaked at the attached note,
“I hope you enjoyed your weekend at Clarks apartment. I know I enjoyed having him over at my place. He’s quite the cuddle bug.”
His cheeks flushed red and he spent the rest of the day trying to avoid her wandering gaze. Perhaps this was Bruce’s way of making sure he didn’t feel guilty about the interview they agreed to.
10
The next two weeks saw the men very busy. Between their individual cases, day jobs, and alternating duty with the Justice League, the interview was the only time they saw each other.
Until the wee hours of a Thursday morning, when Clark heard a loud thudding sound out on his balcony. He was already certain who it was when he got out of bed to check, not even bothering to put anything on over his boxers. Reaching the living room, he saw right as the dark figure slipped between the doors.
For some reason Bruce felt a lot like a teenager being caught sneaking home past curfew. So he tried to lighten the tired mood.
“Honey, I’m home.” He sing-songed.
Clark amused at the choice of words.
“I see that, dear. I’m going to go back to bed now. Shower is yours, and then you can join this ‘cuddle bug’.”
Bats snickered at the reference to his floral present, but did make his way to the shower, and Clark crawled right back into bed.
After he was clean, Bruce grabbed a fresh pair of boxer briefs from the other man's dresser, and found his way to the sleeping form. He really should start keeping clothes here, though he couldn’t be bothered to figure out if borrowing the other man's underwear was too intimate or not.
At first he just laid in the empty space next to his friend, until Clark turned over and blindly felt around for Bruce. Landing on his firm waist, he used his strength to pull their bodies close, until clarks entire bare chest was up against Bruce’s bareback, and one leg slotted perfectly between the others. Arm stayed draped over the man's side, and his nose fell right at the temple.
Without any more movement, Bruce thought Clark had already fallen back asleep. But then came a question a part of him had been expecting. Just above a whisper directly into his ear.
“Why tonight?”
While he had seen it coming, he still didn’t have a formulated answer. Hesitantly,
“I’m just tired. And… I sleep better when I’m with you.”
“Why.”
That question caught him more off guard. He really hadn’t allowed himself to put too much thought into why.
“… I… I trust you. And I feel, safe, with you. And if we’re going to be completely honest, I’ve missed you Clark.”
Clark squeezed him just a little tighter at that.
“Bruce, if we are going to be honest… I’ve missed you too. Getting to sleep next to you. Learning new things about you. Living little moments of a normal domestic life. I’ve never felt more at home than when we’re together.”
Bruce exhaled suddenly and deeply. As if he had been holding his breath, or forgotten to breathe all together.
Softly, Clark kissed his temple, and directed the suddenly serious moment.
“I do have to work in the morning, so let me get my beauty sleep.”
They settled down and evened their breathing to one another, and easily drifted off.
Oo
Much too early, and before Clark's alarm was set to go off, there was a phone call. Bruce was the first one to get to it, this time making sure what phone it was, he saw the Lois Lane caller ID and made a decision.
“Good morning Lois, I hope you have a good excuse for waking him up so early.”
The woman’s voice was taken off guard, but recovered quickly.
“Hello Mr. Mysterious. Thank you for the flowers, they were absolutely lovely.”
Clark was already awake, and could hear each side of the conversation, but he was curious as to what Bruce was doing.
“You are absolutely welcome Miss Lane. Though I must say, we’ve got to stop meeting like this.”
Clark had a laugh and then chimed in,
“Okay, that’s enough B…..”
He hesitated, suddenly aware that he probably shouldn’t say Bruce’s name, Lois was clever and was sure to immediately figure out which Bruce it was, so he quickly recovered,
“..babe. I’m sure Lois called for something important at 5 in the morning.” Shifting the phone to the other, Clark's tone promoted a response.
She started in with an important news story that was currently unfolding, and it was all reporters on deck. He quickly got the brief and where he should show up.
He sped dressed and before making his way out of his bedroom, he leaned down towards Bruce, where he was surprised to hear,
“Babe. I don't hate it .”
Clark planted a kiss on his forehead, Bruce could feel the smile against his skin.
“Me too babe. Now go back to sleep, and stay as long as you want.”
And with one last glance at the sleepy form, he left for his news story.
Once on scene, Lois was tempted to interrogate Clark more than any witnesses, but she could see the goofy smile plastered on his face, he was clearly in such a good mood, she didn’t want to risk ruining it. If he was happy, she was happy.
He got back home rather late that night, having worked his full day and then followed up as superman. He figured Bruce would be gone, but he didn’t expect the note on his kitchen table.
“Babe,
Your words mean more to me than you’ll ever know, and I’m grateful to have you in my life.”
“I hope you don’t mind, but I replaced that metal death trap in your kitchen and upgraded some of your toiletries. You deserve better than that cheap stuff. Also, we both know I’ll be back, and Brucie Wayne is pretty particular about his products.”
Clark smiled like an idiot, rereading the note over and over again.
Bonus 1
The next time started with an invitation for Bruce to meet Martha Kent.
He wanted to drive or take a flight out to Kansas, but Clark convinced him that it would be much simpler if he flew the two of them there himself.
Bruce gave in on that discussion much quicker than he thought, but he was absolutely thrilled to get a yes. He wanted to be there as soon as possible and finally introduce the two most important people in his life to each other.
They arrived on the farm just after breakfast on a bright Saturday morning, Clark leading them through his Ma’s home, and eventually down to the basement. Even though there was just a single full sized bed, and plenty of other sleeping options elsewhere in the home, they each settled their few belongings in Clark's childhood bedroom.
Ma Kent was always thrilled to have her son visit, but was more excited to finally meet his best friend she had been hearing so much about. Though she suspected there might be a little more to the picture when she found that they would be staying in the same room. It brought several questions to her mind, but she resolved that she didn’t mind either way, and made it her mission to get to know the man, and make sure he felt at home.
The day was turning out picture perfect, like something out of a storybook. Ma had the boys help her make an apple pie, showing them each how to slit the top crust for proper ventilation. Afterwards, while she made lunch, they went out and fixed the busted fencing on the chicken coupe. Bruce was certainly out of his comfort zone collecting eggs from the roost, but was delighted to get to see this side of Clark, and perhaps he was right. Clark might make a cowboy out of him yet.
Throughout the day, Ma told plenty of stories about her son growing up, making sure not to skip out on the embarrassing ones. He couldn’t contain his laughter after finding out they had to wrap his Christmas gifts in lead to prevent him from peaking.
Clark had given him a tour of the entire property, his favorite lake to go swimming in, the horse barn Pa built, the tire swing he put up himself as a kid. Sharing so many stories and memories with Bruce as they walked through it all. It couldn’t have gone better, until dinner.
They all sat around the well worn dining table, chatting and laughing over nothing in particular, the boys thoroughly enjoying the homemade cooking. Clark always stood by that nothing could taste better than a dish made with a mother’s love.
Eventually they got to dessert, finally being able to tuck into the apple pie that had been cooling on the honest to god window sill all afternoon.
When ma served a slice on Bruce’s plate, she gently tousled his hair and lovingly said
“Enjoy your dessert hun.”
He froze. Memories of his own mother flooding his mind, and he found suddenly that he couldn’t control his emotions. It all became too much, the overwhelming feelings that he usually kept behind tight brick walls.
As calmly and politely as he could manage in his state, Bruce stood up and excused himself from the table. Walking directly out the back door, into the dusk, with no direction in mind.
Clarks heart broke upon the realization, he felt so foolish. Of course this would all be so overwhelming for him.
He looked to his mom, trying to find the words to explain what was going on. She couldn’t have been completely sure of the context, though she seemed to have a clue, she figured most importantly,
“Go after him.”
He rose and gave her a quick embrace, kissing the top of her head with a soft smile.
“Thank you.”
And with that he followed after Bruce into the dark.
He seemed to be walking towards the old hay barn on the southside of the property, he laughed to himself briefly “Bats are drawn to dark places to hide.” He shook his head to rid the thought, he needed to be ready when he found Bruce.
Finally making it into the barn, he saw the shadowy figure pause and caught his attention, pointing to a staircase towards the back, leading them up into a loft area. Clark was very fond of this spot, having spent a lot of time here throughout his youth. It was close enough to home that he could keep an eye on things, but just far enough back that he could use the space to calm down, or process whatever emotions he was feeling without endangering his family.
He quietly followed up the worn stairs, and they soon found themselves standing near a small open window, allowing the moonlight to pour in on where they stood. Clark wanted to give his friend time to process himself before speaking, so he took time to light 2 gas lanterns on either side of the small space. And finally he found his place in front of Bruce, who didn’t make eye contact for some time.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry for ruining everything.”
He looked down at his feet, still not wanting to meet eyes. So Clark placed his hands on either side of the man's cheeks, and gently raised his head so their faces met.
“Hey. You don’t have to apologize, you didn’t ruin anything.”
It was obvious in Bruce’s look that he didn’t believe the words he was being told.
“If anything, I should be apologizing. I got so caught up being back home again, and wanting to make sure Ma liked you, I didn’t even think about how this might affect you.”
Suddenly Bruce’s eyes were a little less glassy, and an eyebrow rose.
“Why is it so important that your mother likes me?”
Clark paused. Why had he been so concerned? As if processing the past few months all at once, he came to a very sudden realization. He couldn’t help the bright smile that plastered itself on his face. He knew full well the complications that might come with what he was about to say, but he had to. It was like a bomb had gone off in his brain and he couldn't help but to put it all out in the open now.
“You know, for a world class detective, I thought you might have figured this out sooner.”
A lump was stuck in Bruce’s throat, he didn’t even want to allow himself to think about what his friend might say in this moment. He would not allow himself to get his hopes up, would not allow the impossible thought to enter his mind, just to surely get shot down. He would not be able to survive that.
“Surely I don’t know what you’re talking about.” His voice wavered.
Taking a leap of faith, Clark took a step forward, and slowly but confidently leaned in, giving Bruce all the opportunity in the world to say no. The kiss started tentative and soft, but as they each processed the moment and feeling of it all, it became much more. The kiss quickly deepend as hands found their way up and down each other's bodies, tongues battling between teeth. Minutes later, they broke apart to catch their breaths. Clark rested his forehead against Bruce’s and breathed deeply.
Bruce asked in a timid whisper,
“Why.”
Clark drew back to look into his eyes, with the most serious look he could muster.
“You are so dense sometimes... Because I’m in love with you. I love Batman, and I love Brucie Wayne, and most importantly, I love you Bruce.”
Bruce’s eyes grew glassy again, but he took a deep breath to calm himself.
“I want so badly to tell you why that’s a bad idea. I want to convince you that I’m not worth your time or your emotions. To tell you how complicated we would be trying to juggle all our identities and the dangers of our lives and that I’m not worth loving.”
He laughed out a harsh breath,
“But I can’t. I love you more than you will ever know, and I do not have the strength to walk away.”
Clark couldn’t believe that his best friend had fallen in love with him right back. Always one to lighten the tense moments,
“As long as you are okay being with a man. I wouldn’t want it to ruin your dark and broody image, let alone your playboy, woman chasing public image.”
Bruce let his hands fall onto Clarks hips and slowly traced down towards his rear.
“As long as it's you, I don’t care. And I think the press would absolutely eat up a story about a billionaire playboy coming out of the closet and falling head over heels for a lowly reporter that recently interviewed him.”
Clark laughed, but Bruce continued on.
“That would be the perfect introduction to help launch a foundation to help LGBTQ youth! I can’t believe I haven’t thought about that before, there is such a great need….”
Clark stopped him with a soft kiss at the corner of his mouth.
“I love you so much, and I very much want to hear the rest of that thought, but maybe we can pitch ideas about that later?”
Bruce locked onto his hungry eyes.
“Oh. I think that can be arranged.”
A Brucie Wayne smirk crossed his face, and he drew his hands up to the buttons of Clark's shirt, slowly unfastening the top.
“And what would you suppose we do instead, hmmm?” The end of his sentence rumbling deep within his chest, sending chills down his partner's spine.
Clarks hands found their way to the top of Bruce's waistband, fidgeting with the clasp.
“I can think of a few things.”
At that, their coy game of smirks and shy looks melted away. They would have time to play the games and take things to the limit. Time to be slow, and methodical, cataloging every inch of each other's muscular bodies. They would have time for that later, but now was a time for red hot passion and hungry hands and sloppy kisses. For learning this new facet of their relationship, and for processing this new feeling they shared.
Oo
When they didn’t come back for the night, Ma’s suspicions were confirmed, and she was overjoyed that her son had found somebody. Not to mention such a handsome somebody that was obviously as in love with Clark as he was with him. She smiled softly to herself as she got ready for bed, making a mental note to pester them for information over breakfast.