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“I don't know if he likes me, Lois.”
Lois Lane rolled her eyes, as she reviewed a draft of her latest report. She had been listening to her best friend talk and talk for two hours about his super crush and his supposedly impossible love. She didn't mind hearing him at all, she loved him like a brother, but she had advised Clark Kent more times than she could remember and they always came back to the same thing because he didn't want to expose his love to the grumpy bat.
“And how do you think you know how he feels if you don't tell him you like him?” She asked, crossing out an unnecessary line from her report. “I'm pretty sure Batman can't read minds, Kent.”
“I know” Clark agreed. “But I'm really afraid of losing the beautiful friendship we’ve had for five years.”
“You'll never know if you don't take the risk” Lois frowned when she read an incoherence in an important paragraph. “Batman may be a tough and cool guy, but I don't think he's a stupid person to lose your friendship just for that reason”
"You think?" Kent's hopeful tone brought a small smile out of her. It was ironic to hear Mr. 'Hope' have no hope for a common situation.
“Yes, SuperDumb,” She said, mocking him. “I have repeated it to you thousands of times”
Kent had remained silent, maybe correcting his own report and she sighed in relief at that, because she had to correct the draft before dawn and from what she saw, she had written it wrong. However, she heard Clark pick up all his things from the table and get up from his chair.
"You’ll leave?" Lois asked, confused. “I thought you would stay to finish the job.”
“I finished it a while ago” Clark smiled and she sighed. Of course he had finished it. “Besides, I have to go to Gotham tonight.”
“Gotham?” She frowned again. “What business could you have in that city, smallville?”
Clark slung his bag on his shoulder, still too smiling for her liking, and watched him walk to the door of her apartment, and before leaving, he looked at her again.
“I'm going to tell him, Lois.”
She opened her eyes and mouth in surprise, almost crumpling the paper in her hands with excitement and nodded happily.
“Go get it, tiger!”
He could tell that Gotham was prettier at night, even if it's the time when crime awakens. The city seemed quiet and lonely, but he knew it was only that way because the bat was patrolling.
It didn't take him much to find Batman as he came to believe before, as the Dark Knight was at the top of a building in the center of the city, crouching down and watching to make sure everything was still in order.
He flew slowly until he reached him, floating a few centimeters above the floor of the roof and took a look at the direction Batman was looking; It just seemed like a group of teenagers who wanted to have fun together on a Thursday night.
“What are you doing in my city?” Batman spoke a few seconds later in a fairly low tone and without getting up from the position he was in.
Clark crossed his arms, watching the black cape flutter elegantly in the wind and sighed quietly before speaking.
“Sorry for coming unannounced,” he managed to say in the kind tone he used as Superman, swallowing the knot of nerves. “But I have to talk to you, only if you can.”
"It is important?" Batman asked.
I don't know if it is for you , he thought.
“Yes” He answered without hesitation because he did consider it something important.
“Fine” Batman agreed, squeezing the earpiece in his right ear, maybe turning it off. “Make it quick”
Clark was grateful that Batman hadn't stood in front of him to talk to him because if he saw him directly, he was sure he wouldn't be able to say anything.
“I'm sorry for not waiting to tell you this at another, more appropriate time.” That seemed to catch Batman's attention, as he straightened in the same position, seeming more attentive. “But it's something I can't carry with me anymore and I need to tell you so I can breathe once and for all.” Clark swallowed hard and accepted his fate. “I…” He hesitated. “I have feelings for you”
Clark breathed as if he had run a marathon across Gotham, feeling relief rush through his body. He looked at Batman, who seemed to have not reacted to what he said and blinked in confusion.
"What?" Batman said suddenly, sounding slightly surprised but trying to hide it, and Clark nearly fainted when he saw him stand up.
“Yeahhh…” He trailed off, once again grateful that Batman hadn't turned to face him. He let the air out of his body and concentrated on explaining. “I know our friendship is only based on the Justice League, but I couldn't help it.” He bit his lower lip. “And I had to tell you or I was going to go crazy or I was going to drive my best friend crazy.”
Superman smiled thinking about Lois and how she’ll be waiting for him tomorrow to hear him tell her. He loved her so much and thanked her for all the times he listened to his non-stop about this moment. Maybe he buys her a gift, whether the situation turns out good or bad.
"Report!"
Clark panicked, blinking disoriented at Batman's exclamation. Report?
That was what he said when someone from the league came home from a mission. Why would he ask her in this situation? Furthermore, there had been no missions for him that day.
Until a noise sounded behind him, it almost scared his heart out. Still floating, he turned quickly to see the two individuals who were leaning on some kind of pole. He recognized them almost instantly as Nightwing: Hero of Bludheaven and Red Hood: The crime lord (past).
“That was SuperWeird” Red Hood said, maybe trying to sound funny, but the modulator on his red hood wouldn't let him.
Nightwing laughed anyway and looked at the bat who was waiting for the report, Clark looked at him too, getting scared once again when he saw him looking at the vigilantes. At what point did he move? Fuck.
"With the help of Red Robin and Robin we were able to stop the ship that was carrying the people that had been missing for two weeks" Nightwing explained. “We still don't know who could be behind it, but RR is already on it”
“The rescued people were checked by the paramedics” Red Hood said this time. “The police are going to question them later.”
Was it human trafficking? God, Clark takes it back from thinking it was a quiet night in that city.
But wait, why does Batman entrust those missions to those vigilantes? But he couldn't answer his own questions because Red Hood looked at him... or rather the hood looked at him and so did Nightwing, smiling happily.
“It's nice to see you again, Sups” He told him and Clark was surprised because he didn't remember having seen Nightwing in person, but he still smiled back.
“Nightwing” He greeted him.
“It's also good to see you again” Red Hood said in that robotic voice. “Although I expected it in a less romantic situation, honestly”
The red that rose to his cheeks was like that of tomatoes and Clark wished he could fly away to another galaxy forever. His super hearing had betrayed him and now he had to deal with the shame for his entire life.
“I want the written report by tomorrow.” Batman came to his rescue, scaring him for the third time that night. "Well done"
“Fine” Red Hood responded, standing up to leave with Nightwing. “Ask for it to the replacement” And he jumped to the edge of the building to turn around a little. “Goodbye, SuperLovely”
“Little wing” Nightwing scolded him, but he was smiling. “See you, B” And he turned to look at him too. “Goodbye, Sups.”
Without waiting for a response, both vigilantes jumped off the building, leaving him and Batman alone again. Superman no longer wanted to face him after suffering tremendous embarrassment and wished that Batman was gone too, but he knew better from the sound of his cape moving.
He sighed before looking at the bat, who was already staring at him silently. Crying wasn't an option... Right?
Clark avoided Batman's gaze, knowing that his confession hadn't gone so well and that maybe Batman is waiting for him to tell him it was a joke or something, but he had already said it and it was going to stay that way. He just was going to apologize once again for being inopportune and not wait for another time.
However, his super hearing decided to revive at that precise moment and he heard how some people were screaming for help in Metropolis. He turned his head to get a better hearing, it seemed to be a house burning with people trapped inside.
He quickly rose high and looked at Batman, who hadn't said a word.
“I'm sorry, I have to go.” And without waiting for a response, he sped off to his city to help with the emergency.
Then he would see how he worked things out with Batman.
"I'm a failure!"
Lois sighed, leaving the newspaper she was carrying in her hands to look at the man lying in the chair as if he were drunk. Superman had gone to his apartment after helping with the fire and without saying anything, he locked himself in the second room.
That had confirmed to her that the confession had not gone well, but she decided to give him his space and wait for him to tell her everything that happened with Batman.
“You're not, Clark,” She said, frowning at him. “You were nervous and you were going to confess your feelings to Batman, damn, it's okay that you didn't pay attention.”
Clark sat up straight in his chair, settling like a normal person.
“It's traumatic.” He ran a hand over his face in exasperation. “Now I’m going to be the mockery of the Gotham vigilantes”
“Clark” She leaned across the table. “It was bad timing, I know, but you still don't have an answer from Batman” Lois smiled. “And for me, that is a magnificent advantage because otherwise, you wouldn’t be here with me.”
“I know.” He nodded slowly. “But I don't want an answer to anything anymore, I just want to disappear from this planet and start a new life away from my misery.”
“Oh, don't be ridiculous, Kent!” Lois punched him in the arm and he feigned pain. “It was just a confession that went fairly wrong because you didn't pay attention to your surroundings with your super hearing, it's not like Batman told you to fuck off.”
“Oh, thanks, Lane.” He gave her a ugly look. "I feel better"
“You're welcome, smallville.” She shrugged. “But seriously.” She looked at him with compassion. “It's not the first time this is going to happen to you, there are going to be many times where you're going to screw up, Clark and each time it will be a little worse, but that's part of being human in this world” Lois smiled. “And at the end of all those times, you’ll be able to find the person you’re going to love all your life.”
Clark smiled, looking at his friend.
“Sometimes I forget that you're a successful reporter who knows how to talk.” Clark dodged another blow from her. “But thank you, that was inspiring for a moment.”
"For a moment?" She asked almost indignantly.
He nodded slowly.
“I still feel like I'm going to faint the next time I see Batman.”
The truth is that he didn't faint the next time he saw Batman.
He just decided to ignore his presence as best he could at the League meeting and that was it. He knew full well that that probably wasn't the best thing to do and that maybe he looked like a high school kid, but in his own defense, he made him spend the meeting pretty relaxed and not thinking about how Batman was going to kill him when they're done the meeting.
Batman didn't kill him either when the meeting ended and Clark took the opportunity to leave the meeting room to the monitor room, since it was his turn to stay that night. He figured his teammates had already gone home and allowed himself to relax, but his heart nearly jumped out of his chest when he heard Batman approach the monitor room.
He didn’t turn around when he heard the door being opened and pretended to be scrolling through the different screens on the monitor. Batman walked up next to him, grabbing a piece of the monitor to search for something without saying a word and Clark was fighting not to fly away.
Suddenly, Lois's words came to his mind about how he had to fix what he had started and he saw this opportunity to apologize to Batman, overcoming the fear he felt of losing his friendship and the shame of having exposed himself the night before in front of the vigilantes.
“Batman” He spoke when he felt his voice was stable enough to do so. Batman made a noise that he was listening and Clark continued. “I apologize to you for last night, I didn't want to cause a show with the other two vigilantes and expose you and myself like that” He sighed. “I should’ve waited to say it in an appropriate place or… maybe never told you at all.” He laughed a little. “I only ask that our friendship not become uncomfortable and that we forget what I said.”
By that time, Superman was no longer afraid of anything at all. His body no longer felt shaky and he felt that apologizing had felt good to him. Batman continued to pay attention to the monitor screen, downloading things that Clark didn't pay attention to and he waited for a response.
“If you think I'm mad, I'm not,” Batman said. “I'm not going to treat you any other way or make things uncomfortable.” He connected a strange device to the monitor to pass the downloaded data. “I hadn't responded to what you said because I was thinking and I still doing it” Batman disconnected the device and looked at it. “Because dating you would mean telling you my identity and I'm not sure I want to do that.”
Eh?
Ehhh?
EEEEH?
WAS HE THINKING ABOUT IT?
OH GOD.
He was thinking about it. Thinking of dating him. With Superman. With Clark Kent.
But he also wasn’t sure.
And that was reasonable too.
He knew that his civilian identity was very important to him and the fact that he's thinking about it is an honor, but he didn't want to cause trouble for him because of it. And maybe it was too risky for both of them to go on dates. God, they were heroes of the world, they weren't a high school team.
“Batman, I understand,” Clark said, looking at the bat. “Actually, I didn't tell you to actually hope to have a relationship with you, but to get it out of my system.” Batman kept his stance firm. “We're on a team of heroes and I know we dating is probably unstable.” Clark smiled to hide the fact that it hurt him. “We can continue being friends, colleagues, whatever. You don't have to think so much about it."
Yes, it hurt a lot.
But he understood the situation.
Batman was silent for a few seconds, until he moved a little.
"Fine"
It was the last thing he said and he walked out the door, leaving him alone.
Clark grimaced, leaning his head on his left hand and staring uninterestedly at the monitor screens.
An imaginary rain appeared above his head, warning him that it would be a very sad night.
Clark was on the couch, reading some of his reports that he had to turn in that week. His boss had entrusted him with the cases that have occurred in Gotham of recent kidnappings. After the vigilantes stopped the ship that night, the kidnappings didn’t stop and he thought that perhaps they hadn’t been able to find the culprit yet. He had to be someone very powerful to be able to hide from Batman.
And thinking of Batman, Clark jumped slightly when he looked up and saw the bat standing in the entrance to the living room. He still couldn't explain how these people could hide from his super hearing, damn, maybe he should go get checked or something because it wasn't normal for him to listen to everyone in the world, except them.
But wait… waIT… WAIT.
“How do you know where I live?” Clark stood up from the couch quickly, scared. "How did you got inside?" He blinked several times. “Did you know my civilian identity all along?”
“I know everyone's identities,” Batman responds. “Also what part of the earth or planet they are and their exact location”
Clark raises his eyebrows, surprised.
"Why?" He frowned. “That's rude of you.”
Batman shrugs without giving much importance to the matter.
“I have to know” Batman said. “You never know if someone can become a threat to the earth”
Okay, okay.
"And what are you doing here?" Clark asked, crossing his arms.
It wasn't that he didn't want to see him, but Batman had traveled to Metropolis to break into his apartment, of course he was intrigued by what he came to do in his city. Maybe he should also make a rule that no other heroes show up without asking permission, but he wasn't jealous of his city anyway.
Batman looked out the living room window and sighed slowly, then raised his hands to his hood and began to pull it. Clark almost fainted when he discovered what he was doing, but he couldn't look away and he was sure his heart stopped for a moment when he saw that Bruce Wayne is Batman.
Bruce Wayne is Batman. Shit.
BRUCE WAYNE IS BATMAN.
Clark snapped his mouth shut, looking at the black paint that was a little smudged around the edges around his eyes, his hair disheveled, but seemed soft to the touch…
Oh, god... He had been in love with the prince of Gotham.
Well, not the Prince of Gotham, but the Dark Knight.
They were different people, very different.
“I interviewed you” Clark said, still in disbelief. “And you knew who I was,” he put his hands on his own hips, thinking about the times he interviewed Bruce and had too much fun. “Did you make the interviews more enjoyable because it was me?”
"Yeah"
Clark was surprised to hear his voice without the modulator he used as Batman, and his mind had the luxury of working quickly at that moment, realizing that Batman had shown him who he was... Batman had said that dating with him he had to tell him his civil identity and now he knew it.
He knew it.
That… did that mean what he think it means?
“So…” He hesitated, moving a little closer. “Did you decide dating me?”
“Something like that” Bruce grimaced.
"Something like that?" Clark asked confused. “What do you mean by ‘something like that’?”
“You have to earn it”
“Is that so?” Clark smirked. “Do I have to earn dating Bruce Wayne?”
"Yeah"
“Let me buy you dinner, then” he said, stopping in front of Bruce. “We’ll go to a good place, I promise.”
Bruce stood still for a moment, looking at him without showing any emotion, until he moved to finish approaching Clark, laughing softly. He took Clark's hands and placed them on his own waist.
“Clark Kent” Bruce mentioned, smiling playfully. “That's very old-fashioned.”
Clark blinked dazedly and tightened his hands on Bruce's waist, wanting to contradict what he had said. However, he couldn't do it… because Bruce silenced him, kissing him unexpectedly.
Having Bruce underneath him and moaning was a complete delight for Clark.
He had dreamed about it so many times that experiencing it in person almost made him faint from how delicious and magnificent it was to have sex with him.
He felt himself lose his mind as he increased his thrusts, feeling his orgasm want to explode already, but Clark didn't want to come first and made sure Bruce did it first.
The high-pitched moan Bruce let out as he came made him smile smugly before his own orgasm hit as well.
"I have earned it?"
Bruce turned to look at him, finishing putting on his Batman suit and smiled.
“I don't know.” He shrugged. “Maybe a second time I can find out.”
Clark laughed, leaning against the headboard of the bed.
“It’ll happen a second time if you agree to have dinner with me, Bruce Wayne.”
“Is that so?” Bruce asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes” Clark nodded. "You have to earn it"
Bruce looked at him for a moment and then laughed, walking over to Clark to lean in and give him a short kiss on the lips.
“But I choose the place”