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“I’m telling you, he’s definitely your type. He’s about your age, muscular-!”
“Don’t you have a shift to get back to?”
“Nope! I’m on break.”
Bruce Wayne, ER specialist with a special gift for pediatrics, rubbed his forehead as his eldest son, Dick, a pediatrics nurse, leaned closer to him with a grin. No matter how often Bruce told Dick that he was ‘married to his work’, Dick had been trying to set him up on a date with one particular member of the other hospital staff - Dick wouldn't tell him the man’s name unless he agreed. Bruce wasn’t exactly what others would find attractive; while he was a doctor with aesthetically pleasing looks, he was also neurotic, analytic, and fiercely dedicated to his job and his children. It was hard enough managing 4 boys with their high school and college events - Bruce was sure that he’d have no time for anyone else.
But Dick insisted to him that it’d work out.
Dick assured him as he tore into his dinner tray, “I’ve received more than one kid from his ambulance myself and he’s great with kids. Heck, I think he’s delivered babies before too - I know you need a man with a sensitive side, dad.”
Bruce reminded him as he finished his own cafeteria dinner, “Dick, you know I'm not in the market for love right now. I've got you, Jason, Tim, and Damian and that's all I need. Also, please chew with your mouth closed.”
Dick closed his mouth and finished swallowing his bite before saying, “So? We're getting older, you're going to have more free time once Damian finishes high school after Tim this year, do you really want to spend it alone?”
Bruce stood up and got ready to put away his dinner tray, “Dick, not right now.” Bruce hurriedly walked out of the cafeteria and back to the ER floor.
Dick sighed and continued eating while setting up a FaceTime call. It was late enough that Tim and Damian were back from high school and Jason’s literature courses were bound to be done. Jason still lived at home, so FaceTiming him was his best option.
Jason picked up immediately, “Killing time on the job, Goldie?” Jason looked like he was in the kitchen, his favorite place in the house. Tim and Damian could be seen in the background - Jason was probably cooking for the three of them.
Dick sighed dramatically, “I'm on break. Dad’s doing it again, Jay. Keep trying to set him up and he doesn't wanna give the guy a chance.”
Damian chimed in, “Father has always been opposed to good ideas. Remember when he said we couldn’t keep our cat? We named it Alfred and now he loves him.”
Tim chimed in, arguing back, “It’s not the same as having a cat, Dami. This is someone that Dad has to love and date, it's a far bigger commitment.”
Jason asked, “Is the beefcake the one who typically takes the patients into the ER?”
Dick shook his head, “No, he's usually in the ambulance. Think I should ask him to take the patients into the ER?”
Jason nodded, saying, “Yeah, that way B will actually see him at work. Guy's admitted to having a crush on B so it'll be a great time to show off his shtick.”
Dick swallowed another mouthful of food and said, “I like the way you think, Jay. I’ll let him know Bruce’s schedule and see if they’ll run into each other tonight.”
~~~
Silence was a rarity in Gotham Medical’s ER. Bruce knew better than to think too much about it or the ER would suddenly get filled. This was where he thrived - he loved the high stress and randomness that came with ER work, though he was glad he had a moment’s peace to finish up his notes.
Dr. Selina Kyle came into his quiet room and told him, “B, we need your help on the pediatrics floor.”
Bruce raised an eyebrow, asking, “You know pediatrics isn’t my specialty, I’m supposed to be in the ER today.”
Selina waved him off, saying, “This is a special case. Dick is requesting backup with a kid who was brought in and he refuses to talk - we don’t know where to begin looking. Dr. Quinn is backed up, so maybe see if you can work your magic on this kid?”
Bruce sighed deeply and logged off the computer, telling her, “You owe me for this.” Bruce headed up towards the pediatric wing, changing his doctor’s coat to a cuter one with a teddy bear before going to the room that Selina had talked to him about. Dick was outside the door on a nurse-station computer.
Bruce asked him, “What do we know about the kid?”
Dick opened the child’s case file and scrolled, saying, “Not much unfortunately. Looks like the child was in some sort of playground accident and the kid’s teacher was the one who called the ambulance when the child went unresponsive. So far, no contact with the kid’s parents has been successful. The ambulance EMT who brought him in has been with the kid the entire time, the kid has been holding his hand. Maybe talk to him to get some information.”
Bruce sighed and went into the room. Inside the playfully decorated room was a child probably 8 years old laying on a bed holding the hand of a muscular gentleman in the EMT scrubs. The man looked at him as he approached, smiling, “Doctor Wayne? Nurse Grayson told me you’d be coming.” He shook Bruce’s hand with his free hand, firmly in a way that caught Bruce’s attention.
The EMT sat with the kid and told him, “See? It's Doctor Wayne, he's here to help. Will you tell him what happened?” The kid looked at Bruce and shyly shook his head. The EMT didn't give up though, saying, “Can you tell him your name? Remember I told you my name is Clark? What's your name?”
The kid still hesitated for a bit but with some support from both men, he eventually told them, “Billy Batson…I want ice cream. Can I have ice cream?”
Bingo, Bruce knew sweets were the way to this kid’s heart. He told Billy, “I can get you some ice cream, Billy.” He passed the message onto Dick before returning to the room, “As we wait though, can you tell me what happened? Did you get any ouchies?”
Billy hesitated again and this time Clark stepped in, “No one will get in trouble, Billy. We just want to know so we can help you.”
Billy eventually came clean that he was playing on the monkeybars with his friend when his friend hit his head against the metal by accident. Billy blacked out and ended up in the hospital - and he didn't want his friend to get in trouble, so he tried to stay silent. He also said that his mommy would be mad at him - his mom worked long, minimum wage hours and he already knew hospital bills were expensive from his age.
Bruce promised, “I will do what it takes to lower those hospital bills, Billy. I promise.” Bruce stood up and went to the room’s door, where Dick had brought three single-serve cups of ice cream. He came back with the cups, “Vanilla or chocolate?”
Billy knew what he liked, “Chocolate!”
Bruce handed the EMT one of the other cups of ice cream, saying, “Then we’ll have vanilla.”
The EMT smiled in a way that tugged at Bruce’s heartstrings, and then he spoke to Billy, “Let's eat together and you can tell us about your day at school.”
~~~
As Bruce and the EMT exited the room, Billy was full of ice cream and asleep in bed. The EMT gently closed the door and looked back at Bruce, “Thank you Doctor Wayne, you're a natural with children.”
Bruce smiled lightly and told him, “Just Bruce is fine. You were very good back there too, Mister…?”
The Emt lit up as he told Bruce his name, “Clark! Clark Kent. You probably won’t remember it, but I spend a lot of time in the ER - kids tend to gravitate towards me, probably comes with being a dad.”
Bruce raised an eyebrow; Clark was definitely his age, but he didn’t exactly look like a family man. “You have children, Clark?”
Clark smiled and told him, “Yep! Two boys, both in high school at Gotham High.”
Bruce told him, “I have four boys, two of them at Gotham High too. Nurse Grayson is my eldest.” Bruce wasn’t sure why he was telling a stranger this…but he trusted him already. Bruce was usually so reserved, but Clark awakened something in him. The two men stood in the hall and continued bantering for the better part of 30 minutes, clicking with one another immediately.
Dick came over, all smiles, and told them, “Hey Dad, glad to see you’ve met Clark, he’s super helpful on our floor. Just came here to let you both know that I cleared your schedules, got the kids babysat, and got you both reservations to Bruce’s favorite bougie restaurant for the night.”
Bruce blushed, being interrupted by Dick, “Dick, not the…wait, what?”
Dick stood behind a blushing Clark and said with a grin, “Clark was the guy we’ve been trying to get you on a date on for a long time, Dad. And it looks like you two just hit it off - so let's keep things going at the restaurant. You're both off for the evening, so you better get going.”
Clark was confused as he asked, “Right now? But I need to pick up Jon and Conner from extracurricular activities.”
Dick held up his phone, which was on FaceTime with Jason. Jason called out, “Jon, Kon, say hi to your dad before his date!”
Jon and Kon got up from the background where they were sitting with Tim and Damian. Jon jumped and waved, “Hi dad! Have fun! We're doing homework and eating snacks!”
Kon laughed at his little brother and told their dads, “Tim and Damian are our classmates, we'll be at the Wayne's doing our homework until you get home tonight. Don't party too hard.”
Jason took the phone back and said, “I'm in charge, according to Dick. So I'm going to be whipping up dinner soon. I promise that the house will be in one piece when you get back, dad.” Jason hung up the phone.
Dick pocketed his phone and pat them both on the shoulder, “Now, go enjoy yourselves. You'll thank me later.” With that, Dick waved and went back to the nursing station, leaving the two dads embarrassed and in silence.
Bruce asked softly, “Would you like to come with me to dinner, Mr. Kent?” He extended a hand to Clark.
Clark stared for a moment, but then he smiled and took his hand, “I’d love that, Mr. Wayne.” The two left the hospital ward together, hand in hand.
~~~
Later on, the two were in Bruce’s car parked in front of Wayne Manor after their luxurious dinner. Clark was all smiles, saying, “I think the beef bourguignon was amazing, I would have never known that was my favorite dish.”
Bruce chuckled, happy to see Clark so happy, “I’m glad. We can go there again.” He paused and said, “If you’re willing to stay and put up with me.”
Clark understood the weight of what Bruce was saying, adding in, “Well, you’d have to be willing to put up with me too. My boys and I can be quite the handful.”
Bruce reached over and took Clark’s hand in his lap, saying, “Well, I have a large family of boys too. It would be hard to father 6 boys together, but what matters more is that we’re happy…and you make me happy, Clark.”
Clark was quick to add in, “You make me happy too, Bruce. I…haven’t been this happy in a long time. I felt like we match together so well. I only wish this magical night could last forever.”
Bruce told him, “It doesn’t have to end just yet. Close your eyes for me.” Clark hesitated but finally complied. That’s when Bruce moved in his seat and leaned closer, pressing his lips to Clark’s. The kiss was chaste and short, but when Clark opened his eyes, they leaned in again for another kiss. This one was needier and full of longing for the other.
When they parted, Bruce asked, “I…love you, where have you been all my life?”
Clark panted and laughed, “I guess we were always close to getting together. Guess we need to thank our sons later.” They kissed again, completely oblivious to the fact that they were being watched by some of their kids from the front door of Bruce’s house.
Tim chuckled as he watched their dad make out with Clark, turning to Damian, “You owe me twenty, I told you it would only take one date before they were sucking face.”
Damian scowled and crossed his arms, “Fine, you win this time Timothy. I still say it’ll be at least 4 dates before father proposes.”
Kon whistled as he watched from behind them, saying, “And I say it’ll be 3 dates. Bet you twenty.”
Tim wrote in his mini notebook, saying, “That brings the betting pool up to fifty. Let’s see just how long it takes for us all to become a family.”