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Family dinners had never been Bruce's strong point but it was easier with Clark by his side. The newly Wed couple were just back from their honeymoon on one of Bruce's private islands and Clark had decided it would be fun to have a big meal with their now combined family.
Or in other words they bribed Damian, Dick, and Conner to come and eat with them. Was it easy? No. Did they have to threaten the boys a bit? Maybe. But was it worth it? Absolutely.
Clark had made a "simple" meal. In other words he spent two hours looking up hamburger and French fry recipes, another hour finding the supplies, and about three more actually making the meal. But Bruce would be lying if he said it didn't smell delicious.
Clark was almost done putting sesame seeds on the bread when Bruce came up behind him and wrapped his arms around Clark's waist, "You almost done?" He questions.
Clark continues working but he leans back into Bruce's touch, "Yeah, I just have to make a pitcher of sweet tea. My mom use to make this meal and sweet tea was always one of the highlights," He says and Bruce moves away to turn on the stove and pull out a few tea packets.
Bruce had hated sweet tea but since he and Clark had started dating he found himself drinking it more and more. Clark new all the secrets to making it taste entirely different each time he made it when really he was only changing one ingredient. It was all Bruce drank anymore.
"It smells absolutely amazing. I'm sure they'll love it, there's no way they couldn't," Bruce says but he's nervous. Since he had taken Damien into his custody he'd only given the boy the most expensive meals. He's not sure if Damien had even ever had a burger.
"They're teenage boys, It would be a little odd if they didn't," Clark responds with a playful grin. This only makes Bruce more nervous.
They finish the meal together sharing idle chatter and simple kisses every now and then. Bruce had already cleaned up and set the table so that was ready for when the boys arrived.
It was around 12:45 when the sound of the door being unlocked echoed through the mansion. Clark quickly finishes putting food on the plates and moves to stand near Bruce.
"Oh my goooood!" Dick groans and Bruce can feel Clark tense up, "It smells fucking delicious!" He exclaims and Clark relaxes and smiles.
The boys walk in and Bruce frowns a bit. Dick and Conner are by each other but Damian is walking behind them with a annoyed expression. Bruce knew that Dick and Damian didn't get along that well but he didn't suspect that it would get worse now that Dick had a brother that he knew even better. He should've known better.
"It does smell pretty good," Conner mumbles as they get closer and stop in front of the table.
There's an awkward pause as the two groups stare at each other for a moment.
"Oh, sit down!" Clark says quickly and a bit nervous and he waits for the boys to sit down. Bruce joins them but Clark goes and gets the pitcher of tea and places it in the middle of the table before sitting down himself.
Dick is staring at his plate happily while the other boys are looking at their fathers expectantly.
"You can eat," Bruce says and the boys nod and start on their meal.
Bruce can see that Conner is still regarding to him as a boss figure instead of a father one. I guess that's what happens when you assign them missions and scold them for failures for years. He can also see that Dick seems to regard Clark in the same way. Damian just doesn't seem to care about anything.
There's another awkward silence but Bruce can see that Clark seems pretty happy that the boys are enjoying his meal. All except Damian. He was simply staring down at his food with a slightly disgusted face. Clark hadn't noticed yet and Bruce didn't plan on him doing so.
He kicked him lightly under the table and Damian looked up quickly, seemingly ready to snap at someone. He quits that act when he makes eye contact with Bruce. They glared at each other for a while until Bruce apparently wins and Damian begins to eat his fries.
Bruce pretends not to notice when Damian's eyes widen and he begins to eat with a much happier attitude.
"Do you like it?" Bruce hears Clark ask and he turns to see his husband looking at Conner hopefully.
"It's okay. I don't really like burgers," Conner responds and he looks away to continue eating his fries.
Clark looks down at his food and his smile disappears for only a second before he smiles again, "That's okay. I'll just have to keep that in mind next time," he says but Connor doesn't look up at him.
Bruce is about to say something when Dick's watch glows and Red Tornado appears on the screen, "There is an emergency at the local power plant, report to the cave immediately," The voice filters through and Dick and Conner start getting up.
"We're on our way," Conner responds.
"Good luck," Bruce says as the boys make their way towards the door. Dick grabs a few fries before be goes.
"Maybe we can do this again another day," Dick says as he walks backwards, "Bye Bruce. Bye, um, Clark," He says and then they walk out the door.
It doesn't escape either of the adults vision when Damian reaches over and takes all of Conner's left over fries.
*
Damian had already headed to bed and Bruce and Clark were beginning to clean up when Clark lets out a sigh. Bruce could notice his disappointment but he didn't know what to do. Clark looked at the left over burgers he'd worked so hard on and put them in the trash can. Bruce had finished his and so had Damian but Dick only got about half way through his and Conner hardly touched his.
"We're going to be a complicated family aren't we?" Clark asks quietly and Bruce feels a small pain his chest.
"They'll get used to it eventually. It's just a big change," Bruce responds as he puts the tea in the fridge.
Clark just nods and leaves the room. Bruce watches him go up the stairs and towards their bedroom.
Bruce finishes in the Kitchen, cleaning the plates and putting them where they belong, before following up the same steps his husband had taken. He enters their room to find Clark already in bed with his headphones in. He had started listening music to calm him down or just wash away a bad day.
Bruce goes and takes a short shower mostly to calm himself down and stares at himself in the mirror for a while. Finally he goes back into their room and climbs under the covers. He turns off the lights and pulls Clark to his chest.
"It'll just take time," He whispers and kisses Clark's shoulder. He settles down and hopes tomorrow will be a better day.