Chapter Text
“Oh, golly, you’re real.”
Bruce watched as Superman dropped to the roof, his mouth slightly open.
“Superman.” The sound of his own voice grounded him. Bruce wasn’t afraid of the alien, not while he had kryptonite back at the cave, at least. But the sight still radiated a wave of respect. Superman was the most powerful man in the world, and he wanted something with Batman.
The name seemed to snap the hero out of his shock, because he stepped forward, clearing his throat and reaching out a hand. “That I am. And you’re… Batman.” Bruce’s hand stayed under his cape until Superman dropped his own. “Oo…kay.. It’s nice to finally meet you, or know that you really exist.”
“What are you doing here? I don’t allow metas in Gotham.” They were barely in Gotham anymore. Bruce had been following a lead from one of Penguin’s deals when the Big Blue dropped by. Unless this was way more serious than he thought, Superman had no reason to be there.
“I... wasn't aware of that, sorry.” His smile didn't waver. “I keep seeing reports about you, so I thought I'd go and see the legend for myself.”
Bruce crouched on the roof. “I'm not a legend, and you can go now.”
“Jeez, you don't like company much, do you?”
“I work alone.”
“I can see why.”
Bruce turned his head, glaring at him.
And Superman laughed.
“Relax! I just want to help, you know, from hero to hero.”
“I'm not a hero.”
Superman sat down next to him, being smart enough to keep his distance.
“What are you, then? A vampire?”
“I'm vengeance.”
“...”
Bruce knew that sounded stupid the moment the words left his mouth. Hearing the big blue struggle not to laugh certainly didn't help.
Whatever Superman was going to say about that was interrupted by the sound of a van pulling up a few meters down.
“Get out. This is Gotham business.”
Bruce grabbed his grapple gun and jumped down.
Superman followed.
-
Clark watched from a distance as Batman moved through the shadows, waiting for the right moment to intervene. The red cape and blue suit weren’t really stealthy, so he couldn’t follow. He didn’t want to ruin the Bat’s plans, but he still stayed close, just in case.
He wasn’t going to give up on the vigilante. After all, this wasn’t the first time he met someone and was rejected so quickly.
-
“We don’t need your help.” A young boy told Clark, staring at him. He looked about Clark’s age, although much less happy to be there. There was an older man next to the boy, who apologised to Clark with his eyes.
“Really? ‘Cause it looks to me like you do, given your car just broke down.” He tilted his head, showing a small grin. “I’m Clark, welcome to Smallville.”
The older man stepped towards him, offering a small smile. “Nice to meet you, mister, my name is Alfred, Alfred Pennyworth.” Clark shook his hand, then glanced at the boy.
He looked familiar, like Clark had seen him before. Maybe the news?
“We could use a little help, actually, you wouldn’t know where the nearest mechanic is, right?” Alfred asked, while the boy
“Ah, that’s fine. Lemme take a look at the car, I live round here.” Clark waved his hand dismissively, walking over to the car. “What are y’all doing in Smallville? You don’t really look... From around here.” He was no expert, but he was sure no one in Smallville owned such a nice car. That and the clothes they were both wearing.
“We thought it would be a good idea to get away from the city for a few weeks.” Clark opened the hood of the car, half listening to him.
“You thought it would be a good idea.” The teenager spoke away, looking at Alfred. Clark didn’t blame him, he was probably shy, if his heartbeat speed was something to go by (he was still getting used to how his powers changed as he grew, but he was picking up on what a normal human heart speed was).
“Well, it looks like you’re gonna spend at least the whole day here.” Clark stepped away from the car, looking at the pair. “She’ll be aight, this car isn’t really for rough roads like these. Maybe don’t make a habit of bringing her here?” He tried to joke, but it didn’t land. Alfred barely gave him a smile. “Uh... My house is down the road, I’m sure my Pa could help y’all out for free. Not that you can’t afford it- you probably can, though I ain’t assuming anything-“
He was going to continue rambling an apology when a suddenly excited Alfred answered. “That’s a lovely idea!” The older man looked back at his... Kid? Honestly, he wasn’t sure.
“Right, come, I’ll push the car.”
“Oh young man, there’s no way I’m letting you do that alone! You’re already helping us enough as it is.”
“Nah, it’s fine! I can handle this.” He wasn’t about to tell them ‘Yeah, I got super strength, all good’, so that was the next best thing.
Having superpowers and not really being able to show them to other people was hard, to say the least. Clark had to control himself all the time, even now, when he was helping people. But his parents were right when telling him he and everyone else would be safer like that (even though he was pretty sure many locals already knew).
“Still, let us at least help you.” Alfred gave the other boy a look, and the younger one reluctantly walked over to Clark.
If he wasn’t so head over heels for Lana right now, Clark would’ve admired the way his eyes sparkled with the sun’s light a little longer.
They both started pushing the in silence, Alfred walking next to them to watch out for other cars.
Clark panted, making his best to sound tired. “So… Where are you two from?” He looked at the teenager, who was too focused on pushing the car. He didn’t seem very… talkative.
“Oh.” Alfred hesitated for a few seconds. “Gotham.”
“Woah.” Clark looked at the older man now, whistling. “That’s… A long way.”
“Yes. I thought- it would be better to get out of the city for some nice and calm vacations.”
Clark could see that Alfred tried. He wasn’t really sure if he was the kid’s father, but as far as he knew, Alfred was taking care of him. Furthermore, he was putting all his effort into getting the teen out of the dark hole that was Gotham so that they could spend some time away from all that (as far as Clark knew, Gotham was no fun city at all).
He smiled gently. “This is a nice town, you’ll spend a nice few weeks here, no doubt.”
Alfred looked back, smiling. “We hope so.”
Another silence. Then, Clark turned to the younger man. Enough time had passed, and although he understood the other was shy, it would still be rude not to introduce himself. “Right… So, what’s your name?”
“…Bruce.” The teen said, still not looking at him. His voice sounded weirdly deeper, even with the struggle of pushing the car. Like he was trying to sound older (or cooler).
Bruce. That was a nice name. Like that rich kid, Bruce Wayne.
Clark frowned.
He looked at Bruce. Stared at him.
“…Oh my God-” Clark slipped from the car, almost falling to the ground.
“Lord! Are you alright?” Alfred walked closer, and Bruce looked back.
Those eyes again.
Clark knew he was familiar.
“You’re- Bruce Wayne, right?”
-
Clark continued watching, waiting until Batman decided to start fighting.
He took 3 guys down in less than 30 seconds. Impressive, to the point he started wandering if the Bat was really just human.
“It’s him! The Bat!” Some thugs ran up to him, gathering in groups to take him down, while others tried to protect whatever was in the van.
Batman smashed two guys’ heads together, making them both fall to the ground, almost unconscious. He grabbed another one with his cape, crushing him against the floor. A fourth guy tried to attack him from the back, but the vigilante simply hit him with his elbow and started beating him up.
He was a little… Excessive, to be honest. But he was in no place to judge. He guessed. If he didn’t kill anyone.
But then, the guy from the floor grabbed his gun, pointing it at him-
Clark was there in just a few seconds.
“Superman!”
“THEY KNOW EACHOTHER?!”
“Just run, dammit!”
Well, there was no turning back now. Batman seemed annoyed (at least that’s what he got from the little he saw from that cowl), but he couldn’t bring himself to care when he had just saved his life.
They brought the guys down, then Clark stepped back as the Bat interrogated (or threatened, to be honest) the men.
-
Bruce had thought this was going to be a calm night. Really, he had.
Then Superman came. Great, now the word would spread on Gotham, and everyone would think that Superman and Batman worked together.
He told Gordon to come at three am. It was probably 2:30, 2:45. He still had a bit of time to send Superman away.
He punched the last goon unconscious, before walking back to the alien.
“You know,” Superman said. “You didn’t need to do all that.”
“I know what I need to do. And I didn’t need your help.”
“So now you can escape bullets?”
“I would’ve managed.”
“But you didn’t have to. And now you don’t!”
Bruce groaned internally, making his best efforts not to roll his eyes.
-
Bruce knew he was fucked the moment he laid eyes on Clark.
He shouldn’t have come here. Alfred had been pressing him about vacation all month. ‘You have to get out of the house, Master Bruce!’, ‘You can’t spend the whole day studying and training!’, ‘I will not stand another day of you blasting My Chemical Romance for hours.’
He still should’ve said no. But he knew Alfred was just trying to help, and in all his teenage rebellion phase, he knew that he should listen to him. Even if Alfred would never understand that he couldn’t just continue with his life like a normal child.
What was normal about being an orphan, living in a mansion with his butler and a billionaire company?
But no, he agreed (although not happily). And now here he was, shitting his pants because this dude looked amazing and he was just wearing an old plaid shirt and some jeans. Seriously, Bruce needed to get a grip.
Then Clark found out he was a Wayne.
“You’re- Bruce Wayne, right?”
He was fucked. This was a small town; billionaires were for sure unwelcome.
Alfred watched them both carefully.
This had been a terrible idea.
“…Yes.” He couldn’t just lie and say he wasn’t. Clark would know and he would look stupid. Also, part of him just wanted to see how the other would react.
“…Wow.” Clark stared a little longer. “Sorry I’ve just! Never met someone famous. Sorry.”
Bruce frowned. He wasn’t sure why Clark would need to be sorry, but somehow it made him feel a little better.
He didn’t answer, so the other boy continued talking. “Well,” he said while pushing the car (and oh God those arms). “Nice to meet ya!”
“…Nice to meet you too.”
They continued pushing.
Bruce didn’t feel Clark stare at him anymore. He didn’t say anything else. He didn’t look mad, or weirded out, or anything.
For the first time in a while, Bruce relaxed. Just a little. A tiny bit.
They arrived at the Kent’s farm soon, and Clark stopped pushing.
“Here we are! My father’s probably in the barn; you can come inside in the meantime.”
Bruce gave Clark one last glance before settling next to Alfred.
Damn the butler and his eagerness for pushing Bruce into making friends.
They followed the teen inside the small house. Bruce smelled something cooking in the oven, and soon after spotted a rather short woman in the kitchen.
She turned as she spoke. “Clark! You’re home dear!- Oh.”
“Ma, this is Bruce, and Alfred.” He smiled warmly at his mother. Bruce could already feel how much Clark loved his family. He was probably a great son… FUCK that was hot. “Their car broke down; I told them we could give them a hand.”
“Of course! Nice to meet you two, I’m Martha Kent.” The woman walked up to them, offering a hand. Alfred shook it and answered.
“Alfred Pennyworth, madam. We can’t thank you and your son enough for your help.”
“Bah, it’s nothing! I’ll go get my husband. Clark, why don’t you show Bruce around in the meantime?”
Oh.
Clark turned to Bruce. Alfred smiled at him before he followed Martha outside.
Again, damn the butler.
“So… How old are you?” And seriously, was that the first thing Clark asked?
“Fifteen. I’ll be 16 next year. You?”
Clark started walking to the front porch, so he followed as he listened. “Same as you! Nice coincidence.”
“Listen,” the taller guy (and oh my God how was he so tall at 15???what??) continued taking. “I’ve got a few friends around here; you can come some day and hang out with us if you want!”
Bruce stared at him, because why was Clark suddenly inviting him to hang out?
“I mean, at least during your stay here in Smallville- if you want of course, if you have other plans with your- um, with Alfred, that’s fine too.”
Right, Bruce, this was a conversation. You’re expected to answer.
“That’s- sure. I mean, we don’t really have many plans, Alfred just chose somewhere far from Gotham to go to.”
“Oh…” They both arrived at the side of the farm. Clark leaned on the fence. “I’m guessing living in Gotham must be… tough.”
Tough. Yeah, that was a way of putting it.
Ever since his parents died, Bruce opened his eyes and finally saw Gotham for what it was: a broken city. He had little hope for the city, if any, really. Some part of him, told him to fight for it, to take his grief and make it something good. But realistically, how was he supposed to do that? He was only 15, and Gotham had already taken too much from him.
“You could say that.”
Alfred had taken a special interest in vacation solely because Bruce barely got out of the house. He had argued that the city was too dangerous and he couldn’t trust anyone, so… Yeah, here he was, in Smallville.
Maybe he should argue with Alfred more often, if he had the chance to meet someone like Clark again.
Bruce looked at the farm, watching Alfred talk with a man who was probably Clark’s father. They were both working on the car.
“So…” Clark spoke again. And if Bruce wasn’t obsessed with this guy’s face, he would probably find him a bit annoying. “What music do you listen to?”
Great, the great emo outing of the year. Clark was not inviting him to hang out with his friends anymore.
“Uh… Nothing popular. You probably won’t know them.”
“Try me! I love The Mighty Crabjoys.”
Bruce looked back at Clark. Huh.
“Me too.”
It wasn’t one of his top groups, but they did nice music. Clark lit up like Christmas lights, and Bruce started wondering if he should listen to their music more often.
“Really?! Gosh, I knew I wasn’t the only one! My friend Chloe keeps telling me they’re trash.”
Bruce turned his head back at the field, smiling a little.
“They’re a good group.”
“Right? Anyways, I also like the New Radicals, Coldplay… what about you?”
Bruce thought for a second, before turning back to Clark. “I like more… I don’t know, I guess edgy music or something. MCR, Linkin Park, Evanescence…”
“Oh! I’ve heard of Evanescense, they’re kind of… rock…metallish, no?”
“Yeah, although Cradle of Filth are more metal. Goth metal, actually.”
The other looked confused, frowning. “Goth metal? That’s a thing?”
Why did Bruce have to talk. He could’ve just said anything else.
“…Yes. A kind of new genre, I don’t know.” Not new at all, but he could just pretend he knew very little about it.
“Hm, I’ll have to listen to it, I’ll see if they got any CD’s at the shop.”
Bruce looked back. He waited a beat, then:
“I brought a CD, I can lend it to you.”
“You’d do that? Thanks!”
Clark smiled at him. He smiled back.
“So,” Bruce said, leaning against the fence with Clark. “What are those country singers you like?”
Clark’s head dropped down with a laugh. “You’re gonna make fun of me…”
-
“So,” Superman said. “Good job uh… but what now?”
“Now, we wait until the GCPD show up. I’ve already told them they should be here in a bit.”
Bruce walked away from him, checking his utility belt. “You should leave before they come.”
Superman moved closer. “I was serious, before. I wanna help you! There aren’t really many superheroes around the world, it would be cool if we could rely on each other.”
Bruce turned his body back to Superman, frowning. “‘Cool’? ‘Rely on each other’? Superman, there is nothing ‘cool’ about me going out every night to protect my city. You have the power to help the whole world, I don’t. I am not risking my city to help you, and you shouldn’t waste your powers trying to befriend me.”
Superman held his hands up in defense. “Geez, I was just trying to be nice… Plus, from what I’ve heard, you’re good at solving cases, right? I’m pretty sure we could work together.”
“I don’t need your help.” Bruce turned, walking away.
“Well, maybe you do now.”
He stopped, waiting for Superman to continue.
The hero sighed. “I know Lex Corp is working with someone inside of Gotham and other places. They’re building something, I think it has something to do with metahumans. If you know anything about Metropolis cases, you’ll know that Lex Luthor is not good.”
“And you think people in Gotham could be in danger as well.”
“Yes.”
Bruce turned back, walking over to the alien.
He had some suspicions, but with the Penguin case, he hadn’t had much time to investigate. Maybe Superman was right, maybe having someone from outside could be beneficial.
“What do you know?”
Superman beamed, and they both left before the police arrived.
Somewhere, behind the cowl and the million thoughts of work and cases, Bruce thought that smile reminded him of someone from a decade ago.
-
A few hours later, Alfred was having tea with the Kents, while Bruce and Clark talked outside.
Alfred looked out the window, catching a glimpse of Bruce’s smile.
“You know, Mr. Kent, Mrs. Kent, you have a great son.” He said, turning to Clark’s parents.
They smiled, and Martha talked. “Thank you, Alfred. I’m sure he and Bruce will be good friends. You and your kid are more than welcome here whenever you want.”
Alfred smiled back, sipping from his tea. “Yeah, I’m sure Bruce would like that.”