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Like so much of what happens in Dick’s family, it all starts with a misunderstanding.
After a pretty violent attack in Gotham, where the League's intervention was the only thing that saved them from being brutally defeated by the crew of an unknown spaceship, some of them leave to examine the ship’s remains, while the rest stay behind to assess the damage. Even Batman, despite his own pride, allows metahuman abilities to be used to speed up the process.
However, it’s when everything is almost completely fixed and they’re getting ready to go home that the truly important thing happens.
“I’m so tired.” Nightwing lets out an exaggerated sigh, setting down a pile of blocks near where a bunch of trucks have already begun taking away the rest.
“Nice to meet you, Sotired, I’m Superman.” The answer is almost immediate, though he looks quickly at him before speaking to make sure he’s not hurt.
Batman stares at him intently, focused on keeping his lips from curving even slightly, because he’s learned that loving both Clark and Superman comes with this kind of bad jokes. It’s exactly the same at home, so no one seems impressed; the closest thing to a reaction comes from Robin, who rolls his eyes and clicks his tongue, but there is no cruelty in it.
“Oh, c’mon, if someone has to laugh at Supes dad jokes, it’s his children,” Green Lantern teases after a moment of silence, and for a second, everyone stands still.
Their first concern is to make sure there aren’t any civilians close enough to hear the comment. Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne have been in a public relationship for just over two years and it would be very risky to let people associate Superman and Batman as anything more than coworkers.
“Superman is not our father.” Robin says, mostly just to disagree with Green Lantern. Definitely something inherited.
But Nightwing is standing right in front of Superman and sees his facade crack a little. For a moment, he seems deeply hurt. No one else says anything, and he recovers almost instantly, making Dick doubt what he saw. Superman flies away toward a huge pile of rubble to load it all at once onto one of the trucks.
“Uh, sensitive fiber,” he mutters in a tone that suggest he doesn’t regret it one bit.
“Well, I think it’s time for us to go,” Wonder Woman jumps in and smiles awkwardly.
That turns out to be the signal for everyone to focus fully on finishing their tasks so everyone can leave.
…
After that, the moment repeats over and over in Dick’s mind. Even as he waits patiently for his brothers to come down to the cave. Bruce and Clark must already be fast asleep; Alfred gave him a raised eyebrow when he saw him come down, but didn’t say anything, so Dick didn’t stop to offer unsolicited explanations.
“What do you want, Richard? I have to finish an essay for Monday.” Damian is the first to show up; he’s frowning and, if Dick is honest, he looks adorable.
But he values his life enough not to say anything about it.
Tim comes down next, carrying a flask that’s surely full of coffee, but he thinks he’s fooling someone by attaching a string with a lavender mint tea label to the outside. Dick is pretty sure there hasn’t been any lavender mint tea in the mansion for months, not after Duke admitted he was allergic to mint.
“We need to talk ‘bout something important,” he insists, glancing back and forth between his brothers and the stairs.
Finally, Jason comes down in a hurry, laughing at something he sees on his phone.
“Well, what’s so important that it can’t wait til tomorrow?” He says as he sits on one of the empty chairs.
The rest follow him while Dick remains standing.
“I think we need to talk about Clark’s place in the family.”
At his statement, his brothers exchange glances, confused and concerned.
“What are you talking about?” Tim asks because it makes no sense, Clark is part of the family and his place shouldn’t be called into question.
“Did he do something?” Damian frowns, considering the possibilities before adding, “It must have been something bad because you are literally the president of the Clark Kent fan club.”
“Come on, it can’t be a real fan club if just Dick and B are the members,” Jason snorts and shakes his head. “Besides, B is the president. The old man has looked at him as if he’d put the moon in the sky for as long as I can remember.”
His brother flashes a mocking smile, and that sets everyone off on a round of anecdotes about times they’ve seen the two of them being terribly cheesy, most of them from long before they started dating. The general consensus is that they’re gross.
Dick fears he’s starting to lose his brothers’ attention, so he quickly waves his hands.
“That’s not what I mean,” makes a pause and crosses his arms. “It’s just… I think Clark knows he’s part of the family, but I don’t think he really knows how much of a part of the family he is.”
And that has to be, without a doubt, a ridiculous idea.
Because everyone knows Clark keeps them together, he is a fundamental part in their life. He has saved them more than once, not just as Superman, but also when their father is being too hard on them and on himself.
Tim remembers the time he broke a vase while sneaking into the house in the early morning; Clark gave him a stern look but flew to five different stores until he found a replacement for the broken piece. Alfred probably noticed, but Tim appreciates the thought.
Jason has had long conversations about literature with him; he knows many of his favorite books thanks to Clark. Overall, he feels that no one has ever listened to him as attentively as Clark does.
Damian still keeps a piece of kryptonite, forgotten in some drawer. Clark gave it to him after Damian assured that he didn’t trust him, they’d known each other for just two days. He hasn’t thought about using it even once.
Dick might not have returned home if Clark hadn’t encouraged him and Bruce to talk through their differences instead of drifting apart forever.
They’ve all been to the Fortress, the only place Clark has to remind him of the home he never got to know. It’s his place and yet he has invited them in.
“I don’t think Clark realized that he’s just as much a father to us as Bruce is.”
A general commotion breaks in the cave, causing the echo of their voices to intensify.
“That doesn’t make sense, he’s always been here,” Jason argues with a frown.
“Yeah, and yet we never call him ‘dad’ as we do with B. Clark is always… Well, just Clark.”
To be fair, it should be considered that, although Clark was there as a constant presence from the very first day Dick entered Bruce’s life, he wasn’t a permanent resident at the mansion. The same for the others. As more children came home, there was plenty of time for Clark to become ‘Uncle Clark’ before he and Bruce sorted out their feelings.
During those years, Bruce ended up adopting all three of them, and they alternated between ‘Bruce’, ‘B’ or ‘dad’ when talking to him. Damian still preferred to use ‘father’, but the point was the same: when Clark and Bruce became official, referring to him as an uncle seemed inappropriate, and the nickname was dropped entirely.
“I don’t think that’s enough for him to hold a grudge against us, but today I saw something different,” he says solemnly. “After Jordan’s comment about the dad jokes and Damian saying that Superman wasn’t our father.”
“Because he is not,” the boy crosses his arms, not really understanding what he did wrong.
“Do you really believe that?” Dick interrupts, giving him a meaningful look.
Damian bites his lip slightly. Everyone knows his situation is different, that he still struggles to trust people, and even more so those willing to show him selfless affection, like Clark. The concept that a family can be found still feels quite vague in his mind.
“Just because he is with father does not mean he has to be our father too.”
“But if he wanted, wouldn’t you want him to be?” he tries again.
“It is not the worst idea you have ever had,” he concedes, without a hint of hesitation.
“Yeah, well, now Clark probably thinks we hate the idea,” Jason decides to joke at the worst possible moment and jumps in his chair when Tim kicks him under the table.
“Shut up, Jason!” The boy raises his voice and soon blushes a little, looking quite afflicted. “I thought Jordan was being an asshole. I did not want to hurt Clark.”
And, although Damian has improved significantly since coming home and is increasingly acting like his age, everyone gets alarmed when they see their little brother looking like he's on the verge of tears. Dick shots a meaningful glance at Jason.
“No, Dames, I didn’t mean that,” he shakes his head, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I know you didn’t mean to hurt Clark, but we did. I think we’ve been doing it without knowing.”
The kid nods, though he still seems upset and grows self-conscious when he notices the worried gazes on him.
“But we can make it up to him,” Tim suggests, mostly to shift the attention to something else, and adds, “Clark is planning a big Father’s Day celebration for next Sunday, right? We can do something for him.”
Dick brightens at the idea and leans against the table, looking at his brothers.
“We can still redeem ourselves.”
…
Finding the perfect gift for Clark it’s, objectively speaking, impossible.
Dick can’t believe it’s easier to get Bruce a gift. Although Bruce can buy anything he wants without any problem, it’s well known that he always appreciates practical gifts: once, Jason spent several months restoring an old watch that belonged to his father, something sentimental but practical at the same time; another, Tim presented him a bunch of ideas to improve the quality of WayneTech’s products, all complete with estimate budgets and lists of potential benefits and drawback.
But Clark doesn’t need upgraded weapons because he doesn’t use them; the Superman suit is fine and doesn’t require a redesign. They can’t give him any car, plane, or boat that’s faster than he is. It wouldn't even be useful to fix all the problems in his old apartment since he doesn’t live there anymore.
They call in backup: Cass, Steph, Barbara and Duke spend the whole afternoon with them and try to help, but no one can quite figure something out.
“How about a mug?” Steph suggests.
“Sure, but it has to say ‘Super Dad’ so Clark can tell it’s a last minute gift,” Tim points out with sarcasm as he shakes his head.
Secretly, Dick loves the idea and knows Clark will love it as well, but Tim is right. They need to find something else.
Something better.
“Clark wears a lot of ties,” Barbara says.
“We are not going to give him a tie. That is what losers with no ideas do,” Damian objects.
“Isn’t that exactly what you are?” Duke smiles but raises both hands in surrender as the four of them stare at him with narrowed eyes.
“The man grew up on a farm, how hard can it be to get him a gift?”
They barely hear the pair of footsteps approaching down the hallway, and seconds later, Clark peeks through the doorframe with a huge smile. Just by seeing that smile is enough for Dick to remember that they can’t let him down with a lousy Father’s Day gift.
“Oh, we’ve got a full house,” he says, looking genuinely happy to see them there. “Does B know you are here? You should stay for dinner.”
They all let out a suspiciously similar nervous laugh, and Clark observes them, his smile fading slightly.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yes!” they reply in unison, in rather high-pitched voices.
If Clark notices, and of course he does, he decides not to pry.
“Just stay out of trouble, please.”
He looks at them over his glasses and waves goodbye.
“We have to be more careful. Clark never eavesdrops on our private conversations but even Alfred could hear that, and his hearing isn’t what it used to be,” Jason says wisely.
“I assure you, young Master Jason, that my hearing is perfect,” Alfred’s imperturbable voice sounds in the dining room.
He has an eyebrow raised but the hint of a smile on his lips; he’s just teasing them. He begins placing lemonade glasses in front of each of them as he speaks.
“You did not ask for my advice,” he acknowledges, “but I think the best gift for Master Clark is easier to find than you think. It is not even something you need to buy.”
With that, Alfred strides out of the room with a lofty gesture, leaving them pretty confused.
“Ugh, out of nowhere we were talking to the Riddler,” Jason rolls his eyes, letting his head drop onto the table.
“No, wait,” Cass thinks for a moment, finally speaking up. “I think that actually makes sense. You said the whole problem started because you’ve never told Clark that you see him as a father, right? Maybe you could start there.”
At that moment, their eyes light up as if they’ve found the answer to all their problems. Cass is right. Bruce took them all in with the promise to take care of them; Clark took on that responsibility as well, even though he was never actually obligated to.
“Although they weren’t really together when we got here, Clark’s been with us since day one,” Tim nods.
“Yeah, I can’t imagine the torment of having a crush with someone with a serious tendency toward adoption,” Jason pretends to shiver.
“Collecting Robins like Infinity Stones,” Stephanie clicks her tongue and laughs.
“My point is,” Tim interrupts and sighs, “Clark loves us. He immediately agreed to take care of us. Maybe we should even have to consider taking Wayne-Kent after they got married. That’s what they did.”
Everyone falls silent for a moment, weighing the facts. They’re convinced they’ve ruined everything until Dick’s eyes widen and he smiles.
“Okay, I have an idea, but we might need B’s help.”
******
“Any plans for Sunday, Smallville?” Lois leans on his desk at the Daily Planet.
She’s being sarcastic, Clark hasn’t been able to stop talking about it for weeks, also, she’s invited to his Sunday plans.
Anyway, he smiles broadly.
“Well, the boys and I are going to make breakfast for Bruce, although it was hard to convince Alfred to let us use the kitchen. I had to promise I’d be there the whole time and he banned me from using any powers inside…” he begins to go off a tangent but immediately get back on track, “Damian has been working on a huge card with Jason, and Dick suggested making hamburgers for dinner, so it’ll be something simple. Tim mentioned a museum with an exhibit that might interest Bruce, but we’ll probably save that for next weekend because my parents are coming to Gotham and…"
“Wait,” Lois interrupts his list. “Why are you planning your own Father’s Day?”
“My what?” Clark laughs, genuinely confused as he shakes his head. “No, it’s for Bruce. He’s the one with sons.”
And, well, for his dad too since he’ll be in town this year.
“Let’s say so, at least officially,” she concedes. “But you’ve been there all along.”
“We weren’t together when he adopted them, not even when he found out about Damian,” he shrugs.
“Please, that’s rubbish, and I’m sure it’s just your own ideas,” she says, incredulous. “You’ve been co-parenting those kids with Bruce for years.”
And that’s, in a way, true.
They listen to him; his authority is just as valid as Bruce’s (neither of them has as much power as Alfred), even though Clark rarely has the heart to scold them. They even turn to him for advice first, not just when they’re upset with their father. He’s taken care of them when they’re sick and attended school meetings and events. Is the second emergency contact on their phones, the first if any of them just says his name.
Still, that doesn’t make him their father. None of them said anything different when Damian insisted he wasn’t, and that’s fine. Clark could never get angry at them for setting a boundary. He’s not going to force anything on anyone.
Superman is not our father.
And Clark feels a twinge of pain in his heart because there’s nothing he wants more.
He loves them. He’s always seen them as his own, and honestly, a title has never seemed important to him, but hearing that he doesn’t deserve it it’s different. He knows things with Damian have gotten better; they get along pretty well overall, but Clark understands why that isn’t enough.
“B is their dad, Lo,” he objects without much conviction.
“They can have two dads, Smallville,” she taunts. “It’s legal now and all.”
He gives her a meaningful look, a silent plea to drop the subject.
“I’m just saying it would be fair for your efforts to be recognized too,” Lois shrugs and walks away, patting his back in a friendly gesture.
Clark sighs and forgets about it.
He doesn’t think about it, not even once.
…
Sunday morning, Clark wakes up with the muffled sound of his cellphone vibrating under his pillow. He had set his alarm that way to avoid waking Bruce, but his whole plan is slightly derailed when he tries to pull away from the arm wrapped around his waist. Bruce grunts a little, his eyes still closed, and tightens his grip.
“Five more minutes,” he mumbles sleepily.
And Clark isn’t the kind of monster who would disobey that. Besides, he knows that if he insists on waking up, Bruce will get up too, and the whole surprise will be ruined. If he waits for Bruce to fall back asleep, maybe he’ll have better luck.
“Turn off that,” he hears him say, his voice muffled by the pillow as he searches with his hand for Clark’s phone, still vibrating from the alarm.
When he finds it, he looks at it almost indignantly and turns it off before setting it on the nightstand.
“Now hug me,” he commands, intertwining their bodies once more.
Clark laughs affectionately at Bruce’s furrowed brow as he tries to fall back asleep. He could never say no to him. He pulls him close and, between yawns, manages to run his hand through his hair. Closing his eyes slightly, he feels Bruce breathing settle down again, and shortly after, everything else fades away.
…
He opens his eyes again when the bedroom door bursts open.
“Good morning! Room service!” He’s pretty sure that shout is Dick’s.
There’s some quiet laughs, and Clark can clearly smell bacon and blueberry pancakes.
Shit.
It’s the breakfast they planned for Bruce. A breakfast Clark didn’t help prepare because he fell asleep again. Next to him, Bruce seems to have been awake for a while already, as he’s sitting up and leaning against the headboard. When he sees them come in, he sets aside the tablet on his lap with a raised eyebrow.
“Good morning,” he says, an unspoken question in his tone. “What are the four of you up to?” he laughs.
Clark can’t say a word as he sits up in bed to look at them. Dick is carrying a tray and Jason has another one. Both walk over to the bed and set the trays down in front of them.
“Happy Father’s Day!” they all exclaim almost in unison with excited smiles.
And Clark is quite confused because this was the plan, yes, but the plan was to surprise Bruce. Still, he takes the tray Jason is handing at him and smiles with guilt because they had to improvise after he fell asleep.
“Thanks, guys.”
“We made it ourselves,” Damian points out, quite proud of himself and his brothers.
Clark glances sideways at Bruce, who seems delighted, and the slight knot in his stomach loosens a little.
“It looks pretty good,” he nods, and a sincere smile appears on his lips. “How did you get Alfred to let you into the kitchen?”
“We’re not going to give away the secret to the man who set a pot on fire while trying to boil water,” Tim says.
Reluctantly, Bruce laughs at himself along with the others. At the moment, breakfast doesn’t seem so important to Clark. He still has the rest of the day to make sure things go right.
…
The rest of the morning passes without incidents.
After breakfast, the boys crowd into their bed for a while before it starts to get late, and Clark hurries them to start getting ready. They aren’t expecting many people, the small party he organized it’s nothing compared to the events Bruce attends all the time, but he’s very excited anyway.
Alfred convinces him to go pick up his parents from the airport himself, and one promising glance from Bruce is all it takes for Clark to realize he has better ideas for how to use that time and decide to stay.
A couple of hours later, his parents are already settled at the mansion and the garden is perfectly set up for them to have a huge family dinner. Clark smiles every time someone congratulates Bruce and feels quite satisfied that there’s at least one day a year when he allows his efforts to be recognized.
In a corner, Jason seems delighted to be able to talk with Diana until Tim joins the conversation and teases him about his excitement. Clark just listens in a bit to make sure there isn’t a real fight breaking out.
“Everything turned out so beautifully, honey,” his mother’s hand rests on his shoulder and squeezes it affectionately.
“I wanted to do something special for Bruce and for Pa,” he nods, glancing off the distance where his husband seems to be locked in a battle of sarcastic q&a with Lois, while near the dessert table, his father listens intently to Damian talking, no doubt, about farm animals. “They deserve it.”
For a moment, Clark thinks his mothers wants to say something else, but she just smiles in agreement and stays by his side in a rather comfortable silence.
…
A loud whistle interrupts the general conversation in the garden.
From the frowns on Dick, Tim, and Damian’s faces, Clark deduces that Jason was the one who made the noise. The boy shrugs nonchalantly as he takes a step back with his brothers to let Dick step forward. Clark feels a little lost because they had agreed to give Bruce his presents after dinner, but he says nothing and waits to see what they’ve planned.
“Well, I think we all know why we’re here,” Dick begins, catching everyone’s attention. “Clark putted a lot of effort to organize this party to celebrate Dad and Pa Kent, and they’re awesome fathers,” he smiles looking at them, “but my brothers and I have been thinking about it, and we’ve come to the conclusion that we haven’t been the best sons.”
He frowns when he hears that last part, having no idea what Dick is talking about. They all argue quite a bit with Bruce, especially during patrols, but they’ve learned to communicate better before letting their anger escalate, and doesn’t think there’s been anything out of the ordinary these past few days.
“At least, we haven’t been as good as the kind of father Clark is.”
He almost drops the glass of water he’s holding, and only convinces himself he heard correctly when he looks at them and they all look back at him.
“Okay, before Dick makes us all cry,” Jason interrupts, approaching Clark with a folder in his hand, though he doesn’t hand it over until the rest of them join him as well “Happy Father’s Day, Pa.”
Just to have something to do, he sets the glass down on one of the tables while his gaze shifts between the folder and the four boys in front of him.
Pa.
“The important thing is inside,” Tim says, trying to lighten the mood.
His heart races, the echo of Dick and Jason’s voices saying “father” and “Pa” still in his mind. With a trembling hand, he carefully picks up the folder, and when he opens it, he sees four small stacks of documents each held together by a paper clip. The first thing in each one is a petition for name change. He tries to read the first page carefully, but the first thing that catches his eye is the text in bold.
… Requests a legal name change to Richard John Wayne-Kent
Clark’s eyes widen in surprise, and he hurriedly scans the rest of the pages, a stack of legal documents, the same ones he’s been seeing for years whenever the school requests them or they’re needed for some official procedure. The only difference in all of the is the name.
Wayne-Kent
All the piles are exactly the same; only the names change.
Jason Peter Wayne-Kent
Timothy Jackson Wayne-Kent
Damian Wayne-Kent al Ghul
At some point, his vision blurs, and only then he realizes he’s crying. Clark blinks several times to see them clearly.
“Are… Are these real?” His voice comes out a little chocked up.
“Totally,” Tim nods.
Damian, who had remained silent until then, walks over to him with a second folder in hand.
“However, we need your signature for these.”
And Clark thinks it could very well be tax fraud, and he wouldn’t even notice it because his mind is still processing. The contents of the other folder are quite similar: four sets of papers. But now, it takes Clark a little longer to realize that these are adoption papers.
They don’t just want to take his last name. His children want him to be their legal father. The only ones who still need a legal guardian are Tim and Damian, and Tim is about to turn eighteen. Then, Clark’s heart skips a beat when he understands this is a decision, something they truly want.
“Unless you do not want to,” the kid murmurs, and he detects genuine anguish in his voice.
At that moment, he decides to put aside any doubt he might have about how much he really deserves this and searches through his pockets until he finds a pen.
“Where do I sign?”
“Do you always carry that around?” Jason teases, but Clark smiles slyly at him.
“Yes, just in case my sons ask me to sign adoption papers on a Sunday afternoon.”
Bruce snorts beside him and leans over to show him where to sign.
When he finishes the last stroke, Clark closes the folder and looks at his sons standing in front of him. They all have teary eyes.
“Well, it’s official,” he nods.
Dick can’t hold back any longer and is the first to run toward him. As if he weighed the same as when he was ten, Clark lifts him a little bit off the ground as he pulls him into his arms. Soon, three more pairs of arms join in, and the embrace expands. Damian even lets his father lift him up so the whole family can be together.
Around them, the rest of their huge family is celebrating for them. There’s applause and someone proposes a toast, and although Clark can’t make out a word of what they’re saying, fully absorbed in experiencing what he’s sure is the best day of his life, he wouldn’t want anything to be any different.
At one point, Stephanie and Cass put up a huge sign made by Damian that reads: “Happy first official Father’s Day, Clark”. It has drawings of farm animals and six stick figures that represent them as the family they are. He loves it and wants to frame it so he can always have it hanging in their room. Lois can’t stop smiling with that look that screams “I told you so”. And even when his parents come over to hug him, Clark can’t stop crying.
“We should have done this a long time ago, don’t you think?” Bruce’s hand slides down his left arm until it intertwines with his. “I hope you can forgive me for taking so long.” He lifts their intertwined hands and gently kisses Clark’s.
“Of course you knew all about this,” he sniffs as he smiles.
“Sweetheart, no one else could have pushed the bureaucracy to get such good results so fast,” Bruce replies with a laugh. “But yes, I was recruited by our kids. Keeping you in bed was one of the easiest tasks.”
Much to his regret, Clark laughs along with him as he shakes his head.
“It was worth the wait,” is all he says before wrapping his arms around Bruce’s waist and turning him around so he can kiss him.
…
Later that night, after all the guests have left and there’s no trace of the party left other than general exhaustion, their sons suggest watching a movie before bed. Clark is sure they’ll fall asleep before the movie’s half, but he agrees.
They decide to use the TV in their bedroom so they don’t have to get up. He and Bruce are just finishing putting on their pajamas when they come back, acting suspiciously together as if they’re hiding something. He looks at Bruce, and is surprised when he seems just as confused. So this is something they planned on their own, then.
“We have one last gift,” Tim begins. “Dames made a card just like the one we made for dad, but this one’s for you, Pa.”
He hands him the card, and Clark smiles radiantly when he sees it. He laughs heartily when notices the design says “Super Pa”.
“Richard said you will like that terrible joke,” Damian defends himself before anyone can say anything.
“I love it,” he assures enthusiastically and opens it to read the message inside.
Thank you for being our dad, from the simplest things to the most important ones.
But what really catches his attention are the signatures. All four are in different handwriting, with names he doesn’t recognize immediately.
Rik-El
Jai-El
Tim-El
Dam-El
“You chose Kryptonian names,” Clark whispers as he runs his finger over the strokes of each letter and feels tears welling up in his eyes again.
Bruce walks over to read them and smiles softly at the boys.
“We thought it might be important to you,” Jason says and adds, “It’s important to us.”
“You like them?” Dick asks.
Clark nods, trying to find the words as he does his best to wipe away his tears.
“They’re perfect.”
Clark has always understood fatherhood as a choice. All parents should be able to stay with their children, but it isn’t always possible. He was lucky to be found by the kind of parents who decide to stay no matter what. He’s certain that Bruce is that kind of father too.
There, watching his own sons make room for themselves next to him and Bruce in the huge bed, Clark feels something in his heart telling him that they know he has no intention of ever walking away. They trust him to stay, and for several years now, Clark has been convinced that is exactly the kind of father he wants to be.