Mistaken Identity
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Chapter one A moment of your time Mr. Wayne

Bruce was at a charity against domestic violence. He was suppose to be talking about the Wayne Botanical branch to preserve the environment, but he felt the two were not related enough for him to remember it tonight. Instead, the wealthy CEO pretended to drink too much to recall what he was there for, and instead spent money on the charity.

"God he's so boring tonight. Not that I mind, I think his work with the botanical branch is worse, but he's not making his normal faux pas either." Lois rolled her eyes.
"Does it matter though? I mean, that's been written to death." Clark replied.
"True, but there has to be something I can write on. Though the last time I've brushed shoulders with him he swept me off my feet, not an easy task, so I'm willing to bet there's more in that funny head of his than meets the eye." Lois stated.
"Or he got lucky." Clark replied.

Lois pursed her lips. She wasn't sure if Bruce knew how to manipulate people, or, if it was some weird fluke that she fell for him at the last charity.

"Show him your country charm Kent." she slapped Clark on the back. "I doubt he'll know what to do with a man, but you never know." she shrugged.
"I'm not going to flirt with him." Clark stated quickly.
"I said show him country charm not city charm." Lois argued.
"Suddenly I don't want to know about that date you two had." Clark stormed off, and Lois just crossed her arms more annoyed.

Bruce had dumped his drink quietly in a plant holder. He wasn't too upset about it, knowing it was a fake plant anyway. Clark found that interesting as he watched the multi-billionare take another drink.

"That's not water you know." Clark smiled as he approached. "Clark Kent, Daily Planet. I was hoping you'd talk about the botanical branch, and it's headway." Clark asked.
"Don't you think that's a little inappropriate?" Bruce asked.
"Excuse me?" Clark wasn't sure what he meant, he was focused on getting a job done for Lois.
"Wouldn't you rather spend your money on the charity?" Bruce asked him plainly.
"Well…" Clark thought Bruce would just bumble around like he always read the man would do.
"Well?" Bruce repeated, he mimicked Clark slightly.
"Money's not my strong suit." He admitted.
"So you're here to harass me, at an abuse-"
"Sorry, no, I don't mean to." Clark realized where Bruce was going with this.

Bruce just smiled charmingly at the reporter.

"Don't worry about it, I'm only giving you a hard time. You see some reporters from Gotham are a bit more persistent in upsetting me. I can tell you don't really want to do that." he said smoothly.

Clark stood there staring at him. It was then he realized he must have gave Lois the run around and his practice with it was a history with Vicky Vale and Jack Ryder.

"I didn't mean to berate you like Mr. Ryder. Sir." Clark stated slowly and quietly.

Bruce watched him a little surprised. Had Clark taken this route he might have let his guard down a little easier in the beginning, but it was too late now.

"Enjoy the party, Mr. Kent." he walked away from him and into a group well dressed women chatting with them about theater.
"That was quick." Lois went over to Clark.
"He danced around me like a pro." Clark crossed his arms listening to them chat about the newest movie and how the actors captured certain scenes fluidly.

"I'm starting to think he's putting on a damn act when he gets drunk at parties." Lois eyed him.
"With how he's treating the women tonight, they seem to forget how he normally comes to parties too, I don't think I understand." Clark replied.
"He just knows what to say." Lois told him. "He's good at it. I'm not sure how to throw him off."
"Maybe that's just it Lois." Clark smiled a bit.
"What?" Lois asked.
"He's already expecting you to do it. He's expecting Vale, and Ryder." Clark explained.
"Don't compare me to them Smallville." Lois rolled her eyes.
"Let me try something." Clark felt a little adventurous tonight.

Lois' eyes grew wide as she watched Clark walk off.

"I wonder what he's been drinking to man up." Lois whispered to herself but got a drink and watched from the side lines.

The women laughed and were describing an animated scene in a movie, and Bruce smiled a bit. He's body relaxed as Clark approached.

"Oh who's this Bruce?" a blonde in a cocktail dress and a large white fashion hat asked him.

Before Bruce could answer dully to push Clark out of the group, Clark spoke.

"I'm Clark Kent of the Daily Planet."

Bruce could feel the mood slip. Even the women didn't like reporters. He felt his legs tense, and was ready to walk away from him with the women if he had to save the situation. If Clark was anything like Ryder he'd get security, but from what he recalled, Clark had a gentle approach in his reporting, and often was only a photographer. Perhaps being around Ms. Lane changed his tactic, or perhaps he was trying to impress her. Bruce's ice blue eyes glanced over at Lois to size her up, and she seemed genuinely concerned for her partner. Bruce looked back at Clark. He felt there was no saving him now.

"Sorry but-" A red head was speaking.
"Oh excuse me, I was just interested in the movie you were talking about." He smiled a bit. "You see my father enjoys both sports and television. I wanted to know if it'd be something he might find interesting, so I could bring him to Gotham to watch it, or perhaps to Metropolis."

There was a bit of a groan in the group, and most of the group seemed to find the man boorish, but Bruce was touched by Clark's sentiment.

"It's got a little violence and romance but it's very short in the film, it's more suspenseful drama." Bruce said a bit more gently than he intended. "I think it'd be a decent film to see with your father." Bruce replied warmly.
"I don't know if I'd take my father to see it." one woman stated. "He might get bored of it, he's more into plays and musical numbers." she explained.
"You know I might take my father to it though, he's a retired police officer you know."
"Oh it's a crime movie?" Clark asked.

A few of them nodded.

"He might enjoy that. The good guys win in the end though I hope?" Clark asked.
"Oh of course, it was very uplifting,"
"Yes, movies these days are rather dark and with sad endings,"
"It's just the current style of films, and this one broke the norm,"
"It's very refreshing, don't you think Bruce?"
"I for one was very happy about the outcome of the movie. It reminded me of a radio broadcast I use to listen with my father called The Grey Ghost. You should give it a listen. If you think he'd like that he would like the movie." Bruce explained.

"Oh, I remember my brother listening to that when we were very small." a woman replied happily.
"Thank you Mr. Wayne I think I'll look into it." Clark smiled.

Bruce smiled a bit and winked at him.

"I think tonight you can call me Bruce."
"Oh, remember that show, that taught french from a talking cat puppet? My great grandmother would have me watch that. I adored it."

Bruce snapped his fingers and a waiter brought drinks over and everyone brought their glasses together as they laughed and talked. As he saw glasses emptying he saw Clark about to call the waiter over once more. Bruce locked eyes with him, and the reporter gave pause feeling as if entranced. Bruce then looked to the blonde who brought out a check book. When she was nearly finished Bruce glanced at Clark and winked at him again, but after seeing his confused expression he glanced at the waiter again and to the woman. Clark jumped and was about to walk to the waiter but the red head from the group suddenly grabbed his arm. He looked down at her.

"So what sorts of things interest you Clark?" she asked him.

Clark was paralyzed by the sudden change of events.

"Um well." he looked to Bruce feeling pressured in a way he wasn't expecting.

Bruce could see in the background Lois smirking and then smacking her head at seeing her friend falter. She wasn't sure how to save him at all. Bruce took a deep breath and Clark could hear the the man trying to focus on him. He watched Bruce's eyes move to his hand. Clark looked down at his hand then back to Bruce who quickly glanced at the waiter.

"Did you play sports growing up Clark?" Bruce asked.
"Um, a lot of football actually….Um….Excuse me."

Clark turned then paused.

"How did you do that again Mr. Wayne?" Clark asked.
"Hm, what?" Bruce asked a bit tense.
"How did you get the the waiter's attention. I've noticed some of the women are low on drinks and I'd feel bad if we kept talking and there wasn't something for them to enjoy. Also I'm not sure I want to bore them with sports. Unless…." He looked at them.

Bruce wanted to segway into sports just to segway out of sports into a fresh topic but he saw the charm in being told off by Clark. It was a point in Clark's favor and getting Clark into the group was hard enough, Bruce felt he could play the fall man if needed.
The billionaire gave a short pause, feigning confusion, and the red head squeezed Clark's arm, and waved her hand up.

"Excuse me." She had a sing song like way of speaking that was pleasant to listen to.
"You have a lovely voice, do you sing often?" Bruce asked.
"It is lovely." Clark repeated genuinely.
"Oh thank you! I practice in my spare time." she smiled.
"Maybe you could lend your singing talents in theater?" Clark asked.
"Oh no I couldn't possibly. I just enjoy singing musical numbers from movies." she laughed.

"Oh dear it's getting dark. I should get home tonight. It was nice meeting you Clark." the blonde left to drop off the check and leave.

Bruce smiled and decided to continue to play this game. He took a step closer to Clark and the women followed him closing their group together. The two men let the women chat, and when Bruce saw Clark open his mouth he gave a very discreet shake of his head to quiet the man. Clark stood taller and just listened to the women around him, and Bruce did as well. When there was a lul in conversation two of the women left to excuse themselves, and again Bruce took another step towards Clark.

"This charity is very special isn't it?" Bruce stated.
"Oh yes, the amount of sexual harassment, or just bullying in general in our society is appalling."
"There's a lot of pigs in the world, and it's rather difficult for a woman to climb the ladder in a world run by men." the red head on Clark's arm sighed.

"It is?" Clark looked down at her surprised.
"It's a man's world honey." she told him. "I don't think I hear praise from the other gender very often."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Clark said apologeticly as if he was the one who had denied her recognition. "Let me tell you this, you've made this night so much easier for me. I'm not even from Gotham and you've made me feel at home. Thank you Ms. Cadwell." Clark said softly.

She stared up at Clark hypnotized by him. Bruce smiled and looked at his the raven haired woman who had taken his arm and smiled gently at her.

" , I was wondering if you'd like to have a dance with me." he asked her.
"Oh, certainly." she smiled.
"Clark." Ms. Cadwell tugged at his arm.
"Oh, I've got two left feet, I wouldn't want to accidentally-
"Be a little brave Clark." Bruce egged him on.
"But, -"
"I said to call me Bruce." Bruce tried to correct him.
" ….I can't dance."

did her best not to laugh at Clark's situation but after seeing purse her lips in a pout it was hard for her not to at least snicker. She turned her head and gave a quick sneeze.

"Then, why don't I teach you?" Bruce asked him.
"I'm sure I don't want Lois to put me in the headlines wi-"
"I'll dance with , and you follow along next to me." Bruce quickly defused a more embarrassing topic.
"Please be patient with me Ms. Cadwell." He lead her and followed Bruce.
"Honey, I'll make you look good." Ms. Cadwell said as she stood up straight.
"I think you already have." Clark said gently finding it charming that a woman was actually interested in him, he felt his cheeks redden a bit.

He stood next to Wayne, and Bruce looked down at his own feet, and Clark followed his eyes. He followed how Wayne led with his left and danced slowly. After he felt comfortable gave a soft nod and Bruce picked up his pace and twilled his dance partner. As he glanced over at Clark, he saw him mimic him only a second later. He smiled and saw the women having a fun time. Eventually Clark got into the swing of things and danced the night away with Ms. Cadwell and at Bruce's side. Others joined in and Lois couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Eventually Lois left the party and would wait for Clark.
After what felt like hours of dancing the four would walk around chatting with other people. Eventually Clark caught on not to say he was a reporter and let Bruce introduce him instead. Clark felt a bit starstruck as they chatted about normal life events. Shows, tv, stocks, fashion, and the dangers the police had to go through. Bruce laughed and then checked his watch.

"Excuse me, I have to get going. Have a good night everyone." with that he gave a slight bow and hurried off.

Clark stayed in the circle and watched him as he placed a check in a box, and then pulled out an envelop and dropped it in. Clark slowly pulled away from the group and placed his drink on a trey as they had been doing all night. He turned and waved goodnight to the group and some waved back. He went to the box and put some money into it as he had seen some people do. Clark then picked up his pace ,and saw Bruce going to his car, his butler holding the door open for him.

"Have fun Master Bruce?" Alfred asked him.
"It was eventful. All in all, pleasant, for once." he said quietly.

Clark smiled hearing him anyway, and hurried down the stairs.

"Mr. Wayne." he called out to him, and approached him slowly after Bruce looked over his shoulder. "I wanted to thank you for helping me tonight."

Bruce turned around to face him.

"You're not exactly insufferable Clark, and in truth you helped me out. It's harder to have people open their checkbooks, unless they're entertained."

Clark stared at him and shifted the weight to his other foot. He didn't like the idea of being tricked into tricking others in opening their wallets.

"Mr. Wayne, I don't get invited into groups like that that often. I'm typically kept at arms length. Usually places like that are all spot lights, and glamour and unattainable. At least for me." he put his hat on and tipped it at Bruce. "Thank you again for tonight Mr. Wayne."

Bruce smiled. He honestly thought this type of conversation was dead in the world. He nodded back to Clark.

"It was a pleasure. Good night." he turned to get into his car but paused when Clark spoke.
"Mr. Wayne, a moment of your time? I'd like to talk about your research factories sometime. Are you free tomorrow? I'm sorry for the short notice." Clark dared to ask.

He smirked a bit. Clark seemed to be one of those people that you could count on never changing, but in a good way. Bruce sat in his car and raised his hand so Alfred wouldn't shut the door to hide him, as he normally did.

"There's a restaurant called O'Shaughnessy's, ten am, I'll see you for brunch. Good night Mr. Kent." He smiled at him and lowered his hand.
"Have a good night Mr. Wayne." he smiled happily. He looked at Alfred with a big goofy face, and gave him a toothy smile and nodded to him. "Good night to you too sir." With that he walked away to go to his hotel room to get a night of rest, he only hoped he didn't sleep in as he was already up past midnight.

Alfred closed Bruce's door and got into the driver's seat.

"He's certainly different from the others." Alfred stated as he pulled away from the building.
"He is. Mm, my head's pounding." Bruce groaned. "I shouldn't have had two drinks."
"You drank sir?"
"I was actually enjoying myself. His mannerisms are a breath of fresh air." Bruce loosened his tie.
"Oh, what about his mannerisms master Bruce?" Alfred thought this was interesting.

Bruce just closed his eyes and Alfred put on the radio, but kept it quiet in case Bruce would actually catch up on some sleep. He smiled and kept driving. There was something about tonight that Bruce couldn't shake. Maybe it was the fact he actually had fun today. It was strange. It was almost like being around Dick, but very different at the same time.

"There's something very comforting about his personality." Bruce said in a sigh as he started to fade out.
"Is he? You seem to enjoy his company more than the women tonight." Alfred started to pry.
"Mhm, his dad likes sports and movies." Bruce muttered.
"Oh." Alfred glanced into the mirror to look at him. "Master Bruce."
"It'd be nice to see the movies…"

Alfred bit his lower lip and kept driving. He knew it was hard to catch a movie with Bruce because of his work, and he knew he loved watching movies. He'd have to find time to watch something with him, and get Dick to join in. Even if Bruce was work driven and seemingly antisocial he was human, and very social.

"What did you want to wear for your brunch with ?" Alfred asked.
"Casual suit would be ideal. Mm." His head tipped against the window.
"As you wish sir, did you want a light breakfast, or non at all?"

Alfred was met with silence, and he smiled a bit. It had been awhile since he had seen Bruce rest so easily.

…

Clark had entered the hotel room he shared with Lois. He looked at the bed and looked away quickly seeing her on it already with a laptop on her lap. He went in and pulled out the hide-a-bed from the sofa in the room.

"You were out late. Have a lot of fun?" She asked him as she looked at a blank screen on her laptop.
"Hm? It was pretty nice actually." he grabbed his duffle bag. "Did you need to use the restroom? I'm going to take a shower. If that's okay."
"Go for it. Tell me about it when you come out." Lois kept thinking.
"Okay." at first she didn't react and then noticed it was about two am when he returned home.

After his shower Clark laid on the bed and looked up at the ceiling.

"You know you got here at two. You barely stay awake past ten, let alone nine." Lois stated.
"Yeah, I need some sleep before tomorrow." Clark yawned.
"Where's the fire?" Lois asked.

"Hm, oh, no, you can stay awake, the computer doesn't bother me." he turned his back to her.
"I mean, what are you waking up early for? We don't have to be on the tram until ten am." She stated.
"Yeah I have to get there at ten am." Clark replied.
"Well it'll leave at ten so we have to be there at nine thirty, but seriously we can wake up at nine."
"I'm meeting Mr. Wayne at ten." he yawned.
"Wait, what? Clark, you won't have another day set up here, you'll have to renew the room." Lois warned.
"Mhm." he was dozing off.

He jolted when something stuck the back of his head. He rubbed his head, turned around, and looked down at the pillow on the floor. He got up and grabbed it only to return it to Lois.

"Sorry, what did you say?"
"I said you have to renew the hotel room." she grabbed the pillow and hit him on his thigh. "And you have to tell me how you got a brunch date with Wayne."
"What, it's not a date." Clark replied.
"Mhm, so interested in any girls lately?" Lois asked him.

Clark just stared at her unable to say anything. He felt a part of himself crushed she'd have to even ask such a thing, but perhaps that was for the better in the long run.

"You know I've always wondered why that is. You're too nice. You know, I think I get it. I'm sure your family will understand if you tell them Clark."
"What, no, I'm not gay." Clark retorted. "Besides I wouldn't want to date someone like Bruce Wayne. You said so yourself, he's an arrogant, playboy, with a silver spoon in his mouth. Why would I knowingly let my heart get broken like that?" there was a bad taste in his mouth after saying that. "Though I mean, he wasn't very arrogant at the party." Clark sighed.

"Oh my god, ha, you have a crush on Bruce Wayne. You and everyone else in Gotham." Lois warned him.
"I don't have a crush on him. Look I'm doing a report on the botanical research lab and gardens. All because he taught me how to dance and we got along last night doesn't mean I'm going to be seeing him at all hours. It's just this one time Lois."
"The man doth protest to much." she smiled coyly. "Whatever Smallville but if you find something juicy call me okay. Oh, and if you find out he's bisexual call me too, I want to hear all about it." she teased him.

"I wouldn't tell you that!"
"Aha! You're interested!"
"I AM NOT!"

There was a knock on the wall and Clark turned a dark shade of crimson. He covered his face feeling awful for waking up the person in the next room. Lois just snickered to herself and waved for him to go back to bed.

"Night, loverboy."
"Geez, it's nothing. I'm just going for a scoop that's all." He grumbled and curled up pulling the blanket over himself.
"I big scoop of rich Wayne."

Clark covered his ears and tried to sleep but it took him a few hours before he was able to.