Chapter - 29

Clark Kent stood fidgeting with his tie, looking at a piece of modern art in front of him. Art was beyond him. Give him a piece of poetry to read, it would have kept him entertained or even watching football on the TV would do. But no, he had to be at an art exhibit trying to figure out just what was in front of him.

Clark sighed and kneaded his forehead. When he felt a hand on his shoulder, he turned to see it was Diana. Giving her a small smile, he said, "This art is lost to me."

Diana couldn't help but chuckle. "Darling, it's just a painting of a man walking in rain."

Clark scrunched his face and Diana smiled when she saw a crinkle on his forehead. "But why is there so much orange?"

"Because she painted rain during fall. Kal, darling, let's just move on and see the other paintings. The masterpiece is that way."

"Hey Sis, B-I-L!" They heard Donna call out loud. Clark and Diana turned around to greet her. Donna hugged her sister and smirked at Clark. "What, no hugs?"

"B-I-L sounds like some kinda seasonal special burger," Clark replied, moving forward for a hug. "And nice job, kid. Beautiful fall rain. You can totally see the man walking without an umbrella."

"Wait, you understand the painting?" Donna asked in mock surprise. "Oh my God, Di, is Clark secretly taking art lessons just to understand what I paint?"

Clark shrugged, his arm sliding over Diana's waist. "You know, I've a great teacher." He winked at Diana who gave him a big smile in return.

"Ugh! Get a room, you two." Donna made a face. "Oh wait, you already did. That's why there's a bun in the over… You really thought I wouldn't know?" Winking at the surprised couple, she headed back to join Winn and Mike. But when she saw Kara walking in with Bruce, Donna waved to her and went to say hi to them.


Kara had walked in with Bruce to see Donna waving at her. She smiled and was about to go greet her when she saw Clark looking at her. To say Clark looked displeased would be the understatement of the century. Diana, on the other hand, had a pleasant smile as she grabbed Clark's hand and made her way towards them. Kara greeted the Prince sisters with a big hug. Grinning, she touched Diana's tummy lightly.

Diana smiled as she hugged her again and said, "I'm guessing Donna told you."

"You guessed right." Kara gave her a knowing smile and stepped back to see Clark and Bruce talking. Civil, sure, but not friendly as they normally would be.

"Diana, you look lovely," Bruce said, leaning forward to kiss her cheek. Clark looked away and rolled his eyes. Bruce then shook hands with Donna and asked her about her paintings. She ended up walking him through everything and to her surprise, Bruce bought more than three of her paintings including the masterpiece.

As Bruce busied himself, Kara was busy looking around for Winn. Clark was in a bad mood and she didn't want to be lectured by him now. But it was also because she knew Mike would be hanging out with Winn. And there he was… busy drinking a glass of champagne, admiring the masterpiece.

It was of a lonely man standing on the edge of a rock-covered beach, the water crashing onto the rocks, making the man look almost vulnerable.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Winn asked Mike, before taking a sip of the champagne.

"Indeed. Imagine if this man moved few inches farther," Mike replied. "The sea would take ahold of him in its long, menacing clutches, dragging him to the deep darkness, where there is absolutely no escape. What a way to go…"

"What a sad way to go," Kara interrupted him. Mike turned around to see her. His eyes trailed over the dress she wore, it was a black top, short hands with a deep neck and the long skirt had beautiful black and pink flower pattern in silk. His eyes seemed to be stuck on her cleavage though. So when she chuckled and said, "My eyes are up here, Mike." He looked up and shrugged.

"But the boobs are down there, Blondie."

Winn spluttered his drink and coughed lightly. Mike patted his back and said, "Careful, man, you don't wanna choke and die at Donna's art exhibit. She will find a way to resurrect you and kill you again."

Winn couldn't help laugh, but Kara was looking at Mike in shock. How did he know Donna so well? Were they spending time together? Was it at the bar?

Kara was about to voice her thoughts, but Winn interrupted her by saying, "I'm gonna go get myself a glass of water. And I'll bring back some champagne for you, Kare bear. Anything for you, buddy?" He asked Mike.

"I'm good, man."

Once Winn left, awkward silence loomed between them. Mike was back to admiring Donna's masterpiece, and Kara was busy looking at him.

"You know I can see you," Mike said nonchalantly.

"How's the new case going?" Kara asked, trying to distract him.

Mike looked at her with a smirk. "Checking me out and now changing the subject when caught, huh, Blondie? Not nice… And the case is going great, thanks for asking."

"Why haven't you taken me along with you yet? I know you barely stay at the office."

"Seriously, this is not like the previous one. You are better off at the office. Sit this one down."

"Or you are just scared I'll do a better job that you." Kara shrugged. "Let's face it, I'm awesome!"

Mike looked at her and shook his head. He looked around for a couple of seconds before saying, "I need to go find Cat. She was right here. Where did she go? See ya, Blondie."

Kara sighed when she saw Mike walk away, but Winn had returned just then and someone from the local newspaper approached them and asked them what they felt about their friend's artworks.


When Clark noticed Kara talking to someone from the press and Diana busy talking to the other guests, he made his way towards Bruce, who was paying for the paintings he had purchased.

Bruce looked up when Clark approached him. "Buying anything for your girlfriend, Kent?"

"Why buy one when my sister-in-law can paint one for me and my fiancée, Bruce?" Clark crossed his arms across his chest. "So, you and my sister, huh? Funny, I thought you liked to date models and actresses. Never though my baby sister would be your type."

Bruce took a sip of the champagne before saying, "Your sister is beautiful and smart. I don't see why this is troubling you so much."

"Because she just got out of a relationship! Did you even bother asking her that? NO! You know what your problem is, Bruce? As long as the girl is beautiful and has a bit of a brain, you want her. Very simple. You don't care if the said woman has feelings or whatever you think she has to make this work! My sister is not some… 'Flavor of the month'! Her face is splattered all across the gossip sites. This is not good for her reputation. So, as a friend and also your business partner, I respectfully ask you to back off!"

Meanwhile, Diana, who was talking to some of the guests, turned to see Clark and Bruce talking. Bruce looked calm as always, but Clark was trying his hardest not to lose his temper.

"Hey Di!" She heard someone call her name. Turning around, Diana gave John and Hal a big smile before reaching out to hug them both.

"How you doin', Di?" John asked as he stepped away and smiled at her. She was absolutely glowing. He had known this girl since he was thirteen and she had never looked like this before… literally glowing.

"I'm good, John. You guys didn't have any trouble getting here, did you?" When Diana saw that Hal was looking at Donna, who was winking at him, she rolled her eyes and asked, "Jordan? Would you kindly spare us some of your valuable time?"

John punched Hal on his shoulder and made him yelp. "Easy, bro!" Hal groaned. "And what were you saying, Di?"

"She was asking if we had trouble getting here, you doofus!" John answered. "And yes, we did have trouble. Because my car broke down and is currently being repaired, so I asked this idiot to give me a ride, but guess what he does instead?"

"Hey! She was hot. I couldn't say no!" Hal shrugged and turned away. He looked around before his eyes caught sight of one Bruce Wayne. "Looks like Brucey is here. Who's he talking to?"

Clark had just come into view and Hal raised a single brow. He looked at John, who looked just as confused. "Diana, what's going on?"

"Long story short, Kara is dating Bruce. Kal doesn't like that. I told him not to confront Bruce about that, but does he listen?"

Seeing Diana sigh loudly, John said, "I can go talk to Clark. This isn't the right place for such talks. And why the hell is Kara dating Wayne? Aren't there any nice, younger guys around? Hey Hal, let's talk to Clark. Hal? HAL?!"

Hal was no longer listening to his friend. He had made his way towards Clark and Bruce, and interrupted their heated conversation. Hal had no idea what Clark had said to Bruce, but the man looked upset. He simply nodded at Clark and walked away. Hal grabbed Clark's arm and pulled him back to where Diana and John were standing.

Diana reached out to Clark and gave him a hug. Pulling away, she asked, "Are you alright, love?"

Clark sighed and nodded. "I am."

"What were you talking to Bruce about?" John asked curiously.

"Kara. And I did what I had to do. You don't get to tell me otherwise. This is my sister."

Hal ran his hand through his hair and asked, "If Donna ever dated someone with an age difference, will you protest?"

Diana and John looked up in surprise. Where was Hal going with this? Clark simply shrugged. "Donna would probably kick his ass if he screwed up, my Kara isn't like that."

Hal gulped and turned away. But when his eyes fell on Donna, he muttered, "You know I was never the one to back away from a good challenge." Smirking, he gave his friends a mock salute. "See ya, amigos!"


Bruce kept away his unfinished glass of champagne and made his way towards Kara, who was still talking to the reporter. He moved closer and placed his hand on the small of her back. Kara looked up with a smile.

"Can I have a word?" he asked, leaning closer.

"Sure! Excuse me," Kara said to the reporter and walked away with Bruce, who was leading her towards a balcony. "Is everything alright?"

Bruce nodded before touching her arm. "Kara, I know we really didn't get a lot of time to spend with each other. And I really liked what we had. But sometimes I feel you are too good for me."

Kara couldn't help but chuckle. "Me? Too good for you?"

"Yes. You don't know me, Kara. I am… different. I have needs to be met. And I gather you were just out of a relationship. You are not ready for this. Not ready for us. I'm just trying to be the voice of the reason, Kara. I'm not doing this to hurt you."

"So you are basically breaking up with me?" she asked in a low voice.

"It's for the best. Maybe if I'd been younger…" Bruce let out a loud sigh. "Maybe things would have been different then."

Kara was quiet for a while. Suddenly things started making sense. Bruce was joking. And it was Mike who had put him up to this. It had to be him! Kara burst out laughing and she leaned against Bruce's chest. She wondered if she was with Mike and he was 'pretending' to be breaking up with her, what would she have done? Kissed him, for sure.

"Why are you laughing?" Bruce asked, grabbing her arms and gently pulling her away from him. "This isn't a joke, Kara. I am breaking up with you."


A/N: Whoa! Finally! The much-awaited break up! XD Y'all wanted Bruce gone... well, I listened. I enjoyed writing Clark a lot. Especially when he confronted Bruce. Did anyone else find it creepy the way Mike spoke about the masterpiece? :)

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