Disclaimer: I don't own Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, the Justice League or its characters
Written for a prompt from the dckinkmeme on Dreamwidth. You can find it in the end notes. The title from the song Someone Like You by Adele, which was the first thing that came to mind when I was looking for a title. 😉
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Title: Sometimes It Just Hurts Instead.
"So. You and Hal, huh?" Bruce's body tensed as soon as he heard the familiar sound of Clark's voice behind him. He forced himself to relax only half a second later, but he was under no illusion to believe the kryptonian had somehow missed that. "I have to say I never saw that one coming."
He couldn't see or hear him, but he could sense the kryptonian moving closer.
"I mean, it's Hal. You hate Hal."
Bruce said nothing. He kept his gaze fixed on the monitor before him even though he couldn't make sense of the information displayed there. Clark moved to lean against the desk, his hip resting only an inch away from Bruce's gauntleted hand and his alien blue eyes fixed on his face.
"You know I like him just fine, but he's so- he's Hal," Clark finished with an amused smile. As if they were sharing a joke. "He's reckless, he's irresponsible, he's unpredictable. And he's always insulting you and challenging anything you say.
"Why I'm even telling you this? You know all that better than anyone."
Bruce's fists clenched even tighter with every word that came out of the kryptonian's mouth, but he forced himself not to react. It would only encourage him to continue if he did.
"Are you done."
"But I guess it's my fault," Clark continued, ignoring him. "I left you alone for too long."
The kryptonian grabbed his chin with his thumb and index finger and tilted his head upwards. "Of course, you could have just told me that rather than stoop so low as to sleep with him."
Bruce jerked his head out of the grip, aware that the only reason he was able to do so was that the kryptonian let him and hating that fact. He closed his eyes when Clark brought his hand to rest at the back of his neck, his grip firm but not painful.
"Don't worry. You have my attention now, so you can put an end to that."
"You're-"
"Hey, Spooky! I thought you- Superman," Hal finished, the smile sliding off his face as he took in the scene before him.
"Hal," Clark replied with a nod, slowly lowering his hand. He made no attempt to move away from Bruce.
"I'm not interrupting, am I?"
"No," Bruce growled before the kryptonian could say a word. He pushed his chair back and stood up, taking a few steps away from the desk where Clark was still leaning. He ignored the weight of his glare and instead met Hal's gaze. The frown on the Lantern's face disappeared from his face as he stared back and Bruce felt something in his body loosen up minutely.
"Actually, we were just talking about the thing between you two."
"You mean the fact we're dating," Hal countered. It wasn't a question.
Clark frowned. "I wouldn't call it dating."
"That's interesting. And by interesting, I meant moronic, because as far as I'm aware only the people involved in the thing get to decide what to call the thing."
Bruce watched warily between one man and the other. He saw Clark's clenched fists at his sides and the sharp pull at his mouth. The sight contrasting with the barely restrained fury in Hal's eyes and the loose posture of his body. He didn't think either of them would go as far as to get into a physical confrontation, but he would be ready to put a stop to it if it happened.
"Well, I think I'm involved now because Bruce and I were just discussing getting back together."
"Were you now?" Hal asked with an arched eyebrow, arms crossed across his chest.
"Yes. We-"
"That's enough," Bruce said quietly. Both men turned to stare at him. He looked at Clark. "It's over."
It was obvious from the little twitch of Clark's lips that he didn't believe him, and Bruce couldn't blame him. This was not from the first time he said those words, and yet nothing changed. But this time was different.
"Bru-"
"I mean it. It's over." He resisted the urge to look back at Hal and seek his silent support. He forced himself to hold the kryptonian's gaze.
Clark looked like he wanted to say something else. Like he still didn't believe him. Bruce saw him look in Hal's direction for a moment, then two, and when he turned to him again his expression was smooth.
"Fine," He replied with a shrug. Clark floated out of the room without a backward glance.
Bruce felt his shoulders sag slightly once the kryptonian was out of the room. It would be a lie to say a part of him didn't want to run after him and take it all back. He had spent so many years in love with Clark, satisfied with taking the bits and pieces he was allowed to have that he wasn't sure he knew how to let go of him. Wasn't sure he truly wanted to.
Clark probably was expecting him to run after him one more time.
Hal was standing at his side a moment later, his soft and warm brown eyes reminding him why he wouldn't do that. Not anymore.
It was not that Bruce had been unaware of the fact that the relationship that existed between them wasn't healthy or that at some point it had stopped making him happy, but rather than have Hal at his side now finally gave him the strength and resolve to put a stop to it.
He couldn't honestly say it was even Clark's fault. Not really. Bruce was self-aware enough to know he wasn't the easiest person to deal with, much less while in a romantic relationship- his long list of messy relationships attested to that. So he couldn't fault Clark for needing time away from him every now and then. He should be thankful Clark was willing to come back to him at all, and he had been for a long time. But he couldn't do it anymore. It hurt too much to see Clark walk away every time, and it was a hurt stayed even when Clark eventually came back to him.
"You okay?"
"Yes."
Bruce stared at Hal, not for the first time hoping against hope that the Lantern's frequent off-world missions would give him enough time away from him to stop Hal from getting sick of him just like Clark did. That the weeks and even months apart would be enough to help Hal forget all of the reasons he shouldn't even bother with him.
That wasn't the reason this thing between them started almost eight months ago, but Bruce couldn't help but hope with every passing day that it would be what helped them stay together a little longer.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of Hal's constructions move out of the room only to come back holding a cup in front of him. The rich smell of coffee filled his nostrils as he blinked down at it. He looked up at Hal.
"I thought you could use some coffee so I brought you this," He explained with a shrug.
Bruce took the cup without a word. It was still hot in his hand, but he made no attempt to drink it.
"He lied."
Hal cooked his head to the side. "Oh?"
"We weren't discussing that." Bruce paused. That wasn't entirely accurate either. "He implied he wanted us to get back together, but I-"
"You don't have to explain anything to me. I trust you." Bruce felt himself go numb as he stared at Hal, uncomprehending. "Look. I'm not an idiot, okay? I get that there's probably a part of you that wants to say yes and go with him. When I say I trust you I mean I know you wouldn't lie to me about it."
"That doesn't seem fair to you," Bruce countered, accepting Hal was right without saying the words. He could tell by the small downward twitch of Hal's lips that he understood that.
"I think I can handle it. Besides, it's not like I'm making a huge sacrifice here if you know what I mean."
The skin on Bruce's face and neck turned hot under the weight of Hal's gaze and his flirty tone. He busied himself with the cup in his hand and took a sip of the warm liquid, only to freeze when he realized the coffee was prepared the way he liked it. Hal not only had paid enough attention to know how he preferred his coffee but had also gone out of his way to prepare him a cup and bring it to him.
Somehow, that small detail was more important that when moments ago Hal had been willing to stand up to Superman for him, though perhaps not as meaningful as the fact he was willing to put up with him and his fucked up life in the first place.
Bruce felt as if Hal had cracked his chest open and was now holding his battered heart tenderly between his hands.
"I- appreciate it," He forced out.
It wasn't what he wanted to say. Far from it. He wanted to assure Hal he was right where he wanted to be and that he didn't regret ending things with Clark. Tell him he loved Clark and probably always will, but that didn't make his feeling for Hal any less meaningful. That he was lucky to have him by his side.
"Don't go straining yourself there, Bats," Hal teased good naturedly. "I know you love me."
Bruce's body went rigid as a board, his heart threatening to burst out his chest with how fast it was beating.
"That was a joke, by the way," Hal said after a long moment of tense silence.
"I know."
Hal watched him. "Okay."
"I think-" He let out a shaky breath. "I think I do."
"What?"
Bruce clenched his jaw and fists tightly and forced himself to meet Hal's eyes. "I love you."
"Jesus Christ!" He breathed out. "Hell of a time for a love confession, isn't it?"
He only had a couple of seconds to second guess himself and consider offering an apology before Hal's calloused hands were cradling his cheeks and pulling him into a kiss. It was soft and gentle, at least until Bruce's tongue licked Hal's lips and the other man opened his mouth to let him in.
Bruce squeezed his eyes shut and wrapped an arm around Hal's neck as he savored every second of the contact.
"I love you too, you know," Hal murmured against his lips once he had his breath back, their foreheads touching. "Just in case you're still wondering."
He allowed the corner of his lips to curl up slightly before kissing him again. It was Hal who eventually pulled away with obvious reluctance, their gazes meeting as Hal's fingers traced the outline of his jaw softly.
"You want some company?"
Bruce should say no. It was impossible to get any work done with Hal around because the man was physically unable to stay still and silent for long. He would try to engage him in inane chatter and even a lack of response wouldn't deter him. He would even use his ring to make silly constructions while he talked and eat snacks stolen from one of Barry's not-so-secret stashes.
The prospect didn't sound as unpleasant as it usually did.
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a/n: You know I actually love Clark and Superbat, right? it's just that this prompt got stuck in my head and soon enough the story was coming together on its own and I couldn't resist.
I don't want to make excuses for Clark's behaviour here, but I feel that if it had been anyone but Hal he would have reacted a lot better because he would have believed the relationship was real unlike with Hal here. Also, I tried to keep the Bruce/Clark relationship kind of vague and not make Clark too much of a villain, so you can decide just how unhealthy the relationship was, and if there was a more grave abuse like the prompt suggested. Let me know your thoughts!
So. Against my better judgement (if I even have such thing) I decided to take a look around the dckinkmeme, and of course, I found several prompts that caught my attention. As is typical of me, I decided it was a good idea to pick and work on a few prompts instead of working on any of my unfinished fics and here we are. You can expect a couple of more fills to show up at some point. *sigh*
English is not my native language, so any tips or corrections are welcome.
Here's the prompt: Basically Clark is the "only back when it's good boyfriend" and he's trying to convince Bruce to get back with him even though Hal and Bruce are now dating. I just really want Hal to come in and put Clark in his place because he was the one that basically had to pick up the pieces after the last time Clark broke up with Bruce, aka Hal stopped the cycle of Bruce blindly forgiving Superman for using and then discarding him over and over again. Hal and Bruce have a really good thing going and he's not going to stand by while his boyfriends ex hassles him. Also want to make it clear that Bruce is loyal to Hal so he would never have gotten back with Clark this time, Hal still steps in though because he's got his bf's back.
It's up to the writer whether Clark was physically abusive as well as emotionally.(Also pls don't mistake this as me hating on superbat, I love it but this particular post has been stuck in my head)