AN: Someone prompted something new on the livejournal anon meme that directly concerned this story and it would not leave me alone. Against better judgement concerning my time management skills, my muses decided that I would be writing this little extra.
Summary: Dick realises that if he fell so hard for Conner, Bruce must have it just as bad for Clark. Action must be taken.
It was a cold night, Dick comfortably snuggled against Conner's side after a good romp, when the epiphany came: Bruce only got some every three years. Dick knew that he didn't actually sleep with those floosies he used like accessories. Normally Dick wouldn't touch thoughts of Bruce's sexual exploits with a ten foot pole but this epiphany didn't just concern sex; it ran deeper than that.
Regular sex made life so much better. Perhaps the way it had started for him wasn't the most emotionally healthy, but it all turned out alright in the end and that's what counted, right? What was even better than sex was love, and knowing your partner loved you back.
Dick sat up with a gasp, making his lover growl and pull him back down under the covers. He returned to his perfect little spot in Superboy's arms but he didn't really relax. Apparently Conner was getting better at reading him because he growled again. "What is it this time?"
"I just realised my dad's in love with your dad." And put like that it sounded so, so wrong. Dick grimaced. "Well at least I'm not physically related to Bruce..." Not that that really affected anything, what with gay marriage being illegal in most states and the whole unable to reproduce even if one of them was female. Then again the cloning option was open; the proof of that was naked and pressed against his side.
He'd known that Clark and Bruce were doing one another during the Kryptonian's mating cycle, but it had never really sunk in that there could be more to it than that. Perhaps he should have realised during his own lover's first season, but it had been too emotionally trying then. Not to mention he was sixteen and teenagers very rarely thought of anything but their own lives.
Unbidden Clark's words from years back resurface; "Bruce didn't take nearly as long to-" Dick knew what it felt like to be assaulted by those pheromones, to have such attention lavished upon you. The lack of control was terrifying and if Bruce had caved earlier than he had then what sort of affect had it had on him? Did Bruce have feelings for Superman beforehand?
He was also perpetually alone. Bruce didn't have real girlfriends or boyfriends. Dick would have known about either. Which brought him back to his epiphany; Bruce loved Clark.
Something had to be done about this; after all, his father's happiness was on the line.
Batman landed silently on the roof, a shadowy figure in the night. He stood, looming even when there was no one there to witness it. He stole across the concrete, slipping open an air vent and sliding inside. Building schematics already memorised, the Dark Knight prowled through hallways, swiftly, eluding cameras. Outwardly he was the perfect predator, calm, stalking out his pray.
Internally he was fighting panic.
It had been an hour since Nightwing had activated his emergency beacon and an hour was a very long time in this game. Not to mention the boy had scoffed when he'd insisted such a feature be built into his new costume. Dick's rebellion had been trying, but his adoptive son was not stupid. He knew how dangerous their line of work was and even if he had been angry at Batman at the time, he had acknowledged the uses of a panic button. As such Bruce knew Nightwing wouldn't use it unless he really was in trouble.
He met no one as he finally reached the corridor that Dick's signal was emitting from. The rooms here were cells, with thick walls and heavy doors. This place had once been a jail, before Arkam and the new penitentiary were built. Sometimes Bruce wondered about all the abandoned buildings on Gotham, but usually his solution was to buy the land, level it and donate it to something. Alfred was getting a little frustrated with him.
A groan sounded in a nearby room and Batman reacted immediately, flying into action, batarangs at the ready.
What he got and what he was expecting were two completely different things. The first thing Batman noticed was the table set up to accommodate dinner for two, complete with candle flickering in the wind he'd caused entering the room. The second, which probably should have been the first, was a prone Superman. Later on he would scold himself for being so thrown by the unexpected, and perhaps be a little bit proud of the perpetrator, but right now he could only stand there as the door was thrown shut behind him, effectively locking the two of them in.
Being the world's greatest detective, Bruce started to catch on to what was happening almost as soon as he was trapped. Instead of going to check if Superman was alright, he banged on the door. "Nightwing, I know you're behind this!" He growled, because Batman didn't yell.
"We're not letting you out until you and Clark have a nice long talk." His adopted son retorted, not bothering to deny it.
"We? It was your idea."
"You helped me get Superman in there."
"...Fine."
"Superboy? Nightwing, stop this foolishness immediately!"
"No can do Daddy-o! You two have some serious issues and we're not letting either of you go until you've sat down over dinner and discussed things that are well overdue. We even supplied you with mood lighting." Dick pitched his voice a little louder through the door. "Hey Clark, sorry about the kryptonite, but otherwise you'd just rip the door off its hinges."
Behind him Clark snorted out a laugh. "I guess asking nicely won't work either?"
"No but I will close off some of it so you don't spew when you eat." There was a small click as a hatch closed over the glowing green orb imbedded in the wall. Now there was just a little green dust on the floor.
"Young man if you don't open this door by the count of three, so help me I'll-" That little bubble of panic was starting to expand in his chest. Dick knew, and while logically it was bound to happen eventually, it didn't make it any less alarming. He glanced over his shoulder at Clark and scowled. Batman could face down countless foes, the worst of the worst, and yet he was afraid to come clean to his... he didn't even know what they were, and that was part of the problem.
A hand rested on his shoulder and his scowl deepened. "Aw, let 'em be. They'll get bored eventually and we haven't spoken for a while. May as well enjoy dinner as long as we're stuck in here."
He could never say no to that face, and he hadn't eaten for a while. Alfred usually forced him to eat dinner before patrol, but he'd gotten Dick's distress call before he could go home. Perhaps they could just talk like normal. Catch up. It might even be nice, sharing a dinner like this. It was true; they hadn't really had time to just talk in months.
"Oh by the way, just as a conversation starter; Clark, Bruce is in love with you." Dick called and Batman could almost see the gleeful expression on his, soon to be very dead, son's face.
Bruce felt terrible for wishing for some sort of cataclysmic disaster to force this conversation to be put on hold indefinitely. The hand on his shoulder tightened, though it was still weak in comparison to normal. Bruce focused on the difference kryptonite made on Clark's abilities, mentally running through his previous observations and statistics.
After what seemed like ages, Clark finally found his voice. "Is... is that true, Bruce?"
Bruce's blood ran cold. This was the beginning of the end. Clark would start avoiding him, not wanting to provoke any unwanted feelings. Their relationship would go from friends and colleagues to just colleagues. Eventually they wouldn't even work together on anything but the biggest disasters.
Then all it would be was the sex.
Bruce had never just wanted sex.
Batman shrugged off Superman's hand and stalked over to the small table on the other side of the room. Sitting down he had to resist the urge to rub at his masked eyes. The smells that wafted up from the covered serving dishes were familiar, and he almost laughed; Alfred was in on this.
Clark sat down opposite him, but Bruce refused to look at him directly. He was being a coward, but he didn't want to see the rejection in the other man's eyes. He wouldn't lose another person in his life.
"Bruce, you can't just freeze up over this." Superman said with an irritated sigh. "I need to know the truth."
Bruce busied himself with the food, removing the lid to his plate and picking up his utensils. He started to eat, despite his stomach's protests.
Clark followed his lead for now, thankfully, but the silence didn't last long. Clark didn't like long silences. "I'm not giving this up, Bruce. I need to know if you really feel that way about me. Talk to me! We're friends aren't we?"
"Our current relationship is practical."
"This isn't about practicality!"
"Everything is about practicality."
"You can't rationalise your feelings Bruce!"
"Everything is rational. Chemical reactions cause me to be physically attracted to you."
"Lust and love aren't the same thing!"
"My feelings are irrelevant." Bruce snarled, fed up with the conversation.
"Is that what you think?" The vehemence and anger in Clark's voice shocked Bruce into looking at him directly; only a fraction of a movement, but a significant one if you knew what to look for. "Hell Bruce! I didn't- You know I-" Clark lost words and stood up, coming over to Bruce's side of the table. Gently he pried the cowl off Bruce's face, discarding it to the side.
A hand caressed his cheek, trying to smooth away the scowl that had settled onto his face. "Bruce... I-I can't give you a normal relationship. I'm not... I can't feel aroused outside of my mating cycle." Clark paused, looking like he was putting some serious thought into what he was going to say next.
"The way I feel about you doesn't change when I stop being physically attracted to you."
"We're friends." Bruce deadpanned.
"Yes, we're friends. Being friends is the most important part of a relationship. By the time I realised that, we'd fallen into a rhythm. I couldn't tell you I still wanted to be around you. You'd think it was guilt or some sort of payment for letting me use your body when I needed to..." Clark looked away, deject and Bruce stomped down the small glimmer of hope that tried to surface.
"Do you love me Bruce? Because I think I love you."
Something in Bruce's mind shut down with that. He scrambled for a reasonable argument. Any way to avoid changing the way things were; risking what they had. "We wouldn't work." He said at last, a pitiful excuse for a rebuttal.
Warm breath ghosted over his lips. When had Clark gotten so close? "We already work." He whispered, then closed the distance between them.
Everything Bruce had closed off inside himself broke free then, and he fisted his hands in Clark's hair, pulling him closer. He'd always viewed his emotions as a hindrance of sorts. They'd only ever brought him pain in the past. Even his relationship was Dick was bitter sweet, though he didn't regret bring the boy into his life. There were many things he regretted with Clark; being with him wasn't one of them.
Clark pulled back enough to speak. "Just because I don't feel aroused, doesn't mean I don't need physical contact." Another kiss brushed his lips, before Clark moved downwards. "Or that I can't give you this."
He stopped momentarily, turning to face the door. "Boys, if you don't want a lot of mental scarring, I suggest you turn off whatever surveillance equipment you have set up and get out of here."
There was a startled yelp from outside and a small click that suggested the door had been unlocked, but neither of them took advantage of their newly found freedom.
Clark set about divesting Bruce of his utility belt, peeling leather and Kevlar off sweaty skin. Bruce had been hard inside his cup (usually a permanent situation while in Clark's presence) and it was a small relief to escape its confines. "You don't have to do this." He grunted, cock twitching as Clark blew cold air on it.
"But I -want- to do this." He insisted, then took Bruce into his mouth.
It was a totally different experience, having Clark's mouth on him without the pheromones messing with his consciousness. Clark was still as talented as ever, but he wasn't as perfect. It was just them, no alien biology coming between them and Bruce lost himself in a new way.
Head thrown back, Bruce closed his eyes and just let himself feel. Of course he'd done this with others over the years. Dick assumed he was completely abstinent. While he didn't indulge in actual sex, a quick mutual hand job or some filatio here and there helped curb any extreme reactions he may have to Clark's presence. This was always so much more satisfying. There was just something there that was lacking when he did this with anyone else.
He didn't last long under Clark's talented tongue. Gentle fingers massaged his balls and teeth grated lightly on sensitive skin. A quick swipe to the head, then a sudden deep throating and he curled in on himself involuntarily, ejaculating into his lover's mouth.
Clark swallowed, licking his lips greedily as if the bitter substance actually tasted any good. He grinned up at Bruce, that goofy expression all Clark.
For once, Bruce was at a loss for words, rather than actively choosing not to speak. This was... He took three deep, meditative breaths, calming himself through sheer will and years of training. Carefully he pulled his pants back on and reattached his utility belt, resolutely refusing to admit he was stalling. Batman never stalled; it was a strategic silence.
Clark seemed to understand, though, and when Bruce stood the man enveloped him in a crushing embrace. "We've effectively been together for years." Clark chuckled into his ear. "Might as well actually start acting like it."
Bruce grunted and lifted his arms to hug back. There were still issues with the situation that would need to be sorted out. Things to plan like how often they would see each other, where they would live. Not to mention a certain adopted son that needed a severe talking to about locking parents in rooms.
But that could wait. Right now Clark was laughing into neck and his heart was threatening to grow a few sizes.
And perhaps that wasn't such a bad thing after all.