And it's over! Finally! I honestly have no way to apologize for taking so, so long to finish this, or to thank the people patient enough to keep up with my terrible updating. If someone is still waiting that is. :S

So I'll just shut up now and let you get to the long awaited end. Enjoy!

...

The sudden silence in the conference room pulled Clark out of his thoughts. He risked a glance in Batman's direction, half-expecting the other man to be glaring at him. He wasn't. Everyone was looking at J'ohn actually, so he did the same.

"Very well," The Martian said. "The meeting is adjourned."

It took him a second to understand J'ohn had been waiting to see if anyone else had a matter to bring up for discussing before wrapping up the meeting, and one more to realize he missed the whole meeting and not just a few minutes like he first thought. That wasn't good.

"Oh, thank god! I'm starving." Barry's words caused chuckles and smiles from almost everyone around the table before the speedster disappeared, quickly followed by Hal yelling for him to wait up.

Clark's smile was wiped from his face as the memory of Barry's tear-streaked face while he hugged Bruce goodbye filled his mind. It belonged to the other world, along with all the hurt and the grief and the pain, but he just couldn't seem to leave it behind.

One week had passed since their return and there hadn't been a single day where the memories of that other world didn't fill his mind.

Bruce observed Clark as everyone's attention was turned to Flash and Green Lantern. It was the play of emotions he saw then what convinced him of the need to have a talk with him. It was something he had been contemplating the last few days, aware something wasn't quite right.

Only Diana, Bruce, and J'ohn remained in the conference room the next time he blinked, and Clark hurried to get out of there as well before he was roped into the conversation. He was always happy to stay back and chat, but not this time. He wasn't in the mood for that now, especially when he had no idea of what had been discussed in the last hour or so.

He should have known it wouldn't be that easy.

"Superman," Batman called, stopping him before he could take more than two steps. There were no further words, but the request to stay was clear.

Diana's expression was knowing and satisfied before she turned away, which wasn't a surprise given the not so subtle looks she had been giving him lately. She and J'ohn walked out of the room together, leaving Bruce alone with Clark for the first time since their return.

Clark looked longingly at the closed door for a beat before resigning to his fate and turning back to his best friend.

Bruce hadn't moved from where he had been speaking with Diana and J'ohn, standing a few feet away. He was looking at him, doing that thing he did where you could almost physically feel his piercing blue eyes on you- in you, even when they were hidden behind the lenses of the cowl.

A long moment passed before Bruce finally spoke.

"What's going on?"

"What?"

He didn't need to see Bruce's face to know one of his eyebrows was arched behind the cowl. "You were distracted."

Clark almost smiled. How could he think even for a second that Bruce might not have noticed. "A little, I guess," He admitted. "I have a few things on my mind."

Prolonged silences and eye contact that lasted longer than was socially acceptable were a constant when speaking with Bruce and something Clark had mostly grown to appreciate. That wasn't the case this time.

"What do you think about the Intel Lantern shared."

There were also the constant sharp turns in the conversation that made you wonder if you had missed something. But even with the way his mind was wandering, it wasn't such a leap to talk about his distraction during the meeting to something discussed during it.

Clark paused as he considered his options. He had no idea what Bruce was talking about, of course. The question here was whether or not he should try to pretend he did and find a way to work through this. Somehow. He knew what the smart decision was here, and yet-

"I think we should look into it," He finally said, tone firm and secure.

"That's strange," Bruce started slowly. "Because Lantern didn't have any information to share today."

And that was what he got for trying to lie to the Bat, Clark thought with a grimace. "Alright, you got me. I wasn't paying attention to the meeting. I'm sorry. I will check out the footage to catch up and I promise it wouldn't happen again."

Bruce narrowed his eyes. "It wasn't just today. You've been acting strange for days. Since we returned from the other dimension."

Clark let out a sigh. He really should know better by now. What was the use of trying to lie to someone who was the closest thing to a human lie detector?

"You're right. I just can't stop thinking about what we saw on the other dimension." Clark dropped into the closest chair with a sigh. "About Batman's death and what happened with Superman and the League."

It probably wouldn't ever stop surprising him how easy it was for Clark to open up. Though perhaps easy wasn't the right word for it.

This wasn't the best place to have this conversation, but Bruce took care of that with a device from his belt, disabling the cameras and locking the doors in the conference room. He decided to start with the less complex matter to address, which was the Justice League.

"The League should have continued functioning even after Batman's death," Bruce commented matter-of-factly, taking the chair beside Clark's.

"What?"

"You heard me. If the Batman from that dimension was anything like me -and I'm almost certain he was- the League should have continued operating fully even without him."

He frowned. "I don't think that's true."

Bruce pulled back the cowl, letting him see the mussed dark hair, damp with sweat and the slightly flushed cheeks. He hadn't seen Bruce's face since their return, and it was a small comfort to be able to meet his eyes while they talked.

"That's because you like to overestimate my role within the League."

"And I think you do the opposite. You don't-"

Bruce lifted a gauntleted hand. "Spare me whatever ego boosting speech you were about to give. I know I contribute something to the League, otherwise I wouldn't be here, but that doesn't make me essential for its continuous operation.

"When we set up the League I made sure to make it financially self-sufficient and any other tasks I perform can easily be filled by someone else."

Clark's frown deepened. He wanted to argue; insist Bruce was an essential part of the League and he did a lot more for the group than foot the bills and everyone knew it, but that wouldn't change anything. Bruce was too stubborn for that. Besides, that wasn't the important thing right now.

"I still think you're not giving yourself enough credit, but assuming what you're saying it's true, what made the League fall apart then?"

"Superman, of course."

He snorted. "Now who's overestimating the other's contribution?"

"Don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying they wouldn't have been affected by Batman's death, or that the situation wouldn't have been difficult for a while," Bruce explained. "What I'm saying is that the League would have continued together if Superman had remained as the leader and guide them through it all."

"The League doesn't have a leader."

"Officially it doesn't, but everyone knows you're the leader."

"No, I'm not," Clark denied quickly.

"You are. Everyone respects and looks up to you." Clark opened his mouth to protest, but Bruce didn't give him time to speak. "You inspire people to do better. To be better. You give them hope."

"You're a better leader than I could ever be."

"I think I'm more of a drill sergeant if we're honest, and the others would agree with that, but the fact still remains that if Superman hadn't left that League would still be together," Bruce said, leaving no room for arguments. "Being around his friends instead of isolating himself would have helped him deal with his grief as well."

Clark didn't say anything. It felt as if Bruce was attempting to teach him a lesson using his double's mistake rather than simply making a point. As if he was saying 'that's why you shouldn't do that when I'm gone.' The thought alone was enough to make him feel sick. The possibility of a tragedy like that happening here was something he hadn't allowed himself to dwell on. Not now, not ever.

The thought had crossed his mind fleetingly even before all that happened. How could it not when Clark saw him get hurt again and again and Bruce just got back up and kept fighting, pushing his body past its limit.

This wasn't about the Justice League or Superman. It was about Batman. About Bruce. It always had been.

The familiar weight of Bruce's piercing blue eyes pulled him out of his thought. There was an unreadable expression on his face, making Clark look away.

"What about you?" He asked quietly. "It mustn't have been easy seeing all that."

Bruce tipped his head slightly to the side. "It wasn't a pleasant experience, but it was definitely not as bad as you're probably thinking."

"You're telling me you went to a dimension where your counterpart was dead and you're not bothered by it?"

"Not really," He said with an easy shrug. "Death isn't a foreign concept to me, and I came to terms with the possibility of an early dead well before I picked up the cowl for the first time. I would never have completed my training if I hadn't been willing to risk my life to learn."

"What?"

"You don't think every scar on my body came after I put on the suit, do you." There was a small curl on the corner of Bruce's lips. "There are always risks involved in any kind of training, but the training I sought couldn't be found in safe and well-established place. I needed to make sure I was better than good. That I was as good as I could be and more and that meant dealing with dangerous and unscrupulous people.

"You already know I trained with the League of Shadows, and the punishment if you fail can be dead."

Horrified by what he heard, Clark opened his mouth but no words come out. What could he even say to all that.

He tried to imagine a world without Batman. A world where Bruce was just gone and Clark had no idea because he didn't even get to meet him. A world without Batman at his side, always pushing him to be better; challenging him at every turn and never afraid to call him out when he was being an idiot.

"I'm not planning to get killed any time soon," Bruce said when the silence lasted too long. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to ignore the very real risks involved in what I do. Any time I put on the suit and go out can be the last and I can't allow myself to forget that."

"How can you be so calm when we're talking about- about that?"

Bruce shrugged smoothly. "Because being afraid or ignore it isn't going to change anything. And acknowledging that any mistake I make can get me killed is what keeps me alive."

"Don't. Please don't." Clark whispered. "You're my best friend. Sometimes I think you're the only person who can understand me and I can't- I just can't pretend it'll be okay if you die. Or that the way you risk your life doesn't make my blood run cold every single time."

"So don't." Clark's expression made Bruce sigh. "The only reason I told you this is because you asked. I don't expect you to think or feel the same way I do. I know you better than that."

Clark thought back to Superman, desperate to keep Bruce safe and willing to do whatever it took to do so as he clung to the ghost of his best friend. Superman's words still haunted him, echoing in the darkness of his empty apartment.

"You don't understand, but you will. You will regret it when you have to pick his broken body from the concrete and your hands are soaked in his blood. When they have to pry his lifeless body from your arms, and you have to stand aside as they lower his body to the ground. You will regret it every time you search for a heartbeat that is not there anymore."

He tried to picture himself doing what Superman attempted; taking Batman from Bruce and locking him somewhere to keep him safe. He couldn't even imagine it. He just couldn't.

And there was a group of very resourceful boys who would make sure he didn't get away with it even if he tried. And Bruce. Well, he made it clear to Superman he wasn't going to let anyone decide what he should or shouldn't do, and that wouldn't be any different with him.

"Clark."

Bruce's eyes were wary and something else Clark couldn't name when he finally met his gaze.

"It's fine. I just- I guess I need time to work through this. And I'll appreciate if you could keep yourself out of trouble while I do that," He added with a forced smile. Seeing Bruce seriously hurt while he was still trying to deal with the sharp reminder of his mortality would only make it all worst.

"I can take care of myself."

"I know," Clark replied softly.

He knew he couldn't save Bruce; couldn't simply take him away from anything that could hurt him or watch over him every second to make sure nothing happened to him. The only thing Clark could do was keep protecting him as much as he could, just like he had been doing for years now. That and trust Bruce to do everything in his power to stay alive.

It wasn't enough. It never would be enough when it came to Bruce's life, but that was just one of the many things he was powerless to change.

"I love you. You know that, right?"

Bruce squirmed almost imperceptibly in his chair, as always uncomfortable with any display of emotion. His only response was a grunt.

Clark smiled, using his super speed to wrap the other man in a hug before Bruce could put any resistance.

"Clark," Bruce growled in warning.

"Shhh," He mumbled against the soft hair. "Just let me have this for a little bit, okay?"

Bruce sighed, his body relaxing a little before moving his hands to come rest on Clark's back after a moment's hesitation.

...

a/n: You would no believe how hard it was to find the right way to wrap this up. *sigh* I had to discard so many ideas and bits I had already written because nothing felt right, but well. Here we are. I hope you liked this chapter and the whole fic, and it was worth the long wait.

Again, I'm very sorry for letting you hanging for so long and way too many times, and just know that every comment and kudos helped me not to give up on this fic, and that I love and cherish every single one. 3

Also, I'm currently working on a super short slashy epilogue, so stay tuned a little longer if you're interested ;)