Chapter Seven:
Clark and Bruce are at home getting ready for bed. After the whole incident with Shayera's mace, they all decided to start eating and talking about different things that are going on in each of their lives. They also briefly went over League business, J'onn informing Clark that they have not detected any of the mages yet. It kind of unsettles Clark to know that it's been days since their escape and yet they have not arrived to try to get them back. J'onn also tells Clark that he, meaning Clark not himself, forgot to tell the Bat family where Bruce would be so the Watchtower ended up getting a very worried call from Nightwing. Apparently J'onn told Nightwing, and in turn the rest of the family, that Batman will be stuck on the Watchtower for a little while, going over things and basically 'working on a mission' on the Watchtower. J'onn made it clear that they shouldn't be worried but Batman will be gone for a little while until what he is working on is completed. Nightwing seemed skeptical, probably wondering what was so important that it would keep Batman away from Gotham for so long, but in the end he accepted the answer, coming to the conclusion that it must be something big. He told J'onn to make sure Batman knows that Red Robin and Robin have Gotham handled and that he would be traveling back and forth from Bludhaven to Gotham to help out as well. Red Hood, on the other hand, is apparently not having a great week and is in a pretty sour mood so it's debatable whether or not he'll cooperate in helping to keep Gotham safe. Clark figures if anything, taking out criminals will let him get out his anger. It's the way he goes about it, though, that has Clark worried.
But, overall, Clark can't worry about that right now. Not when he has finally made a decision on what to do about the whole dad situation and he has to break it to the currently smiling child. Clark sighs and lifts Bruce so he can spit out the toothpaste and rinse his mouth out. He then helps Bruce out of his clothes and into a pair of pajamas. Sitting down on the edge of the bed and pulling Bruce into his lap, Clark sighs again and allows Bruce to eye him curiously. Clark knows he's wondering why Clark isn't allowing him to crawl under the covers and then Clark joining him but he just... doesn't know how to start.
"Bruce," he finally settles on. His words sound small and quiet. "I need to talk to you."
"Okay." Bruce snuggles closer and rests his head against his chest. Bruce is tired but Clark has to get this out before they go to bed or else he's going to go crazy.
"I..." Clark trails off, feeling a lump form in his throat. He has to say this. He has no other choice. "I know I said that I will be your father but," This catches the child's attention and he lifts his head to look at Clark. "I can't... I can't be that for you."
Bruce looks confused. "What do you mean?"
"I can't be your dad, I can't be your father, Bruce," Clark repeats. He's not really sure how else to explain it.
Bruce frowns. "But... you said you would be."
Clark hangs his head. "I know I did and I shouldn't have. I didn't want to be your father when you asked but I was afraid of hurting you." Clark braves a glance at the four year old and his heart breaks. The poor kid looks crushed but Clark has to continue. "I still don't want to be your father."
He feels Bruce flinch in his arms at his words and Bruce bows his head too, not looking at Clark. "You don't want to be my dad?"
Clark swallows the lump in his throat. "No, I don't want to, I'm sorry."
Bruce slumps so much in his arms that it's almost like he became boneless. Clark waits for the water works to start but they don't come. Instead, Bruce says so quietly that someone without super hearing wouldn't have heard, "Okay." Clark is about to ask him if he's alright, shocked by the easy acceptance, when the kid beats him to speaking. "Can I go to bed now?"
He still doesn't look at him and Clark nods, getting up and tucking Bruce in. Bruce turns onto his side, back to Clark. "Do you want me to sleep in here?" Bruce shakes his head no and Clark tries not to acknowledge how much that hurts. He deserves it, doesn't he? "Okay, goodnight Bruce."
Bruce doesn't say it back like he normally does and Clark sighs, leaving the room. He closes the door halfway and when he opens his super hearing, he can hear Bruce crying, the child trying to be as quiet as possible. Frowning, Clark debates whether or not he should go back in the room and try to comfort Bruce but in the end he decides not to. He supposes if Bruce wanted that he would have cried in front of him. Clark goes to the couch and quickly changes into his own pajamas and lies down. He falls asleep about an hour later.
...
Despite sleeping out in the living room on the couch, he still wakes up in time to get ready for work. He can hear his alarm going off in his room and briefly wonders if Bruce is grumbling about it yet. He probably is. Clark goes to the room and pushes the door open, planning to get Bruce up now and then just get ready together like they did yesterday. Plus, Clark's clothes are in his room still and he needs to shut the alarm off since Bruce doesn't know how. Only, when he steps into the room, the bed is empty.
Clark feels his heart jump up in speed but tries not to worry. "Bruce?" He calls out, going to shut the alarm off. There's no answer. "Are you hiding from me?" Clark stops and stands there, listening without and then with super hearing. He doesn't hear anything and Clark's heart speeds up more. "Bruce?" He quickly goes to the dresser and uses speed to change into some clothes. He then checks the drawer he put Bruce's clothes in. They're still there but yet again, it's too high for Bruce to reach anyway. Clark sees the Superman plushie on the floor in the corner, as if it was thrown, but doesn't see Ace or Batman anywhere. Rushing into the living room, he finally notices his briefcase is missing and so are Bruce's coloring books and crayons. He decides to x-ray the apartment then but still finds nothing.
Clark tries not to panic. How did he sneak out? How come he didn't hear him? He always hears things like that whether he's sleeping or not. Where could he have gone? When did he leave and how far did he get? Clark's rushing thoughts abruptly stop, three terrifying thoughts popping into his head to dominate the rest. What if someone took him? What if the magicians took him. What if... Clark swallows. What if he's dead?
Clark bolts out of the apartment, up the stairs, and to the roof. He's changed into Superman within seconds and takes to the skies. He doesn't know how long it'll take to find him, and he refuses to believe he won't find him, but he can't be bothered to call Perry to tell him he won't be in today. To hell with his job, Bruce is much more important. His heart is pounding in his chest and ears and Clark tries to drown it out in order to listen to the whole city of Metropolis. What if he's no longer in Metropolis? When Clark can't hear him in the city, he broadens his hearing. What if he's dead? No, he's not dead, he can't be. But what if he is? Clark feels like puking.
Touching his ear, he opens the line of the com-link to every Justice League member. "Guys, I can't find Bruce." There's panic in his voice and he tries to swallow but the lump is back in his throat.
"What do you mean you can't find Bruce?" John asks.
"Meaning exactly what I said," Clark snaps and pinches the bridge of his nose. "He ran away when I was asleep. I don't know why I didn't hear him and now he's gone and I can't hear him to find him. What if he's-" His voice cracks and the threat to hurl is very real at this point.
"Okay, calm down Kal," Diana's voice.
"Diana's right, we need to think about this calmly," Wally's voice says in his ear.
"It's all my fault." Clark has to land because he's starting to get dizzy. Hunching over, he tries to throw up whatever is in his stomach, which isn't much to begin with, but he's never been able to throw up before and now isn't any different. "Guys, we need to find him. He's only four and can't protect himself like he can as an adult. Anyone could take him." Clark's mind flashes to the guy at the park yesterday. He tries to throw up again with no avail.
"Okay, we'll meet you at the Watchtower," J'onn says and then everyone closes the line except for Diana.
"Don't worry, Kal, we'll find him and he'll be fine." She, too, then closes the line on her com-link.
Taking a deep breath and trying to listen again for Bruce, he heads straight to the Watchtower, flying as fast as he can without causing property damage. When he arrives, only Shayera and John are there, having had monitor duty. Shayera brings Clark to the conference room while John works on beaming everyone up once they're ready. Clark paces as he waits, changing his hearing to the whole Earth. Still, he can't hear him.
He stops pacing when Wally super speeds in and then Diana, J'onn, and John follow. "Okay, when did you see him last?" Shayera asks.
"Last night when I put him to bed," Clark answers.
"I will try to telepathically find him." J'onn's eyes then start to glow. Clark starts to pace again.
"I don't get it," Wally begins. "I thought the little guy liked spending time with you Supes. He was even super clingy to you. So why would he run away?"
Clark stops in mid stride and stares at them. Shame falls upon him and he has to hang his head because he can't stand looking at them. He presses the palm of his hands against his eyes. "Because I told him I wasn't going to be his father."
"What?" It's a chorus of disbelief from all four members, only J'onn being excluded.
Clark stumbles back, hitting the round table behind him which then rips out of its bolts in the floor and slides against the floor before Clark catches it and holds it in place in order for him to lean against it. This is all his fault. Why did he think it was a good idea to tell Bruce such a thing? How cruel could he be? "I told him I didn't want to be his father. Oh, gosh, what have I done?" He gets off the table and presses his palms against his eyes again, trying to stave off the tears that are coming. If something has happened to him...
"Kal," Diana comes up to him and places a hand on his shoulder but he moves away from it. "Kal-" She's cut off by John.
"Why did you tell him that in the first place?" He sounds angry and Clark honestly doesn't blame him. "You saw how happy he was to have you be his dad."
Shayera walks up beside him. "I have to agree with John."
John crosses his arms over his chest. "I thought we already discussed this. He's not going to think of you as a family when he gets turned back. That's nonsense so I don't even know why you felt the need to tell him such a thing."
"Because I wasn't comfortable with it." Clark's anger rises in his chest. "You try having Shayera de-aged and her wanting you to be her father. When you know how it feels then you can start judging me and my decisions." Clark mimics John's stance and crosses his arms. "None of you know how this feels. How it feels to have the person that you are crushing on, the person you love, wanting you to be their father. What else am I supposed to feel, John? Relief? Happiness?" Clark scoffs.
"Either way you should have sucked it up and dealt with it like an adult." Clark's fists clench and he has to use almost all his strength not to punch John square in the face.
He steps up close to him and gets in his face. "Like an adult? I didn't see any of you offering to take care of him." He snarls at the man in front of him. "I was thrust into taking care of a four year old version of the man I love when I have no clue how to take care of a child. I haven't been perfect but I also think I've been doing a pretty damn good job so far. Fuck you for saying I haven't been acting like an adult. Fuck you for implying that I don't give a damn about Bruce's feelings. Fuck you for judging a decision that I had a hard enough time making when you have no clue how I'm feeling about this whole thing. You weren't there when Batman and I were outnumbered by magicians, you weren't there when they hurt him, you weren't there when they dragged him out of that cage, stripped him bare, and brought him back as a scared little child. Fuck you."
All of them are staring at him, surprised that he swore, surprised that he got so up close to John in order to defend himself, and surprised at the way he defended himself in general. Clark is so angry that he's shaking and he has to turn away from all of them in order to not heat vision John's stupid, angrily narrowed, eyes. This isn't the time to be arguing, they need to find Bruce.
"Guys, this isn't the time to be doing this," Wally voices what Clark is thinking. "We need to make finding Bruce our priority instead of playing the blame game."
"I agree with Wally." J'onn finally comes out of his trance of trying to find Bruce.
"Anything?" Clark rushes up to him and is crestfallen when the Martian shakes his head. "What are we going to do n-" Clark cuts off and tilts his head in the direction of the noise he just heard. It's faint but it's there.
"Kal?" Diana asks and Clark brings his attention back to his teammates.
"I think I found him." He begins to leave.
"We'll be right behind you." He hears Diana yell after him but he doesn't care. Whoever took Bruce, Clark is so angry he's sure he'll be enough to handle them, at least if they aren't the mages. Clark flies, not even really concerned if the Javelin can keep up or not, and heads towards the warehouse he can hear Bruce's muffled cries in. He lands just outside one of the cargo doors and the Javelin lands behind him. Clark waits for the others to get out but that's it. As soon as Diana flies out of the Javelin, he barges in.
There's about ten men, all regular people, and when the cargo door falls to the ground from Superman angrily punching it, they stand and stare. Fear flashes in their eyes when they see the whole Justice League but Clark doesn't care about that either. He walks up to one of them, the rest trying to flee but his team members surround them, and Clark lifts the man by the collar. "Where is he?"
The guy cowards in his grasp but still holds his ground. "I don't know who you're talking about."
Clark narrows his eyes and brings the guy close to his face. "The four year old boy. Where is he?" The guy's eyes flash to a door leading to an office Clark guesses. Clark knocks him out with a flick to the forehead and starts for the door, having confidence that the others will take care of the rest of the men. He punches the office door open too.
What he sees only makes his anger stronger. There, sitting in the middle of the room with his legs bound to a chair and his arms tied behind him also attached to the chair, is Bruce. Tears are streaming down his face and he's gagged but when Bruce sees Clark, Clark can visibly see him brighten up. "Don't move." Clark looks from Bruce's face, which flashes back to being scared, to the gun, to the man holding the gun; the man that was in the park yesterday. The sleaze ball! "Don't move or else I'll shoot him." He presses the gun to Bruce's temple. "Even you, Superman, can't stop a bullet at point blank."
Clark snarls. "If you hurt him you will be in a world of trouble and there will be hell to pay."
"You see Superman, I'm not afraid because I have the upper hand." The guy looks behind Clark when the others come up to join him.
"I'll say it again," Clark warns, growling the words out. "If you hurt him, I will hurt you back and won't hold back either."
"Kal," Diana warns quietly but Clark ignores her.
"Drop the gun," he says to the man who scoffs. The next thing Clark knows is that he hears the trigger being pushed down and Clark is off even before Wally can realize what the man is about to do. Clark speeds to him and knocks the gun out of his hand not so gently and then grabs his wrist. He twists it until he hears a crack and the man screams. "I told you not to hurt him."
Clark pulls his fist back, ready to knock some teeth out, when Diana stops him again. "Superman!"
He stops, his fist a mere inch away from the guy's face. Staring at him for a second longer, he knocks him out, also with a flick to the forehead. He then turns to Bruce and quickly takes the gag off and unties him. "Superman!" Bruce wraps his arms around Clark's neck and Clark lifts him up to hold him close.
"You're okay Bruce, you're okay now." He rubs Bruce's back as he cries into his shoulder.
...
They're all in the medical bay, waiting for J'onn to finish his evaluation of Bruce. The Justice League ended up dropping the men that took Bruce at the police station where they will be dealt with accordingly. Now, as they stand in the medical bay, Clark can see the red mark and split lip Bruce got from being slapped, but other than that he can't see anything else wrong, even with his x-ray vision. "Did they hurt you?" Clark asks as J'onn continues to look over the results to the tests he administered.
"They hit me," Bruce states.
"Did they do anything else to you?" Bruce's face forms into a look of confusion. "Did they..." He looks to the others but they don't look like they are interested in asking the question just as much as Clark is. "Did they touch you inappropriately anywhere? Did they do anything that is inappropriate to you?"
Bruce shakes his head. "No."
Clark sighs in relief. "Good."
"Everything seems to be fine besides Bruce being a little shaken up," J'onn then says, setting the clipboard down.
Clark nods, once again relieved. "Can we go home then?"
"I don't want to go with you." Clark turns to Bruce, feeling the hurt edge its way into his chest.
He pauses to compose himself. "What do you mean?"
Bruce shrugs, not looking him in the eye. "I don't want to live with you anymore."
John huffs a laugh mockingly. "Serves you right," he says under his breath and Clark starts to get angry again. It's only ten in the morning and he's already had the worst, most enraging day, ever.
"John enough," Shayera reprimands her boyfriend and John crosses his arms in defiance. Clark shoots him daggers with his eyes.
"Why?" He asks more harshly than he had planned. Bruce only shrugs again. "And who do you think you're going to live with?"
Bruce looks up to look at the rest of the Justice League. "I want to go with Wally."
Wally stiffens and shoots Clark a wary glance. Clark continues to stare at Bruce, his anger coming back, and notices he too, has his arms crossed. "I... guess you can come and live with me kiddo," the speedster says hesitantly.
"And how are you going to watch him?" Clark turns his angry glare onto Wally and the poor kid flinches. "Even if you stopped going on League missions you still have your civilian job. Wally, you work in a lab that is full of chemicals and isn't safe for a child. There's also no way in hell you'll be sending him off to a daycare or babysitter." He turns back to Bruce who is now glaring at him in return. Clark is once again reminded of adult Bruce and it only feeds Clark's anger. "The answer is no."
"Then I'll go with John," Bruce counters.
"Me?" John takes a step back in surprise. "I don't think I'm the right choice kid, sorry." The freaking hypocrite.
Something comparable to hurt flashes on Bruce's face until it's covered up with other emotions such as annoyance. "You're also not going with Diana or Shayera because they spend most of their time here anyways. The only other person logical to take you is J'onn since he's the only one of us who has actually had a kid." Clark shoots him a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry for bringing up painful memories, J'onn."
Bruce looks to J'onn hopefully but Clark already knows the answer J'onn is going to give to that look before he can even say it. "It is alright but I'm sorry, Kal-El, but I don't know the first thing about raising a human child."
Bruce's face drops and Clark can literally see the moment of defeat on the kid's face. Clark feels a little bad but he's angry and he doesn't want Bruce going with anyone else but him. If he has to be a little manipulative to do it, then fine. Isn't that what Batman would do? Clark isn't so sure. "Then it's settled, you're coming with me whether you want to or not."
Clark then picks up the four year old and the screaming and kicking commences. "I don't want to go with you!" Bruce kicks with all the strength of a four year old and Clark wonders if he's hurting himself. Clark hopes not. "Put me down! I don't want to go!" He screams and cries all the way to the teleportation tubes and all the way to Clark's bedroom once they're home where Clark deposits the petulant child onto the bed.
Clark places his hands onto his hips. "You can sit there for ten minutes as punishment for running away. You are not to move from this spot."
Bruce crosses his arms. "No."
Clark takes a deep breath. "Every refusal to do what you're told adds five minutes to the time. You get that one for free. The next one will bring it up to fifteen minutes of sitting here. If you move from this spot then five minutes is also added and started over as well. Do you understand?" Bruce doesn't say anything and only looks away, arms still crossed. "I think I asked you something. Do you understand?"
"Yes." It's small and has a tone of defiance in it but Clark lets it pass.
"You know, Bruce, you're lucky I'm not punishing you for screaming, hitting, and kicking me." Clark walks to the door. "Don't think about moving. You might have been able to sneak by me one time but don't think you'll be able to again. I'll hear you and that's guaranteed." Clark then leaves the room, confident that he got across who is boss over who and that Bruce will listen to the rules set in place for his punishment. Clark decides to call into work and tell Perry that he's going to be late. Clark really doesn't want to stay in his apartment all day with an angry mini-Batman and could really use the distraction that work brings. Perry isn't happy about him coming in late but he eventually acquiesces and lets it pass with a warning to not let it happen again. They both know that won't happen but Perry needs to be able to feel like the strict boss he portrays. Clark then uses the rest of the ten minutes that he had to finish getting ready for work in super speed. Walking into his bedroom, he pulls out some clothes for Bruce and throws them onto the bed. "Get dressed."
Bruce picks up the pile of clothes and throws them onto the floor. "No."
Clark grabs them from the floor and places them onto the bed again. "Five minutes added." He goes to the door. "I can do this all day if I have to, Bruce." The next time he goes back to the room, Bruce is all dressed. Clark helps him with his sneakers and then with the rest of getting ready. As they are walking down the sidewalk, Clark holding Bruce's hand, Bruce continuously tries to pull out of Clark's hand and claw his way out of the grasp. He does this until they are halfway to the Daily Planet and then Clark has had enough. "That's it." Clark bends down and picks Bruce up, who immediately starts to refuse by pushing at his chest and telling him to put him down. "Bruce, stop refusing or else I will turn around and you'll be sitting on the bed for another ten minutes." That makes the child stop struggling and just lets Clark carry him. Satisfied, he continues to the Daily Planet building.
He goes inside and takes the elevator up to his floor. Stepping off the elevator, Lois walks up to him. "You're late Smallville." She smiles at Bruce. "Good morning kid."
"Morning," Bruce says quietly.
Lois looks concerned. "Hey what's wrong?"
"Bad morning." Clark says in a flat tone. He places Bruce down when he reaches his desk and hands him his coloring book and crayons. Clark refused to allow him to bring Ace or the Batman plushie as further punishment but he also didn't want the child to be bored.
Clark sits at his desk as Bruce sits on the floor about three feet away from him and doesn't open his coloring. Lois comes up close to him. "How did he get that cut on his lip?"
She sounds concerned, almost like she's afraid Clark had hit him but that would be ridiculous. When has Clark Kent ever shown a violent bone in his body? Still, the two of them are clearly unhappy with each other so, as annoying as Lois' concern is, Clark supposes it's justified. "He fell on the playground yesterday."
Lois leans back against his desk, accepting that answer. "What's got the two of you angry at each other?"
Clark sighs. "I told him he couldn't run on the playground structure anymore. It didn't sit well with him." Clark looks at Lois' disbelieving face. "You know how four year old's are. Ever since, he's been acting like a brat and won't listen to me."
Lois sighs and rounds his desk to sit at hers. "The joys of raising a child." Clark hums in agreement and then starts to work, leaving Bruce to either entertain himself with the coloring or to sit there and be bored. An hour and a half later, it's lunchtime, and Lois walks up to him. "Let's go to lunch."
"I don't want to go with him." Clark looks over to Bruce, who has yet to even touch the coloring book and is pouting. Stubborn child from a stubborn man.
Clark stands up. "Bruce you're coming."
"No." Bruce continues to sit there and doesn't move.
Clark tries to control his anger by closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "Fine, you can stay here. I'll have Perry watch you."
Crossing his arms, Bruce says, "Fine."
"Clark," Lois steps between the two. "Don't be so hard on him. He is just a kid." She then goes over to Bruce and kneels down in front of him. "Bruce, don't you want to come eat lunch with me?"
Bruce looks at her. "Yeah but not with Clark."
She smiles sympathetically at him. "Sorry buddy but he's kind of part of the package." She smiles more warmly now and Clark never even knew that kind of smile could be given by one Lois Lane. "I would really like you to come... Please?"
Bruce eyes her and then relaxes. "Okay, I'll come."
Lois straightens up and goes over to Clark while Bruce gets up as well. "Grew up taking care of my little sister. You learn a few things here and there." She then goes back to Bruce, grabs his hand, and starts to guide the two of them out of the building. They end up just down the street at this small little restaurant where Clark gets a tuna sandwich, Lois gets a cheese burger, and Bruce gets a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He's eating slowly and Clark is wondering if he's doing it on purpose. "Hey," Lois says as soon as Bruce is done eating. "Why don't you go and get one of those bouncy balls?" Lois motions to one of the dispenser machines that hold the small bouncy balls while handing Bruce a quarter. The child slips out of the booth after a quick thank you and heads to the machine. Lois then turns on Clark. "You guys were so happy together just yesterday to the point of clinginess from Bruce. I have a hard time believing that telling him he can't run on the playground structure brought all this on."
Clark shrugs. "He's a stubborn child and likes to get his way." Clark looks back at Bruce who is turning the dial on the dispenser. "Plus, maybe he's missing his parents."
Another sympathetic smile forms on his colleague's face at Clark's not quite a lie answer. "I wouldn't blame him. Growing up with a dad in the military made me understand how it feels to miss parents."
That's when Bruce comes back up. "Lois, look!" Bruce holds up the bouncy ball that he got. It's black with blue lightning bolts going all around it.
Lois takes it in order to look at it more closely. "It's nice. Do you like it?"
"Yeah!" Bruce takes it back, not even bothering to let Clark look at it. After Clark pays the bill, they leave, Bruce once again holding onto Lois' hand. Soon, the work day is done. Bruce had been bad all day, not listening to Clark and refusing to do something that Clark asked of him until Lois stepped in and asked as well. He was rude and defiant the whole time Clark was working and the behavior only served to keep Clark's anger there and on the surface. "Lois, can I go with you?"
Lois laughs with amusement. "Sorry kid but you have to go with Clark."
Bruce grows sullen. "But I don't want to."
Clark ignores what he says and picks him up. "Say goodbye."
"Put me down first," Bruce negotiates and Clark isn't sure he likes this part of Bruce's personality leaking through.
"No." Clark keeps a hold of the child. "You either say goodbye now or you don't at all."
"Fine then I won't say it." Bruce doesn't look at Clark.
Lois gives him another sympathetic look for the hundredth time today before going up to Bruce. "Give Clark a break okay, kid? He's doing the best he can." She ruffles his hair. "See ya kid." She then walks away, shooting Clark one last sympathizing look over her shoulder.
On their walk home Clark lectures Bruce. "You were very bad today Bruce."
"I don't care," Bruce says.
"Do you want to sit on the bed for ten minutes again, is that it?" Clark asks. Bruce doesn't answer. "You don't act like this. I'm the adult and I'm the one in charge of you. You don't back talk, you don't tell me no, you don't not listen, do you understand?" Bruce still doesn't answer. "I asked if you understood and you better answer me," Clark asks once again, more sternly this time.
Bruce kicks his stomach. "I don't care what you say."
Clark stops dead in his tracks. He's only four, he's only four, he's only four. If it was adult Bruce then Clark would have a better idea of how to handle a situation like this but since he's currently four, Clark has no idea how to stop this. Clark is angry and hurt, along with feeling guilty. It doesn't help that it would seem the whole Justice League is ganging up on him during this whole thing. Clark takes a deep breath and continues to walk. The rest of the journey home is made in silence, only being interrupted when Clark goes to McDonalds and picks up some food. It's not the healthiest thing in the world but Clark isn't in the mood to make anything to eat. The two of them also eat in silence.
Clark has to help Bruce brush his teeth, at one point Bruce trying to bite his finger, and then he has to help him get into his pajamas. He switches the pajamas to the plain ones, last night's being the Batman one. Clark thinks about not letting Bruce sleep with any of his stuffed toys but then he thinks against it, coming to the conclusion that doing so is going too far. This time around, he doesn't ask Bruce if he wants him to sleep in the bed with him. He just leaves without saying anything, changing into his own pajamas out in the living room, and then settling onto the couch to watch some late night television, having the feeling he's not going to be able to sleep.
...
Clark sits there and watches a horrible late night movie that is supposed to be scary but is funny instead. Of course, if one of your jobs is being a superhero who saves the planet from humans and aliens alike, scary movies tend to not scare you anymore. He watches it for the two hours that it runs and then the beginning of the next movie before he feels eyes on him. Turning his head towards the doorway that leads into the hall that occupies the bedroom and bathroom door, he sees Bruce standing there, peeking out from around the corner. "What do you want?" Clark tries to keep the harshness out of his voice and he thinks he did a pretty good job but Bruce still flinches. When the kid doesn't answer and only continues to stand there behind the corner, Clark says, "Well?" Bruce rubs at his eyes and Clark wonders if he's been crying. The child then steps out from behind the corner and finally reveals to Clark what is wrong. The bottom half of his pajamas are soaked, the fabric dark where they are wet. Clark relaxes and sighs then gets up to go over to Bruce. "Come on, let's go."
"I'm sorry." He can barely hear it when Bruce says it but Clark can tell Bruce has been crying as Clark suspected.
"It's okay." They go into the bathroom and Clark runs the bath, filling it, and then helping Bruce out of his pajamas and into the tub. He puts the wet clothes into the hamper. "I'm going to go clean the bed." Bruce's legs are drawn up close to himself and his arms are around his knees. Bruce nods, acknowledging that he heard what Clark said.
Clark goes back into his room and begins to strip the bed. The blanket, sheets, and mattress are all soaked with urine. Clark brings the linens to the washing machine, grabbing Bruce's pajamas on the way, and puts them in, starting it up to wash them right away. He then goes and gets the essentials for cleaning the mattress. Clark gathers up a bucket of cold water, vinegar, baking soda, some detergent, and a cloth in order to dab at the moister. He then goes and gets the vacuum. Clark dabs a mixture of two parts cold water, one part vinegar, and a small amount of detergent onto the mattress where the urine seeped through. He allows this to sit for about ten minutes, checking in on Bruce at one point. After, he dries the spot as best he can until he can sprinkle some baking soda onto the spot without it clumping and making an even bigger mess. Clark allows this to sit for five minutes. He uses the vacuum hose to suck up the baking soda once the five minutes are up. Once all done with that, he uses his breath as a way to dry the mattress completely. He then puts more sheets onto it and another comforter, making a mental note to buy a waterproof mattress protector later. While cleaning, Clark notices that the Superman stuffed toy is on the floor again.
Clark goes back to the bathtub where Bruce hasn't moved an inch. There are tears falling down his face but other than that, the kid is silent. "Let's clean you up. Stand up." Bruce gets up and Clark helps him clean himself, allowing the child to do his own private parts. "Good." Retrieving a towel after draining the tub, Clark wraps it around Bruce's small frame and starts drying him off. He then carries him back to the bedroom. Clark goes to the dresser and digs out the Superman pajamas. It's the only other clean pair he has but Clark knows Bruce isn't going to want to wear them. He tries anyways. "Here, put these on."
Bruce shakes his head, the tears finally having stopped. "I don't want those ones."
Clark looks at him and tries to not let his annoyance show. "It's the only ones you have that you can wear."
"I don't want them." Bruce sounds like he's about to start crying again.
"Why?" Clark asks but before Bruce can answer him, he picks up the stuffed Superman. "And why is this in the corner on the floor?"
Bruce rubs at his eyes, trying to stop the tears that have come back. "I don't want it anymore."
Clark narrows his eyes, his anger from earlier that day coming back full circle. "You know, you're being really mean," he says, sounding much harsher than he wanted.
Bruce continues to cry, clutching at the towel that is still wrapped around him. "I don't care."
Clark's anger rises. "Why? Why do you no longer want anything to do with Superman? Why do you not care about being mean to me?"
Bruce is now hiccupping with his crying, rubbing at his eyes furiously in order to stop the tears that are impossible to stave off. "Because I don't like you anymore."
Yeah… yeah that hurts. Bruce starts to cry so hard now that it is impossible for the child to speak and Clark softens, calming down and feeling guilt replace his anger. He gets down onto his hands and knees and crawls to Bruce. Clark pulls the child to him and sits there on the floor with Bruce in his lap and the kid's face in his shoulder. He cups the back of Bruce's head with one hand and rubs his back with the other. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Bruce. I've been being mean too. I didn't mean to hurt you so much." Clark closes his eyes and buries his own face into Bruce's neck. "I'm so, so sorry Bruce."
A/N: I actually do love John despite making him an asshole in this (he's actually my favorite Green Lantern). It's just that I needed someone to be the asshole who challenged Clark and since it couldn't be Bruce for obvious reasons, John was the next best candidate.
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. :)
Updates will be every Friday. Next update scheduled for: 12/18/15 EST. To see a full list of dates, please go to my Tumblr, angelcamael, and go to the post under: /post/132217933841/loss-of-time