Leaving was not as awkward as Bruce thought it would be. He did not feel he was stealing away into the night, as he silently made his way down the well lit hall into the well lit stairwell, then out onto the well lit streets, sunglasses firmly in place.
Gotham's stairwells and hallways and streets were much darker, and as he sat down in the driver's seat, behind dark tinted windows, he was glad to be returning there.
He was in a good mood: there was work to be done; he would make it back just in time for his favorite hour; and he and Clark would be seeing each other again soon.
And Bruce was right. Late the next night, seated behind his array of monitors, researching the mysterious business man giving Lex Luthor a run for his money, first his security systems notified him, then the cameras gave him visuals on his invited intruder, waving up at him.
He opened the bay doors, a split second later felt the wind his arrival caused, and when he spun the chair around, there he was.
Had never seen Clark so sheepish in uniform. Bashful was probably a more accurate description. Not as much as he had been in bed, but bashful nonetheless. Another Snow White reference he would not appreciate, however Bruce could not stop the altogether uncommon wave of gratitude that came crashing over him at Clark's arrival.
A long distance relationship was made less so when one party could travel faster than the speed of sound, and the other had an armada of fast moving vehicles to chose from.
And though he had rarely thought of this Manor as his home – it was his family's home, or his father's home, even Alfred or Dick's home, but never his home – he could not quell his pride, to have Clark back here once again.
His pride that he had this place to care for Clark then, and in the years past, as a meeting place and resource in their never-ending battles.
Now in being able to offer it as a more personal rendezvous point, but it didn't take much imagination to see it as something more. There were plenty of rooms. It would be no skin off his back to offer one to Clark, for an overnight visit.
Or for them to simply share his.
He was getting ahead of himself, but it was difficult not to.
Superman had that effect on people.
He gave them hope.