When Bruce said to him, "I don't trust anyone else," Clark found himself at a loss for words.
Not so much because of the admission — which was a shock in itself — but because he hadn't been expecting their conversation to take this sort of turn.
PWhen Bruce called and asked to meet at this hole in a wall diner, Clark assumed it was to discuss the article he recently wrote about Wayne Enterprises plans to build low-income housing in the poorest parts of Gotham.
This… hit him harder than the Claw of Horus.
Briefly, Clark wondered if the coffee the waitress poured after they sat down wasn't laced with some type of mind altering drug.
That or he had somehow fallen into an alternate reality.
One where Bruce Wayne wasn't emotionally constipated and could articulate his thoughts; feelings.
Trusted people.
Allowed them to get close to him.
Be his friend.
"You… trust me?" he managed once his surprise wore off. "I thought you didn't trust anyone?"
Outside of Alfred Pennyworth.
Who was a great deal more than just the butler of Gotham's prodigal son.
Clark crossed paths with the gentleman during an event at Wayne Manor and had no desire to repeat the experience.
Where Bruce Wayne appeared formidable in either a tailored suit or cape and cowl, Alfred Pennyworth's pointed looks and articulated barbs sufficed at intimidating people.
"I have always trusted you," came the quiet reply. "I trust you to do what is right. To do what is necessary to protect people and the world in general."
"I'm not a paragon despite what some might think."
"You're the most human of us all, actually." Bruce folded his fingers around his cup but did not lift it. "That is why I've come to you to ask for your help."
"With what exactly?"
The man admitting he trusted him knocked Clark for a loop.
His next words, however, slammed into him with the force of an out of control train.
Made entirely from kryptonite.
"I need you to watch my wards while I am handling some business tomorrow in Metropolis."
"Your wards?" Clark placed his mug back on the table before he crushed it and sent porcelain and hot coffee everywhere. "I wasn't aware you had taken any wards."
He hadn't thought Bruce liked children quite honestly.
Granted, the man funded dozens of charities, and oversaw a slew of programs intended to help the children in foster care.
Didn't mean he had any particular fondness for them.
Their one and only conversation on the subject of marriage and children indicated Bruce thought his life too complicated and dangerous for either.
Something Clark begrudgingly agreed with him on.
So, what changed his mind? he wondered as a sigh came from the man seated in the booth across from him.
"Dick came to live with me a few weeks ago but my other ward, Raya has been with me since last Christmas."
A slight increase in Bruce's heartbeat told him both events were far from pleasant ones. Clark didn't ask him to elaborate, however. Pa Kent taught him that if one sat back and listened they would learn all they needed in good time. Though, Pa Kent hadn't ever dealt with Bruce Wayne. A man with more secrets than the government. Patience paid off when Bruce revealed, "Raya is Captain Gordon's niece."
"His niece?" Confused, Clark sat back in the booth. "Why are you her guardian and not her uncle?"
"Captain Gordon is recovering from injuries he sustained on Christmas Eve."
A sad and all too frequent consequence for those wearing a badge.
One the man seated across from him accepted each time he donned his cowl and took to the streets.
"Life-threatening?"
"They were." Another increase in heart rate. Anger, this time. "Luckily, he pulled through."
"Do you know what happened?"
"Raya's father shot him."
"What?" Clark couldn't mask his surprise. "Why would he shoot Captain Gordon?"
"To get him out of the way."
"Out of the way?" Clark's brow furrowed. "For what reason?"
"To kill the only person who can put him away for the murder of his wife."
"His daughter?" Clark guessed as he reached for his coffee. "Who is now your ward?"
Those long fingers tightened on the mug.
Hard enough knuckles popped.
Clark was surprised the porcelain mug didn't crack from how hard Bruce squeezed it.
"Yes."
Not the growl but damn close.
Luckily, the diner was empty of customers.
Otherwise, the headlines in the morning would be all about Bruce Wayne being Batman.
Not that there hadn't been headlines suggesting such in the years since Batman came on the scene. Who was under the cowl was a favorite topic around many water coolers.
"He clearly didn't accomplish his goal given Captain Gordon survived."
"Not for lack of trying," was the dark reply. "Berkeley sent men to finish off Captain Gordon while he was in the hospital."
Not unheard of.
Hits were favorites of the criminal sect.
Lois, in fact, was doing an investigative piece on remains found in the wall of an old building.
"You intervened?"
"I couldn't," Bruce said. "He also sent men to Wayne Manor with orders to kill Alfred and I and bring Raya to him."
"You've had hitmen hired to kill you before," Clark pointed out after taking a drink of his now tepid coffee. "You've had a bounty on your head since you took up your mantle."
"I accept them coming after me."
Going after the children in his care was where he drew the line.
Suddenly, why Bruce was asking him to watch over his wards became clear.
Bullets had no impact on him unless they were made from kryptonite.
The only substance known to cause Superman serious harm.
"You're wanting me to watch them because you're afraid Raya's father might send men after them while you're busy with your business meetings."
"Yes," Bruce said as he set his mug away from him.
"What about Alfred?" Clark couldn't help but ask. "Why not have him babysit your wards?"
The man was beyond capable.
Of that, Clark had no doubt.
"I would normally leave Raya and Dick in his care," Bruce admitted as the waitress came by to set the pie they ordered with their coffee on the table. "He's a necessary part of my plan for tomorrow, however, and cannot watch them for me."
"Plan?" Not that the man didn't normally have about a thousand plans going at once.And has about a thousand backup plans to each of those plans."I thought you were conducting business tomorrow?"
Before Bruce could offer an answer, a swarm of EMS and police cars raced by, sirens screaming, and lights casting eerie shadows on the dark needed only to focus in order to hear bullets pinging off cement and steel and people screaming as they got out of the path of danger.
"Will you watch over Dick and Raya for me?" Bruce placed money on the table before reaching for the overcoat he draped over the back of his seat before sitting down. "I need an answer before I go help stop whoever is causing trouble."
Clark didn't bother to offer to go with him.
It'd be curtly rejected.
As most offers were.
Gotham was Bruce's city, after all.
He just said, "Of course, I will."
As if there was ever any doubt.
Especially since the man actually asking for help happened about as frequently as a green moon in the middle of winter…
…
Clark quickly discovered Richard — or Dick as the boy preferred being called — Grayson was everything Bruce Wayne was not: bright, loud, warm, and witty.
The boy was also a bundle of restless energy.
He flitted about the newsroom, chatting animatedly with everybody, completely at ease.
Dick was also the complete opposite of his companion.
Petite and quiet, Raya Kean sat in a chair in front of Clark's desk reading while Dick chatted animatedly with Jimmy Olsen.
The Odyssey, Clark noted as he finished typing up his article on theHome & Garden show.
An epic tale which challenged people twice the girl's age.
At the rate she turned pages, however, it was clear the material wasn't proving especially difficult for her.
She most reminded him of Bruce in that moment: quiet, guarded, secretive, a complete paradox.
The eyes skimming the words on the page of her book were far shrewder than those of an average nine-year-old.
Probed was how Clark felt whenever those green orbs met his.
Examined.
His secrets exposed.
"Who is this?" Lois asked as she perched on the edge of his desk and looked at Raya.
"This is Raya," he replied as those cat-like eyes lifted to silently appraise Lois in much the same way they had him. "She's one of Bruce Wayne's wards."
"Wards?" One perfectly arched brow lifted. "I wasn't aware Bruce had taken wards."
"Me neither." Clark indicated the boy chatting away with Jimmy with a nod. "That's his other ward, Dick."
"What are they doing here in the newsroom?"
Before Clark could think of a suitable explanation for why the kids were there, Raya said, "Bruce asked Mr. Clark to take Dick and I to the Metropolitan Museum while he meets with his investors."
Were Clark not aware of the true reason he was babysitting, he would've believed her story.
It was a good cover, he found himself forced to admit.
One which Lois wouldn't think to question.
The fact the lie tripped so easily off Raya's tongue indicated it wasn't the first time she needed to concoct a story to cover for her guardian.
Meaning she not only knew Bruce was Batman but actively supported him in his crusade, as well.
Something Clark had serious misgivings over.
He wasn't their guardian, however.
While Bruce might trust him to watch her and Dick, he certainly wouldn't appreciate him commenting on what he did as their guardian.
"Metropolitan Museum?" Dick groaned as he joined them. "Aw, geez, I don't wanna walk around and look at dinosaur bones all day."
"There's other exhibits there besides dinosaurs." Lois aimed an amused smile at Clark. "I'm sure Clark can find something there to interest you."
Which was how Clark found himself walking through the museum a few hours later.
It's been a pleasant outing, he found himself admitting as they headed for the cafe outside the prehistoric exhibit for some hot chocolate before he dropped them off at the hotel Bruce was staying in as part of his cover.
Even Dick seemed to enjoy himself despite his earlier protest.
Clark was reaching for the handle of the cafe door when an audibleclicksnagged his attention.
Instincts had him moving Dick and Raya in front of him.
He half-turned as a muffled shriek pierced the air.
Something hit him in his side, bounced off, and landed on the floor with a soft clang.
Shock and fear gave way to anger as a look down revealed a bullet sitting by his foot.
This, Clark realized as people screamed and scrambled for cover. This is why Bruce wanted me to watch over Dick and Raya.
He expected another attack and placed Clark directly in the attackers path to make sure neither of his wards were hurt.
Leaving him free to pursue the attacker.
Something Clark became aware of when he spied a homeless man roughly Bruce's stature come from out of nowhere to tackle a dark-haired man in a trench coat before he could escape into the crowd.
This was the plan all along.
One which he suspected at least one of the children — and he had a good guess as to which one based on the smug look gracing one's angelic face — had been privy too.
Pieces began to fall into place as Metropolitan police — conveniently, Clark noted —arrived within seconds of the shooting to arrest the suspect.
Bruce requested they meet at the diner in Gotham so he could ask him to babysit while he executed a plan he never divulged.
Raya suggested the trip to the Museum as a reasonable explanation for why Bruce asked him to babysit.
He brought them to the museum because her reasonable explanation actually presented an outing Clark thought suitably appropriate for them.
All cleverly masterminded by one man, Bruce.
Who played intergalactic chess while the rest of them played checkers.
He was known as the World's Greatest Detective for a reason.
He also has a knack for disappearing despite being surrounded by a crowd of people, Clark saw as he led Raya and Dick to where a familiar black town car waited to receive him and the children.
Conveniently, he noted as he ushered the children into the backseat.
…
"You could've told me what you had planned." Clark steepled his fingers on the table as the waitress — the same one from the previous night — delivered two slices of pie to their table. "I would've been better prepared had I known what to expect."
"I needed you to act just as you did." Those electric eyes met his. "You were a pivotal part of this plan being a success."
"And Raya?" Clark reached for his fork. "Was she a pivotal part of your plan, as well?"
Bruce didn't smile but Clark swore there was a slight softening to his lips.
"Raya is the one who suggested having you take them to the museum."
Confirming Clark's suspicions that she not only knew about Bruce's nocturnal career but actively supported it.
Something he wasn't keen on but he wasn't the girl's guardian.
"Does Dick know about you being…?"
"No." Bruce folded his fingers around his coffee mug. "And I do not anticipate telling him."
"You don't?" Clark couldn't mask his surprise. "Why not?"
"Because he's a child."
"But…" His brow furrowed. "Raya knows who you are."
And was clearly a child.
The same age as Dick, in fact.
"Yes, she does," Bruce agreed with a nod. "She figured out who I am long before I met her, though."
"You didn't try to convince her otherwise?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because that knowledge was a matter of safety and security for her."
Something Raya clearly hadn't been until she came to stay with Bruce.
Anger pooled again in Clark's belly.
All of it aimed at the man who should've been protecting his daughter.
"Surely she will share her knowledge with Dick."
"No," soft but firm. "She'll never tell Dick or anyone who I am. Nor," Bruce added as a bus pulled up at the stop outside and let on a group of people, "will she tell anyone whoyouare."
"She knows who I am?"
Not that Clark was surprised by this revelation.
He suspected as much yesterday in the newsroom.
"Raya suggested you as their babysitter."
"Why, though?"
"BecauseItrust you." Short, simple, shocking. "Meaning she trusts you."
Making that trust, Clark realized as he picked up his cup of coffee to take a drink, all the more special to have.
Hello there, and welcome! I hope this finds you all well! :)
This takes place after my story Knight for Christmas and plays with Dick's becoming Bruce's ward and the timeline of when Bruce and Clark became friends/the JLA. If DC can change the timeline so can we!
Thanks so much for stopping by and reading. Take care!