There was one rule to his relationship, one that Clark had never even nudged at the edges of: when Bruce shut down, he did not push. He never pushed Bruce, because he knew how much trust was extended to him to see Bruce even that far.

But right now, he had to push.

"If I don't know, I'm not punishing you. I'm just hurting you."

It wasn't no. It wasn't a qualification or a boundary or even a wall. What it was was the truth. Bruce could do what he wanted but they couldn't proceed without acknowledging that.