for knightbynight: For now and hereafter...

[stands_for_hope]

[some time after the events here]

Superman and Batman were partners in more than a work sense. Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent were an adorable (if mildly ridiculous) couple. Kal-El of Krypton and a man who defied any definition outside of the single letter 'B' made time on weekends, worked around world crises and teenage tempers, and occasionally fell into bed together when the stars aligned. Thankfully, they aligned relatively often.

Wayne Manor received a delivery of organic produce and baked goods once a week from a small, independent farm in the heartland. Lois Lane was a little less likely to agree with snide comments about the uselessness of Bruce Wayne, especially after seeing the utter madness that was Clark's desk after a few weeks. The texting habits of a certain blond teenager in Kansas rose sharply... and in parallel to that of a certain former street punk in Gotham.

Life was... well, it was good, even if it was also Life. Until it wasn't. Until everything changed.

They all had enemies, of course. But the problem with Superman's enemies was that they were coherent enough to decide to team up. And crazy enough to use the kind of weaponry that could make whole cars just vaporize into nothing.

Crazy enough to point that weapon at a somewhat-pinned Batman and a Wonder Woman who was digging him out from the rock. Crazy enough to point that weapon at Batman.

Bruce.

B.

Clark didn't even make the choice. His heart made it for him. The beam shot out of the Toyman's mechanical monstrosity and Clark flew, the pain of the beam itself nothing on the fact that he was leaving Bruce behind. That his vision of them as old men together would never happen. That he was leaving behind a world that needed him.

The guilt that, if it meant saving them, saving him, he didn't regret a thing.

Comments

[knightbynight]

"No. I think trying will make him think you're beating me against my will."

He barely even noticed the language shift.

[stands_for_hope]

"Then a version of the truth is our best option."

[knightbynight]

"I like rough sex, Clark obliges, butt out?" Wow that translated oddly in Kryptonian. He sounded mostly amused, though.

[stands_for_hope]

"Yes. If we lie and he finds out, there'll be a very deep break in trust. But if we admit there's a sexual component, he'll be a teenage boy about it."

AKA grossed out that people older than him were having sex.

[knightbynight]

"Fine, but I don't like it."

At all. Because he found it incredibly awkward and actually kind of inappropriate but... maybe he could strip it down even further and have Jason still recoil hard enough to leave it alone.

[truth_and_justice]

"Do you have a better plan?"

Because he's always willing to listen to other ideas.

[knightbynight]

"No." Nothing that wouldn't make it worse. "I'm going to call Jason down to leave. You go upstairs and spend time with Dick."

[stands_for_hope]

That just got a nod while he made his way upstairs to go find Dick. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to pry the cereal bowl out of his cold, milk-chilled hands.

[knightbynight]

And Bruce dragged Jason down, got him half-prepared to head out, dropped a bomb-shell on him and then hit the streets with a slightly disturbed, weirded out, grossed out, teenager.

Who behaved himself, at least.