Fic: Now lie in it
Title: Now lie in it
Author: chauve_sourit
Characters: Bruce, Clark, short mention of Dick
Pairing: Bruce/Clark
Rating: PG-13
Warning: not beta-ed - point and I’ll rush to correct
Disclaimer: the boys aren’t mine, the story is
Words: 1495
Summary: After an unplanned night of passion, the boys have to deal with the morning after several weeks later. Sequel to The bed you’ve made
“Bruce, can we talk?”
It had been weeks since that night. Clark couldn’t explain why this useless deictic term was burnt in his head but “that night” was all his mind needed to remember every single second of it, every touch, every sound, every smell and every taste. And frankly, this was all he wanted to remember. Not the exhausting mission they had gone on before, not the comfort he had wanted to give Bruce. The comfort that had eventually led to said sounds, touches, smells and tastes.
And of course, Clark would very much like to forget the fact that Bruce hadn’t been talking to him ever since.
Oh, of course, they had exchanged words, they worked together after all. And it wasn’t like Clark missed the small-talk that other Justice League frequently had with each other. Bruce had never been one to discuss the weather or the latest Hockey results. And Batman hadn’t been exactly openly angry towards him either. But something seemed very off.
In fact, if Clark had to put his finger on what was wrong, it was precisely that Bruce had been too nice. He refused Clark’s offers to help, explaining he didn’t need to bother. He tried to send Superman home early during their patrols, supposedly so that Clark could have a nice evening off, pointing out that he could do the rest of the shift by himself.
Whether or not these things were coincidences, a product of his overactive fantasy and - admittedly - slightly wounded self-esteem or a real problem, Clark didn’t know. But he felt like they had to talk. His chosen topic would be what happened “that night”, but for now he felt like any real and un-fake word out of Bruce’s mouth would be helpful.
“Can it wait? I really need some time alone to get familiar with this new gadget Fox installed for the tumbler, so if you could just…” Bruce faded off, clearly hoping that Clark would get the message and leave him alone.
Thee Man of Steel understood and sighed, clearly not wanting to give into Bruce’s little games. If he wanted to play dumb, Clark could easily do the same.
“Well, it actually can’t. Or I don’t want it to.”, he tried to catch the other man’s attention.
“What?” Bruce had hoped that Clark would just leave, the way it had worked these previous weeks and hadn’t paid particular attention to what the Kryptonian had been saying.
“I want to talk. To you. Now.”, Clark was almost shocked by his own assertiveness, a surprise he saw mirrored in Bruce’s face.
Caught off-guard, Bruce couldn’t figure out a reasonable argument why not to have this conversation now.
“What have I done wrong?”, he rolled his eyes theatrically, very well aware of the effect this had on his interlocutor. He could tell that Clark was uncomfortable addressing the subject directly as well, so continuing to play clueless seemed like the best bet right now.
“This is the problem precisely. You’ve been acting this weird for the past couple of weeks. It’s like you’re avoiding me, my presence, anything that has to do with me. You refuse to let me help you but choose Dick instead because ‘he has to learn’. You sent me home from patrols early, so that I would ‘enjoy my free time’. What’s up with that? What’s up with you, with us?”, Clark tried, already cursing his emotions. He had gotten the Bat to talk but he wished he had rehearsed how to explain what’s been making him so uncomfortable lately.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. So, you’re telling me off now for wanting my son to learn how to fight crime, is that it? Well, I’m sorry if that’s bothering you but I think I speak for a great majority of people when I say that only a trained and experienced Robin is a good Robin.” Bruce wasn’t sure if this was the right alley to go but he had started it and hoped that it would leave Clark to drop the topic.
So he continued, “… and as for your time off - I apologize for wanting to do you a favor.”
Clark tried to count to ten, “Excuse my previous choice of words when I asked what’s wrong with us.” But he only reached five or so, before finally bursting, “I think I really only meant ‘what’s wrong with you?’ Where does all this sarcasm come from and why are you directing it at me, the one who deserves it the least?”
The loud words eventually broke through Bruce’s wall of cynicism and he decided to open the battlefield with an attack. If Clark was to choose place and time of the fight, the Dark Knight chose the weapons and he opted to play dirty.
“I have no idea why you, of all people, act all disappointed and hurt. Didn’t you get what you wanted out of this disaster?”, Bruce said sharply. He could see that his words had the effect he wanted to achieve. Clark’s eyes were wide from shock and for a moment Bruce wondered if he had misinterpreted the situation. But when the other man looked towards the ground, he knew that he’d been right all along. Half-expecting a muttered apology, if anything at all, he turned around to leave the office, and was surprised that what Clark said next carried an apologetic tone but did not contain the words he had expected.
“I’m sorry. It seemed like what you wanted, too.”, came from the Man of Steel who now had the painful knowledge that he had taken advantage of Bruce who had indeed been looking for nothing but consolation after a long night.
“That I wanted what? For you to have a few hours of pleasure, only to leave me alone in my bed? Is that the Kryptonian way of a one-night-stand, not even falling asleep next to me before sneaking out? That was a job well done, Kent. I hope you went around to tell everyone.”, Bruce finally snapped, staring into Clark’s eyes.
“Wait, what?” Clark’s clear misunderstanding confused Bruce but his distrust and anger still controlled his voice.
“That is what you came to me for, right? I mean, hey, I almost can’t blame you. I think I may have given you one or two indications too many that I wouldn’t exactly be… disinterested. I guess I just thought you were different, stupid me. My bad - no hard feelings. Just drop it, okay?”, Bruce sighed.
“Damn you and your damn self-worth issues.”, Clark whispered. “I’m not going to lie to you and say that I didn’t want what happened. Or that I wouldn’t want it to happen again. But it’s not what I had in mind when I brought you home and stayed with you. Not like this. However, you seemed like you wouldn’t mind company and since I was around…”, his voice trailed off.
As fast as Bruce had talked himself in rage, as fast he had calmed down and now slowly realized that all these weeks he had only seen his point of view and never questioned his theories.
“I wouldn’t have wanted anyone’s company but yours. I never have.”, he mumbled, avoiding the warm gaze coming from his friend.
Clark’s eyes searched for Bruce’s and he tried a smile. “So… you think… you might want my company in the future. Again?”
When Bruce raised his eyebrow, Clark quickly went to clarify, “Around here, I mean. I missed you here, as a partner. The real you, not just some pseudo-friendly bat.”
The taller man couldn’t help but grin. “You only get to go on patrols with me if that includes an occasional trip to the mansion afterwards. And I promise that if I send you home to enjoy some time off, I’ll keep you busy. Deal?”
With that he took Clark’s hand and drew him closer.
“Deal!”, he grinned and captured Bruce’s mouth in a hungry kiss.
Clark couldn’t believe how quickly this kiss sent him back to “that night”. The sudden rush of feelings let his hand wander down Bruce’s spine and he was rewarded by a shudder and a groan from the other man.
Coming up for air, Bruce suddenly had a questioning look on his face.
“Don’t get me wrong. It’s not like my mind has been re-playing the past 20 minutes over and over again but… why on earth did you apologize before when you had actually wanted more than just a short night of friends with benefits all along?”
Clark shifted uncomfortably. “Well, I thought I was maybe taking advantage of you in that situation. I felt like maybe you were just… complying and giving me what I wanted.”
“Oh.”, Bruce chuckled.
“Well, I hope that I can convince you how wrong you were about that. If anyone got what he wanted it’s me. Because I got you.”
Author: chauve_sourit
Characters: Bruce, Clark, short mention of Dick
Pairing: Bruce/Clark
Rating: PG-13
Warning: not beta-ed - point and I’ll rush to correct
Disclaimer: the boys aren’t mine, the story is
Words: 1495
Summary: After an unplanned night of passion, the boys have to deal with the morning after several weeks later. Sequel to The bed you’ve made
“Bruce, can we talk?”
It had been weeks since that night. Clark couldn’t explain why this useless deictic term was burnt in his head but “that night” was all his mind needed to remember every single second of it, every touch, every sound, every smell and every taste. And frankly, this was all he wanted to remember. Not the exhausting mission they had gone on before, not the comfort he had wanted to give Bruce. The comfort that had eventually led to said sounds, touches, smells and tastes.
And of course, Clark would very much like to forget the fact that Bruce hadn’t been talking to him ever since.
Oh, of course, they had exchanged words, they worked together after all. And it wasn’t like Clark missed the small-talk that other Justice League frequently had with each other. Bruce had never been one to discuss the weather or the latest Hockey results. And Batman hadn’t been exactly openly angry towards him either. But something seemed very off.
In fact, if Clark had to put his finger on what was wrong, it was precisely that Bruce had been too nice. He refused Clark’s offers to help, explaining he didn’t need to bother. He tried to send Superman home early during their patrols, supposedly so that Clark could have a nice evening off, pointing out that he could do the rest of the shift by himself.
Whether or not these things were coincidences, a product of his overactive fantasy and - admittedly - slightly wounded self-esteem or a real problem, Clark didn’t know. But he felt like they had to talk. His chosen topic would be what happened “that night”, but for now he felt like any real and un-fake word out of Bruce’s mouth would be helpful.
“Can it wait? I really need some time alone to get familiar with this new gadget Fox installed for the tumbler, so if you could just…” Bruce faded off, clearly hoping that Clark would get the message and leave him alone.
Thee Man of Steel understood and sighed, clearly not wanting to give into Bruce’s little games. If he wanted to play dumb, Clark could easily do the same.
“Well, it actually can’t. Or I don’t want it to.”, he tried to catch the other man’s attention.
“What?” Bruce had hoped that Clark would just leave, the way it had worked these previous weeks and hadn’t paid particular attention to what the Kryptonian had been saying.
“I want to talk. To you. Now.”, Clark was almost shocked by his own assertiveness, a surprise he saw mirrored in Bruce’s face.
Caught off-guard, Bruce couldn’t figure out a reasonable argument why not to have this conversation now.
“What have I done wrong?”, he rolled his eyes theatrically, very well aware of the effect this had on his interlocutor. He could tell that Clark was uncomfortable addressing the subject directly as well, so continuing to play clueless seemed like the best bet right now.
“This is the problem precisely. You’ve been acting this weird for the past couple of weeks. It’s like you’re avoiding me, my presence, anything that has to do with me. You refuse to let me help you but choose Dick instead because ‘he has to learn’. You sent me home from patrols early, so that I would ‘enjoy my free time’. What’s up with that? What’s up with you, with us?”, Clark tried, already cursing his emotions. He had gotten the Bat to talk but he wished he had rehearsed how to explain what’s been making him so uncomfortable lately.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. So, you’re telling me off now for wanting my son to learn how to fight crime, is that it? Well, I’m sorry if that’s bothering you but I think I speak for a great majority of people when I say that only a trained and experienced Robin is a good Robin.” Bruce wasn’t sure if this was the right alley to go but he had started it and hoped that it would leave Clark to drop the topic.
So he continued, “… and as for your time off - I apologize for wanting to do you a favor.”
Clark tried to count to ten, “Excuse my previous choice of words when I asked what’s wrong with us.” But he only reached five or so, before finally bursting, “I think I really only meant ‘what’s wrong with you?’ Where does all this sarcasm come from and why are you directing it at me, the one who deserves it the least?”
The loud words eventually broke through Bruce’s wall of cynicism and he decided to open the battlefield with an attack. If Clark was to choose place and time of the fight, the Dark Knight chose the weapons and he opted to play dirty.
“I have no idea why you, of all people, act all disappointed and hurt. Didn’t you get what you wanted out of this disaster?”, Bruce said sharply. He could see that his words had the effect he wanted to achieve. Clark’s eyes were wide from shock and for a moment Bruce wondered if he had misinterpreted the situation. But when the other man looked towards the ground, he knew that he’d been right all along. Half-expecting a muttered apology, if anything at all, he turned around to leave the office, and was surprised that what Clark said next carried an apologetic tone but did not contain the words he had expected.
“I’m sorry. It seemed like what you wanted, too.”, came from the Man of Steel who now had the painful knowledge that he had taken advantage of Bruce who had indeed been looking for nothing but consolation after a long night.
“That I wanted what? For you to have a few hours of pleasure, only to leave me alone in my bed? Is that the Kryptonian way of a one-night-stand, not even falling asleep next to me before sneaking out? That was a job well done, Kent. I hope you went around to tell everyone.”, Bruce finally snapped, staring into Clark’s eyes.
“Wait, what?” Clark’s clear misunderstanding confused Bruce but his distrust and anger still controlled his voice.
“That is what you came to me for, right? I mean, hey, I almost can’t blame you. I think I may have given you one or two indications too many that I wouldn’t exactly be… disinterested. I guess I just thought you were different, stupid me. My bad - no hard feelings. Just drop it, okay?”, Bruce sighed.
“Damn you and your damn self-worth issues.”, Clark whispered. “I’m not going to lie to you and say that I didn’t want what happened. Or that I wouldn’t want it to happen again. But it’s not what I had in mind when I brought you home and stayed with you. Not like this. However, you seemed like you wouldn’t mind company and since I was around…”, his voice trailed off.
As fast as Bruce had talked himself in rage, as fast he had calmed down and now slowly realized that all these weeks he had only seen his point of view and never questioned his theories.
“I wouldn’t have wanted anyone’s company but yours. I never have.”, he mumbled, avoiding the warm gaze coming from his friend.
Clark’s eyes searched for Bruce’s and he tried a smile. “So… you think… you might want my company in the future. Again?”
When Bruce raised his eyebrow, Clark quickly went to clarify, “Around here, I mean. I missed you here, as a partner. The real you, not just some pseudo-friendly bat.”
The taller man couldn’t help but grin. “You only get to go on patrols with me if that includes an occasional trip to the mansion afterwards. And I promise that if I send you home to enjoy some time off, I’ll keep you busy. Deal?”
With that he took Clark’s hand and drew him closer.
“Deal!”, he grinned and captured Bruce’s mouth in a hungry kiss.
Clark couldn’t believe how quickly this kiss sent him back to “that night”. The sudden rush of feelings let his hand wander down Bruce’s spine and he was rewarded by a shudder and a groan from the other man.
Coming up for air, Bruce suddenly had a questioning look on his face.
“Don’t get me wrong. It’s not like my mind has been re-playing the past 20 minutes over and over again but… why on earth did you apologize before when you had actually wanted more than just a short night of friends with benefits all along?”
Clark shifted uncomfortably. “Well, I thought I was maybe taking advantage of you in that situation. I felt like maybe you were just… complying and giving me what I wanted.”
“Oh.”, Bruce chuckled.
“Well, I hope that I can convince you how wrong you were about that. If anyone got what he wanted it’s me. Because I got you.”