Title: Holiday Bliss
Title: Holiday Bliss
By: Lisa
Summary: Trying to set things right for his son, Bruce finds his own happiness.
Pairing/Characters: Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake/Kon-El, Dick Grayson/Roy Harper, Cassandra Cain/Jason Todd, Dinah Lance/Barbara Gordon, Alfred Pennyworth, Lian Harper, Martha Kent
Rating: R
Disclaimer: They belong to DC. I have no control. If I did, Judd and Dan would be banished from the comic world for life.
Feedback: Please!
Word Count: 1941
Notes: Written For The WFGE: Prompt F3 - While trying to match make Tim and Kon ( because Tim is distracted and Clark wants his son to be happy ) Clark and Bruce realize their feelings for one another.
The bunny is basically that, though the annoying muses decided to play it a little different. I hope the requester likes it.
For the first time in years, Bruce Wayne understood why so many souls actually looked forward to and loved the holiday season.
He wasn’t quiet as boisterous as Scrooge after his visits from the ghost. Neither Bruce nor The Bat had the means to pull of anything remotely related to boisterous, but he was truly happy and at peace in a way that was new but welcomed.
He had his family to thank for that.
Standing in the doorway, a smile played on his lips as he looked around the room, noting that, as always, Alfred had managed to outdo himself. It was a true wonder, the knack Alfred had for setting a scene and adding just the right touches to give a holiday feel. It went beyond the candles and incents, it was more than the golden and red decorated tree or the eggnog and delicious cookies, Alfred poured all the affection he felt for his family into everything he did and Bruce wasn’t certain he had ever taken the time to truly appreciate that before, but he did now.
He appreciated everything more now and he knew he wasn’t alone in that.
His eyes falling to Dick and Roy, who set on the sofa with Lian between them while Dick read her The Night Before Christmas, it was obvious to Bruce just how happy his eldest son really was. It had taken some twist and turns and some heartache along the way, but Dick was finally where he belonged, with the remarkable young man he had always loved.
The smile that Dick and Roy exchanged as Lian snuggled against them conveyed their feelings, their needs, their commitment to one another.
Bruce had no doubt they would make it.
He also had no doubt that Cass and Jason couldn’t go on keeping their relationship in the dark too much longer.
They had been careful to keep a distance all night, with Cass talking to Barbara while Jason fell into a conversation with Dinah, but looks that said it all repeatedly passed between them. He had even seen a real smile from Jason once or twice. How the boy would keep away from Cass when Dinah gravitated to Barbara’s side once again, Bruce was curious to see and he once again considered just confronting them, to assure them they had no reason to hide their involvement, but Alfred had cautioned against it, saying it was best if Jason and Cass to open up all on their own.
Listening to Alfred tended to be the wise thing to do, so Bruce held his peace.
He was, after all, done playing matchmaker.
Not that playing matchmaker hadn’t worked out well last time, Bruce reflected, looking to Tim and Kon, who stood in a distant corner, so caught up in one another they likely didn’t realize anyone else was in the room.
And if they did realize it, they didn’t care.
They had their arms wrapped around one another, with Tim leaning into Kon, both of them smiling. He couldn’t hear their conversation, he didn’t want to listen in, but Tim was smiling in a way that made Bruce believe his youngest son would recover from all the loses he had suffered and for that, Bruce was relieved.
He didn’t want Tim to spend so many years as he had, locked inside himself, pushing others as far away as possible, closing his heart off from a chance at true happiness.
Bruce had nearly lost his chance to be happy, would have lost it, had he not come to a few obvious and overdo conclusions about himself while trying to help Tim face his feelings for Kon.
He had noticed for several weeks that Tim seemed off balance. Unfocused. He wasn’t use to seeing Tim as anything but completely devoted when it came to training and to ‘The Mission’ and watching his son falter pushed aside The Bat and allowed The Father in Bruce to come out.
Tim had, at first, refused to admit anything was wrong, but after some carefully asked questions, he had finally broken down and confessed what should have ( according to Alfred ) been painfully obvious to The World’s Greatest Detective.
Tim was in love with his best friend.
“You have no idea what it’s like, to love someone so much and not be able to tell them.” Tim had looked completely forlorn. “Kon’s my best friend. If I tell him what I feel, I might lose him and I don’t want to lose him in the one way I can have him in my life.”
The words had hit Bruce harder than he had allowed Tim to see. He knew more about what Tim had to face than Tim realized. He just had more experience at keeping what he felt hidden, he’d had long years of practice at pretending that what he felt for Clark wasn’t more than friendship. It was something that he could almost ignore most of the time…yet looking at Tim…he had sighed and decided then and there that Tim wouldn’t have to conceal his feelings and wants as he had.
Tim would have his chance to be happy, Bruce reasoned, and he would play a hand in it.
If The Bat could protect Gotham and fight along side meta heroes, he could certainly play matchmaker for two teenage boys.
And even if it tormented his own hidden feelings, Kal could sure as hell help him. It was well past time for Kal to deal with some teenage angst. He could have a talk with Kon and find out exactly how he felt for Tim, pass the information on to Bruce…he knew Kon tended to make Kal and Clark and hell, even Superman nervous, but teenage boys were meant to confuse their fathers, that was a lesson Bruce had learn via Dick.
To his surprise, when he tracked down Kal at The Watchtower, Kal admitted he had figured out that Kon and Tim were feeling more than friendship for one another.
He had tried to get Kon to talk about it, but with little success. It seemed Kon had been ‘weirded out’ by the idea of having such a conversation with his father, even if they had made efforts in having a better relationship.
Bruce could somewhat relate to Kon’s feelings on the subject.
Discussing his son’s feelings for Kal’s son while ignoring his own feelings for Kal…
It was enough to give even The Bat a headache.
“They need to talk.” Bruce had insisted, in regards to the boys and the comment had earned him a look from Kal that conveyed surprise.
“You are prompting conversation regarding emotions?”
“Don’t be difficult, Kal. I’m worried about Tim. He’s upset and distracted. I am sure you know that any kind of distraction in our work can be deadly.”
“You also believe relationships are a distraction, so what will your reaction be if a conversation between Kon and Tim results in a relationship.”
“I’ll accept it. I did with Dick and Roy. I’ll do the same for Tim and Kon.”
“And what about yourself?” Kal asked quietly, eyes watchful and Bruce frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“You can support relationships for your children, but not for yourself.”
“It’s different.” And it was, Bruce reasoned, it was more complicated, he was more complicated, and he wanted what he couldn’t ever have.
“How so?”
Bruce frowned again, wondering why Kyle was being so damn difficult. He was grateful they were alone, no one could walk in and hear this insane conversation or sense that Bruce was uncomfortable, looking for an escape. He didn’t want anything to do with this topic, he was certain Kal would sense everything he was feeling, everything he was thinking…he had worked for years to keep his feelings hidden from the world, but more importantly, from Kal and the idea of having them exposed now terrified him.
“Bruce?”
“This isn’t about me.” He snapped.
“Maybe it could be.”
The words had little time to sink in, before Bruce found himself pushed against the wall, Kal’s mouth on his, hot and demanding, pulling a reaction from Bruce. It was impossible to resist what he had wanted for so long, impossible to deny the need he felt, the fire that consumed him at the feel of Kal’s tongue dancing with his, hands seeking, his own hands pulling Kal closer, needing him closer still, reason and all logic banished.
When the kiss ended, Bruce was breathless, dazed, and Kal smiled, but all Bruce could do was stare at those amazing eyes.
“If your children can have relationships, so can you, and it’s about time you tried.”
“Kal…”
“I’ve been wanting this for a long time, Bruce. I think you have to. Don’t make us wait any longer.”
Recalling that encounter and what had come after renewed Bruce’s smile. He hadn’t had the will or even the desire to deny what he felt, what he wanted and learning that his feelings weren’t one sided had come as a surprise, but a pleasant on.
He had no doubt that it wouldn’t be completely easy, he wasn’t an easy make to get along with, but Clark didn’t mind and discovering that Bruce had owned up to his own feelings had made it easier for Tim to finally face Kon.
Bruce still liked to think he and Kal had played a part in the boy’s happiness, but he suspected Tim and Kon would have ended up together even if he had continued to be stubborn about what he and Clark shared.
“You seem to be deep in thought?”
“I’m The Bat. I’m always deep in thought.”
Clark’s breath was warm against his neck as he laughed, wrapping his arms around Bruce’s waist, as Bruce allowed himself to lean back slightly against him.
“Where’s your mother?”
“In the kitchen with Alfred. Baking more cookies.”
“We need more?”
“No. But my mother and Alfred feel otherwise.”
Bruce shook his head, amused. He was grateful Clark had been able to talk his mother into joining them for Christmas. It was nice to have her around and she belonged with the family and like Alfred, she was at ease with all the different personalities and needs, though Bruce and Jason and both were still reeling over her calling Jason ‘an adorable’ young man.
“They all seem happy, don’t they?” Bruce smiled.
“That’s because they are. And so am I.”
Turning, Bruce felt a rush, looking into those amazing eyes.
Eyes filled with love, for him.
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“Careful. What would happen if the world learned Batman was happy?”
“I’m not worried about the world tonight.”
Clark smiled at that, but what he might have said was lost by the sound of Lian’s laughter and Bruce looked to see Kon had scooped the little girl up and was floating around the room while Tim smiled and Dick used the opportunity to kiss Roy.
Dinah had moved back to Barbara and set beside her lover, smiling at Lian and Kon’s antics as Barbara laid their locked hands in her lap.
Jason, Bruce noted, had moved to sit beside Cass on the love seat and was leaning closer to her as Cass blushed.
His family, as complicated, complex, and difficult as they could sometimes be were just that.
His family.
He had made his mistakes with them, but they were still around, and he was grateful for that.
Leaning back against Clark, he realized again how lucky he was, to have a family to share with him.
Maybe this being happy thing wasn’t so impossible, after all.