PSL with mysymbolisthebat

[kryptoniangod]

Four months had passed since the battle with Doomsday. Four months since they had buried him, since they thought he had died. It had taken that long for the energy he had left from the Earth's sun to heal him. Waking up in his grave had been disconcerting, but thankfully he'd broken free easily, flying up high into the sky to soak up more of the sun's rays.

Clark closed his eyes, letting out a sound before looking around himself. He looked straight down below him, diving until he landed next to his grave. He stared, pushing the dirt back into place. The last thing he needed was there to be a panic over people rising from their graves. This way maybe no one would know he was back anytime soon. At least not until he was ready. It was better this way.

Once he had recovered and taken care of his grave he decided to fly to Metropolis, being careful not to be seen flying overhead. He set down in an unpopulated area, walking around until he found the library. He slipped inside, moving to the computers to check the news, needing to know what had happened in his absence. The city, no, the world had mourned his loss. Even Bruce had commented on how the world would be a much darker place without him in it.

Seeing the proof of the other man's mourning touched him in a way he hadn't thought it would. After that he flew to Gotham, staying mostly out of sight, still rebuilding his strength. He knew Bruce saw him, but before the man could ever approach he would disappear. He kept it up for a few weeks before finally needing to get closer, to stop tormenting the other.

It was evening. Bruce was nowhere to be seen in the glass lake house and he knew that meant the man was in his cave. So he waited, standing on the deck outside overlooking the foggy lake. Eventually security would alert the man to his presence. He would wait.

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[mysymbolisthebat]

The whole world had mourned Superman's death. He'd gone back to Metropolis and visited Martha Kent to make sure that she was fine. That she was able to move on with her life. Then he'd gone back to his own. Saving Gotham from the idiots that thought they could ruin his city. That thought he'd stay behind closed doors.

Most days he stayed in the Manor and spent time with Alfred. Most days. Then most were spent elsewhere. The other's grave until it became too much, but right then... he'd just come back. Back from a night of fighting crime.

Bruce figures that he's losing his mind. Thinking that he saw the man in the red cape, saw Clark a few times. That wasn't possible though. Not when he'd been there the day the other had been buried. So when his alarm in the cave goes off his eyes narrow and he heads to find out why. Only problem with that...

"Clark?"

After all, he didn't know if the man was really there or not. Not after the nightmares and dreams he'd been having.

[kryptoniangod]

"Bruce." He said in return, taking a step closer and tilting his head. "Is my mother okay?" He asked, keeping his voice quiet and calm. He didn't want to set the other off in case he thought this was some kind of trick.

He brushed his fingers through his hair slowly, waiting before speaking again. "I know what you must be thinking. I'm not a hallucination. I'm not a trick. I'm really here, Bruce. I'm alive. Doomsday didn't kill me. At least not permanently. It just took me longer to heal because I was weakened by the kryptonite."

[mysymbolisthebat]

"Martha's fine."

Just because Clark stood before him and told him that he wasn't a hallucination didn't mean that he believed it. After all, he'd been having waking nightmares lately. Dreams that plagued him throughout the day.

"How do I know it's really you?"

[kryptoniangod]

He smiled a bit when he heard his mother was fine, stepping even closer before holding a hand out. "Touch me. Feel that I'm real, Bruce."

After a moment he let a breath out, tilting his head. "Because nothing I say could convince you. Anything I say you could claim your own mind was making up."

[mysymbolisthebat]

Sorry, Clark, but he's touched you before in his dreams. It doesn't, however, stop him from stepping forward and pressing a firm hand against his chest. There was a beating heart under his hand and there was a part of him, a deep part of himself, that wanted to haul off and hit the kryptonian. However, he stays his hand and steps back.

"So why come to Gotham?"

[kryptoniangod]

Clark's eyes dropped to the hand pressed to his chest, wondering if he was trying to feel for a change, to see if the wound was still there. "I came to Gotham for you." He murmured quietly, giving a small shake of his head.

"You helped me when you didn't have to. You wanted me dead. You could have finished it, but you didn't." He said, smiling softly as he reached out and cupped his face carefully.

[mysymbolisthebat]

"For me?"

That doesn't really... actually, he's not sure what to make of that. Why would the kryptonian come back for him? It wasn't like he was a good man or anything important. Even if Alfred said otherwise.

The hand on his face is warm and not the cold of the dead. "If not for her I would've killed you." He'd wanted to kill the other because of what had happened. Wanted to make him pay for his crimes.

[kryptoniangod]

"And now?" He asked, letting his hand drop to his side as he continued to watch the older man. "Do you still want to kill me now? To punish me?" He murmured, clearing his throat as he straightened up.

"I never meant for anyone to get hurt, Bruce. I never..." He paused, looking down. "I just wanted to help people and then Zod came...then the bombing and Doomsday..." He shook his head, fists clenching. "Would it have been better if I hadn't come back?"

[mysymbolisthebat]

"I don't want an explanation. As for wanting you dead now, no."

It didn't matter why Clark had done what he did. What matters is that people he'd cared about, people who had worked for his family had gotten hurt in the crossfire. A little girl had to go without her mother because of everything that had happened.

"Are you going to let everyone else know that you're alive or am I just that special?"

[kryptoniangod]

"I'll let everyone know eventually. Not yet. I'm not ready yet." He said, taking a step back and looking down. "I wanted to let you know...I just...I thought..." He shook his head before sighing softly. "I should go."

He turned away from Bruce, walking towards the end of the dock. "I'll tell others soon. I just need a little more time."

[mysymbolisthebat]

"You don't have to go," Bruce tells him, watching him walk away. He's not sure if he could handle watching the alien walk away if he could've stopped it. After all, Clark couldn't just go back to Metropolis. Couldn't hang around without being noticed. At least in Gotham... at least here, in his city, the other could lay low for a while.

"You can stay here. I'm sure Alfred wouldn't mind. He actually likes you."

[kryptoniangod]

"He doesn't even know me." He said with a smile, looking back at him and studying him, waiting to see if he really meant it. "You sure you would want me to be here? I don't want you to feel burdened." He slowly pushed his fingers through his hair as he stepped closer again.

[mysymbolisthebat]

"He was the one who told me that you weren't the enemy," he tells him with a soft smile. If not for Alfred his anger towards the kryptonian would've probably been worse. "I'm sure, Clark. I want you here." He wouldn't feel burdened. "Come on, Alfred's about ready to make dinner."

[kryptoniangod]

He nodded, following after him and smiling slightly. "Thank you, Bruce." He said quietly, heading inside and brushing his fingers through his hair as his stomach growled.

[mysymbolisthebat]

Bruce tries not to laugh when the other's stomach growls. "Come on. Stop standing there," he tells him, leading him out of the cave and towards the manor itself. "We'll need to wash up the moment we walk into the door and tell Alfred about you." That way the older man didn't end up with a heart attack.

[kryptoniangod]

"Thats fine. I'd prefer to clean up honestly." He said quietly, following him up into the manor and waiting for a moment to determine where they were going.

[mysymbolisthebat]

He can't help but chuckle before leading him to the bathroom so they could get washed up a bit. "I'm sure that Alfred would have our heads otherwise anyway." Especially when it was a rule that the man had implanted when Bruce was younger.

[kryptoniangod]

"And we wouldn't want that." He said, waiting a moment before he started stripping down unabashedly. It was obvious that he was unashamed of his body and did not mind being nude in front of the other man.